The suicide bomber who killed four German peacekeepers in Afghanistan was a member of the al-Qaeda network, German Defence Minister Peter Struck has said. Mr Struck also said the weekend attack was linked to Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is opposed to the government of President Karzai. Hek's boys finally scored a goal.
"It has now been determined that the attackers belonged to the al-Qaeda terror organisation," Mr Struck said on German television. He said remnants of the ousted Taliban were also involved. The Afghan authorities have blamed foreigners for the attack. I don't believe we have seen any native Afghan suicide bombers, have we? Work accidents, yes, but Afghans seem to prefer remote control bombs, rockets, etc. It's the Arab al-Qaeda types who strap on the vest.
The bomber was in a taxi when he detonated the bomb alongside a bus carrying the soldiers on Saturday. Dozens of other people, including peacekeepers and civilians, were injured in the blast.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 10:19 am ||
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It's interesting to know that people in Germany don't ask for troops being recalled. Most people say: "We won't let Al-Qaeda dictate where we send our troops to help."
Also the Bundeswehr still insists on open vehicles. "You can't build up trust with the locals sitting in tanks." I like that attitude although it might cost us more lives.
#2
Attacking German soldiers. I wonder if they knew they were German. Given the way things have fallen out, that's about the stupidest thing they could have done. (except attack French troops) Do these people have a CAUSE or do they just relish the "us against the whole world" thing?
Posted by: Scott ||
06/11/2003 21:52 Comments ||
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#3
Doesn't matter to them that they were Germans. Or Americans, Brits, Italians, Poles, whatever.They were infidels and that's what counts with these psychos. They want to kill us all.
Edited
Britain's national flag - the union jack - has been given the makeover treatment, in the hope of reflecting a more modern society. Now moves are afoot to redesign that most sacred of British hallmarks - the union flag. A campaign is being launched to modernise the red, white and blue flag by adding a touch of black to reflect multicultural Britain in the 21st Century. And how about brown to represent Indians and Pakistanis and yellow to represent ... well to represent George Galloway!
The proposed new flag is the work of Nigel Turner, an enthusiastic fan of the UK's transformation into a multiracial society over the past 50 years. Mr Turner has contacted MPs about his new design and has already received the backing of Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, who called it a "fantastic idea [for] celebrating diversity of the modern United Kingdom".
How about a white banner with a brown splotch in the middle to represent shitheads like Lord Ahmed?
Mr Turner, who has called his campaign Reflag, believes his plan would reclaim the union jack from its negative associations, and silence that old skinhead chant: "There ain't no black in the union jack."
Would it make them literate, too?
"If I flew the union jack from a flagpole in my garden, many people would see it as a racist statement," he says. Well then Mr. Turner, I would suggest you move so that you are not surrounded by such ignorant and intolerant people.
Says a lot more about the goobers who're so easily offended than it does about the flag. Makes me think of Nelson and Wellington and Churchill, not what color I am or the people down the block are. On the other hand, if the people down the block were wearing turbans and waving guns, it might remind me that people didn't used to do that sort of nonsense.
"I'm a glass half-full, rather than half-empty sort of person. It's time we made a positive statement about the progression of a multicultural and multiracial society." Evidently, Mr. Turner is also a head half-full kind of guy, as well.
Mr Turner, 46, who is white, hopes to spark a debate on the flag. He would like to see a new design replace the current union jack for the flag's 400th anniversary in 2006. "The proposed design does not mean throwing out all that has gone before, and it is clearly recognisable as the flag of the UK without saying something new." But as makeovers go, even a designer as thick-skinned as Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen would think twice about treading into such perilous territory. The so-called "union black" has already raised the ire of the Scottish. Tuesday's Scotsman newspaper said Mr Turner had "missed the point".
Is that the way Scots call someone a nut?
"The United Kingdom is not a firm which changes its corporate branding each time the management alters. The flag is an enduring symbol of unity which transcends politics and absorbs cultural change." Well said.
MSP Phil Gallie told the Scottish Parliament: "The suggestion that our flag should be redesigned is ridiculous tokenism and would do nothing to stamp out racism."
Posted by: ColoradoConservative ||
06/11/2003 11:00 am ||
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Watch out, moron about... Utterly ridiculous, and typical 'liberal' self-flagellating patronising nonsense. Turner deserves the ridicule coming to him.
This is obviously a direct reaction to the noxious racist chant "there ain't no black in the union jack", and is equally idiotic.
#2
thats the advantage we have - folks can go out and protest the CONFEDERATE flag, and no one has a problem with the stars and stripes - under which brave black soldiers have fought and died since the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner.
#3
Didn't black soldiers or aides also perish in our wars prior to the Civil War? Anyone know? Crispus Attucks doesn't count. He was merely a bystander in a group heckling the Brits.
#4
I don't know about the army, but black sailors served both in our nation's original navy as well as aboared revolutionary privateers. Interestingly enough, it wasn't until after the Civil War that they were largely forced out of the Navy.
#6
Nope, tu3031. The French will be dropping their flag permanently, as will all good members of the EU sometime in the next few years, soon after ratification of the new constitution, and will be adopting the flag of the EU. The EU flag is due for an overhaul itself, however. Currently it consists of twelve gold stars on a blue background, but already there are 15 EU states, so it doesn't make sense. With the numbers increasing every few years it wouldn't be practical to keep up, so they're ditching the stars, and are adding colours, rather than have a plain blue flag! After all, colourblind people might confuse the EU with Libya, and new-age Libya would resent being associated with such a symbol of anti-western values. The colours will probably be simple, retaining the blue but adding a couple of colours commonly found in the former flags resresenting EU nations, namely white and red. There will be a central vertical white band and, adjoining it, a vertical red band constituting the right-side third of the flag, these colours being on a blue background.
#8
Tu3031, I'm assuming that you mean the other French Flag. The banner of Paris 1940.
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
06/11/2003 12:38 Comments ||
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#9
White cross on a white backround. Baby.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/11/2003 12:40 Comments ||
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The white (actually, it's a white crescent superimposed on a white cross, on a background of white-polka-dotted white) has been reserved for the military.
#11
"There will be a central vertical white band and, adjoining it, a vertical red band constituting the right-side third of the flag, these colours being on a blue background. "
#12
"O; give us a flag, all free without a slave.
We'll fight to defend it as our fathers did so brave.
The gallant 54th will make the rebels dance.
And we'll stand by the Union if we only have a chance."
#13
"The most memorable and most recognized soldier of the 54th was Sergeant William Carney. Carney made his mark in the famous, but ill-fated battle at Fort Wagner, where his bravery in the saving of the regiments flag earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sergeant William Carney was one of 600 men who enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts colored infantry. During the attack on Fort Wagnewr, the original color bearer was killed, Sergeant Carney threw down his rifle, picked up the colors and led the attack on the fort. Although wounded multiple times, Carney maintained the colors atop a parapet and later returned the colors safely to the regiment. For these feats he became the first African American to perform in combat action that resulted in the Congressional Medal of Honor."
#15
The German flag has black but we have few black people here.
It has red but German Indians (native Americans) are thin on the ground.
It also has yellow (or gold) but we neither have many Chinese nor gold mines.
#16
Actually, Blacks have fought in just about every war the US has been involved in - even before Independence. Salem Poor was a Black freedman who fought at Bunker's Hill. There were black infantrymen and artillerymen with Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. Blacks fought on both sides during the Civil War. The biggest limitation of black participation in military service occurred between 1869 and 1939, but even during this period, there were SOME Blacks in the military, and many of those were engaged in combat. Interestingly, the same can be said for virtually every other ethnic or nationalistic group that has ever emigrated to the United States, and to a large number of Native Americans. Guess it's that "personal freedom" thing that attracts them...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/11/2003 15:10 Comments ||
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op - theres some question whether any significant number of blacks actually fought for the Confederacy. IIUC 2 black regiments were raised in Richmond in March, 1865, but had not finished training by the time of Appomattox and never saw action. there has been considerable publicity in recent years to blacks who have family traditions of ancestors in Confed service, but this would contradict all the contemporary evidence that the CSA (prior to spring 1865)considered black soldiers an abomination - the prisoner exchange system broke down over the CSA insistence on considering black POWS as escaped slaves, leading to prison horrors north and south. Its generally considered that the traditions actually related to black servants or laborers - wearing a uniform would not have been a clear distinction, since most confed enlistees wore homespun, home dyed clothing. No evidence that they (black confeds) actually engaged in combat.
In stark contrast to over 200,000 VERY WELL DOCUMENTED black soldiers in the Union army.
#18
Liberalhawk is quite correct. There may have been a few blacks who fought for the Confederacy here and there in parts of the conflict which didn't involve large military formations (like Bloody Missouri), but they probably were trusted servants or slaves who had been raised alongside of a Confederate officer on some plantation (see the film Ride With the Devil for a pretty good example). For better or worse the Confederates were never exactly masters of rigid organization (look at their navy!), so anything is possible.
#19
I think that Crispus Attucks earned the right to be called the first Black that died for this country. For all who are bewildered, he died in the Boston Massacre, on March 5, 1770. Note that the British did try and convict the dragoons that fired on the crowd. The officers were aquitted (nothing ever changes).
#20
Anyone know a reliable analysis of what happened in Boston that day? When I visited Boston I was made to feel like a guest/war criminal, but elsewhere I've heard the British troops were about to be lynched by an angry mob and were defending themselves...
A former shuttle bus driver at Sydney Airport was a member of a violent Indonesian group with suspected links to banned terrorist groups Jemaah Islamiah and al-Qaeda, The Australian newspaper said. The paper said Dance Darmince, who uses the alias Mohammad Darimi, headed a small group of Laskar Jihad members in Sydney and had been coordinating fundraising efforts. From about 1999, he had driven airport shuttle buses transporting passengers around Sydney Airport for private bus company Kingsford Smith Transport. But the company said he quit last November, after on-and-off employment over the past five years. The story follows revelations that Bilal Khazal - a man affiliated with Osama bin Laden, according to the CIA - worked as a Qantas baggage handler at Sydney's international terminal during the lead-up to the Olympics. The Australian quoted a source from within Sydney's Indonesian community who claimed Mr Darmince and other men visited expat Indonesians and asked them for money to help fight "their jihad and the fighting in the Malukus".
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2003 03:16 am ||
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Dance Darmince??? on-and-off employment
Well he had to leave some time for the training, home visits and what-not.
"The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Alright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, "Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck." Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age. (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar), Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234)"
So, she was 6 when she was engaged to Mohammed (piss be upon him) and 9 when they married. Pedophile? No doubts about it.
#6
in economically backward communities marriages are largely about property, and there is pressure for early marriage to seal the property arrangements before somebody dies or changes their mind. Early (unconsumated) marriage was therefore an issue in Christian and Jewish communities as well, IIRC.
#7
thus muhammed was in all likelihood not a pedophile, but a man greedy for property and power. Which would be in keeping with the rest of his career.
#8
Once again I think Liberalhawk is on the money. My mother's family were "pre air conditioning" dirt farmers from southern Florida, where marriage between second cousins was commonly praticed. This was not only due to the limited population of most small southern towns at the time, but also because it allowed crop lands to stay in the hands of a single family. This made sharing equipment, plowing in straight lines, and other sorts of agricultural stuff much easier to do. It wasn't done because everybody was a pervert.
Although I can't say I'm the biggest fan of "The Prophet," he probably married women or girls for financial rather than sexual reasons. This would have been culturally normal in that region at the time. Plus, the Koran implies that he was one hell of a business man in general.
The French Government says a German man arrested in Paris on suspicion of involvement in a synagogue bombing in Tunisia last year is a top leader of Al Qaeda. Christian Ganczarski was picked up at Charles de Gaulle airport 10 days ago. A judicial source says he was later placed under official investigation for allegedly being an accomplice to murder and belonging to a criminal gang with links to terrorist activities. Ganczarski protested his innocence in preliminary questioning. However France's Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has told Parliament intelligence services have identified Ganczarski as a top leader of Al Qaeda, in contact with its chief, Osama bin Laden.
Okay. Just this once, though. How do you ululate in French?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/11/2003 07:44 pm ||
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he was a german who happened to be of polish descent, IIUC.
#2
You don't. You either go on strike or redouble the number of anti-American cartoons in LeMonde.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/11/2003 21:07 Comments ||
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Ganczarski? GANCZARSKI?!! The poles have an islamofascist problem?!?
Posted by: Scott ||
06/11/2003 22:00 Comments ||
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Some Poles have a Jew-hating problem. Anyone having this problem automatically has the American-hating problem. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, even though that friend will one day bite you on the ass too.
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany - The top American and German defense leaders said Wednesday that differences over the Iraq war should not be the basis for lingering sour relations between the two countries. ``Like a family, from time to time we don't agree on everything,'' said U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
"Like siblings, we sometime poke each other and push each other down the stairs..."
``Sometimes we have debate and discussion. But when we are threatened or challenged, we need to come together as we did after September 11th.'' "Only this time, we have to make it stick."
German Defense Minister Peter Struck took an even more conciliatory tone. ``Occasional discussions and irritations over specific political issues do not alter anything even when my country acts like a jerk,'' said Struck. ``Sure, our views differed over the Iraq issue. But a friendship like ours can take that. We are now looking ahead.''
Rumsfeld and Struck were keynote speakers at a multinational meeting of defense leaders at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. Continuing a Bush administration move to court the countries of Eastern Europe, Rumsfeld specifically mentioned in his speech the contributions of Poland, Romania, Albania an others in U.S. efforts to oust Taliban and al-Qaida influence from Afghanistan, but neglected to mention that France contributed thousands of troops to the campaign and Germany at one point led the peacekeeping force there. Totally slipped his mind!
