Saudi Arabia will make all possible efforts to improve its international image with the support of friendly countries as well as foreign organizations and institutions, Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari said here yesterday.
You mean you're going to institute religious freedom; treat women like they're lovely creatures with not only minds and aspirations and abilities of their own, but also the possessors of what men most desire; venerate achievement and despise parasites, to include certain holy men; and protect the weak from the rapacious?
Opening the second annual communication forum titled "The image of Saudi Arabia in the world", organized by the Saudi Association for Media & Communication (SAMC), Anqari said the anti-Saudi media campaigns were targeting the Kingdom's institutions and values. "Since the Sept. 11 events, Saudi Arabia has been facing strident media campaigns that vied with one another to tarnish the Kingdom's international image and tried to discredit its values and institutions," the minister said in his keynote address.
It's values don't include anything resembling individual liberty and its institutions are rooted in absolute rule...
More than 100 prominent personalities from within and outside Saudi Arabia are taking part in the four-day forum. They include delegates from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan in addition to their counterparts from Arab and Gulf states. "This forum seeks to study the situation of the Kingdom's image in the world and work out strategies to project its true image at political, media, cultural and social levels inside and outside the country," the minister said.
Send me a coupla mil and I'll work out a program for you. You won't like what you have to do, though. Though the turban in the street might...
He said the Saudi leadership had always tried to preserve the Kingdom's image. "This state gives Islamic values utmost consideration and strives for improving the image of its institutions," he added. "We will work with our friends in the world to highlight the true picture of Saudi Arabia, the qibla of Islam and Muslims and the heart of the Arab world," he said and called upon Saudi youth to keep away from activities that would tarnish the image of Islam and their country.
"Yeah. Don't be doin' that stuff here. Go to Iraq or someplace..."
Anqari said the Higher Education Ministry was making contacts with educational agencies and institutions in other countries to correct the distorted picture of Saudi Arabia. "These efforts have started yielding fruit and we are continuing these efforts," he added. He said the ministry would transfer the researches and recommendations of the forum to relevant organizations in the West after translating them. He emphasized the role of Saudi men and women in presenting the true picture of their country to the outside world.
You'll have a new image when you have women cops busting the worst titty bars in Riyadh. You'll have a new image when you have Soddy comedians making fun of the imams and princes on national terriblevision. You'll have a new image when you open the King Fahd Technical Training school to turn out your own plumbers, electricians, and carpenters. You'll have a new image when the Prince Nayef Memorial Dance Hall opens in Jeddah. You'll have a new image when you lay the cornerstone of the Great Cathedral of Mecca.
Dr. Ali ibn Shuwail Al-Qarni, chairman of SAMC, said the forum would have 12 sessions, three discussion sessions and a final open dialogue, saying that they would deal with all issues and topics to promote the Kingdom's global reputation. He stressed the importance of improving the Kingdom's image abroad as it plays an essential role in shaping and directing public opinion. "The recent international events have made it all the more important to study the conceptual image held by the countries around the world about the Kingdom and the factors contributing to its development," he said. He said SAMC's second forum was dedicated to investigating the conceptual image of the Kingdom around the world. "It is hoped that such experiences will benefit us in recommending information programs to improve the image of the Kingdom around the world," he said.
If you had individual liberty in your country, you wouldn't have to worry about "projecting an image." You'd be able to project some substance.
Al-Qarni said the forum would review the current endeavors and programs to improve the Kingdom's image and suggest new methods and programs to do the work more effectively. "We have already sent messages on the forum to more than 10 million e-mail addresses in the USA, Canada, Europe and other countries," he pointed out.
Oboy. More spam.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2004 9:34:38 PM ||
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You mean you're going to institute religious freedom; treat women like they're lovely creatures with not only minds and aspirations and abilities of their own, but also the possessors of what men most desire; venerate achievement and despise parasites, to include certain holy men; and protect the weak from the rapacious?
Fred, I don't believe that individual liberty and religious freedom are on the agenda. Nothing is said about improving conditions it's just the image they want to improve. Get out the smoke and mirrors and don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain.
#2
Glowing green glass. Now that would be an improved image in many Rantburg minds. Quick, simple, no execise, no dieting required.
Posted by: Don ||
10/02/2004 22:42 Comments ||
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They don't mention what needs to improved, beyond image. They can improve their image as much as they like, but it wont change who and what they are. Well, they've got the time and the money to indulge in absurd little propaganda exercises like this.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - The Brazilian government denied acquiring key nuclear technology from Pakistan amid allegations that a smuggling network headed by disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan may be the source. Brazil's navy, which launched the South American nation's nuclear program in the 1980s, said in a statement on Friday that it "denies any type of link with Pakistan regarding the development of Brazilian centrifuges."
Brazil's Ministry of Science and Technology said it "objects to news accounts attributed to anonymous sources without the support of any institution or country and that try to link decades of scientific development and technologies to obscure procedures or to international scandals." Henry Sokolski, a former Pentagon official who now runs the Non-Proliferation Policy Education Center think tank in Washington, told AFP Friday that Brazil's centrifuges look similiar to a type sold by Khan's network, which supplied Iran, Libya and North Korea.
On Thursday, the daily Estado de Sao Paulo reported that Sokolski said in Washington that officials in the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency suspect that the network is the source of Brazil's centrifuge technology.
Brazil, which is widely believed to have a peaceful nuclear program, has since February blocked IAEA inspectors from coming to inspect its uranium enrichment facilities, saying it wanted to protect industry secrets. IAEA inspectors are due to arrive in Brazil on October 15 to resolved the dispute.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/02/2004 1:51:50 AM ||
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Does the US, Great Britan/UK, France or Russian block the IAEA ever?
I didn't thing so.
What is Brazil hiding? The protecting industry secrets lie is horse pucky.
#3
Since when has the IAEA ever given away trade secrets. I mean are they using 13 year old girls to wring it out by hand in Brazil? Has it crossed Brazil's colective mind that lots of Physicists might be able to figure this out on their own? This is simple trust but verify stuff. Unlike Israel, Brazil has signed the non-proliferation treaty. The IAEA does have a right to inspect. This again is trust but verify territory.
Musleem is a dying breed of Chechen rebel -- he speaks flawless Russian, can recite Pushkin by heart and speaks fondly of ethnic Russian friends from university. Five years after war began again in Chechnya, the average rebel is more like the young men Musleem shuttles between safehouses -- stumbling through Russian, with rudimentary (if any) education and happy to see most Russians through the viewfinder of a Kalashnikov rifle.
This bodes ill for Moscow, observers warn -- as the Kremlin's second war against Chechen rebels enters its sixth year, Russia is running out of people with whom it can make peace. "We're losing not just the republic, but the people," a top Kremlin aide with intimate knowledge of Chechnya admitted to reporters last week. "Moscow is not using its brains, ruling out all talks" with separatists, Musleem, a 40-something who is in charge of support for several hundred rebel fighters, told AFP recently in Chechnya. "People like [former Chechen president and rebel leader Aslan] Maskhadov and me can relate to Russians, we can talk with them. Once we are gone, they'll have to deal with them," he said, nodding at two young 20-something fighters nearby. "And that will be much more difficult."
Chechen rebels today -- figures vary between 1,000 to 5,000, depending on the source -- are ready for ever more chilling tactics and have been infused with Islamic extremists from abroad. The Kremlin brands them all "terrorists" who are funded and aided by international groups like al-Qaeda and has refused all negotiations. The rebels divide largely into two groups -- those who wage a guerrilla war against state targets, led by Maskhadov, and those who launch terror attacks, led by feared warlord Shamil Basayev. Basayev has admitted to some foreign fighters and funding, but says both are limited. Observers and rebels say that Basayev's "radicalized" fighters are a minority -- accounting for as little as 10 percent of the total numbers of rebels, according Ruslan Aushev, the respected former chief of the neighboring republic of Ingushetia.
Their operations have gotten more horrific during the course of the war -- over the past year, women suicide bombers have blown up rock concerts, subways, trains and planes in Moscow and Russia proper. They have also staged spectacular hostage takings, including one at a Moscow theater two years ago and at the Beslan school last month. Aushev, the only Russian official to have gone inside the school and talked with the rebels at Beslan, said "they were much more cruel than during Nord-Ost," the theater hostage taking. "The commander said `you can bring all our relatives here and shoot them, we'll shoot some of the hostages'" in return, he said.
Aushev, who served as Ingushetia's president before being pressured out in 2001 by the Kremlin, insists negotiations with the rebels are the only way to end the war and warns that otherwise, the situation will only get worse. "The first [Chechen] war created the reality we have today ... Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would have women kamikazes in the Caucasus ... I can't even imagine what the second war will create. I simply can't imagine it," he said.
Chechens on the ground and analysts say that 31-year-old Aslan (who like all rebels asked that his real name not be used) is a sign of things to come -- an arm-carrying rebel who works in the law enforcement agencies of its pro-Moscow government. In July Aslan received an offer he couldn't refuse -- the security service offered to take him under its wing. Today the 31-year-old freely walks about the streets of Grozny, where he wouldn't have dared to step in May.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/02/2004 1:31:16 AM ||
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as the Kremlinâs second war against Chechen rebels enters its sixth year, Russia is running out of people with whom it can make peace
I expect, particularly after Beslan, that Russia can make peace with these people.
