Posted by: Steve ||
10/12/2005 09:59 ||
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#1
Yes. There was a memorial service in Norfolk today, with the Cole's crew and many of the families of the dead attending. Grey skies, though it didn't rain during the ceremony. Appropriate, somehow.
One of the young men killed that day was from the Richmond (VA) area. His name was Kenneth Clodfelter. His family still live here.
Never forgive. Never forget.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/12/2005 18:47 Comments ||
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Two AK-47 assault rifles used in a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia have been traced to Yemen's Defense Ministry, according to Western and Yemeni officials, raising new fears that the country isn't doing enough to fight terrorism. In other worrying developments, Yemeni militants are believed to be among foreigners fighting U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi officials have said. Some Yemenis have even carried out suicide bombings in Iraq after their release from prison here under a government program, say Yemeni officials cited in local newspapers. Under the "dialogue" program Islamic fundamentalists are let go in exchange for renouncing violence.
Despite the setbacks, the United States continues to boost its security relationship with Yemen. Last week, it delivered more boats and equipment to the country's coast guard ahead of Wednesday's fifth anniversary of the USS Cole attack. While U.S. officials publicly praise Yemen for curbing extremist groups, Western and Yemeni diplomats privately say it must do more to lock down its porous, 1,120-mile border with Saudi Arabia and prevent weapons and militant smuggling.
Yemen is awash with weapons, and strong ties exist between its military and tribal groups, which make up the backbone of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's power base. The Yemen government sometimes gives weapons to tribes to curry favor, and it is believed the AK-47 rifles in question were likely smuggled into a black market and bought by militants. Two of the AK-47 assault rifles used in the Dec. 6 militant attack on the U.S. consulate in the Saudi city of Jiddah were traced by their serial numbers back to Yemen's Ministry of Defense, a Western diplomat told The Associated Press, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Five consulate employees and four attackers died in the assault. The diplomat said U.S. authorities have filed protests over the incident to Yemeni officials, complaining that more should be done to safeguard weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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ISTANBUL The year is 2010 and the European Union has rejected Turkey. Fascist governments have come to power in Germany, Austria and France and are inciting violence against resident Turks and Muslims. A vengeful Turkey joins forces with Russia and declares war against the EU. Turkish commandos besiege Berlin, obliterate Europe and take control of the Continent.
Some critics will be quick to dismiss "The Third World War," a new futuristic novel by a 30-year-old Turkish writer, Burak Turna, as the wild imaginings of a conspiracy theorist and literary shock jock - and in many ways it is.
But the novel, which dominates bookstore display windows in Istanbul, has sold more than 130,000 copies in just two months and is rising on best-seller lists across the country. As Turkey embarks on 10 years of tortuous talks to join the EU, Turkish observers say the novel's popularity reflects the growing wariness of Turks about a Europe that is increasingly wary of them.
"Turks are getting fed up with the EU's constant demands - and 'The Third World War' has tapped into that," said Sinan Ulgen, a Turkish commentator. He noted that the book's pithy, cinematographic style has helped it resonate with taxi drivers, government officials and housewives alike.
Turna is no fringe figure. His first novel, "Metal Firtina" ("Metal Storm"), became the fastest-selling book in the history of Turkey when it was published in December, a time of deep Turkish ambivalence about the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The book is a fictional account of a U.S. invasion of Turkey that provokes a Turkish agent to detonate a nuclear bomb in a park in Washington, leveling the capital. Overnight, the grungy former journalist and philosophy student became a chat-show celebrity, a cult figure among 20-somethings and an unofficial cultural barometer for his country.
Turna says Turks' fear of U.S. domination, reflected in the popularity of "Metal Storm," is being supplanted by a growing Turkish ambivalence about Europe - an ambivalence that has lurked in the Turkish soul since after World War I....
These days, he says, he spends a lot of time playing video games. His favorite? A game called the Rise of Nations in which countries compete for global domination. "I love to pretend that I'm China and to bomb Europe into the Stone Age," he says.
Posted by: ed ||
10/12/2005 21:02 Comments ||
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#3
No. 1 on the NYT Best Sellers List for paperback/fiction is "Trace" by Patricia Cornwell. Publishers Weekly writes: "Cornwell's latest ...has... medical examiner Kay Scarpetta returning to her office in Richmond five years after being fired..."
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/12/2005 21:30 Comments ||
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#5
Europe vs. Turks and Russians that's kind of appealing like that old favorite-- the Iraq-Iran war. Knock yourself out just stay out of our hemishere.
"Mass Game" - a celebration of totalitarian brutality, mass insanity. Gotcha.
Thousands of North Korean child performers move their arms and legs in perfect unison, leaving the impression they aren't human but smiling robots trained to dance and sing. It's not an "impression", it's an expression of the fact.
North Koreans boast it takes only a few months to teach the 100,000 students to perform in the massive propaganda spectacle known as a "mass game." But most of the children learn their skills from a young age as part of their indoctrination into the regime's cult of personality focusing on late ruler Kim Il Sung. A murdering bastard infinitely worthy of emulation and adulation, you see.
This year's show, which has been staged six times a week since Aug. 15, is the largest in three years - raising speculation it could signal a major policy announcement, such as the naming of a successor to current leader Kim Jong Il. Considering how emaciated the "performers" look, see picture at link, I'd speculate something else...
The North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung's son, attended a special performance Sunday, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the North's ruling Workers' Party. The massive celebrations in Pyongyang also included a military parade on Monday with thousands of soldiers. "Everyone able to walk will participate. Or be shot."
The "mass game" is drawing the attention of foreign tourists, who have been offered a rare opportunity to attend, apparently as a moneymaking venture. Tickets for the event run from $60 to $360, in addition to travel and hotel fees. Motive, meet Morons.
Hundreds of South Koreans have traveled this month on one-night trips on charter flights to Pyongyang, and even American tourists have been allowed into the country to view the shows on brief tours facilitated by a Beijing-based travel firm. Yes, we have morons and toolfools, too. Was Mad Halfbright there?
The show, which was originally to end Oct. 17, is likely to be extended to the end of the month because of high demand from foreign tourists, said Hyun Yung Ae, an official at the mass games organization committee. Held Over! Of course it is -- it's a money-maker, thanks to idiots and toolfools.
"There is no word to describe the performance. You have to see it to feel the grandness," Hyun said. Grandness. Right. Can't you just feel it, even from here? I know I can... Starving children turned into automatons for the entertainment of idiots willing to part with hard currency. Waaay grand.
[snip]
"I am truly shocked. Who would have known humans are capable of these things?" said Lee Won-tae, 69, a South Korean tourist. "Only a country like North Korea can pull off something like this." Or would want to.
#1
"There is no word to describe the performance. You have to see it to feel the grandness," Hyun said.
"It's like something out of Leni Riefenstahl."
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/12/2005 7:31 Comments ||
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#2
Koryo Tours in Beijing organizes these tourists to North Korea. They're not Jane Fondas, but rather people who are curious as hell about North Korea. Hell, I want to go, myself. There's a travelogue somewhere on the net of an American who lives in South Korea who went to North Korea.
#4
mass gymnastics is pretty amazing to watch, it would be tough to pull off I think without a heavy handed form of leadship.
Posted by: bk ||
10/12/2005 11:27 Comments ||
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#5
Nazi Germany used to be fond of this kind of demonstration as well. It emphasizes to the individual participants how little they matter unless as part of the Group. And to the observer, there are no individuals, just the Mass in motion.
I just hope the children were fed a little extra to enable them to sustain the physical effort, as opposed to the usual, "Make a mistake and you will be shot."
A violent gang rapist should have been given a lesser sentence partly because he was a "cultural time bomb" whose attacks were inevitable, as he had emigrated from a country with traditional views of women, his barrister has argued.
MSK, who, with his three Pakistani brothers, raped several girls at their Ashfield family home over six months in 2002, was affected by "cultural conditioning ⊠in the context of intoxification", Stephen Odgers, SC, told the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday.
MSK, 26, MAK, 25 and MMK, 19, are appealing against the severity of their sentences after they were found guilty of nine counts of aggravated sexual assault in company - a crime carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment - against two girls, aged 16 and 17, in July 2002. MSK and MMK were jailed for 22 years, with a non-parole period of 16œ years, and 13 years, respectively, and MAK for 16 years (12 years non-parole). Court orders prevent them being named. They are yet to be sentenced for other rapes.
Mr Odgers said "new evidence" showed MSK had a "mental disorder" at the time of the rapes and had stopped taking his medication - supplied by his father, a general practitioner. He also said Justice Brian Sully had made a "clear error" in sentencing them to an extra six years on two counts, rather than one - referring to an act in which MMK withdrew his penis and took off the condom and then continued to rape one of the girls. "It was the same victim, it occurred in the same location, there was no relevant difference in the nature of the act. The time gap between the offences was minimal," he said. Mr Odgers said a forensic psychologist, David Greenberg, had diagnosed MSK with "atypical compulsive obsessive disorder".
MSK said: "When I stopped taking medication, I never had any idea in my mind that I would be committing these problems. If anything happened, it would happen accidentally, but I was commanded to do these things."
After a special hearing, a judge concluded earlier this year that MSK was not mentally ill - the same conclusion reached by pre-sentence psychology reports in 2003. Mr Odgers said the new evidence showed that he had a disease, which, combined with alcohol and the cultural conditioning of "a society with very traditional views of women", was "clearly a factor in the commissioning of these offences". "The applicant was a cultural time bomb," Mr Odgers said. "It was almost inevitable that something like this would happen. His culpability is lessened because of that combination."
Professor Greenberg's report concluded the disorder did not lead MSK to commit the rapes. He also said he may be malingering.
The father, who said at the trials that he was with his sons on the night of the rapes, told the court he had diagnosed MSK with schizophrenia. "He told me ⊠Satan come to him and tell him different things. He told me that sometimes even the green grass whisper to him."
When I diagnose a mental disorder in a patient, I refer them to a psychiatrist. Oz is a first world country like ours. Wonder why daddy, a doctor, didn't make the referral?
He refused to place his hand on the Koran when sworn in because he said he had not washed. A spokesman for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery, said he was unable to confirm whether the father would be charged with perjury over evidence he gave at the trials.
The appeal, funded by Legal Aid, follows their unsuccessful appeal against conviction, which failed when they took it to the High Court. The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved its decision.
#2
Wait -- was he drunk, insane, or a barbarian? The article argues all three.
And under what legal regime in the west are any of those valid defenses for a rape charge?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/12/2005 9:12 Comments ||
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#3
If one of them was my daughter...I would give them a lesser sentence allright. They'd be "less" 3 sets of nuts and acutrements...if I was feeling especially benevolent.