However, at a joint press availability later with Struck, Rumsfeld expressed regret at the deaths of four German soldiers recently in Afghanistan at what Struck has said was at the hands of al-Qaida. Earlier in the day Rumsfeld spoke at the center to several dozen students whose questions reflected recent strain between the United States and traditional European allies France and Germany. When one student asked about the state of those relations, Rumsfeld described them as ``pretty good considering that, after all, you're talking about France.'' Another cited recent press reports that the United States would like to destabilize the government of Iran and asked: ``Will you start a war in Iran?'' Rumsfeld did not answer directly, but said he did not know why there was a flurry of newspaper reports last month suggesting the administration was considering destabilizing the Iranian government. "I had thought we had kept that quiet."
The ceremony was Rumsfeld's third stop in a four-nation, four-day trip that ends with Thursday's NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium and started as a thank-you gesture toward nations that supported the war. On Tuesday, Rumsfeld met briefly with leaders in Portugal and Albania, which gained U.S. favor by supporting the war. ``I value the relationship the U.S. has with Albania. It's important to us,'' Rumsfeld told a joint news conference with his Albanian counterpart Pandeli Majko. The message was much the same earlier in the day at a joint news conference with Portuguese Defense Minister Paulo Portas in Lisbon. ``We very much value our friendship,'' Rumsfeld said. Portugal is sending a 120-member military police force to Iraq.
Now, that's something that's needed!
Muslim Albania was one of the most vocal supporters of the war in Iraq and sent a small contingent of non-combat troops. It also opened its airspace, land routes and waterways to coalition forces, and offered use of its air bases. Rumsfeld said 41 countries are considering assistance to Iraq and some half dozen have committed forces. He didn't name them. If the Germans want to make amends, they can contribute a battalion of military police to Iraq. That would be useful.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2003 10:33 am ||
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Rumsfeld did not answer directly, but said he did not know why there was a flurry of newspaper reports last month suggesting the administration was considering destabilizing the Iranian government.
I don't think there's any necessity for any outside force to destabilize the Iranian government. From what I've read lately, they're doing a pretty good job at that on their own.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/11/2003 11:16 Comments ||
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Rumsfeld DID bring up "Old Europe" and "New Europe" again which caused irritation. He didn't say though where he would put Germany right now.
Unfortunately there might be a new conflict looming over the immunity of US Blue Helmets at the ICC. Berlin might vote against (or abstain) the extension of resolution 1422. I really hope they sort these things out. I'm so tired of this Schroeder crap.
Looks like the Froggies found somebody they think they might have a shot at beating. What a disgrace.
BRITISH war heroes on a religious pilgrimage told last night of their shock when French police attacked them with tear gas in a hotel bar. Scores of servicemen and their guests - some in wheelchairs - were stunned as 30 cops threw three gas canisters at them in the town of Lourdes, renowned for miracle cures. Jeez, they weren't on strike???
One member of the official delegation of Catholic soldiers said: âAll hell broke loose. People ran out coughing and choking. Some braved the fumes to help those in wheelchairs get out. They were in a terrible state afterwards. It all happened without a single word of warning.â Probably thought they were a threat. A bunch of Brit war veterans in wheelchairs vs. France? They could probably be in Paris accepting Jacques surrender by August.
Police chiefs in Lourdes â visited by hundreds of thousands each year for its healing waters â said the 2am incident happened because the pilgrims were breaking a local by-law that bans late-night boozing. But one soldier said: âNobody told us to go to bed or keep the noise down. One minute everyone was having a convivial time and the next we were under attack. You break ze rooools, you paize ze price, Eeeeenglish pig dogs!
âThe whole episode was a disgrace. We were on a religious pilgrimage, yet we were treated like football hooligans."
David Kelly, chaplain of the Royal Military College at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, added: âThere was no reason for this sudden onslaught.Everyone was celebrating the end of a very special trip when the police burst in and mayhem broke out.â While they were being gassed, did anyone think to ask Monsieur Gendarme how that cemetery desecration investigation from a few months back was going? Are arrests imminent? Hello? Hello?
Heroes of Iraq and other conflicts were among 250 pilgrims enjoying a nightcap at the Hotel La Solitude in the town in the French Pyrenees. They included a group from The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, senior clergy plus sick and disabled visitors. One soldier said: âWe were all singing away quite merrily.It was a disgrace the way the cops acted. Youâd think we were rioting. Why couldnât they just ask us to keep the noise down or tell us all to head off to bed first? But nobody said a word.â If they warned you, and you were ready for them, it would've been a slaughter.They couldn't take that chance.
Lourdes police commissioner Didier Ribeyrolle admitted the use of tear gas was âinappropriateâ. But he said: âThe hotel showed a lax attitude to our by-laws. Some patrons may have been shocked by the methods used, but the rules must be respected.â Ve vere only following orders. Never in my lifetime have I seen a nation that take such immense pride in covering itself with shit.
Posted by: tu3031 ||
06/11/2003 09:31 am ||
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Aris & Murat sitting in a tree,
k-i-s-s-i-n-g.
What ever happened to Murat?
#2
"And you want to be friends with these asswipes Aris."
Why should Aris be a friend of the Lourdes police? No, what you meant were the French in general, not the overreacting Lourdes police. And that is... at least xenophobic. So Aris said "I don't share your racism."
LOL liberalhawk, I agree. One thing is sure: Aris is not Murat. Before a Turk poses as a Greek George Bush will say sorry to Saddam. :)
#3
So the brave French gas a bunch of cripples instead going after the hotel owners for"lax attitude".
And you want to be friends with these asswipes Aris.
It's not racism unless you've already bought into the paradigm that the French and the Belgian Empire are trying to turn themselves into the "master race" for the "final showdown" against "perfidious Albion."
Posted by: Brian ||
06/11/2003 11:46 Comments ||
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Interesting there's NO mention of this in Le Monde or Le Figaro! But I'm sure the anti-French xenophobes never bothered to learn another language to look at these sources, let alone read another viewpoint in a foreign language! Just allow Mr Murdoch to spoon-feed you your opinions.
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
06/11/2003 12:17 Comments ||
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#8
Don't feed the trolls
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 12:27 Comments ||
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#9
It's hard though, Frank G. It's almost like we've got Murat back! You remember, the Turkish one? Only this one's not quite as smart... ;)
#10
Yoo stoopid peepole! Yoo are such scummy dogs zat yoo donet eeven no French! I am zo much more enlightened zan yoo filthy dogs! If yoo read LeMonde, yoo wood be enlightened, like myself, and not xenophobic. I wouldn't trade a leaking bag of monkey shit for a whole legion of Euro-trash leftists pukes. At least I know the monkey shit could be of some use when in a fight.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/11/2003 12:53 Comments ||
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#12
Mommy, Mommy...the big bad Geek...er...Greek called me a racist. My self-esteem is crumbling. Any minute now I will decide that the whole world should be run by a bunch of faceless, unaccountable socialists just so the nasty man will stop calling me bad names.
#15
Quelle coincidence Brian, last time I read the phrase perfidious Albion, it was in the French press with reference to all the Islamic terrorist training centers Centers in England harboring terrorists imams the French wanted extradited. Britain has it's own fifth column--the Islamofascists are just as firmly planted in London as in Paris, look at Richard Reid--where'd he learn that crazy BS? I happen to agree with a lot of opinions on this site--but I think the French-bashing has gotten ridiculous!
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
06/11/2003 16:28 Comments ||
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#16
You should care more about whether you are a racist or not, than whether I called you one.
Hodadenon? Is that a different nick for the same person? Just a couple days, you were thanking me, raptor, about how I took the time to answer (extensively) through email a question you asked me here. Now you are trying to use my nationality as if it were an insult. It's not as if I suddenly became Geek/Greek since last you talked to me, you know.
So, is this hypocricy in action or simple schizophrenia?
#17
I think there is no reason for personal attacks on Aris. He is not a troll at all (unless you qualify all dissenting voices as such, in that case I may qualify from time to time as well). He is an enthusiastic Greek European and has made intelligent postings here. You might not agree with them but they were worth reading. Please don't scare intelligent posters away.
I don't know whether this story is true, half true or not true. All I know is that The Sun isn't normally quoted here as a source you'd absolutely trust. It's a newspaper that has an Anti-French campaign going for months with rather un-appetising criterias of journalist honor. Up to now this story has not been picked up by anyone so a bit of caution is in order. You know how it is with bar brawls, the witnesses tend to differ a lot in the stories they give.
So why that personal attack on Aris? Did he sympathize with Lourdes police or what? He hadn't even commented yet. And did the word "asswipes" apply to all French? In that case it is indeed a very xenophobic remark that should not be encouraged here.
#19
The personal attack on Aris (note the lack of scare quotes, I freely admit that is what it was)was caused by his implication that Raptor was a racist for calling the perpetrators of the incident asswipes.
I find it both offensive and amusing that the Left can so freely label anyone who disagrees with or is annoyed by one of their victims-of-the-month with terms like racist, homophobe or misogynist and then act innocent and/or put upon when someone snaps the towel back at them.
Which he(Aris) does by implying I am racist for my comment. The "Geek/Greek" was meant entirely for you, Aris, not for all people from your beautiful country and, TGA, I have been following Aris' comments for days now, he is an enthusiastic European SOCIALIST. The only way socialism would EVER work in a human society would be to place that society in the grip of an all-encompassing, all-controlling state with no accountability to the drones...like the EU will be. You can have it for Europe if you wish, but try to bring it here, comrade (oh, PLEASE try!).
#20
"And you want to be friends with these asswipes Aris."
Why should Aris be a friend of the Lourdes police? No, what you meant were the French in general, not the overreacting Lourdes police. And that is... at least xenophobic. So Aris said "I don't share your racism."
LOL liberalhawk, I agree. One thing is sure: Aris is not Murat. Before a Turk poses as a Greek George Bush will say sorry to Saddam. :)
#22
TGA: I fully agree that Aris is not a troll. And no one should insult him (though I do enjoy giving him a hard time). But he does express opinions that are well, alien, to American culture. He is a Second International socialist. Most folks here would probably find themselves in near total agreement with Hayek's Road to Serfdom, regarding socialism. From your comments, I suspect that you are not an Austrian School capitalist either, but you have enough understanding of Americans and American culture to present your ideas in a way guaranteed not to piss everyone here off. I've learned a lot from you. I wish I could learn more from Aris. He's intelligent and knows his stuff. He just needs to realize who he's selling to (not surprising at all for a socialist, when you come to think of it).
"you should put more trust in the democratic convictions of the Europeans"
I would, my friend, but I keep seeing the camel trying to get that nose in the tent. The way the EU's rules seem to be written just appear to me to leave too many holes for a rapid erosion of the rights of the individual.
I will accept your correction on the question of socialism, I was leaving a little academic "wiggle-room" ;-)
#24
Aris called me and RW "idiots" the other day. Right or not (I can't vouch for RW), that was uncalled for. So he gets absolutely no sympathy from this delicate soul.
It's not fair to call anyone here a racist for simply criticising the French. I think we assume anyone who does so is directing bile towards the majority of French who (all the opinion polls seem to prove) are irrationally and inexcusably anti-American/Anglo, and support the actions of their uniquely cynical and self-important government. It's a generalisation, nothing more sinister.
#25
11A5S, sometimes you have to chose the lesser of two evils. And the EU is the lesser one. It has brought different nations together. Without the EU probably a lot of nations would be ganging up against Germany, out of fear of our political and economical strength. I'm willing to live with the kind of control the EU has on us. I've been on the wrong end of "Deutschland über alles", so I don't mind too much.
I do make a distinction between socialism and "social market economy" that made Germany prosper. These days we have come to rely too much on the state and it's time to push for reforms which is not easy. I suppose America can learn from us (I do believe our health care system is superior to the American one although reforms are needed here as well) and I do believe we need more free enterprises and less bureaucracy (in that case we can learn from America).
Hodadenon, the European Constitution Draft is anything but final yet, there is a lot to do and I believe that people will make sure in the long run that the rights of the individual will be respected.
Bulldog, of course nobody should call anyone "idiot" here. I leave it up to you what you think about calling all French "asswipes" then.
The Sun is a xenophobic Yellow Press paper that will not shun from showing Germans as Nazis when a soccer match is due (I'm glad you finally lost your German trauma in Munich!).
Re French: I wonder, are the Anglo/Americans as francophobic as the French Anglophobic? The real gross words are not to be read in the French press. I guess it's time to cool down a bit. The war is over.
And don't call me "sounding like Chirac" again. Because that is the worst insult, my friend :-)
I know you didn't mean it though...
#26
Actually my troll comment was aimed at the first "Not Mike Moore", not Aris
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 18:57 Comments ||
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#27
First and formost Aris I said nothing about your nationality that Geek/Greek comment was someone else.
Our e-mail discusion was a totally unrelated subject(dealing with religion).
My attitude toward the French has nothing to do with racisiam.I have been upset with the French since they forced our F-111 bombers to fly around French airspace when the struck Mohamar Quaidaffi,you know the guy who ordered the destruction of Pan-Am 103 right over the town of Lockerbie,Scotland.The French have done nothing to change my opinion of them since and in fact have continued to grow into bigger assholes.
All that being said you can play that racisiam card somewhere else.
If being pissed at French perfidity makes a"Ethnoracist"maybe I am.But I look at the history of the last 30 years and I see mostly lies,deception and back stabbing comming out of France,also see Bulldog's post.
I do agree with TGA that Aris has some interesting points,don't agree with them,but interseting nontheless.
#28
"The personal attack on Aris (note the lack of scare quotes, I freely admit that is what it was)was caused by his implication that Raptor was a racist for calling the perpetrators of the incident asswipes."
Bullshit. He/you (are you the same person or not?) called all Frenchmen "asswipes", and asked me why I should want to be friends with such "asswipes".
It was a racist comment, like it or not. Want to nitpick like Brian did and call it ethnoracist instead? Be my guest, but it boils down to the same thing.
"I find it both offensive and amusing"
Yes, so do I. I find it both offensive and amusing when people make racist comments about entire nations and then pretend that *no* it was the specific perpetrators that they were targetting with their insults, as if people can't just scroll up and see the original comments by themselves.
"and, TGA, I have been following Aris' comments for days now, he is an enthusiastic European SOCIALIST."
