ITV News has obtained secret documents and photographs that detail why police shot Jean Charles De Menezes dead on the tube.
The Brazilian electrician was killed on 22 July, the day after the series of failed bombings on the tube and bus network.
The crucial mistake that ultimately led to his death was made at 9.30am when Jean Charles left his flat in Scotia Road, South London.
Surveillance officers wrongly believed he could have been Hussain Osman, one of the prime suspects, or another terrorist suspect.
By 10am that morning, elite firearms officers were provided with what they describe as "positive identification" and shot De Menezes eight times in the head and upper body.
The documents and photographs confirm that Jean Charles was not carrying any bags, and was wearing a denim jacket, not a bulky winter coat, as had previously been claimed.
He was behaving normally, and did not vault the barriers, even stopping to pick up a free newspaper.
He started running when we saw a tube at the platform. Police HAD agreed they would shoot a suspect if he ran.
It's taken more than three weeks for these facts to come to light. Why didn't the authorities get the facts out shortly after the shooting?
#1
The authorities have always lied to control public opinion, this time there were far too many witnesses. The real question should be are the higher ups that stupid?? If so, we all need to worry!
#2
As I recall, it was "eye witness" reports in the media that contained info about the bag, vaulting the turnstile, heavy winter coat etc.
Since the cops get their info from interviewing eye witnesses, why wouldn't they think all those things were the case?
#3
JC,
The cops were there. The cops also have access to the video cameras and recorders. I can understand the confusion and mis-statements for a day or two, but if ITV didn't dig for real facts, we still wouldn't know.
An investigation for Today has found disturbing evidence that Asian youths in parts of Oldham are trying to create no go areas for white people. Last year the police investigated record levels of racist attacks in Oldham.Of the 572 cases, 60% turned out to be white victims.
Pakistanis make up the majority on the Glodwick estate just west of the town centre. Some youths speak the language of racial hatred. It's not clear whether this is bravado but their message is blunt... white people keep out.
Many openly admit to carrying out what they see as revenge attacks on white people as part of a tit-for-tat campaign. One told us: "There are signs all around saying whites enter at your risk. It's a matter of revenge. It's about giving as good as you can take." Another had a six-inch scar running across his head. He said he had been attacked by a white gang. "I got slashed by some whites so that I'm totally racist. I don't like whites. It's like this now, we go to a white area and we get done over. It's like them coming here they get done over...it's for your own good."
This hardening in attitude is repeated across the town and has passed down to children as young as 10. Unlike their parents they will not tolerate being victims of racism. Local white people are scared and many want to leave the estates but cannot. "I was just walking with my dog around 10 at night and a group of Asian youths in their car, music blaring,threatening me like saying they'd kick me head in calling me white bastard, white scum. You're frightened," one person told me.
Many Asian youths say they take the law into their own hands because they have no confidence in the police. The perception is that the police do not take racist attacks on Asian people as seriously as assualts on white residents.
Akbor Khan had his three front teeth smashed in a brutal attack by a white gang: "I used to have a take away in Manchester. We used to get lots of people who used to order food but not pay for it. It used to take the police an hour to get there. We'd ring the police and they'd say we haven't got the manpower. But if it happened to white people they would be there in 10 minutes," he said.
Many Asian community leaders say the trouble is caused by a minority stoking up problems for the majority, who are law abiding residents. They say they would happily support greater police action to clamp down on the trouble makers.
Greater Manchester Police deny the accusations levelled at them. A special multi-agency task force has been set up in Oldham to tackle the growing number of racist attacks
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/16/2005 09:36 ||
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#3
I'm too lazy and confused to research it, but IIRC there was severe racial riots in 2000 (or earlier, in 1998? Perhaps Howard or others could clarify this) in Oldham and Standford, during which there were real manhunts for whitey, at some point an elderly WWII veteran was beat up by a mob, for example.
The french MSM played emphatically the "response" by the NF or the BNP, but I recall this was much more an anti-white riot than anything else, the area being predominantly "asian" (ie pakistani). In one particular french website about anti-white racism, there was also mentions of several others incidents later. And there was a religious touch to it, as the application of sharia was one of the demands of ther rioters from what I remember.
#5
The Paki gangs must be stopped dead in its tracks. It's only going to get worse. It's actually safer to have a king cobra as a house pet.
The U.S. is having the same problem with the MS-13 gang bangers. Unlike the UK, the US is heavlily cracking down on the MS-13 gang members. But it's a revolving door. The gang members gets deported to Mexico then come back to the U.S., across the border.
Eventually, it's just a matter of time before the ACLU comes to the rescue.
#12
What result does the Welfare State expect from Ghettoized groups. The police do not police, they react, they are not proactive and have no clue of the mentality that drives this criminal activity. Solution, adequate numbers Police that are proactive not reactive. Get these feces for brains out of their self imposed ghettos so they can't form gangs in the first place. Does "Housing Estate" must actually mean government provided or subsidized housing? That is an easily fixed problem quit paying their rent.
#13
Oh Officer Krumkey, you've done it again,
This boy don't need a job,
he needs a year in the pen,
He's not underpriviledged,
Nor misunderstood,
Deep down inside, he's just no good.
He's no good, he's no good,
He's no earthly good,
He is definately no darn good,
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/16/2005 15:52 Comments ||
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#14
Heavily armed "grannies" cruise the nocturnal streets of London, trolling for gang-bangers...
#15
Leonard B was a crazy commie, but I wish he was alive to work on the whole Paki/Brit thing which is screaming for a remake of R&J/West Side Story translated into the modern UK. It could be an explosive box office hit.
#22
troll alert - something real to add to the conversation? Reason why you shouldn't be today's Chew Toy?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 21:07 Comments ||
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#23
Because unlike most here I know the North of England, and Oldam is old hat, it has been happening for ages. What is the purpose of this other than create more hatred propaganda.
Fuck man Iâve been through some inner city US areas and thatâs scary. Oldham is not that. London is the most dangerous place by far, and thatâs not that bad.
It would be "very, very surprising" if the two sets of London bombings in July were not connected, Home Secretary Charles Clarke has told the BBC. But Mr Clarke said there was "not a direct linkage formally established". His comments come after he said on Monday he remained "worried" about the possibility of further attacks. That followed talks with Met Chief Sir Ian Blair, who has said the fact there were two attacks made further bombs "more, rather than less" likely. Mr Clarke said despite police progress the risk of terrorism remained.
On the two groups of bombers, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think it would be very, very surprising if they weren't linked in some way, but evidence is an issue. "There is not a direct linkage formally established, to be able to make that assertion directly."
The boomers in one cell would most likely not know of the ones in the other, if proper security measures were followed. Their controllers might and the "mastermind" certainly would, but he's most likely long gone.
Mr Clarke added that police and security services were working to establish what support and, training and other assistance from outside was being investigated.
Earlier Mr Clarke said he was "absolutely impressed" with the work of the Metropolitan Police since the bombings, saying real progress had been made. But he said the risk of further terror attacks remained and was being dealt with. "We remain worried. The commissioner has been very clear throughout that it would be ridiculous for us to assume that a further act would not take place. Obviously, one of the main purposes of the investigation - which is rolling ahead very strongly at the moment - is to identify any linkages which would help us act more effectively to be able to reduce that likelihood - and that work is happening," Mr Clarke said. "The police, together with the other security services, are doing an excellent job. "But it would be absolutely foolish for me, or for anybody else to say that we've eliminated the risk. We haven't. "The risk needs to be contested and that's what we're doing."
Mr Clarke made clear there was no intelligence available of any specific threat of a new terrorist attack. "But we are working on the basis that the people who organised these attacks could proceed with other attacks as well. "And that seems to me the only rational basis on which we should proceed."
Plan for the worst, hope for the best
Metropolitan Police chief Sir Ian said: "The fact that there's been two attacks makes it more, rather than less likely that there'll be further attacks. "I mean, that's just the logic of all this, but we of course are working incredibly hard with the intelligence services to prevent it".
Asked about his plan to deport 10 people deemed to be a threat to national security, Mr Clarke said he wanted the legal process to take as "little time as possible". "Those individuals concerned are now under detention, pending deportation, and that means they are removed from any particular ability to threaten us in that way. That is a very important step."
His comments came as New York-based Human Rights Watch said the UK could not legally deport suspects such as radical cleric Abu Qatada to Jordan despite a promise they will not be tortured. The civil rights group says it would be breaking international law if the UK deports suspects to a country where torture is a "serious risk".
Posted by: Steve ||
08/16/2005 09:02 ||
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#1
This guy has a tough job. I tend to agree with him.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/16/2005 14:02 Comments ||
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#2
"Earlier Mr Clarke said he was "absolutely impressed" with the work of the Metropolitan Police"
Especially, the part about taking off shoes before entering terr. mosque.
Muslim groups have condemned proposed anti-terrorism legislation saying it could lead to the "demonisation" of legitimate Islamic values and beliefs. An Islamic Human Rights Commission statement has 38 signatories, including the Muslim Association of Britain. Plans to close mosques accused of "fomenting extremism" could create a "very radical sub-culture which we all seek to prevent", the statement says.
As opposed to the radical subculture that's currently encouraged.
The government is planning tighter laws following the July terror attacks. Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was prepared to amend human rights laws to make deportations more straightforward.
Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "The British Muslim community has always been a law-abiding community and all its endeavours to create a just society have been entirely peaceful.
"However, we will not allow the demonising, devaluing or targeting of the concept of Islam which will we hold very dear."
The government's suggested banning of pressure group Hizb ut-Tahrir is also criticised by the Commission. Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain is also one of the signatories to the six-point statement, a response to government measures in the wake of the London bombings. The statement calls for "any disagreement" with a political organisation to be expressed through debate not censorship. "We fear that recent events are being exploited by some sections in society to demonise legitimate Islamic values and beliefs," it adds.
It also:
Describes the use of the term extremism as "unhelpful" for having "no tangible legal meaning".
Says questioning the legitimacy of Israeli occupation was a valid political expression.
Labels plans to deport foreign nationals to nations known for human rights abuses as "abhorrent".
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/16/2005 06:10 ||
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#1
Labels plans to deport foreign nationals to nations known for human rights abuses
#3
"The British Muslim community has always been a law-abiding community and all its endeavours to create a just society have been entirely peaceful.
"However, we will not allow the demonising, devaluing or targeting of the concept of Islam which will we hold very dear."
"We've always been very peaceful, but if you try to stop the traitors and mass murderers among us, that may change."
Charming people.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/16/2005 8:25 Comments ||
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#4
Looks like UK hate crimes have shot up: Bombings fuel race tensions Residents of the Jesus Green estate in Bethnal Green claim the police have failed to take action over a spate of attacks in the area in the last few weeks. An anonymous resident claimed that since July 21, Asian youths have carried out over a dozen attacks on whites in and around Columbia Road. She said one man had been admitted to the Royal London Hospital in a critical condition after being glassed and kicked, while a retired priest had been set upon with bike chains. Police could not confirm these incidents.
Oh, but this isn't what the IHRC wants kufrs to know.
Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2005 8:40 Comments ||
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TOKYO - Japanâs main opposition party plans to pull the countryâs troops from the U.S.-led reconstruction effort in Iraq by December if voted into government in next monthâs nationwide elections, a party official said on Tuesday.
The campaign pledge is part of a detailed platform the Democratic Party will unveil later in the day as it tries to tap public opposition to the military dispatch and unseat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in lower house parliamentary polls on Sept. 11.