#6
That's ok Odjie, rape is also the "culture" within the prison system and they'll fit right in, no need to shorten their stay.
Posted by: Gir ||
10/12/2005 9:57 Comments ||
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#7
watch that that glass house doesnt get broken
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/07/05/idaho.children/
Posted by: bk ||
10/12/2005 11:45 Comments ||
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#8
A violent gang rapist should have been given a lesser sentence partly because he was a "cultural time bomb" whose attacks were inevitable, as he had emigrated from a country with traditional views of women
#10
yeah...you gotta just love these "islamic holy rollers". Rape, murder, maim...all in the name of allan. It's OK as long as you're doing it an infidel. An infidel in islam apparently includes everyone but your favorite sheep or goat.
#13
If it were my daughters I would say let them go and give me a clear field of fire. I am sure I could clear up any mental disorder and make teh community much safer. I would of course plead that Satin made me plug all three of them and afterwards he left my body.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/12/2005 19:57 Comments ||
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#17
There was another case i was watching on the news late last night about this aboriginal man who raped a 14 year old girl who was promised to him as a bride. The judge ended up giving him some ridiculous jail sentence of something like 2 months with only 1 month to be served behind bars. The judge took into consideration that the aboriginal culture is thousands of years old. Pretty crazy huh.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
10/12/2005 20:45 Comments ||
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Ummm... Who was it that was telling me this over dinner, about a year ago?
Yeah, yeah, I know, don't remind me ...
Counter-terrorism authorities have drawn up plans to defend Australia against terrorists spreading avian influenza. The National Counter Terrorism Committee has included the use of bird flu strain H5N1 as a weapon in possible terrorism attack scenarios, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock's office confirmed. "It certainly is factored into the counter-terrorism plan," Mr Ruddock's spokeswoman said.
Australia joins the US and Canada in treating bird flu as a possible "agri-terrorism" weapon against the West. The H5N1 strain - the most virulent type of bird flu - has so far claimed more than 60 lives in Asia. If the strain mutates into a human-to-human virus, the World Health Organisation has warned millions could die. A quarantine official said flights from countries that had detected H5N1 were closely monitored. Thermal scanners for detecting passengers with a fever are on stand-by at Australian airports in the event of a pandemic.
H5N1 has a way to go before it can infect from human to human. There are several key mutations that haven't happened yet, though it's just a matter of time and selection pressure. The scary thing is, any good influenza virologist knows exactly what those required mutations are. And any good virologist, with a map of the genetic code, can engineer that virus. It's time-consuming and fairly expensive, and it requires some infrastructure (you can't do this in your basement). But a group of virologists with good equipment and some tech support could do it. Al-Q can't do it. But I'm worried that there people who can.
As bird flu fears spread around the world, Melbourne Commonwealth Games organisers have taken out insurance worth hundreds of millions of dollars in case the Games are cancelled. Under the national pandemic response plan, mass gatherings can be cancelled. Health Minister Tony Abbott's office confirmed Victorian authorities were aware of the potential impact of bird flu. "It would have to be at a stage in the pandemic where big public assemblies would be very dangerous in terms of spread of infection," spokeswoman Kay McNiece said.
Scientists fear the disease has spread from Asia to poultry in Europe and South America. In developments yesterday:
TURKEY reported bird flu at a farm where 1800 birds died last week.
HUNDREDS of chickens in Colombia were quarantined after health authorities found the first suspected cases of bird flu.
BULGARIAN authorities tested three dead birds for the virus.
SURVEILLANCE in Papua New Guinea has been increased as the wild bird migratory season towards Australia begins.
Sources said the threat of terrorists using bird flu should not be overstated, but counter-terror agencies around the world have factored it into their scenarios. Al-Qaeda is known to have considered agricultural and biological terrorism, including a plot to infect tons of cocaine with a poison and then sell the drug in the US. Six of al-Qaeda's September 11 hijackers had some form of agricultural training and had learned to fly crop-duster aircraft.
Canada's intelligence service, the J2 Directorate, has also warned of the potential for terrorists to use bird flu. While scientific opinion differs on how easy it may be to use it as a weapon, J2 analysts found the development of a man-made strain capable of triggering a human flu pandemic was possible.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
9-11 and Radic Islam > national and geopolitics; Bird Flu, etal. > domesticity - getting the US Fed to spend and spend, expand and expand, Socialize and Communize. The Commies and their plausible denial Spetzlammies want to defeat America wid out resort to MAD Global nuke war, and while temp killing off enough global economic units, i.e. people, to make deficit-happy Socialist budget-planning accountants, well, happy!?
#2
a good piece Joe, but not your top performance. If I may, work overture> crescendo> climax like your best stuff. ;)
/Ima hope Joe has a good nature.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
10/12/2005 0:51 Comments ||
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#3
But I'm worried that there people who can.
What bothers me more is the possibility that there are people who know how to do it who would do it, for this reason.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
10/12/2005 6:27 Comments ||
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#4
I'd be more worried about Greens wanting to depopulate the planet. They'd be more likely to have sympathizers in biotech industries and especially universities.
#5
Yeah, but if there is indeed a ramadan nuke strike on America, at least the radiations and the heat will kill the bird flu virus... You gotta think positively!
Via DhimmiWatch Said the Turkish wolf to the infidel piggies, "Let me in, Let me in, little piggies or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"
ISTANBUL The year is 2010 and the European Union has rejected Turkey. Fascist governments have come to power in Germany, Austria and France and are inciting violence against resident Turks and Muslims. A vengeful Turkey joins forces with Russia and declares war against the EU. Turkish commandos besiege Berlin, obliterate Europe and take control of the Continent.
Some critics will be quick to dismiss "The Third World War," a new futuristic novel by a 30-year-old Turkish writer, Burak Turna, as the wild imaginings of a conspiracy theorist and literary shock jock - and in many ways it is.
But the novel, which dominates bookstore display windows in Istanbul, has sold more than 130,000 copies in just two months and is rising on best-seller lists across the country. As Turkey embarks on 10 years of tortuous talks to join the EU, Turkish observers say the novel's popularity reflects the growing wariness of Turks about a Europe that is increasingly wary of them.
"Turks are getting fed up with the EU's constant demands - and 'The Third World War' has tapped into that," said Sinan Ulgen, a Turkish commentator. He noted that the book's pithy, cinematographic style has helped it resonate with taxi drivers, government officials and housewives alike.
Turna is no fringe figure. His first novel, "Metal Firtina" ("Metal Storm"), became the fastest-selling book in the history of Turkey when it was published in December, a time of deep Turkish ambivalence about the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The book is a fictional account of a U.S. invasion of Turkey that provokes a Turkish agent to detonate a nuclear bomb in a park in Washington, leveling the capital. Overnight, the grungy former journalist and philosophy student became a chat-show celebrity, a cult figure among 20-somethings and an unofficial cultural barometer for his country.
Turna says Turks' fear of U.S. domination, reflected in the popularity of "Metal Storm," is being supplanted by a growing Turkish ambivalence about Europe - an ambivalence that has lurked in the Turkish soul since after World War I. At that time, West European powers dismembered the Ottoman Empire. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
10/12/2005 20:40 ||
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Two of Nato's most respected retired generals will on Wednesday issue a stinging indictment of European military capabilities, arguing that unless the continent pools its defence resources it may be unable to meet mounting security risks such as international terrorism.
Gen Joseph Ralston, the retired US officer who headed Nato until 2003, and retired General Klaus Naumann, Germany's former chief of defence and head of Nato's military committee, argue that European leaders have âlacked the political willâ to improve military capabilities. âFailure to meaningfully improve Europe's collective defence capabilities in the coming years would have profoundly negative impacts on the ability of European countries to protect their interests, the viability of Nato as an alliance, and the ability of European countries to partner in any meaningful way with the US,â according to the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Financial Times.
Unfortunately, I think the latter two points are intentional, not inadvertent.
The 97-page study, due to be presented on Wednesday to European Union and Nato leaders in Brussels, was a year in the making, involving consultation with former defence chiefs of almost all European powers, including the UK and France. The generals will brief European defence officials during the next two weeks and present their findings in Washington next month, in an effort to provoke action by Europe's politicians who have not delivered on past promises to Nato.
The call for greater integration in European military research and procurement is likely to be controversial since France and Britain, in particular, have been at odds over the extent to which a pan-European defence agency should have a say over national budget priorities. Britain has resisted French calls for a more centralised procurement process.
But the report argues that without a more co-ordinated approach, flat or declining defence spending by most European countries will make it impossible for militaries to execute stated security strategies, which include combating terrorism and the proliferation of unconventional weapons, and dealing with failing states.
Yup. Which leaves it up to us again, with them carping and jostling for advantage
.
âSome question whether further defence integration can occur among European nations which value their sovereignty and see the world from diverse perspectives,â the report finds. âAlthough this will be no small challenge, there really is no viable alternative. Staying the course is not an option indeed, it is a recipe for disaster.â
The report calls on European powers to re-allocate defence spending so that 25 per cent of budgets are spent on research and acquiring new weapons, while no more than 40 per cent is spent on personnel. For smaller militaries unable to provide a wide-range of capabilities, it calls for increased specialisation that can make âhigh-value contributions to collective securityâ.
The report says such shifts in budget and specialisation should be done in close co-ordination with Nato and the EU's new defence agency so that critical shortfalls which include a scarcity of transport aircraft, sophisticated command and control systems and special operations forces are met and duplication is limited.
#4
You know, since old Europe could be conquered right now with a butter knife and a scowl, why is Turkey asking to be a member of the EU? Maybe they should just conquer it and move the European Parliament to Istanbul.
#6
You know, since old Europe could be conquered right now with a butter knife and a scowl, why is Turkey asking to be a member of the EU?
Because Turkey's in even worse shape.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/12/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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#7
That would be the final nail in the coffin for most EU socialist countries. I don't see any of those economies being able to support any kind of legitimate military.
#8
Now, what was the number of EU batallions in "Category 1"?
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
10/12/2005 13:36 Comments ||
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#9
Put a bullet in NATO's head and be done with it.
It's a dirty little secret that most European countries still have a draft. If the USA even came close to anything like that, there'd be riots. But in Europe, being conscripted is evidently A-OK.
#10
"I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French division behind me," Patton.
