A former deputy UN chief who criticized US and British policy and tangled with the US envoy in New York in the past was named a minister in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's top team Thursday.
Mark Malloch Brown, named minister for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, last year voiced reservations about the role of Washington and London over the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon. The Briton, who clashed with the former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton during his time at the New York-based world body, also accused the United States and Britain of "megaphone diplomacy" over the Darfur crisis.
Brown, who succeeded Tony Blair as British prime minister Wednesday, has underlined the need for "change" in his new government, and there has been speculation that he may have cooler relations with US President George W. Bush.
The former UN official, who was shoeshine boyhorse holder deputy to Kofi Annan when he was UN secretary general, said last August that the United States and Britain should not lead diplomatic efforts over the crisis in Lebanon. In an interview with the the Financial Times, he said the two countries, as "the team that led on Iraq", were poorly placed to lead efforts to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants.
Then in September he criticised Britain and the US over how they were trying to persuade Sudan to accept a UN force in Darfur. He said their approach was "counterproductive almost" -- drawing a strong rebuke from Bolton, who said the remarks "bring discredit to the UN and are a stain on its reputation".
In January this year Malloch Brown attacked Bolton as "not a very good ambassador". "I was very pleased, in terms of sequence, that I could at least hold the door for him to go out first," he told Britain's Channel Four News, referring to his departure last December, days after Bolton.
#6
I still can't get over how there's a tranzi alpha-male walking around sporting the name of a major demon. If I were a believing Christian, it's exactly the sort of thing that would send me right over the frothing edge of religious paranoia.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/29/2007 10:13 Comments ||
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U.S. and British leaders have clinched a defense-trade pact designed to stitch long-standing bilateral military and security ties even tighter, the State Department said on Thursday. If ratified by the U.S. Senate and the British Parliament, the treaty will do away with red tape for most military-related goods, services and information intended for use by the two allies.
The pact "will foster an even closer defense and security relationship between our nations, improve the capabilities of our armed forces to operate together, and make our cooperative research and development programs more efficient and effective," said Julie Reside, a department spokeswoman.
U.S. President George W. Bush wrapped up the signing of documents with Tony Blair on June 26, a day before Blair stepped aside as prime minister, the department said.
The U.S.-UK Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty follows years of tugs-of-war over technology transfer between the United States and Britain, despite their strong alliance in hot spots like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Arms trade is fraught with red tape even though the State Department says it approved 99.9 percent of the more than 13,000 export licenses requested by U.S. companies for British-bound items over the past two years. Britain-destined defense items accounted for about 20 percent of all such U.S. license requests, a State Department official said.
The treaty therefore would help "unclog" a system that has often frustrated U.S. defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp., plus their British clients, the official said. The pact would carve out a kind of "license-free zone" for certain exports within a community of government and trusted contractors on both sides that meet certain requirements.
The United States and Britain still must agree jointly on which companies qualify to be in the community and which projects and operations are to be included, a White House official said. Exports outside this group will continue to require approvals from the authorities, the official said. A text of the treaty was not released.
Jeff Bialos, who headed the Pentagon's industrial affairs office under former President Bill Clinton, said the pact harked back to waivers for key allies that Clinton and Bush had sought to carve from the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.
It's a balancing act. OTOH, there are those in the UK defense community who prefer a stronger EU orientation. And there will be competitive pressure to sell to China. OTOH, I've personally talked with some MOD people recently who are Atlanticist, but driven mad by the uncertainty around military sales. The key is going to be who is on or off those lists.
One of Sarajevo's most notorious former Muslim warlords was gunned down at the entrance to his apartment building in central Sarajevo, police said on Thursday. The killing late on Wednesday of Ramiz Delalic, or "Celo", is the latest in a string of shootings, some fatal, of underworld figures in the Bosnian capital.
"The information about the shooting came from citizens and when the police came to the scene they found the dead body of Ramiz Delalic," a police spokesman said. "The investigation into the murder is under way."
Delalic, 44, was standing trial before a local court for the March 1992 killing of a man during a Serb wedding in old Sarajevo, an episode many Serbs say triggered the 1992-95 war. Delalic was one of several underworld figures who helped defend Sarajevo against former Yugoslav army and Bosnian Serb forces but then ran racketeering and extortion rings. Some of them detained, beat or killed Serb civilians.
Posted by: ryuge ||
06/29/2007 03:06 ||
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#4
I came to the conclusion that Former Yugoslavia could teach the Italian Mafia a thing or two about "Organized Crime". The countries that came out of the breakup were little more than ethnic "Families" run by the biggest crook in each region. Kind of reminds me of South America circa 1960.
Let's see if they actually convict and imprison him.
An Iraqi alleged to have published al- Qaeda propaganda online, including video messages from terrorist kingpin Osama bin Laden, has been indicted in Germany, prosecutors said Thursday.
Ibrahim R was arrested last October at his home in the German town of Georgsmarienhuette, where his wife voiced astonishment to reporters at what he was alleged to have done while on the internet in an upstairs room.
Police patrolling the internet monitored him 28 times in the space of a year as he played back terrorist videos live in chat rooms, offered hyperlinks to the web sources for such propaganda, or quoted speeches by terrorist leaders, according to the prosecutors.
The material quoted bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and the late Iraqi terrorist boss Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi.
At his trial in the northern city of Celle, R will be accused of appealing to people to join on support al-Qaeda, a charge with a maximum sentence of five years in jail.
As detailed Thursday, the indictment does not accuse him of making any of the videos himself, but only of spreading them in an open live forum on the internet. Nor is he alleged to have personally met with Qaeda operatives.
The indictment says the messages incited to hatred of Coalition forces in Iraq, Jews and Shiite Muslims and called on chat-room participants to join the "jihad" and commit suicide bombings. He is to remain in custody till trial. No date has been set.
Former President Bill Clinton on Friday cast doubt on the effectiveness of a planned U.S. missile shield, deriding it as a "colossal waste of money."
Clinton said the defense system, parts of which are to be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic, had created unnecessary difficulties with Russia, which denounces the plan as an attempt to undermine its defense capabilities.
"My facts may be wrong, but my impression is that we are creating a crisis here when none is necessary," Clinton told a conference in the Ukrainian resort of Yalta on the ex-Soviet state's relationship with Europe.
"Because I don't think the missile defense system is reliable enough to create an impact."
He suggested it was more logical to return to the reasoning of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's long abandoned "star wars" projects of the 1980s intended to counter hostile missile systems.
"He wanted the Russians to have it, he wanted everyone to have it," he told the conference. "Unless they work better than I think they do, it's a colossal waste of money."
The United States says the system is intended to defend against missiles launched from "rogue states" such as Iran or North Korea.
Former President Bill Clinton on Friday cast doubt on the effectiveness of a planned U.S. missile shield, deriding it as a "colossal waste of money."
Clinton said the defense system, parts of which are to be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic, had created unnecessary difficulties with Russia, which denounces the plan as an attempt to undermine its defense capabilities.
"My facts may be wrong, but my impression is that we are creating a crisis here when none is necessary," Clinton told a conference in the Ukrainian resort of Yalta on the ex-Soviet state's relationship with Europe.
"Because I don't think the missile defense system is reliable enough to create an impact."
He suggested it was more logical to return to the reasoning of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's long abandoned "star wars" projects of the 1980s intended to counter hostile missile systems.
"He wanted the Russians to have it, he wanted everyone to have it," he told the conference. "Unless they work better than I think they do, it's a colossal waste of money."
The United States says the system is intended to defend against missiles launched from "rogue states" such as Iran or North Korea.
#1
"why catch a intercontinental ballistic missile in flight with a NEW missile costing treasure better spent on social programs, when you can catch it with a City already paid for? I ask you?!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/29/2007 19:11 Comments ||
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#2
Clintoon: "My facts may be wrong, but my impression is that we are creating a crisis here when none is necessary," Clinton told a conference in the Ukrainian resort of Yalta on the ex-Soviet state's relationship with..bla bla
yes I agree with you rapist, your facts are wrong and wrong headed...NO, not that head you draft dodging pussy.
#3
This is the standard lib message - "Accept that you are a victim. Don't even try to help (defend) yourself."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/29/2007 21:10 Comments ||
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#4
...a "colossal waste of money."