The plan calls for withdrawing Japanâs 500 troops from the southern Iraqi city of Samawah by December, party official Toshiaki Oikawa said, declining to give other details. The troops are part of a total deployment of 1,000 Self-Defense soldiers dispatched to the region to purify water and repair public works as part of the U.S.-led coalition rebuilding Iraq.
The Democratic Party is trying to shift the focus of the upcoming elections away from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumiâs plans to privatize the countryâs postal savings system and focus on issues it thinks resonate better with voters, such as Iraq and government spending. Japan should step up economic aid to Iraq in lieu of sending troops, Oikawa said.
Koizumi sent the first installment of troops on a noncombat, humanitarian mission in January 2004, the countryâs largest and most dangerous military mission since World War II. Koizumi argued that Japan - as an oil-dependent nation - had to bear its share of the burden of rebuilding Iraq and combating terrorism, while supporting its top ally, the United States.
But there is strong public opposition to the dispatch from fears that it could draw Tokyo into the turmoil in Iraq. An Associated Press-Kyodo poll in July found that 55 percent of Japanese dislike their governmentâs handling of Iraq.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
The reasonable course of action (it being inscrutable Japan), would be to start airing interviews with Japanese soldiers: touting the great togetherness and unity of Japan, expressing pride at being permitted the honor to serve, and apologizing for not doing more. (I'm sure that the subtleties would be a lot greater, but it would leave Japanese young men on the street itching to sign up.)
#2
Article: But there is strong public opposition to the dispatch from fears that it could draw Tokyo into the turmoil in Iraq.
This is why I'm growing more and more opposed to the network of entangliing alliances that we have in place. We are committed to defending these people from external threats. How does this make any sense, if they won't offer us even a token bit of assistance over a minor conflict like Iraq? We are spending a lot of money and putting up our young men as potential human sacrifices, not to mention setting up ourselves as targets for their enemies. It makes absolutely no sense.
#3
quibble: we are commited to helping Japan if Japan is attacked. They are committed to helping us if we are attacked. We are NOT committed to helping them if they attempt to preempt an attack on Japan, or if they respond to an attack on Japan with an attempt to reshape the region from which the attack came from, no matter how wise it is to do so. And ditto for Japans obligations to us.
and ditto for NATO.
None of these alliance apply to a situation like Iraq. The notion that non-support in Iraq means the alliance is worthless is silly. Now any of these alliances may well be worthless, but that must be shown on its own.
And its even sillier wrt to Japan than it is WRT france and germany, since Japan HAS sent troops to Iraq, and still has them there.
#4
LH: we are commited to helping Japan if Japan is attacked. They are committed to helping us if we are attacked. We are NOT committed to helping them if they attempt to preempt an attack on Japan, or if they respond to an attack on Japan with an attempt to reshape the region from which the attack came from, no matter how wise it is to do so. And ditto for Japans obligations to us.
and ditto for NATO.
This is nonsense on stilts. No one is going to try to invade Uncle Sam. North America is too remote and difficult to resupply for potential invaders to even try. Not to mention we have thousands of nukes. Japan is right next to four potential belligerents. The fact is that the mutuality of both NATO and our treaty with Japan exists only in name. We're on the hook - they're not.
#6
As a practical matter, Zhang is correct. Our non-Anglosphere allies are free riders. What we see in Japan is a special case. Their passivity was imposed by us. Changing it will be delicate for both of us. But Dear Leader has made it necessary and so it is starting. So now the Japanese need to start thinking about some things they have been able to ignore heretofor.
I also question whether it was and is not a good idea to have them hanging on as free riders. Would we really prefer to have a rearmed Europe? Think of what Chiraq would be doing now if he had effective and effective military with state of the art weapons systems.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/16/2005 17:51 Comments ||
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When Sammaz Demirtas, the deputy chief of the Istanbul Police, told a reporter on July 29 that "there are 1,000 al-Qaeda members in Istanbul, all of whom are under surveillance, and we are expecting a terrorist attack soon," the media criticized him. In reaction to growing media criticism, the Turkish National Police Directorate initiated an investigation into him. However, on Aug. 10, the police arrested Lu'ai Sakra, the head of al-Qaeda's Turkish cell, while he was planning an attack on Israeli tourist ships in Alanya. These two events brought the al-Qaeda question under the spotlights of the Turkish media once again. The questions that need to be asked by ordinary citizens as well as intellectuals are: Who are these terrorists that are totally alien to Turkish Islam and where do they come from? What do they want to achieve, and how do they recruit in Turkey?
So far, although there are several explanations about al-Qaeda in general, there is very limited information about the pillars of the organization in Turkey. We intend to provide some information about it in this article.
It's a well-known fact that al-Qaeda operates under the Wahhabi/Salafi ideology and claims to wage jihad for the "unity" of Muslim Ummah. Its organizational structure consists of three pillars, each of which is organized as a separate entity and operates independently unless necessary for an attack. These pillars are: local organizations, which are associated with al-Qaeda; mujadid organizations that fight in different war zones such as Chechnya and Iraq; and al-Qaeda cells which are believed to exist in most counties around the globe waiting for a suitable time to act. Certainly, with such a comprehensive structure, broad goal, ideological backup, through conducting jihad in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and in Iraq, and the implementation of successful terror campaigns, al-Qaeda attracts many radical Islamists from around the world.
For the Turks, however, the Wahhabi practice of Islam was not attractive until recent decades. Historically, The teachings of Muhammed 'Abdul Wahhab (the founder of what later came to be referred to as Wahhabism) are a very particular product of Arabian society during the eighteenth century that emphasized the singularity of God, and condemned and rejected Sufi practices as un-Islamic. In a sense, Wahhabism in the 18th century rebelled against the Turkish version of Islam, Sufi Islam and Shiite Islam and declared jihad against these two larger interpretations of Islam. Politically, the alliance of Wahhab's followers and the al-Saud family rebelled against the Ottoman Empire many times and in the end successfully seceded. For these politico-historical reasons, many Turks believe the Arabs stabbed them in the back and therefore at the formation of the Turkish state the external "other" was Arabs as well as Greeks.
Nevertheless, the strict and "puritanical" nature of this interpretation of Islam found adherents worldwide, including in Turkey. What we know today is that there are at least 1,000 Turks who have joined al-Qaeda; they share its ideology and outlook. How it happened is still an obscure phenomenon for those who are not familiar with Islamic transformation in Turkey, but it is clear for Islamists and researchers who focus on Turkish Islamic movements.
Al-Qaeda's formation in Turkey is fed by two streams. The first one is related to the trajectory of Islamist transformation in Turkey. After long restrictions of Islamic organizations and associations in the early republican period, Islamists in the 1960s discovered a fast way for the construction of Islamic thought. That was to import ideological doctrines from Egypt and Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries. Before the 1960s, Islamic ideologies and terminologies were so limited that a leading reactionary Islamist Metin Onal Mengusolgu describes those years as follows: "There was only one translation of the Koran by Hasan Basri Cantay, even Tanri Buyrugu (Gods' Order) by Omer Riza had not yet been published. There was one Interpretation of the Koran by Elmalili Hamdi Yazir, which only scholars could understand, and people were not aware of the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammed." Moreover, Ahmet Erturk argues that after Mehmet Akif Ersoy, there was no intellectual endeavor to answer the essential question of "what was the main problem that Muslims confront in the new era." However, he argues, "from the second half of the 1960s Muslims found a way to overcome this intellectual barrenness through translations of Muslim scholars' writings, such as Sayyid Kutp, Mevdudi, Abdulkadir Udeh, Hasan el-Benna, Malik Binnebi, Muhammed Kutup, Nedvi, Muhammed Hamidullah and Fazlurrahman Ensari."
With this attempt, Islamists constructed systematic thinking on socio-political issues within the neo-Islamic mindset, which was based on the rejection of the traditional interpretation of Islam. As a result, a new terminology appeared in Islamic discourse and new terms were incorporated into popular discussions: Ignorance (cahiliyye), social justice (sosyal adalet), jihad (cihad), Islamic unification (tevhid-ittihad), sirk, and tagut. As a result, these efforts split radical Islamist from traditional Muslims. As Erturk correctly notes "The new wave of Islamism in Turkey made clear distinctions between Islamists and ordinary conservative people. Whereas conservatism often supports the status quo, Islamism is a reaction to the status quo. For Islamists, political consciousness meant that they should reject the traditional social/institutional/and ideological base of society. Ideologically, the rejectionist Islam was influenced by the "puritanical" religious movement of Saudi Arabia, i.e. Salafism.
By the time the Islamists experienced the imported ideological transformation, Wahhabism was imported into Islamic circles in Turkey as yet another ideology under the rubric of the Salafi movement. The significance of this revolutionary reading of Islam, including the Salafi movement, became clear during the recruitment process for the Afghani jihad. These revolutionary Islamists propagated, encouraged, and recruited Mujahids (mujahideen) -- who were not necessarily Salafi at the time they joined the jihad -- for the Afghani jihad. After these Mujahids returned to Turkey, some of them were recruited into al-Qaeda units active in Turkey.
Here we see the second stream, which fed the formation of al-Qaeda units in Turkey. The wars in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, Chechnya, and now in Iraq became the preaching and practicing ground for al-Qaeda ideology. For those Turkish Mujahids who joined the war for different reasons other than ideological ones, such as ethnic reasons, they came to know al-Qaeda warriors in these places and were influenced by them. According to a Turkish police report, there are as many as 1,500 to 2,000 Turkish Mujahids who joined the wars at different times and in different places since 1984.
The third element of al-Qaeda strategy in Turkey is to establish connections between the local radical Islamist organizations and al-Qaeda. According to some experts, Kurdish Hizbullah, and the Islamic Great East Raiders Front (IBDA-C) are the two al-Qaeda-associated local groups in Turkey.
In addition to these three pillars on which al-Qaeda stands, the strategies of Turkish security forces to fight against al-Qaeda and Salafi organizations were questionable until recent years. For instance, it is interesting to note that in the Feb. 28 postmodern-coup process between 1997 and 2002, in which the best preventive measures had been taken against Islamic threats in Turkey, no media outlet referred to any security report, which indicates the danger of the Salafi movement at the time. The key question which needs to be asked is was there any security report which mentioned a word about the threat of the al-Qaeda or Salafi movements at that time? Even more interesting is the fact that Lu'ai Sakra, al-Qaeda's regional lieutenant, visited Turkey frequently between 1998 and 2000, the time period during which the Islamists were subject to the most intense governmental scrutiny. How did this happen?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/16/2005 16:34 ||
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France will wait for a report next month by the UN nuclear agency on Iran's controversial atomic program before deciding what steps to take next, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Friday. At an emergency meeting Thursday the 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called upon Iran to halt nuclear fuel cycle work and ordered the UN watchdog to report on September 3 on Tehran's compliance with international safeguards. "We're waiting for the report," Douste-Blazy said during a visit to the UN's European headquarters. "We'll see what happens ... We'll decide what we need to do."
#6
Since Gerhard was kind enough to let the mullahs know yesterday that he doesn't think this issue can be solved militarily, they have no reason to listen to anything the IAEA, UN, or EU have to say.
Pointless resolutions, limp wristed condemnations, and idle threats of unspecified consequences are all the mullahs have to fear.
All they have to do is yes the EU to death about whatever nonsensical bullshit they're peddling this week,start sounding as reasonable and moderate as possible to the Americans and Isrealis, and go about building the bomb anyway.
That's what I would do if I were them, and before you know it - I'm nookular.
