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Seven dead at festivities honoring Yasser
Today's Headlines
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Africa Horn
Photos of Pirate vessels under attack off Somalia
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/12/2007 20:45 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Hawiye spokesman detained
(SomaliNet) Somali’s Hawiye clan spokesman Ahmed Dirie Ali and other clan members have been arrested on Sunday by the security forces of the transitional government – as all business activities and key roads in the Somalia capital Mogadishu were closed due to the ongoing security missions aimed to crack down the repel insurgents. The leader of Hawiye traditional council Mohamed Hassan Haad confirmed the local media about the news of the arrest and condemned the move by the government as intolerable.

The Ethiopian forces along with the interim government troops carried out today join operations blocking all the main roads in the capital in search for suspects. The military missions had an impact on the fleeing people to escape the fighting.

“The government soldiers with a number of battle wagons stormed this morning the house of the spokesman and took Ahmed Dirie and two of his sons and Sheik Ahmed Ali Gees, a member of the council,” said Haad. It is not yet clear whereabouts the spokesman and other the arrested members.

Mr. Haad said before they were arrested, there were threats coming from the Banadir provincial authority and security intelligence officials. “We knew that the Banadir officials warned us to stay away from talking about the Mogadishu crisis and that is an indication for their threat,”

He said the arrest on the spokesman will not have an impact on the Hawiye Council activities. He also described the latest military operations by the Ethiopians in Somalia capital as sort of carnage against the civilians.
Posted by: Fred || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


Africa North
Car boom wounds 14 in Tizi Ouzou
A car bomb aimed at the former national gendarmerie headquarters in Maatka municipality in Tizi Ouzou has made 14 wounded including 4 security agents. The former headquarters of the national gendarmerie has been assaulted yesterday by a terrorist group who tried to park a car nearby. Shots followed in an attempt to bring security agents outside the building.

According to local security sources, the attack bears the hallmarks of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The attack has wounded 14, 10 civilians and 4 security agents. In the same connection, security forces have eliminated Saturday 3 terrorists and recovered automatic weapons in a check point between Tizi Ouzou and Bejaïa provinces.
Posted by: Fred || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria makes 'al-Qaeda' arrests
HT to CQA group of militants with suspected links to al-Qaeda in northern Nigeria has been arrested according to Nigeria's internal security service. A State Security Service spokesman said men in three states were detained and explosive-making devices were found.

Nigeria has not suffered a terrorist attack and despite occasional arrests of suspected Islamic militants there is no evidence of al-Qaeda in Nigeria. In September, the US embassy warned Nigeria is at risk of a terror attack.

A group of Islamic militants were found with fertiliser and explosive-making devices, following investigations in three states in northern Nigeria: Kano, Kaduna and Yobe
Posted by: Frank G || 11/12/2007 11:27 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Police defuse 2 bombs in northern Spain
A reminder that not all terrorists are Muslim.
MADRID, Spain - Spanish police defused two bombs, one thought to be a booby trap, outside a courthouse in the northeastern seaside town of Getxo Sunday, regional police said. No one was injured.

An emergency number received a call at 6:15 a.m. (0515 GMT) reporting that explosives had been left by the courthouse in the leafy suburb of the Basque port city of Bilbao. The caller said he was speaking for ETA, a violent separatist group. A homemade device comprising a cooking pot, five kilograms (11 pounds) of explosives, a fuse and a timer, had been left inside a backpack beside the court’s main door, where it was defused, police said in a statement.

