I've put the Page option on the Guest Poster page. It defaults to Page 1, but if the article you're posting isn't WoT related, please put it on Page 2.
Before Boris appeared and distracted me, I was working on splitting Rantburg into three pages: The front page (Page 0), with links to all articles and the text of the latest half dozen. Page 1 will hold the WoT articles, Page 2 will hold the Politix, diplomacy, SAST, and stuff like Bob's new house in Cape Town, crime, honor killings, rampaging gorillas, giant squids, love nests, and bear or kangaroo attacks. It'll be like two Rantburgs, each smaller than this one, unless you page through the articles using the buttons on the browse page.
If you've noticed, there's a "Squish" button on the Guest Poster page that removes carriage returns from selected text. This is good for dealing with sources like IRNA that put a hard return at the end of each line. It also handles KUNA, which not only uses hard returns, but puts another character there (I don't know the code for it to reproduce it here). I think SANA does the same thing. And if you want to collapse a lot of short paragraphs into one, I won't mind that, either. Saves me some work.
I may move some of the sidebar stuff from Page 1 and Page 2 to make room for links to the latest commented articles for that page.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 9:51:30 PM ||
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I have no clue what you just wrote, but thanks! ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/21/2004 22:23 Comments ||
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Well, I had a brainstorm, so now we have the latest dozen comments on the sidebar, too. I just hope everybody likes the new version. The only reason I'm messing with it is because a single front page is just getting too big...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 22:34 Comments ||
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Thats code right!?
Whatever saves time is good for me. So often I'm jamming to read posts, coments, and then snarkey shit. You have a killer site now. I'm not aware of the problems. But whatever Fred, I'm very happy to to be here.
#2
"I wonder what the outcry would be if the United States a.) instituted any kind of entry fee at all, b.) levied a discriminatory one which charged, say, Chileans and other South Americans $100 per head and Italians nothing at all?"
Excuse me, but what is he complaining about? This is exactly what's happening. A South American who needs a visa to the United States has to pay $100 to the U.S. embassy and those 100 bucks aren't refunded if his visa is denied.
Persons with Chilean nationality don't need a visa for the EU (and pay no entry tax), so EU citizen don't pay that either when travelling to Chile.
Sorry, but I think it's only fair. (I didn't say it was wise.)
#4
Once the word gets out, tourism from the US will ebb. The market works.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/21/2004 19:02 Comments ||
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Well of course you are correct TGA, but one doesn't read Kim du Toit for any semblance of truth, but rather to enjoy the measure of his outrage...on so many subjects...lol
It is fortunate indeed that Kim didn't try to get into Brazil with the newly installed fingerprinting and photos being mandated by Brazil in perfect diplomatic reciprocity to what the US did.
Personally all these new travel measures are just silly until we seriously secure our southern boarder with Mexico.
A bit more on Ismail's kid getting bumped off...
In Afghanistan, the assassination of a cabinet minister has triggered factional fighting in the western portion of the country, killing as many as 100 people. Afghan officials say Civil Aviation Minister Mirwais Sadiq was traveling in the provincial capital, Herat, with his bodyguards when unknown gunmen attacked their car with a rocket. The assault killed the minister, who was the son of the powerful provincial governor Ismail Khan. Two of the bodyguards were also killed.
Okay. We knew that, except for the rocket part. Ouch.
Itâs not clear who carried out the attack, but a spokesman for Governor Khan has blamed fighters loyal to a local commander, Zahir Naybzada. The incident has sparked deadly clashes in city, where rival factions are reportedly using machine guns, rockets and tanks.
Zada's already 'fessed up he dunnit and he's glad...
Commander Naybzada denied killing the minister in an ambush.
"No, no! Not an ambush, anyway!"
He is reported as saying that Mr. Sadiq was killed after breaking into his residence.
"Hmmm... Naybzada doesn't seem to be home so I can fire him. Maybe I'll just steal his silverwear instead... Ow!"
From the way it is phrased it sounds like Naybzada found Sadiq in his front yard and blew him away (with a rocket).
Naybzada! In the parlour! With a rocket launcher!
In Kabul, on official statement said President Hamid Karzai was "deeply shocked" by the killing of the minister.
"Dead, y'say? That's never happened before, has it? I'm soooooo shocked!"
It says the president has ordered an investigation and appropriate action to be taken against those responsible.
"Mahmoud! Get to the bottom of this!"
"Of course, your excellency!"
The government also has ordered newly U.S.-trained Afghan National Army soldiers deployed from the capital to try to end the deadly fighting in Herat. Civil Aviation Minister Said was the third cabinet member to be killed since President Karzaiâs government came to power to replace the Islamic Taleban in late 2001. Mr. Sadiqâs predecessor, Abdul Rahman was bumped off assassinated in early 2002 at Kabulâs main airport. A few months later, Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir was shot dead outside his office. Assassination seems to be a culturally appropriate means of expressing your political views in Afghanistan. Sort of like voting is in other places.
I'd think twice if Hamid invited me to be aviation minister. They don't have that many planes, anyway.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal Sunday criticized the American and Western initiatives directed to the Arab countries. Al-Faisal asserted that his country is following local reform plans, noting that the Arab world has suffered from colonization, which created economic, political, and social obstacles.
Ummm... That was 50 years ago. And they were colonized because they were primitive and incapable of governing themselves...
He highlighted the Arabs' need for foreign help on two main issues, the Palestinian cause and the participation of rich countries in opening new markets and increasing investments. He added that "we are not calling for help for free ... we are calling for a real partnership," asserting that "Arabs are open and they know their interest, duties, and rights."
Yes. We've seen that from Soddy Arabia's dealings with Western companies within its borders...
Al-Faisal met Sunday the Yemeni President Ali Saleh and handed him a letter from the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, said the Yemeni News Agency. The agency said that the letter touched on the relations between both countries and the fields of cooperation, in addition to the developments in the region, especially in Palestine and Iraq. Al-Faisal and Saleh also discussed the preparations for the upcoming Arab Summit in Tunisia, in addition to the Arab view on reform in the area. Al-Faisal also held talks with his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr Al-Qerbi on methods to improve bilateral relations and cooperation in fighting terrorism. Al-Qerbi asserted the Arab countries are at a critical stage that requires them to reconsider their relations with their neighbors. He said that many Arab countries started reforms in the political, social, or educational field. He said that both countries believe that they face one enemy when they fight terrorism and create a real partnership, adding that "Yemen and Saudi Arabia are the largest partners at the Arabian Peninsula level". Al-Faisal and the Yemeni Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajammal discussed the relationships between both countries, especially in the field of investment, trade, and economic integration. Bajammal noted the changes in the Arab countries that serve its interests, noting the importance that this change comes from inside the Arab countries, not from outside.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 5:19:27 PM ||
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"Arabs are open and they know their interest, duties, and rights."
They certainly know their interests - they never vary from that line in the slightest: undermine Western economies and diplomatic policies in a low-grade war to punish supporters of Israel. It hasn't changed since 1973.
Duties? That notion is a joke as they abrogate their obligations whenever it suits them.
Rights? The Arab world is ruled by monarchies and dictatorships. The rights of individuals don't exist except as bribes and pivot points of coercion. Where their citizens reside in Western nations, of course, the art of turning "rights" into weapons to undermine Western society from within are, indeed, an Arab specialty. Writ large, at the level of nations, they apply the same techniques, bribery and coercion, within the framework of Western-created collectives (UN, World Bank, IMF, WTO, etc.) to subvert and undermine the purpose and spirit of those collectives.
The initial claim of being "open" is true only in that their actions are transparent to those who have discarded the gullible romantic notions that dealing with the Arab states is anything other than dealing with an enemy during "open" hostilities.
The OPEC policies of the last year are clearly intended to escalate the punishment of the West for our actions in Iraq. A "bonus" is the added revenue from the outrageous oil prices - which will be quickly redirected to the private Swiss & Carribean accounts of the greedy Rulers whose positions have been made potentially precarious by the introduction of a fledgling democracy in Iraq.
We are at war in every sense of the word. Since open opposition and enmity is surely fatal, they have adapted the Chinese torture technique of one thousand cuts - no single cut fatal, maximizing pain, and prolonging the process... to punish and bleed us slowly while they bend our technologies and institutions against us to their own ends.
#2
"...the Arab world has suffered from colonization, which created economic, political, and social obstacles."
Ah, the old "colonialism" excuse.
Don't let that get in your way, Faisal baby; as Christopher Lowell would say on the Discovery Channel, "You can do it!"
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/21/2004 18:59 Comments ||
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noting that the Arab world has suffered from colonization, which created economic, political, and social obstacles
I'm shocked! When are you going to demand compensation from the Turks? Oh & don't forget the Persians, the Buyid occupation of Iraq's still creating major 'obstacles' even today! The Mongols should cough up too...
Posted by: Dave ||
03/21/2004 19:11 Comments ||
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Why is it that the US, Canada, and Australia never get to bitch about being colonies?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/21/2004 19:28 Comments ||
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Palestine? Where is this entity called Palestine?
