Toronto, Detroit also affected by unexplained blackout
BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC AND NBC NEWS
Aug. 14 â A major power blackout hit several major cities in the Northeast, the Midwest and Canada late Thursday afternoon, knocking out electricity to millions of people in New York, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland and elsewhere.
THE BLACKOUT, which sent thousands of New Yorkers streaming into the streets and briefly knocked television networks off the air, could not be immediately explained. Most of the cities are linked on the same regional power grid, however.
MSNBC TV showed aerial pictures of fires in the Bronx and Brooklyn. CNN reported that a fire had been reported at the Consolidated Edison plant in New York.
The evening rush hour was just beginning, and NBC correspondents described scenes of pandemonium.
Officials of the Homeland Security Department said they had no immediate information on the blackout, which struck cities stretching from Hartford, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., west to Detroit and Cleveland and north to northwest Ontario. The entire city of Toronto was affected, MSNBC television reported.
Much of New England, however, including all of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, southern Vermont and eastern Connecticut, were unaffected. For you unfortunate Rantbugers affected, I only want to add, when you finally get back online and read this, that we had a porn-fest in your absence. Sorry, but Fred deleted all the links as soon as he heard power was being restored. Capân Bringdown. ;->
#1
There's a related link in the story:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/297115.asp
which explains the power system (from about 90,000 feet) and even has a cute little Flash app - you might show this to your kids when they ask "Why?" - inevitable if you were among the affected.
#4
some of us east of Toronto are still on line; my laptop is good for a couple of hours and then I'll switch to my corporate laptop. damn.
so where are the links huh? I'm sitting by the pool, had a steak(Canadian Beef)on the barbie, and enjoy the last of the cold beer.
Posted by: john ||
08/14/2003 18:27 Comments ||
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#5
Frank G - Agreed - my ATM is a lifeline and I do everything online - for the last 7 yrs, in fact. This would really hurt!
Angie - The pizza and beer thing was a great! I just used pr0n to get their attention... your know how we myns are wired - we can't help ourselves! That's my excuse, anyway, and I'm sticking to it! ;->
john - "Canadian Beef"
So, uh, does that mean it's born frozen? "so where are the links huh?"
Well I've been collecting pr0n for a friend looking for a new online brokerage service for some time. I can recommend a couple: http://www.bikinipage1.com/t01/alyssa03/aly01.jpg http://www.dreamyvirgins.com/sweetdevon/18/pic13.jpg
AmeriTrade (http://www.ameritrade.com/)
TD Waterhouse (http://www.tdwaterhouse.com/)
I hope this helps with your pool-side uh, um, research!
#6
This is bizarre. It didn't affect us in Pittsburgh, but it did north of us in Erie and west out to Cleveland. What I can't figure is why an isolated county like Adams (Gettysburg) is affected, when Philly and none of the other counties around it are affected.
All I can say is, if you live in NYC and posess an evil, naughty, illegal firearm, now is the time to pull it out, sit by the door, and make sure your family and posessions stay safe tonight!
Or you can rest securely in the knowledge that the authorities will guarantee your safety. After all, there's enough cops to protect all 10 million of you simultaneously in this crisis, right? That system works perfectly in Britain!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 21:25 Comments ||
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#7
I have to add that, like many of you, my first thought was terrorism. I can't help but think that a dozen teams of two in vans, one driving and one sniping, driving out in different directions from NYC and sniping at transformers along the way wouldn't be any less effective. Actually, probably more so since the damage would not be localized but would require more personnel and more equipment to fix. I think our dependence on electricity for nearly everything we do is our most obvious Achilles Heel.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 21:47 Comments ||
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#8
"I think our dependence on electricity for nearly everything we do is our most obvious Achilles Heel."
Agreed, but life would suck the biggun' without it. I like Tom Clancy's response in that Newsweak interview yesterday - the gist was that we should hang onto our freedoms and vulnerabilites and fight back against anyone who fucks with 'em wants to take them away. Who ya gonna call? John Clark, methinks.
Authorities say convicted bank robber J.L. Hunter "Red" Rountree isn't letting old age stand in his way. The 91-year-old Texas man is back behind bars, accused of robbing his third bank in five years.
Maybe he should take up shuffleboard. Or checkers...
Police say Rountree walked into a branch of First American Bank in Abilene about 10 a.m. Tuesday, demanded money from a teller and passed over a large envelope with "ROBBERY" written on it. He left in a car parked near the bank, but a witness got the license plate, which police tracked to an address in Goldthwaite, 110 miles southeast of Abilene. About a half-hour later, Rountree was pulled over by officers 16 miles south of Abilene on U.S. 84 on his way home.
"Watch him, Mahoney! I think he might make a run for it!"
On Dec. 9, 1998, one week before his 87th birthday, Rountree was arrested in Biloxi, Miss., minutes after he robbed a bank. He was eventually given three years probation, fined $260 and told to leave Mississippi.
"Get the hell out, Grampaw, and don't come back!"
In October 1999, he was arrested outside a NationsBank in Pensacola, Fla., after giving a teller a note that said "ROBBERY" written in red ink and telling her, "Give me the $100s." He was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to three years in prison, becoming the oldest inmate in the Florida prison system.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/14/2003 16:16 ||
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American military scientists are developing a weapon which kills by delivering an enormous burst of high-energy gamma rays, it is claimed today. The bomb, which produces little fallout, blurs the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons, and experts have already warned it could spark a new arms race. The science behind the gamma ray bomb is still in its infancy, and technical problems mean it could be decades before the devices are developed. Project director Dr Bruce Banner could not be reached for comment.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 12:19:06 PM ||
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#1
I wonder what effect this bomb would have on man-in-the-moon marigolds.
Posted by: Paul Zindel ||
08/14/2003 12:27 Comments ||
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#3
Chuck--My first thought, too. Are they re-hashing 20 year old headlines?
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 13:39 Comments ||
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#4
All nukes produce heat, blast, and radiation. Radiation is from alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays. Not sure on this, but I believe alpha particles are electron-free protons, and aren't very energetic, so quite easily stopped (piece of paper takes care of 70% or more, even tight-woven clothing can stop them). Beta particles are different - may be high-energy neutrons released during explosion. They're harder to stop, but two feet of concrete does a good job, as does sufficient dirt or water.
Gamma rays are another kettle of fish. Gamma rays are high-energy particles travelling at the speed of light, and can penetrate several feet of concrete, eight inches of steel, etc. Gamma rays provide lethal dosages of radiation.
From what I understand, regular nukes produce loads of all three, along with energized secondary particles that have been irradiated, including dirt and debris. Neutron weapons are enhanced to produce larger than normal number of neutrons, which will kill people and soft targets, but don't damage infrastructure. These weapons also don't do much with hardened facilities.
Enhancing the production of gamma rays (significantly more energetic than x-rays, but otherwise working on much the same principle) would enhance the killing capacity of the bomb by making more people die of radiation sickness. It would probably also increase the secondary radiation effects, since gamma rays can affect the nucleus of some atoms. A gamma ray weapon would be a massive benefit against an attack by airborne forces, say (See the articles on China - coincidence?), or those in landing craft or other such vehicles. I don't think anywhere but the very center of a large vessel would be completely secure from a gamma ray weapon. Not only that, but secondary radiation may make the entire vessel/aircraft 'hot', rendering it useless for a considerable time, possibly forever.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/14/2003 14:17 Comments ||
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#5
The Guardian says:
"According to New Scientist magazine, the gamma ray bombs are already included in the US department of defence's militarily critical technologies list - a wish list of possible weapons technology that America considers essential to maintaining its superior firepower."
Well it's true that the Guardian largely draws from this article of the New Scientist. The interesting part here says:
"Scientists have known for many years that the nuclei of some elements, such as hafnium, can exist in a high-energy state, or nuclear isomer, that slowly decays to a low-energy state by emitting gamma rays. For example, hafnium-178m2, the excited, isomeric form of hafnium-178, has a half-life of 31 years.
The possibility that this process could be explosive was discovered when Carl Collins and colleagues at the University of Texas at Dallas demonstrated that they could artificially trigger the decay of the hafnium isomer by bombarding it with low-energy X-rays (New Scientist print edition, 3 July 1999). The experiment released 60 times as much energy as was put in, and in theory a much greater energy release could be achieved.
But not so fast: What sounds like the Incredible Hulk come true probably isn't (at least not yet): What the New Scientist fails to mention is that
"...physicists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in collaboration with scientists at Los Alamos and Argonne national laboratories, have new results that strongly contradict recent reports claiming an accelerated emission of gamma rays from the nuclear isomer 31-yr. hafnium-178, and the opportunity for a controlled release of energy. The triggering source in the original experiment was a dental X-ray machine.
Using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne, which has more than 100,000 times higher X-ray intensity than the dental X-ray machine used in the original experiment, and a sample of isomeric Hf-178 fabricated at Los Alamos, the team of physicists expected to see an enormous signal indicating a controlled release of energy stored in the long lived nuclear excited state. However, the scientists observed no such signal and established an upper limit consistent with nuclear science and orders of magnitude below previous reports.
Obviously neither the New Scientist and The Guardian did their homework. Took me 5 minutes. A journalist should spend some more time on the web, don't you think?
#6
FYI - There are radioactive decay processes (such as fission, alpha decay, and beta decay) and several different products (gamma particles (photons), beta particles (electrons), alpha particles (helium nucleii), and large fragments (lower atomic weight isotopes) and neutrons from fission). It gets a little complicated since radioactive decay can accompany fission.
#8
Oh ya scary. Just like nuke power. Until you realise that the largest on going sustained nuke plant is about 93 million miles from the planet. Commonly referred to as the Sun. Similiarly, the Earth is constantly bombarded by gamma rays from space. People aren't running around scared of these things, even though thousands die every year from skin cancers and heat related injuries [France is up to several thousand this summer]. Just doesn't make good scare headlines for 'news' organizations.
Posted by: Don ||
08/14/2003 16:53 Comments ||
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#9
Actually, it isn't only ludites and anti-human tree huggers who don't like nuclear energy.
It titilates those easily excited by the promise of vast energy for little input but the price is heavy: it is not clean or cheap.
IT is very expensive to set up a nuke plant and extremely expensive to decommission one. The waste is a huge problem: nobody wants it for good reason.
Just look at Russia: decaying nukes all over the place. It's a disaster. The Soviet Union collapsed but all those N-plants are still radioactive. A proportion of land is now uninhabitable by human beings forever. But social systems have a habit of decaying long before forever.
Chernobyl is the least of anyone's worries. There are hundreds of minor accidents every year at reactors around the world. And the effects of radiation are cumulative and well-documented as both carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and terratogenic (monster-producing ie: genetic deformities).
Yes radiation from the sun causes cancer: who would know better than me? I live in the skin cancer capital of the world, my father nearly died of it. But that does not reduce the health threat of radiation from other sources!
The fact is there WILL be future generations after we have come and gone, and it is not fair to saddle them with this kind of legacy. Particularly since they may not be as technically advanced as us. They may have no knowledge of the danger and no way to combat it.
#10
Anon1--I understand, but regardless of what method we choose we're always going to have some sort of waste produced. At least with nuclear power, we can contain that waste and dispose of it (unlike coal or natural gas, which emit waste gases into the atmosphere). The nuclear waste can be contained, transported, and disposed in known locations.
We're gonna have to write off some location and say "Nuclear waste goes here," and bar it from all human and (ideally) animal access. There is no solution that's 100% pollution-free, and we need to make a trade off somewhere.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 21:35 Comments ||
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#11
Adding to Dar's response to Anon1, I'd note that the cost can be managed (somewhat) by standardizing on a single (or limited) number of plant designs that incorporate more passive fail-safe features, by making the regulatory process more rational, and by actually implementing the plans for long-term storage of waste (Yucca Mountain here we come).
The French get something like 60 to 70% of their electricity from nukes. If the friggin' French have figured this out, we ought to be able to as well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 22:07 Comments ||
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KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has stripped powerful warlord Ismail Khan of his post as military commander of western Afghanistan in a major reshuffle of provincial governors and officials. The National Security Council decided Khan could not retain his post as military commander while governor of Herat province it said, citing a decree by Karzai who said earlier this year that officials could not hold both military and civil posts. A new Herat military commander would be named shortly, it said. Human rights organisations have accused Khanâs troops of major human rights abuses in western Afghanistan.
And I'm not at all sure how seriously I take the accusations...
Mr Karzai has been trying to extend the authority of the central government to the provinces and rein in powerful governors and warlords. Anti-Taliban warlord Gul Agha, governor of southern Kandahar province, has been moved to Kabul to become minister of urban development.
Only way to get him out of Kandahar was to kick him upstairs...
Incumbent minister Mohammad Yusuf Pashtun takes over Aghaâs post as governor of the former Taliban heartland. Kandahar Security Commander General Mohammad Akram has been replaced by Mohammad Hashim, according to Mr Karzaiâs decree. Akram is waiting to be appointed to another position, Bakhtar said. In further moves, the governor of southeast Zabul province, Hamidullah Tokhi, will take charge of the central province of Wardak, west of Kabul. A man called Hafizullah will take over the Zabul governorship. Both appointments were made on the recommendation of the interior ministry, the news agency said.
Watch that Zabul appointment. The Talibs (or at least Jihad Unspun) have claimed to be in control of Zabul, which means they at least think they're strong enough to threaten it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/14/2003 17:17 ||
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The top U.N. envoy to Afghanistan urged an expansion of the international force beyond Kabul to help provide desperately needed security so the country can move ahead to credible national elections. Lakhdar Brahimi said it was time for the international community to realize that the support given to Afghanistan is ``a fractionââ of that given to much smaller countries, and increasing troops would be a very good investment in the countryâs stability. French and German troops arenât too busy elsewhere. Letâs get a division of each into Afghanistan.
The support given is "a fraction" because there's no way to spend the money effectively.
In a briefing to the U.N. Security Council, Brahimi warned that the lack of security is a challenge to implementing the agreement reached in Bonn after a U.S.-led force ousted the countryâs former Taliban rulers that calls for elections in 2004. ``The central challenge of Bonn is to help Afghans reconstitute the institutions that make up the state. At present, the factional control over local forces and politics makes this very difficult to achieve. This ... is a particularly important argument for the provision of international security assistance beyond Kabul,ââ Brahimi said.
It's also the reason the aid money isn't higher or more effectively used...
NATO took command of the 5,000-strong peacekeeping force in Kabul on Monday, stepping outside the bounds of Europe for the first time in its 54-year history. Brahimi said he and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan would like the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, known as ISAF, ``to consider what the options are to extend security, and thus the reach of the state, beyond the capital.ââ
So go ahead. No skin off our fore — as long as they're not getting in the way of combat operations...
``We are not asking for the 40,000 troops that were in Kosovo,ââ he told reporters, noting that the population of the Serb province is tiny in comparison to Afghanistan. Why not? Sounds like a good idea.
``If, as I feel, the council now agrees with me that this political analysis is correct, then we can decide whether we need 8,000 or 9,000 or 13,000 but itâs certainly not in the scores of thousands that weâre talking about,ââ Brahimi said. After the council meeting, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said, ``There is the expectation that one of the issues that NATO might discuss in the weeks and months ahead is the issue of considering the possibility of the expansion of the ISAF role beyond Kabul and the environs.ââ Syriaâs U.N. Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe, the current council president, said members ``took into consideration the points raised by Mr. Brahimi, particularly the importance of security to be extended beyond Kabul which could help ... the election process, the political institutions ... and the economy.ââ What kind of name is Mikhail for a Syrian? Guess a Russian âadvisorâ to the 1968 war got a little frisky.
But Spainâs U.N. Ambassador Inocencio Arias said he doubted there was enough support in the council for a new resolution to expand ISAF. So donât ask the UN. This is a NATO job.
