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Shiite militia takes over Iraqi city
Today's Headlines
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Africa Horn
Families of Islamist martyrs paid off by Islamic Courts
(SomaliNet) Officials of the Islamic Courts controlling most of south and central Somalia on Thursday donated money to families of the fighters Islamic Courts lost during the battle against warlords in Mogadishu for the last four months. The occasion in which the money distributed to 124 families of the Islamist martyrs took place at the building of the former ruling part in Mogadishu.
It's a moose-limb thing, you wouldn't understand.
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the leader of executive council of Islamic Courts who was among the officials attended the event said the money was intended to help the families of the martyred Islamic fighters and it was part of caring them at any time. He said they intend to give $200 to each family to celebrate the coming Eid festival with their brothers.
That's what, about four years income in Somalia?
Sheik Ahmed raised in his speech that outside enemy is heading to occupy the territory of Somalia giving support some of former defeated warlords those want to retake the capital. He said in the result of that it is much needed to defend the country from that enemy and seek for martyrdom.

Sayid Omar Moalim Abshir, who was speaking on behalf of the victims in Mogadishu battles, said he was very happy that his beloved ones died for the cause of defending the Islamic religion and the country.
"Oh yasss, very happy!"
It is for the first time to distribute cash to families whose beloved ones killed in the fighting against the defeated alliance of counter terrorism and for restoration of peace since the Islamic Courts took control of Mogadishu city early June.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A cheap investment for the Saudis.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/20/2006 0:40 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Aging Saudi king reforms rules of succession
That's the cold breath of Father Time blowing down your neck, Abdullah.
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/20/2006 14:45 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wouldn't worry. I'm sure King Fahd's ice machines are still in storage someplace.
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/20/2006 16:39 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Bangladesh, a launching pad for terrorists: M.K. Narayanan
Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan on Thursday said India regarded Bangladesh as a "sanctuary" for terrorists and also a "launching pad" for them into India.
"We are in touch with the Bangladesh Government on the issue and I think the cooperation is not as forthcoming as it should be..."
"We are in touch with the Bangladesh Government on the issue and I think the cooperation is not as forthcoming as it should be," Mr. Narayanan told presspersons here after addressing a meeting of senior police officials of the State on the national security scenario.

Mr. Narayanan said as India wanted to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours, it would continue dialogue and persuasion with Bangladesh. He said apart from Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, leaders of several militant outfits operating in the North-East, such as Paresh Barua, were living in Bangladesh and aiding terrorism. Mr. Narayanan said sharing of intelligence was not part of the anti-terrorism mechanism Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had recently discussed with the Pakistan President.

Incident-specific information, like that relating to the Mumbai train blasts or the attack on the Indian Institute of Science, would be shared with Pakistan, he said. To a question, Mr. Narayanan said the confidence building measures that India would discuss with Pakistan might not have a direct impact on the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as "the ISI was a state within the state."
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea Says it Will Not Give Terrorists Nuclear Weapons
Posted by: Oztralian || 10/20/2006 05:48 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ........Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure he won't.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/20/2006 7:11 Comments || Top||

#2  We need a bullshit meter, don't we?
Posted by: Raj || 10/20/2006 7:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Only Freedom fighters...
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 10/20/2006 8:13 Comments || Top||

#4  North Korea Says it Will Not Give Terrorists Nuclear Weapons

Terrorist promise no terror.

Water swears it isn't wet.

DemoCraps vow strong National Defense.

Sh*t declares no stinkum.
Posted by: RD || 10/20/2006 9:11 Comments || Top||

#5  Give no, sell yes.
Posted by: Phineter Thraviger1073 || 10/20/2006 11:08 Comments || Top||

#6  And if you can't trust the North Koreans, who can you trust...
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/20/2006 11:35 Comments || Top||

#7  lol, tu! I'ma wonderin' how Kimmy defines "terrorists", eh? I mean, even the UN is still haggling over DEFINING the word. So, he could sell them to Freedom Fighters across the muzzie world and be o.k. in his mind, right?
Posted by: BA || 10/20/2006 11:43 Comments || Top||

#8  I must be writing in "Invisible Sans Serif"
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 10/20/2006 12:11 Comments || Top||

#9  Sell, yes. Give, no.
Posted by: Jackal || 10/20/2006 12:15 Comments || Top||

#10  All the parts, centrifuges and delivery missiles? Yes. Completed bombs? Well, some assembly is required.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 15:06 Comments || Top||


Racially impure children killed in North Korea
We know that the NKor leadership is this depraved, but the rest of the world, particularly the progressive types, doesn't seem to get it. Or want to. Hat tip Chosen Journal.
THE North Korean regime’s obsession with racial purity has led to the killing of disabled infants and forced abortions for women suspected of conceiving their babies by Chinese fathers, according to a growing body of testimony from defectors.

The latest description of Kim Jong-il’s policy of state eugenics came from a North Korean doctor, Ri Kwang-chol, who escaped last year and told a forum in Seoul that babies with deformities were killed soon after birth. “There are no people with physical defects in North Korea,” Ri said. Such babies were put to death by medical staff and buried quickly, he claimed. He denied ever committing the act himself.

Exiles in Seoul said Ri was now keeping a low profile, fearing retaliation by North Korean agents, who have assassinated foes in the South Korean capital before. But his account added to the evidence that the Kim family dictatorship is founded on mystical notions of Korean racial superiority rather than Marxism — a reality that explains its deepening estrangement from China.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Racially impure children killed in North Korea

It's what's for dinner!
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 0:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Thats why I call him Kimmie-boy-the-baby-killer.

The story I heard is if a woman is repatriated to the Norks and might be pregnant with a 1/2 chinese baby the Nroks will either force an abortion or induce labor and kill the newborn in front of the mother -- all in the name of 'racial purity'.

Of course to the Left, AmNasty International and Human Rights Watch only Whitey can be a racist - so Kimmie-boy-the-baby-killer gets a pass as does the killers and rapist in Sudan, Slavers in just about any Islamic country, etc....

This just farking pisses me off! This type of shit should be blasted on CNN and the other networks (that is their job isn't it?). Chances are it won't even be mentioned.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/20/2006 0:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Because the mantra of PC says only whites can be racist, and Kim is an Oriental. So he is protecting the Korean people from "untrue" influences; sort of the way conservative black Republicans are not "authentically black" according to Al Sharpton and others.
Posted by: Shieldwolf || 10/20/2006 2:32 Comments || Top||

#4  This sh!t has gotta stop (and I don't curse like a sailor usually). When the TRULY innocent among us are treated like this, something must be done. And not just another sternly worded letter from Kofi.

I'm truly aghast that this type stuff goes on in a world like today's and DOESN'T get media attention. Where are you, UN, HRW, AI, etc? Of course, it's "abortion", so they probably won't touch it. How can a country become so depraved as to kill their own? Jeebus, that's spooky.

"All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to sit back and do nothing." Why, if it's TRULY "for the children" aren't the Donks running with this? Sadly, I know they'd rather kill and eat their own than fess up to there being TRUE evil in this world that we MUST confront.
Posted by: BA || 10/20/2006 11:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Zenster, that is over the line. yes kimmie's policies are way beyond despicable but to make light of the plight of the NKor masses is not your usual M.O.
i can only hope you never had to or get to bury your child born prematurley with congenital heart and lung defects, or you woouldn't be so glib. 20+ years and it still hurts.
Posted by: USN, ret. || 10/20/2006 14:31 Comments || Top||

#6  USN Ret., what I'm trying to highlight is that the murder of children is just the iceberg's tip. Cannibalism is becoming a regular practice in North Korea. That it has eluded the usual histrionic notice of the many human rights organizations is a searing indictment of their closely confined political agendas. In times of famine, the elderly and children are among the first to perish. Graves are often found opened within less than 48 hours of burial.