It just won't be the peace they expect.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/02/2004 2:40 Comments ||
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The peace of the dead for the baby killers.
Worthless bags of skin trying to pass as humans and the reporters they try and humanize them are no better.
#4
This bodes ill for Moscow, observers warn -- lol!
This propaganda is sooo bad that you wonder if it's not really good propaganda, written by the Russian side.
So we are to believe, that if only the Russians would stop killing the smarter terrorists, who are more fluent in Russian, then we could prevent the B-team terrorists from blowing themselves up, before they rape and murder hundreds of children. We could accomplish this because the A-team terrorists (mostly dead now) would have been able to better parse the nuance around the negotiation table.
Hmmm...they have a point. Once they kill all of the B-team guys, who will they talk to the rock throwing 8-12 year olds - who can't speak any Russian at all?
Add to this the recent bizarre phrase from French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The head of the Figaro press group went to see him about the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq; Raffarin assured him they would soon be freed, reportedly saying, "The Iraqi insurgents are our best allies."
#1
And the French are becoming our worst enimas enemies. I would be dead set against EVER getting their sorry asses out of a sling again.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2004 19:55 Comments ||
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French duplicity is now so pervasive that even their centuries-old tradition of treachery, hypocrisy, and cowardice can no longer conceal the truth.
I suppose that the accursed leaders of Froggistan, such as they are, will soon present us with a bill for the damage we caused to Omaha Beach, as well as for looted wine, bloodstained cobblestones and severed hedgerows.
Who knows? Kerry might pay it.
#4
Not sure if this is accurate. Look at the comments on this at WindsOfChange:
http://windsofchange.net/archives/005630.php#comments
Posted by: James ||
10/02/2004 21:44 Comments ||
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France hasn't changed much since the 1789 French Revolution, when they delighted in cutting off the heads of beautiful young women simply because they belonged to the aristocracy. They killed off their best and most talented and accomplished citizens then, and they haven't looked back since.
No wonder the Iraqi insurgents are their "best allies." They make the French long for their head-severing days.
Norway has raised its level of alert after a message attributed to al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri threatening the interests of several Western and Asian countries, officials said on Saturday.
Hummmm...I wonder if Norway's Mullah Krekar (the "spiritual" leader of Ansar al-Islam) did something to anger good ol' Ayman?
The alert was raised from low to moderate, Joern Holme, the head of Norway's anti-terrorism services, said in a communique. "When Norway is threatened so directly there is every reason to take the threat seriously," he said, cautioning that Zawahiri was a key al-Qaeda chief who could influence other groups. However, he added that "nothing indicates there is any imminent risk of a terrorist act".
"No need to panic...yet"
US intelligence analysts have concluded that the message is authentic. Norway was part of the US-led coalition that ousted the hardline Islamic Taliban militia in Afghanistan and still maintains a small contingent of peacekeeping troops there. It did not join the US-led invasion of Iraq last year, although it sent - and has since withdrawn - collaborators troops to help rebuild the country. Zawahiri, the right hand man of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was last heard in a videotape broadcast by the Qatar-based news channel on September 9 in which he forecast a US defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had previously threatened Norway in a message in May last year.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/02/2004 1:38:13 PM ||
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Pretty stupid to piss off the spawn of the Vikings.
Norwegian berserk, Old Norse beserkr (âbearskinâ) in premedieval and medieval Norse and Germanic history and folklore, a member of unruly warrior gangs that worshipped Odin, the supreme Norse deity, and attached themselves to royal and noble courts as bodyguards and shock troops.
The berserkers' savagery in battle and their animal-skin attire contributed to the development of the werewolf legend in Europe.
#3
Diaper heads on skis invading Norway. I'm sure this would be a clandestine operation and go unnoticed.
Posted by: John ||
10/02/2004 15:24 Comments ||
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I just saw a DVD of the History Channel show on the barbarians. The vikings were heavy duty dudes that ranged far and wide, even to Gibralter. They need to get back some of their piss and vinegar and start booting out the riff-raff, like these phony asylum seekers and Mullah Kracker, or they will lose their country.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2004 15:41 Comments ||
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I've got Norwegian and Basque blood. You DO NOT want to piss me off
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/02/2004 16:00 Comments ||
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Yay Norway. Go. Restore the glory of the Vikings. Let's hear about some good old fashion Viking rape, pillage, and plunder. We need some good news for a change. Enough of Baghdad Bob-Dan Rather. Geehaw (or is it jihad back at you from the West).
Posted by: John ||
10/02/2004 16:14 Comments ||
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#7
Soon al-Qa'ida will list the majority of the world's nations on their insane list.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/02/2004 19:38 Comments ||
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via Tim Blair
Italy's adoration of the "two Simonas", the women aid workers abducted in Iraq, began to sour yesterday, as the extent of their sympathy for the Iraqi fight against the allied occupation became clear. In their first big interviews given since their release in return for a reported $1 million ransom on Tuesday, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, gave their backing to insurgents opposing the allied forces.
Miss Pari, when asked why she and her colleague had not asked on their return for the release of other hostages, said: "We didn't know there were any other hostages. No one told us about the British prisoner, nor about the Americans who were beheaded. I say that every life has to be saved, that the right to life is sacred everywhere. If you ask me about terrorism, I'll tell you that there is terrorism and there is resistance. The resistance struggle of people against an occupying force is guaranteed by international law."
The women's comments are likely to cause renewed anger in government circles, following their call soon after their release for Italy's peacekeeping forces to be withdrawn. Miss Torretta admitted that was now studying Islam, although she denied that was planning to convert. The two women have also ruffled feathers by thanking Italy's Islamic community for working for their release before thanking the government and the Italian Red Cross. After they were taken hostage on Sept 7, the two Simonas achieved iconic status in Italy and the conservative government and the opposition put aside their differences to work together for the women's release. But as the Turin newspaper La Stampa said yesterday, national unity has been short lived since their arrival home, wearing kaftans and thanking their captors in Arabic for their release before the cameras of the Al-Jazeera stellite television network.
Posted by: ed ||
10/02/2004 8:13:36 AM ||
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My prediction: The left will aid an abet the next "AL-Queda" attack in the US.
#6
Bulldog, I am thinking that maybe the women agreed to stage the kidnapping to help buddies gain some walking around money. The deal stinks now not just because the Italian government paid the ransom, but because of the events subsequent to their release, the media event on release and now the news that they are studying Islam, etc. And the women: white, young and relatively easy on the eyes were given the right to keep their heads and if they had it to begin with, their virginity.
I am probably being overly paranoid, but the deal just stinks to me.
My little theory, which is just a theory, is the Italian government doesn't know anything about it, but the opposition could entirely be a participant, and the women definate willing participants.
#7
badanov: And the women: white, young and relatively easy on the eyes were given the right to keep their heads and if they had it to begin with, their virginity.
European virgins? I don't think so. It's just not done there. Abstinence, that is.
#8
European virgins? I don't think so. It's just not done there. Abstinence, that is.
Whilst that is true, recall that teenage pregnancy rates in the US are much higher than anywhere in Europe, even though they'vee been falling for some years (and it's also true that the UK's rate is, shamefully, itself the highest in Western Europe). We anglophones haven't got anything to shout about when it comes to issues of sexual responsibility and health (STD rates are higher in the US and UK than continental Europe, too).
#12
Red-Green alliance has new meaning. Former reds are now making common cause with Islamists.
We can expect the EU left to start openly expressing solidarity with the anti-American "resistance" in Iraq. Funding will follow-- if backdoor funding did not already occur in this case... What organization do these jihadettes work for, again?
Madrid, Oct 1 (EFE).- In a scathing attack, a leader of Spain's main opposition party on Friday accused the five-month-old Socialist government of trying "to lynch" the previous administration's main figures and of fomenting the sort of animosity that led to the 1936-39 Civil War. Angel Acebes, deputy secretary general of the opposition Popular Party, or PP, on Friday accused Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of planning revenge and evoking "memories of the scenario that culminated seventy years ago in civil war." Addressing participants in the national congress of Spanish Conservatives, Acebes blasted the "weakness and radicalism" of Zapatero's Socialist government and warned that the PP will not tolerate that "strategy of democratic degeneration." "Neither Adolfo Suarez, nor (Leopoldo) Calvo Sotelo, nor (Felipe) Gonzalez (three former Spanish prime ministers) were subjected to the lynching that Zapatero has now organized" against the 1996-2004 administration of Jose Maria Aznar, Acebes said.
In addition to "bringing back memories of that civil discord," Acebes said the Zapatero administration is also characterized by efforts to dominate the judiciary and harass the Roman Catholic Church.