#7
France will wait for a report next month by the UN nuclear agency on Iran's controversial atomic program before deciding what steps to take next, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Friday.
Translation: "Iran won't listen to us, and we don't have any way of twisting their arm. So we just wait."
#8
I think this meter's faulty. When I tap it just a little bit, it pins the needle at 250.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
08/16/2005 11:06 Comments ||
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#9
The Rantburg meters all seem to have a bit of a calibration problem. The sympathy and surprise meters never seem to register anything at all, and the apathy meter can't be bothered. Maybe Fred or one of the other RB engineers can look at them sometime.
#17
I wasn't aware that this thread had a CAPS LOCK requirement.
Anyhoo, this is Europe's chance to shine and make up for WWI & WWII. BUT, I WON'T HOLD MY BREATH!! I'm sure that the uneducated and uncultured US will have to come to the rescue, AGAIN.
"You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism."
-- Cindy Sheehan, anti-war protestor in Crawford.
The front page of just about every newspaper this weekend noted the anti-war protest of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier who was killed in Iraq. The Democrats have jumped on board Ms. Sheehanâs protest â casting her and her message as heroic examples for the rest of the nation.
She has been heralded by Democrats such as Joe Trippi, campaign manager for Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Deanâs campaign for President, Michael Moore, and organizations such as Democrats.com, MoveOn.org, True Majority, and Democracy for America.
While Democrats are busy making Cindy Sheehan their spokesman and avatar of their views, we see her as yet another example of how critics of Israel within the Democratic Party have taken control of the party's agenda.
If Cindy Sheehanâs ideas are what the Democrats have to offer, then more and more American Jews will continue to see that there is no place for them in the Democratic Party.
Take another look at the quote at the top of this letter. If only it were an aberration. Unfortunately, it represents only a tip of the iceberg of Ms. Sheehanâs world-view.
In a letter to Nightline, Ms. Sheehan wrote that the entire Iraq War was part of a neo-conservative plot to benefit Israel:
Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel.
And Ms. Sheehan, the voice of Democrat opposition to the war, reported what she would tell the President if she were to meet him (again):
You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East.
Is that where the Democrats are on the War in Iraq â and on US policy in the Middle East? The elimination of Saddam Husseinâs tyrannical rule is a victory for the oil companies and for American imperialism?
You know, as well as I, that Saddam Hussein launched scud missiles at Israel.
You know that he operated rape rooms and torture chambers.
You know that he launched chemical weapons at his own people.
You know that he housed terrorists as his guests in Iraq â terrorists such as Abu Nidal, who murdered Leon Klinghoffer on the Achille Lauro cruise ship.
You know that Saddam paid a bounty of $25,000 to the families of Palestinian homicide bombers.
You know that he was a threat to the stability of the entire region.
You also know that there were strong links between Saddamâs Iraq and Al Qaeda (for a new comprehensive summary of the latest evidence, check out www.HusseinAndTerror.com).
#1
Unfortunately a rather large segment of America does not know these things.
Because the MSM is refusing to tell them about it. And it is not an 'error' on their part but a deliberate and calculated deception in order to undercut american and the GOP as well as advance their own and the terrorists agenda.
Fortunately the MSM is no longer the only news in town. Now there are blogs (many of which are run by people actually on the scene. The Rathers and Jennings of the MSM no longer have a monopoly on the news anymore.
#6
I, for one, will never understand the Jewsih affiliation with a party that so fervently sells them out, calls them names (McKinney) and believes their existence in teh ME causes most of the world's ill (James E Carter). Wake the fuck up! The Republican party has done more for Jews along with Christian evangelist groups to protect and demonstate solidarity!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 20:04 Comments ||
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#7
Isn't it a sad, sad, state when all the Dem party has left is to pile on the anti Jewish bandwagon. They're core beliefs are recycled Marxist ideolgy from the 1800s and anti Jewish hatred from the 30s and 40s. The antisemitism worked for a man named Adolf I suppose. But, I suppose when lose every election you'll likely try any message.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 21:19 Comments ||
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#9
It's ok Frank. I feel the same way and about the blacks too. The dems strive for racial division and inequality, it keeps their social programs intact and them in some form of power. The Republicans are trying to change things by giving the people power of ownership.
August 16, 2005: When television meets reality, strange things happen. A recent example of that is a new television show, âOver There.â The show tries to portray the experiences of American troops in contemporary Iraq. But the show also tries to deal with the demands of television dramas. This means, well, that accurate "reality" is apparently out of reach.
âOver Thereâ is not just unique in that it is dealing with ongoing events, but the people actually involved in those events are able to see the show. Illegal copies of the show have made their way to the troops (either via video captures sent via CD, or those same files snagged online via Bittorrent). The troops are not impressed. Some are appalled, although rather saltier language is used to express their reactions. What bothered the troops the most was how poorly the actors dealt with very important things like combat and security. There are several hundred thousand Americans who have been to Iraq, gotten the combat training needed to survive there, and could have advised the shows creators on how things are actually done. Many troops winced as they watched the actors make one fatal mistake after another. It would be funny, it it werenât for the memories of friends who made those same mistakes and got killed or injured because of it.
Maybe its for dramatic effect that the show depicts a single hummer out in the middle of nowhere, with no one paying much attention to local security. SOP in Iraq is two vehicles, minimum, when you go outside the wire (leave a base camp), and careful security measures whenever you stop. You can get away with the âlone riderâ motif in most parts of the world, but not in Iraq. Another hilarious bit, to troops who have been (or are still) there, is the depiction of senior officers (like colonels) wandering around without a security detail. Canât understand how they would miss this. TV and movies loves to show security details. And the ones in Iraq are well trained and all business. Oh, and colonels shooting hummers to prevent troops from doing something? Doesnât happen. The military has their own colorful ways to deal with disputes and disagreements, but blasting a hummer says that the trigger-happy officer has problems with his âcommand presence.â If the writers had spent some time talking to troops who have been to Iraq, they could have gotten some entertaining, and much more realistic ways to handle that.
And then there was the episode where the bad guys had some Stinger missiles. Where were the âreality consultantsâ for the show when this got written? The bad guys in Iraq have access to thousands of Russian made portable anti-aircraft missiles. Getting their hands on Stingers would involve a major victory over American troops, something not likely to happen, or go unnoticed. Stinger missiles are very well looked after, and their probably arenât many in Iraq anyway.
Scenes involving the interrogation of prisoners come off, to the troops who have been involved with actual interrogations, as some kind of parody of a parody. What are the shows writers using for source material? Again, the great tragedy here is that the reality of these interrogations is lot more entertaining than the parody portrayed in "Over There." Along those lines, the troops get really upset at the way G.I.s are portrayed in combat. American troops are taught, again and again (until the get it right), the proper moves to use in a firefight, or when threatened with attack. The showâs writers could have just referred to video taken by embeds during the 2003 invasion. Those vids showed how it is done, but bear no resemblance to the tactical travesties portrayed in âOver There.â
Hollywood makes a big deal of sending their actors to a brief âboot campâ before they shoot a war movie. Perhaps, for shows like âOver There,â they should have sent the writers and directors. Bu whatâs really annoying to a lot of the troops is that many family and friends will believe âOver Thereâ is an accurate portrayal of operations in Iraq. The troops will have to spend lots of time and effort repairing that damage. Oh, and the show hardly bothers to portray the troops using email (which is a major morale item for those serving over there), or playing video games (a major recreational activity when off duty.) Itâs uncertain what the target audience for âOver Thereâ was, but ratings have been plummeting since it first premiered last month. They defiantly lost the military audience, and many civilians as well. Perhaps it will soon be over for âOver There.â
Posted by: Steve ||
08/16/2005 10:30 ||
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#1
I'm not so sure it makes sense to broadcast an accurate depiction of how our troops move in firefights, etc. It may not be 'secret' but why give the enemy 'training tapes' on what to expect. (Closer to home, cops like it when tv shows have bad guys looking 'cool' holding their pistols horizontally while shooting.)
#2
The problem is that most of the mistakes built into the scripts make our soldiers look unprofessional, undisciplined, profane and / or of poor morale.
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/16/2005 12:09 Comments ||
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Regards the show - I watched it once. It was just silly - no flank security, people wandering around alone in a firefight, yadda³. That the Hollyweird folks didn't consult with real Iraq troopers is par for fools, no? Chris Gerolmo, who wrote Mississippi Burning BTW, is prolly just too busy to deal with such things - and didn't think it mattered. Heh, dramatic license works great - when there aren't a phreakin' half million people who know better, lol.
#5
Hopefully Over There will be over. That show is a pathetic excuse for a TV slot to begin with, then not even close to showing the reality of military life. Hopefully it goes bust and FX looses lots and lots of money.
#6
Why not show actual brave men and woment instead of some homogenized, hollyweird version? At a minimum, our courageous returning service people should have been on-the-set consultants (bringing in a few high price coins for their families to boot).
If they really gave a shit, they would have started and ended with the soldiers' perspective.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/16/2005 15:45 Comments ||
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#7
LOTP: The problem is that most of the mistakes built into the scripts make our soldiers look unprofessional, undisciplined, profane and / or of poor morale.
Civilians don't know from Adam. How would they tell the difference? Some Brit reporter covering Afghanistan reported the mad dash for cover during an ambush as panic-stricken retreat. His idea of combat may resemble Rambo the movie, where the bandoleered hero advances slowly forward while untouched by enemy bullets whizzing by.
#8
LOTP: The problem is that most of the mistakes built into the scripts make our soldiers look unprofessional, undisciplined, profane and / or of poor morale.
Civilians don't know from Adam. How would they tell the difference?
Ask their technical advisor. The intention of the media is to "make our soldiers look unprofessional, undisciplined, profane and / or of poor morale." We will soon see a half a dozen big screen movies making exactly this point. They will flop. Then Mel Gibson will make the movie that will make him king of the new Hollywood.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/16/2005 16:06 Comments ||
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#9
Mel Gibson's Production Company is Icon... Looks like there's no public stock offering, unfortunately...
#10
Sorry folks the left and MSM are winning the propaganda war. Look at the poll numbers. Look for the cut and run passed off as a suscess in Iraq and fascist attacks on the west to get worse not better. The people running the war on terror are not winning the propaganda war the fascists and their mirror twins the TRANZIs are.
#11
I haven't seen the show but this sounds like the military version of pissed off cops, doctors, lawyers, etc. at how they are portrayed on TV. There is an added factor of these guys putting their lives on the line during a time where their home country is politically in a war of words with each other. I personally wouldn't have given the go ahead for a show like this in the current climate, but I'm not a TV producer.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/16/2005 20:28 Comments ||
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#12
Watched the first episode and thought it a pretentious crock of shit, what a coke-addled lefty thinks a war movie should be. The show crammed every cliche from every WWII and vietnam movie you have ever seen into a plot that could have been written in the bar of the Palestine Hotel. No resemblance to reality.
#13
The show is IRAQ = VIETNAM as protrayed or defined by the ant-US DemoLeft, where treason = patriotism and laissez faire = gulag/death camp, etc. The COCA-COLA CO. is even showing its GIVE THE WORLD A COKE commercial again. WHEN WILL US LEFTIES LEARN THAT IF AND WHEN COMMUNISM TAKES OVER AMERICA, AND LIKE IFF UNDER ISLAMISM, DEM DAR ALTERNATISTS, BOHEMIANS, HEDONISTS, and ............HIPPIES/YIPPIES, etc are all going back into the closet andor RE-EDUC CAMP as your PC usefulness as patsies for the Commies is OVER - WHY? HOW? 'CUZ THE HISTORY OF COMMUNISM SAYS SO, THATS WHY, THATS HOW!? THE MAD MULLAHS = COMMIES > WILL KILL ALL OF YOU. NOW OR LATER!
