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Arafat losing mental faculties
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Arabia
US sounds terrorist attack warning for Qatar
The United States on Friday warned US citizens in the Gulf state of Qatar of a possible terrorist attack sometime in the next week directed at a hotel or hotels in Doha that are frequented by Americans. The US embassy in Doha said the threat was for a "relatively specific timeframe" and advised Americans to steer clear of all major hotels in the capital for the next seven days. The embassy said on Thursday it had "information about a possible attack during a relatively specific timeframe against a hotel or hotels used by Americans in Doha" and repeated that message on Friday. "Given the specificity of the threat, the embassy felt it prudent to alert the American community and others," it said in a notice issued to US citizens in Qatar, a copy of which was provided to AFP in Washington by the State Department.
We hear that Doha is scheduled for some electrical repairs just as soon as the wiring expert is freed has a free day.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 11:02:44 PM || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hunker down folks,it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Posted by: raptor || 10/30/2004 8:44 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Canuck jihadi was reluctant to travel
Russian authorities claim Khalil was an explosives expert helping Muslim militants who want to turn Chechnya into an independent Islamic republic. His family says Khalil was a non-political clothing salesman, part-time model and movie extra.
A young Vancouver man reported killed in Chechnya by Russian forces went to the region reluctantly, sources told The Canadian Press on Friday. Rudwan Khalil, 26, was visiting relatives in the Middle East with a Vancouver friend last summer but disappeared after apparently going to attend another friend's wedding in Baku, Azarbaijan. There was no word until Russian authorities reported he was among four Muslim rebels killed in strife-torn Chechnya on Oct. 7. As proof, they displayed Khalil's Canadian passport and B.C. driver's licence. The Russians sent a photo of the corpse to Canadian Foreign Affairs officials last week, along with fingerprints and a copy of an airline-ticket made out to Khalil from Dubai to Makhachkala, in the Russian republic of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya and Azarbaijan. Khalil's family would not confirm his identity from the photo.
"That's not my Jimmy, no way!'
The slim, dark-skinned refugee from Sudan was clean-shaven when he left Vancouver but the photo shows a slightly heavier bearded man. Local police took items from the family home this week hoping to lift a fingerprint to match with those sent from Russia. Sources said Foreign Affairs has formally asked the Russians to obtain a DNA sample from the body identified as Khalil. However, the body was reported buried in Chechnya soon after the firefight.
Buried by whom?
Efforts to piece together Khalil's last known movements raised more questions than answers. Sources said Khalil travelled to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates in mid-summer. He spent almost a month visiting a cousin and an aunt, and briefly travelled to Jidda, Saudi Arabia, to see his retired father. He was accompanied by Kamal Elbahja of Maple Ridge, B.C., and also spent time with Azar Tagiev, a landed immigrant and former Vancouver resident who returned to Azarbaijan last spring.
The kid really hated to travel, for sure.
Neither Elbahja nor Tagiev, who apparently now goes by the name Abdel Aziz, have been heard from since before Khalil's reported death. Sources said Elbahja and Khalil spent several days in two luxury Dubai hotels, paid for by Aziz, who left to return to Azarbaijan after trying to convince the men to go with him. However, Aziz telephoned the Vancouver pair daily and the Moroccan-born Elbahja reportedly cajoled a reluctant Khalil into travelling to Azarbaijan to join their friend. A ticket purchased for Khalil with cash carried an open-ended return date to Dubai. Relatives say Khalil was enrolled in a course at the B.C. Institute of Technology in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby and had been expected home in mid-September. Khalil was apparently under the impression he and Elbahja would fly to Baku via Moscow. They tried without success twice to obtain visas for Russia but were successful a third time with Aziz's help. Aziz, or Tagiev, worked for Vancouver-based Visa Connection Ltd., an immigration and visa brokerage firm, before returning to Azarbaijan last May.
He worked for Percy the visa fixer.
Russian authorities claim Khalil was an explosives expert helping Muslim militants who want to turn Chechnya into an independent Islamic republic. His family says Khalil was a non-political clothing salesman, part-time model and movie extra.
Whose favorite holiday just happens to be Guy Fawke's Day.
Khalil, Elbahja and Aziz all attended the Dar al-Madinah Islamic Society's information and prayer centre in East Vancouver.
"He was a quiet boy, said his prayers real good."
All three apparently sat through an August 2003 lecture on the virtues of jihad by Sheik Younus Kathrada, the centre's leader. Khalil's cousin said Elbahja praised Kathrada during their stay in Dubai. Kathrada became the target of criticism earlier this month when a recording of his jihad lecture along with another talk full of anti-Semitic references were made public. Kathrada, a native of South Africa who studied in Saudi Arabia, claimed his words were taken out of context and misunderstood.
"Erm. What I meant was..."
Posted by: Dan Darling || 10/30/2004 12:38:30 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Triple blasts rock southern Thailand
A triple bombing in southern Thailand on Friday, days after the deaths of scores of Muslim protesters, instilled fear among residents that separatists were stepping up their campaign of violence. "We are living in fear and paranoia, particularly after the bombs went off this morning," said 63-year-old Prasit Srisang, a Buddhist who lives opposite the scene of two of the explosions that killed two people and wounded 40 late Thursday and early Friday. The wounded include 15 policemen. Residents and police fear these could be the first of many revenge attacks after 78 Muslims died in the detention of Thai security forces following a chaotic demonstration in Narathiwat province on Monday. "I know they are targeting authorities," Prasit said. "This morning I went to a nearby food stall and saw many policemen there so I quickly went back to my house."
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 11:05:10 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It seems to me that the Budhist inhabitants
of Thailand are in for a big lesson.
Either stop being pacifist and quickly stand up to the Islamofascists, or be slowly but methodically erradicated by the the adherents of the famous Religion of Peace(TM).
Posted by: Elder of zion || 10/30/2004 10:12 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Arafat losing mental faculties - aides
Yasser Arafat's closest aides said Saturday the long-time Palestinian leader has lost control of his mental faculties and cannot communicate clearly. The aides, who spokes to CNN on condition of anonymity, said Arafat's deteriorating condition means his reign as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization has ended. Arafat, 75, arrived in Paris for emergency medical care Friday and is believed to be suffering from an acute blood disorder, perhaps leukemia.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 12:31:31 PM || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Does it mean he will be unable to communicate the numbers of his Swiss accounts?
Posted by: JFM || 10/30/2004 12:35 Comments || Top||

#2 
Excellent...
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 10/30/2004 12:49 Comments || Top||

#3  This is news?
Posted by: Mike || 10/30/2004 12:58 Comments || Top||

#4  This terrorist has always been light in the loafers. He received the Nobel Peace Prize to try to dissuade him from terrorism which didn't work. He was not killed earlier by the Israelis because they were afraid to kill a Nobel winner (afraid of which way world opinion would go). Most likely he will die soon. His buddies are planning now for that eventuality while he is is France. Not sure what happens after Arafat. Doesn't seem like it could be any worse than with him.
Posted by: John Q. Citizen || 10/30/2004 13:17 Comments || Top||

#5  And this is news how?

