A performing bear mauled two Moscow theatre workers to death and wounded another after he broke out of his cage overnight, police said. The bear, named Dodon and a star attraction in the Russian capitalâs famed animal theatre Ugolok Durova, became enraged and fatally attacked 33-year-old Umar Zakirov, the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted police officials as saying. He then set upon Zakirovâs colleague Shedov Timur, 32, who also met an untimely end. A third theatre worker was bitten on the wrist.
"The bear tore two people to pieces and wounded a third," a police spokesman said, adding that the beast was now back in its cage. The bear will be back to work soon, heâs harder to replace than theater workers in Russia.
Ugolok Durova is one of the most popular attactions for children in the Russian capital. "Letâs go see the bear show, maybe heâll eat somebody else."
"Oh boy, thanks Mom."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 8:52:44 AM ||
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Doooode, if I ever go to Moscow there is no way in hell I'm going to the theater. Bad **** always seems to happen there.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/04/2003 9:22 Comments ||
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The Ursis Liberation Front strikes again.
Posted by: john ||
12/04/2003 11:12 Comments ||
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Was the bear seething too? Did he feel humiliated and oppressed?
#4
I checked on a Russian site, lenta.ru (sorry, in Russian, so no link) - only one man is killed, Zakirov, the second (animal coach Shedov) is said will be released from the hospital about Dec.18, and the bear will be sent to the Zoo, no more shows for him.
You can visit the Moscow theaters anytime, guys - no worries.
Just an example of "lost in translation" sort of thing
EFL - Farouz blogging from Zayedâs site is the author I think
... this starts with a story about a boy who made a difference by rescuing starfish
Leslye A. Arsht, Senior Advisor to The Ministry of Education in Iraq as a starfish thrower... From reading her comments, you would find out how we were brainwashed from early years at elementary school. It will take some time to remove all references to the old regime and its poisonous teaching.
Another starfish thrower is the medical team at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel. They are treating an Iraqi infant born with a congenital heart defect. If the Iraqi old regime still existed, this baby would have never made it to the operation room in this medical center.
The other starfish throwers are: Zeyad, Alaa, Omar, AYS and Nabil who are devoting lots of their time every day to report whatâs happening in Iraq these days. These guys are the future of my native country. Not to forget Salam PAX who risked his life to report for us during Saddamâs reign and now is enjoying the benefits of freedom.
Personally I dislike starfish and I think we could do without them but I get the point and besides, the fact that he can admit his early employment, recognize Salam PAX and Israel in the same post is pretty amazing
Posted by: mhw ||
12/04/2003 8:28:11 AM ||
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Ok, somebody has to ask. What the hell is a starfish thrower?
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 9:39 Comments ||
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It's the old story about a boy walking along the beach throwing starfish into the ocean. He can't save them all, but he'll save the ones he can.
Posted by: lkl ||
12/04/2003 10:01 Comments ||
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Steve I found an explanation here.
It's the story of a young man explaining to an older man why he is throwing starfish back into the ocean. Each starfish that he rescued from the ebb tide and rising sun made a difference. If only to that one creature.
EFL
With a trio of guilty verdicts yesterday, the U.N. tribunal for Rwanda has established that men armed only with words can commit genocide. Now -- where do we file against the Palestinian school books and plays as well as the Hamas Declaration of Principles?
"This is the first time that journalists have been convicted for their participation in genocide, and I think itâs a wake-up call to hatemongers everywhere that they canât incite people to commit genocide or ethnic cleansing," said Reed Brody, legal counsel to Human Rights Watch. "If you fan the flames, youâll have to face the consequences." All three defendants said they were protected by freedom of speech. But Judge Pillay noted in her decision that it was "critical to distinguish between the discussion of ethnic consciousness and ethnic hatred." Whatâs good for Rwanda should be good for Palestine as well.
Actually, I have large trouble with this as worded. The way it's stated, it trivializes genocide, the way Voices in the Wilderness trivialized WMDs when they equated sanctions with them. The definition becomes distorted, eventually losing all shape, until it's meaningless. The concept's formed illogically, so even though the end result is correct, the implications for future decisions along the same lines are bad â the "good decisions making bad law" syndrome.
If I tell you you're ugly, that your Mom wears combat boots, and that your sister gives change, I haven't assaulted you. My offense lies in the realm of civil discourse, and you're justified in making similar remarks about my looks and my family, but not in poking me in the eye.
On the other hand, if I make similar remarks to a mob and attribute the cause for your social lacks to your ethnicity, religion, hair color, or what have you, and suggest it would be a ducky idea for the mob to hang you, burn your house down, and steal your worldly goods, that's incitement, not civil discourse. Incitement's no more covered by the concept of "free speech" (something our domestic Muslim organizations forget) than is lynching, arson, or robbery. The speaker is equally culpable with those who actually do the crimes. Just ask Julius Streicher, or Doctor Ley.
But words aren't genocide. Hacking people to death with machetes in large numbers is. Gassing them is. Herding them into camps and shooting them to death is.
Posted by: SamIII ||
12/04/2003 8:09:34 AM ||
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Guys, the next application of this will NOT be against the PA. I'm thinking they'll try to apply it to someone or some organization in the US.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/04/2003 8:22 Comments ||
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RC, Unfortunately you are probably correct. Look for this to be brought out after the next school shooting (as long as its by a conservative) - they will attempt to apply this to 'Talk Radio' or one of the other alledged 'hate-mongering' press.
Do you think this will be applied to Palistine by the UN - who cant bring itself to condem a deliberate act of murder against inncent civilians?
Now that would definately set off my suprise meter!
#4
In this particular case, it wasn't as abstract as all that. These thugs were broadcasting specific incitements to the genocide, including specific names of those to be killed. I don't doubt some nitwit will try to overgeneralize, but it will be a real stretch from what happened here.
#5
"words aren't genocide." Factually correct but beside the point. There have always been specific limits to free speech. Even a staunch constitutionalist like Hugo Black agreed that you couldn't cry "fire" in a crowded theater. If you do and someone dies, you've committed manslaughter. If you're a member of the KKK and scream "kill the n*ggers and the Jews", you've incited to riot, and if someone dies, you can be held accountable. If you blatently advocate killing tens of thousands of people, you've incited to genocide. If people die, you should be hung from the nearest tree.
Of course, this ruling will never be applied to the palestinians, only the israelis who fight back in self defense.
#6
I think this decision is at odds with current US law. Under Brandenburg v. Ohioa 1969 Supreme Court case and Collin v. Smith a seventh circuit panel decision, you have a right to spew hatred against a group. But directing people to commit specific acts of violence is not protected speech.
Saying that Hitler should have finished all the Jews is not something the state may forbid or proscribe. But putting up posters with the name and addresses of named individuals accompanied with instructions about killing is no part of free expression.
#7
Still a narrow line that can in fact be crossed. "Hitler should have killed all the jews" expresses a personal opinion and is protected, no matter whether you agree or not. "There's a jew named Nauman living down at 23 Chestnut St. Go get cans of gasoline and a rope and burn him out and lynch him", isn't protected. A direct verbal threat of bodily harm against someone is considered assault, even if you never lay a finger on the person.
I know, I know, Fred said keep âem short, but you need to get the er, flavor of this one. Lightly EFL.
To the family next door, Armin Meiwes seemed the perfect neighbour. He mowed their lawn, repaired their car and even invited them round for dinner. "He was a quiet man."
Other residents in the small German town of Rotenburg also believed there was nothing odd about the 42-year-old computer expert, whose light burned late into the night inside his creaking mansion. Yesterday, however, Meiwes appeared in court charged with killing - and then frying and eating - a 43-year-old Berlin engineer, Bernd Brandes. It was, he said, something he had wanted to do for a long time. "I always had the fantasy and in the end I fulfilled it," Meiwes told the court on the first day of his trial for murder. "My life is complete [burp]."
The desire grew stronger after the death of his mother in 1999, prosecutor Marcus Köhler said. Mutti dearest!
In March 2001 Meiwes advertised on the internet for a "young well-built man, who wanted to be eaten". Brandes replied. On the evening of March 9, the two men went up to the bedroom in Meiwesâ rambling timbered farmhouse. Mr Brandes swallowed 20 sleeping tablets and half a bottle of schnapps before Meiwes cut off Brandesâ penis, with his agreement, and fried it for both of them to eat. There was enough for two?
Brandes - by this stage bleeding heavily - then took a bath, while Meiwes read a Star Trek novel. A Good Day to Die?
In the early hours of the morning, he finished off his victim by stabbing him in the neck with a large kitchen knife, kissing him first. The cannibal then chopped Mr Brandes into pieces and put several bits of him in his freezer, next to a takeaway pizza, and buried the skull in his garden. Over the next few weeks, he defrosted and cooked parts of Mr Brandes in olive oil and garlic, eventually consuming 20kg of human flesh before police finally turned up at his door. "With every bite, my memory of him grew stronger," he said. As did the smell.
Behind bars, Meiwes told detectives that he had consumed his victim with a bottle of South African red wine, had got out his best cutlery and decorated his dinner table with candles. He tasted of chicken pork, he added. Must not have been a Muslim.
The unprecedented case has proved problematic for German lawyers who discovered that cannibalism is not illegal in Germany. Ohfergawdsakes!
Before setting off on his one-way journey to Rotenburg, Brandes was, outwardly at least, a successful, financially secure professional, with a live-in girlfriend. The girlfriend, Bettina L, told German TV that she had enjoyed a healthy sex life with Brandes but they had split up after he revealed that he also liked cannibalistic men with fine cutlery. Well yeah, canât fault her there.
In fact, prosecutors said yesterday, Brandes was suffering from a severe psychiatric disorder and "a strong desire for self-destruction". "Legume! I have the answer! The victim had a death wish!"
"Brilliant, boss, brilliant!"
Yesterday Meiwes told the court that he had felt lonely and neglected as a child after his father walked out on the family. He had fantasised about having a blond "younger brother", who he could keep forever by "consuming him". I once met "The God Jupiter" when I did my psych rotation as a medical student.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2003 1:49:16 AM ||
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The desire grew stronger after the death of his mother in 1999, prosecutor Marcus Köhler said.
My God, do you know what this means? Monty Python was prophetic!
And cannibalism is not illegal?????? Dude, he ATE a guy! If that is not illegal, what the heck is wrong with you? (Actually probably something that never came up before. One does not have to pass laws preventing folks from not doing things they never do.)
Posted by: Ben ||
12/04/2003 5:20 Comments ||
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Maybe he was just disoriented from the pills and schnapps, and sarcastically said: "eat me". Just a parable - be careful what you say to a cannibal
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/04/2003 7:50 Comments ||
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The case has proved problematic to German lawyers??? Apparently cutting off his penis and stabbing him in the neck before cutting him up in tiny pieces was not enough for this German cannibal to find himself in hot water.
Note to all American serial killers - move to Germany.
#5
I thought of Googling "young well-built man, who wanted to be eaten" but I don't want to know. Gives a whole new meaning to "Bite me!"
Posted by: john ||
12/04/2003 11:38 Comments ||
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Well now, this was rather disgusting. And the part about Brandes eating his own penis, absolutely brilliant. I sense a CBS Movie Special in the near future.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/04/2003 12:59 Comments ||
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#7
Autophagic fellows, nicht war?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/04/2003 15:52 Comments ||
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Ya don't see this stuff on "Thirty Minute Meals"...
Not as close as the AP would have liked, but they try. EFL:
Suspected Islamic militants fired a rocket into a field next to the U.S. Embassy here Thursday, Afghan authorities said. The blast occurred less than two hours after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld left the Afghan capital. By AP standards, they just missed.
There were no reports of injuries in the 6:15 p.m. explosion about 300 yards from the embassy compound, and 100 yards from the headquarters of international peacekeepers in Kabul. Well, by Afghan standards, 300 yards was on target.
"We are reviewing our security posture," a spokesman at the heavily fortified embassy said. He spoke on condition of anonymity and declined further comment. "Go away, Iâll get back to you if they hit something besides a empty field."
The blast underlined the violence plaguing Afghanistan two years after a U.S.-led offensive swept the Taliban regime from power and heightened tension in Kabul ahead of a loya jirga, or grand council, next week to ratify a constitution. "All is lost! Quagmire! Vietnam! Attica, Attica, Attica!"
Thursdayâs blast echoed around the city, drawing swarms of Afghan police and soldiers to an expanse of newly tilled field next to the U.S. Embassy compound. Security officials walked the field with flashlights. One emerged from the darkness holding a piece of shrapnel he said was from a small rocket. Reporters were evicted before the impact site could be found. "Itâs a coverup! We demand to see the crater!"
"Ok, go ahead. Look out for mines, field ainât been swept."
"Er, thatâs ok. Weâll wait at the hotel."
Troops from the 5,700-strong International Security Assistance Force blocked roads around the U.S. compound. Lt. Cmdr. Frank Coburn, a British ISAF spokesman, said a forensics team was sent to the site. He said he couldnât confirm witness accounts suggesting it was a rocket. "I dunno. Sumpthin went bang. Happens all the time."
Matyullah Ramani, a senior Kabul police officer, said: "It was Taliban or (Gulbuddin) Hekmatyar" - a renegade commander allied with the Taliban. "They are trying to disrupt the loya jirga." Sounds like their level of marksmanship.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 2:28:02 PM ||
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There were no reports of injuries in the 6:15 p.m. explosion about 300 yards from the embassy compound, and 100 yards from the headquarters of international peacekeepers in Kabul.
And just how do they know the embassy was the target and not the peacekeeperHQ?
Did he cut to the front of the line at the mess hall?
MAZAR-e-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AP) - For a glimpse at the likely future of peace-building in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Thursday visited this northern Afghan city where British soldiers are working to improve security and calm tensions between rival factions. The British Army has formed a ``provincial reconstruction teamââ designed to accelerate disarmament while enabling humanitarian organizations to work in areas wracked by civil strife.
Rumsfeld was briefed on the work being done and was meeting later with the governor of Balkh province, Habibullah, before sitting down with the two main warlords in the region, Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammed, whose armies remain in conflict. Who just coincidentally turned over some of their tanks.
During Thursdayâs visit, Rumsfeld also was to meet with U.S. troops and then with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
It was Rumsfeldâs first visit to Mazar-e-Sharif, the principal city in the northern part of the country. Mazar is where the tide turned against the Taliban in November 2001 as U.S. forces leveraged a linkage with the opposition northern alliance to defeat the radical Muslim rulers.
In October, clashes between Dostum and Mohammedâs forces reportedly left dozens of civilians dead. Karzai then sent Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali and enlisted the help of British peacekeepers and the United Nations to bring the warlords into line. The warlords agreed that a battalion from the new Afghan national army would guard surrendered weapons until the Ministry of Defense decides what to do with them. Eventually, the Ministry of Defense and its sponsors hope to disarm and decommission 100,000 Afghan militia members as it creates the new army and national police. So far, the new forces have only 6,000 members. Time for some help wanted ads.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2003 1:54:10 AM ||
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On the first time I passeed this post it didn't make sence to me that Dostun would give up his tanks on Karzi's word. It now strikes me that Nato airpower could have leiminated the tanks quite easily if these two warlords had balked. The small arms will be harder to take from them.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 19:23 Comments ||
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EFL:
A British man accused of working with Richard Reid, the al-Qaida follower who tried to detonate shoe bombs aboard a U.S. airliner, appeared in court Thursday on explosives and conspiracy charges. Sajid Badat, 24, one of more than 20 people arrested in Britain since last week in a series of anti-terrorism raids, spoke only to confirm his identity in Bow Street Magistrateâs Court. His next court appearance was scheduled Thursday. Londonâs Metropolitan Police said Badat was charged with two explosives offenses as well as conspiracy. Police gave no indication of how or where Badat and Reid allegedly conspired. Prosecution lawyer Deborah Walsh, in opposing bail for Badat, said police had seized a handmade detonating device but gave no details. British court rules, they donât blab to the press like they do in the States.
Badat was arrested at his home in Gloucester, southwestern England, on Nov. 27, and police who searched the home said they had found explosive materials. Thatâs nice.