Probably apocryphal. In his book about Patton, Martin Blumenson who BTW, was in Patton's staff and was one of the main writers in the US Military official story about WWII, tells that Patton was quite a francophile, was unhappy the task of liberating Paris not being assigned to him and of his good relations with De Gaulle and Leclerc (who unlike other French generals was totally untainted of Vychism: he was wounded during the 1940 campaign, escaped from the german hospital where he was captive and went straight to England)
Of course it is possible that Patton was talking about the Vichy French who opened fire on the disembarking Americans and that the Roosevelt administration kept on cajoling and trying to keep in power for nearly a year after Torch.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Mr. Roosevelt invaded neutral French territories in North Africa. We were not in a declared war with France. In fact, diplomatic relations were open with Vichy till the 'surprise' attack occurred.
#12
Most of the American senior command was Francophile before the war and, if not also before, became Anglophobic after working closely with the Brits in WWII. Amazing how the French have built on that base of goodwill.
I am not referring to America invading French North Africa but at what happenned later, the "Darlan" episode could be understood (Darlan could do a lot more to help the Allies than teh Free French. (BTW Darlan, who was once deemed an arch-traitor was rehabilitated in the 60s by none other than De Gaulle) but well after his murder the Roosevelt administration kept trying to push in the front scene everyone who was hostile to De Gaulle even people as burned like George (who was the second in command during the 1940 campaign) or compromised with old regime. Patton could have been displeased about having behind him units commanded by those former collaborationists so loved by Roosevelt's people.
Another hypothesis I didn't mention: the copy (in French) from the Blumenson book I had in hands was tampered by the translator
US, German generals: European leaders 'lack political will' to improve military capabilities
Here, ltop, let me correct that for you:
US, German generals: European leaders 'lack political will' to improve military capabilities
Accuracy in reporting is so important. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/12/2005 18:56 Comments ||
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#15
Shouldn't this entry have the "Master of the Obvious" graphic appended to it?
Posted by: Ernest Brown ||
10/12/2005 21:46 Comments ||
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#16
HHHHhmmmmmmmmmmm, can FRANCE, whose Lefties and Radicals were historically the most pro-USSR/Soviet of all the Euros, be counted on to save democratic Europe from the Commies-for Fascism-for-Commmunism!?
In a September 30, 2005 interview on Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV, Ahmad Rami, director of "Radio Islam" in Sweden, stated that the Jews had, via the media and politics, completely occupied the West and the entire world, that "the Jews in Sweden, Germany, France, and America have rights that even the citizens of those countries do not have," and that "Judaism is not a religion, [but] a criminal and dangerous mafia."
It should be noted that, Rami was found guilty of incitement against Jews in Sweden and served six months in prison and Radio Islam was shut down. It restarted as a website and its servers are located in the United States. www.radioislam.org is registered at Clever Computers, Inc. in Atlanta, GA.
And the Hindooos. And the Crooosaders. And the PAGANS! And the Shia! And the Sufi! And the not-sufficiently Salafist! And the guys that got ahead of them in line!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/12/2005 7:27 Comments ||
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#3
The not-sufficiently Salafist. That's a keeper. Thanks, RC!
Somalia â East and NE coast: Twenty-two three incidents have been reported since March 15 2005.
Recently Reported Incidents:
October 5 2005 at 0220 LT at Chennai anchorage, India. About ten robbers in a fishing boat/country craft attempted to board a tanker at starboard quarter. Duty A/B raised alarm and crew mustered. Robbers fled in their boat. Port control informed and a police launch arrived 30 minutes later to investigate.
October 04 2005 at 1830 UTC in position 00:08.7N - 117:35.6E, Bontang anchorage, Indonesia. Robbers boarded a tanker. They tied up duty A/B to anchor cable and stole ship's stores.
BAGHDAD, Iraq â The effort to train, equip and mentor Iraqâs security forces hit a milestone recently, with the number of men and women serving in uniform stretching past 200,000.
Currently the Iraqi Ministry of Interior has 106,112 personnel serving as part of security forces. The Ministry of Defense has 93,959 service members in the military.
Reaching this landmark is especially significant given that Iraqâs military and police forces will be taking the lead in providing security for the Oct. 15 referendum, officials said. There are now more than 60,000 additional Iraqi security forces available than there were for the highly-successful January election held earlier this year.
Since the effort to rebuild the countryâs forces began about 15 months ago, more than 115 special police and army combat battalions have been formed as well as regular police, border enforcement and highway patrol for the Ministry of Interior and motor transport regiments, Navy, Air Forces and numerous training organizations for the Ministry of Defense.
The majority of those combat battalions are fighting side-by-side Coalition forces and several dozen are already taking the lead in operations, officials said.
This would probably mean they also know how to call U. S. Army and Air Force avation assets to assist as necessary. Wonder if the MM are thinking about that much.
Posted by: Close Spomort1148 ||
10/12/2005 11:04 ||
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#1
That is .86% of the total population in the sercurity forces or roughly one out of 100 at any age. When you consider a demographic with military aged males the number is consideribly larger.
October 12, 2005: When the Stryker wheeled armored vehicle was introduced three years ago, it promptly became a criticism magnet. Thatâs not unusual. There hasnât been a new armored American vehicle in the last three decades that was able to enter service free of savage criticism. The Stryker had an advantage, as it was able to go off to war as soon as the first Stryker units were formed. Even most critics agree that combat is the final arbiter of which weapons really work, and which donât. The Stryker promptly became enormously popular with its users. What made the Stryker a battlefield success was; speed, stealth, protection, maintainability and gadgets.
Most critics, especially civilians, underestimated, or were simply clueless about, the importance of speed. Being a wheeled vehicle, the Stryker could run down cars and trucks, something even a fast tracked armored vehicle, like the M-2 Bradley, could not do. In Iraq, where many of the bad guys rolled around in SUVs, the Stryker could keep up. Not only that, but the fast moving Stryker could get to places more quickly, and, in effect, make more âappointmentsâ with the enemy in a day. Itâs what they call a âforce multiplier.â
Stealthiness was another thing civilian critics had no clue about. In Iraq, the quiet Stryker could, literally, sneak up on the enemy, especially since so many of the raids are conducted at night. American troops quickly adapted their tactics to take advantage of it, and these stealthy Strykers quickly put fear in the hearts of the enemy.
Much of the criticism aimed at the Stryker had to do with itâs vulnerability to enemy fire. In actual practice, this turned out not to be the case. The troops have high praise for the Strykers ability to take hits, and keep on going, or at least protect its passengers.
For older troops who had served in M-2 Bradley mechanized infantry units, it was quickly obvious that the Stryker was a much easier (and less time-consuming) vehicle to maintain and keep going. That meant you had more vehicle ready to roll at any one time. That makes a difference in combat.
And then there were the gadgets. The Stryker was loaded up with communications gear, remote control system , networking stuff and new weapons. Most of it worked, but the young troops, raised on gadgets, found the Stryker an entertaining vehicle to work in. And many of the gadgets made the troops more effective or, failing that, less likely to be bored.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/12/2005 09:29 ||
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#1
"In other news today, we turn to the controversy over the Army's newest boondogle, the Stryker, which performed just too well in combat. We'll get differing opinions from our military experts, on the right Patrick J. Buchanan and on the left, Donna Brazile. We'll ask them why the Stryker performed so well, and what the U.S. Congress should do to fix it." [Courtesy CNN - 2005]
#2
They missed some major points, here. The biggest thing the Stryker has going for it is coordinated fires. Strykers are optimized when several of them are working together, like the way a well-trained basketball team can get the ball past its opponents quickly. They are *aware* of what each other is doing.
That is why a Stryker unit can be superior to a heavy armored unit. In its "light cavalry" approach it can move and maneuver more quickly, avoid unwanted target redundancy, and move into and out of an objective quickly.
A few days ago, I noted to two big requests the Stryker pilots had: laser range finding and a bigger gun. This speaks volumes as a performance critique.
My only reservation is that the Stryker is only a single weapons system. The battlefield needs complementary systems, acting much like chess pieces do in chess. And while it is a superb light cavalry-type weapon, it needs to be complemented with a superb heavy cavalry-type weapon.
#5
Anonymoose, wait for the Future Combat Systems vehicles. Much more coordinated than the Strykers and with lots of other systems that can be added / swapped .... and that's only the manned ground vehicles in FCS. Lots more goodness in the other systems ....
#6
Steve: Actually, that raises a really good question. The current heavy tank, type Abrams/Merkava/Leopard class, all have a similar design because they all have the same basic parameters: they have to have thick steel armor, have to travel fast, and have to have an effective anti-tank gun. But what if those parameters change?
High tech armor can be much thinner, and might even be very radiation resistant. This means the vehicle could go faster, but that is not a heavy cavalry/heavy armor role. The alternative is that it can carry more weapons and ammunition. But that in turn means that it has to be larger.
Assuming that you have the technology for it to be auto-piloted, you get all that crew space for weapons and ammo, too. In essence, you start to approach the size of a small ship before physical limitations start to set in.
A problem that comes with the "big tank" is getting it over obstacles. But that is not a great a limitation as all that, just keeping it to the same regions an ordinary tank could visit. The one alternative would be if the tank could be split up into smaller, independent module vehicles to travel difficult terrain, re-forming into a greater whole, later.
Now the big question: what do you use it for? Tank on tank battles have probably seen their last, so if you noticed the "radiation" mention, above, that is probably the biggest hint. They would be used as sealed artillery batteries, capable of operating in a nuclear environment.
The tactical nuclear battlefield is an odd place, and not entirely what you would expect. Blasts would not happen at the same time, and each blast would have a "clock ticking". After a period of time, armored vehicles could pass through the blast area, then after a longer time, lighter vehicles, and finally infantry could safely pass through. So a detonation has three immediate effects: the blast, the temporary obstacle, and the small permanent obstacle of the hole.
This means that unit maneuver becomes very odd indeed. And the most important point is that just because tactical nukes have been used, other weapons can still be used. So tactical nukes fit into the conventional war flux--they don't dramatically end it. (This was Soviet war doctrine, BTW, so it is not a new idea.)
So let's put this in the only realistic scenario, a land war in Asia. For example, India and China have been engaged in a drawn-out tactical nuclear conflict that is stalemated. The US and maybe Russia have these large style tanks that can move into the hot battlefield to be used, ironically as all hell, as peacekeeping weapons.
Unmanned, they use conventional artillery to split apart the two entrenched enemies and force the creation and maintenance of an enormous no-man's zone. As mobile, but not fast, heavy artillery guns, say four 8-inch howitzers, moving at a max speed of 35 mph, they could bust up a fight in record time.
Of course, they could also carry tactical nuclear weapons themselves, in case anyone pitched one in their direction or decided to overwhelm them.
