Angry French fishermen have laid siege to the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior II outside the southern port of Marseille in a row over tuna fishing.
About 20 boats surrounded the Greenpeace vessel after it sailed to the area to highlight the alleged over-fishing of red tuna.
Port officials later ruled it could not enter the harbour because of the risk of public disorder, an AFP report said.
Greenpeace said it would leave the area at 1800 (1600GMT) on Thursday.
The protest disrupted other vessels trying to use the port, including a number of cargo ships and ferries which were unable to set sail as planned.
The French fishermen began their action at about 0900 (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, and threatened to intensify their protests.
"We are not letting up," Mourad Kahoul, the president of the Union of Mediterranean tuna fishermen, told Reuters news agency.
"If tomorrow, the ship hangs around, we will also close the oil terminal at Fos-sur-Mer."
But Greenpeace France spokesman Pierre Ramel accused the fishermen of being in a state of denial about over-fishing.
"All this is a little pathetic. This is a form of censorship organised by a group of industrial fishermen who own very high-performing fleets and huge fishing resources, and they have no intention of allowing any challenges to large-scale, industrial fishing," he told France Inter Radio.
"They're sitting on a diminishing pile of gold, but as long as there's any left they'll go on drawing from it, until it's all gone."
Greenpeace says illegal over-fishing is threatening to wipe out red tuna stocks in the Mediterranean.
It is campaigning for an immediate ban on fishing to allow stocks to recover, and had wanted to enter Marseille to put its case.
The fishermen blame other countries for illegal fishing and say a ban would destroy their livelihoods.
A report by the WWF, the global environment campaign, said that last year, at least 40% more tuna was caught in the Mediterranean than is allowed by fishing quotas.
The report blamed French fishermen, as well as those from Turkey, Libya and other countries, for the over-fishing.
A French research institute has also said the fish stocks are being exploited in an unsustainable way, and says the growing fashion for sushi is to blame.
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 20:00 ||
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wrong page .. non WOT
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 20:20 Comments ||
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I am giving pemission to French Navy to use Greenpeace ships as a target practice.
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2006 Six U.S. and coalition troops peer out from a remote position on a ridge top in Afghanistan. At sunset on the third day of their vigil, a large force of Taliban extremists carrying heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades surround and pin down the team.
By design, an Air Force joint tactical air controller is with the team. His job is to direct strike aircraft to targets on the ground. The situation on the ridgeline is desperate until an Air Force pilot flying an A-10 Thunderbolt II in the vicinity contacts him.
Helping the A-10 pilot find and target his attackers on the ground, the air controller stays in radio contact, except when forced to pick up his weapon and fire at the enemy closing in.
The A-10 and its pilot hammer at the enemy with bombs and the planes massive gun. Fifty minutes later the remaining enemy retreated and (the JTAC) and his team walked off that ridge to re-supply and fight again the next day, said Air Force Lt. Col. Keith McBride, commander of the 81st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron deployed here.
McBride, an A-10 pilot, uses this real-life story to illustrate his point that the A-10 is saving lives in Afghanistan.
There have been numerous occasions where our troops have been taking heavy fire and we show up, and either our presence ends the engagement or we employ against enemy positions and end the engagement, said Air Force Col. Tony Johnson, the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group commander and an A-10 pilot.
More at link
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/23/2006 07:04 ||
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I love A10's - the Nose Tackle of close in air support
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/23/2006 8:06 Comments ||
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A flying tank and for some reason I like the look of them. I am glad we are still using them.
#12
Thunderbolt II is a descendent of the famous WWII P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as Jug. It wasnt pretty either but it was one hell of a ground attack aircraft for its time. Also in the lineage are the Korean War vintage F-84 Thunderjet Stovepipe F-84F Thunderstreak (swept wing version). Lest we forget there was the ubiquitous Vietnam era F-105 Thunderchief Thud.
#13
The reason the AF still has A-10s is that every time Air Staff plans to replace them with F/A-16s, the Army says that if the AF doesn't want them, the Army will take them and the CAS mission. The AF always reconsiders.
#17
I have always loved this airplane. It was designed for a specific mission and, funny, that mission does not go away. I don't know that you could build a better airframe for the purpose today, so why try.
You know those Talibunnies shit their drawers when they see the warthog lining up on them.
#20
Can you picture the brain storming session, lets see we have this big ass gatlin so what do we do with. hmmmm build a plane around it yea thats it. :)
#22
I expect that sorta how they did it D66. Needed something that would open up the top armour of a T-72, designed the cannon, the designed the aircraft. A weapon system don't cha know.
A suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden car into a Canadian military patrol in southern Afghanistan, wounding four soldiers as British troops killed nine suspected insurgents in the latest bout of violence to hit southern Afghanistan. Insurgents also ambushed a police vehicle, killing five officers as another attack in the south left two Canadian soldiers wounded, officials said on Tuesday. Meanwhile US forces hunting an Al Qaeda agent detained three men in the east.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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Mogadishu, 23 August (AKI) - Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts aiming to consolidate its grip on the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has appointed 50 Sharia judges to administer justice in the city following the tenets of the Koran. The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) which earlier this year wrested control of Mogadishu from a coalition of Washington-backed warlords, has vowed to install Islamic Sharia law througout the Horn of Africa country.
"One turban to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them...."
In an apparent overture to Somalia's transitional government, which is based in the city of Baidoa, the UIC has proposed the convening of a "national reconcialiation assembly," to bring together all of Somalia's warring factions.
The transitional government of Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ged has rejected the proposal, insisting that peace negotiations should resume in the Sudanese capital Khartoum under the auspices of the African Union. The talks were suspended earlier this month after a dispute withing the transitional government over the deployment of Ethiopian troops in Baidoa.
Tensions remain high in Somalia with members of an armed faction that controls the city of Galkaciyo arresting a group of 23 men on suspicion of being agents of the Union of Islamic Courts. The men were carrying assault rifles and bombs when they were blocked.
Yeah, that sounds like the holy men of the ROP
Posted by: Steve ||
08/23/2006 08:53 ||
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And a very merry, hand-chooping time will be had by all!
KUWAIT CITY - Kuwaiti security forces have arrested a suspected Islamist militant who had been sentenced in absentia on charges of affiliation to a group linked to Al-Qaeda and involved in clashes with police, newspapers reported on Tuesday. Hamad Nawaf al-Harbi, one of eight of the 37-member group who remained at large, was arrested Monday in Al-Farwaniya, five kilometers (three miles) south of Kuwait City, they quoted an interior ministry statement as saying.
The questioning of Harbi should lead to the arrest of the seven others still on the run, the statement said.
Harbi was one of 10 members of the Peninsula Lions Brigades who were sentenced in absentia last December. He was handed a seven-year jail term and was considered the third most wanted fugitive in the case. Thirty-seven suspected militants were tried on charges of membership in the group, which was behind deadly gunfights with police in January 2005. Eight militants were killed in the clashes along with four police officers and two civilians.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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A terrorist attack has occurred at a gas-refining plant in the Russian republic of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya, the RIA-Novosti news agency reports quoting the republic's Interior Ministry. The blast happened in the village of Vosnesenovskaya at 2:30 a.m. Moscow time on Tuesday. "Criminals planted two powerful shaped charges that went off practically simultaneously," a source in the ministry said.
After the blast oil began leaking and caught fire, the flame was 15-20 m. high, he added. It took fire-fighters approximately three hours to put out the fire. The oil leak has been stopped and the fire put out to date. No casualties have been reported. The Interior Ministry said that a terrorist attack was the main cause of the incident. A criminal case was opened, an investigation is in progress.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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I guess Muslims have a problem with gas too. But from what I see, they are just full of shit.
A SYDNEY architect has been jailed for at least 15 years for planning a terrorist attack on Australian soil. Faheem Khalid Lodhi was today jailed for a maximum term of 20 years for acting in preparation for a terrorist attack. He sat quietly in the dock as Justice Anthony Whealy told the NSW Supreme Court Lodhi had intended to "advance violent giant jihad" in Australia.
Justice Whealy said the attack, if carried out, "would instil terror into members of the public so that they could never again feel free from the threat of bombing attacks within Australia". The charges had carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Lodhi, 36, was convicted of three terrorism-related charges but acquitted of a fourth charge. He was convicted of acting in preparation for a terrorist act by seeking information about chemicals capable of making explosives. He was also found guilty of possessing a so-called "terrorism manual" and of buying two maps of the electricity grid, connected with preparation for a terrorist act.
PART of Adelaide's central business district has been cordoned off after a bomb scare inside a building which contains federal government offices. Police confirmed the bomb squad would soon arrive at 55 Currie St after employees working inside the building were evacuated at 10.30CST. The building contains a number of government departments including the Department of Health and Ageing. It is understood a package address to the department has triggered the bomb scare.
TWO Dutch fighter planes accompanied a US Northwest Airlines plane bound for Mumbai back to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport today, officials said. The plane was in German airspace when it turned back. An air traffic control spokeswoman said the flight was NW0042, a 273-seat DC10-30 plane.
The police say a number of people had been taken off the Northwest plane and were being questioned. Airport information said none of the passengers on the plane were being allowed to leave yet.
Last month serial bomb blasts hit commuter trains in Mumbai, killing more than 180 people. Indian police said yesterday they had foiled another possible attack in the city after they shot dead a suspected Pakistani national.
Schiphol airport is Europe's third largest cargo airport and fourth biggest passenger hub.
Separately, an Iberian Airlines flight bound for Madrid was turned back to the Netherlands in April after a woman raised the alarm about a passenger she thought was acting suspiciously. The passenger was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
#3
Of all the airports I have gone through in my career, Amsterdam's customs were the toughest. The last time I was there, last year, they questioned me for 20 minutes. As much as I hate standing there answering questions they did a good job.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/23/2006 11:21 Comments ||
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"Ahhh yes Mr. Pan, and what business is it you have at Gaca Rosso, Danny's, and De Bananenbar."
Dutch F-16s escorted a Northwest Airlines flight bound for India back to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Wednesday after the crew reported some passengers were behaving suspiciously. The Dutch Defense Ministry and airport authorities said the pilot radioed for permission to return and asked for an escort of jet fighters. Several passengers were taken off the plane for questioning after it landed safely. Others were questioned at the gate.
Routine security measures were swiftly put into place.
