A suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy of US-led troops in the main city of volatile southern Afghanistan, wounding up to three passers-by, police and witnesses said. The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body as the convoy passed near the governor's house in the centre of Kandahar city, said police official Said Ghafar. The attack was similar to one in the city exactly a week earlier when a man blew himself up near another coalition convoy, killing a passer-by and wounding a Canadian soldier and two civilians.
Witnesses to the latest attack said they saw the bomber hurl himself at the first vehicle in the convoy. A coalition Humvee was slightly damaged and splattered with flesh and blood, an AFP correspondent said. The interior ministry said it was not clear who the blast was aimed at and the coalition headquarters in Kabul said it had no information of its forces being involved in an incident in Kandahar.
A witness named Gulalai said the attacker had been wearing a blanket-like Afghan shawl and had been sitting by the roadside for a while before the blast.
An Afghan soldier who had been travelling with the coalition convoy said: "We were just driving and suddenly we saw a guy who jumped onto an American vehicle and we heard the bang of an explosion." No one in the convoy was hurt, said the soldier, asking not to be identified.
Analysts say the suicide blasts and a spate of assassinations show a shift in tactics that may have been influenced by the increased presence of Al-Qaeda fighters among the insurgents. A purported Taliban spokesman confirmed a shift in strategy in a telephone call to AFP last month.
Two Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) members yesterday refused to give confessional statements to a magistrate saying that their top leaders ordered them not to disclose any names of JMB members. The arrestees, Mohammad Mohiuddin and Mizanur Rahman of Kalihati in Tangail district, admitted their links to the August 17 countrywide bomb blasts to the investigation officers (IOs) during their remand period. But they denied giving confessional statements when they were produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court Dhaka yesterday.
"Nope. Nope. Never happened."
They told the court reporters that their top leaders ordered them not to disclose any names and they could not betray their leaders by exposing them. Later, Metropolitan Magistrate Jahangir Alam ordered to send them to the Dhaka Central Jail.
"Take them back to the clink and put them in — The Small Cells."
"Not — The Small Cells!"
Earlier, Monwar Hossain, another accused in a case filed with Paltan Police Station, gave a confessional statement to magistrate saying he, along with Mohiuddin, exploded bombs near the Rajuk Bhaban on August 17. Meanwhile, three JMB members arrested from Baitul Mukarram mosque on Friday, were shown arrested in a case filed for the August 17 bomb blasts on the CMM and Judge courts premises and placed on a five-day remand yesterday.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 00:14 ||
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Police hunting the killers of a policewoman in northern England on Monday arrested two men in the south Wales town of Newport. Gwent Police said they arrested BedwyrMeredydd Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah, 24, who has been identified as a suspect in the slaying of Constable Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford last month. They did not identify the other man arrested, except to say that he is 23 and a Mormon elder just beginning his two year mission before it's time to return to Utah. The arrests came at the end of a two-day operation in the Maindee area of Newport, where police from the Gwent and North Yorkshire forces cordoned off streets and evacuated local residents. The men will now be taken to West Yorkshire for questioning, police said. West Yorkshire Police say they are still hunting for 25-year-old Mustafa Jama in connection with Beshenivsky's killing. Jama's brother Yusuf Jama, 19, has already appeared in court charged with murder. Beshenivsky, 38, a new recruit, was gunned down as she investigated a robbery in the center of Bradford on Nov. 18.
Firefighters tackling the blaze still raging at a Hertfordshire oil depot, in southern England, have halted work at the site amid fears of a potential explosion, fire chiefs said tonight. Fires in 12 of some 20 fuel tanks have now been put out but the fire chiefs are examining the possibility that one tank contains an "extremely volatile" fuel.
Meanwhile, a huge plume of smoke continues to billow from the Buncefield depot, near Hemel Hempstead. Explosions and fire at the site early yesterday injured 42 people. Hertfordshire Fire Service chief Roy Wilsher said operations were halted at about 15.00G as he did not want a "human tragedy to go alongside the environmental tragedy we have already got". Britains Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, meanwhile, has told the House of Commons the Government would provide support and assistance. He said the explosion was thought to have been an accident but a full investigation would be carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in due course. Prescott said the emergency services and other agencies had acted with "speed, efficiency and dedication" and praised their "magnificent" response.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 15:52 ||
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Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said on November 28 that he would like to meet with supporters of the late rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov. "I plan to go to Brussels, where I wish to meet with leaders of Maskhadov's regime," RIA Novosti quoted Alkhanov as telling journalists. "It is necessary to work for the return to a peaceful life not only for the militants who are in Chechnya but also for those who have found themselves in the West because of some circumstances and faulty delusions." However, Alkhanov ruled out talking to Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based rebel envoy who is a deputy prime minister in the separatist government. "If the relevant authorities grant him amnesty, he may return to Chechnya and contribute to its revival," he said. "Otherwise, it is not me who must address him, but those vested with pertinent powers." According to Alkhanov, 7,000 people, including "those similar to Zakaev," have been pardoned in Chechnya. "Zakaev is a criminal, but I am a realist and I know that terrorists become politicians and Nobel Prize laureates," Alkhanov said.
Zakaev, for his part, participated in a conference on Chechnya held at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on November 25, just two days before Chechnya's parliamentary elections. As quoted by the separatist Chechenpress news agency on November 28, Zakaev put forward a lengthy case for the full legitimacy and legality of his government and Chechen independence, which he ended with a renewed call for a negotiated settlement of the Chechen conflict.
"The bitter experience of the past decade shows that the Russian-Chechen conflict has no military solution," Zakaev told the London conference. "Because the Kremlin regime is unable to break the will of the Chechen people for freedom, and the Chechen armed forces are not capable of crushing the permanently replenished 200,000-strong group of Russian troops. We are profoundly convinced that the violence in Chechnya and the North Caucasus can only be ended by a political settlement. The Chechen leadership is prepared for a constructive political dialogue to ensure stability and a long-term peace in the North Caucasus. But we shall never give up our freedom and our religion. The political farce in the form of the so-called âreferendum' in Chechnya and the âpresidential elections' of Kadyrov and Alkhanov, as well as the planned so-called âparliamentary elections,' have nothing to do with the real political process. This merely delays even further the prospect of a peaceful settlement and helps to extend the theater of hostilities, for which the Russian leadership bears direct responsibility."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 03:22 ||
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A cache containing two explosive belts packed with four kilograms of plastique and two kilograms of TNT has been discovered outside the village of Urdyukhoi in Chechnya's Shatoi district. Three mines, electric detonators and other items of ammunition were confiscated from the cache as well, a source in the republic's Interior Ministry told Interfax. A plastic bag containing a Borz assault rifle, seven blocks of TNT, five grenades and five detonators has been found near the village of Roshni-Chu in Chechnya's Urus-Martan district. An investigation is underway.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 03:16 ||
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Just heard it on the evening news. No details yet. BTW, Muslim mob rampaged for 7 hours last night trashing cars and assaulting people and police didn't stop them.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
12/12/2005 5:32 Comments ||
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#3
It appears to be Muslims protesting about the way some Lebanese (muslims) were treated yesterday at a Sydney beach. A lot of tension since Lebanese men were arrested recently on charges of bomb making. The Aussies aint happy.....