40 years since the start of the Great Society programs and trillions of dollars later and we still have poverty you keep shoving in our face. I think Bill's comment nails it.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush is sending his top aide on national security affairs to Capitol Hill on Thursday to confront what has become a tough crowd on the Iraq war.
A majority of senators believe troops should start coming home within the next few months. A new House investigation concluded this week that the Iraqis have little control over an ailing security force. And House Republicans are calling to revive the independent Iraq Study Group to give the nation options. What could work in Iraq? We should section cities and districts into the type of "strategic hamlet" arrangement that worked - somewhat - in Vietnam. Assigned locals would be directed to implement workable plans for not only weeding out the terrorists, but destroying the social movements from which they rise. Currently, jihadis have enough local respect to cause members of the Iraq military to believe that resistance to the terrorists is personally dangerous and militarily futile. There is no option other than to give cause to reverse that kind of thinking. My read is: get results by September, or face the catastrophe of US withdrawl from the Middle East.
While the White House thought they had until September to deal with political fallout on the unpopular war, officials may have forgotten another critical date: the upcoming 2008 elections.
"This is an important moment if we are still to have a bipartisan policy to deal with Iraq," Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said in an interview Wednesday. If Congress and the White House wait until September to change course in Iraq, Lugar said "It'll be further advanced in the election cycle. It makes it more difficult for people to cooperate. ... If you ask if I have some anxiety about 2008, I do."
Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, plans to meet Thursday privately with Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley. Hadley requested the meeting after Lugar delivered a lengthy floor speech contending the president's war strategy won't have time to work and that U.S. troops should start leaving.
National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Hadley's message Thursday on Capitol Hill will be "where we see things currently in Iraq and that we need to see what the commanders on the ground and the ambassador have to say in September." The President needs to be persuaded that NO international organization - especially the OIC - can or will assist in aiding the eradication of terror from Iraq.
#6
The reports seen here at Rantburg are clear that the military believe they are making wonderful progress, and may be near collapsing Al Qaeda in Iraq altogether, as well as the indigenous terror/criminal groups. It will take a good deal of time for the Iraqi Army and Police to be ready to stand up on their own; while the number of volunteers continues to accelerate, their training has to start at a level considerably more basic than needed by American recruits, and their NCO and officer corp are very green, to say the least. Nonetheless, the pace of real world training, so much more useful for driving lessons home than even live fire exercises, is surpassed only by what the Afghani units are getting.
So how well the Iraqis are doing becomes a matter of perspective. Will they quickly match American/Coalition abilities, eg by this September? No. Will they develop into a professional army and a professional police force in time, becoming the best in the Muslim world? Very, very likely, although unlikely to match Israeli Defense Forces and police. Will this teach them never, ever to go up against the US? Very likely, and a useful exercise just for that, as the attitude of the acknowledged best-in-region is going to rub off on the other militaries, not to mention a deep awareness of how unwise it is to go up against American ally Israel (ok, that last may be a bit of wishful thinking), but I'm sure our guys can slip that idea into the training.
At least that's how it looks to this little civilian housewife from the soccer suburbs of the Midwest. Where their are flaws in my reasoning due to my massive ignorance, please gently point them out.
#8
Translation: Iran and Al Queda need to hold out for 2 more months to win.
Regardless of strategic and tactical mistakes we may have made, we are in a test of wills that is emminently winnable. If the enemy thinks they can wait us out, they can stand anything for a fixed duration of time. However, if they think we are committed they will crumble eventually. Their bass ackward societies are simply incapable of withstanding sustained pressure from a superpower and they have too many internal divisions for us to expoit.
Unfortunately our media, majority of voters and political class is proving as weak willed as they think we are. In this sense, we are unworthy of the troops we have in the field.
We can blame Bush if we want to for being an uninspiring leader or poor Commander in Chief, but he fundamentally understands this is a test of wills and we need to be in it for the long haul. I personally believe our society has proven to be bad 'followers' more than he has been a poor wartime leader.
Democratic presidential contenders Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday the United States should keep talking to Iran as part of an international diplomatic effort to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and a former ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States should stop threatening Tehran and begin talks with no preconditions on its nuclear ambitions. Talking without preconditions does not mean backing off one inch over fundamental objectives, such as ensuring that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, Richardson said in a speech to the Center for National Policy.
In a separate speech, Clinton said the Bush administration, which has had minimal direct dealings with Iran, seems reluctant to continue engaging Tehran. She faulted the administration for giving Iran six years of the silent treatment. I think we should keep talking, the New York senator said at the Center for a New American Security, a new think tank.
The biggest US challenge on the international front was restoring our leadership by once again valuing alliances, respecting our values, and understanding that American strength is more than just the show of force, she said. Iran has defied UN Security Council demands to halt all uranium enrichment activities, which can produce material for a nuclear weapon. The United States says Tehrans nuclear program is aimed at building bombs, but Tehran says it is designed to produce electricity so it can export more oil and gas. The Bush administration has refused to rule out military options to halt Irans nuclear weapon development.
The message to the Iranians must be clear: work with the international community and you will be safe and prosperous. Continue to defy the international community and you will suffer economically and politically damaging international sanctions, Richardson said.
Meanwhile, the United States asked Iran to live up to commitments to bring about a stable Iraq, saying it was critical for resuming a dialogue with Tehran on Iraqi security, the State Department said Wednesday. It was responding to Iraqi requests for such a meeting, first held in May. Tehran has said it was awaiting a US response on resuming the dialogue. Well take a look and see when a meeting is appropriate but it is important for Iran to follow through on its stated desire to have a more stable Iraq and today, their activities remain in distinct contradiction to that stated goal, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
Iran and the United States had their highest-level contact in 27 years on May 28 when US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker met Iranian ambassador Hassan Kazemi in Baghdad for talks limited to the security situation in Iraq. Although Washington has not set any hard benchmarks for resumption of the talks with Iran, it is one of those decisions where policymakers will take a look, see whether conditions are appropriate for a meeting, McCormack said. As I have said, the Iranians really have not followed through so much on what they said theyll do, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They can send the traitorous Jimmuh - he's been asskissing friends with the Iranian nutjobs for decades.
In fact, I'm beginning to think he wasn't a hand-wringing, incompetent boob when he was (God forgive us) president. I think he's hated America for most of his life, and everything he did then and afterwards was done on purpose, with malice aforethought, to try to destroy our country.
There's a special seat in Hell waiting just for him....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/29/2007 0:12 Comments ||
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#2
Yes, please, US Democrats, go to Iran to have talks, and never come back!
The democrats long for someone who speaks their language.
There's a special seat in Hell waiting just for him....
Dearest, Barbara, the good news is that it's a superglue-coated toilet seat over a bowl full of hungry AIDS infected pirahna fish. Khomeini and Arafat will be done using it by the time Jimmy arrives. Did I mention how Ahmadinejad's next in line?
#9
I look for Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Ramsey Clark, Jimmy Carter, Jesse Jackson, and the Reverend Al Sharpton to be pushing to be involved in any talks.
#10
The message to the Iranians must be clear: work with the international community and you will be safe and prosperous. Continue to defy the international community and you will suffer economically and politically damaging international sanctions, Richardson said.
Speak softly and carry a limp dick? Is that the policy, Bill?
It's worked so well so far. Ask the Europeans...
#11
We have Iran on the ropes. Despite $70/bbl oil they have gas rationing, high unemployment, civil unrest, defections of key military leaders and the mullarchy are in the midst of an internal power struggle. I am all for engagement with Iran if, and only if, it somehow exacerbates these internal factors to the point where internally initiated regime change becomes more likely.
At best, the Dems don't think this way at all. At worst, they believe Amadinejad's bluffing and want to kow tow as they have to every other anti-American nutbag in my lifetime.
#13
Despite $70/bbl oil they have gas rationing, high unemployment, civil unrest, defections of key military leaders and the mullarchy are in the midst of an internal power struggle.
Also - rampant drug use in the population, elevation of the Basij over the Revolutionary Guard in internal-security matters (and perhaps even in Iraq), and increased tension between the Revolutionary Guard and the mullahs (who are also fighting among themselves) over political and economic power.