About eight hours later, the building was again cordoned off by police who deactivated a smaller device, thought by police to be a booby-trap bomb destined to cause injury to officers defusing the first bomb. Local residents heard three small explosions as experts deactivated the second, three kilogram (6.6 pounds) bomb, Basque television etb reported from the scene.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Basques seem to have been taking lessons from Al Quaeda - booby trapping a bomb in order to blow up the responders is not a technique I recall seeing there before.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/12/2007 7:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Not solely an Al Qaeda tactic; Eric Rudolf used it.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/12/2007 22:42 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pakistan warns against nuclear weapons grab
Pakistan warned Monday it had sufficient 'retaliatory capacity' to defend its nuclear weapons, after a report the United States had made contingency plans to stop them falling into the wrong hands. Denouncing 'irresponsible conjecture,' the foreign ministry said Pakistan was ready and able to defend its nuclear arsenal and there was no risk of the arms being taken.

Its reaction followed a Washington Post report that with Pakistan in the throes of a political crisis, the US has drawn up contingency plans in case the Pakistani military risked losing control of the weapons.

'If there is any threat to our nuclear assets and sovereignty, we have the capacity to defend ourselves,' foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told Agence France-Presse.

A ministry statement went further, saying in response to the daily's report that 'suffice it to say that Pakistan possesses adequate retaliatory capacity to defend its strategic assets and sovereignty.' The ministry strongly denied its weapons were at any risk. 'Our strategic assets are as safe as that of any other nuclear weapons state,' it said.

A number of US officials and lawmakers have voiced concern that President Pervez Musharraf's government could lose control over its nuclear arsenal amid the crisis triggered by his imposition of a state of emergency. The Post cited several former US officials saying that the plans envision efforts to remove a nuclear weapon at imminent risk of falling into the hands of terrorists.

However, it reported that US officials were worried their limited knowledge about the location of the arsenal could pose a problem.

That was laughed off by the Pakistani foreign ministry. 'If they cannot locate Pakistan's nuclear weapons despite their satellites, how can people sitting on a mountain know where they are,' it said.

Pakistan, a crucial Washington ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, has amassed some 50 nuclear weapons since detonating its first atomic devices in May 1998.
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 14:39 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  The ministry strongly denied its weapons were at any risk. 'Our strategic assets are as safe as that of any other nuclear weapons state,' it said.

Phew! I was worried there for a minute.
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/12/2007 14:42 Comments || Top||

#2  The first Pakistan nuclear test was actually in 1984 at the Chinese Lop Nor test site.
This was preceeded by both cold tests and simulations by the Chinese.

It now appears that India didn't even have a deliverable weapon until 1988. The device tested in 1974 was not a weapon. It was only in 1984 that Rajiv Gandhi ordered weaponisation. Only then did was an air deliverable weapon produced and the IAF begin to perform bomb toss runs.

If the Paks knew that the Indian weapon was existential, while Pakistan had a small arsenal of usable weapons....
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 14:46 Comments || Top||

#3  So "preempt in place" is the only strategy to pursue...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/12/2007 14:53 Comments || Top||

#4  'If they cannot locate Pakistan's nuclear weapons despite their satellites, how can people sitting on a mountain know where they are,' it said.

Because there are people in your government who would tell them?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 11/12/2007 15:16 Comments || Top||

#5  'If they cannot locate Pakistan's nuclear weapons despite their satellites, how can people sitting on a mountain know where they are,' it said.

That's kinda the pink center of the roast ain't it?
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 11/12/2007 15:16 Comments || Top||

#6  "...there was no risk of the arms being taken."

Taken - no.
Given - ummmmmmmm mebbe.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/12/2007 15:21 Comments || Top||


Blast destroys superstore in DIK
A superstore was destroyed on Saturday night when a bomb planted near Police checkpost No 4 in Muslim Bazar in Dera Ismail Khan went off. Police authorities said that unidentified men planted the bomb, which exploded destroying the store completely. However, no loss of life was reported. According to the owner of the superstore, Muhammad Asif Ali Wala, goods worth Rs 1 million were completely destroyed. Local police have registered a case and have started investigating.
I'm filing this under "Taliban," but it's just as likely Muhammad's collecting on the insurance money even as we speak blog.
Posted by: Fred || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Swat militants abduct cleric
SWAT: Militants here abducted a cleric who was running a private FM radio station. Local sources said Mufti Muhammad Ali
... He floats like a butterfly
And stings like a bee...
was abducted in the night between Saturday and Sunday from Banday, for alleged connivance with security forces. The militants also seized a weapons cache from his residence. Militants said that he would be punished in accordance with the Sharia.
"Orf wiv 'is 'ead!"
[LOP!]
Posted by: Fred || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: TNSM