#7
I think you're on to something with your idea of a tank that blurs the distinction between an indirect fire weapon and a direct fire weapon. One of the Swedish vehicles being considered as a basis for the FCS contains an automatic mortar with a direct-fire mode.
There's also this LAV-III variant that has a howitzer attached:
The LAV-III is, AFAIK, a slightly smaller "ancestor" of the Stryker vehicle; I think the marines use one with a 25mm chain gun as a scouting vehicle.
NOW... continuing, read about this guy's idea for a cavalry scouting vehicle he calls a "tankita". In specific, note the historical notes he makes about the 75mm ARES gun. I don't necessarily think all of his ideas are going to work (I've seen criticism of the "75mm/120mm round" idea he came up with, for instance) but it provides decent background and food for thought.
And a little background about big gun variants of the Stryker: one of the planned Stryker variants was supposed to be a 105mm direct-fire version, to fulfill the same role as the late lamented XM-8 tank (about which you can read here; it was cancelled to pay for one of the Yugoslavian campaigns :-( )... Some recent news about the "direct-fire" version can be found here.
Now... remember when I said the Stryker was a little larger than the LAV-III? Well, if not, please keep it in mind.
They were also supposed to take the prototype M-8's that were built and deploy them, but I think that got tied up in red tape.
There have been some attempts at building a next-generation XM-8, with hybrid electric drive, 120 mm cannon instead of 105mm cannon, etc...
How about this for an armored vehicle: a wheeled or tracked armored vehicle, with a 105 mm cannon, capable of elevating like the "Ares" gun mentioned before, with all the comm gear organic to current Strykers, with enough stabilization in the gun system to shoot in direct fire mode on the move, or maybe even indirect fire mode on the move. It could engage enemy forces directly or call in indirect fire from the other vehicles in its unit.
I imagine that the Stryker variant might have slightly larger firing arcs than the LAV-based one.
If they could actually make a laser-guided 105mm shell then things would get really interesting.
Here's some more on the proposed howitzer variant at Murdoc Online.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
10/12/2005 18:31 Comments ||
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#8
In an urban environment w/paved roads the Stryker will excell. What happens when it needs to operate in typical back-of-beyond mud-soaked areas the Army also needs to operate in?
The Army will see the Armored generals and colonels who fought in Kuwait and Iraq start filling top positions and future planning boards,replacing the Vietnam era infantry generation. They will not give up their tanks-in fact we will probably after all see an M-1 replacement after all.
Posted by: Stephen ||
10/12/2005 22:33 Comments ||
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October 12, 2005: It's become pretty standard for U.S. and Iraqi units to operate together for raids and patrols through Sunni Arab areas of central Iraq. During the first week of October, such operations left 12 terrorists dead, and 750 suspects arrested. In the course of these operations (175 patrols and raids), some fifty roadside bombs were discovered and neutralized, as well weapons caches and bomb making workshops.
Increasingly, suicide bomber attacks are being used against the American and Iraqi army units performing all these patrols. This has hurt the training and leadership for terrorist operations. The suicide bomb attacks mpw tend to be ineptly carried out, causing casualties mainly to Iraqi civilians. Since these are Sunni Arab civilians, the terrorists then lose popular support. Iraqi police and military intelligence have been quick to capitalize on this, often going immediately around the area looking for someone who is now upset with the terrorists and willing to share some useful information. This has led to more raids, and sometimes a string of raids, as each successful raid often leads to information about another terrorist location. With Iraqi police and troops along on these raids, the language barrier disappears, and U.S. troops are not dependent on a few translators.
Most Sunni Arabs are now willing to go along with a democratic Iraq, there being little enthusiasm for trying to vote the constitution down on October 15th. There is an increase in terrorist attacks to try and stop the vote, but the scale of these attacks are pathetic. All this terrorism is doing is reinforcing the hatred most Iraqis have for al Qaeda and the Sunni Arab terrorists. The enemy, as many Iraqis see it, is the Sunni Arab world. They can see this clearly by just tuning in the foreign Sunni Arab radio and cable TV news. These media outlets warp the news from Iraq to make it sound like the country is in an uproar against "foreign occupation." This sort of reporting is surreal to most Iraqis, who know very well that the Sunni Arab community simply wants control of Iraq, despite what the majority of Iraqis want, or how many of them are killed by Sunni Arab terrorists.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/12/2005 09:28 ||
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Britain will pay compensation for injuries and damage caused during the storming by the army of a police station in Basra in the operation to release two SAS soldiers held by local Iraqi militia, it was announced yesterday.
In a joint statement, the British Consulate General, representing the army, and the Provincial Council of Basra expressed "regret" for the incidents on 19 September. "We also regret the casualties on both sides and the material damage to public facilities," the statement said. "The British government is prepared to pay valid claims for compensation for casualties and material damage."
The carefully worded statement expressed full support for the "dignity of the institutions and people of the governorate of Basra and the sovereignty of Iraq". It said the British government would deal with "those connected to the events" in accordance with the legislation of the former Coalition Provisional Authority.
The statement will be seen as an attempt to rebuild relations between the army and the authorities in Basra ahead of Saturday's referendum on a new Iraq constitution and elections in December.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Mohammed al-Waili, the governor, attacked the British action as "barbaric" and warned that he would end co-operation with UK forces unless he received an apology.
An Iraqi judge also issued an arrest warrant for the two undercover SAS men following allegations by Iraqi officials that they opened fire after being stopped by a police patrol.
In the Commons yesterday, John Reid, the Defence Secretary, stressed he still "fully supported" the operation to rescue the two SAS men after it emerged that they had been handed over by the police to local militia. Unfrickinbelievable.
The deputy secretary-general of the Arab League was among a group of delegates who came under attack Oct. 10 from small-arms fire in northwestern Baghdad, , military officials reported.
After hearing the gunfire, Amr Moussa and other Arab League delegates sought refuge in a nearby mosque.
Two platoons of Iraqi army soldiers responded to the incident and, despite coming under small-arms fire themselves, were able to safely evacuate the trapped delegates from the mosque.
In other developments, Task Force Baghdad aviation and ground forces combined efforts to defeat terrorists in southern Baghdad Oct. 9.
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters assigned to 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Assault Helicopter), and soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, flew to the area for cordon-and-search missions at more than 30 houses.
One terrorist was killed and 15 others were detained during the combat operations.
The mission was focused on capturing terrorists believed to be responsible for improvised explosive device attacks last month, officials said.
Elsewhere, soldiers from Task Force Baghdad continued to deny terrorists access to unexploded ordnance during operations Oct. 9. In a sweep of a junkyard in Jisr Diyala, soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, collected more than 135 rounds of unexploded ordnance ranging in size from small mortars to heavy artillery shells.
"We have conducted five of these junkyard sweeps in the last two months and have collected about 1,500 rounds," said Army Pfc. Brandon Hoffpauir, a member of the team that specializes in finding ordnance.
Missions to clear areas of unexploded ordnance are often based on information gained through interaction with the local population.
"The Iraqi people are very good about providing us information," Hoffpauir said. "In one case, they told us about an area where insurgents had buried some munitions. When we dug up the site, we found 130 57 mm rockets still in their original box."
In other operations, soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Marine Division, discovered a significant weapons cache in Ramadi, Anbar's provincial capital.
The unit was conducting a cordon-and-search operation, which began early morning Oct. 9, to uncover suspected weapons caches at several garages and vacant buildings. Six suspected terrorists were detained.
The find included Soviet-made rockets and surface-to-air missiles, more than one hundred 120 mm mortar rounds, dozens of 81 mm and 60 mm mortar rounds, hand grenades, AK-47s and bomb-making materials. The contents of the cache will be destroyed.
Two additional caches were discovered in the Ramadi area within the past several weeks. One was located at a public soccer stadium and the other at an elementary school in the Malaab district.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
10/12/2005 01:57 ||
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TIKRIT, Iraq â Not far from Saddam Hussein's birthplace, a delegation of U.S. and Iraqi election organizers met Monday with Sunni Arab heartland leaders to discuss the new Iraqi constitution scheduled for a referendum Saturday.
During two wide-ranging meetings, politicians, clerics, professors, lawyers and tribal elders questioned various tenets of the constitution, the accessibility of polling places and seeds of national disunity they perceive in the document.
But time and again, the discussion went beyond the Oct. 15 ballot, to Dec. 15, the date of the upcoming National Assembly election. "Why do governorates that are smaller than Samarra [capital of Salahuddin province] have National Assembly delegations of similar size?" one man asked. "Can we expect to win more seats this time?"
"I have been invited by two political parties to be a nominee for the National Assembly," said another man. "Is it acceptable to be nominated by two political parties?"
Didn't ANSWER, Brent Scowcroft and the pundits on MS-NBC assure us that the Iraqis weren't ready for democracy?
Sunnis, who are a minority in Iraq but who held power during Hussein's reign, are believed by and large to oppose the constitution. But many are also resigned to the likelihood that a majority of Iraqis will ratify the document, and they are refocusing their attention on the year-end parliamentary election.
Most Sunni Arabs boycotted the previous parliamentary vote, held in January. The national at-large seats were divided up between political parties, and many candidates kept their names secret out of fear of assassination. Consequently, many Iraqis complained that they were essentially voting blind. The election in December, however, will probably be organized around 18 provincial races and promises to be much more open and competitive.
Parliamentary hopefuls are already lining up support. Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, for one, announced this month that he was forming a coalition intended to be a secular, multiethnic alternative to more hard-line Shiite and Sunni groups. There are also new parties and coalitions forming around Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi and Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr Uloum. "They are looking forward to the December elections," said Adil Lami, Iraq's chief election officer. "Most of them, especially the Sunnis, believe that they will be able to change articles in the constitution when they get to the National Assembly."
And the other article in Rantburg today demonstrates that amendments will be permitted and discussed.
According to the latest draft of the constitution, amendments to the document must be proposed by the president and the Cabinet or by one-fifth of parliament. Proposed amendments pass muster after a two-thirds vote of the assembly, a popular referendum and ratification by the president.
One State Department official, who asked for anonymity because of a prohibition on speaking to the media, called Sunni plans to change the constitution after December "delusional." "There's no way they could get enough votes," the official said. "They don't have the numbers."
But they'll get to try, and when they fail they'll realize that it isn't the end of the world.
As Sunnis look to the December election, however, they continue to make last-ditch efforts to change the language of the document â even as it is being distributed around the nation. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has shuttled among meetings of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factional leaders in an effort to broker concessions that would persuade the Sunnis to embrace the proposed charter.