I am? I suppose that for a given value of "socialism" anyone short of a libertarian can be called a socialist - in which case I suppose I have to confess to socialism, since indeed I am not a libertarian.
"It's a generalisation, nothing more sinister."
Generalisations aren't sinister? News to me.
And I may be misremembering my mood the moment I wrote it but I think that the "Idiots" exclamation had been directed at the EU-hating crowd in general, not to you specifically.
#30
Hypocritical bullshit, Aris You have repeatedly made derogatory remarks about England and the English. You were doing less than generalising yourself? You accused England of doing "nothing but spout xenophobic and racist nationalisms against the EU", compared with the Scots and the Welsh. In your book, that's certainly racist.
Englishmen have been killed in recent years in your country because of their nationality; when the last time a Greek was killed on the streets on England for being Greek?
#31
TGA, you're right about the Sun - it oversteps the mark a good deal (in fact, whenever it can), and the attitude of the tabloids towards Germany expecially, is deeply embarrassing. It doen't take a psychologist to identify the "German trauma", as you put it. But I don't think it has gone for good, sadly. However, Frog-bashing is going to be the favourite sport for some time to come, I think.
Re. the French, yes, there is a great degree of reciprocal Francophobia in the Anglosphere. But, the crucial difference is, from us it's warranted. I am not a dyed-in-the-wool Francophobe, but their actions of late have been abominable for so many reasons. And they, ultimately will pay the price. Their culturally ingrained Anglophobia has led them to make choices that let us and themselves down. What happened in Iraq harmed no legitimate interests of France: they were wrong, and need to acknowledge that fact.
I won't compare you to Chirac again, that clearly overstepped the mark. How about Schroeder, occasionally?!
Aris I freely admit to calling the French asswipes,and meant every word.Refer to my comment:"I have been upset with the French since they forced our F-111 bombers to fly around French airspace when the struck Mohamar Quaidaffi,you know the guy who ordered the destruction of Pan-Am 103 right over the town of Lockerbie,Scotland."
If you notice "Good ol'Boy"Mohmar kept his head down since.
I would not hide behind an alias if I have something to say I will be straight up-front with it.I use Raptor cause I like the name,if you notice I use my real name in my e-mail address.
By the way,Fred I tried to post an article from military.com but it is not here.What did i do wrong?
OK, I could say now that some of my best friends are French. But that would sound like an Antisemite claiming that some of his best friends... you know the drill.
Apart from that it's simply not true. But I'm not a Francophobe either. Yet any German politician with 2 intact brain cells should know that when it comes to relying on a friend, the choice between the USA and France is.... no choice.
Are you trying to paraphrase Qadaffi (sp.) when he said after 9/11 that the best blow against al-Qaeda would be a bombing attack against London? Please tell me you haven't fallen that deep into the delusional left wing.
Posted by: Brian ||
06/11/2003 21:09 Comments ||
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#35
As for Aris, his secret agenda rotates around the Marbles held by the UK.
Posted by: Brian ||
06/11/2003 21:11 Comments ||
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#36
Aris: please define for me what you think a "race" is? A century and a half ago people considered Irish, Italians, etc. to be races, but modern anthropology only recognizes Caucasians, blacks, asians, etc as races now. Ethnic groups aren't considered races any more. The French aren't a race. Neither are the Greeks. Nor the British. Calling the French "asswipes" or whatever can be an ETHNIC insult, but certainly not a racial insult.
Is this a European thing to still consider ethnic groups races? Because it surely isn't something we recognize in North America.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
06/11/2003 22:09 Comments ||
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#37
Definition of racism: a belief in the inborn superiority of one race, esp. one's own, over another race of humanity.
How is calling the French "asswipes" racist? It doesn't fit the definition. Apples and oranges folks.
#38
Nice little donnybrook. I only wish Mike Moore would have come back. I know it costs Fred more, but who wants to listen to everybody say the same thing? RW's right. How can calling someone a sphincter be costrued as racist? That's just liberal newspeak used to silence dissent.
Posted by: Scott ||
06/11/2003 22:33 Comments ||
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Not exactly WoT, but seeing as the French are involved I think it must be relevant.
European Union farm ministers are set for a showdown when they meet on Wednesday for crucial talks on reforming the controversial system of farm subsidies. The European Commission is putting forward proposals to stop paying farmers according to how much food they produce. But the plans are likely to meet resistance from France and Spain, the main beneficiaries of the current system. EU farm commissioner Franz Fischler said it was "decision time" and warned against "lame compromises" which could lead to more red tape and overproduction at taxpayers' expense. "The negotiations will be tough and we have a few days' and nights' hard work ahead of us. But an agreement can be reached," he said.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) takes up nearly half of all EU spending and is blamed for encouraging massive overproduction - creating notorious "food mountains" and exports at subsidised prices. The European Commission wants to abolish the subsidies, and replace them with a single payment which would reduce over time, leaving farmers to make decisions according to what consumers want, rather than how much subsidy they could earn. BBC environment correspondent Tim Hirsch says there is great pressure to reach agreement this week ahead of world trade talks in Mexico in September where farm subsidies will be a major issue. Under the proposed plan, the money saved from scrapping subsidies would be used to help boost rural development and environmental protection. Why not conscript redundant farmers into the much-vaunted EDF. Create a few Rapid Reaction Agricultural Divisions. Bet you can get quite a few tractor-mounted Jose Boves into an IL-76.
Diplomats say France has hinted in recent weeks that it might accept a compromise that would mean keeping some of the subsidies with "rural development" compensation to make up the difference.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
06/11/2003 05:39 am ||
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#1
leaving farmers to make decisions according to what consumers want
Oh, something like the supply & demand concept, where in the long run supply = demand. Is this something new to the EUropeans?
#3
Bulldog, wouldn't that make it the Rabid Reactionary Agricultural Division. The US could stand to reacquaint it's Farm Based Policy with supply and demand also, but I doubt our politicians can garner the courage for Free Market Fries.
Posted by: Dick Saucer ||
06/11/2003 9:43 Comments ||
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#4
i guess if americans can discuss the minutaa of our partisan sniping, the euros can discuss the ins and outs of agric policy - its at least as relevant to the WOT.
#5
The major problem in Europe vis-a-vis farm subsidies is that they soak up so much of the government's expenditures. Farm subsidies have played a vital role in sucking money away from defense spending, and is one of several culprits in Europe's poor military capabilities. The old "Guns or butter" policies have always been decided in favor of "butter" in Europe. Today, the whole mess is coming home to roost as extremism of various sorts begin to rear their ugly heads, and there's not much there to behead the monsters. Many European countries can't even administer a decent "haircut" to terror, much less do anything truly protective.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/11/2003 11:26 Comments ||
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#6
Well, we in America shouldn't be throwing too many bricks about agricultural subsidies. Our farm policy is a disgrace from set-aside programs, to ethanol, to subsidized water projects to irrigate more land to grow more crops to provide more over-supply. It's disgusting. However, given that each farm state is guaranteed 2 senators, the ag sector will continue to be overrepresented in the Senate and both parties will continue to pander to the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowas etc.
#7
Agricultural subsidies in the EU -- and the US -- undermine agricultural production in Africa and other poor parts of the world, hence contribute greatly to global poverty. Farmers in Mali can produce cotton much cheaper than those in the US, but they can't compete against US subsidies. But while the US is bad on this issue, Europe is MUCH worse. Australia and New Zealand are much better.
#8
Actually the idea of a European Quick Agracultural Reaction Force is not all that bad of an idea. Would we see as many problems in Africa if the Africans had sufficient food stuffs available. With sufficient food perhaps the Jungle Meat trade would not be around and maybe AIDS wouldn't be as bad
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
06/11/2003 11:55 Comments ||
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#9
CC---you stole me thunder. Once you get an agricultural subsidy entrenched in the system, it is almost impossible to get rid of it. It would seem to me that a good compromise is a phaseout over X number of years, say 5 or even 10. Speaking of which, for example, we in Alaska have $23 billion in the bank of the Alaska Permanent Fund, which was a State set-aside from oil revenues. Eligible certified residents get some every year (share the oil wealth with the public). The state is in a budget crunch, many people are looking at the dividend as an entitlement, the legislature won't take its responsibility and do the last cuts on a 5-year plan of budget reduction. Now they have dumped problem on the lap of the governor, who will do the line item vetos, which he says he will do to keep the plan going.
Sounds familiar? It is universal. The EU or our country must have the national will to get its house in order, or we both will eventually economically collapse. Good luck to all of us...
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/11/2003 14:37 Comments ||
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#10
The subsidies are a remnant of the time when Europe decided never to suffer a famine again like winter 1946/47. The subsidies did make sense in the 50s, in the 60s they were already unnecessary. But indeed its very difficult to get rid of them.
But you actually can buy bendy, not plastic wrapped cucumbers at the market (as I did today) along with (horribile dictu) juicy tasty French peaches (and German strawberries). They could be cheaper though.
Unfortunately EU subsidies favor the big agricultural enterprises, not the small farmers.
#11
I don't know a lot about U.S farm subsidies programs,but I was under the impresion it was mostly because American farmers are so good at rasing food that if they grew enough to show a profit they would flood the market with food destroying the market for everyone.By the way where do you think that millions of tons of grain the U.S. donates to the worlds poor and starving comes from.
#12
The US farm subsidy program has very different roots than the European version. One of the key contributors to the Great Depression in the US was agricultural overproduction. The deflationary effects of huge agricultural surpluses bankrupted farmers in large numbers and helped lead to the collapse of the banking system. The aim of US farm subsidies is to take productive land out of production or buy up excess crops rather than ensure minimum levels of production (except for some key military commodities like cashmere wool, but that's another story). Originally designed to help small family farms, they of course benefit agribusiness most (buy 100,000 acres, cultivate 60,000 acres, sell at cost and make your profit on the 40,000 acres that the Feds paid you to leave fallow).
If I knew who this guy was, I'd probably really be pissed.
The playwright Harold Pinter last night likened George W Bush's administration to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, saying the US was charging towards world domination while the American public and Britain's "mass-murdering" prime minister sat back and watched. Can't these lefty boobs come up with something more original? Caesar's Rome? Napoleon's France? Saddam's Iraq?
Pinter, 72, was at the National Theatre in London to read from War, a new collection of his anti-war poetry that had been published in the press in response to events in Iraq. Sounds like a real hopping night out.
In conversation on stage with Michael Billington, the Guardian's theatre critic, Pinter said the US government was the most dangerous power that had ever existed. Feel free to spread that news around, Harry. It might cut down on a lot of outside assholes poking into our business. Thanks.
The American detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where al-Qaida and Taliban suspects were being held, was a concentration camp. I read where the guys they released recently gained an average of 13 pounds while they were inside. Some concentration camp.
The US population had to accept responsibility for allowing an unelected president to take power and the British were exhausted from protesting and being ignored by Tony Blair, a "deluded idiot" Pinter hoped would resign. Thanks Harry, you elitist slob. Sorry we don't know any better. Forgive us, we know not what we do.
After a big operation for cancer, Pinter returned to public life last year to speak out against American belligerence. He called it a return from a "personal nightmare" to an "infinitely more pervasive public nightmare". Sound like he's still on lots and lots of pain pills.
The playwright said: "The US is really beyond reason now. It is beyond our imagining to know what they are going to do next and what they are prepared to do. There is only one comparison: Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany wanted total domination of Europe and they nearly did it. The US wants total domination of the world and is about to consolidate that. Nazi Germany...blah, blah, blah... World domination...blah,blah,blah...
"In a policy document, the US has used the term 'full-spectrum domination', that means control of land, sea, air and space, and that is exactly what's intended and what the US wants to fulfil. They are quite blatant about it." Just wait until we invade the sun and take that over, Harry. Come see us when you're freezing your ass off. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Pinter blamed "millions of totally deluded American people" for not staging a mass revolt. Unlike you, Harry, most of us "totally deluded Americans" have real jobs and have to go to work everyday to support ourselves and our families. We don't have time to sit around and write antiwar poetry books and stage mass revolts. The people that do have the time to do this are such a bunch of clowns that nobody takes them seriously.Kinda like you.
He said that because of propaganda and control of the media, millions of Americans believed that every word Mr Bush said was "accurate and moral". The US population could not be let off scot-free for putting the country under the control of an "illegally elected president - in other words, a fake". Illegally elected...blah, blah, blah...
He asked: "What objections have there been in the US to Guantanamo Bay? At this very moment there are 700 people chained, padlocked, handcuffed, hooded and treated like animals. It is actually a concentration camp." Seeing how they're trying to kill us, Harry, you won't hear a lot of talk here about letting them out so they can take a nice stroll down Main Street. The only reason most Americans are pissed about them being in Gitmo, is that they're still alive to be put there.
"I haven't heard anything about the US population saying: 'We can't do this, we are Americans.' Nobody gives a damn. And nor does Tony Blair." Pinter added: "Blair sees himself as a representative of moral rectitude. He is actually a mass murderer. But we forget that - we are as much victims of delusions as Americans are." Quick! More anti delusion pills for Mister Pinter! Chop-chop!!
In a British society where people were increasingly encouraged not to use their brains, the only way to protest was by "thought, intelligence and solidarity". Deep, Harry. Really, deep. And nobody cares.
Posted by: tu3031 ||
06/11/2003 11:06 am ||
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#1
"The US population had to accept responsibility for allowing an unelected president to take power..."
Er, Is that like the Iraqis were responsible for Saddam? I'm so confused...
"In a British society where people were increasingly encouraged not to use their brains, the only way to protest was by "thought, intelligence and solidarity"."
Sadly, he's right about the lack of brain-engagement, and it has been demonstrated. A million shuffling zombies took to the streets of London shrieking and muttering unintelligibly a few months back. And Harold, you were probably there.