(e.g. Arafish has lost it a long time ago)
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/30/2004 13:20 Comments || Top||

#6  It may be too late to get the PIN for the cash machine for Suha. Wonder if he got a good financial planner before he went gaga? Mike Morley, you are a trust planner, what is your analysis?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/30/2004 13:36 Comments || Top||

#7  OH NO! Whatever will happen to the Road Map™?
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 14:31 Comments || Top||

#8  just give them one out of your glove compartment frank , it will work better than the one they have now.
Posted by: smokeysinse || 10/30/2004 15:05 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 15:21 Comments || Top||

#10  LOl Fred.

haaaaack the binder haccccccck where the binder haccccakkkkkkkkkk rosebinder
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 16:32 Comments || Top||

#11  Is that a real, undoctored photo? If true, talk about laziness....
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/30/2004 17:08 Comments || Top||

#12  Ararat, in critical condition, has officially lost control of both the PLO and his bowels. "Send another 10 year old to the settlements to kill Jewish cripples...ooops...I think I just shat myself!"
Posted by: Silatious || 10/30/2004 17:49 Comments || Top||

#13  I am about halfway convinced that he is totally ga-ga, non compos, candidate for the veggie patch and on the downhill slide... and that is why the Israelis allowed him to leave. They must be fairly sure he no longer poses any sort of danger, even if he does go on breathing for a while.
So, who's making the popcorn?
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 10/30/2004 17:53 Comments || Top||

#14  Sgt. Mom are you suggesting maybe the old boy checker into the hotel California?

He ain't ever cominmg back, not even in a box.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 18:19 Comments || Top||

#15  Pretty much, yes, and the Israelis know it. He's incapable, drooling, incontinent, and very possibly terminal, and I don't think it can he hidden by the inner circle for very much longer. Sooo... any bets on wether Jimmy Carter will go to the funeral?
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 10/30/2004 18:26 Comments || Top||

#16  Sgt. Mom---Frank G and I were just discussing Jimmuh and this subject a few hours ago. We agree---Jimmuh will be at the funeral.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/30/2004 18:28 Comments || Top||

#17  I got fitty on the rabbit wacker!!!
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American || 10/30/2004 18:40 Comments || Top||

#18 
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 19:17 Comments || Top||

#19 


They're coming to take me away ha ha!
Posted by: Glising Crater5997 || 10/30/2004 19:56 Comments || Top||

#20  A.P.: Trusts are unique to the "common law" legal system developed in England and now found in the US and the rest of the Anglosphere. The French, and continental Europe in general (inclusing Switzerland), have the "civil law" (Code Napoleon) system, which does not have the concept of trusts at all, and in its pure form does not even allow for the idea of a last will and testament. I don't know what the legal system is in Egypt, Tunisia, or the PA-administered West Bank (Does the PA=administered West Bank even have a legal system beyond "AK-47 justice?"), but if money or beer were on the line I'd guess it was closer to the civil law model than the common law model. Plus, I'm fairly confident that in Arafat's financial and estate planning, as in everything else he's ever done, strict compliance with law is just not an issue.

All of which is a long way of saying I have no idea what he might have done.
Posted by: Mike || 10/30/2004 20:37 Comments || Top||

#21  and best of all he will run up a big bill at the French hospital and then stiff them
Posted by: mhw || 10/30/2004 20:45 Comments || Top||

#22  And moving on to the next practical order of business... where are they going to plant him? Knowing, of course, that the spot will become one of the "holy places" to his many adherants? Israel won't want him back in any form, don't think Jordan will go for it... Kuwait? Nahhh..The Magic Kingdom? Place your bets, gentleman, please...
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 10/30/2004 20:56 Comments || Top||

#23  Les Invalides or Le Pantheon. The Arc de Triomphe would be over the top, even for Chiraq.
Posted by: Michael Moore || 10/30/2004 21:24 Comments || Top||

#24  Sgt. Mom---Frank G and I were just discussing Jimmuh and this subject a few hours ago. We agree---Jimmuh will be at the funeral
yep - along with Cristiane Amanpour - and P.R. - stop with the visuals - I'm eating
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 21:54 Comments || Top||

#25  OK... but will Jimmuh appear to be devastated with grief, or merely stoic and resigned to the loss, like Suha. (You want nauseating visuals??? Suha and Arafat produced a child, allegedly together. Short pause while everyone contemplates that visual, and runs into the facility to barf...)
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 10/30/2004 23:06 Comments || Top||

#26  Sgt. Mom: Genetics might have determined Arafat's looks for the first ten to twenty years of his life, but I think by now his appearance is dominated by his various lifestyle choices.
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 10/30/2004 23:38 Comments || Top||

#27  Glising, ...that photo and great line fits perfect!

Crap Hitting The Fan Yasser's time has come!
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 23:38 Comments || Top||

#28  Awwww.... well Fred the docs ruled out the leukemia... hope you are overjoyed to hear that. And please stop posting your bald pic with all Arafish articles lol....
Posted by: Faisal || 10/30/2004 20:57 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
U.S. Hits in Fallujah
Fierce clashes erupted Saturday in Fallujah as an American military convoy entered the southeastern industrial Shuhada neighborhood and nearby Nueimiya village — an apparent probing foray on the city's edges. Explosions and gunfire rocked the area and smoke was seen billowing in the air, witnesses said. Marines responded with heavy artillery fire after insurgents shot mortar shells from positions in the southeast of the city. About 4 p.m. a Marine Harrier jet bombed a mortar position inside Fallujah and strafed it with machine-gun fire, "neutralizing the target and any threat," said Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert.

In Baghdad, a car bomb blasted the offices of the Al-Arabiya television network in the upscale Mansour neighborhood, killing seven people and wounding 19, according to police and hospital officials. Three bodies, including one of a woman, were mutilated beyond recognition, said Al-Arabiya correspondent Najwa Qassem. She said they could not tell if any of the three bodies were those of Al-Arabiya employees. However, she confirmed that one guard and one administration worker were among the dead. The blast collapsed the first floor of the building, where staffers were holding a meeting, said Saad al-Husseini, a correspondent of MBC, a sister channel of Al-Arabiya based in the same building. Employees "were trapped between fire and the shattering shards of glass," he said. That "led to the high number of casualties. We were all there."