After 66 hrs, Sopore gunbattle ends
SRINAGAR: Sixty-six hours after it ensued, the gunbattle — one of the fieriest in the recent times — between the security forces and the holed-up terrorists in north Kashmir’s Sopore, ended with the killing of the second militant on Sunday.

The gunbattle started on Thursday when a group of LeT militants tried to storm a CRPF camp in Sopore but failed. Two of the terrorists then took shelter inside a nearby hotel, while the other two managed to flee. The security forces managed to kill a terrorist on Saturday, while the other holed-up militant continued to resist.
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1 





An Indian policemen takes position during a gun battle in Sopore 52 km (32 miles) north of Srinagar, November 9, 2007. The ongoing gun battle between police and two suspected Muslim militants who took refuge inside a hotel after a failed attempt to storm a paramilitary camp on November 8, in the north of Srinagar









An Indian policeman takes position as dust and smoke rise from a building which Indian soldiers stormed with explosives during a gun battle in Sopore, some 55 kms north of Srinagar




Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 5:39 Comments || Top||

#2 









An Indian army soldier looks at the bodies of suspected militants in camp after a gun battle in Pattan 27 km (16 miles) north of Srinagar, November 9, 2007.

Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 5:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Heavens to Mergatroid, John! Are you right in the middle of this?
Posted by: Bobby || 11/12/2007 6:07 Comments || Top||

#4  These are wire service pictures
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 6:15 Comments || Top||

#5  I figgered that, but still ... Thanks for sharing! We'd be lucky to see one of those pics in the WaPo - if I read it, that is.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/12/2007 6:25 Comments || Top||

#6  They are available to the MSM but you typically won't see them because, well, these poor Pakistani guys are oppressed Muslims, and 'rebels', and 'militants' and such. And India is oppressing their human rights and all that....
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 6:54 Comments || Top||

#7  It took three days to get two guys?
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/12/2007 7:17 Comments || Top||

#8  It wasn't your ordinary rabbit . . . .
Posted by: gorb || 11/12/2007 7:27 Comments || Top||

#9  I don't see any reports of Indian soldiers getting killed, so they did well. Good job guys putting the rabid dogs down.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/12/2007 9:21 Comments || Top||

#10  Did they only get the three whose bodies are shown, or did they capture others?
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/12/2007 10:57 Comments || Top||

#11  John F. who are the Indian forces with the non-standard helmet? Para?
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 11/12/2007 11:41 Comments || Top||

#12  None (in the first set of pictures) are actually Indian Army.

They appear to be a mix of Rashtriya Rifles (paramilitary counter insurgency), CRPF (Central Reserve Police) and Kashmiri Police (SOG unit).

The helmet is also used by the Army. It is a 'patka', originally intended for Sikh troops (can accomodate a small turban).
The patka doesn't provide adequate protection on top.
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 14:14 Comments || Top||

#13  It took three days to get two guys?

They aren't allowed to use airpower and artillery and are severely restricted in their use of anti-tank weaponry and mortars in populated areas.
Many of these houses are very close together and the security forces tend to be cautious about collatoral damage to structures.

So they trade fire and do things the hard way, exposing themselves to harm.
It does mimimize civilian protests about their actions though. Hearts and Minds and all that.
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 14:18 Comments || Top||

#14  did they capture others?

The RR and the Kashmiri SOG police are not interested in prisoners.

