Prime Minister Tony Blair was facing renewed pressure over Britains role in the global war on terror on Sunday as a key military figure in an interview called the war in Afghanistan cuckoo.
Pak Daily Times wrote the headline, apparently. Guthrie actually said it was cuckoo to fight the war without enough men.
Critics of Britains policies in Afghanistan and Iraq were also bolstered by the publication of leaked documents apparently acknowledging that the presence of British troops in the two countries may have fuelled domestic terrorism. General Charles Guthrie, a former chief of the defence staff, told the Observer newspaper: Anyone who thought this was going to be a picnic in Afghanistan... to launch the British army in with the numbers there are, while were still going on in Iraq, is cuckoo. Lord Guthrie, one of Blairs most trusted commanders before he quit in 2001, also labelled unrealistic Blairs promise to give the army all the extra resources it needed. He called for more troops, funding and equipment for what he said was a very, very over-committed army, the newspaper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/30/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Of course, the all-time-great British cuckoo General in Afghanistan was Elphinstone, regarded by many as the worst Commanding General of all time.
The best tribute to Elphinstone is in the historical novel "Flashman", by George MacDonald Fraser, which is a fun read about an anti-hero; but was so well written and researched that a lot of historians foolishly assumed it was a real biography.
#2
Hah! I just read that book last month, Anonymoose. Didn't help that the joke wasn't tipped at any point within the pages of the book proper, complete with techy footnotes from the "editor".
The references to Tom Brown's School Days should have tipped them off, but then, your average academic historian is a bit of a tool, and generally lacking in anything that might be described with any justice as "a sense of humor".
Flashman is such a good book that it's a shame that it was so clearly written with the baldfaced nihilistic intent to undermine & savage British tradition & the assumptions underlying Victorian virtue.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/30/2006 10:15 Comments ||
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#3
The entire Flashman series is brilliant but I have a beef that he has yet to write up what Flashy did during the US Civil war. I know he was heavily decorated by both sides but I'd like the details.
I'd love to see a Flashy tv series the likes of the Sharpes one but I'd be content for someone to release the Royal Flash movie on DVD.
#5
The trouble is that while Fraser is an excellent historical novelist (and even his straight history, The Steel Bonnets, is very well researched), he also writes screenplays that are heavily weighted to slapstick which takes away from the depth of his characters.
When Roddy McDowell played in Royal Flash, for example, he got the snivelling coward part down right, but he neglected all the other facets of Flashman's personality: drunkard/braggart/spendthrift, bully/sadist, gambler/cheat, filanderer/rapist, and just generally despicable cad.
In other words, Flash is a reprehensible, nasty person, a villain used as a tool by the powerful, who just happens to be extraordinarily lucky.
This brings him undeserved honor, glory, fame and fortune that utterly irritates his peers, who know he is a scoundrel. And yet when they try to be honorable and do the right thing, they are punished, killed and forgotten.
The scenery of his stories are both the times and the brilliant and ruthless historical figures that use Flashman as their weapon in intrigue and realpolitik with each other.
Filmed, Flashman should be far more like Barry Lyndon in appearance (yet not so deathly dull), and have a male lead with a very wide range of acting in what would be a most demanding role.
#6
It is cuckoo to fight the war with your hands tied behind your back, the terrorists safe in Pakistan, immune to strikes except when Osama or Ayman is nearby.
Posted by: john ||
10/30/2006 15:14 Comments ||
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#7
"No!' I roared, shaking my fist, 'I'll kill the bastard, that's what i'll do - after I've sued him! I'll call him out, if he's a civilian, and blow his mangy head off on Calais sands - I'll horse whip him publicly.
#2
One shouldn't expect much more from HRW than anti-US and objectively pro-fascist carping, but the collapse of the ICRC's credibility I find to be one of the most troubling examples of international insanity since 9/11.
#3
The International Committee of the Red Cross, despite the many earnest and hard working volunteers across geography and time, have been suspect since the late 1930s, when they refused at each opportunity to condemn the Nazi practice of herding a variety of their citizens into death camps. Unfortunately, the ICRC has long been an advocate for "our kind of people", and merely the deliverer of care packages in the general direction of those other poor unfortunates.
#1
Ahem. Not surprised. Recall that Eqyptian thinking is at the center of the whirlpool that is Islamic consciousness. They create all this idiotic philosophy the other camel herders follow. Remarkable how they accept gang rape in public and say and do nothing about it. I continue to say that the females who are oppressed by the dogma and insane actions of this cult are the dumbest on the planet. If they decide to stop this shit, they can. They will. But they have to want to. Except for isolated incidents/women, it's not happening.....yet.
#2
The women's issue aspect of this is critical. Bush understands that, but he has not made a sufficiently public issue of it. This would be an excellent place for him to start. Recall that it was the women who brought down the Argentine (or was it Chilean?) junta. But that was because they could march silently on their way home from church, as I recall. At this point any Muslim women who tried that would face da fate worse than death, apparently. And no one to record it. This is how these pond scum can be shown to the world for what they are. No ally, Mubarrak, Musharriff, Abdullah deserves a pass on this. Rice should be ashamed of herself for allopwing this to happen uncondemned.
#4
Mr. Wife has mentioned talking to the hotel maids in Cairo when he was there during Ramadan. The poor women couldn't sit down, their bottoms had been slapped and pinched so much by the Saudis, who were there where it was possible to have a whisky and watch the belly dancers while breaking the fast. I'm just surprised the women actually protested -- they are to be congratulated, even if it isn't being officially reported.
#5
Oh. I posted before reading, always a bad move. It's the men who were rioting and harrassing and raping, not the women, while the police stood by and refused to protect them. I suppose some Egyptian men think they're as good as the Saudis now.
Strangely enough, "The Return of the Archons" was the Star Trek episode I was watching when the crawl announcing 9/11 appeared on my TV screen. I've always figured there must be some Profound Meaning there, but I can never figure it out.