From Jihad Unspun, a statement by Khadija Abdul Qahaar,Publisher Alhamdulilah, all praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, whose Justice causes days of blessings and days of suffering to alternate, and whoâs Grace makes final victory belong to the believers.
From the time JUS moved its IT operations to the Middle East, there have been many trials and a constant stream of operational difficulties due to an underdeveloped communications infrastructure. For over 18 months, every few weeks there was some technical challenge causing some kind of interruption to email, connecting to the servers or the functioning of our internal systems. The complexity of the JUS systems and the reliability required to serve up daily news to a large audience ultimately made it necessary to move IT operations to a more robust infrastructure. Alhamdulilah, this process is now complete. .... The tireless work of the JUS team and our volunteers made quick work of our task and we ask Allah to reward each of you. With our migration now complete, we are pleased to once again be able to bring you uncut and uncensored news direct from the battlefields. ....
On behalf of all us of us at JUS, we are honored to continue bringing you uncensored and uncut news on this so-called war on terrorism as we endeavor to make the truth known. All praise is to Allah and Allah alone. Peace and blessings to those who follow His true path. Ameen.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
You wearing a turban, Mikey? Looks like it's cutting off the blood supply to your brain...
#2
Alhamdulilah, all praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, whose Justice causes days of blessings and days of suffering to alternate, and whoâs Grace makes final victory belong to the believers.
So someone with a brain reset the circuit breaker and lo-there was life again. F*ckin' charming.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/16/2005 2:08 Comments ||
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#3
From the time JUS moved its IT operations to the Middle East, there have been many trials and a constant stream of operational difficulties due to an underdeveloped communications infrastructure. Welcome to the third world matey.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/16/2005 4:18 Comments ||
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If our JihadUnspun folks were really, really good muslims they would have said "Alhamdulilah" when their server crashed since all things, not just apparently good things, are due to Allah.
4 in 10 Mexicans still in Mexico would come here if they could.
So that leaves 2 in 10 Mexicans who would stay in Mexico.
Those would be the drug gangs, the rich guys (who can come here anytime they want to anyway), and the peasants who are too uneducated to know the US exists.
As Frank G says, Vincente must be so proud.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/16/2005 21:36 Comments ||
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Ex-president Bill Clinton now says he would have taken out Osama bin Laden before the 9/11 attacks â if only the FBI and CIA had been able to prove the al-Qaida mastermind was behind the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.
"I desperately wish that I had been president when the FBI and CIA finally confirmed, officially, that bin Laden was responsible for the attack on the U.S.S. Cole," Clinton tells New York magazine this week. "Then we could have launched an attack on Afghanistan early."
"I donât know if it would have prevented 9/11," he added. "But it certainly would have complicated it.â
Despite his failure to launch such an attack, Clinton said he saw the danger posed by bin Laden much more clearly than did President Bush.
"I always thought that bin Laden was a bigger threat than the Bush administration did," he told New York magazine. "An' I *knew* that that tramp Angelina Jolie was going to break up Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston."
QUOTE:"A senior U.S. counterintelligence official says that investigators working on the USS Cole bombing case see similarities between the deadly blast and the explosions at two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998.
....
The United States has indicted former Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and he is on the FBI's list of the 10 most wanted suspected criminals."
#4
Woulda, shoulda, coulda. Could the Clinton Adminstration have done more to combat terrorism? Of course they could. But let's be honest, pre 9/11 I think to large degree most Americans had their collective heads in there asses. Even now most of the mooonbats still have them there. We are in a world war. Call it WW3 or 4 or whatever (IMO WW1 was the period of the French and Indian War through the American Revolution) but it has been a mostly low intensity conflict. Our enemies are attempting to bleed us from a thousand cuts while we attempt to smash them with sledgehammers. Sometimes the sledgehammers are the right tool. But sometimes the law enforcement approach works too. We need to use the right tools to do the job and the first tool we need is the resolve to do the job in the first place. Just my $.02
#5
At least Janet Reno got that terrorist Elian Gonzalez kicked out
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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But let's be honest, pre 9/11 I think to large degree most Americans had their collective heads in there asses.
Good observations, Cheaderhead. And nothing spells out the difference between a leader (Bush) and a poll watcher (Clinton) more than this issue. Bush knew he didn't have perfect info on Iraq, but proceeded and has taken his hits in public opinion. Clinton wanted someone else to do all the dirty work for him.
#7
Bill Clinton is an narcissistic jack ass, period.
During Clinton's watch was: Somalia, WTC-I, 1995 terrorist car bombing, 1996 bombing in SA, USS Cole, etc. Declined Sudanese offer of OBL in 1996. Ignored Al Qaeda declaration of war 1996.
What was he doing at the time? Cutting military HUMINT to the bone, cutting FBI/CIA, trying to cash in on peace dividend, etc. Promoting gays in military, etc.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/16/2005 13:57 Comments ||
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Captain America - don't forget abusing the help, too. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/16/2005 13:59 Comments ||
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Captain, you forgot national health care, "reinventing government", and Kyoto -- although Hillary and Al managed those efforts.
#11
Barbara, here's another difference between Clinton and Bush:
My brother was a 30-year Army colonial who was training up the Saudi national guard. In 1995, he was killed due to a terrorist car bombing during lunch in Ryhaid. Within hours, President Clinton jumped on the "opportunity" to meet the caskets when they arrived in Maryland, with TV cameras and the press on hand. We and the other grieving families requested that they not make a public display out of this, eventually they accepted our request.
President Bush meets privately with the families and respects the families right to privacy.
The difference is stark: President Bush respects the families. President Clinton respects the cameras and polls.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/16/2005 14:11 Comments ||
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Ex-president Bill Clinton now says he would have taken out Osama bin Laden before the 9/11 attacks â if only the FBI and CIA had been able to prove the al-Qaida mastermind was behind the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.
Now wait a minute. How in the phuque would the FBI and CIA prove anything if they weren't allowed to share information with each other???? Jamie Gorelick, anyone?
#15
Yeah, I remember that stunning speech Clinton gave about how it was time to stop deactivating army divisions and fleet units because of the growing threat of Islamic extremism. When was that?
Posted by: Matt ||
08/16/2005 15:53 Comments ||
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#16
Look for Hillary to distance herself from "Bill's administration" in the next coming months. She doesn't want to get caught up in those messy intelligence failures or policy flubs.
#18
The Clintons and DemoLefties were acknowledging the merits and expansions of the Reagan-Repub economy whilst giving credit to themselves and SSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH, Leftism-Socialism includ Communism - Clinty and the Dems were NOT going to let something such as TRUTH or CONTROVERSY, NO MATTER HOW MINUTAE, BESPOIL THEIR NATIONAL POTEMKINISM!? UNFORTUNATELY FOR US DEMOLEFTIES, CLINTON AS A COMMIE WAS AS DEDICATED TO THE DESTRUCTION OR FAILURE OF THE US LEFT AS HE AND HILLARY WERE TO THAT OF THE GOP-RIGHT. Where the Failed/Angry Left is concerned, the WOT > as much an INTRA-SOCIALIST WAR AS OTHER LABELS.i.e. what -ISM and Nation/Region will dominate the future SOCIALIST OWG AND SOCIALIST WORLD ORDER, AND IT T'AINT AMERIKA OR THE USSA THAT THEY WANT. The Left > America's only choices is to be a weak Global SSR, or to be militarily destroyed!
Gov. Janet Napolitano declared an emergency along Arizona's border with Mexico on Monday, making up to $1.5 million available to beleaguered local governments.
Four border counties - Pima where I live, Cochise, Santa Cruz and Yuma - will be able to use the money to bolster law enforcement along a 350-mile border that has become the nation's busiest and deadliest crossing point for illegal migrants.
The state was forced to act, Napolitano said after signing the declaration, because the federal government has failed to secure the border. We won't mention that Napolitas has been fighting implementation of Prop 200 (no benefits for illegals, ID checks for voting, must report illegals to INS) every inch of the way.
Napolitano's declaration comes three days after a similar move by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who made up to $1.75 million in emergency funds available to four southwestern border counties in his state. "Governor, your approval rating is so-so. You need an issue.
With them has come a surge in vehicle thefts, drug smuggling and property damage - crimes Napolitano said her declaration is aimed at addressing.
"The problem isn't new, but it has been growing," she said. It's been around the 2-1/2 years you've been in office, but you only take notice when the run-up to next year's election is starting.
According to spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer, the emergency money can go toward a variety of purposes, such as overtime pay for law enforcement officers, repair of border fences and autopsies on migrants who never make it out of the Arizona desert.
In Santa Cruz County, Sheriff Tony Estrada told the governor in a recent letter that he "could definitely use" the money to pay for equipment like night-vision goggles, satellite telephones, and computer tracking devices.
Estrada called the declaration a much-needed attempt to aid cash-strapped communities bearing the brunt of illegal immigration.
"We are a small, poor county and there is not much separating us from Mexico. There is no buffer zone. We are joined at the hip with Mexico," he said.
Just as significant, Estrada added, is the message the emergency declaration sends to the federal government.
"What the governor is doing will send the message that they need to look at us and help us," he said. "We deal with international and federal issues and the federal government should pitch in."
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry praised the state's "more aggressive role," calling it long overdue. "It recognizes the tremendous impact of border crossers on local taxpayers," he said.
Some Republicans like Me, though, dismissed the declaration as little more than a political gesture.
"It's Janet come lately," said Republican state Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, a possible candidate for governor in 2006. "She could have done it years months ago."
This could be the issue that starts a big realignment of politics. Like slavery 150 years ago, both major parties have significant factions on both sides of the issue. While the war is going on, that will probably trump this, but if we make good progress in the ME, this could rise to the top. With the big-business Republicans wanting cheap illegal labor, and the Democrats being dependent on illegals voting, neither major party is speaking to this issue. The Republican party was ormed in 1854 because the Democrats and Whigs wouldn't take an anti-slavery position.
#1
Up for reelection in 2006 I take it? Richardson ought to move to New York and run there. Much closer to the networks for all those interminable live shots on the news shows which I see him on for what seems like every friggin day. On every friggin issue.
#2
$1.5 Million? That's one-days' pissing-away money for her. Get serious or STFU and move outta the way for someone who will. Border states' CITIZENS are up in arms and it won't quiet down. These mooks are just trying to ease out of the way of the avalanche. W would be wise to get in front of this....listening, Karl?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 12:58 Comments ||
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#3
surprise, surprise, both aspiring demoncrats.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/16/2005 14:24 Comments ||
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I heard that scumbag MF Richardson on Hannity this afternoon and found myself thinking that he's just another lying bastard lib who couldn't be trusted if he said the sun was going to rise in the east tomorrow. Same old story: Democrat=criminal=liar. Nothing new to see here, folks. The skunks haven't changed their striping. Move along.
Posted by: mac ||
08/16/2005 22:17 Comments ||
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via InstaPundit
A military intelligence team repeatedly contacted the F.B.I. in 2000 to warn about the existence of an American-based terrorist cell that included the ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a veteran Army intelligence officer who said he had now decided to risk his career by discussing the information publicly. The officer, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, said military lawyers later blocked the team from sharing any of its information with the F.B.I.
