#1
"The new operational underwear, which has been successfully trialled for comfort and design, is for wear in operations in hot desert and tropical conditions where regular adequate laundering may not be available. Anti-microbial capability inhibits bacterial and fungal infections common in such conditions as well as odour."
#4
May seem trivial, but with 120 F degree temperatures, any help in this regard is welcome.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/20/2005 13:51 Comments ||
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#5
It's not really trivial, is it Capt. America? After all, a comfortable soldier is a more relaxed and effective soldier... the logic chain ending with, "better underwear means we'll be able to downsize our troop presence in Iraq much more quickly." ;-)
On September 1, 2004, a group of Chechen terrorists took hostage and two days later murdered at least 335 schoolchildren and parents in Beslan, a town in the Russian republic of North Ossetia. The atrocity focused world attention on Chechnya. The Russian government used the event to reiterate its arguments that Chechen terrorists and foreign jihadists supporting them have ideological, financial, and operational ties with Islamist terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda. Although President Vladimir Putin and top Russian security officials provided evidence of links between Chechen fighters and Al-Qaeda, European politicians and mainstream Western journalists focused instead upon the Russian army's brutality and dismissed Putin's claims as an attempt to gain sympathy in the West and deflect criticism of Russia's handling of a nationalist insurgency.
Putin may have been opportunistic, but he was also correct. A close examination of the evolution of the Chechen movement indicates that Islamists and followers of Al-Qaeda have increasingly sought to co-opt the Chechen movement as their own.
Foreign fighters did not have a significant presence in the first Chechen war, which started soon after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and ended with the November 1996 Russian retreat and the creation of an autonomous Chechen government led by the late Aslan Maskhadov. The main Chechen rebel leader during the first war, Dzhokhar Dudayev, had a generally secular nationalist outlook. According to Alexander Iskanderyan, director of the Center for Caucasian Studies in Moscow, "the Chechen independence movement had no Islamic dimension at all." But when the conflict began to attract media coverage, Islamic jihadis migrated to Chechnya.
Over the last decade, Islamist terrorists have co-opted the Chechen cause as part of a global jihad.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 03:04 ||
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The law enforcement bodies of Daghestan (a Russian constituent republic on the Caspian Sea) investigated the September 29, 2004 attack on policemen in Khasavyurt. The Daghestani Interior Ministry said that the attacker was Jordanian Abu Jarah Urduni. This international terrorist was eliminated on May 17, 2005 during a special operation near Khasavyurt (a town in northwestern Daghestan on the border with Chechnya where the second Chechen campaign began in 1999).
Jarah was an Al Qaeda emissary in the North Caucasus and had links with the Muslim Brothers and Al-Haramein terrorist organizations, as well as terrorist leaders Shamil Basayev, Aslan Maskhadov, Khattab, Abu al-Walid, etc. He was involved in many terrorist acts in Chechnya, the regional operative headquarters for the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus said. Jarah was trained to make and use explosive devices and poisons in a Talib camp in Afghanistan. He also helped organize a terrorist training network in Chechnya.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 02:54 ||
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An Islamic preacher who advocates the execution of homosexuals, adulterers and armed robbers plans to start broadcasting his message in Australia on radio, TV and through the internet. Sheik Khalid Yasin, who was born in the US, gained notoriety when his views on homosexuals - and that the Koran endorsed beatings of spouses - were aired last month, bringing condemnation from the then premier, Bob Carr.
In an interview with the Herald this week Sheik Khalid said he was preparing to use the airwaves to proselytise and offer a "moral alternative" to the mainstream media. He remained unapologetic about his strict interpretation of the Koran, but pleaded for it to be put in context. "It's not just a book of revelation and inspiration; it's a book of legislation," he said. Among these Koranic "laws" was capital punishment for offences including adultery, homosexuality, rape, child molestation, bestiality and murder. "This is God's law, but the execution of those laws has to be by a government apparatus," he said. "Without an Islamic state you can still promote these views ⊠but my message is that you have to obey the laws of the land."
Sheik Khalid, a former Christian who was inspired by the US black nationalist Malcolm X to convert to Islam, has visited Australia five times and is a popular speaker among the young. However, other Muslims vehemently dispute his intepretation. The president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Ameer Ali, said: "It's not in the Koran. His views on homosexuality and adultery do not reflect the views of the majority of Muslims. They are really radical and, at this point in time, we could do without them."
Sheik Khalid said he had entered into a joint venture partnership with Fame Entertainment to broadcast over satellite radio and TV. "By October we will be broadcasting two to four hours a day, seven days a week," he said. "We are looking at satellite TV by January next year and we expect to be webcasting here from the 15th of September." The programs, titled Purpose of Life, would involve talkback and documentaries and would canvass issues from genetically modified food to nuclear proliferation and the abortion debate, Sheik Khalid said.
He had met Abu Bakar Bashir , the jailed alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, but found him "obnoxious and pretentious". Sheik Khalid does not subscribe to the notion of a pan-Islamic caliphate, terrorism or the overthrow of Western democracies. "It's more important for me to reform Muslims than to reform states," he said. "We tolerate you, but you also have to tolerate us. It's a two-way street."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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Pope Benedict XVI went before an Islamic audience Saturday and delivered the strongest rebuke of terrorism of his papacy, asking Muslims to join Christians in trying to combat its spread and ``turn back the wave of cruel fanaticism'' behind it.
The 78-year-old pope later traveled in his popemobile to the rain-soaked Marienfeld, a former coal mine near the town of Kerpen outside Cologne for an outdoor evening service as part of the four-day Catholic youth festival.
Hundreds of thousands of high-spirited pilgrims roared their approval as Benedict arrived in his mother-of-pearl Mercedes-Benz, waving and smiling as he greeted the crowds, estimated at some 800,000. Overhead, as if on cue, storm clouds that had threatened to drench the faithful began melting away, unveiling a bright blue sky.
Before giving his homily, Benedict dedicated a huge bell at the foot of the altar to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, the man who originated World Youth Day as a Roman Catholic festival. As it tolled, a choir performed a slow hymn while the crowd sang along.
The meeting with Muslim officials in Germany was part of Benedict's outreach to non-Catholics during his visit to achieve common positions on social issues and world peace. Germany has some 3.5 million Muslims, one of the highest figures in western Europe.
The pope said Muslim leaders had a ``great responsibility'' in properly educating younger generations.
``I am certain that I echo your own thoughts when I bring up as one of our concerns the spread of terrorism,'' Benedict told the Muslim leadership, mainly Turks.
``Terrorist activity is continually recurring in various parts of the world, sowing death and destruction, and plunging many of our brothers and sisters into grief and despair,'' he said.
The pope spoke of terrorism striking in ``various parts of the world'' but did not mention any specific attacks, assess responsibility or speak directly about suicide bombings. It appeared significant, however, that he chose a Muslim audience for his remarks on terrorism as many recent attacks have been blamed on Islamic extremists.