Militants with the banned Moroccan Islamist group al-Adl al-Ihsan are increasingly fleeing to Spain to survive an ongoing crackdown by Rabat's authorities, Arab daily 'al-Quds al-Arab' reported on Monday. According to the newspaper, many militants are already part of the 50,000-strong Muslim community living in the south of the country, especially in the Murcia region. The group aims to topple Morocco's monarchy and establish an Islamist state.
#3
The group aims to topple Morocco's monarchy and establish an Islamist state.
But they wouldn't mind to establish islamic state in al Andalus instead, where they are received with open arms as "political refugees".
Anyway, this would lead to a paradoxical situation in a not too distant future where Western Europe would be a part of the taliban-style khaliphate, while Morocco and Tunisia won't.
#1
Twenty five nations took part in a U.S.-led naval exercise on Monday in waters not far from Iran aimed at training forces to block the transport of weapons of mass destruction and related equipment.
?? A consensus? WTF?
Posted by: Kevin Costner ||
10/30/2006 21:36 Comments ||
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er....
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/30/2006 21:42 Comments ||
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"Given the amicable ties among countries of the region and the powerful presence of ... Iran as standard bearer of peace, justice and security, there is no room for any concern," the official IRNA news agency quoted government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham as saying.
North Korea has committed "crimes against humanity" against its own people according to an independent report that appeals to the UN Security Council to deal with the issue.
The report describes Pyongyang's brutal treatment of its citizens, from the beatings of pregnant women to force miscarriages to the abduction, torture and execution of political prisoners.
Released after North Korea's October 9 nuclear test, the report describes Pyongyang's brutal treatment of its citizens, from the beatings of pregnant women to force miscarriages to the abduction, torture and execution of political prisoners. Commissioned by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, former Czech president Vaclav Havel and former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, the paper seeks to spotlight rights abuses that have been previously reported but are often overshadowed by concern about North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "It is clear that (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-il and the North Korean government are actively committing crimes against humanity," they said in a letter introducing the report, which was prepared by the nonprofit, independent US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and by the DLA Piper law firm. "We strongly urge the UN Security Council to take up the situation of North Korea. Protecting the people of North Korea requires nothing less," they added.
An official at the North Korean mission to the United Nations declined comment on the report and repeated North Korea's position that it does not violate human rights. Foreign policy analysts praised the report for highlighting an issue that often gets short shrift amid concerns about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs but they said the chances of the Security Council acting on it were slim. Among other reasons, they noted the council has already passed two resolutions imposing sanctions on North Korea in the last four months, the first following its July 5 ballistic missile tests and the second after this month's nuclear test.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/30/2006 00:00 ||
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North Korea has committed "crimes against humanity" against its own people according to an independent report that appeals to the UN Security Council to deal with the issue.
THE leader of Australia's most radical Islamic group has fueled the Taj al-Din al-Hilaly controversy by accusing Australian judges of discriminating against Muslim rapists.
As Sheik Hilaly yesterday took "indefinite leave" from preaching after a "heart attack", The Australian can reveal Melbourne cleric Sheik Mohammed Omran told his flock on Friday that rapes committed by Australian non-Muslims - such as "bikies" or "football stars" - were treated more leniently than those committed by Muslims.
"I feel there is no justice here. Not 60 years and someone else three years and they did the same crime. Why?" Sheik Omran told worshipers at his Brunswick mosque.
"They make a big fuss about these kids because one of them, his name is Mohamed. Even if you kill someone you don't go for 60 years," he said, referring to Sydney's 2000 gang rapes in which Lebanese Muslim Bilal Skaf was initially sentenced to 55 years jail, but later had the sentence reduced on appeal.
"This is where I think everything has gone unbalanced," Sheik Omran said. "We don't support criminals or crimes, but at same time we want justice for everyone."
Sheik Omran strongly defended the besieged mufti, who until yesterday had defiantly resisted demands from Muslims and the wider community to step aside for likening women to uncovered meat and suggesting rape victims should be held responsible for enticing attackers.
Soon after arriving at Lakemba Mosque yesterday morning for another crisis meeting over the Ramadan sermon that prompted the furore when it was revealed by The Australian last week, Sheik Hilaly collapsed and was rushed to hospital.
In a statement issued in his name later, Sheik Hilaly - who came under more pressure yesterday when The Australian also uncovered recent comments supporting military jihad against US and Australian forces in Iraq and Afghanistan - said he would step aside.
"The pressure of the last couple of days has had an obvious effect on my health and wellbeing," the statement said.
"I ask the public to give my family and I some privacy, time and space to recover. I have also asked for indefinite leave from duties at Lakemba Mosque."
The decision came as the federal Opposition demanded that the Government investigate whether Sheik Hilaly's support of jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan constituted treason and John Howard repeated his advice to Muslims to overthrow their spiritual leader.
"One of the things that does bother me is that when he goes overseas he carries the title of Mufti of Australia and that represents to the world a view of Australian Islam which I feel very uncomfortable with," the Prime Minister said.
Sheik Hilaly - in an interview on Arabic radio a fortnight ago - had also praised Egyptian philosopher Sayyid Qutb, the intellectual mentor of Osama bin Laden.
And yesterday Immigration Department chief Andrew Metcalfe sought advice from the Prime Minister's office and intelligence agencies about whether he could discuss his knowledge of a 1984 intelligence report warning that Sheik Hilaly had links to extremist groups.
Mr Metcalfe said he had a "personal knowledge" of the matter because he was working with the department in a legal capacity at the time.
The intelligence report was provided to the department six years before Sheik Hilaly was granted permanent residency.
A former Australian secret agent has alleged the report was shelved because of the importance of the ethnic vote to the Labor Party, which was then in government.
The Weekend Australian revealed that Hawke government immigration minister Chris Hurford tried to have Sheik Hilaly deported in 1986.
But senior party figures including treasurer Paul Keating and MP Leo McLeay, whose electorate included the Lakemba Mosque, opposed the move, allegedly for political gain.