An article by Alberto Quiros in yesterdayâs (March 14th) El Nacional, is extremely important in evaluating the situation of the presidential referendum in Venezuela. Alberto Quiros is one of the key players of the Venezuelan opposition. By keeping a rather low profile he has been able to coordinate, from within, much of the strategic stance of the opposition. He is good at
leading meetings, at synthesis and at translating agreements into action. If we ever get to a referendum in Venezuela he will be one of the unsung heroes of the process. He is currently in charge of talking with the National Electoral Council (CNE), in an effort to take the referendum to a viable conclusion. What are the chances of this taking place? Considering that Hugo Chávez has used and continues using all legal and illegal maneuvers in the book to impede it, we must assign to the celebration of the referendum a low probability. In this case, it will not be the fault of the opposition. Quiros describes the most recent meeting of the opposition with the members of the CNE as follows:
âWe met Friday March 12th, at the headquarters of the CNE, with Francisco Diez and Marcel Guzman of The Carter Center; Marcelo Alvarez and Hector Varalli of the OAS and with the members of the Board of the CNE, Ezequiel Zamora, Sobella Mejias, Oscar Battaglini and Jorge Rodriguez. Felipe Mujica, Enrique Naime, Nelson Rampersad and Alberto Quiros represented the opposition. After the introductions and pleasantries we stated our position:
Our clear and indeclinable objective is to celebrate the presidential referendum. To âsaveâ this process we have agreed to establish a dialogue with the CNE, with the mediation of The Carter Center and the OAS.
-Snip-
To help the CNE sort out the differences in the data we have presented the CNE with a detailed enumeration of those differences, in 8 categories.
The CNE received our observations and promised us to answer them Sunday, March 14th or Monday, March 15th.
-snip-
Our minimum conditions include 2,700 centers for the signature collection process, 5 days and 12 hours of activity each day. a manual revision with sufficient signature collecting forms and the respect for the will of each citizen. We request international observersâ.
The document by Quiros adds that, since all the necessary information is not yet in, the opposition cannot decide if it goes or not to the new process. The decision will be taken after the answers from the CNE and the Tribunal of Justice are received. Quiros admits that the final decision will not be an easy one to take. If the opposition decides to go ahead and the required signatures are not collected, there will be criticism of the decision. If the opposition decides not to go to the process, there will equally be criticism. But, Quiros, stresses, thedecision must be taken and must be shared by all, whatever it turns out to be. He warns the politically oriented members of the CD to postpone their individual pretensions in order to present a unified front.
The document is important and the position by Quiros is also very important. It is the position that all members of the opposition should have. This is a time for unified action, not for individual posturing. This is a moment for civilized attitudes and not parochial ambitions. A lucid article by Moises Naim, also published in âEl Nacionalâ last Sunday 14th analyzes the reasons why authoritarian governments often have weak oppositions. Naim argues that a common reason is the lack of a strong leadership and/or the existence of fractions and divisions within the opposition. I hope that the Venezuelan opposition can overcome this problem and react with a solid sense of common purpose against the undemocratic Chávez challenge. If this is accomplished Quiros would deserve much of the credit for this positive development.
Quiros sounds like a capable man.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/21/2004 10:01:30 PM ||
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with Francisco Diez and Marcel Guzman of The Carter Center
Aw, Jesus. Don't the realize Carter's not on their side. He sure as hell was never on our side.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/21/2004 22:27 Comments ||
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Taiwan's High Court ordered the sealing of all ballot boxes Sunday, one day after President Chen Shui-bian claimed victory in a close race his opponent said was marred by spoiled ballots and a mysterious assassination attempt. As violent protests against Chen's victory erupted around the island, the High Court said it needed to preserve evidence from Saturday's election. However, it did not order a recount as demanded by challenger Lien Chan. There were 13,000 polling booths around the island. While claiming victory by 30,000 votes in the presidential contest, Chen lost a simultaneous referendum to strengthen Taiwan's military. The ballot question - fiercely opposed by China, which saw it as a rehearsal for a vote on Taiwan independence - failed because not enough voters participated.
The court order came after Lien, a former vice president, said more than 330,000 ballots from Saturday's vote were spoiled and there were too many unanswered questions about Friday's assassination attempt on the president and his running mate, Vice President Annette Lu. The candidates were slightly wounded by gunfire while campaigning in southern Taiwan. Chen won with 50.1 percent of the vote, while Lien of the Nationalist Party received 49.9 percent, the Central Election Commission said. About 13 million ballots were cast for a turnout of 80 percent, the commission said. Court spokesman Wen Yao-yuan, who is also a judge, announced the order on television Sunday as hundreds of angry Taiwanese gathered outside the presidential office, waving flags and blaring air horns while clamoring for an immediate recount. Demonstrators in Taipei stayed peaceful, but angry crowds seeking a recount scuffled with police, broke windows and pushed down barriers early Sunday in Taiwan's second- and third-largest cities. The government deployed riot police as it tried to head off a political crisis that could seriously challenge Taiwan's young democracy, which has had only two other direct presidential elections in the past eight years. Chang Chun-hsiung, a top ruling party official, said checking the votes should not be a problem if the opposition can prove reasonable suspicion. "We respect their right to file the petition although we have yet to see them presenting any facts," Chang said.
Sort of like Florida, except Pat Buchanan isn't on the ballot this time.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2004 12:08:37 AM ||
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Sort of like Florida, except Pat Buchanan isn't on the ballot this time.
Then why all the fuss?
Posted by: Pitchfork P ||
03/21/2004 10:58 Comments ||
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A former Finnish prime minister has been acquitted of charges of illegally obtaining secret documents on the Iraq war while she was opposition leader.
But a former aide who gave Anneli Jaatteenmaki the papers was found to have breached the official secrets act.
Kinda like Fall being acquitted of taking the bribe Doheney was convicted of paying...
The ex-presidential aide, Martti Manninen, was fined 80 days' salary. Ms Jaatteenmaki, who was elected last year, had to step down after only two months as Finland's first female prime minister when the allegations emerged. The court said in its verdict that there was no evidence to show that Ms Jaatteenmaki would have "incited Mr Manninen's crime".
"She led me on, y'r honor!"
"There's no evidence of that!"
"Just asking for interesting material is not enough to constitute an incitement to handing the material over," it said. "And there is no evidence that Ms Jaatteenmaki has put pressure on Mr Manninen (to get the documents.)"
"Y'r honor, it depends on how she asked! Lookit them eyes! That lovely face! Them legs! That bosom!... Oh, Gawd! I'd kill for that bosom!"
"Bailiff! Sedate him! Quickly!"
The scandal, dubbed "Iraq-gate" by the Finnish media, and the ensuing trial sparked huge public interest in Finland - a country not used to scandals at government level, correspondents say. During campaigning for last March's general elections, Ms Jaatteenmaki had accused the then-prime minister, Paavo Lipponen, of undermining Finnish neutrality by promising the US President, George W Bush to support the Iraq war. This information is widely believed to have secured her Centre Party a narrow win against Mr Lipponen's Social Democrats. She became Finland's first female prime minister in April 2003, but resigned two months later when she was accused of lying to parliament about the incident.
That did a lot of good, didn't it?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 5:04:26 PM ||
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backgr.1.She did lie to the Parliament,and the public,about how she had obtained the papers in the first place.So the verdict,as weird as it is (the court opined that it found Manninen's testimony more believable,yet it punished him),doesn't have much effect on political reality.
2.The Social Dems are in the coalition gov. with the Centre like nothing happened.
3.PS:PM Lipponen's talk with Bush seemed to be an expression of personal opinion rather than policy,and in the larger sense irrelevant to political reality.
Posted by: El Id ||
03/21/2004 18:04 Comments ||
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RB a fair and reasonable public venue for all concerned.
Now... let's talk about what happened to my 300 mpg water carbuertor and the forbidden secret that it's exhaust cured 3 of the most common kinds of cancer.
#4
I don't understand the comment but this particular Anon has left an interesting address. Aren't some of the Finns doodling around with studying whether to join NATO? I bet Pravda probably studies everything that is posted about Finland in English.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/21/2004 21:30 Comments ||
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That's just Boris. Ignore him.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 22:09 Comments ||
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Exit polls from France's regional elections indicate the governing centre-right coalition has suffered a major setback.
Sacred blue! Not a setback majeur!
The polls put the left-wing opposition 6% ahead of the parties in government. They give the far-right National Front the same level of support as in the 2002 presidential elections.
Quelle frommage!
The poll was seen as a mid-term test for the government. Many voters were expected to reflect discontent with high unemployment and social reforms.
"Zere are simply no jobs for apache dancers anymore! It is ze gummint's fault!"
The initial results combined with exit polls show the government has done badly with the centre-right gaining just 34% of the vote compared with the opposition Socialists on 40.5%.
"Oui! We need someone to manage l'economie!"
These results are bad news for the French government which has suffered significant losses in several key regions, says the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris.
"Bad news, M. le President! We have suffered significant losses in several key regions!"
Ahead of the vote, opinion surveys also suggested growing apathy with up to 50% of people saying they may not vote at all.
"I tried to work up some apathy, but I just didn't care enough."
The elections, which are held every six years, are for the country's 22 regional councils. However the issues are national. There is growing public discontent over a government perceived by many as unable to cut high and rising unemployment. Reforms aimed at lowering the country's high social security costs have also proved deeply unpopular.
How about the fact that M. le President is an arrogant crook?... No. I guess not. They expect that sort of thing in La Belle France.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 4:43:19 PM ||
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So they will swing Left in the next general election and officially embrace gutter-level Socialism.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder handed the leadership of Germany's governing party to a trusted aide Sunday in a bid to heal party division, but he warned that he would continue efforts to trim the welfare state. Acknowledging he was "not an easy party leader," Schroeder highlighted his popular opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq but insisted he would not change his little-loved reform course in an emotional final speech as party chairman. "I did the job in truly difficult times," he said. An overwhelming 95 percent of delegates at a special conference endorsed his chosen successor, Franz Muentefering, the party's parliamentary leader and a figure closer to its core voters. Muentefering, 64, takes on the task of overcoming internal dissent, which recently has absorbed much of Schroeder's energy. "There's no question that a change of leader is always a new beginning, but this change does nothing to alter the fact that our policies are necessary and right," Schroeder said in his speech. "We will stay on our course — what has been decided will not be changed." Urging the party to "make it clearer what we have achieved," Schroeder, who has said he plans to seek a third term as chancellor in 2006, said his vehement opposition to last year's invasion of Iraq had been vindicated. "Today we can say that the policy we followed did not weaken us, it strengthened us — without destroying proven friendships and alliances," he said.