U.S. troops have been mystified at how differently the war they fight in Iraq is portrayed by the U.S. media back home. Most just shrug it off as "politics," and yet another reason to not trust what the mass media presents as reliable reporting. But recently, the troops have been passing around an interesting discovery. Namely, that the Japanese psychological warfare effort during World War II included radio broadcasts that could be picked up by American troops. Popular music was played, but the commentary (by one of several English speaking Japanese women) always hammered away on the same points;
1 Your President (Franklin D Roosevelt) is lying to you.
2 This war is illegal.
3 You cannot win the war.
The troops are perplexed and somewhat amused that their own media is now sending out this message. Fighting the enemy in Iraq is simple, compared to figuring out what news editors are thinking back home. A few times, the mass media has been bold, or foolish, enough to confront the troops about this divergence of perceptions. The result is usually a surreal exchange, with the troops giving the journalist a "what planet are YOU from" look. Naturally, this sort of thing doesn't get much exposure. When pressed, a journalist or editor will dismiss the opinions of the troops (of all ranks), because they are "too close" to see "the big picture." For the same reason, reporters who send back material agreeing with the troops, find their stuff twisted into an acceptable shape, or not used at all. Historians will have a good time with all this.
Posted by: ed ||
06/29/2007 12:50 ||
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#1
I just had an idea. Somebody with a sense of humor could do a faux propaganda radio broadcast in the Tokyo Rose manner, telling the soldiers to desert, that the war is lost, that al-Qaeda will greet them as comrades, that the insurgents have already sunk US aircraft carriers and soon will be overrunning Europe, etc.
Then follow it up with a special message in pidgin English to "Arry-Hay Eid-ray, Ancy-nay Elosi-Pay, and Illary-Hay Linton-Cay", advising them that the insurgents have accepted their unconditional surrender of US forces, and to proceed with their plans for the conquest of the United States by the armies of Islam.
Then "sign off" by saying "And now back to Wolf Blitzer in CNN Atlanta".
#5
Glenmore - for a while I've been thinking of the comment made by one US Navy Admiral - "It's my job to make sure that when this is over japanese (substitute arabic today) will only be spoken in Hell..." Where's that Admiral's 21st century counterpart?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/29/2007 21:15 Comments ||
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Experts testifying before a congressional committee on Wednesday agreed that the AQ Khan network is no longer in existence. The hearing by the subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, headed by Gerry Ackerman of New York, and the subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade, was devoted to the theme: US policy and Pakistans nuclear weapons. The three witnesses who presented testimonies and answered questions were: David Albright of the Institute of Science and Technology, Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London and Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation.
Under persistent questioning by members of the committee wanting to know if the AQ Khan network has been effectively wrapped up, the experts were in accord on the point that the network is no longer operative. In its most functional and active stage, there were about 40 to 50 people involved in its operations in Pakistan and abroad and the Dubai end is still in existence. In answer to a question, one of the experts said that Dr Khans motivation appeared to be financial rather than ideological.
David Albright, one of the leading authorities in Washington on nuclear proliferation and related areas, said it had not been confirmed that it was the Saudi Kingdom that had financed Pakistans nuclear programme. However, there could be an understanding that Pakistan would aid Saudi Arabia if called upon to do so, but there was no evidence that Pakistan had supplied nuclear weapons or nuclear know-how to Saudi Arabia. One expert said these nuclear weapons were Pakistans crown jewels and weve some confidence that Pakistan is committed to protect them.
The members of the committee, with the exception of Sheila Jackson-Lee, were openly hostile to Pakistan during their individual presentations and in their questioning of the three experts. Ackerman found it ironic that the stiffest penalty the Pakistani government could impose on those who sell its nuclear crown jewels is house arrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The Paks claim to have allowed AQK to escape justice, because he is an national hero. However, he wouldn't have conducted proliferation sales, without a kickback funded support group.
The district administration on Thursday assured the Lal Masjid clerics that the government was not planning any action against them, Daily Times has learnt. Chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and his deputy Abdur Rashid Ghazi were anticipating police action after madrassa students raided a massage parlour in F-8/3 and kidnapped seven Chinese nationals, including six women, and three Pakistanis.
The cleric brothers had threatened to declare jihad against the federal government after a heavy contingent of Rangers was deployed at Aabpara Community Centre on Thursday evening. Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Muhammad Ali and Assistant Commissioner Farasat Ali Khan have assured me over the phone that the government is not planning any action against us, Ghazi told Daily Times.
Lal Masjid mullah threatens more abductions Lal Masjid students on Thursday threatened more abductions if illegal and un-Islamic activities continued in Islamabad, Dawn News reported. The channel said Lal Masjid clerics threatened to kidnap Pakistanis and foreigners shrugging off the presence of rangers and police contingents outside the mosque. The channel reported Ghazi Abdur Rasheed of Lal Masjid as denying that the madrassa administration had declared suicide attacks legal. Only in case of attack, we will defend ourselves, and suicide attacks can be the last option in self-defence, he added.
Rasheed said the weapons the madrassa students had were licensed, but refused to disclose the number of weapons, the channel said. He said the Lal Masjid administration did not support the MMA ideology, as the party had brought no change in NWFP. We do not want a Taliban-style government, but we are against the present system and want an Islamic welfare system in Pakistan, the channel quoted him as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Many people like to purchase jihadi CDs from the Karkhano Market, where a large number of shopkeepers are doing this business. The demand for jihadi CDs increases in Ramazan, Attihad, a shopkeeper at Karkhano Market, told Daily times. Attihad said once a foreigner came to his shop and bought the whole stock of jihadi CDs available at his shop. I sell 20 to 25 cassettes, cost ranging from Rs 30 to 60, on a daily basis, he added.
Another shopkeeper requesting anonymity said the business of jihadi CDs fluctuates. He said he daily sold 25 to 30 cassettes, adding, We also supply such CDs to other parts of NWFP and Afghanistan. We sell these cassette, featuring fighters in jehad, secretly, as police seizes all such CDs during their raids and also arrests shopkeepers, the shopkeeper said, adding that they were unable to desert their business though it was illegal. He said he feared secret agencies would imprison him for selling jihadi CDs, which was why he was doing his business secretly.
Another shopkeeper on the condition of anonymity stated that most people liked CDs relating to war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and the situation in Bara and Waziristan.
A buyer at Karkhano Market said when non-Muslims attack you, it is Muslims prime responsibility to participate in jehad. We like watching jihadi films, and are proud of our warriors, he added.
Some shopkeepers said they did not sell jihadi CDs, and that they mostly sold obscene CDs. Some shopkeepers had reserved a separate corner for jihadi CDs in their shops. Asked why are people buying jihadi CDs, a buyer at Karkhano Market said when non-Muslims attack you, it is Muslims prime responsibility to participate in jehad. We like watching jihadi films, and are proud of our warriors, he added. Anar Gul and Awal Gul, both shopkeepers, said there was no restriction on the sale and purchase of these CDs.
Assistant Sub-Inspector from the Karkhano police station Muhammad Ikram Khan told Daily Times that jihadi CDs sale was illegal and that, We have given the shopkeepers June 30 deadline to wind up their illegal businesses. The ASI also said police had talked to the markets owner over the issue, and that police would take action against jihadi CDs sellers after June 30.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
But I thought the Jihadis were blowing up CD shops.
Somebody needs to tell them they could destroy their own propaganda!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/29/2007 6:28 Comments ||
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#2
Sounds like the mob and speakeasies during prohibition."Youze'll sell our stuff or youze'll get blown up."
Some of the worlds biggest companies are outraged by a website link launched by US regulators aimed at exposing which of them could be indirectly subsidising a terrorist state.
The Securities and Exchange Commission this week linked to a list of five countries Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism. By clicking on each country, investors see a list of companies that mention that country in their latest annual reports. The companies are mostly non-US and include Unilever, Cadbury, HSBC, Nokia, Siemens and Total.
Christopher Cox, SEC chairman, described the site as falling under the commissions investor-protection mission. No investor should ever have to wonder whether his or her investments or retirement savings are indirectly subsidising a terrorist haven or genocidal state.