The plane was carrying 149 passengers, when it turned around after crossing the German border. Customs police spokesman Rick Hirs said shortly after the plane landed that no one was immediately arrested. The flight was canceled until Thursday, and the passengers were put up in hotels, Northwest said.
Wednesday's security alert was the first at Amsterdam's international airport since September, when a British Airways flight returned in similar circumstances. It turned out to be a false alarm.
A U.S. passenger named Alpa, who did not wish to use her last name, told AP television reporters she had seen police handcuff and remove around 11 men of south Asian appeareance from the plane before other passengers. She said she didn't see what happened but heard from other passengers the men had aroused suspicion by getting out their mobile phones.
#9
AMSTERDAM, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Dutch police confirmed the arrests of 12 passengers on a U.S. Northwest Airlines plane bound for India which was forced to turn back to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Wednesday. "The 12 people that have been arrested were passengers," a spokesman said. "They will be interrogated in the coming hours by police investigators".
Asked whether a suspected terrorist attack could be ruled out, the spokesman said: "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves".
Posted by: Steve ||
08/23/2006 13:56 Comments ||
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Related story on Drudge relates how passengers 'mutinied' until 2 muslim students were removed from the plane. don't get excited, they were tossed while still at the gate.
#11
[mooselimb logic] Our shaheeds will continue to blast your planes out of the skies until you stop humiliating them by kicking them off you flights. [mooselimb logic]
#12
USN, those two on the Malaga -> Manchester flight say they were "having a bit of fun".
"We were then asked to get off the plane and go back to the airport where they did a full security check."
It was then, he said, that his wife Susanne began talking to another passenger who said she had sat next to the two men.
"She said she had heard them saying it was the last 30 minutes of their lives," said Mr Wearden.
"It may well be that the two simply thought they were being funny, but it perhaps better explains the passenger reaction
And a bit of common sense:
He denied this reaction had been racist. "You hear about people making jokes about these things in airports and being arrested and told it is not a joking matter in the current climate. Well this was another case of that."
At the time, he said, he had felt annoyed as he had wanted to "get home and sleep".
"I felt that if people are going to muck around like that they should be the ones that are inconvenienced," he said.
#13
USN, those two on the Malaga -> Manchester flight say they were "having a bit of fun".
People who are "having a bit of fun" of that sort should be treated to a complimentary deep cavity search (lube optional) prior to release by security.
#14
"She said she had heard them saying it was the last 30 minutes of their lives," said Mr Wearden
The previous story of onboard mutiny reminded me of older incidents, noted in Rb or elsewhere, of muslim passengers having fun at the expense of kufrs by acting suspiciously or "playing terrorist" (which in itself is a form of terrorism, to me)... seems this might be the case here too. What a great insight into the Moderate Muslim psyche!
#16
More "profiling" from passengers & flight crew. These turn-arounds got to be costing a lot of money. I wonder when the airlines themselves will refuse to haul anyone looking and acting like a Muzzie ? Just common sense and economic survival. And no, we don't give a rat's ass if it upsets the umma.
A Lebanese student suspected of a failed attempt to blow up a German train had contacts in Hamburg, authorities said Tuesday, drawing attention back to the northern port city where three of the Sept. 11 homicide pilots prepared for their attacks on the U.S. Nearly five years since the attacks on New York and Washington, the case has provided shocking proof for many that Germany is now also a terrorist target.
ZDF television showed police leading away one man in handcuffs after one of the raids, and said a second had also been detained...
The main suspect, identified by authorities as 21-year-old Youssef Mohamad el Hajdib, was arrested Saturday in Kiel, about 30 miles north of Hamburg, on suspicion of placing one of two suitcase bombs in German trains on July 31. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors said they had identified the second main suspect, while police searched his Cologne apartment as well as addresses in Kiel and Oberhausen. ZDF television showed police leading away one man in handcuffs after one of the raids, and said a second had also been detained.
However, prosecutors said the second suspected bomber, whose name they did not release, remains at large. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, citing unidentified investigators, said the fugitive was also a Lebanese national and was believed to have fled Germany.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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Beer, brauts, and terrs
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/23/2006 0:17 Comments ||
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Failed = bombs did not detonate. Sheer luck for the passengers. Next time, they may not be that lucky.
#3
"the case has provided shocking proof for many that Germany is now also a terrorist target"
Instead of the terrorist haven and staging ground it's been?
No fun when your resident terrorists turn from their plotting against the Great Satan to a little homegrown fun, is it? Don't remember the Baader-Meinhof gang? Don't remember that the first airplane hijacked by the paleos was taken from the Frankfurt airport? Don't remember how well other nations appeasing Germany in the 1930's worked out?
Selective Alzheimer's is a sad and stupid thing, Germany.
Sucks to be you, doesn't it?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/23/2006 0:56 Comments ||
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Looks like Hamburg is to Germany what Dearborn is to US.
#5
As always, Islamists never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to foul the nest. This congenital over-reaching will surely spell their doom, as it well should.
#6
Speaking of the good old days of terrorism in Germany, anyone remember that after the Munich Olympics disaster, and three of the terrs were in custody, the German govt faked an airliner hijacking in which the fake hijackers demanded the release of the three. The Germans obliged, and the three went free. Mossad had to track them down and eventually killed two of them.
Posted by: thanks for the memories ||
08/23/2006 7:14 Comments ||
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#8
9/11 apparently wasn't enough for the authorities in Germany and particularly in Hamburg to clean out the rathole. The same can be said for Dearborn, London, Paris, etc. What will it take? Probably an all out war with the west that costs many thousands if not millions of lives. How many times does history have to show us that allowing evil in our midst to go unpunished only causes worldwide catastrophe?
Majority of people is reactive, not proactive. Under normal circumstances, they are able to go by (the reactives, that is), but in circumstances like our times, they need to be dragged by hand. A good portion of the reactives feel the danger, but they don't know what to do. That is because for most of the people, whatever is not in an experiential reference, they are not able to deal with it directly or rationally and they assume an ostrich position, or degrees of it thereof. I know, sucks, but that is the way it is.
Us, the ones that see it clearly, would have to wait for the majority to catch up. Meaning it would take some bruising, unfortunately. Once they realize that their existential certainities are no longer certain, they would, reluctantly, give a mandate to the proactive segment of the population.
#10
Forgotten to add that there is another factor, amnesia. People tend to supress indirect traumatic experiences with a degree of amnesia. They do it readily with direct traumatic experiences as well-- it is a natural defense mechanism. Usually for people with a good mental health and with a proactive tendencies, the trauma resolves at certain point and the temporary amnesia is no longer needed. Reactive people tend to use this defence mechanism more often and it takes longer time to go through the process, due to a tendency to externalize the whole bandoogle as that way they don't have to deal with it directly. It follows that the impetus for a resolution has to come from without.
...and has nothing to say about his summer vacation.
Dyab Abou Jahjah has returned to Belgium four weeks after leaving the country to allegedly help the Lebanese resistance against Israel. The controversial founder of the Arab European League (AEL) left Antwerp for his homeland of Lebanon at the start of the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah. Abou Jahjah had said he was planning to assist the Shiite organisation against Israel's attacks. He refused at the time to elaborate further, but later wrote on the AEL website that he had started a journey that might be his last.
Would it were true. He prolly was hanging in Nasty's bunker, helping him change his undies.
And now, upon his return to Belgium, Abou Jahjah is again tightlipped about his actions in southern Lebanon. The extreme-right Flemish Interest had earlier said rightfully that Abou Jahjah should not be allowed to return to Belgium. "There is no way back after he said on television and in newspapers that he openly supports the side of the Islamic fundamentalist terror organisation," Flemish Interest leader Filip Dewinter said. "Abou Jahjah cannot and may never step back into this country." Abou Jahjah is the driving force behind the AEL, which campaigns for Iranian immigrant Islamic rights in Belgium and the Netherlands. The Flemish Interest has long campaigned against immigration and the continued entry of Muslims into Belgium.
#2
Why would you dumbass Belgians let him reenter after he left ? You should have destroyed his passport (if he had such a thing) and held up any paperwork for around 60 years. This is obvious pondscum within your society. Can you not recognize that ?
Welcome to the club, Texas Redneck. Nothing's going to change until these maggots have to look over their shoulder before spewing the usual "death to America" vomit.
Police hunting a youth who planted bombs on German trains raided a Cologne apartment during the night, as more evidence surfaced Tuesday about the Lebanese Shiites believed to be behind Germany's closest shave yet with international terrorism. Two youths were filmed by security cameras in Cologne as they carried bombs concealed in suitcases aboard trains three weeks ago. Because of construction flaws, the bombs failed to explode and turned up in lost-property offices. No one claimed responsibility.
[RING!]
"Löst und gefunden!"
"Did anybody turn in a bomb?"
"Ein Bömb? Ich don't t'ink zo... Aber wart! Ja, ve haff ein Bömb! Und can you describe it?"
"Ummm... Four sticks of dynamite, hold together with an old wire, with an alarm clock on the front..."
"Zörry. Dieses ist nicht seine Bömb! Dieses one is only three schticks of dynamite!"
"Hokay. Maybe I left it at Koblenz. Do you have their number?"
One of the youths, Youssef Mohamad e-H, a 21-year-old Lebanese, was arrested Saturday. German news reports Tuesday said police had identified the second youth as a 20-year-old Lebanese. At a three-storey apartment house in Cologne, residents said Tuesday a squad of federal police came looking for him, but he had been absent from his flat for weeks.
[RING!]
"Missing persons!"
"Haf you seen a yout, a Lebanese? He is gone three weeks now!"
"A Lebanese yout? Whyfore is such a yout here in Deutschland?"
"It is a long story. Haf you seen him?"
"No, but let me check with meinen colleagues in Beyroot."
Police vans and personnel were still at the scene Tuesday afternoon. Some German news reports said the suspect had left Germany. The residents said the youth's mail had been piling up in his mailbox for some time. Television stations said premises in two nearby cities, Oberhausen and Muelheim-an-der-Ruhr, were also raided.