I've suffered my losses in life and certainly wouldn't wish any of them upon you, USN Ret.. You've obviously had your share of burdens as well. But I will drag the gruesome and destestable nature of Kim Jong-il's evildoing into the spotlight's glare whenever I think it necessary.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 16:11 Comments || Top||

#7 
Aid agencies are alarmed by refugees' reports that children have been killed and corpses cut up by people desperate for food. Requests by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to be allowed access to "farmers' markets", where human meat is said to be traded, have been turned down by Pyongyang, citing "security reasons".

Anyone caught selling human meat faces execution, but in a report compiled by the North Korean Refugees Assistance Fund (NKRAF), one refugee said: "Pieces of 'special' meat are displayed on straw mats for sale. People know where they came from, but they don't talk about it."

[snip]

"If a funeral takes place during the day and the burial is performed that evening, the grave may be dug open and the body stolen before morning," said one refugee.

Another witness, named only as Lee, 54, said he feared that his missing grandsons, aged eight and 11, had been killed for food. As he searched widely for them, they boys' friends said they had vanished near a market.

Children being killed is certainly a hideous thing. An entire society purposefully being starved into a state of cannibalism is a crime against humanity.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 16:21 Comments || Top||

#8  Zen: I agree that the conduct of NKor is detestable, and that adjective is not strong enough, but your comment "its what's for dinner is, to me still a flippant way to 'drag the gruesome...' nature to the front. I am also aware of the facts about cannibalism you have stated and am not disputing them. There is no way to discuss this subject that is revolting to a civilized society, especially when the remedy is entirely within Kimmie's power. Or ours if we so choose. Cannibalism for survival in extreme situations, while still repulsive can be at least justifed; I am thinking about the plane crash in the Andes, in 72 or 73 if memory serves, but the survivors had some basic rules when they made the decision to resort to that. Their situation was vastly different from this one. Again, my anger is with your delivery method, not your message. On that I am 100% in agreement.
Posted by: USN, ret. || 10/20/2006 16:21 Comments || Top||

#9  I'm one of the only people I know that has been decrying this catastrophe for well over five years now. If it requires putting this travesty in purposefully offensive terms to make people sit up and take notice, then I'm prepared to do so and take whatever brickbats that come my way for it.

America's failure to address Kim's heinous atrocities is one of our greatest failings in modern times. That our politicians have gotten so far into bed with the Chinese communists whereby they are reluctant to interdict an ongoing crime against humanity damns them all straight to hell.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 16:31 Comments || Top||

#10  At this point, I'm also obliged to mention that my initial post was not submitted explicitly in order to offend people. That would be trolling and something I refuse to do here, or at any other board. Fred and the moderators work far too hard to ever be subjected to such discourtesy.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 17:24 Comments || Top||

#11  Zen: you're not the only one talking about this for the last five years.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/20/2006 19:12 Comments || Top||

#12  Steve, I was referring to my own personal circles, not Rantburg. The fact that this is more like common knowledge here at the 'Burg is one of the principal reasons I enjoy this site so much.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 20:17 Comments || Top||

#13  Re:#10: Thanks Zen; I think I understand the strength and depths of your feelings, and normally when I read potentially explosive comments (from anyone) I count to 10; this one however over rode my timing mechanism and I know that you were not directing those comments at me or anyone. Your comments are very well thought out and as a newbie here I have learned a lot.
Thanks.
Posted by: USN,Ret || 10/20/2006 21:07 Comments || Top||

#14  USN,Ret, please don't thank me. Your objections are well founded. I just so happen to have reached my limit in dealing with the atrocities of tyrants, Kim Jong-il in particular.

USN,Ret, if you feel so inclined, please email me so that we might continue this discussion offline. No debate, just discussion. I truly respect what you have gone through to reach your own decisions.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 22:15 Comments || Top||


Democrats urge bilateral US-North Korea talks
Some leading US Democratic senators joined a growing chorus of voices calling on the Bush administration on Wednesday to engage in bilateral talks with North Korea to persuade the communist state to abandon its nuclear weapons programs.

Carl Levin, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said President George W Bush should abandon his resistance to one-on-one talks with North Korea and appoint a special envoy to deal with Pyongyang. "Providing our allies and partners want us to talk with the North Koreans, bilaterally, one-on-one, we should do so," he said, adding that he believed South Korea, China and Russia supported such talks. "Our refusal to do so just plays into the hands of the North Koreans," Levin said.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Levin's foreign policy advice is as screwed up as his cue ball cover
Posted by: Captain America || 10/20/2006 0:56 Comments || Top||

#2  CHINA knows that JAPAN, SOKOR, and other Asian democracies-moderates have stronger or more resilient economies + more tech-savy. China is still in pervasive catch-up mode and cannot hope to achieve its ambitions of Chinese-centric, Communism-centric Asia-Pacific hegemony while both the Regional + Geopol "status quo" continues. WORSE TO WORSE, IT NEEDS PC PROXIES like NORTH KOREA to wilfully, deliberately, and PDeniably place themselves at NORKOR-only risk of national self-destruction in order to delay the State-specific progress of regional Asian competitors, espec JAPAN. China controls North Korea already - where the Norkies are concerned, their isue is by which Chicom-manipulated/
controlled scenario of external national destruction do they wish to be destroyed by. CHINA WILL DO NUTHIN' TO KIMMIE AS LONG AS KIMMIE DIRECTS NORKIE FURY TO ONLY THE USA-ALLIES + DOES NUTHIN TO THREATEN DE FACTO CHINESE CONTROL.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 1:25 Comments || Top||

#3  because they worked so well last time, eh Jimmy?

leading US Democratic Senators...does that scare you enough to GET OUT AND VOTE???
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 7:08 Comments || Top||

#4  does that scare you enough to GET OUT AND VOTE???

Yes!! I was one of the folks planning on sitting this one out. But given the situation in Iran and Korea - giving power to the Dems in Congress would be catastrophic. I may have to put a clothespin on my nose, but the GOP has my vote.
Posted by: DMFD || 10/20/2006 8:58 Comments || Top||

#5  I love listening to the a party on how to deal with the Norks that thinks that dodgeball and tag should be banned as too dangerous for children.
Posted by: Perfesser || 10/20/2006 10:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Perfesser nailed it. It be like letting the chickens negotiate w/the fox.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 10/20/2006 14:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Dems' timing is still impeccable.

Too late, ChiComs have lost face and are starting to deal w/him.

And Kimchee did not apologize, error in SorK translation.
Posted by: anonymous2u || 10/20/2006 15:03 Comments || Top||


S. Korean FM warns north against more nuke tests
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon warned North Korea on Thursday against another nuclear test.
"We won't do anything, but we're warning you, just the same!"
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


For Rice, Seoul proves a cautious ally
South Korean officials are skeptical of fully endorsing US policy, even as Rice pushes a firm approach to Pyongyang.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Cautious" is not the word I would have chosen in this context, no doubt part of the reason I'm not a journalist.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 9:00 Comments || Top||

#2  South Korea is no ally. They are just biding their time. They are at least as bad as the Arabs.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 10/20/2006 9:03 Comments || Top||

#3  All of which makes no difference as Korea's ultimate importance is as an assurance to Japan, not to Korea or the Korean people.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/20/2006 9:09 Comments || Top||


Rice: Won't coerce allies on N. Korea
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she would not try to dictate how U.S. allies enforce sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear program, and there were signs South Korea wouldn't quickly embrace Washington's approach. "The key is to live up to the obligation that all of us undertook" to bar North Korea from exporting nuclear technology or receiving overseas help for its nuclear program, Rice said after meetings with South Korea's president and top diplomat.

