A bullet fired in the air during a Ku Klux Klan initiation ceremony came down and struck a participant in the head, critically injuring him, authorities said. See, God does have a sense of humor.
Gregory Allen Freeman, 45, was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in the Saturday night incident that wounded Jeffery S. Murr, 24. About 10 people, including two children, had gathered for the ceremony. How nice, they brought the kiddies.
The man who was being initiated was blindfolded, tied with a noose to a tree and shot with paintball guns as Freeman fired a pistol in the air to provide the sound of real gunfire, Sheriff Fred Phillips said. A bullet struck Murr on the top of the head and exited at the bottom of his skull, authorities said. Hitting nothing vital, Iâll wager.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 2:44:36 PM ||
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:)
Too bad it doesn't happen more often at those palestinian 'funerals'.
#6
I remember in the 48 hours after each city fell, there was alway groups of family members trying to find the underground prisons where their loved ones were being held alive. There needs to be a garden of stone erected at each of these mass grave sites.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 16:59 Comments ||
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As should Miss.Maines,Barb.
Look at the photos and the ask one of those greiving women if we should have stayed out of Iraq,Natalie.
What you want to bet this silly goofball will be one of the LLL,crying John Mahamud should be shown mercy ahd given life instead of death.And Lee Malvo is an innocent,mis-understood,inner-city youth.
For the life of me I can't figure out what's wrong with people like this person.
The California Loon
The California loon, Gavia californiana, is found worldwide, but clustered around college campuses and newspaper headquarters, although scattered all around.
Voice: "Kumbaya" song and whiny callnotes.
Behavior: Takes up morally repulsive causes. Supports Socialists and the Palestinians but would die out if they won. Often try to brainwash people into California loons.
Breeding notes: They reproduce by brainwashing.
Population: Abundant in Europe, Canada, and the US Pacific coast. Fairly common to common elsewhere.
Conservation: Not of special concern, although their brains are often cuckoo hosts.
The death toll from a fire at a Moscow dormitory housing foreign students now stands at 32. Like a fire in a crowded Riad prison...
Officials say more than 120 other people were injured in the blaze that broke out early Monday in the five-story dormitory at the Patrice Lumumba Friendship of Peoples University, where many foreigners study.
This is where the terrorists went to train in the 70s. Arafat has a degree here, I believe, and so does Carlos the Jackal.
Posted by: Brian ||
11/24/2003 4:06:51 AM ||
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they wouldn't let them leave without Burqas?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/24/2003 11:46 Comments ||
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The diploma was probably a newly made AK-47 with the graduates name enscribed in Arabic.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/24/2003 12:04 Comments ||
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Details: An early-morning fire Monday raced through a Moscow dormitory packed with students from Africa, Asia and Latin America, killing at least 36 people and injuring nearly 200 â many of them forced to jump from the five-story building because the exits were blocked. The fire quickly engulfed most of the dilapidated building housing students of the Patrice Lumumba Friendship of Peoples University, an institution that in the 1960s and 70s symbolized the Soviet Union's commitment to the Third World but deteriorated in the 1990s. The building, which housed 272 students, served as a quarantine facility for newly arrived foreign students needing medical checks before starting their studies.
Students said the dead and injured included citizens of China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Tahiti, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Angola, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Kazakhstan, the Dominican Republic, Lebanon, Peru and Malaysia.
The university, named for a Congolese anti-colonial leader and prime minister who was assassinated, was founded in 1960 by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to offer a strict Marxist curriculum to students from developing nations. It served as a showcase of Soviet patronage of the Third World, receiving generous state subsidies, but declined after the 1991 Soviet collapse when government funding dried up.
During the 1990s, many in its mainly African student body complained of racism by Russians.
A 22-year-old student from Mauritius, who identified himself only by his first name, Vashish, said the university charges high prices for "miserable" lodging. He and other students said one of the dormitory's two stairways was permanently locked, making an emergency exit even more difficult. With stipends shrinking to almost nothing, many foreign students sell goods from their countries to make money, and already cramped dormitories are often packed with bags and bundles.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 12:56 Comments ||
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So this third rate university for third world students had sunk to third world building code and life safety standards.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2003 21:04 Comments ||
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In hindsight, it's kind of amazing that we (and others in the world) actually thought the USSR would win the cold war. And it amazes me even more we're still stuck with elitists that think we should give collectivism another try.
An Indian man who says he has survived for 68 years without eating, drinking or relieving himself has baffled doctors who have been unable to disprove his claim. Prahlad Jani, a 76-year-old whose extraordinary tale has won him a small band of devotees, took a dare and underwent round-the-clock surveillance at a hospital in Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of the western state of Gujarat. Clad in his trademark red sari, bangles and earrings meant to fashion Hindu goddesses, Jani managed to puzzle the Sterling Hospitalâs 400 doctors. Neurologist Sudhir Shah said Jani was under watch for 10 days, with a closed-circuit camera running, and that doctors were convinced he did not break any of his vows, although there was no way of verifying whether Jani has pulled it off for 68 years. "He has evidence of the formation of urine, which was reabsorbed on his bladder wall. The medical committee does not have any scientific explanation," Shah said. Jani offered an explanation. He said he has been blessed and heard his calling when he was eight years old. "I get the elixir of life from the hole in my palate, which enables me to go without food and water," Jani explained to AFP. A vindicated Jani left the hospital Saturday and said he was retreating to a cave at Mount Abu in the neighbouring desert state of Rajasthan.
My guess is he's full of 68 years of shit. Now that's a case of constipation...
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/24/2003 12:27:20 AM ||
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Wow. This guy knows how to violate the laws of thermodynamics. Find out how and our energy problems are over!
#3
Back in the 80s there was a quack in San Francisco pushing this same claim. He called himself a "breatharian" since he supposedly derived all his nourishment from the air he breathed. He was charging Marin County drones $300 a head to attend his seminars. A local reporter eventually caught him eating a chicken pot pie but it took quite while for his scam to fade since he blamed the new story on a CIA conspiracy against him, and the Marin-nuts naturally ate it up.
#4
man who says he has survived for 68 years without eating, drinking or relieving himself has baffled doctors who have been unable to disprove his claim.
The personnel dept at the UN, recognizing talent when they saw it, immediately sent the Drs. applications for weapons inspectors and the IEAE.
#6
Well Hello Deli,
This is Fani, Deli.
Would you please sent 'round some corned beef on rye?
Bagels Deli, I need Bagels Deli,
Without this things I will sureeely diiiieeee.
Four top officials of a powerful Islamic group have visited Kabul for secret talks on abandoning their partyâs attempts to topple the Afghan government, security sources said on Monday. Members of the Hezb-i-Islami group of former leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar came to negotiate the reintegration into the mainstream politics, a source close to President Hamid Karzai told AFP. A senior Afghan security official confirmed the visit by the four including religious leader Mullah Sharaf Naz and commander Khalid Farooqi. The group, one of the main mujahideen groups that fought the 1979 Soviet war, is said to be trying to overthrow Mr Karzaiâs government and it denounces the presence of foreigners in Afghanistan. The four said they had split with Mr Hekmatyar, approved of a new draft constitution to be debated and ratified next month and wished to reintegrate into Afghan political life. Presidential staff took care of the four, who held discussions with government officials and met British and US diplomats, a Western diplomatic source said.
Five U.S. soldiers were killed and seven injured when their helicopter crashed Sunday near the American military headquarters north of the Afghan capital, U.S. Central Command said. The soldiers were involved in an ongoing U.S. military operation, dubbed Mountain Resolve, taking place in the east of the country, the military said. ``A U.S. military helicopter crashed today near Bagram, Afghanistan,ââ said a statement sent by e-mail from Central Command, in Tampa, Fla. ``Early reports indicate seven service members were injured and at least five service members were killed.ââ It was not clear what caused the crash, and the military said it was investigating. Mountain Resolve has been going on since Nov. 7 in eastern Nuristan and Kunar provinces, but so far no major skirmishes with suspected Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts have taken place. Damn. Condolences to the families and to their comrades.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/24/2003 1:27:51 AM ||
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May God bring peace to the families of these men, as they tried to bring peace here on Earth. "The Tree of Liberty must be replentished from time to time with the blood of Patriots." These men fill that honorable tradition. Rest in peace.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/24/2003 16:02 Comments ||
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The Yemeni opposition announced the death of a Saudi citizen inside a Yemeni detention center, when he committed "suicide", because the Yemeni authorities "refused" to give him and three of his colleagues the right to political asylum. Thought the story needed Rooters style "scare quotes".
The Yemeni coalition party for reforms quoted a Yemeni security source as saying that one Saudi citizen was among four who asked for political asylum to Yemen, died while in detention. Iâm quite sure he did die, my question is the "how and why" part.
The said Saudi citizen sneaked to Yemen through the border between the two states together with other three Saudis. As they were detained at the borders, three of them asked for political asylum in Yemen. The Yemeni security source said that the "four Saudis entered Yemen illegally (smuggled), and asked for the right to political asylum. Sounds like they had to leave Saudiland in a hurry.
The source added that the Yemeni border authorities, after consultations with the central authorities, detained the four men, and started "investigations" with them. No indication is made on the voltage nature of the "investigation".
According to the Yemeni reform group, two of the four attempted escape suicide, and this resulted in the death of Muhammad al-Sharif al-Hosni. Commited suicide while under "investigation", happens all the time. Just ask the Iranians.
An attempt to get rid of this hot potato rescue him took place by transporting him to the Saudi hospital on the border province of Hejja ( 150 Km to the north of Sanaa ). His friend Muhammad Jubran al-Malki was rescued. So they escaped Saudiland, wanting political asylum, and when they tried to off themselves, the Yemenis rush them to the closest Saudi police station hospital? Makes perfect sense to me.
It stressed that the Yemeni authorities handed over the three men to the Saudi embassy in Sanaa, including al- Malki, after he was "rescued" from the "suicide" attempt. Iâm sure the Saudis will help him finish the job.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 3:12:54 PM ||
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I don't follow Amnesty International closely, but I don't usually hear about them protesting this type of mysterious death of a detainee in a backwater country like Yemen. This could be because AI would have no reason to let the US media know when it is protesting the actions of a country other than the US or because AI makes no protest at all. Does anybody know whether AI does take action in these cases?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 17:28 Comments ||
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SH, I did a Google search on AI and Yemen. They publish annual reports on human rights abuses.
But I didn't see anything about protests.
AI's 2002 report on Yemen is here.
#3
AI's reports are figleafs to make their protests look legitimate. In turn, the protests are just campaigns to separate the anti-Americans from their cash.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 19:40 Comments ||
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#4
Thank you, I feel more comfortable in disliking them.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/25/2003 4:52 Comments ||
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The Libyan secret agent convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing must serve a minimum of 27 years before he can apply for parole, Scottish judges have ruled. Abdel-Basset al-Megrahi is serving a life sentence in a Scottish prison after being found guilty of murdering 270 people with a bomb which blew up a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie just before Christmas 15 years ago.
Will they not be dead when his 27 years is up?
Three judges from the original trial — which took place at a special court in the Netherlands — gave the minimum term ruling at the High Court in Glasgow. Al-Megrahi was originally sentenced to life in January 2001 with a recommendation that he should serve 20 years. But under human rights laws introduced in late 2001, criminals sentenced for life must be told exactly how many years they have to serve before they can apply for parole.
I'm a purist. I think when you get "life" they should bury you in the prison yard after you die of old age. Otherwise, they should call it something else, like "27 years"...
The court official said that the judges, Lords Sutherland, McLean and Coulsfield, said the prison term would be backdated to April 1999.
Make that 27 years or less...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 15:43 ||
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The Libyan secret agent Too bad he didn't finger anyone else. The term "agent" implies that he was following orders. I would rather see accountability than cash.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 17:33 Comments ||
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I'm a purist. I think when you get "life" they should bury you in the prison yard after you die of old age. Otherwise, they should call it something else, like "27 years"...
Indeed. At 36-and-a-half days per victim, I'd call that one hell of a bargain. And don't forget the conditions that this POS is enjoying. I am ashamed that this is happening in my country.
Hat tip: Drudge. Edited for brevity.
The Queen is furious with President George W. Bush after his state visit caused thousands of pounds of damage to her gardens at Buckingham Palace. Royal officials are now in touch with the Queenâs insurers and Prime Minister Tony Blair to find out who will pick up the massive repair bill. Palace staff said they had never seen the Queen so angry as when she saw how her perfectly-mantained lawns had been churned up after being turned into helipads with three giant H landing markings for the Bush visit. The rotors of the Presidentâs Marine Force One helicopter and two support Black Hawks damaged trees and shrubs that had survived since Queen Victoriaâs reign. And Bushâs army of clod-hopping security service men trampled more precious and exotic plants. The Queenâs own flock of flamingoes, which security staff insisted should be moved in case they flew into the helicopter rotors, are thought to be so traumatised after being taken to a "place of safety" that they might never return home. Wah, f**kinâ wah. More whining at link. I canât even begin to believe any of this true. I expect that Buckingham Palace is better equipped to handle helicopters and visitorsâ security entourages better than this--certainly better than converting a beautiful and exotic garden into an impromptu helipad! Am I supposed to believe W. was the first head of state to visit the Queen so they had to wing all the preparations?
Posted by: Dar ||
11/24/2003 3:36:42 PM ||
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Perhaps they ought to have her out to Crawford... let kill a cow or two.
#2
Are they sure it wasn't a flock of reporters that GOT PAST SECURITY and p*ssed in the gardens? We should keep a skeptical view when dealing with the pommies.
#3
Queen's Own Flamingos? I've heard of the Ox and Bucks....but not Queen's Own Flamingos. Must be a new unit.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/24/2003 16:34 Comments ||
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"Bushâs army of clod-hopping security service men trampled more precious and exotic plants." If you read the article, you find that most of this is ?made up? or speculative. They not sure that it's not the Queens "clod-hopping security service" that caused the damage. These guys were just itching ITCHING to report something bad about the Bush visit. See here! This Bush fellow is SOOOO uncaring about that his people just ran through the Queens garden with regard. I say we bomb the friggin garden, give a REAL reason to bitch and whine.
#5
The helicopters of #32 (Royal)Squadron, RAF, operate routinely at Buckingham Palace, so there are obviously permanent helipads and the flamigoes are used to them.
The actual term for the Presidential machine is Marine One, there is no "force" involved, and Al Mirror would clearly know this.
Al Mirror is the poor-man's Guardian, the self-appointed voice of the hard-drinking unreformed proletariat on the one hand and of the jihadi immigrant underclass on the other.
It is even more tied than its investor-class counterparts to the time-dishonoured traditions of Goebbels and Streicher.
This story is amost certainly a complete fabrication.
#7
Yes, Raptor, the wardens keep their wings clipped, so they don't emigrate. Tradition says that if the ravens left the Tower, the empire would fall. The last one out would say "Never More." (or hardly ever more, heh heh)
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2003 18:06 Comments ||
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Not the Empire, AP. Legend has it that the monarchy and the Tower itself will fall, should the ravens leave. There's plenty of detail here.
The son of an Australian al-Qaeda suspect held at Guantanamo Bay was involved in the abduction of a woman who was bound with tape and had her head shaved, a Sydney court heard yesterday. Ahmed Mandouh Habib, 18, of Birrong - eldest son of terror suspect Mamdouh Habib - was charged in connection to the alleged assault at Bankstown earlier this month. It does seem to run in families, doesnât it?