A militant group calling itself the "1920 Brigades" claimed responsibility for the attack, blasting Al-Arabiya as "Americanized spies speaking in Arabic tongue" in a statement posted on the Web. "We have threatened them to no avail that they are the mouthpiece of the American occupation in Iraq (news - web sites)," the statement said. It warned of more attacks against this "treacherous network." It was impossible to verify the claim's authenticity. The group said Elie Nakouzi — the Christian Lebanese anchor who presents the TV program "From Iraq" — is No. 1 on their hit list. Nakouzi used to present the program from the network's offices in Baghdad before he was relocated to their studios in Dubai amid fears he would be targeted.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 12:19:39 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It seems the time has come. We are going to lose some fine young men. Remember this day. Remember them. Victory may be certain, but war is tragic.
Posted by: Dave || 10/30/2004 15:20 Comments || Top||

#2  a Marine Harrier jet bombed a mortar position inside Fallujah

Go Team! Harriers don't do the regular boom runs! This is CAS! Get some! Or not... and lay low and be quiet for awhile.... hmmmmm.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 16:19 Comments || Top||

#3  You're right Dave.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 16:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Eight Marines killed today. God bless.
Posted by: RWV || 10/30/2004 16:52 Comments || Top||

#5  And nine wounded. Semper Fi.
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/30/2004 17:00 Comments || Top||

#6  Stay safe, God bless, and thank you for protecting the free world.
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American || 10/30/2004 18:44 Comments || Top||

#7  The military has always had the "Code Percentage" of casualties they are willing to absorb while diplomacy 'flat lines the final solution'! It's the rest of our's guess work to figure out what that is! My educated calculation is that it is 20% of the deployment before it's implimented.
Posted by: smn || 10/30/2004 19:01 Comments || Top||

#8  kill every last one of the islamo-cockroaches. Show no mercy for anyone who does not surrender.
Posted by: anymouse || 10/30/2004 19:57 Comments || Top||


Black Watch goes in under attack
The Black Watch ran into a series of terrorist bombs yesterday as it moved towards the "triangle of death" around Baghdad to take over from American marines due to join an assault on the rebel city of Fallujah. Its base at Camp Dogwood, 20 miles west of the town of Mahmudiyah, also came under rocket or mortar attack as the troops moved in, a British military spokesman said. The battle group and its vehicles were forced to stop four times by roadside bombs planted by insurgents determined to give it a bloody welcome, the spokesman said. No troops were hurt in the attacks. One soldier was killed and three injured in a roadside accident shortly after the troops arrived, the Ministry of Defence said, but no hostile action was involved. In e-mails seen by The Telegraph, a senior officer involved in planning the deployment called the move the "convoy of death", saying that it would be "10 miles long and an easy target for ambush".
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 6:07:12 AM || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The light touch at work.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/30/2004 12:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, gee whiz, Mr. "Senior Officer", you might want to put out scouts and flankers, huh?

Sheesh.
Posted by: mojo || 10/30/2004 14:01 Comments || Top||


6 die as US starts bombing Fallujah (Operation Payback!)
A US war plane bombed a suspected weapons site yesterday in the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah, where hospital sources said six people were killed and four wounded.
Operation Payback With Interest is at last underway!
"A US navy jet in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force dropped precision ordnance on a weapons cache site," said Major Francis Piccoli. "We destroyed the site and there was a large secondary explosion," said the marine spokesman, adding that this indicated there had been munitions in the area. Doctor Nabil Nuri, from the Fallujah general hospital, said six people were killed and four wounded. Witnesses had earlier said casualties were pulled out from under the rubble.

Meanwhile, a Japanese hostage taken in Iraq has been killed, Kyodo said, citing information obtained by the Japanese government.
I notice the shock value of the head choppings is starting to wear off. Since it's kinda the ultimate in brutality, I'm wondering what they'll come up with next.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 4:38:35 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Extended torture sessions captured on video?
Posted by: rkb || 10/30/2004 8:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Filmed gang-rapes of Muslim women on video (Saddam did it, but the tapes weren't aired)?

Slow murder of children and infants?
Posted by: rkb || 10/30/2004 8:30 Comments || Top||

#3  I doubt they'll start targeting children for their little horror shows. A few days after the Beslan massacre, Muslim media started condemning it for giving Islam a bad rep. I don't recall them condemning it because it was "wrong", just because it was bad public relations.
Posted by: Dave D. || 10/30/2004 8:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Being a moslem is bad rep nowadays
Posted by: Spetch Hupolugum3224 || 10/30/2004 9:10 Comments || Top||

#5  A few days after the Beslan massacre, Muslim media started condemning it for giving Islam a bad rep.

"You nincompoops! Confine your keelleeng of seeveelians to adult eenfeedels, not keeds!"
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/30/2004 10:29 Comments || Top||

#6  As they say "payback with interest is a bitch."
Posted by: John Q. Citizen || 10/30/2004 13:40 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Afghan group says foreign hostages safe; offers proof
A militant group, which has claimed responsibility for kidnapping three foreigners in Afghanistan said on Saturday the hostages were safe. The Jaish-e-Muslimeen (Army of Muslims), a breakaway Taliban faction, gave Reuters identity card numbers purportedly from two of the hostages to prove their claims. The numbers were being checked with authorities. The three abducted foreigners—a woman with dual Irish and British citizenship, a woman from Kosovo and a Filipino diplomat—had been helping organise Afghanistan's first direct presidential election when they were snatched from their United Nations vehicle in rush hour traffic on Thursday. It was the first abduction of foreigners in Kabul and raised fears that militants fighting nearly 28,000 U.S. and NATO forces in the country were copying tactics used by insurgents in Iraq.
That's hardly surprising.
Akbar Agha, a spokesman for the kidnappers, told Reuters the three would only be released if all Taliban prisoners held in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay were freed. Speaking by phone, he also insisted again that authorities call off the hunt for the kidnappers and hostages. Another spokesman for the group told Reuters that Annetta Flanigan, the kidnapped Anglo-Irish woman, was slightly ill. "The British woman was indisposed, but we have given her medicine and she's okay," said Sabir Mohmin.
"Here, lady. Have some of this opium. It'll make you feel better."
Afghan and security sources said on Friday that three people had been detained over the kidnapping, but on Saturday they said it now appeared there was no close connection.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 4:34:46 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine
Israel's military plans for Arafat's death
Israel's military has drafted a plan to respond to the expected death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Officials said the military's Central Command has drafted and submitted to the General Staff a plan meant to counter insurgency attacks or massive civil unrest in wake of Arafat's death. The plan, dubbed "New Leaf," was said to have been drafted in 2003 and updated several times as Arafat's health deteriorated. Central Command covers the West Bank and according to the plan the military would avoid a presence around Ramallah during the organization of a post-Arafat leadership. On Friday, Arafat was flown to a military hospital in Paris for treatment. "We don't have to plan too much for additional attacks," Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political-military bureau, said. "We are already under attack."

Officials said the military plan called for an emergency deployment of forces to guard against any Palestinian offensive. The plan would place Israeli forces around West Bank cities and along key roads to prevent Palestinian attacks Israeli motorists and residents. The plan would also prevent Palestinians from leaving for demonstrations from West Bank cities and approaching Israeli military outposts or civilian communities. About 200,000 Israelis live in the West Bank. The decline in Arafat's condition has been accompanied by mortar attacks on Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip. On Thursday, an Israeli soldier was killed and six others were injured in a combined mortar shell and shooting attack at an outpost near the Israeli community of Morag in the southern Gaza Strip. Later, the military reported the killing of a Hamas insurgent responsible for a suicide bombing at Israel's security fence near Kalkilya in September 2004. The insurgent was identified as Ibrahim Issa, 47, and a military communique reported the capture of 19 bombs.