A charge filed Wednesday alleged that Badat "unlawfully and maliciously conspired with Richard Reid and others unknown" to cause an explosion "likely to endanger life or cause serious injury." The charge said the conspiracy occurred between Sept. 1, 2001 and Nov. 28, 2003. British Home Secretary David Blunkett said last week that the security services and police believed Badat "has connections with the network of al-Qaida groups." If he was connected to shoe boy, he has to be.
Ibrahim Master, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, said last week that Badat had been a student at the College of Islamic Knowledge and Guidance in Blackburn, northern England. Badat was born in Gloucester to a Muslim family who moved to England from Malawi in the 1960s, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday. The newspaper said he had trained as a Muslim cleric in Pakistan, where members of his family live. A Pakistani trained holyman with explosives, what a shock. Well, no, it would be a shock if he didnât have any.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 9:04:34 AM ||
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Australia has agreed to participate in a U.S. program to build a defensive missile shield, the government announced Thursday. ``We believe that taking part in the U.S. program will serve our strategic interest, help us defend Australia and allow us to make an important contribution to global and regional security,ââ Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a statement.
"It'll also be real handy if North Korea decides to turn us into a sea of fire..."
Washington hopes to develop a shield against ballistic missiles, arguing that ``rogue statesââ like North Korea could soon have missiles to threaten the United States. It wants allies like Britain and Australia involved in the project, particularly for the use of satellite tracking stations in their countries.
Wouldn't hurt to have a few launch sites, either, I'd think...
Canada announced in May that it had entered formal talks with Washington about joining the program. It was not immediately clear what other countries - if any - have committed to playing a role.
'Bout damn time! I worry about Yellowknife. When's Jean departing, again?
Downer told Parliament that ``several lunatic countries in unstable regionsââ are developing ballistic missiles that in some cases would have the ability to carry weapons of mass destruction. Critics says the technology for such shields is complex, unreliable and expensive. Worse, they say, the plans could spark a new arms race. Wow, Sean Penn is such a genius on so many things!
Australia has been one of Washingtonâs staunchest allies over the past hundred several years, pledging troops to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and stating clearly that its relationship with the United States is central to nationâs long-term interests.
New Zealand used to be that way, too. Maybe someday they'll be back in the fold...
Downer said the nature of Australiaâs participation ``will depend on many factors including our own strategic defense needs, regional considerations, industry capabilities and financial considerations.ââ Defense Minister Robert Hill said Canberra will likely help in research for the multibillion dollar project and has no plans for a ground-based missile defense system on Australian soil.
Gonna put it on ships? Or are we working on satellite coverage?
``We have given that careful consideration and we think that we can play a part, obviously a small part in terms of the massive overall program,ââ Hill told reporters.
"Australia has a business community, too, and there's no reason some of the money shouldn't come our way..."
``We think that with the proliferation of long-range missiles and trends toward proliferation of mass destruction warheads, it is a sensible decision for Australia to take.ââ Aussies. We owe each of âem a beer.
Shows good sense on their part. It's going to take years before the system's developed, debugged, and in place. While that's under way, the Bad Guys are going to be working hard to spread nukes to even more unstable states. Australia's within range of China, NKor, India, and Pakland, all of whom have nuclear weapons and two of which have a heavy concentration of lunatics close to the trigger. Ten years from now that list could be longer, and twenty years from now longer yet, until eventually you have to worry about whether there are fanatics about to come to power in the Comoros or Madagascar or Pitcairn Island. The longer it is before you start, the longer before you finish.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2003 2:01:50 AM ||
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Sh**, this will get the lefties (here in Australia) stirred up!
Howard is obviously drawing the issues for the next election. The good news is that the Australian labor party has elected someone as it leader who is on the record as saying 'Bush himself is the most incompetent and dangerous President in living memory.' and the media here is taking him to task for it.
I just love it when the left gets pushed into nasty corners because of their irrational prejudices. Reagan was stupid and brought down the Soviet Union. Bush is stupid and ??
I rate Howards chances in the next election as better than average. I think you can bet on elections in Australia. Mmmm!
#2
The idea is to make the weapons arsenals of rogue states obselete. They will then have to devote a greater portion of their wounded GNP's toward upgrading or adopt a differnt course.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 4:48 Comments ||
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If I was an Australian politician or in the Australian military I would be looking at Indonesia with a very jaundiced eye. If the fundos ever take over there and in Pakland things could start to get really dicy
#5
If the fundos ever take over there and in Pakland
Eh? When was Pakistan ("the land of the pure") ever free of the fundos? Its whole reason for existence is the establishment of an Islamic state.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/04/2003 13:57 Comments ||
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Qazi or Fazl ranting and raving is a different matter from Qazi or Fazl actually warming the Seat of All Power...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2003 14:40 Comments ||
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Having read the online editions of the Australian dayly newspaper. There is an interesting subtext here.
Its clear that there is a USA, Japan, Australia axis developing who's primary purpose is to face down China. The Norks just seem to be a convenient pretext. It probably explains why there has been an increase in Chinese sabre rattling recently. A son of star wars that works will make invading Taiwan a whole lot harder.
#8
Phil, I think that daily is dreaming. The Norks shot missiles over Japan. The Australians got bombed in Bali. China seems to be helping with the Norks.
I beleive that the US is not pleased with the Taiwanese politician that is trying to antagonize the Chinese to help his reelection. There is two much going on already to start messing with the Chinese.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 17:44 Comments ||
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I have no current knowledge of technology approaches being considered these days, but during the 1980's Strategic Defense Initiative, one of the advanced research areas was the Directed Energy Weapons program ... i.e. lasers which could, IIRC, be space-based. There has been a lot of progress on laser technology in general & it will be interesting to see if any of it emerges in a missile defense system.
The Kinetic Energy Weapons program, i.e. "smart rocks" was another of the bleeding edge SDI efforts. Haven't followed progress here.
Right now there is a lot of work happening on smart swarms of weapons. Imagine a group of smaller missiles that form a self-organizing communications network. One gets shot down & all the others confer, decide whether or not to retarget some of them in order to make sure the highest priority targets are hit.
Don't know if this has any defensive applications or if it is entirely for offensive use ....
One way or another, computing and communications will be central to ballistic missile defense.
The graves of 10 British soldiers killed during World War I were vandalised last weekend in a military cemetery near this northern French town, police said Tuesday.
Their tombstones were broken or pulled out of the ground and some were stolen, police said.
The site, the Hibers Trench cemetery, is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and holds the remains of 133 British and three Canadians soldiers, most of them killed during a German offensive in the area in April 1917.
Police said they had taken shoe prints from near the desecrated graves and were looking for the perpertrators.
#1
I guess the Islamists have found some more "soft" targets.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 19:26 Comments ||
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#2
If the French don't start fumigating their Mosques more often, they're going to be over-run with non-native vermin. I can put up with the native French version, but these imported Arab vermin need to be exterminated.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 19:34 Comments ||
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#3
If the French don't start fumigating their Mosques more often, they're going to be over-run with non-native vermin.
They would have to locate their spines first. Otherwise france is sooner or later going to be a muslim nation. Probably sooner.
#5
Good to see the gendarmes are on the case...again. They've been really good at finding the perps the last six or eight or ten times this shit has happened.
Oh, wait. No, they haven't. I, of course, am shocked by that.
European legislators blocked funding for a center whose report said Muslims were responsible for anti-Semitism. A member of the European Parliament said the $240,000 was being held up until a controversy surrounding the report was cleared up. The Vienna-based E.U. Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia suppressed the report, but it was released this week by European Jewish groups.
#2
I'm just about finished mocking the Europeans, and just about ready to start hating them for real.
"Europeans" is just a tad bit too wide a brush, BH. Need to narrow it down to the EU Franco/German/Belgian axis of spineless weasels. AFAIK, there are still some people here and there in Europe that deserve our support - Berlusconi in Italy, the British and Spanish, Poles, Bulgars, and a smattering of other, smaller countries that know and understand what FREEDOM means, and what it costs. The Center of Stupidity is currently Brussels, but does have tentacles in a number of other places. Vienna seems to harbor one of those.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 19:12 Comments ||
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#3
TS, I checked your link, but I am still fuzzy on the funding block. Is the funding being blocked because the center created the report or because the center surpressed the report?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 19:31 Comments ||
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#4
Created - look at the political implications of trying to protect your Arab/Muslim population from "racism and discrimination", then your center reporting that they're responsible for attacks and incitement against your Jews.
Posted by: Lu Baihu ||
12/04/2003 21:07 Comments ||
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#5
Old Patriot: You're right, of course. It just gets so damn frustrating! Everybody's been pretty standup through this except for these three crapweasels, and they make the whole area look bad. It's like France is trying to win an award for Most Repugnant Nation.
PARIS, Dec 04, 2003 (Kyodo via COMTEX) -- One thousand and seven hundred U.S. soldiers have deserted their posts in Iraq, (hmmm, sounds suspiciously like the french in WW2) with many of them failing to return to military duty after getting permission to go back to the United States,(possibly because theyâre on PCS orders? nawww, couldnât be) according to the French weekly magazine Le Canard Enchaine.
The magazine, known for its satires and exposes, as opposed to printing anything factual, sort of like Le Merde said the French intelligence agency an oxymoron in itâs truest sense obtained the information from what it described an "American colleague." must have had lunch with michael moore
Citing a senior French official posted in Washington, the maitreâd with the fake french accent at a local eatery the magazine also said that 7,000 U.S. soldiers have left Iraq allegedly due to psychological troubles and other illnesses. 2 brigades of troops, gone completely apeshit, uh huh, and then Hillary picked up an M16 and fought off a terrorist attack because of all the missing troops
Some 2,200 others sustained serious injuries including the loss of limbs, it said. or maybe they were the crew of an aircraft carrier, but thatâs not really important to the cause of international socialism
#1
The Canard Enchaine is something like a gossip paper. It also has a tick for the politician (specially if he is right wing) is ever wrong: let's imagine politicain says earth is flat and later says it again, The canard will flame him for persisting in being wrong, let's assumme the politicain says Earth is round then the Canard will flame him for not being consistant.
However in intzernal French politics it plays a role as instrument for low blows: let's imagine politicain wants to get rid of a rival in his party and knows something dirty about him, he will pass the info to the Canard and this will publish it. Except if the Canard owes him a favour: tyhe former minister of Foreign Affairs was involved in several scandals but he had been the lawyer from teh Canard. There was never a line against him...
And of course much of what is published in Canard is just noise
Canard was created by anti-war anarchists during WWI and since then has been constant in his job of destroying faith in democracy and spreading cynism.
#3
The presentation is poor but the numbers might be accurate in some ways. To have 1700 short term UA's (unauthorized absences) in a huge deployment that has lasted over a year. One ship alone may have 50 UA's brought to Captain's Mast (non-judicial punishment) in a year. Guys who missed a ships movement or were too drunk to report for duty in the morning.
"The magazine also said that 7,000 U.S. soldiers have left Iraq allegedly due to psychological troubles and other illnesses." We have probably pulled out a good number flu cases. We know there were a bunch of pnemonia cases. I'm sure a good number of these troops went no farther than Kuwait and others went to Germany for short durations.
The numbers are probably true but the magazine emphasizes mental illness in it's medical statistic and gives a minimum of amplyfying information as possible on the deserters.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 18:00 Comments ||
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#4
SH -- of course they emphasise those points; they're a propaganda rag.
Honestly, though, I think it's more likely their source is al'Jazeera or al'Arabiya. I seem to remember one of them carrying a story like this.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/04/2003 18:13 Comments ||
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#5
Never trust an organization that has "canard" in its title.
Webster on line: Canard : a false or unfounded report or story; especially : a fabricated report.
That about covers it.
#6
I always thought a canard was a truism that you didn't think was true. "Never get into a land war in Asia." See, if you didn't think this was good advice, you'd call it a canard.
Actually, in this case, a canard is a duck. JFM can translate "enchaine". I thought it meant "chained", but babelfish didn't know.
#7
Hmmmm. In aviation, a canard is a wing - usually a small wing used to provide additional control. The Concorde and TU-144 both had canards just behind the cockpit to provide better control on takeoffs and landings. Some aircraft have canards under the rear fuselage to compensate for over-control of the tail assembly. Can't imagine how that came out in French as "duck"...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 21:12 Comments ||
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These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkeyâs press on December 4, 2003. RINGS OF EVIL
It was found out that terrorist organization which staged latest suicide bombings in Turkey is comprised of five rings. The top of rings includes four people who are called as ââimamsââ and they have the control in the terrorist organization al-Qaida. "Four rings for the Imams on their jeweled thrones"
Terrorist organization which staged attacks on synagogues, Britainâs Consulate General and HSBC headquarters in Istanbul is comprised of five rings. "Five for the Jihadis with their cars of death"
Four people are brains of terrorist organization in Turkey. "One caliphate to rule them all and in the darkness bind them."
ANKARA CRITERIA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave clear messages on the European Union (EU) and Cyprus. Erdogan said that the EUâs not accepting Turkey as a full member did not mean an end for the country and stated that if the Union did not accept Turkey as a full member, then they would make Copenhagen criteria Ankara criteria. Stating that all circles had to accept the concept of ââtwo states, two nationsââ on Cyprus issue, he said that otherwise everyone would go on his/her way and Turkey would go on its way as well. I think he just told the EU to f#$k off.
AL QAEDA-ATTRIBUTED STATEMENT DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ISTANBUL ATTACKS
A statement sent yesterday to the media allegedly by the terrorist network al Qaeda denied that it had been involved in last monthâs deadly terror attacks in Istanbul. This was a reversal of earlier al Qaeda-attributed avowals of responsibility. âAl Qaeda has never carried out any attacks targeting civilians,â said the statement. âIt has no link either with the Sept. 11 attacks, nor the attacks on Bali, Casablanca, or Riyadh, nor the recent ones in Istanbul.â Claiming that the Sept. 11 attacks were linked to the US Pentagon and CIA and Israelâs Mossad rather than al Qaeda, the statement underlined however that the current resistance in Iraq against US forces was organized and carried out by al Qaeda. Hummmmmm
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 12:29:26 PM ||
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AL QAEDA-ATTRIBUTED STATEMENT DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ISTANBUL ATTACKS
- maybe the political wing of Al Qaeda is distancing itself from the military wing of Al Queda.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 19:36 Comments ||
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U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Tuesday won the prestigious "non-EU citizen of the year" award at a black-tie gala event in Brussels. Gee, I didnât see this being covered by any US news agency.
It is Rumsfeldâs second European prize in a week. Earlier he was handed the Foot in Mouth award by Britainâs Plain English Campaign for describing Iraqâs weapons of mass destruction as "known unkowns." Of course, the US press was all over this one. I read Rumsfeldâs quote that got him the Foot in Mouth award and it made perfect sense to me:
"Reports that say that something hasnât happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns, there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we donât know we donât know."
I guess because itâs a very American way of looking at problems it went right over their heads.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 10:20:54 AM ||
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#1
*g* I don't think that anybody said that those words of Rumsfeld were meaningless -- it's just that the way he expressed them is rather hilarious, making this another specimen of his existential poetry.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2081042/
I've also liked this quote:
"Things will not be necessarily continuous.
The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous
Ought not to be characterized as a pause.
There will be some things that people will see.
There will be some things that people won't see.
And life goes on."
#2
Actually, the concept of known unknowns and unknown unknowns is realtively common in the DOD acquisition community. It's a way of assessing risks on a technical development effort. Low risk programs are where the problems are known. Medium level risk programs are those where most of the problems are known but there are one or two areas (where the research isn't completed for instance) where you know that problems will occure, but you just don't know what they are yet. The real zingers are the problems that pop up that you weren't expecting. These are the unknown unknowns. They cause cost and schedule overruns and general headaches all around - assuming the program isn't killed by them.
