Yemen will put forward the candidacy of prominent politician and economist Yassin Saeed Noman to succeed Amr Moussa as secretary-general of the Arab League next year, an informed political source said yesterday.
Good Gawd! Why?
Noman, a former parliament speaker and a member of the Yemeni Socialist Party, will be proposed by the Yemeni government as a successor to Moussa, an ex-Egyptian foreign minister whose term ends in May 2006, the source said.
I think he's still an Egyptian. He's an ex-foreign minister. But I could be wrong...
Moussa was named to the post in May 2001. "As a founder member of the Arab League, Yemen is entitled to seek the post of secretary general," the source said. Noman's candidacy would also be in line with moves toward reforming the Arab League to make the 22-member body more in tune with the aspirations of the Arab people and regional and international changes, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 11:12:45 PM ||
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IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS, Kuwait has been waging its own war on terror at home. The police have engaged in five fierce and bloody gun battles with extremists since January 10, as reported by the Associated Press. Five policemen have been killed in these encounters, along with four security men and two bystanders; foreign observers described police conduct as "ham-handed." But the police also managed to kill 9 suspected terrorists and arrest more than 40.
Jolted by this first serious clash with Islamist terrorists, Kuwaiti authorities acted swiftly to tackle the root of the problem: They are closing down unlicensed mosques and barring Saudi imams, the tireless purveyors of Islamist extremism, from preaching inside the emirate. In addition, the AP confirms that Kuwaiti authorities are blocking Islamic websites that incite violence, seizing radical books from mosques, and purging textbooks of extremism.
Expressing the nub of the new policy, former Kuwaiti oil minister Ali al-Baghli wrote in the Kuwait daily Al Qabas on February 2: "What is needed is to cut off the snake's head, namely the masters of terror and all those who propagate terror in mosques and the media."
Yet even as tiny Kuwait, a Muslim country, confronts the problem of Saudi-funded propagation of extremism, European governments continue to treat it with something like benign neglect.
There is no official plan so far to hold elections to the Shoura Council, says its chairman Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid. "Talks about an elected council are premature as the subject has not yet been officially mooted," he said. Bin-Humaid's statement comes ahead of the proposed plan to reshuffle the 120-member consultative body, injecting new blood representing various tribes and regions of the country. The Shoura Council will be expanded to include 150 members in less than two months. There are talks that famous artists and footballers might be inducted in the body for the first time. Some say the new list that includes a number of young technocrats and retired experts is already finalized and it would be announced on April 12.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 ||
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KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait has begun removing dozens of charity collection boxes run by Islamic organisations in a bid to regulate fund-raising and prevent misuse, an official said yesterday. "We have removed about 25 boxes in the past three days. Our operation will continue over the next two weeks to remove more than 80 boxes," Ahmad Al Sane, the head of a government committee entrusted with the removal, told AFP.
Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Faisal Al Hajji said on Wednesday that charity boxes were not a "civilised" means of raising funds and "could give an impression contrary to the noble goals of the charities."
I dunno. In this country we seem to be able to leave a jar on the counter of the local 7-11 with a picture of a sweet kid who needs an operation or chemotherapy or something, and most folks will throw a few coins or a bill in trusting that the money will go help the kid. And it does. Wonder why that doesn't work in Arabia-land?
Widows and orphans are always in desperate need of ammo 'n' forged identity papers, Steve. Ev'rybody knows that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Not that they'd do anything about last March 11th.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
The day they tucked their heads way way down past their knees and kissed their free asses goodbye. A majority just kept going until their heads were all the way up their asses. Then they voted. This is now their National Defense Posture.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/05/2005 11:11 Comments ||
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#4
Yeah, let's all act like victims instead of rooting out the rot and protect our citizens. There is one courageous judge there and some very dedicated and frustrated intelligence and police and military people. Bottom line, it is up to the Spanish people if they want to be free or they want to be dhimmis.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/05/2005 11:53 Comments ||
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#5
Darwin's evolution of Planet Earth
dark ages
age of enlightenmnet
age of exploration
age of colonization
age of imperialization
age of industrialization
age of victimization
age of information
and for this century.....
age of democratization or annihilation ....take your pick.
This article almost made me fall out of my chair. It is radically different from the articles about France that I've been reading in Expatica for the past three years. The French press (in my limited reading of English translations of French articles) has never used the phrase "pro-Saddam" so disparagingly. They've never sought to isolate a member of Chirac's own party so thoroughly. And I'm not even sure it's for real; it could be Chirac's knee-jerk reaction to the murder of his friend. But we can hope...
Didier Julia, the French lawmaker a reporter taken hostage in Iraq called for by name in a video released by her abductors, is seen as a maverick member of President Jacques Chirac's ruling party - and someone with close ties to Syria and the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein.
The 71-year-old representative of the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris first rose to prominence last September, when he headed an unofficial - and unsuccessful - mission to free two other French reporters kidnapped in Iraq. The failure of that venture, conducted from a luxury hotel suite in the Syrian capital Damascus, earned him the scorn of his UMP party and the media, especially after the two reporters themselves said he was "beneath contempt" for jeopardising a parallel official bid that eventually freed them in December.
A former archaeologist who speaks Arabic, Julia is familiar with the Middle East. He was also seen as a pro-Iraq lobbyist during the regime of Saddam Hussein, and enjoyed contacts with Iraqi officials from that era. Many of those Iraqis are now believed to be active in the insurgency battling US-led forces, some with the surreptitious support of Syria.
In his failed venture to rescue the two other journalists, Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro newspaper and Christian Chesnot of Radio France Internationale, Julia used two aides, both of whom have since been put under criminal investigation for risking the reporters' lives - and for dealing with "a foreign power", believed to be Syria. One of those aides, Philippe Brett, is a former bodyguard who ran a pro-Iraqi lobbying firm started in 2000 called the French Office for Industry Development and Culture (OFDIC) which tried to have sanctions against Saddam's regime lifted. The other is Philippe Evanno, a UMP party member. Both travel on expired French passports, the newspaper Le Figaro reported.
Julia himself is the subject of a preliminary judicial inquiry but has had no action taken against him. Several newspapers in France noted that, when Julia went to Syria to oversee his failed mission, the French embassy in Damscus stepped in to secure his Syrian visa with the Syrian foreign ministry. Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo also loaned a private jet for the Julia team's use, adding to speculation that, though the mission was unofficial, it might have taken place in a larger, behind-the-scenes dealmaking environment. With Aubenas now calling out for Julia by name, many in France, starting with the journalist's employer, the Liberation newspaper, believe she was directed to involve the MP.
A previous video received last week by French officials but not made public had Aubenas identifying herself in a similar tone - but not making any reference to Julia, according to the newspaper. Julia himself has said he is prepared to respond to Aubenas's call - but for that, the government would have to drop its investigation of his aides. Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, who has not disguised his animosity towards Julia, has reluctantly left the door open to that option, saying Wednesday: "We have to follow all leads."