Brahimi said the U.N. mission can go ahead with voter registration unless insecurity bars the process, ``but to organize credible, free and fair elections there are a lot of other things that need to be done by the Afghan government and by the international community.ââ He called for continued efforts to build a national army and police force and major reforms in the ministries of defense and interior as well as the countryâs intelligence services because all these institutions can provide a basis for stability and restore confidence in the central governmentâs authority. Otherwise, Brahimi warned, extremists, warlords, and factions will continue to destabilize Afghanistan. "Unlike its past history!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 12:32:54 AM ||
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#1
Here's a double edged thought. When I think about available military manpower (not necessarily combat competence) I always come back to China. If the Chinese troops are in fact short on upkeep cash, why not farm them out into these low intensity situations? Hire them (and alleviate their upkeep burden issues). Put vast mobs of them where their mere presence of mass will deter the Taliban. If the Taliban get frisky with them, I would expect the Chinese troops to be more than up to the task, if not immediately, then very shortly after their first encounters.
So what's wrong with this idea? I have my own reservations, but the upside seems to outweigh the downside.
Why doesn't anyone ever ask this permanent security council member to carry their own weight? Are we afraid of them getting out of their box, or getting useful OJT? The Chinese should be just as uneasy about their troops getting out into the real world. But why give them a pass? If they want to be seen as a world power, let them shoulder some of the world's burdens.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/14/2003 5:41 Comments ||
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#2
Yeah, and those American troops in South Korea, let's replace them also with Chinese troops.
And I am sure that some Soviet troops could have done the job in Western Europe during the years of Cold War, but unfortunately no American president ever thought of it... *rolls eyes*
#4
The problem with using Chinese troops is that they get battle experience. Also notice that I never heard their battle performance being stellar against the Tibetan guerillas.
Another point is that flowing the zone with low quality troops allows the guerillas to score kills and this will do do wonders for their morale and getting support from the populace: in guerilla warfare the real battle is for the hearts and minds of the population: you don't want the Taliban becoming living legends by scoring cheap kills on.
easily ambushed Chinese troops
#5
Wow, for once I agree with Aris on something! If, as the liberal cant goes, American influence and power follows American military forces, then it must necessarily hold that Chineze influence and power will follow Chinese military forces.
The Chinese had best start pulling their own weight by starting closer to home.
Actually, all that's needed is a bigger commitment to building a bigger Afghan national Army. Political power must geographically follow physical (military) power.
Demanding that NATO or the UN supply security is a military version of refugee camps and humanitarian aid: it breeds dependency and prolongs weakness. It gives the appearance of helping Afghanistan in the short run, but winds up hurting it in the long run.
#6
Well, so far Anonymous has a reasonable point.
To the other posters, thanks for the comments, such as they are, but I am not unaware of the many downsides. This would have to be managed properly, and NOT through the UN. One of the main upsides is that we turn the Chinese into mercs that WE control. And by the way, the Chinese get low intensity battle experience aplenty against just this kind of threat in their western provinces right now.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/14/2003 8:49 Comments ||
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#7
Unlike the U.S. et al on the Security Council, the Chinese NEVER do anything that doesn't further their national (i.e. Communist Party) interest. Letting soldiers leave the fold for peacekeeping duties? When those boys came home they'd likely be heavily watched and possibly jailed as having picked up "counter-revolutionary ideals" like...oh, saying capitalism? Which is OK only when it benefits the State...the mingling of Chinese and other military would undoubtedly be seen as a corrupting influence
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 9:54 Comments ||
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#8
back to topic
actually brahimi has a good point. The ratio of peacekeepers to population, or to square miles, or whatever is absurdly low compared to bosnia, kosovo,E timor, etc. There are of course some good reasons for that - the existence in most of the country of warlords who are quite convinced they can keep the peace well enough, thank you very much, and the general hostility to outsiders found in afghan. Both of which make the place a more difficult place to effectively use peacekeeper than even Bosnia, and much more so than Kosovo and E. Timor. However its still probably possible to expand ISAF outside Kabul, and a desirable thing. Its not completely clear whether its not happening is due to the US not pushing for it ("we dont want stinking ISAF getting in the way of anti-Taliban ops, or messing around with friendly warlords") or of the euros not having enough troops available (the Frenchies are all busy maintaining l'empire peackeeping in Africa, and the rest of us are all too busy reducing our defence budgets) There seem to be just enough troops in from smaller NATO countries and some non-NATO countries to release about 700 Germans, who may be available for use outside Kabul. Not likely to make a huge difference, but better than nothing.
And of course the security situation takes precedence over reconstruction money. Thats the constraint - cant spend money when the civie types are afraid to walk around.
#9
"Chinese troops deployed for 'peacekeeping' duties" - I believe the proper term would be "invasion".
So, the world invites massive numbers of Chinese troops into another country. They take over the country. Stability ensues. What's to stop the ChiComs from saying, "Gee, World, thanks for giving all of this free land. Got any more countries we can take over,oops,I mean, help?"
The U.S.(whose citizens desperately do NOT want to take over some God-forsaken backwater) is always accused of wanting to annex new lands. The (brutal, unfree, Communist, racist, xenophobic)Chinese may want to do just that.
Posted by: Uncle Joe ||
08/14/2003 21:09 Comments ||
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Salt blocks are over there... DEBKAfile World Exclusive: Al Qaeda scheduled large-scale mega-terror offensive in Persian Gulf and East Africa for this week, was confronted with major counter-terror crackdown by Saudi, Yemeni, Kenyan security. Plot included airliner hijackings, missile attacks and suicide bombings against Western and local targets. Danger not over as pursuit of terrorists continues.
And another screamer on the same page...
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah for the first time warns his people not to back al Qaeda. In landmark remark carried by official news agency Thursday, the de facto Saudi ruler declared âHe who protects or sympathizes with a terrorist is himself a terrorist and will be punished. There is no room for neutrality.â
The Crown Prince said:
"Brother citizens,
In the conflict between the power of rights and the power of evils, there is no place for neutrals, there is no room for the hesitant, but there is only one path before the honorable believers which is to stand in one line against the corrupt oppressors in the holiest place on earth - Makkah and Al-Madinah. I am calling on every citizen to remain as a security man, to be a support to the security man, and to be an eye, ear and hand for the security man. I warn every deceptive or misguided person by saying clearly: 'whoever harbors a terrorist is a terrorist like him, whoever sympathize with a terrorist is a terrorist like him and those who harbor and sympathize with terrorism will receive their just and deterrent punishment.' I pray to God to have mercy for our martyrs and we will go ahead on our path believing in God, depending upon him and remaining confidant of victory."
That sounds suspiciously like "If you're not with us, you're with the terrorists." But I guess we'll have to wait and see if His Excellency shuts down the Global Campaign for Resisting Aggression and cuts off Dr. Hawali's head...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/14/2003 16:47 ||
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#1
Did he explain what a terrorist is? The poor Soddies may not have the right definition at hand? They might think of Zionists and Merkins?
BRUSSELS â Former chinese president Jiang Zemin is to be cited for crimes against humanity under Belgiumâs controversial new genocide law, it was revealed Thursday. [channeling Steve] Bwahahahahaha! [/Steve]
The suit is being brought by two Belgian members of the Falun Gong movement which China has outlawed as an illegal sect since 1999; leading to the arrest and imprisonment of many of its supporters. Falun Gong members claim they are a non-political association promoting meditation and yoga as a basis for a healthy lifestyle. The suit claims that the actions of the Chinese authorities has also deprived the rights of Falun Gong members in Belgium. Suits filed under the so-called genocide law are now restricted to Belgian nationals, or residents based in the country for at least three years, after the law was heavily re-drafted earlier this year following strong pressure from the United States. Its original text gave Belgian courts the power to try cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity regardless of the complainantâs country of origin or where the alleged crimes were committed.
#1
I'm sure that it will have a chilling effect⢠on the future actions of the ChiComs toward the Falun Gong.
*holds breath..........keels over*/sarcasm
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/14/2003 16:28 Comments ||
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#2
Hmmmmmm...loophole? Do you think the Belgians wish they never thought this law up in the first place?
A Moroccan accused of aiding al Qaeda in the Sept. 11 terror attacks was a follower of radical Islam and took part in the plot from the start, prosecutors alleged on the first day of his trial Thursday. Abdelghani Mzoudi, 30, faces charges of 3,066 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization for allegedly supporting lead hijacker Mohamed Atta and other members of the al Qaeda cell in Hamburg. "His actions were designed to support the terror attacks," federal prosecutor Matthias Krauss said in presenting the charges against Mzoudi. "He was integrated into the plans from the beginning." Mzoudi listened quietly to the charges against him, occasionally bowing his head or talking with his lawyers. He faces a possible 15 years in prison -- the same sentence handed down in February to fellow Moroccan Mounir el Motassadeq, the first Sept. 11 terrorist to stand trial. Mzoudiâs lawyers have said he will not testify. However, in response to a judgeâs questions, he briefly described growing up in his native Marrakesh. "I was born the son of a sharecropper..."
"My mother taught me the good values of Islam, honesty, not to steal and not to kill," said Mzoudi, wearing a dark blue sweater and a full beard. "Except kaffirs and zionists, or people going to work on a Tuesday morning in September".
Mzoudi is accused of taking care of financial matters in Hamburg for alleged cell member Zakariya Essabar while he was training at one of Osama bin Ladenâs camps in Afghanistan in 2000. He also allegedly made sure Essabarâs finances were taken care of by a third person during his own trip to Afghanistan. Essabar is wanted by Germany on an international warrant. Whereabouts currently unknown.
The indictment also alleges Mzoudi helped conceal the whereabouts of Atta, suicide hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi and Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni in U.S. custody who is believed to have been the Hamburg cellâs key contact with al Qaeda. Mzoudi found a room in a Hamburg student residence for Binalshibh and al-Shehhi that allowed them to stay in Germany unnoticed, and he allowed al-Shehhi and Atta to use his Hamburg mailing address while they were taking flying lessons in Florida, the indictment says. Defense attorney Michael Rosenthal told the court that the charges were full of unproved assumptions and reflected a poor understanding of other cultures — apparently a reference to the ties among Arabs in a foreign country. "Itâs a cultural thing...you wouldnât understand". Guel Pinar, Mzoudiâs other lawyer, questioned prosecutorsâ portrayal of Mzoudi as an Islamic radical and called for Binalshibh to be called to testify — something the United States refused to allow in el Motassadeqâs trial. I almost expect to see Ramzi as a commentator on CNN...his services are much in demand these days. Hope theyâre reading his fan mail in prison.
Mzoudi told the German magazine Der Spiegel in November, 2001 that he had been friends with all three Hamburg-based suicide pilots but didnât know their plans. Fifteen years is not nearly enough.
#1
I posted the AP article. Here's a better link with more trial details and a much better look at the case being provided by the defense. Interesting quote from the defendant: "I am actually a Berber, arabized by Islam".
EFL
France is holding up the settlement for families of the victims of the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, because it wants Libya to pay more for the bombing of a French UTA airliner in 1989, a U.S. official said Thursday. As part of the deal, Libya was to send a letter to the United Nations officially accepting responsibility ... in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against the country. But France has "intimidated the Libyans" into delaying the delivery of that letter, a Bush administration official said. Until the letter is received, the U.N. Security Council will not debate whether to lift sanctions against Libya -- a critical step for victimsâ families to begin receiving compensation. The U.S. official said France, as a member of the Security Council, is delaying the U.N. debate until next week, suggesting the French may veto the lifting of sanctions unless their concerns are resolved. It is not clear exactly what or how much France wants before moving ahead on the Pan Am deal, and there was no immediate word from French officials on the U.S. claims.
#1
When is Phrawnce going to learn? Maybe Washington needs to pull those old Overlord plans out of mothballs and start revising them. Phrawnce has decided it rules the world.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/14/2003 19:57 Comments ||
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#2
What a bunch of twats. Lockerbie was a different country and a different airline, and France should negotiate its own settlement instead of getting in the way of something that it had no original involvement in.
TURKEY REPORTEDLY PREPARING TO SEND 10,000 TROOPS TO IRAQ
According to diplomatic sources, Ankara is planning to send approximately 10,000 soldiers to Iraq, which would make Turkey the third-biggest military force in the region, following the US and Britain. The General Staff Office and the Foreign Ministry have reportedly sped up their preparations to complete all the necessary procedures and plans. Ankara is expected to sign an agreement on the issue with a US delegation set to visit Turkey next week. /Hurriyet/ Iâd like to see details on what area the Turkish forces will be operating in and the chain of command, but their help will be welcomed.
US OFFICIAL: âPKK/KADEK TERRORISTS MUST RETURN TO TURKEY TO PLEA FOR LENIENCE OR ELSE FACE US MILITARY FORCEâ
Speaking to daily Hurriyet, an anonymous US official yesterday stated that PKK/KADEK terrorists must leave northern Iraq and return to Turkey to appeal for lenience under the recently passed repentance law, popularly known as âReturn to Home,â or face certain US military force. Stressing that conditions in northern Iraq had changed significantly since the warâs end, the official said that if the PKK/KADEK failed to grasp this new reality and refused to return to Turkey, then US military forces would have no choice but to engage them in combat. âThey shouldnât pass up this opportunity,â warned the official. âThey must return to Turkey, otherwise theyâll be finished off by US forces.â /Hurriyet/ A "anonymous US official", huh? Seperating the PKK/KADEK from the other Kurdish groups could be very tricky. Iâd want to work with the Kurdish leadership in Iraq on this one before any combat.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 11:56:27 AM ||
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SUKKUR: At least four people including a woman were killed and two others were seriously injured in an armed clash between two tribal groups from the Chandio community in Goth Kazi Wah, in the Humayoon Police precinct, in the small hours of Wednesday. Police said both groups had long been at odds over a matrimonial dispute.
"You ain't marryin' my granddaughter Fatimah-Mae, you old coot! You're 76 years old and she ain't weaned yet. An' 'sides, you ain't near enough kin!"
Squabbling between them late Tuesday night turned into a deadly armed clash.
"I'll have Fatimah-Mae or you'll eat hot lead, Mahmoud!"
Ms Ameeran, Shabbir Chandio, Wahid Bakhsh Chandio and Zamir Chandio died on the spot. Police have detained about a dozen people from both sides for interrogation.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/14/2003 17:08 ||
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PESHAWAR: Six men were gunned down on Wednesday in an ambush near Shabqadar in Charsadda district, some 20 kilometres north of Peshawar. Akbar, Misbahullah, Khwaja Muhammad, Hidayatullah, Aurangzeb and an unidentified man were on their way home after attending a hearing when a group of gunmen sprayed their car with bullets near Azeem Dheri. All were killed at the scene. Charsadda Senior Superintendent of Police Ishtiaq Marwat visited the crime scene and told his men to arrest the culprits as quickly as possible.
Should have gotten the upgrade to "secret lair".
Police raided a suspected al-Qaida hideout in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday night, killing one suspect in a gunbattle, police said. Hope it was painful.
Officers went to the home in the city of Peshawar after informants told them that al-Qaida suspects were in the residence, said a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official did not provide further details about the suspects. "I can say no more."
After surrounding the two-story house and firing tear gas, police entered the first floor, shooting a man who tried to throw a grenade at police, the official said. They really donât have much luck with grenades, do they?
The gunfire stopped, and soon after midnight police searched the second floor but found no one. There was no indication of the nationality of the one dead man. Intelligence agents were also participating in the raid. The home was rented by a Pakistani man, Abdul Hadi, who runs a non-governmental organization, said a neighbor, Adnan Khan. He said he did not know anything more about the group. Those damm NGOs, canât trust them.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 4:25:04 PM ||
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#1
Was it a hollowed out volcano?...
"The home was rented by a Pakistani man, Abdul Hadi, who runs a non-governmental organization, said a neighbor, Adnan Khan. He said he did not know anything more about the group."
At least 44 people were wounded in a powerful explosion near a restaurant and a bank in the town of Bandipora, 60 kilometres north of Srinagar. "Preliminary investigations suggest that krazed killers militants triggered an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to a bicycle or scooter near the restaurant," a police spokesman said, adding bomb experts were collecting samples at the scene.