``Those who instigate and plan these attacks evidently wish to poison our relations, making use of all means, including religion, to oppose every attempt to build a peaceful, fair and serene life together,'' Benedict said.
Going into Saturday's meeting, the pope had been cautious about making any links between terrorism and Islam, rejecting the idea that the world faced a ``clash of civilizations'' and reportedly overruling an aide who wanted to brand the deadly July 7 London bombings as anti-Christian.
But in warning that the world risked exposure to ``the darkness of a new barbarism,'' Benedict stressed Saturday that Islamic leaders must ``guide Muslim believers and train them in the Islamic faith.''
``Teaching is the vehicle through which ideas and convictions are transmitted. Words are highly influential in the education of the mind. You, therefore, have a great responsibility for the formation of the younger generation,'' he said.
Benedict said that by working together, Catholics and Muslims could ``turn back the wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many people and hinders progress toward world peace.''
Ridan Cakir, president of the Turkish Islamic Union, said the participants shared the pope's position. ``With this common platform, we are able together to fight terrorism,'' he said at a news conference afterward.
The meeting came a day after Benedict visited a Cologne synagogue to meet with Jewish leaders and also met with Protestant and Orthodox Christian representatives.
Israel sharply criticized the Vatican last month after Benedict condemned terrorist attacks in Britain, Egypt, Iraq and Turkey but did not mention a suicide bombing in Israel that killed five Israelis.
In his meeting with Muslim leaders, Benedict also alluded to another of his themes - the need for reciprocity in religious freedom for Christians and other minorities in some Islamic countries. He didn't name any but said the defense of religious freedom ``is a permanent imperative and respect for minorities is a clear sign of true civilization.''
Earlier Saturday, Benedict paid a courtesty visit to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his challenger in Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, Angela Merkel.
Merkel, leader of the Christian Democratic Union and the daughter of a Protestant minister, said, ``It was great to meet a German pope on German soil.''
Schroeder, who also is Protestant, as are about a third of Germans, had no public comment.
Officials said people began arriving at Marienfeld as early as 9 a.m. to stake out their places, unfurl tarps to cover the wet ground and await the pope. Pilgrims were given candles, which they lit as darkness fell.
One person broke out of the crowd as the pope arrived and was tackled by several security guards about 150 feet from Benedict's armored vehicle. Security officials at the vigil decined to comment on the incident.
In his homily, Benedict told the pilgrims that only religion can truly make people free.
``It is not ideologies that save the world, but only a return to the living God, our creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of what is really good and true,'' he said. ``True revolution consists in simply turning to God who is the measure of what is right and who at the same time is everlasting love. And what could ever save us apart from love?''
Many pilgrims at the vigil were expected to spend the night under the open sky to attend Sunday morning's concluding Mass celebrated by Benedict.
A German court will rule Friday in the retrial of the only man ever convicted of involvement in the plot behind the September 11 attacks.
Moroccan national Mounir El Motassadeq, 31, was the first person worldwide to be convicted over the attacks but a federal tribunal ordered a new trial in March 2004 on the grounds that key witnesses in US custody were not allowed to testify.
Following are brief detailsâaccording to prosecutors in Germany and US investigatorsâof those believed to have been most involved in the so-called Hamburg cell in the northern German port city where three of the attackers lived.
Mohammed Atta: seen as the suicide hijackersâ ringleader, he died piloting the American Airlines plane that crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Born September 1, 1968 in Cairo, he came to Germany in 1992 and studied at university in Hamburg. A strict Muslim, Atta built up the Hamburg cell and provided its spiritual backbone. He attended training camp in Afghanistan in late 1999, then enrolled for flight lessons in the United States.
Marwan Al Shehhi: born May 9, 1978 in the United Arab Emirates, he died flying the United Airlines plane which crashed into the southern tower of the World Trade Center. He came to Germany in 1996, met Atta at language school. Attended Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan before learning to fly in United States.
Ziad Jarrah: born May 11, 1975 in Lebanon, he died on the United Airlines jet that crashed in rural Pennsylvania when passengers tackled the hijackers. Arrived in Germany in 1996. Attended training in Afghanistan before joining a US flying school.
Abdelghani Mzoudi: the third person worldwide to be charged and the second from the Hamburg cell. The Moroccan national was arrested in Hamburg in October 2002 and acquitted in February 2003 of 3,066 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization. Left Germany in June 2005 under threat of deportation. Had close ties to most of cell, particularly Zakariya Essabarâwhom he allegedly supplied money for planned flight lessons in Floridaâand Al Shehhi, for whom he provided accommodation. Spotted at a training camp in Afghanistan in mid-2000.
Ramzi Binalshibh: also known as Ramzi bin Al Shaiba. Born in Yemen on May 1, 1972, he was arrested in Karachi exactly a year after the attacks. During trial he emerged as a leading figure in the Hamburg group. Binalshibh arrived in Germany in 1995 and applied for asylum. He met Atta at a mosque, and shared a flat with him for a while. Binalshibh boasted in an interview with satellite TV network Al Jazeera that he was an active Al Qaeda planner in the September 11 attacks. Enrolled in a flying school but refused entry to United States four times. Binalshibh reportedly told US investigators that Motassadeq and Mzoudi had nothing to do with plot.
Said Bahaji: born July 15, 1975 in Haseluenne, northern Germany, to a German mother and Moroccan father. Introduced to Atta by Motassadeq, Bahaji became a close friend, paying the rent on a flat he shared with Atta and Binalshibh. Described as responsible for logistics, he went to Afghan training camp in early 2000. Bahaji fled Germany shortly before the attacks, and is still at large. He is reportedly in close contact with his wife in Germany via e-mail and telephone.
Zakariya Essabar: born April 3, 1977 in Morocco. Arrived in Germany in 1997, studied in Hamburg from 1998 and introduced to Atta by Motassadeq. Attended training in Afghanistan in early 2000. He also lived for a while in Attaâs flat along with Binalshibh, and studied and worked with Jarrah. Wanted to fly in early 2001 to Florida where Atta and Al Shehhi were then staying, but twice refused a visa. He is also still at large.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 03:03 ||
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#2
My Gawd! They look like walking, standing cadavers that my stepdaughter is working on now in medical school. I am going to need a 50 parts per million solution of chlorine to get those images out of my brain. And I went to Berkeley in the late 60s! In fact, some of those androids I sort of recognize from Telegraph Avenue in that era. [*heads for the shower with betadyne*]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/20/2005 21:20 Comments ||
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#3
Naked and disgusting..both in terms of the visual effects and what they are protesting. It's weird seeing old people acting like idiots. I was always told to respect my elders, but come on, this is too much......
Follow-up on yesterday's outrage. EFL.