The first arrest in the case has galvanized Germans. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the July 31 attack was the closest shave Germany has had with international terrorism. Police have not said which group they suspect was behind the attack. But news reports Tuesday said e-H was believed to be affiliated through his Shiite clan with Hizb ut-Tahrir, a Lebanese group that is outlawed in Germany. Its name means "party of liberation." Lebanon's military intelligence service helped Germany to catch him, a senior prosecutor said Monday. German public television said the youth had apparently fled to Lebanon after the attack, but returned to Germany believing he would not be caught. He had phoned his family in Lebanon after seeing his own picture on TV. The call was tapped.
[RING]
"Hi Mom! Didja see me on the teevee? Why does your phone sound so echoey? I gotta go Mom, there's someone at the do..."
The website of the news magazine Der Spiegel said the discovery of a colour photo of the Iranian-funded Islamic Centre of Hamburg and its Imam Ali Mosque on the door of e-H's student room would lead to more scrutiny of that institution.
"Holmes! How *do* you do it?"
The Islamic Centre, which was run in the 1970s by Mohammad Khatami, later president of Iran, issued a statement denying any link to e-H. "He has never been here," said a spokesman at the mosque in an upscale section of the city.
[RING]
"Mosque of the Most Deep Pockets, how can you serve Allan today?"
"Guten Morgen, Herr Mahmoud. Ve vould like to ask you a few questions about a certain Yout."
"Nein. Nein. Now scräm!"
Fellow students of e-H described him as immature, according to Der Spiegel. "He was just a kid," they said. He is in detention in Germany's federal justice capital, Karlsruhe, in the southwest of the country.
Twelve men arrested in the US as a result of an FBI sting operation have been charged with attempting to buy arms for the Tamil Tigers and trying to bribe American officials to have the group's name removed from a US government list of terrorist organisations.
Four of the defendants are alleged to have attempted to buy Russian shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles and guns for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from FBI undercover agents posing as black market arms dealers. Some of the others are accused of a conspiracy to pay state department officials up to $1m to have the Tamil Tigers name removed from the state department terrorist list, which bans it from fundraising, lobbying or buying equipment in America, and also of offering bribes in return for details of US intelligence on a charity suspected of being a front for the Tigers. The officials they allegedly attempted to bribe also turned out to be FBI undercover agents.
Six of the men were charged in a federal court in Brooklyn on Monday. Three more arrests were made in Buffalo, New York, and one each in Connecticut, California and Seattle. The accused are described as being "senior LTTE supporters" with close links with the group's leadership.
Gerald Del Piano, a lawyer for one of the defendants, Nachimuthu Socrates, told the Associated Press: "We plan to fully and vigorously contest the charges." Mr Socrates, an Indian-born engineer, was arrested at his home in Connecticut.
Not too bright, this Socrates guy.
According to court documents, three of the defendants met two undercover officers, who they thought were arms dealers, on Long Island on August 19 and asked them to provide missiles to shoot down the Sri Lankan air force's Israeli-made Kfir fighter jets. They also asked for anti-ship weapons and AK-47 assault rifles. The undercover agents showed them a Russian SA-18 missile in a wooden crate, and the defendants allegedly offered to buy 10, saying that they would buy up to 100 later if the missiles worked well.
I'll bet that "SA-18" even looked real.
"These defendants allegedly sought to obtain, through a variety of means, weapons and materials to carry out a deadly campaign of violence. We will use every tool in our power to disrupt the activities of those who seek to harm others, both here and abroad," the US attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, said.
Leslie Wiser, the FBI special agent-in-charge in Newark, New Jersey, said: "This weekend's operation has severely impaired the Tamil Tigers' ability to acquire funding and weapons for their ongoing terror operations in Sri Lanka."
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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- Mr Socrates
- Indian-born engineer
- home in Connecticut
- Bribes and guns
- Lawyer named...Piano
The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), which apprehended one person and killed another in an operation at Sector VII of Antop Hill on Tuesday, said they had managed to ward off an impending attack on the city.
The ATS is considering the arrest of Mohammed Riyaz Nawabuddin a prize catch.
According to police, Nawabuddin and his associate Mohammed Ali alias Abu Osama, who was gunned down, were planning to target shopping malls and theatres during the Ganpati season.
Osama and Nawabuddin, the police said, were the citizens of Pakistan, but Nawabuddin was senior to his associate in their self-styled hierarchy. Both were executors of modules, prepared to carry out attack at various places, and used to report to an unidentified authority in Pakistan.
A senior officer from the ATS said the two were part of a bigger conspiracy to systematically target the island city.
The conspiracy was hatched about a couple of years ago. The various targets included the citys transport system and its financial backbone, said the official.
According to the police, the duo, who has been staying at Antop Hill for the past 10 days, had come to India via train route in November of 2004.
The cops are now on a lookout for the people who provided them logistical support in the city.
We have seized a Maruti car from Riyaz. When we tried to locate the owner of the car, we discovered it carried a fake registration number. We are now looking for the people who provided them accommodation and other support, said a senior officer from ATS.
The cops are trying to ascertain whether the two were from the Lashkar-e-Taiba or the Jaish-e-Mohammad.
According to the police, around 20 people formed part of the module, which included Riyaz and Osama. They communicated via e-mail, where coded instructions were stored in the draft folder for those knowing the password to the account.
All the members used to travel together but were dispersed in the area and used to stay in a group of two. They had come to India a couple of years ago after getting training from various camps in Pakistan. Every day, there was a meeting between the members and the venue of the meeting was scribbled in coded language which is mostly of numbers designated to various venues where the meetings were supposed to be held, they added.
Police say Riyaz and his accomplices had been staying in an unoccupied flat (circled) for some time
Riyaz was arrested in a Tuesday morning raid at an abandoned building at Antop Hill following a tip-off
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 21:21 ||
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#1
According to the police, around 20 people formed part of the module, which included Riyaz and Osama.
Does anyone else get the feeling that if we just rounded up everyone named Osama and ran them through the wringer, we might catch a whole lot of al Qaeda admirers, if not operatives?
Karachi, PAKISTAN: Pakistani policemen escort suspected Indian national Madan Lal to a court after he was arrested for stealing a railway engine, in Karachi 23 August 2006. A suspected Indian national stole a railway engine in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi and tried to drive it into a passenger train in an attempted terror attack, police said. The man drove the locomotive at full speed for 35 kilometres (22 miles) before officials managed to derail it and avert a possible disaster late 22 August, railway police official Irshad Beg said. AFP PHOTO/Rizwan TABASSUM (Photo credit should read RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images)
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 17:09 ||
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suspected Indian national Madan Lal
Probably a member of Pakistan's Hindu minority.
Unless the RAW recruits beggars for covert ops?
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 17:13 Comments ||
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#2
He's not gonna take off his clothes, is he?
I've had enough of that today...
#4
Senior Railways police officer Malik Mohammad Afzal said Lal appeared to be mentally unstable. Earlier, police claimed that Lal was an Indian national who was involved in a terror plot, but yesterday morning his family told authorities that he was mentally ill and had recently been discharged from a hospital.
Lal hails from Hyderabad, his wife Jabi and 16-year-old-son Ramaish told reporters.
Police also arrested two railway employees driver Khalid and fireman Ahmad Qureshi for negligence as they left the engine unmonitored.
Witnesses said the engine could have killed many people who were sleeping near the railway track.
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 18:46 Comments ||
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#5
Very sad. Probably loves trains just like the rest of us and just jumped at the chance. Who hasn't thought of doing the same thing at one time or another.... at a much earlier age of course. I hope he gets the medical treatment he needs.
#6
"We are trying to get out charpoys (light wood and cane beds) and other things which were crushed by the engine," said Mohammad Ameen, a veteran engineer driver supervising the track clearance.
"The engine could have crushed many people under its wheels if they had not woke up in time and run," he said.
Officials said there was minor damage to the train's wheels and bogeys.
Ameen said the man arrested over the incident must have had prior knowledge of train driving.
"It takes 20 years to be a qualified engine driver and the way he drove and controlled the engine shows he had a good command of its operation."
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 19:01 Comments ||
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#7
This is the reason I always carry a derailer with me.
#9
"It takes 20 years to be a qualified engine driver and the way he drove and controlled the engine shows he had a good command of its operation."
Rubbish. I learnt to drive diesels and electrics in less than a year, ie coupling and decoupling the locomotive from the train, operation of vacuum and air brakes etc. Now, 'learning the road' - where all the signals, bends, inclines and stuff are, that takes time - 5 years in England (at least it did when I did it - I left after saving enough for an Apple ][ ;)
Oh, and that poor sod is no more a terrorist than I am a current train driver...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/23/2006 19:39 Comments ||
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#10
thx Tony for the insight. Happy Trails Rails! :-)
NEW DELHI - Security agencies at Indias Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in western Gujarat state were on high alert on Tuesday after two armed men were reported to have entered the complex. Security forces including the police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) launched massive combing and search operations soon after the security breach was reported by nearby villagers.
Local miscreants or an intel run by the L-e-T?
KAPS officials told reporters that the search was continuing in the outer area of the plant, but ruled out that armed men could cause any damage to the plant. They added that the plant could withstand any conventional attack.
RK Jain, chief of Indias Nuclear Power Corporation said commandos had taken positions inside the plant as security personnel combed the 1.6-km exclusive zone between the Kakrapar stations outer fence and the inner perimeter around the nuclear plants. Nothing can go wrong. Security arrangements are impeccable. We have sophisticated gadgets and heavy security in the area. Crossing the inner area is totally ruled out, he told the NDTV network.
"Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they've obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe. I suggest we use it!"
He added that protection systems would shut down the reactors in case of any eventuality.
However, police and state authorities indicated that it could be a possible false alarm. But we can only be sure when police completes combing operations, senior police officer PC Pandey told the channel. Pandey said the search operations would take some time since there was forested land around the plant.
The KAPS is located in the southern region of the state, near the Surat city.The KAP contributes the most to countrys nuclear power capacity, according to Indias Department of Atomic Energy. It has two units of 220 Megawatt Electrical (Mwe) capacity each.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"ruled out that armed men could cause any damage to the plant. They added that the plant could withstand any conventional attack."
Cough (**Bull$hit!**) Cough!
"Nothing can go wrong. Security arrangements are impeccable."
Ahh! That explains why you don't know if they are there or not, or where they are if they are there!
#2
There was actually an earlier report that said two armed men were captured inside the restricted zone of the plant.
Subsequent reports state nobody was seen.
It is quite possible that the two have been "disappeared" into the custody of Indian Intelligence for a long period of "rigorous" interrogation.