I suspect a few of the terrorists got away before they could seal off the area. These areas are a warren of narrow streets and adjoining houses where terrorists can move quickly.
Posted by: john frum || 11/12/2007 14:20 Comments || Top||


Iraq
DynCorp Guard kills unarmed Iraqi taxi driver
BAGHDAD - A private security guard fatally shot an Iraqi taxi driver, Iraqi officials said Monday, in the latest incident involving what Iraqis believe are unprovoked killings by contractors hired to protect Americans.

A spokesman for DynCorp International, a Falls Church, Va.-based company, said one of its security teams opened fire Saturday to disable a vehicle in Baghdad after it approached a convoy in a threatening manner.

"Our team had reported that they believed no one was injured. So although there were conflicting reports, we are trying to determine if the incidents are one and the same," said Gregory Lagana, DynCorp's senior vice president for communications.

Iraqi officials said the shooting took place Saturday at 12:45 p.m. across from a children's playground in Baghdad's Atafiyah neighborhood,
Al Quaeda would never attack a convoy in a mannar that would endanger a playground, right?
when a taxi driver pulled up close to a convoy of seven U.S. vehicles driving through the area.

Security personnel signaled for the taxi to pull away, and then one of the guards opened fire on the car, they said.

The driver was shot in the chest and head, but was still alive when local shopkeepers and police rushed to help him, witnesses and police said. He died in a police car on the way to the hospital, said Ahmed Adel, a barber who watched the events unfold outside his shop.

The shooting occurred on an exit ramp next to a bridge spanning the Tigris River. Atafiyah is a mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhood that has not seen as much violence as other Baghdad enclaves. Piles of soft drink cans and other groceries line sidewalks outside dozens of retail shops.

It was the latest shooting by private security contractors perceived by many here as operating above the law. The U.S. government has offered some guards limited immunity under deals that have slowed prosecution of other shooting cases and angered Iraqis.

The incident came just two days before the arrival of two top U.S. officials sent from Washington to investigate the role of private security companies in Iraq.
I question the timing. Seriously.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/12/2007 20:12 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Counter-propaganda Success
It is not clear to me who was killed in these ops, and who was captured, but the comment by Maj. Danielson suggests the 'captures' have been proving valuable (and we need not be disappointed that they were not killed.) These ops seem unusual compared to most others recently in that no Iraqi Forces are noted as participating. Just not noted? Or whatever unit would have been associated was not trusted for these ops? Or not trusted, period?

Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda media networks; six killed, 15 detained

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces killed six terrorists and detained 15 suspects, including two wanted individuals Sunday and Monday during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda propaganda operations in central Iraq.

During an operation southwest of Baqubah Sunday, Coalition forces targeted the alleged media emir of the Diyala province. Coalition forces observed four armed men in the target area, and, perceiving hostile intent, fired warning shots in an attempt to get the men to drop their weapons. When the suspects failed to comply, the ground force engaged the armed men. A vehicle associated with the men caught on fire from the engagement, and Coalition forces observed secondary explosions, indicating bomb-making materials were likely inside. As the ground force secured the area, they assessed four terrorists were killed from the explosions during the operation.

Coalition forces conducted a separate operation targeting a suspected terrorist associated with the four terrorists killed southwest of Baqubah. As the ground force approached the target building, they called for the building’s occupants to come out. One man came out of the building, but ignoring their instructions he continued to move toward them and ignored warning shots. Perceiving hostile intent, Coalition forces engaged and killed the terrorist. As the ground force secured the area, they found two large weapons caches of rockets, mortars and improvised explosive devices, which the ground force safely destroyed to prevent further use by terrorists. The ground force detained two suspects on site.

Coalition forces captured a wanted individual west of Baqubah during operations targeting an associate of al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders, including the suspected Diyala media emir and an associate. Coalition forces secured the target building, finding a media cache, believed to be used for al-Qaeda in Iraq propaganda. The wanted individual was subsequently detained.