The 18-year-old victimâs twin brother, Islam Hassam, and a 15-year-old youth who cannot be named also faced court yesterday over the incident. Her brother, huh? Must have insulted the family honor.
The woman, believed to be a Habib family relative, was dragged out of a car parked outside Bankstown TAFE just after midnight on November 5. The youth held the victim while Hassam wrapped masking tape around her mouth and head, Parramatta Local Court was told. The youth tied electrical wire around the womanâs wrists before he attempted to put her in the car boot. Habib allegedly intervened and the victim was placed in the back of the car and taken to a garage at her former Greenacre home. The youth and Hassam cut her waist-length hair to her neck, then shaved her head with electric clippers, police claimed. She was released after a two-hour ordeal. These must be some of those moderate muslims we keep hearing about. They didnât kill her.
The woman moved out of the family home last year after a domestic dispute. Ah hah, didnât listen to her betters, Iâll wager.
Bidura Childrenâs Court, where the 15-year-old appeared, heard that he told the woman: "Iâm only doing this for your own good - I love you like a Muslim sister." I rest my case.
The youth was re manded in custody to Cobham Childrenâs Court tomorrow. Habib and Hassam were remanded on bail to Burwood Local Court.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 10:02:41 AM ||
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Shave HIS head, paint him blue, and force him to run naked through the streets of Darwin at noon in February. Maybe he'll get a clue. My money's on "not", but hey, it's worth a try!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/24/2003 16:10 Comments ||
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Perhaps she didn't want to 'put-out' for her brother and his friend and so dishonored her family....
At least three of the four suspects named in the Istanbul bombings, had spent up to two years in Pakistan, attached it is to be assumed to one of the militant Islamic outfits that flourished in Punjab and Azad Kashmir until recent crackdowns by the government.
Really? Well, that's never happened before...
Disclosures such as these further deepen the widely-held belief abroad that Pakistan has acted as the hothouse where such desperate and suicidal creeds have grown or taken their final, lethal shape. As the Washington Post put it Monday, âNotably religious, each of the suspects bore that markers of Islamic militancy familiar in biographies of suicide bombers, including travel to Pakistan for âreligious training.ââ
Pick a holy man. My guess is Hafiz Saeed, but it could be Masood Azhar. They're both very devout...
When two of the bombers â Azad Ekinci and Mesut Cabuk - returned from Pakistan to their hillside home town of Bingol, they were wearing beards and they had traded their jeans for the Pakistani shalwar qameez. A local architect who knew both boys said they were âreligious before but not like after Pakistan.â
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 19:00 ||
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Hat tip LGF
Paris, November 24, 2003 - Franceâs Minister of Internal Affairs Nicolas Sarkozy announced that Muslim citizens would be appointed to high-level state assignments, including one governor.
Sarkozy stated that Muslims living in the country have had many difficulties both in business and social life and he said in order to save Muslims from this hardship they should be given equal treatment and representation. "Hey Jews! Quit stealing our oxygen!"
Speaking to ZAMAN, chairman of Franceâs Democrat Muslims Council Abdurrahman Dahman stated that a Muslim of Algerian origin would be appointed in the following days.
Known for his closeness to President Jacques la VerChIrak Chirac and Sarkozy, Dahman also stated that political parties are prepared to present Muslim candidates, including Turks, for the upcoming European Parliamentary and local French elections.
More than 5 million Muslims, a majority of North African origin, live in France.
#1
Sarkozy didn't strike me as an appeaser. Live and learn.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 17:49 Comments ||
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Looks like they are adding an accelerant to the Frogistan Formula. Instead of 30 its 20 years to Sharia, unless the Turboprops Turbantops go and develop a nuke, than all bets are off.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2003 18:03 Comments ||
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#3
Colonizing France is plan "c": Islamicizing a country that already has nukes. This is just in case the US or Israel manage to prevent plan "a": Islamist governments making their own nukes, or, plan "b": Islamist governments buying nukes from North Korea somewhere else.
Plan c takes longer than plans a or b. But what do they care, as long as they get to kill all the Joooooos someday (oh stop it... you know who "they" are...)
Even France doesn't deserve what it is doing to itself.
#4
So, are all of the EU neighbors just going to watch France go down the storm drain? Or will there be a point where someone will step in and grab them before they free fall down the well. I think that the US is done with that bit of real estate. It has been too costly for us.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2003 21:09 Comments ||
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Agreed,AP.It is time Euorpe cleaned-up it's own trash.
Ain't that interesting...
Three Turkish nationals were arrested on suspicion of involvement in a suicide bombing that killed five people in Kirkuk last week, an official of the Kurdish faction that runs the city said. "Our militia in coordination with Kirkuk's bureau of investigation have arrested three Turks suspected of involvement in the attack," said Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official Ramadan Rashid Muheidin. "They had Turkish passports and satellite phones when they were arrested," he said, adding that the two had been apprehended next to the PUK offices. Thirty-seven people were also wounded, most of them schoolchildren, in Thursday's bombing which police said targetted the offices of the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party but was foiled 200 metres short. At the time, PUK local commander Jalal Jowher accused Islamic militants from either Kurdish-based group Ansar al-Islam or Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network of being behind the bombing. The same day, two suicide bombings hit the British consulate in Istanbul and a British-owned bank killing 27 people, less than a week after attacks on two synagogues in the Turkish commercial capital left 25 people dead. Ankara and London fingered members of al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 17:07 ||
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What?! How can secularized, infinitely tolerant Turks be involved in suicicide bombings?!
BTW, Murat -- you never revealed the information you have regarding my "true identity". Why not? Did you forget? C'mon, don't you remember posting this?
Robert Crawford aka Berxwedan use your real name please and be honest to tell everyone that you are a PKK symphatizer. If you don't I will link your post from the KM site.
C'mon, Murat. You made an accusation; prove it or be proven a coward.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 17:28 Comments ||
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I don't think the Turks are bombing anyone currently. I suppose Ansar would hold a grudge against the PUK and KDP for assisting in the extermination that the US performed on the rat's nest in Northern Iraq. Turkish passports should not be hard to obtain for Kurdish militants in Iraq.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 17:54 Comments ||
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#3
Sorry, I meant kurdish miltants in Iran.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 17:55 Comments ||
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RC, I'm sure you have been called "Bob" at one time or another. No doubt Murat sees this as a sinister alias.
#5
Keep in mind that there are also Turkish al-Qaeda ... just like there are American or British al-Qaeda. Also, the KDP had good relations with the Turks prior to the war and even helped them in the war against the PKK.
More to the point, al-Qaeda prides itself on its members having abandoned ethnic or tribal ties in favor of Pan-Islamism. The Taliban helped the IMU, for example, despite the fact that a good chunk of the Northern Alliance brass was made up of Uzbeks.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/24/2003 18:31 Comments ||
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These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkeyâs press on November 24, 2003. SLEEPING NETWORK WAKES UP HERE
The Sunday Telegraph claimed that bloody attacks were planned in an internet cafe in eastern Bingol province and the group in Bingol collaborated with Al Qaida on the internet. The Sunday Telegraph daily wrote that police confiscated equipment and materials in a cafe named ââBingol Internet Centerââ which was owned by relatives of Azad Ekinci, who was wanted on charges that he was involved in bomb attacks in Istanbul, and suicide bomber Gokhan Elaltuntas. The news claimed that Al Qaida chiefs came to Turkey, trained people on bomb and fuse production and planned attacks. In the news, it was also claimed that Al Qaida chiefs sent crypto messages to Turkish terrorist networks on the internet. Be interesting to see where the e-mails came from. HERE IS BOMBER
His name is Feridun Ugurlu. His name was heard as he provided suicide bombers who staged the attack on Neve Shalom Synagogue with pick-up truck. He was thought to have run away to Dubai. But, he was here and he exploded the bomb at British Consulate General in Istanbul. Before the attack on the consulate building, police had revealed Ugurluâs involvement in synagogue blasts. Pick-up truck used in attack on Neve Shalom Synagogue was registered under name of Ugurluâs father. When his family was being interrogated, Ugurlu was thought to escape to Dubai. Nobody knew that he was preparing for another attack. After the attack on the consulate building, DNA tests revealed the reality. According to blood and tissue samples on the pick-up truck, the suicide bomber was Feridun Ugurlu, who went to Afghanistan for many times, whose name was deciphered after the synagogue blasts but who could not be captured by the police.
ERDOGAN: AL QAIDA IS NOT CERTAIN
Participating at a live program at BBC, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Al Qaida link was not clear yet with the bomb attacks in Istanbul. Accepting that there were religious feelings under the attacks, Erdogan said that Turkish assailants were used in the attacks.
THREE TERRORISTS KILLED
Gendarme General Command continues operations in Golkoy town of Ordu province. Gendarme General Command released a written statement and said that three PKK/KADEK terrorist organization members were killed in a clash in Emirler plateau of Golkoy.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 8:54:35 AM ||
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The family of Gokhan Elaltuntas buried him in the dead of night, waiting until 2 a.m. Saturday to inter what bits remained of the soft-eyed young man after he detonated a truckload of fertilizer and petroleum outside an Istanbul synagogue seven days earlier. "We want to cleanse our surname, because we donât want people to know us as terrorists," said his uncle, Rifat Elaltuntas....
"We want it to be a surprise..."
But in Bingol, many people want answers, not from the shaken families of the accused, but from the government. Until four years ago, Turkey, a Western-leaning, avowedly secular country, had tacitly encouraged Islamic extremism in this region, judging it a useful tool in a sometimes dirty war against Kurdish separatists. A brutal religious underground group known as Hezbollah received guns from government arsenals, according to official investigations, and several thousand killings widely attributed to the group were officially ignored.
I didnât know that Turkey had used the Islamists against the Kurds. It hadnât been reported in any newspapers, any magazines, etc. Perhaps the US govt. (under both Clinton and Bush) had been trying to keep it quiet as a favor to Turkey. Well... Damm!
You'll find the charge made in most discussions of Turkish Hezbollah. It was another Frankenstein monster...
Posted by: mhw ||
11/24/2003 8:50:25 AM ||
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Alliance? Come on, though at peak times of the PKK the military did focus primarily on the PKK and the Hezbollah was regarded relatively small, it has always been high on the list. The writer of the article should be sued for telling lies about government arsenal and voicing the claims of the terrorist PKK.
Posted by: Murat ||
11/24/2003 9:11 Comments ||
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#2
The writer has valid reasons for the comments.
here is another part of the article,
--------------------------------------
People around here knew they were from the Hezbollah organization," said Yusuf Aydin, 65. "We are upset with the National Intelligence Organization for letting them travel abroad and do these things," he said, referring to Turkey's intelligence service.
--------------------------------
If you report and analyze what local people tell you and print it, you are not liable - not in any court in the West.
Can't sue the write
#3
Well people do know that 80% of all the Kurds sympathize the PKK either, with no proven involvement one cannot get arrested, the same goes for the Hezbollah sympathizers. Which courts in the west are arresting people on sympathies or on suspicions of belonging to an organization. In such case Israel has to arrest every Palestinian for suspected links to one of the terror groups there. The writer is suggesting too much without supplying any proof, local people said this and that.
Posted by: Murat ||
11/24/2003 9:54 Comments ||
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#4
This is BS. There are multiple links on rantburg showing that AQ has claimed joint responsibility of these attacks. The fact that three of the four Turkish suicide bombers involved in the attacks received training in Pakistan and Iran lends credence to that fact.
Let's look at what really happened here. In a span of days, AQ and their subsidiaries bombed the British HSBC bank headquarters and a suicide car bomb attack targeted Jalal Talabani home in Northern Iraq. On the same day, State Minister Kursad Tuzmen received Talebani at the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat, in Ankra where the purpose of the meeting was to improve the relations in trade and politics between Turkey and Iraq. In response to criticism for killing Muslims, all the Islamonut mouthpieces start issuing declarations on why Turkey, as a secular governement, is a legitimate target.
This is about AQ making a very clear statement of intimidation to Tayyip Erdogan, a man whose rise to power, was in part, based on his history of deep pro-Islamic ideology and once said, "One cannot be a secularist and a Muslim at the same time." But who has since attempted to recast his political persona, and create one of the most stable Turkish governments in recent years by strengthening the economy and maintaining a tenuous balance between secular detractors and more fundamentalist Islamic groups.
It is clear to anyone who even remotely follows this, that economic cooperation between sucessful secular democracies of Turkey and Iraq would be frightening to Iran et al. The only question I have left is what role did the British Consulate have in promoting the ties between Talabani and Turkey?
I just don't think AQ could have made the purpose of these attacks - to intimidate those wishing to promote Turkey/Iraq ties - any clearer.
Posted by: B ||
11/24/2003 10:19 Comments ||
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#5
And..though I doubt myself here as I think Erdogan, like all leaders, is really just about maintaining his own power, I find myself asking the following question: In light of Erdogan's totally treacherous behavior re: the Northern front...and in light of the cooperation it would have taken to bomb the British Consulate and British HSBC bank.......where was Erdogan on the night of the bombings (so to speak)????
Posted by: B ||
11/24/2003 10:27 Comments ||
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#6
Take a look at opinionjournal today -- they have some Brit expat playing Murat's favorite tune and blaming the PKK. That the piece is loaded with bigotry against the Kurds should be ignored, of course.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 10:29 Comments ||
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#7
From the Turkish press:
VAN - Four PKK/KADEK terrorist organization members who were planning to attack public buildings with fire bombs were arrested in eastern Van province.
Four terrorists who were captured by Security Directorate teams four days ago were arrested after their interrogation. Terrorists confessed that they were planning to attack public buildings and vehicles with fire bombs.
Posted by: Murat ||
11/24/2003 11:09 Comments ||
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#8
I heard on radio that a committee of the Turkish legislature is going to look into the extent to which the Turkish Hezbollah was coddled by the govt. (at least the extent of coddling before the Erdogan govt. took power).
#9
Murat: Terrorists confessed that they were planning to attack public buildings and vehicles with fire bombs.
Fire bombs = Molotov cocktails = light or no casualties = vandalism. Truck bombs = massive bombs = dozens of casualties = mass murder. That's the essential difference between PKK, its European terrorist brethren and al Qaeda. Turks tend not to want to see this difference. The PKK is no better or worse than the Black Panthers or the Symbionese Liberation Army.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that European Union governments are not doing enough to tackle anti-Semitism because of an "ever stronger Muslim presence in Europe". In an interview published on Monday Sharon also rejected complaints from European politicians that the Jewish state tends to stigmatise legitimate criticism of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians as anti-Semitism. "These days to conduct an anti-Semite policy is not a popular thing, so the anti-Semites bundle their policies in with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he told EUpolitix.com, an online newswire dedicated to EU affairs. "Of course there are anti-Semites who use the events in Israel and the argument that Israel uses excessive force, and through this they are trying to compromise Israel's right to self-defence. Thus there is a danger to Jews."
It's a problem the EU likes to pretend doesn't exist, even when events get out of hand. If they had 17 million strident Jews instead of 17 million strident Muslims things would probably look different.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 08:48 ||
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#1
Fed, any idea on how many Jews are lesft in Europe?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 18:04 Comments ||
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#2
According to the American Jewish Yearbook there were 1,577,000 Jews in Europe in 2001.