So far, the talks have yielded only tentative acceptance of symbolic changes. Shiite and Kurdish leaders have agreed to call the country the "Arab and Muslim nation of Iraq" and declare Arabic one of the official languages of the predominantly Kurdish north, participants said. Shiites, aiming to quiet the Sunnis' claim that federalism would fracture the country, have agreed to a clause emphasizing Iraq's unity "in its soil, its nation and its sovereignty."
There has been no agreement, however, on Sunni demands to drop the charter's commitment to federalism â which would formalize the Kurds' autonomy in the north and allow the Shiites to form their own federal region in the south â and eliminate language critical of Hussein's Sunni-led Baath Party. Those elements of the proposed constitution, said Shiite negotiator Ali Dabagh, "are absolutely untouchable."
During the Monday meetings in Tikrit, Sunni leaders encouraged voting in the election even if the constitution was sure to be approved. "Broad participation is one element of success," said Hamad Humood Kaisi, governor of Salahuddin, the province that includes Tikrit. "The participation of Sunnis here is a sign of faith in the democratic process in Iraq."
Deputy Gov. Abdullah Ejbarah is an unlikely convert to Iraq's nascent democratic process. A former general, he fought U.S. troops during the 2003 invasion and boycotted the first parliamentary election. On Monday, he was among the Tikrit leaders urging citizens to vote. Ejbarah said that he expected a big turnout and that even some local insurgent groups were split on the referendum. "Some of the more violent ones, they just tell the people that they will kill anyone who votes," he said. "But some say it's ok to vote â but you should vote no."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/12/2005 00:30 ||
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RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The official investigation into the death of Yasser Arafat failed to determine what killed the longtime Palestinian leader, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Wednesday. Qureia said the special committee that led the investigation would publish the results later Wednesday, along with a report by the French doctors who treated Arafat.
"French and Palestinian doctors who treated the martyred brother found that medicine could not find the disease which infected Arafat, neither viruses, nor germs, nor AIDS, nor bacteria," Qureia said. He said the file would remain open for further investigation. Arafat died in a French hospital on Nov. 11, 2004, after a two-week illness. His wife, Suha, refused an autopsy. Rumors have swirled that Arafat died of AIDS or was poisoned by Israel. Israel denies the allegation.
"Poison? No, no, we didn't "poison" him. snicker "
Arafat's medical records were leaked to reporters last month. An investigation of these records by independent doctors also turned up inconclusive.
The records showed that Arafat died of a massive stroke after suffering intestinal inflammation, jaundice and a blood condition. But the records were inconclusive about the causes of the blood condition, known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC. The condition has numerous causes ranging from infections to colitis to liver disease.
Not to mention Zionist Death rays
Posted by: Steve ||
10/12/2005 09:11 ||
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#1
How he remained alive so long is a mystery in itself. Therin lie several clues to the actual cause of death, which Paleo witch doctors have been unable to spin into a dignified passing deemed appropriate for such an exceptional asshole leader.
Posted by: john ||
10/12/2005 11:48 Comments ||
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#2
the Lion of the boy's lockerroom Paleoland....caught the bug. End of story. At least I stayed a turkey baster's distance away from him
October 12, 2005: The replacement (the XM-312) for the eighty year old, .50 caliber (12.7mm) M-2 (âMa Deuceâ) machine-gun is now undergoing field testing. Originally, this was going to be the M-307, designed so it could fire either the computer controlled 25mm âsmart shellâ of the XM-25, or (by changing the barrel and receiver), .50 caliber ammo. The troops will begin getting the XM312 in 2008, or sooner.
The M-2, nicknamed âMa Deuceâ by the troops, has been around so long because it was very good at what it did. Accurate, reliable, rugged and easy to use, many of the M-2s currently in use are decades old, and finally wearing out. The army doesnât want to build new ones, and wasnât sure it could do without the venerable, and very useful, Ma Deuce. So it ended up going ahead with the plan to build a new .50 caliber machine-gun (the XM312). Actually, the new âMa Deuceâ is basically the XM307, but without the ability to fire 25mm rounds. The XM312 weighs 36 pounds (compared to 50 for the M-2), even with the addition of the electronic fire control stuff from the XM307.
The fire control system, especially the range finder, makes the XM312 much more accurate with first shot hits, than the M-2. American troops have been testing the XM312 in the United States and Germany, and have also reacted favorably to the lighter weight of the XM-312. The lighter XM312 will be easier for infantry to manhandle into position (along with its tripod mount.)
Posted by: Steve ||
10/12/2005 09:34 ||
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#1
...and I wonder how long it will take them to fix all the inevitable bugs, glitches, misfeeds, etc.
#4
I wonder what is its sustained rate of fire.
From the link: Rate of Fire 230 Shots per Minute, Automatic or Semi-Automatic. Slower than Ma Deuce, but better accuracy
Posted by: Steve ||
10/12/2005 11:50 Comments ||
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#5
The .50 cal was designed by those who still had the astouding gunbattles of WWII in their heads. Men who wanted a gun that if it was ever used so hard that it would break down in the field, you needed artillery support anyway.
I remember stories of how German machine gunners had to put handfuls of snow in their water cooled machine guns because the water had boiled out. How company sized units would hold off Division sized Russian units with little but machine guns and Panzerfausts.
And a generation before that, in WWI, how it seemed like those machine guns would never be stilled, and hundreds of thousands of men charged such guns.
As much as we like to think of this as war of the past, future wars may need weapons as durable.
The diminishing return for accuracy is far lower than the diminishing return for durability.
AUSTRALIANS had declared a moral war on Muslims in Indonesia with their drinking and skimpy clothes in Bali, the eldest brother of three of those responsible for the 2002 attacks said yesterday.
Muhammed Khozin told The Australian at his home in Tenggulun, East Java, that his community didn't care about the October 1 Bali bombings because they were not linked to people from his village.
Mr Khozin's younger brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas were sentenced to death and Ali Imron to life imprisonment for their roles in the attacks on the Sari Club and Paddy's bar, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Mr Khozin said the behaviour of Westerners in his country was to blame for the radicalism adopted by his brothers.
"Alcohol, bikinis, that kind of thing makes Muslims angry. Don't do that when visiting a country with a Muslim majority," he said. "I'm sorry, Australian culture makes war on morality. They come to Bali with bikinis, they make war on morality. Not physical war, morality war. Respect the culture and religion of Indonesia."
His son, 19-year-old university student Afif, said there would be no end to terrorism while Australians continued going to Bali and behaving without respect for Muslim culture.
He believed the first Bali bombing committed by his uncles was justified because it discouraged tourists in Bali. "If Muslims died in that action, the Muslims will go to heaven," he said.
Afif said Muslims and Christians would only live side by side when Christians learned to respect Muslim culture.
Mr Khozin runs the Al-Islaman boarding school in the village that he founded with his late father 30 years ago. Such schools, known as pesantren, are seen as a breeding ground for terrorists.
He said if Canberra wanted to stop radicalism in Indonesia, it should teach Australians to be more respectful of Islam.
Moreover, Australia could help fund facilities at Islamic schools like his, which are mainly in poor areas and are under-resourced, to help better educate Muslims in Indonesia.
"Please give to us because maybe that's the way to make the relationship with Indonesia and Australia better," he said.
He taught his students the concept of "dakwah", which means to confront people who do things that are wrong and tell them to stop.
But he did not subscribe to the view of radicals that they should act to physically erase something they did not agree with.
His brothers had a different view of Islam to his but he believed they were still good people. He called on the Indonesian Government to return them to their community, where they could be rehabilitated.
"The community have a dream. If Amrozi came back here, he will do things like that."
It's difficult to respect a culture or religion that encourages detonation of explosives in areas packed with innocent people. But hey!...thats just me.
#4
Respect is extended only to those and that which is worthy of it. Contempt would be what he is asking for though he does not know he'd begged for it.
#6
"Australia could help fund facilities at Islamic schools like his, which are mainly in poor areas and are under-resourced, to help better educate Muslims in Indonesia".
Right. The Aussies should pay money to people to teach children to hate their culture to the point of mass murder. Makes sense.
Go away and send money. I guess you have to be Muslim to get it.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
10/12/2005 15:29 Comments ||
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#7
Talking to these people is like talking to a bag of cement.
#12
Afif said Muslims and Christians would only live side by side when Christians learned to respect Muslim culture.
What he means to say is that Muslims and Christians can only live in relative proximity if the Christians adopt a proper Dhimmi attitude towards muslims (i.e. recognizing the superiority of islam). I wonder if Australia is far enough away?
I doubt that Bali continues to be majority Hindu for much longer. Like all majority Muslim countries, Indonesia is working to erradicate any religions that compete with Islam. Their govenment will say that "It's all lies", but the reality is that--as good muslims--they'll say and do anything to further islams aims.
INDONESIAN police have reportedly identified the first of three suicide bombers suspected of carrying out the attacks in Bali on October 1 which killed 23 people, including four Australians.
Police said the suspected bomber, named as Yanto in several Indonesian newspapers, shared a rented room in Denpasar with a man arrested last weekend in East Java in connection with the bombings.
Yanto is suspected of carrying out the attack on Raja's Bar and Restaurant in Kuta â one of three suicide bombings on crowded Bali restaurants on the night of October 1.
"He was the one in the rental room staying with other witnesses," deputy national police spokesman Colonel Bambang Kuncoko told the Nusa Bali newspaper from Jakarta.
"Four of them stayed in that room and admitted they were from a certain city.
"One of those men looks like the bomber."
Police investigating the bombings have been circulating photos of the severed heads of suspected suicide bombers, recovered from the bombing scenes.
Yanto was reportedly identified by a man named Hasan, arrested during a raid in East Java on Sunday night and returned to Denpasar for questioning.
Hasan is believed to have admitted knowing or recognising Yanto in the rented accommodation close to police headquarters in the Denpasar suburb of Dangin Puri Kaja.
Bali police chief Made Mangku Pastika said Hasan was being intensively investigated and was being evasive.
"In his statements he is the most different to the other witnesses," Mr Pastika said.
"When the others answer X he always answers Y."
Australian Federal Police have been helping Indonesian police with their investigations, in particular with sophisticated phone intercept technology.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
10/12/2005 01:55 ||
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In mid-2004, two men who later pleaded guilty to carrying out a Manila bus bombing reportedly met Khaddafy Janjalani, the leader of the Philippinesâ Abu Sayyaf militant group, and a member of Indonesiaâs Jemaah Islamiah.
They then received training in bomb-making on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines,, according to police officials. According to a police report of testimony by Gamal Baharan, one of the Manila bomb suspects, the meeting and training was at a base of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the countryâs largest Muslim rebel group.