But the companies are objecting because the list does not make clear the extent of a companys business in such states or whether they still have ties. Todd Malan, president of the Organisation for International Investment, representing 1,200 foreign companies with US listings, said: My phone has been ringing off the hook. It makes it look like they are sitting around drinking tea in Tehran and writing big cheques.
He said the list had no threshold for judging whether a company does a material level of business in a country.
Because the list linked to annual reports that could be out of date, it did not show which companies had started to divest from these states, he said. The SEC says appearing on the list does not in itself mean that the company directly or indirectly supports terrorism.
These companies have reported this information to shareholders in their regulatory filings. Thats the official record these companies have reported and that is the record this tool helps investors access. Nothing more, nothing less.
Schlumberger, the Houston-based oilfield services group, is one of 32 companies listed under Sudan. Yet since its annual report was published, it has committed to expanding its humanitarian activities in the country, says Adam Sterling, director of the Sudan Divestment Taskforce, which has persuaded 18 US states to divest from Sudan. He said the company was not on his groups list. Its [the SECs list] spun as a blacklist. Not a single company that we target for their operations in Sudan is covered by the SECs tool, he said.
By clicking on each country, investors see a list of companies that mention that country in their latest annual reports.
It is merely a tool that presents information in a novel way. The fact that people are screaming about it means that it is a good tool. Why on Earth would anyone mention North Korea in their annual corporate report?
Other positive news that the MSM feels is not important. From Water and Wastes Digest online.
U.S. military engineers have completed nearly 300 major water and sewage projects in Baghdad and across Iraq in the past few years, U.S. military officers reported.
Were proud that were continuing to reach our target of providing over 1 million cubic meters of potable water per day, said Air Force Col. Lonny Baker, water sector director for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division in Iraq. Baker is nearing the end of a six-month tour in Iraq and spoke to the media during a Baghdad news conference June 2.
Key Iraqi water-treatment facilities are now up and running in Irbil, Nasiriyah and Sadr City, as well as in numerous rural-areas, Baker said. About 290 water-treatment projects in Iraq have been completed out of a planned 400-plus, he added.
The U.S. government has provided more than $2 billion toward refurbishment of Iraqs water- and sewage-treatment infrastructure. Therere still 100 or so water projects left to complete, including well-drilling projects, pumping stations, pipelines and storage tanks, Baker said.
While our large projects are certainly important, I want to emphasis that our smaller projects are equally important, he said. There are over 70 small rural water projects that are important to those outlying communities.
Sustaining newly built or rehabilitated Iraqi water and sewage facilities is just as important as providing them, Baker said, noting it is key to the successful operation of these facilities and continuing essential services to the people of Iraq.
Iraqi managers and operators at more than 140 water and sewage facilities are slated to receive support and operations and maintenance training so that those facilities can become self-sustaining, Baker said.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/29/2007 14:04 ||
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I wish we had the support of the American people to once again stand up -- and shut Congress up on this withdrawal stuff, at least until Petraeus presents his report. Course, they have already announced, they aren't going to believe anything he says. Maybe talk radio can band together once again, and begin to get the word out about what is really beginning to happen in Iraq. At least, something needs to be done to explain what the plan is!!! Most folks I know, haven't the vaguest idea what is going on. Haven't these folks ever heard, "If at first you don't suceed, try, try again?" Yea, yea, yea, I know it all Bush's fault, so what? He has put a new plan in place, at least give it a chance to work.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are expected tomorrow to announce a new coordinated effort to force votes in July to end the Iraq war, according to Democratic insiders.
Reid has already publicly declared that Senate Democrats will offer four Iraq-related amendments to the upcoming 2008 Defense authorization bill, including a proposal by Reid and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to set a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by next spring.
Pelosi is planning to announce that the House will also vote on a bill setting a new withdrawal timetable of April 1, 2008, although the details of the proposal were still up in the air at press time, according to Democratic sources. The House will consider this proposal as a freestanding bill, said the sources.
Pelosi is also planning to force a vote on a proposal by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to repeal the 2002 use-of-force resolution for Iraq. This "deauthorization" proposal may be offered as an amendment to the 2008 Defense spending bill, which the House is scheduled to take up following the week-long July 4th recess. And just what will deauthorization accomplish?
In addition, House Democrats will push proposals to prohibit the creation of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, as well as a "readiness" initiative similar to that authored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). No permanent bases in Iraq? Isn't that why we are there?
The Webb proposal would limit deployments of U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq by requiring the Pentagon to keep military units from being sent back to Iraq until they have been stateside as long as they were in the combat zone.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the powerful Defense subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee and a leader of the anti-war movement, is planning to offer his own new measures as part of the Defense spending bill.
Pelosi has been quietly meeting with various factions within the Democratic Caucus this week on the Iraq initiative, including Blue Dog conservatives skittish about being seen as anti-military, and the Out of Iraq Caucus, whose members have pushed hard for an end to the U.S. military involvement in Iraq.
Both Pelosi and Reid have come to the conclusion that President Bush's plan for a "surge" in the number of U.S. troops inside Iraq, has failed and that Democrats, despite losing their showdown with Bush and the Republicans over the recent Iraq supplemental funding bill, must continue to force votes to end the war. Gen. David Petraeus is supposed to report back to Congress in September on the state of the "surge," but Democrats have decided not to wait for his report.
"The surge is a failure, it isn't working," said a Democratic aide familiar with the new initiative. "We just can't leave American soldiers out there dying and not do anything."
Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the leaders of the Out of Iraq Caucus attended a meeting with Pelosi, other Democratic leaders and the Blue Dog lawmakers today.
After the meeting, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Democratic leaders "are working to build a consensus" within the Caucus on the Iraq proposals, but promised votes all next month on the issue. Hoyer said no date had been scheduled at this time for any of these votes, although the Defense spending bill is set to reach the House floor in mid-July.
#1
Current operations in Iraq are meeting with measured success. The Dhimmicrats know it and are frantic to head off any good news/results. We need to bring the same pressure on congress that resulted in defeats for immigrations shamnesty and the Unfairness Doctrine. Don't wait. Get everyone you know on board and start writing / calling your reps. We're defeating our foreign enemies and it's high time we bring that same intensity to our domestic enemies.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/29/2007 11:16 Comments ||
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#2
These people have done no good at all. Either they think they are doing what is right and are ignorant, or they know what they are doing is wrong which makes them traitors. In either case, America will pay for making these people their "representatives".
I really do not feel like protecting capital hill anylonger.
President George W. Bush held up Israel as a model for defining success in Iraq, saying Thursday that the goal of the US mission in the war-ravaged Arab nation is not eliminating attacks but enabling a democracy that can function despite continuing violence.
With his Iraq policies under increasing fire from the American public and lawmakers from both parties, Bush went to the US Naval War College here to declare progress. As he pleaded for patience, his top national security aide went to Capitol Hill to meet with Republican critics.
Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, delivered a lengthy floor speech earlier this week contending that Bush's war strategy will not have time to work and that US troops should start leaving now.
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley met with Lugar and others including Republican Senator John Warner. Hadley would not discuss the meetings, but Warner said a defense policy bill that is expected to attract several war-related amendments in July was a main topic.
The White House thought it had until an expected September assessment by military commanders to deal with political fallout on the unpopular war.
But criticism is mounting now. A majority of senators now believes that troops should start coming home within the next few months. And House Republicans are calling to revive the independent Iraq Study Group to give the nation new options.
Of course - there are SIGNS OF PROGRESS in Iraq, for G*d's sake! Get those troops out NOW, before momentum builds ....
Bush sought in his speech to put the brakes on these efforts. He said that success in Iraq would usher in "a dawn of a Middle East where leaders are at peace with their own people, where children enjoy the opportunities their parents only dreamed of, and where America has new allies in the cause of freedom."
He characterized the fight in Iraq, where tensions between Shiite and Sunni factions have kept the country in a cycle of violence, as primarily one against al-Qaida forces and their use of grisly suicide attacks and car bombings to sow chaos and despair.
"They understand that sensational images are the best way to overwhelm the quiet progress on the ground," Bush said.
But in some of his plainest terms yet, he laid out how to define when the US presence in Iraq has achieved its goals.