Posted by: Seafarious ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
shedding a serious political liability? Chirac: "Julia..Julia..hmm... never heard of him, and if I did, I never liked him."
#2
Never heard this angle, I'd always thought of him as a random punk ...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
03/05/2005 10:45 Comments ||
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#3
Both travel on expired French passports, the newspaper Le Figaro reported.
Oh my. These people were setting themselves up for failure before they even started. A classic example of Conspiratorus incompetente. (Latin help here please! T. daughter says this is Latin II stuff.)
The Dutch government passed a new terrorism bill Friday, granting law-enforcement authorities far-reaching powers of investigation and allowing them to hold suspects for up to two weeks without charges. Intelligence agents will be able to use currently banned techniques such as infiltrating terror cells for undercover operations and telephone taps, a Justice Ministry statement said. They will also be allowed to use entrapment tactics, such as bogus sales transactions. The law must be approved by parliament. "There also will be more possibilities to gather information, detain suspects and conduct preventive public searches," it said. "The events in Amsterdam and The Hague have made clear that wider powers to prevent terrorism are desirable."
The ministry was referring to the Nov. 2 killing of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, whose throat was slit allegedly by a young Muslim radical who associated with a suspected terrorist cell. In The Hague a few days after the murder, terrorist suspects wounded several policemen during a botched arrest attempt. Two young men holed up in a residential neighborhood for a day before surrendering. The new law also lowers the level of proof needed to hold a suspect believed to be plotting terrorist activity, said Justice Ministry spokesman Wibbe Alkema. The problem in the past, Alkema said, has been insufficient grounds to detain someone who could be preparing an attack. If the law is passed, authorities will have more time — up to two weeks — to build a case and bring charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Made me wonder if this is partially the no-Star Wars move on Martin's part. We are shaking the core of CanadiEN politics, tho I don't think we deliberately wanted to. Are they going into protection mode? And we Rantburgers already knew this.
I didn't link to it or read it, but at Lucianne there was an article yesterday(?) about Congress still banning CA beef and they were getting a wee bit upset.
Most Canadian companies look forward to the day they earn themselves a mention on the prime-time news. They hire PR firms and spend thousands to harass news editors with press releases to tout their latest acquisition, invention or foreign venture in hopes of convincing someone to give them even a passing mention on the national news—never mind the nearly unimaginable publicity of being plugged on a U.S. newscast.
But when Montreal-based Power Corporation of Canada found itself, in late January, the topic of a news story on America's top-rated Fox News Channel ... FN finally gets on up there and what do they do?? go straight for the power center
... which draws millions of U.S. and international viewers, executives there probably weren't thrilled. Unlike most publicly traded firms looking to build their brand on Wall Street, Power Corp. is, at the best of times, a quiet, often obscured company (in the past year it's issued a total of five news releases). That might seem strange, given the massive size and, well, power wielded by the holding company. Power controls some of Canada's biggest blue-chip companies, including the Investors Group, the country's largest mutual fund dealer, and investment firm Mackenzie Financial. It owns insurers Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life and London Life. Power owns several Quebec newspapers, including La Presse. It also holds substantial positions in Chinese airlines and telecom firms and has large stakes in the world's leading entertainment company, Bertelsmann, as well as a big piece of one of Europe's largest oil producers. In 2003, Power Corp. reported annual revenues of $16 billion....
#1
Check out the connection to Kyoto.
"But what is clear is that certain UN policies have been a boost to the value of the conglomerate. For one thing, the UN-created Kyoto Protocolâwhich was spearheaded by none other than Strong himself, born of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which he chairedâcould have significant potential benefits for Powerâs holdings in China. Through their subsidiary, CITIC Pacific Ltd., the Desmaraises own power-generating facilities, automobile concerns and myriad other industrial interests throughout the Communist nation. The fact that Kyotoâs framers deliberately created regulations that will hamstring exactly those sorts of businesses in the West by imposing limits on greenhouse gas production, but exempt China from those same limits, gives Power a competitive international advantage. Meanwhile, under the protocol, Chinese power plants will be able to sell clean air "credits," or allowances, to Western producers for cash. Some economists have predicted that Ottawa will buy credits as a way of meeting their Kyoto emissions targets."
#2
It [Iran] is the only country in the world with two governments, and the only country in the world that has now had six elections since the first election of President Khatami. [It is] the only one with elections, including the United States, including Israel, including you name it, where the liberals, or the progressives, have won two-thirds to 70 percent of the vote in six elections: two for President; two for the parliament, the Majlis; two for the mayoralities. In every single election, the guys I identify with got two-thirds to 70% of the vote. There is no other country in the world I can say that about, certainly not my own.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/05/2005 13:18 Comments ||
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#3
And More from Arab News. Arab News makes more sense than Bill Clinton!
HT Powerline
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/05/2005 13:20 Comments ||
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#4
speaking of a national nightmere>>"Bill Clinton"
#8
depends on the ...er...method insertion infection
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2005 15:12 Comments ||
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#9
Once again I marvel at the abject stupidity of this Flim Flam man.
Posted by: Annie War ||
03/05/2005 17:22 Comments ||
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#10
How the hell did this guy ever get elected to TWO terms as POTUS?. I think his heart medications must be interfering with his reasoning!
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/05/2005 17:40 Comments ||
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#11
DB - It was the hospital food, methinks. They lace it with saltpeter and other delicacies, y'know... looks like it hasn't worn off, yet. With his primary focus in life lost, chasing poontang, he's rambling and we get to see what his mind is actually like.
[/tinfoil]
#13
mmmmm Tammy Bruce - hot lesbians on radio should get a FEC pass
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2005 21:08 Comments ||
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#14
Interesting if Hillary ever runs for office again:
"Mrs. Clinton, do you agree with your husband that the government of Iran is 'the closest in agreement with my ideals'?"
Nah. What am I thinking? The only way that would be asked is if a reporter gave a damn about the truth. Hillary would never expose herself to that type.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/05/2005 22:56 Comments ||
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Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday rejected proposals for a cease-fire in the southern island of Jolo and ordered the military to continue hunting down the gumen blamed for the deaths of more than two dozen soldiers in fierce fighting last week. A Malacañang Palace press statement said the president issued the order upon the recommendation of Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Efren Abu. "The will be no letup in our operations to neutralize the remaining leaders and members of the Abu Sayyaf and MNLF renegades," said Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, the military commander in Jolo.