In a separate incident, eight civilians were injured Wednesday in the Qaimoh area of Kulgam township, 70 kilometres south of Srinagar when militants hurled a grenade at a Border Security Force (BSF) patrol.
Kashmir KlichÚ alert!
It missed its target and exploded among passers-by, police said. One of the injured later died on way to the hospital.
Meanwhile, homicidal maniacs suspected rebels hurled a hand grenade at the house of law-maker Ghulam Hassan Khan in the southern town of Shopian, which hit the target but did not explode, police said.
Another IED explosion occured on the lawns of a government department building in northern Baramulla town Wednesday, police said, adding that there were no casualties.
Except for four pink flamingos and a lawn gnome...
Police reported two more explosions in north Kashmir.
Indian troops, meanwhile, banged shot dead two snuffies Muslim rebels in the northern district of Kupwara overnight, a police spokesman said, adding the fighting was reported near the Line of Control.
Two more gunnies rebels were iced shot dead by Indian troops in two encounters yesterday in southern Pulwama and Anantnag districts, police said. A civilian who strayed into the crossfire was also killed during one of the gunbattles.
"Mukkerjee! Duck!... Ooops. Too late."
Indian troops also arrested Ghulam Hassan Mir, a self-styled company commander of dominant rebel group Hizbul Mujahedin in the Chowkibal area of Kupwara district, police said.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/14/2003 4:59:07 AM ||
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Hizb al-Tahrir leader picked up
According to Nawa-e-Waqt, leader of Pakistan Hizb al-Tahir Naveed Butt was picked up in Lahore from a city hotel where he was making a speech about bringing khilafat to Pakistan. He was taken away by intelligence officers together with his friends including one who had been picked up earlier. Hizb al-Tahir gave the call to overthrow Musharraf and install Khilafat in Pakistan.
âShe-Devilâ hates theatre
As reported in Nawa-e-Waqt a she-devil in Sargodha was haunting the theatre and was preventing the citizens from having a good time. During one performance lights went out and a beautiful woman with feet turned backwards appeared on the stage and started dancing. On this, the actors ran away and there was stampede in the hall. People left without their shoes and all of them had torn clothes because of the struggle to get out first. Earlier, the same churail had thrown stones down at the stage and made the actors run away. Actress Bubbli and Billo were given special medical treatment. In Sargodha, a churail had appeared before a young man earlier and made him lose consciousness for many days. The owner of the theatre had got special warlocks to come and read incantations on the stage together with smoke.
Jirga versus NGOs
According to Khabrain a jirga of Aurakzai Agency decided that too much obscenity had been spread by NGOs running schools in the Agency and that they should leave immediately or face Rs 10 lakh as fine. The jirga said that it would not be responsible if women working in the NGOs were kidnapped and maltreated.
âStick-wieldingâ vandals in Peshawar
According to Nawa-e-Waqt, 30 stick-wielding hooligans attacked four hotels in Qissa Khani Bazar in Peshawar and accused the managers of showing obscene cable TV. After that they broke down the hotels and beat up the management. The hotels registered cases against the Pasban organisation of the Jamaat Islami for vandalism but the chief of Pasban, Masaib Gul said that no Pasban member was involved in the crime.
Azam Tariqâs quarrel with founderâs family
According to Nawa-e-Waqt the leader of banned Sipah Sahaba (now Millat-e-Islamia) Maulana Azam Tariq was at the party headquarters in Jhang when Husnain, son of the founder of Sipah Sahaba, tried to grab his bodyguardâs gun and fire on him. Husnain was convinced that his brother Izharul Haq was killed by Sipah Sahaba the very party his father had founded on the basis of his hatred for the Shia. Azam Tariq is now an MNA whose election is under challenge in the court of law. Maulana Azam Tariq told daily Pakistan that he had no differences with the widow of Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi and that the incident with his gunmen was just a joke.
Donât recognise Israel
Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt, special adviser to chief minister Punjab, Syed Muahid Shah, said that if Pakistan recognised Israel it would destroy the Kashmir cause. He did not explain how the Kashmir cause would be destroyed by recognising Israel.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/14/2003 1:52:17 AM ||
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#1
No Elvis or UFO sightings stonings?
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
08/14/2003 8:30 Comments ||
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#2
Well, now we know where that Afghan hash is going.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 10:10 Comments ||
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#3
When will Bubbli and Billo be coming to a theatre near us? They can bring the she devil too if they want.
#4
Do you ever get the feeling that a lot of the Urdu press releases are written with the author's tongue pressed firmly into his cheek? I mean, common say "He did not explain how the Kashmir cause would be destroyed by recognizing Israel." with a straight face!
#6
Secret Master; the guy who translates these stories into English has does it with tongue in cheek, but the original stories in Urdu are usually written seriously.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/14/2003 19:35 Comments ||
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#7
"Actress Bubbli and Billo were given special medical treatment."
EFL - looks like time for a well armed show of force with loose rules of engagement
BAGHDAD, Iraq â A Shiite Muslim group demanded Thursday that U.S. troops withdraw from a Baghdad neighborhood within 24 hours, a day after American forces fired on thousands of protesters in the Shiite enclave and killed at least one person.
A statement distributed in Sadr City said American forces "deeply regret" what happened and described it as a mistake. Later, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, said troops try to keep Iraqi culture in mind but must remain aggressive. and alive, and that trumps your thin-skinned sensitivities, asshats!
In the southern city of Basra, a roadside bomb killed one British army medic and wounded three others riding in an ambulance, British military spokesman Capt. Hisham Halawi said. The killing was the first British combat death in nearly two months.
British troops controlling the south have seen little of the guerrilla insurgency that has plagued American forces in central Iraq â though there has been some unrest: Basra residents rioted over the weekend over electricity cuts and gas shortages. tell em to watch the NY news and STFU
Eight Britons have been killed in combat since May 1, President Bush declared major fighting over. In the same period, 60 American soldiers have died in guerrilla attacks, blamed on mainly Sunni followers of Saddam Hussein.
The protest in Baghdad on Wednesday erupted when thousands of Shiites in the neighbhorhood of Sadr City gathered around a telecommunications tower where they said American forces in a helicopter tried to tear down an Islamic banner.
U.S. military spokesman Sgt. Danny Martin said Wednesday the banner was apparently blown down by rotor wash from a Black Hawk helicopter. He said American troops killed one person and wounded four after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at them. No U.S. soldiers were reported hurt. bad to apologize for defending yourselves aggressively, better to promise to do it again and again if need be
"What occurred was a mistake and was not directed against the people of Sadr City," said a statement signed by Lt. Col. Christopher K. Hoffman of the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The document, in English, was being distributed in the sprawling slum Thursday. "I am personally investigating this incident and will punish those that are responsible."
Amateur video obtained by Associated Press Television News showed a Black Hawk helicopter hovering a few feet from the top of the telecommunications tower and apparently trying to tear down the banner. Later, U.S. Humvees drove by and the crowd threw stones at them. Heavy gunfire could be heard and demonstrators were seen diving to the ground.
Sanchez, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, insisted the rotor wash blew down the banner, and said coalition troops try to keep Iraqisâ "culture and sensitivities" in mind.
"Our intent is not to alienate the Shiite people," he told reporters. "Apparently, the helicopter blew down the flag or somehow the flag was taken down, and we are taking steps to ensure that doesnât happen again."
"There is no policy on our part to fly helicopters to communication towers to take down flags," Sanchez added.
"What I will tell you is, weâve got a mission that weâve got to accomplish here in the country," he said. "Weâll let the investigation ... run its course, and then if it was a mistake, Iâll come back and tell you whether it was or not."
Some Sadr City residents seemed calmed by the U.S. apology.
"I think that this minor incident and misunderstanding is over now. Most of the people are accepting the apology. We will not forget that it was the U.S. soldiers who liberated us from Saddam (Hussein)," said Abid Ali, an auto repair shop owner.
Al-Sadr, a Shiite religious group, demanded that the U.S forces halt all helicopter flights over the neighborhood, give an official apology and provide compensation to victims of the shooting, said Qais al-Khazâali, a representative of the group in Sadr City.
Al-Khazâali said in a statement the group was giving U.S. forces a one-day ultimatum to meet the demands, "otherwise we are not responsible for whatever reactions the U.S. soldiers might face if they entered the city."
"We urge you (the people of the city) to resort to peace until our demands are met. ... Nobody is allowed to carry weapons," the statement said, calling the Americans tyrants and troublemakers.
Al-Sadr is led by Muqtada al-Sadr, the son of a revered Shiite ayatollah who was killed by Saddamâs regime in 1999. Al-Sadr, who is based in the holy city of Najaf, has strong influence in Sadr City, particularly among poor and unemployed young men.
"Weâre peaceful people, but one edict (from the imams) and the entire American army will become our prisoner," said Hassan Azab, a member of the local district council.
Hoffmanâs statement said the number of U.S. helicopters flying over the slum and the number of patrols in the eastern Baghdad neighborhood, formerly known as Saddam City, would be reduced.
Also Thursday, Sanchez said that U.S. forces had discovered three major ammunition caches in the previous 24 hours.
He also told of a growing problem of oil smuggling. He said about $200,000 worth of oil was being stolen each day and smuggled across the southern border. He said some of the 15 breaches of oil pipelines since late May had been done by smugglers trying to tap into the flow.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 7:09:09 PM ||
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#1
I've been saying this for six weeks now. Get Junior (Muqtada al Sadr). Every day he's at large just adds to the butcher's bill.
#2
So, the shitites have been draping their ugly black flags over everything.
Stamp out this shit NOW no negotiations or we'll have a bunch of apocalyptic Mullahs running things there. Next protest, just round em up and shoot em.
That would take care of the putative Islamofascists.
#3
I wouldn't worry about it. It's some vocal asshat who thinks he speaks for all Shi'ites--and of course the reporter looking for the next "the sky is falling" article is thinking Pullitzer. Means nothing.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 21:19 Comments ||
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#4
Put a scout/sniper team in there, wait until Muqtada draws a nice crowd, let him get them all revved up, then drill him right between the eyes.
Then go knock on Mr. Azab's door...
Still more evidence of unilateralism! Edited for brevity.
"The significant event is these countries, dealing so long with instability, are now exporting stability to Iraq," said Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers during a press conference here Aug. 12. The chairman was in Nicaragua to thank the government for its help in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Central American nation is sending 115 soldiers as its contribution to stability operations in Iraq. They are part of a Central American unit roughly 1,200 men strong. El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic are also contributing troops to the effort.
The soldiers will come under Spanish command and be part of the Polish-led division. They will be based in Najaf. Plans call for them to fly to Spain and then to Kuwait. They are expected to cross the border into Iraq by Sept. 1.
Embassy officials are very pleased with Nicaraguaâs response. They said the move illustrates the maturation of military-to-military contacts between the United States and these Central American nations. The Nicaraguans are specialists in demining and will provide medical personnel and a security unit. The unit will be in Iraq for six months and then another Nicaraguan unit will replace it. The United States will pay to airlift the soldiers to Iraq.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 2:13:42 PM ||
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#1
Gracias, guys!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/14/2003 22:58 Comments ||
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Either Negroponte has been a busy lilâ beaver or this was introduced too early.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United States introduced a resolution Wednesday that would establish a U.N. mission in Iraq and welcome the Iraqi Governing Council as ``an important stepââ toward the formation of a true government - but it faced strong opposition from Syria.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte called for a Thursday vote after closed-door consultations, but Syriaâs U.N. Ambassador Mikhail "The Russian" Wehbe, the current council president, said, ``We will see whether we are able to vote tomorrow or not.ââ
The Arab League said last week that its members, including Syria, would not recognize the Governing Council and would instead wait until Iraq is led by an elected government. "Which we hope happens around, um, ... sometime."
The United States reached agreement on the text with the other permanent Security Council members - Russia, China, Britain and France - before the draft was presented Wednesday to the 10 non-permanent council members, who are elected for two-year terms, U.N. diplomats said.
Last week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan chided council members for failing to say anything about the 25-member Governing Council after three of its members addressed a Security Council meeting July 22. The council should formally establish a U.N. mission to oversee U.N. efforts to help rebuild Iraq and establish a democratic government, he said. Which in turn should consist of them sitting in Baghdad cafes while we do the hard work, since the UN doesnât have a clue how to establish a democratic government.
That call pushed the Security Councilâs veto-wielding members to agree on a draft, diplomats said Wednesday - though egos are still bruised sensitivities are still strong on the council over the U.S.-led occupation and postwar U.N. role in Iraq more than four months after the bitterly divided Security Council refused to back the invasion of Iraq.
The draft resolution ``welcomes the establishment of the broadly representative Governing Council of Iraq on July 13, 2003, as an important step towards the formation by the people of Iraq of an internationally recognized, representative government that will exercise the sovereignty of Iraq.ââ It would also establish the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq for one year to support the secretary-general in carrying out the U.N.âs responsibilities in the country.
The United States had been pressing for a statement welcoming the Governing Council. But only last week, council diplomats said Washington was not convinced of the need for a U.N. mission because Iraq already has the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority and the Governing Council. ``We are responding to the secretary-general,ââ Negroponte said Wednesday, noting that Annanâs suggestion was discussed and supported by the U.S. government and the coalition.
The U.N. operation in Iraq is currently run by Annanâs special representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello. The U.N. Assistance Mission will provide a structure for the U.N.âs operations in Iraq. Annan has proposed the mission include more than 300 civilian staff dealing with humanitarian, political, reconstruction and other issues. Each of whom gets a per diem, an SUV, yadda-yadda, so that they can sit in the cafes of Baghdad and complain about their per diem and SUV whilst sucking down expresso and spooning down food that Baghdaders canât possibly afford. Gawd forbid any of âem put in an honest dayâs work, theyâll just screw things up more. Gee Steve you sound cynical today. Just the usual.
Wehbe said Syria strongly supports a U.N. mission. ``We are supporting the United Nationsâ vital role to be more power-grabbing vital,ââ he said.
The draft resolution introduced Wednesday makes no mention of a broader U.N. mandate in Iraq sought by France, Germany, India and other countries before they would consider sending troops to the country. Annan reiterated last week that he would support a new U.N. resolution with a broader mandate to get the world to pull together and help stabilize the country. But the secretary-general said, ``The membership are not ready to move on it yet.ââ M. DeVillepin, whom some insist is a man, hasnât been stroked sufficiently yet. Perhaps Frank could do the honors?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 1:04:20 AM ||
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#1
Screw Syria. As long as there's a majority on the Security Council in favor and no veto from any permanent member, it passes. Let 'em whine.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 9:42 Comments ||
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#2
Syria, would instead wait until it is led by an elected government.
#3
I wonder if the Governing Council would consider not recognizing Syria until Syria is led by an elected government. Probably just wishful thinking on my part.
#4
This probably wont be enough to get troops from Germany, India, or Pakistan (forget France). It will probably ease the situation with Turkey, though. Which gets us the bare minimum we need to releive the 101st and keep the rotation schedule going till spring.
A donors conference will be held in Madrid shortly. This may or not be enough to open up the purse strings of Germany,etc. They may insist on a fund to give the UN control over whatever they donate - so what if that means it goes to German/Russian/French contractors - I mean as long as US money remains under US control. Struggle may yet ensue over Iraqi oil money though. Cant see a need for another UNSC res to establish such a fund.
So we only go back to the UNSC for more political support IF things get worse, and we need more international troops. When we would have even less leverage than now. Doesnt appear to make sense. Or does the admin have reason to beleive we will soon have MORE leverage than now? Which could come from any number of different sources, from changes on the ground in Iraq, to a new WMD dossier, to changes elsewhere in the region. Hmmmm..........
#5
resolution passed 14-0, Syria abstaining.
Britain, Spain, Cameroon, Guinea, Bulgaria, Chile and Angola were cosponsors. Note presence of 2 states from franco-phone africa on list of cosponsors. Note that Guinea is beneficiary from overthrow of chuckles in Liberia.