#4
Expect and prepare for the usual double speak death wish from the MSM and befuddled liberal bureaucrats and cowed politicians.
Decent Australians fighting back = Race riots
VS.
the poor minority Muzzy people = are just protesting 'cause they aren't made to feel more welcome and included.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
12/12/2005 5:47 Comments ||
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#5
As an Aussie yoot living in Western Sydney, I know that we have a right to be angry about what's been going on around here for years, but the way the mob carried on yesterday is deserving of nothing other than condemnation.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
12/12/2005 5:55 Comments ||
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My favourite - To get hedonistic surfers that fired up about anything other than their narrow focus would indicate that the final straw may have been broken.
#7
Paul, how would you rate the Aussie police performance.
Are they reducing the Leb gang numbers?
Have they got a handle on Caliphate worshipers?
Are they reducing the rape rate?
Are they cracking down on Muslim vs. Muslim crimes?
Has crime been rising in Australia?
'just askin
Posted by: Red Dog ||
12/12/2005 6:35 Comments ||
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#8
A post at Tim Blair's blog _ In case anyone thinks that this has ânothing to do with Muslimsâ, they should know that thousands of Muslims are, right now, parading through Lakemba, shouting âAllahu Akbar!â
Theyâre claiming that theyâre out to âprotect their peopleâ. From all those surfer gangs that come to Lakemba, no doubt.
BTW, John Howards performance against agenda peddling journos has been masterful. He will win the next election in a landslide.
Oh and the march started after a service. They have been whipped up by those lovely âmoderateâ Imams.
#9
Personally, I'm unable to condemn the Ozzy people for their reaction. Two quotes immediately came to mind when I heard about the first occurrence:
"That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!"
-Popeye
"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
-HL Mencken
Had the Muzzy asstards not followed up the original aggression with a night of rampaging - and even an unprovoked stabbing, I'd say the egg was on the Ozzies, but not now.
The Muzzies think they want a fight, prolly some stupid honor shit having to do with their tiny little dinks, but I'd say they've bitten off more than they can chew and - getting precisely what they've asked for all this time - they still don't get it... but I'm betting they will.
Considering how frequently Muzzies go on their little outings, threatening, killing, beheading, burning, intimidating, creating no-go zones, bellyaching about nothing (e.g. flushed Qu'urans), etc. - the whole Muzzy scene - without a sustained rational response from citizenry or law enforcement anywhere on the fucking planet, it's obvious they have assumed they can have it all their way. Institutional pandering, open jihadi symp and support, hiding behind our laws when it suits and breaking them when it suits - and do it without fear of reprisal, retribution, or payback.
I'm having trouble finding fault with the Ozzies. They have 88 dead countrymen who did not and will not receive justice. They have a shitload of these cretins running around cheering the Bad Guys, donating money, supporting jihadi imams, and prolly running off to jihadi training camps knowing you have to get caught with a smoking AK in one hand and an RPG in the other before anyone will seriously prosecute and, well, the scales tipped in this case. This shit happens the world over - and no one has given it back to them in kind. Until now. I fully expect to see similar here in the US when the feces strike the whirling blades in certain locales. And I will find no sympathy for the Muzzies - any of them. None.
#10
Oh and the march started after a service. They have been whipped up by those lovely âmoderateâ Imams.
Monday service? A special service just to get things whipped into a frenzy?
Stay safe, Aussies.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/12/2005 8:27 Comments ||
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#11
Agree with every thing y0ou rant, .com, but I would be more explicit about who really is responsible for this, the PC types who run the media, educational and legal systems in Oz (and here), the chatting classes they used to be called. If the muzzies had been hit hard, just like any Ozzie would be, for their antics, this kind of emotion wouldn't have built up. But instead, they show their lack of respect for the law by failing to enforce it consistently. then they are surprised and offended when others start to show it disrespect. They shouldn't have set the example.
The failure of the law to preserve the Queen's peace creates a vacuum. And nature abhors a vacuum. What's happening isn't legal, but it's right.
#12
Oh and the march started after a service. They have been whipped up by those lovely âmoderateâ Imams.
There are no "moderate" Muslims-- only outnumbered Muslims.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/12/2005 8:40 Comments ||
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#13
I have to wonder why our Aussie cousins haven't begun taking cricket bats when they go to the beach. The proper response to, "She isn't worth twenty years, Ahmed" is to sweep the idjits legs out from under him at knee-breaking level, followed by the pretty little girl apologizing for her reflexes as she calls for a bone-setter and an ambulance. When I was young, nobody looked cross-eyed at the field hockey girls; nowadays our little soccer babes are treated equally with respect.
#14
The news I saw this morning had two interesting bits in it: "...a mob of thousands of drunken youths, with Australian flags wrapped around them..."
And the reporter also wrote about some anti-Moslem slogans he saw "written in the sand".
#15
news.com.au: MOBS of men have damaged a number of vehicles in an outbreak of fresh violence in the southern Sydney suburb of Cronulla tonight.
A reporter from radio station 2GB said "chaos" had broken out in the beach shopping centre with vehicles damaged and police making arrests as mobs of men roam the streets.
"People are standing around in shock, just watching," the reporter said.
"Every window in some cars has been smashed. Roads have been blocked (by police)."
He witnessed police arrest a group of five people.
Some motorists were ignoring the road blocks, simply driving around the obstacles, he said.
Advertisement:
"There's chaos, with ambulances and police going in all directions." One resident, who did not want to be named, said about 50 cars carrying men of Middle Eastern appearance had driven into the area tonight.
Some of the men emerged from the vehicles and began trashing every car in sight with baseball bats, the resident said.
Ambulance officers also had been called to help at least one injured man seen by reporters lying on the side of the road.
#16
I thought they playes cricket in Australia. So how do they get so many baseball bats down under? Or do cricket sticks become baseball bats when swung by mussies?
#17
It's Monday morning here and our newspaper had this heavily slanted piece thoroughly shortened and buried in the back of second section in tiny print.
Headline
"Racial strife strikes as thousands of drunken youths riot at beach"
Thousands of drunken white youths attacked police and people they believed were Arab Immigrants at a Sydney Beach on Sunday.Angered by reports that youths of Lebanese descent had assaulted two lifeguards.
Young men of Arab Descent retaliated in several Sydney subburbs, fighting with Police and smashing 40 cars with sticks and bats, police said.
Thirty-one people were injured and 28 were arrested in hours of violence Polices (sic) said they were seeking an Arab man who allegedly stabbed a white man in the back.
The city was calm today, and police formed a strike force to track down the instigators.
END
Fortunately I read Rantburg, this makes it sound like the "Arabs" were innocent victims, and the Aussies were the instigators.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/12/2005 9:52 Comments ||
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#18
.com nails it. Prepare to hear more on the Myth of the Moderate Muslin. They will talk about the demonstrations in Jordan. That's not moderate - it's just saying "Not in my house."