When asked about his knowledge of the intelligence report yesterday, Mr Metcalfe said he had "knowledge as to the answer of that question" but was concerned about revealing it because it could breach matters of privacy, national intelligence and protocol surrounding the decisions of a previous government.
Sheik Omran, one of the country's most outspoken and controversial fundamentalist clerics, said on Friday that attacks on Sheik Hilaly were attacks on Islam.
"His name is a mufti and we should respect that name - we should respect the turban on his head," Sheik Omran said in the sermon, an audio copy of which was posted on his Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jamaah Association website yesterday. "This is the sign of a scholar - you are not attacking Sheik Taj here, you are attacking the scholars, you are attacking Islam."
Sheik Omran has said bin Laden was a good man and the US, rather than the al-Qaeda leader, was behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
#2
These f**king imams need to be taken down. All mosks should be wiretapped. Any seditious statements should be used to immediately strip citizenship. If they are not citizens, they should be thrown out immediately. Once they are no longer citizens, deport them. This is the only sane path of action. The graet mistake for western culture was ever allowing this scum to infiltarte our societies. We are wasting crucial time. We need to purge them now.
#3
"His name is a mufti and we should respect that name - we should respect the turban on his head," Sheik Omran said in the sermon, an audio copy of which was posted on his Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jamaah Association website yesterday. "This is the sign of a scholar - you are not attacking Sheik Taj here, you are attacking the scholars, you are attacking Islam."
If al-Halali is Islam, then we'd better start attacking Islam because al-Hilali is a jihadist and no sort of moderate, no matter what he says. These morons really need to get over themselves.
TAJ Din al-Hilali has praised militant jihadists in Iraq and Afghanistan, calling them men of the highest order for fighting against coalition forces - which include Australian soldiers - to "liberate" their homelands. In an interview on Arabic radio two weeks ago, the imam based at Sydney's Lakemba mosque said he was opposed to terror attacks in Madrid, London and New York but strongly endorsed fighters in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the interview, Sheik Hilali pays tribute to Sayyid Qutb, the ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood and intellectual mentor of Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'ida. "Jihad of the liberator of Palestine, that's the greatest and cleanest and highest ... jihad which lifts our heads in pride in south Lebanon," Sheik Hilali says in the October 17 interview.
He tells broadcaster Abrahim Zoabi that he endorses jihad for liberation. "We are talking about ... jihad of liberating our land, jihad of Muslim Afghanis in their land - that's jihad.
"Jihad of Iraqi Muslims is jihad, but not when Sunnis and Shias are killing each other - that's not jihad."
The revelation comes as a neighbouring cleric from Sydney's Bankstown accused Sheik Hilali of supporting military Islamic jihad against the West and called on imams from around the country to band together to force the mufti to step down. Sheik Ibrahim El-Shafie said yesterday Sheik Hilali was a follower of the Egyptian Islamic scholar Qutb, one of the founding fathers of modern jihad, whose teachings are used by al-Qa'ida and Jemaah Islamiah.
#2
Wouldn't it be a hoot if on his return his aircraft experienced mechanical difficulties and was forced to make an emergency landing in Kabul? And just so happens, the Afghans had an outstanding warrant on him?
#4
Yup, SpecOp35, if this sick fuck departs, lock the door after him and gin up some elaborate immigration review requirement for al-Hilali that requires at least ten years to process.
This last round of spewing is nothing but treason. Al-Hilali is openly advocating the killing of Australian nationals serving in Iraq. Enough of such ingratitude.
I find it particularly curious that only now are other Muslims stepping up and denouncing al-Hilali as a false moderate. This SOB has been spewing such bile for many years. How is it that the content of his sermons has suddenly become inappropriate?
Simple answer, all of this is for public consumption. Almost everyone involved in this attended the Lakemba mosque. They heard al-Hilali's unvarnished words and DID NOTHING. Now that this asshole's ravings are posing a threat to the antipodean ummah's false mantle of peaceablility, suddenly al-Hilali's ouster becomes an issue.
Expect this everywhere there are "moderate" Muslims in charge. This is nothing but camouflage for the usual pursuit of global sharia. Only radical reform of Islam will work. Such reformers will have to stack up dead jihadists like cordwood before there can be any hope of Islam's rehabilitation.
Wotta surprize... one more exposed Moderate Muslim...
ASIO warned the authorities 20 years ago that Sheik Taj Eldeen Alhilaly could inflame communal violence in Australia. Court judgments show ASIO initially believed the controversial mufti posed a risk to the community because of his alleged propensity to cause or promote violence.
Shortly after his arrival in Australia as the new imam of Lakemba Mosque in 1982, Sheik Alhilaly was also linked with a shadowy terrorist group, Soldiers of God, which is thought to have been involved in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981. A group of the same name, also known as Ansar al Islam, is among those listed by the Federal Government as a banned terrorist organisation. Western governments believe Ansar al Islam has close ideological and operational links with al-Qaeda.
Sheik Alhilaly was also alleged to have endorsed suicide bombing, verbally attacked women and preached a highly political message of extremism.
The Sunday Telegraph columnist Piers Akerman writes today that a former intelligence officer said Alhilaly's name first surfaced in a report by one of Australia's most senior intelligence assets in Cairo. The report named the sheik, claimed he had spent a number of years training in Libya and was sent to Australia to train extremists. Akerman writes the report was shelved and the agent who sent it believes that a campaign was waged against its contents.
The pressure on Alhilaly grew yesterday, with Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs Andrew Robb saying it was time for Sheik Alhilaly to heed the wishes of moderate Muslims and resign. He also questioned the sincerity of his apology for comments comparing women to uncovered meat and blaming them for rape.
"The body language of the apology was totally unconvincing,'' Mr Robb said. "He's condoned violence against women and snubbed his nose at ... every section of the community.''