#3
I have just one question for Mr. Painter: Where do I pick up my cool storm trooper uniform? We just defeated a Tyrant that was JUST like the Germans. You don't even have to chenge the names, I am sure that Bathist party is something close to national socialists. Isn't it interesting that all the Commies think we are Nazi and all the Arabs think we are Jewish lap dogs? Since we can't win the argument, let's just play along. I say we invade that socialist country to our north, just like Hitler did in Poland. Then we take on Mexico and down into South America. Who's with me? ON TO WORLD DOMINATION! HEIL BUSH! HEIL BUSH! Give me a break!
The founder of Baathism, Michael Aflaq, was profoundly inspired by the Nazis, and the Germans tried to take over Iraq with the help of Vichy France in 1941, only to get "shock and awe" from the British.
Posted by: Ernest Brown ||
06/11/2003 12:36 Comments ||
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#5
Pinter, 72 yr old playwrite / elitist = socialist dinosaur. The Soviet Bloc is dead, and his kind are dying off as well with little or no cadres to replace them. The 'masses' that they have chased after for the last century have totally rejected them. Waaaaaaaaaah! What they see as world domination is just the world flushing them down the toilet. Take that Pinter - dirty swirly!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/11/2003 12:44 Comments ||
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#6
I love Pinter's pitch to the British people:
"All you stupid people out there, follow me!"
Straight outta Dale Carnegie, it is.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/11/2003 12:52 Comments ||
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#7
There are times when it really bothers me that playwrights, poets, and artists are the only people who manage to profit from their psychotic episodes. What about the engineers, programmers and other folk like me? It's an unfair world...
#8
When he winds up dead, tell the cops to talk to Mike N. from Rantburg. I'm not going to do much to him, I figure a good scare will drop that fossil dead in an instant.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/11/2003 13:25 Comments ||
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#9
Harold 'Pinhead' Pinter is a pathetic relic from a shameful age when communism was regarded as an 'alternative' to democracy and capitalism.
Pinter is an old socialist romantic/artist who is drunk on the ideology of communism and unable to put this bottle down.
Admit it, Harry: 1) you have a problem.. 2) You need help... etc.
#10
Why do these fools always make the Hitler comparison? Perhaps because some part of their subconscious minds realize that they themselves have become the new Nazis. Of course they can't accept that -- so they sling the charge at their opponents.
#11
This guy is a real piker. I was engaged last week in a raging debate with a liberal buddy of mine who is always harping on the intolerance, bigotry and hatred of the right-wing. I countered that liberals are more intolerant and full of hatred than conservatives. But with liberals they self-delude themselves as inclusive, open, diverse, etc. AS LONG AS YOU DON'T DISAGREE WITH THEIR VIEWPOINTS.
I think I will send along this article as yet another example of liberal hate speech.
#12
unelected president! i am so sick of hearing this! the people who say this should learn about the american political system before commenting!
If goddam Gore would of won his own home state of Tenn. then he would be president now and now and not Bush! But the liberal press barely touches on this and instead concentrates on chads in florida! if the democrats were not such sore losers these aholes in the world would know nothing of chads!
Posted by: Dan ||
06/11/2003 14:17 Comments ||
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#13
I really wish all these idiots would stop ANY comparisons with the Nazi regime. As someone who lived through the worst of it I can only say: Mr. Pinter, nothing compares to it.
#15
Hmmmmmmmmm.....
IIRC, if you were a German, and complained about Hitler's government, you either stopped a bullet, were hanged, or sent to a concentration camp to be gassed or worked to death.
There are thousands of people in our nation that make absolutely absurd statements about our current president. I have not seen one of them "disappear" (damnit!). Walter Cronkite seems pretty willing to slander George Bush every chance he gets, without having to worry about being dragged into an unmarked panel van in the dark of the night, never to be heard from again. Ditto for Peter Jennings, Wolf Blitzer, and all the crew at CBS and NBC. Haven't seen any of them go to jail, much less into a "concentration camp".
It would be nice if some of these socialistic idiots had at least a nodding acquaintance with the history they keep referring to. So far, about as close as they've come is about 160 degrees to the left.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/11/2003 15:39 Comments ||
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Director Woody Allen has said he will eat French fries and French kiss his daughter wife as part of a video he is fronting to promote France in the US. The video, called Let's Fall in Love Again, comes in the wake of the recent US-led war with Iraq, which failed to gain backing from France. Other stars appearing in the video include actor Robert De Niro, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and the writer George Plimpton. Bob, say it isn't so!
"Recently there has been a lot of controversy between the two countries, and I would hope that now they could put all that behind them and start to build on what really has been a great, great friendship," he said in the video. "And I will not have to refer to my French fried potatoes as freedom fries and I will not have to freedom kiss my wife when all I want to do is French kiss her. So let's pull together now." American retaliation for France's anti-war stance included the renaming of French fries in some restaurants and cafes - including some at Capitol Hill - to Freedom fries. Some media called for boycotts of French products as well. Right-wing French opponents rallied behind the phrase "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" to describe the French, a line coined in animated comedy The Simpsons. Let's Fall in Love Again is being played to travel journalists at lunches in the US in an effort to boost the numbers of Americans visiting France. The number of US visitors to France has dropped 15% since the war in Iraq. And the summer tourist season hasn't even started yet.
Allen, who has worked with the French tourist office before, has a long affinity with the European country. At last year's Cannes Film Festival he defended French culture and countered claims from US Jewish groups that the country was prone to anti-Semitic feeling. Bet he didn't talk to any French Jewish groups.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 10:28 am ||
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but its cool to drink kosher wine from France, no??
#2
You know, seeing Woody Allen french kiss his former-adopted-daughter-now-wife may be all it takes for America to want to declare war on France. Considering what looms with the EU, I say bring it on.
#4
This was covered a week or two ago, but you never want to miss an opportunity to bash the frogs. What the hell French marketing guru thought up this loony?
#5
It pleases me so much to see this kind of thing. It means the people-based boycott of France is having a negative impact on that country's economy, and highlights the people in the US I should avoid. Someone needs to create a webpage with the names of these French suck-ups prominently displayed.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/11/2003 11:29 Comments ||
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One would hope that it is the boycott having such an effect, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the weak dollar and travel jitters are having a significant effect as well.
#7
How *did* the French get this tone deaf, for lack of a better phrase? While I think some of the ongoing boycotts may be punishing the wrong people (like the decreace in travel to Canada, even if the area in question, like the Maritimes, is conservative), the French seem to be doing everything in their power to make things worse. I'm beginning to think they really, REALLY don't understand us.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/11/2003 11:45 Comments ||
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#8
Again: Once Woody's over they'll spin a new series with pedophile drug-raping Roman Polanski, Film Auteur
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 11:54 Comments ||
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#9
And lets not forget the comic idol of France, Jerry Lewis.
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
06/11/2003 12:03 Comments ||
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Dear Mr. Allen,
Please remember not to french kiss your wife on the subway or in restaurants, it really grosses people out.
#13
Now this IS a tricky frog ploy! I can't retaliate against this French promotion because I have already been boycotting Woody for years. How devious!
Posted by: Tom ||
06/11/2003 15:31 Comments ||
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I've seen a news item on this issue, and it showed Woody talking about freedom/french fries and kisses. Only thing was that he was condescending, maybe not intentionally so, but by discrediting the American "street", he'll just pissed us off more at the French. So Woody, I've liked most of your films, but don't think a sophisticated Manhattanite such as yourself will have any impact on getting us to visit France. This whole campaign should not have even gotten off the ground as the more we see Woody, the more we'll think of Chirac and da vile pin.
Posted by: Michael ||
06/11/2003 16:37 Comments ||
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President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the MMA, saying opposition to the LFO was not an issue and the real issue was whether Pakistan needed a Taliban-style government. âWe have to decide whether we want Pakistan Talbanised,â Mr Musharraf said during his speech. âWe donât need backward Islam. We should be open to debate as to what is best for the country,â the president added. He said any expression of intolerance would harm the countryâs interests. âWe are not living in a vacuum. Pakistan is part of the global village. We can only develop when there is internal stability and a balanced external policy. The countryâs development is unlikely unless we interlink internal and external policies,â Musharraf emphasised.
That doesn't work well when jihad is the only solution to any problem, to include locking your keys in the car...
The president said Muslims were being called âterrorists, fundamentalists and intolerant todayâ.
"Also 'lunatix,' 'nut bags,' and even 'crackers'! I wonder why?"
âEven so that the world believes that Islam teaches terrorism. The world does not believe us even if we say a thousand times that Islam teaches tolerance. And this is because we are not being tolerant internally and the worldâs impression is not changing,â the president said.
That might be because adherents of the Religion of Peace™, in the name of the Religion of Peace™, slaughter infidels, each other, and innocent bystanders by the dozen, by the hundreds, and sometimes by the thousands. Killing and maiming seems to be a central tenet of their beliefs. And we're supposed to think they're tolerant? Of what? It certainly isn't us, and it certainly isn't each other.
He said certain steps by the MMA government â including the ban on music, damage to billboards, forcing women to wear veils and making wearing of shalwar kameez compulsory â manifested âpetty thinkingâ. The president said the MMAâs way of thinking could be a hurdle to development. Whether or not a man has a beard, or a woman wears a veil, should not matter. Why do some people want to force their views on others?â
I think they just like the sight of blood, myself.
He argued it was difficult to bring about a real change without motivation. âYou cannot change oneâs mind and heart by order. One may obey you this way but he will curse you in his heart. Try to be a model with your beard. I would like to follow such characters even if they have grown beards. I may also grow a beard when I see someone worth emulating,â an emotionally charged Mr Musharraf said as NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani sat close by. âWe need to know the basic values of Islam. If we by ourselves donât know about real Islam, how can we teach the world?â Musharraf said.
Please! Don't bother! I'd really rather remain ignorant.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/11/2003 07:14 pm ||
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Jeez, ya don't say?! Next you'll be telling me Kim Jong Il's not an expert at all that stuff that KCNA says he's an expert at.
The overthrow of Saddam Hussein not only ended the Iraqi leader's political career but snuffed out his literary aspirations as well. Saddam's last novel -- "Get out of here, curse you!" -- was about to go on sale when U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq on March 20. It never saw the light of day. Look for Tim Robbins and Sean Penn to get in a bidding war for the movie rights. Catchy title, famous author? Box office dynamite!
"This was his fourth book. It was written sometime in 2002," said Ali Abdel-Amir, a writer who has analyzed Saddam's books.
But Abdel-Amir said Saddam did not write the books himself but got a committee from the Information and Culture Ministry to do it for him."Saddam would record the outlines of his novel on a tape recorder and palace employees would transcribe it and give it to the committee, whose members included a number of writers and intellectuals," Abdel-Amir said. Sounds just like the New York Times.
"They would write the novel and return it to Saddam. It would go back and forth until the novel got his approval." Run with it! Toodles!...Howell
Signed "a book by its writer," Saddam's nom de plume, his latest novel was stored in the Information Ministry ready for distribution but then war began. Only a few copies survived U.S. bombs and Iraqi looters, and one was obtained by Reuters. Maybe we can get Harry Pinter one. He could turn it into some kind of mind numbing antiwar play.
His first book was a novel called "Zabiba and the King," which sold well in 2000 and was later made into a musical. I'm sure it got glowing reviews... or else.
Saddam's autobiography is entitled "Men and a city." I don't know, Sammy. Sounds too... gay.
Despite the large team working on the novels, Abdel-Aziz said, they were not literary masterpieces. "I found that Saddam's books showed he had a deep sense of individualism, he used stereotypes, was shallow. Women were always unfaithful and were either Kurds or Iranians," he said. I'm sure you mentioned this critique to him when he was alive and/or in power, right? Suuuuuuure you did.
His latest book is heavily allegorical and tells the story of Salem, a noble Arab tribesman who represents righteousness and Arab nationalism, and defeats his American and Jewish enemies. So we know it's a novel. He should've called our hero "Newport" or "Kool". Might help grab the American audience.
"Saddam of course is Salem," Abdel-Amir told Reuters.The tale describes how Salem unites divided Arab tribes in Iraq to defeat Hisquel, a foreign intruder who represents greed, evil, and filth but who is extremely attractive to women. "Hi, baby. I represent greed, evil, and filth."
"Ohhhhhh, Hisquel! You irresistable disgusting bastard! Take me now!"
So if Sean don't get the rights, he could still get the Hisquel role? Sounds like a natural for him.
"Saddam presents the Jews in his novel as this foreign intruder under the name of Hisquel. Hisquel's ally, a Roman tribe leader, is the United States. Of course Salem defeats them soundly in a battle between good and evil," Abdel-Amir said.
He said the description of Salem's victory was meant to echo the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Oooooh, heavy symbolism. Are there any rap stars in it? Or super models? How about dead dictators and their psychopathic sons?
The destruction of the United States and Israel came with the burning of two towers by Salem's men and then the collapse of the towers that represent the two states' wealth and power. "Here, Saddam imports the pictures of the suicide attacks on New York's World Trade Center buildings and the collapse of the two towers," Abdel-Amir said. Looks like things worked out a little different, eh, Sammy? Too bad, so sad.
Saddam's last novel shows his skewed depiction of women, limiting their role to satisfying men's sexual desires, and portraying them as deceptive, either cheating on their husbands or harbouring thoughts of betrayal. Got/ had some issues dealing with women, do/ did you Sammy??? Why don't/ didn't you ask Uday for some tips on scoring with the chicks? I sure he has/had some great pickup lines, all ending with "... or I'll kill you and your family and everyone who lives on your street!"
The poor quality of the books did not prevent hundreds of Iraqi newspaper and magazine articles praising them in glowing terms. "Writers did not dare do otherwise," Abdel-Amir said. "Who would dare criticize his work and stay alive?" You sure as shit didn't...
The final draft of Saddam's first novel, "Zabiba and the King," was penned by the writer Sami Mohammad, who months later died in mysterious circumstances, Abdel-Amir said. Yeah, he accidently fell in the Eurphrates with a Buick tied around his neck.
#1
Sounds a lot like how a junior senator from New York writes her books. "Men and a City", "It Takes a Village", men's sexual desires, cheating, harbouring thoughts of betrayal. Humm, has anyone ever seen the two of them at the same time?