Colonel Shaffer said in an interview that the small, highly classified intelligence program known as Able Danger had identified by name the terrorist ringleader, Mohammed Atta, as well three of the other future hijackers by mid-2000, and had tried to arrange a meeting that summer with agents of the F.B.I.'s Washington field office to share the information.
But he said military lawyers forced members of the intelligence program to cancel three scheduled meetings with the F.B.I. at the last minute, which left the bureau without information that Colonel Shaffer said might have led to Mr. Atta and the other terrorists while the Sept. 11 plot was still being planned.
"I was at the point of near insubordination over the fact that this was something important, that this was something that should have been pursued," Colonel Shaffer said of his efforts to get the evidence from the intelligence program to the F.B.I. in 2000 and early 2001.
He said he learned later that lawyers associated with the Defense Department's Special Operations Command had canceled the F.B.I. meetings because they feared controversy if Able Danger was portrayed as a military operation that had violated the privacy of civilians who were legally in the United States. "It was because of the chain of command saying we're not going to pass on information - if something goes wrong, we'll get blamed," he said.
The Defense Department did not dispute the account from Colonel Shaffer, a 42-year-old native of Kansas City, Mo., who is the first military officer associated with the so-called data-mining program to come forward and acknowledge his role. At the same time, the department said in a statement that it was "working to gain more clarity on this issue" and that "it's too early to comment on findings related to the program identified as Able Danger." The F.B.I. referred calls about Colonel Shaffer to the Pentagon.
The account from Colonel Shaffer, a reservist who is also working part-time for the Pentagon, corroborates much of the information that the Sept. 11 commission has acknowledged that it received about Able Danger last July from a Navy captain who was also involved with the program but whose name has not been made public.
In a statement issued last week, the leaders of the Sept. 11 commission said the panel had concluded that the intelligence program "did not turn out to be historically significant." The statement said that while the commission did learn about Able Danger in 2003 and immediately requested Pentagon files about the program, none of the documents turned over by the Defense Department referred to Mr. Atta or any of the other hijackers.
Colonel Shaffer said that his role in Able Danger was as the program's liaison with the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, and that he was not an intelligence analyst. The interview with Colonel Shaffer on Monday night was arranged for The New York Times and Fox News by Representative Curt Weldon, the Pennsylvania Republican who is vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a champion of data-mining programs like Able Danger.
Colonel Shaffer's lawyer, Mark Zaid, said in an interview that he was concerned that Colonel Shaffer was facing retaliation from the Defense Department - first for having talked to the Sept. 11 commission staff in October 2003 and now for talking with news organizations. Mr. Zaid said that Colonel Shaffer's security clearance had been suspended last year because of what the lawyer said were a series of "petty allegations" involving $67 in personal charges on a military cellphone. He noted that despite the disciplinary action, Colonel Shaffer had been promoted this year from the rank of major.
Colonel Shaffer said he had decided to allow his name to be used in news accounts in part because of his frustration with the statement issued last week by the commission leaders, Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton. The commission said in its final report last year that American intelligence agencies had not identified Mr. Atta as a terrorist before Sept. 11, 2001, when he flew an American Airlines jet into one of towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
A commission spokesman did not return repeated phone calls for comment. A Democratic member of the commission, Richard Ben Veniste, the former Watergate prosecutor, said in an interview today that while he could not judge the credibility of the information from Colonel Shaffer and others, the Pentagon needed to "provide a clear and comprehensive explanation regarding what information it had in its possession regarding Mr. Atta." "And if these assertions are credible," he continued, "the Pentagon would need to explain why it was that the 9/11 commissioners were not provided this information despite request for all information regarding to Able Danger."
Colonel Shaffer said that he had provided information about Able Danger and its identification of Mr. Atta in a private meeting in October 2003 with members of the Sept. 11 commission staff when they visited Afghanistan, where he was then serving. Commission members have disputed that, saying they do not recall hearing Mr. Atta's name during the briefing and that the terrorist's name did not appear in documents about Able Danger that were later turned over by the Pentagon.
"I would implore the 9/11 commission to support a follow-on investigation to ascertain what the real truth is," Colonel Shaffer said in the interview this week. "I do believe the 9/11 commission should have done that job: figuring out what went wrong with Able Danger." "This was a good news story because, before 9/11, you had an element of the military - our unit - which was actually out looking for Al Qaeda," he continued. "I can't believe the 9/11 commission would somehow believe that the historical value was not relevant."
Colonel Shaffer said that because he was not an intelligence analyst, he was not involved in the details of the procedures used in Able Danger to glean information from terrorist databases. Nor was he aware, he said, which databases had supplied the information that might have led to the name of Mr. Atta or other terrorists so long before the Sept. 11 attacks.
But he said he did know that Able Danger had made use of publicly available information from government immigration agencies, from internet sites and from paid search engines such as Lexis Nexis. "We didn't realize? that Atta's name was significant" at the time, he said, adding that "we just knew there were these linkages between him and these other individuals who were in this loose configuration" of people who appeared to be tied to an American-based cell of Al Qaeda.
Colonel Shaffer said he assumed that by speaking out publicly this week about Able Danger, he might effectively be ending his military career and limiting his ability to participate in intelligence work in the government. "I'm proud of my operational record and I love what I do," he said. "But there comes a time - and I believe the time for me is now -- to stand for something, to stand for what is right."
Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2005 20:02 ||
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At DU itâs discussed how some mean spirited and obviously REPUBLICAN neocon has mowed down the ceremonial crosses that the protestors had lining the road in Crawford, TX. While I think itâs altogether possible that some neocon was the perp, they offer no proof other than the crosses on the ground. Apparently some guy in a pickup truck attached a chain/bar to his truck and drove along the line of crosses crushing and dislodging 500 of the 800 crosses. Now call me skeptical, but I bet someone already knows who did this. The place has to be under constant surveillance by the Secret Service and the local cops are at the scene 24/7. Call me silly but I bet we find out this was not a neocon as claimed but a publicity stunt by some whacko (and probably a LLL).
#3
A real crisis. How can you have a staged theatre without the props. Say, Cindy, time to go and pray over the real grave, not the phoney one.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/16/2005 14:31 Comments ||
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#4
It's performance art. Remember, you don't have to agree with it. It's really quite thought provoking and it has stimulated conversation. Maybe cindy can take a minute to take the white sheet off her head and see that. Open up your mind. Freedom of expression should be cherished.
#5
I was wrong he is a right wing nut and not a LLL. I will give the press 30 seconds to pull out the neocon=Hitler script, but I doubt they will need that much time. Apparently the town residents had enough of the hippies and filed a petition to have them removed.
#11
Note that when NBC/MSNBC/CNN want to disparage the Republican's position, they bring on Pat. I, for one, say he's not/never was my representative, and as far as I know he renounced the Rep party for his blood money from Perot. Let's bring on David Duke for the NAACP response?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 20:09 Comments ||
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#1
Reading it is absolutely, totally infuriating. The border needs to be double-fenced, and mined if necessary, and the US Army needs to set up shop on the border until the project is done. All property owners along the border need be armed to the teeth and should be authorized to dispatch coyotes any time they are discovered on their property. No ifs, ands, or buts.
#2
When Mexican Federal agents fly across our sovereign border, we need to defend ourselves anyway we can. The National Guard is preoccupied with the War on Terror but this is moving the battlefield to US soil. Arm the militias and round up everyone we can. We should declare them enemy combatants and ship even Vicente Fox off to Gitmo if he won't control his side of the border.
While the U.S. Army continues to have problems recruiting enough troops, some interesting patterns are emerging from the situation. First, there is not a shortage of volunteers overall. The problem is that the navy, marines and air force have a surplus of applicants. Itâs only the army that is having problems, and then mainly with filling combat support jobs (which make up some 85 percent of the positions). The army recruiters are often unable to sign up those applicants who werenât able to get into the navy, air force or marines.
The army is also noticing regional patterns. Recruiting is holding steady in the Midwest, and is up in the South. In other words, the recruiting tends to follow political patterns. The Blue (Democratic) states are sending fewer volunteers, and the Red (Republican) states more. But the Blue/Red state may have more to do with job prospects than political beliefs. Areas where the unemployment rate is the lowest tend to be the toughest for recruiters.
Thereâs also the reality factor. Troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to reenlist. Some of this is due to higher re-enlistment bonuses, but those re-enlisting (and 35 percent of them do it in a combat zone) often say they believe strongly in what they are doing, and thatâs why they volunteer to keep doing it. By the end of the year, the army expects to get 4,000 more re-enlistments than it expected. A disproportionate number of these are coming from combat troops, which is very helpful. Combat experience is invaluable, and perishable. Keeping such experienced troops in combat units makes those outfits more effective, and lowers the friendly casualty rates.
And then there are the foreigners. About 35,000 non-citizens are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, while another 12,000 serve in the Reserve Components. The navy has the largest proportion of non-citizens on active duty, almost 16,000, nearly half the total. The Marine Corps has about 6,500, the Army about 5,000, and the Air force about 3,000. The differences are the result of variations in the service regulations governing the re-enlistment of non-citizens. The Navy and Marine Corps place no restrictions, while the Army allows them to stay in for only 8 years of service, and the Air Force limits them to no more than 6. This is to encourage the non-citizen troops to become naturalized citizens. But naval tradition, the world over, has long tolerated non-citizens serving on ships for their entire careers. All services encourage non-citizens to apply for citizenship at the earliest opportunity, and many do. Some aliens in the service have been granted U.S. citizenship posthumously.
Non-citizens appear to make better soldiers and sailors. This can best be seen by their lower attrition rates. During their first three months of service, the attrition rate for citizens was nearly 11-percent, while that for non-citizens was just under 6-percent. At the 36 month mark, the attrition rate for citizens was approximately 32-percent, as against slightly under 19-percent for non-citizens.
Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2005 08:52 ||
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Non-citizens appear to make better soldiers and sailors.
#3
Some of this is due to higher re-enlistment bonuses, but those re-enlisting (and 35 percent of them do it in a combat zone) often say they believe strongly in what they are doing, and thatâs why they volunteer to keep doing it.
When I was responsible for the installation reenlistment program 25 years ago, the Army sent out an service wide analysis that showed even then that while people enlisted for many reasons, people reenlisted at around 40% for 'traditional' reasons [re:duty, honor, country]. Always thought it was a mistake not to push that even greater in the recruiting side of the house.
Areas where the unemployment rate is the lowest tend to be the toughest for recruiters.
Which is consistant whether it is peacetime or wartime. Recruiting is and has been far more in sync with the employment picture. You don't think recruiting was tough during the 80s and 90s other than during temporary recessions in the economy?
#4
Agree with B-a-r. They're aspiring citizens. They've chosen to become Americans. They're willing to give their life for the sake of their freedom, that of their loved ones, and the American ideal. They must be very focused and believe very strongly in what they're doing. Most American citizens either made a similar choice or their ancestors did.
The people who have chosen not to come to America are different. Make no mistake -- it is a choice every adult in the world has been facing for over 200 years.
I suspect there is a genetic component to the tenacity, purposefulness, and practicality evinced by most people who chose to leave their land, relatives, and friends for America. Over time, the accumulated behaviour is selecting for --and against-- certain traits. The Moonbats strike me as failed Americans. Good genes can be overcome by bad ones, as well as by insane nurture.
#5
The disparity between Red and Blue states is no suprise. Concepts like duty, honor and patriotism are readily scoffed at in the the urban areas that provide the dominant voting blocks in Blue states. But get away from the urban areas and while the state may appear Blue on the political map the country side looks pretty red.