It made him look like Chirac's dachshund...
Schroeder became head of the center-left Social Democrats in April 1999, six months after taking power. He took the post after his leftist finance minister, Oskar Lafontaine, ditched it in a power struggle. Schroeder launched his reform drive last March as Germany's economy limped into a third year of near-zero growth. His plans, including higher health care fees and cuts to retirement and welfare benefits, met stiff resistance among leftists and his party's traditional labor union allies.
Things seemed fine until they had to eat East Germany. If they hadn't been socialists, the indigestion would have lasted for awhile, then gone away with the help of a few antiacids. Managing economies is a dangerous thing...
Amid persistent internal sniping, and with the party's poll ratings stuck in a slump, Schroeder announced last month that he would turn over the party leadership. "I am certain that sharing out the work will lead to more unity and, as a consequence, greater success," he said Sunday.
"Most things work better with a divided chain of command. Don't they?"
Muentefering himself urged party members to unite behind the government's work. "Opposition is garbage — let others do that. We want to govern," he said. "We have to be honest: the public purse is empty. So we have to say what is possible and what is not possible."
It's a lot easier to get people on the dole that it is to get them off.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 3:44:36 PM ||
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I did the job in truly difficult times
To paraphrase John Wayne: "all times are tough; They're tougher if you're stoopid, Gerhard."
Police arrested a leading investigative journalist yesterday on the orders of the European Union, seizing his computers, address books and archive of files in a move that stunned Euro-MPs stunned, huh? Guess they donât read Rantburg
Hans-Martin Tillack, the Brussels correspondent for Germanyâs Stern magazine, said he was held for 10 hours without access to a lawyer by the Belgian police after his office and home were raided by six officers. on what basis?
"They asked me to tell them who my sources were. I replied that was something I would never do. Now they have all my sensitive files, so I suppose theyâll find out anyway," he said last night. "The police said I was lucky I wasnât in Burma or central Africa, where journalists get the real treatment," he added. nice....Euro thugs. Trained in Bobland?
Mr Tillack said the raid was triggered by a complaint from the EUâs anti-fraud office, OLAF. He was accused of paying money to obtain a leaked OLAF dossier two years ago, which he denies. The European Ombudsman has already come to his defence, issuing a harsh criticism of OLAFâs campaign to silence him.
Harsh criticism! That's the ticket, by golly!
Mr Tillack, who describes himself as a "pro-European federalist", has been OLAFâs most vocal critic, accusing it of covering up abuses within the EU system. As the author of a recent book on EU corruption, he has the greatest archive of investigative files of any journalist working in Brussels. make that "had the greatest archive..."
OLAF was created to replace the old fraud office UCLAF, which was accused of covering up abuses by the disgraced Santer Commission. Many UCLAF staff were transferred to OLAF.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/21/2004 9:41:29 AM ||
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"Infidel European bureaucrats! Adopt Sharia or we shall investigate your financial transactions. Allahu Akbar!"
Posted by: Matt ||
03/21/2004 10:24 Comments ||
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How's that new EU constitution coming along?
Anything in there about freedom of speech or freedom of the press? Then how about the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures? If not, maybe it's because of a genetic defect of the Eeewws.:)
#3
Let me see if I have this straight. The anti-corruption agency is shutting this guy down for investigating corruption? Burlesconi and Chiraq have both gotten the laws changed so that they can't be proscecuted for corruption. Chirac's best pal's been convicted for using public funds for paying party hacks.
I mean so what's the cut there? What are the payoffs? What percentage do the politocos get? The bureaucats? How hard is it for a Yankee to get a business license there? I think that I just discovered the business oportunity of a lifetime!
A £30,000 Mercedes was blown up by a homemade bomb in a quiet residential street. Terrified neighbours were woken by the night-time blast, which blew out shop windows. Police are hunting two men seen running from the silver 4x4 which had false number plates shortly before the explosion in Glasgowâs St Vincent Crescent. But officers have ruled out any connection with the brutal murder of teenager Kriss Donald. (Link) Nobody was injured in the incident in the Finnieston area. The explosion took place at around 11.50pm on Thursday. The suspects ran into Minerva Street and fled in a dark metallic car. Elaine Docherty, 22, who works in a nearby bar, said she saw a teenager carrying a plastic bag. She said: âHe walked past my flat window and five minutes later the whole place went boom.â Another resident said that it could have been a bloodbath. She explained: âPeople visiting the SECC for concerts park here. âAt the same time the previous day there were a lot of teenage girls coming back after seeing Busted. âIf that had gone off then, people would have been killed.â A police spokesman said: âWe are satisfied this is not connected with the death of Kriss Donald.â
Posted by: TS ||
03/21/2004 1:04:52 AM ||
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1. Carter offensive - americaâs greatest monster gave an exclusive to the antiAmerican Independent today (see titled URL)
2. CBS has been heavily promoting former apparachic Robert Clarkâs new âbookâ. Web article at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/19/60minutes/main607356.shtml
As Rantberg fans know this sleazoid tried to earn media money ratting on Clinton but since the media was too pro Clinton it didnât work so he âturnedâ and now wants to blame Osama on Bush.
#1
Bush would be wise to get a copy of their schedule and make sure they get their own point of view out there too - if they can't get it on the TV - then they need to find another means to discredit the lies.
They can't afford to let the propaganda go unchallenged - most people will suck it up willingly.
Posted by: B ||
03/21/2004 21:39 Comments ||
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#2
SSDD.
Posted by: Jen ||
03/21/2004 22:01 Comments ||
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B-
One thing the Bush folks could do next week is turn up the heat on getting an independent audit of the oil-for-palaces and oil-for-weasels programs. So far, big media hasn't reported this at all on TV and no sooner than page 33 of the NYTimes.
#5
Listening to Bob Beckel, the Saab Erakat of the Jackass Party's SpokesPricks, you'd think all of the former Clintonians were as pure as the driven snow. I wonder why it is that when he's speaking I hear this odd sucking sound and start feeling kinda dizzy... weird.
#6
Bob Beckel....teeheehee!
Looks like the Dims used some of that HillPac money to send him to rehab and get him to AA meetings.
Don't forget: he thought up that winning slogan for Mondale "Where's the beef?"
A formidable enemy-- NOT.
Posted by: Jen ||
03/21/2004 23:30 Comments ||
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Excerpt only. It's Mark Steyn, so you know you want to read the whole thing...
Then there was the senator's clumsy attempt to declare himself America's ''second black president.'' Bill Clinton was at least canny enough to get himself anointed as the first black president by an actual black person, the novelist Toni Morrison, who declared that he displayed ''every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas.'' It's harder to pull that off when you're a Swiss finishing school boy from Massachusetts. Many's the night John and the other boys in his dorm would lie awake dreaming of their freedom as they murmured one of the traditional spirituals of their people: ''Swing by, sweet limousine, comin' for to carry me home.''
Of course, like many African Americans, he understands what it's like when people are prejudiced against you because of your skin. In Sen. Kerry's case, his skin is extremely thin. So it was inevitable that, when a voter named Cedric Brown, in Bethlehem, Pa., needled the candidate to name one of the world leaders who were supposedly desperate for him to beat Bush, within moments the senator would be snarling that it's ''none of your business.''
It's never a good idea in vernacular politics to leave the impression you're more comfortable with the global elite than with American citizens. Instead of the second black president, Kerry sounded awfully like America's first French president.
Also none of our business is the senator's go-ahead-punk bluster about foreign policy. For months he's been droning in his stump speech that, if George W. Bush wants to fight this election on national security, Kerry has three words for him: ''Bring it on!'' So Bush brought it on -- with a 30-second ad arguing that the senator is weak on defense. And suddenly the campaign's curled up on the floor in a fetal position whimpering that it's just totally unfair making such a horrible personal attack. Watching him in New Hampshire, I always thought, when Kerry dares you to ''bring it on,'' he couldn't quite bring it off. As all military strategists say, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. And so it proved.
EFL and Fair Use
By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
As the dust settles in the Judiciary Committee fuss over Republican snooping into Democratsâ memos, several legal scholars said yesterday they were shocked by a memo showing staffers in Sen. Edward M. Kennedyâs office plotting to manipulate one of the most significant court cases in recent years. "My jaw dropped when I heard that one," said Ronald D. Rotunda, a law professor at George Mason University. "Itâs very troubling." Nothing is beneath the politicians - especially those who posture and preen and present themselves as the bastion of moral infallibility. Read the rest.
Posted by: .com ||
03/21/2004 1:22:02 AM ||
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My jaw dropped when I heard that one," said Ronald D. Rotunda, a law professor at George Mason University."
Don't get out much, do you, Ron?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/21/2004 3:01 Comments ||
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I don't want to comment on stolen materials," Mr. Sunstein said. "Even if there is something bad in there, it would be improper of me â and possibly of you â to comment on them.
By all means, do let us keep quiet about the senate socialists' slip showing. (Say that ten times real fast.)