"Our success in Iraq must not be measured by the enemy's ability to get a car bombing in the evening news," he said. "No matter how good the security, terrorists will always be able to explode a bomb on a crowded street."
He suggested Israel as a model. There, Bush said, "Terrorists have taken innocent human life for years in suicide attacks. The difference is that Israel is a functioning democracy and it's not prevented from carrying out its responsibilities. And that's a good indicator of success that we're looking for in Iraq."
It was likely to be controversial - and possibly even explosive - for Bush to set out Israel as a model for a Muslim Middle Eastern nation.
Nah - ya think?
What America is aiming for in Iraq, Bush said, is "the rise of a government that can protect its people, deliver basic services for all its citizens and function as a democracy even amid violence."
#1
I suspect Dean and faculty of Yale University may secretly be considering a revocation of that "D" in Political Science and replacing it with a full blown "F" !!!!
#2
A 'success vision' of Iraq would look a lot like Israel - an island of prosperity and advancement surrounded by backward, jealous neighbors intent on destroying it. Saying so is not politically wise.
#7
well there are no quotes in the first para....?
President George W. Bush held up Israel as a model for defining success in Iraq, saying Thursday that the goal of the US mission in the war-ravaged Arab nation is not eliminating attacks but enabling a democracy that can function despite continuing violence.
Here's the one with quotes..
There, Bush said, "Terrorists have taken innocent human life for years in suicide attacks. The difference is that Israel is a functioning democracy and it's not prevented from carrying out its responsibilities. And that's a good indicator of success that we're looking for in Iraq."
I guess what the Commander in Chief meant was that Iraq could live with a certain amt of violence...duh... so could any nation but what citizenry would want to.
btw Mr. President we don't have a Democracy here in America, We have a Federal Constitutional Republic.
I have a sad-bad feeling that President Bush never had a love of history, Our history in particular or the history of Governments or the history of Civilizations, Geography etc..
The Labor Party central committee will convene at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds on Sunday to adopt the proposal of new party chairman Ehud Barak to leave Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition if Olmert does not quit by the final Winograd Report's expected release in September or October.
The central committee decided on May 18 to reconvene three weeks after the June 12 chairmanship election to vote on leaving the coalition. Barak made a commitment during his election campaign to take Labor out of the government in a May 8 speech at Kibbutz Sdot Yam and at a June 6 press conference in which MK Ophir Paz-Pines endorsed Barak.
An official spokesman for Barak said he intended to pass a proposal to leave the government that he drafted with Paz-Pines, to honor his commitments to Paz-Pines and keep his election promise. But he said it was impossible to predict the circumstances in September or October and whether they might obligate Labor to remain in the coalition.
#1
Britain and the US have increasingly injected themselves in Israeli politics for the last 10 years or so. If that is what US aid brings with it, I'd tell us to shove it up our asses. I'm beginning to think that we are half of Israel's problem.
Former Fatah security chief Muhammed Dahlan said Wednesday that he was not surprised by Hamas's "coup" in the Gaza Strip and that he had warned various parties about the Islamic movement's plans.
He also accused Iran and Qatar of providing Hamas with hundreds of millions of dollars.
Dahlan, who is a Fatah member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, has been accused by Hamas of conspiring with the US and Israel to remove the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority unity government from power. He is also under attack from some Fatah leaders and activists who hold him responsible for the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip.
His remarks came amid growing pressure on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate with Hamas on a solution to the current crisis.
Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have advised Abbas to resume talks with Hamas leaders over the formation of a second unity government, a top PA official in Ramallah said. He told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas's position remained that there would be no dialogue with Hamas until it apologized for what it did in the Gaza Strip and withdrew its men from all the PA offices and security headquarters that they had occupied.
Hamas, for its part, welcomed Arab calls for dialogue with Fatah, but said it would not accept pre-conditions. Hamas spokesman Ayman Abu Taha said that in any case his movement was not keen on talking to a "bunch of murderers" in Fatah.
"I was not surprised by the coup in the Gaza Strip," Dahlan said. "I knew about Hamas's plans and I told different parties about this so we could try to thwart them."
Asked why the numerically superior Fatah-controlled PA security forces were rapidly defeated by Hamas, Dahlan said: "The Palestinian security establishment was never prepared for internal fighting.
"Since the beginning of the [second] intifada in 2000 our security forces faced systematic destruction by Israel. The Israelis destroyed 280 security installations in the past seven years and Hamas continued to destroy security installations before they launched their coup."
Dahlan pointed out that Hamas militiamen had raided the central prison in Gaza City and freed murderers. "They claim that they have just now liberated the Gaza Strip for the second time [after Israel's 2005 disengagement]," he said. "The Hamas men have Fatah blood on their hands. They forgot that Fatah protected them when they were being chased by Israel."
Dahlan denied that he had played any role in the Hamas-Fatah clashes that preceded the takeover, saying he had been abroad for nearly two months for surgery. "I was not in charge of security in the Gaza Strip," he said. "I was out of the country because I had to undergo surgery. This is not a personal matter because Hamas has been targeting our people and institutions over the past three years."
Dahlan lashed out at Qatar and Iran, accusing them of giving Hamas $400 million each. He also accused Qatar of turning its Al-Jazeera TV network into an organ of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
"For decades, Iran never paid the Palestinians one dollar," he said. "But they gave Hamas $400m. that went to Hamas's bank accounts, and not to the Palestinian people.
"Qatar also gave Hamas another $400m. that was used to slaughter Palestinians."
Dahlan said Iran had trained many Hamas militiamen. "Our people are the victims of regional and international meddling in our affairs," he said.
He also said that Hamas was founded with the support of Israel, to fight the PLO and Fatah. "Everyone knows that Israel established Hamas back then so that it could fight the PLO," he said. "When Hamas members were arrested back then for possession of weapons, they used to tell the Israelis that the guns were supposed to be used only against Communists and secular Palestinians."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:01 ||
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#1
"Our people are the victims of regional and international meddling in our affairs,"
He has no idea how close to the truth he is. The meddling started right after Israel's independence.
#7
*shrug* China and India will suck up the differential of all the oil they produce until further notice, Grumenk Philalzabod0723. Reduce/reuse/recycle are all good things in themselves, as are any and all supplementary fuel sources, but it seems to me defunding the backers will in the end have to be done somewhat more directly.
former foreign policy adviser to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said this week that the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip marks the "end of one party rule" in the PA, and that any future peace deal must involve the Islamist movement.
Speaking at a briefing organized by the Arab American Institute and Americans for Peace Now, Ghaith al-Omari, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, said a new situation had emerged in which Hamas was in charge in Gaza and was "there to stay."
"A new reality has come on the ground," said Omari. "[And] one thing that is very clear is that Hamas will not be dislodged from Gaza."
A new Hamas-Fatah unity government would need to be established if there were to be any chance of peace, he said. "If Hamas feels that they have no stake in this peace process, they will and they can be major spoilers. All it takes is a few terror attacks in Israel to derail the peace process," Omari said. It was necessary to involve Hamas in the government because if it did not have the power it felt it deserved, it would resort to "military" means to acquire it, he said. "Any new arrangement that is going to be stable has to bring in Hamas in both the security sector and the political sector, but with the right conditions," he said.
In the meantime, Omari said the international community must strengthen Abbas's new emergency government under Prime Minister Salaam Fayad to contain Hamas to Gaza. In addition, he said Hamas must be "squeezed a little" in order to send the message that "taking over by violence doesn't pay."
Omari said that when negotiating over Gaza in the immediate future, when no PA unity government exists, the United States and Israel must speak to Abbas - not Hamas. "As for who you talk to right now, absolutely, completely, without any reservation, it has to be Abu Mazen [Abbas]," said Omari. "If you talk to Hamas right now it will be rewarding them in an unprecedented way for what happened in Gaza."