Now the the Ozzies are saying "Not in my house." Hope the Muzzies listen.
#19
sounds like the Genie's out of the PC bottle. This won't go away. I'd suggest the Muslim minority (300K in a nation of 20M)learn to swim or buy a boat, cuz "gettin' out time" is near...
Dickwads are learning there's limits to enforced tolerance of asshole behavior.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/12/2005 10:33 Comments ||
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#20
One thing's for certain. The Aussies started out passionately, but if they let this mob go unchecked it will once again show the muslims that they can throw their insane, eye-rolling temper tantrum and cow the locals as they have so many times before. This needs to be met with force, and I'm not talking about the police.
#21
Yes - bottom line is that the society as a whole has to say that the intimidation shit has got to stop. Last night the threads really got to me - telling little girls at the beach they'd better cover up or they are "little tarts" - "asking for it", no doubt.
I'm really really really getting angry at this bullshit. It's time to push back.
Posted by: too true ||
12/12/2005 10:46 Comments ||
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#22
Any wagers that the Aussies will let this sort of sh!t go on for weeks and weeks like what happened in France?
[crickets]
I wouldn't put ha'pence on it. Here's hoping all of our allies down under strangle this crap in the cradle as it should be. Paul, phil_b, if you're anywhere near this lunacy, please take care of you and yours.
I'm looking forward to a solid demonstration of what happens when Islamists try to foment their usual garbage in a nation that isn't so divided by eliteist socialism like France is. A good @ss-whupping or twenty should make it patently clear where sympathies lie.
Incidentally, should it prove that the rioting mob did originated from the mosque in question, that cesspit should be burnt shut down as a source of social unrest.
#23
You know I keep asking myself two questions: When will this hit the U.S. and what will be our response. I really feel that there is a large amount of pent-up anger in the population that is just waiting to let loose if given an excuse.
#25
The authorities have mostly been unable or unwilling to contain Arab muslim gangs for years. That was the story out of France and that's in between the lines of the Aussie story. These gangs should be shut down with every possible resource the Ozzies have.
The Mosques, if found to have been provoking the problems should be shut down and leveled and made an example of. Salt the Earth and build a pub on the same spot as a message of secularism over fanatacism.
The white Aussie rioters, if identified, should be arrested for whatever violent acts they can be proved to have committed (there were several beatings taped).
No tolerance for any of this crap and it will end.
#26
I too think that it's only a matter of time before we see this kind of violence stateside. We have enough angry muslims here already, and with our southern border being so porous, that may play a big part as well.
It's scary that these crazy folks can weild such power and not be punished.
I do hope the Aussies cut this nonsense off at the quick and soon.
What does a muslims bathing suit look like anyway, I wonder. heh.
Posted by: Jan ||
12/12/2005 11:50 Comments ||
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#27
Just follow the money, boys and girls. Who finances most of the mosques in Europe, the US and elswhere? They will build mosques, then expand their sphere of influence around the mosques. Sharia by the installment plan. Meanwhile, PC governments are talking about freedom of religion, etc etc. They are just doing avoidance behavior because they do not want to have a confrontation with some Imam and his mob flock. The Imams and other rabblerousers just keep pushing the envelope. It is in the nature of western society to be tolerant of others. Live and let live. It is one of our virtues. The Muzzies view it as a vice and weakness and use it as a weapon against the West. It comes back mainly to Wahhabists and oil money financed madness, put to words so well by .com.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/12/2005 11:51 Comments ||
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#28
The Authorities[tm] all too often forget -
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
They'll take action against the non-Muslims cause they know that their actions are an immediate and direct threat to the legitimacy of their power.
#30
The MSM reporting of this is again completely disgraceful. And the rats in the sewers of newsrooms wonder why their readership is down. Look at how this BBC article is written: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4521442.stm. This is how they describe it: "Australian Prime Minister John Howard condemned the weekend's attacks by thousands of young white men on people of Arabic and Mediterranean background." It took me a full week before I saw the MSM slip up and disclose the ethnicity of the France rioters. Never once did they say it was "young Arab males attacking whites". Just when you thought the stench from the MSM was bad enough they have a way outdoing themselves.
#31
Washington Post is assuming the French Media position regarding the 50 car loads of Arab Youths. They reported drunken white youths rioted on the beach and then followed that with 50 car loads of youths damaged cars and one person stabbed.
Zero mention of Arab Youths doing the latter, as they are trying to slant all blame on the non-Arab youths.
#33
Lastly, CNN is attributing the smashed cars to drunken white youths, even though witnesses said men of Middle East desent, in a highly coordinated effort, smashed the windows.
#34
Who finances most of the mosques in Europe, the US and elswhere? They will build mosques, then expand their sphere of influence around the mosques. Sharia by the installment plan.
Maybe it's time we question if Saudi money has extended to our newrooms. You don't have to buy all of it in your name. Just own a controlling interest that allows you to exert pressure to get the good guys fired. Saudi's recently bought a large portion of Fox.
I saw that article on Fox last night about the drunken youths. 5000 drunken youths? That's quite an accomplishment, don't you think? Where did they find 5,000 flags to wrap themselves in?
If we want to win this war on terror - we need to get some newspapers and television stations that aren't controlled by interests that work against our own. If we don't, we will lose this battle war. Blogs won't do it because they don't reach enough people who don't care enough to really pay attention.
On second thought, we won't lose the war. The Muslims won't win. They are cave men forced to enter the 21st century and they can really make things worse, but they don't have what it takes to win. Their whole culture is from a time long past and survived only by being left alone - like the dodo. Enough of them can't move to the future, and there are lots of them. But in the end, they are fighting on a limited funding from Saudi Princes.
The media is only adding gas to the fire and throwing matches. I predict that when things get bad, they will be the first to burn down.
#36
If we want to win this war on terror - we need to get some newspapers and television stations that aren't controlled by interests that work against our own.
I agree 2b. This is true on so many levels.
Scary learning of the Saudi's buying a large portion of Fox. Any links to info on other countries buying our business interests?
Posted by: Jan ||
12/12/2005 14:41 Comments ||
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"I picked up the phone and called Murdoch... (and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty," he said. "Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots."
You gotta read this. Apparently, not only did the Aussies start a riot on Sunday, but they also went on a rampage Monday night in what appears to be self-retaliation. The spin they put on this is mind-boggling, but not nearly as much as the flat-out lies.
Maybe not - but we could lose. And we will if we do not step up, draw a friggin line in the sand and say, step over that and we'll respond -- hard.
And then mean it. And when they pull this eroding-at-the-edges, intimidation, rape / whatever shit, DO it.
I don't see it happening -- and that mean's we're losing as we speak here.