And allow me to remind you of that assinine statement the next time embarssing information about a republican is leaked and published.
I guess if I had devised a strategy of questionable constitution means and motives I would want to kill discussion about them, too.
#4
Sunstein is a bitter Dem partisan of the first rank. Remember his outrage and histrionics during the perjury over knobbers impeachment? Asking him to comment is like asking Hillary
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/21/2004 9:08 Comments ||
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Frank G: the fact that by legal academic standards Sunstein is a centrist moderate tells you what we're up against here.
#6
Someone: I would say that Frank G is right. Thanks to the Federalist Society, the legal academy at least presents both sides of the story (even though the faculties are overwhelmingly lefty).
Posted by: Tibor ||
03/21/2004 21:04 Comments ||
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#4
Will they show that the testamony 'winter soldier' upon which his testamony was based on was found to have been a fraud? That some of the 'vets' who testified were never in Vietnam? That others who 'testified' were never there [at winter soldier to testify]? Will they show the video of Kerry 'rehearsing' the testamony beforehand?
via NewsMax
Friday, Mar. 19, 2004 5:29 PM EST
Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and former White House terrorism czar Richard Clarke are set to hit the spin cycle this weekend on behalf of Sen. John Kerry. As the Bush White House commemorates the first anniversary of the Iraq war, the two former Clinton officials are coming out of the woodwork to trash Operation Iraqi Freedom as an unnecessary distraction to the war on terror. "How we conducted the war in Iraq - hurried, alone, unprepared for the day after - has made the terrorism problem more difficult," Berger told a Kerry campaign briefing on Friday.
Clarke, who recently proclaimed that "fighting Iraq had little to do with fighting the war on terrorism, until we made it (so)," is set to appear on "60 Minutes" this Sunday. Heâs expected to address charges that the Clinton administration failed to act when the CIA pinpointed Osama bin Ladenâs location on several occasions before the 9/11 attacks. Democratic spinmeister Paul Begala, who announced Clarkeâs "60 Minutes" spot during a radio interview Friday morning, signaled the public relations blitzkrieg on terrorism, daring Republicans: "Ask the nonpartisan national security experts who worked in both administrations, who was tougher on bin Laden, who was aware of the problem, who was going after bin Laden."
Ask 'em who let Binnie run to Afghanistan, and who has him running for his life.
In further evidence that the Clinton and Kerry teams were joining forces on foreign policy, Norwayâs Socialist leadership met with Sen. Hillary Clinton and other members of her political team in what the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten described as a bid to "link up with the Democrats in the US. The goal is to be prepared with common strategies if a majority of them on both sides of the Atlantic come back to power," the paper explained. Espen Barth Eide, who led the Norwegian delegation in Washington, D.C., said she hoped the meeting would help bring about "political globalization." Put on your seatbelt - the truth will be as dizzy as a dervish with the Clinton cabal pulling out all the stops. Those who think this is about helping Skeery are suckers for the sub-spin. This is about the Clinton record. To quote a line from a Firesign Theater routine, "Have you seen the past? Youâd better hurry, theyâre cleaning it, you know." And they are, indeed, trying.
Posted by: .com ||
03/21/2004 2:00:22 AM ||
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"How we conducted the war in Iraq - hurried, alone, unprepared for the day after - has made the terrorism problem more difficult"
Alone? It was us, the Brits, Aussies and Poles who had boots on the ground. To me, that doesn't sound any more "alone" than the invasion of Europe in 1944.
"Ask the nonpartisan national security experts who worked in both administrations, who was tougher on bin Laden, who was aware of the problem, who was going after bin Laden."
Any "expert" who would claim Clinton was tougher on bin Laden is no expert. Clinton's risk-aversion, his timidity, his neglect, and his obsession with legalistic remedies in the face of repeated, escalating Islamist aggression are what caused 9/11. What we are doing now, is the cure.
"...the two former Clinton officials are coming out of the woodwork to trash Operation Iraqi Freedom as an unnecessary distraction to the war on terror."
They really have become the Party Of The Big Lie, haven't they? None of them has ever said what, specifically, we would/should have been able to do against bin Laden or any other terrorist group, had we not been "distracted" by Iraq. They haven't, because they can't: the claim is an outright lie.
The truth is, invading Iraq and deposing Saddam was the single most effective step we could take to promote the war on Islamic totalitarianism, and was a prerequisite for carrying the war forward.
Anyone who is reasonably intelligent, and who has not forgotten his history, should be able to sit down and, in the space of a few minutes, list at least 10 very positive consequences for the WoT of taking out Saddam. And it's not all that difficult to list three times that number. "Distraction," my ass.
"Espen Barth Eide, who led the Norwegian delegation in Washington, D.C., said she hoped the meeting would help bring about 'political globalization.'"
Sounds an awful lot like a "Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy" to me...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/21/2004 7:28 Comments ||
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Notice that Madalaine Halfbright isn't among the spiners. Maybe she doesn't want to see that picture of her and Dear Leader on the networks.
#3
Richard Clarke is no non-partisan former NSC expert. He was a gopher for Mort Abramowitz, INR Director, at the State Department. And then after eating dirt, as all State types must to get ahead, threw his lot in with the Democrats. As his former associates know, he has a nasty temper and does not like to be told, or to find out, that he was wrong on anything.
via NewsMax - EFL and Fair Use
Saturday, Mar. 20, 2004 11:19 PM EST
Former Clinton White House terrorism czar Richard Clarke is preparing to tell the Independent Commission Investigating the Sept. 11 Attacks this week that the Bush administration failed to act on a Clinton administration plan to attack Osama bin Laden. And in a "60 Minutes" interview set to air Sunday night, Clarke blasts Bush for doing "a terrible job on the war against terrorism." But just a year ago Clarke was singing a different tune, telling reporter Richard Miniter, author of the book "Losing bin Laden," that it was the Clinton administration - not team Bush - that had dropped the ball on bin Laden.
Wonder if liberal bloggers like Kevin Drum, Kos and Josh Marshall will remember to include that in their comments?
Clarke, who was a primary source for Miniterâs book, detailed a meeting of top Clinton officials in the wake of al Qaedaâs attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. He urged them to take immediate military action. But his advice found no takers. Reporting on Miniterâs book, the National Review summarized the episode: "At a meeting with Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Attorney General Janet Reno, and other staffers, Clarke was the only one in favor of retaliation against bin Laden."
The list of excuses seemed endless: Read the rest of it...
Well, well, look whoâs sold his soul in the last year and now pulling a flip-flop. I wonder how many pieces of silver the Clinton cabal had to pony up to turn this one.
Posted by: .com ||
03/21/2004 1:46:05 AM ||
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I think Richard Clarke is just an all-round loser who criticizes everyone else to deflect blame from himself. Note that the US never mounted an effective anti-terror campaign under his tenure.
#2
I think Clarke has consistently said that both administrations acted inadequately.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/21/2004 9:16 Comments ||
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well then he wasn't much of an anti-terrorism czar, was he? I seem to forget when it was that he resigned to protest the "inadequate response"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/21/2004 10:10 Comments ||
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agree with Zhang Fei. AQ thrived under his own personal stewardship. He's looking to blame others.
Posted by: B ||
03/21/2004 10:53 Comments ||
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Besides, the Cole attack occured on October 12, 2000 -- nearly four months before Clinton left office. It seems like he could have gotten something done -- we were in Afghanistan a month after 9/11, after all. It's not like Clinton had anything else.
A Boeing Delta 2 rocket roared from its seaside launch pad Saturday, carrying into orbit a $45 million Air Force Global Positioning System satellite. The Lockheed Martin-built satellite joins a working constellation of 27 others already in orbit. The satellites are arranged along six different planes in circular mid-earth orbits nearly 11,000 nautical miles above the earth. This newest satellite will replace an aging one that is nearing the end of its useful life. It is one of a group of advanced GPS satellites that provide more accurate signals than their predecessors. The new unit, which is to begin service in mid-April, has a life expectancy of 10 years. The mission was dedicated to the late Dr. Ivan A. Getting, who is considered the father of the GPS system. A small metal plate on the satellite bears a message honoring Getting.
Relevance to the WoT: here's something else al-Q can't do.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2004 12:21:27 AM ||
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Better than that Mr. White. It's about signals so accurate we can drop cement bombs instead of explosives.
#2
any you guys heard about how the US Space Command guys managed to make the Sats over Iraq during the lsast war almost twice as acurate, its all public stuff how they did it but very interesting if you like stuff like that,something about the way they timed the sats coming over or something,to complex for me.Theers also said to be another part of the GPS system coming online that is even more accurate,last i heard it was called gridlock and has accuracy down to about 10cm.not sure if its being used yet or why you'd need it that good.Read that it might be for very important target use only like by spec forces and the like,I suppose its just natural anyway they'd want to make it more accurate.
I know 1m is relatively normal for civilian units now, at least the newer ones with WAAS.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/21/2004 10:39 Comments ||
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What a bunch of maroons, this is the new model special GPS with the variable accuracy loyalty module built into the zirconium baseplate. In other woids... don't trust this satellite it's the Haliburton model. I have already found myself with it through my new fillings.
via Rooters
Fri Mar 19, 2004 11:29 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday to extend a searing rally that pushed crude earlier in the week to its highest closing price in 13 years on concern over U.S. summer gasoline supplies. Benchmark U.S. light crude futures (CLc1: Quote, Profile, Research) were up 37 cents at $38.30 per barrel at 1550 GMT, 10 cents above Wednesdayâs settlement, which was the highest since just after Iraq invaded Kuwait in October 1990. London Brent (LCOc1: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 12 cents at $33.25 a barrel.