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 16:41 Comments ||
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#2
Sounds a lot like how a junior senator from New York writes her books. "Men and a City", "It Takes a Village", men's sexual desires, cheating, harbouring thoughts of betrayal. Humm, has anyone ever seen the two of them at the same time?
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 16:41 Comments ||
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DOHA, Qatar (Reuters) - OPEC cannot permit Iraq to attend meetings of the cartel while Baghdad remains under the rule of an occupying U.S.-led authority, oil ministers said Wednesday. Attend? We didn't ask to attend or join....
"We cannot have relations with Iraq until there is an internationally recognized government, that is a consensus," said Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez. Tool of Chavez's regime "This does not mean we do not want Iraq in the organization. We do want Iraq in OPEC and we think Iraq will want to stay in OPEC because they will need a reasonable price for oil," he said.
Ministers said the position, agreed during a ministerial meeting Wednesday, was common to all international organizations that hold diplomatic status. "OPEC is not a special case," said OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah of Qatar.
That means Baghdad will be excluded from production policy conferences until Washington transfers power to a U.N.-recognized sovereign Iraqi government. Don't hold your breath fellas
The stand will send ripples of concern around international oil markets. Traders are concerned that an isolated Baghdad, under Washington's influence, could leave the organization it helped form over 40 years ago.
"OPEC is on the horns of another dilemma," said Peter Gignoux, head of the London energy desk at Citigroup. Baghdad has already missed two OPEC meetings since the U.S. invasion in March. Cartel officials said the group's Vienna-based secretariat would move now to contact Baghdad for the first time since the war to maintain ties with the interim authority. Oh...so I guess Iraq wasn't calling them, hmmm?
"We are waiting for an Iraqi oil minister. Until that time we will contact Iraqi officials to see how we can cooperate," said Attiyah. As yet there is no clear timetable for any transition in Baghdad to a full Iraqi government.
Washington is planning, in about four weeks time, to install an Iraqi interim political council that can try to name candidates to organizations like OPEC. But members of that council will not have diplomatic status and a full Iraqi government may not be in place for a year or more. It remains unclear whether or not OPEC will recognize the interim political council.
Iraq is expected to resume exports in a week's time but has said it could take a year to restore supplies to pre-war volumes of 2.7 million barrels a day.
Its huge reserves give it the potential to reach six or seven million barrels daily in years to come, output that would dwarf all but Saudi Arabia's in OPEC.
"Don't call us...we're too busy pumping oil..we'll have to get back to you".
Of course, we didn't go to war for the oil, but it sure is a bonus if OPEC and the Saudis, Libyans, Chavez, et al get screwed
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 11:56 am ||
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Is this supposed to be a threat? If so, these monkeys are even more delusional than I'd given them credit for.
#3
All the more reason for the West to declare that total energy independence is a matter of national sucurity for the nations that make it up. Every less barrel of oil we buy from these nations is more nail in the coffin of the regimes that run these cesspools
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
06/11/2003 12:50 Comments ||
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#4
Gosh, since Iraq isn't welcome at OPEC, there won't be any need for Iraq to coordinate its oil exports with OPEC. That means (lessee, 2 + 2 = $12 for a barrel of oil) Iraq is free to export as much as it likes just as soon as the oil fields get repaired.
Well, okay, OPEC wins, I guess Iraq shouldn't be allowed back in. Shucks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2003 12:57 Comments ||
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#5
I think the Venezuelan guy meant that they prefer dictatorships.
#7
These guys are basically making a face-saving statement. They would love to have Iraq back in OPEC - the whole point of the organization is to restrict output to keep oil prices high. Since the US has indicated it will keep Iraq out of OPEC, the organization's response has been to act as if they want no part of US-administered Iraq. Due to the successful American defeat of Saddam, OPEC has a surplus of lemons - that statement is just their way of trying to make lemonade. It's a statement with no meaning or practical impact.
#8
I wish there were some way for the US to angle the world's largest new pipeline from under the Saudi-Iraqi border and drain Saudi oil fields first before we have to dip into our new strategic reserve HAHAHA $10bbl oil by 2005!
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
06/11/2003 16:40 Comments ||
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#9
"OPEC cannot permit Iraq to attend meetings of the cartel while Baghdad blah blah blah"...okay, that works for me. See you in the agora.
#10
I would love to see OPEC go in the crapper.
I agree with someone,we should dump tons of money into fuel cell/fusion tech.That would put a serious hurt to OPEC.
Nearly 400 Iraqis suspected of criminal behavior are being detained by coalition forces in an operation designed to continue the clean-up and rebuilding of the country, Central Command said Wednesday. Operation Peninsula Strike began on Monday, when soldiers launched a number of raids in northeast Balad, Iraq, along the Tigris River to clear out Baath Party loyalists, paramilitary groups and other deviant elements.
So far, Operation Peninsula Strike has resulted in the capture of 397 suspects and the seizure of numerous weapon systems and ammunition. Some of the top 55 most wanted Iraqis may be among the 397 captured, Fox News has learned. Something that Steven Den Beste commented on today. Have you noticed that after we announce that we have bagged one of these guys, they drop off the face of the earth? Somewhere, there is a whole lot of interogation going on.
But the operation is not a search for a specific person; it is more of an ongoing effort to secure Iraq. The first stage is the transporting of soldiers and equipment into strike positions, intelligence gathering and coordination with local police, according to Centcom. Then, in an effort to eliminate or seize subversive elements, air assault teams, ground attack squads, raid teams, river patrol boats and local security will conduct raids. During the last 24 hours, coalition forces throughout Iraq conducted eight raids and a total of 2,595 patrols, Centcom reported. Arrests and detentions were made of 264 individuals for a myriad of criminal acts, including drug dealing, looting, curfew violations, weapons violations, theft and larceny.
The voluntary weapons turn-in program that began on June 1, in which Iraqi citizens deliver weapons to collection points manned by coalition forces, has netted a total of 85 pistols, 72 semi-automatic rifles or shotguns, 363 automatic rifles, 40 machine guns, 120 anti-tank weapons, 10 anti-air weapons and 230 grenades and other explosive devices, Centcom reported.
The voluntary program ends June 14. Good work, guys. Stay sharp.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 11:33 am ||
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{sarcasm on}Nice job, Fox, considering Central Command sends this out in a news release daily and the story quotes direcly from the news release.{sarcasm off}
#2
wapo this AM did a very good articale on situation in Karbala - not a single attack on US troops, power back to double pre-war levels, still some grumbling about corrupt police, clerics cooperating, some clerics grumbling, local mayor afraid of clerics, wants US troops to stay.
Altogether a different picture from focus on Baghdad and Sunni regions. Also quite different from impression of a month ago, that Shiites were on verge of rebellion.
#3
LH, I was going to bring that story here but it was rather long. The link is here. This story and the one a month ago about how well things were going in Kirkuk suggest strongly that in the end, what really matters is a local US commander with the smarts and authority to do the right things in each city and region. When we do it right, that part of Iraq starts to work.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2003 13:02 Comments ||
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maybe so steve - but i dont think the problems in fallujah and tikrit are due to the US local commanders in question.
What this suggests to me is that Iraq under the Baath was virtually an apartheid state a dictatorship of Sunni Muslim Arabs over Shiites and Kurds. Even many of those Sunni Arabs who didnt participate in the regime benefited from it. And almost all Sunni Muslim Arabs therefore have reason to fear change. Therefore there is almost no opposition to the occupation in the Kurdish zones, such opposition as there is in the Shiite zones is moderate, concerned with details of occupation and the jockeying for future power. The only place real hatred for us exists is in the Sunni heartland - and while even there there may be many who are friendly to us, there is enough residual baathism to start and maintain a vicious cycle of terrorist resistance and crackdown.
Im not saying this to indicate that the situation in the Sunni heartland is hopeless - rather I think our patience might be greater if we understood better the parameters and motives of the resistance, rather than seeing it as pervading Iraq and being based on some general nationalist opposition to occupation.
The UN chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, has lashed out at the US Defence Department, saying some "bastards" in Washington tried to undermine him in the run-up to the Iraq war. Diplospeak skills aren't what they used to be for UN-professionals.
In an interview with the UK's Guardian newspaper, Mr Blix said there were US officials who had "spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media". "It was like a mosquito bite in the evening that is there in the morning, an irritant," he said. I'm sorry, were we discussing the UN?
According to Mr Blix, as the US build-up for an invasion of Iraq intensified, US administration officials had leaned on his weapons inspectors to use more damning language in their reports on Iraq. The UN inspectors searched more than 200 sites over three-and-a-half months but failed to find any weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But the US-led coalition insisted there were weapons to be found. Its failure to find any WMD in Iraq to date has triggered a storm of criticism about the issue, which was the main US and UK justification for the war.
Mr Blix said that, despite the actions of his "detractors" in Washington, "by and large, my relations with the US were good". However, he said Washington now viewed the United Nations as an "alien power". You've got to admit it doesn't seem to be based on planet earth.
"There are people in this [US] administration who say they don't care if the UN sinks under the East river, and other crude things." We all know that's not going to happen. When the UN's finished destroying what's left of human civilisation that ugly great building's rocketing off back to Uranus.
Mr Blix's deputy Dimitri Perricos, a veteran UN arms expert, has been named to replace him as head of the UN Monitoring, Inspection and Verification Commission (Unmovic). Mr Blix is retiring after more than three years as UN chief weapons inspector. Last week Mr Blix criticised the quality of the US and UK intelligence given to him on alleged Iraqi WMD, saying his inspectors had found nothing after acting on tip-offs. In his last report to the UN Security Council, he recorded an open verdict over whether Iraq had WMD. Saddam Hussein's regime might have hidden weapons, or it might have destroyed them, Mr Blix said. "And I might be a useless, frustrated Swede."
Posted by: Bulldog ||
06/11/2003 05:15 am ||
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Senator Richard Lugar weighs in with interesting comments on the search for WMD:
"It seems to me very hard for somebody in Congress to argue with a straight face that he or she was deceived. Anyone who was sitting there throughout the last two years heard all of the arguments that are now being made, had an opportunity to read all the intelligence. There has been nothing new in the arguments...to dredge all of this [up] as somehow a national scandal or people being beguiled or so forth is nonsense unless people are totally naïve.
"I don't know if they will find weapons of mass destruction although my guess is that conventional wisdom is right, eventually we will find some people in Iraq who will tell us what happened...
"Dual use technology, if it is sophisticated, means that you can whip up a batch of anthrax one day and do shampoo the next and get rid of what you did the first day. Americans looking for big facilities and cars and tanks and so forth will be disappointed. That is not the nature of the beast."
#2
Let me guess, sooner or later he will write a book about his ordeal, claiming Saddam Hussein never had any WMD, ever, and that footage of chemical weapons used against Iraqis was a CIA fabrication. In any case, a book is forthcoming... watch.
#3
He should've been looking for "graves of mass destruction". He might've found some of them. But, as they're fond of saying over at the UN, "that's not our job".
#4
Blix is streching his 15 minutes of fame because he knows that: A) We will find WMDs and B) The world will look at him with disgust. Hey I thought of a new reality show: 'Bitch Slap Blix'. Contestants will compete for the honor of slapping this useless "Inspector" and win cash prizes (Scott Ritter can be a special guest).
"The longer that one does not find any weapons in spite of people coming forward and being rewarded for giving information, etc., the more I think it is important that we begin to ask ourselves 'If there were no weapons, why was it that Iraq conducted itself as it did for so many years?'" Blix said.
"They cheated, they retreated, they changed figures, they denied access, etc. Why was that if they didn't have anything really to conceal? I have speculations â one could be pride," he said.
#6
Blix was on "Good Morning America" this morning in an "exclusive interview" with Diane Sawyer serving up big, juicy softballs for him to hit. Looks like he's on a whirlwind media blitz. Does he have a book contract?
Posted by: Mike ||
06/11/2003 12:49 Comments ||
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another comment on WMD:
'"There is long, consistent, clear evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and I'm still convinced that we're going to find them," Gephardt said. '
#9
If WMD aren't found, then the Bush administration will have to explain and pay the consequences, if any. However, I am damn glad we went and changed the regime and the status quo in the Middle East - pretext or not. If the price to be paid is Bush losing the election, so be it.
#10
CC:
No worries, mate. If W did the right thing for the wrong reason, it's OK by me. As a life-long member of that other party who disagrees with much of his domestic policy, I know come election day that I'll have a hard time NOT voting for him.
#11
Senator Richard Lugar weighs in with interesting comments on the search for WMD:
"It seems to me very hard for somebody in Congress to argue with a straight face that he or she was deceived. Anyone who was sitting there throughout the last two years heard all of the arguments that are now being made, had an opportunity to read all the intelligence. There has been nothing new in the arguments...to dredge all of this [up] as somehow a national scandal or people being beguiled or so forth is nonsense unless people are totally naïve.
"I don't know if they will find weapons of mass destruction although my guess is that conventional wisdom is right, eventually we will find some people in Iraq who will tell us what happened...
"Dual use technology, if it is sophisticated, means that you can whip up a batch of anthrax one day and do shampoo the next and get rid of what you did the first day. Americans looking for big facilities and cars and tanks and so forth will be disappointed. That is not the nature of the beast."
#12
I'm hoping the US and its allies don't find WMDs for a very simple reason. The US can say we removed an evil despotic regime. This puts the UN in a very difficult position because of its role in legitimizing similar regimes.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2003 17:08 Comments ||
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The Indonesian Red Cross says it has taken 151 bodies to hospitals and morgues in Aceh since a fresh military offensive against rebels began. The organisation added all victims had been wearing civilian clothes. But Iyang Sukandar, secretary-general of the Indonesian Red Cross, told Reuters by telephone this did not mean the dead were civilians. The Red Cross has said it is not its job to determine the identity of those killed in the offensive, now into its fourth week. "The latest figure that I received was on Saturday ... It was 151 casualties," Sukandar said, adding more updated figures were not available because of communications problems. He added the bodies were only those removed by the Red Cross.