#6
There is another facet as well, Kalle. Moonbats tend to have few to no children, in fact tend to be weaker overall at commitment-making, ie other-oriented, behaviours. This suggests to me that moonbattery is a countersurvival worldview within species Homo sapien. As for the Nature v. Nurture argument, the former Mrs. Sheehan's son's behaviour seems a lovely example.
#8
I have no problem with someone working their way to citizenship like this. Awesome!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 18:22 Comments ||
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"those re-enlisting (and 35 percent of them do it in a combat zone) often say they believe strongly in what they are doing, and thatâs why they volunteer to keep doing it."
#10
By "non-citizens" must mean "legal/permanent residents", and dual residents from approved nations such as the Philippines, where the USA has agreement that Filipinos with verified military service in their nation's armed forces but whom afterwards join the US armed forces can have their service time credited in US equivalency. CHALK IT UP TO "GLOBAL CORRECTNESS", as oppos to mere US-specific PC!?
WASHINGTON (AP) - Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports throughout the U.S. because their names are the same as or similar to those of possible terrorists on the government's "no-fly list." It sounds like a joke, but it's not funny to parents who miss flights while scrambling to have babies' passports and other documents faxed.
Ingrid Sanden's 1-year-old daughter was stopped in Phoenix before boarding a flight home to Washington at Thanksgiving. "I completely understand the war on terrorism, and I completely understand people wanting to be safe when they fly," Sanden said. "But focusing the target a little bit is probably a better use of resources."
The government's lists of people who are either barred from flying or require extra scrutiny before being allowed to board airplanes grew markedly since the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union say the government doesn't provide enough information about the people on the lists, so innocent passengers can be caught up in the security sweep if they happen to have the same name as someone on the lists.
That can happen even if the person happens to be an infant like Sanden's daughter. (Children under 2 don't need tickets but Sanden purchased one for her daughter to ensure she had a seat.) "It was bizarre," Sanden said. "I was hugely pregnant, and I was like, 'We look really threatening.'"
Sarah Zapolsky and her husband had a similar experience last month while departing from Dulles International Airport outside Washington. An airline ticket agent told them their 11-month-old son was on the government list. They were able to board their flight after ticket agents took a half-hour to fax her son's passport and fill out paperwork. "I understand that security is important," Zapolsky said. "But if they're just guessing, and we have to give up our passport to prove that our 11-month-old is not a terrorist, it's a waste of their time."
Well-known people like Sen. Edward M. Bagogas Kennedy, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and David Nelson, who starred in the sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," also have been stopped at airports because their names match those on the lists.
The government has sought to improve its process for checking passengers since the Sept. 11 attacks. The first attempt was scuttled because of fears the government would have access to too much personal information. A new version, called Secure Flight, is being crafted. But for now, airlines still have the duty to check passengers' names against those supplied by the government. That job has become more difficult - since the 2001 attacks the lists have swelled from a dozen or so names to more than 100,000 names, according to people in the aviation industry who are familiar with the issue. They asked not to be identified by name because the exact number is restricted information.
Not all those names are accompanied by biographical information that can more closely identify the suspected terrorists. That can create problems for people who reserve flights under such names as "T Kennedy" or "David Nelson."
ACLU lawyer Tim Sparapani said the problem of babies stopped by the no-fly list illustrates some of the reasons the lists don't work. "There's no oversight over the names," Sparapani said. "We know names are added hastily, and when you have a name-based system you don't focus on solid intelligence leads. You focus on names that are similar to those that might be suspicious."
That's part of what you have to do, unless you prefer to have no oversight and no security at all.
The Transportation Security Administration, which administers the lists, instructs airlines not to deny boarding to children under 12 - or select them for extra security checks - even if their names match those on a list. But it happens anyway. Debby McElroy, president of the Regional Airline Association, said: "Our information indicates it happens at every major airport."
The TSA has a "passenger ombudsman" who will investigate individual claims from passengers who say they are mistakenly on the lists. TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said 89 children have submitted their names to the ombudsman. Of those, 14 are under the age of 2. If the ombudsman determines an individual should not be stopped, additional information on that person is included on the list so he or she is not stopped the next time they fly.
Clark said even with the problems the lists are essential to keeping airline passengers safe.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2005 00:26 ||
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Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2005 8:05 Comments ||
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Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union say the government doesn't provide enough information about the people on the lists
OK, who else believes the ACLU would also be screaming if the list had more information on it?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/16/2005 8:18 Comments ||
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Baby joining al-Qaeda? I have always wondered what happened to "Baby Herman" since "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"! The Homeland Security Department has a right to be concerned about infants joining al-Qaeda
#8
Jackal you have a point here...
And somehow you ALWAYS sit close to a baby in airplanes.
But yes, bureaucrats will be bureaucrats. Like those who keep insisting that foreigners have to check boxes in the immigration forms whether they enter the US to commit terrorist acts, drug smuggling or moral turpitude.
#9
Now how many here think that AQ would not sink low enough to form a baby carrier out of explosives if they thought they could get away with it?
IIRC strollers filled with explosives have been used against Israelis.
TGA, the point of that box is to give prosecutors additional ways to leverage jail time or more if someone is later caught.
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/16/2005 9:40 Comments ||
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The idea of usings names as 'unique'identifiers is just silly when we are dealing with non-English speaking countries whose language may not transliterate nicely into English. The multiple variants of Mo Khadaffy is a prime example. Hell, some of these people don't even have vowels in their written language.
Moral turpitude is one of the most amorphous concepts in immigration law. There is no definition of moral turpitude, although many courts have attempted to construe one, using phrases such as an act of baseness, depravity or vileness. While there is no set definition, it is clear that the moral turpitude involved must be part of the essence of the offense. A crime involving moral turpitude need not have resulted in a conviction for it to render a person inadmissible, and admitting to an act that has the elements of a crime involving moral turpitude is sufficient to bar entry. Where an actual conviction occurred, the only issue is whether the offense was a crime involving moral turpitude. Where there is only an admission, a number of other steps are required. First, it must be clear that the act admitted to could have been criminally prosecuted in the place where it occurred. Second, the immigrant must fully understand the elements of the crime to which they have admitted. Third, while the immigrant needs to say that he/she is guilty of an offense, he/she does need to admit to all of the essential elements of the offense. Fourth, the admission must be totally voluntary."
Al-Arian trial update...In which Sami gets mad when he catches the media watching his hands instead of his lips.
After The Tampa Tribune ran a series of stories 10 years ago about his ties to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Sami Al-Arian was fuming. He called Bashir Nafi, another member of the Islamic Jihad's shura council, or board of directors, and the two of them commiserated. ``The guy is, that's to say, third class,'' Nafi said, referring to the reporter who wrote the stories, Michael Fechter. Al-Arian agreed, using a profanity to describe Fechter. The May 30, 1995, conversation was read to jurors in Al- Arian's trial Thursday morning. He is accused of helping organize and finance the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The two also complained about a piece written by Steve Emerson in the New Republic that same week.
``He discovered that Al-Turabi slept in my guest house,'' Al-Arian said. ``Look at this terrible discovery.''
Hassan Al-Turabi was Sudan's de facto leader during the early 1990s, a time when that nation granted refuge to Osama bin Laden. The Sorbonne-educated Muslim scholar also met with members of Congress and the Washington Post editorial board in 1992 in addition to meeting at USF with a group of scholars from across the country.
Who eagerly lapped up the pearls of wisdom issued by Turabi, and proceeded to ignore the rivulets of blood that had begun to seep across the Sudanese border...
August 16, 2005: While Islamic terrorists are still active here, they are hard pressed by the police and armed forces. Abu Sayyaf is believed to have been split into three groups, with about a dozen members each. These groups are being pursued by police and troops, who constantly pick up the trail (via sightings by civilians or troops) of individual terrorists. The MILF insists that the remaining Abu Sayyaf members are not capable of launching attacks, as they are distracted from trying to avoid capture. However, Indonesian members of Islamic terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah, continue to claim that Indonesians continue to get terrorist training in Abu Sayyaf camps in the Philippines.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/16/2005 10:17 ||
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...and so is bin Laden.
My name is Dan Rather and I approved this message.
SINGAPORE, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- A first ever Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise in Southeast Asia got underway here today in the busy sea lanes of communication in South China Sea.
The multinational initiative dubbed "Exercise Deep Sabre (XDS)" is the 17th in its series since it was launched two years ago and one of the largest PSI exercises involving some 2,000 personnel from the military, coast guard, customs and other agencies of 13 PSI countries -- Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
A total of 10 surface vessels and six maritime patrol aircraft are participating in the sea phase.
The scenario for XDS involves a multinational interdiction of a merchant ship carrying an illegal shipment of dual-use chemicals destined for an entity of proliferation concern. Once interdicted, the ship will be diverted to Singapore for a port search by civilian enforcement agencies...
The PSI establishment was announced by US President George W Bush on May 31, 2003 that would result in the creation of multinational partnerships, allowing the US and its allies to search planes and ships carrying suspect cargo and seize illegal weapons or missile technologies in high seas.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Monday ultraconservative Ali Larijani as head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and new chief nuclear negotiator, the news network Khabar reported. In his appointment letter, Ahmadinejad called on Larijani to take "correct decisions which secure both the interests and legal rights of the nation". There was no need for further elaboration. In both positions as SNSC head and chief nuclear negotiator, the 48-year-old Larijani will succeed the moderate Hassan Rowhani, who had tried in the last two years to reach a compromise with the European Union in the nuclear dispute. Along with the designated foreign minister, Manuchehr Mottaki, Larijani will be the main Iranian officials in charge of future nuclear negotiations with the E.U. and also form the new nuclear delegation team. Larijani supports resuming nuclear activities and has in the past been critical of negotiations with the E.U. and opposes any compromise in the dispute. Born in Tehran in 1957, Larijani graduated in mathematics and computer sciences and later gained a PhD in western philosophy.
Hmmmm...
Larijani was head of Iran's state television network IRIB from 1994-2004, and earlier served as minister of culture under former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani. As the conservative faction's main candidate, Larijani gained less than 6 per cent in last June's presidential elections and failed to reach the second round. After Ahmadinejad's landslide election victory over the ultra- conservative Abadgaran party, Larijani was one of the first officials to be invited to aid him during his four-year tenure. Meanwhile, hundreds of Iranian students plan Tuesday in Isfahan to protest against the IAEA resolution and form a human chain around the uranium conversion plant in the central Iranian city.
Syrian President Bashar Assad plans to attend a UN world summit in New York next month, the first time a Syrian head of state participates in a conference of the world organization, Syria's UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad said Monday. "President Assad will travel to New York to attend the UN world summit on September 14-16," Mekdad said. Leaders from more than 170 countries are expected to attend the U.N. summit designed to approve new approaches to security, development, human rights and UN management in the 21st century. Mekdad said he has not yet been informed of the Syrian president's schedule in New York. Assad, who has been in office since the death of his father Hafez in 2000, has repeatedly called for dialogue with the United States to improve strained relations between the two countries.
Here's hoping Ambassador Bolton is available to greet Mr. Assad with his hands on his hips in an aggressive manner. Right before he nails him between the eyes with a stapler.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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But will Assad be able to get a visa to enter the U.S.?
An extremist Algerian terror formation, the al-Qaeda aligned Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) on Tuesday issued a call to arms to French Muslims. "Muslim brothers, remember, we need your help," read a message posted by the GSPC to several Islamist websites. French Muslims are urged to carry out terrorist acts against Algerian business leaders, economists and diplomatic figures.