The close relationship between the groups, which has sprung up in recent years, underlines concerns after the latest bombing on the Indonesian resort of Bali that Islamic militants are finding common cause and a haven in Mindanaoâs rugged mountains and dense jungles.
âDelineations are becoming particularly difficult as the groups increasingly work together,â Zachary Abuza, an expert on Southeast Asian Islamic militancy, wrote in a recent report. âIncreasingly, Mindanao is seen (by Jemaah Islamiah) not just as a rear base of operations, but as a potential centre of operations.â Abuza said there were about 25 known Jemaah Islamiah militants based in Mindanao, many as trainers in Milf camps.
That includes Dulmatin, a senior Jemaah Islamiah member suspected of helping to plan and execute the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings on whom the United States last week raised its bounty to $10 million. Jemaah Islamiah has also been blamed for suicide bombings on October 1 in Bali that killed 23 people.
While the Milf leadership denies having links with radical groups, individual commanders sympathetic to Jemaah Islamiahâs cause and disillusioned with their leadersâ peace talks with the government are believed to have no such scruples.
Analysts say the Abu Sayyafâs return to its Islamist roots in recent years after a kidnapping-for-ransom spree has helped it strengthen ties with Indonesian militants and the Milf, which had previously criticised the groupâs activities as un-Islamic.
âI would say thereâs a lot more cooperation with Abu Sayyaf than there was a few years ago,â said Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group. Jones said Jemaah Islamiah was only one of several Indonesian Islamic militant groups whose members were receiving training and pooling resources with Philippine jihadists.
âItâs a very confused picture in terms of the organisational affiliations of the people.â Milf-controlled areas have provided a rare refuge for Jemaah Islamiah in the region, especially following a crackdown on the group and arrests of senior members after the first Bali bombing.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/12/2005 00:56 ||
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#1
major can of worms
Posted by: bk ||
10/12/2005 11:41 Comments ||
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The Syrian daily Al-Thawra published an article by Lebanese journalist Maria Maloof, in which she wrote:
"Since Mehlis began investigating the assassination of Prime Minister Al-Hariri, there have been continuous efforts to provide him with a legal and judicial halo, and to present him as equivalent to the legendary investigators seen on movie screens, such as Kojak, Columbo, and Inspector Gadget. But the performance of the international investigator [Mehlis], who previously suffered failures and bungled various investigations in Germany, has begun to deteriorate in light of basic questions that he has failed to even raise, let alone answer...
"The German fox overlooked all these facts, and others. Lately, there have been more and more reports about his indulgent life on board yachts, of his wine drinking, and of his immersion in Lebanese luxury, which make him lose his objectivity. [They] also cause him to lose sight of his earnest endeavor to arrive at the truth, and of the importance of the case that he has undertaken. Hence his strange behavior lately at the Bonita Resort, on one of the beaches of Al-Bathrun, where he embarrassed people by appearing all of a sudden accompanied by watchdogs and several heavily armed FBI personnel, creating a great disturbance in the restaurant and its surroundings. This made people wonder who this important figure was, who has taken over the entire restaurant, making the other diners flee in fear and apprehension."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
"Mehlis Leads a Life of Luxury Drinking Wine [$1,200 per] on Board Yachts"
Just wait until Kofi finds out, Mehlis will be in deep shit for not cutting him in.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
10/12/2005 1:17 Comments ||
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#2
Translation: This guy is finding some serious dirt, and we gotta make him look bad.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/12/2005 7:36 Comments ||
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#3
What would Mehlis's pimpin' lifestyle have to do with his job performance? I'm not even sure what exactly is the issue, here. He sounds like your average run-of-the-mill mid-range Saudi prince, or NGO brahmin. It's not as if Maloof's accusing him of sodomizing little boys or baking blood Matzohs or something like that. As vicious lies go this is positively... inept.
"Lebanese luxury"? Between my uncle's vacation pictures, Mike Totten's reports, and this bit of propaganda, I'm almost sold on getting my passport renewed the next time I can scrape together the money for a trip.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/12/2005 11:08 Comments ||
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Chirri denied allegations that Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad had doubts about the work of the international investigation committee, "MP Mohammad Raad did not raise any doubts; he only raised questions. There is no doubt whatsoever about the investigation," Chirri said. "The Lebanese public has a right to raise questions, and it is our right to clarify these matters and provide answers about the investigation."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati has criticized the Palestinian arms in the country saying: "The Palestinian weapons in Lebanon have no justification because they don't deter the Israeli enemy from launching any attacks." With preparations under way for a second round of talks between the Lebanese and Palestinian authorities on the arms issue, attention in the Palestinian street is focused on how to reach a unified position. Mikati was speaking following a meeting with Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani on Tuesday. The former premier reiterated his position saying the only weapons to be in the country are those of the "Lebanese state and legal forces on Lebanese territories." However, Mikati called on the government to tackle the living conditions of the Palestinian camps.
Palestinian circles have revealed the differing positions of the various Palestinian factions on the issue, with the Palestine Liberation Organization agreeing with the Palestinian Authority's desire to exchange the disarmament of the refugee camps for greater civil, political and diplomatic rights.
Meanwhile, the pro-Syrian alliance of Palestinian forces believes it is not yet time to raise the question of disarmament, insisting there is no difference between arms inside and outside the camps as long as the identity is one, the goal is one and the justification of bearing arms is defense against Israeli aggression. As planned, the alliance of Palestinian forces drafted a list of demands to a joint committee which was created Saturday following a meeting between Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the two Palestinian delegations.
Published by the Central News Agency yesterday, the list included an introduction highlighting the importance of redefining relations between Palestinian refugees and the Lebanese government in a way that serves the interests and rights of both parties. The list voiced the alliance's calls on the Lebanese government to grant Palestinians the rights to work in all fields, acquire properties, participate in political and civil life; press the UNRWA to upgrade refugee camps and services; organize security measures in the premises of the camps; and adopt legal measures to settle the status of Palestinians in Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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How do you tell a GRAND Mufti from an Excellent Mufti or a Great Mufti or a Very Good Mufti or a Good Mufti or a Mediocre Mufti or an Imaginative Imam or a Magnificent Mullah etc. etc. ad nauseaum?
Just askin' ya know, tryin' to tell who's on first.
#8
NYC taxi driver looking at the map (upsidedown)?
Posted by: john ||
10/12/2005 11:51 Comments ||
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#9
How do you tell a GRAND Mufti from an Excellent Mufti or a Great Mufti or a Very Good Mufti or a Good Mufti or a Mediocre Mufti or an Imaginative Imam or a Magnificent Mullah etc. etc. ad nauseaum?
Note: That is most certainly & definitively an Angry Mufti. You can tell 'cause his mood rings read seethe.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
10/12/2005 16:36 Comments ||
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In the latest official Syrian comment on the increasing pressure on Damascus, Premier Naji Otari said "all the gates of hell will open on the U.S. if it attempts to attack Syria."
Even though that probably implies they're going to unleash their Elite Republican Guard⢠on us, it also sounds like they could be in league with Satan. The more reason to demolish them, I'd say...
Otari was replying to a report this week in Newsweek magazine revealing that Washington had debated launching military strikes inside Syria against camps used by insurgents operating in Iraq.
I expect it'll eventually come down to that. Baby Assad can't back down, not after being tossed out of Leb. I'd guess he came close enough to being quietly eliminated when that happened.
Otari also accused Lebanese officials of being unable to make an independent decision, saying they were answerable to the French and U.S. ambassadors to Lebanon. Addressing his Lebanese counterpart Fouad Siniora, the Syrian premier said: "Apparently Siniora forgot all of what we have discussed when he visited Damascus after his recent return from a visit to the U.S."
"I warned him. He can't say I didn't..."
Siniora had held talks with several officials in Damascus to resolve a border dispute between the two countries in June. Pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported yesterday Otari had refused to answer repeated phone calls from Siniora on Monday. The paper quoted unidentified "informed Syrian sources in Damascus" as saying the Assad regime believes Siniora has reneged on promises he made to the Syrian president during a visit on July 31. The regime is particularly outraged over Siniora's allegation in a recent interview with The Washington Post that all of Lebanon is convinced that Syria engineered the Hariri murder.
Sounds like the puppet masters are cheesed over losing control. But we knew that.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
He's right. The Gates of Hell will open, but only to admit the Syrian Baathists.
#2
Georgey Patton, the "most feared Allied Commander on all fronts" by the Germans during WW2, had a famed armored div surnamed "HELL ON WHEELS" - the Allies still won, Assad. OTOH, everything taken together leads me to the opinion that when Saddam made his "MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES" remark, he was possibly forecasting potential future US defeat but NOT necessarily at the hands of His or Iraq's Baathist forces per se. Iff there were any doubts before 9-11, post 9-11 its clear the USA is dealing with an organized geopol effort, of which Radical Islam is only one part of. In any case, AMERICA EITHER WINS, OR IT WILL BE DESTROYED - in-betweens only lead to eventual defeat. For all their hype about Americans being given "choice", the Failed Lefties and anti-US agendists are NOT giving Americans any "choice" when it comes to forcing Americans to accept, or volunteer to accept, national Socialism, Communism, OWG and Socie World Order.
Posted by: Evert V. in NL ||
10/12/2005 7:23 Comments ||
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#5
In WWII, the Devil's Brigade was on which side?
In WWII, the "Devil's in Skirts" were on which side?
Otari was making a prediction of what his short life would be like if we had the balls to end their terrorist existance.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/12/2005 7:29 Comments ||
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#6
There's not much on the "suicide", but here's the AP story.
Syria's interior minister, who ran Lebanon as security chief until 2003, died Wednesday, and Syria's official news agency said he had committed suicide.
His death was reported days before the expected release of a U.N. report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
"Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kenaan committed suicide in his office before noon," the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. "Authorities are carrying out the necessary investigation into the incident."
The news agency report did not mention the looming U.N. investigation, but Kenaan was intelligence chief in Lebanon from the 1980s until 2003, presiding over Syria's control of its neighboring country. He reportedly was questioned by U.N. investigators in the probe of the Hariri's murder.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/12/2005 11:13 Comments ||
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#18
It's a strange cultural thing. The more scared and hapless they feel the more bellicose and vicious the rhetoric. Their language is rich in this area and provides alot of resources. Doesn't it remind one of Saddam's lackies?