South Korea and China are the communist North's closest neighbors and trading partners, accounting for two-thirds of its foreign commerce. Both nations are pledged to carry out U.N. restrictions approved after North Korea's Oct. 9 test explosion of a small nuclear device, but they have hedged on details. Rice visits Chinese leaders Friday in Beijing.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Norkies know that a major part of their utility to CHINA is to die so that Chinese don't -IMO this is why Dubya agreed to allude the Iraq situation to TET 1968, where the North Vietnamese took over from the Vietcong after the Cong's forces, ie ability to wage war in South Vietnam, was all but destroyed. Many in the West believed then as now that Hanoi wilfully allowed the Cong to be sacrificed and destroyed in order for Hanoi to exert greater control of the southern war effort. IOW, COMMUNIST WILFULLY RISKED + DESTROYED [LOYAL]COMMUNIST FOR A [PC]COVERT/SHADOW AGENDA. China already views NORTH KOREA = KOREAS as a province(s) of China - it just needs to SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH eliminate or remove anti-Beiing elements still-existing within the KORCOMS/NORCOMS NPE in Pyongyang. MIGHTY COMRADELY OF THESE COMRADES IN MUTUAL GLORIOUS SOCIALISM. China pragmatically also needs warm-water ports just as Czarist Russia = USSR = RUSSIA did and does, to support its own national modernization efforts and geopol ambitions. To that end, Commie China will NOT give up North Korea andor TAIWAN, etal. once firmly entrenched locally. ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST FEEL-GOOD FLUFFERY/BLUFFERY.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 2:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Not just the West believes that, the number 2 all-time Viet Cong leader that survive the war and later fled to France openly stated that in his book, "Memoirs of a Viet Cong". His contention is that the NVA as epitomize by General Giap did not trust the political reliability of the southern recruits to the VC and expended them as ammo during Tet. That sort of double-dealing is common among communist regimes, Stalin had the Red Army sit on its hands while the Nazis destroyed the Polish Resistance in Warsaw at the end of WWII, even though a good chunk of the Polish Resistance was communist.
Posted by: Shieldwolf || 10/20/2006 4:15 Comments || Top||

#3  ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST FEEL-GOOD FLUFFERY/BLUFFERY.

Wow! Joe-on-a-Roll!
Posted by: johnnycanuck || 10/20/2006 10:56 Comments || Top||


NorK General Says "War Is Inevitable" (Diane Sawyer Gushes)
Oct. 19, 2006 — If President Bush continues to ask North Korea to "kneel," war "will be inevitable," and it would begin on the Korean Peninsula, North Korean Gen. Ri Chan Bok told "Good Morning America" anchor Diane Sawyer, in an exclusive interview inside North Korea.

President Bush wants the country to heel kneel down, Ri said, and North Koreans cannot agree with that.

Sawyer visited the general in a ceremonial hall. For decades, the general has been in charge of the flash point demilitarized zone, the 2.5-mile stretch between North Korea and South Korea.

In the interview, Sawyer read Ri the president's statement warning of grave consequences for North Korea should the nation continue nuclear testing or transfer nuclear technologies to third-party countries. She asked whether the general had a reaction. Ri told Sawyer that he didn't tend to believe what Bush said.
They never do, do they?
"Can the general guarantee or reassure the American people that this nuclear information will not be passed to terrorists?" Sawyer asked. "We have nuclear weapons to defend our country and our people," he said.
In other words, no assurance given.
The general said he could guarantee that these weapons were to defend North Korea and not to earn money or be sent to third parties. He added that North Korea did not have a relationship with terrorist organizations.
"No, no, certainly not!"
Sawyer asked him what the words of North Korea meant when leaders said there would be a merciless blow in response to any sanctions. Ri said he couldn't say specifically, but pointed out that North Korea had short- and long-range missiles.
The long-range ones don't work so well but the short-range ones do. Could one of those deliver a nuke to Seoul or Pusan?
Sawyer asked whether the country's nuclear technology was weaponized and whether it could be loaded on missiles. He would not say whether he could nuclearize the country's weapons, but said to be assured that the country had the facilities to deliver nuclear weapons. "North Korea is ready," he said.

When talking about the possibility of talks, the general said the country didn't care if the talks were bilateral or six-party, but he said the sanctions must be lifted for progress to begin.
The counterfeiting business must have been more lucrative than we thought.
Posted by: FOTSGreg || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "North Korea is ready" > is TAIWAN ready??? MIL BLOGGERS/FORUMS> CHINA has been repos PLA milfors in such a way it can deal wid SSSSSSSSSSSS
SSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VIETNAM, TAIWAN, PHILIPPINES + WESTPAC/CENPAC in one giant, Airborne fell swoop. Let us not also be a'fergitin INDIA + ALCAN. OWG + SOCIALISM NOW, D*** NG IT, THE CABBAGES ARE PLANNING WAR!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 1:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Actually, the PLA would have problems delivering one full airborne division with equipment to Taiwan with its present airlift capacity, even excluding Taiwanese air defenses. If you use the standard Soviet airborne division model, which the PLA does, the assault guns and BMPs would eat up so much of the air transport that you could not deliver both personnel and equipment. And a naval assault with amphibious landings would result in a "Million Man Swim". The best that the PLA can hope to do at the moment is a SCUD/FROG/IRBM barrage assault on Taiwan's ports and air ports, to cut them off from the outside world. And with Taiwan getting PAC3 Patriot missiles, that is now in doubt.
Posted by: Shieldwolf || 10/20/2006 2:28 Comments || Top||

#3  THE CABBAGES ARE PLANNING WAR!

Oh dear.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 9:03 Comments || Top||

#4  Joe was watching Vegitales.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/20/2006 9:10 Comments || Top||

#5  How about you bend over instead?
Posted by: mojo || 10/20/2006 10:16 Comments || Top||

#6  Go ahead, bomb the South Koreans, we dare you.

We double dare ya.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 10/20/2006 15:09 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Was Sheehan Bankrolled by Kerry 2004?
If true, this shows that even 35 years afterwards, John Kerry still wants to dishonor those who served their country in combat against America's hostile enemies
HANNITY: You do two things in the book. Number one, you describe how Cindy Sheehan had met President Bush a year before she became critical and was very complimentary of him. The media seems to have not done their job.

And the second thing you uncover in this book is that she worked very closely with the Kerry people. This was — she, in essence, was used by them. Explain that.

MORGAN: We have documents from the FEC that tracked the money, and that's generally how you get to a good investigative stories. And we've spent a lot of time in putting this all together.

It was John Kerry's political campaign, John Kerry personally, along with Michael Moore, went to Cindy Sheehan just days and a couple of weeks after the death of her son and asked her to make a commercial for him.

And they did the same thing, political operatives, they asked the other families.