The severity of Acebes' statements was contrasted by the self-criticism expressed by Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon at his inaugural speech in the Conservative forum. The mayor asked the party's leaders and members to do an "exercise in reality" and acknowledge that "we must have done something wrong." The mayor attributed the PP's electoral defeat on March 14 to "misunderstandings generated in the last few years" between the PP and Spanish society, which "were accompanied by dramatic and absolutely singular circumstances," in reference to the March 11 terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists that killed 192 people in Madrid.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/02/2004 1:44:52 AM ||
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Secretary of State Colin Powell ventured into the thick of the presidential campaign Friday by challenging John Kerry's attacks on President Bush's leadership of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At a news conference in Atlanta, Powell disagreed with the Kerry's contention in Thursday night's presidential debate that Bush missed an opportunity to capture terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. He also dismissed the Democratic candidate's suggestion that Powell had been compelled to apologize for asserting at the United Nations that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had amassed hidden stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
Then, in Washington, Powell took on Kerry over his assertion that Bush had sidestepped U.S. allies in going to war in Iraq and in his overall approach to world problems. "I don't accept that characterization," Powell said in response to a reporter's question as Powell escorted the foreign minister of Belgium, Karel De Gucht, from the State Department after a 30-minute meeting. He said, however, referring partly to Belgium's fierce opposition to Bush's decision to go to war last year, "It doesn't mean we get a blank check from (the allies)."
The leader of the al-Qaida terror network had been cornered in the mountains of Afghanistan, but instead of using well-trained U.S. forces to kill him the administration "outsourced" the assignment to Afghan warlords, Kerry said. Only a week earlier, those warlords had been fighting the United States, he said. Powell, in Atlanta, called that allegation "a stretch."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/02/2004 1:39:23 AM ||
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More than 350 people who have committed crimes or are suspected of terrorist links have been arrested in a federal crackdown on foreigners with visa violations, part of a broader effort to prevent al-Qaida from disrupting U.S. elections.
Why this wasn't done October, 2001, amazes me.
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a Homeland Security Department component known as ICE, are matching identities of visa violators nationwide with names on secret government terrorism databases in hopes of finding al-Qaida operatives. Some groups representing Muslims and Arab-Americans are concerned some people may be targeted because of their ethnicity or religious beliefs.``If somebody breaks the law in terms of their immigration status, they should pay the price,'' bleated said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. ``We can only hope they are not targeting people based on whether they are Muslim.''
By all mean, deport all the Esquimaux with visa violations. Especially the murderous ones.
Since its inception in June 2003, ICE's Compliance Enforcement Unit has opened more than 5,200 investigations of visa violators nationwide. Of those apprehended, 359 are considered ``priority arrests'' - those with possible links to terrorism or known criminal histories. The stepped-up initiative is one of many government efforts given new urgency by persistent intelligence indicating al-Qaida is determined to attack inside the United States before the Nov. 2 election. Special attention is being paid to the hunt for immigration violators because some hijackers involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks had violated terms of their visas. Since the attacks, the government has created several systems for tracking foreigners with visas. They can alert agents to possible violators, such as students who drop out of school and business people who don't do the work they promised when they arrived. Advocates for Muslims and Arab-Americans don't fault the government for pursuing people in the United States illegally. But they say the FBI and ICE efforts, taken together, are triggering renewed fears that U.S. counterterrorism officials are targeting people based on their religion or ethnic or national origin.
And therefore it all has to stop before someone's feelings are hurt.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a statement that it had been contacted by ICE officials after raising concerns that the initiative ``will be selectively carried out against Muslims and Arabs.'' Even after those talks, the group said it remained worried ICE would base many of its investigations on a government registry of men from 24 mostly Muslim and Arab countries. Advocacy groups also raised concerns about the FBI interviews. They say agents appear to be targeting some people multiple times. Justice Department officials acknowledge the FBI is talking to people who have been helpful in the past but also to many others when they gain new information about them.
It's called good casework.
ICE officials insist their investigations are triggered only by alleged visa violations, not by a person's ethnicity, religion or national origin. Priority is given to ``high-risk'' violators whose names appear to match any of those compiled by the government's Terrorist Screening Center, a new FBI-run operation to consolidate U.S. lists of suspected terrorists and sympathizers. ``These are not mass roundups. It's very case-by-case and specific. It isn't targeting any specific race or religion,'' said Boyd, the ICE spokesman. Specific examples given by ICE of recent arrests include:
-A 32-year-old Jordanian, arrested after overstaying a visa, was living in an apartment in which agents found literature involving terrorist affiliations and Internet web sites. Deportation procedures are continuing.
-A 27-year-old Azerbaijani, attending a Maryland college, was arrested and deported after making violent threats against fellow students.
-A 22-year-old Pakistani who didn't maintain his status as a college student in Oklahoma was found to have a loaded firearm, which is a violation for an illegal alien. He was deported.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2004 12:24:32 AM ||
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Why this wasn't done October, 2001, amazes me.
Me too but they may have been worth more on the loose than awaiting deportation. Nothing's quite as effective in rooting out hidden networks as watching the activities of probable contacts.
The U.S. Army, now mobilizing 5,600 former soldiers from a rarely used personnel pool to go to Iraq and Afghanistan, plans to summon a similar number next year for duty in those war zones, a senior official said on Friday. The Army also said it plans to step up recruitment efforts to try to meet goals to sign up 80,000 new soldiers for the regular Army and 22,000 for the Army Reserve in the fiscal year that began on Friday. The Army recruiting command's chief acknowledged the wars were deterring some potential recruits. To plug shortfalls in certain skills in units being deployed, the Army has tapped the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), made up of 111,000 people who have completed voluntary military commitments and have returned to civilian life but remain eligible to be mobilized in a national emergency.
The Army said about 3,900 of the 5,600 IRR soldiers scheduled to be summoned to active duty already have received orders to report. The mobilization, which began in July, is intended to yield about 4,400 soldiers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming weeks and months after the Army provides service exemptions for medical problems and other hardships. Robert Smiley, a senior Army official involved in personnel mobilization, said the Army also expected in mid-2005 to begin mobilizing about another 5,600 from the IRR. "It will be a one-for-one swap, essentially," Smiley told reporters, with the 5,600 IRR soldiers being mobilized next year, replacing the current IRR soldiers after they complete 12-month combat tours."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2004 12:12:41 AM ||
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They are not "ex" soldiers till they get their form DD 214. They are just not on active duty.
I read the contract I signed back in 1973 for a Regular Army commission and it said "may be recalled at anytime at the request of the Secretary of the Army".
Posted by: Don ||
10/02/2004 10:52 Comments ||
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Notice that the Oath you take when you join up has NO expiration date on it.
#3
Don, that's not quite correct. A reservist gets a new DD-214 every time he leaves extended active duty, such as mobilization. I received a DD-214 when I first left active duty for the reserves, but my contract was clear that I had a drilling obligation of several years left before I was completely out of the game. And as an officer, I'm never out of the game unless I resign my commission. I've worked with retirees, guys who were completely gone, because that "retirement" pay is really retention pay. So having your DD-214 doesn't mean you are "ex."
#4
Kerry, in the debate, mentioned the "back door draft." The Democrats are trying to work some dirty tricks. Rangle (D) and his counterpart in the Senate introduced bills to bring back the draft I think to keep the draft rumors that are circulating alive. I have trouble seeing how they will connect the dots to "W." The military does not want the draft. No one else seems to want the draft.
Posted by: John ||
10/02/2004 19:12 Comments ||
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EFL - did he mean efficacy?
"There is, I think it's fair to say, an enormous frustration on many occasions within the American body politic about the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of U.N. agencies," said John R. Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, during a conference at the American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday. "At the same time, there is concern that these agencies not exceed their mandates, that they have responsibilities and duties that their underlying charters or statutes or enabling treaties give them. And we want them to be confined to that."
Charging that the IAEA has been unable to rein in either the Iranian or North Korean nuclear programs, Mr. Bolton said the agency is spending the bulk of its expertise and resources on peaceful nations, when rogue nuclear programs and terrorism are the real concerns. "Sixty percent of the IAEA safeguards budget is spent monitoring compliance with the safeguards agreement of Canada, Japan, and Germany," he said. He said it was incomprehensible that the IAEA had not taken more action on Iran. "Despite the fact that we have now had the Iranian nuclear program, under consideration in the board of governors for six meetings, extending over a period of 18 months, the board has not yet come to the conclusion that Iran should be referred to the [U.N.] Security Council," he said.
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Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/02/2004 12:09:19 AM ||
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"Sixty percent of the IAEA safeguards budget is spent monitoring compliance with the safeguards agreement of Canada, Japan, and Germany," he said.
And it worked because, hey, they don't have nukes, right? So what's he bitching about?
Besides, have you ever seen a 5 star North Korean restaurant? I mean, are they expected to dine like animals?
Filipino Lawmakers yesterday bristled at US President George W. Bush's reference to the Philippines as one of the fronts in the US-led war on terror, warning that it's repercussions could be damaging to the already-struggling local economy. "We've been hit as collateral damage in the Bush-Kerry verbal war," said Recto, referring to the debate on Friday between the US president and his Democratic Party challenger, Sen. John Kerry, which was watched by an estimated 62 million people worldwide. Replying to Kerry's remark that Bush erred in going after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein but allowed Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to escape capture, Bush said the US and its allies were making progress in the war on terror, and that "the front on this war is more than just one place." He said the Philippines was a "major battleground" in the war against terror. Recto said the statement was unfair for the Philippines because it was "false," and damaging because it drives away investors. "If Mindanao is being referred to, all is quiet in the Southern front; in fact, it's not a front anymore. Guns have long been turned into plowshares in that area. Peace is about to be won," he said," he said.
How do you spell "pusillanimous"?