Posted by: Howard UK ||
10/30/2006 5:57 Comments ||
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Shortly after his arrival in Australia as the new imam of Lakemba Mosque in 1982, Sheik Alhilaly was also linked with a shadowy terrorist group, Soldiers of God, which is thought to have been involved in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981.
so this confirms what we already expected. Their war has been pre-planned for over 20 years. It would be funny to think of how little these dedicated mooks have accomplished if so many innocent people had not been not killed in the process.
It is becoming shameful how we let these bozos run amok - killing innocent people and refusing to stop their attempts to obtain a weapon that will indeed make it impossible to ignore them.
Take him on a walkabout. Introduce him to all the diverse wildlife available in Australia. Especially the salt-water Crocodile. Make sure he gets a very close look at that one.
CONTROVERSIAL cleric Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly has been taken to hospital after fainting at Lakemba Mosque. NSW Police Inspector David Donohue said the sheik was taken to hospital shortly after 1pm (AEST). He did not know his condition but said officers accompanied him to hospital.
Sepsis?
More likely the vapors.
Outside the mosque, Lebanese Muslim Association president Tom Zreika would not confirm the sheik had fainted. He said that "due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to continue our private meeting" with the sheik. "He's okay," Mr Zreika said.
An AAP reporter at the mosque said officers drew an orange plastic tarpaulin across the driveway at the mosque to block the ambulance from the view of waiting media. It left through a through a rear entrance to the mosque.
Sheik Hilaly took ill late last week after sparking controversy over his comments in a sermon which compared immodestly dressed women to uncovered pieces of meat. He has a history of past medical trouble and suffers from asthma.
#1
I guess at a certain time of night Rantburg is closed for posting articles ?? Am i correct ? If so,, then that is the reason i posted this article 2 times. I thought there must of been a error or somethin'- caus' - the article usually shows up straight after i hit 'Submit Query'
#5
The sheik had been due to meet with the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) today before a final decision was made on his future.
I agree, it's all a big act to gain sympathy. He just happened to 'faint' during a meeting to decide on his future as the wanna b self-appointed-Mufti.
#8
Naw, pray for a stroke that leaves him a nearly lifeless hunk of catmeat.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/30/2006 5:23 Comments ||
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#9
Muslims are fatalists. Everything is God-Willing (Inshallah). This incident will end the undeserved credibility that Hilaly had. He is a Wahabi, but the Sauds wouldn't want his kind in the Kingdom.
#12
Oztralian, apparently Fred was playing under the hood again yesterday. I poked my head into the O Club for a club soda, and they were using computer jargon *shudder* I was afraid to so much as wave from the doorway.
Prime Minister John Howard warned on Sunday comments by Australias top Islamic cleric about women and rape could do lasting damage to the Muslim communitys relations with the rest of the nation. Howard was speaking against a background of spiralling protest and anger over the clerics description of immodestly dressed women without an Islamic headscarf as uncovered meat inviting sexual attack.
Riot squad officers were among a strong police force dispatched to a major Islamic festival to mark the end of Ramazan in Sydney on Sunday, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The cleric, the Mufti of Australia Sheikh Taj Aldin Al-Hilali, cancelled his planned appearance at the festival in the wake of the uproar over his remarks.
Howard said he did not have the power to sack the mufti, but called on Islamic leaders to deal with him.
Howard said he did not have the power to sack the mufti, but called on Islamic leaders to deal with him. The responsibility to resolve this matter sensibly rests with the Islamic community, said Howard. He urged the Islamic community to resolve this matter in a way that promotes the interests of harmony and the view Islamic Australians are fully integrated into Australian society. If this matter is not properly handled by the Islamic community, I am concerned that their failure to do so will do lasting damage to the perceptions of that community within the Australian community, said Howard.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/30/2006 00:00 ||
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Al-Halali's collapse at Lakemba mosque all may be part of a face-saving exit strategy for this vile maggot. Should this asshole step down with no further measures taken against him, he still needs to have his citizenship revoked. His preaching has shown itself to have exceptionally negative influence over Australian Muslims. Permitting al-Hilali to remain within the antipodean ummah would only allow more wannabe jihadists to be infected by his bilious spewing. Connecting his hideous debasement of Australian women as "uncovered meat", with the series of outrageous gang rapes and the Cronulla race riots is something a blind man could do.
Australian Muslims must resolutely reject all further presence of this contentious and violent individual and thereby approve that their government slingshot this twisted little puppy back to his native Egyptian hell hole Islamic utopia.
#3
If he's replaced, he'll be replaced by a Saudi or Yemeni.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/30/2006 5:24 Comments ||
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#4
if they Muslim community doesn't sack him, simply letting him walk away under some false medical pretense is not enough. It will leave his words unchallenged.
I think Howard has handled this brilliantly so far. He's insisting the Muslim community take responsibility. If the Muslim community allows him to exit without shame, then I think Howard should charge him with treason for his words re: the troops and strip him of his citizenship.
#5
Howard and other senior Aussie politicians (such as Downer) just keep getting better and better. We're doing OK ourselves (despite the bizarre tantrum apparently taking place within the electorate), but oh to have such straight-talk from American leadership ......
#8
On the macro level that's true, PlanetDan. However, it's important that there be personal consequences for this kind of inciting speech and the follow-on behaviour. No matter how big they talk, Islam remains a religion that proves its truth only by conquest and conversion. Every demonstration that it does not have the strong hand sows doubt in the mind of those whose belief is fragile, as it must be to the heirs of those who bowed when the sword was held to their throats. We will have won, not when all the followers of Mohammed are killed even to the babes in arms, but when enough of the vicious mouthy idiots have been painfully punished for trying to set themselves, unearned, at the top of Creation, that the rest decide discretion is the better part of valour and choose to live quietly in the hope of excaping our notice and the pain that would follow.