Following nationwide public outcry, a decorated U.S. Marine from Texas will be allowed in-state college tuition after a school turned him down because he didn't reside in the state when he began two tours of duty in Iraq.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, himself a former U.S. Marine, identified a state waiver provision for which Basham qualifies, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. "We are so delighted that angry mobs with pitchforks won't be storming our building he will be eligible for in-state tuition," said Veronica Obregon, spokeswoman for Austin Community College.
It wasn't a joking matter, Veronica.
Patterson wrote a letter stating Basham qualified for a waiver that requires him to provide military documents showing Texas as his state of residence plus his voter and automobile registration. Obregon said Basham has presented the proper documentation to meet the waiver requirements.
Basham moved with his parents to Louisiana when he was a junior in high school, and he enlisted in the Marines right after graduating. Even though his parents moved back to Texas after he had been in the service for a year, the college argued he lived in Louisiana at the time of enlistment. OK. I can sorta see this, but if he were an illegal alien, would they have been such sticklers for the rules?
Basham had argued that after "being in the military for a year, coming from Louisiana, my parents moved back into Texas, making me an automatic resident, because I'm still their dependent."
Over two enlistments and eight years of service, Basham was awarded a Combat Action Ribbon, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and other decorations. He served as a driver and an auto mechanic in his two tours of duty in Iraq, each lasting seven months. You have to shine the light to scatter the cockroaches. We won this battle, but the war isn't over.
#1
This war is far from over. We have to put all the College and University systems in mortal fear of pulling this foolishness. Removal of funding and being fired or demoted have to be the club that is used.
#2
CU Boulder in all it's glory with Ward Churchill and the sports program, raised their in state tuition 28%. Go figure.
Veterans who have served our country shouldn't be held to the same in state rules that the rest are. Instead of living in state, they've been fighting for us, I feel they should be charged in state where ever they decide to live after getting out. This guy served two 7 month tours in Iraq and the college was giving him grief, come on now. We need to honor our veterans alot more than we have been lately. Also not put up so many road blocks for them to work through.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/20/2005 2:23 Comments ||
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#3
..but if he were an illegal alien,
don't get me going lol
Posted by: Jan ||
08/20/2005 2:28 Comments ||
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#4
As the men and women come home there will be more old state policies that will come to light need to be changed. Texas will change their state rules, Texans love their soldiers and will fix this. The real fight will be in states like Ca. and Mass that still think we're second class citizens behind the fench jumping pickers.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
08/20/2005 10:27 Comments ||
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#5
Sounds to me like this was just some minor clerk in a large bureaucracy slavishly following the 'rules'. Glad it got straightend out. Hopefully, next time, the clerks will be less unhelpful, to use the Rumsfeldian phrase.
Go to the link and look at the pictures. The dogs are the best-looking ones there. Was it P. J. O'Rourke who stated the theory that winning causes get the hot babes?
And proven in places like Lebanon and the Ukraine ...
Wednesday night's nationwide vigils on behalf of anti-Bush moonbat activist Cindy Sheehan was something to bark about, at least for those of the canine variety. Not only were protesters of the human kind present at the reported 1,627 events organized by MoveOn.org, some brought their pets and adorned them with signs reading, "Dogs for Cindy." Bitches for the bitch
Bloggers documenting the candlelight vigils even included their furry friends among those in attendance:
# Plano, Texas: "A count of 346 in Plano. ... Great cross-section of ages, ethnicities, dog breeds."
Criminy. Concern for the diversity of the Canine-American protestors.
There's a *war* on, folks. You should at least PRETEND to be serious.
# Denver, Colo.: "I saw a dog with a sign that said 'Puppies for Peace.'"
# Ithaca, N.Y.: "All ages, lots of kids, and many dogs also â I noticed that many of the dogs were wagging their tails even during the silence â seemed like they were enjoying themselves!"
Ever notice how dogs love things that smell rotten?
Meanwhile in Berkeley, Calif., one woman could have been in an episode of "The Twilight Zone." "Everyone had something to say," writes a blogger on Zombietime.com. "For example, this woman wanted the world to go backward in time to 2003, so that the invasion of Iraq would once again be a potential future event that could be avoided this time around." Get a load of her at the link. Warning! remove contact lenses so they don't melt.
#1
So this is what happens to all those school kids that never were really popular or were really ever successful at anything. They ended up being bitter at the world. Maybe if somebody would give these two a charity hug they wouldn't be so angry. Make it easier and just close your eyes and picture the k9 if you need to. Do it for your country..
#5
I agree with mac's assessment of these types. It's a little misfit parade.
Speaking of twilight zone... this whole thing is just so Rovian. Dogs on Parade - with pictures of angry, unattractive misfits. Yeah... where do I sign up?
How much further down can rock bottom be for the left?
#6
Ever notice how dogs love things that smell rotten?
That reminds me of a story I heard about homemade catfish bait. The process is that you mix together whatever ingredients you wanted for the catfish bait and you let it set out. When the bait gets so rancid that not even the dog would eat it, you know its ready for catfish bait.
The PR firm working for Cindy Sheehan as she protests outside President Bush's ranch in Texas campaigning over the death of her son killed in Iraq has been paid for by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
The 24-hour media attention being lavished upon Sheehan owes as much to the professionals supporting her as it does to the emotional impact of her story. Fenton Communications is assisting Sheehan, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, to earn media coverage for her vigil. TrueMajority, a nonprofit advocacy group created by Cohen is paying Washington, DC-based Fenton from the $70,000 that the group has raised so far to support Sheehan's protest efforts.
"Fenton is helping her with straight-out media relations, such as interviews and juggling different requests," said Jason Salzman, president of Cause Communications, which handles media relations for TrueMajority. "She's tapped into feelings against the war that have yet to [be] widely disseminated in the media."
Soon after Sheehan began her vigil, she quickly realized she needed help handling the barrage of media requests, said Parker Blackman, deputy GM and MD at Fenton Communications. "We're just trying to help her create a little order out of the chaos and streamline the process for getting reporters to be able to ask her questions," he said.
TrueMajority has asked its members for donations twice to support Sheehan's protest. The first appeal in early August brought in $50,000, while the second appeal, which went out August 8, has generated $20,000 so far, Salzman said.
Sheehan, a resident of Vacaville, CA, plans to continue the protest until Bush agrees to meet with her to talk about her opposition to the war in Iraq or until his vacation ends on August 31. She founded Gold Star Families for Peace and first began her campaign against the war more than a year ago after her son was killed April 4, 2004 while serving in Baghdad.
Sheehan's action caught the media's attention because she traveled to Crawford "to confront the President on his front door," Blackman said. "And you have a White House press corps who is there. The president doesn't spend all day with them. And there's this very compelling story unfolding right there."
Fenton also worked with Sheehan to publicize candlelight vigils held on Wednesday in 1,672 US cities in sympathy with her action. When Fenton organized a press briefing on Tuesday to discuss the coming vigils, about 100 journalists participated in the teleconference, an unheard of number for a typical Fenton-managed press briefing.