In an operation east of Samarra, Coalition forces targeted an al-Qaeda media headquarters and safe house, also believed to be used by foreign terrorists. As Coalition forces secured the target building and entered a room, a man reached for a suicide vest. Responding in self-defense, Coalition forces engaged and killed the terrorist before the vest detonated. The ground force detained seven suspects on site.

Coalition forces captured a wanted individual during operations in southern Tikrit targeting foreign terrorist facilitators and associates of al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders. The wanted individual was believed to be an associate helping with the movement of senior terrorist leaders in the Haditha region. Coalition forces detained four suspects in addition to the wanted individual.

“Many operations lead us to other targets,” said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman. “These operations, with the help of Iraqi citizens and security forces, get us closer to a peaceful Iraq.”
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/12/2007 13:04 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1  This reads like Special Forces found and ..... and Special Forces found and .....

From most of the reading I have done, it seems the weapon caches are usually "recovered" and then blowups are done by those tech guys (my aging mind is going blank on what they are called EOT's maybe?)

As the ground force secured the area, they found two large weapons caches of rockets, mortars and improvised explosive devices, which the ground force safely destroyed to prevent further use by terrorists.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/12/2007 13:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Sherry, those would be Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians who blow up the cache material.
Posted by: remoteman || 11/12/2007 15:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh no! They killed Wolf Blitzer!
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/12/2007 15:30 Comments || Top||


'Thousands of Kurdish rebels cross into Iran'
Thousands of Kurdish guerrillas have crossed the border into Iran to escape a threatened Turkish offensive against their mountain redoubts in northern Iraq, a former rebel leader said.

When and if the Turkish troops arrive, they will only be “chasing shadows”, Osman Ocalan, brother of jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, told AFP in an interview in his home in Koya in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region. “I know that since last month thousands of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) members have crossed into Iran,” said Osman Ocalan, who spent 18 years fighting Turkish troops before abandoning the armed struggle in 2004.

“At least a thousand crossed into Turkey,” he added. “Only a small number remain in Iraq.” PKK camps, said Ocalan, are scattered in the remote region where the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey meet. “They are constantly moving from one country to the other. They don’t stay long in one place. “The aim is not to offer targets. They know that one should not face the Turks directly, but rather carry out specific guerrilla operations against them.”
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Will the Turks go hot pursuit into Iran to go after the PKK? Heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/12/2007 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  “The aim is not to offer targets.

Whahhaahhaa
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/12/2007 1:13 Comments || Top||

#3  PKK are a blight on the Kurds, and should be treated as such BY the Kurds.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/12/2007 9:38 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe the Turks will invade Iran now.

Hey, it's a thought!
Posted by: Mike || 11/12/2007 10:20 Comments || Top||

#5  How clever. Bring Iran's ire down on their Kurdish hosts. The Mullahs are looking for a target for their nervous irritation, and they're working to bind Turkey close. Unlike the Americans, they won't bother to target only the guilty.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/12/2007 10:54 Comments || Top||

#6  A few weeks ago Iran was shelling Kurdish positions in Iraq. Can't see them welcoming these boys with open arms....
Posted by: Ebbugum McGurque7592 || 11/12/2007 16:40 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Seven dead, dozens injured as gunfire ends massive rally honoring Arafat in Gaza

...and what better way to honor the Great Man.
Fatah leaders vow revenge™
Ah, ya couldn't see this coming, could ya?
Gaza – Ma'an – Seven Palestinians were killed when Hamas-allied police opened fire on a massive Fatah-organized rally in Gaza City marking the third anniversary of the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Monday. Hundreds of thousands had attended the event, the largest Fatah rally since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June.
Move it along BANGBANGBANGBANG...Nuthin to see here BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG...
Palestine TV said "Hamas militias" fired from the roof of Al-Azhar University into the crowd in the adjacent Al-Katiba Square. Hamas, for its part, accused Fatah supporters of shooting first.
He did it!
No, he did it!
No, he did it!
No, he did it!
No...