"We are calling on devout Muslims in France - and elsewhere - because we want to punish the criminals who have tortured Muslims in Africa," the GSPC message read. "We especially ask Muslims in France to launch terror attacks against those accused of acts against mujahadeen, because these people believe they are safe in France," it added.
The message is also intended to remind people that the group is still active. Although militant attacks have decreased in Algeria in recent years, and have been sporadic over the past twelve months, they have never entirely ceased and GSPC incursions have increased recently, especially in provinces to the east of the capital, Algiers.
Last week, Algerian media reported the police to be on high alert over the threat of an imminent attack by the GSPC - possibly on Algiers itself. New military units have been deployed to the area around Boumerdes, 45 kilometres east of Algiers, believed to be the militants' stronghold, where the Algerian army has suffered its worst losses.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/16/2005 16:33 ||
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OK. They've raised their arms over their heads.
Registration and annual audits have been made mandatory for religious seminaries operating in Sindh and Balochistan, by amendments to the Societies Registration Act 1860, introduced on Monday. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad promulgated the Societies Registration (Sindh Amendment) Ordinance 2005 under which no seminary can be established or operated in the province without being registered under the act.
A new section, 21, has been included in the 1860 Act, with four clauses. Clause 1 of the new section says, âAll Deeni Madaris (religious seminaries) shall not be established or operated without being registered under this act and shall be subject to the provisions of this act in addition to what is provided in sub-sections (2), (3), and (4).â
Clause 2 of the section says all seminaries will have to submit annual reports of their performance to the registrars concerned.
Clause 3 says, âEvery registered Deeni Madrassa shall maintain accounts of its actual expenses and receipts and annually submit its report to the registrar. The Deeni Madaris should have audit of their accounts done by auditors and submit their audited accounts to registrars.â Clause 4 of the new section states, âNo Deeni Madrassa shall teach or publish any literature which promotes militancy or spreads sectarianism or religious hatred.â
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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That takes care of roughly one third of Paks. What about the other two thirds (Punjab, NWFP, tribal areas)?
Sri Lankan students studying in Pakistani seminaries have been repatriated to their home country, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, the interior minister, told Daily Times on Monday. The minister said the government had begun implementing President General Pervez Musharrafâs orders to expel all foreign students studying in Pakistani seminaries and denied reports that the process had been delayed till September to give these students a chance to finish their exams.
Sherpao would not say how many students had been deported so far or how long the process would take. âWe have not fixed any deadline to complete the repatriation, but the process has started,â he said. According to an Interior Ministry estimate, there are some 1,400 foreign students studying in Pakistani seminaries. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) president, is known to oppose the decision and recently asked the government to allow the foreign students to appear in exams next month. Sources said the federal government had not yet made a decision on his request. The central secretary of the Ittehad Tanzeematul Madaris Diniya (ITMD), a grouping of seminaries and wafaqs, told Online on Monday that the government had agreed to postpone the expulsion of foreign students until September in view of their annual exams next month. âThe decision has been made on the pleas of seminaries and their foreign students. They will not be expelled until their annual exams end,â said Qari Hanif Jalandhari. However, Sherapo denied that the government had delayed its decision to expel foreign students.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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NWFP Chief Minister Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani on Sunday said that 14th August was a reminder of Pakistanâs Islamic ideology and that the implementation of an Islamic system in the country would solve itâs problems.
"Yep. That's what we need. More shariah. It'll fix us right up!"
Durrani said that the objective of a separate homeland for the sub-continentâs Muslims was achieved in the name of Islam, but past governments failed to implement the Islamic system and thus ignored the basic purpose of Pakistanâs creation. Durrani said that due to the lack of an Islamic system, there had been no genuine development in the country.
"That's the only reason we're backward and ignorant! Not enough shariah!"
Durrani said that the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amalâs (MMA) efforts to implement the Islamic system throughout the country would soon prove fruitful. Durrani praised the people of NWFP who offered countless sacrifices for the creation of Pakistan and said that every effort should be made to develop the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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NWFP Governor Khalilur Rehman has warned the NWFP government not to interfere in the local council elections. "If interference goes beyond bounds, action will be taken," he told reporters at Governor's House. "The provincial ministers are impeding free and fair elections. We are monitoring the situation and will take action if necessary," he said. However, he did not say what type of action was being considered against the provincial government.
My guess would be ineffectual action...
"I will talk to the chief minister" about his government's interference in the local council elections, said Rehman. "No interference will be tolerated."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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Iraqi leaders failed to meet a key deadline Monday to finish a new constitution, stalling over the same fundamental issues of power-sharing â including federalism, oil wealth and Islam's impact on women â that have bedeviled the country since Saddam Hussein's ouster. Just 20 minutes before midnight, parliament voted to give negotiators another seven days, until Aug. 22, to try to draft the charter.
The delay was a strong rebuff of the Bush administration's insistence that the deadline be met, even if some issues were unresolved, to maintain political momentum and blunt Iraq's deadly insurgency. "We should not be hasty regarding the issues and the constitution should not be born crippled," said Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, after the parliament session, which lasted a bare 15 minutes. "We are keen to have an early constitution, but the constitution should be completed in all of its items." Al-Jaafari's statement came after an apparent deal late Monday on all but two key issues fell apart, according to several Shiite politicians. The Shiites said the unresolved issues were women's rights, which is inextricably tied to Islam's role, and the right of Kurds to eventually secede from the country. But al-Jaafari said the key stumbling blocks were distribution of oil wealth and federalism, another, broader way of stating the Kurdish autonomy issue.
The confusion over outstanding issues â as well as negotiators' seeming inability to agree even on what they disagreed on â left unclear whether they will now reopen talks on all issues or just focus on a few.
According to Orrin Judd there was about a 2 1/2 month delay in finishing our own Constitution. Seems to have been worth it.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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It was 13 years from Declaration of Independence to Constitution, and that was without ratbastards blowing random people up on the streets. A week isn't a big deal.
#2
US Constitution timeline:
1787/05/25 - Constitutional Convention opens
1787/09/17 - Final draft of the Constitution signed
3 months, 23 days from convention to final draft approval.
1787/12/07 - 1st state (DE) ratifies
1790/05/29 - 13th state (RI) ratifies
Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2005 7:19 Comments ||
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But it took 13 years to get there,Ed.That is the point(I think)VAM was trying to make.
#4
[sarcasm/ON]
But there was a deadline! A deadline can't be broken! If you're late everything's a failure! Quagmire! Quagmire! Quag-URK-...rosebud...*THUD*
[sarcasm/OFF]
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/16/2005 7:29 Comments ||
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#5
Ed, you're forgetting the delay between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutional Convention. Sure, we had the Articles of Confederation, but we realized those weren't working and replaced them.
No reason the Iraqis couldn't do the same.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/16/2005 7:30 Comments ||
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To state that it took 13 years for the Constitution to be approved is misrepresenting what happened. From 1776 to 1783, the Revolutionary War was fought. Then the Articles of Confederation acted as a treaty binding the 13 new sovereign states. Only when it was realized that the 13 states needed tighter coordination, primarily economic, that the Constitutional Convention was convened. Even then, most attendees thought it was to ammend the Articles of Confederation, not to replace it and create a new nation.
Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2005 7:52 Comments ||
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#7
Yep, but they didn't have to deal with the likes of Mookie Al-Sadr and his Iranian pals. Canada back then, like today, just didn't pose much of a threat. Now as for them injuns ....
But drunken Senators who kill women (not their wives) are elected, over and over again.... Drudge Headline
Massachusetts officials are considering mandatory mental health screenings for National Guardsmen returning from Iraq, the BOSTON GLOBE is reporting on Tuesday. Mandatory mental-health screening nationwide currently applies only to full-service soldiers and usually involves only answering a questionnaire. The key concern is post-traumatic stress disorder, which occurs following the witnessing of a life-threatening experience such as military combat. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, depression and estrangement.
... and the desire to choke the living crap out of busybody officials...
Post-traumatic stress disorder, as the condition is commonly known, is one of the theories being weighed in the case of Daniel Cotnoir, the 33-year-old Marine sergeant charged with attempted murder in Lawrence for firing a shotgun into a crowd of raucous partiers outside his home early Saturday.
You mean the crowd who were throwing bottles thru the windows of his house with his kid sleeping in the next room?
Another attempt to paint GI Joe as a time-bomb babykiller, straight outta the VN playbook
A number of soldiers do end up suffering from PTSD. Only those who've been there understand the stresses. I confess I thought this sort of screening was already being done by the military, since they're well clued-in about the problem.
I believe the military healthcare system and the VA have it a lot better in hand than Massachussetts bureaucrats are going to...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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I also have the feeling that the Pentagon may have other ideas about State bureaucrats abusing the soldiers. I know they get awful shirty about States who don't deserve State taxes from soldiers trying to pry them out of them with threats.
#2
The outer limit of what is proper has been reached when the socalist bureaucrats of the state of Massachusetts think they can mandate a member of the US armed services should be force to do. Maybe they need to mandate a mental health screenings for their 2 federal Senators first.
#5
I do not see what is wrong with such a policy . There have been several examples of returning soldiers who committed suicide . That could have been prevented with mandatory mental health screenings.. Just saw an excellent documentary on the issue..
#6
When my young cousin came back(Army Reserve,served with the invasion force)he was required to serve an additional 3 months for counciling,physic eval,and generally unwind from the stress of combat.Iyot don't you think the soldiers and society in general be better served by letting the experts in post combat stress handle this,you know,like maybe active duty and VA shrinks that have decades of experience in dealing with this.Besides I have a real problem with letting liberial state hacks messing with a good soldiers head.
#7
It's not like Vietnam. Returning soldiers spend up to two weeks at a military facility upon their return from Iraq before they are given leave or discharged to their homes. They are provided with counseling or other psychiatric help as required by the evaluation of the base physycians. This is a knee-jerk reaction based on the opinionof the Looney Left that all returning soldiers are homicidal maniacs. Been there. The hell with 'em.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/16/2005 7:22 Comments ||
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Deacon -- I think we've learned that "it'll be another Vietnam" is not a prediction from a leftist, but a threat.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/16/2005 7:40 Comments ||
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As soon as I saw "Massachusetts" as the source for theis story, I could predict the content.
So, when is that state changing from "Commonwealth of Massachusetts" to "Massachusetts Soviet Socialist Republic"?
#10
Now, wait. I think I can see their point. After all, the most prominent veteran in the state of Massachusetts is a guy who told lurid stories of atrocities, stories which were pure fantasy. A guy who claimed to have run his boat along the Vietnam-Cambodia border -- despite the river he was on going straight through the border, and the river being blocked miles from the border -- and who claimed to have run weapons to the Khmer Rouge.
I think we can all understand that the good people of Massachusetts don't want any more delusional veterans like John Kerry running around their state.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/16/2005 8:24 Comments ||
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#11
Cotnoir, whose wife and two daughters were home at the time of the shooting, later told police he feared for his family's safety because someone threw an empty juice bottle through his bedroom window.
Cotnoir was arrested and held on $US100,000 bail. He was to be arraigned in Lawrence District Court on attempted murder charges.
Lissette Cumba, 15, and Kelvin Castro, 20, were treated for gunshot wounds. Both have been released from local hospitals.
Cotnoir has frequently called police to complain about noise and fights outside the Punto Finale nightclub.
Last year, police said, he claimed someone leaving the club had fired a gunshot at his apartment.
Cotnoir's wife told police that her husband had been drinking and they had been fighting shortly before the shooting.