#3
And there's more on the way. There's been an increase in Jews reclaiming their old citizenships, especially in Eastern European countries. The idea is that as these countries enter the EU, the opportunities widen for work and a better life in general. Some Jews are getting tired of the never-ending conflict in Israel.
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/24/2003 22:16 Comments ||
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Police have used DNA samples to confirm the identity of an Islamic militant who rammed an explosives-laden pickup truck into the British consulate in Istanbul, a Turkish newspaper said Monday. The man was identified as Feridun Ugurlu, a Turk believed to have fought with Islamic radicals in Afghanistan and Chechnya, the Milliyet newspaper said, citing unidentified police sources. If not a al-Qaida member, heâs at least a bunk mate.
Police, who have claimed that media leaks are hampering the investigation, refused to confirm the report. "We can say no more at this time."
Several suspected accomplices of Ugurlu and another bomber who struck offices of London-based HSBC Bank were expected to be brought before a court to face charges Monday, the newspaper said. Eighteen people were detained after the attacks, which killed 30 people, including the bombers. Before the attacks, Ugurlu was named by the Turkish media as an accomplice to two suicide bombers who attacked synagogues in Istanbul on Nov. 15, killing 23 people. Two pickup trucks used to attack the Neve Shalom synagogue and the HSBC bank were bought by Ugurlu from the same dealer, Milliyet reported. One of the pickup trucks was registered in the name of Ugurluâs father, Ahmet Ugurlu, who has been interrogated by police, the paper added. Weâve seen the same lack of care on vehicle purchases in Bali, Indonesia, and Kenya. After the blasts, police traced them back to the bombers.
Meanwhile, Turkish intelligence officials confirmed media reports that the countyâs top political and military leaders had ordered improvements in coordination between the MIT national intelligence service, police and the paramilitary gendarme force. That came amid media reports Sunday that intelligence lapses may have allowed Islamic militants the time to plan and launch the bombings. Not that the FBI has done much better.
Turkish intelligence units were working hard to piece together the workings of what appeared to be well-coordinated terrorist operations. Officials said the authorities were examining a report that more than 1,000 Turkish radicals who fought in Chechnya, Bosnia and Afghanistan were in the country. Some of the radicals are believed to have trained in al-Qaida camps. Tap, tap.....nope.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 8:42:13 AM ||
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#1
Weâve seen the same lack of care on vehicle purchases in Bali, Indonesia, and Kenya. After the blasts, police traced them back to the bombers.
And the US -- 1993 WTC bombing, Mohammed Salameh returned to the rental store, claiming the truck was stolen.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 9:58 Comments ||
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#2
Robert, the WTC bomber must have been an idiot, but I can understand why a suicde bomber doesn't cover his tracks. He doesn't plan to get away and wants the world to know what jerk blew the building.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 18:08 Comments ||
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Hat tip Protest Warrior
The hulking, disheveled figure of Michael Moore isnât the kind of thing youâre supposed to be see in the parlors of Celebrity Nation. Like a wild boar let loose at a Kennedy wedding, Moore seems out of place, dangerous, eager to topple the buffet table and pee on the carpet. Duh! Heâs a son of a bitch!
Last March, when Moore won an Oscar for his film "Bowling for Columbine" and used the occasion to scream at President Bush for the impending invasion of Iraq, he sealed his reputation as pop cultureâs boorish, uninvited guest, that galoot from one of those flat states who had the pretty people sniffing, "How did you get in here?" He forged a "documentary."
How indeed did a guy who looks more natural behind the counter of a bait shop than on the couches of talk shows become Americaâs most rude and stupid fearless political dorkwad voice? Mooreâs gifts do not include tact, lovability, intelligence, honesty, decency, good looks or even persuasion. But "Bowling for Columbine" and his subsequent bestseller "Stupid White Men" created a juggernaut and have made way for a new hot-selling book, "Dude, Whereâs My Country?" likely to install Moore as a regressive, evil, stupid, progressive, anti-establishment Superman in a country where Fox News, Wal-mart and John Ashcroft supposedly rule supreme. Not as much as some people deceive themselves into thinking.
Ever since he first emerged as a professional pain-in-the-keister as the stalker of GE executive Roger Smith in 1989, Moore â who appears Sunday at the Civic â has played up his reputation as a relentlessly cheeky and self-promoting annoyance to corporate suits and Republicans alike. And to people with an IQ above 80/
The new book will both enhance that reputation and turn it upside down. As is his wont, Moore spills a good deal of ink on the skullduggery of the Bush administration and the corporate efforts to manipulate and rip off the working stiff. But he also applies a big, wet, muddy boot to the backside of leftist pieties that may alienate, even enrage those whoâve always looked at him as a populist hero. In an engaging chapter titled "How to Talk to Your Conservative Brother-in-Law," the snide contrarian turns conciliator. He suggests an honest, meet-in-the-middle conversation needs to go on between the right and the left and, in that spirit, he commits a taboo in the culture wars: Conceding the other side rhetorical points. He not only finds qualities to praise in conservatives (dependable, responsible, efficient, organized), but slaps down some notions that would get him the cold shoulder at better Santa Cruz parties:
Itâs really a bad idea to have sex before youâre 18 (at which point, Moore admits he remained a virgin until the age of 32).
SUVs are not inherently evil.
Animals donât have rights.
Bill OâReilly makes a few good points.
Nixon wasnât so bad.
People who commit violent crimes should be locked up.
Granola is bad for you.
And, yikes, watch your back, Michael: "Mumia probably killed that guy."
His larger point is that so many Americans vote Republican but are in fact RINOs (Republicans in name only), since the plutocrats that run the GOP donât have their interests at heart. If the nation is to change, Moore said, RINOs must be brought on board with good faith and respect.
Yet, even if the Mumia defenders rise up in rebellion against Moore, theyâll never be able to match the right wing in sheer, atavistic hatred. On the Internet, an arena Moore has praised as a compelling alternative to the mainstream press, there are at least three sites devoted to shouting down Mooreâs every utterance: Moorelies.com, Moorewatch.com and MichaelMooreHatesAmerica.com, the latter the official site of an in-production documentary by filmmaker Mike Wilson designed to give Moore a fat sloppy taste of his own medicine. Thereâs even one woman named Rachel Lucas, known for her coffee-mugs emblazoned with the logo "Imagine No Liberals," whose bile towards Moore at least matches Mooreâs towards his nemesis, George W. Bush. Lucas has even initiated an online poll offering her fans speculation on what sort of cancer might eventually kill Moore.
Moore would probably welcome those kind of enemies. But heâs also taken an increasing amount of heat from more mainstream critics, not only for his poor-taste display at the Oscars, but for charged inaccuracies in "Bowling for Columbine." For example, Moore has been accused of misrepresenting U.S. aid to Afghanistan, adding a caption to an old Bush/Quayle campaign ad that wasnât in the original ad and staging the scene where he emerged from a bank with a free gun (Moore insists the promotion was real, but others have pointed out that what was depicted was not the way it actually happened). Though Moore has changed (not deleted) the controversial ad caption in the DVD version of "Columbine," he has largely been unrepentant about both the film and the Oscar speech. He has also picked fights with the press, maintaining that corporate-owned media companies generally cannot be trusted (with some exceptions), though ironically, heâs made a fortune publishing his books with such media monsters as Time Warner.
Accessibility is another issue with Moore. I made several requests for an interview that were ignored by Moore (though a Moore representative pleaded for my understanding; perhaps he was ignoring her). Others whoâve been denied access to Moore have ironically likened him to the dodgy Roger Smith who avoided Moore in "Roger & Me." To be fair, "Columbine" and "Stupid White Men" have made Michael Moore something of a rock star and more of a media curiosity than when he was struggling to find an audience with films such "The Big One" and misbegotten comedy "Canadian Bacon."
Yet, 2004 could raise the stakes of Mooreâs career even further. His next project is likely to be have the same effect on the culture wars as a lobbed water balloon would have at a White House press conference. Tabbed "Fahrenheit 911," Mooreâs new film will take dead aim on the relationship between the Bush family and the Bin Laden family and what he claims are mysterious links between Bush administration business dealings and the Saudi royal family and how Bush used the 9/11 tragedy to push a business agenda. Again, Moore uses potentially unfriendly corporate entities for his purposes. The production company behind "Fahrenheit 911" is Icon Productions, owned by one of Hollywoodâs most conservative voices, Mel Gibson, who probably didnât think Nixon was such a bad guy either.
Excerpts from Mooreâs âDude, Whereâs My Country?â
On the enduring popularity of the Republican message:
â... Weâre still addicted to the Horatio Alger fantasy drug. Despite all the damage and all the evidence to the contrary, the average American still wants to hang on to this belief that maybe, just maybe, he or she (mostly he) just might make it big after all. So donât attack the rich man, because one day that rich man may be me!
Listen friends, you have to face the truth: You are never going to be rich.â
On the Democratsâ chances of defeating President Bush in 2004:
âNo one â and I mean no one â trusts the Democratsâ ability to get this job done. They are professional losers. They canât get themselves elected out of a menâs room. Even when they actually win an election â as they did in 2000 â the Democrats STILL lose! How pathetic is that?â
On the role of Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 terrorist attacks:
âWhy, when Congress releases its own investigation into September 11, do you, Mr. Bush, censor out 28 pages that deal with the Saudisâ role in the attack? What is behind your apparent refusal to look at the one country that seems to be producing the "terrorists" that have killed our citizens?
I would like to throw out a possibility here: What if September 11 was not a "terrorist" attack, but a military attack against the United States (by Saudi Arabia)?â
If You Go
WHAT: Michael Moore, presented by UC Santa Cruz Arts & Lectures.
WHEN: 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz.
TICKETS: Both shows sold out.
DETAILS: 420-5260.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 12:44 Comments ||
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#2
Surely, RC, you don't expect Wally to know everything. It's one of those big companys- - starts with a "G".:D (Why am I even reading about Mike Moore?)
#5
Moore reminds me of "Comic Book Guy" from The Simpsons without the biting wit. I think he finally lost his virginity to Agnes Skinner, which is about what Moore could expect.
P.S. - "Worst Comment ever!"
Posted by: Tibor ||
11/24/2003 18:56 Comments ||
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#6
In an odd coincidence, the episode where Comic Book Guy dates Agnes Skinner was on when I got home from work last night.
Posted by: Tibor ||
11/25/2003 10:54 Comments ||
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Natalie Maines: âPeople were misledâ "Bush Lied, People DiedTM". How original... Dixie Chicks singer Ethel DitzbergerNatalie Maines, whose criticism of President Bush last spring led to boycotts of the groupâs music, still has a lot to say about the war in Iraq. I must digress there. To paraphrase that great Klingon philosopher Lt. Worf, "She talks much, but says little".
"I think people were misled and I think people are fighting a war that they didnât know they were going to be fighting," Maines said Friday on NBCâs "Today" show. "And I think they were misled by people who should have been asking questions and werenât." Is it me, or is that incoherent? I mean, the Hussein regime was our enemy for, what 12 years but she claims âthey didnât know they were going to be fighting,â? And how were the masses misled? Anything worth hanging your hat on there, Natalie?
The country stars faced criticism and even death threats after Maines said she and her bandmates were ashamed that President Bush was from Texas. She made the remark in London shortly before the war began. Repeat bullshit early and often enough and some people will buy it eventually.
Though Maines apologized for the phrasing of her remark, some radio stations banned the groupâs music. The group also received death threats in the wake of Mainesâ comments. The lesson of cause and effect still hasnât been learned.
Maines said Friday she did not feel vindicated by how the war has unfolded: "I would have liked to have been proven wrong." Memo to Natalie: you were.
The bandâs recent concert tour was one of the yearâs most successful, but Maines said it is too early to predict the long-term fallout. As for the backlash, she said, "We like making music and weâll continue to do that whether people buy it or not." Prediction: Theyâll be playing places like the Club Casino in Hampton, NH (seating: about 500) in five years.
The Dixie Chicks on Friday released, "Top Of The World Tour Live," their double CD set and DVD. Iâll buy a Vanilla Ice CD before even thinking about buying that b.s.
Posted by: Raj ||
11/24/2003 10:07:47 AM ||
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#10
Natalie needs to learn that just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's wrong. Or just because you don't like someone doesn't make them wrong either. It's those pesky things called "truths" and "facts" that always seem to confound folks like her, and get in the way of them having any kind of substantial opinion.
#11
Katze, I live in Lubbock, I host a weekly radio show on an all-news station here, and I can assure you that the Vichy chicks do not represent this community.
The first time I used this term "Vichy Chicks" on the air, btw, I had to explain the reference and also mentioned that the owners of our station were exercising their Constitutional rights by refusing to play the Chicks' music on their C&W stations.
One of our 10 or 12 local LLL moonbats (a *spit* mass-com major *spit*) called in at that point and demanded that the station owners and I be jailed for violating the Chicks' right of free expression.
She could not explain exactly which part of the Constitution guaranteed the right to the forum of one's choice or immunity to criticism, let alone the right to be taken sersiously, but she was sure that we were evil fascists.
She would get her wish, of course, if this gang of LLL-conformist media professionals got its wish and managed to gain absolute power over the ownership and content of media.
#13
I said it when you shot your mouth off before and I will say it again: The term 'Love your Country' has a double meaning with country music fans, Nat.
And you are right, Nat. People had been mislead for eight soilid years as Clinton got his knob polished and his political buddies disregarded the Al Qaeda threat.
#14
AC, that was a take off on Dippsie's being ashamed of being from Texas. My sister lives in Lubbock and I love the place. I'll be back and will tune in a CW station. I hope that LLL Moon bat was on the air when you revealed that she had more mouth than brains.
Police donât believe two men intended to do any harm when they set off homemade bombs in a field in east Montreal. I guess the standards for evidence are a little different in Canada.
The pair aroused suspicions when they arrived at a health care clinic Sunday, one man with the ends of his fingers blown off.
Workers at the clinic alerted police and the pair was taken to hospital by ambulance. The injured man, 25, lost most of the fingers on one hand, while the second man, 24, will undergo tests to ensure his hearing wasnât damaged by the blast. "Are you sure itâs the red w.......BANG!"
The injuries set off a massive search for more homemade bombs. Police searched one of the menâs trucks and roped off an area where four unexploded bombs were later found. Sunday night, they also evacuated 30 people from buildings neighbouring the apartment of the 25-year-old as they searched his apartment -- where they believe the bombs were made. Investigators donât believe the men wanted to hurt anyone with the bombs, which were said to be "very unstable, very dangerous." Are you talking about the bombs, or the bombers?
"It doesnât appear they had any criminal intent, or were out to harm anyone," said police spokesman Const. Olivier Lapointe. "It seems they just wanted to set things off." Or they were testing the designs before they moved to bigger targets.
Police may file charges against the men, though Lapointe said there are no plans to do so at this point. Good thing they were just exploding bombs and not shooting at targets with a handgun. Theyâd really be in trouble then.
The incident was the second involving homemade bombs in the Montreal area in a week. A bomb went off inside a garbage bin at a high school in Laval last week causing minor injuries to at least 15 students. Howâs that border fence with Canada coming, anyway?
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 11:19:29 AM ||
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#1
So, are they failed Darwin Award candidates, or a couple of M.E. 'refugees' plotting some evil deeds?
#2
If these are mere pranksters, then where are the names? They are not juveniles, so why not post the names? Wanna bet at least one of them has the Surname of Peace?