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2004 11:07:58 PM ||
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If this is the same 'pusillanimous' that means 'lacking or showing a lack of courage and manly strength and resolution' (Webster's), then it's spelt P-h-i-l-i-p-p-i-n-e-s.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has outlined his vision for the Muslim world and its relationship with the West with an informed frankness... Malaysia, he said, continues to support the war against terrorism and condemns terrorist acts committed by Muslims. Even though Saddam Hussein was brutal and oppressive, Iraq still "was illegally invaded"... He lamented that "the sheer weight of the problems that face the Muslim world today is tremendous. Many Muslim countries are synonymous with poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition. Some stand out because of oppression, tyranny and injustice. Globally Muslim countries are devoid of a common voice that is taken seriously." The statistics of achievement are dire. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) classifies only five out of 57 Muslim countries "as having high human development" with the majority having a low human development. Similarly only five Muslim countries enjoy a per capita GDP above $10,000 — some 30 Muslim countries have one below $1,000.
Five out of 57 countries aren't a drag on the rest of the world. "Muslim" is synonymous with povery, illiteracy, and malnutrition. To that list we might also add a very high propensity for violence and an absolute veneration of ignorance. And for some reason they demand to be taken seriously by the rest of the world.
Against this background and the continuing carnage in both Iraq and the Palestinian territories, Badawi threw down the gauntlet to both the Muslim world and the West.
Don't throw your gauntlet our way. We're not the ones with the problems.
"Malaysia," he confirmed, "will continue to support the war against terrorism. We will condemn terrorist acts committed by Muslims. We will continue to confront those who claim to fight in the name of Islam but are not worthy to be called Muslims. We will encourage reforms in the Muslim world. But at the same time Malaysia will continue to use our resources and goodwill toward pressing for substantive changes in the way the world works. What is more important, however, is a willingness for the West to meet us halfway, and demonstrate that their policies can change accordingly."
How about a nice, resounding "No!"? Your system demonstrably doesn't work. Ours demonstrably does. The reason Malaysia's not a backward rathole like Pakistan or Bangladesh isn't because of Islam. It's in spite of it. The greater the distance the West can keep between itself and Islam, the better for the West.
Muslims through the concept of a collective Ummah, irrespective of class, education and economic background, have a great empathy with other Muslims.
Which is how they somehow always end up supporting the dictators and princes and holy men, even when the dictators, princes and holy men are blowing up or otherwise slaughtering innocents...
"This is why Muslims who are not affected by poverty or have nothing to do with Palestine feel so strongly about this issue. This is why without addressing the root causes, the war against terrorism will not succeed," he explained.
It's my opinion that the root causes of terrorism are Islamic violence. Addressing the root causes requires the expenditure of large quantities of ordnance, with ropes for the survivors. If Badawi doesn't like the economic conditions within Muslim countries, perhaps he should start an intra-ummah program of holy man eradication and fix things.
Malaysia, he committed, is keen to play the role of honest broker by setting itself up as a center for conflict resolution, "since peace is at the heart of the Islamic faith, I believe that we should demonstrate our commitment to peace in a formal, structured and institutionalized manner."
Do that. Call us when you've got some results to show.
Malaysia is also prepared to take the lead in "energizing trade and services in the Muslim world." Intra-Islamic exports account for less than 10 percent of total Muslim exports. If trade and investments are seen as necessary ingredients for development, Kuala Lumpur wants to encourage the rich capital available in some Muslim countries to be allocated and invested in potential growth markets in the Muslim world. He singled out two areas such as the global market for halal foods worth $150bn annually, and the global Islamic financial services industry worth about an estimated $650bn.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2004 9:50:47 PM ||
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An Islamic militant group claiming to have kidnapped two Indonesian women in Iraq demanded the release of a jailed Indonesian cleric, but the cleric Saturday refused to be freed in an exchange, saying hostage-taking is not in keeping with Islam. Cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who Washington says is a terror mastermind in Southeast Asia, has been in prison since 2002, accused of heading an al-Qaida-linked group. He was arrested three weeks after the Bali bombings killed 202 people that year. On Saturday, the slender, white-bearded preacher — an admirer of Osama bin Laden — castigated the captors as un-Islamic and said he would not be part of any exchange. "I cannot justify this kidnapping. I demand that they be freed as Islam does not condone taking hostages of Muslim sisters and brothers," Bashir said in response to questions by The Associated Press. "If the captors are Muslim, they truly do not understand Islam." Bashir's voice was recorded and a copy of the recording was smuggled out of prison.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2004 9:46:35 AM ||
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An Islamic militant group has asked Indonesia to release Abu Bakar Bashir, the cleric accused of leading Jemaah Islamiah, in exchange for two Indonesian hostages kidnapped in Iraq.
Kill him. Now.
In a video broadcast by Al-Jazeera television today, the Islamic Army in Iraq said "the Indonesian Government arrested Abu Bakar Bashir to please the Australian Government".
Cut his head off...
The cleric last month told the Indonesian Rakyat Merdeka newspaper in an interview that a suicide bomb attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta on September 9 had been part of a US and Australian conspiracy to divide Muslims. Bashir, who is in detention ahead of a trial that will also focus on his alleged leadership of Jemaah Islamiah, condemned the Australian embassy bombing and said the attacks could not be justified. The elderly cleric frequently launches tirades against the United States and Australia, blaming his own incarceration on a US-orchestrated plot. The two Indonesian women, identified by the Indonesian foreign ministry as Rosidah binti Anom and Rafikan binti Amin, were kidnapped by the Islamic Army in Iraq, which said in a previous video also aired by the television company that it had abducted 10 foreigners working for British electronics company G-Bell.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/02/2004 1:28:41 AM ||
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#1
If Bashir is so innocent, why do terrorists feel compelled to try and exchange hostages for someone whom the courts will most assuredly and ultimately find free of criminal wrongdoing?
Like all other convicted high-level terrorists, once found guilty, Bashir needs to be executed directly so that any attempts to win his freedom with hostage exchanges will be obviated.
#2
I say release him. First his hand, then bicep, then a couple of toes...
Posted by: Charles ||
10/02/2004 8:14 Comments ||
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#3
But, but, but, why would Iraqi Resistance fighters be interested in freeing a member of JI on the other side of the world? I mean, it's not like Iraq is part of the global war on terror. John Kerry said so just the other night!
Posted by: Steve ||
10/02/2004 12:06 Comments ||
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'We must have two bombs ready to go in January or you are not Muslims'
Sounds like he expects things to move pretty fast after the election...
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged his country's weapons developers to step up work on making a nuclear bomb, a U.S. official said, according to Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service. According to the official, an authoritative source in the Iranian exile community has stated that Khamenei met recently with senior government and military leaders on the nuclear weapons program. Khamenei told the gathering, "We must have two bombs ready to go in January or you are not Muslims," the official said. Jafari-Jalali, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Majles, stated in an Iranian press interview last week that the recent International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling on Iran to halt uranium enrichment could lead to Tehran withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
If they don't adhere to it, what's the threat worth?
Iran's military announced earlier this month that it would test-fire a "strategic" missile during the Ashura 5 military exercises of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami announced the missile test on Sept. 18. "The climax of this stage of the exercises is the actual missile operations and the testing of a series of missiles with different ranges," he said. Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said earlier this month that "given that an effective deterrent policy does not halt at a certain point, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues upgrading its defensive capability."
Until the rest of the world can't tolerate them anymore...
Shamkhani said Iran has acquired an effective deterrent power to confront its enemies in the region. Iran test-fired a Shihab-3 on Sept. 18 and had also tested one in August. Meanwhile, British intelligence, working with Iraqi security, has uncovered a cell within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that is working to destabilize Iraq. The Iranians had paid insurgents to conduct attacks in southern Iraq. "I don't think there's any doubt that the Iranians are involved and are providing support" to the Iraqi insurgents, Secretary of State Colin Powell said last week.
#1
My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Iran forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.
Posted by: Ronald Reagan ||
10/02/2004 20:14 Comments ||
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#2
Jeeze Louise! This guy wants an Nuke in 4 months and I have some fuel system assessment reports due on Monday. Tell him to get in line!
Wait! I don't have that nuke project on my plate. Hey, I'm off the hook. Whew!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2004 20:17 Comments ||
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#3
I wonder if the January deadline still holds if Kerry wins? Probably could relax it until March or April under a Kerry administration and not announce it until after having taken delivery on the nuclear fuel offered by J"F"K.
#4
This is the most dangerous moment we've seen since the Andropov era. Bush needs to up the ante at every table: in Iraq, we need to seize Samarra and Fallujah and the other sunni/ba'athist holdout cities with overwhelming force, and hold them. W resp to Iran, we need to make it clear that we will take out their facilities in no time flat as soon as the election's over. And w resp to the election, Bush and Rove need to paint Kerry as the idiot peacenik he is, one who would never contemplate the decisive military offensives toward Iraq and Iran that this moment requires.
#6
Agreed, lex. And Bush needs to COMMUNICATE to the american public what is at stake here, and not use the worn out "freedom" and "eveldoers" platitudes. This is a time for decisiveness and laying out the situation concise and clearly. It is a given that Kerry is going to try to undermine the effort and bite GW's ankles. Big deal. Bush can be presidental by leading. And Kerry will be shown as the complainer that he is. LEADERSHIP.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2004 21:18 Comments ||
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Bush should go on TV and make a nationwide address that lays out the stakes, the strategy, and summarizes what's happening in Samarrah right now and what will happen vis-a-vis Iran.