Palestine TV identified one of the dead was identified as Tariq Najjar. At least one child was also killed. By some estimates, up to a hundred others were injured when gunshots sent thousands of panicked Fatah supporters running.
Ouch! My foot!!! Ouch! My other foot!
The Associated Press reported that one of the injured was a Hamas police officer who was shot in the head.
I'm thinking one of the gun sex bullets that's never supposed to come down...
Fatah leaders call for revenge™
We call for more popcorn...
Fatah leaders in the West Bank were outraged at the killings. Mohammad Dahlan, Fatah's former Gaza Strip strongman, who was overthrown by Hamas fighters in June, called for revenge™. He told Palestine TV, "Victory over those killers will be very soon through such rallies and gatherings as what we have seen today." He also pledged not to forget "the martyrs' blood."
Careful, Mo. The last time you wanted revenge™ they burnt your house down and stole all those nice suits of yours...
A tense day of remembrance
It's tense out there, Mahmoud.
Yeah, too tense...

Tensions were high when the rally began on Monday morning. Large numbers of Hamas-affiliated police were deployed at intersections in Gaza City.
Didn't I just say that, Mahmoud?
Ya sure did, sarge...

Fatah leaders had accused Hamas of disrupting the planned gathering by intercepting shipments of Fatah posters, scarves, and baseball caps. Hamas claimed to have returned the items.
Don't be fooled by knockoffs. Make sure all your terrorist memorabilia has the official "good terrorist" hologram and certificate of authenticity...
Two people were wounded when police broke up a Fatah rally in Al-Bureij refugee camp on Sunday night. The speakers at the rally, much like those at Sunday's festival in Ramallah, had harsh words for Hamas.
We curse their mustaches! Their father's mustaches!! Their mother's mustaches!!!
Fatah leader Ahmad Hillis, who is also member of the Revolutionary Council told the crowd: "You affirm today that Gaza Strip will remain Fatah's stronghold and will not be torched by the mutineers."
But now...gotta go!
Hamas leaders also paid tribute to the iconic leader of the Palestinian struggle. "We honor and respect Yasser Arafat because he ... refused to give up the rights of our people in this holy land," Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum told the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz on Monday. Thousands attended a Fatah-organized festival in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday, the actual anniversary of Arafat's death.
Good times...good times...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/12/2007 08:53 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Add a couple or three zeros to that number and we are cooking with gas.
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/12/2007 9:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Great in-lines.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 11/12/2007 10:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Arafat still dead (and moulderin') ...Gaza gun sex....Dire Revenge™...TU on a roll....

it doesn't get much better than this :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 11/12/2007 11:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Does this mean the commemorative gay orgy is postponed?
Posted by: Yasser || 11/12/2007 11:26 Comments || Top||

#5  This is why I snicker at all the earnest young idealists wearing their euro peace Yasser scarves around campus. They're backing a loser and a losing cause. Hamas would shoot them dead without so much as a by-your-leave.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/12/2007 11:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Add the Che t-shirt and you complete the young revolutionary's ensemble.
Put it on mom's credit card...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/12/2007 11:39 Comments || Top||

#7  Not enough gun sex.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/12/2007 11:43 Comments || Top||

#8  And yet another story of peaceful Paleanimals the MSM will not cover. Besides I'm sure the Jooooos caused it.
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/12/2007 11:54 Comments || Top||

#9  I lol'd tu is like sit and wait for this stuff. Not fair, but damn I did Lol again. I feel bad about that.
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 11/12/2007 11:55 Comments || Top||

#10  Just another day in the life of the inmates running the asylum called Gaza. Oddly, it seems that no one blamed Israel or Bush.
Posted by: Darrell || 11/12/2007 12:56 Comments || Top||

#11  It just seems particularly appropriate that arafat is honored with the indiscriminate murder of innocents.