France is considering quietly retiring their new nuclear powered aircraft carrier and joining with Britain to buy a new carrier of British design. Actually, the French had planned to built a second nuclear powered carrier, but they are having so many problems with the first one that they are quite reluctant about building another one. Britain is building two 50,000 ton conventionally powered carriers, at a cost of $2.5 billion each. France would order a third of this class, and bring down the cost of all three a bit. The new French nuclear carrier "Charles de Gaulle" has suffered from a seemingly endless string of problems. The 40,000 ton ship has cost over four billion dollars so far and is slower than the diesel powered carrier it replaced. Flaws in the "de Gaulle" have led it to using the propellers from it predecessor, the "Foch," because the ones built for "de Gaulle" never worked right. Worse, the nuclear reactor installation was done poorly, exposing the engine crew to five times the allowable annual dose of radiation. There were also problems with the design of the deck, making it impossible to operate the E-2 radar aircraft that are essential to defending the ship and controlling offensive operations. Many other key components of the ship did not work correctly, and the carrier has been under constant repair and modification. The "de Gaulle" took eleven years to build (1988-99) and was not ready for service until late 2000. Itâs been downhill ever since. So the plan is to buy into the new British carrier building program and keep the "de Gaulle" in port and out of trouble as much as possible. The British have a lot more experience building carriers, and if there are any problems with the British designed ship, one can blame the British.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
12/04/2003 9:21:09 AM ||
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#1
This story sounds better than the one yesterday that hinted that Britian was going to share carriers with the French. This says that the Brits get two of their own and the French buy a third. Sounds like a good deal for British ship builders.
In other French carrier news: On Wednesday tug-boats were called in to control the decommissioned aircraft-carrier the Clemenceau, which broke its moorings in the Mediterranean while waiting to be brought to port to be broken up.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 9:51 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe French can sell the CDG to Pakistan. The idea of the CDG crossing swords (catapults?) with the Russian rust bucket that India just acquired is to rich. Perhaps they can have a rumble but stay inside their respective ports for safety.
#5
I don't think the French interests will stand for it being a Brit-build-French-buy project. There will either be demands for offsets or significant French participation. Either one will drive up the cost, and joint European naval projects have a long history of failure.
Unless the French gov't can sell this, it will probably end up a non-starter.
#6
Pappy,
The deal would probably be France buys UK-built carrier and in return UK buys Rafales instead of F-35s.France desperately needs somebody to buy Rafales or her aircraft industry becomes another huge drain on the government's checkbook.With the UK and France operating Rafales,France could then pitch Rafales as European replacement for F-16s.In the rest of world,China offers cheap,Russia offers the low-end hi-tech,the US offers hi-end-hi-tech and the Eurofighter will soon be offered for Air Defence needs,with a bunch of refurbished/used F-16,F-18,and F-15 types being available in next ten years.
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/04/2003 14:52 Comments ||
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#7
Sounds like their new carrier is just plain "Foch-ed" up.
#8
On reflection just how dumb do you have to be to design a flight deck that can't handle a 40 year-old E-2?And how incompetent do you have to be to approve such a design?
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/04/2003 15:43 Comments ||
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#9
BAR LOL
Stephen: Has anything but high-end high-tech proved cheap and effective in the long-run? I'm thinking of all those Mig-21s and maybe even the Tornado (in the mid-level sense).
#10
Well the British let the new Queen Mary be built in a French yard (Nelson must be spinning in his grave over that one). Has anyone ever really had good combat success with French built aircraft aside from the Israelis. But the galleys are probably first rate though.
#11
Nelson would not be spinning. A fair number of British warships in the 1760 - 1815 time frame were French built, captured at some point by the Brits, and re-flagged. Indeed, French ships were considered to be better built than Brit ships, and they were preferred by most Brit captains.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2003 16:37 Comments ||
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#12
French warships have always been technically advanced and capable vessels--and not just in the Napoleonic period. (Just to give three examples from WWII: Richelieu, Fantasque, Surcouf.) The French Navy may have underperformed historically, but it wasn't due to the quality of its ships. The deGaulle appears to have been something of an aberration for them in the quality control department.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/04/2003 17:05 Comments ||
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#13
The DeGaulle was a politically motivated, politically promoted idea of the central government, rather than something actually requested and promoted from within the French Navy. As a result, it was a political object from the very beginning. We all know how political bureaucracies work - a camel is actually a mouse designed by a bureaucracy.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 18:41 Comments ||
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#14
Mike
The French Navy didn't underperform, it was outnumbered. If France funded a big navy then the Army had to be left underfunded, that was what Napoleon III did and the result was the defeat in the 1870 war against Prussia. Or it could try to fund both but then the economy suffered so much to cause a revolution, that was what Louis XVI did: his ships were better, officer training was superior than in the British navy and after Gribeauval's reform the French artillery outranged and outpaced the British one. The effort paid in the naval battles who preceeded Yokrtown. But the finacial effort cost Louis XVI his head. And then officers and most NCOs had to flee France letting the French Navy in disarray.
Now a note for perspective.
France has most of her frontiers anchored on the sea, mountains difficult to cross and a wide river (the Rhine). In addition behind the Rhine, there are the Vosges mountains who are difficult to cross when you come from Germany. But in its north-easten frontier the ground is flat, in addition it is the closest one to Paris and there is no obstacle between the border and Paris: no mountain, no major river, no swamp. Nothing.
That is why Napoleon's long term goal was engulfing Belgium (a thing most Belgians favoured, and not only the Wallons) in order to put the North-Eastern border on the Rhine. It wasn't permanent occupation of Germany or other places. But this would have allowed France to reduce her army and concentrate on her navy. So the British funded coalition after coalition against him.
About the "Charles de Gaulle", political interference is probably the reason for many of her problems. I don't know about her but I know about her fighters. The French Navy had asked for the F18, but in order to somewhat amend the industrial disaster than was the Rafale (who was the future Air Force fighter), the Navy was forced to take it and... wait for over fifteen years in order to get a navalized version of it. In the interim the French naval pilots had to cope with obsolete Crusaders who were a joke as fighters and were falling apart (spare parts had to be taken from scrap yards). AFAIK the Rafale is quite superior to the F18 (no merit, it is 10 or 15 years younger) but it is not a _real_ naval airplane so landing it on a carrier is harder and riskier than for the F18. But who cares about the lives of the French pilots and sailors? Not the French politicians.
#16
JFM-the French Navy was outfought consistantly from 1750's on.Partly because the British were constantly at sea,building experience,but mostly because of differ tactical doctrines.The British believed warships were designed to fight other ships and in combat fired into the hulls of foes in order to defeat them.The French believed warships were designed to accomplish a task.The French tended to fire into foes rigging in order to prevent foes from interfering with French plans.This translated in reality to British Admirals charging at the French with no other motive in mind than slugging it out.Suffron was about only French Admiral who would seek combat.
Shipman-hi-end hi-tech,like the provebial big battalions is the way to bet,but is not always answer.In WW2 the German ME-262 was the hi-tech fighter of war,but it did little to stop US daylight bombing.The F-4 was far more hi-tech than the F-8,yet in actual combat over Vietnam the F-8 kill ratio was much higher.If a hostile tank company was headed for your home would you rather have an A-10 or a F-117 assigned to stop them?If you are running a typical Third World country,with pilots chosen for political reliability,few hours flown,and a limited technical base,it makes more sense to go with the cheaper Low-end Hi-tech.
Pappy-who knows what actual acquisition costs would be with the variety of offsets offered.The French will make sure announced price of Rafales will be cheaper than F-35.The Rafale does have one advantage-it exists.Who knows when F-35 will enter service.
The men, two Algerians and one French, were arrested on Tuesday in the French Riviera resort of Menton. Police say they are being questioned about claims they helped an al-Qaeda activist who was passing through France after training in Afghanistan. It is not clear whether the activist is now on the run or whether he has been arrested elsewhere in Europe. French anti-terror laws allow the suspects to be held without charge for 96 hours.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/04/2003 12:53:50 AM ||
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Buwahahahahahaa...EFL
The European Commission is examining the legal basis for 1970s-style exchange controls to stop the euro surging to destructive levels. Economics dictates when a currency gets too highly valued, the host nationâs exports become uncompetitive on global markets. Watch the hands...
The euro-zone has borne the brunt of the global realignment. The Chinese yuan is pegged to the dollar, while Japan has capped the yen by buying US bonds. Interesting, also, how a Taiwan straits issue would cause a "flight to quality" [into the dollar] and hold off some of the pain the PRC is experiencing by the 20% depreciation of the dollar this year.
Industry leaders in Germany and France say the euro has crossed the "pain threshold" and risks aborting the euro-zoneâs fragile recovery. The latest survey data shows a renewed fall in confidence among French consumers and German retailers. So weâre bankrupting the Euro-zone and using competitive devaluation to bolster our manufacturing sector...ahead of an election year...Cause, effect...
"Among the actions that can be undertaken when a member state experiences serious balance of payments difficulties, Articles 119 and 120 EC provide for the possibility to reintroduce âquantitative protective measuresâ against third countries." Shit, meet fan. You wonât have to worry about "currency strength" anymore. I mean, youâll establish "credibility" in the markets... really fast.
Posted by: Brian ||
12/04/2003 12:18:14 AM ||
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#1
Hat tip: Drudge. Sorry.
Posted by: Brian ||
12/04/2003 0:20 Comments ||
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#2
I love it. Dubya lets the dollar float, 'no need for tariffs, fellas, just let that ol' yoo-row keep on risin', sky's the limit!' Even the eurotrash frenchies realize their 'economy' is a house of cards. Meanwhile, the U.S. eco engine drops a gear and stomps on the gas. They should have paid attention to the history of the dollar-yen. Instead it looks like the eurocommies read the NYT and Al Guardian too much, started believing their own propaganda. Now they're beginning to feel the pain when America stops buying their crap. Didn't these marxists see it coming?
#3
Ahem. At the same time, a lower dollar is being caused by furriners not being as willing to buy US Treasury securities, and by them withdrawing equity from US markets. That means that at some point interest rates have to rise so that we can get capital back into the country. Otherwise the Treasury has to find another way to float the federal debt (e.g., higher taxes), and industry has to find a way to get more investment (or go belly-up). This is going to cause us some real pain if it goes on long enough.
Recall that Argentina's currency hit the floor. A few times. A lot. Didn't bounce, neither. And each time it sank, the common lads and lasses got whacked harder.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2003 1:22 Comments ||
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#4
"Recall that Argentina's currency hit the floor."
I don't necessarily think comparing the Argentinian economy to ours is quite valid. If anything, the issue might be worldwide DEFLATION because of unwise investments by said furriners in 'managed' economies (france, germany, argentina). They certainly don't appear to be on the cusp of an economic uptick.
I think part of our 'punishment' for the WOT and Iraq is an economic spanking by the e.u.- we're not 'toeing the socialist line', so we'll be made to pay by the mighty economic powerhouse *ahem* of a unified Europa. Problem is, they don't/won't/can't acknowledge the fundamental flaws in their systems. America, on the other hand, looks inward, realizes, ACKNOWLEDGES MISTAKES (something a country like france is completely incapable of doing), corrects them, and goes on with business.
In the short term, a weak dollar is a pretty good stick to use against a gaggle of eurotrash countries that basically told us to f*ck off last spring. In the long term, the dollar will get back in 'equilibrium' with other currencies, by virtue of our willingness to buy goods made elsewhere, in spite of the past (just look at vietnam). The current state of things is completely unnatural, especially in light of recent indicators, and that's why the E.C. is forced to look into a possible devaluation of the euro.
Keep in mind, however dire the current state of the dollar, we have NOT devalued it, something to which other countries who's currency cratered always had to resort. Nobody is carrying tens of thousands of dollars to the store in a wheelbarrow to buy a loaf of bread. Arguably, the current state is entirely artificial, but somehow King George the Dullard managed to turn the tables on those wily euros. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.
#5
The other problem with the said "interest rate to infinity" is that we can control that by freezing money supply growth. Milton Friedman pointed to the success of the Confederacy in checking the depreciation of their currencies in, I believe, Free to Choose and it proves that we can control, and indeed, bugger, anyone who tries to manipulate the dollar.
Posted by: Brian ||
12/04/2003 2:12 Comments ||
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#6
That means that at some point interest rates have to rise so that we can get capital back into the country. Otherwise the Treasury has to find another way to float the federal debt (e.g., higher taxes)
You are confusing capital generation with capital flows. The USA has no problem in generating capital for investment. Its problem is that its capital outflows are too large due to consumable purchases. The only the way out of this is for the USD to fall and that means, for example, French cheese has to cost more. Which no doubt will cause deep depression amoungst Rantburg's cheese lovers.
#7
Well before the begining of the liberation of Iraq I stopped buying all European merchandise and started buying equivalent American and Far- eastern products. I especially boycott French and Belgian merchandise.
I am sure many other Israelis let alone Americans did the same thing.
Can someone explain to me how come the Euro is valued so high even though we buy less stuff from them ????
Posted by: The Dodo ||
12/04/2003 5:57 Comments ||
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#8
"Which no doubt will cause deep depression amoungst Rantburg's cheese lovers."
Is that a shot at NMM.Shame on you Phil(snicker) 2 of the biggest problems facing our economy
are NAFTA and high level corporate thieves.
NAFTA:as soon than NAFTA was put into effect FOMCO(Ford Motor Company)shut down it's U.S.parts plant and jumped across the border to Mexico.
I read an article awhile back about a ship building company,based in Louisiana,that moved it's"headquarters" to the Bahamas this enabled them to cut their taxs by 2/3's.But their ship yards remain in LA.
Ken Leigh(ENRON,I believe)and his cronies haven't even been brought to trial yet,and when they do they will get a slap on the wrist(couple of years[maybe]of jail time and a fine).But I betcha he has several 10's of millions of $ hidden away in off-shore accounts. As far as I'm concerned he should spend 10 years in prision and after he gets out,be working in a 7/11 and living in a trailer park in Wholeinthewall,Kansas.
#9
"Industry leaders in Germany and France say the euro has crossed the "pain threshold" and risks aborting the euro-zoneâs fragile recovery. "
You don't need to be an economist to understand that the Euro is in deep doodoo. Devaluing currency is a statement in and of itself, no matter how much airfreshener is sprayed to mask the stink.
#10
Can't remember who wrote it or where I saw it, but I read something back in '99 or so that very persuasively made the case that any politician who devalues his own currency loses the next election because the devaluation lowers the domestic standard of living.
'Course, the EU government is unelected, but still it makes you wonder . . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
12/04/2003 8:39 Comments ||
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#11
Hey Raptor, we in holeinthewall KS, don't want that sumbitch Leigh either. Even trailer trash have standards.
#12
I read something back in '99 or so that very persuasively made the case that any politician who devalues his own currency loses the next election because the devaluation lowers the domestic standard of living.
The Plaza accords in 1985 devalued the US dollar by 1/3 against the yen, and George HW Bush was elected president in 1988. The main political issue has always been jobs rather than buying power.
GWB is NOT pushing the currency devaluation route. He is pushing foreign central banks to stop monkeying with exchange rates. What are foreign central banks doing? They are manipulating exchange rates by buying US dollars far in excess of the amounts needed to finance trade between their respective countries and the US. By doing so, foreign central banks are not allowing the dollar to reach its natural, lower level in the face of US trade deficits.
In theory, trade deficits should be self-correcting, because exchange rates will adjust to remove them. What this means is that the US dollar will fall, causing US goods to become cheaper overseas, and foreign currencies will rise, causing foreign goods to become more expensive in the US. The net result is that foreigners purchase more US goods, and Americans purchase less foreign goods, thus automatically correcting the trade deficit. Foreign central banks are preventing this adjustment from happening - thus causing the US to lose jobs relative to foreign countries.
#14
Recall that Argentina's currency hit the floor. A few times. A lot. Didn't bounce, neither. And each time it sank, the common lads and lasses got whacked harder.
Argentina's problems are, unfortunately for its long-suffering citizens, unique to Argentina. Many of these problems have to do with the large-scale theft of billions of dollars of funds borrowed from multinational banks and international lending organizations*. 'Nuff said.
The US has repeatedly devalued its currency with respect to its trading partners without suffering long-term damage. The US dollar is 1/3 of what it was worth relative to the German mark in the early '70's, and 1/4 of that worth relative to the Japanese yen. Guess what - we're still standing.
* This isn't Enron- or Tyco-style reporting violations - it's wholesale theft from the country's treasury.
#15
That's all right raptor. Its just that I'm sure he would never return my floor jack after changing the oil in his 83 Camaro. I don't think he would look good in a mullet either.