Meaning there's more, to be removed by somebody else...
Sukandar declined to say if all 151 had been killed in conflict zones in this province on the northern tip of Sumatra island, although since fighting erupted, evacuating bodies from the battlefield has been one of their prime responsibilities. "Their identities were not clear, all of them wore civilian clothing, but if I have to say that they were civilians, then I'm not sure," Sukandar said. Indonesia military officials in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, said on Wednesday 21 Government troops had been killed in the offensive. The military figures put the number of GAM fighters killed at 172.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/11/2003 07:29 pm ||
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Two Thai Muslims arrested on suspicion of planning to attack western embassies and tourist spots have confessed that they belong to regional terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), according to Thai police. Thai truncheon's are made of bamboo, I believe.
A senior policeman said that two men, a religious teacher and his son, have admitted to the plot, and to membership of JI. A third man, a medical doctor who is also being held, has admitted to forging passports for the group. The men were arrested on Tuesday in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia, and were taken by helicopter to Bangkok for interrogation on Wednesday.
"Ow! Ow! OW! Stop HITTING me there!"
Australia and New Zealand last month advised against non-essential travel to Thailand, warning that the country was at risk of attack by Islamic militants. Since the Thai's have begun cracking down, the risk has gone up. It's that "Dire Revenge" thing.
The US had been pressing Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to take more action against Islamic groups it believes are using Thailand to plan attacks on western targets. Mr Thaksin has long insisted there was no evidence of militant activity in his country, but the latest arrests seem to suggest that the Thai government is taking the threat of terrorism more seriously. "We have evidence to prove that they are members of (Jemaah Islamiah) and that they were plotting to conduct violence in the country," said Major General Chumpon Manmai of the most recent arrests. They've also seen the figures on the drop-off in tourist trade in Bali and they don't want it to happen to them.
Earlier reports said police had accused the men of planning to carry out attacks in the tourist resorts of Pattaya and Phuket, as well as foreign embassies in Bangkok. Local residents in southern Thailand are puzzled by the arrests, particularly that of Doctor Waehamadi Wae-dao, who is a respected community leader. Our correspondent says that some people believe the doctor's detention has more to do with long-running friction between the Muslim community and the security forces as he has been a critic of the police.
Oh, yeah. That must be it. The passports were just a hobby...
Officials in Singapore on Tuesday announced that an alleged senior member of JI was arrested in Bangkok last month and was now in detention in Singapore. The Singapore Government said the suspect, Arifin bin Ali, alias John Wong Ah Hung, was detained following a tip from the island state's intelligence agency. Wong Ah Hung?
A government statement said the man's targets were five foreign embassies in Bangkok, including the Singapore mission. The issue of regional terrorism is expected to be high on the agenda of a meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) to be attended by US Secretary of State Colin Powell next week. Just two weeks ago in Cambodia, three men including two Thai Muslims were arrested and accused of being members of JI.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 10:06 am ||
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Guantanamo officials are ready to provide a courtroom, a prison and an execution chamber if the order comes to try terror suspects at the base in Cuba, the mission commander said. Although no new directive has been given and no plans have been approved, a handful of experts are looking at what it will take to try, imprison and, if need be, execute detainees accused of links to Afghanistan's fallen Taliban regime or to the al-Qaida terror network. "We have a number of plans that we work for short-term and long-term strategies but that's all they are - plans," Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller said in a telephone interview Monday. Last month, officials named Army Col. Frederic Borch III the chief prosecutor and Air Force Col. Will Gunn as chief defense lawyer for the proposed trials. The Pentagon has listed 18 war crimes and eight other offenses that could be tried, including terrorist acts, and has issued rules for the tribunals. Borch said he was looking at prosecuting at least 10 possible cases before a tribunal.
Some 680 detainees from 42 countries are in Guantanamo, categorized as unlawful combatants by the U.S. government. It has refused demands from human rights organizations to recognize them as prisoners of war. They have no constitutional rights as non-U.S. citizens being held outside U.S. territory, and none have been formally charged or allowed access to attorneys. The cases would be decided by a panel of three to seven military officers who act as both judge and jury. Convictions could be handed down by a majority vote; a decision to sentence a defendant to death would have to be unanimous. Check Military.com, great web site. Especially for current and former military. Hope I got the link to work right.
#1
Frankly I have no problem with executing these bastards. Sorry those without valuable intel even made it alive off the battlefield. Heads on pikes is OK with me. But that's me
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 21:13 Comments ||
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US President George W. Bush strongly condemned the Jerusalem bus bombing Wednesday and called on Arab leaders again to cut funding to terrorist groups. "Cut off the funding to Hamas," Bush told reporters in Chicago, his remarks broadcast over CNN television.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/11/2003 06:55 pm ||
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Just like Hezbollah, Hamas uses some of their funds to provide some social services (at least more than Arafat does) to secure the street's loyalty. They need to have those activities diminished along with their terrorist activities, to strip any popular support. This also means Abbas has to avoid the Arafat-like corruption and actually use international funding to provide the social services instead of hamas - is this any different than what we expect of any national government, and so unlike what Arafat has provided in the past?
Fox also says IDF tanks are on the move in Rafah/Gaza as well to stop the smuggling from Egypt
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 19:02 Comments ||
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#2
Oh-oh. IDF tanks on the move. Call out the Rachel Corrie Brigade!
EFL, and to limit to breaking news.
Israeli helicopters retaliated [for the bus bombing] with two missile strikes spaced hours apart â against Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade â killing seven Palestinians in the first and at least two in the later attack. Less than six hours [after the strike that accounted for Tito Massoud], Israeli helicopters fired more missiles in Gaza City, killing at least two people and wounding one seriously, residents said. The two Palestinians killed were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Fox News has learned â the Israeli military had no comment. Guess they achieved martyrdom.
More detail, from Middle East On-Line...
GAZA CITY - Six Palestinians were killed Wednesday when an Israeli helicopter fired a missile on a car in the Shajayah neighbourhood in Gaza City. The strike came about an hour after a suicide bomb ripped through a bus in central west Jerusalem, killing 13 people and wounding scores.
Hmmm... Think the two might have been connected?
According to witnesses, the target was Massud Titi, a senior member of the hardline Islamic Hamas movement's armed wing, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades.
Medical sources said some 20 people were wounded in the raid and added that two women were among the dead. "Two missiles hit the car. I stopped my car to help them but the Israeli helicopters fired four more missiles at us," said Mohammad, in his forties, who was wounded in the attack said at a nearby hospital.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/11/2003 06:12 pm ||
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Cuba lashed out at the European Union on Wednesday, accusing the 15-nation bloc of serving U.S. interests through recent criticisms of the Fidel Castro government. Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, using language usually reserved for Washington, accused Spain's government of funding dissident groups that Havana claims are being organized by the United States. Perez Roque made a vague threat to Madrid's Spanish Cultural Center in Havana, saying "Cuban authorities will take the appropriate measures to convert this center into an institution that truly meets the noble aim of popularizing Spanish culture." They're turning it into a Taco Cabana?
Later, the government urged Havana residents to join a protest planned for Thursday outside the embassies of Spain and Italy. As many as 1 million people are expected to participate in the rally, state television said. Urged = or else.
The European Union has been criticized in Cuba for announcing a review of its policies toward the island after Castro's government imposed prison sentences of up to 28 years on a group of dissidents and executed three men who hijacked a passenger ferry.
In Brussels, Belgium, EU spokesman Diego de Ojeda declined to specifically address Cuba's charges. "Our main objective is to integrate Cuba back into the community of democratic and market economy nations," De Ojeda said. "We need Cuba to at the very least respect a minimum standard of the most basic human rights." "market economy nations"? What would the EU know about that?
The statement from the European Union on Thursday said it was "deeply concerned about the continuing flagrant violation of human rights and of fundamental freedoms of members of the Cuban opposition and of independent journalists." EU members unanimously agreed to reduce high-level governmental visits, reduce the participation of member states in cultural events on the island and review relations overall. Less than two months ago, the EU opened a new office in Havana that officials hoped would improve and deepen relations between Europe and the communist-run country.
"It's too much," Perez Roque said. "After exhausting its patience and capacity for dialogue and tolerance, Cuba feels obliged to reply to what it considers to be the European Union's hypocritical behavior." You have to be pretty bad for the EU to diss you. Unless your American, that is.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 04:14 pm ||
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Well, Fidel will just have to share his bed with Venezuela and China, and all of Sammy's cronies....and Captain Karma hiding under the bed. Heh heh. Oh, yes, and Ed Asner and "Daylight Come" Belafonte. What a family!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/11/2003 17:53 Comments ||
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I find this a remarkable admission from the UK's Left wing paper of record - Just the highlights but read the whole thing.
When, back in mid-April, the news first arrived of the looting at the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, words hardly failed anyone. No fewer than 170,000 items had, it was universally reported, been stolen or destroyed, representing a large proportion of Iraq's tangible culture. And it had all happened as some US troops stood by and watched, and others had guarded the oil ministry.
One (room), which had clearly been used as a sniper point by Ba'ath forces, had also been looted of its best items, although they had been stacked in a far corner. The room had been opened with a key. Another storeroom looked as though the looters had just departed with broken artefacts all over the floor. But this, Cruikshank learned, was the way it had been left by the museum staff. No wonder, he told the viewers - the staff hadn't wanted anyone inside this room. Overall, he concluded, most of the serious looting "was an inside job".
Cruikshank also tackled George directly on events leading up to the looting. The Americans had said that the museum was a substantial point of Iraqi resistance, and this explained their reticence in occupying it. Not true, said George, a few militia-men had fired from the grounds and that was all. This, as Cruikshank heavily implied, was a lie. Not only were there firing positions in the grounds, but at the back of the museum there was a room that seemed to have been used as a military command post. And it was hardly credible that senior staff at the museum would not have known that. Cruikshank's closing thought was to wonder whether the museum's senior staff - all Ba'ath party appointees - could safely be left in post.
Furious, I conclude two things from all this. The first is the credulousness of many western academics and others who cannot conceive that a plausible and intelligent fellow-professional might have been an apparatchiks of a fascist regime and a propagandist for his own past. The second is that - these days - you cannot say anything too bad about the Yanks and not be believed. As I said remarkable!
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2003 04:17 pm ||
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Sorry! Should be filed under Middle East.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2003 16:26 Comments ||
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Sorry! Should be filed under Middle East.
Of course, if this story had been reported by al Jazeera or the BBC, the filing category would be correct...
#5
Cyber Sarge, I'm afraid you've got it round the wrong way. "Dan Cruikshank: Raiders of the Lost Art" was aired on BBC2 on Sunday. The press could have avoided this if half the interested population hadn't seen this story in all its detail on TV already. It was a very good, balanced programme, in which Cruikshank (who's been busy wandering around the middle east a lot lately) came across as a leftie beginning to see the light. He did his own investigations and came to the conclusion that despite claimns to the contrary, the Iraqis had turned the museum into a fortress, and the (Ba'athist - they were burning their membership ID papers as he arrived) staff were at least partly responsible for those artifacts that were missing.
#7
I'll give the Guardian credit for following up on this story. Watch how little, if any, attention it gets in the major media in the U.S. They made quite a stink over the original story, but they'll probably see no reason to publish the real story.
Posted by: Ralph ||
06/11/2003 17:50 Comments ||
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edited by me for brevity
Some came wearing magic charms, some in loin cloths, some completely naked. The accounts told by fleeing civilians of the rebel entry into Liberia's capital might elsewhere seem bizarre, but in this war-blighted West African land they are all too familiar harbingers of death and desolation. "We saw guys with zeke (charms) on their heads. Some were in just loin cloths, some were just in T-shirts and some were completely naked," said Mary Ann, describing the rebels of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). Africa. The cradle of man.
A slight lull in the battle for Monrovia's northwestern suburbs on Tuesday allowed thousands more people to slink from a battleground between rebels and President Charles Taylor's forces, where they expect to be the main victims. "They had young children, really young children, to carry their ammunition boxes," Mary Ann said. Others had similar stories. They saw rebels carrying earthenware pots containing burning coals dosed with magic, which they placed in the road to help them in their combat. Magic has played a big part in Liberia's 14 years of bloodshed even if most of the killing is with assault rifles and knives. The aim of spells is to make fighters strong or invisible — why some still need to remove their clothes. Africa's modern civil wars are steeped in the mysticism that preceded the arrival of colonialists and missionaries. Congolese warriors believe magic water makes them bullet proof, some of Ivory Coast's fighters drink snake blood for fortification. Almost makes the Religeon Of Peace (TM) sound logical, huh?
From ScrappleFace, a satire blog.
(2003-06-11) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld today rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his government's "attempt" to assassinate Hamas leader Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi. The terrorist was injured in the Israeli missile attack.
"You should not have 'tried' to kill Dr. Rantisi," said Mr. Rumsfeld. "As the Jedi Master Yoda once told young Skywalker: 'Try? There is no try. There is only do or not do'."
Dr. Rantisi's medical speciality is remote-control destruction of foreign bodies. You gotta hand it to Scrappleface. ROTFLMAO!
Uh oh.
China's Three Gorges dam reservoir, the world's biggest hydroelectric project, is filling faster than expected, state media reported on Wednesday. The People's Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said the massive reservoir hit 135 metres (443 ft) at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, five days ahead of schedule. It did not say why. By the time it is full, the reservoir will be 175 metres (575 feet) deep. Engineers blocked the Yangtze River at the Three Gorges dam on June 1, starting to fill the reservoir for the project that is a point of national pride but which critics fear will become an environmental nightmare. They have had heavy rains this year, lots of water coming in. Also this won't help any:
But one problem encountered by the dam's engineers is the large amount of debris in the reservoir - such as tree branches and rubbish - which threatens the safety of boats in the area. The debris could also clog the sluice gates if they have to open them. Not a good thing.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 01:48 pm ||
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#1
Having had first-hand experience of rural Chinese latrines, my stomach is now in churning turmoil. Thanks Zhang. Thanks a lot...