#22
Maybe they were thinking about the gate to the Mines of Moria and Khazad-dum. Perhaps Baby Assad is harboring a Balrog left over from Saddam's regime or something.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/12/2005 22:51 Comments ||
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Leading Lebanese opposition MP Saad Hariri held a closed-door meeting yesterday with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Rome, saying in comments afterward that Lebanon has been given "a golden opportunity" that must be seized. The Lebanese Parliament's majority leader said he was surprised by "all the fuss" concerning German prosecutor Deltlev Mehlis' final report on the international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, adding that "the Future parliamentary bloc will accept the findings of the report, regardless of the outcome." Regarding his meeting with Sfeir, held at the Maronite School in the Italian capital, Hariri said: "I updated His Eminence on the results of my recent visits to New York, France and Saudi Arabia and the outcome of my meetings."
"His Eminence and I are optimistic because Lebanon has a golden opportunity that we must grasp," he added, referring to the first chance for true Lebanese sovereignty in decades. Asked to comment on recent claims from both Damascus and its Lebanese allies that Mehlis' report will be void of any hard evidence of Syrian involvement in the attack, Hariri said: "If it's actually empty, then why is this massive campaign being waged against it? The report will be issued in a couple of days and we are waiting for this report and will accept it regardless of the outcome."
Commenting on the security situation in the country, he said: "We all have security concerns and the government is deploying all possible efforts to ensure security for the Lebanese people." Hariri is one of many Lebanese officials who have been conducting their affairs from abroad due to "security concerns." Hariri also said that "some people were trying to create an atmosphere of anxiety before the issuing of the report, which they say is void" of evidence. "There is a result for this report and those who assassinated Rafik Hariri will pay the price for their crime," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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An insightful blog posting by the Lost Budgie. Linkage in original; EFL'd mainly by lopping off a section on Saudi men shopping for women's clothing; you should go read it all. Go read the response linked to in the update, too.
A new television series being broadcast around the Middle East tells the story of young sexually-frustrated Islamists who want to become suicide bombers just so they can collect their rewards in heaven â 72 beautiful virgins.
The "Beautiful Maidens" program has produced an incredible response both from modernist Arabs and traditional Islamic hardliners. Some expect that the television network, cast members and producers will be targeted themselves for confronting the Islamist ideology - and for daring to reveal the connection between the warped Arab sexual values, Islamist misogyny and "misunderstood" Koran verses that leads sexually-frustrated young men to suicide and murder.
One of the show's writers is a would-be suicide bomber who changed his mind. He tells of a fellow suicide bomber who was in contact with his superiors via mobile phone and was heard counting down the seconds to the 'beautiful maidens.' His last words were: 'One second to the 'beautiful maidens.' He then blew himself up.
"No one can deny that one of the reasons that push terrorists to commit terrorism is a concept in terrorist literature: 'Blow yourself up so you can meet 'beautiful maidens.'"
In our newly-embraced love of all things "multi-cultural" it is not considered, um, Kosher, to point out that some cultures are the antithesis of Judeo-Christian values and are not ever likely to peacefully co-exist in Western society. While journalists and academics on the right side of the scale have long addressed the social train wreck that is Arab sexual cultural values, even the "Blame America First" lefties now get the point that there is something intrinsically amiss with Arab sexual culture.
. . .
The idea that Islamist terrorists are literally dying to get laid is not new. What is new, and most encouraging, is that a few brave Muslims are now speaking out and carrying their own cultural war to the very doorstep of the radical Islamist enemy. We may not yet be on the verge of an Islamic Reformation, but many Muslims realize that change is much needed: even if they cannot publicly say so just yet.
#2
A new television series being broadcast around the Middle East tells the story of young sexually-frustrated Islamists who want to become suicide bombers just so they can collect their rewards in heaven â 72 beautiful virgins.
Haven't these dumbasses ever heard of Rosie Palms? Less people die that way.
#4
And here is the email that 3dc refers to. I snipped the names and places out of the email for OPSEC:
Dear Family,
We [snip] were ordered to contact our families and I'm letting you know
we are alright before anything goes on the newswire.Today at 0915, our Mobile Assault Platoon was passing a whiteconversion van that was acting suspicious in its movement, and when our lead vehicle drove past, the van accelerated immediately off the shoulder and headed to try and ram the back of vehicle 1. Immediately the gunner on my usual vehicle (V 2) opened up on the van with .50 cal machine gun fire trying to disable it, [snip] called over the radio to "look out victor 1 he's coming after you!" victor 1eluded the gaining vehicle until the decision was made to pull off the road and at that moment, the driver detonated his vehicle about 15 yards from the rear of vehicle 1, blowing the humvee off of the road and ejecting [snip], [snip] and [snip], a huge fireball about 50 feet tall enveloped the vehicles as I witnessed shrapnel flying all around us. The humvee rolled to a stop, the rear of our convoy took far off sniper fire and we returned fire until there were no more shots,and then we rushed to the scene, put out the flaming humvee and tended to the wounded. We thank the Lord for protecting us as there were only some minor broken bones and burns and superficial injuries. We say a prayer every time we go out without fail, as a platoon, and when I show you pictures, you'd understand God was looking out for us today. This is the 2nd lead humvee that we've lost this month as our convoy hit a 155 artillery round improvised explosive device 2 weeks ago. that also blew the rear off that vehicle. I think the lord knows this platoon has suffered enough with the 4 killed in action and over 12 wounded in action we have sustained in 5 months. That being said, our platoon totals around 18 men, and 6 or 7 members that are still with us already have Purple Hearts. 4 out of the 5 wounded in the lead vehicle were flown to [snip] airbase for medical treatment, at least 3 probably will be sent home since we have only a month and change left here.
By the way, from the look of the driver when he vehicle 1 looked at his face as they passed and the size of his hands and foot, we suspect he
was about 12-14 years of age. We found a ribcage, a knee to the foot section, a brain lobe and various other things like the jaw and scalp up to 100 yards away. And crazy enough, the only body part that was blown into vehicle 1 was his penis and scrotum sack, sans 1 nut. The running sick joke was that he is in Allah-Land right now with the other suicide bomber that hit us in May, trying to figure out what he is going to do with all these virgins when his manhood is in a burnpile at Camp [snip]. And of course we let the local dogs eat the rest of his extra crispy dismemberment. You can only have gallows humor after an event like this...its that thing after combat that gets you back on the road again ready to hunt em down again the next day.
[snip]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/12/2005 21:44 Comments ||
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#5
snip, indeed!
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/12/2005 21:59 Comments ||
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Srinagar, October 12: In the first incident of its kind, Indian army on Wednesday crossed the Line of Control near Amman Setu to help reconstruct a bunker of Pakistani soldiers at their request, Defence sources said. Pakistani soldiers guarding the Amman Setu (Peace Bridge) on PoK side sought help of their Indian counterparts to reconstruct their bunker which was damaged by the massive earthquake on Saturday, they said. The Indian soldiers crossed the LoC, helped the Pakistanis to reconstruct their bunker and then returned to their positions, they said. The Pakistani request came in view of forecast of heavy snowfall in the region, the sources said adding they wanted to construct shelter in the shortest possible time. Amman Setu connects Jammu and Kashmir and PoK and is used by passengers of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus to cross LoC. The bridge was damaged and the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road rendered unmotorable at many places by the 7.4 magnitude quake.
Posted by: john ||
10/12/2005 16:09 ||
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For all the years of jihad in Kashmir, the capital of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, was the hub of terrorist activity. It had a number of terrorist training camps, far beyond the reach of Indian security agencies. But they have been badly hit by nature. According to islamic scholars (sorry for the oxymoron), allan was punisishing the West with Katrina and Rita?!?!?! What's up with this? The only logical conclusion is...
The fury unleashed by the killer quake, at least, has achieved one thing that both Pakistan and Indian administrations failed to do â that is to clamp down on terror camps and in particular, the terror infrastructure. or, maybe maybe allan is sending a message.
The killer quake has crippled militant training camps in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and the North-west frontier province of Pakistan. dang...my "give a sh** meter" is reading zero. Must be broken.
Have you tried our new Acme Apathy Meter�
As a result of which the Jihad Council, an umbrella organisation of several militant outfits, has also suspended its activities. Hmmm. Have they given up on allan? Where's the love? Or maybe...just MAYBE...they are getting an unexpected 1st hand look at their collective 72 virgins.
A local Kashmiri newspaper has reported that scores of activists from an Islamic charity linked to a banned Pakistani militant organisation died in the devastating earthquake. Resisting...urge...to...burst...out...LAUGHING!!
Even, the militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiyabaâs offshoot, the Jamat-ud-Dawaâs spokesman said that the charityâs mosques, hospitals, schools and Islamic seminaries were obliterated. The downside is that innocents are lying in the same grave with the islamo-cockroaches and turds.
âWe have lost many of our members. Several have died, many others are buried under the rubble,â he said. Dang...There it goes again!?!?! My "give a sh** meter" is reading zero.
The Lashkar-e-Taiyaba runs a hospital and a madrasa near Muzaffarabad, which have borne the brunt of the quakeâs fury. Twenty kilometres from Muzaffarabad, the Lashkar-e-Taiyaba had three training camps â Kura, Aksa and Abdullah bin Masood. This was the seat of the Lashkar commander, Zaki ur Rehman. Sounds like GZ was right at the source of most of the global islamic terrorist support? Sounds like a not too subtle message from allan.
The militant organisation had also set up three new camps in the hills in the north-west of Manshera, called Umar, Abu Bakr and Umar Bin Auf. Each camp had more than 100 militants, many of whom have been badly reportedly affected by the quake that transcended all artificial boundaries while unleashing its own variant of terror. Pay back is a b**tch, ain't it?
Even Balakot near Muzaffarabad that had the dubious distinction of being the epicentre of cross-border terrorism and was regarded as the nerve-centre of terror by counter-terrorism experts, has also been hit. "Vengance is mine, sayeth the Lord. Amen.
#1
Maybe they'll say that Allah punished them for not killing enough infidels; not subjugating enough woman; not stamping out enough music and laughter, etc.
#3
I'm having a hard time knowing what to think about this. On the one hand these asshats celebrated Kat-rita hitting us and killing about a thousand of us saying that it was Allan punishing us. On the other hand, lots of people who were just trying to get by in life were also killed.
I dont think I've ever been so conflicted in my life. I am so sorry for all those decent folks killed and at the same time I hope the quake got that f%&&^**&&&^& Zawahiri and f@#$^&**^^# bin loopy too.
You're right Mhw. Their belief system is absolutely inpenetrable to reason and reality.
#4
The jihads have suffered a setback due to the earthquake, as they have suffered significant casualties and their infrastructure has been seriously damaged.