#16
The Euro is higher because they are keeping their interest rates far higher than ours (2.5% v. 1%, ha!) so there is a flight of money to the interest rate premium. If rates fall in Europe, the money will come back here.
Posted by: Brian ||
12/04/2003 11:32 Comments ||
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#17
The Dodo.
Maybe George Soros is inflating the Euro:-))
Seriously, could it be just plain speculation? Sometime back I heard that some Muslim countries were converting their greenbacks. Don't know if it is true. The Russians have also made some comments about dealing in Euros.
Posted by: Barry ||
12/04/2003 11:36 Comments ||
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#18
'Scuse me, gentlemen, but do any of you sleep? Phil B gets a pass since he's an Aussie, but what the heck were the rest of you doing discussing global currency markets at 3am Eastern??? ;-)
P.S. Very enlightening...carry on!
#20
Argentina had tied its currency to the dollar. Essentially, they were increasing the apparent wealth of Argentinians by throwing away mounds of cash. They survived for quite a while until their currency was so overpriced that they ran out of liquidity.
China has also tied the yuan to the dollar, but they're safe because the yuan is below where it should be. In this case, the chinese government can intervene indefinitely because it's a de-facto tax. That is to say, the government intervention is actually a source of cash, rather than a sink.
#22
Well before the begining of the liberation of Iraq I stopped buying all European merchandise and started buying equivalent American and Far- eastern products. I especially boycott French and Belgian merchandise.
Heh, I used to put Motul semi-synthetic motor oil in my motorcycle. :)
#23
It's not all Lay, it's Skilling and the CA legislature which wrote a poor law in the first place. Plus some interesting trades by the State of CA.
Well, that and 30++ years of NIMBY while tech and population took off. If you don't put the infrastructure in place, how are you going to support the growth?
#24
Back in the days I lived in Germany and England, I followed the exchange rates and the news that related to them (I.e., caused them to go up or down) quite closely. Since I retired, I've found other interesting things to do with my spare time (like comment on Rantburg). One of the main things I learned back then, however, was that every time, without fail, governments meddled in the money markets, unexpected things happened. Watching from the periphery, I see many of the same things taking place today.
One serious thing I see that isn't mentioned in any of the comments above is our involvement in Iraq, and its effect on money matters. Anyone who believes there is no direct effect is full up to the eyebrows, and usually spews what he's full of. I would keep a very close eye on the effects participation by Australia, Britain, Spain, Italy, Poland, and the other Coalition forces has on foreign exchange, purchasing habits, vacation habits, and other less obvious things. We may well see the pain caused by a high euro cripple many central European countries, while the periphery is unaffected, or less affected. That could place significant pressure on the central European countries, both financially and politically, and shift the balance of power in the EU.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 17:59 Comments ||
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#25
Following up my last post, pulling in a few things from dozens of other posts from today: We're going to see some really major changes in a number of countries around the world. They may take a year or two, but they WILL Happen. First, you're going to see some changes in the militaries of the Coalition nations, as they incorporate lessons learned from Iraq and other battles of the WoT. That doesn't mean they will adapt US ways: the most likely effect is that they will learn to improvise, as the US forces have done, in response to what happens on the battlefield. Even more importantly, you'll probably see some major political changes, as ideas that are discussed in Iraq raise questions back home. Finally, you'll probably see some economic, social, cultural, and political links form that may never have come to be without involvement in Iraq (the same things that happened in Germany, Japan, and elsewhere following World War II, and in a different way, following the fall of Saigon and the Boat people). These will have significant impact on the existing economic community that may not be readily apparent for a decade or more, but will eventually re-shape the world into different economic communities. The current Euro crisis may be the first signs of that polarization.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 19:24 Comments ||
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#26
Related, one might note that two of the chocolate-eaters, France and Germany, have broken out of the budget deficit bands established in the European monetary union without suffering so much as a handslap, let alone the mandated sanctions. Not likely to have an immediate effect, but long term corrosive to the credibility of a centralized monetary policy for Europe, and hence to the stability of the EU.
#27
We're going to see some really major changes in a number of countries around the world.
I really think the 'crisis' of the over-valued euro is the first, most visible crack in the foundations of the e.u. (the flouting of deficit rules by france and germany being pretty much ignored). That may be one of the major changes coming round the bend, although you could argue the e.u. was an abomination from the start and was destined to fail.
Hope it triggers a chain reaction.
Hat tip LGF
AFTER MONTHS OF rumored trouble, itâs official: Seattleâs Independent Media Center (IMC) is closing. The downtown National-Socialist/Socialist-media alternative-media storefront, opened to organize independent coverage of 1999âs anti-WTO demonstrations, spawned a network of Web sites and media collectives worldwide that today includes 123 locally managed IMCs in at least 45 countries. But it never quite made it here. If it failed in beauzeau centralâŠ
The idea of independent media producers pooling their content in one place while covering a major protest was not new, of course. There was the temporary media site established to report on protests at the Chicago Democratic Party convention in 1996. But Seattleâs effort three years later was very much in the right place at the right time.
Beyond the enormity of the World Trade Organization protests, the Internet was just coming into its own as a tool to convey breaking news inexpensively. And there was a growing audience aware that network news coverage of such protests was likely to tell markedly different stories than protesters themselves would tell. Moreover, Seattle hadâand still hasâa remarkably diverse and talented pool of alternative print, radio, cable TV, and Web media outlets. Live Web accounts of the mayhem in Seattleâs streets during WTO drew more than a million hits a day.
At subsequent "summit" demonstrations in North America and Europe, the indymedia.org movement found its first niche, providing real-time coverage of the demonstrations and encouraging the establishment of new IMCs wherever the protests occurredâand in the hometowns of the protesters upon their return. "You can take the blue pill, the cerulean pill, or the azure pill."
IN THE PAST two years, blogs came into their own, and post-9/11 American foreign policy raised interest in alternative sources for global news. Now, almost two-thirds of the IMCs, including some of the most active and well run, are outside the U.S. Thereâs still plenty of protest politics, but, especially in Third World countries, local IMCs have become a way for media activists to spread to the rest of the world news from points of view not reflected in Associated Press and Reuters dispatches. In October, for example, www.bolivia.indymedia.org was an invaluable multilingual source of accounts of the movement that forced Boliviaâs government into exile. Impoverished Bolivia has few Internet users; the audience was readers in other countries.
Meanwhile, back in Seattle, the original IMC was crashing and burning. The storefront on Third Avenue near Union Street was chosen because it would be in the heart of the WTO protest action, and it was. But the need to continually raise money for rent for the expensive location has been a drain for four years. This month, the IMC defaulted on its lease; it will close by the end of the year. Hallelujah!
MONEY HASNâT BEEN the only problem. The post-WTO decision to keep the expensive storefront was based on a dream of the IMC becoming an activist community center of sorts, where groups could hold events, use computer and video equipment, and collaborate on media projects. It rarely happened. Many of the cityâs existing, left-leaning political media projectsânewspapers like the Washington Free Press, Real Change, and Eat the State!, radio and cable producers, and Web projectsâworked with the IMC sparingly or not at all. Efforts by the IMC to launch its own print publication fizzled. A number of media activists complained that the core group running the IMC was cliquish and inaccessible; at one point, nonwhite media activists discussed starting their own competing local IMC. In the end, core members were clashing over personalities, vision, and what to do about the debt. "Hey! I need that money for my pot and LSD!"
FOR SOME readers and would-be supporters, content has also been a problem. The Seattle IMC Web site aspired to be a credible local news source, but in practice it was open publishing, meaning that anyone could send in a story and it would run untouched. The policy was, in theory, the ultimate in media democracy. But it also left readers to sort out for themselves the solid, well-researched, well-presented stories from the jargon-laden, factually incorrect anarco-leftist and anti-Semitic rants. There were plenty of each. But as more and more people started their own blogs or Web sites, the siteâs local content deteriorated. To 25 it did!
Maybe existing or new IMC activists will try to save seattle.indymedia.org. In any event, the impact of the project has been phenomenal. Locally, the IMC trained a new generation of media makers, and there are more good alternative media projects in town than ever. More important, as the technology of media has changed, the idea that spread from Seattle has evolved to inspire writers, producers, and artists on six continents. To support Haman and call for Esther and Mordecaiâs hanging.
Globally, as in the U.S., control of much of the worldâs major media is in a handful of conglomerates. The Internet has proven to be the most powerful medium we have for breaking that monopoly. So far, the worldâs biggest grassroots effort to that end began in downtown Seattle, next door to Brunoâs Pizza. Short Long live Indymedia. There are better news sources, such as LGF, Rantburg, InstaPundit, etc.
Yeah, the problem is nobody outside of the fringe wants to read your crap. Unlike places like Rantburg, Chicagoboyz, Belmont. And the leftist bigwigs want to buy 5 radio stations and start a Nation Whining Network?
#2
Dammit, I see the title, I expected dead jihadis.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 14:30 Comments ||
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#3
A number of media activists complained that the core group running the IMC was cliquish and inaccessible.
Just like any respectable socialist party.
in practice it was open publishing, meaning that anyone could send in a story and it would run untouched
Except that we know that they filtered out content that was not considered "correct". And when you do that, you are shown to agree with what remains. They may be jargon-laden, factually incorrect anarco-leftist and anti-Semitic rants, but at least they weren't sympathetic to bushitler.
The Internet has proven to be the most powerful medium we have for breaking that monopoly.
And still you failed. Not because of the corporations, or censorship, or Ashcroft's evil minions. But because you couldn't support it. If your system can't even sustain a simple web page, please stay the f*ck out of politics.
In the end, core members were clashing over personalities, vision, and what to do about the debt.
Give credit where it's due: at least they didn't call for purges.
#4
Is *that* what that was? I walk buy this storefront 'office' every day and always wondered what the heck it was. The office often looked dirty with scattered newspapers/newsprint on the floor and old moldy furnature. Dark and dank. What it remined me of was an Orc hole....
#5
Reminds me of a far lefty post which, after spewing the same old anti-Bush, anti-America bile, asked, "why won't anyone discuss these issues anymore?" The answer is that reasonable people get tired of answering the same old pathetic questions, which aren't rooted in reality anyway.
Seattle Indy was Cave 1 of the Moonbats. It needs to be preserved (like Lenin)in all its moronic glory that our Grandchildren can look and say "Jeez granny this is soooooo '90s."
#7
When you have no answers to the questions you raise, when you don't even have any suggestions except "crouch down and stare at your navel", after awhile, people get tired of watching the dead lice fall off you, and walk away.
The only way to keep people interested is give them something to chew on, and give them reason for hope. Rantburg allows all of us to spew, but unless it also contained some cogent points that educated, enlightened, or amused, we'd be gone faster than a link change. Indymedia died because it couldn't produce anything relevant to the world people live in. RIH.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 18:08 Comments ||
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A Los Angeles judge Wednesday dismissed a $10 million lawsuit filed by Barbra Streisand against a multimillionaire who posted photos of her Malibu estate on a Web site documenting erosion along the California coast. And that erosion includes Babâs utopian dacha estate.
A longtime environmentalist, Streisand sued Kenneth Adelman in May accusing him of violating Californiaâs anti-paparazzi law and her privacy rights. She demanded that Adelman remove her name and the photo of her estate from his Web site, (http://www.californiacoastline.org). Because people should not see ?squalor? she lives in?
But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman Wednesday ruled that the divaâs lawsuit chilled Adelmanâs free speech rights on a matter of public concern, and ordered the ââYentlââ star to pay his legal bills. That was just too funny.
The judge noted that Adelman had not tried to photograph Streisand personally and had not even known that he was capturing her estate on film when he snapped the photos from 2,700 feet away. Goodman also noted that similar photos were published in magazines and on the Internet before Adelman took his aerial shots. Streisandâs attorney could not immediately be reached for comment. In a message posted on his Web site, Adelman said the ruling sends a message to ââa celebrity who believes her personal interests are more important (than) the publicâs constitutional right to free speech.ââ Adelman, 40, retired after selling his TGV software company to Cisco Systems for $115 million in 1996 and Network Alchemy to Nokia for $335 million four years later. He and his wife then began an aerial photography survey of the 1,150-mile California coastline using his helicopter and a high-resolution camera. Itâs environmentalist versus quasi-environmentalist! Babâs supports environmental projects, just not on (or near) her dacha. When the Politburo of Hollywood finds out about a standing member being hassled, someone will be off to the gulag. Making Comrade Babâs pay for this frivolous lawsuit is just icing on the cake. Das Vidayna Comrade Babâs!
President Pervez Musharraf Thursday summoned Muslim scholars and clerics to his office to urge them to back his efforts to purge Pakistan of Islamic extremism, officials said.
"It is in Pakistanâs best interests to get rid of these evils that hurt the countryâs image in the world and undermines national integrity," a senior official quoted Musharraf as telling some 80 scholars clerics at a three-hour meeting. "Image is everything"
Officials said the meeting was part of Musharrafâs efforts to muster greater support from the religious right for his plan to reform thousands of Islamic schools (madrassas) by introducing modern subjects side by side with Koranic lessons. Musharraf believes madrassas, while playing a vital role in providing free board and lodging to nearly one million poor children, need to revamp their system of teaching. Many of the madrassas with orthodox systems of education are seen as hotbeds of religious militancy. Jihadi mills cranking out cannon fodder is how theyâre seen.
Musharraf, a key US ally in the international fight against terrorism, also told the clerics and scholars that he would not tolerate extremist groups, saying they were "not in the interests of Pakistan and we will not let such organisations work in Pakistan." He named Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, both fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir and both outlawed in January 2002. Both re-emerged under new names but only Khudamul Islam, the new name for Jaish, was banned in Musharrafâs latest anti-extremist drive launched last month. Was this Musharrafâs "My way or the highway" speech, or was it just for show?
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 12:52:56 PM ||
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#1
How are you going to stop the madrass madness when they are funded by the fundo Saudis? Pakistan's pants are supported by the US on one side and the Saudis on the other. There is not much else holding them up. It is a pathetic country that we are forced to deal with because of they have the easiest access to Afghanistan.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/04/2003 22:33 Comments ||
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Long interview by Asia Times Online with the central general secretary of the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI), Syed Munawar Hasan. Just one quote from the article:
ATol: "You reckon that there are so many contradictions between the West and the Muslim world, is there any chance of reconciliation and dialogue between the two civilizations?"
Munawar: "There is none. The basic concepts of both civilizations are in total contrast with each other. When I say this I do not address Western civilization as Christianity. I speak of a man-made system completely devoid of divine guidance. Our concepts of God, human beings, the universe, are totally in contrast with the concepts of the Western world. We cannot segregate human lives into private and public, our lives are ruled by divine guidance, not by man-made rules based on his own prejudices and specific mindset characterized by its own dilemmas and shortcomings. Our concept of the universe is not materialistic, and the result of an âaccidentâ. Instead, it was a very well thought out process envisaged by the creator of the universe with a plan. So these basic concepts have made the difference between ours and Western approaches."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 11:24:41 AM ||
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#1
This guy's a 7th century nutcase. They accuse the WEST of being 'Crusaders'?! If this mutt had his way, all us westerners would be put to the sword. Piece of sh*t, can't he have a fatal hit-and-run accident with a 7mm magnum bullet?
#2
This guy's a 7th century nutcase. They accuse the WEST of being 'Crusaders'?! If this mutt had his way, all us westerners would be put to the sword. Piece of sh*t, can't he have a fatal hit-and-run accident with a 7mm magnum bullet?
#6
Mojo: Mosquito's are reincarnated Arabs.
Only the average Muslim, Ship. The Imams, Mullah's, and other big-wigs come back as body lice.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 19:32 Comments ||
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#7
Pure Wahhabism. One cannot speak of Wahhabist "philosophy," of course, because Wahhabism by definition rejects philosophy. If people are allowed to think for themselves, Iblis only knows what they will think up. This appeals to those too lazy or timid to do their own thinking (Yeah, right, this to an audience of Rantburgers.) Following this, since Wahhabist people cannot think for themselves, they are incapable of governing themselves because that demands thinking. They need to have someone do their thinking for them. But who proposes to do this thinking? Other Wahhabists, that's who. But Wahhabists are incapable of ... woops, derived a contradiction. In formal Logic, one "jumps out of the system" to resolve this. Other systems of thought (e. g., Western-style democracy?) seem to have managed to get around this, so there must be a better premise. Should they not be begging for a return of those European colonial governors they were to eager to be rid of a century ago? Or am I confused? Should I not be doing my own thinking? Devil make me do it?