Last weekâs Madrid bombings which killed 202 people, suspected to be the work of militant group al Qaeda, have sparked fears of attacks that could disrupt oil supplies and inflated a ârisk premiumâ in crude prices. "Itâs no wonder that the overwhelmingly sentiment among speculative interest in the market is long, as they bet the price breaches the $40 mark," said Societe Generale in a research report.
U.S. light crude prices have jumped more than four percent this week and averaged $35 a barrel so far in 2004, well above the 2003 average of $31, which was the highest in more than two decades. Soaring Chinese demand and low U.S. fuel inventories ahead of peak summer holiday driving consumption have helped fire the rally. The U.S. governmentâs Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday gasoline stocks dropped 800,000 barrels last week to stand five percent below the five-year average.
#2
Is that sarcasm ? Would Kerry be pushing democracy in the mideast, talking 'god' this and 'freedom' that ? Doubt it. SA could get back to business as usual. Cue the Haliburton-oil drivel.
#3
Oil? I know where's there's oil... bought it at 20-25 bucks a barrel, keep a lot of it in the salt domes... enough to handle ME imports for 100 days or so.... SA imports for 300 days or so... hmmm... Would make about 10 bucks a barrel too.
ROME (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Rome on Saturday demanding that Italy pull its 2,600 troops out of Iraq, one of many protests around the world on the anniversary of the war's opening salvos. Rome's rally was by far the largest, drawing at least 250,000 people, according to police estimates. Organizers claimed as many as 2 million people - many of them draped in rainbow peace flags - joined the festive procession through Rome's center that emptied into the historic Circus Maximus park.
Lefties can't count, either.
Even though most Italians opposed the war, the conservative government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi strongly supported the U.S.-led invasion and deployed peacekeeping troops.
While Saturday's protests were smaller than those on the eve of the war a year ago, they were no less heartfelt. In Budapest, demonstrators formed a human peace sign and called for the Hungarian government to withdraw its 300 troops from Iraq. In Belgium, about 1,000 people braved rain and blustery wind to carry coffins labeled with oil company logos through central Brussels.
No coffins for the quarter-million in mass graves in Iraq, though.
Madrid's protest seemed equally to denounce the Iraq war as well as the March 11 rail bombings, which killed 202 people and injured more than 1,800. Many Spaniards have accused Spain's conservative government of provoking the attacks by supporting the Iraq war. Thousands of people marched in an evening rally that featured a large banner with a black sash - Spain's symbol of mourning for the attack, which has been blamed on Moroccan extremists said to be linked to al-Qaida. The banner read: "End the occupation. Bring the troops home" - a reference to the 1,300 Spanish troops in Iraq, who Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has pledged to withdraw unless the United Nations takes charge in Iraq.
Demonstrators in Italy, Ukraine and Poland also demanded their governments withdraw troops. "The occupation of Iraq is stupid - it's meddling in another nation's affairs," said Polish demonstrator Edyta Raczka, 17, one of about 700 people who marched through Warsaw's old town to the presidential palace and the U.S. Embassy.
Terrorism doesn't, though.
The start of the day saw demonstrations in Japan, Australia, India and the Philippines, where protesters clashed with riot police, although no injuries were reported. Anti-American feelings ran high in Cairo, Egypt, where demonstrators - vastly outnumbered by riot police - burned the American flag. Hundreds of people gathered in other Middle Eastern capitals to denounce the war. "Down, down USA! America, out! Out!" shouted more than 100 Syrians and Palestinians who marched in the main streets of Damascus.
How original.
Protester Randa Baathi said, "Today we are here with the global campaign against the war on Iraq to express our rejection of this war and its consequences on Iraq and the entire region."
Europeans also took to the streets - in France, Germany, and capitals across the continent. Tens of thousands marched through central London, some of them waving placards that called President Bush the "World's No. 1 Terrorist." London's Metropolitan Police estimated that some 25,000 people participated. On Saturday morning, two anti-war demonstrators in climbing gear scaled the Big Ben clocktower at the Houses of Parliament and held up a small banner reading, "Time for Truth," before coming down several hours later. Police said they would review security at Parliament following the incident.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the United States' staunchest ally in the war. But many Britons opposed the invasion and questions about the conflict's legality have dogged the government as coalition forces have failed to find Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Some Americans joined about 2,500 protesters in Paris, where demonstrators blared a rendition of the John Lennon song "Give Peace a Chance" through loudspeakers.
Just like the Kurds got.
In New York, several thousand people demonstrated, and rallies also were held in Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, San Francisco and Seattle. Rallies also occurred in Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Greece, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Turkey, Jordan, Bahrain, India, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand and South Africa.
But on the whole, the numbers were far lower than during protests on the eve of the war. During a Feb. 15, 2003, protest, millions of people thronged through capitals around the globe. Rome also had the highest tally that day, with police estimating 1 million people and organizers three times that many.
Protester fatigue?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2004 12:01:06 AM ||
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I will tell things bluntly: there is one place in the world where people have the right to demonstrate against the war: Irak. It is to the people of Irak to say if getting rid of Saddam was worth the sufferings and deaths of the war.
I cannot but despise the well-fed first world wankers who demonstrate for having other people see their child starve or get ill while Saddam was pocketing the oil for food money. I cannot but despise the first world petit-bourgeois who would have had other people continue being killed, tortured, raped and fed to plastic shredders.
#2
I was thinking pretty much the same thing,JFM.
How come these"petit-bourgeois"(excelent choice of words)refuse to ask the Iraqis what they think of the war.
Could it possably be that the Iraqis would tell them FOAD.
#3
The Iraqi's have demostrated - but it was for the war. Back in December there were 100K to1 million Iraqis (and these numbers aren't fudged) who protested against terrorism and for the colalition. But the media gagged them by refusing to report it.
Where were these protesters people when Saddam was gassing the Kurds? Oh thats right... it did not effect them. I hope people dont feel that way when they [the protesters] are being beaten or robbed or whatever....
#4
These antiwar types make me sick. I think JFM has hit the nail very squarely on the head.
In fact, they make me very angry and I make it a point to mention the mass graves, rape rooms and plastic shredders whenever I get into a 'conversation' with these people.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
03/21/2004 10:45 Comments ||
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Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was headed for a landslide election win on Sunday as unofficial results showed his brand of moderate Islam had vanquished the Islamist opposition. At the end of a campaign dominated by the role of Islam in the multi-faith nation, Abdullahâs ethnically mixed Barisan Nasional coalition appeared set to win all of Malaysiaâs 13 provincial assemblies, according to unofficial reports. "It looks like weâve made a lot of gains in the Green Belt," a senior government source told Reuters, referring to northern Malay-dominated states where Islamâs influence is strongest.
Wonder if that has something to do with actually having to live with shariah...
Reports cited by state run television channel TV3 said the Barisan Nasional alliance, led by Abdullahâs United Malays National Organization (UMNO) had scored victories in Kelantan and Terengganu states. "Itâs touch and go in Kelantan," said the source, referring to the reported coalition victory in Kelantan -- a state held by the opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) since 1990. "It will be a huge, huge bonus for us if its true."
Financial markets had already priced in a victory for the government, with surges in both stocks and bonds, but the scale of Abdullahâs victory surprised even optimists. "Thatâs absolutely fantastic. It gives a very strong and clear mandate to Abdullah," said Rajeev Malik, an economist at JP Morgan Chase in Singapore. "It also shows Abdullahâs popularity is on the rise and international investors will be very happy as it adds more stability to his economic program." Looks like a setback for the fundamentalists in Malaysia.
Posted by: Damn_Proud_American ||
03/21/2004 11:58:25 AM ||
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It's quite long but very informative and I thought Fred might enjoy it given his expertise on the region. EFL.
Traditionally, militant groups huddle in caves in the mountains, or they blindfold journalists and drive them in circles before depositing them at their leader's jungle hideout. The Cambodian Freedom Fighters (C.F.F.), a militant group dedicated to the overthrow of Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, on the other hand, meets each Saturday at 6 p.m. in an accountant's office in a strip mall in Long Beach, Calif. When I called Yasith Chhun, the group's leader, he didn't hesitate to invite me to the next meeting.
''You can't miss our headquarters,'' he said. ''It's right next to the bridal shop.''
When I arrived, eight people were seated in the office. The room was crammed not only with Cambodian political paraphernalia but also with stacks of 1040 forms, evidence of Chhun's double life as a tax preparer. One smiling C.F.F. devotee was offering members glasses of fizzy orange soda. Chhun, 47, didn't cut a very imposing figure. His stomach flopped over his slacks, and his bent legs, small head and doughy face made him look more like a bowling pin than a warrior.
Still, a warrior is decidedly what he is. The C.F.F.'s stated goal is to enlist thousands of Cambodians to topple Hun Sen's quasi-authoritarian government by force, creating chaos out of which, the group said, a better government will emerge. ''Hun Sen -- believe it or not -- he's going to get it,'' said one C.F.F. member, a muscular, middle-aged man nearly spitting with rage. ''We are probably the last hope for the 10 million Cambodians.'' Chhun said he has little idea what form of government he plans to replace Hun Sen's with, though he has two guiding principles: he wants to model a new regime as closely as possible on the ideals of the American Republican Party, and he intends to populate the government with lots of accountants.
Chhun passed around an attendance sheet so everyone could sign in. After inking the sheet, each member stood up and pledged allegiance to the C.F.F. Then the meeting began in earnest, with one member after another throwing out ambitious, even wild chains of events that might put the group in control of Cambodia.