The military has also drafted a set of scenarios in the aftermath of Arafat's death. They included a Palestinian effort to bury Arafat in Jerusalem and the prospect of fighting within PA security forces. Officials said Arafat would not be buried in Jerusalem. But the military plan envisioned the prospect that the PA chairman would be interned in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis. On Thursday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held what his office termed security consultations regarding Arafat's decline. A statement by Sharon's office said the prime minister received a "comprehensive and exhaustive intelligence briefing."

"Prime Minister Sharon instructed Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to hold a comprehensive security assessment of the situation forthwith," the statement said. "The prime minister directed that the next Cabinet meeting include a special discussion on events in the PA and that the Cabinet receive exhaustive briefings from senior security establishment officials on the issue."
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 3:45:09 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They should've planned his death years ago.
Posted by: Mike || 10/30/2004 9:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Officials said Arafat would not be buried in Jerusalem.

We cannot let the Pali's desecrate Jerusalem forever by burying the "Trefa" and "Nevela" Arafish in it's soil.
I am festively and solemnly hereby issuing a FATWA(TM) against such burial.
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 10/30/2004 9:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Hell Mike, The IDF have contigency plans for Arafat dying while snow skiing in Hawaii.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 16:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Speaking of which.... is The Mossad still around?
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 16:35 Comments || Top||

#5  They should've caused his death years ago.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/30/2004 16:50 Comments || Top||

#6  Our soldiers have agreed to smirk but not to shoot their rifles in the air and hand out candies.
Posted by: Brutus || 10/30/2004 19:30 Comments || Top||

#7  Ululator ready. Check!
Webcam dialed in and adjusted. Check.
Sweets purchased and in a bowl. Check.
AK-47 stripped, cleaned, reassembled. Check.
AK-47 banana clips loaded with rounds. Check.
RPGs put away so as not to be a temptation. Check.
Neighbors notified as to what is goin' down. Check.

Mebbe if we are lucky, the Arafish will die on Hallowe'en and we will get a 2-fer. Heh heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/30/2004 19:38 Comments || Top||


'Good riddance', Yasser!
Many in Israel hope they have seen the last of Yasser Arafat. "We will not miss him," said Ehud Yaari, a commentator for the private Channel Two television network. Mr Yaari's comments appear to reflect general sentiment among Israelis, 47 per cent of whom want Mr Arafat dead, according to an opinion poll conducted for the television station. The poll also showed that 32 per cent of those questioned hoped the Palestinian leader would continue to suffer. The top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily wished Mr Arafat "good riddance" in an editorial that described him as the "biggest murderer of Jews of this generation". Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who has frequently called for Mr Arafat's expulsion, made clear that he wanted Israel to be shot of him permanently.

"...if you ask 10 people here if they like him, 11 will say 'no'."
Few Palestinians in Jerusalem's Old City expressed regret at the departure of Mr Arafat, with many saying he had betrayed their cause and some pledging allegiance to Osama bin Laden. "Why should I be sad?" questioned one shopkeeper, who did not want his name used. "He hurt our cause a lot and if you ask 10 people here if they like him, 11 will say 'no'. "He was a symbol of betrayal to the Palestinian cause and (Osama) bin Laden is now our symbol," he added, referring to the Al Qaeda chief.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 3:05:34 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
bin Laden is now our symbol
Going from one murdering loser to another, eh, asshole?

So you're going to do the same thing over and over but expect different results.

We all know what that's called.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/30/2004 3:12 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm generally a sympathetic and considerate person, but the shit that comes out of the Palestinians makes me care less and less about their plight every day.
Posted by: chthus || 10/30/2004 3:45 Comments || Top||

#3  "He was a symbol of betrayal to the Palestinian cause and (Osama) bin Laden is now our symbol,"

I would first like to convey my sincere condolences to the shopkeeper, soory Baba but stuipidity is said to be incurable.
Second, I dont think the Pali's can expect much help from Binni in the near future 'cause after GWB get's reeelected Binni's hand's (and perchance some of his other inner body parts) are going to be full (hopefully with hot lead).

Third, Yusuf, hark the words from the bible "He who soweth wind will reap a storm"

Fourth, I hope you (the shopkeeper Yusuf) and the Arafish(TM) will have to share the 70 virgins in hell !
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 10/30/2004 10:06 Comments || Top||

#4  . "Why should I be sad?" questioned one shopkeeper, who did not want his name used. "He hurt our cause a lot and if you ask 10 people here if they like him, 11 will say ’no’. "

"We just didn't have the balls to tell him that to his face while he was alive and kickin'"
Posted by: Omineth Glomort9553 || 10/30/2004 14:13 Comments || Top||

#5  thatn raisins ez.
Posted by: muck4doo || 10/30/2004 14:25 Comments || Top||

#6  Mucky's correct - white raisins...as in every Jihadi with their stomaches roasting in hell (thks Bob!) getting handed 72 white raisins, and saying: "Imagine MY surprise...."
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 14:46 Comments || Top||

#7  "...if you ask 10 people here if they like him, 11 will say ’no’."

I disagree.

CNN's Christiane Amanpoor, in the past couple of days, is taking turns between licking Arafarrrt's toe jelly and his shriveled balls.
Posted by: Poison Reverse || 10/30/2004 15:02 Comments || Top||

#8  Oh.MY.God.
thks not for the visual, PR
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 15:15 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 16:03 Comments || Top||

#10  47 per cent of whom want Mr Arafat dead, according to an opinion poll conducted for the television station. The poll also showed that 32 per cent of those questioned hoped the Palestinian leader would continue to suffer.

Now that townies is a poll.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 18:22 Comments || Top||


Mahmud Abbas takes up reins of PLO power
Former prime minister Mahmud Abbas appears in pole position to grab the lion's share of power from Yasser Arafat, taking temporary charge of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian leader's Fateh faction during his enforced absence in France. Abbas, who quit as premier in September last year after barely four months in the job, will be in the chair for a meeting of the PLO's executive committee today. "It will be the first time that a meeting of executive committee has met without Yasser Arafat as its president," said Bassam Al Sahli, a member of the committee.

And Negotiations Minister Saeb Erakat confirmed that Abbas — better known as Abu Mazen — has been put in charge of the Fateh Central Committee while Arafat is treated for a potentially fatal blood disorder in Paris. Many people had written off 69-year-old Abbas as a political force in the aftermath of his resignation, tendered following a series of bruising confrontations with his long-time colleague. He has kept largely out of the public eye and cut down on his meetings. But he clung onto his position as general secretary of the PLO and as deputy head of Fateh even though he has not actually at­tended a Fateh meeting since his time as prime minister.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 3:02:58 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "pole position to grab the lion’s share..."