Miss Marie forwards me this email, purporting to be from a captain in Baghdad. I can't vouch for its veracity, but the names are right, and I'm familiar with the 501st MI Bn.
We knew there was a dinner planned with ambassador Bremer and LTG Sanchez. There were 600 seats available and all the units in the division weretasked with filling a few tables. Naturally, the 501st MI battalion got ourtable. Soldiers were grumbling about having to sit through another dog-and-pony show, so we had to pick soldiers to attend. I chose not to go.
But, about 1500 the G2, LTC Devan, came up to me and with a smile, asked me to come to dinner with him, to meet him in his office at 1600 and bring a camera. I didn't really care about getting a picture with Sanchez or Bremer, but when the division's senior intelligence officer asks you to go, you go. We were seated in the chow hall, fully decorated for thanksgiving when aaaaallllll kinds of secret service guys showed up.
That was my first clue, because Bremer's been here before and his personal security detachment is not that big. Then BG Dempsey got up to speak, and he welcomed ambassador Bremer and LTG Sanchez. Bremer thanked us all and pulled out a piece of paper as if to give a speech. He mentioned that the President had given him this thanksgiving speech to give to the troops. He then paused and said that the senior man present should be the one to give it. He then looked at Sanchez, who just smiled.
Bremer then said that we should probably get someone more senior to read the speech. Then, from behind the camouflage netting, the President of the United States came around. The mess hall actually erupted with hollering. Troops bounded to their feet with shocked smiles and just began cheering with all their hearts. The building actually shook. It was just unreal. I was absolutely stunned. Not only for the obvious, but also because I was only two tables away from the podium. There he stood, less than thirty feet away from me! The cheering went on and on and on.
Soldiers were hollering, cheering, and a lot of them were crying. There was not a dry eye at my table. When he stepped up to the cheering, I could clearly see tears running down his cheeks. It was the most surreal moment I've had in years. Not since my wedding and Aaron being born. Here was this man, our President, came all the way around the world, spending 17 hours on an airplane and landing in the most dangerous airport in the world, where a plane was shot out of the sky not six days before.
Just to spend two hours with his troops. Only to get on a plane and spend another 17 hours flying back. It was a great moment, and I will never forget it. He delivered his speech, which we all loved, when he looked right at me and held his eyes on me. Then he stepped down and was just mobbed by the soldiers. He slowly worked his way all the way around the chow hall and shook every last hand extended. Every soldier who wanted a photo with the President got one. I made my way through the line, got dinner, then wolfed it down as he was still working the room.
You could tell he was really enjoying himself. It wasn't just a photo opportunity. This man was actually enjoying himself! He worked his way over the course of about 90 minutes towards my side of the room. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to shake a few hands. I got a picture with Ambassador Bremer, Talabani (acting Iraqi president) and Achmed Chalabi (another member of the ruling council) and Condaleeza Rice, who was there with him.
I felt like I was drunk. He was getting closer to my table so I went back over to my seat. As he passed and posed for photos, he looked my in the eye and "How you doin', captain." I smiled and said "God bless you, sir." To which he responded "I'm proud of what you do, captain." Then moved on.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/04/2003 17:21 ||
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Posted by: SLO Jim ||
12/04/2003 18:08 Comments ||
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#2
Damn, it's nice to have a REAL leader in the White House again!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 19:43 Comments ||
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#3
You know, I beginning to think I could develop some serious enthusiasm for this president.
The scenes of him with the troops in Baghdad reminded me of something, and it just occurred to me what it is: the famous photos of Eisenhower talking to the 101st before the jump into Normandy. Can't say why.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/04/2003 20:43 Comments ||
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#4
For I read I'm.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/04/2003 21:10 Comments ||
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#5
Exposes the Wash Post and other lefty mindless idiots that they are focussing on the pic holding the turkey platter - it was a centerpiece, the troops didn't eat it! Lies! Lol - how small minded can these fools get?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/04/2003 21:48 Comments ||
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#6
I know that we are all biased and all that, but I cannot help thinking that all this WaPo NYT Dem et al vicious sniping is slowly but steadily biting them in the ass. One thing that mainstream Americans believe in is a sense of fair play, honor, and basic respect. There are alot of people in mainstream media that hate Bush so much that they cannot even maintain a sense of decorum and respect, even for the office of the president. There is alot about the republicans and even Bush that I do not like or have misgivings about. But our president is basically an honorable man doing what he has to do, which includes some very nasty decisions. He is the right leader at the right time in our peril. I am also glad that Condi went, too. She has had to put up with a tremendous amount of disrespect and abuse, and yet she carries herself well.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/04/2003 22:06 Comments ||
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he first group of about twenty Dutch commandos, out of a final force of seventy, has left for southern Iraq. The remaining soldiers will set off next Monday. The commandos are to search for terrorists in the region where 1,100 Dutch troops are stationed.
Defence Minister Henk Kamp decided on the deployment because of the deteriorating security situation. Despite calls from the opposition, he was unwilling to wait for the lower house of parliament to debate the question next week.
#2
This must be a lie! Madeline 'Fat Pig' Albright has told me that we are alone in Iraq. CNN harps daily on the fact that we don't have international support. So how could there be Dutch troops in Iraq???
#3
Madeline "Thighs" Halfwit and Hillary "Calves" Witchcraft both said that we are in there alone. Both want that organization that spells credibility...the UN, to go to Iraq and get the job done. What maroons. (Perhaps they didn't get the news that the UN ran away.)
Posted by: remote man ||
12/04/2003 18:47 Comments ||
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#4
Ship, right on. They are very good. Only about 2,200 of them altogether. I had a Dutch exchange officer I became pretty good friends w/when I was w/the 8th Marines. Did close combat school w/him. Very similar to the British Royal Marines. Those guys are awesome to. They won't f*ck around w/any beligerent Iraqis. NATO needs to get real on board w/OIF. In the future they'll need us and our memories will be long about who came to bat (Italians, Spaniards, Dutchmen, & our Brit cousins) & who didn't (Germans, insert Frenchie joke here, & the Belgians - btw Anniversary of Battle of the Bulge is in two weeks).
A man arrested by United States forces as a "deputy" to controversial cleric Moqtada Sadr has nothing to do with the Iraqi Shiite leader, his spokesperson told AFP on Thursday. "Who? Never heard of him."
A US general announced on Wednesday that a deputy of Moqtada Sadr had been held in Baghdad in connection with the killing of two US soldiers in October. "Coalition forces in Baghdad conducted a joint raid with the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps and detained Amar al-Yasseri, operations director of Moqtada Sadr in Sadr City, also believed to have been behind the ambush of coalition troops on October 9," Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a press conference. Sounds like they have evidence, otherwise we wouldnât have busted him.
"We have no relation with this person mentioned by the US army," said the clericâs official spokesperson Sheikh Abbas al-Rubayah.
Yep. Looks like we've got something...
"He does not work in any of Moqtada Sadrâs offices and has no legal status in our organisation," he insisted. "Claims that Amar is one of Moqtada Sadrâs deputies are totally false. We do not have titles such as deputy. The objective of this is to send out confusing signals about Moqtada Sadr and his movement. We have nothing to do with the deaths of the coalition soldiers and we have never confronted the coalition forces militarily," the spokesperson said in the movementâs information bureau in Baghdadâs Karada district. Translation: Heâs guilty as hell and theyâre cutting him loose.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 9:37:13 AM ||
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#1
"...the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."
EFL Hat tip to ANDREW SULLIVAN
Iraqi athletes in the past were "motivated" by the evil and sadistic Uday Hussein who was president of the Iraqi National Olympic Commitee. He used torture and imprisonment as ways to get through to the Olympians. With Uday now gone forever, the Iraqi athletes are happy and excited about the prospects of the 2004 Olympics. Boxers have now begun competing to attempt to qualify for the games.
It's going to be a new experience, only getting beat up once...
The fighters are being supplied new equipment including shoes, mouthpieces and boxing gloves by the Americans. "I have been practicing boxing since 1993 and I never had better equipment, " said one member of the Iraqi team, Ayad Farhat. "It is great. We are really motivated." Uday had the boxers buy their own equipment and paid them 2 dollars a month. They are now getting $150 a month from America. The new boxing club in Al Hillah has dormitories with bunk beds and a pair of boxing rings. "With Godâs will and with the help of the Americans, we will achieve good results and raise the Iraqi flag in Athens,ââ said coach Abdul-Zahara Jawad.
Assuming none of your compatriots blows up the Olympic village...
"We feel much better. Our salaries are good, our needs are met. The Americans are offering moral support,ââ said fighter Zuhier Khudier. "Now we will be motivated by national pride, not by fear of Uday.ââ Good story. Please read the whole thing.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
12/04/2003 9:07:16 AM ||
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I hope for their sake that these guys put up more of a fight than the Iraqi Army.
Posted by: Tibor ||
12/04/2003 11:01 Comments ||
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#2
It's going to be a new experience, only getting beat up once...
Civil Affairs personnel continued a police-training seminar today in Al Amariyah for the current Iraqi Police and Facilities Protection Service forces. The seminar is five days in length and the officers each receive training on search techniques, apprehension of suspects, evidence handling, and crowd control along with practical exercises. Thirty-four police officers have completed the course to date and many citizens have commented on the improved image of the police department within the community. Civil Affairs teams have hired local nationals to conduct a survey in Ar Ramadi to gain information on the economy and the confidence that the local populace has in government services. The information on the survey will be used to better prioritize efforts and respond to issues concerning the citizens of Al Anbar.
The 5th Iraqi Civil Defense Corps class will graduate today at the Navea Training Center with 174 personnel from the Ar Rutbah, Al Qaim, and Hit areas. The guest speaker will be the Mayor of Ar Rutbah. The 2nd Al Anbar Police Academy class will graduate in the afternoon and Maj. Gen. Figgures is scheduled to speak at the event.
During the past 24 hours, the 82nd Airborne Division and subordinate units have conducted 161 patrols, including 10 joint patrols with the Iraqi Border Guard and Iraqi Police. During these operations, 63 enemy personnel were captured and one killed while suffering no U.S. casualties.
In the 82d Airborne Divisionâs 3rd Brigade area of operations, paratroopers conducted a cordon and search in Nassir Wa Al Salaam to capture six members of a Wahabbist cell. Thirteen enemy personnel were captured and taken into custody for questioning. Also, several small arms weapons, various munitions, military uniforms, U.S. and Iraqi cash, counterfeit money, and improvised explosive device (IED)- making materials were confiscated during the mission.
"You got some 'splainin', to do, Mahmoud!"
"It is not ours, effendi! Somebody left it here!"
In the 1st Brigade of the 1st Infantry Divisionâs area of operations, elements were attacked with rocket propelled grenades (RPG) and small arms fire northwest of Khalidiyah. The unit returned fire at the point of origin and then engaged the house with three 120mm High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds. The unit killed one enemy and captured eight others without suffering any injuries to personnel or damage to equipment.
"Ahmed, goddammit! I've told you and told you, don't engage infidel tanks from the house! But do you listen? NO! You don't listen! Just look at this mess? Who's gonna clean up this mess? Are you gonna clean up this mess? NO! You ain't gonna clean up this mess! You're gonna be sittin' in jug, eating three times a day, while yer poor old Mum gets to rebuild the second story, and her with a bad back..."
In 3rd Armored Cavalry Regimentâs (3rd ACR) area of operations, elements executed raids on six target houses in Husaybah. The operation was conducted in response to information provided by an informant who indicated that a few Fedayeen members had returned to the area following the conclusion of Operation Rifles Blitz.
"Are they gone yet, Mahmoud?"
Houses identified in the area were sites of recent enemy ambushes. The raids resulted in the capture of 19 enemy personnel and the confiscation of various small arms weapons, IED-making materials, and a logbook of previous attacks against Coalition forces.
"Ahmed, make sure you write down every nasty thing you do to the infidels. That way we can all chuckle over it later."
"Uhhh... Hokay, boss! It ain't like they're gonna catch me and use it for evidence against me. Huh huh!"
"He said 'evidence'! Huh huh!"
The town of Husaybah, once the most hostile city in the Al Qaim area, has shown marked improvement in the form of fewer attacks following Operation Rifles Blitz.
#1
It has occurred to me that raids are an opportunity for our guys to communicate with Iraqi informants - informants whose lives would be in danger from Saddam's henchmen if they were seen together with our people in any other circumstance. Of course, it's also a chance to recruit new informants, given that many Iraqis are undoubtedly nervous about walking up to an army patrol with information, knowing that they are being observed by an entire village. Raids give our folks the opportunity to talk to each Iraqi individually without being observed in the open by other Iraqis.
#3
Yeah, I kinda liked the HEAT response to the RPG.
That's ridiculous. A HEAT round is barely effective against personnel, and only marginally useful against structures. They should be using cannister, rip the mutts into little pieces instead of just sending a round whistling over their heads. Of course, I doubt the Army even has any cannister rounds in inventory, they aren't glamourous enough.
#4
They should be using cannister, rip the mutts into little pieces instead of just sending a round whistling over their heads. Of course, I doubt the Army even has any cannister rounds in inventory, they aren't glamourous enough.
I think there's a reason for this - in Iraq, capturing people is much more important than killing them. If they kill all of these guys, the trail ends right there. If they can capture some of the perps, they can extract information leading to the capture of even more of Saddam's henchmen. I suspect this is why canister rounds are not being used - they're certainly no more difficult to deploy.
#5
canister rounds In fact, the 3ID after action report sez "The 120mm antipersonnel round is in the army somewhere. It would have been very
helpful in Karbala and Al Kifl." I assume that's what we're talking about...
#6
A HEAT round will make a small hole in the front of the house, another, slightly larger hole in the back of the house, and make you very unpopular with your neighbors six blocks away. It will also make everyone inside the house extremely uncomfortable - to the point of trying to get under the lint on the bottom of the living room carpet. If your head's down - especially THAT far down - you have a very poor sight picture.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 20:00 Comments ||
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#7
If your head's down - especially THAT far down - you have a very poor sight picture.
ARRGGHHH!! Okay, points granted all around. However, forgive my troops-oriented view, for I was never more than a poor but honest PFC. Seems to me the MPs/cic/delta should be rounding up these mutts for questioning, not the tankers. Tankers should be shooting off canister and protecting themselves, not trying to take prisoners (those m1a2's ain't cheap, and neither are the troops' lives). I would rather have dead mutts than dead troopers, but that's just me.
Iraqi political parties and coalition authorities are discussing the creation of a 1,000-member militia to bolster the U.S. militaryâs fight against a guerrilla insurgency, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Wednesday. The militia would be formed by uniting fighters from five Iraqi political parties under the joint leadership of the U.S. military and the emerging Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. If created, the paramilitary battalion would represent a significant policy reversal by Washington. The United States previously declared private militias illegal and called on Iraqi political leaders to disband the groups.
If they're government-sanctioned, under U.S. military command, they're not private militias. I still don't think it's a particularly good idea, but I heard this morning that they're talking about using peshmergas to patrol the Sunni triangle. "Private" militias can have their uses.
``We are willing to take people into these forces as long as when they come in they are not operating as members of these other (militia) forces,ââ Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith said in Washington. The militia members would be recruited as individuals, not as intact units, Feith said. ``We are not looking to preserve militias as such."
So much for the Badr Brigade...
The current president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a Shiite Muslim, said the idea of a joint militia was a good one. He said the countryâs five or so individual militias have won credibility for fighting Saddamâs regime for more than 20 years, and could root out that regimeâs remnants now. ``At this stage, we should try to make use of any force, any tribal clan and any individual that can help,ââ he said, adding that the militias should be centrally controlled, as the Americans have stipulated. ``They will have a role to play in the fight against terrorism.ââ Allah help the Baâathists these guys catch. That said, Iâm not sure this is a great idea. Weâre training a regular army, let them do it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2003 2:10:25 AM ||
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A 1000 troop militia won't be a threat to constitutional govt. If the militia numbers creep up to the 20,000 mark, then worry.