If they are Pakistani, it is unlikely there will be any trial, just two bodies of "homeless" men dumped at the cremation sites on the banks of the Yamuna, anonymous, just like the dozen or so they probably get every day.
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 6:55 Comments ||
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#3
The search is continuing ?
Let the Dobermans off their leashes, they work faster that way.
Police in India killed a suspected Pakistani terrorist and arrested another in India's western Mumbai city Tuesday after claiming to have made a breakthrough in last month's bombings in the city that killed over 180 people, news reports and officials said. According to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the terror suspect, Mohammed Ali, alias Abu Osama, was killed in a gunbattle in the early hours of Tuesday in the city's Antop Hill.
They both sound like aliases, actually...
Ali's associate, Riyaz Nawabuddin, another Pakistani national, tipped the ATS about the whereabouts of Ali after police arrested him on Monday night. Police said that the suspected terrorist opened fire at the ATS team which had reached the scene and asked him to surrender. The ATS team fired in retaliation, killing Ali. An AK-47 rifle and a sizeable quantity of explosive RDX was also seized from the scene, police said.
Police cordoned off the area and bomb disposal teams as well as other police teams were conducting a search of the area. According to the NDTV, the Mumbai's Anti-terrorist squad has described this as a breakthrough in its fight against terrorism. "There were just two people today, but there may be more involved. It's too early to speculate how many people were involved but we can consider it as a success for the ATS. We were working on specific intelligence inputs over the past few days," said K P S Raghuvanshi, the ATS chief, was quoted by NDTV as saying.
However, Raghuvanshi declined to categorically confirm whether the encounter was linked to the July 11 blasts in Mumbai. "More information will be given later in the afternoon. I cannot say anything more," he told reporters. Indian security agencies suspect terror organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure), which is allegedly based in Pakistan, to have carried out the carnage in Mumbai.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Let's see, early morning, recovered weapons, dead bossman, henchman wounded (!) and nary a good guy hit. And the pooleece fired 'in retaliation.' Sounds like somebody has been reading the RAB training manual.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/23/2006 0:57 Comments ||
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#3
Is it too much to hope that one of these deaders will turn out to be a card-carrying ISI member? Pakistan needs its clock cleaned for its incessant meddling in India. Between domestic terror and fueling strife in Kashmir, Pakistan is really begging for it. Hell, for all the grief Pakistan causes just about everywhere, they really have it coming.
#4
Police said that the suspected terrorist opened fire at the ATS team which had reached the scene and asked him to surrender
Translation.. the famed Mumbai encounter squad paid a visit.
And I have proof of my claim.. guess who was transferred to the Anti-Terrorist Squad right after the blasts?
Vijay Salaskar, the encounter specialist of the Mumbai Police, has been transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Squad, which is investigating last weeks serial bomb blasts.
Officials hope that Salaskars skills as an investigator will come in handy for the case. Said Parambir Singh, who was Salaskars boss as the DCP, Zone-II and currently DIG(SRPF), Salaskar is an excellent officer. Some of these earlier boys who were in the crime branch have their own informants and network and know the methods employed by the underworld. Its a good sign.
Both Singh and Salaskar are supposed to have been instrumental in breaking the backbone of Arun Gawlis gang by eliminating some of his sharp-shooters. Salaskar also shot dead the dreaded gang lord Amar Naik. Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajans gangs have also borne the brunt of his actions.
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 7:03 Comments ||
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#5
Officials hope that Salaskars skills as an investigator
Uh huh, 33 kills.. aboviously good investigative skills
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 7:06 Comments ||
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#6
Encounter specialists are back in action
Mumbai, ians:
Time magazine has called them the Dirty Harrys of Mumbai. They have also inspired many Bollywood movies, thanks to their action-packed real-life scripts, laden with thrills and dangers.
The fabled, and sometimes notorious, sharpshooters of Mumbai Police known euphemistically in local parlance as encounter specialists are back in the news again.
Stung by the horrific July 11 Mumbai blasts, the police top brass have called in some of the encounter specialists, to add the much-needed teeth to its intelligence gathering machinery.
Mumbai Police Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), entrusted with the probe, is planning to draw heavily on the experience and expertise of the gunfight specialists and officers.
They include suspended police officers like Sachin Vaze; Daya Nayak, a sub-inspector, who gained notoriety as an encounter specialist, with alleged underworld connections; Vinod Bhatt, then assistant commissioner of police, who was part of the team that cracked the 1993 serial blasts case; Naval Bajaj, deputy commissioner of police; inspectors Vijay Salaskar and Pradeep Sharma.
Nayak, who hit headlines in the late 90s as a crack gunfight expert, after killing 83 gangsters in encounters, found himself arrested along with mentor Pradeep Sharma, and then suspended six months ago, charged with being in cahoots with the same underworld he had once pledged to annihilate.
He had even received threats from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence for his persistent attack on the underworld.
Thirty-seven year-old police inspector Vijay Salaskar, along with his then boss and deputy commissioner of police Parambir Singh were instrumental in breaking the backbone of underworld don-turned-politician Arun Gawli's gang by eliminating most of his sharpshooters.
Salaskar came into public eye after he killed the dreaded underworld don Amar Nayak in an encounter in central Mumbai in 1997.
Salaskar joined the force as a sub-inspector and rose to fame by killing Gawli's most ruthless sharpshooter, Bandya, who was allegedly the city's top extortionist.
After his fall from favour in 2005, Mr Salaskar was given charge of the city's Anti-Robbery Squad, but is now part of the elite group of sleuths probing the July 11 blasts.
Forty-four-year-old senior inspector, Predeep Sharma, with 107 encounters under his belt was the first Maharashtra police officer to have been featured on the cover of the Time magazine's international edition.
Sharma shot to fame after he killed two gangsters of the Dawood Ibrahim gang in 1990. He also shot dead three alleged LeT terrorists involved in the Mulund train blasts at Goregaon in 2003.Their individual investigation skills are exceptional, says their former boss.
They have exceptional intelligence-gathering skills, praised former Mumbai crime branch chief and now DIG, state reserve police force, Parambir Singh.
These former encounter experts with their well-oiled network of informants have become instrumental in piecing together vital nuggets of information in the blast probe according to ATS.
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 7:08 Comments ||
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#7
Gawd, they even recruited Sub Inspector Daya Nayak (85 kills). He is officially under charges of corruption and suspended from duty.
"I am a Brahmin , a teetotaller and a vegetarian. I have no social evil, why should I kill people without a reason?"
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 7:12 Comments ||
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#8
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 7:15 Comments ||
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#9
They have exceptional intelligence-gathering skills,
It helps when the guy in custody knows the cop will put a gun in his mouth, pull the trigger and walk away.
Not wanting to be another notch in Sub-Inspector Nayak's belt is a serious incentive to talk.
Looks like the Mumbai authories are not too interested in trials either, they just want the local threat exterminated.
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 7:41 Comments ||
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#10
He had even received threats from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence for his persistent attack on the underworld.
If the ISI doesn't like him, then he's Da Man!
#11
Forty-four-year-old senior inspector, Predeep Sharma, with 107 encounters under his belt was the first Maharashtra police officer to have been featured on the cover of the Time magazine's international edition.
Beat that RAB !
107 kills and a TIME cover...
Posted by: john ||
08/23/2006 15:10 Comments ||
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This is no surprise to most of us. Let's hope it getting out into the right places.
A senior US military official said there is "clear evidence" that Iran is funding, training and arming Shiite extremists to destabilize Iraq. "I think it is irrefutable that Iran is responsible for training, funding and equipping some of these Shia extremist groups, and also providing advanced IED technology," said Brigadier General Michael Barbero, using the acronym for "improvised explosive devices."
"And there is clear evidence of that," he added at a Pentagon press conference.
Barbero, deputy operations director of the joint staff, said he had seen no reports of "direct contact" involving Iranian paramilitary or intelligence forces. But he said he had seen "reports of their involvement and presence there as trainers to train these terrorists and Shia extremist groups."
How to respond to destabilizing Iranian activity was a question for policymakers, Barbero said. But he said neutralizing the Shiite extremist groups in Iraq "will go a long way to removing their direct influence into the affairs of the sovereign country of Iraq."
In recent weeks, US military forces have stepped up raids against Shiite and Sunni extremist groups in Baghdad in an effort to tamp down a wave of violence that has raised fears of civil war. The violence last month forced the United States to extend the tours of nearly 4,000 troops, preventing a reduction in the size of the 133,000-strong US force. "Our intent is to draw down the number of troops," Barbero said. "And, as I said, that will be driven by the conditions on the ground and the requests from the commanders on the ground." Also, a good article by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in the WSJ about the new security plan being put into place. Read it here.
#6
Iran wants us out of Iraq and will do anythign it can to make that happen. Watch them start working with the feckless MSM to try and make that happen.
Will G.W.B. be the first US President to have the balls to treat Iran as it treats us. They have been at war with us since Carter. When do we strike them? Never? I think a pretty convincing picture exists that fully and leagly entitles us to smash them. No wining hearts and minds. No Democracy building, No nation building. Just a total beat down that will serve as a demonstration to the Suni's as what they can expect if they don't get with the program and wipe out the jihad preachers and fighters on their own.
#7
And seizing one's embassy and diplomatic personnel is traditionally an act of war. One of these days, before its too late, we might actually get a lion*. Hasnt any one figured out yet, that if the international community cowers before Iran, how theyd behave if we started to act like Iran?
*"It is better to have a lion at the head of an army of sheep, than a sheep at the head of an army of lions."
Daniel Defoe
#11
Now, General, when you say "neutralize the Shee-it extremist groups", that presents an image of lots of dead, rotting carcases strewn all over the damn place. Just what did you have in mind ?
#12
Wonder how the polls for Bush would be, if, that main question about his handlin' of whatever is followed by why? And included a choice of something similar to "he isn't being Cowboy enough. I want my tough Bush back."
Worked in my office today -- most, all big Bush supporters, but wantin' him to go back to "Texas talkin."
Several comments about still owing the Iranians for those 444 days of our hostages. One could just "feel" the emotion coming out, with this reminder of history as we discussed it. One guy, shaking his head with a frown on his face, just walked off, mutterin', "they took our people."