For such as Mufti of Australia Sheikh Taj Aldin Al-Hilali, simple expulsion to the dusty, dung-laden streets of wherever he slithered out from will do. Who now pays attention to the ravings of the whateverhewas who demanded to be rescued from the bombardment in Beirut? The one from London whose son was caught with a cash-filled envelope labelled "Daddy"? For those who take up arms, the receiving end of a bullet or a missile is necessary... but that's already happening. It's clear that the caliber of jihadi has fallen drastically since 2002-3 in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are well inside their training cycle, whether of Number 3s, bomb-makers, or even cannon fodder; it would take them a generation of peaceful endeavor to replace the knowledge acquired by those captured and killed in the first year of Coalition effort, and they aren't going to be given it. The Afghanis have recently been quoting captured "Taliban" to the effect that they were lied to in the madrassas, thrown over the border with inadequate training and supplies, and little support from the locals. We are also getting reports from Rantburgers recently returned, that the situation on the ground is much more positive than even the news accounts posted here.
I trust the likes of Shieldwolf, Verlaine and Atomic Conspiracy, and give their statements a lot of weight, which is why I've become more sanguine about the currenty situation and the progress of the War on Terror/Islamofascism/Jihadism/whatever. Europe is actually starting to fight its internal war, however ineptly it appears, which means that -- win or lose -- the Muslim colonists will be preoccupied there and will not be able to turn their attention elsewhere for a while. Stateside at least half the voting population is aware of and concerned about Muslim ambition... and their only hope of taking the US was to keep us unaware.
I suspect that Muslim strength is like that of an ice cube. Apply the right sort of pressure and it shatters, revealing the significant friability inherent in the structure of the material.
#9
A medical retirement would be good enough. These birds are all about personal power, and it doesn't matter to them how they lose it, just that they lose it.
Whoever replaces him will be considerably cooler, caring more for the power than for sticking his neck out.
#11
A nice comfortable retirement will be a travesty. He and his kind deserve nothing better than to be deported to a deep and dark Egyptian prison.
Posted by: ed ||
10/30/2006 9:28 Comments ||
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#12
Agreed, Verlaine, ed - on all points. BTW, welcome back, V-man! I'm kinda hoping we can work out a trade agreement with the Ozzies to borrow Howard for 2008-2012...
#15
"I suspect that Muslim strength is like that of an ice cube. Apply the right sort of pressure and it shatters, revealing the significant friability inherent in the structure of the material."
I think so too. A house of cards. It's the same of all religions that focus on nothing more than a set of external requirements rather than on true internal spirituality. It's been said most eloquently as "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye?"
#16
I suspect that Muslim strength is like that of an ice cube. Apply the right sort of pressure and it shatters, revealing the significant friability inherent in the structure of the material.
From a fellow wordsmith, please allow me to say how that is some very tasty writing, as with your entire post, trailing wife.
Your reply has a lot of merit to it, but I feel as though it does not address the simple fact that Islam's one signal attribute is that of overreaching itself. They have always done this and will continue to until physically prevented from doing so. What this points towards is that, no matter what disincentives and punitive measures we put in place or inflict, none of this will forestall them from perpetrating a final and utterly horrendous atrocity that will simply leave all rational minds gaping at the prospect of such absolute barbarity.
This is not speculation, it is a given. Every single word, act and tradition of Islam all point towards this. I do agree with you in respect to how discrediting Muslim leadership will go, at least, some way towards curing the problem. We might differ in how that discrediting should be done, I prefer a .45 calibre style of discrediting, but it must proceed apace.
Where I disagree with you is in exactly the same point that Planet Dan was making.
So he's replaced. Big deal. The issue is not that THIS a-hole said what he did, it's that most muslims believe - and act on - that, and other crap.
I think we have finally begun to get a much more clear picture as to how subversive the so-called "moderate" Muslim community actually is. The vicious and hateful doctrine being spewed by these putative moderates is more than sufficient to drive all the harmful aspects of jihad, without any fueling by the extremists.
I am increasingly convinced, as are otheres here at Rantburg, that what we call "moderate" Muslims all too often are just biding their time, whilst clandestinely abetting jihad, and awaiting some greater outcome that will permit them more overt behavior without due consequence.
I believe that this is part of Planet Dan's point and one that is well made. Well enough that al-Halali should be removed from his station as Mufti of New Zealand and Australia, but this in no way counteracts the antipodean ummah's fundamental orientation. They still hold these beliefs and merely await a more apt moment to manifest them at large. In light of that, removing their figurehead represents only a minimal threat reduction. A necessary move? Yes, by all means. An actual solution to the problem? Hardly.
This is why I continue to advocate summary execution for the worldwide community of jihadist clergy. When there is an obvious and swift death penalty for agitating in favor of jihad, only then will these so-called "moderate" Muslims truly begin to rethink their position. Without such consequences there is little if any incentive to alter what they see as an unpunished and winning strategy of silent but immutable progress towards world domination.
What this points towards is that, no matter what CURRENT FORM OF disincentives and punitive measures we put in place or inflict, none of this will forestall them from perpetrating a final and utterly horrendous atrocity that will simply leave all rational minds gaping at the prospect of such absolute barbarity.
I still believe that there may be certain deterrents the Western world could put in place that would significantly alter Islam's jihadist ambitions. Among these are:
1.) Threatening demolition of successive Islamic shrines in the wake of further atrocities.
2.) Physically taking the various Islamic shrines hostage and making the halt of jihad or reformation of Islam a condition of further access.
3.) A promise of overall nuclear destruction of the entire MME (Muslim Middle East) for even a single attack with atomic weapons.
I do not promise that these are foolproof solutions but, instead, offer them as necessary starting points for discussion on what would constitute some sort of functional deterrent to further jihadist atrocities.
#18
Love it, Zenster, but no western leader is going to skate that close to the abiss. They will be content to wait for yet another 911 and then maybe retaliate extra proportionate and start the ball rolling for Islamic change. Howard will focus on this jerk, and they will avoid him and Oz but not even slow down in France, Nigeria Somalia, or Thailand.