#2
That's what I love about this admin, common sense seems to rule the day. If properly trained, this seems like a good idea to me. It's as many soldiers as we are getting from Japan, but they are home-grown and battle hardened. It's not too big and not too small to manage. Properly trained, I think this might be a good way to employ a population that we'd rather have fighting with us than against us.
#3
whats good about the this admin is that they can correct mistakes. Whats bad is that they allow internal splits to cause them in the first place. If these guys had been on the ground in APRIL we could have headed off alot of the trouble before it began to snowball. But State and CIA didnt like these guys, so it wasnt done.
#4
It sounds like a strike force made up of people who have been resisting Saddam as opposed to the new Iraqi army which is made up of former Saddam soldiers. The army can be used to guard facilities while this strike force will go on the attack. Sounds good.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 10:52 Comments ||
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#5
These are the Boots that are needed. Keep in mind the idea of earning your freedom. We can't give it to them, and if we did they would consider it no honor. When I read histories of our revolution I'm filled with a pride that those folks won our independance even though the French were involved. So saddle up the Iraqi militia and clean up your "dirty carpet".
EFL
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has approved a plan to start sending 1,000 troops for non-combat duty in Iraq by the end of December, a newspaper reported Thursday. The report in the major Mainichi daily came as the bodies of two diplomats slain in Iraq were sent back to Japan. Their deaths, the first Japanese fatalities in Iraq since the start of the U.S.-led war in March, heightened fears that sending troops would make Japan a target of terrorist attacks. But the Japanese people being more sensible than Barbra Striesand rejected these fears. Mainichi said Koizumi made the decision Wednesday after he was briefed about a military fact-finding missionâs trip to Iraq. The Cabinet was expected to approve the dispatch plan next week and Japanâs defense chief, Shigeru Ishiba, would have final say on when the 1,000 air, sea and ground forces would be sent, according to the report. Another national daily, the Yomiuri, said a force of 1,100 would be dispatched to provide medical and other humanitarian aid. Tokyo hopes to have an advance team of air force personnel in Iraq sometime this month and to transport aircraft and troops there by January. Ground forces would follow, arriving in the southern city of Samawah in February, according to the reports. Thank you Japan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2003 2:05:35 AM ||
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#1
It's when things are difficult that you find out who your real friends are...and it's clear that the 30 plus countries in Iraq are those friends.
I'm sorry that I was so negative about Japan in the 1980s. They really are a great people.
#2
I find it amusing that Japan was one of the nations UBL insisted join him in his jihad against America. Now Japan is joined in, but against UBL and Saddam and the rest of these nut jobs.
Posted by: Ben ||
12/04/2003 5:30 Comments ||
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#3
The recent actions of the NORKs probably helped push the Japanese in this direction.
I like it when a country like Japan recovers from WWII by developing into a thriving economy and democracy, and now has sufficiently recovered its self-confidence to take an active role in defense this way.
EFL; This is a follow up on Anon2âs "What the?????.
Some $132 million of money that Saddam Hussein withdrew from the Iraqi Central Bank is believed to be funding the Iraqi insurgency against U.S. troops, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS. Just hours before the first U.S. bombs fell on Baghdad, the Iraqi dictator withdrew more than a $1 billion from the Iraqi bank, which he and his followers are believed to be using today, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS. He did it with a surprisingly simple, handwritten note found by U.S. agents in the files of the Iraqi Central Bank.... Since then, most of the cash has been recovered by U.S. forces in Iraq. But U.S. officials told ABCNEWS that a huge amount is still missing: some $132 million. The elusive 33 boxes of newly printed U.S. $100 bills â $4 million in each box â still pose a huge problem for U.S. forces because they believe the money is now connected to recent attacks on U.S. forces.
Posted by: Gasse Katze ||
12/04/2003 12:23:21 AM ||
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33 boxes of newly printed U.S. $100 bills
Ahem. Freshly printed?
Kinda make ya wonder, doesn't it? And I did think it was a queer time to push out a new $20 bill into circulation.
http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/13/news/economy/twenty/
"Nope. Nope. Can't do it. Kick her out and give us somebody else to negotiate with."
Thus, it is pinning its hope on the next administration, which will come about after the May national elections.
"We were thinking, maybe somebody with a turban. They're so much more understanding..."
MILF spokesman Eid ("Lipless") Kabalu said that Malacañang is apparently making moves that would derail the upcoming peace negotiations. He was referring to supposed military intelligence reports, which he quickly brushed aside, that the brother of slain Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi is helping train foreign and local recruits in an MILF camp in the mountains of Lanao. He said that the militaryâs accusation that Muhajir al-Ghozi has been supervising the training of terrorists in the borders of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur was enough reason to postpone the talks in Kuala Lumpur.
"You take that back, or we're breaking off negotiations!"
He noted that the military has kept recycling the issue that the MILF has ties with terror groups, like the Jemaah Islamiyah. âWe have been saying that we are a revolutionary organization with no links to terrorist organizations,â Kabalu stressed. âWe encouraged the government to investigate our camps in the Lanao area but it seems they are not interested.â
I suggest investigating them from the air, uainf using B52s...
President Arroyo earlier warned that despite the ongoing peace efforts with the MILF, government troops would not hesitate to pursue JI terrorists in MILF areas. The President issued the statement after Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that at least 31 JI operatives are reportedly training MILF guerrillas in bomb-making in MILF strongholds in Central Mindanao.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/04/2003 12:58:00 AM ||
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uainf B52s...
The dreaded fat finger syndrome strikes again!
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 11:34 Comments ||
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Boliviaâs state news agency said authorities in La Paz detained 16 Muslims on Thursday after a tip-off from French police that some of them were planning to hijack a plane and attack targets in the United States.
It quoted Interior Minister Alfonso Ferrufino as saying most of those arrested were Bangladeshis and that they were detained at Viru Viru airport near the southern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz on Thursday morning.
"(Ferrufino) said that the tip-off from French police said that the 16 Muslims were planning to hijack a plane en route from La Paz via Santa Cruz to Buenos Aires to attack targets in the United States," the news agency report said.
#1
Let's see. I get out my trusty atlas to find Santa Cruz in southeastern Bolivia. Examining the distance to Buenos Aires, and therefore the likely amount of fuel carried by the plane, I make it that they would get as far as, oh, Ecuador before running out of fuel and crashing.
It's also possible that the plane carries enough fuel for a round trip (i.e., from Buenos Aires back to La Paz). In which case they might make Mexico before going into the drink. Why is this?:
1) My navigation is off.
2) Our clever jihadis have secured refueling stations along the way.
3) They're real stupid.
#2
Well, they could have tickets that put them on multiple, connecting flights. Theoretically, they would go through security in Bolivia, then switch from plane to plane until they got to the one they intended to hijack.
I'm pretty sure that if you come in on an international flight and are leaving on another international flight, you don't go through customs or immigration -- that gets you through most of the screening. Any weapons they needed could either come with them or be pre-positioned by support teams in the US or another intermediate stop.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/04/2003 23:58 Comments ||
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via comments at LGF. I hadnât seen this blog before; looks like itâs worth a longer visit. Iâm just posting a snip from one post; you must hit the link to see the pictures. and believe me, you need to see the pictures.
While many news outlets are carrying the D.C. area sniper trial, they are desperately lacking in any real analysis of what these crimes really mean. Is this terrorism? Did religion -- namely Islam -- play a role in the killings? Is this connected to Osamaâs al Qaeda, even if only via ideology? And, is any of this related to the new shooting spree in Ohio?
#1
I drove through there on the Tuesday that the woman was killed, but didn't know anything about it. On the way back, (Sunday morning) I saw this kid in a bp gas station, just before the 270 loop. He was really creepy looking, wearing a new light blue ball cap and black slippers and was all rumpled like he'd slept in the car. Then he got in a late model car with an older man who clearly wasn't his father. The whole thing was so Malvo/Mohammed-esque, except they weren't Muslim or black or the least bit military looking...more like a young jersey hood and a 50ish, white NAMBLA member. It really creeped me out, so I stayed on 70 - avoiding the 270S loop. Ok..I know...they weren't the snipers...but they were creepy nevertheless.
Those kind of jitters can't be good for local business.
Posted by: B ||
12/04/2003 18:15 Comments ||
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#2
and one more thing...radio said the hunting season opened that day (hmmm..did I say Sunday..I meant Monday). So....how meaningful is it that they picked up some idiot with a gun?
Posted by: B ||
12/04/2003 18:26 Comments ||
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#3
One of the people who testified was a teacher at Malvo's school. Her testimony, when read, was that he was a nice kid...until he started reading the Koran.
Of course the Washington Post eviscerated the real point of the testimony.
#5
This is yet another instance where the government is not being frank with us about foriegn terrorist involvemnt. It's part of what I was talking about yesterday in the Howard Dean Loses His Marbles comments. This isn't something we have to keep secret, because the enemy already knows.
Posted by: Pete Stanley ||
12/04/2003 21:58 Comments ||
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A woman, whose brother was the jetliner pilot killed before hijackers crashed it into the Pentagon on September 11, appealed to a German court today to give an accused conspirator the maximum sentence if he is convicted.
New Yorker Debra Burlingame was one of four relatives of 9/11 victims who travelled to Hamburg to testify in the trial of Moroccan Abedelghani Mzoudi.
They were seeking to bolster the prosecutionâs case by speaking about their losses.
Ms Burlingameâs brother, Charles Burlingame, died just short of his 52nd birthday.
âHe always wanted to do the right thing, and he was slaughtered like an animal,â she told the five judge panel.
âIn view of the nature of the crimes the defendant is accused of aiding and abetting, I respectfully ask that if he is convicted, he be sentenced to the maximum penalty available, 15 years. That is less than two days in prison for each victim.â
More than 20 Americans have formally joined the prosecution as co-plaintiffâs against Mzoudi, only the second 9/11 suspect to stand trial anywhere.
He is accused of more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organisation for allegedly giving logistical aid to the three suicide hijackers who lived and studied in Hamburg.
More than two years after the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, prosecutors said the relativesâ testimony is important to illustrate the attacksâ human cost.
âItâs a very technical trial, and I think itâs important to add a face to the case,â said lawyer Sven Leistikow, who represents two of the relatives testifying.
As Joan Molinaro, of New York, told of how her firefighter son Carl Molinaro died while saving people from the World Trade Centre, a woman in wept the public gallery wept.
âI have watched my son die hundreds of times from the tapes on TV,â she said. âI still yell for Carl to run faster and I still search the faces in the crowd and hope this time he will get out but he never does.â
Deena Burnett, whose husband Tom fought with hijackers on United Airlines Flight 93 in a struggle that crashed the airliner in rural Pennsylvania and prevented the terrorists from reaching their destination, could not stop herself from crying as she told how his death had affected their three young daughters.
âI hear them talking to their dad by whispering to him at night,â said Burnett, of Little Rock, Arkansas.
âThey stick crayon drawings to helium balloons and watch them drift up to heaven with their childrenâs belief that an angel will take them to Tom.â
Bostonâs Dominic Puopolo was the first in his family to learn his mother, Sonia , had died in one of the flights that hit the World Trade Centre and recalled the devastating duty of having to tell his father and siblings.
He said that day he swore to make sure people understood what the attacks meant to individuals.
âIâve found myself stuck in a moment I canât get out of in my desire to participate in processes like this here today to see justice is brought to people of this world who defend their cowardly acts and hide behind a religion of peace.â
Mzoudi, 30, is accused of providing logistical support to the Hamburg al-Qaida cell that included suicide pilots Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah.
Prosecutors say he took care of financial transactions when cell members were out of the country, and helped conceal them from authorities when they were back in Germany.
Mzoudi denies the charges. His attorneys have argued that while he was close to the members of the cell, he was unaware of their plans.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe looked increasingly isolated on Thursday as his party gathered in the shadow of a Commonwealth ban and efforts to expel Harare from the International Monetary Fund. Far from the pomp and ceremony of the Commonwealth summit in Abuja, where Britain's Queen Elizabeth began a state visit yesterday, Mugabe's ZANU PF party begins its own conference today amid calls for quitting the 54-member body.
"Yeah, dammit! We'll quit! That'll show 'em! We don't need them! We don't need anybody! "
In a fresh blow to the embattled Mugabe, the IMF said yesterday it had begun steps to expel Zimbabwe from the fund, saying state policies had failed to actively address the economic woes of the country, in arrears to the IMF since 2001.
"Well, it ain't much of an International Monetary Fund if they don't give us international money..."
Mugabe was due for the official opening ceremony of the annual ZANU PF party conference tomorrow at Masvingo, at the heart of a drought-prone farming and mining area and known mainly for the ruins of Great Zimbabwe on the edge of town - the relics of an ancient trading civilisation. ZANU PF says the main agenda will focus on Zimbabwe's severe economic crisis, the government's controversial land reforms and on ways to strengthen its party structures for parliamentary polls due early in 2005. But the Commonwealth is bound to figure.
No matter how hard they try to ignore it...
Officials said ZANU PF was likely to give the go-ahead, if Mugabe wished, to quit the Commonwealth, which suspended him over allegations of vote rigging in his 2002 re-election. Mugabe accuses "white racists" within the 54-member group of mainly ex-British colonies of pursuing a vendetta against him for giving white-owned farmland to landless blacks.
I think the reason they're pursuing the vendetta is because he's managed to take one of the wealthiest countries in Africa and turn it into a basket case through sheer force of personality and an absolutely epic talent for mismanagement and corruption. What do you think?
"I think there is going to be a resolution that if the Commonwealth is going to be an organisation where there is no respect for national sovereignty, where a small group of white racists are going to be allowed to dictate their wishes on everybody, then Zimbabwe must not be part of that Commonwealth," said one senior official who declined to be named.
There's the door. Don't let it hit you on the ass on the way out...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/04/2003 15:06 ||
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You're right per usual Fred... Bob is a major league death talent. But perhaps he can turn his PR problem around like Comrade Stalin managed to. I'd be looking for the NY Times for help.
#2
The IMF needs to give Bob the boot as well, pronto. I hope somebody has made a list of all the groups that Zimbabwe needs to be ejected from.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/04/2003 17:38 Comments ||
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Even the church I attend is sending money to Bob's opposition. Funny thing is that Christian church's (pick your denomination) are usually supportive of socialism. They just don't get the connection that Bob is just another in a long list of "good socialists gone bad".
Posted by: remote man ||
12/04/2003 19:02 Comments ||
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After 70 years of distinguished service, the U.S. Army is preparing to retire the M2HB .50-caliber machine guns. Replacing the M2 will be the lighter and more accurate XM312 .50 caliber (12.7 mm). The new weapon from General Dynamics, Falls Church, Va., is based on prototypes of the companyâs XM307, a rapid-fire grenade launcher scheduled to see service in 2010. Changing only the barrel and five other parts converts the grenade launcher into a machine gun. But the Pentagon didnât want soldiers to wait for a more accurate and stable weapon, so the Army is deploying XM312s two years from now.
The XM312 is a lightweight, low-recoil gun that mounts on vehicles and tripods and fires standard .50-caliber cartridges, including tracers, armor-piercing incendiaries, and sabot light-armor penatrators. Rounds feed from the left or right using the same deteriorating metal belt as the M2 uses.
The gun weighs just 43 lb, including tripod, much less than the Browning M2âs 128 lb, but still heavy enough to require a two-man team. Its peak firing rate is only 260 rounds/min, much less than the M2âs 600 rounds/min. The relatively slow rate of cyclic fire or peak firing rate makes the new weapon ineffective against fast-moving and airborne targets. But the XM312 should have a slightly higher practical rate of fire (the rate of fire a gun can sustain for an indefinite period without damage) than the M2âs 40 rounds/min. Range will also improve, going from the M2âs 1,500 to 2,000 m. A planned magnification and night-vision scope will let GIs take advantage of this longer range. EFL
#3
Still, there was nothing like a quad-50 to cheer a body up.
Oh well, that's progress for ya..