HANNITY: So here's a woman that said nice things about the president and then was used as a political pawn in a campaign and continues to be used, is that fair?

MOY: No.

MORGAN: No, she has divorced herself because she feels that John Kerry is not now representative and not anti-war enough and not radical enough, so she —and they broke up their association. It was a financial arrangement that took care of her daughter, Carly, and her expenses.

MOY: They kicked her to the curb because she became too radical — if you could believe that or not — for people like Hillary Clinton, even.

HANNITY: Why does the press ignore — you can go through and you chronicled, which, by the way, the media never did, the insanity of some of the things that she said. Why don't you give us examples, and then answer the question: Why did the media ignore this side of her?

MORGAN: The media was a willing and complicit factor in this whole story. Cindy Sheehan was not just an ordinary, suburban, Vacaville, California, mom who suddenly planted herself, and woke up one morning, and said, "I've got to do something about the war in Iraq," and went to Crawford to ask the president, "What noble cause did my son die for?"

What happened was, she was financially assisted — hundreds and thousands of dollars were spent to help her to create a media message, which she, in fact, began to unspooling every night on the 6:00 news.
Posted by: badanov || 10/20/2006 09:45 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Right. Like Kerry would actually pay for anything himself. Just look at Theresa's checkbook!
Posted by: Raj || 10/20/2006 11:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't discount this as a campaign expense for Kerry. Teresa would be glad to bankroll this sort of thing, based on her pattern of contributions.
Posted by: lotp || 10/20/2006 12:12 Comments || Top||

#3  What about Soros? His tentacles may be there, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/20/2006 21:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Soros? The self-loathing, survivor-hating, Joooo hating commie?
Posted by: Bobby || 10/20/2006 21:58 Comments || Top||


House Intel Chair suspends Dem staff member - NYT source?
House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra has suspended a Democratic staff member because of concerns he may have leaked a high-level intelligence assessment to The New York Times last month.
traitorous weasel
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press Thursday night, Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., a committee member, said that an unidentified staffer requested the document from National Intelligence Director John Negroponte three days before the Sept. 23 story about its conclusions.
and spent how long at the copier?
The staffer received the National Intelligence Estimate on global terror trends on Sept. 21.

"I have no credible information to say any classified information was leaked from the committee's minority staff, but the implications of such would be dramatic," LaHood wrote Hoekstra, R-Mich., late last month. "This may, in fact, be only coincidence, and simply 'look bad.' But coincidence, in this town, is rare."
like a patriotic Democrat
A spokesman to Hoekstra, Jamal Ware, confirmed that a committee staff member was suspended this week. He said the staff member is being denied access to classified information pending the outcome of a review. "Chairman Hoekstra considers security highly important, and the coincidence certainly merits a review," he said.

An aide to California Rep. Jane Harman, the committee's top Democrat, did not have an immediate comment Thursday night.
"crap!"
The New York Times did not immediately answer a telephone message seeking comment.
"nobody's here right now, please leave a message"
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 07:02 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Aw, man, ya gotta love Karl's timing.
Posted by: Bobby || 10/20/2006 10:32 Comments || Top||

#2  If they've got enough to fire the guy, they should have had the FBI frogmarch him out of the Capital. That would have given somethingb to put a real smile on Karl's face.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/20/2006 11:07 Comments || Top||

#3  He's not fired, NS, he suspended with pay.
Posted by: Jackal || 10/20/2006 22:00 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Top US general says Rumsfeld is inspired by God
Damn right.
The top US general defended the leadership of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying it is inspired by God. "He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country," said Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Rumsfeld is "a man whose patriotism focus, energy, drive, is exceeded by no one else I know ... quite simply, he works harder than anybody else in our building," Pace said at a ceremony at the Southern Command (Southcom) in Miami.

Rumsfeld has faced a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation, largely over his handling of the Iraq war. But he got a strong show of support from the military establishment at Thursday's ceremony, where Navy Admiral James Stavridis took over Southcom's command from General Bantz Craddock. "He comes to work everyday with a single-minded focus to make this country safe," said Stavridis who was a senior aide to Rumsfeld before taking on the Southcom job. "We're lucky as a nation that he continues to serve with such passion and such integrity and such determination and such brilliance," said Stavridis, 51.

As head of Southcom, Stavridis will be responsible for military cooperation with Latin American countries, and will be in charge of the Guantanamo US military base in Cuba where more than 400 "war on terror" detainees are being held. Craddock, who was named supreme commander of allied forces in Europe, hailed the role Southcom has played. "Today I believe that we can say we were successful in our efforts and contributed to ensuring our nation's security through support on the global war on terror, and encouraged regional cooperation to enhance the security and stability in the region," he said.
Posted by: facta non verba || 10/20/2006 21:26 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Utility Workers Find Remains at WTC Site
NEW YORK (AP) - Human remains from the World Trade Center site have been found by utility workers, a city official said Thursday. Consolidated Edison workers found remains at the downtown Manhattan site, took them to a natural gas vehicle fueling station more than a mile to the north and then called the medical examiner's office to have them identified, office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.

``The remains came from down there,'' Borakove said, referring to the trade center site. ``How they got to 29th Street and 11th Avenue, I don't know.'' She said she didn't know when the remains were found. It was unclear what condition the remains were in or how complete they were.

The area was roped off Thursday, and investigators were sifting through dirt under a white tarp.

Five years after 2,749 people died in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks, families of about 1,150 victims still do not know whether their loved ones' remains were recovered.

During the excavation of the 110-story twin towers, which began the evening of the attacks and lasted for nine months, about 20,000 pieces of human remains were found. The DNA in thousands of those pieces, many small enough to slip into a test tube, was too damaged by heat, humidity and time to yield matches in the many tests forensic scientists have tried over the years.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
'Cut off oil to India': Geelani
Srinagar, Oct 19: Chairman of a faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani has urged the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to be more proactive on Kashmir and do more to mitigate the suffering of Kashmiris.

In a letter to the OIC secretary general, the veteran leader said Kashmiris have been struggling for their right to self-determination guaranteed by 17 UN resolutions but India has been denying this right to people of Jammu and Kashmir. It is moral, political and religious obligation of the OIC to impress upon India to allow people of the state to exercise their right to self-determination, he said. “If the OIC countries decide to stop oil to India, the sufferings of Kashmiris will be mitigated to an extent and will also go a long way in getting freedom for people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Geelani urged in the letter.

The OIC in its every session has been passing resolutions in support of Kashmir cause but it has so far failed to play an effective role that could help in furthering Kashmir cause. The member countries at this critical juncture when every effort is being made to dilute the genuine and just cause of Kashmir have to put all their weight behind Kashmir that could help in the resolution of Kashmir problem in its historical perspective. The just, peaceful and democratic solution of Kashmir problem is only allowing the people to exercise their right to self-determination through an impartial plebiscite under the aegis of the United Nations as envisaged by the UN resolutions,” Geelani further said in the letter.