Hamas's victory in Gaza has dispelled two common misconceptions, Omari said. The first was the belief that Hamas's role in Palestinian affairs could be minimized through military force. The second misconception Hamas's victory dispelled, according to Omari, was that Hamas could rule Gaza by itself. "We are already seeing some signs of their confusion," said Omari, who cited Hamas's promise to release BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, and their subsequent inability, or unwillingness, to do so as proof of such. "We are seeing that Hamas's 'good intentions' are going to hit reality and soon they will realize that they will have to change their approach," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"If Hamas feels that they have no stake in this peace process, they will and they can be major spoilers. All it takes is a few terror attacks in Israel to derail the peace process,"
How can you give someone a stake in something they consider treason to a sacred cause? And there have been scores of terror attacks in Israel and yet for years "the peace process" has resolutely marched on to nowhere. Is production of such nonsense how one becomes a senior fellow at a Washington think tank? Seems so.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
06/29/2007 0:55 Comments ||
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#3
As for who you talk to right now, absolutely, completely, without any reservation, it has to be Abu Mazen [Abbas]," said Omari. "If you talk to Hamas right now it will be rewarding them in an unprecedented way for what happened in Gaza."
#4
I don't follow his logic. If the Manson family took over a camp site in Death Valley, I don't think the act would necessitate negotiations. The is absolutely nothing in Gaza that any rational person would want. We just have to make sure that nobody important diplomats crash lands into Gaza. If somebody does, then it's time to ask Kurt Russell to dig his eyepatch out of his sock drawer.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/29/2007 21:11 Comments ||
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Senior Fatah official, Saeb Erekat said that the only Palestinian partner for negotiating with Israel was PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Army Radio reported. "We have one government and one president, even though we are not currently in control of Gaza," Erekat said in a Jerusalem conference.
Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, who also spoke at the conference, said that "Israel and Hamas have something in common, because it too is not ready for a final status agreement."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad delivered a stern warning Thursday to hundreds of Islamic preachers, including Hamas supporters, saying his government will not tolerate incitement in mosques and plans to collect the weapons of militants.
Fayad's meeting with some 800 Muslim clergy marked the latest attempt to stem the influence of Hamas in the West Bank, following the Islamists' violent takeover of Gaza earlier this month. Security forces have arrested dozens of Hamas activists in the West Bank, and President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to dry up funding to Hamas with a review of all private organizations.
The Palestinians said their crackdown on Hamas was complicated by Israel's hunt for gunmen from Abbas' Fatah movement in the West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday. "We view this aggression as a way to undermine our efforts to provide security and end the chaos," Fayad said.
Israel described it as a routine operation targeting militants involved in plots to carry out attacks, and said troops found weapons and explosives in Nablus. Five Israeli soldiers were wounded by bombs as they moved from home to home through the densely populated Old City. Tens of thousands of residents were confined to their homes by a curfew.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised to bolster Abbas' government in his struggle with Hamas. Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said the Israeli government is committed to working with Abbas, but would not risk the safety of its own citizens. "We will go forward with full strength to strengthen Abbas, and full strength to stop the terror," she said.
Earlier this week, Abbas issued a decree barring militants from carrying weapons, but it's doubtful he'll be able to disarm Fatah's violent offshoot, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Fatah gunmen said they need their weapons for future confrontations with Hamas and Israel, and will not surrender them. Previous attempts to collect illegal weapons ended in failure.
In his meeting with clergymen Thursday, Fayyad was accompanied by Abbas' top security official, Interior Minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh. "We will collect weapons and replace them with pens and books," the minister told the crowd. "The phenomenon of militants is very dangerous, and we want to stop it in all forms."
Fayad told the preachers to take politics out of their sermons. "We won't allow them (mosques) to be turned into places of incitement and intimidation," he said. "It's the responsibility of men of religion to ... present religion as a way of tolerance, not as a cover for bloodshed."
Hamas is influential in many mosques in the West Bank and Gaza, and has been using Friday sermons as a vehicle for spreading its hardline message. Preachers have also been actively involved in politics. In Nablus, seven of eight Hamas members of parliament are preachers, said Suhair al-Dubai, a moderate clergyman from the city.
"The government has realized how important the mosques are in forming and leading public opinion," said al-Dubai, who attended the meeting with Fayad. "But Hamas is very well organized in mosques ... The government can restrict them, but not eliminate them because they are part of a structure and can always find a way to play a political role.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
We won't allow them (mosques) to be turned into places of incitement and intimidation," he said. "It's the responsibility of men of religion to ... present religion as a way of tolerance, not as a cover for bloodshed."
Ten years too late!!!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
06/29/2007 11:09 Comments ||
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#3
this is an excellent statement, lets see if they really implement it
Israel and the Palestinian Authority are discussing implementing a clause from a 2005 understanding whereby Israel would stop pursuing wanted terror suspects in the West Bank if they forswear terrorism, government officials said Thursday.
The officials' comments came as Israel went after Fatah terror suspects in Nablus. Even though Israel was making gestures to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement, it would continue to pursue those actively involved in terrorism, regardless of their organizational affiliation, the officials said.
The idea of forgoing the pursuit of wanted men if they renounce terrorism was part of the Sharm e-Sheikh understandings that were reached between Abbas and then-prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2005. It was agreed then to discuss the issue, but nothing was ever implemented.
Following Monday's meeting in Sharm e-Sheikh, this issue was again placed on the agenda for security-level discussions that have started up again between Israeli and PA officials.
The discussions on the issue, according to the sources, were still very much in the preliminary stages.
The security follow-up group is also discussing allowing the Jordan-based Badr Brigade - a force made up of a few thousand longtime PLO men - to enter the West Bank, as well as examining the possibility of moving the main cargo crossing to the Gaza Strip from Karni in the north to Kerem Shalom in the south.
In addition to discussing security issues, Israel and PA officials are continuing talks on how to transfer some $400 million in frozen tax revenues to the PA. Government officials said that while Israel holds some $600m. of the revenue, about $200m. cannot be immediately released because of court cases pending against the PA for nonpayment to Israeli companies. Once a mechanism for transferring the funds is set up, Israel is expected to free up the money in stages.
The cabinet on Sunday will vote on whether to release 250 Fatah security prisoners, as Olmert said he would recommend. The cabinet will also decide on the criteria for release, though Olmert has already made clear that they would not be prisoners with "blood on their hands."
If, as expected, the proposal for the prisoner release passes, security officials will prepare a list of names. This list will then be published, giving people 48 hours to file objections in court. If the objections are dismissed, the prisoners could be released immediately.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The new Palestinian government is seeking "intensive and active cooperation" with Israel to ensure that the chaos that recently gripped Gaza does not re-emerge in the West Bank, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told CNN on Thursday.
"We have sent that message [to Israel], and we are waiting to get started with this," Fayyad said in his first interview with a Western network since he was appointed to the post more than a week ago.
Fayyad rejected the notion that his stance on dealing with Israel might be seen by some Palestinians as collaborating with the occupying force in the West Bank. "I have thick skin when it comes to these characterizations," he said. "They don't matter in the least; it doesn't concern me.
"I know what I want to do, I know what the mission is -- to serve the interests of the Palestinian people."
Fayyad said security is a top priority, and he cautioned Palestinians not to use armed resistance as the only way to fight for an independent state. "It's about time that we know what works and what doesn't work," he said. "And it's not enough to stop at statements and pronouncements like, 'Resistance is [the] right of any occupied people.'
"We certainly are [occupied], and that certainly is a right. But I think we have to have some sense of what has happened over the past ... seven, eight years.
"Simple, basic question: Are we better off now than we were then? Then, the situation was not great, but guess what it is like today? It's catastrophic."
Fayyad vowed to crack down on weapons in the hands of Palestinian civilians. "Guns and arms are exclusively the property of the official agencies of the ... Palestinian National Authority, meaning that no more will guns out of the purview of the national authority ... be tolerated."
He said that the recent division among Palestinians has "destroyed" the vision of a Palestinian state. "This is complete chaos," he said. "Anyone resisting, however which way they want, whenever they want, from wherever they want, is that resistance? That has destroyed our national project completely."
Fayyad hopes to get the process toward "an independent Palestinian state living side by side with the state of Israel" back on track through peaceful means.
Although Fayyad is a political independent, he was appointed by Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas following Hamas' recent military seizure of Gaza. Fayyad denied there are two Palestinian governments, saying the previous Hamas leaders are "not legitimate under our basic law." Hamas leaders have said the same thing about Fayyad and his government.