Posted by: too true ||
12/12/2005 20:10 Comments ||
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#48
Aussie Aussie Aussie...Oi Oi Oi
Muzzie Muzzie Muzzie...Oink Oink Oink
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
12/12/2005 20:23 Comments ||
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#49
yeah..we do play cricket in Australia...but sporting goods stores have always sold plenty of bats but not many baseballs...if you get my drift.....we didn't even know the bats were made for a sport called baseball!!!!I personally own a "junior slugger", it fits nicely beside my driver's seat.....are they really used for sport in the U.S.?...what'll they think of next
#50
Give all the girls Police whistles, whenever harrassed blow the whistle (And if you see someone take away their whistle blow yours) then all men in the sound of the whistle respond immediately to the whistle blowers needs.
Should cut this intimidation shit off at the instant it occurs.
Fists, bats, karate as needed, report all these battered "Arabs" to the cops AND GET THE NAMES AND BADGE NUMBERS OF THE RESPONDING OFFICERS.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/12/2005 20:43 Comments ||
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#51
Wretchard suggests that the multi-culti dream will inevitably end in an explosion. People tolerate until something snaps, and then nothing is tolerated. There is a comment there that talks about what would happen if a Muslim threatened to rape HIS daughter. The Ozzies will not loose. Survival is a strong reflex. The Muzzie thugs need to be put down HARD to prevent a more generalized response to all Muslims.
Other than in granola centers like SF, these types of festivities will not be tolerated in America. Don't threaten my wife or children, or even try to beat up my car with a baseball bat...
#53
hey, I'm beginning to think that it's the men that need to wear this stupid hajab. Or whatever it's called. That way women wouldn't have to look at their sorry asses. Also it would give the women time to defend themselves while the men attempted to get the clothes off. heh
man, I dislike how this gets me all fired up and say such mean things.
Posted by: Jan ||
12/12/2005 22:03 Comments ||
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#54
One other thing the MSM is 'censoring' out. Apparently the 'white' mob contained significant numbers of Pacific Islanders (Fijians, Tongans). Keen surfies and generally well liked. Obviously too difficult to spin.
#55
I noticed that, too, phil. The surfer gangs may be thugs, but with Fijians, Tongans, etc. in their ranks they don't fit the press's preferred image of KKK reborn.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/12/2005 22:35 Comments ||
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#56
..but sporting goods stores have always sold plenty of bats but not many baseballs...if you get my drift.....we didn't even know the bats were made for a sport called baseball!!!!
I remember in '99 when I was in a Greyhound bus heading north up the NSW coast, we were passing by a sports field in some small town and I was surprised to see a whole bunch of uniformed guys with mitts on throwing baseballs back and forth, doing their warmups. I would have expected to see something like that in Sydney or Melbourne, but not in some nondescript little town on the mid-north coast.
The seven suspects - six men and a woman - are all Algerian nationals linked to a branch of the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) run by Abu Al Haikan. Counterterrorism experts fear Al Haikan is planning to commit attacks in Europe, but Alonso stressed yesterday that police have uncovered no evidence that the seven suspects were preparing attacks in Spain.
"There are no indications that they were planning imminent attacks," the interior minister told journalists. "They formed a well structured and hierarchical group dedicated to providing financial and logistical support to the terrorist organization."
According to police, the cell was involved in burglaries from luxury chalets along the Costa del Sol, car theft and credit card fraud, and would use the proceeds to finance the GSPC. Raids on 12 apartments and chalets used by the group - many of them in wealthy areas of resorts such as Marbella and Torremolinos - uncovered large sums of money, documents in Arabic about waging jihad and false credit cards, as well as apparently stolen watches and jewelry.
The money, investigators said, would be sent to Algeria either via a "complex network" of bank transfers or by hand.
Alonso described the cell as a "twin" of a similar group of 10 Algerians who were arrested in Alicante, Murcia and Granada last month on similar charges, although he noted that there is no evidence of contact between them. Since the March 11 train bombings last year, 205 suspected Islamist terrorists have been arrested in Spain, including those detained yesterday, and 104 are in prison.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 03:18 ||
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Is this what Islam is all about? Need Gentle to clarify things.
Italian police were listening as the man identified as an Egyptian radical shouted with joy while watching a video of the beheading of American Nicholas Berg by his al Qaeda captors.
"Come nearer, watch closely, this is the politics you have to follow, the politics of the sword," he advised another man as Berg's screams rang out. "Go to hell, enemy of God, kill him, kill him, cut it well, cut off his head," he said.
Authorities say the statements recorded from phone taps and microphones show that Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, a 34-year-old Egyptian facing trial in Milan next month on terrorism charges, preached a radical form of Islam and the need to carry out holy war against Western elements. The trial is considered one of Europe's major terrorist prosecutions in recent years. Ahmed is not only accused of terrorist crimes in Italy and of having links to cells across Europe, but he also is considered one of the masterminds of the March 11, 2004, train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,600. Guido Guella, Ahmed's lawyer, said his client maintains his innocence and claims he "never had any role in any association with terrorist aims." He said the Egyptian also says he is not the person speaking on the tapes. But prosecutors say the statements, which appear in a report prepared by Italian anti-terrorism police, are proof of Ahmed's extremist beliefs. He has been indicted on terrorism charges for allegedly planning an attack in an undisclosed location.
In the May 28, 2004, conversation about the Berg tape, Ahmed's co-defendant, 22-year-old Egyptian Yahia Ragheh -- described by authorities as a would-be suicide bomber -- questions Ahmed's assertions.
"It's not a sin?" he asks.
"Who said this?" Ahmed replied. "It's never a sin ... because the cause is never a sin ... Are you scared? Are you shocked?"
"No no, I think it is a sin, I only think it's a sin," Ragheh said.
"When you enter a movement it's never a sin because there's a cause, the Islamic cause, all in hell ... everyone finishes in hell, everyone. For those who wound Islam the end is this."
The taped conversations also reveal Ahmed's alleged connection to the Madrid bombings, authorities say.
"There is something, there is something I can't hide from you," he said, lowering his voice in a conversation overheard in a Milan apartment two months after the attacks. "The Madrid attack is my project and those who died as martyrs are my dearest friends."
Spanish officials have described Ahmed as one of the March 11 ringleaders. Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said after his arrest that Ahmed was "probably among the principal authors" of the Madrid bombings, and that he was "preparing other attacks." Officials have not said where Ahmed, who was trained in the use of explosives in the Egyptian army, was planning the attacks. Italy handed Ahmed over to Spain last December for interrogation in the Madrid bombings, and Spanish authorities sent him back to Italy in April. Spanish Judge Juan del Olmo has filed provisional charges against him of mass murder and terrorism. It is not known when indictments may be handed down in Spain. In the arrest warrant, del Olmo said that while living in Madrid the Egyptian "managed to take control of a small group of Arab followers, all of them with extremist Islamic ideology, supporters of jihad and Osama bin Laden."