Chhun decided to expand the meeting by phone to include a few members of the C.F.F.'s global network. The group claims to have hundreds of agents inside Cambodia ready to execute its violent plans, each one known to C.F.F. members by a code of letters and numbers; Chhun admits that the coding system is so complicated that he sometimes loses track of which code represents which agent. He picked up the phone and dialed, trying to reach one of his lieutenants in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, he had only 34 cents left on his international phone card and couldn't dial out. Frustrated, he rummaged through desks and cabinets, found another card and finally reached a C.F.F. agent in the field, a former Cambodian Navy officer hiding along the Thai border. Speaking in Khmer, Cambodia's language, the officer confidently reported that he had persuaded more than 400 government soldiers to turn against Hun Sen. (Chhun translated for me as the rebel officer spoke.) ''All of them are ready,'' the officer said. ''They're just waiting for my command.'' The speakerphone crackled. ''They take an oath, they swear to God they're with C.F.F. forever. They have the guns, they have the weapons, they have tanks.''
It was impossible to tell for sure whether the agent's report was genuine, exaggerated or just wishful thinking. But it is clear that the C.F.F. isn't kidding around. The group spent two years methodically planning a coup that culminated in an armed assault on Phnom Penh in the fall of 2000, resulting in some of the worst bloodshed in the Cambodian capital's recent history. Now, Chhun said, the group is planning an even bigger assault. ''Next time,'' he promised, ''we will attack the whole country.''
How does a group get away with planning violent attacks overseas from an office in Southern California? According to most Cambodia experts, the C.F.F.'s actions are illegal, contrary to American policy and harmful to Hun Sen's democratic opponents in Cambodia. Yet at least two conservative American legislators who detest Hun Sen have advocated the removal, or even the overthrow, of the Cambodian leader. That position, some believe, has had the effect of helping provide political cover for the C.F.F. Now that the White House has embraced the idea of regime change in Iraq and other rogue nations, the Cambodia hawks are getting a hearing, and the C.F.F. remains free to plot in Long Beach.
Like any major guerrilla attack, the C.F.F.'s November 2000 coup attempt was many years in the making. After fleeing the Khmer Rouge as a teenager in the late 1970's, Chhun sought refuge in the United States in 1982. Like many Cambodians, he maintained ties with his brutalized homeland, returning to assist an opposition party in the early 1990's, when the United Nations oversaw a transition to elected governments. But Chhun grew incensed at repression by Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge officer who used force and violent purges to remain in power after losing the 1993 election. ''When I came back to the States,'' Chhun said, ''I felt that nonviolence cannot do anything to the dictatorship in Cambodia.''
Chhun soon found a channel for his rage. In October 1998, Chhun and several other emigres held a clandestine meeting on the Thai border with 120 Cambodian dissidents. Together they vowed to foment a coup.
Chhun returned to America and persuaded Cambodian-American friends to join his nascent organization, the C.F.F. In May 2000, Chhun held a fund-raiser attended by more than 500 people, many of them Cambodian expatriates, on the Queen Mary, the old cruise ship permanently moored at Long Beach. Attendees raised their right hands and swore to overthrow the Cambodian government. Chhun told them the money they were donating would be used to attack Hun Sen. Through the fund-raisers, Chhun said, the C.F.F. amassed a war chest of roughly $300,000.
Money in hand, Chhun and Richard Kiri Kim, a local Cambodian immigrant, recruited 20 or so Cambodian-Americans to travel with them to the Thai-Cambodian border, where they set up a secret base. From there, Chhun dispatched Kim into Cambodia to contact military officers and offer many of them money and positions in a potential new government. In June 2000, Kim and his colleagues brought several officers to the border to meet with Chhun, who organized them into units and sent them back to recruit foot soldiers and wait for a signal.
On Nov. 23, 2000, Chhun called Kim from the base on the border and told him to strike the following day. Early on Nov. 24, a team of about 70 C.F.F. agents slipped into the center of Phnom Penh. Armed with B-40 rockets and assault rifles, they moved swiftly toward a compound of government buildings. They attacked the Ministry of Defense and the Council of Ministers, peppering them with fire, then turned their weapons on a local television station and a nearby military base. State security forces engaged the group in a fierce firefight that lasted more than an hour, leaving bullet holes in ministry offices and blood pooled in the street. By daybreak, eight people lay dead. In the wake of the violence, more than 200 people, including Richard Kiri Kim, were arrested by the Cambodian police. Chhun fled to Thailand and then returned to Long Beach to raise more money for the C.F.F., arriving in time for the 2001 tax season. ''I couldn't keep my tax clients waiting,'' he said.
Chhun defended his group by claiming he limits his actions in the United States to raising money and planning strategy. But under the Neutrality Act, it is illegal for American citizens on American soil to organize military action against a country with which the United States is not at war.
The C.F.F. does not seem to pose a very serious threat to the government of Cambodia. Its real effect, in fact, may be to hurt nonviolent opponents of Hun Sen. The C.F.F. can be ''used as a cudgel to threaten democratic opposition,'' said Tim Johnson, a former director of the Cambodia program at the International Republican Institute in Washington. In fact, after the November 2000 attack, Hun Sen jailed hundreds of critics who had no apparent connection to the C.F.F. Sam Rainsy, head of a leading Cambodian opposition party, said that at least 25 members of his party have been harassed or arrested on trumped-up C.F.F. charges; five remain in jail.
Since the C.F.F.'s coup attempt, the State Department has issued public statements condemning the group's actions and has listed the C.F.F. as a ''terrorist group'' in its annual Patterns of Global Terrorism report. So how does the C.F.F. manage to keep functioning? The fact is, in Washington there is official policy and unofficial policy, and unofficial policy sometimes wins the day. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California, a blunt, passionate advocate of human rights and a man with a history of supporting covert operations abroad, has become Hun Sen's most vociferous opponent. As a senior aide to Ronald Reagan, Rohrabacher, a Republican, was instrumental in enlisting quiet White House backing for insurgents like the Afghan resistance warriors and the contras. The congressman's district offices in Huntington Beach, 10 miles south of Long Beach, are adorned with photos of Rohrabacher, in full mujahedeen beard, holding a machine gun alongside Afghan rebels in the 1980's.
Rohrabacher has retained his commitment to renegade action. In 1997, after Hun Sen attacked and purged political rivals, Rohrabacher traveled to the Thai-Cambodian border to meet with opponents to the Cambodian government. As Hun Sen has consolidated his power, Rohrabacher, a barrel-chested man with a close-cropped hairstyle that makes him look like an aging drill sergeant, has trained his sights on the Cambodian prime minister -- and on official American policy toward him, which he has compared to denying ''that Adolf Hitler really is as bad as he really looks.''
When I met him in Washington, the congressman said that because he is willing to meet with armed opponents of Hun Sen, he has entered what he admits ''most people think are murky waters.'' But if there's a possibility that Hun Sen can be overthrown, Rohrabacher said, jabbing his finger in the air, the United States ''should evaluate the chances of any type of armed resistance and help them if they have a chance to win.'' If they seem to have a good shot at overthrowing the government, he said, ''we should be happy to support them with lethal and nonlethal support.''
Rohrabacher's strident words and actions provide implicit sanction for the C.F.F. One advocate for human rights in Cambodia (who did not want to be identified because he fears retribution against the international human rights organization for which he works) said Rohrabacher's statements encourage exiles to act. ''Words from these congressmen do matter,'' the advocate said. ''The exile communities take heart from them.''
A Congressional Republican like Rohrabacher may have ideological reasons for advocating regime change in the region, but politics play a role, too. Southeast-Asian-Americans are becoming a solid Republican bloc, and they dominate some Congressional districts. In 2002, staff members of the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (N.R.C.C.), Thomas M. Reynolds, asked Chhun to serve as a fund-raiser in the Cambodian community. The C.F.F. leader said that he and his vice-president contributed more than $5,000 to the N.R.C.C. and that he canvassed some 1,600 people to persuade them to vote Republican. N.R.C.C. representatives call Chhun twice a month to check up on his political work, Chhun said, and the committee has rewarded him by nominating him for a Congressional Order of Merit, appointing him to N.R.C.C.'s Business Advisory Council and inviting him to the council's annual meeting in Washington last May. At the meeting, where Chhun wore a pin saying ''Cambodian Freedom Fighters,'' council members hobnobbed with Newt Gingrich, Katherine Harris and other Republican luminaries and then attended a fund-raising dinner for President Bush. When I called the N.R.C.C. and asked about Chhun's attendance at the meeting, Carl Forti, a spokesman, told me it was impossible to thoroughly investigate every person invited to join the group.
Needless to say, representatives of the Cambodian government are not happy about Washington's laissez-faire attitude toward the C.F.F., especially since, after 9/11, the White House has increased its demands on Cambodia in the war on terror. According to Zachary Abuza, a professor of Southeast Asian politics at Simmons College in Boston, Cambodia has become a base for Jemaah Islamiyah, a Qaeda ally that is believed to have masterminded the October 2002 Bali bombing. Abuza said Jemaah Islamiyah and Al Qaeda itself have begun using Cambodia to train militants and to move funds.
A State Department official said the United States has pushed Phnom Penh to round up members of Jemaah Islamiyah. In return, the Cambodian government has pressed Washington to arrest American-based insurgent groups like the C.F.F. Vanyuang Tan, the former political officer at the Cambodian Embassy in Washington, said that he insisted in 2000 that the Americans investigate the C.F.F. The F.B.I. has opened investigations into the C.F.F.'s activities, but the investigation seems to be going nowhere, and officials at the Cambodian Embassy say they have received no information from the F.B.I. A spokeswoman for the bureau refused to comment on the investigation.