#4
I think it has to do with Canadian press rules. I checked and no mention of their names in any paper. I think they won't reveal their names unless they are charged. Canadian readers, can you confirm/deny?
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 12:41 Comments ||
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#5
Sounds like they were doing some testing, the emperical method.
#6
Chill, guys. I can sympathize with these guys. As a kid, I used to like to make big booms and set them off. Several of my cousins and I did it many times in a very wide-open area along Little River, in north-central Louisiana, in the late 1950's and '60's. We blew up a few old stumps, tore the ^%%@%$@#@ out of an abandoned 1935 Buick carcass, and generally had fun with no harm to anyone. In those times, we were "just boys being boys" - today it'd be a federal case. That just shows how much government has grown - today there are so many things you could do 30-40 years ago that will get you a 30-year jail sentence today. PETA would have a cow if you sat on a riverbank these days, plinking water moccasins swimming across the river. Favorite pasttime when I was 15-16. Life has changed, and not necessarily for the better.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/24/2003 13:08 Comments ||
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#7
Old Patriot: I can sympathize, and though they are a old to be acting like dumb teenagers I would give them the benefit of the doubt. What bugs me is that the reporter felt that this was newsworthy, but neglected to name these funsters. Elsewhere on their site we find that Terence Curtis, 48, attacked an MP and that Cecilia Zhang, 9, is still missing. But, oddly enough, these two remain anonymous.
#8
I am pretty sure that the mounties look closely at people that fool with explosives in or near Quebec. If these two are Pakistani, their ethnicity will eventually leak. My guess is that there were more than a few Labatts Blues involved.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 18:17 Comments ||
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Oboy! Another hudna! "Kick the football, Charlie Mukkerjee. Go ahead. Trust us."
Pakistan on Sunday offered to impose a ceasefire along the military line of control in Kashmir and India promised to reply within one day. Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali said in a televised address that he has ordered troops to observe the ceasefire from the start of Eid al-Fitr, a holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and hoped nuclear rival India would respond positively. "We have ordered our troops deployed along the Line of Control to demonstrate a complete ceasefire from the day of Eid," Jamali said in his speech.
What? No covering fire for the infiltrators? What will become of them?
India reacted cautiously, saying that it would respond to Pakistan's offer on Monday. "We will react tomorrow," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said. Indian officials accuse Pakistani troops of firing along the Line of Control (LoC) to give cover to Islamic guerillas sneaking into Indian Kashmir to join battle there. Islamabad denies it sends fighters across the ceasefire line and says it only gives political, moral and diplomatic support to what it calls the "Kashmiri freedom struggle". Each week several people are killed or wounded on both sides of the Line of Control by exchanges of artillery and mortar fire between soldiers of Pakistan and India.
Usually it's 122 mm moral support, occasionally 152 mm...
The idea of a ceasefire along the LoC was first mooted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in August, who suggested both countries should observe it, though he had not mentioned any start date. New Delhi at the time poured cold water on the proposal, saying it contained nothing new. Jamali said Pakistan was also ready to start a bus service between Muzaffarabad, capital of Islamabad-controlled Kashmir and Srinigar, state capital of New Delhi-controlled Kashmir, a proposal made by India last month.
So now the infiltrators will just be able to hop the bus. Guess that makes sense...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 08:53 ||
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Iraq
Wahpeton Daily News" target=_blank>Iraqi prisoners move into complex built by 142nd
Hereâs a source we donât report from every day: Wahpeton Daily News.
By Capt. Daryl Roerick Co. B. 142nd Engineer Battalion
ABU GHRAIB, IRAQ -- The U.S. Army needed a jail to house people caught in criminal acts against coalition forces, so a former Iraqi prison became a target for renovation.
Due to its central location in Iraq, Abu Ghraib, a setting for many hair-raising episodes under the past regime, was the Armyâs top choice. But a temporary structure needed to be built first, giving contractors time to refurbish the poorly maintained and extremely looted prison complex.
The order to begin construction was given July 9, and Bravo Company, 142nd Engineer Combat Battalion (ECB), a North Dakota Army National Guard unit from Wahpeton, was tasked with the job. The engineers, known by their call sign, "Condor," had just finished a mission in Baghdad.
The plan was to build a 4,000-person complex, comprised of eight self-contained modules, each housing 500 people. The latter would measure 375 feet square and would include a shower and restroom, security features and access points.
Construction began July 11. As a 300-by-500-meter parcel of earth was dozed, other soldiers from the unit put together the prisonâs shower units. Eight units, which can each accommodate 18 people at a time, were built during a five-day period. One challenge was threading the galvanized steel pipe for the showers, as copper plumbing does not exist in Iraq.
Guard towers for the prison were built in a secured area, allowing soldiers to work without flak vests and helmets, easing the stress of the 125-degree heat.
The tower walls were designed to hold 18 inches of sand between the sidewalls, so the tower could withstand a direct hit from mortar fire. Once completed, a guard tower would weigh in the neighborhood of 45,000 pounds.
The work was varied. Earth-moving tasks performed by the Guard members included clearing, leveling, grading, excavating, trenching and compaction.
Soldiers in horizontal engineering put up a helicopter landing zone made with Mobi-mat, a polysynthetic cover that could be installed over leveled ground in minutes, while vertical engineers took care of the plumbing, electrical and wood frame construction work.
Many dignitaries visited the site while construction was underway, including Ambassador Paul Bremer, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
By Aug. 21, the day the Condors departed, 650 prisoners were housed at the new facility.
EFL & Fun
The Iraqi Governing Council ordered the Arab language propaganda television network al-Arabiya to shut down its operation in Baghdad on Monday, sending the Iraq Interior Ministry to the networkâs headquarters to "seize their uplink and transmission equipment until further notice." "This is in response to their betraying our efforts to rebuild Iraq broadcasting the full Saddam Hussein audiotape" released November 16, according to a spokesman for Jalal Talabani, the councilâs president. Qubad Talabani, the council presidentâs son and spokesman, told CNN that the council does not consider al Arabiyaâs reporting "an element of the free press," but rather a "tool" for inciting violence and acts of terrorism. At which point the CNN reporter was overheard saying: âIs he talking about us? Canât be. Were are just really biased.â
Al Arabiya aired the tape, in which a voice purported to be Saddam Husseinâs called on Iraqis to resist coalition forces and said Iraqis "should elect their leaders from those who had served them for several years, even if they did some murders mistakes." Al Arabiya reported that Iraqi police had entered their offices unannounced and ordered it to shut down or face fines and jail time. âKnock, Knock!â
âCome ...in?â âNow, where are the CNN offices located...â
Shortly before the police came to al Arabiyaâs offices, Jalal Talabani cautioned journalists not to engage in "incitement," saying the Governing Council would go after any media outlet -- "even the BBC, if they encourage incitement." Qubad Talabani added CNN (snicker, snicker) to the non-exempt list. Money quote:
"We are serious in our struggle against terrorism," the council president said. "The G.C. [Governing Council] will be even more serious about that in the future. You should realize your responsibilities as free journalists, free reporters." CNN & BBC clock: 4,3,2, ....
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 16th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, attached to 82nd Airborne Division, killed three enemy personnel emplacing an improvised explosive device last night at approximately 8:30 p.m. The soldiers were conducting a patrol along the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 10 when they observed two individuals digging a hole in the median. A sedan arrived shortly after. Three personnel exited the car and began walking towards the two individuals digging. One of the individuals from the sedan was carrying a large object to the hole. The observing troops determined that the individuals were emplacing an IED and initiated direct fire. Three of the personnel were killed. One of the individuals fled to the north with the unknown object, while another escaped to the south. Soldiers immediately contacted the local police force. They arrived at the scene and took possession of the vehicles and bodies. No Coalition soldiers were injured in this incident.
One of the Middle Eastâs biggest television news networks agreed Monday to halt reports from Iraq after the U.S.-appointed government raided its offices, banned its broadcasts and threatened to imprison journalists. The government accused Al-Arabiya of "inciting murder" for broadcasting an audio tape a week ago of a voice it said belonged to Saddam Hussein. "We have issued a warning to Al-Arabiya and we will sue," said Jalal Talabani, the current president of the Iraqi Governing Council. "Al-Arabiya incites murder because itâs calling for killings through the voice of Saddam Hussein. ... Inciting murder or violence is illegal under the laws of the entire world." He said Al-Arabiya would be banned from working in Iraq for "a certain time," which he didnât specify.
Outside the station, Al-Arabiyaâs chief Baghdad editor, Wahhad Yacoub, said it would cease broadcasting reports from Iraq until the matter could be resolved, although he said the station would continue to report on Iraq from its headquarters in the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirites. Earlier Monday, about 20 Iraqi police officers raided Al-Arabiyaâs offices in Baghdadâs Mansour neighborhood, making lists of equipment to be seized if it did not comply with the order, said station correspondent Ali al-Khatib, reporting live from the Iraqi capital. The officers also raided the Middle East Broadcasting Center, a mostly entertainment network that shares offices with Al-Arabiya and is owned by the same Saudi company. Saudi Company - of course.
The correspondent said the officers told employees they were banned from broadcasting any reports from Iraq, and that they would be fined $1,000 and imprisoned for a year for each violation. He also said the police carried an order from the Governing Council and told Al-Arabiya the council might reconsider its decision if the news channel writes a letter pledging never to encourage terrorism. In the audiotape purported to be Saddam, broadcast Nov. 16, the voice urged Iraqis to step up their resistance to the U.S.-led occupation. The speaker told Iraqis that the "road of jihad (holy war) and resistance" is the only one to make the "armies of the unjust occupation leave our country." He also criticized Iraqis who cooperate with coalition forces, calling them "stray dogs that walk alongside the caravan." The CIA said the technical quality of the tape was too poor to reach any conclusions about the speakerâs identity. President Bush dismissed it as propaganda.
The Paris-based media watchdog group, Reporters Without Borders, predictably immediately denounced the action of the Governing Council. It called the closure a violation of freedom of the press and said it represented "methods ... that are contrary to the promises of setting up a democracy in Iraq... If the Iraqi council wants to complain about coverage of Al-Arabiya, they should directly approach the station rather than close its office down."
Al-Arabiya has clashed with authorities before for its coverage of Iraq. In July, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said Al-Arabiya and another Arab news channel, Al-Jazeera, incited violence against American forces with slanted reports. In September, the Governing Council temporarily banned Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera from entering government buildings and news conferences, accusing them of being aware of attacks on American troops before they occurred. And last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called the two stations "violently anti-coalition" as he announced the planned launch of a U.S.-run satellite channel to compete with the wildly popular news stations. Al-Arabiya was launched shortly before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The channel was started as a new venture of Middle East News, a Dubai-based production company that also runs the Middle East Broadcasting Center. It is owned by the brother-in-law of Saudi Arabiaâs King Fahd.
Posted by: Jarhead ||
11/24/2003 11:54:49 AM ||
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Lebanese-based resistance movement Hizbullah has established a "significant presence" in Iraq, but is refraining from participating in attacks against American forces there, The New York Times reported on Monday. âIran is believed to be restraining Hizbullah from attacking American troops, and that is prompting a debate within the Bush administration about Iranâs objectives,â the newspaper wrote. The only debate should be on how to kill them.
According to the report, âHizbullahâs presence has become a source of concern as it is recognized by counter-terrorist experts to have some of the most dangerous operatives in the world.â Sources in Lebanon have told the Times that "Hizbullah has sent what they describe as a security team of up to 90 members to Iraq." Security team = training and support. They may not be pulling triggers themselves, but only because they are too valuable. Plenty of cannon fodder to do the dirty work.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 11:48:18 AM ||
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More apologetic pro-Islamofascist tripe from the NYT!
What's next: "SS stationed only as security teams in concentration camps. NSDAP Keeps them on a tight leash!"?
________________borgboy
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi-American woman has been appointed Iraqâs U.S. ambassador, the first official appointment of an Iraqi representative abroad since the fall of the brutal dictator Saddam Husseinâs regime.
The Iraqi Governing Council chose Rend Rahim Francke, a veteran lobbyist who had voiced concerns before the war that the U.S. hadnât thought enough about dealing with the post-war chaos.
The appointment resurrects diplomatic ties between Baghdad and Washington after 13 years.
The relationship ended when Saddam Husseinâs army invaded neighbouring Kuwait in 1990, sparking the first Gulf war. After that, the Iraqi embassy in Washington was taken over by the Algerians. Taken over?
A small group of Iraqi diplomats stayed in the building to look after Iraqi interests. Interests=Spying
Born in Baghdad, Rahim became an American citizen in 1987. She was educated in Britain (so far, so good), (here is where it goes bad, real quick!) Lebanon and France and was a founding member of the Washington-based Iraq Foundation.
The organization supported the democratization of Iraq and lobbied against the rule of Saddam. They called for a war-crimes trial of Saddam. Hey, Little Gen. Weasly Clark recently called for Saddam to be brought up on war-crimes charges as well!
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/24/2003 9:47:15 AM ||
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#1
First! (below)
The Army of Steve⢠strikes again!
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/24/2003 11:48 Comments ||
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...a veteran lobbyist who had voiced concerns before the war that the U.S. hadnât thought enough about dealing with the post-war chaos.
Two 1st Armored Division soldiers were killed and one was injured in a traffic accident on Nov. 22. An M-1 Abrams tank struck a HUMVEE at approximately 10:30 p.m. near Baghdad International Airport. The injured soldier was taken to the 28th Combat Support Hospital for treatment. The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending next of kin notification. The incident is under investigation.
Posted by: Chuck Not Taylor ||
11/24/2003 8:40:20 AM ||
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The Governing Council on Sunday named Rend Rahim Francke — an Iraqi-American woman and veteran lobbyist who has criticized Washington as being shortsighted in Iraq — as its ambassador to the United States. Gonna upset some turbans with this one!
The appointment will renew diplomatic ties between Washington and Baghdad 13 years after they were severed in 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Francke, who became a U.S. citizen in 1987, was born in Baghdad but has not lived there full-time in more than 30 years. She led the Iraq Foundation, a Washington-based pro-democracy group, and has helped in post-Saddam Hussein planning. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Francke will represent the face of a new Iraq, and her appointment will allow the Governing Council to communicate more effectively with the Bush administration. Francke said she hoped to build new relationships of friendship, trust and confidence with other nations. "My duty as I see it is to reflect a true and accurate picture of the new Iraq that we are all in the process of building," she said.
I wonder what Riverbend has to say about her appointment. I'd doubt she'd consider the lady a true Iraqi...
In the months before the war, Francke was a leading voice among Iraqis worried about a descent into chaos because of a lack of postwar planning by the Bush administration. She warned a vacuum might result that would benefit groups opposed to democracy, concerns she reiterated in testimony before Congress in January. A little alarmist, eh? Oh well, having an ambassador in place canât hurt. Wonder who will be the envoy to France, and whether the French will receive an ambassador?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/24/2003 1:46:34 AM ||
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I thought Saddam was already in France, representing Iraq.
#3
Hmmm ... not sure I see it that way, B. Any Iraqi ambassador is going to have to show s/he represents Iraq, not the US.
They chose someone who can communicate well to Americans and presumably, also to Iraqis. And it does send an interesting message to the Islamic fundamentalists.