#2
Yup, that Cherry Garcia goes in the same can as the Dixi Chicks CD and others. I think the trash man is conspiring Mick to see if I will throw away my Stones CDs as well.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
08/20/2005 17:32 Comments ||
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#3
ahhhh a grass-roots program funded by Dem sugar daddy's
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2005 17:32 Comments ||
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#4
I've been boycotting those asshats for years. I hope they go broke like the socialist, commie fuckwads they are.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2005 18:29 Comments ||
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#6
Benita and Fairy, isn't there another (thousands) of brands to select from?
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/20/2005 18:55 Comments ||
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#7
Ben and and Jerry's used to push for the Kyoto treaty, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/20/2005 19:05 Comments ||
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#8
I knew that whole thing had a stink to it. Especially after seeing the photos of Bush planting one on her cheek. She's a piece of shit, we all know that, now Cohen has been confirmed.
Rocky's call to protest Bush makes vets see red
Mayor's e-mail: 'Nothing radical,' supporters say
By Glen Warchol
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson called for "the biggest demonstration this state has ever seen" to protest President Bush's appearance Monday before a national veterans convention.
"This administration has been disastrous to the country," Anderson said Friday. "If people could organize and speak out in an effective manner from the reddest state in the country, that would garner a lot of attention."
In an e-mail Wednesday to about 10 activist leaders, the maverick mayor of Utah's capital called for a diverse demonstration to greet Bush when he speaks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The mayor plans to join the protesters.
"There should be a collaboration of health-care-provision advocates, seniors, the [gay, lesbian and bisexual and transsexual] community, anti-Patriot Act advocates and other civil libertarians, anti-war folks, pro-Social Security advocates, environmental advocates, anti-nuclear-testing advocates, and anti-nuclear-waste-shipment-and-storage advocates," the mayor wrote in the e-mail.
The mayor's message drew a howl of outrage from Mike Parkin, senior vice commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Atomic Post 4355 in Salt Lake City. A co-conspirator perhaps?
''Excuse my French, but - that son of a bitch!'' he said. "It makes the mayor look very, very unpatriotic. It makes him look despicable."
Parkin said such demonstrations, particularly against the Iraq war, give comfort to America's enemies and will be particularly offensive to the 13,000 to 14,000 veterans gathering at the convention.
"I voted for the son of a bitch and I'll never vote for him again," said the Vietnam War veteran.
Anderson disagrees with that measure of patriotism.
"Patriotism," the mayor said, "demands that people speak out when we see our government officials acting in such anti-democratic and deceitful ways to the people of our country." ....which is why left-conformity ridicules the very notion of patritotism, and lefty trend-setters themselves support the return of Saddam Hussein, praise the head-choppers, burn the flag, incite mutiny in the armed forces, etc.
He also said: "I don't understand people simply blindly going along with the sort of deceit and utter cruelty of this administration." Pathetically obvious strawman. He doesn't understand why his own lies are contrary to reason and evidence? Imagine that.
"It's not just we have the right to speak out, but we have the obligation to speak out when we see misconduct on the part of the government. The most patriotic thing we can do is stand up against the misuse of governmental power."
...which is why I stand up against lying left-conformists like this authoritarian anus.
Craig Axford, co-chairman of the Utah Democratic Progressive Caucus, said Anderson's encouragement of demonstrations is appropriate. What a surprise.
"I don't think there's anything untoward or radical about that," said Axford, an organizer of a peace rally planned for Pioneer Park, three blocks from the convention center. By Axford's standards this might in fact be pretty mild."For people who appreciate the mayor and appreciate his politics, obviously it will boost our event."
But Joe Cannon, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, said Anderson's encouragement of protests against the president was improper, though typical of the mayor.
"What do you expect? It's Rocky. Clearly it's intended to smack the president. As the mayor of the host city, it's at best
untoward." No surprise there either, I guess. Cannon thinks the e-mail will only help the Utah Republican Party. Bingo "It's not the worst thing that can happen to remind the people of Utah the kind of things Democrats nationally stand for."
Salt Lake City Councilman Dave Buhler, a Republican, also said the mayor's action was in poor taste.
''I'm disappointed he would do this and use his office to promote his political views, which do not involve the city directly.''
Other city officials can do little, Buhler said, except "apologize for him again, as we are getting pretty good at doing."
Anderson, who is scheduled to make welcoming remarks to the conventioneers, says veterans will understand. "The veterans of foreign wars are heroes in my view. To stand up against government misconduct is in no way expressing a lack of support for those who defend our country." We have your word for that, asshat, it must be true. The voice of authority has spoken, never mind the transparently obvious contradiction: such statements directly and provably incite the head-choppers to believe that their atrocities will influence American opinion enough to force a US withdrawal.
Even though Utah gave Bush his largest margin of victory of any state in the 2000 and 2004 elections, Anderson, a Democrat, wrote in this e-mail: "Don't let him come to Utah and not see huge opposition, even in the reddest state! This would send such an important message."
"A tepid response will just send a message of apathy and resignation. Let the Bush administration - and the world - hear from Salt Lake City!"
Meanwhile, peace activists already were gearing up for the president's visit. Erin Davis, a veteran who opposes the war in Iraq, predicted at least 1,000 anti-war activists would begin gathering in Pioneer Park early Monday. The demonstration will be joined by a national group of military families who oppose the war.
Anderson plans to participate at Pioneer Park demonstration against the war and is scheduled to speak.
Axford described the rally at Pioneer Park, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., as a "pro-peace rally." It isn't being held near the Salt Palace, where the president will speak, because organizers didn't want to make the convention attendees feel unwelcome, the mayor said.
"We didn't want to invite any kind of confrontation. We wanted to focus on our positive message."
That message, Axford says, is: "We'd just like [the president] to explain and justify this war in light of the fact so much of what we were told we were fighting for clearly we weren't fighting for."
---
Reporter Heather May contributed to this story.
Salt Lake City itself is actually just the small urban core of a huge metropolitan complex. The 2000 population of SLC was just 181,000 compared to 1.3 million for the metropolitan area. It is that urban core; infested with drug addicts, metrosexual do-gooders, loft artists, and ultra-hip yuppies; of which Rocky is mayor.
This has as much to do with Utah as the two block wide retail zone next to Texas Tech would have to do with Lubbock.
#1
In Utah? SLC may have an enclave of pseudo-elite Moonbats, there seem to be little globs of stupidity in all cities of any size where they only talk to each other and believe their circle-jerk world-view is all there is, lol, but there's no way this Twinkie is in the majority.
#2
This is too much. At what point will people say "Enough of this bullshit!" and wade on into that crowd, breaking noses? I would just love to see the left whining about "The Salt Lake City Massacre", 20 years from now.
Many of the anti-war riots of the 1960s happened because nobody wanted to counter the agitator violence with violence. 20 "hardhats" with axe handles could break up a "demonstration" of 200 or more, as was proven a time or two. But when the majority of people gave the rioters a pass, it just encouraged more riots.