Jolo politicians have proposed for a cease-fire after weeks of fighting believed to have killed more than 100 rebels, most of them loyal to jailed Muslim leader Nur Misuari. Misuari's followers, led by Habier Malik, said they attacked military posts in Jolo on Feb. 7 to avenge the death of a Muslim couple and their 14-year old son. The military had claimed the trio were killed during a clash between government troops and members of extremist Abu Sayyaf group. Officials also said the rebels had planned the attacks to force the government to free Misuari, who is being held in a prison near Manila on rebellion charges. Deputy Director General Vidal Querol of the national police said criminal charges are being prepared against Malik and his men. Aside from the murder charges, the police plan to file arson charges against Malik's group for burning several houses during the attacks in Jolo.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Well, that's good news. The lady-dhimmi has some balls after all.
Posted by: Kathy K ||
03/05/2005 19:44 Comments ||
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Syria vowed on Saturday to completely and quickly withdraw its troops from Lebanon in two phases, but President Bashar al-Assad said Damascus would still play a role in the tiny neighbor it has dominated for 30 years. Lebanese greeted Assad's announcement with screams of delight in central Beirut, while opposition figures in Lebanon and European leaders cautiously described the move as a positive start. But Washington said the pullout plan was not enough and reiterated its call for a complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
After mounting international pressure and faced with daily protests inside Lebanon to end its security presence there, Assad told parliament Syrian troops would initially pull back to the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon and then to the border area. "By this measure Syria would have fulfilled its commitment toward the Taif Accord and implemented (U.N. Security Council) Resolution 1559," he said. The Taif Accord ended Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, while Resolution 1559, adopted last September by the U.N. Security Council at the initiative of the United States and France, calls for foreign troops to quit Lebanon.
Elaborating on Assad's announcement, Syrian cabinet minister Buthaina Shaaban said her country's troops would withdraw to the Syrian side of the border. "The Syrian army wants to pull out quickly ... as soon as possible logistically," Shaaban told Lebanon's LBC television. "The political decision has been taken for a complete withdrawal." She said a meeting between the two countries' leaders on Monday would agree on the details, including the timing. Assad said Syria, which first deployed troops in Lebanon in 1976, would not relinquish its role in the country. "Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon does not mean the absence of Syria's role (in Lebanon)," Assad said. "Syria's strength and its role in Lebanon is not dependent on the presence of its forces in Lebanon."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 5:08:16 PM ||
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#1
Just watched Assad's speech on CSPAN. He is definitely headed out the door. Some of the money quotes: "Going to war against the UN can cause you to lose a lot." "Removing our troops from Lebanon is in Syria's interest." The man was weak, rambling, and almost unhinged. The interpreter was very nervous. This speech was obviously not well thought out and was apparently given in response to intolerable pressure by a panicked man. I think that Bashir Assad had best watch his back lest his followers send him back to private practice.
#2
Some events that transpired before Assad's speach:
Washington takes steps for Syria's isolation after Assadâs rejection of Lebanon pull-out. White House official Hadley notified Europeans that decision covers cutoff of Damascusâ international banking ties and the flow of international funds to and from Syria through Lebanese banks.
UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen travels Sunday to Europe, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Gulf emirates to finalize the US-Arab-European consensus on international sanctions against Syria.
March 17 he will give Assad last chance for total pull-out from Lebanon or face up to UN sanctions. Chirac has already ordered French ties with Damascus severed at all government levels.
"Syria's strength and its role in Lebanon is not dependent on the presence of its forces in Lebanon."
Well, it was the part of the parcel. According to Debka, Assad has deployed Iranian military and intelligence units across Lebanon alongside Syrian secret agents and Hizballah. They also man early warning stations on Lebanese-Syrian and Lebanese-Israeli borders and Syrian-Iraqi borders.
It would be tough to support the intelligence units without military and it may be quite possibly unworkable in the present scale.
Hizbullah bosses may have to switch sides, and fast, else they would splinter and find themselves commanding much smaller force as lower ranks seem to be less enthusiastic about loyalty to Syrians.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran said Saturday it will never agree to a permanent halt on enriching uranium (Yes you will) and warned that a more unstable Middle East would result from a U.S.-backed effort to haul Tehran before the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. Rightly so, the UN is the least of your worries
Any effort by Washington to bring Tehran's suspended uranium enrichment program under Security Council scrutiny is a dangerous path, warned Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani. OOOOHHH...the vaunted and formidable Security Council, how frightening!
Speaking during a two-day international conference on nuclear technology, Rowhani said Iran will halt negotiations and resume uranium enrichment "without any hesitation" if European negotiators insist Iran make its temporary suspension of uranium enrichment permanent. Sounds like its time for the EU to fold its hand and let the big boy play.
"Americans and Europeans will be the first to lose in that case," he told more than 50 nuclear scientists and experts attending the Tehran conference. "It will cause problems for regional energy and for the European economy.
"And it will cause additional problems for America. Therefore, no one will benefit from this. It's playing with fire." The Mullahs scarcely understand the trouble they are on the verge of stirring up.
Iran suspended its uranium enrichment activities last year to create confidence in its negotiations and avoid Security Council referral. But Tehran says the voluntary freeze depends on progress in ongoing talks with the European Union. Of course, the EU has no balls or teeth, the MM's know that.
Rowhani said Tehran will call off the talks entirely if it sees no signs of progress by the time a committee of Iranian and European negotiators meets March 17-18.
"If there is no tangible progress, we won't continue the talks," he said.
Britain, France and Germany are trying to secure an Iranian commitment to scrap enrichment plans in exchange for economic aid, technical support and backing for Tehran's efforts to join mainstream international organizations. Peace in our time.
Iran has suspended enrichment-related activities during those talks, which both sides have said were difficult, but insists the freeze will be brief.
Washington accuses Tehran of covertly trying to build a nuclear bomb, which Iran denies.
Rowhani suggested that if EU negotiators succumb to U.S. pressure for a harder line, the negotiations will fail. Europe's prowess as an intermediary in international crises will suffer, he said.
"If there is no U.S. pressure, we will reach a compromise appeasement with Europeans in the near future," Rowhani said. "Europeans are not seeking a permanent halt to our peaceful nuclear program they ought to be and denying the Iranian nation of its rights."
Bush has recently expressed support for the European efforts. But documents circulated among board members of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency last week indicated Washington would try to increase pressure on Tehran by the next agency board meeting in June should the European talks fail. Tick tock.... The mullahs are signing their own death warrant with this insane stand. Good riddance.
#3
Just marking time till Syria is finished. We all know who's next, no matter what they say. Crappin' in their pants, I bet, as they watch Baby Doc fold like a house o' cards.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/05/2005 20:21 Comments ||
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U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher rejected the idea of a phased Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, suggesting a '1-2-3' process. "It could happen 1-2-3," Boucher said in a Washington briefing. "Why not? 1-2-3. You start, you continue and you finish. That's 1-2-3. That's immediately. That's what we're looking for."
The United States is talking to other governments about ways to help the Lebanese establish political control after the Syrians are gone, Boucher said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to her French counterpart on that subject Friday, he said. The two countries jointly sponsored a U.N. Security Council resolution last year demanding Syrian withdrawal.