Ouch, talk about mixing one's metaphors. Bahrain Times needs a new copy editor...
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/30/2004 17:07 Comments || Top||

#2  pole position to grab the lion’s share

it's the Nextel C-4 Cup!
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 17:22 Comments || Top||

#3  What is this Nextel?
Posted by: Bobby Issac Just In To Saw Hi Folks || 10/30/2004 18:37 Comments || Top||

#4  So Bobby, how'd the blue and white Ford Torino go today?

I mean until you freaked out and brought it into the pits half way into the race and destroyed my dreams forever? Was it going okay?
Posted by: Mr No Winch || 10/30/2004 18:39 Comments || Top||


Arafat In France; Terror Victims Want Justice
An ailing Yassar Arafat is in a French hospital after having been transported from Jordan, where Jordanian helicopters ferried him and aides Friday morning from his battered Mukata compound. An ailing Yassar Arafat is in a French hospital after having been transported from Jordan, where Jordanian helicopters ferried him and aides Friday morning from his battered Mukata compound in Ramallah. Thousands of French Arabs welcomed his arrival, but survivors of victims of the "father of terrorists" demanded that French authorities investigate Arafat on charges of murder. PA spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi said, "I am concerned for Arafat's life." She added that she fears a bitter succession battle, "and even anarchy."
(she means the Islamic death cultists will slaughter each other over turf since they are not able to freely stroll into Israel and butcher people there.)
That's kinda the disadvantage of having a dictatorship, isn't it? Once you've killed off or cut off anyone who could present a danger to you, you've also left it to the syncophantic remainder to fight over the Seat of All Power™ when you've shuffled off the mortal coil. But then, if you're a true dictator at heart, that sort of thing doesn't matter to you, because when you die the world stops.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 2:57:30 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  God curse on the bloody French
for preventing his beloved son
the Arafish from paying him a visit.

Also all the "70 Virgins(TM)" (except for Suha)will now boycott France for cruelly
denying them the (dubious) pleasure of
welcoming him into their Boosoms.
No more Virgins for the French !
boycott
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 10/30/2004 9:03 Comments || Top||

#2  The serious Israeli speculation is that if Arafat pegs, granted his lieutenants *and* henchmen *and* other usurpers *and* outsiders esp. Iranians and Hizbollah will have just a right royal throat cutting among themselves. *However*, they will also increase attacks against Israel, trying to get street cred among the rank-and-file. So you get a murderous combination of individual ambition and groupthink at play.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/30/2004 10:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Why should demands be made of the feckless Phrench? They won't do a damned thing. Get the ICC involved. If the ICC as even the teensiest amount of integrity, it'll go after Arafart now that he's much, MUCH closer. Doesn't mean that they'd succeed in trying to prosecute him, but to at least make a play while an opportunity presents itself can't hurt.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/30/2004 11:03 Comments || Top||

#4  BAR - that's silly! The ICC only acts against true evil, like Bushitler and "chainey" and the evil "Rummy"
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 11:20 Comments || Top||

#5  "and even anarchy"

How will they tell the difference? Seriously?
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 10/30/2004 12:14 Comments || Top||

#6  Something I should mention - even if the ICC were to go after Arafart, I wouldn't throw any support behind it. I'm just curious as to whether initiating proceedings against blatantly guilty individuals (and Arafart's history of abetting and engaging in terrorism is beyond question) is something the ICC will actually do.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/30/2004 14:42 Comments || Top||

#7  The short answer? Nope
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 15:00 Comments || Top||

#8  Jeeze Louise, folks. I must be going crazy. I see turkey vultures on fence posts everywhere! Does anyone else see them? Fred, what is going on????
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/30/2004 16:33 Comments || Top||

#9  I say put the sucker next to Napoleon, is thatn the invaldes?

Yes, vultures are everywhere AP, it gets worse after the auto bartender makes you a special.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 16:38 Comments || Top||


Africa: Horn
Fierce clashes in Somali regions
Heavy fighting has erupted between the forces of the self-declared Somaliland republic and those of Puntland, an autonomous region of Somalia. This is the second time in a month that clashes have broken out near the disputed border town of Las Anod. Correspondents say that Somaliland was worried by the election earlier this month of Puntland leader Abdullahi Yusuf as the new president of Somalia. The fighting comes as donors meet in Sweden to discuss rebuilding Somalia. Our correspondent says this is the heaviest fighting between the two regions, featuring heavy artillery, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft missiles
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 2:39:48 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The United Nations is hard at work 'expanding its peace-building role and presence' in Somalia and its clearly working. A report is here in case you missed the news.
Posted by: phil_b || 10/30/2004 3:43 Comments || Top||

#2  These guys learned from Ethiopia and Eritrea what it means to fight for a worthless piece of land ...
Posted by: Steve White || 10/30/2004 16:15 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
French doctors examine Arafat
"Jean-Pierre! Fetch me my heavy-duty glove!"
"Oui, M'sieur le Docteur!"
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who doctors say may have leukaemia, was conscious and in "good shape" at a French hospital on Friday after leaving the West Bank for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years. The 75-year-old president was rushed to the hospital by helicopter after landing at a military airfield southwest of Paris. He was taken on a stretcher inside.
Inside what?
Doctors had already begun examining him but would need "several painful days before (they) can finish all the examinations and arrive at a real diagnosis," said Leila Shahid, the Palestinian Authority's envoy to Paris.
"Now, this might hurt a bit, Mr. President-for-Life."
"I can take it! I'm General Arafat, y'know!"
"Jean-Bertrand, would you prep His Excellency?"
"Ummm... That's my bung hole..."
"Vaseline!"
"Hey! You can't...!"
"Jean-Claude! Bring up the 4" colonoscope!"
"Aaaaiiiieeee!"
Officials in the West Bank said Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie will run the day-to-day affairs of Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas will run the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
His Excellency will be having his sitz bath.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 11:01:10 PM || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Has anybody noticed the Last name of
the Palestinian Authority’s envoy to Paris
They have now incorporated terror and "quazi-martyrdom" into their names.
I think the Lady may deserve a Colonoscope #12A (special edition) herself
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 10/30/2004 11:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Good thing, Mr. President-for-Life, had the good sense not to get French Medical assist in August!

Just imagine Yassir laying on his strecher waiting for his "Mssr. le Docteur" to return from his mandatory vacation. EEWWWW! The smell!
Posted by: Almost Anonymous || 10/30/2004 11:57 Comments || Top||

#3  LOL--The vulture is hilarious! I love the clip art you guys have been adding in the last month or so!
Posted by: Dar || 10/30/2004 12:31 Comments || Top||

#4  Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who doctors say may have leukaemia, was conscious and in “good shape”.....

LOL! Yup, he's in pretty good shape for the shape he's in. If you really want to get the true story, read Edgar Alle Poe's short story, "Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar."
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/30/2004 16:42 Comments || Top||

#5  By the way, Fred, a colonoscope is not 4 inches long, but it feels as if it's four inches WIDE.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/30/2004 16:58 Comments || Top||

#6  *Urk*
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/30/2004 17:00 Comments || Top||

#7 
#5 That's the one I was talking about -- the one with the 4" lens...
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 18:42 Comments || Top||

#8  Pardon.
I must make le Puke.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 18:42 Comments || Top||

#9  Lens is everthing, do you figure Zeiss is in on the deal?
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 18:43 Comments || Top||

#10  Panzer Mk IV, V, Leopards and the first binoculars on Mt. Everest and now, we've topped it all!