#8
Okay, it was widely known before this that Khamenei was a nut job, but after this demand the nuclear facilities in Iran need to go boom! I also think for obvious reasons we shouldn't force the Isralies to do it, we should do it ourselves.
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
10/02/2004 23:18 Comments ||
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U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan pressed Syria on Friday to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and criticized Lebanon's Syrian-backed president, Emile Lahoud, for seeking to extend his term beyond the constitutionally set limit of six years. Annan also urged Lebanon to disarm the Palestinian militants and Syrian-and-Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia that hold sway in southern Lebanon.
"You guy-y-y-ys, c'mon now, play fair!"
The U.N. chief's remarks were in a 17-page report asserting that Syria has failed to comply with a U.S.-and-French-sponsored Security Council resolution calling for free elections in Lebanon next month, the disarmament of armed militias, and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the former French colony. "I cannot certify that these requirements have been met," Annan wrote. "The Syrian military and intelligence apparatus in Lebanon has not been withdrawn as of 30 September, 2004."
They won't be gone as of 30 September, 2005 either.
Syria maintains that it has redeployed 3,000 troops from camps south of Beirut to a Syrian stronghold in the Bekaa Valley, and that some have returned to Syria. Last month, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell confirmed after a meeting in New York with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Charaa that Syrian troops had abandoned the camps, saying it "was a positive step." But Annan said that the United Nations was not able to verify Syria's claims that its troops or intelligence agents have left the country. Annan also criticized Lahoud's efforts to extend his rule, saying, "It has long been my strong belief . . . that governments and leaders should not hold on to office beyond prescribed term limits."
"They should bounce around in high-level, well-paid, meaningless jobs, just like we do here at the U.N.", he added.
An audio tape purportedly released by Osama bin Laden's deputy urges young Muslims to get organised and go after the United States and its allies, according to comments aired by al-Jazeera TV. The station said the speaker on the tape was Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian-born surgeon and the closest aide to al-Qaeda terrorist group leader bin Laden. It was the second message purportedly from al-Zawahri to surface in less than a month. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the recording, which surfaced hours after al-Qaeda was a major subject in the first US presidential debate ahead of November elections. How recently it had been taped could not be determined from the segments aired. In Washington, a US official said the US Central Intelligence Agency is aware of the tape and is looking at it.
The voice sounded like past recordings of al-Zawahri, but it also made an unusual reference to the possibility al-Qaeda's top leaders are not be invincible. "You, youth of Islam, this is our message," he said. "If we die or are detained, continue the path after us, and don't betray God and his prophet, and don't knowingly betray the trust."
The speaker's words came more quickly and energetically, sounding in general more upbeat than previous tapes believed to be from al-Zawahri. "The interests of the Americans, British, Australians, French, Polish, Norwegians, South Korean and Japanese are spread everywhere," the speaker said. "We must not wait more ... or we will be devoured one country after the other," the speaker said. "The youth must not wait for anyone and must begin resisting from now, and take experience and lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan and Chechnya," the speaker said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/02/2004 1:26:42 AM ||
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#1
For the first time the number two grand mufti of global terrorism has stated France is on al-Qa'ida's terror list.
Chirac must be having a bird and should be reflecting on all those pointed political jabs at Bush over Saddam's removal, have now placed the pandering Parisites on the very same list, with real good guys.
What is this bit about "Norwegians are spread everywhere"?? This creep has been cave dwelling far too long.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/02/2004 3:26 Comments ||
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#2
Curiously, he did not mention Russia. He did mention Chechnya--maybe Russia by default.
Posted by: John ||
10/02/2004 12:38 Comments ||
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#3
France could just surrender now. We could then invade France and liberate them again, i.e. save their butts. We could then go through another cycle of a lack of gratitude.
Posted by: John ||
10/02/2004 12:45 Comments ||
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#4
"We must not wait more ... or we will be devoured one country after the other," the speaker said. "The youth must not wait for anyone and must begin resisting from now, and take experience and lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan and Chechnya," the speaker said.
Excellent. We've seen on numerous occasions just how well untrained, unskilled jihadis do when they go to war.
I see come on out NOW, cockroaches. Plenty of room in hell.
An audiotape, allegedly from Al-Qaida's number two man Ayman al-Zawahiri, aired on Arab television station Al-Jazeera on Friday calling on Muslims to begin "resistance" against "occupation forces" in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. "American, English, Australian, French, Polish, Norwegian, South Korean and Japanese interests are everywhere. All of these nations took part in the occupation of Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya, or helped Israel to survive," the tape said. The recording of al-Zawahiri, which has yet to be authenticated, also focused on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. It said that defending Palestine is not a "political struggle" but rather a religious one. It's a death wish
"Therefore, Muslims cannot abandon Palestine even if the entire world abandons it," the recording said. There is no indication of when or where the tape was recorded.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/02/2004 1:10:16 AM ||
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It said that defending Palestine is not a "political struggle" but rather a religious one.
Methinks Al-Qaida is hoping for more cannon fodder.
Posted by: Charles ||
10/02/2004 8:18 Comments ||
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#2
"'American, English, Australian, French...'"
How's that fostering Arab support at the expense of Western trust and alliances working out for you huh, Jacques? Feelin' the love yet?
"Time for chow!" with extra couscous...
U.S. officials are probing the possibility the al-Qaida terrorist network sought to infiltrate a Texas company in order to contaminate ready-to-eat meals designated for the military. A high-ranking al-Qaida operative provided information leading authorities to nearly a dozen illegal immigrants working for the McAllen, Texas-based Wornick Co., the largest supplier of the meals, according to McAllen's The Monitor newspaper. The firm that places the workers at Wornick has been charged with conspiring to make and use false employment eligibility verification forms.
Pakland's good with the forged documents...almost as good as CBS.
You didn't consider the possibility that CBS hired a Pakistani?
U.S. Attorney Michael Shelby explained, "Immediately after the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban in 2002, U.S. forces on the ground received specific information that links McAllen, Texas, by name and the Wornick facility by name to information within al-Qaida's possession." Armed with the al-Qaida operative's information, the FBI was led to an employee-placement firm, Remedy Intelligent Staffing in McAllen, which referred a number of workers to Wornick. "There had to be an investigation into the possibility that al-Qaida had the intention of infiltrating the Wornick Company for the purposes of contaminating -- possibly -- the MREs produced by the company," Shelby stated, according to The Monitor.
Shelby said no contaminated meals have been found, but 10 temporary employees at Remedy, involved in all aspects of assembling the meals, were convicted in July on charges of stealing Social Security numbers. The indictment of Remedy, unsealed Thursday, was a significant event to servicemen worldwide, Shelby said, noting Wornick officials cooperated with the investigation. Remedy's vice president, James Eckensberger, appeared in court Thursday to enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of the company. "Remedy and all of its officers are responsible for following all federal laws and regulations concerning its own workforce, including those laws that prohibit the hiring of unauthorized workers or illegal aliens," Shelby said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/02/2004 9:58:02 PM ||
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#1
Looks like the govmint has no problem cracking down on illegal aliens, when it wants. 10 down, 12 million to go.
Posted by: ed ||
10/02/2004 0:22 Comments ||
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#2
Shelby said he did not want to discuss where the undocumented workers might have obtained their fake Social Security cards.
These guys still have their heads in the sand.
They're illegal aliens. Say it with me now, I-L-L-E-G-A-L A-L-I-E-N-S.
#4
Wasn't one of those dudes in the British ricin ring have a job in the mess at a British army depot?
I also recall a report from a soldier's blog in Iraq that there'd been some illness after they hired local help for thier mess. I think that was Iraq Now, by a Lt. van Steenwyk or something like that.
Posted by: Pete Stanley ||
10/02/2004 2:37 Comments ||
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#7
And there was NOT ONE question to the two presidential candidates on the security problems posed by illegal aliens and our porous southern border.
How can we protect our country when the President and the Congress refuse to face the issues of illegals coming into this country? There are only a few congressmen that are addressing this issue head on, and they are treated like lepers by the White House and the majority of Republicans that have sold their souls to special interests years ago.
This Texas MRE factory is just the tip of the iceberg. Are US laws going to be enforced, or are we going to go the corrupt ways of central and south america?
I mean, like, its only the future of the US which is at stake.........
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2004 14:43 Comments ||
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#8
Pete Stanley....yes.
Also, remember the outbreaks of "Norwalk Virus" on cruise ships...ships with third world crews I might add....over 28 cruises affected and unusually high incidents on each cruise.
Posted by: jawa ||
10/02/2004 22:52 Comments ||
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Four tribes' chiefs promised to declare a threat to the militants in Fallujah that they should turn themselves to the authorities peacefully or the tribes will fight them. At the same time many citizens in Fallujah stated that they are willing to participate in the upcoming elections. Meanwhile Ayad Allawi gave a statement about a military action in Fallujah to be taken soon.
#1
Nothing quite like the cavalry riding to the rescue when it's damned obvious who the winner is going to be, huh? Maybe they hope they can sack Fallujah and maybe get some loot for being on the winning side.