#4
Any chance the U.S. Civil Corps of Engineers was consulted on this?
Wonder if Taiwan(R.O.C.)has a missile or two with enough range that is/are being retargeted now?
On collapse,either immediately or after 20 years of improper maint.My entries are July 4 2003/120,000 deaths or June 3 2124/2,500,000 deaths.
Posted by: Stephen ||
06/11/2003 15:01 Comments ||
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Conrad of
dubbed it the world's largest open latrine. Given the nature of latrines, this development isn't real surprising. OK - maybe just a little too much information here.
#7
Bulldog - sorry about the flashbacks, man. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is common among those who've used Chinese facilities. During my travels there, I have personally used some of sh***iest Porta- and stationary johns known to man - the more scenic the locale, the less savory the head.
#9
Watched a report that said there are massive cracks in the damn,probably from improper curing.When you pour that much concret that fast it will produce a tremendous amount of heat.
When Boulder damn was built pipes were run through the poured concret for running cooled water.Slowing down the curing process.
If this is the case it'll collapse sooner rather than later.
same report said the impounded water is turnning into a giant cesspool from civilian and industrial sewage.
#10
a giant cesspool? Just stocking with brown trout
heh heh just a little engineering humor, sorry
btw - I never heard if the cracks were in the tension or compression faces, it does make a difference. I was more intrigued it was designed for only a 7.0 quake - tremendously low for a critical structure
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 19:50 Comments ||
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President Bush condemned Wednesday a bus bombing in Jerusalem in the "strongest possible terms" the White House said. ... And now, for a more in depth report on the Presidents' views, we take you to the White House...
"The President condemns the attack in the strongest possible terms", White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. A couple of years after the fact, we now have the answer to Pvt. Frost's great line from Aliens, "What are we supposed to use, Harsh language?"
Bush was briefed on the bombing during a helicopter flight to Chicago, where he may address the issue directly.
#2
Sorry, but as much as I admire and respect President Bush, he did NOT "condemn this action in the strongest possible terms". That would be done by telling the Israelis "My government is going to be very busy on domestic issues for the next few weeks and probably won't even notice news reports from anywhere else. By the way, could you have the IDF field-test these new, improved Daisy Cutters for us? Thanks."
#3
What exactly are "the strongest possible terms?" And why won't anyone actually use them?
Posted by: Christopher Johnson ||
06/11/2003 13:55 Comments ||
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Unfortunately Chris, vagaries such as, "strongest possible terms" seems to equate to the final scene of another of my favorite movies, when the U.S. agents tell Indiana Jones that the ark was in safe hands, and top men were looking after it...
Indy: "Who?"
Agent: "TOP...men."
and we all know how that turned out. Life imitates art, I guess.
A chartered Boeing 727 missing since it took off from an airport in Angola late last month probably is being used for criminal purposes and has not been linked to a terrorist plot, a government official said Tuesday. Not much difference between the two
The plane was chartered from an Angolan company with a history of having planes vanish for insurance money or to be used for drug smuggling. Ah, now it comes out. Just how do you hide a 727, anyway? It's not like you can land it on any dirt strip in the jungle.
"Ummm... Last time I saw it, I think it was behind the washing machine..."
State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said the plane left the airport in Angola without permission and authorities throughout Africa are searching for it. Sure they are.
He would not speculate on its whereabouts. ABC News said the plane vanished on May 25 on a flight to either Burkina Faso, South Africa, Libya or Nigeria. Well, that narrows it down to the entire continent.
But it coulda been New Zealand. Or Kalmykia. Or maybe Saskatoon. Have they looked there?
Thanks to Las Vegas Sun and the Associated Press for such an informative story. I really feel like I'm up on this subject now, and I'm standing by for the latest on General Francisco Franco.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 11:04 am ||
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An explosion ripped through a bus in downtown Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing several passengers and wounding dozens, police said. Well, we all knew this was coming.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. However, the Islamic militant group Hamas has threatened to take bloody revenge for a botched attack by Israel on one of its leaders, Abdel Aziz Rantissi, on Tuesday. Police said the blast apparently was set off by a suicide bomber who targeted bus No. 14 on Jaffa Street, Jerusalem's main thoroughfare in the commercial heart of the city. The blast was heard throughout Jerusalem. Avi Zohar, a spokesman for the Magen David Adom rescue service, reported 30 casualties but did not provide a breakdown of dead and wounded. Police said several passengers were killed.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was unapologetic about the strike against Rantissi, despite President Bush's reprimand that the attack made it harder for the Palestinian prime minister to fight terrorism. Tuesday's attack jeopardized the so-called "road map," a U.S.-backed plan for peace and Palestinian statehood by 2005. Bush has invested his presidential prestige in the initiative, formally launching it with Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas at a summit last week in the Jordanian resort of Aqaba. "We will make no concessions to terror," Sharon told his Cabinet on Wednesday, according to a government official. "We made this clear to all the White House officials and to the Palestinians before the Aqaba summit." Hamas has carried out dozens of suicide bomb attacks in Israel, killing more than 300 people. Abbas denounced the missile strike as terrorism, appealed to the United States to intervene, and said he would keep trying to reach an understanding with Hamas and other militias. Abbas opposes a crackdown on the armed group, saying there is no substitute for dialogue and that he will not risk a civil war. Or his job
Abbas has been unequivocal in his condemnation of violence against Israel, while Arafat has been more ambiguous and stands accused by Israel and the United States of involvement in terrorism. Sharon on Wednesday was quoted as saying he would not wait for Abbas to reach an agreement with Hamas. "If the Palestinian Authority does not perform its duties, we will do so instead," Sharon told the Yediot Ahronot daily. The strike against Rantissi was widely criticized in Israel, including by politicians who generally support targeted killings. Israel has carried out dozens of such attacks in the past 32 months in its campaign to prevent bombings and shootings.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 10:56 am ||
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Israeli police report at least 16 dead, dozens wounded.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 11:52 Comments ||
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Finish the job on Rantissi and do Yassin. Get all the condemnations out in the shadow of the terrorist's own acts
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 11:55 Comments ||
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Fox's "breaking news" banner (no story, just a banner) reports helicopter strikes in Gaza. Hope they had Yassin or Rantisi's hospital room in the crosshairs.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/11/2003 11:55 Comments ||
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Better shooting today: Witnesses said an Israeli Apache helicopter fired two missiles at a car stuck in a traffic jam in a crowded Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah and then fired again after a group of people gathered around the stricken vehicle. Two bodies were taken out of the car, one decapitated. The dead included members of Hamas' military wing, Tito Massoud, 35, and Soffil Abu Nahez, 29. Five other people were also killed.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 12:17 Comments ||
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The biggest unknowns here are:
1. Can Hamas actually carry out (or sponsor) many more suicide bombings?
2. Will the Egyptians and Jordanians do anything to help the situation? Or, will they sit on their hands some more.
#8
The Israelis need to take out the heads of Islamic Jihad, al Aqsa and Hamas. Otherwise, this will never end. Mahmoud Abbas isn't going to do it for the Israelis - they need to do it for themselves - basically liquidate the Palestinian security apparatus and leave Abbas in charge.
#9
As soon as the Israelis tke out the heads of these organizations some one, some where will rise to take there place. The basic problem is a culture that values martyrdom above all else. Do these people even have a view of what they would want a palistinian state to be.
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
06/11/2003 12:34 Comments ||
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If the heads of these organizations keep getting killed in nasty ways as soon as they assume the office, as a matter of human nature the level of enthusiasm among the membership will decrease.
(I didn't vote for Proxmire, either.)
Posted by: Mike ||
06/11/2003 12:48 Comments ||
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The basic solution for Hamas and Co is to take off the head (i.e., the leadership) and cut off their resources (take out the funding) and they will die as a viable organization. Bush's statements toward Sharon were absolutely outrageous. He is asking Israel to take hits while we negotiate with liars and / or powerless whimps. We in the US never stood for this. Why should we ask others to do this for us in order to appease some Arab govts that hate us anyway. They will never love us, but the arabs will respect us if we deal with honesty, power, and resolve. The rest is BS---documented BS.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/11/2003 14:50 Comments ||
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"As soon as the Israelis tke out the heads of these organizations some one, some where will rise to take there place."
This is a good thing. It makes targeting easier.
Posted by: Michael ||
06/11/2003 15:42 Comments ||
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Taking out the Palestinian leadership does have a practical impact. None of these guys inherited their positions. The guys in charge are good at what they do. Some are good at propagandizing, some are good are organizing terrorist strikes and other are good at getting the finances together. All are best in class. The effect of taking out the leadership is twofold - it strikes the fear of Allah into the replacements and diminishes the pool of talented people who are willing to fill these leadership positions, knowing that they're no longer safe from attack.
The idea that there's an endless pool of suicidal Islamic martyrs is a myth carefully cultivated by both liberals and conservatives leery of taking on the Islamists, as well as Muslims everywhere who want to achieve their war aims. The truth is more prosaic - Muslim countries ranging from Egypt to Malaysia have effectively suppressed terrorists who want to impose Islamic law - terrorists were killed or arrested, and nothing rose to fill the vacuum. Going back further in time, the British crushed the Mahdi in the Sudan over 100 years ago, and no one rose to take his place. The Chinese had Yakub Beg (the charismatic Muslim leader of the Uighurs of East Turkestan, now Xinjiang) sliced to pieces like sushi, and no one ever emerged to replace him.
A tipping point exists, but the Israelis will never find out where it is if they keep making concessions that make Muslims think they have the Jews on the run. Why would Muslim terrorists quit if they can get all they want even if they continue their terrorist strikes?
#14
Why not target the Muhlahs and imans that breed this bull. We never see the instigators out with in public with a DuPont Overcoat. The wonder is that the Israelis haven't taken out the Mosque on the Temple Mount or gone after the one in Mecca. You know the one that violates the Prophets stricture about the low grave
#15
You take out the Paleo terrorist leadership for the same reason you don't get upset when the other team's first-string quarterback is injured and has to leave the game -- by definition, the second-string quarterback isn't as good. As Zhang Fei notes, sooner or later you run out of quarterbacks.
There! I've flogged that metaphor enough!
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2003 18:20 Comments ||
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We need to stop restraining the Israelis. Until the myth of the intifadeh is utterly annihilated, we will never see the end of Islamic terror. As long as fools believe that they can overcome democracy, organization, skill, and technology with faith and a bomb, they will continue. Everyday that we restrain the Israelis moves us closer to the day when the next suicide bomber is armed with WMD. Set the Israelis loose, Mr. President. Crush the myth. This isn't a problem that can be managed. It must be met with decisive force.
"OK - I'll halt hostilities if you quit gaining ground, killing my troops, and extend my 72 hour deadline indefinitely... please?"
"We have just come out of a meeting with President Taylor. He has assured us that all his parties are also willing to halt hostilities. That's the mood we need for the talks to start," key mediator Mohamed Ibn Chambas said.
Don't do that! Are you people crazy?
The last-ditch push for a truce came as witnesses said rebel fighters had been driven back beyond Po River Bridge, some 8 miles from the outskirts of Monrovia. The regional mediators, led by Ghanaian Foreign Minister Nana Akufo-Addo, said earlier the leader of the main rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), Sekou Conneh, had promised to halt advances. we need to consolidate and resupply anyway
Peace talks meant to end a cycle of violence in Liberia have been stumbling along in Ghana for a week and mediators hope a cease-fire will allow serious work to begin. But a rebel ultimatum demanding the resignation of Taylor, who has been indicted for war crimes by a U.N.-backed court, expires Wednesday. Rebels at peace talks have not yet said what they will do, but will make a statement later. Over Charles' dead body
LURD and another rebel group, known as Model, control around two-thirds of Liberia, a country of three million which was founded by freed American slaves as a haven of liberty but is now a byword for brutality in a region scarred by war. The West African mediation team arrived as conditions in Monrovia grew more desperate after days of fighting, which saw rebels push to within 3 miles of the city center. Liberians fear a repeat of the bloody fighting that left the city streets strewn with bodies in the 1990s. Refugees are huddled in schools and a sports stadium, with little food or water. Medecins Sans Frontieres said possibly up to one million people were displaced in the city, with the situation especially difficult in northern districts. "There are dead bodies in the main street and you can smell death in many places," said Alain Kassa, head of MSF in Monrovia. Cholera outbreaks are feared. But at least there's plenty to eat
Many international aid workers have left. Wednesday, 535 foreigners, including U.S. and European nationals, arrived in Ivory Coast's southern port of Abidjan aboard a French military vessel after being whisked out of Monrovia on helicopters. Taylor — a former warlord long accused of fuelling more than a decade of conflicts in West Africa — has been indicted by a U.N.-backed war crimes court in nearby Sierra Leone. Senior West African officials have suggested Taylor might be able to take refuge in another country if he left power, but the court's chief prosecutor said in a statement Tuesday that there could be no escape for those indicted for war crimes. except in Cuba, North Korea, Iran.....
"There can be no deals for these indictees that avoid them being brought to justice immediately," David Crane said. A spokesman for Taylor was defiant. "No way, no way will he resign or step aside unless it's part of a total deal," he said. "including myself of course"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 10:51 am ||
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Long but good. EFL.
BEIJING — China has decided to eliminate 500,000 members of the People's Liberation Army — about 20 percent of its force — in an effort to turn the world's largest standing military into a streamlined, modern organization. The plan would cut the size of the army over the next five years to about 1.85 million troops. The Chinese government spends up to $60 billion a year on defense, comparable to Russian military expenditures, according to a report last month by the Council on Foreign Relations. The military modernization is taking place as this country seeks to parlay its emerging economic power into greater geopolitical influence. China now has the sixth-largest economy in the world, according to the World Bank. Once confined to Asia, Chinese interests now span the seas. More than 50 percent of imported oil comes from the Middle East, and China's energy investments range from Sudan to Venezuela and Kazakhstan.