The Italian police report alleges that Ahmed used tapes, cell phones and computers as recruitment tools in his travels across Europe. He is also accused of giving lessons on falsifying documents, computers and the need for caution in using communications. Italian prosecutors cite the case as an example of cooperation among European law enforcement agencies, often seen as unable to coordinate their investigations because of differing laws and traditions. "Real cooperation is the only instrument to successfully battle international terrorism," said prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli. They say that investigations in Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Belgium have turned up evidence that a dangerous group of Islamic militants have moved into Western Europe to recruit insurgents to fight in Iraq.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/12/2005 01:45 ||
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"Come nearer, watch closely, this is the politics you have to follow, the politics of the sword,"
Comes to mind that Christ had something to say about that.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/12/2005 6:03 Comments ||
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h/t Pittsburg journo Jack Kelly at his blog Irish Pennants.
Security operations in western Iraq have killed more than 750 insurgents and captured almost 2,000 in the past few weeks, a senior defense ministry official said Monday.
"Enemy casualties in the Euphrates Valley have reached 753 killed and 58 wounded," General Abdel Aziz Mohammed told a press conference in Baghdad.
"The number of detained is 1,978 and includes an emir (insurgent cell chief) named Khalaf Fanus who was turned in to police forces by his family.
"All zones along the valley have been cleared and we are maintaining an Iraqi and multinational military presence there until police forces arrive to secure the area."
The commander of military operations at the defense ministry added: "We have established seven security zones" in the area, which stretches from near Baghdad to the western border with Syria.
Pockets of Sunni Arab-backed insurgents are found throughout the valley, which includes the hotspot cities of Al-Qaim, Fallujah and Ramadi.
Mohammed said insurgent attacks had decreased by four percent last week in Baghdad but had risen by five percent in western Iraq, while causing fewer casualties.
He also said that polling stations for Thursday's legislative election would be protected by a triple ring of security personnel, with police guarding the stations themselves.
Iraqi army troops would establish a second filter while US-led forces would man an outer perimeter, he said.
Security was to be reinforced in western Baghdad, the area where most attacks in the capital occur.
#7
This is just an obvious summary to those of us here at RB. Anyone who reads Roggio regularly knows the same. Regardless, it is great stuff and a total bitchslap to Dean, Murtha and the Dems.
A polling station in the area of Mutasem in Samara was blown up by unknown attackers on Saturday night, said Iraqi Interior Ministry sources on Sunday. The source, who requested anonymity, said that the attackers planted explosives in a high school being used as a polling station and blew it up causing great damages to the building, but no human losses.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 16:01 ||
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Loyalists of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein who violently opposed January elections have made an about-face as the polls near, urging fellow Sunni Arabs to vote and warning al-Qaeda militants not to attack.
In a move unthinkable in the bloody run-up to the last election, guerrillas in the western insurgent heartland of Anbar Province say they are even prepared to protect voting stations from fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Graffiti calling for holy war is now hard to find.
Instead, election campaign posters dominate buildings in the rebel strongholds of Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, where Sunnis staged a boycott or were too scared to vote last time around.
"We want to see a nationalist government that will have a balance of interests. So our Sunni brothers will be safe when they vote," said Fallujah resident Ali Mahmoud, a former army officer and rocket specialist under Saddam's Baath party.
"Sunnis should vote to make political gains. We have sent leaflets telling al-Qaeda that they will face us if they attack voters," he said.
The Iraqi government announced yesterday it will close all borders, extend curfew hours and ban travel across provincial borders as part of stringent security measures to protect voters during this week's elections.
Meanwhile, assailants blew up an electoral center yesterday in a town 20km south of Samarra and opened fire on a Turkoman political party office in Mosul, wounding three people, police said.
In Najaf, the country's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged followers to turn out in large numbers for the Thursday balloting, in which voters will choose a 275-member parliament to serve a full four-year term.
But al-Sistani stopped short of openly endorsing the coalition of religious Shiite parties which swept the largest number of seats in the January election.
The Interior Ministry said the emergency measures will take effect early tomorrow and last until Saturday morning. The nighttime curfew will be extended by three hours, all international borders and airports will be closed and travel across provincial boundaries will be banned.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 02:58 ||
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"Of course, if they want to launch attack against the Shiite polling stations, feel free."
If Zark's so tight with God, why doesn't God clear up that ringworm?
Iraq's al Qaeda and other militant groups branded landmark elections as ungodly and vowed to keep up their jihad to turn the country into an Islamic state, according to an Internet statement dated Monday.
Democracy is, of course, a Jewish plot. The only proper government is that of holy men, who talk to God on a daily basis. For some reason, God always wants what the holy men want.
"This so-called political process -- and those who take part in these apostate elections -- is forbidden by God's laws and goes against our Muslim constitution, the Koran," the groups said in the statement. "What is going on in Iraq these days is a crusader conspiracy and this political process is nothing but a devilish project aimed against the mujahideen ... We declare that we will carry on our jihad in the name of God until an Islamic state ruled by the Koran is established."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 02:55 ||
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Seriously folks, killing these people is really the kindest way of treating them. They will never find peace or happiness on earth, so sending them to the next world is an act of compassion.
Voting begins Monday in hospitals, military camps and even prisons across Iraq, launching the process to choose a new parliament that the United States hopes can help quell the insurgency so U.S. forces can begin heading home. Iraq's government announced it will close its borders, extend the nighttime curfew and restrict domestic travel starting Tuesday — two days before the main election day — to prevent insurgents from disrupting the vote. "We are very prepared for the elections, and we are highly determined," Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said. "We hope that everyone participates and that it will be a safe day. ... We are at a historic juncture."
Voters will be choosing their first fully constitutional parliament since the 2003 collapse of Saddam Hussein. The 275-member assembly, which will serve for four years, will then choose a new government that U.S. officials hope can win the confidence of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority — the foundation of the insurgency.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 00:48 ||
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#1
Am I pessimistic in thinking that something may go 'boom' somewhere in the West this week? It's been a little tickle in the back of my mind for about a week or so now...
#5
AFAIK, AQ hasnt timed attacks OUTSIDE of Iraq to match the previous Iraqi elections. They will of course try to disrupt this one, but not likely to succeed on any scale.
The real questions, I think, aside from the obvious one the media will grab onto (IE Sunni turnout) will be how the Shiite vote splits - how many for UIA (the Shiite religious alliance) and how many for secular parties such as those led by Allawi and Chalabi. That will determine the shape of the next Iraqi govt.
DUBAI - An Iraqi insurgent group claimed on Sunday the kidnapping of four Iranians on a religious mission to the war-torn country, according to a video shown on Al-Arabiya channel. âInitial investigation confirmed they were dispatched on an official mission by the hawza (religious authority) in Qom,â said the channelâs anchorman, reading a statement from a group called the Saad bin Abi Waqas Brigades.
Gosh golly, that's awful.
The channel broadcast a clip from the video showing four men seated on the floor under a large black banner bearing the groupâs name and holding against their chests what appeared to be identification cards. The four men had been seized near Balad, 75 kilometres north of the capital.
The insurgent group, which has previously claimed attacks on US and Iraqi forces, gave no motive for the kidnapping and made no demands, Al-Arabiya said. The source, however, clarified that the four Iranians, kidnapped on November 28 near Balad, had not been released as wrongly announced on November 30.