#19
Zenster's approach is the correct one. There is no way that islam is going to undergo reformation without significant external incentive to do so. But wxjames is also correct in saying that the "incentives" are not going to be applied until we are hit again in a significant way.
#20
Somehow, there needs to be a groundswell in American public opinion which makes clear to all of our elected officials that complacency in the face of continued terrorist threats is equivalent to treason. More blue sky thinking, I know. I'm just hoping to hit upon the right combination of thoughts and words that provides an unambiguous message which is able to be carried forward by the American people in general.
#21
Wow, Zen, you're hittin' on all cylinders today. Your summation in # 16 is a brilliant critique of where we stand vs. the Death Cult today. I can't improve on it, but do want to acknowledge it.
Sorry; don't have time now to work this over, much as I'd like to. Boston Globe.
Posted by: Louie da American ||
10/30/2006 15:30 ||
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Another batting practice investigative report from The Globe. Manny Ortez would be proud.
So go ahead and run, Jawn. I'm sure Taaraysaa wouldn't mind flushing a few more mill down the neareast toilet so you can have a hobby. Or are you going to have her drugged and tossed on a slow boat to China, seeing how you're a "new man" and all?
#2
Article: Kerry Reinvents Self, Defends War Record of Others
Kerry: "Benedict Arnold was war veteran, too. And he betrayed his country. This just goes to show that as long as you're a war veteran, it's OK to betray your country."
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon is expanding its public affairs operations to counter "inaccurate" news stories and editorials and exploit "new media" to get its message out, its chief spokesman said, denying the effort was linked to the US elections.
Eric Ruff, the Pentagon press secretary, insisted that the new public affairs program was not prompted by either the elections or polls showing that only about 37 percent believe the war is going well.
"What were looking at doing is, 'How can we get better, how can we get faster, how can we transform public affairs?'," he told reporters. "And we're looking at being quicker to respond to breaking news. Being quicker to respond, frankly, to inaccurate statements," he said.
"And we're looking at this whole issue of new media -- podcasting, and IM-ing and all those kinds of things, where people are basically running circles inside us," he said.
Ruff disclosed the expanded operations after questions were raised about a wall being built in the Pentagon press operations center that will separate the new unit from Pentagon public affairs officials who deal with the media.
He denied that the intent of the new operation was to go around the mainstream news media. Why not? Ruff said he did not know how much the operation is costing or how many people were being hired.
The unit includes a rapid response team, a "new media" group, and a team that specializes in getting Pentagon officials booked on radio and television shows. "Well, just for example, letters to the editors: the operational tempo for letters to the editor has gone up considerably," Ruff said.
Dorrance Smith, the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, has written a torrent of letters to editors in recent weeks seeking corrections or rebutting articles and editorials.
The Pentagon's daily compilation of defense-related news articles on Monday ran five such letters, including one to the Washington Post that has not been published. Ruff said the new operation also was set up by Smith, a former ABC television producer and media adviser in Baghdad to L. Paul Bremer, who led the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in the year after the US invasion.
But US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a strident critic of media coverage of Iraq, also has pushed for a sweeping overhaul in the way the military communicates with the public.
In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in February, he called for 24-hour press operations centers and an approach that would give Internet operations and other channels of communications equal status to "20th century press relations."
"It will result in much less reliance on the traditional print press, just as publics of the US and the world are relying less on newspapers as their principal source of information," he said.
Posted by: Louie da American ||
10/30/2006 15:24 ||
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#2
The PA folks should read Jacques Ellul's book on Propaganda. It is a good template if they want to get it right. They should be forming news not responding to breaking news.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/30/2006 18:19 Comments ||
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Lots of headscratching was going on Friday evening and over the weekend about the decision by CNN producers and uberanchor Wolf Blitzer to blindside former colleague (she hosted "CNN Crossfire" back in the day) Lynn Cheney.
Aside from using questions culled from talking points on the Jim Webb scandal provided to a CNN associate producer by the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee, Blitzer, -- without checking out the veracity of the talking points -- quizzed Cheney about the techniques used against suspected terrorists and her views on the Bush Administration. Cheney had been invited to discuss her new children's book, but came prepared to battle Blitzer, and more than held her own.
CNN producers intend to run the highly politicized, pro-Democrat Party "Where the Right Went Wrong" in the days leading into Election Day.
The series uses ... materials, including statistics and research developed by the DNC, MoveOn.org and the labor-funded 527, Americans Coming Together, though the those sources are never mentioned in the segments.
Why was Blitzer so aggressive? "It was all about ratings, and the fact that we have this series of specials called 'Where the Right Went Wrong' running on the network," says the CNN insider.
Part of that series ran later Friday evening after Cheney's emasculation of Blitzer (video here).
In fact, CNN producers, with the approval of more senior executives, intend to run the highly politicized, pro-Democrat Party "Where the Right Went Wrong" in the days leading into Election Day. The series uses original reporting, as well as materials, including statistics and research developed by the DNC, MoveOn.org and the labor-funded 527, Americans Coming Together, though the those sources are never mentioned in the segments.
"There are people who are wondering why this is being run so close to election day," says the CNN employee. "The questions have been asked, but we haven't gotten a satisfactory answer. But as soon as we saw the Cheney segment, we knew what they were trying to do. It wasn't just about attacking Cheney. It was about building momentum for the other programming we are running. It's about counterprogramming Fox News."
#2
But, this series will help get out the Dem vote and will encourage the insurgents in Iraq, the Iranian mullahs, China and North Korea to do as much damage as possible right now.
#4
At one time CNN had the cable news to itself. Today it badly trails FOX. It demonstrates the terminal behavior of institutions trying desperately for the 'good old days' ignoring the advice of 'when you're in a hole, quit digging'. Their management has chosen a niche market over the general market. It works in radio and as pathetic MSNBC is compared to both, it seems the strategy some are willing to dump money into.