Military Stryker vehicles saturating Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhoods have been credited with what Iraqi authorities say is a 30 percent drop in violence in the city since the deployment of 5,000 additional U.S. troops to the region.
While U.S. figures show a 22 percent drop in violence, either way, its good news for the troops. "It's been great. We get a lot of smiles and waves," said Lt. Patrick Paterson of the 114th Cavalry.
One of the most dramatic changes has occurred in the Dora neighborhood. In July up to 20 people were killed in the area every day. As part of this new military effort, U.S. and Iraqi troops have been searching thousands of buildings in an effort to stop car bombs. "We established entry control points where we inspect, even now, every single vehicle [moving] in and out," said Col. Michael Beech, the commander of the 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division.
And there are signs it's working. During 14 days of patrols in Dora, there has been just one killing.
Similar success has occurred on Mechanic Street in southern Baghdad, generally considered among the most dangerous routes in the city. Now American troops patrol the region and people increasingly feel it is safe to frequent the street's businesses. "I am happy because we are safe. The stores are open, and we can move around freely," said Majid al-Asawa in Arabic.
The added U.S. troops were brought in after a military operation earlier this summer flooded Baghdad with Iraqi forces, only to find the violence worsened. U.S. commanders say the additional American firepower can be only a temporary solution. "It has to be the Iraq people with the Iraqi security forces that ultimately bring success and security to Baghdad," Beech said. Final editorializing paragraph deleted.
Posted by: ed ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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Incredible strykers rule again.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/23/2006 0:20 Comments ||
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#2
Two years ago these smiling Iraqis would have been bitching about "occupiers" and helping the insurgents. There's nothing like a taste of civil war to change perceptions.
#3
But hope has often gone sour in Iraq. If the country's political leaders cannot make their own peace, America's latest success in Baghdad could quickly reverse.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/23/2006 5:56 Comments ||
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#4
I think that was a wake up call for Iraqi's. The army said fine you don't want us around see ya then the Iraq people started killing each, boy oh boy the US army not so bad now. :)
The *what*? Do they mean the 1-14th Infantry, which is a battalion of the 2nd Stryker Brigade?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/23/2006 8:45 Comments ||
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#6
(playing my broken record, again)
Well, duh. Turns out that establishing perimeter control and aggressively seeking out bad guys and their stuff and maintaining presence produces dramatic results. Of course it does.
I well understand the knife-edge trickiness of calibrating our role so as to achieve interim objectives (elections, constitution) while not inhibiting development of Iraqi capacity. But I think we've made seriously bad calls on that tricky issue for some time.
A few weeks back the JCS Chmn, while on a visit up north, explicitly addressed the question, and said a more forward US role would be "too costly". Wrong.
Excessive focus on compelling the Iraqis to start growing up ignored the peculiar US domestic political situation WRT this war, and also underestimated the importance of establishing basic order in Baghdad and other urban areas and cutting the Sunni problem down to more manageable dimensions.
This is not hindsight. These same thoughts were being expressed by others way back to late 2003, and I've heard them from military and civilian types here since I arrived early last year.
Less strategy, less finesse, fewer fine calculations and a whole lot more killin' and ass-kickin' in specific places and times are the "lessons" of the past 2 years. Yet I see no evidence the military or civilian leadership will internalize a bit of it.
#8
Agree with you Verlaine. The added benefit of the approach you describe is that the bad guys begin to know that they are beaten while reducing the population of frisky ones.
#9
Well sure their way (the asshats) hasn't worked! But you know, it's because the right people haven't been in charge. If we just put the right people in charge, and do extra more of what doesn't work, it will work sooner or later. Right?
#10
Basically flooding a high crime area with patrol cars, armored, but patrol cars none the less. Which tells you something. The so called "insurgents" are nothing more than common criminals with a lot of guns.
Insurgent attacks killed at least 13 people across Iraq, police said Tuesday, as British troops stormed into a southern city to arrest a suspected "terrorist". Eight of the murder victims were young Shia men from Najaf, who were pulled from buses by gunmen late on Monday as they travelled north to Madaen on the outskirts of Baghdad, and shot dead in the street, police said.
Two civilians were killed in a blast on Tuesday in central Baghdad while three civilians were murdered in Baquba. Fifteen more civilians were wounded in a mortar strike within the town, police said. British troops backed by Challenger tanks raided a site in the southern Iraqi town of Amara and seized six suspects, a spokesman said. Police in Amara said two civilians were killed in crossfire between British forces and Mehdi Army militiamen.
A senior British commander said the British forces could hand over responsibility for security in Basra province to the Baghdad government within as little as nine months. US and Iraqi forces captured more than 100 known and suspected terrorists, including one linked to the February 22 bombing of a Shia shrine.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Has there ever been a statistical tally of the violence? It seems Coalition deaths are way down in August, and Iraqi deaths are off lately, too.
The MSM is on high alert, waiting for the "Tet Offensive" that will "prove, once and for all" that the war is lost.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/23/2006 6:13 Comments ||
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#2
"the murder victims were young Shia men "
Pilgrims? Work party? Something less innocent? Half the young Shia men may not be death squads but half the death squads are young Shia men.
#3
Coalition Average KIA Per Day
Time Periods:
Period 5: December 15, 2005 (the day after Iraq general elections) through todays date. 1.95 KIA per/day
Period 4: January 31, 2005 (the day after Iraq Elections) through December 14, 2005. 2.35 KIA per/day
Period 3: June 29, 2004 (the day after the official turnover of sovereignty to Iraq) through January 30, 2005 (Iraq Elections). 2.92 KIA per/day
Period 2: May 2, 2003 through June 28, 2004 (the day of the official turnover of sovereignty to Iraq). 1.89 KIA per/day
Period 1: March 20, 2003 through May 1, 2003 (the end of major combat). 4.02 KIA per/day
#4
Interresting presentation of stats there GolfBravo. Care to share sources? I wonder how this compares to say Baltimore, MD or Washington DC during the same time frame. Or some other US City the size of Baghdad? I suspect they would not be to far off.
#6
Try to put the Iraq US KIAs in perspective. During WWII in the battles of:
Tarawa - 3 days - 366.1 KIA per day
Iwo Jima - 36 days - 188.9 KIA per day
Okinawa - 84 days - 150.0 KIA per day*
This was with a US population of only 138 million.
A group claiming to have kidnapped two FOX News journalists released a video Wednesday showing both Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig. The Holy Jihad Brigades released the following statement with the video.
"This is a statement directed to the infidels in general, without discrimination of their georgraphical location. This is an invitation to enter into the religion of God before a day comes when being an infidel will not do you any good. The victory of God's soldiers can only be achieved by God's help. Nobody can frighten us about our enemy and what it possesses. In the name of God and taught Adam the names. If they throw us in fire it would be cool and safe on us. And if they throw us in water then the whale would pick us up and take us to land. If they want to cut us up, God will save us by sending a sacrifice and deliver us to safety.
No nation can be defeated without the will of God. Quoting Mohammed: 'Do not be sad for God is with us.'
Therefore lords of infidelity and masters of darkness and injustice believe in God and you will be safe or else wait for your turn because we come to slaughter. And every soul will reap what it has done.
You have angered us and we are not the kind that is angered. We are subdued, but rather the fountains of Islam and faith spring up in us.
We now tell you this is the chance we give you. God knows how often this kind of chance can be repeated.
In exchange for the release of the Muslim prisoners, males and females in the prisons of America, with our prisoners.
Release our prisoners and we will do the same. This applies to all without exception. And every Muslim is more cherished and more generous that a 1,000 Bushes. But this is a tradeoff of equals.
We will grant you 72 hours, that starts as of noon today during which you can look into this and if you carry out our condition we will carry out our promise, or else wait and we will wait with you and it will be in God's hands. And God's order is higher than any other and most people do not know. 'Those who have been injust will find out the consequences.'
The time you have starts as of noon Wednesday the 29th of Rajab (the Islamic month) of the year 1447 (Muslim year) which is the 23rd of August 2006.
Our thanks to God, the most gracious.
Signed
The Holy Jihad Brigades"
Not one word about zionists or occupied Palestine. This reads like a al-Qaeda or Iranian written statement. Note the "This is an invitation to enter into the religion of God" line. That sounds like Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/23/2006 12:11 ||
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#1
ucking with Rupert Murdoch isnt a good thing at all.....hope these holyjihadis realize this.....
Rupert is the man when it comes to unitended consequences.....kinda like n korea shooting missles over Japan. Belicose action, certifiable response; Japan rearms and they have the dough to do it right.....
the socialist international is behind all of this, on demand buggery.
#2
Hmmm... let me be the first infidel to say, "no" and "Fuck you very much" and "I'm gonna roll you in pig entrails and then shoot you in the stomach and watch you scream as you die".
#10
"I'm gonna roll you in pig entrails and then shoot you in the stomach and watch you scream as you die".
Don't you mean shoot then roll - ups the infection rate.....???...good to let them wait a while to get the 72 virgins...by the way does the later have anything to do with the "72 hours," quote...???
Scare quotes added for balance.
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The previously unknown Holy Jihad Brigades claimed responsibility Wednesday for the abduction of two journalists working for Fox News in Gaza, and called for the release of Arabs from U.S. jails. Ramattan News Agency in Gaza aired a video in which the men, reporter Steve Centanni, 60, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, say they're being well-treated and plead for their release. They were kidnapped by "gunmen" in Gaza City on August 14.
In a written statement accompanying the video, the group demands the release of Arab prisoners from U.S.-run jails, citing the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Centanni is an American and Wiig is from New Zealand.
Centanni speaks first on the video. "We have been taken captive in Gaza and are being held prisoner here," he says, sitting cross-legged next to Wiig. "We're in fairly good condition, we're alive and well and in fairly good health. We get lots of clean water, food every day, access to the bathroom, shower, clean clothes and our captors are treating us well.
"Just want to let you know I'm here and alive and give my love to my family and friends and ask you to do anything you can to try to help us get out of here."
Wiig then speaks: "If you could apply any political pressure on the local government here in Gaza and the West Bank that would be much appreciated by Steve and myself...
"To my family: I love you all. Please don't worry, I'll do all the worrying for us."
The video then shows what appear to be the journalists' ID cards, including one that identifies Wiig as a CNN free-lancer.