While there has been notable economic success here, military modernization has proved elusive. The Council on Foreign Relations report concluded that China is far from becoming a global military power and that it remains at least two decades behind the United States in military technology and ability. Western and Chinese sources said the troop cuts were approved during the 16th Congress of the Communist Party in November and at a subsequent meeting of the Central Military Commission, the country's highest military body. A Western military officer said the cuts would focus on demobilizing a vast array of nonessential personnel. Analysts liken the People's Liberation Army to a large state-owned corporation. It has its own hospitals, schools, movie studios, TV production centers, publishing houses, opera troupes, textile factories, farms and hotels. Many of these organizations are "an unnecessary drain on their resources," the Western military officer said. Command headquarters will be closed and military schools will be merged. Significantly, the demobilization, the second major troop cutback since 1997, when China also cut 500,000 soldiers, does not appear to be proceeding simultaneously with an overhaul of the military's command structure. Newspapers in Hong Kong and Singapore have reported in recent weeks that the Chinese government was prepared to replace its Soviet-era continental command structure with a military more geared to projecting power toward Asia's sea lanes and Taiwan. However, the news reports appear to be premature, and China seems to be headed for a less ambitious tweaking of its current system. At most, China will cut the number of military regions from seven to six, merging the Jinan Military Region with the Nanjing Military Region. The Nanjing Military Region is tasked with leading unification efforts with Taiwan, a focal point for military preparedness.
Modernization efforts are hampered in part by an overemphasis on politics, analysts said. Western military officers estimated that some units spend 30 percent of their training time studying politics. Reform is also hurt by the contradictory tasks that are part of the military mission. The primary mission is to help keep the Communist Party in power. The PLA maintains a large nationwide force to suppress demonstrations, riots and peasant uprisings. As a result, some of the demobilized soldiers will be transferred directly to the People's Armed Police, an internal security force that has grown to more than 1 million. A similar transfer took place in the 1997 military cutback.
The PLA has invested heavily to create an arsenal of accurate short-range missiles to support another major goal, unification with Taiwan. It is building and training with amphibious craft, and has bought a stock of Russian equipment — dozens of advanced fighters and fighter-bombers, at least four diesel submarines and two advanced destroyers armed with state-of-the-art anti-ship torpedoes. The acquisitions are intended to create a force capable of bullying Taiwan and thwarting U.S. intervention in any conflict between China and Taiwan, military analysts said. Taiwan unification also requires creation of a war-fighting command structure that can integrate army, navy, air force and rocketry forces, analysts said. Gen. Liang Guanglie, the PLA's new chief of staff and the former commander of the Nanjing Military Region, has been given the authority to create such a command structure. The PLA mission also includes deployment in the vast western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, where it functions as an expeditionary force, patrolling borders and pacifying restive ethnic populations. In those zones, the military resembles the army of China's imperial past. It runs farms, undertakes engineering projects and operates garrisons throughout those territories.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2003 10:43 am ||
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Scary stuff. The midget Stalins that run Red China eat, breathe, and excrete oppression. They're going to go on an international military rampage sometime in the next decade, mark my words. It's not going to be fun for anybody.
#2
Nice story, but the PLA will resist this. The largest industrial employer in China is the PLA. A whole heap of money runs into the PLA, and thus its officers. Not gonna happen.
It's the expansion of the PLA Navy that is worrisome. China believes that it used to be a naval power and wants to be so, again. It was a power, in the South China Sea and Sea of Japan. The current rulers hope to translate their perspective of the successes of Imperial naval power into regional if not world naval power. Again, not gonna happen.
China teeters on the edge economicly. Its trade surpluses are necessary to fund both food and fuel purchases, as well as the military hardware it's buying. Any little swing puts famine back on the agenda in China.
China is a huge country. While parts are nearly First World, most of China is a Third World country. They don't even speak the same language as you move east to west or north to south. Chinese empires traditionally fall apart because the country is to diverse to be governable.
#3
The best way to cut the legs out from under the Chinese Military/Industrial Complex that really runs the country would be to start buying from India and Tiawan. With all of the purchases that they have to be making overseas we could put a real cash flow crunch on them
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
06/11/2003 12:45 Comments ||
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Iranians demanding change staged their biggest protest in months Wednesday, chanting slogans against powerful Muslim fascists clerics they accuse of limiting freedoms and the reformist wimps government for failing to rein them in. Some 3,000 protesters, many of them heeding a call from U.S.-based Iranian exile satellite television very good, gathered near the Tehran University in support of a smaller, student protest against proposed privatizations in higher education. Residents said the chants at the demonstration damning the country's clerical leaders were the most on target extreme yet heard. Uniformed and plainclothes police not yet ready to change sides with batons broke up the protest. "About 80 of the rioters were arrested last night. These people, instigated by local radicals and foreign agents, couldnt have foreign agents stir up demos, now could we?
chanted illegal slogans," and what slogans are illegal in Iran?
All of them...
the ISNA student news agency quoted gestapo Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi as saying. Several motorcycles were torched and windows of some shops and a state bank were smashed as protesters dispersed. "I would not be surprised if we see more of such protests in the future because the ground is ready," one eager parliamentarian who declined to be named told Reuters. "Our society now is like a room full of gas ready to ignite with a small spark."
The protest followed increasingly tough rhetoric aimed at Tehran from Washington which accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and sponsoring terrorism. U.S. hawks have called for actions aimed at destabilizing Tehran's clerical rulers. But diplomats cautioned that Iran's student movement was fractured and disorganized and said the protests could quickly fizzle out. "The usual response from the authorities is to crack down hard and that's normally enough to send all but the most die-hard protesters home," an Asian diplomat said. Question is whether its different now, as they grow frustrated with Khatami, and see whats happening in Iraq.
Many in Iran have lost faith in moderate President Mohammad Khatami and his lack of progress in reforming the 24-year-old Islamic Republic in the face of strong opposition from conservatives in powerful positions. Not surprising
"The slogans people chanted showed they don't believe in the system at all and they are challenging the whole system, including Khatami," the parliamentary deputy said. Very significant
"I heard the students had gathered from television," said 46-year-old housewife Parvin. "I came here to send a message to (Secretary of State) Colin Powell that we want change." You listening, Colin?
Powell told CNN Sunday that Washington was working to persuade Iranians to force change from within to make Iran what he called a less troublesome member of the world community.
Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi rejected the remarks. "Powell should know U.S. interference would boost resolve and solidarity among Iranians," newspapers Wednesday quoted Kharrazi as saying. Thats why he's so happy Powell is making them - not.
The United States, which cut ties with Tehran after the 1979 revolution, has branded Iran part of an "axis of evil." High unemployment and frustration with Iran's strict Islamic laws have fed discontent among the overwhelmingly youthful population, around 70 percent of which is under 30 and has little memory of life before the revolution. Analysts say the reformers have been further weakened by a resurgent hard-line faction which is determined not to loosen its grip on power now that U.S. troops are now on both the eastern and western borders of Iran, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Khatami has to either break with the mullahs, or get out of the way.
Despite the reformers' overwhelming victories in presidential and parliamentary polls since Khatami came to office in 1997, most of their efforts to institute change have been blocked by conservatives appointed as political watchdogs. Making the elections meaningless.
Dozens of pro-reform intellectuals, journalists and student leaders have been jailed as part of a conservative crackdown that followed the 1999 student protests. Not the sign of a confident regime, if you ask me.
Posted by: liberalhawk ||
06/11/2003 10:37 am ||
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Is this the start of the end for the mullaocracy? OHHH...FASTER PLEASE!
More than 1,000 people have clashed with riot police in the Iranian capital Tehran, in the first major protest against the Islamic regime for more than six months. The action began as a demonstration by students against plans to privatise some universities, but they were joined by hundreds more people chanting slogans against the powerful Muslim clerics. Several shop windows were broken and a few motorcycles burnt as baton-wielding police dispersed the protesters. The crowd swelled after calls to participate were broadcast by US-based satellite TV channels. For more than four hours the night was filled with bursts of noise as people set off firecrackers or sounded the horns from their cars. Protesters called for political prisoners to be freed and for President Mohammad Khatami to resign.
Eyewitnesses say the protest turned violent when riot police tried to disperse the demonstration, beating those that stood in their way. The protest may be the first of many demonstrations to commemorate student riots which shook Iran in July 1999, the BBC's Miranda Eeles reports from Tehran. During those riots students clashed violently with police for three days after a raid on a university dormitory which left at least one person dead. The authorities have called on students not to repeat such incidents. The 1999 crackdown marked the worst anti-government clashes since the Iranian revolution in 1979. Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's biggest student organisation criticised the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, urging him to choose the path of democracy, or suffer the destruction of the Islamic government.
Correspondents say tension has been rising in Iran, with frustration at the slow pace of reforms promised by President Khatami. Students last held mass protests at the end of last year in anger at a death sentence passed against reformist lecturer Hashem Aghajari for alleged blasphemy. They were later backed by 120 Iranian MPs who criticised the punishments meted out to the student leaders. Some observers also say the ruling clerics are trying to extend their power after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in neighbouring Iraq. Despite threats from the United States not to meddle in Iraq, religious leaders invited a militant Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr to Tehran for talks last week. Mr Sadr has publicly backed the idea of an Iranian-style theocracy in Iraq, an idea denounced by the US. Is this the beginning?
No. I think it's still the middle. Darn it.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/11/2003 10:40 am ||
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EFL. This report came from an NGO site. I couldn't find any reports of this anywhere else. We've seen other reports lately of rebel activity, so I thought this would round out the picture.
At least 59 people were killed, 15 were injured, and ten children and six women abducted most likely to be sold into slavery when armed Sudanese government forces simultaneously attacked ten villages in Southern Sudan on May 22. The attacks happened in eastern Upper Nile in violation of internationally agreed ceasefire provisions. I'm so shocked!
Government militia attacked the village of Longchok in eastern Upper Nile using a combination of rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and assault rifles, according to information received by the US NGO Servantâs Heart. The NGO reported that the troops were under the command of Second Lieutenant Mohammed Idris of the Sudanese regular army.
AKA John Smith...
Huts were set ablaze and many villagers were burned to death in their homes, including Presbyterian minister Jacob Gadet Manyiel, the regionâs only Christian pastor. He was burned to death along with his wife and four children as government troops surrounded their home, threatening to shoot any family member attempting to escape the flames. According to other reports, and to the four guys from Sudan I know personally, this is a common tactic.
The latest attacks are part of a continuing violation of current ceasefire agreements by the Sudanese government. More details of additional government activity snipped.
The attacks on May 22 also violated a US-brokered agreement for the protection of civilians and non-combatants. However, even as the attacks were occurring, the Sudanese Foreign Minister was meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, stating that a peace agreement was in sight. Last month during its six-monthly review of the Sudanese peace process, the US government disappointed many in the southern Sudanese community by failing to censure Sudan for its continued violations of the peace process. This failure occurred in the wake of a decision by the UN Human Rights Commission to upgrade Sudanâs human rights status and end the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan. I didn't understand this decision at the time, and I still don't. But then, I guess I'm expecting it to have some bearing on the actual situation in Sudan. ..
Both the Sudan government and the SPLA violate their agreements with seeming gleeful abandon. It'll be interesting to see if the Darfur rebellion continues growing. I think I've come to the conclusion that it'll be better for all concerned if Sudan is resolved into its component parts. Personally, I'd trade the whole thing in on a dog and shoot the dog.
Posted by: lkl ||
06/11/2003 09:38 am ||
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Via Drudge
Iranian experts on nuclear issues secretly visited North Korea this year, possibly to ask North Korean officials for advice on how to handle international inspectors, a Japanese newspaper said on Wednesday. The Iranian experts made three visits to North Korea between March and May, the conservative Sankei Shimbun said, quoting what it described as "a Korean peninsula source," who was not named. The visits "may have been intended to ask North Korea for know-how on how to act when accepting inspectors," Sankei quoted the source as saying. "Cooperation on nuclear development may also have been discussed," the source added. D'ya think??? Also, how do we invite a pre-emptive attack by the Americans?
Two Iranian experts stayed in North Korea for several days in March for talks with North Korean officials in charge of nuclear development, Sankei said. One expert visited in April and two experts visited in May. Sankei said North Korea may receive, or may already have received, funds from Iran, both of which have been branded as part of an "axis of evil" by President Bush along with pre-war Iraq. Washington has accused Iran of violating the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Tehran has signed, by using undeclared nuclear material to test a uranium enrichment system. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are limited to producing electricity and it has allowed inspectors from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to visit several of its nuclear facilities. On Tuesday it denied having any hidden nuclear facilities that should have been declared to U.N. inspectors, following a critical U.N. report of Tehran's nuclear program which Washington called "deeply troubling." North Korea said on Monday it wanted nuclear weapons so it could cut its huge conventional forces and divert funds into its economy, in Pyongyang's most explicit public acknowledgment to date that it was seeking to build nuclear weapons. yeah....that's the ticket!
The United States said last October that Pyongyang had admitted to having a covert program to enrich uranium for nuclear arms. North Korea has since expelled U.N. nuclear inspectors and pulled out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2003 09:33 am ||
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#1
"Cut its huge conventional forces"
What kind of army based policy is this? Will there be lots of officers pushed into early retirement? Will there be soldiers forced to go back to starvation civilian life? Aren't those people just the right sort of people to stage a coup, a juche junta?
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
06/11/2003 10:02 Comments ||
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#2
Would this make Iran and N. Korea the Double Helix of Evil, a coiled structure linked by hydrogen bonds bombs, forming a spiraling configuration of hell on earth?
Posted by: Dick Saucer ||
06/11/2003 10:40 Comments ||
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#3
Would this make Iran and N. Korea the Double Helix of Evil, a coiled structure linked by hydrogen bonds bombs, forming a spiraling configuration of hell on earth?
Posted by: Dick Saucer ||
06/11/2003 10:40 Comments ||
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#4
Ooooh! They're only doing it so they can cut down their army and improve the economy. Now we have to let them do it. After all, it's for the appetizers...er...children. Nuclear proliferation equals global prosperity. Who'da thunk it?
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