#9
Schroeder says: "I am happy to see that the United Nations, based on a new resolution, is to find greater engagement and responsibility (in Iraq). But currently, nothing more should be decided on, let alone a German military engagement -- which by the way, no one has requested"
He's too busy raising taxes (e.g. trade tax for the liberal professions) and avoiding the dirty "R" word (Germany technically is in recession now).
Suppose he's not unhappy about the current U.N. resolution that gives him a cheap excuse not to consider troops for Iraq (that cost money of course).
"Saddam... Errr... Honasan, we will defend you with our blood!"
Questioned by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, Army Captains Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo confirmedâto the surprise of the senators and assembled observersâthat they took part in the ritual. Gambala, the valedictorian of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Marilag class of 1995, told the committee that he and Maestrecampo led the move in February soon after they attended the rites of the PMA Alumni Association in Manila. The ritual was performed in Gambalaâs military quarters. He said they applied the ritual on five or six other junior officers on different occasions to forge their âcommitment against corruption in the Armed Forces.â Asked to show the scar of the blood compact, Gambala pointed to his sleeved left bicep. The lawyers of the junior officers then approached them and whispered instructions to Gambala and Maestrecampo. This made Gambala change his mind and decline Biazonâs request for him to show the scar in public. Senate President Franklin Drilon intervened and urged Gambala to show the mark, but Gambala insisted on his right against self-incrimination, saying the blood-compact mark is âpart of their legal defense.â Gambalaâs admission came after the spy chief of the Philippine National Police on Thursday insisted on the authenticity of the two controversial photographs which showed opposition Sen. Gregorio âGringoâ Honasan and some suspected leaders of the mutiny allegedly holding the blood compact on June 13.
"It was a dark and stormy night. Outside, the wind blow and the rain fell. Inside â a secret blood ceremony..."
Nah. That story sucks.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/14/2003 15:16 ||
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#1
The blood compact is an ancient Filipino tradition. It was a blood compact between the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and the native chief Sikatuna in 1565 that marked the Philippines peculiar social contract between native chiefs and Spanish overlords that allowed Spain to take over most of the Philippines with little fighting. The Anti-Spanish resistance (the Katipunan) in 1896 also used a blood compact to secure the conspirators loyalty.
Hambali, Asiaâs most wanted man and second in command of the alleged terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), has been arrested in Ayutthaya on suspicion of plotting to stage a terrorist attack during the Apec summit in October, sources said yesterday. Prepare to ululate!
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, has been held since early this week in a secret location for questioning by Thai authorities and FBI officials from the US, sources said. Sources said police discovered that Hambali had travelled from Chiang Khong border district in Chiang Rai to hide among the Muslim community in Ayutthaya. Remember those trips to Thailand that all the JI deny?
Authorities have confiscated a number of explosive devices and weapons, which Hambali allegedly confessed were being prepared for use in a terrorist attack during Apec, which brings together prime ministers, presidents, and chief executives from 21 Asia-Pacific econo-mies. He couldnât resist this juicy a target.
Hambali is believed to be JIâs number two behind Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who is being detained in Indonesia in connection with a number of terrorist attacks in that country. JI is the prime suspect in the Bali bombings last October, and last weekâs terrorist attack in front of the JW Marriott in Jakarta. Hambali, a 37-year-old Islamic scholar, is wanted by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines in connection with a string of regional terrorist attacks over the past few years. A security source who monitors the movements of Muslim militants last night confirmed the arrest of Hambali. The source said Washington did not tip off authorities about his whereabouts. Defence Minister Thamarak Isarankura said yesterday that authorities were interrogating a suspect but would not confirm it was Hambali. Thai authorities are believed to have known Hambali was in Thailand in January last year, where he planned the Bali bombings at a meeting in Bangkok. Since then, according to an intelligence source, he had returned to Thailand twice trying to evade police detection. Thatâs why everyone denied going to Thailand, it was a safe house. If this is true, Fredâs gonna burn a whole lot of ammo.
FOLLOWUP: From Rooters...
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - An Indonesian man known as "Hambali," suspected mastermind of the Bali bombings and the more recent JW Marriott blast in Jakarta, has been captured, a White House spokesman said on Thursday. "His capture is another important victory in the global war on terrorism and a significant blow to the enemy," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan aboard Air Force One. Hambali, who is also known as Riduan Isamuddin, "facilitated" a January 2000 meeting in Malaysia attended by two men who later became hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on America, a senior administration official said. The official called Hambali "one of the world's most lethal terrorists," saying his group, Jemaah Islamiah, was also linked to a series of church bombings in the Philippines. He was the most wanted man in Southeast Asia and was seen as the bridge between Jemaah Islamiah and al Qaeda.
And some from ABC...
The CIA called the arrest the "most significant capture since that of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed," who was captured in March and is believed to have been the military commander al Qaeda's global terror network. In the past, the CIA has called the Indonesia-born Hambali the "Osama bin Laden" of Southeast Asia. Prisoners in custody have told the CIA that Hambali recently received a large sum of money from al Qaeda to carry out attacks against U.S. targets in the region. "He will certainly know about what is in the pipeline," an official told ABCNEWS. President Bush announced Hambali's capture when he spoke to troops today in San Diego. "He is no longer a problem to those who love freedom," Bush said. "We're making progress slowly but surely."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 2:03:46 PM ||
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unknown source, from (reliable????) Thai paper, 48 hour rule on this.
#8
In US custody as well. "Waiter, another glass of jiggle juice for Mr. Hambali!"
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 15:01 Comments ||
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#9
Just thinking...Guantanamo has nice weather like Thailand...food's good, and the giggle juice is the finest vintage available. Nothing but the best for the discriminating Evil Mastermindâ¢.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2003 15:35 Comments ||
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#13
"A US official said Hambali was captured in South-East Asia this week and was being interrogated in US custody at a secret location."
Bagram in Afganistan, I'll wager.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 15:47 Comments ||
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#15
Hambali? Didnt he do the floating sword trick at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, two shows a night and matinee on sunday?
big guy, goatee, tuxedo played "flight of the bumblebee" music as he does his act?
You know, if I was a criminal mastermind, Id spend more than 20 seconds and half a beer coming up with a better nom-de-terror than that. And isnt "ham" specifically banned my muslims?
I think the coach is working with the jr. varsity team here.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 16:10 Comments ||
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#16
With Hambali in custody and at the crossbar hotel in Gitmo, bring on the giggle juice and bagpipes, or favorite heavy metal band, a 49-dollar lawyer (cassette recorder), some pork chops and some time and we will wring out his turbanned melon.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/14/2003 16:22 Comments ||
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Heavily armed pirates have attacked two ships in the Strait of Malacca in the last week and are still holding the captain, chief engineer and an assistant engineer from one of the vessels as hostages, a sign of continued security problems in one of the worldâs busiest sea lanes. Because both incidents appear to involve pirates operating from bases on the Indonesian side of the strait, the International Maritime Bureau regional piracy center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has urged vessels passing through the strait to stay close to the Malaysian side of the waterway. With half the worldâs oil shipments by sea passing from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Malacca to east Asia, the strait trails only the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the gulf as an oil shipping lane.
Ummm... Are you starting to get the impression there might be more than Dayaks and Long John Silver wannabes at work here? Or that there will be shortly...
Fears that pirates and terrorists might join forces have been high since last autumn, when a speedboat packed with explosives hit a French tanker off Yemen, the Limburg, in an attack attributed to Al Qaeda.
Yup. After sufficient repetition, the idea sinks home...
The first of the two most recent attacks took place last Saturday night, when a large Taiwanese fishing trawler, the Dongyih, was fired upon by two tugboats at the northwest entrance to the strait, off the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The shipâs captain, Lo Ying-shiung, was shot in the leg, but the ship did not slow down and made it safely down the strait to Singapore, where the captain has been hospitalized, said Noel Choong, the director of the piracy center of the maritime bureau, a nongovernmental agency run by commercial interests that works with Interpol.
"Piss off, matey! I ain't stopping for the likes o' you!"
Pirates have stolen six tugboats so far this year. Other vesselsâ crews, including the Dongyihâs, seldom pay attention to tugboats and let them come close, making them attractive vessels for criminal activity. Singapore restricted the movements of tugboats in its waters earlier this year because of fears that terrorists would use them to mount an attack.
They're common, and when they're legit they serve a useful purpose.
Mr. Choong said that the second attack was more alarming, because it took place in a narrow area of the strait where ships have little room to maneuver and where attacks had previously been uncommon. Seven or eight pirates in a fishing boat armed with grenade launchers and M16 and AK47 assault rifles chased and boarded the Penrider, a small tanker carrying 1,000 tons of fuel oil, when it was close to the entrance of Port Klang, the main port for Kuala Lumpur. The attackers steered the ship across the strait into Indonesian waters while looting the crewâs cabins, then took the captain, chief engineer and an assistant engineer with them when they fled in another, waiting fishing boat, Mr. Choong said. The pirates have since sought a $100,000 ransom for the three.
Holding people for ransom is a local cottage industry...
John Fawcett-Ellis, the regional manager for Asia and the Pacific at the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, said that the attack on the Penrider showed that not enough was being done to protect traffic in the sea lane. Pirates armed with assault rifles attacked three chemical tankers in the Strait of Malacca in February and March. During one of the attacks, the vessel traveled down the strait for an hour with no one in control.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 12:20:05 PM ||
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#1
Why waste your time posting this, Frank? Don't you know combatting piracy isn't cost-effective? [/sarcasm]
"...among the three littoral states..."
I had to read that twice... Freudian slip.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 12:26 Comments ||
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#2
Why do they hate us? I dont know what the 'root cause' of piracy is ,but Im sure its our fault somehow.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 12:57 Comments ||
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#3
Effective naval patroling to combat this type of activity is going to be practically impossible. If these mutts see a naval vessel they'll just lay off for the day or week or whatever. Station Maverick armed Predators or Global Hawks over the straits or naywhere else these problems are occuring and send in a few ships as bait
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
08/14/2003 17:59 Comments ||
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#4
Sure it is, ever heard of a convoy? Move the published shipping lanes into patrolled areas far from shore and convoy departures in and out of harbors, along with providing "Merchant Armed Guard" with 50's mounted on the for and aft of each ship.
It would be enforced by the shipping insurance companies for the larger craft, by denying berthing and harbor rights to the local smallcraft who think that their departure rights overide the need to defeat piracy.
Fact is, we've had piracy about as long as weve figured out how to float. It expands when we let our guard down, it contracts when the Navy sails into port with a few of the bastards heads hanging from the Mast.
My point in posting this was to link other forms of criminal activty with terrorism. In my mind Terrorism is extortion done by an amature, Priracy is just strong arm robbery while weearing a floatation device. The Muslim world has been using Piracy and Extortion ( terrorism) as a way to generate income for a millenia.
Think of it the way the local constabulary looks at traffic tickets, they are not so much a way to enforce safety regulations for the betterment of all, but a method of general fund revenue generation.
The difference is the Euros are going to want to buy these guys off( thus ensuring more Piracy), and we will likely send in a contingent of Destroyers and start convoying ships for a couple of years, thus starving out the little criminals so they go back to hijacking trucks and running their roadblock extortion scams.
The muslim criminal class of indonesia is going to piracy on a bigger scale because its my guess that they are running out revenue sources from other areas.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 18:44 Comments ||
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#5
Since phrawnce is so hot to trot, maybe they should send the DeGaulle.
Indonesian police on Thursday linked suspected Jemaah Islamiah mastermind Hambali to the bombing of a U.S.-run luxury hotel in Jakarta last week along with other key fugitives wanted over the deadly 2002 Bali blasts. Itâs got his fingerprints all over it.
The comments by Erwin Mappaseng, the senior police officer overseeing the JW Marriott Hotel bombing investigation, were the clearest link yet made between the shadowy Southeast Asian militant network and the August 5 hotel blast that killed 12 people and wounded 150. Asked by reporters if six possible suspects over the attack were being sought, Mappaseng said: "Yes, including Hambali, Dulmatin, the same old people." In this case, "the usual suspects" phrase is correct.
Reporters were referring to a photo chart displayed by police that showed six key figures on the run following various acts of violence in Indonesia. Hambali and Dulmatin -- both Indonesians -- are wanted over last yearâs Bali bomb attacks, which killed 202 people. Mappaseng also named Azahari, a Malaysian electronics expert accused of designing and supervising the making of the Bali car bomb that caused the most damage. Hambali, a preacher also known as Riduan Isamuddin, is the most wanted man in Southeast Asia. He is seen as the bridge between Jemaah Islamiah and Osama bin Ladenâs al Qaeda. Heâs a really big fish.
Dulmatin is an electronics expert who police say helped build the Bali bombs and detonated them using a cellular phone. The Bali and Marriot bombs were almost identical, this has his fingerprints as well.
A leading Indonesian newspaper said on Thursday that police had arrested nine people suspected of being involved in or having knowledge of the hotel car bomb, also detonated by mobile phone. Several senior police officials have denied the report. "The report is not true. I donât know where they got the information," said Basyir Barmawi, national police spokesman. A senior police source told Reuters that officers had detained several people in recent days in Bengkulu province on Sumatra island as part of the investigation, but that they had yet to link them to the latest terror attack.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 9:51:07 AM ||
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#1
so does this mean hambali is in Indon, or did he do it remote?
EFL
Since December 2001, when authorities in Singapore started to crack open JIâs local operations, some 190 members of the organisation have been arrested across the region, including more than 70 in Indonesia. Among those in custody are a number of key commanders, including the alleged paramount leader or amir, Abu Bakar Bashir. The 64-year-old Indonesian cleric is facing trial in Jakarta on charges of terrorism, and prosecutors are due to make their sentence demand this week. But police and intelligence officials acknowledge that these arrests and prosecutions leave a substantial part of JI intact. Soon after the Bali bombings, when Bashir was under pressure from authorities, JI appointed a new leader, Abu Rusdan, to ensure continuity. It can be assumed that later, when Rusdan himself was captured, JI was ready with another successor.
Although the identities of many of the key leadership figures have been known to security authorities around the region for some time, they have been hard to pin down. Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, has topped the regionâs most wanted list since late 2001. The 39-year-old West Java native has been one of the key operational and financial conduits between JI and al Qaeda. He has set the overall strategy for terrorism operations across the region and on occasion acted as a kind of coach, inspiring JI operatives just before they go into an attack. Since becoming the subject of an international search, he will have been forced to curtail some of these activities, but he almost certainly remains a key strategist. His whereabouts have been one of the great guessing games. Security officials believe they had tracked him to southern Thailand earlier this year. Estimates for JIâs region-wide membership range between 500 and 1500, and analysts believe it has sufficient depth of training and ability to replace the losses suffered to its leadership structure from the arrests now made in six countries. There is also a huge potential recruiting base from the thousands of members of Laskar Jihad, Laskar Jundallah and other Jihadi groups that have sprung up in the last few years.
Even before the Marriott bombing, evidence was steadily accumulating that JI was able to amass the materials and carry out the detailed planning needed to execute successful attacks. In the weeks leading up to the bombing, Indonesian and foreign police and security agencies were becoming increasingly apprehensive about the risk of impending attack in the capital. Behind the anxiety was the discovery of a long and elaborate list of potential targets when police arrested nine members of a JI cell in Jakarta and the Javanese coastal city of Semarang in operations in early July. According to diplomatic and police sources, a number of western businesses and locations in Jakartaâs CBD, including seven US oil and gas companies, were included on a list of 56 targets. This JI cell also intended to assassinate six senior figures in Megawatiâs Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) and the wealthy Indonesian-Chinese Âdeveloper Ciputra. Police also said the documents uncovered in the Semarang arrests indicate JI has links to 141 Islamic boarding schools and 388 Islamic clerics. But will the Indonesians do anything about these links?