#2
More likely they're tired of the nightly visits from JDAM and having the recent example of Samarrah tends to be a spur to action. I think that perhaps they understand that the Iraqi government will not use the same restrictive rules of engagement used by the Americans and that there will not be one stone left atop another when the smoke clears.
#3
Israel sez 'EU attention unnecessary, already done enough by arming, funding Paleo terrorists who kill Israeli women, children, infants'.
"Thanks, but you can STFU"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/02/2004 13:28 Comments ||
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#4
The EU is welcome to bite my shorts.
And Israel, in my opinion, is welcome to do whatever it deems appropriate to counter the threat of Paleoboomers-- and I do mean, WHATEVER.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/02/2004 13:57 Comments ||
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#5
I have to agree, Dave, I mean - could the world hate Israel more? I'm not sure it's possible, thus not sure that it matters what Israel does. I figure they only have one friend in the world, us, so as long as we keep the faith...
Which brings us to Skeery...
Mebbe the Israelis should go ahead and nuke everyone threatening them, while they are alive to do it. Their survival is problematic with a Prez Skeery - they'd have little to lose.
#6
"Their survival is problematic with a Prez Skeery - they'd have little to lose. Nov 3rd might be Apocalypse Day."
That's pretty much what I'm figuring. And if Kerry wins, I doubt they'll wait til Inauguration Day to make their move; rather, I expect they'll do it soon after the election so as to have as much of the worldwide post-strike rage as possible dissipate before Bush leaves office. Because once he's gone, they're going to figure they're on their own.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/02/2004 14:24 Comments ||
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#7
"they're going to figure they're on their own"
And they will be dead right. Skeery's reference to Israel in the 1st debate was a DU Talking Point, on the same disingenuous level as caring about the US Troops.
#8
Kerry will not dare to touch Israel. The Republican Congress will slice him alive. If Kerry pushes the issue, Kerry can forget about a second term. That of course, is assuming that he can win a first term.
#11
"Kerry will not dare to touch Israel. The Republican Congress will slice him alive."
It isn't clear to me how you expect this to come about; the Republicans in Congress (at least those there right now) aren't renowned for having stupendous reserves of courage, and a number of them are already having cold feet over the WoT even with Bush in the White House. And if Bush loses the election, Republicans in the Senate and House are likely to become more tremulous, not less.
And in any case, what matters here is not what Kerry or Congressional Republicans would do: what matters is whether or not Israel will be willing to put their faith in Congressional Republicans to save them from Kerry's negligence and cluelessness.
And the answer to that, I think, is that they won't. They will act to save themselves.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/02/2004 16:37 Comments ||
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#12
Is post #8 clueless or disingenuous?
In other words, tool or troll?
It's clear PR feels it doesn't much matter who wins the election, which I guess translates into nobody he knows will be incincerated when the Mullahs finally get the whole package together, which will happen because Skeery won't act unilaterally or in concert with Israel to stop them, he'll join the EU3 "sanction" game no skin off his nose, either way.
Thanx, PR, I appreciate the clarity you've provided.
#14
Still the State Department does send mixed messages to Israel as well when Powell called on Israel to "limit its military response".
The United States invaded Iraq to fight the expansion of terrorism... Israel should have the same right with Gaza.
#15
"excessive force" hmm. does the EU have a definition of acceptable force?
If the explict bureaucrats in the EU do then they should publish their weighting tables so the world's nations can know when they are acceptable or excessive. If not they should just shut up.
Just as a trivial sidenote: These comments weren't from the bureacrats of Brussels, but from the rotating EU presidency -- that currently means the Netherlands government, not a supranational body.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
10/02/2004 18:34 Comments ||
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#18
"It's clear PR feels it doesn't much matter who wins the election..(concerning Israel)"
.com
In a way, you are right about me. I come from a biblical point of view, so whether it is this election or the election 10 years from now. Israel is the apple of God's eye. Israel will never be someone's political pawn. For anyone to say that Israel is going to destroyed because of what happens this election or the next election, is calling God a liar. If you don't believe me, read the Bible.
I know that RB is political place and not a religious place, but I thought I had to make my thoughts clear.
#19
The problem with the EU is it can not grasp or understand the concept of Arabs wanting to kill every Jew on earth if possible. Not just the total destruction of Israel but; to eliminate every Jew on earth. Europe thinks because it's half civilized and keeps it's anti semetic tendencies mostly out of sight that the whole of the world does. Europe can't understand that when arabic culture senses any weakness they will exploit it.
They certainly don't understand the islamic religious imperative to kill all jews. Israel can never show weakness or accept any attack by arabs or islam without responsding to it. If Israel does not respond the consequences are the destruction of Israel.
The arabs have proven themselves totally incapable of learning from past expereince. The shit holes that are Gaza and the west bank of the Jordan today are the result of that inability to learn. Palestine would be a state today if it wasn't for the intafada. Instead everytime a Israeli is killed whether Jew or Arab, Israel kills many Palestinians. The inequality of the numbers of dead and damage done to the Palestinian system should be instructive. The suicidal actions of the Palestinian people are an exapmle of how empty their culture and thought processes are. The intifada has been a path of destruction and hate and the result is a destroyed palestinian infrastructure and economy. Israel is doing fine. The Palestinians are not.
Europe needs to get is head out of it's colective ass and see whats really going on. Europe is so insular that it just doesn't get it in the Arab Israeli confrontation after 55 years.
Europe is still largely anti-semite despite whatever it says. The proof of this is the fact in 55 years it has given nothing but lip service to supporting Israel as a nation. Spain who deported Jews in mass to hasten the second comming at one point of it's amply genocidal history should keep it mouth shut. I don't know what to think of the Netherlands. I have a dear friend there and he is no anti semite in fact he has a deep resent for arabs (one raped his ex girl friend and was never caught.) I really think there is a disconnect between the media, ruling elites and the people in the EU. But given the long history of anti semitism in europe it think most people find it acceptable to attack Israel and claim it's a matter of principle when we all know that it is the old anti semitism. "Kill the jews", it is "the jews fault" has always been a method of distraction used by the ruling classes in europe and no matter how things change they seem to sadly stay the same.
just to add to your well written article...Another thing the EU does not get is (if) when the Islamoterrorists are done with the Jews, the Christians are next. The Islamoterrorists are the doorstep of the Christian community in EU, they just don't get it.
Fact:
1. 1600 churches in Europe have been turned in to Mosque's
2. The Nazis started killing the Jews first before they started killing the Christians
#23
The proof of this is the fact in 55 years it has given nothing but lip service to supporting Israel as a nation.
That's nonsense. Back in the 50s and 60s it was France in general that was one of the main supporter of Israel. (They were flying Mirage jets, in 1967, I think.) And it was the USA that was mainly *not*.
#24
"That's nonsense. Back in the 50s and 60s it was France in general that was one of the main supporter of Israel. (They were flying Mirage jets, in 1967, I think.) And it was the USA that was mainly *not*."
France will sell anything to anyone. They will even sell nuclear reactors to Iraq for creating nuclear weapons if they can get away with it. Big deal no proof there. What document can you point to that proves this? Can you show one news paper clipping from the time? Is your Greek dick so short that you like most of you fellow EU members can't do anything but carp on about how the US is all fucked up, Israel is always wrong and the EU is alway correct and godlike in every thing it does or says? Don't try to debate with me Aris Katsaris. You will be talking to yourself. I will not participate.
#25
Your maniac rage and refuge at petty insults, at having to deal with facts does indeed show that debate will be useless. But at the same time you ask me questions. Some consistency, please?
"What document can you point to that proves this?"
Proves what exactly? That France and Israel supported each other in the e.g. Suez crisis, and that the USA did not support them?
That's a fact.
Yes, France was selling weapons to Israel in the 50s and 60s. And in repayment for Suez, France helped Israel build its first nuclear reactor. On the other hand the USA didn't sell a single weapon to Israel until 1962 if the info I've googled up is right -- USA sold a lot of weapons to Arab countries during the 50s though.
That's not a debate either. That's also facts if I'm not mistaken.
And the size of our dicks is really irrelevant, boy. But "Fuck off and die" to you too.
#26
Aris is correct: France was Israel's biggest backer until the mid-sixties. It was LBJ who turned the US from grudging neutrality toward the strong pro-Israel stance that every subsequent US president has upheld since.
But Aris misses the larger point, which is that France has in the past two decades decisively tilted toward the pan-arabists, and now the jihadists. As French PM Raffarin said to the head of Le Figaro a week ago, "The Iraqi resistance are our strongest allies." He didn't need to add, "...[allies] against l'hyperpuissance."
The point is that it;s not French anti-jewishness that dictates their anti-Israel stance but France's triangulation reflex: they will always seek to thwart the US and if possible reduce US influence wherever they can do so at minimal economic cost to France. This reflex will only strengthen as France's islamic population grows in numbers and influence.
The US response to the Suez crisis was right at the time. French support of Israel has always been about the money. I doubt the French gave any modern arms or aircraft to Israel. They were glad to sell them. The whole Suez thing has more to do with smacking down Egypt and pan-arabism and almost nothing to do with Israel.