Gaza's main Palestinian "militant" groups have denied any involvement in the abductions. Palestinian "security" forces have been involved in the search, a top priority for the Hamas-led Palestinian "government", Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Sunday.
Paleo sock puppets, they spring up daily.
Centanni's family has appealed for any information about his condition in a videotaped statement that aired Sunday on the Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera. "I would like his captors to know that Steve is an honorable man who always tries to do what is right," said Steve's brother Ken Centanni, who was flanked by his two sisters. "Steve has strong respect for the Palestinian people and their culture," Ken Centanni said. "Steve was in Gaza with Olaf Wiig to report the truth. He is far more valuable to the "Palestinian people" free as a journalist than as a captive.
"We love Steve very much and now his health, his safety and his life is your responsibility. Please contact our family, let us know that he is alive and unharmed."
Wiig's wife, Anita McNaught, issued an emotional statement in a recent video statement. "If somebody knows any information, can they please tell us because I want him home so much," she said. "He and his colleague, Steve, don't deserve this. They are good men. They are good men and should be allowed to come home."
According to witnesses, two vehicles blocked the journalists' television van in central Gaza. A masked man put a gun to the journalists' bodyguard and forced him to the ground before the kidnappers nabbed the men and sped away, the witnesses said.
In the past two years, Palestinian "militants" in Gaza have seized at least 26 foreigners, including nine members of the media. Hostages are usually released within hours. Generally, the "militant" groups use hostages for publicity purposes or to pressure Palestinian authorities for money, jobs or the release of prisoners.
#1
The previously unknown Holy Jihad Brigades claimed responsibility Wednesday for the abduction of two journalists working for Fox News in Gaza, and called for the release of Arabs from U.S. jails.
Paleos
Talibunnies
A$$atollahs
Q-terrors
Hizzys
Muj
etc.
#4
It's been what, at week? What took so long - the holey jihadis couldn't find their asses with both hands and a flashlight video camera?
They aren't very organized, either - they forgot to demand a pony, too.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/23/2006 11:23 Comments ||
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#5
How about a joint operation between the US and the Israelis? Start at the northern end of Gaza. Search then bulldoze every building. Block by block move south and do so until the journalists are released.
Posted by: Jules in the Hinterlands ||
08/23/2006 11:40 Comments ||
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#7
first ive heard on this on UK news was today and must say the savages have not suprised me at all in thier actions, more cowardly kidnapping by the religion of peace. I havnt heard any outcry from any 'human rights' groups yet on the news which is also of no suprise. This to me is reason 58903857396438 to erase these religion of peace types and everything they stand for. How many more declerations and actions of war must nations take before we start to stand up for ourselves. To me its clear cut , war has been intitiated not on sept 11 but years before that and this kinda shts gonna keep on happening until we actually erase them - yes keyword there - erase. Don't give a fck how many fluffy bunnies, kittins, even human beings on thier side die because they are the enemy of anything thats not a part of thier religion. Imagine ww2 if we faught it like this war, hell we'd still be there now slogging it out in the fields of France!
Posted by: Shep UK ||
08/23/2006 11:44 Comments ||
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#8
This kidnapping is typical retarded muslim crap.
Typical tribalist behaviour. This shitty little religion can only exist amongst those with this backwards mindset not matter how advanced thay appear externally.
I hope thies folks stay safe.
When are we going to wake up and take the gloves off and set these fools back a few centuries?
#11
Looks like another Paleo got in a bit of a jam with US law and wants a Get Out of Jail Free card. Time to find out which Pali jailbirds have family in Gaza.
Posted by: ed ||
08/23/2006 13:16 Comments ||
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#12
Time to find out which Pali jailbirds have family in Gaza.
All of them.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/23/2006 15:19 Comments ||
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#13
It doesn't sound like they're being held in Gaza to me.
#14
These jihad jockeys are so immature and simple-minded about how real governments and the world work. Maybe it's like this in their neighborhoods--"you give me this or I'll kill your kid/husband/grandfather, daughter etc."--but to think this has an impact in the complexities of the geopolitical international scene of this century is just sad and pitiful. Sorry for the victims--hope they get out.
#15
NPR interviewed another reporter on this situation this evening. Apparrantly the Gazans are in the habit of kidnapping foreigners, particularly reporters. But up until now its all been a bit of a joke: the kidnappers would demand a job for someone's brother, or dinner be bought for the entire family, the "ransom" would be paid and the prisoner released, all within two or three hours from start to finish. This is the first real kidnapping with demands that can't be paid by pulling out a wallet or making a quick local telephone call.
#18
I wish-a big part of my heart is in southern Ohio. Back in northern Illinois for now. I'd talk about a rough year, but that would be obscene, when I look at what these guys are going through. I am pretty naive about the kinds of things one could do in this situation, but is there any chance of storming in and rescuing these guys, if they could be located?
Posted by: Jules in the Hinterlands ||
08/23/2006 22:03 Comments ||
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#19
Jules, I have it on several good authorites that they do what they do so that our "rough" isn't any worse than that. Drop me a line, and I'll be happy to commiserate.
#20
I wish the best for these guys, but I do have a question: WTF were they doing in Gaza, or rather WTF do they think might happen to them when they are around kidnappers, murders, thugs, and just plain Paleos? I hope that they get out, but they are asking to be pawns in the Paleo game by just being there.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/23/2006 22:53 Comments ||
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip A previously unheard of Palestinian group, the Holy Jihad Brigades, claimed responsibility Wednesday for kidnapping a FOX News cameraman and correspondent, Al-Jazeera reported. The Palestinian news agency Ramattan said the group set a 72-hour deadline to swap them for Palestinian prisoners.
American correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand were kidnapped Aug. 14 from their TV van near the Palestinian security services headquarters in Gaza City. Although Palestinian militant groups have often seized foreigners, including members of the media, this is the longest any have been held.
#1
Fox has begun lengthy coverage since this video came out, but I think their message is off. They are saying that this won't help the Palestinians (true) and that it is a mistake because the media will stop covering the Palestinians' story (not quite); it is a mistake because the media of all stripes WILL cover it, awakening the majority American populace to who their enemies include.
Posted by: Jules in the Hinterlands ||
08/23/2006 10:30 Comments ||
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#2
And breaking news, the Holiest of all Holy Jihad Brigades, The Official Holy High Holy Jihad Platoon (not enough for a brigade) has threatened to blow up the Holy Brigade and the Allah's Army Holy Jihad Grammer School if they don't get more funding.
Israeli soldiers, backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and armoured personnel carriers, moved into Palestinian-controlled areas near the main Israel-Gaza cargo crossing on Tuesday, conducting house-to-house searches and arrests. Five Palestinians were wounded moderately, including three Hamas militants, medical officials said. Three Palestinians were arrested, security officials said.
The military confirmed an operation near the Karni crossing, but wouldn't divulge its objectives. In the past, Israeli troops have searched for tunnels being dug by militants near the crossing. "They took two of my cousins and asked them about fighters, tunnels and many other issues," said farmer Ahmed Helles, 65, whose olive trees were being uprooted by Israeli military bulldozers as part of the operation. "I was waiting for the harvest, which was to start next month, to pay for the marriage of my grandson, but the bulldozers are destroying my hopes," Helles said.
"That's too bad. What were you raising?"
"Landmines."
Separately, in southern Gaza, the Israeli army moved into farmlands near the town of Khan Younis, firing machine guns into the fields after calling on farmers to evacuate the area, Palestinian security officials said. Cameramen filming the operation said they came under fire, but were not wounded.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"I was waiting for the harvest, which was to start next month, to pay for the marriage of my grandson, but the bulldozers are destroying my hopes,"
Well, at least he won't be reproducing anytime soon.
#4
I do feel for the grandfather, who probably has tilled around those olive trees for decades, waiting for them to mature enough to bear fruit. But while he was tending the trees, his children and grandchildren, and the leaders of his tribe, planted and harvested Jew hatred, and destroyed all his hopes. They sowed, he reaps.
#5
TW, I'd never disagree with you in all your lovely Rantburgerness. However, is it not quite possible that the grandfather actually planted the seeds of Jew hate in his children, who passed it on to their children, and now those seeds are bearing fruit?
#6
Damn, the neo-Nazis are in full swing on this site! Talk about extremist racism taken to an unimaginable extreme. If your stupidity is representative of American or Israeli public opinion, the US/Israel does not stand a chance in the war on muslims. In fact, they don't stand a chance anyway, but it's funny to see such extremely delusional people.
Sorry - Rantburger's are all red blooded americans. Even those on the front lines in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. You see being an 'american' isn't a nationallity - its a spirit.
#12
My father was in Vietnam for 4 years and never met a single Viet Cong. Weird, huh? Sounds like the same thing going on here and lebanon, there are no civilians in a war fought by irregulars.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 13:36 Comments ||
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#14
mcsegeek1, please do argue with me when you have so trenchenta point. And when you add gallant things like "lovely Rantburgerness" to the end of it, well I just melt, even if I have absolutely no idea what it means. ;-)
#15
Run along little boy. It's your day to satisfy the imam.
Posted by: ed ||
08/23/2006 14:25 Comments ||
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#16
Unfortunately, the Israelis are engaged in a "police operation" against the Paleos, while the Paleos are waging war. The only victory in war is to make your enemy so miserable he gives up and surrenders. You do that by killing his fighters, breaking his toys, destroying his homes, and taking his land. Until Israel begins to do that, there will constantly be trouble with the Paleos.
Troll, don't come here. We eat trolls for breakfast, and remain hungry.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/23/2006 16:52 Comments ||
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GAZA CITY - Five Palestinians were wounded and another five detained in northern Gaza after Israeli tanks and troops moved across the border. IDF (Israel Defence Force) soldiers surrounded a house in which five wanted terrorists were located. After exchanges of fire, one Hamas gunmen was hit and all the wanted Palestinians were taken for investigation, a spokesman said.
Three of the five wounded belonged to Hamass Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades military wing, Palestinian sources said. An Israeli soldier was also lightly injured by shrapnel from an anti-tank missile and treated at the scene, the army said.
Wedged into tanks and armoured vehicles, soldiers moved up to 600 metres (yards) into Palestinian territory between the Karni and Nahal Oz crossings that separate Israel from Gaza, security sources and witnesses said. Troops were bulldozing land and shooting could be heard, the sources said, in an operation that came after two overnight Israeli air strikes.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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GAZA CITY - Three Palestinian terrorists militants were killed by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, while tanks and troops waged fresh raids into the territory as part of a two-month-old offensive. The three terrorists men -- all members of the hardline Islamic Jihad faction -- were killed by tank fire near the village of Qarara, a Palestinian medic said.