Like everyone else in this region, they will have to rebuild. To do this will require resources, the main one which will be funding. So the big questions will be:
1. Who will give the money?
2. What order of magnitude will the funding be?
3. How fast will the funding be available?
The answers will determine how fast they get back in business.
Terrorists thrive in these semi-anarchy backward backwater sh*tholes. They spread the money around, buying protection and isolation. The people living there are stuck. They cannot go anywhere. We took Afghanistan away from them, we are working on taking Iraq from them. They get help and a base to an extent in Iran. They seem to be setting up shop in Bangladesh, and all the sh*thole places in Africa. They will fluorish in these locations, especially in tribal, or warlord styles of government.
The way I see it, a good way to stunt the growth of the jihadis is to squeeze their funding. That will require the cooperation of governments, and will also require the use of getting a message to the funding sources that they will clearly understand, if ya know what I mean.
As far as the human tragedy is concerned, we can do what we can for relieving human misery. Providing a long term fix is up to the governments of the region. You cannot take all your wealth and make nukes, or graft, or whatever, and not expect to take hits on neglected infrastructure and lack of building codes and enforcement. Case in point: The MMs of Iran and the devastation in Bam, Iran due to the earthquake there.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/12/2005 15:06 Comments ||
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#5
Blankets, water, tents, food, manpower assistance (transport, medical, etc) - no cash. Not one dime.
"getting a message to the funding sources"
Lol - so how's your Arabic and Farsi?
La atta kala'am al Aribiya... = "I don't speak Arabic"
Dunno how to say the same for Farsi... What I'd actually want to say to both would buy me a quick trip to the Sink Trap.
Syed Salahuddin, chief of Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen, will soon be going to Mecca not to pray for peace but to promote terrorism in J&K, reliable sources said. Salahuddin, who is also the chief of the Jehadi Council of all terror groups in Pakistan, is ostensibly going on haj to Mecca in Saudi Arabia during Ramzan. His real purpose is, however, "not religious, but to take stock of the prevailing momentum of terrorism," the sources added. Salahuddin has been living in Pakistan ever since he crossed the border, 18 years ago, leaving behind his wife and children in J&K. He has invited all "likeminded" people to come to Saudi Arabia where they can then together find ways to revive the ebbing momentum of terrorism in the Valley.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
10/12/2005 04:23 ||
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#2
I dunno. A year ago, I was wondering why India hadn't managed to knock him off. Today, with his life's work in ruins, maybe not. Though I'd certainly be in favor of a serious maiming.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 12:49 Comments ||
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#3
Give him a transgender operation so he can be one with the other half of Islam.
In the name of God, praise be to God, and praise and blessings be upon the Messenger of God, his family, his Companions, and all those who follow him.
The gracious brother Abu Musab, God protect him and watch over him, may His religion, and His Book and the Sunna of His Prophet @ aid him, I ask the Almighty that he bless him, us, and all Muslims, with His divine aid, His clear victory, and His release from suffering be close at hand. Likewise, I ask the Almighty to gather us as He sees fit from the glory of this world and the prize of the hereafter.
Dear brother, God Almighty knows how much I miss meeting with you, how much I long to join you in your historic battle against the greatest of criminals and apostates in the heart of the Islamic world, the field where epic and major battles in the history of Islam were fought. I think that if I could find a way to you, I would not delay a day, God willing.
My dear brother, we are following your news, despite the difficulty and hardship. We received your last published message sent to Sheikh Usama Bin Ladin, God save him. Likewise, I made sure in my last speech that Aljazeera broadcast Saturday, 11 Jumadi I, 1426h, 18 June 2005 to mention you, send you greetings, and show support and thanks for the heroic acts you are performing in defense of Islam and the Muslims, but I do not know what Aljazeera broadcast. Did this part appear or not? I will try to attach the full speech with this message, conditions permitting.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Prophet @ left to his companions
...The Prophet got e-mail?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/12/2005 1:29 Comments ||
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#2
Prophet @ aid him
Darn right the prophet's got e-mail. He's got the hottest WiFi "hotspot" in the universe.
#3
What I find interesting is that al-Zarqawi is chided by al-Zawahiri for (allegedly? apparently?) being "deceived by the praise of some of the zealous young men and their description of you as the shaykh of the slaughterers, etc. They do not express the general view of the admirer and the supporter of the resistance in Iraq."
Should I take this to mean that al-Zarqawi not only has his own autonomous outfit riding al-Qaida's coattails (hence the name "al-Qaida in Iraq") but is surrounded by yes-men?
This might explain why al-Zawahiri sounds to me borderline reverential towards al-Zarqawi, emphasizing that al-Zarqawi is the man on the ground and begging for "from the front" news... which in turn might say a lot about al-Zawahiri's own level of communications and ability to network.
Oh, and two questions about al-Zawahiri's lengthy 'discussion' of the Shia question:
#1: "Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib, may God honor him" The heck, what's a Wahhabist saying this for???
#2: Is it just me, or does he make al-Zarqawi's fatwas look schizophrenic by covering all the bases in that big, question-filled paragraph?
By #2, I mean forget al-Zarqawi's flip-flopping on the Tater Tots...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
10/12/2005 8:23 Comments ||
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Thousands of Islamist students from across Egypt held a mass rally at Cairo University on Tuesday, calling for greater freedom on campuses and in national politics. In Islamic style, the students marched in separate columns for men and women, holding yellow banners with the names of their universities and demands for change.
It's a safety measure. The have separate columns so their pee-pees don't smell each other, thereby avoiding spontaneous copulation...
Police estimated the number of protesters to be about 6,000, while The Associated Press put the number at about 5,000. Both said an almost equal number of riot police cordoned off the university to make sure the demonstrators did not leave the campus. The demonstration came weeks before Egyptians go to the polls to elect a new parliament. Some of the banners declared allegiance to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic group, which plans to campaign on behalf of nominally independent candidates in the election. A police officer said late Tuesday that seven of the organizers, who are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, were arrested for holding an illegal demonstration.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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As the nation gears up to grapple with the earthquake tragedy, the Punjab government's biggest relief fund - Rs 4 billon Zakat Fund — is empty, while the funds situation at the Baitul Maal and Relief Fund is also dismal. Although Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has ordered the release of Rs 50 million for quake victims in Azad Kashmir and NWFP and individual and departmental donations are also pouring in, the funds meant for relief purposes have run out.
The Punjab government will approve the Rs 50 million donations in a supplementary budget and the chief minister will divert these donations either from his discretionary fund or any other departmental fund. "We received Rs 4 billion from the federal Zakat council last year. We pissed it away on jihad spent the money on hospitals and schools," Punjab Minister for Zakat and Ushar Khadim Hussain Wattoo told Daily Times.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/12/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
So how much have the Saudis pledged to fix PAK-land? Or are they going to just fund the Madarassas rebuilding (with the same old sh*tty construction methods)?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/12/2005 0:23 Comments ||
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#2
"We received Rs 4 billion from the federal Zakat council last year. We spent the money on hospitals and schools,"
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.
Two AK-47 assault rifles used in a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia have been traced to Yemen's Defense Ministry, according to Western and Yemeni officials, raising new fears that the country isn't doing enough to fight terrorism. In other worrying developments, Yemeni militants are believed to be among foreigners fighting U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi officials have said. Some Yemenis have even carried out suicide bombings in Iraq after their release from prison here under a government program, say Yemeni officials cited in local newspapers. Under the "dialogue" program Islamic fundamentalists are let go in exchange for renouncing violence.
Counter-terrorism authorities have drawn up plans to defend Australia against terrorists spreading avian influenza. The 
In a September 30, 2005 interview on Hizbullah's 
Somalia â East and NE coast: Twenty-
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The official investigation into the death of Yasser Arafat failed to determine what killed the longtime Palestinian leader, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Wednesday. Qureia said the special committee that led the investigation would publish the results later Wednesday, along with a report by the French doctors who treated Arafat. 
"Since Mehlis began investigating the assassination of Prime Minister Al-Hariri, there have been continuous efforts to provide him with a legal and judicial halo, and to present him as equivalent to the legendary investigators seen on movie screens, such as Kojak, Columbo, and Inspector Gadget. But the performance of the international investigator [Mehlis], who previously suffered failures and bungled various investigations in Germany, has begun to deteriorate in light of basic questions that he has failed to even raise, let alone answer... 
Former Prime Minister 
In the latest official Syrian comment on the increasing pressure on Damascus, Premier 
Leading Lebanese opposition MP Saad Hariri held a closed-door meeting yesterday with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Rome, saying in comments afterward that Lebanon has been given "a golden opportunity" that must be seized. The Lebanese Parliament's majority leader said he was surprised by "all the fuss" concerning German prosecutor Deltlev Mehlis' final report on the international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, adding that "the Future parliamentary bloc will accept the findings of the report, regardless of the outcome." Regarding his meeting with Sfeir, held at the Maronite School in the Italian capital, Hariri said: "I updated His Eminence on the results of my recent visits to New York, France and Saudi Arabia and the outcome of my meetings."
Srinagar, October 12: In the first incident of its kind, Indian army on Wednesday crossed the Line of Control near Amman Setu to help reconstruct a bunker of Pakistani soldiers at their request, Defence sources said. Pakistani soldiers guarding the Amman Setu (Peace Bridge) on PoK side sought help of their Indian counterparts to reconstruct their bunker which was damaged by the massive earthquake on Saturday, they said. The Indian soldiers crossed the LoC, helped the Pakistanis to reconstruct their bunker and then returned to their positions, they said. The Pakistani request came in view of forecast of heavy snowfall in the region, the sources said adding they wanted to construct shelter in the shortest possible time. Amman Setu connects Jammu and Kashmir and PoK and is used by passengers of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus to cross LoC. The bridge was damaged and the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road rendered unmotorable at many places by the 7.4 magnitude quake.
In the name of God, praise be to God, and praise and blessings be upon the Messenger of God, his family, his Companions, and all those who follow him.
Thousands of Islamist students from across Egypt held a mass rally at Cairo University on Tuesday, calling for greater freedom on campuses and in national politics. In Islamic style, the students marched in separate columns for men and women, holding yellow banners with the names of their universities and demands for change.
As the nation gears up to grapple with the earthquake tragedy, the Punjab government's biggest relief fund - Rs 4 billon Zakat Fund — is empty, while the funds situation at the Baitul Maal and Relief Fund is also dismal. Although Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has ordered the release of Rs 50 million for quake victims in Azad Kashmir and NWFP and individual and departmental donations are also pouring in, the funds meant for relief purposes have run out. 