Despite strong backing from the United States and the European Union -- which had cut off funding to the Palestinian government after Hamas' victory last year -- the new government has a long way to go to shed the image of corruption that surrounds Abbas' Fatah party.
Fayyad acknowledged that a key goal of his government is "an entirely different mind-set" in approaching the problems that the Palestinian people face. "What really matters to me now the most -- before money, before anything else -- is a change in attitude," Fayyad said. "If we continue in this nickel-and-dime approach to dealing with the issues, I'm afraid we are never going to get anywhere, because that has been what has been happening over the past 13, 14 years." Sounds good , but I wonder if he can't make a dent in a land full of knuckleheads.
Posted by: Snereck de Medici6366 ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Change the television shows, control the mosque sermons, and for God's sake fix the bloody textbooks! Then we'll believe real change is happening... until PM Fayyad is assassinated, at least.
#2
Abbas did say today that clerics who incite violence would not be tolerated - though I think uppermost on his mind was inciting pro-Hamas violence against the new govt, more than anti-Israel violence.
Myself, if they continued to arrest Hamasniks, and to work on disarming Hamas, and even AAMB, I think that warrants corresponding support from Israel. Sure we want the textbooks changed, but Rome wasnt built in a day.
I think Israel should welcome the offer of cooperation.
The first Sadat-type leader that the Palestinians produce who is not assassinated forthwith will be the one who can lead them back toward the light of civilization. The Israelis have always shown a desire for constructive cooperation.
Unfortunately, the entire Palestinian society is so dedicated to raising the next generation of jihadists that it might take decades. They have to focus on changing their culture before any external political progress can occur.
About 300 Islamic opposition party activists staged peaceful protests outside the British and U.S. embassies in Malaysia on Friday, denouncing London's decision to grant a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie and Washington's policies in the Middle East.
Dozens of riot police backed by a water cannon-equipped truck guarded Kuala Lumpur's diplomatic enclave, as members of the fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, or PAS, the country's main opposition group, marched to the British High Commission following afternoon prayers at a nearby mosque. Protesters spent 15 minutes outside the building, chanting slogans such as "Crush Salman Rushdie" and waving posters that read "Unite for Islam," "Death penalty for Salman" and "Salman Rushdie Get Lost From This World." One poster bore a caricature of Rushdie with horns on his head.
It was the second time that PAS has protested outside the British mission over the knighthood decision. Muslims also have demonstrated over the issue in London, Pakistan and Iran.
PAS members also rallied for 20 minutes outside the U.S. Embassy, shouting "Down with Bush!" and "Crush America!" PAS official Salbiah Abdul Wahab said the U.S. was trying to dominate Muslim countries and was interfering "all over the world."
Posted by: ryuge ||
06/29/2007 08:36 ||
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Unrest spread in Tehran on Thursday, the second day of gasoline rationing in oil-rich Iran, with drivers lining up for miles, gas stations being set on fire and state-run banks and business centers coming under attack. Dozens were arrested, and the Tehran police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, complained to reporters that the police had been caught unaware by the decision to ration fuel.
The anger posed a keen threat to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was elected two years ago on a platform of bringing income from oil to the nation's households. Instead, even though Iran is one of the world's largest producers of crude oil, it has been forced to import about 40 percent of its gasoline at an annual cost of $5 billion to make up for shortfalls in its archaic refining industry.
Some analysts said the decision to ration gasoline was intended to prepare for the possibility of more United Nations economic sanctions as a result of concern over Iran's nuclear program. "Iran's dependence on imported gasoline has been a focus of international debate over future sanctions," according to the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultant. "Rationing will reduce Iran's vulnerability, and Iran's leadership explicitly mentioned this goal in commenting on the measure," it said. Saeed Leylaz, an economist and political analyst in Tehran, said, "The high gasoline consumption has made Iran very vulnerable, and this is a security decision now."
"We are importing gasoline from 16 different countries," he said. "The country would be on the verge of collapse if they suddenly decide not to sell us gasoline. The government has to find a way to lower the consumption."
In Washington on Thursday, leaders of a bipartisan House panel, led by Representative Mark Steven Kirk, Republican of Illinois, and Representative Robert Andrews, Democrat of New Jersey, proposed legislation intended to punish any company that provides Iran with gasoline or helps it import gasoline after Dec. 31. Such a company could lose its access to American customers through sanctions.
The Iranian government had planned for a year to ration gasoline but had postponed the move, fearing unrest. Iran offers the highest subsidies for gasoline in the region, buying foreign gasoline for slightly more than $2 a gallon, according to official figures, and offering it for 34 cents a gallon. "Iran is in a bind," said Vera de Ladoucette, an energy analyst with Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Paris. "They have acted too late and too harshly."
According to de Ladoucette, Iran is also seeking to increase its gasoline production and has outlined plans to spend $18 billion by 2012 to increase its refining capacity by 1.5 million barrels a day from about 1.6 million. The government's plan is to build four refineries and expand older ones. But, she added, it is unlikely to achieve that goal by 2012. "The problem will be financing all this," she said.
Parliament voted last month to increase the price of gasoline to 64 cents a gallon. It said that its studies showed that the move would lead to a decline in the consumption. But Ahmadinejad rejected the proposal and decided to proceed with rationing. The price of subsidized gasoline was raised by 25 percent last month. The new regulation allows private cars 26 gallons of gasoline a month for 34 cents a gallon. Taxis are allowed 211 gallons a month.
Despite a warning to the local news media to avoid reporting the unrest caused by rationing, newspapers continued to criticize the decision. The daily Etemad Melli wrote that public transportation had been insufficient to move stranded people on streets since Wednesday, when rationing took effect. "The question is if our dear officials enjoy or benefit from causing such unexpected difficulties," it wrote.
Five gallons of gasoline has been selling for $15 in the black market in Zahedan, in the southeast, the daily Seday-e-Edalat reported. The Web site Norouz reported that riots had erupted in Ilam on the eastern border and that people had attacked a gas station in Shiraz in the south.
Longstanding discount prices have encouraged gasoline consumption in Iran, where many people believe that the vast oil resources make cheap gasoline a basic right. "There is no reason why we should pay the same price as people outside Iran do," said Amir Aram, a carpenter in Tehran. "We have all this oil beneath our feet and have to wait for hours in line to get our ration."
Some fear rationing could make inflation worse. Many people are dependent on their vehicles as a source of income, and many jobless people or low income government employees use their private cars as taxis.
Ahmadinejad is facing growing discontent over his economic policies and is being blamed for failing to deliver on his promises to improve the economy. He suffered a setback last December when he lost local elections, and he faces crucial parliamentary elections in March.
"The government will have to back down or face consequences," said Ehsan Mohammadi, 32, who uses his motorcycle to work as a delivery man. "There are many people like me, and we cannot support our families with rationed gasoline."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/29/2007 10:30 ||
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Link ||
[6 views]
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#4
"We are importing gasoline from 16 different countries," he said. "The country would be on the verge of collapse if they suddenly decide not to sell us gasoline.
Hint, Hint, Hint, there's a huge opportunity here troopies, go for it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/29/2007 20:38 Comments ||
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A confidential letter to Secretary General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah from Hassan Akhtari Iran's Ambassador to Syria torpedoed Moussa's mission to resolve the political crises of Lebanon.
According to reliable sources of Al Seyassah newspaper, a confidential letter that reached Nasrallah , from the Iranian ambassador in Damascus led to the last minute coup against a compromise formula to solve the Lebanese crisis, that has been reached between the Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa and the various Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah during several meetings last week in Beirut.
The sources said that this confidential communication came after an urgent meeting was held in Damascus during the visit to Lebanon by Amr Moussa. The Damascus meeting brought together Iranian ambassador to Syria, and Syrian Gen. Mohamed Nasif who is responsible for handling Hezbollah file. During the meeting they discussed the negative repercussions that may affect the interests of Syria and Iran in Lebanon and the region in the event of the success of Moussa's mission in reaching a compromise formula to resolve the political crisis in Lebanon.
The two officials reached a conclusion that the time is on the side of Hezbollah and the opposition, and that there is no room now, especially with the upcoming presidential elections in Lebanon for any reconciliation even if the parliamentary majority shows flexibility and waives its known objections and conditions for a settlement.