Troops identified hitting three Palestinians terrorists who were carrying large bags and acting in a suspicious manner as they approached the security fence that separates Israel from Gaza near Kissufim, an army spokesman said.
"Mahmoud, knock it off. You're acting suspicious and you're going to get us killed!"
"Relax, Achmed, the stoopid Zionists have no idea we're .." [Ka-BOOM]
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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The Israeli military brought charges on Tuesday against the speaker of the Palestinian parliament in what could prove to be a test case of how Israel deals with the Hamas-led government. A prosecutor charged Aziz Dweik, a Hamas political leader, with attempting to solicit funds from outside the country and membership of a banned group. He is one of more than 30 Hamas members, many of them elected, who could face similar charges.
Palestinians in the West Bank are tried in military courts because the territory has been under military occupation since 1967 and Israeli civil law does not apply. The court was convened at Ofer Camp, a detention centre, in the West Bank. Dweik told reporters he did not recognise the court's jurisdiction. His lawyers called the charges baseless. "I am elected by the Palestinian people and I represent the head of the Palestinian legitimacy," said Dweik, who was brought into court with his legs shackled, escorted by Israeli soldiers.
The military prosecutor, speaking in Hebrew but with his comments translated into Arabic, told the court he believed the charges against Dweik were serious, and included consorting with Khaled Meshaal, a Hamas leader who lives in exile in Syria. "(Dweik) dealt with Meshaal and he asked him to pay huge amounts of money," the prosecutor said, in apparent reference to Hamas's need for funds to run the government as a result of international sanctions imposed after it came to power.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
A bullet to the back of the head is so much more cost effective.
#2
Those interested in water-preserving material probably know fabric invented in Denmark - like a small-eyed net, it passes through an air and keeps the humidity inside.
Needs much less watering (or, natural rain is enough) in the zones where otherwise it is too dry for the flora to start growing.
Clever people are welcomed to use the achievements of the civilization.
#7
Oh, and the Arabs have destroyed Israel's trees since the 1930s, because they know the Jews care about them. If anyone wants to make a donation to plant replacements, the Jewish National Fund (to which I've donated my quarters since I was a small child), has a website.
#9
Some people are full of shit. If Israeli forests are gonna take 50 years to grow, how long do you think it will take for the Lebanese forests to grow. And what about the Palestinian forests? But who gives a fuck about the Arabs, hey? After all, they're just getting in the way of the 'Greater Israel' aren't they?
You racist pieces of crap. And this site is meant to offer discourse. It's a joke. Must be American or Israeli.
#10
That is why the arabs will eternally live in a desert. Ever since cain. They really do not know how to manage sh*t. Conquer and destroy is all they know. T hell with em.
#11
Arabs in the way of a "greater Israel?" I guess you haven't been paying attention. It's the Arabs trying to wipe tiny Israel off the map. It's the Arabs who have been responsible for 99% of all terrorist acts so that the a caliphate can be created to restore the glory of the 7th century.
#14
Doesn't matter to muslims they would just cut them down and cook with them anyway.
Saw one of those Discovery Channel archaeology shows a year ago about a "lost city" in Yemen. Seems that a few thousand years ago, the locals had dammed a local valley and managed to catch most of the run-off from the too-short rainy season. The reservoir was used to irrigate fields, and the area became rich and prosperous; supposedly even the home of the "Queen of Sheba".
So they're showing the ruins of the city, and the ruins of the dam, and I started wondering to myself, "Why don't the locals build another dam? Maybe there's not as much rain, but we can build better dams now, and know more about irrigation, too. So why hasn't anyone in the oil-cash-glutted Arab world tried to re-create the success of all those years ago?"
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/23/2006 10:12 Comments ||
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#15
I find it ironic that the troll's initials are EU
Posted by: Gir ||
08/23/2006 10:18 Comments ||
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#17
Hey Ebbinetech: forget greater Arabia. Just wait until the Jews set there sights on Persia. Now there's a great country / civilization, don't you think? The Persians have been around for what, oh about 5000 years? And look what they've got to show for it: Flush with cash for their oil they make the best damn IEDs in the entire middle east. And nobody is better at killing gays and subjugating the women folk than the Persians (although the Saudis might not think so). While we lowly westerners here in the USA have been a country for what, 230 years ? We just find cures for major diseases, feed a good portion of the world, create technology that boggles the mind, explore the universe, and uphold freedom and human rights like there's no tomorrow.
Western civilization (Judeo - Christian civilization) is superior to muslim - islamic culture by any measure. Which is why you and your muslims will lose in the end.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
08/23/2006 10:41 Comments ||
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#18
hey, Ebbinetch Unineth2587. You're the piece of crap. You hide behind a fake name (and can't even make up your own, you let the site generate it). Drive-by trolling in never pretty, but sitting in mommy's basement in your underwear must make it look pretty good. FOAD, troll.
BTW, note my website and email attached. Feel free to discuss with me off-list, heh, then I'll have an IP addy. Yes, do that.
Better yet, stand with the Islamofascists- it'll make sure you're not around when the final reckoning happens. You (and those like you) have no idea how really bad we can be. Don't wake the Viking...
Posted by: bk ||
08/23/2006 12:03 Comments ||
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#20
There's forests in Palestine? Who knew? I thought the eeeevvvilll Jooooos cut every blessed tree down with their horrible Caterpillar tractors?
However, the Palis sure did a bang-up job with the greenhouses the Jews left behind in Gaza, so I'm sure their forestry techniques are state of the art. The vast acreages of noble pines, cedars, and firs will be refreshed in no time at all.
#22
bk, I hug trees because they make for lovely tea parties, and lots of other Rantburgers hug trees because it makes for much better hunting when their flame throwers and AK-47s get tired of chasing paper targets at the gun club. ;-)
Ebbinetch Unineth2587, dearie, you have already converted to Islam, I hope. According to the lads who kidnapped the Fox newsies, soon it will be too late for those who chose to remain infidels. So charming, the Muslim laddies!
First, the 'Lebanese forests' (or what little is left of them after they were hacked down centuries ago) were unaffected by the war because Israel was smart enough to target Hizbollah and not trees.
Second, what's a 'palestinian forest'? Send us a pic. I'd love to see one.
Oh, that's right. Almost forgot. Trolls aren't interested in facts, just blind name-calling. News for ya pal: the folks here aren't the least bit intimidated. Go put on your suicide belt and push the button.
PS - 'London-paki-troll' is a much better nick than the site generated Ebbinetch Unineth2587. Feel free to use it.
#26
3dc, a better barrier is the prickly pear, which gave its name (sabra) to the Israelis who turned what had been barren desert for centuries into greenhouses, rich fields and orchards.
Sabra is the word used to describe a Jew born in the Land of Israel. The word is derived from the Hebrew word, tzabar, the name of the "prickly pear" cactus (also known as the "cactus pear"), Opuntia ficus-indica. The allusion is to a tenacious thorny desert plant with a thick hide that conceals a sweet softer interior.
The Sabra Jews were born in Israel from parents of an obviously Zionist orientation. These children were brought up in a society that placed emphasis on a variety of values, including socialism, activism, and volunteerism. To the early Zionist immigrants, their children symbolized the future of their cause. The effect that this had on the future generations of Israel born Jews would be significant, leading to a new archetype of the Jew.
One of the major social aspects of the Zionist movement was the effort to put down the image of the Exilic, Diaspora Jew and create a "new Jew"; one modelled after the heroes of the Ancient Biblical era. ... The new Jew would be strong, decisive, intelligent, practical and completely independent. In particular, the Sabra Jew would have an intimate connection to the land itself, labouring as a farmer ...
Not even to the easily rebuffed #14? Hmmm? or the obviously debatable #20, the 'R' word was used in #25 so surely you can get some spittle up for that?
I was going to use some 'harsh' language, but I see TW on this thread, so I'll just say next time bring a better argument, a functioning mind or at least read something other than the Grauniad, 'Indy' (hah!) or the Baghdad Broadcasting Corporation.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/23/2006 20:02 Comments ||
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#30
I saw a satellite picture of the entire Arabian Peninsula. The only visible green areas are in Israel, Lebanon and parts of Syria. The ecological aspect of the Hizbollah war on civilians deserves further investigation.
#31
Tony (UK), please use language so as to maximize effective communication. Sometimes strong language is the optimum choice, and then you mustn't think I'll judge its use incorrectly. Besides, think how much I'll have learnt by the time you finish your post! ;-)
As for the poor troll, he noticed the discourse bit, but completely missed the expanded "intelligent discourse." Of course, his attempts demonstrate he doesn't qualify for the latter...
by the end of 2006, the U.S. Navy will have a total of six warships capable of tracking and shooting down ballistic missiles, the Navy Times reported Friday. Three cruisers -- the USS Shiloh, USS Lake Erie and USS Port Royal -- already have the capability to track ballistic missiles with upgraded Aegis radar. They also have the ability to hit a ballistic missile with an SM-3 missile, shot out of standard Navy vertical launch system tubes, the report said.
By the end of December, the destroyers USS Stethem, USS Decatur and USS Curtis Wilbur will also have ballistic-missile defense capability, Lt. Tommy Crosby, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, told the Navy Times.
Crosby told the newspaper that all three destroyers are getting the upgrade to shoot SM-3 missiles from their VLS tubes, which requires a brief yard period. The USS Decatur also needs the long-range surveillance and tracking software update. Crosby said the upgrades did not affect maintenance schedules and that the new capabilities should not adjust deployment schedules, either. "We're not taking these ships out of rotation to do this," he said. Asked if the ships will take turns patroling off the coast of North Korea, he told the Navy Times, "They patrol the Pacific." The USS Lake Erie has been used in agreement with the Missile Defense Agency to test seaborne anti-ballistic missile systems.
Eventually, the U.S. Department of Defense wants 18 cruisers and destroyers with the missile-defense capability. During a test June 22 off Hawaii, an SM-3 launched from the cruiser Shiloh hit a target warhead 100 miles above Earth. That intercept was the seventh successful hit out of eight tries in ship-borne tests, the Navy Times said.