Japan may send military transport aircraft and ships as a stopgap contribution to the U.S.-led mission in Iraq while continuing to weigh the risks of a long-discussed deployment of ground forces, national media reported Monday. The Japanese government reportedly hoped to send an advance party of peacekeepers on a humanitarian mission to southern Iraq by next month but put the plan on hold after a series of guerrilla attacks and suicide bombings highlighted the dangers of the mission. As a lower-risk alternative that would show solidarity with Washington, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumiâs administration is considering sending C-130 transport aircraft from Japanâs Air Self-Defense Force to fly in humanitarian aid as well as supplies for U.S. troops, the nationally circulated Yomiuri and Asahi newspapers reported. Helpful, and we donât want to put Koizumi in a bind.
The government has already begun preparations to have military aircraft fly runs between Kuwait and destinations in Iraq including Baghdad, the Yomiuri reported, without citing sources. Japanese naval transport vessels may also be used to help transport supplies, the newspapers said. The timing of such a mission was unclear. The Asahi quoted ruling party and government sources as saying it was "difficult" to envisage a deployment before the end of the year. Koizumi won approval from Parliament in July to send Japanese ground troops to help with reconstruction and other non-combat duties. But the legislation specifies they can only serve in "non-combat areas" - which the prime ministerâs political opponents say donât exist in Iraq. The government has responded by commissioning a series of fact-finding missions, the latest of which left for Iraq earlier this month. A senior member of Koizumiâs ruling party, Fukushiro Nukaga, said Sunday it was "important" for Japan to consider all options including transporting supplies by air and sea. Sounds like the deal is done.
Posted by: Steve White & Dragon Fly ||
11/24/2003 1:38:36 AM ||
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Introducing 1LT Jason Van Steenwyk, a company XO blogging from Ramadi and thereabouts with 1-124th Infantry.
One Soldier Wounded in Ar Ramadi
He'll be fine. Mortar attack. The first report was that we needed to evac a litter urgent. As I've written here, though, first reports are almost always wrong. Once we got him in the aid station and cleaned him up, our surgeon could see that it was a matter of some stitches. He was evaced routine, and he should be back with us shortly. I'll be able to visit him tomorrow.
We weren't able to get any counterbattery fire today. No radar acquisition. This mortar crew is good.
You probably won't hear about it in the news. We don't have a hotel full of reporters right down the road like they do in Baghdad. There are no scud studs hanging around here right now. Two informed sources tell me that the 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs office has alienated or ticked off a lot of news agencies, so it will be interesting to see who covers this area and how.
This battalion has taken several wounded this week alone from mortar attacks and a couple more from IEDs. All of them will be ok. The picture you get in the press is distorted, though, because you never hear about the wounded in the press unless a soldier dies in the same incident.
Jason admits to being a Lit. major. He probably became a Lit. major because he writes well. Read, f'rinstance, "Jason blows his top." Lots of good insight on the ground, a touch of reality to keep us from winning the war too quickly from our armchairs, and a snarky senzayuma. I like him â and he's going to be one of my daily reads. Many thanks to Diana in San Antonio for the tip. And don't forget Kevin at Boots on the Ground, also tipped from Diana.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 23:21 ||
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#4
Interesting about 82nd Airborne Public Affairs office alienating the news agencies. Excellent policy- probably the best way to minimise attacks and save lives.
EFL
The Philippines has proposed a new office at the United Nations to promote understanding and cooperation among the worldâs leading religions.
I feel so... gooey.
A draft resolution calls on the United Nations to establish an "open-ended working group to examine the contributions of interreligious dialogue and cooperation in strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to promote international peace and harmony."
"Kumbaya, my lord, kumbayaaaaaah!"
The resolution, introduced earlier this month, recommends that the working group explore a permanent "mechanism" at the United Nations to promote interfaith cooperation. Philippine diplomats say they will press for a modified version of the interfaith proposal during the current session of the U.N. General Assembly, which continues through next fall. Philippine officials proposed the idea in May when Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited the United States. President Bush is said to have expressed interest, and National Security Council aides were briefed on the proposal, United Press International reported. I am interested in your thoughts on this proposal. Will it work? Is it a good idea?
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/24/2003 9:52:30 AM ||
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Will it work?
It's the UN, of course it will fail. Is it a good idea?
SEE: "It's the UN."
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 10:10 Comments ||
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Following the proud traditions of the UN:
In Dec 2002, Iraq was named head of disarmament
Last year, Libya was in charge of Human Rights
Syria is in charge of terrorism
so it would have to be
Iran in charge of interfaith ;)
Posted by: capt joe ||
11/24/2003 10:26 Comments ||
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Nah, the Saudis will head up the interfaith committee.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 12:52 Comments ||
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Steve, isn't that what we geeks call an infinite loop?
Follow-up. EFL.
Laos on Monday handed over to the United States the remains believed to be of U.S. presidential candidate Howard Deanâs brother, an Australian friend and two American soldiers who disappeared in the country decades ago. The remains thought to be of Charles Dean and Australian Neil Sharman were exhumed earlier this month in central Laos following a tip by a Laotian villager. Also excavated from other sites in northeastern Laos were remains suspected to be of two U.S. soldiers killed during the Vietnam War. Their names have not been released. The remains were transferred to four aluminum caskets brought by a U.S. military C-130 cargo plane at the Vientiane airport. An honor guard draped one casket in an Australian flag and the other three in U.S. flags before reloading them on the plane, which flew to Hawaii where a forensic lab will positively identify the remains. ``I am pleased to hand over to you the remains ... Without the cooperation of the local people they would not have been able to find the remains,ââ Laotian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Phongsavath Boupha told the U.S. Ambassador to Laos, Douglas A. Hartwick, in a ceremony at the airport. He called the hand-over ``a symbolic victoryââ in relations between the two countries, adding that Laos wants to put the past behind and move on. ``Today marks another special day for repatriation of remains from the Indochina war,ââ Hartwick said. ``This cooperation is a key element in bilateral relations,ââ he said. Itâs good this was done. I still donât buy the line that Dean and Sharman were tourists.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/24/2003 1:34:02 AM ||
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I wonder if the Deanistas will be scandalized by the military honor guard and the flag-draped coffin?
#2
Apparently the VC had no love for one of the supporters. Charlie Dean was an anti-war protester that wanted to see the utopia that the Communists were building. I guess they thought he was a spy, because NO ONE is stupid enough to go on vacation in South East Asia at the time. Sad that the Communists killed him, but doesnât he qualify for the Darwin Awards? At least an honorable mention?
#3
I wouldn't want to downplay how anyone feels at the death of a family member, but as the science fiction writer Larry Niven once said: Under the right circumstances, stupidity carries a death sentence."
Emerging details of last weekâs Istanbul suicide bombings support the idea that al Qaeda is becoming more of a terror "consultancy" and less of a direct actor, security analysts say. Most see al Qaedaâs hand behind the car bombs that blew up two synagogues, the British consulate and the offices of British-based banking group HSBC, even if Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has cautioned that the link is not yet proven. The car bombers were all Turks from the small southeast town of Bingol, known as a fundamentalist center, and Erdogan said they had global connections. Local people and media reports said three had attended al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. Just how many freaking people attended these camps, anyway?
Experts said this fits a pattern of attacks since Sept. 11 in which al Qaedaâs core operatives have increasingly played a background role: supplying know-how, and possibly finance, but leaving it to local actors to carry out individual missions. Need a bomb expert to train people in Lower Boomistan, theyâll send one. Need passports, check. Have a business involving C-4, theyâll supply the startup money.
"Al Qaeda has moved to a âsecond generationâ of structures and operational capability," said David Claridge, managing director of Janusian Security Risk Management in London. "There clearly is some remaining (organizational) core, but that core is no longer involved in operations at the sharp end." The sharp end is too dangerous for the real "holy men".
Analysts offer competing metaphors to describe the modus operandi of al Qaeda since late 2001, when U.S. forces drove it from its Afghan bases and captured or killed key leaders as President Bush launched his war on terror. Some see it as an international terror "university" or consultancy; others liken it to a franchising operation, endorsing approved operations around the world with the cachet of its feared global "brand." "If you ainât al-Qaeda, you ainât shit!"
"The old, damaged military organization of al Qaeda has undergone a transformation to terror sponsor. That means Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri (his deputy) and others are more active today in the sense of franchising terrorism," said Berndt Georg Thamm, a German writer on security issues. This meant local groups could tap into Qaedaâs expertise to make contacts with like-minded networks and "order up" logistical support, financial help and advice on how to prepare and transport explosives. "Hi, weâre from al-Qaeda and we are here to help you become part of one of the fastest growing and most widely recognized franchise operations in the world."
"The re-organized al Qaeda consists of a very loose network of about 30 violent Islamist groups which are spread over the whole Muslim world," Thamm said. Which seem to consist of maybe 5 - 10 family groups.
"The network today is more virulent, essentially harder to grasp hold of and a lot harder to combat than a quasi-military terror group that is based in a single place." Insert favorite "If Bush hadnât attacked, theyâd still be in...." phrase here.
Some experts believe the obsession of Western media and public opinion with al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden obscures the fact they have inspired a much wider global Islamist cause, dedicated to the waging of jihad (holy war). I wouldnât say inspired as much as tapped into and promoted.
Experts and intelligence chiefs see bin Laden still playing an important background role, but mainly as a symbol and preacher, periodically reinforcing the jihadist message with messages from the grave broadcast on Arabic television stations.
Individual militant groups have autonomous power to implement that agenda through specific attacks, with no need for specific central orders on what targets to hit. "Al Qaeda has very successfully managed to create the conditions under which it can unleash these groups, either directly or indirectly," Claridge said. "By committing the September 11 attacks, in particular, it significantly radicalized and demonstrated to a whole range of groups around the world that they can have impact if they shift their focus away from immediate domestic concerns toward international concerns." Instead of just being a local thug, you can become part of the World Wide Thug Movement.
Some experts argue that al Qaeda is already more of an ideology than an organization. "Iâm not sure there exists at all a centralist entity with command and control," said French analyst Xavier Raufer. "I think more and more (that) al Qaeda, if it is an entity at all, will become a clearing house for finances and intellectual resources," Claridge said.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 2:07:54 PM ||
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Hi, I'm from KablamWay! Interested in starting a new franchise?
EFL. Hat tip LGF
Dec. 1 issue â Abdul Bariâs school day begins at 4 a.m. The freckle-faced, outgoing 9-year-old, an Afghan poppy farmerâs son, wakes up on the tile floor he shares with four dozen other students at the Jamia Uloom Islamia religious academy, in the untamed mountains of Pakistanâs tribal areas. After morning prayer services, he fixes tea for the older boys and himself, eating a bit of bread before classes start at daybreak. Students spend most of the day reciting the Qurâan; memorizing every one of its 6,666 verses is the main requirement for graduation. Still, this madrassa is the only formal schooling most of these boys will ever have. So they learn civics from a white-bearded scholar named Amanullah, 65, who teaches them about the Taliban. âThere was a real Islamic regime,â the old man says. âThey fixed 25 years of problems in no time, using Islamic laws.â 6666 verses, eh? Theyâre one on Nicolae Carpathia.
ANOTHER FACULTY member, Mullah Taj Mohammad, 40, gives a current-events lesson, warning of the evils that lurk in non-Islamic lands: âIâve heard that many Muslim girls have infidel boyfriendsâand clink glasses of alcohol with Jews.â Thatâs not the worst of it, he says: âAmericans are killing Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq, and they are busy trying to poison Muslim minds everywhere with films, music and television.â Abdul is an eager learner. He dreams of enlisting in the jihad against Afghanistanâs U.S.-backed president, Hamid Karzai. âKarzai is a killer of Muslims,â the boy says. âWhen I grow up Iâll fight him, and then weâll see whoâs a man and whoâs a woman.â
Ummm... Yeah. Have you filled out your organ donor card? And your advance directives?
The Afghan war, code-named Operation Enduring Freedom, is getting nastier. In the last six monthsâthe bloodiest period since the Talibanâs fall in late 2001âhundreds of people have been killed, many of them civilians, including two foreign relief officials and nearly a dozen Afghans working for international agencies. Last week the United Nations announced that it was suspending its refugee-repatriation proâgram and pulling all foreign workers out of southeastern Afghanistan. âWeâre going to have to refight Enduring Freedom because we didnât finish the job,â predicts retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, former head of U.S. Central Command.
Posted by: Atrus ||
11/24/2003 9:20:32 AM ||
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Tip to Drdge/Foxnews
Two American Muslims who tried to join the Taliban were sentenced to 18 years in prison Monday during a hearing in which they denounced the Bush administration and pleaded in song for freedom. (Soon they will have him singing in prison) Patrice Lumumba Ford, 32, and Jeffrey Leon Battle, 33, had pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to levy war against the United States. Both said that in trying to reach Afghanistan they were fulfilling their Islamic duty to defend fellow Muslims. The attack on Afghanistan killed and maimed thousands of people without achieving its objective," said Ford, who had traveled to China in an unsuccessful attempt to reach Afghanistan. "I refuse to stand passive in the face of such policies."
Happily, the judge refused to let you stay out of jug...
Ford, once an intern at Portlandâs City Hall, said he felt obliged to defend his fellow Muslims against "President Bushâs cruise-missile diplomacy." (That would be Bill Clintonâs âcruise-missile diplomacyâ)
Ford also assailed the crackdown on Muslim radicals after Sept. 11, which he said was calculated more to score political points than pursue justice. (Calculated? Maybe. But you are still going to prison)
"I donât think that anybody with a conscience could participate in the prosecutions of this country," he said.
I don't think that anybody with a shred of humanity could run off to fight against their own country...
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones admonished Ford by saying: "You do not represent the Muslim faith. Muslims do not engage in the activities you engaged in. You are an insult to that faith." Jones also brushed aside Fordâs claim that he was motivated by a humanitarian desire to help Afghan civilians, saying Ford had clearly intended to join the Taliban as a foot soldier and would have killed U.S. soldiers if he had a chance. "If you had been on the firing line, you would have killed an American," Jones said.
More likely he'd have met a daisy cutter and become a fine red mist. Or he'd have kicked it in a shipping container...
Battle, a former Army reservist, also spoke of his obligations as a Muslim and concluded by singing a 10-minute song he said he had written in prison. The courtroom was silent during the song, which ended with the stanza, "Free, free, free, for all humanity, release me." (this guy thinks he is the next Mumia?)
Battle and Ford were among six people accused of conspiring to travel to Afghanistan in 2001 and fight U.S. troops after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A seventh was charged with providing financial support. Four of the others pleaded guilty, and a fifth was killed in a shootout in Pakistan. (Wow six people plead guilty in Bushâs pursuit to garner political points. Guys if you plead GUILTY, you CAN NOT be a victim. This aint the middle east you canât have it both ways. I bet that song was something to listen too. Maybe a Prison version of American Idol?)
Edited for digression. Hat tip LGF
Columnist Bassyouni Al- Hilwani wrote in the Egyptian government weekly 'Aqidati: "It appears that the American president, Little Bush, relies on a group of hashish-smoking advisors. Not a week passes without him addressing the world with naive proposals, false and random accusations, and idiotic demands, as if he were living on a desert island with his spoiled dogs. al-Hellwhiney's lips fell off here.