#5
Pretty much. Some of us expats are lucky enough to get CNN International, which makes American CNN look like a bunch of flag-waving rednecks. The commercials are a stitch too, 80% of which attempt to lure us decadent kaffirs to the lush, tranquil paradises of Arabia, Qatar, and Malaysia. Hah. Waterboarding, schmaterboarding. I can barely take 30-40 seconds of that shit.
#7
Looks like Ted Turner finally decided which side of the war to be on. Not that anybody had any doubt (at least here) - he's been on their side since GW I when they gave up their integrety for access.
#8
Agreed. Which makes Blitzer's claim that "of COURSE we want the US to win" absurd on the face of it. CNN as an entity does NOT want us to win the war on terror, not under Bush and not definitively.
#9
"There are people who are wondering why this is being run so close to election day," says the CNN employee. "The questions have been asked, but we haven't gotten a satisfactory answer."
It's baffling, isn't it? I can't come up with a single hypothesis that would explain why CNN is running left-wing propaganda right before an election. Maybe it's just a coincidence!
#11
Slightly OT but Bank of America in my hometown has recently put two TVs inside where the tellers are. Guess what, both of them were tuned in to CNN. When I asked a vice president to switch the channel she said that corporate HQ dictated what channel was on the TV. What BS!
It kind of makes me wonder what Bank of Americas political affiliations are.
#15
Slightly OT but Bank of America in my hometown has recently put two TVs inside where the tellers are. Guess what, both of them were tuned in to CNN.
My company has large TVs showing our propaganda marketing messages with CNN running in a small window. CNN is a large customer of ours, so nixing that ain't gonna fly.
The intelligence agencies have informed the Interior Ministry that banned militant outfits, including Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashker-e-Jhangvi, plan to target Iranian diplomats and prominent Shia leaders following the publication of a book in Iran, sources told Daily Times. The book titled Tareekh-e-Ambia (history of the prophets) reportedly carries sketches of the Prophet Muhammad (may his drip clear up peace be upon him). Intelligence reports submitted to the Interior Ministry warn that the Sunni militant outfits see the sketches as blasphemy and may retaliate by targeting Shia leaders or diplomats in major cities of NWFP, including Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan.
In light of the intelligence reports, the Interior Ministry has directed the provincial home secretaries and the chief commissioner of Islamabad to beef up security around Iranian establishments, diplomats and Shia leaders. The ministry has also directed the provincial and Islamabad police chiefs to raid the hideouts of banned militant outfits and arrest anyone hiding there. The provincial authorities have also been asked to direct all station house officers to visit seminaries and guesthouses located in their areas, the sources added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/30/2006 00:00 ||
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Is there a down-side to this situation? Sounds like win-win to me.
The Balochistan National Party (BNP) will launch province-wide protests from November 30 by marching against the ongoing military operation, extra-judicial arrests, mega projects and military cantonments in Balochistan, said BNP President Sardar Akhtar Mengal at a press conference on Sunday.
None of these development projects are aimed at improving the life of the common man in Balochistan. They are all designed to usurp the Baloch land and convert us into a minority.
Mengal said the BNP, which decided to quit assemblies two months ago in protest at the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, would start marching from Gwadar on November 30, and conclude the protests in Quetta on December 11. The protests are to be called the Lashkar-e-Balochistan movement. None of these development projects are aimed at improving the life of the common man in Balochistan. They are all designed to usurp the Baloch land and convert us into a minority. We will not allow this to happen, he said. Mengal said the BNP was protesting to show the government how unpopular its polices were in Balochistan. He said that marchers would camp at some places, in addition to holding public gatherings in Turbat, Khoshab, Basima, Nal, Khuzdar, Soorab, Kalat, Mustung and Quetta.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/30/2006 00:00 ||
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The leaders of the Movement for National Responsibility, comprising 100 former top army officers, say the only solution for the ongoing Kassam rocket attacks is for Israel to re-conquer Gaza.
Col. (ret.) Moti Yogev, a former IDF Gaza Formation commander who heads the new organization, says there is no choice but to retake at least parts of Gaza.
"At the very minimum," Yogev said in a statement, "Israel must take back the Philadelphi Route [between Egypt and Gaza]. This is the first critical action that must be taken in order to protect the State of Israel from all the arms and explosives that are smuggled into Gaza and threaten us. But in the end, there will be no choice but to re-conquer the entire Gaza Strip - or at least northern Gaza - in order to protect the residents of the Negev and the South."
Prime Minister Olmert told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he is not planning a major invasion. "We must act, and we will act, against Hamas centers in Gaza," he said, "but we will not go towards a permanent and extended stay... We must also prevent a humanitarian danger in Gaza." He said that the IDF had killed 300 Hamas terrorists in the past three months.
Committee Member MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), a former Committee Chairman, said after the session, "The Prime Minister admitted that the fight against Hamas has failed. It doesn't matter how many terrorists we killed; they keep developing more weapons... I hope the Prime Minister will wake up and order a large-scale mission to crush the terrorist infrastructures in Gaza."
Generals Favor Return to Gaza
Former generals such as Yom Tov Samiah, Tzvika Fogel, and Doron Almog, and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, have all said that Israel must send ground forces into Gaza in order to avoid another Hizbullah situation. Gen. Samiya, the former IDF Southern District Commander, said yesterday that that Israel has no choice but to turn back the clock and re-take control of the 12-kilometer-long and 100-meter-wide Philadelphi Route. "Even the Oslo Accords stipulate that Israel continues to control this area," he said. "And I don't mean that we should occupy just a 40-meter wide swathe, but 400 meters."
Two more Kassam rockets were fired at southern Israel this morning. One hit the Gaza border fence near northern Gaza, and another landed in an open area south of Ashkelon - not far from a main electric power station.
Among the leading members of the National Responsibility Movement are Col. (ret.) Yehoar Gaza, Col. (ret.) Moshe Hager, and some 100 others.