And now the agitators are fully funded by the left. Do not let their protestations of "non-violence" sway you; these people are more than willing to use violence to get what they want. But cowards, only if they think they can get away with it.
#5
It is no coincidence that the Mayor is bi-sexual and his sympathetic associates on the fringe certainly have a hand in his anti-American proclamation.
#6
"#2 This is too much. At what point will people say "Enough of this bullshit!" and wade on into that crowd, breaking noses? I would just love to see the left whining about "The Salt Lake City Massacre", 20 years from now."
Anonymoose: Did you read my prediction about what would happen to these seditious scum if say a single nuke went off in one of our cities? If there were 400,000 Americans killed in an instance?
The government will have to move the leftists into some form of protective detention or internment camps not only to weed out Fifth Columnists, but just as important, to safeguard them from the wrath of angry private citizens. You're right, the left has to be careful here, this isn't Vietnam. We lose or walk away from Iraq, and it will have a direct and deadly impact on our security in a way that Vietnam never did or could ever.
#7
perhaps the Vets can let "Rocky" know what they think during his opening address? Too polite? Show your anger, boys
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2005 18:27 Comments ||
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#8
Salt Lake City itself is actually just the small urban core of a huge metropolitan complex. The 2000 population of SLC was just 181,000 compared to 1.3 million for the metropolitan area. It is that urban core; infested with drug addicts, metrosexual do-gooders, loft artists, and ultra-hip yuppies; of which Rocky is mayor.
Sounds like a mini-SFO. Fruits and nuts in the land of LDS. Who woulda thuk?
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/20/2005 18:52 Comments ||
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#9
incite mutiny in the armed forces, etc.
This is straight out of Stalin's playbook during the early months of WWII. The NKVD propoganda sections would harangue German troops with leaflets and local loudspeaker broadcasts with the slogan "Turn your guns around."
#10
I saw the name Salt Lake City and did a double-take, since it was practically a given, in my mind, that SLC was solidly Republican. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
#11
urban core = "diversity" = Dems on grants in all their individual needy groups.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2005 19:35 Comments ||
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#12
even better is to bring big media attention to teh freak-show parades they have. Notice it's always editted to avoid showing the flaky and freaky acts that constitute a base for the Donks
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2005 20:15 Comments ||
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#13
Frank We need people to put the videos on the web and then there is no way the MSM can continue to avoid it. Just make sure you show up with enough muscle to make sure your videotaping is uninterupted. These freaks also don't like non-biased reporting on their activites even ones then happen on public property.
To authorize the Governor of a State to organize and call into service a militia of able-bodied and eligible citizens to help prevent individuals from unlawfully crossing an international border and entering the United States anywhere other than a port of entry, to appropriate funds to support this service, and for other purposes.
#1
This is a 'no go' without the inclusion of clear and direct wording to the effect that challenges to the employment, operation, and funding of the militia in such capacity are not subject to judicial review at the federal level, that any act by members of the federal judiciary who do take such cases shall not be in good behavior and removed as the Congress shall see fit.
#2
I can't look at the linked PDF doc because it'll automatically crash my piece-of-s#!t Winduhs 98 system. I'd like to up the ante on the idea of official state-raised militias and call for the Border Patrol to be (1) reorganized along military lines (think a land-bound version of the USCG), and (2) given the authorization and funding to recruit, train and deploy six divisions' worth of border-defense troops.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
08/20/2005 21:13 Comments ||
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The idea of a "million Muslim march" event in Lodi by Muslims to publicly denounce terrorism has officially died, say those involved.
Dead, is it? Good Gawd! Not a car bomb, I hope?
Envisioned in late June as a response to the allegations of terrorists in Lodi's Muslim community, the idea drew the interest of Mayor John Beckman, conservative radio host Mark Williams, the Sacramento chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and local Muslims. Interest waned, however, when it became apparent the deep division in Lodi's Muslim community would make organizing such an event difficult if not impossible. It appears it has become impossible, as Beckman said this week the event will not be happening.
I'd guess it actually died when it became obvious they had the goods on the guys.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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If they had a "million Muslim march" for terrorism, how many do you think would show up? 2 maybe 3 million?
Two army reservists discharged last year over allegations they mistreated Iraqi prisoners have been cleared by an Army review board and can rejoin the military, their attorney said Friday. The Army Discharge Review Board this week reversed the former soldiers' discharges and findings of misconduct, said Gary Myers, an attorney who represented Scott McKenzie, Lisa Girman and a third former soldier who was cleared in the same manner in January. The Army declined comment. "It's been our long-standing practice that we do not comment on nonjudicial and administrative type actions," said Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman.
"When I got the call, first thing I did was, I thanked God," said McKenzie, 40, a deacon at the Clearfield Presbyterian Church and a state prison guard. "I figured that if God leads you to it, God will lead you through it." Girman, 37, a state trooper who lives near Wilkes-Barre, said, "It's not really about winning, it's about setting things right." McKenzie and Girman were among four Army reservists with the Pennsylvania-based 320th Military Police Battalion who were charged with punching and kicking several Iraqis, breaking one man's nose, while escorting a busload of prisoners to a POW processing center near Umm Qasr in May 2003. All four had maintained their innocence and said they used only necessary force to subdue unruly prisoners.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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Two survivors from the terrorist bombing at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad joined colleagues in a tribute Friday to the 22 people who died, and the U.N. Staff Union demanded the killers be brought to justice. The anniversary of the Aug. 19, 2003 bombing was marked simply — with a minute of silence at U.N. offices around the world. At U.N. headquarters, the Staff Union held a memorial wreath-laying ceremony near the tattered U.N. flag that once flew over the Canal Hotel where the U.N. had its offices and a memorial plaque with the names of the victims. The words "Fallen In The Cause of Peace" are written under the blue and white flag. Speaking on behalf of the Staff Union, Michele Montas said the ceremony was not only to honor the dead "but also to express our undying solidarity to the more than 100 wounded who survived the attack." Then two of those who suffered serious injuries — Denmark's Henrik Kolstrup and Marilyn Manuel of the Philippines — slowly laid a wreath in front of the plaque and flag.
Proclaiming solidarity is very important, y'know...
Montas said the date must also be a reminder of the importance of staff security so the lives of U.N. staff are not put needlessly at risk. "Moreover, two year later, the death of our 22 colleagues still remains unpunished," Montas said. "We should not allow that those who killed our friends and colleagues in Baghdad or attacked humanitarian workers in different parts of the world continue to hide behind a curtain of impunity."
Why don't you send somebody to arrest them, and try them before the International Criminal Court?
A U.N.-appointed investigative panel criticized what it found to be "dysfunctional" U.N. security before the bombing. It also criticized the United Nations for shunning protection from U.S.-led coalition forces and for ignoring credible warnings of bomb plots.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
They'll get right on bringing the perps to justice as soon as there is an appropriate five star resort base camp from which to order lunch organize the investigation.