An official at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad told AFP that diplomats had no information on the kidnapping, other than seeing the video on Al-Arabiya. âThe four are still hostages. Only two women have been released,â the diplomat said.
Six Iranian pilgrims, four men and two women, were kidnapped by gunmen as they were visiting Shia shrines in Balad and Samarra, also north of Baghdad. The two women were released a day later.
Balad, a mixed Shia-Sunni town, is home to the tomb of Ali bin Mohammed al-Naqi, the eighth of the 12 Shia imams. It is a popular stopping point for the hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims who have travelled to Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003 to visit the countryâs holy shrines.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/12/2005 00:00 ||
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A group of masked Palestinian gunmen from the ruling Fatah Party raided the election office in the central Gaza town of Deir el-Balah and forced it to close Monday to protest their party's plans to appoint candidates for upcoming elections instead of holding primaries. Fatah canceled its Nov. 28 Gaza primaries after gunmen disrupted at least a dozen polling places, firing in the air and stealing some ballot boxes. Many Fatah leaders hoped the primaries would help clear out the party's entrenched, corruption riddled old guard and replace them with younger, more popular, leaders. The gunmen said Fatah officials' plan to appoint the candidates was a conspiracy.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 15:34 ||
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A Palestinian insurgent has used a Western-sponsored university as the base for his activities in the West Bank. Israeli security sources said an Islamic Jihad insurgent converted the Arab-American University in Zebabda into his base of operations. The sources said the insurgent planned suicide bombings inside Israel from the university's dormitories, located outside Jenin. The insurgent was identified as Ashraf Mahmoud Husseini Awidat, 19. Awidat was identified as the deputy to Jihad commander in Jenin, Iyad Abu Al Roub. Al Roub was captured in November 2005.
The sources said Israeli intelligence agents and special troops raided the private university in Jenin in early December and arrested Awidat. They said Awidat had sought to conduct an imminent suicide attack against an Israeli target.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 11:19 ||
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A Palestinian militant has been killed by his own bomb in the Balata refugee camp as clashes erupt between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen. The Israeli Army is raiding the northern West Bank city. Palestinian medical sources say Iyyad Hashash, a 19-year-old militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, sustained critical injuries when the bomb he was trying to throw at troops in the camp, backfired. He died shortly afterwards.
"Another one, Dr. Quincy!"
"Put him over there with the others, Sam!"
"There's not a lot of room. How about if I put half of him over there and the other half in the closet?"
"That's fine. Has the pizza guy come yet? I'm starved!"
The incident occurred during a gunbattle between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants. It was sparked when scores of troops pushed into the camp to arrest wanted militants. Security officials say around 40 Israeli jeeps have entered the camp along with five military lorries, with three tanks seen surrounding the camp. They say the troops have conducted house-to-house searches for wanted militants. There is no immediate comment from the Israeli Army.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 00:20 ||
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#1
Do not pass GO, do not collect 72 virgins, go straight to HELL you loser of all losers.
#3
Iyyad Hashash, a 19-year-old militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, sustained critical injuries when the bomb he was trying to throw at troops in the camp, backfired.
Palestinian youth, they blow up so quickly these days.
#8
"First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shalt be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it. "
Soldiers uncovered a Palestinian tunnel Saturday morning while working on a concrete, anti-sniper barrier near the Erez Checkpoint, north of the Gaza Strip. The tunnel began only few dozen meters back, but its entrance was hidden from view by a garbage dump. This was the first time since the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005 that Palestinian terrorists have tried to burrow underneath the border fence surrounding the Strip.
An IDF spokesman said that the Palestinian Authority had been warned twice about the recent tunneling efforts of terrorists but has done nothing about it. Meanwhile, infiltration attempts continued throughout the weekend.
On Friday, a navy patrol shot two swimmers, killing one, believed to be carrying bags of weapons from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. Military sources said that this is third time in the span of a month that Palestinians have tried to smuggle in weapons or try to launch attacks by sea.
Lawyers acting for the radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir have begun action in a Jakarta court aimed at freeing the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah. The lawyers are demanding convicted Bali bomber Amrozi be called as a witness. Bashir is currently serving two-and-a-half-years in prison for being part of a conspiracy to carry out the first Bali bombings. His lawyers have petitioned the South Jakarta State Court to certify that there is new evidence in the case. They want to call Amrozi, who is currently awaiting execution, to refute claims he received Bashir's blessing to carry out the attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 16:14 ||
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Let him out so we can cap his terrorist Islamist @ss. This filthy scumbag has gallons of innocent blood on his hands.
This was indicated by two of the five Syrian officials interrogated in Vienna on Dec. 7 on the assassination of Rafiq Hariri on Feb. 14. Furthermore, no material regarding the Hariri assassination had been found in Syrian intelligence archives.
This is one of the matters on which Mehlis recommends further investigation by the UN commission in the six-month extension of the inquiry panelâs mandate he intends to request from the UN Security Council.
The second Mehlis report tightens the chain of evidence incriminating Syria in the crime.
He notes that only five of the six high-ranking Syrian officers Damascus undertook to make available for questioning were allowed to leave Syria for Vienna. The officer withheld from the team was the presidentâs brother-in-law and security chief Gen. Assef al-Shawqat.
The investigation identified 19 individuals as suspects in the planning and execution of the crime or deliberate attempts to mislead the investigation.
He makes a point of the witness Husam Taher Hussam, who appeared on Syrian television two weeks ago to withdraw his prior testimony to the commission which he claimed had been coerced. The Commission learned that Hussamâs account to friends before his trip to Syria was similar to the sworn account he gave the panel. His recantation was aired after Syrian officials arrested and threatened some his close relatives in Syria. Their manipulation of Hussam raises serious questions about the commitment of the Syrian Judicial Commission to conduct an inquiry into the Hariri crime.
New unnamed witnesses have approached the Commission since it submitted its interim report in October and confirmed its findings with detailed information pointing directly the Lebanese and Syrian intelligence services as perpetrators, sponsors and organizers of the Hariri murder.
One reported to the inquiry team that after the assassination, a high-level Syrian official supplied arms and ammunition to groups and individuals in Lebanon to create public disorder in response to accusations of Syrian involvement in the crime.
Lebanese military intelligence Technical Divison conducted extensive wiretapping of Haririâs telephones over a sustained period, relaying transcripts daily to top Lebanese and Syrian officials including Raymon Azar, Jamil al Sayyed and Rustum Ghazale. The archives of these transcripts have been deleted but the commission hopes to recover the deleted data.
During the period prior to the assassination there was growing tension between Hariri and senior Syrian officials including president Bashar Assad. Following their meeting on August 24, 2004, an informal oral agreement was confirmed which set out what the former Lebanese prime minister was allowed to and not to do in relation to Syria.
Another line of investigation still to be explored for motives behind the assassination relates to fraud, corruption and money laundering linked to the collapse of the Lebanese Bank Al Madina in mid-2003. The commission was informed that Hariri declared he would take measures to investigate the bank scandal if he returned to power.