Yogev accused the country's leaders of "not taking care of the residents' security and not providing a solution for the increasing security threat. Instead, they continue to sell us false illusions. The people of Sderot told us recently that [city resident] Defense Minister Amir Peretz made sure to reinforce his home against Kassams, but left the rest of them more vulnerable than ever."
An IDF force operating Sunday night on the Israeli-Egyptian border, between the Sinai and Negev north of Nitzana, arrested two infiltrators on their way into Israel.
Metropolitan police confirmed they were investigating complaints by two exiled Iranians, who claimed they were falsely imprisoned and brutally tortured while Khatami was in office.
Mohammad Khatami faces possible police questioning when he arrives in Britain this week to accept an honorary degree from St Andrews University, a report in the Sunday Times said. The report said the Metropolitan police had confirmed that they were investigating complaints by two exiled Iranians, who claimed they were falsely imprisoned and brutally tortured while Khatami was in office. Safa Einollahi (29) and Ali Ebrahimi (34) claimed that Khatami, who was in power from 1997 to 2005, was ultimately responsible for the atrocities they endured. The two Iranians want Khatami arrested under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/30/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
when he arrives in Britain this week to accept an honorary degree from St Andrews University
WTF????
This is disturbing on two levels. First, it seems that St. Andrews is giving an honorary degree to Khatami.
Second - if Khatami was given the honorary degree so that the UK police could question him re: two exhiled Iranians claiming they were imprisioned and brutally tortured - somebody from St. Andrews let the Kat out of the bag.
Iran on Sunday remained defiant over its nuclear programme despite the threat of sanctions, saying it was detecting splits between world powers on whether to punish Tehran for intensifying atomic work. With world powers locked in talks in New York over a draft resolution that would impose sanctions over Irans failure to halt uranium enrichment, Tehran has defiantly expanded work on the process at a key nuclear plant.
Russia does not want sanctions and does not want to close the path of negotiations, and the Chinese have a similar position.
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini did not appear concerned that sanctions were imminent, saying there was a split between the stances of China and Russia on one hand and Europe and the US on the other. Splits between the parties are very visible, that is to say between the United States and the Europeans on one side and Russia and China on the other, the Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters. These two countries have completely different positions to the Europeans. Russia does not want sanctions and does not want to close the path of negotiations, and the Chinese have a similar position, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/30/2006 00:00 ||
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How much nuclear fuel do they need anyway? And do their reprocessing reprocessing facilities exceed what they are going to "need" when they need it?
"Since You Brought [This Regime] Over There, You Yourselves Pick it up, By the Arms and Legs, and Remove it From There"
"Our proposal is as follows: Since you brought [this regime] over there, you yourselves pick it up, by the arms and legs, and remove it from there. This will make the peoples of the region improve their attitude toward you. These will be the first steps to a long-lasting friendship with the peoples of the region. This will be to your advantage.
"You may say: 'We feel uncomfortable doing this, because the Zionists control our countries, the propaganda machinery is at their disposal, and if we want to gain voters, we need their money and their support. Therefore, we feel uncomfortable doing this.'
"Fine. We made you another proposal: Allow that which you advocate take place in Palestine. After all, you advocate democracy, and you claim that the peoples should control their own destiny. So let the Palestinian people decide upon its own path by means of a referendum. In response, you say: 'We might lose our reputation.' Our response is: You have no reputation left anyway! Where do you still have a reputation anywhere in the world?
"In the recent war in Lebanon, you saw with your own eyes that the whole world was against you. Even in Argentina, where the Zionists devise conspiracies, generate strife, and put pressure on the Argentinean administration, the people took to the streets.
#4
Argentina?? Is that not the country that hid all the NAZI's after the war??? If that's all the validation he has, he should take a job at the NYT's.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/30/2006 10:10 Comments ||
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#5
Perhaps the West should pick up the Zionist regime and toss it Eastward so that it lands squarely atop the oil fields where it should have been established in the first place.
#6
Thank you, a5089 and Fred. 49Pan, during the war German Jews fled to Argentina. After, more German Jews as well as German Nazis. Their children went to school together down there, and never ever asked what one another's fathers had done before, and never went to one another's homes.
#7
I had read about the Nazi's but not the German Jews moving there, interesting, thanks. All I had ever heard about was the hiding of the Nazi's in Argentina and how they helped protect them.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/30/2006 14:13 Comments ||
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#8
Not just Argentina, 49 Pan. All up and down Hispanic America -- wherever poor government control and cupidity allowed refugees to settle. First the Jews in their desperation, then the Nazis in theirs, found pretty much the same answers.
#9
Mr Ahmedinejad, you have the wrong number. The person you are trying to reach, God, can be found at extension 'Genesis 15:18-21':
"In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim,
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
If you get a busy signal, try extension "Genesis 13: 14-15':
"And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever."
This Jehovah seems a reasonable fellow, so perhaps you can convince him to break his promise.
#10
Thanks TW, the more I learn the better. Off to the internet, research, research. I see Israel as the absolute center of gravity in this war, not unlike Britton in WWII. It's not about oil, or the West, it is all about Israel and its right to exist and our support of that.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/30/2006 14:41 Comments ||
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#1
Interesting tool, 3dc. In US concentrations are west coast, midwest from Chicago to Detroit, S. Florida, and DC-NY. Outposts in Dallas & Houston. I'd say anyone in these areas should stay heads up.
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.
Prime Minister Tony Blair was facing renewed pressure over Britains role in the global war on terror on Sunday as a key military figure in an interview called the war in Afghanistan cuckoo.
North Korea has committed "crimes against humanity" against its own people according to an independent report that appeals to the UN Security Council to deal with the issue.
CONTROVERSIAL cleric Sheik 
The intelligence agencies have informed the Interior Ministry that banned militant outfits, including Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashker-e-Jhangvi, plan to target Iranian diplomats and prominent Shia leaders following the publication of a book in Iran, sources told Daily Times. The book titled Tareekh-e-Ambia (history of the prophets) reportedly carries sketches of the Prophet Muhammad (
Former Iranian president 