As the police have stepped up the pressure on JI, the organisation has moved to consolidate. Indonesian intelligence officials say a key figure in the consolidation within Indonesia has been another Afghan-trained Indonesian known as Zulkarnaen, who heads a JI military wing, Askari Islamiyah. Zulkarnaen, also known to police as Arif Sunarsi and Daud, is an alumnus of Bashirâs Islamic boarding school in Ngruki, near the Central Java city of Solo. The Ngruki and Afghan experience are a common link for many of JIâs senior figures. According to accounts Mukhlas gave police, Zulkarnaen took part in initial planning meetings for the Bali bombings. Police also believe Zulkarnaen played a role in directing the bombings of a Toyota dealership and McDonaldâs restaurant in the South Sulawesi capital Makassar last December. The Makassar bombing cell was disrupted before it could effect plans for attacks on churches and priests. After the loss of a number of senior commanders, Zulkarnaen appears to have assumed a bigger role in running JIâs operations. Security officials think there is a good chance he was involved at some stage in preparations for the Marriott bombing.
JI undertook a long preparation before launching into its terrorist campaign in Indonesia in earnest during 2000. The extent of the work that went into building up JI became glaringly apparent with a joint Indonesian-Australian police operation that led to the arrest of Mukhlas and the discovery of a JI command post in Central Java on December 4. When police entered the command post â one room of a simple cottage close to Solo â they found a wealth of JI records and training manuals. JI leaders clearly have a penchant for Âwriting things down â philosophies, Âstrategies, training procedures, operational plans and personnel records. According to a police inventory, among the piles of books and papers was "the Âterroristâs handbook", a document Âproviding Âinstructions on acquiring explosives and chemicals, listing the availability of "useful household chemicals" and describing "explosive recipes" and "ignition devices". There were several books on "how to make a bomb", including one allegedly written by Dr Azahari Husin, a former university lecturer from Malaysia who designed the Bali bomb. The papers provided evidence of JIâs extensive investment in training, sending its members to the southern Philippines to be trained in camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and to its own military academy which provided a four-semester course over two years at a site called "Muaskar" somewhere near Solo. JI had been meticulous in keeping track of individual performances, giving police a volume of JI membersâ names. However, there were whole years missing from the records, indicating JI had taken the precaution of not storing all this data in one place. The storing of records and training manuals is probably part of their attempts to be the al-Qaeda of South East Asia.
One book that caught the attention of investigating officers was A Guide to the Struggle of Al Jamaah Islamiyah. In two volumes, this laid out JIâs internal procedures, structures and strategy of achieving an Islamic caliphate. It envisaged three stages for the struggle. According to a police summary, the first stage was preparation, involving "preaching, recruitment, sending [recruits] to the Philippines and bombing projects". The second and third stages involved safeguarding Islam and the caliphate, both of which implied an Islamic state had already been created. This meant JI was still at the first stage. That sounds like quite the master plan...
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/14/2003 2:43:04 AM ||
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#1
Hambali favors himself as an islamic preacher of sorts. He has been associated with al Qaeda since 1988, when he traveled to Afghanistan to kill Russians.
He has worked as a major funding source for JI and is believed to have been involved in Operation Bojinka - the 1995 plot to blow up 12 US flag airliners over the Pacific.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
08/14/2003 9:32 Comments ||
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I have never trusted Aunt Jemaah since that top came off the syrup bottle...
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- German intelligence told the CIA about suspected terror links of an Arab student over two years before he flew a plane into the World Trade Center, Stern reported. The information was ignored, the weekly magazine said.
Agents from Germanyâs BfV office for the Protection of the Constitution tipped off the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in March 1999 that student Marwan al-Shehhi had links to Mohammed Haydar Zammar, a suspected al-Qaeda organizer in Germany, Stern said, citing research it has undertaken with ARD television.
Al-Shehhi was one of the al-Qaeda hijackers who piloted two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. Another hijacked plane was flown into the Pentagon in Washington, and one crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 people died in the terror attacks.
Zammar had been under surveillance by the CIA and BfV since 1993, Stern reported in the article to be printed Thursday. The BfV told the CIA al-Shehhiâs cell phone number and basic personal details after intercepting a phone conversation with Zammar, the magazine said.
Stern said both BfV agents and the CIA began monitoring the German-based al-Shehhi soon after the phone interception but the U.S. agency failed to pass on its finding to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or to U.S. immigration authorities.
Hijacker Al-Shehhi, a national of the United Arab Emirates, was ``left to his own devicesââ by the CIA, Stern said. In May 2000, he entered the U.S. unhindered to take up pilot training.
German intelligence authorities were ``ruffledââ by a U.S. government report in July that said ``legal hurdlesââ prevented German agents from monitoring suspected terrorists, Stern said.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroederâs government didnât regard Islamic groups as a ``threat and was unwilling to apply relevant resources to such a target,ââ according to the report cited by the magazine. If you read German youâll find the whole Stern story HERE. Itâs going to be published in batches every Thursday, the book will come out Aug. 28th. German ARD TV ran a documentation today. In short: German intelligence knew the guys, US intelligence the plans. But mutual mistrust, lack of cooperation and stunning ignorance (on both sides) prevented "connecting the dots"
Letâs hope we all learn from that. Terrorism can only be fought if all free democratic countries work together closely, despite political differences they may have over certain issues.
Posted by: True German Ally ||
08/14/2003 10:03:34 PM ||
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Unless Congress and President Bush take quick action when Congress returns after Labor Day, the uniformed Americans in Iraq and the 9,000 in Afghanistan will lose a pay increase approved last April of $75 a month in "imminent danger pay" and $150 a month in "family separation allowances."
The Defense Department supports the cuts, saying its budget canât sustain the higher payments amid a host of other priorities.
I canât believe that this administration will let this happen. It would mean that the announced increase in pay was a shell game, intended to make politicians look like they support the troops when all the really support is their agenda. Unless...
#3
Here's an old July 2nd story from ArmyTimes.com that meshes with this latest report. Still hard to believe though.
The Pentagon is reviewing tax-free combat zones and imminent-danger pay for troops in the Balkans, Persian Gulf and elsewhere, and officials could recommend eliminating some geographic regions as early as next year.
The first review, now underway, is looking at combat tax-exclusion zones, areas where enlisted members and all but the most senior officers pay no income tax on money earned while serving there. Currently, military service in 23 nations and seven bodies of water qualifies for the tax break.
A second review of locations that qualify for $250 per month in imminent-danger pay is expected to begin this fall. Now, service in 49 nations and five bodies of water qualifies for the danger pay.
Full Story
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=0-292243-1986737.php
(EFL)
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - Dozens of American troops landed at Liberiaâs main airport Thursday, increasing the U.S. presence to boost West African peacekeepers, as rebels began withdrawing from Monrovia, ending their two-months siege of the starving capital.
U.S. Ambassador John Blaney and rebel chief of staff Abdullah Sherrif shook hands in the center of a bridge marking the front-line of the war-divided capital, signaling the rebel handover. The rebel withdrawal opens access to Monroviaâs vital seaport and allows food and supplies to flow again, particularly to the famished government-held side of the capital, where hundreds of thousands of residents and refugees have had little more than leaves to survive on.
...
Firing into the air, insurgents left the port and retreated north, heading toward the Po River, their promised new boundary outside the city. They kept their AK-47s, rocket-launchers and other arms, and many carried away stereos, sacks of food aid, and other loot.
Tens of thousands of civilians massed on both sides of the New Bridge. West African peacekeepers, trying to curb the chaos, held back hungry crowds on the government side as well as civilians on the former rebel side, who rushed the bridge by the thousands, shouting, "We want peace!"
...
President Bush had refused to send in any significant number of troops until Taylor left - and Thursdayâs deployment dramatically increased the number of U.S. troops on the ground in Liberia, from only about a dozen to a planned 200, including a 150-member rapid reaction force.
U.S. Marines armed with M-16s and wearing helmets and jungle camouflage jumped out as nine U.S. helicopters settled on the airport tarmac, with two more helicopters hovering overhead.
"We are just here to help the people," Sgt. Michael Hobbs said minutes after arriving. All the 200 additional U.S. soldiers were expected to arrive Thursday.
...
Fifty members of the new U.S. deployment are to help with the logistics of getting aid flowing again to Liberiaâs cut-off capital.
...
West African nations have been landing peacekeeping troops since Aug. 4, keeping them at a temporary base at the airport until the force reached sufficient strength to deploy in the capital. Monrovia, a city of more than 1 million, is now crowded with hundreds of thousands of refugees.
About 800 West African peacekeepers, mostly Nigerian soldiers, have landed so far, and a second Nigerian battalion was to start flying in later Thursday.
...
Blaney, the U.S. ambassador, said the southern rebels have now agreed to withdraw to within a few miles of Buchanan, using the St. John River as a cease-fire line.
It looks like several hundred US Marines will take part in providing aid and security for Monrovia. Doubt theyâll spend much time elsewhere, but itâs possible. Hope theyâre not there long - we may need them elsewhere soon.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/14/2003 6:49:36 PM ||
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A major power outage simultaneously struck dozens of cities in the United States and Canada late Thursday afternoon.
Cities affected include New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Toronto, Ontario; and Ottawa, Ontario. The power outage occurred shortly after 4 p.m.
State officials said the Niagara-Mohawk power grid was overloaded. The grid provides power for New York and stretches into Canada. The officials said the outage is a natural occurrence and not related to terrorism. 1965 east coast power outage?, now what was that all about again
Much of Midtown Manhattan and Wall Street were shut down. All area airports and the Long Island Railroad were also affected. The airports were operating on back-up power and operations were reported to be normal, officials said. Normal means the looting of the luggage and the endless flight delays has continued unabated
The New York City Police Department said they were trying to determine what happened. Like every night...
Thousands of people could be seen leaving buildings and walking into the streets.Only this time, not everyone is going "out for a smoke" New York subways were reported stopped and people were trapped in the cars. Like an every day commute...
Two comments:
1) If there are 3000 dead in france and the power is out in North America, when will western imperialism be leaving the northern hemisphere. Dont we understand how futile it all is?
2) How can you tell if the power is out in detroit and cleveland, is it all that different?
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 5:05:15 PM ||
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actually, since Dennis Kucinich left the Cleveland mayorship, they've had power, water and a transportation system working..even the Indians are doing better
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 17:37 Comments ||
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#2
I understand that major waterways hardly ever catch fire now as well.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 17:57 Comments ||
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#3
Fox News - quoting Jean Cretin (Ed - spelling error on purpose) sez the fault was a lightning strike in Niagra - on US side
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 19:29 Comments ||
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#4
Yeah, but where did it come from? Was it good, wholesome Canadian lightning or evil, imperialistic American lightning.
Let me be the first. It's Bush's fault. Or Karl Rove's.
#3
WTF? Has there been news about electricity shortages? In such widely seperately areas could it be that something got overloaded and it tripped things "down the line"?
Great, I don't even know what I'm trying to ask.
Does/did anybody work in the industry that could post an idea on why power is out in these seperate cities like this?
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/14/2003 16:38 Comments ||
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#4
in great blackout of "65 thsts what happened. I thought the grid was supposed to be fixed so that it couldnt happen again. And i also thought '65 effect was over continuous areas, not spotty.
#6
"(Reuters) - Power outages struck major U.S. and Canadian cities on Thursday, witnesses said, although it was not immediately clear if there was a link between the breakdowns.
Power outages were reported in the New York metropolitan area and Detroit, as well as in Toronto and Ottawa, witnesses said. "
#9
CNN says Boston too, but I'm sitting right downtown and everything appears to be fine. And I hope it stays that way cause it's a long walk down 15 flights.
#13
that would make sense geographically. Maybe the other systems were net importers of power, and couldnt re-source fast enough? but that shouldnt be true for HydroQuebec which is a big power exporter. Engineers, anyone?
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/14/2003 16:57 Comments ||
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Con ed used to have a plant at East 14th st and the east river, of course they would likely have transformers there too. So was the Niagra Mohawk grid brought down by Con Ed? CNN also says officials report it is NOT, repeat NOT terrorism.
#17
a poster on another board from Gatineau, Quebec, just across from Ottawa, indicates Ottawa is down, but Gatineau (and presumably Hull) is up. Yet reports indicate Montreal is down. Is HydroQuebec impacted or not?
#18
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A New York State official said the Niagara Mohawk power grid overloaded on Thursday, causing a massive power outage, CNN reported, and New York Major Michael Bloomberg said it was likely a natural occurrence.
"It may be well into the evening before power comes back on," Bloomberg told the U.S. cable television network. He said smoke from a Consolidated Edison Inc. plant in the city was due to the plant's automatic shutdown, not to a fire, as had been reported.
He said, "I can tell you 100 percent sure that there is no evidence as of this moment whatsoever of any terrorism."
A massive power outage swept across swaths of the eastern United States and Canada on Thursday, leaving sections of New York, Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto without electricity, witnesses said.
It was not immediately clear whether the Niagara Mohawk problem caused the wider outage.
#21
I'd be curious of those people in elevators being able to contact anyone, since the relay towers and such need the juice as well. I imagine many of those stuck would emerge from the elevators like those in the WTC on 9/11 and have no idea what's going on.
My concerns are for those elderly and shut-ins that are suddenly deprived of A/C and have no family or help immediately available. I expect that most hospitals have generators that would at least temporarily provide enough power to get patients stabilized?
All in all, this is going to be another huge hit on the economy. Airlines, factories, service industries, etc., not to mention consumer confidence... whee!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 21:41 Comments ||
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JPost - Reg Reqâd
Good News - the gloves come off?
Israeli troops killed a top Islamic Jihad fugitive in a gun battle at his hideout Thursday, prompting threats of revenge by the militant group and placing further strain on an already shaky cease-fire that is vital to a U.S.-backed peace plan. the cease-fire (such as it is) isnât critical - disarming and dismantling is
The bloodied body of the wanted man, Mohammed Sidr, was pulled from the rubble of a small warehouse after daybreak Thursday, following a standoff of several hours during which he traded fire with troops. A Kalashnikov assault rifle was found near his body. The military said the warehouse doubled as a bomb lab. Several hours after the battle, soldiers blew up the remains of the building where Sidr held out.
"Yup. That used t' be the place where Mohammed Sidr used to live..."
Israel holds Sidr responsible for the deaths of 19 Israelis and two international observers, one from Switzerland and one from Turkey, in several bombings and shootings. Eighty-two people were wounded in these attacks, the Israeli military said. Good Riddance - No Raisins For You!
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Thursday referred to Sidr as a "ticking bomb." In December, Israel tried to kill Sidr in a helicopter strike, but he escaped. Two boys, ages 3 and 13, were killed instead. thatâs something to actually be sad about
The Palestinian Authority warned that such Israeli operations could collapse the cease-fire. An official statement charged that the raids are in violation of the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan and "might even open the door wide for renewal of the bloody confrontation that has wrecked the region in the last three years."
At one point, an army bulldozer tore down the back wall of the warehouse.
"Goddamit, Rachel! I said get out of the way!"
Israel Radio said troops fired an anti-tank missile, setting off blasts inside, apparently an explosives cache. Sidr apparently was alone.
"Avner, see if you can put one through that window..."
[WHOOSH!]
"Ho-o-o-o-oly spit!"
After the body was pulled away, troops blew up the warehouse.
Or what remained of it...
Islamic Jihad threatened revenge.
"Yar!... Mutter mutter rhubarb rhubarb... We must have Dire Revengeâ¢!"
"Yes, Mahmoud! Yes! A brilliant idea!"
The retaliation would be felt "like an earthquake in the heart of the Zionist entity," said a statement on the Islamic Jihad web site.
"Yes! Yes! Like an accumulation of gas in the bowels of Zionism!"
"I assure our people that this crime in Hebron will not go unpunished," said Bassam Sadi, leader of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. Sounds like heâs volunteering to be the next candidate
The killing of two Hamas members under similar circumstances last week led to a revenge attack on Tuesday in which a teenage Hamas suicide bomber killed a Jewish settler. On the same day, a bomber sent by renegades from Yasser Arafatâs Fatah movement blew himself up in a supermarket in a central Israeli town, killing himself and a father of two. Despite the growing tensions, Mofaz was to meet later Thursday with Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan.
"Hi, Mohammed."
"Hi, Shaul."
"How's things?"