Geelani also asked the OIC to draw a distinction between freedom fighters and terrorists. “It has been denial of the pledged and promised right to self-determination to the people of state that forced youth to take to arms, these youth fighting for a right cause cannot be dubbed as terrorists. There will be no need for young men to take to guns, sacrifice their lives, sacrifice the lives of their kith and kin if India ends up its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and allows people their right,” Geelani argued.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john || 10/20/2006 06:40 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Geelani receives a pension from the government of India.
He is assigned 'Z' level security and a detachment of bodyguards to protect him from his jihadi brothers.
He is flown to Mumbai for the best medical care India can provide. Free of course.
His children were educated, at Indian taxpayers expense, at Indian medical schools.
His children work in other parts of India, safe from jihadi bombs.
Posted by: john || 10/20/2006 6:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Then why can't he write any better than Joe?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/20/2006 7:03 Comments || Top||

#3  LOL NS! Perhaps the pension and security should be withdrawn. Let him make a living writing epistles
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 7:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Syed Ali Shah Geelani has urged the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to be more proactive on Kashmir and do more to mitigate the suffering of Kashmiris.

By killing more of them!
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 10/20/2006 7:45 Comments || Top||

#5  Don't see them as muslims see them as islamic colonists with no reciprocation to the people they parasite off.

Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 10/20/2006 8:53 Comments || Top||


Four including Osama’s teacher challenge detention in PHC
PESHAWAR: Three Afghans including Osama Bin Laden’s former teacher and a Pakistani tribesman have challenged their detention under the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) since 2003 at the Peshawar High Court. Javed Ibrahim Paracha, chairman of the World Prisoners Relief Commission of Pakistan, filed the writ petition on behalf of the detainees, who were arrested by intelligence agencies in Bajaur in 2003 and have since been kept in Peshawar Central Prison.

The Afghan detainees are Maulana Dilbar, 104, Osama Bin Laden’s teacher, Syed Amin Shah, 55, Sheikhul Hadith Maulana Inayatur Rehman and the tribesman is Ismail. Paracha told Daily Times that Dilbar was arrested by Pakistani intelligence agencies for being a teacher of Bin Laden. The Afghans had been living in the Nawagai area of Bajuar Agency for decades, he said. He said that the agencies claimed that Dibar had taught some hadith to Bin Laden in the Kunar area of Afghanistan bordering Bajuar Agency. In the petition, Parcha states that the men had been kept in illegal confinement at Peshawar Central Prison without trial or production before any court.

The petition states that the three Afghans are not Pakistani nationals and not members of the tribal society, so the provisions of the FCR are not applicable to them. “The provisions of FCR are only applicable to members of tribal society of Pakistan. The confinement of the petitioners, therefore, is illegal improper and unjust and petitioners are undergoing illegal detention,” the petition states. “It is, therefore, prayed that the arrest and detention of petitioners be declared illegal, unlawful and appropriate orders be passed for the release of petitioners.”
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  OK, we'll just shoot you all now and get it over with. If you're 104, you've sucked up too much oxygen anyway.
Posted by: SpecOp35 || 10/20/2006 1:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Amin Shah??? - well whadda you know, Kindo, he's still alive. Anarchy + mayhem along the LOC forever, ehhh.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 1:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Shouldn't "bill of lading's" teach be in his stingray teasing course?
Posted by: 3dc || 10/20/2006 1:55 Comments || Top||

#4  Which was one was UBL's teacher?
Posted by: Dunno || 10/20/2006 2:14 Comments || Top||

#5  Oops, got it, I thought it was gonna be Azzam or Qutub both dead guys

Maulana Dilbar, 104 years old , sorry. :)
Posted by: Dunno || 10/20/2006 2:18 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Duty brings out best in Balad hospital volunteers
Posted by: Whunter Cloting8514 || 10/20/2006 20:17 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


The sampling methodology of the survey of Iraqi deaths
From The Wall Street Journal, an article by Steven Moore, a political consultant with Gorton Moore International, trained Iraqi researchers for the International Republican Institute from 2003 to 2004 and conducted survey research for the Coalition Forces from 2005 to 2006.

.... The group--associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health--employed cluster sampling for in-person interviews, which is the methodology that I and most researchers use in developing countries. .... Neighborhoods are selected at random, and then individuals are selected at random in "clusters" within each neighborhood for door-to-door interviews. ....

However, the key to the validity of cluster sampling is to use enough cluster points. In their 2006 report, "Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross-sectional sample survey," the Johns Hopkins team says it used 47 cluster points for their sample of 1,849 interviews. This is astonishing: I wouldn't survey a junior high school, no less an entire country, using only 47 cluster points.

Neither would anyone else. For its 2004 survey of Iraq, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) used 2,200 cluster points of 10 interviews each for a total sample of 21,688. .... The UNDP's survey, in April and May 2004, estimated between 18,000 and 29,000 Iraqi civilian deaths due to the war.

This survey was conducted four months prior to another, earlier study by the Johns Hopkins team, which used 33 cluster points and estimated between 69,000 and 155,000 civilian deaths ....

Curious about the kind of people who would have the chutzpah to claim to a national audience that this kind of research was methodologically sound, I contacted Johns Hopkins University and was referred to Les Roberts, one of the primary authors of the study. Dr. Roberts defended his 47 cluster points, saying that this was standard. I'm not sure whose standards these are.

Appendix A of the Johns Hopkins survey, for example, cites several other studies of mortality in war zones, and uses the citations to validate the group's use of cluster sampling. One study is by the International Rescue Committee in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which used 750 cluster points. Harvard's School of Public Health, in a 1992 survey of Iraq, used 271 cluster points. Another study in Kosovo cites the use of 50 cluster points, but this was for a population of just 1.6 million, compared to Iraq's 27 million.

When I pointed out these numbers to Dr. Roberts, he said that the appendices were written by a student and should be ignored. Which led me to wonder what other sections of the survey should be ignored. ....

Dr. Roberts said that his team's surveyors did not ask demographic questions. I was so surprised to hear this that I emailed him later in the day to ask a second time if his team asked demographic questions and compared the results to the 1997 Iraqi census. Dr. Roberts replied that he had not even looked at the Iraqi census.

And so, while the gender and the age of the deceased were recorded in the 2006 Johns Hopkins study, nobody, according to Dr. Roberts, recorded demographic information for the living survey respondents. This would be the first survey I have looked at in my 15 years of looking that did not ask demographic questions of its respondents. But don't take my word for it--try using Google to find a survey that does not ask demographic questions. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/20/2006 17:42 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Even a nitwit could see that the "death count" increase since the first report of "The Lancet" is absurdly high. Over 450,000 more deaths in the last two years -- that's an average of over 600 per day.

"Curious about the kind of people who would have the chutzpah to claim to a national audience that this kind of research was methodologically sound..."
Seething people, Steven, seething people. That would be either Islamofascists or Bush-bashing Democrats. "Les Roberts" doesn't sound like a typical name for an Islamofascist.

"Roberts campaigned for office in 2006, running in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives seat of the 24th Congressional District in Chenango County, NY."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Roberts_(epidemiologist)
Posted by: Darrell || 10/20/2006 20:09 Comments || Top||

#2  655,000 Iraqis! No way. Roberts or his student must have been smoking weed. This is irresponsible and fits in the category of junk science.
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/20/2006 21:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Junk, yes, science? No.
Posted by: twobyfour || 10/20/2006 21:29 Comments || Top||

#4  No, tbf. Junk is something that has outlived its' usefulness.

Trash science is garbage.
Posted by: Bobby || 10/20/2006 21:54 Comments || Top||


State Department Weekly Status Report - Oct 18
Slide show at link, available in .pdf. Note pages 11, 16, and 22. How about leaking this to the NYT?

Oh, it's unclassified. Not great, but a lot of not-as-bad-as-you-might-think.


312,000 trained and equipped Iraqi police and military

"During the week of October 11-17, electricity availability averaged 6.2 hours per day in Baghdad and 12.7 hours nationwide. Electricity output for the week was 16% above the same period in 2005."