So says the newspaper Naharnet. Have no idea if this true, so read with one eye shut!
The Pentagon is now convinced that air strikes on Syria have become necessary to overthrow the Assad regime, liberate Lebanon and stop support of insurgents waging a guerrilla war against American forces in Iraq as well as Palestinian militants against Israel, the U.S.-sponsored Al Hurra TV network says.
"Political action to deal with the problem of Syria's presence in Lebanon and its support of terrorism against Israel and Iraq is no longer deemed effective," Al Hurra quoted American intelligence sources as saying, according to slain ex-Premier Hariri's Al Mustaqbal newspaper on Friday.
"Diplomacy as a means to deal with countries supporting terrorism is over and out. The situation is now open to all eventualities as far as Syria is concerned," the sources were quoted as saying by the Arabic-language Al Hurra.
"Resolving problems with Syria now requires changing the Syrian regime or mounting air attacks similar to those staged against Afghanistan and Sudan in August 1998 to wipe out terrorist centers once and for all," the U.S. intelligence sources were quoted as saying.
"The U.S. central command for Iraq and Afghanistan is closely following the situation in Lebanon and Syria and senior Pentagon officials are now convinced that hitting terrorist targets in Syria is necessary," Al Hurra said.
"The elimination of Syrian-supported terrorism groups is now deemed 'strategically vital' for stability in the Middle east, particularly Iraq, which is unattainable at present under the current Syrian regime," the station said.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/05/2005 13:38 Comments ||
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#2
send a copy to Damascus
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2005 14:13 Comments ||
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#3
We've always said, Syria next and anticipated Damascus would be lovely this Spring. I can't but help wondering if this talk isn't wrong and just shows that things are going according to plan.
Home of the WMD's
President Assad is expected to announce a major redeployment of the Syrian army in Lebanon in a speech at Syria's People's Council, or parliament, on Saturday, pulling out some 12,000 troops by March 23 and leaving behind a 3,000-strong garrison in the Bekaa Valley, the Beirut media reports.
Assad believes the March 23 deadline would enable him to fend off a potential storm at the Arab summit conference set for the same day in Algiers against Syria's 28-year-old breath-choking tutelage over Lebanon, media reports said.
The alibi for retaining the Bekaa garrison, complete with four mountaintop early warning systems, is to guard against an Israeli army flank attack on Damascus via Lebanon. Some Lebanese opposition leaders may go along with the Bekaa concept provided Syria's secret services are withdrawn altogether from every inch of Lebanon, reports said.
The local media is focusing enormous interest on the Assad speech Saturday afternoon, wondering whether he would make any reference to the withdrawal of secret service centers that are abundant in Beirut and other major Lebanese cities.
An Nahar said in a terse remark Saturday that residents of the Upper Metn district spotted movements by the Syrian troops stationed in the region. It did not elaborate.
An Iranian official charged with hunting for three Iranian diplomats and a reporter who went missing in Lebanon more than two decades ago has said he believes they could still be alive and in an Israeli jail, the student news agency ISNA said Friday. "According to our latest information, the four Iranians have been seen in the Zionist regime's jails. If it is said they have been martyred, it is only to cover up the Zionist regime involvement in this issue," said Raed Mousavi, a member of an official follow-up committee charged with the case. He said the information that the four had been transferred to Israel came from someone released in a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hizbullah movement. "He had seen the four diplomats in Israeli prisons in 1988," said the official, who is also the father of one of the missing men. He added he believed Israel may have hoped to exchange them for missing Israeli airman Ron Arad. The four Iranians disappeared in northern Lebanon in July 1982.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Uh huh. And in other news, Mousavi would like to sell each one of us the Brooklyn Bridge. Womenfolk are permitted to pay the same price to get the practice model the crosses the Ohio River at Cincinnati.
#2
Did they check under the couch cushions? That's where some of the bestest really interesting missing stuff ends up. It's one of the Parallel Universe Porthole Thingys, like the dryer.
#4
Shipman, at least you are getting something in return. When my daughter was a little baby--before she even crawled, she managed to lose those baby milk bottles, you turned for a couple of seconds away from her and ... I mean poof ... gone. Sometimes, they turned up in a different part of the house, but most of them were never to be found again. I remember that after a while, a clerk in the store I were bying them from asked: "What, you have quintuplets?"
I dunno who that guy is. He is raving like a maniac, but it isn't Hebrew or Arabic... Two guys brought him in and said to feed him... when he quits eating... Wall up the cell... I think those guys were Mosaad, but I am not supposed to say anything about that
No, Shipman, but I agree, the extra kiddie blocks may have appeared at an entirely different location. When we moved out of the place, these episodes stopped. Perhaps my daughter got a better anchoring in reality she is in as she became a tad older.
I admit that this trait may be inherited. I tend to lose things, but ultimately, I find them in unusual places. As if someone borrowed them, but could not return them to their original location.
I also had a bizarre thing happenign to me when I was about 13, in the workshop class (that was a part of the elementary education curriculum; grades 1-9).
We were to make a bird house. Everyone got the same piece of plywood with a pre-drilled hole, a steel ruler, a saw, an angle, and a blueprint.
I measured one part, marked it and cut out the piece, then next, and so on. When assembling it together, the pieces did not match, it was all crooked, one side was about half an inch shorter than other, same with the narrow sides.
I asked the teacher for a new piece of supply material. He called me an idiot and retard, and said he will show me how to do it.
He took my ruler, a new piece of plywoood and marked a piece, cut out. Then next, then next.
With an arrogant smirk, he started to put the pieces together. It was all crooked. One side was about half an inch shorter than other, same with the narrow sides. He looked at the ruler, the smirk on his face gone. It was close to the bell ring, so he said: "Next time, pay more attention", and gave me a "C". Later on, I never saw that ruler in the worskhop again, it had a sort of etching-like dent in its short edge--I would recognize it.
#10
Shopteacher, you'd think so, I'd too. No. It was one weird steel ruler. To this day, I have no reasonable explanation. But heard of a similar case (did not involve steel ruler), so although this seem to be rather rare, my story is not unique.
Lebanon's Shiites fear the country's stability and opposition to Israel will be weakened by the protest movement that forced out a Syrian-backed government last month. The Shiites, the largest community, say the protesters may later try to curb the Syrian-backed Hizbollah group and undermine its staunch resistance to Israel. "They want to push out the Syrians so they can then concentrate on Hizbollah," said Yahya Maqhour, a 43-year-old coffee vendor in Beirut's Haret Hreik district, close to where the staunchly anti-Israeli Hizbollah has its headquarters. "They are concealing their real aim and that is to disarm Hizbollah from its weapons and strength," he told Reuters.
He says that like it's a bad thing.
Hizbollah, and the other main Shiite group, the moderate Amal Movement, want a dialogue with the opposition movement of Maronite Christians, Druze and Sunni Muslims that forced the government to resign on February 28. Many Shiites said the opposition should not push its luck for fear of triggering a backlash, with echoes of the 1975-90 civil war.