#28
But Aris misses the larger point, which is that France has in the past two decades decisively tilted toward the pan-arabists
I didn't miss the point. I simply only cared about addressing the blatant untruth. On the whole I agree with you, except for the last sentence.
But careful, lex. You are likewise helping destroy Sock Puppet's "proof" which entirely hinged on Europe never ever supporting Israel even once since its creation. He'll be asking about the size of *your* dick next. :-)
#29
But the EU has no desire to help Israel now. SPoD is right France's only allegance is to themselves and $$. We did become Israel's greatest and they our alli.
#30
lex can you point to any EU statement that gives support to Israel? Since the EU didn't exist in 1950 and 1960. We know it can't have done so during that time period. Is the policy of the EU to support Israel against arab agression? Has teh Eu stated it will defend Israel from arab agression? France and Germany are the EU. What France and Germany decide the Eu will do the EU does. The EU surely is not led by the sheep sodomizing small dicked greeks. If the EU supports Israel how can it gives money to Arafat a known terrorist. Face it the EU will be against Israel because it is factually anti-Semitic.
#31
Y'all can piss on ach other s much as you like, but the fact remains, Aris, that the Prime Minister if France has just explicitly admitted that France considers the Iraqi fascist neck-sawers and child-slaughterers to be France's "strongest ally."
That is a truly extraordinary statement, one that should cause every American to wake up to the fact that in the middle east, France is on the other side. And that any US presidential candidate who is so foolish as to believe that France is our ally and wishes us anything but ill in Iraq is not qualified to lead this country.
*Technically* correct, in the sense that it's *technically* correct that the EU was only created in 1993 with the Treaty of Maastricht. Also misleading ofcourse.
Has the EU stated it will defend Israel from arab agression?
Right now EU isn't even allowed to state that it will defend its *own* members against armed aggression -- let alone Israel.
That fact had led me to ranting and raving against the UK some months back. I, for one, am all in favour of the EU being given defense and military competencies, so that one day it might be allowed to say "We will defend Israel against aggression. And our own member-states too, btw.".
If the EU supports Israel how can it give money to Arafat a known terrorist.
In the same way that Israel itself gave money to Arafat, a known terrorist.
#33
lex, I'm not sure that this claim (about the French PM's words) has been verified at all. As noted in the Rantburg thread about that topic, all references to these words return to that NY POST's "reportedly saying", referenced supposedly from the Figaro.
It's very cyclic. We don't yet know if it was actually said or not.
#34
I can't find Raffarin's alleged quote either in Le Figaro. I read it daily and I would remember. Also French Google News has nothing.
I don't think this would go unquestioned in Germany.
#37
Do you seriously believe that France's diplomats are not delivering either that message or a variation on it across the middle east right now?
Villepin refused to answer when asked, at the outset of the war, whether he wanted the US or Saddam to win. There's a small mountain of evidence to suggest that the quote, if true, would not be expressing anything new or shocking.
#38
lex, I have been checking on the French as much as I have been checking on the Soviets in the Cold War... and yes, the thinking would certainly not surprise me.
What would surprise me if Raffarin said such a thing in public. This would be a big "faux pas".
Still I don't like it that much when uncorrobated "facts" get propagated by bloggers without double checking. If we want to be taken seriously we must (at least) exercise the same scrutiny as journalists.
#39
It can't hurt noting that the latest French diplomatic efforts to free the French hostages have failed and this DOES puzzle the Quai d'Orsay. Of course they are blaming it now on "U.S. interference".
I wish they could see that they are just turning into the "useful idiots" of the Arab World.
#40
Still I don't like it that much when uncorrobated "facts" get propagated by bloggers without double checking. If we want to be taken seriously we must (at least) exercise the same scrutiny as journalists.
Agreed. But the NY Post OpEd was authored by Amir Taheri, an expert of significant influence who as you know writes for many European as well as US publications and is about as solid as they come. Perhaps he was misinformed on this matter, but he's usually reliable. Certainly more reliable than Mary Mapes or Dan Rather.
#43
Any weakening of the US favors the French - it doesn't matter how it happens or who is responsible - or who is president. Arrogance and pure nationalism is a dangerous thing in todays world. The French seem to believe in the "enemy of my enemy" bit. We now realize that if they draw that distinction then they are clearly lining up on the other side.
The Palestinian cabinet has declared a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories after a massive raid by Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip. Fifty-three Palestinians have been killed, most of them in Gaza, since Israel launched its latest offensive, Operation Days of Reckoning, this week. About 200 tanks and armoured vehicles have been operating in the area since Tuesday. "The cabinet has declared a state of emergency throughout the Palestinian territories in order to come to the aid of the people of the Gaza Strip, victims of horrible crimes committed by the Israeli army," a statement issued by the Palestinian cabinet said. All ministries and public institutions were called on to concentrate their efforts on providing assistance to the people of Gaza.
At the same time, officials said Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Quraya had cancelled a trip to Russia and Turkey in order to attend an emergency cabinet session to be held later in the day. Denouncing what it called "world silence in the face of the magnitude of crimes committed," the statement called on the international quartet that drafted a Middle East peace plan last year to "intervene immediately to ensure the protection of our people". The statement also called on international humanitarian organisations to provide aid to people in the Gaza Strip, notably in the Jabalya refugee camp, which has been a focal point of fighting this week.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2004 11:31:34 AM ||
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Why is he surprised? If Sudan isn't genocide - why does he even think we will take note?
#8
Everytime the Paleos get their asses kicked, they proclaim a state of emergency. The only trouble is that the chips in the sympathy barrel are about run out. They had 90%+ of what they wanted at Oslo, but their fearless leader the Arafish took them down the idiot-fadah route and now they have NOTHING. The Paleos have a LEADERSHIP problem. To reform and have a chance at a better life, the Paleos will have to clean house of their present leadership. When that happens, then they can start with the REAL WORK of building a nation. I am not optomistic about their chances.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2004 19:25 Comments ||
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" The Paleos have a LEADERSHIP problem."
Agreed. But who was it who said 'You get the leadership you deserve'?
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed has said that President Pervez Musharraf is part of "global terrorism unleashed by the United States and its western allies", and not a partner to anti-terrorism movement. He claimed this while making an opening sermon at his party's three-day general congregation at the Azakhel Park, some 20kms northeast of Peshawar in his own constituency, Nowshera. Thousands of JI members, activists and sympathizers, who converged here from every district of the country, listened to their chief's captivating remarks, who was too critical of President Musharraf's pro-US stance on various issues.
"too critical"? For once the Pakistani transliterator gets one right.
The JI chief alleged that the US and its allies had made lives of the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechneya, Palestine and held Kashmir miserable. The oppressed Muslims were being slaughtered across the globe, but the rulers of Muslim countries were silent over these atrocities, he lamented.
"Oh woe is us! The evil Jooooos and 'Merkins slaughter us across the globe! Is there no brave Muslim who will step forward and deliver us?!"
"Duuuh, Qazi, why don't you deliver us?"
"Oh Mahmoud, I couldn't, but if you insist, hokay, I'm here!"
Contrary to the wishes of Muslims, he said, Gen Musharraf was carrying out the political agenda of the United States and making his own countrymen victim of terrorism in South Waziristan and Balochistan. This state of affairs was alarming as tribal people could retaliate to their own forces, which were defenders of the country's borders, Qazi Hussain said. He said the US was waging a war against weak and poor countries to impose its political hegemony on them. The Muslims, who believed in brotherhood, rule of law and justice, could not be dubbed terrorists.
"P'shaw! Can't be us, we're just peace-loving Muslims! Why, Mahmoud here wouldn't hurt a fly, ain't that right Mahmoud!"
Instead, he added, the secular and infidel forces were responsible for world's chaos, terrorism and people's genocide.
He said Gen Musharraf was not a real representative of Pakistani people, "rather he was a usurper who had assumed power at gunpoint." He had served the interests of imperialism and exploiters, who had introduced the new world order. The United States wanted to rob Muslims of their faith and dilute their commitment to Jihid "for which Gen Musharraf had tried to change the curriculum in Pakistan, but the JI foiled that bid," he added. The Jamaat chief observed that the US wanted to deprive Pakistan of its nuclear assets, but patriotic Pakistanis would defend them at all cost. It was the US which had bombed out thousands of innocent Japanese in Hiroshima and Naga Saki in 1945 to extend its military-cum-political writ up to Asia, he added.
Qazi does seem to have missed the obvious lesson of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hasn't he.
Referring to the 'uniform' issue, he said it was the only and respectable way for Gen Musharraf to shed his uniform by Dec 31, otherwise people would force him (Musharraf) out of the presidency. "We will not tolerate him even for a day after Dec 31". He defended the 17th amendment which, he said, had bound him (Musharraf) to quit his one office. He urged the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) to cooperate with the MMA and prepare themselves for a protest movement against Gen Musharraf.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed said they would not allow any 'adventurist' in the future to topple any government and seize power. It was MMA's commitment with the nation that it would not accept any military rule in the future. "We want a constitutional government, not a military one, for the interest of the country," he added. He said the United Sates wanted to establish India's hegemony in the region for which it had forced Pakistan to back out from its principled stand on Kashmir. Earlier, Sheikh Mohammad Siamus Saleh, a former imam of the Al-Aqsa mosque, delivered the Friday sermon and led the prayers at Azakhel's open ground. Note that Jamaat-i-Islami is a local branch of terrorist outfits throught the world. Sheikh Mohammad Siamus Saleh, a former imam of the Al-Aqsa mosque, delivered the Friday sermon and led the prayers at Azakhel's open ground that means that Musharraf is not doing enough to prevent the terrorists from coming in Pakistan.