Bevan was working on it when he was so rudely interrupted a while back. Honestly.
#3
Better to stay and kick the asses of the people responsible than to 'express solidarity' years later. That would do more for the 'Cause of Peace' than whining about the perps not being punished.
A Danish company said Friday that two of its employees accepted bribes from Iraqi officials under the United Nations' tainted oil-for-food program. In a statement on its corporate Web site, the pump-making company Grundfos said the two cases of bribery came to light during an internal investigation. "We have done everything we can to openly cooperate with the U.N. in New York to investigate and close this case in a satisfactory manner," CEO Jens Joergen Madsen said in the statement. Grundfos did not say how much the bribes were worth, whether the employees had been punished or other details except that the bribery was connected to orders for pumps in 2001-2.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Holy smoke! We buy their digital dosing chemical feed and submersible pumps all the time. Ima never gonna live this down on Rantburg....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/20/2005 12:27 Comments ||
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#2
It was only a matter of time before Oil-for-Kofi's-Relatives was traced back to Rantburg. Fred, you can run, but you can't hide. You oughta go turn yourself in at The Hague immediately.
The Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) advocates the overthrow of the Malaysian government and the establishment of an Islamic regime comprising Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines. The organization was founded in 1995 by Zainon Ismail with the pan-Islamist goal of forming an Islamic state in Southeast Asia and identified the secular governments of the region, notably that of Malaysia, as its primary enemies. The group enjoys significant ties with other regional Islamic extremist organizations, such as Jemaah Islamiah (JI) â something that bolsters its influence and operational capabilities. Though it has suffered setbacks due to recent regional counterterrorism efforts, the KMM continues to maintain its founding ideology and objectives.
Zainon Ismail, an Afghan mujaheddin during the 1980s, served as the head of KMM from 1995 through 1999. Indeed, much of the organizationâs membership consists of former Afghan mujahidin fighters. Like Ismail, they were inspired and further radicalized by the success of Afghan mujaheddin forces during their 1980s guerrilla war against the Soviets. Thus, the militant, anti-secular and anti-imperialist ideology that developed as a result of the Afghan-Soviet war served as a founding influence of the early KMM leadership and helped shape the groupâs ideological expansion.
The KMM views the Malaysian, Indonesian and Filipino governments as corrupt tools of Western imperialism bent on containing and destroying Islam. In order to achieve its goal of a pan-Islamist Southeast Asian state, the group thus advocates and works towards the overthrow of the regionâs secular governments.
The KMMâs links with other regional extremist organizations are a critical aspect of its ability to spread its influence and gain new members. Malaysian authorities believe that several militant KMM factions are aligned with JI, an Indonesian terrorist organization that has ties with al-Qaida and is one of the largest such groups in Southeast Asia. Key JI leaders, such as its spiritual head Abu Bakar Bashir, supposedly have provided spiritual guidance to KMM members. Singaporean officials also claim that JI members have also provided logistical and financial support to the KMMâs terrorist activities in Indonesia. In August 2001, Singaporeâs government expressed concern over the activities of Malaysian extremist groups, such as the KMM, in the region. The same month two Malaysian nationals were arrested for their suspected links to the group and believed involvement in bombings in Indonesia.
Southeast Asian officials believe that the KMM has been able to successfully spread its influence and augment its strength beyond Malaysian borders through its relationship with groups like JI. The KMM is believed to have operational networks active in the Perak, Johor, Kedah, Selanger, Terangganu and Kelantan states of Malaysia as well as Wilayah Persukutuan, the district of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The group has also been active in Ambon, Indonesia, where, in July 2001, members of an Islamic missionary group with suspected ties to the KMM were arrested for gunrunning. The Malaysian government believes that smaller militant factions have split from the KMM to conduct independent operations in Malaysia as well as overseas.
As a result of the existence of smaller KMM factions, and the groupâs ties with other extremist organizations, government authorities have found it difficult to determine the exact membership of the organization. Currently, the Malaysian government estimates that the KMM comprises 70 to 80 members. However, law enforcement officials have investigated upwards of 200 militants with suspected ties to the group and other organizations, such as JI. Malaysia has imprisoned numerous KMM members under its Internal Security Act, which permits the government to detain any persons identified as national security threats. Thus far, Malaysian police have investigated and detained suspected militants believed to have been engaged in âplanning to wage jihad, possession of weaponry, bombings and robberies, the murder of [a] former state assemblyman, and planning attacks on foreigners-including U.S. citizens.â Many of these detainees have suspected ties to the KMM as well as JI, which illustrates the intricate nature of the groupsâ interaction. In total, 48 members of the KMM and its associated factions and organizations have been detained in Malaysia under the Internal Security Act, including the groupâs former leader Nik Adli Nik Abdul Aziz. Aziz assumed control of the KMM in 1999, and his detention has been extended through September 2005. The KMMâs current lack of central leadership has hampered the groupâs ability to conduct operations but, nonetheless, it subsists â largely due to its connections with JI and other regional groups as well as its own diffuse and decentralized network of cells.
The KMM is also suspected of receiving military training in Afghanistan (prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on America) but the exact degree to which it receives additional external aid, aside from limited financial and logistical support from Jemaah Islamiyah, is unknown. Thus, the group is thought to be largely self-financing and, in this vein, to rely on robberies and other criminal activities to fund its operations. It is suspected of carrying out murders and other violent crimes throughout Malaysia and Indonesia (in concert with its suspected regional partners). The KMM has not carried out any recent attacks, most likely due to stepped-up counterterrorism campaigns by Southeast Asian governments as well as increased cooperation among states in the region. This cooperation includes the December 2001 accord between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines whereby they pledged to share intelligence, fight terrorism and combat border crime. Such accords are vital in fighting groups such as KMM which operation across the sprawling Southeast Asian region.
⢠Official Name: Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM)
⢠Countries of Operation: Active networks in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as well as suspected activity in the southern Philippines.
⢠Year Founded: 1995
⢠Membership: Estimated to be between 70 and 80 but exact numbers unknown due to existence of splinter factions and close ties with other militant organizations in the region.
⢠Affiliated Groups: Jemaah Islamiah (Indonesia) as well as suspected ties with other unidentified regional groups (such as Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines).
⢠External Aid: has received military training in Afghanistan and logistical and financial support from Jemaah Islamiah but is currently believed to be largely self-supporting and self-financing.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 03:17 ||
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Figured this was worth noting ...
An al-Qaida operative who allegedly brought hundreds of European Islamic militants to Indonesia for military training is in the country, an intelligence official said Friday.
Parlindungan Siregar, who has been on the run for more than four years, allegedly brought members of a Spanish al-Qaida cell to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in 2001 for secret training, terrorism experts said.
U.S. and Spanish authorities have in the past claimed that Siregar - accused of bringing hundreds of militants to Indonesia for training - was a member of Southeast Asia's Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network.