... since as everyone knows, they're incapable of controlling themselves, thus others should step warily around them...
"The first and last word is ours because we are a majority. Let them shout as much as they can but we have the strength on the ground," Hussein Rammal, a guard at a school, said. Syria arms the large and powerful Hizbollah party, which drove Israel from south Lebanon in 2000. Maqhour, like many Shiites, didn't join the protests that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and then toppled the government. Some Shiites said pictures during the protests of Lebanese leaders who had collaborated with Israel exposed the intentions of some in the opposition. "The pictures of Israel's collaborators have surfaced again near Hariri's tomb," said a young Shiite supporter of Hizbollah who declined to give his name. They are promoting the US goal of transforming Lebanon from an arena of resistance to Israel to a gateway for Israel to end the Arab-Israeli conflict in its favour."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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These guys just can't over their Israel fetish, can they?
#3
What's even funnier is that Yahya Maqhour and that "young Shiite supporter" at the end are all 100% correct. I support the administration's policy, which is not only peace in the Middle East but on our terms. We are pushing for a Syrian withdrawal, not only to free the Lebanese people from Syrian hegemony (is that even the right word, considering the context?) but to put a stop to Hizbullah. Didn't one of its leaders just whine in the World Net Daily that official EU sanctions on Hizbullah would crush it?
Fred, you perfectly expressed my thoughts with that first "ed:" line. :-)
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
03/05/2005 10:52 Comments ||
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"The Shiites fear that if Syria is pushed out of Lebanon, a recurrance of a Western-backed "Shiite on a Shingle" policy will re-instituted in its place. Asked what would constitute a " Shiite on a Shingle" policy, a spokesthug replied it wouild be an answer to the age old question of "what do you get when you nail a Hizbollah terrorist to the roof?" "
Posted by: Comment Top ||
03/05/2005 18:04 Comments ||
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Lebanon sank deeper into political paralysis Friday with President Emile Lahoud giving no indication that he was willing to set up consultation appointments for the formation of a new government before hearing the Syrian president's expected announcement regarding the withdrawal of his troops. The opposition's hardened position had muted Lahoud, forcing him to follow the rhythm of the international community. However, in the light of increasing domestic and international pressure for Syria to quit Lebanon, the opposition expects Lahoud to make concessions if he wants to avoid an imminent political stalemate.
However, a stalemate seems imminent nevertheless. In response to Lahoud's call for constitutionally mandated parliamentary consultations to name a new premier, opposition leaders reaffirmed they would submit a list of demands, and refused to participate in any government that does not include their demands in its manifesto. This would be political suicide for Lahoud, said opposition leader Walid Jumblatt on a television program Thursday. Jumblatt reiterated that the opposition is seeking a probe to find former Premier Rafik Hariri's killers, the sacking of the heads of security agencies and the announcement of a Syrian pullout before accepting the formation of any new government. Opposition leaders accuse the pro-Syrian authorities of exploiting the fall of Premier Omar Karami's government to blame the protests for a power vacuum.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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they are acting like they have an ace up their sleeve. Seems futile, but not they they won't try.
Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah and Higher Shiite Council Vice President Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan both called in sermons Friday for planning the future wisely through peaceful national dialogue recognizing the other. Speaking at the Imamein Hassanein Mosque in Haret Hreik, Fadlallah wondered about the American and international stand, "that is rather aggressive regarding the immediate implementation of United Nations Resolution 1559" at a time when Israel trampled on several resolutions without stirring the reaction of the international community.
Fadlallah said: "Lebanon has the right - like any other country - to live in security and political freedom, exercise its independence and free decision-making and hold relations with other countries based on sovereignty and mutual respect." However, the cleric stressed that the European-American alliance was acting out a plan to contact a specific Lebanese party to detect a certain political unbalance magnetized by the media to spread a fear of instability. He said: "Is it a question of freedom, democracy and peace to the peoples of the Middle East, or a question of the U.S. interest to take advantage of loopholes in this or that country and accuse the resistance of terrorism to shake the international opinion against it?" According to Fadlallah, U.S. policy is complying with an Israeli plan of alliance on the strategic level to control the Arab and Islamic region on the political, economic and security levels.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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blah, blah, blah. Get the with the program, grandpa. Your words are 20th Century tactics in a 21st Century war. After 911, your hegemonic, US interest, international community, Israeli oppressor stuff just isn't working anymore. Time to deal with it in a rational manner. We understand that nukes are your only option to turn back the clock of time. However, we hope you understand that if you get them, that clock will be cleaned...thank you very much.
President George W. Bush said in an interview published yesterday that Syria must pull all of its troops out of Lebanon by May or risk further isolating itself from the world.
"Y'all be outta town by sunset, or else."
"The subject that is most on my mind right now is getting Syria out of Lebanon, and I don't mean just the troops out of Lebanon, I mean all of them out of Lebanon, particularly the secret service out of Lebanon — the intelligence services," Bush said in the interview with the New York Post. Bush, who demanded earlier this week that Syria withdraw from the neighboring Arab country but did not specify a time frame, said the May deadline was necessary to allow Lebanon to have free elections. "This is non-negotiable. It is time to get out ... I think we've got a good chance to achieve that objective and to make sure that the May elections (in Lebanon) are fair. I don't think you can have fair elections with Syrian troops there," Bush said. Bush told the paper there was no threat of military action.
Right after he said it was non-negotiable. I think he's making it really, really clear to anyone who understands the man, which of course doesn't include the reporter of this piece. W is going to have some more words coming in the next couple months to 'plain what he said, but it's now clear -- Syria out by May or else.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Bush told the paper there was no threat of military action.
Sigh, once again, no quotes. For all we know he meant there was not threat of military action from France.
#2
The more we can leverage change in places like Syria and occupied Lebanon the better. Success empowers people, and they can make change by doing the heavy lifting themselves. It is all in the vision. The people win and we win. If Syria can be defanged, especially without overt military ops, then Iran is isolated. News of the Lebanese being empowered can spread to Iran (with a little help, of course). This can further empower the Iranians to take out the MMs. And who knows, even the Syrians may be able to have a representative govt in the end. None of this is easy, but it would be a great way to do business to achieve our goals. Lighter in losses of our fine military people, and easier on our pocketbook.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/05/2005 11:46 Comments ||
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Bush sets May deadline for Syria pullout -- or else
#5
The US and Bush is going out of its way to make sure everyone understands we are punking out the Syrian Gov namely Baby Bashir(a). The reason I think is to let the oppossition in Syria and else were (Iran) that the US is the Big Bubba and if they stand up like the Lebaneese people we will back you up and your gov will lay down. The US Steel umbrella will show up if needed and will win the day ask the Kurds Pre-Invasion the Northern allinace just what a couple of US special ops and the US Steel umbrella can do to a enemy in formation. Yeah the march of freedom is on under the US steel umbrella Idea. And somehow I believe the Iraqi gov will support our use of their air bases. Aww Yeah
Syrian President Bashar Assad is likely to announce a troop withdrawal from Lebanon in a speech in Parliament today. "President Assad will deliver an important speech at the People's Assembly in the afternoon. The speech will deal with current political developments in the region," the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said in a brief statement.