Posted by: Fawad ||
10/02/2004 10:56:24 AM ||
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Now *this* is an excellent example of someone the Russians should assassinate. They could easily do the whole "plausible deniability" thing, and the bad boyz would all blame the US, anyway. But it would have oodles of long-term benefits for Russia if they took a complementary approach by removing these agitators and leaving the fighters to the US. It would save them a ton o' money, be easy to pull off, and work wonders. It's cutting the head off of the snake.
#2
The Muslims, who believed in brotherhood, rule of law and justice, could not be dubbed terrorists. Instead, he added, the secular and infidel forces were responsible for worldâs chaos, terrorism and peopleâs genocide.
I am not surprised that he says this stupid stupid stuff. I am surprised at the people who listen to him. In the last Paragraph he says he wants a constitunal government not a military one and in 1993 He was begging the Army to remove the then "Democratic Government". I agree with the Anonyomous Russians should be invited to vent some of their anger. It is guys like Qazi who recruit people into global terrorism.
#3
Screw fantasizing the Russian, Israelis, or who ever will do our dirty work. The US needs to harden our hearts and whack these people and their families in bold and bloody ways without apology.
Preach about killing Americans and find themselves beheaded with their dick in their mouths. Provide support for attacks and find their houses with them and their family bombed. Engage in attacks and find three generations of their family wiped out. Threaten to wipe us out in a nuclear sea of fire and find every mullah in their country burned alive on a stake.
Posted by: ed ||
10/02/2004 11:31 Comments ||
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ed: Oh, sure, Americans can assassinate bad boyz; but for some Reason, Russians just do it with much more flair and elan. Americans are very straightforward and businesslike. Russians take their time to let everyone know what they think about *special* children. For example, in WWII, if the US caught an SS man, they would just hang him on the spot. The Russians would pound a couple of shell casings into his knees, and *then* they would shoot him. It's sort of an Asiatic thing, I guess. Americans lack artistry.
#5
And they have a certain elan at liberating POW camps. There is an account of Americans being liberated from a Japanese camp near Mukden by a Russian force. All of a sudden, some Russian tanks just bashed through the perimeter, the Russians rounded up all the POWs and all the Japanese guards; their first order of business was to demand that the prisoners be fed a decent meal, right now!, and their second was an offer to shoot, right on the spot, any guards who were nominated by the POWs as having been particularly Bad Hats. IIRC, the POWS didn't take them up on the second offer, but it was most graciously appreciated.
#6
When those who are commanding the war on terror finally purchase a clue, they will begin lobbing cruise missiles into any sort of "congregation" like this. Wait until whatever keynote speaker takes the podium on the day of peak attendance and then scatter cluster bombs around the entire perimeter of the place before tossing in an FAE or cruise missile.
We need to make it unmistakably clear that anyone who tries to spread this sort of terrorist propaganda ends up 100% DEAD. I no longer give a rip about America's perception abroad. I want unidentifiably small body parts of these violent scumbags littering the landscape. If their families are with them, so much the better. We need to chlorinate the entire genepool of those who are infected with this sort of psychosis.
#7
I no longer give a rip about America's perception abroad.
Either do I. We're damned no matter what we do, so we might as well just start doing it right. I do have to wonder, though, if the commanders of the WOT have their arms tied just as much as they did during Kosovo. Politics always seem to pull the strings.
About 100,000 Kurds demonstrated outside provincial government offices Saturday, demanding that the turbulent, oil hub of Kirkuk be made part of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Okay by me...
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2004 9:58:18 AM ||
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Since the Sunni arabs are unlikely to vote in the January elections, looks like Kirkuk may be the new capital of the autonomous Kurdish region and the 200,000 are so arabs may be on their way back to the Sunni triangle from whence they came.
ABUJA: Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Friday that his government will not tolerate "undue militancy" in the oil-rich Niger Delta or action that would compromise the majority interest, in a speech marking 44 years of independence from Britain.
"Government is taking appropriate steps to stem the tide of undue militancy and we are confident that reason and the law will prevail," he said in a broadcast on television and radio. "Government will not tolerate in any way or form any act that would mortgage or compromise the interest of the majority." He confirmed that government officials were meeting with the head of the Niger Delta rebels who threatened early this week to go to war if their demands for a bigger slice of Nigeria's oil wealth, greater autonomy for their Ijaw people, and a national debate on Nigeria's problems are not met.
Sudan has agreed to the deployment of some 3,500 extra African troops in its war-torn region of Darfur. The soldiers, along with some 800 police officers, will be tasked with monitoring a shaky ceasefire between rebels and the government. The troops will still not be allowed to use force against combatants.
Real useful.
The African Union have confirmed that Sudan has agreed to reinforcements but could not confirm numbers and said nothing had been signed. UN officials say they hope the new troops coukld be on the ground by the end of the month. Sudan insists that their main mission will be to protect camps for the estimated 1.5 million people who have fled their homes. It has refused to accept a peacekeeping mission, saying the troops are monitors. There are currently some 300 Nigerian and Rwandan troops in Darfur, under the flag of the African Union (AU). A United Nations resolution backs an expanded AU force in Darfur but last week, African leaders said they needed hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the extra troops.
Let's see: 3,000 troops, modest African wages for a soldier ($300 a month??, with 90% raked off by the politicos), x 1 year is about $12 million or so. Double it for logistics -- heck, triple it. Wonder where the rest of the money goes?
Sudan is stopping the existing 300-strong peace team from doing its job, a journalist who spent time with them has told the BBC. South African journalist Benjamin Joffe-Walt told the BBC's Network Africa that Sudan would often refuse to give fuel to the AU monitors while its attack helicopters were in the air. "When the helicopters returned, the fuel started pumping," he said. Many of the observers said this was common, he said. Mr Joffe-Walt said that morale in the AU team was low as a result. In addition to the weak mandate, another problem they faced was that representatives from both the rebels and the army had to approve each report and they often refuse to do this if either side is accused of breaking the ceasefire. "Most commanders say it is incredibly difficult to issue a report," he said.
And this is what John Kerry wants more of in Sudan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2004 12:33:18 AM ||
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The troops will still not be allowed to use force against combatants.
So they're French? Then what is the point of them being there, except to present more targets?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/02/2004 2:14 Comments ||
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What a simple solution, all this needs to take. Let Darfur return to a duned arrid desert, let the migrants merge into their neighboring lands. Let those neighboring lands accept the refugees with open arms, or shoot them down like dogs at the gates; so we can get back to our beer and football!
#3
Let's see: 3,000 troops, modest African wages for a soldier ($300 a month??, with 90% raked off by the politicos), x 1 year is about $12 million or so. Double it for logistics -- heck, triple it. Wonder where the rest of the money goes?
Not to the AU forces. This from an AP release (cited by Fred):
"...Lack of basic goods _ including vehicles, uniforms and tents have kept a significant number of the existing force from even starting work, African and European authorities say. U.N. Sudan envoy Jan Pronk asked European nations last week to help with planes, vehicles, fuel and other needs, including planning." [emphasis mine]
So the intent is to add 4300 troops and police to a discouraged force that's already under-equipped, under-supplied and has to rely on the Sudanese government for aircraft fuel.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/02/2004 00:03 ||
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"The Israelis stole my land and my country, now they are even stealing our recipes," Palestinian delegate Mohammed Kebal complained to reporters. "The hand of Mossad is at work here.
Yes, the recipe squad does some fine work.
Posted by: The Mossad ||
10/02/2004 0:10 Comments ||
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All your couscous are belong to us.
Posted by: ed ||
10/02/2004 0:25 Comments ||
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The top prize in this year's contest, incidentally, went to Tunisian chef Arroum Mimoun for his rich lamb couscous garnished with chickpeas.
#7
This reminds me of the time that Iowahawk (or somebody) wrote a news spoof claiming the Arab countries had claimed near Earth orbit as Palestinian territory being violated by an Israeli satellite and some newspapers ran it as real.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
10/02/2004 1:44 Comments ||
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The paleos are pathetic. Wotta buncha maroons.
You just can't make this stuff up. :-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/02/2004 1:48 Comments ||
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Barbara
They are still more pathetic than you think. Couscous is a Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) dish. They don't eat couscous in Egypt, Lebanon, Arabia or anywhere else in Middle East. Except in Israel where Jews of North African origin introduced it.
#10
"We will never take part in the contest again."
Seeing as how the possibility of inveterate whiners absenting themselves from all further events cannot possibly be construed as a threat, should we all assume that this is a promise?
Palestinians, is there nothing they cannot whine about?
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.
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a Homeland Security Department component known as ICE, are matching identities of visa violators nationwide with names on secret government terrorism databases in hopes of finding al-Qaida operatives. Some groups representing Muslims and Arab-Americans are concerned some people may be targeted because of their ethnicity or religious beliefs.``If somebody breaks the law in terms of their immigration status, they should pay the price,'' 