#3
Dang! Maybe we need to get ourselves one of them quantum superconducting surprise meters for registering femto-scale surprise events.
And while we're at it, maybe a Master of Cunning graphic for mocking Basher's pitiful and obvious attempts at international skullduggery. That boy's poor daddy must be rolling in his grave.
Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora said on Monday he would ask the UN Security Council to look into the assassination of MP Jebran Tueni and other similar crimes. He said in a statement that assassination crimes aimed to threaten the whole Lebanese people. He also urged for forming an international tribunal to consider the assassination of former Premier Rafik Al-Hariri.
For his part, MP Saad Al-Hariri, son of the slain former premier, denounced the murder of Tueni and called for trying the perpetrators before an international court. He made the statement from Paris, where he is currently. He said those who killed his father were also responsible for killing MP Tueni.
In the meantime, Minister of Education and Higher Education, Khalid Kabbani, said all public and private schools, universities and institutes across the nation will remain closed throughout Tuesday in protest to the assassination of Tueni. Tueni's father, Ghassan Tueni, arrived here coming from Paris aboard a private jet today. A Lebanese cabinet session is currently in progress to consider the terror attack which claimed Tueni's life Monday morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 15:29 ||
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A previously unknown group says it assassinated Lebanese lawmaker Gebran Tueni, a fierce critic of Syria. In a statement faxed to Reuters on Monday bearing no insignia or letterhead, the group calling itself Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom of the Levant, said the same fate awaited other opponents of "Arabism" in Lebanon.
There was no way to verify the authenticity of the statement, whose wording appeared designed to cast suspicion on Damascus, which is ruled by the Arab nationalist Baath party. The statement read: "We have broken the pen of Gebran Tueni and shut his mouth forever and transformed Al-Nahar into a very dark night." Al-Nahar means "The Daytime."
"We have succeeded today again in liquidating another of the mouthpieces that have ... spread their poison and lies and not stopped despite the warnings we have sent him time and again."
Some Lebanese politicians have blamed Syria for Tueni's death, but Damascus denied any role, saying the killing was timed to smear it.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 15:27 ||
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A car bomb explosion killed staunch anti-Syrian member of parliament and journalist Gebran Tueni in Beirut on Monday, police said. Three other people also died and 10 were wounded in the explosion that blew up Teuni's armoured SUV car as it was driving in the Mekalis area of mainly Christian east Beirut. At least three people inside the car were killed, their bodies charred beyond recognition, witnesses said. Tueni, who is also a prominent journalist, was a firebrand critic of Syria who was elected to parliament in this year's election. Several cars were set ablaze and nearby shops and buildings suffered damage. Police and soldiers cordoned off the area as rescue workers ferried casualties to hospitals.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 04:05 ||
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Anti-Syrian firebrand? Nooooo, really? Ya don't say... How, um, familiar. Sorta goes hand in hand with this story on RB today and implies the Syrian regime, along with its puppet-masters over in Tehran, figures it has little left to lose. Obviously, subtlety is not the Syrian / MM strong suit - bombs are.
I'm thinking Mehlis is one smart cookie and retiring right about now is a very healthy choice.
I'm also thinking that Syria may not be very accommodating from here on out. And precisely what can the UN gonna do about it?
I'd offer popcorn, but it would have this MP's blood on it. Time for The Chinless Wonder & Co to go - down - hard - with extreme prejudice. Since they're supposedly on board with finding the truth here, anyone think the French will take care of it? Nah, me neither. Somehow I think we just might hit a green light at the next intersection. ;-)
A powerful explosion struck a Christian suburb of the Lebanese capital on Monday, apparently targeting an official convoy, residents said. A local resident said the blast took place on the road from Beit Mery to the capital, near Mansuriyeh. "I overtook the convoy of a senior official in Mansuriyeh and the explosion occurred two minutes later," he said. "An explosion rocked the building where I live," said a journalist in the east Beirut suburb of Hazmiyeh.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 02:55 ||
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UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has received the second report into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The report is said to detail Syria's alleged role in the murder. It comes days after United Nations investigator Detlev Mehlis's team questioned five Syrian officials.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed again on Sunday that he would punish any Syrian involved in the murder plot. Damascus has strongly denied involvement in the car bomb which killed Hariri in February.
But an interim UN report in December has already implicated Syrian officials. Most Lebanese and Syrians are now waiting anxiously to see what evidence Mr Mehlis will reveal in his second report. The chief UN investigator has indicated it will confirm the findings of the first extensive report, but it will also include more concrete evidence.
Mr Mehlis said his investigation was not affected by the retractions of a Syrian witness two weeks ago and none of his conclusions presented to the UN Security Council in October need to be altered.
INTERIM UN FINDINGS
* Assassins had considerable resources and capabilities
* Evidence suggests both Syria and Lebanon were involved
* Crime was prepared over several months
* Hariri's movements and itineraries were monitored
* Highly unlikely Syrian or Lebanese intelligence were not aware of assassination plot
The Lebanese media have also reported that Mr Mehlis is likely to say he did not get full co-operation from Syria.
Ah.
The UN has threatened unspecified action in this case and the Security Council is due to discuss the report on Tuesday. But Syrian officials insist they have co-operated fully. "If there is a person who is involved then he must be held accountable, but at the same time to say that a Syrian person is guilty there must be evidence," Syria's President Assad said in an interview with Russia's Channel 2 television station.
"But not their kind of evidence!"
And the UN investigation is by no means over, says the BBC's Kim Ghattas in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Lebanon has urged Mr Annan to extend Mr Mehlis's investigation by six months. The mandate of the probe is likely to be extended for another three months, our correspondent says, even though Mr Mehlis himself will no longer lead the investigation beyond 15 December.
#1
The Iraqi elections will be over and the vote counted by the 25th or so of December. Watch for three things: movement of ships and aircraft in the Med, some strong words in the UN, and a major supply effort in Iraq. Then watch the Marines land to the west, and the US forces in Iraq to move east. Russia will whine and complain, Hezbollah and Iran will rattle sabers, but in the end, Damascus won't last three weeks.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/12/2005 21:35 Comments ||
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#2
but what will become of our favorite little Asshat?
Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri has praised Taliban leader Mullah Omar for winning back control of large regions of Afghanistan and urged Muslims to wage holy war against the West, according to a tape that surfaced on Sunday.
The 48-minute tape, titled "Impediments to Jihad" and containing a still photo of a white-turbaned al-Zawahri, was believed to have been made at about the same time as a September 19 video attributed to the al-Qaeda deputy.
The latest tape, which carries English subtitles and could not be immediately authenticated, was obtained by IntelCenter, a government contractor that does support work for the Unites States intelligence community.
In it, al-Zawahri credited Mullah Omar with leading a three-year campaign "against the Crusaders and apostates in Afghanistan" and taking control of "extensive parts of eastern and western Afghanistan."