Crude oil production is hovering new the Ministry goal.
Posted by: Bobby || 10/20/2006 17:33 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Study Claims Iraqis Have Half Million Non-Existing Death Certificates
From Iraq Body Count, a critique of the article recently published in The Lancet medical journal about Iraqi deaths.

A new study has been released by the Lancet medical journal estimating over 650,000 excess deaths in Iraq. The Iraqi mortality estimates published in the Lancet in October 2006 imply, among other things, that:

* On average, a thousand Iraqis have been violently killed every single day in the first half of 2006, with less than a tenth of them being noticed by any public surveillance mechanisms;

* Some 800,000 or more Iraqis suffered blast wounds and other serious conflict-related injuries in the past two years, but less than a tenth of them received any kind of hospital treatment; ....

* Half a million death certificates were received by families which were never officially recorded as having been issued;

* The Coalition has killed far more Iraqis in the last year than in earlier years containing the initial massive "Shock and Awe" invasion and the major assaults on Falluja.

[.....]

In the light of such extreme and improbable implications, a rational alternative conclusion to be considered is that the authors have drawn conclusions from unrepresentative data.

[....]

In 87% of cases where deaths were reported, the survey team asked to see death certificates, leading to the Lancet authors' statement that "92% of households had death certificates for deaths they reported". Assuming, as the authors do, that this is representative of the population as a whole, would imply that officials in Iraq have issued approximately 550,000 death certificates for violent deaths (92% of 601,000). Yet in June 2006, the total figure of post-war violent deaths known to the Iraqi Ministry of Health (MoH), combined with the Baghdad morgue, was approximately 50,000. ....
Posted by: These Ebbatle4542 || 10/20/2006 15:38 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Waitaminute...

These numbers don't make sense!

Lois! Take Jimmy to get some photos and get going on this!
Posted by: Perry White || 10/20/2006 21:56 Comments || Top||


Iraqis Form Special Committee to Deal with Illegal Militias
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2006 – Iraq’s governmental leaders are rising to confront “an array of complicated issues” amid a spike in insurgent violence, a senior U.S. military officer said today. “The U.S. and coalition leadership commends this perseverance, while the Multinational Force Iraq continues to assess and revise our strategy and tactics to support this government” in an ever-changing, dynamic environment, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently announced the formation of a special committee to address the country’s illegal militia issue, Caldwell said. So, they really have learned from the American model!

The Iraqi government, he added, is also seeking to reform its security ministries. In fact, the Iraqi government reassigned a number of leaders of the national police on Oct. 16, Caldwell said. “Although the leadership at the division level has changed, the National Police continued to prove itself as a capable, and viable civil force,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell commended the Iraqi military and police efforts in combating the insurgency. In fact, he said, Iraqi security forces are finding “a good number” of weapons caches being discovered throughout Iraq. That’s because the Iraqi forces are knowledgeable about their areas of operation, Caldwell said, and are growing in size and professionalism.

Caldwell cited a recent joint Iraqi and U.S. Marine operation in Anbar province that resulted in the detention of more than 35 suspected insurgents and the discovery of thousands of hidden weapons. That operation, he said, collected more than 11,000 pieces of weapons and ordnance between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13, including much material suitable for making improvised explosive devices.

Discovery of weapons caches in Iraq has increased over the past few months, Caldwell said, noting 170 caches were found in July, 190 in August, and 220 in September. “Already this month, 144 caches have been found,” Caldwell said.

And Iraqi security forces are continuing to grow in numbers, as well as in capability, Caldwell said. More than 312,000 Iraqi soldiers and police, he said, have been trained and equipped by coalition forces. Bet you missed that in the MSM.

Caldwell pointed to the Iraqi government’s recruiting plan to bring more than 30,000 new Iraqi troops to serve in troublesome Anbar province by May. And more than 600 Iraqi police recruits, the general noted, are slated to graduate this week and begin work in the troubled province.

In February, 3,800 Iraqi police were working out of 14 active Iraqi police stations in three of the nine districts in Anbar province, Caldwell said. Today, there are 33 police stations operating in eight districts, he noted, with more than 8,000 trained Iraqi police.

Caldwell acknowledged there’s been an increase in insurgent violence since the start of Ramadan in late September. That’s consistent, he said, with similar spikes in enemy activity that have occurred during the month-long Muslim observance in the past two years.

“The violence is indeed disheartening,” Caldwell said, noting there’s been a 22-percent increase in insurgent attacks in Baghdad during the first few weeks of this year’s Ramadan observance. But Operation Together Forward has made a difference, and has helped to reduce the amount of sectarian violence in the specific Baghdad neighborhoods it has operated in, Caldwell said. Still, he acknowledged, it hasn’t caused a reduction of the overall level of violence in the city.

Meanwhile, “we are working very closely with the government of Iraq to determine how to best to re-focus our efforts,” Caldwell said.

It’s no coincidence that insurgents in Iraq have chosen to escalate their attacks and target U.S. forces just before a major American election, Caldwell said. Just a year ago, he noted, extremists did their best to interfere as Iraqis successfully conducted their own nationwide election that established their democratic government.

“The enemy knows that killing innocent people and Americans will garner headlines and create a sense of frustration,” Caldwell said. “However, the coalition will not be deterred from establishing an Iraq that can provide for its own security and can govern itself.”

That goal “is achievable,” Caldwell emphasized, “with a combination of both tough security measures by coalition and Iraqi security forces and a political process that recognizes that 11 to 12 million Iraqis voted for a unity government.”

Posted by: Bobby || 10/20/2006 07:12 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sheesh, I have a ton of things to say about this... Don't much feel like it, though. I'll just say that Maliki is Tater's buddy and gets most of his pay from Khomeini. Nothing good has come from the Iraqi "government" since the elected Shia mob took over from Allawi. We are being sidelined when and where we're needed most - taking out militia, for example - and fed piecemeal into the grinder. Yall can take it from there, I'm sure.
Posted by: .com || 10/20/2006 9:43 Comments || Top||

#2  I recommend forming a "special committee" of USMC snipers to deal with illegal militias.
Posted by: RWV || 10/20/2006 9:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Iraqis Form Special Committee to Deal with Illegal Militias

1) decide table height, width and shape for the coffee mugs.

2) elect coffee maker

3) do group conscious regarding regular or decaf.

4) form sub-committee to decide color of the committee's stationery.

5) every second Tuesday/month agree on secretary's agenda for house-keeping meetings.

6) decide which Islamic cleric should hold the committee's petty cash account.

god is great
Posted by: RD || 10/20/2006 9:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Mebbe with the takeover of Amarah, the fecal matter will engage with the whirling ventilation device?