Israel and the Palestinian Authority are deadlocked over how to handle the Palestinian militant groups, and the argument is holding up implementation of a U.S.-backed peace plan, the so-called "road map" to Palestinian statehood by 2005.
"Kill them all!"
"I think we should have a heart-to-heart talk with them."
"Arrest them! Put them in jail!"
"Maybe no teevee for a week?"
Israel demands that the Palestinian Authority begin dismantling Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as part of its obligations under the road map. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas says he will not confront the militants for fear of sparking a civil war.
"You outta yer mind? Them suckers'd rip my throat out!"
Israel, in response, says it will not go on with the road map under these circumstances, and instead keeps chasing terrorists. Mofaz said Sidr posed an immediate danger. "He was indeed a ticking bomb. This is another example that terror is continuing, and that the Palestinian side is not acting to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," he said.
Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian spokesman, said the United States must intervene quickly to rescue the cease-fire.
"Yes, yes! You must stop them from doing what they're doing. But don't even think about trying to stop us from what we're doing! That's freedom fighting!"
"Without a firm stand from the United States that the two sides live up to their obligations with one grand gesture - that is the immediate implemenation of monitioring ... the cease-fire is finished," he said.
"An' see? See? It's all their fault! Nope. Nope. Wudn't us. We wuz just freedom fightin'..."
The ongoing Israeli raids are seen as a provocation by the militants who declared a unilateral three-month truce June 29.
"Da noive o' dem guyz, tryin' to defend themselves!"
Mofaz held Arafat largely responsible for the impasse, saying he was an obstacle to peace and that he suspected him of involvement in Tuesdayâs two suicide bombings. Arafat says he does not support attacks on civilians.
"Lies! All lies!"
"Arafat continues to be an obstacle to this (peace) process. I am convinced that we need to reconsider the question of Arafat and what steps should be taken," Mofaz added. Mofaz has been one of the most outspoken proponents of expelling Arafat, a step frequently debated by Israelâs Cabinet but opposed by Israelâs security services and in the end vetoed by Sharon. Those opposing expulsion say it would only boost the stature of Arafat, who has been confined to the West Bank town of Ramallah for nearly two years. Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat called Mofazâs comments "ridiculous and nonsensical."
"I laff! Haw haw!"
"Itâs part of a series of accusations that aim at shifting the eyes of the world from the fact that the Israeli government is continuing to sabotage the vision of President (George W.) Bush and the road map," Erekat said Wednesday. then his lips fell off
Also Thursday, Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Nablus destroyed the family home of the Hamas bomber who carried out Tuesdayâs attack, and arrested an alleged militant in the neighboring Askar refugee camp.
Mahmoud doesn't live here anymore...
The Askar home of the other suicide bomber was destroyed a day earlier.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 12:57:27 PM ||
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From StrategyPage, EFL:
An Indian arms dealer was caught trying to illegally import a Russian SA-18 Igla shoulder fired anti-aircraft missile to an FBI agent posing as an Islamic terrorist. Terrorists trying to take down airliners with portable missiles has been a threat for a long time. Actually, over the last thirty years, itâs been a reality. Some 29 commercial aircraft have been shot down by such missiles. However, the downed aircraft have been small, and most of these tragedies have taken place in Africa. The wars in Africa are the worst on the planet, so violent that most journalists avoid them. For three decades, this has kept the use of portable missiles against civilian aircraft off the front page.
Larger airliners, like the Airbusâs, and 757s, 767s and 747s, have not been brought down because these missiles were not designed to take on aircraft with such large and powerful engines. While these missiles were originally intended for use against jet fighters operating over the battlefield, the reality turned out to be different. The most likely targets encountered were helicopters, or propeller driven transports. These aircraft proved to be just the sort of thing twenty pound missiles with 2-3 pound warheads could destroy. Against jet fighters with powerful engines, the missiles caused some damage to the tailpipe, but usually failed to bring down the jet. This was first noted during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, where the Egyptians fired hundreds of SA-7s at Israeli A-4 light bombers. Most of the A-4s, with their 11,187 pounds of thrust engines, survived the encounter. Larger jets, like the F-4 and itâs 17,000 pound thrust engines, were even more difficult to bring down. Smaller commercial jets, like the 737 or DC-9 (each using two 14,000 pounds of thrust engines) have proved vulnerable. But a 757 has much larger engines with 43,000 pounds of thrust, and the 747 is 63,000. Moreover, the rear end of jet engines are built to take a lot of punishment from all that hot exhaust spewing out. Put a bird into the front of the engine and you can do some real damage. But these missiles home in on heat, and all of that is at the rear end of the engine.
If terrorists target helicopters and smaller turboprop commuter airliners, or business jets, they are likely to take down aircraft better than half the time a missile is used. This takes into account poorly trained missile operators and defective missiles. And a lot of the missile operators will be poorly trained, and, like November, 2002 incident in Mombassa, using missiles built over two decades ago. They wonât be using any of the Stingers the U.S. gave out in Afghanistan during the 1980s. The custom battery packs in those missiles gave out in the 1990s. Itâs a lot easier to get Russian missiles, and fresh batteries for them.
There are several hundred thousand portable surface-to-air missiles out there, but most of them are older models like the SA-7. Many of these are defective from old age, or rough treatment. This is known because of the consistently poor performance of these older missiles. Also keep in mind that, with all those missiles out there, and so many terrorists (not just Islamic ones) eager to use them against civilians, very few are used. Many of the terrorists know that most of those SA-7s are crap, and that explains why they are looking for the harder to get modern missiles. Interesting article.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 10:58:15 AM ||
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#1
I'm curious if we have any AD types here that could comment on this. I'm curious about how long shoulder-launched SAMs might last on the shelf.
Is the fuel solid?
Is the fuel corrosive?
Are they stored with batteries in place or separately (assuming if stored in place, the batteries could corrode like the terminals in car batteries do, or flashlight batteries left in the flashlight for several years)?
Are they well protected from exposure to light, moisture, dirt, et al?
Are the launchers reusable (aren't the missiles stored in tubes--toss the tube, load a new round, fire, toss the tube, etc.)?
What's the estimated shelf life?
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 11:25 Comments ||
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#2
Hi Dar: One of the main issues is calibration. It has to be done every so often. If you don't have a lab to do it, the missile becomes useless after a few years. Witness all the recent attacks in Iraq, Afganistan, Kenya in which the missile didn't go anywhere near the target. Some of the missiles require a coolant bottle for the IR seeker, too. Shelf life varies widely based on storage conditions. There are tables to de-rate the shelf life based on temp, dust exposure, exposure to humidity, etc. I wouldn't want to see those on the web. If the missile is in the packing case (like a giant aluminum briefcase) they'll last a long time. If not, again, derate it. So between batteries, calibration, storage issues, and sometimes coolant bottles, it's a bitch for the terrorists to keep them flying. My experience come from other kinds of missiles, but the general principles are all the same.
#3
Dar-
I was trained (unofficially) on Stinger in the 80s and was responsible for maintaining them in storage. I can give you a bit of info:
*AFAIK, all MANPADS are solid fueled with noncorrosive fuel. However, storage conditions need to be fairly stable, otherwise you're risking temperature-induced problems with the motors. In addition, transporting them is something to be careful with because they are heavy, and dropping them or throwing them around - even in their cases - could crack or shatter the motor, which will lead to a very spectacular visual display when you pull the trigger.
*On Stinger, batteries were stored separately by the USAF - dont know if that was the same for the other services. The batteries do have a fairly long shelf life, but once the're opened up, it's not long. As Mr Dunnigan points out, the original Stinger batteries in Afghanistan went bad long ago.
*My experience has been that the launchers and missiles come in separate cases. The launchers are reusuable, but each one has different standards as to how many times. The cases are fiberglass, but they have been known to crack.
*Stinger at least is a sealed round - in THEORY, it's got an infinte shelf life if maintained properly. I don't remember what Stinger's is, but 3-4 years seems to stick in my mind. Then they're sent back to depot, opened up, checked out, and resealed.
The point to keep in mind here is that any MANPAD is a fairly delicate piece of equipment, and if its not stored or maintained by the book, you are risking serious problems when it comes time to use them.
One other thing - to knock down a modern airliner would require a tail shot - popping up and launching as the plane passes over you. Your problems here are that the missile's warhead may not arm in the fairly short distance between the launch point and the plane. You will have to be in the wide open spaces around the airport - if you're in a built up area with anything except Stinger or the UK's MANPADS, there's too much chance you'll end up engaging another heat source. Airliner engines burn comparitively cool compared to military engines, so that's another problem.
The warheads are fairly small frag units - a core of HE wrapped with notched wire that creates an expanding cloud of fragments. On a small military aircraft, where every inch is packed with systems of some sort, you stand an excellent chance of doing serious if not fatal damage. However on a civilian airliner, most of the airplane is - compared to a military aircraft - empty space. That's not to say no damage would be done, but it would take a salvo of 3-4 missiles, all of which would have to hit, to guarantee bringing it down. That complicates the actual attack to the point where getting 4 guys to pop up simultaneously, hit the plane, then get away, could be very problematical.
HTH,
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/14/2003 13:25 Comments ||
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#4
11A5S and Mike:
Thank you, gentlemen! That's what I love about Rantburg--the diverse backgrounds and expertise! :-)
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 13:37 Comments ||
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#5
I say we let loose a bunch of "Stingers" onto the black market with a couple product enhancements...
(1) Propellant ignites if any attempt is made to inspect the motor
(2) Warhead detonates when trigger is pulled and the guidance system engages - vaporizing the operator.
(3) Entire weapon explodes if any attempt made to diasassemble or otherwise inspect.
Paul
Posted by: Paul Perkins ||
08/14/2003 15:06 Comments ||
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#6
That's very evil of you, Paul. But you forgot the GPS locator beacon, track them from place to place before they have a "work acident".
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 15:20 Comments ||
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Amiri Baraka was New Jerseyâs poet laureate, before he was forced to resign. He wrote the "poem" "Someone Blew Up America," a "poem" that includes the lines:
Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed
Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers
To stay home that day
Why did Sharon stay away?
I would never wish ill on him just because of his misinformed anti-Semitism. So it is sad to read this:
The 31-year-old daughter of Amiri Baraka, the poet, playwright and civil rights activist, and a friend were found murdered late Tuesday night in the home of another of Mr. Barakaâs children in Piscataway, N.J., the authorities said yesterday.
The victims, Shani Baraka, and Rayshon Holmes, 30, were shot several times and were found in the family room of the house owned by Ms. Barakaâs older sister, Wanda Pasha, the Middlesex County prosecutor, Bruce Kaplan, said.
He said detectives are searching for Ms. Pashaâs estranged husband, James Coleman, for questioning in the double murder.
Posted by: growler ||
08/14/2003 10:19:53 AM ||
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#1
"According to the black poet, contemporary politics proved that the barrel of a gun was the best voting machine; a dead honkie the most effective protest vote"
This is getting interesting.
Two citizens of Pakistan, one of whom had a British Columbia driverâs licence, are being held by U.S. authorities in Seattle after their names showed up on an antiterrorist "no-fly list" when they tried to book one-way flights to New York. They were nabbed at the Sea-Tac International Airport on Saturday night, less than 12 hours after a curious incident in Vancouver in which a drug suspect plunged to his death from a seventh-floor apartment balcony as he tried to flee a police raid. "Youâll never catch me, copperrrrrrrrrr......SPLAT
The RCMP confirmed yesterday that its antiterrorism unit is investigating whether the dead man was connected to "a terrorism group or groups." He is suspected of funneling drug profits to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Neighbours said the 31-year-old was almost always seen in the company of two men who appeared to be from "the Middle East." Late yesterday, BC-TV identified the dead man as Mohammad Saleh Aramesh. Like the two men taken into custody in Seattle, he was Pakistani. One of those things that make you go, hummmmm.
While not confirming a link between the two events, RCMP spokesman Corporal Pierre Lemaitre said it was "safe to say" that members of the Mountiesâ special Integrated National Security Enforcement Team were in touch with the FBI over the matter. Regardless of whether the two incidents are related, questions are bound to be asked about the alleged B.C. links of the two Pakistanis detained in Seattle. The FBIâs Joint Terrorism Task Force has launched an international investigation into their activities. The Seattle Times newspaper quoted a U.S. federal source saying that "this is going to turn into a big deal" once the identity of one of the men is confirmed. First thing to do is to show pictures of these two guys to the late drug smugglers neighbors, see if they are his "friends".
The newspaper said that the two detainees told investigators they had been smuggled into the United States from British Columbia near the provinceâs major border crossing point south of Vancouver. One of the men, 36, was carrying a B.C. driverâs licence, the paper said. If the three Pakistani nationals are found to be linked in a terrorist cell, Canada would certainly come under more fire from those in the United States who consider this country a haven for illegal immigrants and an organizational comfort zone for planning terrorist attacks. Ahmed Ressam, convicted of a terrorist plot to blow up Los Angeles International Airport, spent many years in Canada fighting for refugee status, and several months in Vancouver making explosives before his arrest at a U.S. border point.
You need that refugee status, otherwise the explosives don't work right...
Meanwhile, at the Heather House apartment building in Vancouverâs West End where Mr. Aramesh lived, residents said they barely knew the man. Eric Vaughan, who had the next-door apartment, said he never saw Mr. Aramesh. Peter Harwood, who lives on the 10th floor, said he would smile and wave to the man but they never really spoke to each other. "He wasnât usually by himself." Another said he always saw the man with his two friends. Police said he died when he slipped and fell trying to jump to an adjacent balcony. Gravity sucks.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 10:07:04 AM ||
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#1
Seattle:
- where no fewer than 5 money laundering cells for al queada have been closed since 9/11,
-where several meth busts show ties not to organized crime but once again to terrorist cells.
- where syrian "pilots" were found illegally living in the area, after a large sting operation involving a large residential jewel hiest.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 11:38 Comments ||
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#2
Nice that the journalists are reporting exactly what tipped off the capture. I can see an Al Queda contractor checking of a list: Oh, do not buy one-way tickets and do not use cash. Must remember that.
Question is, do you think this was a practice run for an attack on the West Coast (where they would have the most fuel) or the East Coast (where they have the most symoblic targets).
#3
seattle tv is reporting that one of the two wasz 'detained' on 9/11 as a potential terrorist.
(Damn that John Ashcroft for the assault on our rights.)
My guess is that the northwest is a terrorist corridor into the US, of both people and money. Its very clear that there are terror cells operating in Canada ( can this be the return of the FLQ, funded and operated by algerian muslims?) and the border is so open as to not really count, a simple boat ride from vancouver to any of the ferry stops in the san juan islands would put you into the US easily. The san juans have been used as a smuggling center for years.
I would also take the leap and say that there are many sympathisers to terrorists living in the seattle/portland/eugene area that have provided safe houses and identity protection.
I would put Seattle washington and Newark new jersey down as places where terrorists are likely to be working from.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
08/14/2003 13:10 Comments ||
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#4
Detroit may be a hotbed, too. There were quite a few Iraqis interviewed there in the days leading up to the war, and I'm just assuming there may be many more Arabs from other than just Iraq.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 14:08 Comments ||
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#5
The Pacific northwest is a perfect entry point and, even better, has two cities, Seattle and Portland, that are "welcoming" communities for terrorists. Think I'm exaggerating? Look at the Mike Hahweh case, and the other numbnut from Portland who was trying to develop a terror camp in Oregon. Seattle has, as pointed out in a prior post, a history of these money laundering outfits.
More important both cities are extraordinarily liberal. Portland's cops outright refuse to work with the INS on alien issues, and I believe Seattle has the same attitude. Great places to go if you're sneaking in from Canada.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
08/15/2003 4:43 Comments ||
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08/14/2003 10:04:04 AM ||
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#1
the USSR crumbled because it went broke trying to keep up with the US. Let's all prop up NK while it's teetering on collapse. Good move. Especially South Korea. "They're falling apart up there, send money and food before the country umm....changes."
#2
The only acceptable incentive is to tell the N Korean regime to fold up and leave the country. If they want to stay in business making nukes, then they can find some other way to pay the bills.