ONE of the 2002 Bali bombers used a laptop smuggled to him in jail to help organise the triple suicide blasts that rocked the resort island last year, Indonesian police said today.
Police say Imam Samudra used a laptop with a wireless connection smuggled into his prison cell to chat with Islamic militants and raise money for last year's October 1 blasts at Kuta and Jimbaran Bay, which killed 20 innocent bystanders, including four Australians.
Imam Samudra ... directed the fund-raising for the second Bali bombing, the national police chief of the cyber crime unit, Petrus Golose, said in Jakarta.
The laptop allowed Imam Samudra to chat without restrictions in Ahlussunnah and CafeIslam chatrooms, he said referring to religious chatrooms.
This took place before the second Bali bombing.
He did not say whether the militant used a mobile phone to connect to the internet.
Imam Samudra and two other militants, Amrozi and Ali Gufron, have been on death row for more than two years after courts convicted them of playing leading roles in the October 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
While they were in prison, suicide bombings ripped through three restaurants in Bali last October.
Golose said the information was obtained after police arrested two men this month who ran a website to raise funds for attacks through online credit card fraud.
One of the men smuggled a laptop to Samudra with the help of a prison official at the request of Noordin Top, Southeast Asia's number one fugitive and the master bomb maker for the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah (JI).
Samudra, Ghufron and Amrozi have since been transferred to an island prison off the southern coast of Java island, where they await executions.
The attorney general's office said this week the executions of the three men had been delayed, citing a judicial review planned by defence lawyers.
In an interview aired on Indonesian television ANTV today, Ghufron said his one regret was that he only has one life to surrender in the pursuit of jihad.
Ghufron said he was proud to have been among those brave enough to carry out the 2002 Bali bombings, which he said were a payback aimed at the United States.
Asked why he chose to join the deadly plot, Ghufron told Indonesian television ANTV: Why? Because America invades Indonesia in all aspects.
Economically, culturally, all been invaded. We, thank God, are the ones (who) came out to be brave.
In the interview, recorded before the executions were delayed, Ghufron said he wished he had more lives to give up in the pursuit of jihad, or holy war.
If only I had life as the number of my hair, then I want each one of it be put to death, he said.
I come back alive again, make another jihad and be put to death again, then back alive again and I want it that way.
But, life is only one, so ... just surrender to it.
None of the three condemned convicts have expressed remorse over their roles in the 2002 attacks.
Their appeal will be based on a constitutional court ruling that anti-terror laws introduced soon after the bombings, and which were used to convict the three, could not be applied retroactively.
#2
The indonesian cops must be as efficient as the Saudi cops.
No, they're quite efficient.
You just need to realize that when a Muslim country jails a jihadi, it's done to maintain diplomatic relations with the kaffir. It's not really intended to be punishment.
Hell, you could consider it protective custody.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/23/2006 12:14 Comments ||
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#3
This is just one more blatant indicator of how thoroughly aligned Indonesia is with global terror. Given the terrorist sentence reductions and constant government collusion it all takes on an appearance of Pakistan's ISI. I'm beginning to think that a few well-planted bombs at the Indonesian statehouse might send the necessary message. File under: Sauce for Gander.
#4
Imam Samudra and two other militants, Amrozi and Ali Gufron, have been on death row for more than two years
PS: I don't recall any third world country having such a lengthy delay in executing its convicted murderers. Perhaps lobbing a JDAM into Samudra's prison wing would expedite matters.
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - Syria has threatened to close its border with Lebanon if U.N. peacekeepers are deployed along the frontier, Finland's foreign minister said Wednesday. ``They will close their borders for all traffic in case U.N. troops will be deployed along the Lebanon-Syria border,'' Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said after meeting his Syrian counterpart Walid Moallem in Helsinki.
Silly me. And here I thought that was why the U.N. troops were going there.
"Hokay, Mr. Assad, you want it closed, we'll close it!"
Syrian President Bashar Assad has rejected the U.N. deployment along Syria's border with Lebanon, saying such a move would create animosity between the two countries. ``This is an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty and a hostile position,'' Assad said in an interview with Dubai Television.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/23/2006 12:48 ||
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#1
The price of rockets would go through the roof!
#11
Time for Israel to pound Damascus into dust, but only if Asshat is there in residence. Asshat and his generals, his friends, and his relatives all need to get a taste of JDAM Sandwich, like Zarqawi did.
BTW, I'm writing President Bush this afternoon, asking him to "loan" Israel a couple of squadrons of B-52s for a year or two - along with the aircrew and maintenance personnel to maintain them in prime condition. Maybe the next two squadrons we were planning to send to Davis-Monthan.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/23/2006 17:42 Comments ||
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#12
"Syria has threatened to close its border with Lebanon"
What's the downside?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/23/2006 23:30 Comments ||
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#13
Jesus, what is the world waiting for--take out these jerks in Syria and Iran!
Iran has obtained German guidance gear for its drones, a prosecutor disclosed in Dusseldorf Monday, just hours after the revelation that Britain had supplied night-vision equipment to Iran which ended up in the hands of Hezbollah fighters. Johannes Mocken, the prosecutor in Dusseldorf, said Tehran had obtained the global positioning systems (GPS) through Iranian merchants living in Germany. The delivery was first reported by a German television current-affairs programme, Fakt, which said seven German-made systems were exported but German authorities managed to stop three more.
The systems use signals from satellites to help fly unmanned aircraft. Hezbollah deployed several drones of unknown origin in its recent month of fighting with Israel. "We have to assume that the persons under investigation either knew perfectly well or knowingly made no effort to prevent these GPS systems reaching Iran's military drone programme," Mocken said. Fakt quoted sources saying Hezbollah had deployed the drones against Israel and might deploy them against German Navy ships that are likely to be sent to the Lebanese coast if a peacekeeping mission is approved.
#3
"might deploy them against German Navy ships that are likely to be sent to the Lebanese coast if a peacekeeping mission is approved"
From his lips to God's Hezbollah's ears.
Don't even start protesting - I'm sick of this shit. Anything for the almighty Euro as long as it's just the Jooooos and the Ami's getting hurt. Time for this crap to bite them in the ass. Hard.
It's just too bad these clowns won't be the ones bitten.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/23/2006 1:20 Comments ||
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#4
It CAN'T be true! No company is that self-centered, short-sighted, ignorant, cowardly, and stupid all at the same time!
#6
through Iranian merchants living in Germany.
Im confused by the comments here regarding this article. It doesnt appear that the German government was in any way complicit in this tech/arms transfer. I could be wrong but this sounds to me like the work of private arms merchants or the Black market. The fact is there are arms manufactured from many countries that end up in the hands of criminals and terrorists. That doesnt necessarily indicate that the countries of origin support the transfer or the recipients activities.
#7
True. But on the other hand, there seems to be a pattern of a LOT of interdicted military and nuclear equipment and knowhow that the German government seems never to intercept on time.
#8
It amy not be the government that is driving this but the businesses. I don't know if Germany has the same export license requirements as the US. My guess is probably not. But from the news chatter I've heard since the UK night vision goggles issue surfaced the EU countries do tend to have non-tranfer end user agreements. Which, surprise surprise, Iran totally ignores.
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 drove his explosives-laden car into a Canadian military patrol in southern Afghanistan, wounding four soldiers as British troops killed nine suspected insurgents in the latest bout of violence to hit southern Afghanistan. Insurgents also ambushed a police vehicle, killing five officers as another attack in the south left two Canadian soldiers wounded, officials said on Tuesday. Meanwhile US forces hunting an Al Qaeda agent detained three men in the east.
KUWAIT CITY - Kuwaiti security forces have arrested a suspected Islamist militant who had been sentenced in absentia on charges of affiliation to a group linked to Al-Qaeda and involved in clashes with police, newspapers reported on Tuesday. 
A terrorist attack has occurred at a gas-refining plant in the Russian republic of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya, the RIA-Novosti news agency reports quoting the republic's Interior Ministry. The blast happened in the village of Vosnesenovskaya at 2:30 a.m. Moscow time on Tuesday. "Criminals planted two powerful shaped charges that went off practically simultaneously," a source in the ministry said.
A SYDNEY architect has been jailed for at least 15 years for planning a terrorist attack on Australian soil. Faheem Khalid Lodhi was today jailed for a maximum term of 20 years for acting in preparation for a terrorist attack. He sat quietly in the dock as Justice Anthony Whealy told the NSW Supreme Court Lodhi had intended to "advance violent giant jihad" in Australia.
Police hunting a youth who planted bombs on German trains raided a Cologne apartment during the night, as more evidence surfaced Tuesday about the Lebanese Shiites believed to be behind Germany's closest shave yet with international terrorism. Two youths were filmed by security cameras in Cologne as they carried bombs concealed in suitcases aboard trains three weeks ago. Because of construction flaws, the bombs failed to explode and turned up in lost-property offices. No one claimed responsibility. 
Police in India killed a suspected Pakistani terrorist and arrested another in India's western Mumbai city Tuesday after claiming to have made a breakthrough in last month's bombings in the city that killed over 180 people, news reports and officials said. According to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the terror suspect, 
Insurgent attacks killed at least 13 people across Iraq, police said Tuesday, as British troops stormed into a southern city to arrest a suspected "terrorist". Eight of the murder victims were young Shia men from Najaf, who were pulled from buses by gunmen late on Monday as they travelled north to Madaen on the outskirts of Baghdad, and shot dead in the street, police said.
Israeli soldiers, backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and armoured personnel carriers, moved into Palestinian-controlled areas near the main Israel-Gaza cargo crossing on Tuesday, conducting house-to-house searches and arrests. Five Palestinians were wounded moderately, including three Hamas militants, medical officials said. Three Palestinians were arrested, security officials said. 
GAZA CITY - Five Palestinians were wounded and another five detained in northern Gaza after Israeli tanks and troops moved across the border. IDF (Israel Defence Force) soldiers surrounded a house in which five wanted terrorists were located. After exchanges of fire, one Hamas gunmen was hit and all the wanted Palestinians were taken for investigation, a spokesman said.
GAZA CITY - Three Palestinian 
The Israeli military brought charges on Tuesday against the speaker of the Palestinian parliament in what could prove to be a test case of how Israel deals with the Hamas-led government. A prosecutor charged 