"Bush has forgotten that the Arab and Islamic peoples prefer to be ruled by a dictator such as Saddam Hussein than by a democratic president of the likes of Bush, who lies to the world every day, deceives his people, sows hatred towards it in the souls of all the peoples of the world, and annihilates the lives of his people in battles that do not concern them at all. Oh Mr. Bush, if you were a democratic president as you claim to be, you would abandon your post immediately and disperse all your Zionist aides and advisors, since your lies, your fraud, and the fact that you do not respect Iraqi and Afghan human rights have been exposed to the eyes of the entire world — particularly since your forces, your planes, and your missiles have executed more than 50,000 Iraqis and Afghans who sinned not at all towards you and your people." [3] 50000? That would explain that twang I heard, of a harp bursting a string.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher stated that Bush's address was misunderstood, and that Bush was in fact not criticizing Egyptian democracy but praising Egypt's leading role in democratization and Egypt's democracy as a model that should be applied in other countries in the region. This view was emphasized in an editorial in the Al-Ahram government daily: "The simplest rule of democracy is that it cannot be imposed from without. As first-year college students learn, and as is clearly evident in the Greek term from which the word is derived, democracy means that the people rules itself by itself and for itself. Thus, it is inconceivable that anyone external, whatever their intentions, can come to teach the peoples how to rule themselves! "That is better left to us tyrants."
"Recently, voices have arisen in the American government demanding direct intervention in order to impose democracy on the peoples and on the governments, as if the peoples were minors or mentally retarded and needed their hands held! These demands are in themselves a violation of the rules of democracy. This intervention is reminiscent of the abhorrent idea of previous centuries regarding the white man's responsibility for the other peoples, for liberating them from ignorance and backwardness. The result was that this white man maintained colonialism of these peoples for centuries, and this caused the backwardness from which they [the Americans] want to rescue us today! What short legs this guy has!
"The fact that Egypt is marching on the path of democracy demands no proof. It is impossible to cast doubts on [the fact that] this land enjoys freedom of the press that is nonexistent in many countries of the world. Likewise, no one can cast doubts on [the fact that] Egypt has a great many political parties and freedom of expression. Naturally, there is always striving to achieve more, as this is the law of life: but it is clear that importing ready-made, packaged democracy — 'turnkey democracy' — will be of no benefit to this deeply-rooted people. "And besides, democracy's a Jewish plot!"
"Our people, whose civilization is 7,000 years old, does not expect, and does not need to expect, others to give it lessons in democracy or in anything else. Therefore, attempts to impose democracy from without will fail." [4] Then he turned into a pillar of NaCl and could say no more.
Continuing in the same vein as Foreign Minister Maher, an editorial in the government daily Al-Gumhouriyya discussed the possibility of exporting the Egyptian democratic model to other countries in the region: "There is no doubt that in the next phase, Egypt will be witness to more than the democracy it is experiencing under Mubarak's rule, [and this will come about] of its own free will [as opposed to imposition from without]. [This democracy] can be a model for implementation for other countries interested in democracy, as a way of development and welfare." [5]
#1
These fatheads STILL don't get it: we're busting our balls to introduce them to democracy now so our children or grandchildren won't have to solve the goddamn problem later by incinerating half a billion Arabs in a nuclear firestorm.
Times like this, I think we should have responded to 9/11 by nuking, within a few hours of the WTC's fall, a half-dozen large military installations in selected Arab countries. It would've gotten the point across a helluva lot quicker than what we're doing now.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/24/2003 16:24 Comments ||
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This really belongs under a "Some People Never Learn" category! Seems to me that the Israelites' GOD put a whuppin on Pharoah, and moved all the Israelites out of Egypt some 5-6000 years ago. IIRC, Bush claims to worship the same God, and calls on Him for help rather often. THAT would be enough for most normal men to get a little shakey in the knees, not dribbly at the mouth. Maybe these descendents of sand fleas need another few lessons in history, so they can gain a bit of wisdom. I'm sure George Junior would gladly oblige, if they ask for it enough.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/24/2003 16:28 Comments ||
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"The fact that Egypt is marching on the path of democracy demands no proof..."
Yeah, I remember that nail-biter a couple of years ago between Mubarak and... who was the other guy?
Posted by: Matt ||
11/24/2003 16:35 Comments ||
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#4
Problem is that he is right that MOST Arabs care not who rules them. The main concern is putting some food on the table and making sure little Mohammad get off to school in the morning. They get ALL of their news from the Government (people like this one) and the government tells them Jews Bad, Bush bad, Democracy Bad, etc. Look at the way the Nazi controlled all aspects of German life and you get a good picture of the âtypicalâ Arab state. Sure they know of people that âdisappearâ in the middle of the night, but they were critical of the government. What you have here is almost total indoctrination and NO outlet for dissent. Why do Anti-American/Israeli/Christian rallies garner so much support? They are Rock concerts for these people and the best part is that they get to perform too!
#5
These fatheads STILL don't get it: we're busting our balls to introduce them to democracy now so our children or grandchildren won't have to solve the goddamn problem later by incinerating half a billion Arabs in a nuclear firestorm.
You really think it'll take that long?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 17:31 Comments ||
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#6
No, actually I don't. I figure about another ten years.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/24/2003 18:07 Comments ||
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#7
"Bush has forgotten that the Arab and Islamic peoples prefer to be ruled by a dictator such as Saddam Hussein..
Haahahahaha, hey, if these idiots like being ruled by brutal dictators, more power to 'em. All I ask is that they aim their vitriol somewhere else, and find some other scapegoat for their damn problems. A good start would be for them to take a look in the mirror.
Quite frankly, I'm tired of all the bullshit coming out of that part of the world.
A truncated version of Zimbabwe's Daily News is now being published (I'd guess in an internet edition only) at www.daily-news.co.za, a Zambian net address.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 15:53 ||
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za = South Africa. zm is the internet country code for Zambia. (For future reference, the World FactBook has internet country codes.)
VALLEDUPAR, Colombia - Colombian rebels on Monday released two European backpackers kidnapped more than two months ago, but there was no word on the fate of five other foreigners still being held.
The two, a German and a Spaniard, were handed over by members of Colombiaâs smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, to a humanitarian commission in the snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains.
A Huey helicopter, a Red Cross emblem emblazoned on its side, flew the two to Valledupar, located in the shadow of the mountain range.
Emerging from the copter, Asier Huegen Echeverria, of Spain, was heavily bearded and wore a red T-shirt. Reinhilt Weigel of Germany appeared gaunt in a green tank-top and jeans but smiled broadly. Both spoke on cell phones after they stepped off the helicopter.
The release after 74 days in captivity came after a delegation of U.N. representatives, human rights workers and Catholic Church officials visited impoverished villages in the Sierra Nevada mountains â a condition imposed by the rebels for the any release.
Camouflage-gunmen of the leftist National Liberation Army, or ELN, abducted Weigel and Huegen Echeverria â along with two Britons and four Israelis â on Sept. 12 from archaeological ruins in the mountains, which rise up from the Caribbean coast in northern Colombia. One of the hostages, British teenager Matthew Scott, escaped days later by hurling himself down a precipice.
The rebel group has said it took the foreigners to raise awareness about the alleged hardship inflicted by outlawed right-wing paramilitary factions and the army on the mainly Indian inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada.
The rebels have not specified how or when they would release the four Israelis and the Briton who remain captive in the rugged Sierra Nevada range.
Colombia has the worldâs highest kidnapping rate, at 3,000 per year. Most of the abductions are carried out for ransom by the ELN and the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
ZIMBABWE formerly the breadbasket of Africa might have to import more than 200 000 tonnes of wheat to avert severe bread shortages next year, according to farming industry officials. The officials said the country would have to import the wheat from South Africa and Argentina because of an expected 47 percent decline in production this year. Wheat is Zimbabwe's second major staple food crop after maize and in the past has largely been produced by large-scale commercial farmers. However, the seizure of commercial land since February 2000 has led to a drop in wheat output. Farmers said this year's wheat crop was the lowest in 23 years, following a trend set by tobacco, whose output this year is the worst in 50 years. A commodity executive officer with the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU), said wheat output would tumble to only 80 000 tonnes from 150 000 tonnes last year. This year's crop will be a third of Zimbabweâs national requirements and is 71 percent lower than that produced in 2001. Large-scale commercial farmers, who have produced more than 90 percent of the crop in the past, would only produce 25 000 tonnes of wheat this season, and the remainder will be grown by small-scale growers. Industry officials said wheat, a winter crop, was not suitable for small-scale farmers because it required a high degree of mechanisation on farms. Most small-scale farmers, including those resettled on land seized by the government, do not have the resources to purchase or lease equipment, and have also been hard hit by shortages of inputs. Production costs, which have risen by between 67 and 200 percent in the past year have discouraged small-scale farmers from growing wheat. Some small-scale farmers who managed to plant wheat have failed to harvest the crop because of the unavailability of combine harvesters.
Cause -> effect. Pretty simple, huh? But don't let that stop you...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 15:39 ||
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Well you know it's the White farmowner's fault for not teaching the thieves how to farm.
Posted by: Daniel King ||
11/24/2003 15:51 Comments ||
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#2
Small-farmers in a dozen countries have formed cooperatives to share the cost of farm machinery none could purchase separately. But farming today isn't a simple job, like it was 100 years ago. In order to produce a crop capable of providing a living, it takes intelligence, planning, training, and a large dollop of good luck. People might be able to get by with one missing, but when all four are no-shows, you're in deep doodoo.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/24/2003 16:07 Comments ||
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At the turn of the century 40 of every 100 people ran farms to feed the US. Today 2 out of every 100 run farms that feed the US. Consider the efficiency in that. It is not rocket science but it is pretty close.
Posted by: capt joe ||
11/24/2003 18:00 Comments ||
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This is the kind of thing that China has been doing throughout its millenia history (why do you think China is so big) - Manifest Destiny / Lebensraum arguments without the guilt. From the Marmotâs Hole:
According to the piece, scholars from our Big Brothers to the East are beginning to claim that Koguryeo and Parhae - two ancient Korean kingdoms that occupied what is currently North Korea and parts of Manchuria - were actually administrative districts of China, Kojoseon - another ancient kingdom - was a colony founded by Chinese, and that the ethnic Koreans that ruled those kingdoms were, in fact, nothing more than Chinese ethnic minorities. This "unified multi-ethnic nation" school of thought, which is apparently receiving official backing from the Chinese government, appears to be more than simply an exercise in academics - some fear that the Chinese intend to use these arguments to press territorial disputes in the post-Korean unification era. Given the Chinese inclination of stressing their rights to "historical Chinese territories," perhaps this fear is not so far-fetched.
A journalist who spent part of the summer in Tehran says Iranâs fundamentalist rulers expect reformists to fail in upcoming elections. This event would spur Iranâs theocrats to make overtures to the United States and introduce economic reforms, the journalist says. And Iranians â disillusioned, increasingly secular and chronically underemployed â may accept progress on these terms.
Afshin Molavi, who has written for EurasiaNet and others, told an Open Forum of the Open Society Institute how much heâd learned by traveling through Tehran on July 9 â the fourth anniversary of violent student protests. What struck him, he said, was how thoroughly the hardliners who control the judiciary had discouraged mass protest. After a three-year period in which the conservative Guardian Council â a 12-member group appointed by the countryâs Supreme Leader â brazenly shut down independent newspapers and silenced critics, Molavi said, Iranians are more likely to talk about "economic pain" than about political yearnings.
On July 9, he explained, Tehran felt "eerily quiet." While the fundamentalist Guardian Council, headed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, controls the judiciary and big sections of the security and economic systems, reformists, including President Mohammed Khatami, are "on the ropes." Molavi also sees thousands of Iranians who "reject" the entire government but remain "disorganized, leaderless, expectant and ineffective."
A hint of the fundamentalistsâ success came at 8 a.m., he said, when he turned on his television to see that satellite signals from Iranian expatriate stations in Los Angeles, along with the Voice of America, had been blocked. The fact that satellite news from Los Angeles has become Iraniansâ main source of information, Molavi explained, testified to the success of the media crackdown. Further testimony came at an early afternoon press conference when armed thugs working for the judiciary carried students away at gunpoint before a shocked group of reporters. The students, said Molavi, had been explaining why they were calling off protest actions for security reasons.
"A couple of years ago, the word âfearâ did not come up as often as it did this summer," Molavi told his audience. "The judiciary is trying to inject fear into the discourse." As a result, he said, student leaders who once placed their hopes in Khatami "are now more interested in leaving Iran." [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives.]
Economic stagnation plagues Iranâs civilians. Molavi says conditions include 40 percent unemployment, annual emigration in the hundreds of thousands, and wages so weak that trained physicians often take jobs as market traders or taxi drivers. Things are so bleak, he said, that some express nostalgia for the dictatorship that prevailed before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
At the same time, Molavi said, Iranâs ruling theocrats are feeling more confident than ever. All the regional parties who had pressured them in the past â the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and aggressively pro-Western officials in Russia â are either deposed or subdued. Molavi expects the Guardian Council to "vet" any 2005 presidential candidates who appear more radical than Khatami. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives.] This would lead to a rout at the polls, as reformists stay home in disgust, repeating a pattern that prevailed in Tehranâs City Council elections in March. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives.] It would also free the conservatives to claim a fresh mandate. That mandate, Molavi predicted, would lead them to "engage with the United States and open some social channels, just so that they can have political credit for advances."
Before any of that happens, though, mass repression will probably remain in force. Molavi made that clear with his description of the evening of July 9.
At around 6 p.m., Molavi said, he sat in the office of a Basij commander who showed him a fax ordering the volunteer militia to avoid the university area. This overt effort to scare students into feeling unsafe rippled through the city, Molavi said. On the way to Tehran University, he found several Basij checkpoints, where men in keffiyeh wearing buttons honoring the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini inspected cars and otherwise bullied travelers. "One person told me that the scene eerily recalled the early days of the revolution," Molavi said. The Basij have traditionally allied with conservatives, but their deployment on July 9 openly intimidated reformists. Molavi says the conservatives also tapped a more radical group, Ansar al-Hezbollah, to clamp down on protest.
As a result, Molavi said, a rock concert across town drew higher turnout than any protest action. "People said: look, I could go to the demonstration and get arrested or beaten, or I could go to a concert and have fun," Molavi said. "They were doing the math."
Despite this grim day, Molavi said, "civil society is not dead" and many Iranians in a burgeoning middle class yearn for freer lives. He noted that the country skews very young, and said that within a generation, up to 75 million voters will have no memory of active membership in the Islamic revolution. While conservatives will probably be able to control politics in the short term, Molavi pointed to several trends that could upset fundamentalistsâ rule.
One is a growing anticlericalism among intellectuals. Molavi said he had seen ordinary clergy passed by as they try to hail cabs and otherwise face sneers from the public. This trend fits in with a broader philosophical acceptance of secularism among the middle class. With secularism comes, Molavi said, growing "resentment of" Iranâs funding to Hezbollah and Hamas and disaffection for the Palestinian cause in general. And all these trends fuel a surprising surge in Iranian nationalism, which has never informed the stateâs politics as much as religion has.
#1
The fact that satellite news from Los Angeles has become Iraniansâ main source of information, Molavi explained, testified to the success of the media crackdown.