The only aid a North korean govenrment should get is if they are a free market republic. Other than that, they should pound sand.
#6
The carrot approach is a waste of time (although it did get Carter a Nobel Prize). Time for the stick. North Korea gets NOTHING until it's verifiably disarmed. In the meantime they can continue to eat dirt.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 12:58 Comments ||
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#8
Appeasement is such a crock of fertilizer. We go broke giving money to international criminals. State needs some real disinfection to prevent the spread of this brain disease.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/14/2003 14:29 Comments ||
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#9
I've been to Chi Chi's - it's not great but I don't think it'll kill them.
#10
Wait folks, this might just be more propaganda on our part. All it is so far is talk.
"Sure Kim, we can talk about incentives. If you dismantle the breeder reactor, you get $250 million of food and oil when you're done, and $0 until it is."
"But that will take four years to do!"
"Yep, our experts say that as well. Better get started!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 15:38 Comments ||
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#11
Reference Steve's comment above: In the meantime, we should mine NKor's harbors. Seal 'em up tight! Tell the Chinese we'll pass a law requiring all US companies to leave China in six weeks if they don't cut off supplies from the north. Tell Russia we'll have our good friends the Japanese start demanding repatriation of the Kuriles if they don't go along. Time to play to win.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/14/2003 20:28 Comments ||
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The Taiwanese arenât standing still. EFL
Military equipment firms from the United States led the charge at an exhibition which opened here Thursday to get a slice of the multi-billion-dollar arms spending spree Taiwan is set to embark on over the next decade. Taiwan is set to speed up a 10-year arms buying spree worth 700 billion Taiwan dollars (20.33 billion US dollars) as the island attempts to rival Chinaâs military modernization efforts. On the Taiwan militaryâs shopping list are eight conventional submarines, long-range early warning radar systems and Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile systems. Taiwan has deployed three batteries of PAC-2 Plus anti-missile weaponry to defend the populous Greater Taipei area, but Taiwanese government has decided to add more advanced PAC-3 to its arms inventory. In a report released this month, the Pentagon warned that Chinaâs most immediate threat to Taiwan is a force of 450 short-range ballistic missiles in the Nanjing Military Region across the Taiwan straits from Taipei. 8 conventional subs. Now that would be very interesting. But my concern is that technologies sent to Tawain would eventually end up in Mainland China. Whatâs the standard line on this concern ?
Posted by: Domingo ||
08/14/2003 9:32:46 AM ||
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#1
well at least this time we'd get more for the snatched tech info than just contributions to the Clinton/Gore re-election campaign
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 10:03 Comments ||
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#2
I'm no naval tech, but I do not think that any conventional sub could be anything but a quick snack for the silent high tech nuke powered subs we deploy.
#3
Not so. They don't have the speed, but they can be very quiet, and a modern one could ambush a maneuvering nuclear sub.
The significance of the Taiwanese sub purchase is that with a significant number of submarines they could retaliate against a Chinese blockade, one of the more likely war scenarios, with their own blockade of China, using a technology that the Chinese could not effectively counter.
#4
IIUC when run on battery power, the current diesel subs are very quiet. Main drawback is in having to snorkel to run the diesel and charge the batteries. We need to make sure that Taiwan is armed as well as possible. Nothing will keep the peace across the straits as well as a Taiwan capable of defending itself
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 12:04 Comments ||
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#8
The Taiwanese subs wouldn't be used to blockade Chinese ports -- too many ports, not enough subs. But they would be dandy for breaking a naval blockade of Taiwan. The conventional subs would be very quiet, able to operate in littorial zones, and are much cheaper to buy/operate. Put a well-trained crew in a first-class modern conventional sub against a (let's be charitable) less well-trained crew in a Soviet-design destroyer
I've read elsewhere that the US at least has some requirements and safeguards on tech transfers in these situations. And it wouldn't be in the Taiwanese interest to let the technology slither over to the mainland.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 15:13 Comments ||
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#9
I think it's a German design. They wouldn't sell them boats built in German yards because that would upset the Red Chinese. If anyone knows about U-boats, it's the Germans.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 15:15 Comments ||
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#10
so does this mean US shipyards that specialize in Nuke subs will lower themselves to build Diesel boats for the ROC?
It isn't a case of elitism. It's more like acknowledging who's been paying for the goods over the past half-century
There has been long standing opposition to conventionally-powered boats from the both the USN nuke community and Navy brass in general. The former's reason is obvious. The latter's opposition is varied and has some merit.
Until recently, conventional boats weren't physically capable of meeting the tactical and strategic requirements for a USN fast-attack boat: following and engaging Soviet subs, and engaging in covert operations.
Second (and quite probable): had a conventional boat available by US shipyards at any time over the past 40 years, Congress would have mandated their use, partly on 'pork', more on lower costs, with all the consequences that entails.
#11
You won't need that many subs to cripple Chinese ports. The threat of high risk of losing shipping will make insurance rates skyrocket and deter trade very greatly. It would be extremely expensive for the Chinese to protect shipping. It is the old raiding strategy.
A United Nations panel of experts says the UN should have the power to investigate and censure multi-national companies involved in human rights abuses. The UN sub-commission for the promotion and protection of human rights has adopted a draft code of conduct which could lead to large firms facing similar obligations as governments. BBC business reporter Mark Gregory says the UN wants the power to tackle issues such as bad working conditions for employees in poor countries, or instances where firms run roughshod over local communities when building new plants and pipelines. So if you donât want Wal-Mart building a store in your town, you can go complain to the UN.
Most controversially, our correspondent says, the body wants corporations to submit regular reports to the UN and to accept independent monitoring on human rights. Arvind Ganesan, of Human Rights Watch, said it was an important step forward in developing human rights standards for corporations. "The norms help to level the playing field for companies that want to do the right thing for human rights. "level the playing field" means punishing sucessful companies.
Now every companyâs obligations are detailed and no company can say that it doesnât have responsibilities in the area of human rights." The sub-commission called on governments and individuals to submit information to its working group on any breach or violation of human rights that might be put down to the activities of big global corporations. The anti-global socialist protest types will love this one.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 9:25:11 AM ||
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#1
Deathmatch: Kofi vs. Kathie Lee--just what I've been waiting to see!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/14/2003 9:39 Comments ||
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#2
Now let's see if I've got this down correctly?
The UN wants to establish a completly new and (fairly) large component within its organization.
This new component will, by "necessity," have to be staffed by thousands of new employees, of course.
This new component will, also by "necessity," have censure power over multi-billion $$ corporations around the world, corporations who are already used to paying to get what they want and need.
Ah, now I get it? It's a perfect environment in which the UN and its officials can make a "little extra" $$ on the side. Why not? Those UN officials in charge of the Iraq oil program did so, as did countless UN officials involved with other programs.
However, the one on the table is FAR bigger ($$) than the others. And, of course, this high $$ level would definately warrant the involvement of a recently talked about UN want-to-be and near-broke ex-US Pres., correct? Uncle Bill, will you be there when the UN needs you?
#3
Can we please talk about leaving the UN and making this rathole of communists move to some other country? They don't want to preserve civilization and civility. They only want to extoll barbarism and hatred.
They are an institutional used tampon. Throw them out!
Okay, I can wait until Bill is SecGen, but then, they really have to go, Bill and all.
#5
This might actually work to our benefit. See how many help desks move to India, textile jobs to Mexico and Asia, etc. when companies are forced to provide higher wages, better benefits, and are forced to adhere to local regs or UN human rights standards in foreign countries. They already have to do it here and the return on their buck from the productivity and reliability side is probably better. Once the UN realizes it, they will drop this like it's on fire.
#6
Great UN locations: Liberia, no parking tickets. Bagdad, It'll be a riot. Saudi Arabia, It'll be a wild party with white robes. Tehran, It'll be a party in brown robes. The west bank, That'll fix it. Seoul, We could go home. Cuba, soups on. Pyongyang, easy access for weapons inspecters.
#7
If they plan now, the new MNCHRA (MultiNational Corp Human Rights Abuses) bureaucracy can be part of the new waterfront UN building complex in Toronto.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/14/2003 14:17 Comments ||
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#8
The hypocrisy is astounding.We've just had the UN Human Rights Commission refuse all cooperation with Reporters Without Borders because the unruly NGO criticized HRC's own record on human rights.The HRC member list looks like a Who's Who of Mass Murderers.The only question now is,who'll lead the new organization?Robert Mugabe?Colonel Gaddafi?Or maybe Vladimir Putin would like the job - he has a lot of experience in dealing with big business.
Posted by: El Id ||
08/14/2003 16:56 Comments ||
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#9
What this looks like is a sly way of getting US to pay for UN operations.If US Govt. won't give UN all the money the UN asks for,the UN will cut out "middleman" and tax(fine) American companies directly.
If I was into conspiracy theories,I'd say this is the new strategy of the international bureacratic elites opposed to American power.We have the EU trying to fine Microsoft and now the UN stating it has the authority to regulate any business.If the assumption is granted UN can regulate a corporation's business affairs outside its home country,why then couldn't UN regulate a corporation's labor,etc. policies in corp.'s home country?In other words,if UN gets power to oversee Nike's business practices in Malaysia,UN will logically be able to claim same power to oversee Ford's business practices in Michigan.
Posted by: Stephen ||
08/14/2003 17:00 Comments ||
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#10
RE: Great UN Locations. I vote for Easter Island. It'll take a year just to get a message to the US from there! I also believe that all UN personnel should be segregated from the local populace, and moved to the southeast end of the island (anyone knowing the history of Easter Island will immediately understand. The rest, read Thor Heyerdahl's "Aku, Aku").
It's time to pull the plug on Kofi and his henchmen, including the nasty-mouthed de-villian from the swamps of Versailles.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/14/2003 20:22 Comments ||
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#11
OP, can you give us the short version? :-)
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 22:15 Comments ||
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While publicly congratulating themselves over the bust of an international arms dealer in an alleged plot to sell Russian-made surface-to-air missiles, top Justice Department officials are privately fuming over a premature news leak that may have blown a rare opportunity to penetrate Al Qaedaâs arms-buying network. The FBIâs arrest of London-based arms dealer Hemant Lakhani, 68, at a hotel room near Newark Liberty International Airport this week was supposed to be only an interim step in what officials hoped would be a far more meaningful long-term operation, law-enforcement sources said. The bureauâs plan was to quickly flip Lakhani, a British citizen of Indian extraction, and then use him as an undercover informant who could lead agents to real-life Osama bin Laden operatives seeking sophisticated weapons. But those plans went awry late Tuesday afternoon when somebody blabbed the Feds learned that the BBC was about to broadcast a sensational report on Lakhaniâs arrest by one of its star correspondents, Tom Mangold. The BBC story, based on an apparent leak from a law-enforcement source, had some key details wrong. For one thing, it falsely claimed that the arms dealerâs attempted sale of a shoulder-fired SA-18 missile and launder was part of a plot by terrorists to shoot down Air Force Oneâa target that never actually came up in the discussions.
They were just sexing it up a little. Happens all the time...
But even so, U.S. law-enforcement sources tell NEWSWEEK, the damage was done. The FBI had to abort its plan to recruit Lakhani as an informant and instead charged him today in federal court in Newark, N.J., with weapons smuggling and with providing material support to terrorists. Also arrested in the case were two alleged confederatesâa New York City jeweler and a Malaysian businessmanâwho were charged with conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transfer business.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/14/2003 4:04:38 AM ||
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Looting and lawlessness in Liberia? EFL.
Thousands of civilians and gunmen pillaged oil and sacks of grain from Monroviaâs port Wednesday ahead of rebelsâ promised withdrawal, and the United States pledged 200 troops to bolster West African peacekeepers.
The way that sentence is written, you'd think the sequence was...
"Sir! The Liberian civilians and gunnies are pillaging the port!"
"Good, Smithers! Good! Just what we need to send in 200 troops!"
A ship laden with humanitarian aid bobbed offshore, ready to deliver food and supplies to civilians starving and facing disease in the besieged capital, where many have subsisted on leaves.
"Hold off unloading the groceries, Mister First Mate! They haven't finished pillaging the ones they've got yet!"
"Aye aye, Cap'n!"
After Taylorâs departure, rebels promised U.S. and other officials they would withdraw from the port and the rest of Monrovia by noon Thursday. If that happens, aid workers could begin bringing in supplies within days, U.N. deputy emergency relief coordinator Carolyn McAskie said. Keep the rebels there, they can ensure that the Nigerian peacekeepers donât cherry-pick the merchandise.
The U.S. force would be the largest sent ashore despite international pressure for the Bush administration to help the wartorn West African nation. Three U.S. warships carrying about 2,300 Marines already await off shore, and the Pentagon said some 200 American forces would be sent in if the rebels surrender the port. U.S. forces would include elements to work with the peacekeepers, Navy SEALS to help secure the waterway and engineers to assess the port for delivery of humanitarian supplies. The fighting has split the capital into the government-held downtown and the rebel-held port, which is controlled by the larger of Liberiaâs two rebel groups. Government areas have been unable to get food from the port, leaving trapped civilians in Monroviaâs government territory famished and eating little but leaves. Mainly young men but also girls and the elderly joined fighters streaming out of Monroviaâs port Wednesday with sacks of grain, cooking oil and other goods taken from shipping containers and international aid agency warehouses. After hours of pillaging, rebel commanders ordered looters out of the port. ``We are totally out of in control of the situation,ââ said rebel official Sekou Fofana as his troops — mostly child fighters — kicked, beat, and fired guns over the heads of throngs carting off bags of food, many marked with U.N. and World Food Program seals. "Storeâs closed for the day. Yâall come back tomorrow after our distributor the UN restocks the shelves!"
Rebel leaders denied their men were looting. This is technically true — all their fighters wear bustiers or nose-cone bras.
Liberiaâs main rebel group has held the port since the third week of June, halted at the cityâs front-line bridges while government fighters hold downtown. Rebels, intent on keeping government troops from retaking the port, have insisted that peacekeepers be in place Thursday to secure it. West African peace troops began landing in Monrovia on Aug. 4, though only about 800 have arrived so far, most of them Nigerian. Based at the airport outside the city, they have made only brief forays into Monrovia to try to score some good dope and some girls. A second, 776-member battalion of Nigerian forces will start deploying Thursday, Nigerian army spokesman Col. Chukwuemeka "Chuk" Onwuamaegbu said. As peace forces prepared to move into the capital, Liberiaâs government and the smaller, southern-based insurgency traded blame for Wednesdayâs fighting south of Monrovia. Rebel representative Boi Bleaju Boi said his forces had fallen back to show that they had no intention of taking Liberiaâs key airport, but that government forces were attacking them. Boi spoke in Accra, Ghana, site of Liberiaâs sporadic peace talks. "Weâre not falling back, weâre running away in a different direction!"
Government representatives denied instigating the fighting, saying they hoped for the war to end after Taylor stepped down, as rebels wanted. ``For us, the war should be over by now,ââ said Liberiaâs deputy defense minister, Austin Clarke. Tiny detail, Austin: you forgot to put your weapons down.
Refugees fleeing toward the capital earlier said rebels were attacking civilians and targeting men of fighting age, raising fears that they may be seeking a share of power after Taylorâs resignation. Raising fears? Isnât that what they were fighting for, other than Chucklesâ head on a stick?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 12:53:01 AM ||
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Posted just FYI, shows others are awake though
CHINA has stepped up preparations for any battle over the Taiwan Strait by moving several generals with experience in air and coastal operations to key positions. According to reports, Lieutenant-General Zheng Shenxia, 61, chief of staff of the air force, was recently appointed president of the Academy of Military Sciences, the top think-tank on military strategy. He is the first airman to head the academy since it was founded in 1958 by the late Marshal Ye Jianying. Analysts believe this reflects an increased emphasis by Beijing on improving research and planning for airborne operations rather than traditional ground force movements. The implications are obvious: Should hostilities break out over the Taiwan Strait, it is the air force and navy of the Peopleâs Liberation Army that will do most of the fighting. Well, seeing as how a direct land link for the Army is....nonexistent? what a brilliant observation
Just as significant is the appointment of Lt-Gen Pei Huailiang as the new commandant of the National Defence University, another top military institute. For the past 13 years, the 62-year-old veteran had served in two of the three military regions along Chinaâs south-eastern coastline — three years as deputy chief of staff in the Nanjing command in the early 1990s, and a decade as deputy commander of the Jinan military region. Analysts believe it is this extensive experience at the front line with Taiwan that accounted for his latest appointment. He is expected to help reshape the strategic thinking of successive batches of senior officers who attend the university.