Sidney Jones, the Southeast Asia project director for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said Siregar's arrest would be significant, shedding light on possible links between Osama bin Laden's network and regional terror groups.
She said Siregar got a scholarship to study in Spain, where he allegedly hooked up with an al-Qaida cell, bringing some of the members to Poso in central Sulawesi in 2001 and later to military training camps.
Though he has never been mentioned as being part of Jemaah Islamiyah's leadership, ``he certainly had contacts that could set up meetings with Spanish al-Qaida and operatives in central Sulawesi,'' she said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 03:01 ||
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THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front disapproves of the open participation of the United States in pursuing the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group.
The group has alleged that seven American servicemen accompanied by Maj. Onting Alon and Col. Francisco del Prado directly engaged the Abu Sayyaf at Perez Hill in the jungles of Guindolongan, Maguindanao, on Sunday.
An observer who refused to be named said the open participation of the Americans is a breach to the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement which prohibits US forces from engaging directly in ground operations.
âThis is an insult to the Arroyo administration. Abu Sayyaf is a small group and does not require US involvement,â he added.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines vowed to crush the Abu Sayyaf by capturing terrorist leader Khadaffy Janjalani.
On Wednesday the military launched an air and mortar attack on two villages of Gawang and Panan, in Datu Piang, Maguindanao, allegedly against the Abu Sayyaf members retreating from the mountains of Guindolongan, Maguindanao, after relentless military operations since July 1.
The MILF filed a complaint against the military operations through the Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities.
âThe operation in Panan and Gawang was not coordinated with us and is a clear violation to the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group [Ahjag] rules of engagement,â Thong Kanakan, MILF AHJAG Team 1 leader said.
The RP-MILF Ceasefire Agreement and the AHJAG interim guidelines provide for prior coordination in case of impending military operations in or near MILF areas.
Reports said about 200 families evacuated stricken villages following the military operations in Dapiawan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao.
Meanwhile in Agusan del Norte, poor coordination between government forces and militiamen led to a friendly-fire incident late Monday, belated military reports said Friday.
Reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo said that nonhostile fire between a section of the 29th Infantry Battalion and the Lumboyan Cafgu Active Auxiliary injured 2nd Lt. Dulawan, Pfc. Dumaguing, militiaman Edwin Valdez and civilian Corsine Sabanah.
The reports said that the eight-minute encounter occurred in a remote area in Sitio Mumba-hande, Barangay Kamagaong, Nasipit, around 9 p.m.
The wounded received medical treatment in nearby Butuan City.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 02:55 ||
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#1
MILF???? Isn't that what Natalee Hollway's mom is?
#2
The MILF promised to help hand them over. Guess the MILF that were protecting the ASG were a bit suprised at seeing a white face. The US is only there to train the AFP, if they went on the hunt for ASG all the ASG would be dead. However my vote is the first one killed should be lipless eddie (MILF Spokesman and the one behind these press reports). Pres. GMA's only embarassment is her husband, killing the MILF and ASG would make her a national hero!!!!
Posted by: 49 pan ||
08/20/2005 10:06 Comments ||
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The National Police denied on Friday a report that it had arrested Parlindungan Siregar, a suspected al-Qaeda member allegedly involved in a train station bombing incident in Madrid, Spain, last year.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boedihardjo acknowledged that early this month the police and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) had detained an Islamic teacher in South Sulawesi, but after days of questioning in Jakarta, they realized he was not Parlindungan.
He said that the arrest was made following a tip off from Spanish Interpol that the terrorist was hiding in the region.
"We sent a letter back to the Spanish Interpol saying that we got the wrong man, but we are still looking for him now," Aryanto said.
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Parlindungan, a 38-year oil Indonesian engineer, was detained about two weeks ago, citing unnamed intelligence officials.
Aryanto said the wrongly arrested Imam Mutarum was apprehended in Cindaku village, Maros, South Sulawesi. He was then brought to Jakarta for further questioning by the Detachment 88 Anti-terror squad at the National Police.
"We questioned him about his activities and we also questioned several witnesses as well and we came to the conclusion that this man was not Parlindungan Siregar that we were looking for," Aryanto said.
He explained that Imam, who was locally known as Kraeng Nabung, was an Islamic studies teacher who hailed from a small village in Gedangan, Sidoarjo, before he moved to Sulawesi to teach the recitation of the Koran.
Finding out that they had caught the wrong man, the police immediately sent the man back to his family five days later.
Spanish investigators reportedly alleged that Parlindungan, operating through a Madrid al-Qaeda cell, played a key role in recruiting extremists in Europe and arranging for them to have military training at a camp on Sulawesi island.
He left Indonesia in 1989 to study in Madrid, is believed to be one of the few Southeast Asians directly recruited into al-Qaeda. He also reportedly had extensive ties to Islamic groups in Europe and the Middle East, AFP reported.
Elsewhere, Aryanto said the police were still trying to hunt down Parlindungan as the Spanish police insisted that the terrorist was still hiding in Indonesia.
"We're still trying to find him now," Aryanto said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 02:41 ||
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#1
i.e.- they had him, but after he paid the $2 million
his boys had stashed away for the next terror attack, they let him go.
BEIRUT - Outspoken Muslim cleric Omar Bakri said on Friday Britainâs crackdown following last monthâs London bombings was forcing Muslims to choose between selling out their religion and leaving the country.
That's not a bug ...
Speaking to Reuters in Beirut, Bakri shrugged off a British decision to bar him from the United Kingdom, where he has lived for 20 years, saying he had no intention of returning to a country where Muslims were increasingly treated like terrorists.
Not that they're increasingly acting like terrorists, of course...
âWhen the London attacks happened, they had no one to blame, so they threw it at me... The accusations kept coming even while I was asleep, so I came here,â the bearded Lebanese cleric said. âI will not stop myself from speaking the truth, neither will I sell my religion and become a collaborator of the British government like the Muslim Council of Britain,â he said referring to the mainstream group that welcomed the ban. âBritain is annoyed I left before it could deport me.â
I was hoping they had other plans ...
... involving a blindfold and a cigarette, at least, a few days in the Tower followed by a trip to the block at best.
âThe British government has now begun to attack so-called moderates and accuse them... of links to terrorist organisations ... I expect them to strike the moderates a hard blow, but in the end it is their country and he who wants to live among them, according to their unjust laws, can,â Bakri said.
So why'd you hang around as long as you did? It couldn't have been for the food...
âThe London attacks, to be honest, did an injustice to everyone, to Muslims, to Arabs and to me,â he said. âWhoever did the London attacks harmed us. I donât think they are Muslims.â
Yeah, right, it was the Lapplanders ....
Or Rosicrucians. There were all the earmarks...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Britain has unjust laws! Look at the way you treat your women
âI will not stop myself from speaking the truth, neither will I sell my religion and become a collaborator of the British government like the Muslim Council of Britain,â
Haven't you just admitted to something there!