Aren't those signals being blocked from Cuba?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 12:49 Comments ||
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#2
why aren't we retransmitting these broadcasts from Iraq?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/24/2003 13:18 Comments ||
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Monday, November 24, Al Qaeda marked Eid al Fitr, the festival closing the Muslim festival of Ramadan, with a dramatic warning. DEBKAfileâs counter-terror sources reports that a message published over al Qaedaâs electronic channels and websites declared that the countdown has begun for the biggest operation ever carried out in the United States. âThe big blow will fall very shortly. It will consist of a series of surprise attacks that will cut America off from communication with its armies in Muslim countries.â The reference is clearly to US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
The largest number, around 115,000 soldiers, is present in Iraq. Muslims living in the United States are urged to âtake advantage of the short time leftâ to escape the country and harmâs way. Donât let the door hit you in the...
Some of the messages say that a new Osama bin Laden videotape will soon be out. It will also carry statements by al Qaeda members who executed the last suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia and adherents who died in clashes with Saudi security. They will be shown describing how they were prepared for action. Bin Laden will intersperse these cuts with comments explaining the selection of Saudi targets. Then, theyâll play the trailer for Bad Santa and the Paris Hilton video.
DEBKAfileâs counter-terror sources report that some of the new messages are signed by Abu Assam al-Yamani, who also threatens to murder Abdul Rahman Rashid, editor of the Saudi London-based paper Sharq al Awsat. Al Yamani says the al Qaeda passed sentence of death against the editor because he not only met President George W. Bush in the British capital last week but interviewed him and appeared with the president in a joint photo.
#3
They threaten communications with the armend forces. Navel action maybe. These guys went after WTC twice before succeding. Perhaps another shot at the Pentagone or maybe many attacks at port facilities.
#4
It's getting to the point that you can't get out of bed in the morning without a new A-Q warning, usually same as the old warning. Let them do their worst - we will retaliate ten times over. Waziristan should be targeted with a few MOABs. Let the entire Middle East know: if you harbor terrorists, you will be treated as a terrorist, regardless of whatever bullshit religious or political motivations you may have. Every few weeks, we should ratchet up the pressure, be a little nastier, until these nutcases crack, or there's no one left.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/24/2003 13:17 Comments ||
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#5
Seems to me that even Al Qaeda doesn't think the democrats have a snoball's chance in heck. Otherwise they would lay low (perhaps consolidate) until the next election.
Doing something now is almost certain to clinch the White house for the Republicians.
#6
I hope its just BS but I do take it seriously. I hope nothing biological ever gets into their hands.
I say we let it be known that if anything happens to the US, we level Medina. If something else happens, we level Mecca. Hold them hostage by their religion. We should also spash enemy combatant detainees and corpses with pig blood - let the word get out about that. I bet that would curb the # of attacks.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
11/24/2003 13:29 Comments ||
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#7
I take every threat seriously. However, I am really stumped regarding how they think they can take down all of our comms.
To me, this implies a serious anti-satellite capability. As far as I know all of our terrestrial nodes are highly hardened and redundant. Theoretically, it could also involve use of EMP weapons in countries with US troops, though I believe some of our gear is hardened pretty well.
Recently there were claims that the next attack, scheduled near the end of Ramadan, would kill over 100,000 of us. James Robbins did a good job of speculating how - lots of MANPADS or an attack on a CNG fuel depot seem most likely.
Any idea how they might take down our global military communications capability?
#8
I just read the Robbins piece. The dems are playing the potential of this for political advantage.
"If nothing happens, which ironically is the definition of success, they continue the critique. And if the terrorists pull off a successful domestic attack, they say it validates what they had been saying"
They would use the deaths of these people for their advantage. However, I bet the LLL will say that is what bush is doing, figures.
a traitor is a traitor
Posted by: capt joe ||
11/24/2003 14:38 Comments ||
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#9
This isn't Al Quaida modus operandum when they have something big in hands: Al Quaida didn't warn before the embassies, before Cole or before the WTC. I really think if they had something going they would shut up, if they are talking and making noises is that they raen't in position to strike
#10
For what it's worth, an earlier warning : Turkey: AQ Spokesman Claims Attacks, Issues Threats
November 21, 2003 1522 GMT
Al Qaeda spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj has issued another statement to Saudi-owned magazin al-Majallah, claiming the group's responsibility for the Nov. 20 suicide attacks in Turkey and threatening action against the United States and Japan. The Arabic magazine said the statement it received warned, "The moment the first Japanese soldier sets foot in Iraq, Al Qaeda will hit at the very core of Tokyo. And it is at that time the Japanese will learn our true capabilities."
The statement continued to the effect that Japan is "very capable of being destroyed, and the Japanese know this reality" and that "The Americans and the coalition forces should prepare themselves, from now, for a larger number of hospitals and graves."
Al-Ablaj, who has issued several statements on behalf of al Qaeda, added that theorganization is planning a "huge operation" scheduled to take place between Eid al-Fitr -- the holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan -- and Eid al-Adha, which will be observed in mid-February. He reportedly said, "We and all Muslims will come closer to God and hand him the heads of the tyrants" on Eid al-Adha.
(Source: Strafor)
#12
Land lines are hardened,with redundant back-up,Satilites newer ones are hardend with multiable back-ups,Pentagon possible but I bet there are multiple,layered air defense systoms since 9/11.I would expect a computer virus if they figure on wide spread comms black-out.
LNG attack possable but damage will not be what Al Q expects,storage tanks have multiple one way check valves and preasure relief valves the fire would be intense but explosions limited.Better target would be LNG tanker.
#13
To play off of our two sniper buddies - it might be feasible to hit multiple gas stations simultaneously with RPG's - maybe in several cities. Would make me nervous about filling up.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 18:24 Comments ||
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#14
Can a RPG hit in a gas station cause an explosion? I know it always happens in the movies but does that really happen in real life? You would think it would, at worst, produce smaller explosions and a tall flame. Perhaps they even have shutoff valves underground at the tank.
I dont expect anything to happen but still think we should take this seriously. I dont want anything to happen.
#15
I think we are as protected as we can be. Any type of fire at a gas pump will melt the fusible links in the sprinkler system above. The underground tanks will not blow.
I guess I chose this as an example because it would be a step toward bringing war to the American people. Guns are common. Gernades are not.
We will eventually see gas stations reconfigured with walls and blinds to be less vulnerable.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 18:50 Comments ||
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#16
CrazyFool---Gasoline dispensers at stations have breakaway valves at ground level that will shut off the line to the dispenser (meter enclosure). This is done to prevent fuel from spraying all over if the dispenser is hit by a vehicle. Most modern gas stations have submersible pumps in the u/g tanks that feed multiple dispensers at the islands.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2003 20:37 Comments ||
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Fox reporting, jury just came back with death sentance, no links yet.
Here's a bit from AP...
A jury decided Monday that John Allen Muhammad should be executed for masterminding the sniper attacks that terrorized the Washington area for three weeks last fall. Jurors sent word they had reached a decision after deliberating five hours over two days. Jurors convicted the 42-year-old Army veteran of murder a week ago and then heard testimony in the sentencing phase.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 10:53:35 AM ||
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A verdict was reached Monday in the sentencing of sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad. Jurors sent word they had reached a decision on whether to sentence Muhammad to death after deliberating five hours over two days. Jurors convicted him of murder a week ago.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 10:55 Comments ||
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#2
I'll be outside ululating.
Rat bastard.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/24/2003 10:56 Comments ||
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#3
Hook him up with a dual IV feed for Malvo
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/24/2003 10:56 Comments ||
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#4
After about five hours of deliberations, a Virginia Beach jury has sentenced John Allen Muhammad to death over the shooting of a Maryland man. Last Monday, Muhammad was found guilty on two counts of capital murder and other charges in the shooting death of a Maryland man. The 42-year-old U.S. army veteran was sentenced to death for both capital murder counts -- one for taking part in multiple murders, the other for terrorism -- and also received 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and three years for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He will be formally sentenced by a Virginia judge February 12. At that time, the judge could choose to reduce Muhammad's sentence to life in prison.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 11:05 Comments ||
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#5
"French officials responded to the verdict by drawing up honorary citizenship papers for Mr. Muhammad."
#10
After this drags on for ten years and they finally fry/drug/hang/gas his ass most people are gonna say John Who? Let his lawyers appeal it all the way to the Supreme Court. Once he looses there any more appeals and the lawyers fry with him.
#11
I am not a big fan of the death penalty - its too easy a way out etc. I would have a tough time arguing against these two being offed. I knew they were going down as soon as they moved the trial to Va Beach. Asking for a change of venue in Virginia is a bad move. They will always move it to Va Beach and the verdict will always be guilty.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 18:29 Comments ||
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Hat tip Allah is in the House.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held a special meeting on the Iranian nuclear threat on Sunday, deciding that he would personally oversee Israelâs efforts to scuttle Iranâs plans to produce nuclear weapons. Sharon also decided that the Foreign Ministry will concentrate diplomatic efforts to convince world leaders to take steps against the Iranian threat. The Mossad will be responsible for all other issues connected to scuttling the plans.
The discussion on Iran had been postponed a number of times. Sundayâs meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and senior officials from the Israel Defense Forces, the Mossad and the National Security Council. Last week, Mossad chief Meir Dagan told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the Iranian nuclear potential is an existential threat to the State of Israel. Dagan said the reactor in Bushehr is large, has a 100-megawatt capacity and is scheduled to be operative by the end of 2004 or the beginning of 2005. The Iranians, he said, are also about to complete a uranium-enriching plant in Kashan. If no special technological problems arise, this plant may reach a production potential of 10 nuclear bombs, he said. Dagan said that Iranâs nuclear activity was exposed by exiled Iranian sources in the United States. Dagan said the Iranians invested dozens of billions of dollars in the nuclear project, which "has no economic justification, unless they intend to arm themselves with nuclear arms."
During a trip to Vienna last week, Shalom met with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Chairman, Mohammed ElBaradei. The meeting was held in advance of an IAEA session relating to Iranâs nuclear program. Shalom told the IAEA chairman that nuclear weapons in Iranâs possession would pose a threat not just to Israel, but to the world at large. Shalom asked ElBaradei whether he believes Tehran has relinquished ambitions of attaining nuclear weapons. The IAEA chairman replied it has not been easy for the Iranians to do what they have already done (disclosing their nuclear efforts, and consenting to inspectors). The international community, ElBaradei added, expected Tehran to carry out some additional steps. "I know you [Israelis] are skeptical, and I too am skeptical," said the IAEA chairman. He added that Iranians are unlikely to agree conclusively to "cessation" of their nuclear activity until they are sure they will receive favorable trade arrangements or technology transfers in return. The IAEA chairman did not bring up Israelâs nuclear program in the discussion. Instead, he spoke generally about the importance of regional arrangements.
Posted by: Atrua ||
11/24/2003 10:14:12 AM ||
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El Baradei strikes me as an Islamist apologist. I wouldn't trust an Egyptian to be unbiased with regard to a fellow Islamic country, especially when the Great Satan and the Joooos are starting to slowly turn up the heat.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/24/2003 11:47 Comments ||
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#2
That's it, man. The fox is guarding the henhouse.
#3
Doesn't Egypt have a nuclear engineering program in Alexandria, where they crank out nuclear engineer types with nowhere to go but Iraq and Iran. If I recall the posting or article, many of these chaps wind up in the IAEA bureaucracy. Talk about loading the deck!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2003 17:05 Comments ||
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I remembered to mention ScrappleFace in the title this time.
(2003-11-24) -- The Republican National Committee (RNC) has halted broadcast of a controversial advertisement portraying Democrats as soft on terrorism in contrast to President George Bushâs philosophy of strong pre-emptive self-defense.
The RNC decision follows criticism from top Democrat leaders that the ad made them look unpatriotic in a Republican attempt to "stifle dissent."
The 30-second TV spot, which began airing in Iowa last week claimed that Democrats "are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists."
In order to maintain Mr. Bushâs commitment to political civility, new TV ads will begin airing later this week. In them, the President is seen talking directly to the American people. Below is the full text of the ad.
PRESIDENT BUSH: "I believe that pre-emptive self-defense is the only way to deal with terrorists. Many Democrats oppose me in this and think that we ought to go to the United Nations and ask France and Germany to pass more resolutions designed to bring the likes of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein to the bargaining table.
Now, I would never suggest that these Democrats are unpatriotic. The right to disagree is one of our basic freedoms. So if my Democrat opponents want to burn the American flag on the steps of the United Nations, they can do so. Thatâs the American way. And they can support governments who oppose us. Heck, if the Democrats want to wear blue helmets and drive BMWs while eating French Fries -- thatâs their prerogative. It doesnât make them any less patriotic.
My Democrat critics are great American patriots. Donât let anyone tell you different. Just look at how they support our military, even though they say our troops are risking their lives to defend a lie. Democrats are stalwart American patriots whose only concern is that we have full employment, so that every office and cubicle will be occupied the next time a hijacked plane slams into a building.
Did I say that, or just think it?"
NARRATOR: President Bush -- defender of Democrat patriotism, champion of political civility.
Posted by: Atrus ||
11/24/2003 10:00:05 AM ||
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#1
Considering that Dean just got Ted Rall's endorsement, I would say that the President's remarks are more life imitating art than the versa.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
11/24/2003 11:20 Comments ||
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Tip from LGF:
We, strongly protest the ongoing plan for the Islamization of America through infiltrating our educational system. American Middle-East Christian Association (AMECA) has learned of Royal Oak Intermediate School, Covina, California, teaching the Islamic religion to Americaâs young, naive, impressionable school children. In a letter sent home to parents, the teacher wrote, "During the month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from food or drink during daylight hours." For EXTRA CREDIT, he asked parentsâ OK for student participation by choosing "to fast for one, two or three days." Americaâs Christian children had better not even utter the name Jesus Christ in public schools without persecution and prosecution by the "separation of church and state" zealots. You mention the fact that Christmas has something to do with Jesus Christ and the ACLU will be all over your ass.
AMECA will conduct a peaceful educational seminar in accordance with our First Amendment rights on the public sidewalk in front of ROYAL OAK INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL at 303 South Glendora Av in Covina, CA 91723 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. on MONDAY, NOV. 24. We will have a number of experts in Islam to share quotes from the Koran in both Arabic and English. I donât think CAIR will be too happy about this.
We will provide an American civics lesson for Royal Oak students, to see our FIRST AMENDMENT exercised peacefully and profoundly: A RIGHT FOUND IN NO ISLAMIC CONTROLLED NATION ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. Free speech means thinking for yourself, and thatâs against the book.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/24/2003 9:47:37 AM ||
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#1
Since when has the public schools / Education Association (Union) been concerned with real free speech (including those who disagree with them)?
I'm sure that CAIR will be screaming RACISM all over this one.
#4
I have now donned riot gear as I await the volley of rotten fruit. Here goes - I don't have a problem with kids learning about Muslims in school. The "extra credit" fasting is a little heavy handed, but too many citizens know too little about people that don't reside in the US.
Learning is good as long as there are unsanitized facts presented to kids at an appropriate age. If kids are allowed to graduate High School without seeing pictures of Holocaust survivors then we have done the world no service. Presenting Rammadan is OK as long as honor killing an the Taliban are presneted at an appropriate age.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 18:43 Comments ||
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#5
No rotten fruit from me, SH. One of the better classes I had in early colleage was a comparative religions course. The instructor took each of the world's major religions in turn (except Catholicism, since it was a Catholic college and it was, er, assumed that you had that one cold) and discussed them -- here's what they believe, here's what they do, etc. Very helpful in understanding the world.