I guess, in a way, they're simply remembering the good old days, before the wall.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 11/12/2007 13:24 Comments || Top||

#12  They are a kind and gentle people, who follow a religion of peace and love. Leave them all to their murdering work.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/12/2007 13:43 Comments || Top||

#13  We really, really need a "point and laugh" graphic.
Posted by: gorb || 11/12/2007 13:50 Comments || Top||

#14  The proud legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Posted by: treo || 11/12/2007 13:53 Comments || Top||

#15  All this for Veteran's Day celebrations!
I knew this was a TU Snark-o-thon by the second in-line........wunnerful stuff.
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 11/12/2007 14:08 Comments || Top||

#16  Next Sunday please tune in for the feature for the IPFL (Islamic Professional Fatal League) which will be Sunni vs Shia. Followed by Monday Night action between the Wahabbi and the Hezbollah. But you will not want the miss the blood thirsty action between Al Queda and the Baathists on Thanksgiving Day!
Posted by: Don Vito Shens6025 || 11/12/2007 19:28 Comments || Top||

#17  It is not a tragedy when stupid people starve.
Posted by: McZoid || 11/12/2007 21:44 Comments || Top||

#18  heh i waz almost too late! fun thread folks much amusment... tu SCORES!@!

luvs the paleo rally...more...more...more!

:)
Posted by: Red Dawg || 11/12/2007 23:48 Comments || Top||


The Veteran
For every hero on the stage
On parade or in the grave
With medals pinned and glory flags unfurled

The humble serviceman by scores
Packs the caissons, Guards the doors
Sails sea and sky across the troubled world

Comrades in arms they share the call
Who stepped across that line for all
Knowing well that fate might call their name

They crossed that sword mark in the dust
For freedoms sake and God they trust
And did it not for fortunes gold or fame

So on Remembrance Day give thanks
To veterans past and current ranks
And Praise Eternal God that they were there

Oh quiet heroes, every one
Without your hand, naught would be won
Pray our acclaim, the purest badge you wear


-- Beto Ochoa
Posted by: Steve White || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The poet is apparently an ex-Democrat - the best kind.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/12/2007 6:23 Comments || Top||

#2  I was sent this story about Ann Margaret and the Viet Nam Vet. Enjoy.

Richard, (my husband), never really talked a lot about his time in Viet Nam
other than he had been shot by a sniper. However, he had a rather
grainy, 8 x 10 black and white photo he had taken at a USO show of
Ann Margret with Bob Hope in the background that was one of his
treasures.

A few years ago, Ann Margret was doing a book signing at a local
bookstore. Richard wanted to see if he could get her to sign the
treasured photo so he arrived at the bookstore at 12 o'clock for the
7:30 signing.

When
I got there after work, the line went all the way around the
bookstore, circled the parking lot and disappeared behind a parking
garage. Before her appearance, bookstore employees announced that
she would sign only her book and no memorabilia would be permitted.

Richard was disappointed, but wanted to show her the photo and let her know
how much those shows meant to lonely GI's so far from home. Ann
Margret came out looking as beautiful as ever and, as second in
line, it was soon Richard's turn.

He presented the book for
her signature and then took out the photo. When he did, there were
many shouts from the employees that she would not sign it. Richard
said, 'I understand. I just wanted her to see it.'

She took one look at the photo, tears welled up in her eyes and she said,
'This is one of my gentlemen from Viet Nam and
I most certainly will sign his photo. I know what these men did for
their country and I always have time for 'my gentlemen.''

With that, she pulled Richard across the table and planted a big kiss on
him. She then made quite a to-do about the bravery of the young men
she met over the years, how much she admired them, and how much she
appreciated them. There weren't too many dry eyes among those close
enough to hear She then posed for pictures and acted as if he were
the only one there.

Later at dinner, Richard was very quiet.
When I asked if he'd like to talk about it, my big strong husband
broke down in tears. 'That's the first time anyone ever thanked me
for my time in the Army,' he said.