It'd be a good time, if Malki is serious about his job.
Posted by: Bobby || 10/20/2006 10:10 Comments || Top||

#5  RD:

You forgot to form a sub-committee to discuss where to hold the next meeting. Qualifications include being linked to 4 and 5 star restaurants in the area, of course.
Posted by: BA || 10/20/2006 11:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Only way this works is if by "comitte" he means "hit squad".
Posted by: Oldspook || 10/20/2006 12:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Ah, but have they named George Mitchell to chair it yet?
Posted by: eLarson || 10/20/2006 16:51 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
PM Olmert meeting with Russian FM Sergei Lavrov
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was meeting Thursday in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said Wednesday that, "Reports from Iran do not indicate a real threat to peace and security." Lavrov said that although implementing some course of action against Iran was vital, it should be a measured response and "in accordance with the situation in Iran today." Olmert was scheduled to conclude his three-day visit to Russia by visiting members of the Jewish community there later in the day.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Rabbi Yisrael Lau denies running for president
Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau denied Thursday that he was running for president as media sources had reported earlier. "I am in no way considering the issue," the rabbi said during an interview in the morning radio program, "Non-stop Radio." Sources close to Rabbi Lau said afterwards, however, that while the rabbi cannot officially say he is running until President Moshe Katsav's fate has been decided, the rabbi has, in fact, decided to run and will announce his candidacy only then.
Israel needs a holy man as head of state like it needs more Paleostinians.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As an outside choice, the only holy man I would choose is Adin Steinsaltz .

I doubt they would choose Aumann. But they should.

Posted by: Penguin || 10/20/2006 2:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Generally speaking, rabbis are no more holy than teachers or government health inspectors. Anyway, a Chief Rabbi already has a time consuming job, and in my opinion he's no business getting involved in politics.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 9:10 Comments || Top||

#3  a Chief Rabbi already has a time consuming job, and in my opinion he's no business getting involved in politics.

Isn't that what the books of hisotry in The Bible are all about?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/20/2006 9:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Do you mean the Prophets, Nimble Spemble? Or Samuel consecrating first Saul as king, then David? They were tapped by God for those jobs; rabbis are merely steeped in the Bible, Jewish history, and the body of rabbinical arguments and precedents that have developed over the last 2200 years. The best have earnt the respect we in the US accord to Supreme Court justices or law professors, except that their decisions are advisory rather than binding. There is no Jewish Pope.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 9:23 Comments || Top||

#5  "the respect we accord Supreme Court justices..." That varies an awful lot, TW. I don't have laudatory enough words to express my respect for Scalia. I simply don't have any respect for Ginsburg, Breyer, Souter, Kennedy or Stevens. So how does this Lau guy rate?
Posted by: mac || 10/20/2006 10:17 Comments || Top||

#6  I've no idea, mac, although the rabbi circles have always been highly competetive on the basis of raw knowledge and subtlety of analysis (I can't imagine they're spending much time on kosher/nonkosher masturbations, f'r instance). My knowledge is entirely theoretical. Daddy's mother was part of the Labour Zionist circle from the time the two of them arrived in Palestine in 1934. She used to kaffeeklatch with Golda Meir and design school curricula for the refugees fleeing Europe. Daddy became a chemist, using his skills to help the Haganah, and later helped set up the Israeli version of OSHA (steel-toed shoes and hard hats on the Haifa dockworkers cut deaths from 1/1000 man-hours to less than 1/year, that kind of thing) as part of Golda Meir's government. Daddy came over to the States for a short stint as a university professor, but then he met my mother...

I imagine gromgoru, Elder of Zion, liberalhawk or several other posters who actually understand Israeli politics can explain.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 14:15 Comments || Top||

#7  Thanks, TW. If nothing else, one would think that as a rabbi he should be above the moral turpitude that has brought Katsav down.
Posted by: mac || 10/20/2006 19:19 Comments || Top||


Eisencott replaces Adam as OC Northern Command
Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eisencott officially replaced OC Northern Command Maj. -Gen. Udi Adam at his post Thursday afternoon. Lt.-General Dan Halutz and Defense Minister Amir Peretz attended the ceremony, along with other senior Staff officers. Adam decided to resign from his post, reportedly due to ongoing differences between himself and Halutz, prompted by the war in Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Abbas steps up pressure on Hamas
In his latest action designed to increase pressure on Hamas, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met Thursday with members of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to discuss the possibility of holding new elections or conducting a referendum in the PA territories. "President Abbas is serious about holding new elections if Hamas continues to stick to its position," a senior PA official told The Jerusalem Post. "He might also consider calling a referendum to see if the people want the Hamas government to remain in power."

Hamas representatives, however, warned Abbas against such moves, saying they would be tantamount to staging a coup against the Hamas-led government. Abbas's meeting with the commission came amid reports that he was also considering the possibility of forming a "technocratic" government consisting of independent figures. Azzam al-Ahmed, a Fatah legislator and close adviser to Abbas, said the PA chairman would make a final decision on this issue within the next few days.

"President Abbas has decided to support the idea of the technocratic government and he will make a decision soon," he said. "All attempts to establish a national unity government have failed and there's no point in continuing the negotiations [with Hamas]."

Hamas dismissed Abbas's idea of holding a referendum or installing a government of independent technocrats, saying it would only aggravate tensions with Fatah. PA Interior Minister Said Siam warned that Hamas would consider any referendum on the fate of the government to be an attempted coup. "We reject making the referendum like a bogeyman to resort to in such situations," he said. "President Mahmoud Abbas has powers, yes, and he can exercise his powers within the legal limits." But, he added, "The situation here is not about powers. The referendum would be a coup against the legitimacy this government enjoyed. There is US support for whoever wants to topple the government."

In a separate development, tensions between Fatah and Hamas were running high in Nablus after the assassination of a local Hamas leader, Ammar Taher. PA security officials said Taher, 47, was gunned down by unidentified gunmen as he walked out of a mosque in the city late Wednesday night. Although no group claimed responsibility for the killing, Hamas leaders blamed local Fatah gunmen.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Hamas chief 'got $50m bribe'
Israel's UN envoy Dan Gillerman on Thursday charged that Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshaal got a $50m-bribe from Iran to thwart the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants. "The Iranians paid him $50m in order to avert and sabotage an imminent release" of Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit, Gillerman told reporters. "I informed the security council of news that we received today, that we have every reason to believe that the Iranian regime has bribed Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas who is graciously hosted in the capital of terror Damascus by the Syrian regime," he added. "I believe that the security council is worried about this and I hope that these worries will be translated into action very, very swiftly," Gillerman said after attending a security council meeting on the Middle East.

The June 25 capture of Shalit during an attack in the southern Gaza Strip was claimed by three militant groups - including the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement. Hamas has demanded the release of about 1 000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in return for the Israeli soldier.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Find Meshaal and kill him. Make sure he never gets a chance to spend one penny of that $50 million. Iran must be taken off line immediately.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 4:05 Comments || Top||

#2  Love the pic of this clown between the two dead guys. Can he be far behind?
Posted by: imoyaro || 10/20/2006 8:14 Comments || Top||

#3  And no cut for us?
This must be acted upon immediately!
Posted by: The Un Security Council || 10/20/2006 18:41 Comments || Top||


UN Threatens Israel
The UNIFIL international peacekeeping force may open fire on Israeli planes in Lebanon, UNIFIL chief Maj.-Gen. Alain Pellegrini said on Thursday.

Pellegrini said that there is a possibility that the UN will make changes to the rules of engagement for the UNIFIL force, this in an attempt to cope with the various sorties conducted by the IAF force on a daily basis.
This is the second time they made this statement. Now they want to change the rules of engagement to get permission. Funny how they say nothing about the influx of weapons to Hezbollah. What a bill of goods Israel was sold. Once again, betrayed by the UN.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, what does the new UN bobblehead have to say?
Posted by: newc || 10/20/2006 1:34 Comments || Top||

#2  what they going to do send a special envoy. ROE changes great please hand over all live ammo and get blanks be careful not to upset the hizzies when you sit around drinking tee with them
Posted by: Alex || 10/20/2006 2:03 Comments || Top||

#3  I hope Israel blows away every single UNFIL site that fires on them.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 4:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Time to test the new HARM with an Israeli beta program.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htecm/articles/20061019.aspx
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 10/20/2006 6:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Funny how they say nothing about the influx of weapons to Hezbollah.