A comparative religions course done right in high school would be a great idea. Unfortunately the LLL, ACLU and the wankers would get ahold of it. Pity.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/24/2003 19:06 Comments ||
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#6
SH&SW,I agree but this must include the unvarnished truth about the big 3.If they just feature a prettiefied version of Islam it's propaganda and indocrination.
CNN - Beware of Spin - Note that no Republicians are quoted - nice balanced reporting.
Democrats demanded a recall of the Republican Partyâs first ad of the 2004 presidential campaign Sunday, one calling it a "repulsive and outrageous" attack on the patriotism of anyone who opposes President Bushâs wartime policies.
Yup. Squealing like piggies...
Republicans said the $100,000 ad merely reflects a campaign based in part on the presidentâs leadership since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But Democrats took particular issue with a line in the ad that says "people are attacking the president for attacking the terrorists." My God! How DARE they tell the truth!
"Iâm not attacking the president because he is attacking terrorists," lied said retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a Democratic presidential candidate. "Iâm attacking him because heâs not attacking terrorists." Clark said the U.S. invasion of Iraq diverted resources from the pursuit of the al Qaeda terrorist network behind the September 11 attacks. Even though Iraq is now the major theater on the WOT
Clark and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle both called on the Republican National Committee to withdraw the ad. "Itâs really a repulsive and outrageous attack, once again, on those who question the direction that much of the administration has taken with regard to Iraq," said Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat. I mean how DARE they defend themselves!
"I think that there is an implication here, as theyâve done throughout this debate on Iraq, that if you oppose the president, your patriotism ought to be questioned," Daschle said on NBCâs "Meet the Press."
I've got no sympathy. As far as I'm concerned, unless you're in favor of going after terrorists with everything we have, wherever they are, your patriotism is questionable. I don't want my grandkids wearing turbans.
The 30-second ad was to begin running Sunday in Iowa, ahead of the Democratic debate in Des Moines set for Monday. It also will be broadcast early next month in New Hampshire, where all nine of the Democratic presidential candidates are scheduled to debate December 9.
I think it's too early to run it, but Rove probably knows better than I do...
Clark said on CBSâs "Face the Nation" that the ad violates the presidentâs pledge not to use September 11 for political points. No, it uses the War On Terror â Note that Clark has used the WOT exclusively....
"I think it really strikes at the heart of a democracy when you accuse your opponents of somehow aiding the enemy, and thatâs what these ads are implying," he said. hehehehe..... of course he doesnât say they are false does he.....
Another Democratic presidential contender, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, called the commercials an attempt to divert attention from economic issues. "I donât know of anybody who was attacking the president for attacking the terrorists," Lieberman said. This is why Lieberman is not a frontrunner....
Not because he's a bad guy, but because he just doesn't pay attention...
"When it comes to terrorists, we ought to do everything we can to capture and/or kill them. We also ought to do a lot more than this president is doing to protect our homeland security." And of course killing them in droves in Iraq doesnât.
But Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said he sees nothing wrong with the ad. "Itâs portraying the presidentâs leadership that heâs displayed since September 11, which I support," McCain said on ABCâs "This Week." "I think itâs a very legitimate statement to be made in the coming presidential election. The fact is, the president of the United States is going to run for re-election to a large degree on his record of trying to secure America from the threat of terrorism. I think thatâs a very legitimate reason for him to do so." McCain gets it.
Lieberman said on CNNâs "Late Edition" that the ad was "misleading." He said it was nothing more than "an attempt by the Republican National Committee to get the publicâs mind off the joblessness in America which is improving , the Republician written bad prescription Medicare drug bill... [and] the energy bill which sells out to lobbyists, as John McCain said of it."
Joe, if you're fighting off cancer, bubonic plague, and dysentery, you don't worry about a few zits.
Clark said he saw no problem with the GOP defending Bushâs policies, but he said Bushâs policies in the war on terrorism were "indefensible."
"So obviously they shouldn't defend them. Just let us say anything that pops into our teeny-tiny little minds and be quiet..."
I suppose Clark will have us attack Russia instead.
"That adâs not intended to defend the policy," he said. "Itâs intended to impugn the patriotism of the people who are attempting to represent the will of the electorate and hold the president accountable." And Sen. Ted Kennedy, appearing with McCain on "This Week," said the ad was "an attempt to stifle dissent."
Ohfergawdsake.
"They are basically in this ad saying if youâre questioning this policy, youâre against the war on terror," the Massachusetts Democrat prattled said. "Thatâs wrong."
If you knew it was wrong why'd you say it?
Posted by: CrazyFool ||
11/24/2003 9:35:40 AM ||
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He's not questioning their patriotism - I am. Like when the Dems battled the Homeland Security bill to curry favor with their union masters....
Squealing like stuck RATS pigs huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/24/2003 10:06 Comments ||
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#2
But Democrats took particular issue with a line in the ad that says "people are attacking the president for attacking the terrorists."
Funny, but it doesn't expressly say that Democrats are attacking the president. Of course, one need only take a look at WHO the main culprits are before understanding why Democrats are complaining.
#3
So let me get the rules straight: The Dims can spew anything they want about the WOT, no matter how wrong they may be. And President Bush isn't allowed to respond to their caterwalling? Foxtrot Uniform Clark, Sad Tom, et al. They are afraid that the truth might might hurt them. Go Bush!
#4
I believe most voters with their heads on straight and with concern for Fred's and their own grandchildren's future security will see these Dimwits for what they really are - a parody of themselves and what they said about the ad. I cannot believe the party of Truman, Kennedy and Johnson cannot find a way to come out strong for the fight against world-wide terrorism (including Iraq) and still be seen as loyal opposition. 2004 is going to be a verdict on that subject alone, I think, unless something extraordinary happens such as the economy going in the dumper.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
11/24/2003 11:30 Comments ||
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Every time the Democrats sink to the ultimate low, they then sink a little lower.
#7
Democrats demanded a recall of the Republican Partyâs first ad of the 2004 presidential campaign Sunday, one calling it a "repulsive and outrageous" attack on the patriotism of anyone who opposes President Bushâs wartime policies.
#8
This kind of caterwauling is why the dummycheats will probably lose another six or eight seats in the Senate, and perhaps as many as 30 seats in Congress, in 2004. Every day, it becomes more and more obvious to the average citizen that the Democratic Party represents the Democratic Party, and nothing else. That wasn't "important" when we were just plugging along, fat, dumb and happy, but now we're at war, with a seriously EVIL group that wants every freedom we cherish crushed. The dummycheats respond by trying to stifle every response. The party of Roosevelt is right - that piece of sh$$ is responsible for half the problems we have today. Lying Bast$$$ Johnson is responsible for a large percentage of the rest. Until the people of the world know we will kick their teeth in if they attack us, we will continue to be attacked. Bush has shown the strength of character to do some kicking. The Party of Appeasement is upset. Boo, hoo. They deserve the marginalization their stupidity will bring upon them. Let the ad run - it's right on the money!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/24/2003 13:34 Comments ||
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Frank G,a better turn of phrase would be"Braying like a stump-broke donkey".
Let us not forget, people, that McCain HATES Bushya with a purple and pink passion, and with far better reason than any of the Deanie Babies.
(cf. the Bush team sliming his wife's prescription drug problem across the 2000 campaign)
There's no excuse for the Democratic Party.
Posted by: Ernest Brown ||
11/24/2003 19:05 Comments ||
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South Koreaâs navy fired warning shots Monday after a North Korean navy patrol boat entered waters controlled by the South. The northern boat retreated without resistance. The North Korean ship sailed about one-half a nautical mile into South Korean waters off the west coast. The South Korean navy speedboat fired five warning shots and the boat turned around, a spokesman at the Southâs Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Run away, brave Sir Robin!
Sounds like it was a probe...
The South Korean navy boat approached within 2Âœ miles of the North Korean ship and broadcast warnings over loudspeaker for two minutes before firing the warning shots, he said. It was the fifth time that a North Korean navy boat intruded into Southern waters along the disputed western sea border. In three of the occasions, the Northern boats retreated after receiving warning shots. The maritime border between the two Koreas is not clearly marked, and North Korean spy shipsrecon patrols fishing boats often cross over into South Korean waters. South Korean navy ships occasionally respond with warning shots. South Korea is studying whether Mondayâs alleged border violation was intentional. Thatâs bloody obvious...
North Korea is locked in a standoff over its development of nuclear weapons. The United States is trying to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Or else. The circle jerk Diplomatic efforts to resume six-nation talks aimed at ending the nuclear crisis, possibly in mid-December. Second verse, same as the first...
Posted by: Raj ||
11/24/2003 9:32:19 AM ||
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Fred, I had a Murat Moment blew the link, which is here. Could you fix it for me? Thanks.
I vow to become 30 again. And to grow my hair back...
The Palestinian security council has ordered its personnel to take firm measures to ensure law and order after the US increased pressure on it to rein in fighters. The Higher National Security Council, headed by President Yasser Arafat, pledged in a statement to create a committee to draft a plan to help ensure the Palestinian Authority meets security commitments under the stalled US-backed âroad map.â
Yup. Forming a committee to draft a plan to talk about fixin' to get ready to consider ways to discuss doing something always works well.
Still, it defined no specific steps to improve security less than 24 hours after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israelis guarding the Apartheid wall.
Did anybody think it would? Specifics? Bah. Those are for infidels...
In the West Bank city of Jenin, a spokesman for al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are Fatah's armed wing...
âThe Higher National Security Council has instructed Palestinian security forces to impose law and order in all firmness and to punish violators, in order to preserve the higher interests of the Palestinian people,â the statement said.
"Hokay, boss. Us security forces'll get right on it. What's for lunch?"
Palestinian sources told Reuters that US officials had delivered a list of steps it wants Palestinian security forces to take to shore up the road map. âThese include collecting illegal weapons, banning the show of power on streets, closing down tunnels used for smuggling on the Egyptian-Palestinian border and searching houses to collect illegal arms,â a senior Palestinian official said. In addition, the road map stipulates the Palestinian Authority must dismantle military cells spearheading a three-year-old uprising. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who is expected to meet Israeli leader Ariel Sharon in coming days, has said he would not forcibly dismantle the groups. He is pursuing, along with Egypt, a ceasefire deal with them.
And we know how well that works. Bill Murray, call your agent... Again.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 09:08 ||
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Arafat vows to boost security
This certainly can't mean security in terms of preventing Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Still, it defined no specific steps to improve security less than 24 hours after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israelis guarding the Apartheid wall.
Finish that wall, and security should improve without any "help" from Arafart.
Georgia's new leaders are seeking urgent financial aid and have called for order and stability after the country's "velvet revolution". On Monday, a senior economic aide close to the interim president said Georgia would ask Washington for $5 million to stage new elections after a discredited 2 November parliamentary ballot which led to Eduard Shevardnadze's downfall. Developments are being watched closely by Georgia's big neighbour Russia, and by western powers wanting political stability to avoid problems with a pipeline being built through the territory to take Caspian oil to the Mediterranean Sea. Shevardnadze, 75, resigned late on Sunday, bowing to three weeks of mass protests over economic mismanagement and widespread corruption during his 11 years in power, culminating in alleged vote-rigging in the November parliamentary polls. Washington voiced support overnight for Nino Burdzhanadze, speaker of the outgoing parliament, who will act as head of state until new polls in the impoverished former Soviet state. "The United States and the international community stand ready to support the new government in holding free and fair parliamentary elections in the future," said US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, adding that Secretary of State Colin Powell had called Burdzhanadze to offer support. Under the constitution, presidential elections must be held within 45 days in the Caucasus mountain state, home to five million, but the status of the contested new parliament is ambiguous.
I guess we'll see what develops in 45 days. The true test will come when the new president's term is up, though. If it's more of the same, they might as well start growing bananas. Meanwhile, there's a lot of work to be done, patching relations with the Russians and with the U.S., resolving the problems with Abkhazia and North Ossetia. And then there's the Pankisi Gorge...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/24/2003 08:42 ||
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We should give them the 5 million. A small price to pay to ensure free and fair elections and the strengthening of democracy for millions of people.
#2
It seems odd that a nation-state needs to ask for $5 million. I definitely think we should give it to them, I mean it's a tiny amount of money. Just think about Bill Gates, how many $billions is he worth? Hell, I work for a racing team and we spend that on brakes each year!
#4
Horse racing, of course. Camels don't go through NEARLY as many brakes, but are hell on transmissions.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/24/2003 15:59 Comments ||
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$5M is not a huge amount of money, but I would still like to know that the cash would actually improve the fairness of the elections. The feedback from foriegn observers was pretty negative, but I am pretty sure that the Georgian constitution doesn't countenance seizing of the Parliment. Insurrection can become habit forming.
I would hope that we talk to the Russians before slinging cash around the Caucus.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/24/2003 17:44 Comments ||
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RC of course!
My sources tell me that 5 litre racing humps (homologated of course) will be allowed next year.
Democratic presidential wannabe Gen. Wesley Clark said yesterday that Americans admire President Bush because he kicks major ass of the way he overcame "alcoholism" and salvaged his marriage by sobering up. This is what is reffered to as mentioning something with mentioning it. For example: âI donât think it would be right to talk about how John Q murdered his wife with a knife.â See, I didnât talk about it, but I sure did slip it in there. eh?
The blunt comments from Clark on a seldom-raised subject came as he tried to explain his dismay with Bushâs re-election strategy — which critics say exploits lingering 9/11 fears. Translation: I am not getting any traction with anything I say. The voters donât like me. Hell! They cannot even see me over the podium.
"Iâm not running to bash George Bush. A lot of Americans really love him," said Clark. "They love what he represents, a man whoâs overcome adversity in his life from alcoholism and pulled his marriage back together and moved forward." Although Bush has always refused to discuss his years of excessive drinking, he occasionally refers to it as a dark chapter in his life. He cites First Lady Laura Bush, along with religion and the birth of his twin daughters, as factors that led him to swear off alcohol. But Bushâs drinking is almost never mentioned by his opponents except Weasly Clark and Vice President Al Gore refused to make it an issue during the 2000 election. Gen. Little Clark, speaking on CBSâs "Face the Nation," accused Bush of "exploit[ing] 9/11" with new political ads paid for by the Republican National Committee that highlight the presidentâs anti-terror efforts.
Get used to it, buddy. It's going to be a one-issue campaign, because there aren't any other issues. You're either in favor of self-preservation or you're not.
Posted by: Anon ||
11/24/2003 7:26:30 AM ||
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One of the other democratic candidates - Dean, I think - had a battle with the bottle. Think they'll be covering that too?
#3
If this is what the man says about the President in public, you can only wonder what he said privately about officers he was competing with for promotion. "Captain Jones is a brilliant tactician. When he's sober. And don't believe a thing you heard about that 15-year old girl."
Posted by: Matt ||
11/24/2003 11:23 Comments ||
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He is highlighting one of our real problems (probably unsolvable or even being neutralized)and that is that from time to time we get real high quality, highly educated jerks and dangerous ego-trippers in positions of high command that can bring jeopardy to the grunts. I beieve this guy to be one of those.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
11/24/2003 11:35 Comments ||
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from time to time ???
Posted by: B ||
11/24/2003 12:20 Comments ||
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"...Gore refused to make it an issue"?? You mean except for the DUI thing 4 days before the election?
There is someone in my office like that. "Well I dont want to say anything bad about anyone, and dont intend to but youknow.....". Gets real bad when they are talking to your boss regularly on the way in-to and home-from work day after day after day.
And you cant prove anything because he 'did not actually say it'....
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