It was unclear how far the pullback would go to meet UN demands for a complete withdrawal. Informed sources said Bashar would be announcing Syria's position on the developments in Lebanon and the conditions for withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon. US President George W. Bush said he wanted all Syrian forces out by May, when Lebanon holds parliamentary elections. "I don't mean just the troops out of Lebanon, I mean all of them out of Lebanon, particularly the secret service out of Lebanon — the intelligence services," he told the New York Post in an interview published yesterday. "This is nonnegotiable. It is time to get out," he said. "I don't think you can have fair elections with Syrian troops there." Bush told the paper there was no threat of military action.
More, from al-Jizzles...
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad is poised to announce a major troop redeployment in neighbouring Lebanon, officials have said. But it was unclear how far the pullback would go to meet UN demands for a complete withdrawal. A Lebanese minister on Friday said Syria was seeking "guarantees" from the international community before agreeing to a full pullout, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was satisfied the new proposals from Damascus "correspond" with UN Security Council Resolution 1559.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was satisfied the new proposals from Damascus "correspond" with UN Security Council Resolution 1559.
Russia - the loser guy next door who gives/sells booze an drugs to the kids and goes out of his way to help them become well adjusted, happy adults.
#3
and I love this from the first article "Bush told the paper there was no threat of military action." Gee thanks Mr. Reporter. Just dump that biggie out there all by its little lonesome. How about a quote? Some context?
Excerpt:
The Global Research in International Affairs Center in Israel, a highly reputable and reliable think-tank, has published a paper titled "Arab volunteers killed in Iraq: an Analysis," available at e-prism.org. Authored by Dr. Reuven Paz, the paper analyzes the origins of 154 Arab jihadists killed in Iraq in the last six months, whose names have been posted on Islamist websites.
The sample does not account for all jihadists in Iraq, but provides a useful and eye-opening profile of them. Saudi Arabia accounted for 94 jihadists, or 61 percent of the sample, followed by Syria with 16 (10 percent), Iraq itself with only 13 (8 percent), and Kuwait with 11 (7 percent.) The rest included small numbers from Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, Morocco (of which one was a resident in Spain), Yemen, Tunisia, the Palestinian territories (only 1), Dubai, and Sudan. The Sudanese was living in Saudi Arabia before he went to die in Iraq.
The names of most of the dead appeared on the websites after the battle of Falluja, and they were all supporters of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda. Of the 94 Saudis, 61 originated in the region of Najd, known as the heartland of the Wahhabis. The total of 154 included 33 suicide terrorists, of whom 23 were Saudis (with 10 from Najd). Given that Najdis make up 43.5 percent of Saudi suicide bombers in Iraq, and 65 percent of all Saudi jihadists on the list, Paz concludes that the "Wahhabi doctrines of Najd--the heart of Wahhabism--remain highly effective."
Posted by: ed ||
03/05/2005 9:28:56 AM ||
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Does it also reveal that these 85%+ foreign jihadis live on a diet of imported Afghani heroin, domestic amphetamines, and Columbian cocaine, and represent a foreign anti-American cabal of first line killers, killing on the payroll of an international crime syndicate? And how on earth that bears any resemblance to any peaceful practicing religion in this world? Anybody?
Posted by: Annie War ||
03/05/2005 18:33 Comments ||
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so sorry, 8% from 100 is actually 92% foreign jihadis vermin.
Posted by: Annie War ||
03/05/2005 18:37 Comments ||
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#3
Flypaper. Not to demean Dr Paz's efforts to compile the stats on the sample, but it's obvious who hates America ("We don't need no steenking freedom!") and the Shi'a ("Mongrels! Blasphemers!") enough to indoctrinate somebody else's children fools and send them off to die "gloriously" in Iraq.
Thirty-two local Fatah leaders, constituting the young guard of the dominant Palestinian faction in the West Bank, resigned their posts on Thursday in protest at alleged mismanagement by senior members. The walkout was cast as a bid to jolt Fatah into reforms needed to maintain its appeal to Palestinians, many of whom have been drawn to the rival Islamist faction Hamas spearheading a more than 4-year-old uprising against Israel. "Thirty-two young guard leaders from the West Bank have resigned collectively to protest the mismanagement of the movement by the (executive Fatah) Central Committee," Hussein Al-Sheikh, who was among those who quit, told Reuters.
Hamas did not run in Palestinian presidential elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip last January, making for an easy win by moderate Fatah veteran Mahmoud Abbas. But a strong showing by Hamas in local polls suggests it could enjoy major gains in parliamentary elections set for July. "The young guard have decided to take the initiative to salvage Fatah," said another leader in the walkout, Ahmed Ghneim. "Otherwise Hamas will take over in upcoming legislative elections just as it did in the municipal elections in Gaza. This step is not aimed at confronting the old guard, rather it is an attempt to save Fatah from disintegration."
"The old guards have to take responsibility for Fatah's weakness and failure in the municipal elections," another Fatah official taking part in the protest said. Among those who resigned their faction posts were Fatah lawmakers Mohammad Hourani, Qadoura Faris, and Hatem Abdel-Qader, although they kept their Parliament seats. By challenging the Fatah old guard, the rebels aimed to unite the young guards behind Abbas and his efforts to hold together a cease-fire declared last month with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and advance Palestinian statehood hopes.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Berlusconi: Someone will have to take responsibility for such a serious incident.
From what we know so far, that culpabilty rests with the driver who recklessly tried to run a military check point. Not a wise action on his part.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/05/2005 8:22 Comments ||
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Repeated car bombings + high speed driving towards an American military position + lack of coordination with said Ameicans on the egress route = a lot of sh*t down range. Don't take it personally, we'd do it to anyone, regardless of color, race or creed. We're equal opportunity practitioners. See, you didn't even have to paint CNN on the car to get our attention.
#7
Having driven among Italians for three years, they do drive offensively [vice defensively] and crazy - But - with style. Their concept of slowing down is somewhat different than what a stateside Highway Patrol man would interpret as prudent deacceleration - sometimes known as a Jersey Stop.
#8
My 9 year old son and I were talking about this last night. He got it. "Dad, if you are around all those Army guys with machine guns pointed at you, you better do what they say."