Posted by: Michael ||
12/04/2003 18:23 Comments ||
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#4
Still, there was nothing like a quad-50 to cheer a body up.
Oh well, that's progress for ya..
Posted by: Michael ||
12/04/2003 18:30 Comments ||
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#5
I personally prefer the chassis-mounted Vulcan, with a couple of tubs of ammo and a full mix of rounds. Now THAT would provide "crowd control". Friend of mine wants to build a vehicle to mount the GAU-8 30mm cannon from the A-10. Says it will provide "added firepower" to the M1A1 and Bradley. Kinda sounds like overkill to me...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 18:52 Comments ||
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OP: Your friend sounds like a real character. Not a lot of people would look at the A-10 and think, "Nice plane. Not enough guns."
#7
The GAU-8 is bigger than a volkswagen bug, you're gonna need a hella big vehicle just to mount it let alone have it traverse and god I'd hate to imagine the vibration on that sucker.
Posted by: Val ||
12/04/2003 20:01 Comments ||
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So their retiring the Ma Deuce huh? Great weapon, can actually use it for indirect fire to.
EFL:
It looms above the palm trees, gleaming like a tiara - the $12 million convention hall built for a Miss World pageant that this picturesque but poor Chinese city hopes will put it on the global tourism map. On Thursday, factory worker Wang Qiuyan gazed at the building in wonder, soaking it all in. "It looks like an emperorâs crown," said Wang, 20, who came from out of town for the pageant. She couldnât afford a ticket but wanted to be in Sanya anyway for the excitement of the pageant finals Saturday.
Sanya is Chinaâs southernmost city, a palm-shaded resort on Hainan Island - dubbed "Chinaâs Hawaii" by boosters - some 2,700 miles southwest of Beijing. Though Hainan attracts millions of mostly Chinese visitors a year to its golf courses and sugar-white beaches, most here still make their living farming or fishing. Sanya has invested millions to host Miss World, the first such international competition in China and the latest in the countryâs efforts to become a global player.
"It is a milestone in the development of Chinese culture," said Sanya Mayor Chen Ci at a press conference. "We did spend quite a lot of money, but the consequence will be huge. It will have a positive influence on the cityâs future." The city of 500,000 people has spent $31 million repaving and repairing roads, highways and bridges, the mayor said. He said that would help with other sporting and business events held on the island. Investment in infrastructure is always a good idea.
Under Chinaâs tight security, the competition seems unlikely to experience the upheaval that it did last year in Nigeria. That contest was hastily moved to London after more than 200 people were killed in rioting between Muslims and Christians. The fighting erupted after a Nigerian newspaper suggested the Muslim prophet Muhammad would have approved of the Miss World pageant - and might have wanted to marry a contestant. Most contestants are a little old for..., sorry, cheap shot.
In one Sanya neighborhood filled with Muslims of Chinaâs Hui minority, many said the pageant and the hubbub surrounding it didnât affect them. No one seemed too upset at the contest, though a few dismissed it as irrelevant. "It doesnât interfere with our beliefs," said Hai Yelong, a 60-year-old Muslim pedicab driver. Besides, he said of the contestants, "Everyone likes to see them." You got that right. Unless, of course, youâre a total wackjob.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 2:56:54 PM ||
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Besides, he said of the contestants, "Everyone likes to see them."
Where there's Hope there's sex. No wait, the other way around, where there's sex there's Hope.
Pat Tillman was the starting strong safety for the Arizona Cardinals when the 9/11 attacks occurred. He played out the 2001 season and then with his brother Kevin, a former minor league baseball player, enlisted in the Army Rangers. In doing so, Tillman walked away from a three-year, $3.6 million dollar contract with the Cardinals for an $18,000 salary and plentiful opportunities to get his head shot off. That hasnât happened yet, and God willing it wonât. But the pay cut kicked in right away.
Some Internet surfing revealed that the Tillman brothers are currently deployed somewhere in the Middle East with the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. On the weekend before Thanksgiving, the brothers spoke briefly with their parents, who do not know where they are or what mission they are pursuing. They do know that their sons were in Iraq in the spring during the height of the fighting, and that this summer they were briefly stateside at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington.
Outside of an ESPY award earlier this year and the occasional column, Tillmanâs story has gotten little press, but itâs not all the mediaâs fault. For one thing, as Tillmanâs parents well know, there is precious little information. For another, the Tillmans have not granted a single interview since their enlistment. Apparently determined that their endeavor not be construed as self-aggrandizing or insincere, they have simply done what they said they would do -- leave behind the fantasy world of sports to serve their country. Snip
While media coverage of the Tillman story has been very positive, a subtle "wait and see" attitude prevails in some of the pieces that have been written, as if some revelation about a big-bucks contract, or perhaps a movie deal, will surface sooner or later to compromise his decision. The "mystery" some commentators see in Tillmanâs actions is almost certainly the result of his refusal to grant interviews; if he would only sit for a weepy tell-all, all of their doubts could be put to rest.
For most rantburgers normal people, though, the story is pretty simple -- somewhere in the Middle East, Pat Tillman is serving the United States because he believes it is his duty. Meanwhile, back in the NFL, a contingent of helmeted narcissists -- Rice, Sapp, Jeremy Shockey, take your pick -- grow rich. The closest any of them will come to war is in the numbing military metaphors that have long been part of the repertoire of NFL players, coaches and broadcasters. (Emphasis mine)
Pat Tillman knows where the real war is, which is why he left the fake one behind. If he decides to return to football when his three-year tour of duty is up, he would have the impact of a human disinfectant on the NFL. And his fellow players would owe him their gratitude -- even Simeon Rice, assuming he can reach that high.
What a great story. That we all should be filled with such honor!
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
12/04/2003 11:57:19 AM ||
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#1
If he decides to return to football when his three-year tour of duty is up, he would have the impact of a human disinfectant on the NFL.
Doubtful. There probably won't be much effect once the initial splash wears off. In addition to the the general public's typically short attention span, too many others take the the members of our armed forces and their sacrifices for granted.
#2
There was a guy who played, I think with The Colts with Unitas, Donahue(?) A lineman. He was a combat veteran. He said "I've been to war, football isn't war".
It's not a game either.
Tillman is a stud. I'm sure he has no regrets.
Now Pro Wrestling, That's war man.
#4
What pisses me off is anytime one of those gangsta thug receivers or db's scores a touchdown and SALUTES! Saw one of them doing it LEFTHANDED last weekend (cincy i think?). A complete lack of respect for the people that actually are out there fighting and have EARNED the right to salute by a bunch of overpaid spoiled thugs. The nfl should ban it, just like giving the finger or mooning the crowd. It's awful they let those scum do that.
#5
DF, Staubach was a USNA grad. Not sure about 'Nam time. Rocky Bleyer(sp?), Notre Dame Grad & Steelers running back is a 'Nam vet. Took a round through the thigh.
A lot of the NFL guys (i.e. Keyshawn "crybaby" Johnson, Terrell Owens, and any other grown man who dons earings under his helmet) make me laugh. Million dollar athletes w/fifty-cent brains. Earning adulations for playing a kid's game. I'd rather spend an hour w/a MOH Recipient then get a signed jersey & free tix from any of those chuckleheads.
#6
My wife and I have agreed that when our son is old enough, he will be told the story of an heroic football player named Pat Tillman who sacrificed his career for the country he loved.
Posted by: Tibor ||
12/04/2003 17:20 Comments ||
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#7
Lucky - I coulda sworn the guy you were talking about on the Colts was in fact Art Donovan.
#8
I had forgotten about the Tillmans - but reading this segment brought back my memory of reading about their enlistment some time ago.
In their honor, I will include a snippet of a speech delivered some 93 years ago, in Paris, by President Teddy Roosevelt. Forgive the long quote, but it does some justice to Pat Tillman and his brother:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Shame on the man of cultivated taste who permits refinement to develop into fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a workaday world. Among the free peoples who govern themselves there is but a small field of usefulness open for the men of cloistered life who shrink from contact with their fellows. Still less room is there for those who deride of slight what is done by those who actually bear the brunt of the day; nor yet for those others who always profess that they would like to take action, if only the conditions of life were not exactly what they actually are. The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary.
There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder. Well for these men if they succeed; well also, though not so well, if they fail, given only that they have nobly ventured, and have put forth all their heart and strength.
It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who "but for the vile guns would have been a valiant soldier." (bold italics are mine).
#10
Today is the day we learned of Pat Tillman's death. I am so overwhelmed with sadness and with awe of this man who, along with others, put me, my family, this country and another country's quest for freedom, honor and security above his own importance. My heart and prayers go out to his family, his wife, brother and parents especially. I cannot imagine their grief...but I pray in time they will be somehow comforted to know that so many people like myself, when learning of their husband's, brother's and son's incredible sacrifice for us are left with a new realization of what it means to be a true hero and will stive to be more like Pat.
#11
Our family lost my sister in the Pentagon on 9/11/01; the grief is one we continue to feel. Knowing that men of Tillman's statue supported our counrty and what it represents tends to ease the pain of the loss. It is disheartening that Mr. Tillman pursued the evil that continues to threaten this country and lost his life in the process. Our family appreciates his efforts and grieve with his family and we are sorry for the loss of his life.
The Huichon Machine Tool Factory of the Democratic Peopleâs Republic of Korea has made ultraprecision stone surface plates of various sizes enjoying popularity among users for their good mechanical operation. They are quite different from the cast iron surface plate which is difficult to process precisely and easy to deform in high temperature. The latter also makes errors because of changed circumstances in inspection and calibration of products. The stone plates are more than two times the cast iron plates in hardness and resistance to abrasion and more than 35 times in resistance to heat. And they keep their shapes unchanged for a long time because they have a few factors of shrinkage and expansion. The nonmagnetic stone plates, which are unaffected by surroundings, bear well with acid and water and produce less vibration and noise. They, ensuring precision of 0.0025 mm per one square meter, have already been introduced into different economic sectors. Precision rocks, what will they think of next?
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 11:56:26 AM ||
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I like how they are comparing it to their previously cutting edge caste iron.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/04/2003 12:30 Comments ||
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#3
They could have bought something from Starrett or Mitutoyo that fit the bill. Of course, if they want to re-invent the wheel, by all means, they can knock themselves out...
#4
Well, as much as this sounds funny, it's actually a pretty good breakthrough. Assuming they didn't actually steal the technology from a company like Bomb-a-rama mentions.
The company I work for uses a lot of very precise measuring equipment. Mainly for reverse engineering components with very, very tight tolerances. All of the equipment is built upon several inches of marble. And this equipment is state of the art, with each piece costing tens of millions of dollars.
#5
Swiggles, it's not what they do, it's how they boast about it. It's like that old skit on SNL when the alien spacecraft lands and they order the earth to surrender to them. They boast about this advanced superweapon they have and threaten to use it. Only thing is, when they bring it out, it turns out to be a muzzleloading blunderbuss.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 13:59 Comments ||
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#6
Precision engineering (.0025mm/meter) means they are working on nukes, pure and simple.
#7
Ho hum. We've had precision stone grinding wheels and plates for decades if not centuries. You can order 'em online from a company called Standard Diamond.
EFL
Federal authorities this year mounted one of the most extensive investigations of domestic terrorism since the Oklahoma City bombing, CBS 11 has learned. Three people linked to white supremacist and anti-government groups are in custody. At least one weapon of mass destruction - a sodium cyanide bomb capable of delivering a deadly gas cloud - has been seized in the Tyler area. Investigators have seized at least 100 other bombs, bomb components, machine guns, 500,000 rounds of ammunition and chemical agents. But the government also found some chilling personal documents indicating that unknown co-conspirators may still be free to carry out what appeared to be an advanced plot. And, authorities familiar with the case say more potentially deadly cyanide bombs may be in circulation.
Kill them. Make them kneel in the dirt and kill them on the spot.
Since arresting the three people in May, federal agents have served hundreds of subpoenas across the country in a domestic terror investigation that made it onto President Bushâs daily intelligence briefings and set off national security alarms among the countryâs most senior counter-terror officials. William J. Krar, originally from New Hampshire, last week pleaded guilty in Tyler federal court to possession of a chemical weapon near the East Texas town of Noonday. He faces up to ten years in prison. His common-law wife, Judith Bruey, pleaded guilty to lesser weapons charges and faces up to five years in prison.
Those sentences are entirely too light...
Also arrested this past Spring was Newark, New Jersey resident Edward Feltus. The New Jersey Militia member has pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase fake United Nations and Department of Defense identity cards from Krar. All three have steadfastly maintained their silence, even though talking could reduce their prison sentences, and the investigation has stalled for now. Evidence seized and the fact that none of the defendants will talk has given rise to speculation that unknown conspirators may be still be involved in a broader plot to use Krarâs home-built chemical weapons. âOne would certainly have to question why an individual would feel compelled to stockpile sodium cyanide, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, unless they had some bad intent,â said Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Rivers, who is prosecuting the case. âThey certainly had the capacity to be extremely dangerous.â
#1
Holy f*cking sh*t. Well, to practice what I preach, I hereby denounce the bejeezus out of these dumba$$ white guys, and hope that each and every one of them suffers a horrible illness and dies.
#2
I blogged an extensive rant earlier this year about the misplaced priorities in the War on Terror. This illustrates one of my main points perfectly. We have terrorism on-going in the United States all the time. This is NOT the first time that White Supremicists have been caught with WMD, there was a ricin arrest a few years ago. Add in the ELF and a few other groups, and we have a creditable threat before we even consider the Islamofascists. A ton of money and effort is being spent on what the Islamofs might due to us, while the existing problem is ignored to a great extent. Above all, we need to address existing threats before we worry, for example, about another shoe bomber.
EFL
The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the past two decades, according to the Census Bureauâs first report on the group.
I'm so... not comforted.
The bureau counted nearly 1.2 million Arabs in the United States in 2000, compared with 860,000 in 1990 and 610,000 in 1980. About 60% trace their ancestry to three countries: Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. While earlier Arab immigrants came from countries with large Christian populations, newer arrivals come from heavily Muslim countries such as Iraq and Yemen. Almost half of the Arabs in the United States live in five states â California (190,890), New York (120,370), Michigan (115,284), New Jersey (71,770) and Florida (77,461). New York City, the first stop for millions of immigrants for more than a century, had the largest Arab population among U.S. cities, 69,985. Dearborn, where many Arabs first settled to work in the automobile industry, was next at 29,181. Sterling Heights, Mich., was the city with the largest percentage of Arab-Americans, 3.7%, followed by Jersey City, with 2.8%. Dearborn was not ranked because the Census Bureau only counted cities with at least 100,000 residents; Dearborn has about 98,000.
Arab-Americans say their population is larger than that reported, but many are reluctant to fill out government forms because they came from countries with oppressive regimes. The Arab American Institute Foundation said that just over 15,000 visas were issued to immigrants from Arab countries in 2002, compared with more than 21,000 in 2001. The backlash that occurred against Arab Americans following Sept. 11 served to draw them closer and get more involved in politics. The concentration of Arab-Americans in a few key election states, particularly Michigan, also has boosted their political influence.
In October, seven of the nine Democratic presidential candidates addressed the Arab American Instituteâs national leadership conference either in person or by satellite, and an eighth, Wesley Clark, had a statement read for him because he was losing his voice. "These days, anything that moves votes one way or another by the thousands can have an impact of seismic proportions," said pollster John Zogby, himself an Arab-American. Make of it what you will. Just passing along the report.
Posted by: growler ||
12/04/2003 11:33:16 AM ||
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#1
I wonder what percentage of these Arab immigrants are Christians running the hell away from their psychotic ROPMA brethren.
In 1992, the American Muslim Council estimated there were more than 5 million followers of Islam in the country, of whom 12 percent were Arabs. Other Arab and Muslim groups say the number is closer to 6 million Muslims, a population that would make them more numerous than Jews.
"That's way too high. I say it's more like 3 or 4 million [Muslims]," said Steve Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonpartisan group that studies the impact of immigration.
He and others stressed that Arabs do not account for most Muslims in this country. Forty-two percent of Arabs are Catholic, 23 percent Orthodox Christian and 12 percent Protestant, according to the Zogby survey.