He said the two officials also concluded that their countries began to harvest the results of their strategic policies in the region, particularly in Lebanon and Palestine, and the two countries have managed to strengthen their standing in the region. The Iranian ambassador said that his country managed to turn into a major force in the Gulf. He pointed to a very lukewarm response by the Gulf states on the statements of military advisor of the Iranian leader , Ali Shamkhani, in which he threatened to bomb the U.S. military bases in these countries if the United States launched an attack on Iran.
Akhtari said the recent statements of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu El Ghait against his country, have angered Tehran greatly . He said that President Bashar al-Assad was not mistaken when he described Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah as half men.
Gen. Nasif in turn said" the entire world now knows that the road to peace and stability in Lebanon , Iraq and Palestine must pass through the Gate of Damascus" .
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah. It wuz...the letter! That's it!
Right. Jerry Lewis and the Arab League couldn't run a three man circle jerk.
Iran's state broadcaster will launch a 24-hour English-language satellite news channel next week to rival dominant Western services, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.
Tehran-based PRESS TV, staffed by both Iranians and foreigners, is scheduled to start broadcasting from Tehran on Monday, and will seek to compete against the likes of CNN and BBC World, Nader Rad, head of live programming, told Reuters.
"The news is mostly covered by the Western media. We would like to have a say in this," Rad said. "They (Western outlets) don't usually cover the whole story ... The news about Iraq does not cover all perspectives. The news about Palestine and Beirut is also like this,"
Rad said Britons and Americans were among those working for the new channel, some based in Tehran. PRESS TV had journalists in Washington, New York, London, Beirut and Damascus, and was planning to have staff in Baghdad and Cairo, he said.
The PRESS TV Web site (www.presstv.ir) said one of the goals was "to break the global media stranglehold of Western outlets." It also said the channel wanted to "bridge cultural divisions."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regularly rails against the West for seeking to impose its policies on the rest of the world. Iran is embroiled in a row with the West which accuses Tehran of seeking nuclear bombs, a charge Tehran denies.
The Iranian channel faces an increasingly crowded field of English-language satellite channels after last year's launch of Al Jazeera International by the Qatar-based broadcaster and France 24, which promised a "French vision".
Iran's state broadcaster already runs the Arabic-language satellite channel Al-Alam and the Persian-language Jaam-e Jam.
Officially ordinary Iranians cannot see any of these channels at home because satellite dishes are banned. In practice, the ban is only sporadically enforced and such dishes are plainly visible on rooftops in Tehran and elsewhere.
Rad said PRESS TV would carry news bulletins, talk shows and documentaries, some of which would be bought from abroad.
"It is a state-owned channel but it is not managed by the state. It has its own guidelines," Rad said but would not give further details about editorial policy
Posted by: lotp ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The news about Iraq does not cover all perspectives
Apparently even the Iranians have noticed the liberal slant of the MSM.
Iran's top security body has ordered local journalists not to report on problems caused by petrol rationing, a day after its surprise introduction.
Angry motorists have reacted violently to the curbs, attacking up to 19 petrol stations in the capital, Tehran.
There are still long queues outside filling stations.
The authorities switched off the mobile text messaging system in Tehran overnight to prevent motorists from organising more protests.
The authorities switched off the mobile text messaging system in Tehran overnight to prevent motorists from organising more protests.
The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran said that many Iranians are already on edge because of a recent sharp rise in the cost of living.
During Wednesday's unrest, motorists threw stones and shouted slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Despite the ban on negative reporting by Iran's security council, reformist papers are still complained about the abrupt way in which it was announced, saying even the police chief and the petrol station owners were not aware of the move.
Hardline papers have advised motorists not to use their personal cars too much and to share vehicles in order to save petrol.
And to make it harder to band together against the regime - or to flee.
Iranian TV initially did not mention the unrest and mostly interviewed people who said they supported the rationing.
Although the daily allowance is just over three litres, motorists can take their whole month's allowance of 100 litres in one go.
This has caused confusion with some drivers who wrongly believed that the rationing had not started yet and rushing to fill up their tanks, our correspondent says.
Posted by: lotp ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey, here's the first story they can put on their new English-language Iranian news channel!
I went and looked up the study; sure enough it's a tranzi taqiyyah whitewash sponsored by...the University of Maryland. Feh. Linky.
The US media has been accused of misrepresenting the nature of events in the post-9/11 era by employing misleading terms and phraseology, without distinguishing between state terrorism, such as that formerly practised by the Taliban, and terrorism by distinctive terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda or Lashkar-e-Taiba. In breaking stories, reporters too often used a range of terms interchangeably in a single article, among them "terrorist," "militant" and "extremist," disregarding real differences in tactics, motives, history, politics and culture among the groups.
The study, titled "The 'Good' Muslims: US Newspaper Coverage of Pakistan," released by the International Centre for Media and the Public Agenda, says that top American newspapers continue to contribute to public confusion over the perception of the global terrorist risk, even as more than five years have passed since the WTC attack.
Susan Moeller, who writes for online site YaleGlobal, says in the study that when reporters from non-American news outlets write about the Bush administration's "War on Terror," they typically place the words in quotation marks to indicate a distance from the White House's political rhetoric. But most mainstream media in the US use the phrase as generically as the words World War II or the Vietnam War.
The Daily Times quoted the study as saying that American journalists too often failed to challenge the President's representation of the dimensions and immediacy of the terrorist threat. The language that the White House chose to tell its story was the default way the events were described. And, the papers' use of American officials as their key sources further reinforced the Bush administration's politicised packaging of events.
Pakistan has received a fair amount of attention in the US press due to such reports. And, audiences are taught to be afraid. The study found that newspapers, in breaking stories, as well as in editorials and op-eds, too readily conflated different kinds of terrorism. Articles did not adequately distinguish between state terrorism, such as that formerly practised by the Taliban, and terrorism by distinctive terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda or Lashkar-e-Taiba, the paper reported. The study analysed news coverage by 13 major US newspapers over two time periods: September 11, 2001, to December 31, 2002, and January 1, 2006, to January 15, 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"US media unclear on terrorism phraseology post-9/11: Study"
There - fixed.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/29/2007 0:18 Comments ||
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#2
top American newspapers continue to contribute to public confusion
Right, but not just with respect to the War on Terror.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/29/2007 6:37 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Experts testifying before a congressional committee on Wednesday agreed that the AQ Khan network is no longer in existence. The hearing by the subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, headed by Gerry Ackerman of New York, and the subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade, was devoted to the theme: US policy and Pakistans nuclear weapons. The three witnesses who presented testimonies and answered questions were: David Albright of the Institute of Science and Technology, Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London and Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation.
Lal Masjid students on Thursday threatened more abductions if illegal and un-Islamic activities continued in Islamabad, Dawn News reported. The channel said Lal Masjid clerics threatened to kidnap Pakistanis and foreigners shrugging off the presence of rangers and police contingents outside the mosque. The channel reported Ghazi Abdur Rasheed of Lal Masjid as denying that the madrassa administration had declared suicide attacks legal. Only in case of attack, we will defend ourselves, and suicide attacks can be the last option in self-defence, he added. 
Many people like to purchase jihadi CDs from the Karkhano Market, where a large number of shopkeepers are doing this business. The demand for jihadi CDs increases in Ramazan, Attihad, a shopkeeper at Karkhano Market, told Daily times. Attihad said once a foreigner came to his shop and bought the whole stock of jihadi CDs available at his shop. I sell 20 to 25 cassettes, cost ranging from Rs 30 to 60, on a daily basis, he added. 
Former Fatah security chief Muhammed Dahlan said Wednesday that he was not surprised by Hamas's "coup" in the Gaza Strip and that he had warned various parties about the Islamic movement's plans. 
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad delivered a stern warning Thursday to hundreds of Islamic preachers, including Hamas supporters, saying his government will not tolerate incitement in mosques and plans to collect the weapons of militants. 
A confidential letter to Secretary General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah from Hassan Akhtari Iran's Ambassador to Syria torpedoed Moussa's mission to resolve the political crises of Lebanon. 
Iran's top security body has ordered local journalists not to report on problems caused by petrol rationing, a day after its surprise introduction. 