Chhun himself isn't worried. When I asked him about the investigation, he laughed and said the F.B.I. has come to his office three times since 2000 to question him. He said he simply told the agents that the C.F.F. will plan more violence and showed them his files and tax returns; Chhun registered the C.F.F. in California as a nonprofit. He said he told the F.B.I.: ''We won't stop. We'll have more plans in the future.''
There is no single clear reason why the C.F.F. seems not to be a serious target of law enforcement, but different sources offer overlapping explanations. ''Since 9/11, over 90 percent of international resources have been diverted to monitor the Islamist terror organizations,'' said Rohan Gunaratna, a specialist on Asia-Pacific terror groups.
Others said that the investigations are impeded by the fact that some elected officials in Washington support regime change in Southeast Asia. ''You or I could get the goods on Yasith Chhun,'' said the advocate for Cambodian human rights, but ''there is political interference'' stymieing an investigation.
Eric Pape, a former reporter for The Cambodia Daily of Phnom Penh who has covered the C.F.F. extensively, said that individual members of Congress are sending a message to American law enforcement that the C.F.F. isn't a problem worth taking on. ''There's not a chance in hell the U.S. would extradite Yasith Chhun to Cambodia or go after him,'' Pape said, suggesting Congress would stop the investigation by warning that Chhun would face an unfair trial in Cambodia.
Some Cambodian politicians, including Rainsy, said they believed Hun Sen may not really want the United States to investigate Chhun, since the C.F.F. creates an excuse to crack down on mainstream opponents. ''The U.S. has a moral responsibility to clear up the mess and render justice,'' Rainsy said. If the Americans were to say that Chhun Yasith is ''just a clown,'' that his group is being used by Hun Sen, Rainsy said, then legitimate opposition members in jail in Cambodia -- democrats who are charged with being members of the C.F.F. -- could be freed. ''If the U.S. said he's a real terrorist, then he should be arrested,'' Rainsy added.
Yet so many parties appear to benefit from Chhun that the United States government probably won't be coming after him anytime soon. Unless, perhaps, the C.F.F. unleashes more violence. In May, the group is holding another big fund-raiser in Long Beach. And not long ago, I sat in Chhun's office as he again made calls to his agents in Southeast Asia to discuss a possible C.F.F. attack. He was particularly excited about the near future, he said, when C.F.F. members will have more free time. ''Many of my other leaders are in accounting,'' he said. ''I have to put off planning attacks until after tax season.''
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/21/2004 2:28:14 AM ||
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Anti-Defamation League is fighting anti-Goyism world-wide.
#2
Which has nothing to do with the subject at hand, does it? Dumbass.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 8:18 Comments ||
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First, thanks for an interesting article. With that out of the way...give me a BREAK!!
This is soooo typically leftist NYT, screwed up mentality, anti-Bush propaganda. But I have to applaud them, in terms of propaganda, I rate this a 9 out of 10.
Now that the White House has embraced the idea of regime change in Iraq and other rogue nations, the Cambodia hawks are getting a hearing, and the C.F.F. remains free to plot in Long Beach.
First, notice how most of this occurs during the Clinton administration, yet all blame is directed towards Bush and Reagan. Nary a word about Clinton, even though the attacks happened in the fall of 2000 .
In case we didn't grasp the point, he gives us this: "he laughed and said the F.B.I. has come to his office three times since 2000"
Hmm...only three times SINCE 2000? How many times did they come by during the Clinton administration??? I'm guessing a big fat ZERO.
But he didn't ask that question, now did he? BLAME JOHN ASHCROFT ...oh wait...we're supposed to be mad at him for snooping into things like this...BLAME BUSH and the evil Republicans.
Note the brief handwave of the brutality of Hun Sen. Gotta get that in there somewhere in the article.
Chhun grew incensed at repression by Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge officer who used force and violent purges to remain in power after losing the 1993 election.
With the handwave to the brutality occuring in 1993 (Clinton years) out of the way, we are to believe that the real damage of this so-calledimplied Republican Party supported candidate is that...
The C.F.F. does not seem to pose a very serious threat to the government of Cambodia. Its real effect, in fact, may be to hurt nonviolent opponents of Hun Sen. The C.F.F. can be ''used as a cudgel to threaten democratic opposition,'' said Tim Johnson, a former director of the Cambodia program at the International Republican Institute in Washington. In fact, after the November 2000 attack, Hun Sen jailed hundreds of critics who had no apparent connection to the C.F.F
Ahhh..so it's the C.F.F.'s fault that he jailed hundreds of his critics. Give me a *&^%^^* break!! Hun Sen used violence back in 1993!!During the Clinton administration! Yet according to this NYT BOZO, we are to blame the Bush for orchestrating the killing of Hun Sen's non-violent opponents
I could go on. You know this is propaganda just from the excess adjectives these losers always use. They paint pretty pictures of his stomach falling over his waist line. He forgot the birds chiping.
What a joke, even tough I rate it 9 out of 10 for subtle, it's really only worth 3 out of 10 for the useless lie this is based on.
"Nothing hurts you, does it?"
"Only pain."
Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam on Sunday confirmed that the Syria Accountability Act would never affect Syria, adding that any measures taken against Syria would reflect negatively on those who take them.
So why do they call it the Syria Accountability Act then?
Following a meeting with a number of Iraqi intellectuals, Khaddam said in a press release, "nobody can punish Syria and no country has the right to punish another."
That statement made even less sense than the previous statement, and the previous statement didn't make any. Countries "punish" (and "reward") each other all the time, usually through domestic acts in response to diplomatic stimuli. Sometimes the punishment involves troops and tanks and artillery, usually just tariffs and restrictions on the other country's nationals...
Regarding the calls for Syrian forces to withdraw from Lebanon, Khaddam said, "Lebanon is a free country and member of the United Nations," adding that only the people of Lebanon have the right to decide Lebanon's affairs.
Which actually has nothing to do with the question of Syrian forces leaving Lebanon. The demand wasn't for Lebanese forces to leave.
Asked about President Bashar Al-Assad's meetings with Arab leaders recently, Khaddam said these meetings aimed to coordinate Arab affairs on the issues to be cast during the upcoming summit in Tunisia later this month. He said that Al-Assad had met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Qatar's Amir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani before his short visit to Riyadh where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard.
Somebody please tell me all that mess makes more sense in Arabic than it does in English...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 4:14:31 PM ||
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There is an Arab Leauge meeting coming up. So this is just par for the course crank up the rhetoric before hand. I guess he had to meet with 'Iraqi intellectuals' because nobody important in Iraq would meet with him. Hardly suprising!
#4
Mr. Khaddam wishes to thank Mr. John F. Kery, whose presidential bid has been endorsed by Bashar Al-Assad, for his assistance in preparing these statements.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/21/2004 18:38 Comments ||
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Do we really want to go through with sanctions against Syria? Won't that just deprive our own citizens of low priced ... What the hell do they make anyway? ... Oh, OK. They can obtain their McNuggets elsewhere.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/21/2004 19:56 Comments ||
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Baaaa are you imply that we don't have a strategic stockpile of sheep bits?
Soldiers loyal to a local commander shot and killed Afghanistan's aviation minister Sunday in the western city of Herat, setting off factional fighting with guns and tanks in which as many as 100 people died, the commander told The Associated Press. In Kabul, Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim demanded an immediate cease-fire, and ordered newly U.S.-trained Afghan National Army soldiers deployed from the capital to try to calm the city. The orders followed an emergency session of security chiefs of President Hamid Karzai's shaky U.S.-allied government, rocked by Sunday's killing of Mirwais Sadiq. He was the third top Karzai official and second aviation minister to die violently in office. Presidential spokesman Khaleeq Ahmed said only that Sadiq — son of Herat's powerful governor, Ismail Khan — had been shot in his car in unclear circumstances. However, a top Herat military commander, Zaher Naib Zada, told AP by telephone Sunday night that his forces killed Sadiq in a confrontation after the minister went to Zada's home to fire him.
Guess that put a stop to that real quick!
Afterward, Zada's forces and soldiers loyal to Sadiq opened battle with machine guns, tanks and rockets for control of his division's military barracks. The commander said between 50 and 100 soldiers were killed in the first hours of the ongoing battle, and that by early Monday, he was holding out with 700 men at the barracks against what he claimed were 3,000 fighters loyal to Sadiq. "We are fighting at close range, with AK-47s and grenades," the militia commander said.
Have you considered leaving town in the dead of night with a few suitcases full of cash and maybe a couple of your favorite dancing girls?
Aid workers, also reached by telephone, reported gunfire and heavy explosions and said they had been ordered to stay indoors. U.N. workers scrambled into a bunker at their headquarters. A police officer, Fahim, reached by telephone at the main police station, gave a different account from Zada's, saying Sadiq had gone to the residence to ask Zada about the killing of three civilians by his forces two days earlier. Karzai's defense and interior ministers were preparing to travel to Herat to try to determine the circumstances of the killing, and the battles that followed, said the spokesman, Ahmed. U.S. forces at an American base in the city manned defensive positions within their post, military spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty said in Kabul. Hilferty called the fighting an "internal" matter and said he knew of no American plans to intervene. The post holds fewer than 100 Americans, he said.
"As long as they're not shooting at us, it's no skin off our fore. We're not gonna weep over either side."