Apart from Lt-Gen Zheng and Lt-Gen Pei, a number of other senior officers were also rotated recently through key jobs in Nanjing, Jinan and Guangzhou - the third of the military regions along the coastline facing Taiwan - as well as the national command in Beijing. For example, Lt-Gen Ye Aiqun and Lt-Gen Xiong Ziren of Guangzhou were named deputy commander and deputy commissar of Nanjing region while Major-General Liu Zhongxing, former commander of the Guangxi-based Seventh Air Corps, is now head of Jinanâs air force. Observers say the shuffling is to enhance inter-region and inter-services coordination, all in preparation for any fighting over the strait. The ultimate aim is to have a mix of top officers in each of the three regions facing Taiwan, including one with vast experience in airborne operations. In the event of war, all three regions become one well-coordinated theatre.
Take Nanjing military region, for example. Its commander Zhu Wenquan has been there for years but political commissar Lei Mingqiu, the second-in-line, is from Guangzhou. Lt-Gen Ye and Lt-Gen Xiong are the two new deputy chiefs moved in from Guangzhou while a third deputy commander, Lt-Gen Ma Diansheng, is the former commander of the 15th Airborne Corps under Guangzhou. Completing the Nanjing line-up are commanders of the East Sea Fleet and the regional air force, Vice-Admiral Zhao Guojun and Maj-Gen Liu Chengjun, who rank as ex-officio deputy chiefs. It may be noted that Maj-Gen Liu was a new appointment from within the Nanjing air command, filling in the vacancy left by his boss Ma Xiaotian, who was promoted as vice-commander of the air force national command. Analysts believe these appointments have strengthened Beijingâs command and control over the regions. It is no coincidence that the incumbent chief of the general staff Liang Guanglie was formerly commander of the Nanjing command. Frankly, Iâm not real scared that "experienced" PRC officers are being moved in. Theyâve never had experience like theyâd get with us and Taiwan. Weâre not Viet Nam.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 12:26:54 AM ||
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#1
They didn't fare too well last time they skirmished with the Vietnamese, as I recall.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2003 0:55 Comments ||
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#2
The ultimate aim is to have a mix of top officers in each of the three regions facing Taiwan, including one with vast experience in airborne operations. In the event of war, all three regions become one well-coordinated theatre.
Vast experience in airborne operations? Did the PLA engage in airborne combat operations none of the rest of the world is aware of?
If I am not mistaken, Chinese regions are likened to military districts, in wartime to the Russian equivilent of a front.
It is hard to conclude if this shakeup is just a command staff rotation, or if China really is preparing the polish off Taiwan.
#3
I think you're missing the key sentance: these appointments have strengthened Beijingâs command and control over the regions
The PLA is nearly independant from the central government in most of the provinces, as are, actually, most of the provinces. The coast facing Free China is developing economicly much faster than the rest of China, with the PLA in the area getting the benefits. Changes in command ensure more of the money and control flowing towards Peking.
The Chinese do not need airborne experience. Given enough air lift, they can just dump tens of thousands of troops out of the planes on chutes and know that enough will survive to fight. The benefits of having a huge army and no regard for costs in human life.
#4
Well, they better invest in a lot of Wild Weasel aircraft before they try an airborne assault. Transport aircraft will make big fat slow targets for Taiwan's SAM batteries.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 9:14 Comments ||
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Taiwan is not going to simply sit tight and watch the sky fill with parachutes, they will fight back and there is the nasty little rumor that they might have developed a nuke. At a minimum they have developed fuel air explosives. Granted there would be preparatory strikes by the PLA using probably the majority of the 300 to 500 short range missiles at their disposal.
However, there was another General in World War II (MacArthur) who had over 600 ships available to him and he by-passed Taiwan and left the Japanese in place, because the assult would have been too costly.
This isn't a flat, sandy deseRt - it is a rocky, urban landscape that will chew up a less technically advanced force.
Finally, the Kitty Hawk battlegroup is not going to simply watch this go down as well. All they have to interdict the 100 miles between Taiwan and the mainland. It will be a turkey shoot after two or three days.
I went through this scenario in my book REAP THE WHIRLWIND.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
08/14/2003 9:21 Comments ||
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#6
Justed posted an article about a Taiwanese spending spree. There looking for 8 subs. Wonder what the geography is like for a sub in the area between Taiwan and the mainland. Does it favor a sub or does it favor the ASW asset ?
#7
Domingo, it favors the sub, in my opinion. Shallow waters make most anti-sub gear data tough to interpret correctly.
Doug, yes, but how many Commies are on the ground in that two or three days? We may close the Strait, but if they can land thirty or forty thousand troops before we do, we have a problem. The basic defense of Free China is to not let them land. I do not believe there are the fixed defenses in depth on Taiwan that we see in South Korea, for example.
And, we cannot assume that the Taiwanese defense is willing to die for Taiwan. In the face of a sharp and heavy attack, many of these units may choose to not resist. The ties between Free China and Communist China grow greater and greater each year. We should not underestimate the influence that the mainland would have over the actions of individual units, or the government itself.
Massive missle barrage against SAM sites and certain fixed defenses. Followed by airborne assault. Followed by a half assed amphib assault. Lots can happen in that first 24 hours, and Taiwan just folding up should not be discounted. The Commies have enough men that they can throw a quarter million at Taiwan in the first 48 hours, loose half, and still win.
#8
The impression I've got is that the Taiwan population is vehemently nationalistic and would resist the Chinese.
The Taiwanese should be able to keep air superiority over Taiwan and the straits, even through a missile barrage, unless it is a nuclear attack. China's missiles would have to have GPS-level accuracy and effective real-time satellite targeting to suppress Taiwans airfields, and that wouldn't last before they ran out of ammo. Their air force is more efficient than China's, and on the whole much more modern.
A buildup for an amphibious attack would be detected long before D-day and the Taiwanese would have time to mobilize. Without air superiority it would not matter how many troops the Chinese send across the straits; there is more than enough firepower and surveillance available to the Taiwan Air Force and Navy to sink all the vessels carrying the Chinese troops.
If worst comes to worst, it should be easy enough to identify the invasion beaches while the Chinese are on their way, and deploy armored forces for beach defense - some brigades are so designated. The Chinese do not have the bombardment units available to suppress that.
#9
The only chance China has right now of taking Taiwan is a first strike with nukes.
This would cause repurcussions that would cause the collapse of the Chinese economy (Japanese, Taiwanese and South korean investment leaves on the first flight out) and likely the fall of the party. There is also the chance the US would respond with nukes and it certainly would cause a Japan to rethink their lack of a nuclear capability.
#11
Yank - the no upside for China is true, but they don't seem to be thinking cost/benefit on Taiwan.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 12:42 Comments ||
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I have a co-worker that is Taiwanese, in the US on a work visa. His view is that if Mainland China invaded without provocation he would head back and defend Taiwan. If Taiwan declares independence and provokes the commies he would stear clear of the fight.
#13
chuck the chinese will be hard pressed to get even on light division on the ground. by the time they have 20 thousand troops on the ground the taiwanese will have 3 divisions on top of them not to mention the kitty hawk battle group. they have been trying to increase their air/sealift but with not much success. just imagine a dunkirk in reverse - instead of fishing boats picking up troops you will have chinese junks delivering troops (kinda of a funny picture). one big turkey shoot. but it will be very nasty. as for the missles the chines have enough to lock down the ports/airfields for the most 2 days after that they will have exhausted thier supply of missles (if they attack in the next few years). the chinese will not attack unles provoked until they are ready.
Posted by: Dan ||
08/14/2003 13:23 Comments ||
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#14
my impression is that the PRC has nothing close to the airlift or sealift for an invasion. Thats not really their strategy.
They would blockade - ships going in or our would be hit by Chinese Subs and destroyers, land-based air, and anti-ship missiles. Taiwan ports would be hit by land-based air, surface to surface missile, and would be mined. China is trying get enough modern long range fighters to gain air superiority over Taiwan.
Presumption is that US would send in 2 carrier battle groups. Chinese trying to figure out how to best use subs, missiles, and land based air against the carriers, and how to protect their missiles and airfields from cruise missiles and stealth aircraft.
In this context Taiwan wants subs for use against Chinese subs, and want Patriots for use against Chinese missiles and aircraft.
#15
We have a very real interest in defending Taiwan and the strait. Over 80% of all computer mother boards pass through this water way. If you think the high tech industry has been in the doldrums for the past 3 years, try a war that knocks out their ability to get parts.
As to the 8 subs they want, we tried to sell them 8 German made diesels. But because we didn't make them, our good buddies the Germans vetoed the sale.
No, Taiwan doesn't have the indepth defenses that South Korea has, but they do have 100 miles of Ocean, murderous terrain and 50 years of history of hating Beijing. I am confident they will fight for their independence. Assuming the PLA could land troops and keep them supplied, it sounds alot like Operation Market Garden disaster for the PLA.
Finally, Taiwan is an economic crown jewel. Dropping WMD on Taiwan defeats the purpose, and would almost certainly trigger some sort of WMD response on our part.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
08/14/2003 14:30 Comments ||
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JPost - reg reqâd - traitors come in all colors, creeds, and religions, apparently - the JPost canât have enjoyed publishing this...so much for their "bias"
A Jewish gem dealer was the go-between in a terrorist missile and money-laundering scheme, prosecutors charged yesterday. Yehuda Abraham, the 75-year old president of Ambuy Gem Corp., was arrested Tuesday afternoon in the Diamond District and charged with planning a $30,000 money transfer for the purchase of shoulder-launched missiles. Bastard
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in New Jersey, Abraham received the money, a down payment for missiles that were to be used to shoot down a commercial airliner, from Hemant Lakhani, 68, a British arms dealer who is being held without bail. The payment was made through an FBI informant last October, and Abraham apparently laundered the money to overseas accounts held by Lakhani. How many pieces of silver is $30,000?
While Abraham was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday in Manhattan on charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, his son, Gideon, was protesting his innocence outside his fatherâs Fifth Avenue office. "Itâs ridiculous," Gideon Abraham told the New York Post.
"Nope. Nope. Never happened. Not Pop."
In official circles, however, the elderly Jewish jewelry dealer was already branded a terrorist. "The terrorists who have threatened America lost an ally in their attempts to kill our citizens," said US Attorney Christopher J. Christie after Lakhani was charged and denied bail. If convicted, Abraham faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Take everything and let him go. The mossad should have a (final) talk with him
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 12:17:13 AM ||
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How many pieces of silver is $30,000?
Last time I checked, silver was going for US$5.01 an ounce. That's approximately 6000 pieces, give or take one hundred. Guess the going price for betrayal has gone UP in the past 2000 years.
Ed Becerra
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
08/14/2003 0:30 Comments ||
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#2
Jewler in midtown Manhattan? Sounds like one of those Hasidic guys with the funny side burns and the suits and hats. I may be wrong but I think those guys are anti-Zionist. Either way, this guy deserves the chair, not 5 years, if he's guilty.
I've seen Lakhani described as a Briton of Indian descent in the news but I haven't seen anybody mention his religion. PCism in the Media? Is he a Hindu or......Muslim, or a Janist or other. Anybody want to take any bets?
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
08/14/2003 1:29 Comments ||
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If this is true, which it probably is, this guy is a vile, disgusting excuse for a human being and a Jew.
Especially if he is one of those holier than thou, hassidic types who are so common in the jewelry business.
FYI, the Third Commandment is commonly mis-translated as "Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain." A better translation is "Thou shalt not carry the Lord's name in vain."
What's the difference? The mistranslation says you shouldn't swear. Big deal.
But don't CARRY means don't be a religious hypocrite. Don't act all religiously observant and be completely unethical in how you live your life and more importantly treat other human beings.
Which is much more important than saying God Damnit.
#4
It was enough to mention that the guy is Jewish for the Anti-semites to jump on the wagon. They already know he is Hassidic, what he wears, etc. You can not help yourself, too much hate going around to feed itself. Shame on you!
#6
"Sounds like one of those Hasidic guys with the funny side burns and the suits and hats. I may be wrong but I think those guys are anti-Zionist."
Only the szatmar sect is explicitly anti-zionist and anti-israel. The other sects are effectively "non-zionist" while they dont think much of Zionism as a political ideology, they are willing to deal with the Israel govt as they would with any other government. They are quite aware of jew-hating of the Pal terrorists, and tend to strongly dislike Pal terrorism. Since 9/11 they have generally overcome previous reticence and begun to display American flags (they still wont display Israeli flags, of course) on their homes and vehicles. In at least some neighborhoods these people delivered kosher "treats" to local fireshouses in the wake of 9/11.
All in all, while its possible the person in question was szatmar, in all likelihood his motivations were strictly financial, and he will be just as reviled in his own community as he is here. He has sinned, not only by his direct action, but by "chillul hashem" - literally "profanation of the name(of G-d)" IE by sinning in such a way, he has cast aspersion on torah and the religious life.
"Arresting them is nice. Arresting them is civilized. Part of me, however, wonders whether it might not be better to dispatch some of the grim men who can kill you with a shoelace and a thumbtack from sixty paces, and have them hasten to hell a half-dozen black-market arms dealers, just to get the point across: Donât. Or else. Go trade camcorders that fell off a truck; go back to dealing Marlboros with forged tax stamps. Oh, allright, you can sell machine guns. Weâre feeling generous. But if you even think the words âsurface to air missileâ you will meet up with a fellow who not only had his nose sharpened to a lethal point, but can remove the nose and throw it at your jugular if need be."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/14/2003 11:30 Comments ||
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Right on Penguin. I've alway interprted that third commandment as doing evil in gods name. leading others to do evil in gods name and the like. By the way, a homosexuals practice adultry, is that a sin?
WTF??? Jpost - Reg Req, yes, the JPost!
A fire-fight erupted late Wednesday night after masked officers from the Palestinian AuthorityPreventive Security Service in Gaza stormed the White Mosque in the Beach Camp refugee camp in Gaza City in search of Islamic Jihad militants. Three were injured including one of the wanted men, a 90-year old man and a boy. The other Islamic Jihad man was arrested, sources in Gaza told the Jerusalem Post. Arrested and jailed? As in locked up? restrained? Canât assume anything with the Paleo revolving door
Following the attack the Islamic Jihad and Hamas disseminated a leaflet calling on the groups members to organize a council meeting in order weigh their reaction pending further anti-terror operations by the Palestinian Authority. The PA, and its Prime Minister Abu Mazen have often warned that efforts to attack the Palestinian terror organizations head on could result in a civil war between the Islamic block and the Palestinian Authority. According to the road map the PA is charged with disarming the organizations, and dismantling terror groups. Sounds like the message got thru from Sharon and GWB and Powell. Work with us or itâs OVER
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/14/2003 12:12:02 AM ||
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#2
With a little luck the first shots of a short, sharp civil war which may rid the Palestinians of the yoke of terrorism once and for all....Beginning with Yasser...But I agree with mojo that a little C4 in the right place...
Posted by: jay ||
08/14/2003 4:34 Comments ||
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#3
So what happens now:A stern talking to and house arrest.
#5
Sharon: You want wall frozen, prisoners released, none of which is in the road map. And you havent dismantled any terror infrastucture, which IS. I aint doing nothing anymore
Abbas: I cant dismantle, my security infrastructure is shot.
Sharon: It aint shot in Gaza. We have the full dossier on that. So does the US
Abbas:Hey Dahlan, get on the case
Dahlan:(to subordinate) hey, Abdul, go kill some jihadis.
Abdul:Yes, boss.
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