Tragic incident, but we will just have to go through the motions of regret, etc. etc. It will drop off the radar screen in time. The driver was stupid. The military did what they needed to do to protect themselves. Most Iraqi drivers seem to get it now.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/05/2005 12:05 Comments ||
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-- My 9 year old son and I were talking about this last night. He got it. "Dad, if you are around all those Army guys with machine guns pointed at you, you better do what they say."--
Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi urged his people on Wednesday to let "freedoms blossom" but made no mention of democratic goals like political parties that the United States wants to promote in the Middle East. Qadhafi, whose oil-rich country was a pariah state until he renounced weapons of mass destruction just over a year ago, branded the United States, Britain and Italy as dictatorships and invited them to learn "genuine democracy" in Libya.
Qadhafi was speaking on the 28th anniversary of the establishment of the Libyan Jamahiriyah (popular republic), when Libyans were given the right to air their views at "people's congresses" in what Qadhafi defends as grass-roots democracy. "You have to let freedoms blossom. People must have the full freedom to chose useful and fruitful work, the full freedom to learn and carry out scientific search and the freedom of faith," said Gaddafi, who came to power in a 1969 military coup, in a speech broadcast live on Libyan television.
Qadhafi, whose North African country was freed from US and European sanctions when he forsook banned weapons in late 2003 with the prospect of huge foreign investment, underlined the need for speeding up economic reforms. "Everyone has the full economic freedom of what to do and where to invest. Every one has the freedom to establish social and economic enterprises of his liking and interest," said Qadhafi, shunning mention of Western-style democracy.
Qadhafi has outlined his political thinking in his Green Book, which opposes both communism and Western liberal democracy. It brands the setting up of political parties as "treason" and electing a parliament "charlatanism." "Libya is living an investment boom from local and foreign investors. We have to change to sustain this boom and win the respect and trust of our partners," he told government officials and other supporters in his hometown of Sirte. "If we fail to be good at upholding the law and good governance rules and if cheat or lie, these investors whether they are locals or foreigners would leave and invest elsewhere. "The people power and the direct democracy in Libya came to give an alternative to the worsening political crisis in the world where everywhere outside Libya dictatorship rules," he declared. Qadhafi said the people of the United States, Britain and Italy were living "under the yoke of dictatorships" and invited their politicians, scholars and intellectuals to visit Libya to learn how "the only genuine democracy works."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Neat trick. Just change the definition of democracy. And, VOILA! lybia is a democracy.
Posted by: Tom Dooley ||
03/05/2005 4:30 Comments ||
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Like in The Peoples' Democratic Republic of - [Poland(former), Hungary(former), Romania(former),Berkley, Boulder, etc.]?
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most influential opposition group, said on Wednesday a government proposal to allow a multicandidate vote for president was meaningless because of curbs on who can run. President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled since 1981, took Egypt by surprise last Saturday, by proposing a constitutional amendment to end the old system of popular referendums on a single candidate selected in advance.
The United States, a close ally which has been calling on Egypt to reform, said Mubarak's decision to allow a multicandidate vote was "very important." But independents wishing to stand in this year's vote will have to be endorsed by members of parliament and local councils. And the deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Habib, said that aimed to exclude his officially banned group from running. "These conditions empty the amendment of its real content and take us back to square one. It's as if there was no amendment," he told Reuters. "There remains only one candidate and he is President Mubarak."
Recognised political parties will be allowed to nominate candidates for this year's vote without further endorsement. Officials have yet to say how many members of parliament and local councils must endorse independents for them to run. The officially banned but tolerated Brotherhood is the biggest opposition group in Egypt. It holds about 20 seats in parliament more than any other opposition party. Habib was certain the level of endorsement needed by local councils dominated by the ruling party would exclude the Brotherhood, which analysts say has broader popular support than any of the recognised opposition parties. "You open the door and then you shut it and say: `There is an amendment, so present yourself for nomination.' But I find the door completely shut," he said.
Mohammed Farid Hassanein, an activist who wants to stand as an independent, also told Reuters he believed there was little point in changing the constitution while Mubarak controlled the security forces and media. Other opposition groups have also voiced concern that the rules on nominations will undermine the freedom of the vote. Habib dismissed the electoral chances of any opposition parties. "The parties are cartoon parties," he said. "They have some weight, but it is very, very limited weight in the Egyptian political street." Habib said the proposed presidential referendum change could have been the result of pressure from the United States. "I think it is the result of foreign pressure more than it is of internal pressure," he said. Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt since the assassination of Anwar Sadat, has shown no intention of carrying out reforms that would allow real political freedom, Habib said.
This article starring:
MOHAMED FARID HASANEIN
Muslim Brotherhood
MOHAMED HABIB
Muslim Brotherhood
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet on the ethnic conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, a UN spokesperson has said. UN spokesman Fred Eckhardon on Friday said the situation in Darfur has deteriorated because insufficient measures have been taken to stop the fighting. "All would agree that not enough has been done to bring the security situation under control," Eckhard said. Given the urgency on the ground, the 15-nation council will meet on Monday at the request of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Eckhard said.
What's the rush? It's only been a couple years of day-in, day-out slaughter.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Any bets on the location for the Conference? The french reveria(sp?)? Tahiti? Thailand (this is the UN after all -- they need their girls....).
#2
Yeah, they're going to hold a meeting to discuss appointing a committee to study whether they should convene a meeting to decide whether they should appoint a committee to look into the genocide in Darfur.
As soon as all the non-moslems and blacks in the region are dead.
How do you spell "united nations"? U-S-E-L-E-S-S
(Alternate spelling: D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S)
(Preferred spelling: C-R-I-M-I-N-A-L)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/05/2005 0:28 Comments ||
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The US is not a tyranny and thus doesn't belong in the UN.
#4
I'm sure you exaggerate, Fred. Surely sometime in the last decade they were given time off for the Christmas and Easter holidays to spend with their families.
"Increasing US aggression against poor and weak nations is threatening world peace and should not be tolerated by civilised societies," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), on Friday. Qazi was addressing a march arranged by the Shabab-e-Milli in Islamabad. He said the US wanted to "suppress the Muslim world. After destroying Iraq and Afghanistan, it is now considering attacking Iran and Syria". "President Pervez Musharraf is supporting the US against the Muslim nation because he claims that Pakistan is a key partner of the US in its war against terror," he said. He said the Bush administration wanted to destroy the nuclear capability of the Muslim countries. "Nuclear capability guarantees peace because the balance of the power prevents enemies from invading," he said.
He asked the participants of the peace march to bring about a revolution in the country and said they should come onto the streets against General Musharraf because "there is no need for an armed struggle to oust him". He said people should not get involved in sectarian issues and should join the MMA in a struggle against General Musharraf.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2005 9:39:09 PM ||
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should not be tolerated by civilised societies,â
He certainly isn't a member of a civilized society so why should he care?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2005 14:25 Comments ||
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#5
He's wearing a hat?