It cited various militant campaigns and attacks for Muslims to follow, such as the Palestinian resistance against the Israelis in the Gaza Strip, opposition by anti-US insurgents in Iraq and the September 11 attacks carried out by 19 plane hijackers.
"The key to victory is in our hands, and in turn, the primary cause of defeat is in ourselves," it said.
Ben Venzke, chief executive at the IntelCenter, said the tape was produced by al-Sahab Media Production House, a shadowy purported al-Qaeda media organisation, but he declined to say how his organisation obtained it, citing confidentiality agreements with the US government.
Venzke said al-Zawahri's September 19 video was unique for giving increased prominence to the Taliban.
"But this latest one even goes beyond that with al-Zawahri pledging allegiance to the Taliban," he said. "The whole thing is an address to Muslims, saying armed jihad and struggle is the only way and that they have to suffer to do it."
Al-Zawahri also bemoaned the lack of support for al-Qaeda-linked militants in Saudi Arabia, saying the mujahedeen had suffered "defeat" amid a high-profile anti-terror campaign by Saudi authorities.
"These idolatrous regimes achieve victory over us because each one of us wants to save his own skin and avoid harm for himself," al-Zawahri said on the tape.
"As long as this malignant illness continues to survive within us, there is no hope for victory and there can only be more defeats, tragedies, disasters and betrayals."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/12/2005 02:59 ||
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Osama bin Laden's deputy, in a new tape that surfaced Sunday, urged all Muslims to take up arms and said their refusal to join the fight against "the Cross and Zionism" was a "malignant illness" that would only lead to the defeat of militant Islam. Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri said the global Islamic community had "no hope for victory" until all Muslims signed on to the al-Qaida-led jihad. "As long as this malignant illness continues to survive within us, there is no hope for victory and there can only be more defeats, tragedies, disasters and betrayals," al-Zawahri said.
Sounds pretty ducky to me...
His fiery comments appeared in a 48 minute tape entitled Impediments to Jihad. The video portion of the tape was a still photo of a white-turbaned al-Zawahri with English subtitles running under it. The audio on the tape appeared to be his voice speaking Arabic. The tape was believed to have been made at about the same time as a Sept. 19 video attributed to al-Zawahri, according to Ben Venzke, chief executive of Intelcenter, a U.S. government contractor that obtained the tape.
IntelCenter declined to say how it obtained the recording, citing confidentiality agreements with the U.S. government. But Venzke said it was produced by al-Sahab Media Production House, a purported al-Qaida media organization, and expanded on al-Zawahri's Sept. 19 message, which gave increased prominence to the Taliban. "This latest one even goes beyond that with al-Zawahri pledging allegiance to the Taliban," he said. "The whole thing is an address to Muslims, saying armed jihad and struggle is the only way and that they have to suffer to do it."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Something about him just screams out, "little boys".
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.
A suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy of US-led troops in the main city of volatile southern Afghanistan, wounding up to three passers-by, police and witnesses said. The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body as the convoy passed near the governor's house in the centre of Kandahar city, said police official Said Ghafar. The attack was similar to one in the city exactly a week earlier when a man blew himself up near another coalition convoy, killing a passer-by and wounding a Canadian soldier and two civilians.
Two 
Police hunting the killers of a policewoman in northern England on Monday arrested two men in the south Wales town of Newport. Gwent Police said they arrested 
A cache containing two explosive belts packed with four kilograms of plastique and two kilograms of TNT has been discovered outside the village of Urdyukhoi in Chechnya's Shatoi district. Three mines, electric detonators and other items of ammunition were confiscated from the cache as well, a source in the republic's Interior Ministry told Interfax. A plastic bag containing a Borz assault rifle, seven blocks of TNT, five grenades and five detonators has been found near the village of Roshni-Chu in Chechnya's Urus-Martan district. An investigation is underway.
Voting begins Monday in hospitals, military camps and even prisons across Iraq, launching the process to choose a new parliament that the United States hopes can help quell the insurgency so U.S. forces can begin heading home. Iraq's government announced it will close its borders, extend the nighttime curfew and restrict domestic travel starting Tuesday — two days before the main election day — to prevent insurgents from disrupting the vote. "We are very prepared for the elections, and we are highly determined," Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said. "We hope that everyone participates and that it will be a safe day. ... We are at a historic juncture."
DUBAI - An Iraqi insurgent group claimed on Sunday the kidnapping of four Iranians on a religious mission to the war-torn country, according to a video shown on Al-Arabiya channel. âInitial investigation confirmed they were dispatched on an official mission by the hawza (religious authority) in Qom,â said the channelâs anchorman, reading a statement from a group called the Saad bin Abi Waqas Brigades.
A group of masked Palestinian gunmen from the ruling Fatah Party raided the election office in the central Gaza town of Deir el-Balah and forced it to close Monday to protest their party's plans to appoint candidates for upcoming elections instead of holding primaries. Fatah canceled its Nov. 28 Gaza primaries after gunmen disrupted at least a dozen polling places, firing in the air and stealing some ballot boxes. Many Fatah leaders hoped the primaries would help clear out the party's entrenched, corruption riddled old guard and replace them with younger, more popular, leaders. The gunmen said Fatah officials' plan to appoint the candidates was a conspiracy.
A Palestinian insurgent has used a Western-sponsored university as the base for his activities in the West Bank. Israeli security sources said an 
A Palestinian militant has been killed by his own bomb in the Balata refugee camp as clashes erupt between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen. The Israeli Army is raiding the northern West Bank city. Palestinian medical sources say 
Soldiers uncovered a Palestinian tunnel Saturday morning while working on a concrete, anti-sniper barrier near the Erez Checkpoint, north of the Gaza Strip. The tunnel began only few dozen meters back, but its entrance was hidden from view by a garbage dump. This was the first time since the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005 that Palestinian terrorists have tried to burrow underneath the border fence surrounding the Strip.
Lawyers acting for the radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir have begun action in a Jakarta court aimed at freeing the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah. The lawyers are demanding convicted Bali bomber Amrozi be called as a witness. Bashir is currently serving two-and-a-half-years in prison for being part of a conspiracy to carry out the first Bali bombings. His lawyers have petitioned the South Jakarta State Court to certify that there is new evidence in the case. They want to call Amrozi, who is currently awaiting execution, to refute claims he received Bashir's blessing to carry out the attacks.
Prime Minister 
A previously unknown group says it assassinated Lebanese lawmaker 
A powerful explosion struck a Christian suburb of the Lebanese capital on Monday, apparently targeting an official convoy, residents said. A local resident said the blast took place on the road from Beit Mery to the capital, near Mansuriyeh. "I overtook the convoy of a senior official in Mansuriyeh and the explosion occurred two minutes later," he said. "An explosion rocked the building where I live," said a journalist in the east Beirut suburb of Hazmiyeh.
Osama bin Laden's deputy, in a new tape that surfaced Sunday, urged all Muslims to take up arms and said their refusal to join the fight against "the Cross and Zionism" was a "malignant illness" that would only lead to the defeat of militant Islam. Egyptian-born 