First lens in Yassars Butt.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 18:45 Comments || Top||

#11  I kinda feel a little sorry for those Phrench doctors. I can imagine that the sight and smell of Arafart and his nether regions aren't likely to be very tolerable for anything but a couple of minutes at a time.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/30/2004 20:36 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Marines awaiting orders to attack Fallujah
U.S. Marines are preparing for a decisive battle in the Sunni Triangle area west of Baghdad, where rebels are using violence and intimidation to extend their influence out from the city of Fallujah, senior commanders said Friday. "We are gearing up to do a major operation, and when we are told to go, we will go," said Brig. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, deputy commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which is responsible for security in the area. "When we go . . . we're going to go in there and whack them."

Hejlik said the Marines were awaiting orders from Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, to launch an offensive in Fallujah and in Ramadi, the nearby provincial capital. Iraqi security forces and U.S. Army units would also take part in the operation, he added. "This will be directed by the interim Iraqi government," Hejlik said during a briefing with reporters. "They are calling the shots."

...the group agreed to issue a fatwa, or religious order, calling for a holy war if U.S. forces pushed into Fallujah.
While Zarqawi and other foreign militants have vowed to fight until U.S. and other occupying forces quit Iraq, local insurgents have been negotiating with Iraqi authorities to hand over control of the city peacefully. But Taha Ali, a press officer for Allawi, said Friday that the government was "losing patience" with the discussions. Allawi favors the "peaceful solution," Ali said, but added that "this might be the last" chance to accept it. In Fallujah, about 50 religious leaders met with members of the Shura Council of Mujaheddin, the self-appointed group that governs the city. The council closed the meeting to reporters, but a source familiar with the discussions said the group agreed to issue a fatwa, or religious order, calling for a holy war if U.S. forces pushed into Fallujah. "War is very close," Abdullah Janabi, the head of the council, said while leading Friday prayers at the Hadhra Muhammadiya mosque, one of the most important in Fallujah. "The government is responsible for the bloodshed in Fallujah. We have no choice -- it is either victory or martyrdom."
"We, of course, are incapable of controlling our own actions..."
On a typical Friday, prayers draw more 3,000 men to the mosque. This week, only about 200 attended, reflecting the recent exodus from Fallujah. Sabbar Janabi, the police chief, said about 16,000 families had fled. About 1,800 are living in tent camps outside the city, and another 2,000 are squatting in school buildings. Abbar Muhi, 49, covered a burned-out bus outside the city with paper and made it into a shelter for his wife and three children. Muhi said he had to close his auto shop when the family fled. "We have no food, no money," he said. "We live in hunger."
Thank your local jihadis...
Kona Aswad, 36, left her home for one of the camps set up west of the city. "We don't have money," she said as she filtered river water through a piece of cloth. "We asked the mujaheddin to help us. They refused. We went to the U.S. forces to ask their help. They investigated us and asked us about Fallujah, but they didn't help us."
Perhaps they were busy. Or maybe they just don't like you.
In one sign of preparations for battle, Marines at an outpost near Fallujah are no longer getting hot meals three times a day; instead, to conserve food, they get packaged rations for lunch, a Marine spokesman said. The Marines also conducted a gas-mask drill on Friday, their first since they took over security duties in western Iraq from the U.S. Army seven months ago. "Zarqawi is nothing more than a thug who is illiterate," said Maj. James West, a Marine intelligence officer. Ordinary Iraqis "are more scared of Zarqawi because of what he has done" than they are of any government or military force, he said. West said Fallujah had become a base for foreign fighters who have come to Iraq for jihad, or holy war, against American forces and the Iraqi government. "As long as Fallujah becomes a giant hub, they are starting to push out farther and farther," he said of the insurgents.

Marine leaders said they had no idea how many foreign fighters were in Fallujah. West said some estimates put the force at 5,000 but that he believed it to be closer to "several thousand." He acknowledged that the U.S. military did not know for certain that Zarqawi was in Fallujah. Eliminating Zarqawi and his network would not stop the insurgency in Iraq, West said, but "if you don't catch him, the insurgency will not stop."
Posted by: Dan Darling || 10/30/2004 12:12:56 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "We have no choice -- it is either victory or martyrdom."

Hate to break it to ya there Habib, but the first one is no longer an option.
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/30/2004 2:28 Comments || Top||

#2 

U.S. Marines; "OR ELSE WHAT!?"
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/30/2004 3:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Or else we'll whine and cry and hide like girlie men from the asshat seeking bombs and evil Marines who are such scum they actually aim for our brave holy warrior's heads and chests, killing them when they shoot them. And they don't run away either...these Marines. Don't they know our brave chest thumping and girlish wails are supposed to make them flee in terror? Instead, like when Abdullah was standing up and fiercing firing his rifle into the air and praising Allah, they shot him in the head, it was horrible. How dare these American Marines actually /fight/.

Waaahhhh, we're going to tell our Mommy!
Posted by: Silentbrick || 10/30/2004 3:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Allawi favors the "peaceful solution," Ali said,..

One thing Allawi should understand - a "peaceful solution" is only a possibility if the threat of force, namely, overwhelming force, is present and that total, unquestionable defeat is in the cards if the enemy makes the wrong choice. If this cleanup is allowed to proceed in Fallujah, logic says that future problems of a similar nature won't be as difficult to resolve; there will have been set a precedent that shows just what happens when rebels insist on continuing to fight.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/30/2004 17:30 Comments || Top||

#5  At bottom Allawi is just another Arab. They don't have the stones to face the enemy in a do or die battle. Concepts like utter destruction and unconditional surender are foreign to them. I'd bet the Marines don't get to finish the job unless they do it in les than 4 days..
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/30/2004 18:04 Comments || Top||

#6  I think you're right Mrs. D. Please be wrong.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 18:17 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Tribal clash kills five
ORAKZAI: At least five men were killed and another was seriously wounded in armed clashes between two groups on Friday. The fighting started because of a scuffle between some children. Fazal Hameed and his armed men attacked the house of Janat Gul who, along with his men, returned fire and killed five men.
And the kiddies were prolly fighting 'cause the shadow of the one kid's house touched the other one's hutment...
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 11:08:31 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  [Off-topic or abusive comments deleted]
Posted by: Slinetle Snolurong4312 TROLL || 10/30/2004 1:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Cleanup, Ailse 3! Overwide post.
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/30/2004 1:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Butt-head(not you OS the other butt-head)Just kidding Spook.
Posted by: raptor || 10/30/2004 8:28 Comments || Top||

#4  Your haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate is killing Americans
Posted by: Slinetle Snolurong4312 || 10/30/2004 1:04 Comments || Top||


Soldier killed, three injured in Waziristan
Suspected militants killed a Pakistan Army soldier in the Karwan Manzai area of South Waziristan Agency while three soldiers were injured when a military convoy was bombed in the Nariwala area of North Waziristan Agency on Friday. One soldier was killed when militants fired at least 40 rockets on a Pakistan Army position in Karwan Manzai, the Inter-Services Public Relations chief, Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, said. Meanwhile, an improvised explosive device blew up beside a military convoy in Nariwala (10 kilometres southeast of Miranshah), injuring three soldiers, witnesses told Daily Times. The convoy had left Bannu and was going to Razmak, North Waziristan Agency. Soldiers started shooting up the area, killing a 10-year-old Afghan shepherd and injuring a 10-year-old tribal girl, Maj Gen Sultan told Daily Times from Rawalpindi. Witnesses said both the boy and girl were taken to hospital in Miranshah. The injured girl was riding a taxi that was shot at by soldiers, they said, adding that her condition was stated to be serious.