In 2001, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), released by the City University of New York, estimated the total number of Muslims in America to be no higher than 2.8 million â or 1 percent of the population and roughly half as large as the Jewish population.
#3
I wonder what percentage of these Arab immigrants are Christians running the hell away from their psychotic ROPMA brethren.
That would be a lot of them. I know of a number of Armenians and Coptic Christians in evangelical churches who are not favorably disposed towards Muslims.
#4
IIRC, about 2,5 millions christian arabs left their home (mostly Lebanon and Israel, where palestinian christians are driven away in numbers by the Hamas & co) during the last 20 years or so; also, a "significant" part of the "kurdish" iraqi refugees asking for asylum in EU are also said to be christian arabs forced out by the re-islamization of the Hussein regime. Egyptian Copts are also under a severe pressure, thanks to fundies, and their elite tends to emigrate.
#5
I knew a lot of Christian Arabs in Detroit. Mostly Lebanese. Good people. Too bad they couldn't be left alone enough to prosper in their homelands. When they were chased out, reminds me a lot of the brain drain experienced by Europe during Jewish persecution during the inquisition.
THE DECISION WEDNESDAY by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals involves a 1996 terrorism law that outlaws financial assistance or âmaterial supportâ to organizations classified as terrorist by the State Department. The San Francisco-based appeals court struck down part of the law, ruling that it is unconstitutional to punish people â sometimes with life in prison â for providing âtrainingâ or âpersonnelâ to a terror group.
I heard about this on the radio on the way to work this morning. If this stands, the rest of us might as well cut our throats. These beauzeaux are demanding we commit national suicide. After all the normal people are dead, and the country's refilled with immigrants from Pakistan and Yemen, these guys will take a weekend course in shariah law and stay in business, ruling who gets his head cut off.
During the heyday of the Greeks, when somebody committed a non-hanging offense the punishment was exile. I don't think these guys should be hung, though I do think they should be removed as a body and beaten with a stick in public. And I think they should be exiled to Karachi, forbidden to ever set foot in the United States again.
Posted by: TS ||
12/04/2003 11:11:22 AM ||
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#1
It's the 9th Circus again. What do you expect.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 11:28 Comments ||
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#2
I'm beginning to think that we need two Amendments to the Constitution. The first would provide for a Congressional review of the Appellet and higher justices every ten years. If a justice is found to be usurping the Legislative branch, they're fired. We could start with the 9th Circuit Court.
#3
This 'victory' by the left in the 9th circus of apples will bt short lived. Even these 'anti-patriot act' politicians have failed to enter a bill that repeals this law. They are hoping that the courts will do what they (politically) cannot.
#4
I think you'd find a lot of people with reservations about the Patriot Act who have a lot of problems with this decision. No need to pay attention to the 9th Circuit anymore - better to wait for the reversals.
#7
The 9th Circus, sequestered in San Francisco, is prima facia evidence we need to impose limits on the terms of all members of the Judiciary. Too many loonie toons get "elevated" to federal posts where they are a loose cannon, doing more harm than good, and it's just too damned hard to fire them. Let them serve a six-year stint, exdendable once, then force them to either move up, down, or out the door. I'll help draft and press for such a Constitutional amendment.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2003 19:08 Comments ||
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#8
Congress has the power to impeach these clowns, yes?
Posted by: Pete Stanley ||
12/04/2003 22:01 Comments ||
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Two part series by CBS 11 in Dallas/Ft Worth. Part one, EFL:
Itâs Ramadan, the holiest Islamic month, and the call to prayer rings out daily to the Texas prison systemâs more than 7,500 Muslim inmates. Their burgeoning numbers are a testament to the fast pace of Islamic converts sweeping through the nationâs prisons. But CBS-11 has uncovered a disturbing half-hour videotape apparently used as a recruitment tool in the Beto One Prison Unit in East Texas. The confiscated video is titled âA Message to the Oppressedâ and carried a militant Islamic sermon in praise of terrorists to inmates before authorities seized it during Islamic services. The tape features the anti-Semitic exhortations by the California-based Imam Muhammad Abdullah who claims that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were actually carried out by the Israeli and U.S. governments.
âAre we to believe that some person that some people walked in airports and hijacked airplanes and then just went and blew up buildings blew up the Pentagon? This is ignorance to the max.â
The Imamâs tape ends by giving credit to Hamas, al-Jihad and Hizballah. All three groups are listed as terror organizations by the State Department. Repeated efforts to reach Muhammad Abdullah were unsuccessful. Public records indicate that Abdullah has been an Imam in the California Youth Authority. Well, isnât that special.
Inmate David Swanson, Assistant Imam at the Ramsey One Unit, says his brothers there would never have allowed such a tape to be shown. âWe donât condone that and we donât try to promote that but at the same time we want Americans, our families, our loved ones to understand that we are in this relationship with God, not any ideologies or any ideas that may be contradictory to what God want us to live,â he said.
"And God wants us to kill people. Lots of people..."
Some terrorism experts say the videotape is new evidence of militant Islamic groups infiltrating prisons through religious programs. The Senate judiciary subcommittee on terrorism concluded recently that U.S. prisons and jails are a key area of recruitment for Al Qaeda and other terror organizations. In the wake of 9-11, the Texas prison systemâs office of inspector general increased monitoring inmate mail under state law.
Part two, EFL:
For the past 14 years, Omar Rakeeb carried an Islamic outreach from his mosque in Midland as a Muslim chaplain to federal and state prisons.
It's been a long time since I was in Midland. Obviously things have changed.
Rakeeb found himself under scrutiny for a controversial videotape shown to Muslim inmates in Texas under his watch. State prison authorities seized the tape at East Texasâ Beto One Unit after learning that it features a militant California imam trying to incite prisoners against the U.S. government. The tape gives support to three terrorist organizations in its closing credits. Rakeeb, speaking for the first time, disavows any connection to the tape. âI didnât have anything to do with showing the tape,â Rakeeb said. "I know nothing, nothing!"
"It ain't mine! Somebdoy left it here!"
He said an inmate ordered the tape to the chaplainâs office. âHe came in and said I had ordered this tape and had it sent through this office, can we look it? Not right now maybe later.â
"Wait'll there ain't no screws around, Mug!"
Rakeeb was unable to explain who removed the tape from Rakeebâs office and who else, besides him, had access to a VCR to show it to inmates. "Errrrrr, can I get back to you on that?"
The prison system is investigating a tape that the Anti-Defamation League says spreads an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. The 55-year-old Chaplain said when asked about the message that heâs not familiar with what Anti-Semitic means. Ah huh
He declined to disavow the theory that Israel and Jews orchestrated the attacks that killed more than 3,000 innocent American office workers. âWell, I heard that. I saw it in different⊠I heard it, I believe on TV and I read it somewhere on the Internet and heard people talking like that,â Rakeeb said. Usually, I just treat it as news, whether it is true or not, I have no way of knowning.â Either heâs a really bad liar, or he is just plain dumb.
The FBI warns that militant Muslim prison chaplains sympathetic to terrorists are trying to recruit inmates as future operatives. Rakeeb, however, says that he preaches that Islam is a religion of peaceâ¢. Yeah, weâve heard that one before.
He boasts proudly that his son is on the front line in the war against terrorism, serving as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne. âHe loves the Army. He loves serving. He reenlisted.â Does he know what youâre doing, Omar? Bet he wouldnât be too proud of you.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 10:41:47 AM ||
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#1
"He boasts proudly that his son is on the front line in the war against terrorism, serving as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne."
Now that's scary!
Posted by: B ||
12/04/2003 10:55 Comments ||
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#2
Sounds like this mutt needs to be sharing a cell down at Beto with the other scum. I certainly hope the 82nd has a few CIC guys taking a long, hard look at his spawn.
North Korea, an isolated country known for totalitarian control, has launched an international e-mail service that "guarantees the privacy of correspondence," Brahahahahahaha....
according to a government news report. The brief dispatch from the official Korean Central News Agency provided few details about the service, including how to subscribe. It is run by Pyongyangâs International Communications Center, according to its official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea keeps a tight lid on its 22 million people to shield them from outside influence. such as democracy, freedom, prosperity, and little things like FOOD,
Few ordinary North Koreans are believed to have computer and e-mail access. TV sets and radios come with fixed channels so that people can only watch or listen to government-controlled media. But in recent years, North Korea has begun opening its electronic borders. In 2001, a China-based Web site opened the first commercial e-mail link to the communist country. Leader kimmie-boyKim Jong Il is known as an Internet porn surfer. When then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang in 2000, Kim asked for her e-mail address. Big Farking deal! Did he ever use it?
Sure he did. He's mailed her over 8,000 pictures of himself naked...
Kimmie-boy has often emphasized the importance of computer technology to enslave his starving millions. Foreign visitors can link their computers to the Internet through tapped and recorded international phone lines available in a few hotels in Pyongyang. An Internet cafe has also opened in the North Korean capital, recent visitors say. Of course this does not say anyone but the highest party officials get access.
Posted by: CrazyFool ||
12/04/2003 10:20:13 AM ||
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#1
We must set up a prize for the first certified Nork on Rantburg. I'd offer a suckling pig but I fear that would be a bandwidth destroyer, perhaps a box of Jello.
#7
I'll pony up a six-pack of Bud Light. I will ship to anywhere in North Korea. Come on Nork ranters I know you are out there. Caveat: This does not apply to Kimmie!
#10
I remember one of the guys in Vietnam bringing back six cases of Black Label for the squadron bar one time. One of the senior NCOs made him drink the entire lot. Took more than six weeks. Now THAT's a gift for Kimmie. I'm sure there's a CONEX box somewhere with some of that rat pi$$ still stashed away. We all need to look! 8^)
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2003 0:32 Comments ||
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International police body Interpol has issued a global notice for the arrest of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Unfortunately, it doesnât say "Dead or Alive".
Mr Taylor has been indicted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone. Interpolâs "red notice" is not an arrest warrant but national police can use it to make a provisional arrest. It was posted on Interpolâs website with a photo of Mr Taylor in suit and a warning that he "may be dangerous". Nigeria is not likely to arrest him, but this may come in handy if he decides to take a trip.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 8:40:39 AM ||
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#1
The official Interpol red notice. Click the button at the bottom for the Wanted poster, suitable for framing or posting at your local grocery store...
Granma International: Bolton threatens Cuba again (Note: Granma is the newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party)
WASHINGTON (DPA) The U.S. government has accused five countries of procuring weapons of mass destruction and threatened them with serious consequences. The accusations were hurled by John Bolton, the State Departmentâs Secretary for Armaments Control, and were directed at Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Libya. It should be the President uttering these threaths. And Cuba belongs right on the list, even though American leftists will try to portray Castro as a peace-loving idealist; Castro sold Bioweapons technology to Iran, and Cuban intelligence officers have been spotted in Venezuela training Islamists.
âWhat happened in Iraq should be a lesson to these countries,â Bolton stated at the Institute of Foreign Policy Analysis in Washington. Mr. Bolton, as much as I appreciate this talk, I would appreciate it vastly more if it were backed up by action.
âThe lesson that emerges from Iraq is that the United States is determined to go after those countries that intend to develop weapons of mass destruction programs,â he added. Unfortunately, it doesnât look as if Mr. Bush is willing to attack other countries, but one can always hope.
Patience... Patience... One thing at a time.
Posted by: Sorge ||
12/04/2003 8:26:47 AM ||
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#1
Remember the sattelite jammers run by the Iranians in Cuba?
#2
Bolton seems to be the State Departments official threatener:
IRAN Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi here on Wednesday branded US Deputy Secretary of State John Bolton's remarks on Iran as "rude, undiplomatic, and due to numerous defeats of the US unilateral policies."
N. KOREA Six- nation talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis may not take place this month and may be pushed back to January or February, a United States official has warned. The first indication that preparations for the talks could be in trouble came hours after top State Department official John Bolton warned that Pyongyang should not seek to stall the meeting expected around Dec 17 or 19.
SYRIA, etc. A leading U.S. official has asserted that Syrian weapons of mass destruction threatens U.S. interests. Undersecretary of State John Bolton warned that the United States plans to use diplomatic and other unspecified measures to halt the WMD programs of Syria and other states he deemed as rogues.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/04/2003 11:07 Comments ||
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#3
He is part of the top secret Army of Johns.
Oh wait, I take that back.
crap
Posted by: john ||
12/04/2003 12:45 Comments ||
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#4
Here are some tidbits on a World Tribune article I just saw a while ago.
Undersecretary of State John Bolton warned that the United States plans to use such 'robust' measures as seizure to halt the WMD programs of Syria and other states he deemed as rogues. Such states, he said, includes Cuba, Iran, Libya and North Korea.
In an address Tuesday to the Fletcher Conference [check out the link] in Washington, Bolton said the United States and its allies have been steadily preparing for the interception of WMD and missile shipments to Syria and other Middle East states. He said U.S. allies, under the auspices of the Proliferation Security Initiative, have been training in naval interdiction exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and other areas.
"Rogue states such as Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya and Cuba, whose pursuit of weapons of mass destruction makes them hostile to U.S. interests, will learn that their covert programs will not escape either detection or consequences," Bolton said. "While we will pursue diplomatic solutions whenever possible, the United States and its allies are also willing to deploy more robust techniques, such as the interdiction and seizure of illicit goods."
"If rogue states are not willing to follow the logic of nonproliferation norms, they must be prepared to face the logic of adverse consequences," Bolton continued. "It is why we repeatedly caution that no option is off the table."
Bolton is regarded as the most powerful member of the Bush administration in the U.S. effort to stop WMD and missile proliferation. His assessments on the WMD programs in Syria and other countries have often clashed with those of his State Department colleagues.
Last month, the CIA released a report that said Syria has been seeking foreign assistance to establish a solid-propellant rocket motor development and production capability. The report said Syria has developed the extended-range Scud D and possibly other variants with assistance from North Korea and Iran.
The CIA also said Syria was found to have been seeking chemical weapons expertise from foreign sources in the first half of 2003. The report said Damascus has stockpiled sarin and has tried to develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents.
The undersecretary said Iran plans to continue its development of a nuclear weapons program despite an agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency to sign the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Bolton said Teheran has already backtracked from pledges to the IAEA to end Iran's uranium enrichment program.
The IAEA resolution on Iran passed on Nov. 26 provides the Islamic republic with its last chance to avoid international censure, Bolton said.
Citing an Article 12C of the IAEA statute, Bolton said "one more transgression by Iran will mean that the IAEA is obligated to report Iran's noncompliance to the Security Council and General Assembly of the United Nations."
The State Department official did not rule out U.S. action outside the IAEA to stop Iran's nuclear program. On Dec. 16, the United States will host the fifth operational meeting of the PSI, which includes Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain. The meeting will bring together legal experts to explore the authority of nations to stop shipments of WMD and missiles.
[On Wednesday, China, a leading missile and WMD supplier to Iran and Syria, released a so-called white paper on nonproliferation that detailed Beijing's policy in stopping the export of missiles as well as components for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. The report cited efforts by a range of government agencies and came days before the scheduled visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to the United States.]
"The real issue now is whether the [IAEA] board of governors will remain together in its insistence that Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is illegitimate, or whether Iranian efforts to split the board through economic incentives and aggressive propaganda will succeed," Bolton said. "For our part, the United States will continue its efforts to prevent the transfer of sensitive nuclear and ballistic missile technology to Iran, from whatever source, and will monitor the situation there with great care."
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/04/2003 15:11 Comments ||
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Land mine explosions killed two Russian soldiers and wounded six in the previous 24 hours across Chechnya, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said Tuesday. Another five soldiers were killed and five wounded when rebels fired on federal positions 18 times, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Outnumbered and outgunned by Russian soldiers, the rebels rely on land mines and hit-and-run attacks. Outside Nozhai-Yurt, one sapper was killed and three wounded as they worked to defuse land mines hidden along the roadside, the Chechen official said. Two more soldiers were wounded when they stepped on a land mine in the outskirts of Tsotsyn-Yurt village. Another soldier was killed and one was injured when a land mine exploded in Gansolchu in the Kurchaloi district.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/04/2003 12:55:44 AM ||
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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.