The president, who himself escaped a 2002 attempt on his life, said in a brief statement from Kabul that he was "deeply shocked" by the killing and offered condolences to the Herat governor. Sadiq was widely viewed as his father's representative in Karzai's government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 4:07:27 PM ||
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While I don't believe deforestation is more than an infinitesimal cause of global warming, burning wood eventually results in desert. We should export coal to them and let them keep their trees.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/21/2004 19:37 Comments ||
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The only thing me and the greenies agree on is that cutting down trees to make charcoal is stupid.
#4
Mali has a life expencty of 33.7 years and an infant mortality rate of 136/1000. Sounds like a sump that needs a major raising of consciousness. It was one of the worst places I saw with these statistics in the CIA world factbook as I perused it a couple of months ago.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/21/2004 20:45 Comments ||
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Solar powered broads. What'll they think of next?
ONE of Robert Mugabe's most trusted senior ministers has been secretly visiting Cape Town to fund the construction of a spectacular seaside mansion, fuelling speculation that he is actually over seeing the palace on behalf of the Zimbabwean president. Christopher Kuruneri, promoted to finance minister during Mugabe's Cabinet reshuffle last month, has been paying for the multimillion-rand project in cash despite strict rules in Zimbabwe that limit the export of foreign exchange. Several sources close to the project say its cost is about R30-million. Kuruneri has strenuously denied breaking Zimbabwe's foreign exchange rules. He said this week that the house was his and that he was not acting on behalf of anyone else.
"Yeah. I'm the finance minister now. I got lotsa money!"
At the time of the reshuffle on February 9, Mugabe announced that Kuruneri (until then deputy finance minister) would "spearhead" the country's economic recovery.
"Dat's right! We're recoverin' in Cape Town."
Since Kuruneri's promotion, several Zimbabwean businessmen have been arrested on charges of "externalising" foreign currency. Two of them, James Makamba and Cecil Muderede, are still awaiting trial. This week, several financial institutions were shut down on suspicion of illegally exporting currency from Zimbabwe, among other charges. Kuruneri has been paying monthly visits to Venture Projects & Associates, the company that is building the Llandudno mansion. Venture Projects is the trading name of C J H Joint Venture, a close corporation established in 1991 by Chris Hayman and Brian John Gelling. Hayman said this week that the company's main business was project-managing the construction of residential properties. He confirmed that Kuruneri was a client but refused to discuss their business relationship. Information registered with public bodies confirms that Kuruneri has bought two properties in Llandudno and is funding the construction of a mansion on one of them.
One for Bob, one for Grace? Isn't that romantic!
Information at the Deeds Office in Cape Town states that the owner of 17 Apostle Road and 38 Sunset Avenue is Choice Decisions 113 (Pty) Ltd, a so-called "off-the-shelf company". According to information lodged with the Department of Trade and Industry, Christopher Tichaona Kuruneri is the sole director of Choice Decisions. Just over a year later, on April 22 2002, Choice Decisions bought 38 Sunset Avenue for R2.7-million. Work on the house, designed by Cape Town architect Stephen J Forster, began in the middle of last year. Forster said his brief was to build a three-storey, eight-bedroom house with a floor space of 1 000m'. The house will have eight bathrooms and a dining room that can host 20 people. It will have a triple garage and provision for two lift shafts. Forster said he expected the house to be completed in November.
Bob's kinda creaky getting up and down the stairs by now...
A source close to Hayman's company said this week that Hayman's services to Kuruneri included the safekeeping of large amounts of US dollars. "There are people in the company who don't like what's going on," the source said. "Mr Kuruneri comes in with little warning, gives Chris [Hayman] cash to pay the contractors, inspects his properties and then flies back to Harare.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 12:35:47 PM ||
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A seminary student killed his sister with a hatchet because he suspected her of having an affair in Kabirwala on Friday. Ghulam Mohiuddin, 20, a student of Rizvia Shamsul Aloom, of which his father is the principal, repeatedly hit his sister Sakina Mai, 25, with a hatchet when she was washing dishes. Mr Mohiuddin suspected Ms Sakina of having an affair with a young man. Police arrested Mr Mohiuddin who confessed his crime. âI am neither ashamed nor afraid of the punishment because I killed my sister for a noble cause. I belong to a religious family which is highly reputed in the area and this had to be done to maintain our status,â Mr Mohiuddin told reporters while in police custody.
"Only families of the highest level of fanaticism and viciousness can achieve the status our family has. We are a model for the rest of Pakistan cuz we're so holy. We're much holier than thou. More vicious, too."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2004 11:56:05 AM ||
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Chivalry certainly developed quite differently in Ummah. Wouldn't it be more manly to stage a duel with someone who slights you family honor?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/21/2004 20:19 Comments ||
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He attacked her from behind whilst she was washing dishes.
What could be more manly than that?
Posted by: James A ||
03/21/2004 20:51 Comments ||
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He would have got her sooner, but he didn't want to sort the laundry himself.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/21/2004 21:08 Comments ||
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repeatedly hit his sister Sakina Mai, 25, with a hatchet when she was washing dishes.
Don't you just hate it when the dishes are almost all washed and then someone splatters blood all over them in an honor killing?
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/21/2004 23:08 Comments ||
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I'll bet he was studying to be a "holy man", right?
I have just listened to President Bushâs speech on CNN. I just couldnât leave the keyboard without saying something. Because the warmth of the Presidentsâ words of friendship and commitment to our people really did make my eyes moisten. Not even the openly hostile report by the CNN reporter could spoil the feeling.
God will be on the side of good men, and it is clear for this middle-aged man who the good men are.
Hail dear El Bush. Thanks to you and all the Coalition men and women. Long may live our alliance and friendship. Victory by the Grace and Help of Allah is assured.
from the 3 dentist brothers aka http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
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Yes, it was not a war. Let everyone and especially the pacifists and all who opposed the coalition that what happened was an operation to free the Iraqi people and eliminate a criminal gang that does not represent any body but itself and its narrow interests and that pauses a serious danger on our country and the others.....
Many parts were outraged and did their best to prevent the downfall of the tyrant. They gave us this horrible scene of hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of refugees and a total destruction that would involve the entire region but none of that happened because, this was not a war.
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Donât expect to have these people quoted in the NYTimes.
Posted by: mhw ||
03/21/2004 10:53:52 AM ||
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EFL and Fair Use NewsMaxâs Wes Vernon attended the Media Research Centerâs "DisHonor Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters of 2003." Here is his report:
Boston Globe writer Charles Pierce, who posited Teddy Kennedy offering comfort to Mary Jo Kopechne, won the "Ozzy Osbourne Award" for the wackiest quote of the year at the DisHonor Awards dinner Thursday night. Here is Pierceâs comment:
"If she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old. Through his tireless work as a legislator, Edward Kennedy would have brought her comfort in her old age."
The audience reacted with a mixture of bewilderment and puzzled laughter, but based on the applause meter, Pierceâs observation in the Boston Globe magazine won hands down. "Sick!" declared at least one woman in the audience when she heard of the comment. Pierce won out over keen competition. All nominees appeared in their own film clips. As usual, none showed up to accept the "dishonors." Check out the rest - I think Asinine and DisIngenuous might be better than DisHonor, but thatâs just me. Thereâs some great stuff in here, folks.
Posted by: .com ||
03/21/2004 12:57:21 AM ||
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Thanks, .com an interesting post. If one goes to the referenced article and reads it, you'll find a paragraph about Rush Limbaugh being a surprise guest. That includes a link to his remarks where Rush suggested discarding the term "main stream media" and replacing it with "the partisan media". He reasoned they are no longer mainstream, but remain partisan.
#2
Jeez, this site gets more like Scrappleface every day. Did Pierce really say that? And here I thought nothing could be worse than listening to Chris Matthews shout and splatter saliva every night.
Posted by: Bob ||
03/21/2004 9:04 Comments ||
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Partisan Media I like it. It has a long and distinguished history in Anglo-American history.
Poor Teddy.... for the upteenth time, if you had been driving a Beetle you'd been a President.
The US military has charged six soldiers with offences including cruelty, mistreatment and assault following a criminal investigation into allegations of prisoner abuse at a jail in Iraq. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the deputy director of operations for the US military in Iraq, said the soldiers, all from a military police battalion, had been suspended from duty pending further investigation ahead of any trial. "As a result of the criminal investigation, six military personnel have been charged with criminal offences including conspiracy, dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and indecent acts with another," he said.
General Kimmitt did not disclose the soldiers' names or ranks. "The Coalition takes all reports of detainee abuse seriously and all allegations of mistreatment are investigated," he said. "We are committed to treating all persons under coalition control with dignity, respect and humanity."
The charges relate to accusations of abuses carried out in November and December last year on around 20 detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison on the western outskirts of Baghdad. The investigation was launched in January this year. Abu Ghraib, a notorious prison under Saddam Hussein, is where the US military now holds several thousand prisoners, most of them rounded up on suspicion of carrying out attacks against US-led forces.
General Kimmitt said a total of 17 military personnel were suspended from duty or reassigned while the investigation was conducted. He did not say what ranks they held.
It is not the first case of prisoner abuse in Iraq. On January 5, the US Army said three soldiers had been discharged for abusing Iraqi prisoners of war at another detention camp. The three were found guilty of beating, kicking and harassing prisoners at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq. The Army had said the three faced up to 25 years in jail if convicted of all charges. The soldiers said they acted in self-defence.
Do the investigation, get the facts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2004 12:13:55 AM ||
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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.