Posted by: Matt ||
03/05/2005 14:37 Comments ||
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#6
:-) Matt
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/05/2005 14:48 Comments ||
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#7
That satanic US is threatening the peace we've enjoyed for so long in Iran/Iraq, Sudan, Bosnia and other places, not to mention the peace bin laden promulgated on sept 11
KOLKATA — The federal government is bracing for Nepal's Maoist insurgency spilling into India's 'red belt', senior home ministry officials have disclosed. A frightening scenario is doing the rounds in the security establishment: Nepal's Maoist guerillas overthrow the monarchy and join India's Maoists to destabilise a swathe of India from northeast to south. Activity by Maoists — or Naxalites — throughout the area has led to it being dubbed the 'red belt'.
Experts say that the scenario is being entertained for two reasons: Nepal's Maoists are now seen as formidable, and India's Naxalites are gaining ground. According to Indian intelligence, Maoist activity spread from 156 districts in 13 states last September to 170 districts in 15 states last month.
For 40 years, communist groups have been active in the area. In some districts they run a parallel administration, operate 'people's courts' and even levy taxes. They attack 'class enemies' — policemen, politicians, landlords — and other symbols such as railways and police stations. But their links to Nepalese Maoists are growing. Police in states close to Nepal say the Naxalites have trained their Nepali counterparts. "If the Nepalese army's crackdown on the Maoists succeeds, then it will weaken these training camps and these contacts,' said Girdhari Nayak, inspector-general of Bastar in Jharkhand. "But if it fails, then we're going to see more Nepali Maoists flowing through to India for armed training."
Ajay Sahni, of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, says: "Naxalite violence in the rural hinterland could pose a threat to India's internal security, particularly if our homegrown groups establish closer ties with the Maoists in Nepal." The two strongest groups are the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre.
Last July, in a bid to end the conflict, the Andhra Pradesh government lifted a ban on the People's War Group and offered to hold talks. The guerillas agreed, saying they were prepared to forsake revolution. But the talks collapsed. Neither has force worked. The police have tried to eliminate these groups but without success. They survive because of poverty. The Naxalites draw their support from low-caste Indians disillusioned with an administration concerned only with the upper class. The Naxalites are seen as modern Robin Hoods, with a policy of seizing land from feudal landlords and giving it to the poor. Provincial newspapers — particularly those in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar — reveal their regular activities: explosions, murders and arson attacks.
Earlier this month, Naxalites drove from Andhra Pradesh to a spot in neighbouring Karnataka — just 140km from India's software capital, Bangalore — where they attacked a police camp, killing six officers and injuring many others.
With no end in sight to the simmering unrest, many eyes are on Nepal, wondering if what happens there could tip the balance in India too.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/05/2005 00:00:00 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.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday rejected proposals for a cease-fire in the southern island of Jolo and ordered the military to continue hunting down the gumen blamed for the deaths of more than two dozen soldiers in fierce fighting last week. A Malacañang Palace press statement said the president issued the order upon the recommendation of Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Efren Abu. "The will be no letup in our operations to neutralize the remaining leaders and members of the Abu Sayyaf and MNLF renegades," said Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, the military commander in Jolo.
Syria vowed on Saturday to completely and quickly withdraw its troops from Lebanon in two phases, but President Bashar al-Assad said Damascus would still play a role in the tiny neighbor it has dominated for 30 years. Lebanese greeted Assad's announcement with screams of delight in central Beirut, while opposition figures in Lebanon and European leaders cautiously described the move as a positive start. But Washington said the pullout plan was not enough and reiterated its call for a complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
An Iranian official charged with hunting for three Iranian diplomats and a reporter who went missing in Lebanon more than two decades ago has said he believes they could still be alive and in an Israeli jail, the student news agency ISNA said Friday. "According to our latest information, the four Iranians have been seen in the Zionist regime's jails. If it is said they have been martyred, it is only to cover up the Zionist regime involvement in this issue," said Raed Mousavi, a member of an official follow-up committee charged with the case. He said the information that the four had been transferred to Israel came from someone released in a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hizbullah movement. "He had seen the four diplomats in Israeli prisons in 1988," said the official, who is also the father of one of the missing men. He added he believed Israel may have hoped to exchange them for missing Israeli airman Ron Arad. The four Iranians disappeared in northern Lebanon in July 1982.
Lebanon's Shiites fear the country's stability and opposition to Israel will be weakened by the protest movement that forced out a Syrian-backed government last month. The Shiites, the largest community, say the protesters may later try to curb the Syrian-backed 
Lebanon sank deeper into political paralysis Friday with President Emile Lahoud giving no indication that he was willing to set up consultation appointments for the formation of a new government before hearing the Syrian president's expected announcement regarding the withdrawal of his troops. The opposition's hardened position had muted Lahoud, forcing him to follow the rhythm of the international community. However, in the light of increasing domestic and international pressure for Syria to quit Lebanon, the opposition expects Lahoud to make concessions if he wants to avoid an imminent political stalemate.
Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed 
Thirty-two local Fatah leaders, constituting the young guard of the dominant Palestinian faction in the West Bank, resigned their posts on Thursday in protest at alleged mismanagement by senior members. The walkout was cast as a bid to jolt Fatah into reforms needed to maintain its appeal to Palestinians, many of whom have been drawn to the rival Islamist faction Hamas spearheading a more than 4-year-old uprising against Israel. "Thirty-two young guard leaders from the West Bank have resigned collectively to protest the mismanagement of the movement by the (executive Fatah) Central Committee," Hussein Al-Sheikh, who was among those who quit, told Reuters.
The 
The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet on the ethnic conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, a UN spokesperson has said. UN spokesman Fred Eckhardon on Friday said the situation in Darfur has deteriorated because insufficient measures have been taken to stop the fighting. "All would agree that not enough has been done to bring the security situation under control," Eckhard said. Given the urgency on the ground, the 15-nation council will meet on Monday at the request of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Eckhard said.
"Increasing US aggression against poor and weak nations is threatening world peace and should not be tolerated by civilised societies," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), on Friday. Qazi was addressing a march arranged by the Shabab-e-Milli in Islamabad. He said the US wanted to "suppress the Muslim world. After destroying Iraq and Afghanistan, it is now considering attacking Iran and Syria". "President Pervez Musharraf is supporting the US against the Muslim nation because he claims that Pakistan is a key partner of the US in its war against terror," he said. He said the Bush administration wanted to destroy the nuclear capability of the Muslim countries. "Nuclear capability guarantees peace because the balance of the power prevents enemies from invading," he said.
KOLKATA — The federal government is bracing for Nepal's Maoist insurgency spilling into India's 'red belt', senior home ministry officials have disclosed. A frightening scenario is doing the rounds in the security establishment: Nepal's Maoist guerillas overthrow the monarchy and join India's Maoists to destabilise a swathe of India from northeast to south. Activity by Maoists — or Naxalites — throughout the area has led to it being dubbed the 'red belt'.