Sort of like drinking and fighting shortly before the car went off the bridge? This has more to do with beverage consumption that occupation.
#12
My first thought was to have Teddy and JF Skerry take the eval first. But after some contimplation I can see the benifit of having them take a eval when they return. Yes it is a bit big brotherish but we are talking about the welfare of the soldiers (I hope). I still would like to have the two Senators take the first crack at the eval.
#13
I'm a chickenhawk, so could somebody with knowledge please enlighten me? Does post Iraq services/treatment for a soldier vary by whether the soldier is Regular Army, Reserve or National Guard? It seems to me they should all get the same post combat services/treatment.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/16/2005 11:08 Comments ||
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#14
IIRC, as long as it is service connected they're suppose to get the same support, though the source is more likely to be the VA if military facilities are not locally available. The closest major Army installation is Fort Drum in upstate NY, but unless they built a new hospital in the last 10 years, they outsourced most of the care less emergency care to the local hospitals even for the active duty and dependents.
#15
Politically, Mass is FUBAR. Trust me, I live there.
Another attempt to paint GI Joe as a time-bomb babykiller, straight outta the VN playbook
Plus, in Mass, guns are inherently eeeevil. One of the Boston stations is playing up a "news" story about people who have CandC permits (vanishingly few, actually), and how scary it is to contemplate that the person next to you may be packing heat or have a gun in their car - horrors! When we saw the teaser, my son and I looked at each other and agreed that we wish more people here had permits and were packing heat.
#16
MASS doesn't want any brave, courageous, patrioitic soldiers infecting their populous.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/16/2005 14:28 Comments ||
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#17
I agree with cyber sarge!! Have the two senators get the EVAL 1st.I think their BOTH suffering from PTSD.(Well maybe not.I don't think either one have a conscience)!!!!!!!!!!
#18
Easier solution: let the taxocrats have their stupid brainscan plan, and all the retuning servicemen return to one of the other 49. and have their families meet them. perhaps the exodus would register in the state's tills and they would get a Clue (or some othe fine Milton Bradley game).
#20
USN - if you use IE or something like Maxthon (IE with tabs and much more) which uses the IE object then you can use this nifty little spell-checker add-on... 'Tis Free and it rocks.
#22
Thanks again .com I'd lost the link with an OS change. It works great with a right click on XP. Of course only my kidz and wife use XP, I use something cool and free that has lots of kernels and dists and such. Ima cool guy.
#26
Yah, Shipman, I hear when you're holding the moon for randsom you tend to value stability in your application servers...
Seriously, I had an idea: we could offer to handle the psychiatric testing for the state of taxachussets, and hire Muck4doo and Joseph Mendiola as examiners.
"What dog breed is best used to prevent mushroom poaching? Are different breeds better if you're a) on foot or b) in a vehicle? Which breed drives best?"
"How do you feel about Betty Crocker?"
"Does the constitution protect the right to keep and arm bears? Or bovines?"
Posted by: Phil ||
08/16/2005 18:18 Comments ||
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#27
the day Masshole gets to scrutinize our troops is when the US gets to administer breathalyzers on the Senate floor (you know we're talking about, right Ted?). This is not being done as a humanist gesture....
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2005 18:19 Comments ||
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#28
30 months in a combat zone and the only nightmares I have are of left wing communist liberals from Mass gaining politial power and demoralizing the great soldiers returning from their noble efforts to protect this country!!!!
Posted by: old bike ||
08/16/2005 18:33 Comments ||
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#29
Your concern is well-founded, ob. You can extend that to NY in 2008, as well. We should all take a good look now, cuz she'll be wearing the finest wet-finger fashions then - and be unrecognizable, I'll wager.
#30
"What dog breed is best used to prevent mushroom poaching? Are different breeds better if you're a) on foot or b) in a vehicle? Which breed drives best?"
"How do you feel about Betty Crocker?"
LOL!
Mushroom hippies have a genetic fear of beagles. In the old days (a long time ago, things were different then) a house goldie would drive the pickup with a cage full of beagles to clean the mushroom fields back home. But I say again, that was a long time ago, mushrooms were different then, dawgs were smarter, trucks were easier to operate, it was different.
#32
How about a mandatory mental health screening for all the people voting in Massatoooooosuch for electing and reelecting and reelecting two spoiled overgrown two year olds as senators.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The capital's Sadr City section was once a hotbed of Shiite Muslim unrest, but it has become one of the brightest successes for the U.S. security effort. So far this year, there has been only one car bombing in the neighborhood, and only one American soldier has been killed.
A year ago, militiamen with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades roamed the streets in open revolt against the American presence. But U.S. troops quelled the uprising and today calmly patrol the district, aided by loyalists of the radical cleric who spurred the violence.
Life in Sadr City, a slum of 2.5 million people, is dominated by the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose face is on posters everywhere. At police checkpoints, unarmed men loyal to Sadr enforce security, keeping car bombs and foreign fighters out. "They're hoping they can minimize the coalition's contribution to security," said Lt. Col. Gary Luck, whose U.S. Army unit is responsible for security in Sadr City.
Despite the lack of terrorist violence, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers constantly find bodies dumped in industrial areas, bound, blindfolded and shoeless. American commanders say Sadr controls a "punishment committee" that enforces vigilante justice against the cleric's opponents and those who violate religious strictures, such as those who drink alcohol.
Still think we need to deal with Mookie. But does anybody think this part of Baghdad will want to be in the Sunni part of a federated Iraq?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Nice about the lack of bombings, and great that our people can patrol there without being attacked. But given the last paragraph, isn't "success" kind of a stretch? More like "improving."
#2
There is no success until Tater is dead. This terrorist is just in hibernation until the U.S. troops leave, waiting to impose Sharia on its citizens.
"Sadr City now a success story"...bodies dumped...vigilante justice against the cleric's opponents and those who violate religious strictures, such as those who drink alcohol."
Some may say that Sharia Law doesn't affect the rest of Iraq. Really? Sharia Law is the real reason that the Iraqi Constitution is delayed. There will be no real success until Sharia Law is totally destroyed in Iraq. Muslim fundamentalism must be eliminated.
PESHAWAR - When two men called at Razia Sultanaâs house late one night to persuade her not to stand in upcoming local elections, it made her more determined to fight. The 35-year-old is one of thousands of women in Pakistanâs North West Frontier Province who are bravely defying an illegal ban on female candidates and voters imposed by Islamic clerics and conservative politicians. âThey came to my house and pressurised me not to stand in the election,â she told AFP. âSo I told them to bring a letter from President Musharraf saying I couldnât be a candidate, otherwise I would go ahead.â
That's not pressure. When they take an AK to you and your entire extended family, that's pressure.
Sultana remains scared and has demanded military protection for herself and for female voters in her constituency in Charsaddaâwhere hardliners last month torched dozens of television sets after a cleric ruled them un-Islamic.
The controversy highlights not only the fight against religious intolerance in Pakistan but also the second-class status still endured by many women in the Islamic republic of 150 million people. Military ruler Pervez Musharraf has often vowed to rid Pakistani society of extremism. Last month he expelled foreign students from Islamic schools after possible links emerged with some of the July 7 London suicide bonbers. He also went to the Supreme Court to overturn a bill introducing a Taleban-style moral policing system in North West Frontier Province, where many women still wear burqas.
And for some, the increasing number of female candidates in the province -- 6,497 have filed nomination papers compared with 4,740 who ran in the last elections five years agoâgives cause for hope.
The local council elections are being held in two phases, on August 18 and 25. Although they are being held on a party-less basis, they will nevertheless indicate how much influence conservative Islam still wields in Pakistan.
âIn a society where females enjoy no rights, contesting elections in such a big number indicates a womenâs revolution is on its way,â 27-year-old candidate Shad Begum told AFP. She is contesting a seat in the remote northern district of Dir, where Islamic fundamentalists last week reached an agreement with local politicians to bar women from voting or standing in elections. âWhat else can you call it but a revolution, when women in an extremely hostile environment are defying clerics and a ban imposed by so-called liberals and democrats?â said Begum, who regarded [a dead woman] activist as her mentor.
Pakistanâs top electoral officer vowed this week to annul any election results in districts where women had been prevented from either contesting seats or from casting their ballots.
The husband of another female candidate praised the courage of women who defied the ignored the threat posed by fundamentalists. âThis is a big revolution,â said Sherzada Khan, whose wife Kishwar Sultana is also standing in Dir.
Muslim leaders were unrepentant, however. âIn Western democracies, women have right to vote or contest elections,â said Qazi Fazlullah, the allianceâs leader in Dir. âBut we have Islamic systems in this province and western democracy is not compatible with Islamic laws.â
"Hrrrrr! We'll fight to the death to remain stupid and backwards! Allan wants it that way!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2005 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
These ladies have ovaries the size of bowling balls.
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.
France will wait for a report next month by the UN nuclear agency on Iran's controversial atomic program before deciding what steps to take next, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Friday. At an emergency meeting Thursday the 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called upon Iran to halt nuclear fuel cycle work and ordered the UN watchdog to report on September 3 on Tehran's compliance with international safeguards. "We're waiting for the report," Douste-Blazy said during a visit to the UN's European headquarters. "We'll see what happens ... We'll decide what we need to do."
Alhamdulilah, all praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, whose Justice causes days of blessings and days of suffering to alternate, and whoâs Grace makes final victory belong to the believers. 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Monday ultraconservative Ali Larijani as head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and new chief nuclear negotiator, the news network Khabar reported. In his appointment letter, Ahmadinejad called on Larijani to take "correct decisions which secure both the interests and legal rights of the nation". There was no 
Syrian President Bashar Assad plans to attend a UN world summit in New York next month, the first time a Syrian head of state participates in a conference of the world organization, Syria's UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad said Monday. "President Assad will travel to New York to attend the UN world summit on September 14-16," Mekdad said. Leaders from more than 170 countries are expected to attend the U.N. summit designed to approve new approaches to security, development, human rights and UN management in the 21st century. Mekdad said he has not yet been informed of the Syrian president's schedule in New York. Assad, who has been in office since the death of his father Hafez in 2000, has repeatedly called for dialogue with the United States to improve strained relations between the two countries. 
Registration and annual audits have been made mandatory for religious seminaries operating in Sindh and Balochistan, by amendments to the Societies Registration Act 1860, introduced on Monday. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad promulgated the Societies Registration (Sindh Amendment) Ordinance 2005 under which no seminary can be established or operated in the province without being registered under the act. 
Sri Lankan students studying in Pakistani seminaries have been repatriated to their home country, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, the interior minister, told Daily Times on Monday. The minister said the government had begun implementing President General Pervez Musharrafâs orders to expel all foreign students studying in Pakistani seminaries and denied reports that the process had been delayed till September to give these students a chance to finish their exams. 
NWFP Chief Minister Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani on Sunday said that 14th August was a reminder of Pakistanâs Islamic ideology and that the implementation of an Islamic system in the country would solve itâs problems.
Iraqi leaders failed to meet a key deadline Monday to finish a new constitution, stalling over the same fundamental issues of power-sharing â including federalism, oil wealth and Islam's impact on women â that have bedeviled the country since Saddam Hussein's ouster. Just 20 minutes before midnight, parliament voted to give negotiators another seven days, until Aug. 22, to try to draft the charter. 
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The capital's Sadr City section was once a hotbed of Shiite Muslim unrest, but it has become one of the brightest successes for the U.S. security effort. So far this year, there has been only one car bombing in the neighborhood, and only one American soldier has been killed.