Soldiers clash with militants
Soldiers backed by artillery targeted two suspected hideouts of militant Abdullah Mehsud triggering a gunfight with militants, but there was no word on casualties, officials said on Friday, AFP reported. The shooting began near Jandola and Karwan Manzai before midnight on Thursday and continued for hours, said an army official who asked not to be named. An intelligence official in the area confirmed the assault and shootout, but said they had no information whether Abdullah or troops suffered any casualties.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 10:55:44 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


50 injured in Jacobabad jail riot
At least 20 jail guards and policemen and 30 prisoners were injured as the result of clashes between two rival groups of prisoners and also between prisoners and guards at Jacobabad District Jail on Friday. The condition of five prisoners is critical and they are being treated at Civil Hospital Jacobabad, according to jail authorities.

Reports said members of the Maula Bux Buledi group of prisoners snatched the belongings of the rival Piyaro Jakhrani group on Thursday night, but the police failed to take any steps to deal with the incident. Jail superintendent Ashiq Bozdar told journalists that there had been considerable tension between the two groups for some time. When the prisoners were brought out of their cells on Friday, members of the Jakhrani group climbed to the roof of the building to protest. Police asked the prisoners to surrender, but they responded by hurling stones and bricks at policemen, injuring around 20 of them. A large police contingent was summoned to control the situation. They did so using tear gas and aerial firing. About 30 prisoners were injured, including Buledi and Jakhrani (the leaders of the two groups), in a baton charge by the police. Bozdar said the situation was now under control. According to reports, the prisoners were denied first aid, but the injured policemen were transferred to Jacobabad Civil Hospital. Bozdar said that an enquiry into the incident had been ordered. He said cases had been registered against 25 prisoners.
And a wonderful time was had by all, except for the ones on life support...
Ev'ry body was kung-fu fighting...
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 10:39:05 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Seafarious---LOL!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/30/2004 16:08 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan Arrests Suspects in Kidnapping of UN Election Observers
From BBC News
Seven suspects have been arrested and questioned over the kidnapping of three foreign nationals in Afghanistan. British-Irish UN worker Annetta Flanigan and her Kosovo Albanian and Filipino colleagues were seized at gunpoint in Kabul on Thursday. A group called the Army of Muslims says it is holding them outside the city. Three of the seven detained were armed men in uniform who did not belong to the military or police, the Afghan interior ministry said. No definitive link between them and the kidnapping had been established, spokesman Latfullah Mashal added.

On Friday, leader of the Army of Muslims, Syed Akbar Agha, said the search for the hostages must stop to allow negotiations for their release to begin.
"How can we negotiate when we're on the run?"
The hostages were safe so far, he said, and his group's council had met to discuss its demands. They would include the release of Afghan prisoners being held in Afghanistan and in the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he said. A videotape was being prepared to show the group had kidnapped Mrs Flanigan, of Richhill, County Armagh, Filipino Angelito Nayan and Kosovar Shqipe Habibi. The three work for a joint UN Afghan commission overseeing the landmark presidential election vote count since polling day on 9 October. They were snatched from their vehicle by armed men near Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel. .....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/30/2004 12:27:56 AM || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not sure,but if a civilian is caught in uniform during a time of war,isn't that considered spying and subject to the death penalty?
Posted by: raptor || 10/30/2004 8:34 Comments || Top||


Afghan Court Gives Death Penalty to Murderers of Chinese Workers
From BBC News
An Afghan court has sentenced to death three men for killing 11 Chinese road workers in June. General Mohammad Akbar, Noor Mohammad and Mohammad Asif were convicted of the attack in northern Kunduz province. Eight defendants were given jail terms of up to 15 years, said Supreme Court judge Abdul Bari Bakhtyari. The Chinese were shot as they slept in their tents in the bloodiest attacks on foreigners since the fall of the Taleban in late 2001. General Akbar was formerly a commander in Kunduz for the Northern Alliance, which helped overthrow the Taleban. Judge Bakhtyari told the Reuters news agency: "Noor Mohammad has pleaded guilty while the other two pleaded innocent. "But we have enough evidence against the other two, including confessions from Noor Mohammad and from the father of General Akbar."
"It's a trap!"
He gave no further details of the case, which ended on Wednesday, but Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali has previously said police believed the attack was motivated by a business dispute. The workers were part of a team of 100 Chinese nationals employed by the China Railway Construction Shisiju Group Corporation. The men - who were aged between 31 and 56 and came from Jiangxi province - were employed building a road in the region. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/30/2004 12:20:57 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
US set to storm Fallujah, Ramadi
US marines prepared on Friday to storm the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi to crush Sunni Muslim insurgents and Arab fighters. US warplanes bombarded Fallujah with at least 10 missiles late on Friday night, witnesses said. There was no immediate word on casualties, but hospital officials said an earlier strike killed six Iraqi men. "We are gearing up for a major operation," Brigadier General Denis Hajlik told reporters at a base near Fallujah early on Friday. "If we do so, it will be decisive and we will whack them." Hajlik, deputy commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said the expected assault would involve Iraqi forces. Iraq's US-backed interim government has vowed to pacify the whole country before nationwide elections due in January. US planes have launched almost daily air strikes on what the military says are safe houses used by a network of Iraqi and foreign fighters led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But a full-scale US-led offensive could be as devastating as a marine attack in April that Washington called off after a world outcry over civilian casualties in Fallujah. Local doctors reported more than 600 dead in the fighting.
Maybe Wednesday, one way or the other?
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 10:20:57 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  [Off-topic or abusive comments deleted]
Posted by: Thavilet Spotle9553 TROLL || 10/30/2004 0:06 Comments || Top||

#2  6 "Iraqi" men huh? Dead terrorists of any nationality is a good night's work
Posted by: Frank G || 10/30/2004 0:55 Comments || Top||

#3  "...it will be decisive and we will whack them." When a Marine Brigadier General says something like this, it is really, really scary. It has that sort of W.T. Sherman ring to it.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/30/2004 0:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Don't feel bad folks, even the LORD had to destroy ALL of Sodom and Gomorrah; yes, not even 10 good people could be found. Democracy will survive with 100 Fallujans if not 200,000!!
Posted by: smn || 10/30/2004 1:55 Comments || Top||

#5  And that was the God of Abraham that did that (Lot was Abram's cousin), the very same God they call Allah in Islam - this story itself (Sodom and Gohmorrah) is accepted by Islam.
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/30/2004 2:30 Comments || Top||

#6  When a Marine Brigadier General says something like this, it is really, really scary.