That night was a turning
point for him. He walked a little straighter and, for the first time
in years, was proud to have been a Vet. I'll never forget Ann
Margret for her graciousness and how much that small act of kindness
meant to my husband.

I now make it a point to say 'Thank
you' to every person I come across who served in our Armed Forces.

Posted by: Mark Z || 11/12/2007 7:57 Comments || Top||

#3  Mark Z.: true story. Classy lady and a true star. Thank you to all our veterans!
Posted by: Frank G || 11/12/2007 10:47 Comments || Top||

#4  We had our Veteran's Muster at our club on Friday. Over 60 of our members gave up a day of golf or tennis to join in the festivities. Our local Marine Corp League presented the colors. The guard included two WW2 vets - one from Iwo Jima. Another of the guys survived the Indianapolis sinking. Talk about your ration of the greatest generation. Last year was our first muster. There we had not only a gentlemen (who has since moved into assisted living) who was on a Japanese "Ghost Ship" but also an ex-Major in the British Army who had liberated a small village in Italy from which another one of our members was a resident at the time - talk about a small world. We even had a guy from Air America and a former Dutch Army vet. Our group includes 3 ex-Army, Air Force and Navy nurses. Very eclectric. I only wish we had a more focused tradition of selling poppies like the British Legion has. By the way, we had a Marine Corp birthday cake. The oldest Marine cut it using the youngest jarheads sword. Age difference 25 years. 85 and 60.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 11/12/2007 15:47 Comments || Top||


Good Monday morning
Posted by: Fred || 11/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Morning you all
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/12/2007 1:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Morning
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/12/2007 8:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Mae West: "Is that a Defender-Scimitar in your pants or are ya just happy to see me?"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/12/2007 10:50 Comments || Top||

#4  The best, Snark-Queen of the Universe. She is RantBurg.
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 11/12/2007 11:50 Comments || Top||

#5  ...I gotta agree with Thomas Woof - if Mae were still with us, I think she'd be a big fan of the Burg. Maybe she could get a permanent masthead pic?

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/12/2007 12:19 Comments || Top||

#6  One of the greatest movie ever made - Mae West and W.C. Fields in "My Little Chickadee". Flower Belle Lee and Cuthbert J. Twillie.

Cuthbert to Flower Belle: "Come up and see me sometime". He threw that in because it was her famous temptation in a previous movie. I think in person they detested each other.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 11/12/2007 15:53 Comments || Top||

#7  I think in person they detested each other.

They definitely did. Fields referred to West as a "plumber's vision of Cleopatra."
Posted by: Zenster || 11/12/2007 22:54 Comments || Top||



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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2007-11-12
  Seven dead at festivities honoring Yasser
Sun 2007-11-11
  Thousands flee Mogadishu, over 80 killed
Sat 2007-11-10
  Sheikh al-Ubaidi, four others from Salvation Council in Diyala killed by suicide boomer
Fri 2007-11-09
  AQI Is Out of Baghdad, U.S. Says
Thu 2007-11-08
  Militants now in control of most of Swat
Wed 2007-11-07
  Swat's Buddha carving has been decapitated
Tue 2007-11-06
  Suicide bomber kills scores in northern Afghanistan
Mon 2007-11-05
  Around 60 Taliban, four police dead in Afghan attacks
Sun 2007-11-04
  Opp vows to resist emergency
Sat 2007-11-03
  Musharraf imposes state of emergency
Fri 2007-11-02
  Anbar leaders visit US, stress partnership
Thu 2007-11-01
  Bus bomb kills eight, injures 56 in Russia
Wed 2007-10-31
  Iraqi Special Forces Detains AQI Commander in Khadra
Tue 2007-10-30
  Crew of North Korean Pirated Vessel Regains Control
Mon 2007-10-29
  Baghdad: Gunmen kidnap 10 anti-al-Qaida tribal leaders


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