Yesterday they said they saw no evidence of that.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/20/2006 7:07 Comments || Top||

#6  And that didn't just happen, it takes EFFORT not to see it.
Posted by: lotp || 10/20/2006 7:52 Comments || Top||

#7  lol, lotp, SOOOOO true! I'm just picturing mentally some blue helmets turning the other way as the Hezzies walk past ("There's nothing to see here, please disperse"). The dark side of me hopes they fire on the IAF. All bets off, then! An act of war by the UN against the Joooos.
Posted by: BA || 10/20/2006 8:45 Comments || Top||

#8  An act of war by the UN against the Joooos.

That would certainly clarify things for those on the Israeli left.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 9:13 Comments || Top||

#9  Makes me wonder what kind of naval and logistical support we are providing sotto voce to Unifil and whether we would continue after the outbreak of hostilities.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/20/2006 9:16 Comments || Top||

#10  Oh great - now the UN grows a set...
Posted by: Pappy || 10/20/2006 9:42 Comments || Top||

#11  TW, it might even get some people on the American left thinking differently. Don't know if I'd bet much on that but maybe a few of the more rational ones might start to get a clue.
Posted by: mac || 10/20/2006 10:09 Comments || Top||

#12  lol, Pappy! Now everyone here in cubicle-land is gonna wonder what blog I'ma surfin'!
Posted by: BA || 10/20/2006 11:05 Comments || Top||

#13  I expect this sort of posturing from the French, but am surprised to see it from the Italians. I put this down to more Prodi foolishness. I don't think Berlesconi would have sent troops to Lebanon and would castrate any general that even thought about making statements like this. By making it clear that they are only there as human shields for Hezbollah, the blue helmets make themselves legitimate targets in time of war.
Posted by: RWV || 10/20/2006 21:53 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
PA minister: Syria not to blame for Shalit failure
Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam said on Thursday that Syria was not responsible for the failure of a deal regarding the release of kidnapped soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Hamas was not subject to Syrian pressure to sabotage the deal, the minister said. Said hinted that the real culprit behind the plan's failure was Israel. He accused Israel of wanting to receive [Shalit] without giving anything in return.
Kidnapping is an unlawful act. In a world that made any sense, Shalit would be returned unharmed and with apologies.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  according to another post, he's right. Meshaal received $50M from Iran...that makes Syria an enabler, the Paleos at fault, and Iran the puppetmaster
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 7:18 Comments || Top||

#2  That's waaay too complicated for a DhimmiDonk, Frank. Can you reduce that to pointing and grunting for the pols and something fiendish which can be blamed on Bush for the MSM?
Posted by: .com || 10/20/2006 9:31 Comments || Top||


Amal leader calls for Israeli-Arab peace talks
Amal leader and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, speaking in an interview with Al-Arabiyya that was published on Thursday, said that he believed Arab-Israeli peace negotiations should be revived following the Israeli offensive on Lebanon. "Lebanon can liberate its remaining occupied land through the resistance, as it did in the past, but it can achieve that through peace ... if it is a comprehensive peace that includes the whole region," said Beri, who is considered to be allied with fellow Shi'ite group Hizbullah.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


'Iranian nation won't cede one iota of its rights'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shrugged off the threat of UN sanctions Thursday, saying his nation would not give up "one iota" of its nuclear program. "The Iranian nation will not cede one iota of its rights," Ahmadinejad told thousands of cheering supporters in the town of Islamshahr, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the capital Tehran.

"Our nation achieved proficiency in nuclear energy at a time when you imposed economic, scientific and technological sanctions against us," he said, addressing the US and its allies and referring to sanctions imposed on Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution and hostage-taking at the US Embassy in Tehran. The crowd interrupted his speech with the chant: "Nuclear energy is our right!"
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No surprise - Moud is all but officially daring Dubya-USA to fight a TWO-FRONT [plus?] WAR, vv IRAN-NORTH KOREA [TAIWAN]. Regardless of the merits, Dubya-USA will be held unilater by Amer's enemies as the One and Only BULLY/AGGRESSOR, NOT Kimmie = Radical Islam.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 1:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Extinction is also your right. Don't push your luck Dinnerjacket.
Posted by: SpecOp35 || 10/20/2006 1:22 Comments || Top||

#3  we will decide what if any rights you have
Posted by: Alex || 10/20/2006 2:01 Comments || Top||

#4  The crowd interrupted his speech with the chant: "Nuclear energy is our right!"

Would you give a loaded gun to a toddler with a bad attitude in a room full of people? What if the toddler was screaming "I have a right to a loaded gun!!"?

I guess the toddler doesn't see it your way yet either.
Posted by: gorb || 10/20/2006 2:44 Comments || Top||

#5  They have the right to remain silent.

Posted by: bigjim-ky || 10/20/2006 7:43 Comments || Top||

#6  The crowd interruped his speech to say that in english? Hmmm..... what was the target audience?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/20/2006 8:12 Comments || Top||


Livni: Berri remarks prove rules of game changed
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Thursday evening expressed her approval of a statement made by Amal leader and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri earlier advocating the revival of Arab-Israeli peace talks. "If the results of the war will be an actual diplomatic process between Israel and Lebanon, that's a central strategic accomplishment on Israel's part," she said. She added that "there is no doubt that [the war] dramatically changed the rules of the game in Lebanon, and the best proof of that is the Lebanese parliament speaker's statement and other voices that are being heard in Lebanon."
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  oh, BERRI. I thought you said Berra.
Posted by: Thromong Whort2348 || 10/20/2006 17:55 Comments || Top||


Olmert Warns Iran About Its Nuke Program
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Thursday that Iran would have "a price to pay" if it doesn't back down from its nuclear ambitions, hinting broadly that Israel might be forced to take action. Olmert didn't specifically threaten to cripple Iran's nuclear program in a military strike. But he said the Iranians "have to be afraid" of the consequences of their intransigence.

"They have to understand that if they object to every compromise, there will be a price to pay," Olmert said on the plane carrying him and his entourage back to Israel after a three-day trip to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2006-10-20
  Shiite militia takes over Iraqi city
Thu 2006-10-19
  British pull out of southern Afghan district
Wed 2006-10-18
  Hamas: Mastermind of Shalit's abduction among 4 killed in Gaza
Tue 2006-10-17
  Brother of Saddam Prosecutor Is Killed
Mon 2006-10-16
  Truck bomb kills 100+ in Sri Lanka
Sun 2006-10-15
  UN imposes stringent NKor sanctions
Sat 2006-10-14
  Pak foils coup plot
Fri 2006-10-13
  Suspect pleads guilty to terrorist plot in US, Britain
Thu 2006-10-12
  Gadahn indicted for treason
Wed 2006-10-11
  Two Muslims found guilty in Albany sting case
Tue 2006-10-10
  China cancels troop leave along North Korean border
Mon 2006-10-09
  China denounces "brazen" North Korea nuclear test
Sun 2006-10-08
  North Korea Tests Nuclear Weapon
Sat 2006-10-07
  Pakistan admits 'helping' Kashmir militancy
Fri 2006-10-06
  Islamists set up central Islamic court in Mogadishu


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