Don't count on it until the operation gets under way. After having developed cold feet once, it's quite possible GWB could suffer a relapse and call it off. Again.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/30/2004 3:52 Comments || Top||

#7  The Marines should pull back into a tight cordon, give the "civilians" 24 hours to leave and then field test the MOAB. The AF will be happy to give a lesson in saturation bombing of an intensity not seen since WWII.
Posted by: RWV || 10/30/2004 12:00 Comments || Top||

#8  I'd be more woried about Alawi than Bush. I understand the only reason Bush puled the plug last time was colapse of Iraqi support. This time, we wil hopefully have enopugh trained Kurds to take out the Mosques so we can wrap it up before the press can build political opposition. The military should no longer plan any ops that take more than 4 days.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/30/2004 12:12 Comments || Top||

#9  Still spewing haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate?
Posted by: Thavilet Spotle9553 || 10/30/2004 0:06 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Bomb caused Marriott blast: US
The US believes an improvised bomb and not an electrical short circuit, as Pakistani officials have said, caused a blast that wounded several people at the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, a US State Department risk analysis unit said on Friday. The department itself declined to comment on the cause of the explosion, saying it remained under investigation by Pakistani authorities, but the US Embassy in Islamabad warned Americans to stay away from the vicinity of the luxury hotel. But the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), a State Department-run clearing house for international security information, said a homemade bomb was responsible for the explosion that caused extensive damage to the front entrance of the hotel and resulted in injuries. "An improvised explosive device bombing occurred at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan," OSAC said in a notice to its constituents, generally large US-based multinational firms and relief agencies. The notice offered no other details about Thursday's blast that shattered virtually every window on the ground floor of the hotel and wounded at least seven people, including three Italian businessmen and a US diplomat who suffered minor cuts from flying glass. A senior State Department official would not speak to the accuracy of the OSAC assessment but said Washington was not convinced by the Pakistani explanation.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 10:03:54 PM || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1 

The American statement followed a round of increasingly unbelivable explanations conflicting statements on the investigation from Pakistani authorities.

"It was just an accident caused by short-circuiting and nothing else," -- Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed

"We haven't found any evidence that would suggest that it was an act of sabotage. The evidence indicates the blast was caused by short-circuiting. At the moment we rule out the possibility of any act of terrorism." -- Brigadier Javed Cheema (Interior Ministry National Crisis Management Unit), to AFP

[Cause could have been an "air vacuum"] "If your room is virtually airtight, even if one electricity bulb bursts, it produces a big sound. These buildings are under high pressure so hence the bang was created." -- Brigadier Cheema (to BBC?)

Martians! Yeah, that's it, musta been Martians. Either that, or flatulence. Those airtight rooms and spicy food, y'know. Really hazardous!
Posted by: Old Grouch || 10/30/2004 11:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Now that gentlemen, is a real bomb. A Czar killer, a cartoon punchline and now an RB Illustration.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/30/2004 18:07 Comments || Top||


38 HT activists arrested for trying to rally
Police arrested 38 activists of the outlawed Hizbut Tehrir (HT) group on Friday after it attempted to flout a ban on its activities by staging rallies against the US-led invasion of Iraq. Lahore police arrested about 25 HT activists as they came out of Lohari Gate's Muslim Masjid, shouting anti-US slogans. Karachi police intercepted a Hizb rally outside Nazimabad's Lal Masjid and arrested seven people. "The HT is a banned organisation and no such outfits can be allowed such rallies," police officer Fayyaz Leghari told Daily Times. Six people were arrested in Rawalpindi, while in Peshawar, demonstrators dispersed after police action.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 9:54:56 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Addition to the blogroll...
I've added a link to Regime Change in Iran to the blogroll. I've been browsing Dr. Zin's site for awhile now, and finally got around to adding it. We need more detail on the next coming theater of operations, and the quality is great.
Posted by: Fred || 10/30/2004 9:46:03 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Welcome, Dr. Zin. He appeard on The John Batchelor Show with Dan Darling and Roger Simon the other night...
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/30/2004 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Not to be confused with Howard Zinn...
Posted by: Raj || 10/30/2004 12:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Fred, thanks for your help.

Most American’s are unaware that the Islamic Republic of Iran is NOT supported by the masses of Iranians today. Modern Iranians are among the most pro-American in the Middle East.

I will post major news here to keep your readers informed.

Those interested in understanding the Iranian people's battle for freedom should visit our site.

Iran will be free soon and I am convinced become a major ally in the war on terrorism. The regime will fall. Iran will be free. It is just a matter of time.

DoctorZin
Posted by: DoctorZin || 10/30/2004 12:58 Comments || Top||

#4  What's the effect of the blogosphere on the MSM and domestic politics?
Posted by: John Q. Citizen || 10/30/2004 13:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Welcome, Dr. Zin!
Posted by: Steve White || 10/30/2004 16:03 Comments || Top||

#6  The MSM did not push for any effort to stop the mass murders and violations of human rights in Iraq. They sure as hell haven't talked about the same in Iran. I do not hear much about the Sudan, and not much was said about Rwanda. The only thing the MSM and some of their useful idiots said about human rights, etc. was said about Liberia. The MSM will not be an instrument of information and change. The blogosphere is initiating change. When the people lead, the leaders will follow.

Doctor Zin, got your weblog bookmarked. Looking forward to what you have to say.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/30/2004 16:07 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2004-10-30
  Arafat losing mental faculties
Fri 2004-10-29
  Binny speaks
Thu 2004-10-28
  Yasser deathwatch continues
Wed 2004-10-27
  Yasser not dead yet
Tue 2004-10-26
  Egypt announces arrests of Sinai bombers
Mon 2004-10-25
  Yasser allowed out for checkup
Sun 2004-10-24
  50 Iraqi Soldiers Ambushed, Executed Near Iranian Border
Sat 2004-10-23
  Raid nets senior Zarqawi aide
Fri 2004-10-22
  U.S. destroys Falluja arms dumps
Thu 2004-10-21
  Anti-Tank Missile Miss Israeli School Bus
Wed 2004-10-20
  Another Cross-Dressing Saudi Busted
Tue 2004-10-19
  Cap'n Hook accused of soliciting to murder
Mon 2004-10-18
  Iraqi cops take down Kirkuk "hostage house"
Sun 2004-10-17
  Soddies wax AQ shura member
Sat 2004-10-16
  Fallujah Seeks Peace Talks if Attacks End


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