Posted by: Alex ||
08/20/2005 3:28 Comments ||
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Everyone knows it was the Joooooooooos. That's why the embassy got the call, to make sure none were in the underground when they set them off by a laser (possibly the same one that killed Arafat).
BERLIN - Iran is forging ahead with a programme to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons while the European Union focuses its energy on shutting down Tehranâs uranium enrichment activities, an Iranian exile said on Friday.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a coalition of exiled Iranian opposition groups, said several Iranian officials expressed their pleasure at the progress made at Iranâs heavy water programme at Arak, which could produce plutonium, at a recent meeting of top officials. The meeting was the final session of a special nuclear committee within the powerful Supreme National Security Council before newly appointed government officials took office this week, a senior NCRI official said, citing sources âwithin the clerical regimeâ.
âDuring this session, then Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani expressed his appreciation to (former chief nuclear negotiator) Hassan Rohani for deceiving the IAEA for the past 22 months, and diverting the attention of the international bodies away from the Arak site,â Masomeh Bolurchi told reporters.
"We'd give you a medal, Hassan, but we only do that for difficult assignments!"
âShamkhani reiterated that under no circumstances would this project be prevented. He assessed that progress in building this site was a major achievement of the regime in the nuclear field,â added the NCRIâs chief representative in Germany.
Bolurchi said that at the Iranian officialsâ meeting, the head of Iranâs Atomic Energy Organisation, Gholamreza Aghazadheh, expressed satisfaction âthat unlike the Natanz site, where progress has stalled, the IAEA has not intervened to stop the advancement of this projectâ.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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Iran will soon [next few years or sooner]join the list of nations that have bomb grade, fissionable material in quanity.
Iran already has the trained agents and assets [money, tranport & expertise] to smuggle these materials overseas.
Are they more unpridictable than the Russians?
Are they more unpridictable than the Chinese?
Are they more unpridictable than the Norks?
the obvious,
No way is the European thingy gonna stop em.
No way is the U.N. gonna stop em.
No way are the Dummycrats and moon worshipers gonna stop em.
No surprise to RBers,
The warning bells are switched off in way too many places [beaurcrats & the Kumbaya krowd] this revolting developement presents a problem.
there is a soultion though!
Posted by: Red Dog ||
08/20/2005 1:29 Comments ||
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#3
Lets face it if we really wanted to stop them we could. If the rest of the EU actually helped the US and Britain insted of hugging trees it could be over by christmas!
Posted by: Alex ||
08/20/2005 3:41 Comments ||
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#4
Some German editorialist should suggest that since Schroeder has excluded the military option to the profound applause of the SD party, that if Iran *does* develop nuclear weapons, Schroeder should resign immediately, and if Iran attempts to use a nuclear weapon, the SD party should be permanently dissolved.
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, ending a two-day trip to Libya, told a news conference he had held talks with Gadhafi on normalizing relations after decades of estrangement, following Tripoli's decision to abandon weapons of mass destruction.
Would you join a mad man for dinner?
Lugar, an Indiana Republican, flew to Libya on Friday after representing Bush in Morocco and Algeria for the release of 404 prisoners of war who were held by Western Sahara's exiled Polisario Front independence movement.
Lugar's trip was the highest-profile U.S. visit to Libya since relations began to thaw.
The United States and other Western countries have been rebuilding ties with Tripoli after Libya accepted responsibility for the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, and said it would give up weapons of mass destruction.
Top Western officials who have visited Libya include Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
"I noted the dramatic improvement in U.S.-Libyan relations and stressed the U.S. commitment to a continually improving relationship as cooperation between our countries grows," Lugar said, adding that the two countries had important shared interests, including in combating terrorism.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/20/2005 21:02 ||
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Dinner at Moammer's - Open Invite for Pres Bush and Condi
My guess is that the NCAA is doing everything in their power to just piss everyone off that they can.
EFL RTWT
"It hit me that he shouldn't have to bear the cost of the flight," says Hendrix, a 57-year-old marketing consultant from Signal Mountain, Tenn. "I was struck by the fact that not only was he serving the country, but as a parent this might be the best athletic moment of his son's career."
So Hendrix posted on the message board on his favorite website, ugasports.com.
"I said, 'You know guys, let's all kick in $100, get 25-30 of us and pay this guy's way to Sanford Stadium in recognition of what he is doing for the country.'"
The response was overwhelming. Within minutes the money was pledged, not all $100 bids. Some Georgia undergrads offered $20 each. A few people only had $50 to spare. It was a community effort. A great idea. Everyone agreed.
Until someone posted a joke, "what if this is against NCAA rules?"
Someone checked with the compliance officers at both schools. Guess what?
"We were in violation of two NCAA rules," Hendrix says. Athletes are prohibited from having friends or family receive free travel. In theory, the rule makes sense; you can't have boosters flying a player's mom and dad in for games. Allowing such would provide an unfair advantage to the big schools that can afford it.
A PIG'S head wrapped in an Arab headscarf was dumped in a mosque on the outskirts of Tel Aviv in what is thought to a protest against the Israeli pullout from Gaza, police sources said today.
Officials in the Hassan Bek mosque, which is situated between Tel Aviv and the neighbouring port town of Jaffa, made the discovery yesterday, the Muslim holy day.
The mosque has had several of its windows broken in recent weeks, the sources said.
Pork is considered impure by both Muslims and Jews.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/20/2005 04:16 ||
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Serious question:
Are pigs raised in Israel or the Palestinian areas?
Who buys or eats pork there?
Posted by: john ||
08/20/2005 7:34 Comments ||
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John, I think there are plenty of secular Jews who eat pork, and I understand a lot of the Russian immigrants don't keep Kosher. I know I wouldn't -- pork chops and bacon taste GOOD!
During secret meetings with U.S. officials in 1998, top Taliban officials discussed assassinating or expelling Osama bin Laden in response to al Qaeda's deadly bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, according to State Department documents.
The newly declassified documents, posted Thursday on the National Archives Web site, provide a fascinating glimpse into U.S. diplomacy exerted on Afghanistan's ruling Taliban -- a regime officially unrecognized by Washington -- nearly three years before the September 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the United States.
According to the documents, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan, Alan Eastham Jr., met with Wakil Ahmed, a close aide to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in November and December 1998. That was just months after the August al Qaeda attacks that killed more than 200 people at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
"It is unbelievable that this small man did this to you," Ahmed said during their meeting on December 19, 1998, according to the documents.
Ahmed told Eastham that he spoke with Omar about bin Laden and that the Taliban still considered the Saudi exile "innocent."
During a meeting between Ahmed and Eastham on November 28, 1998, just days after the Taliban's supreme court cleared bin Laden of terrorist activities, Ahmed said one possibility "would be for the U.S. to kill him or arrange for bin Laden to be assassinated."
Ahmed "said that the U.S., if it chose to do so, could arrange to have bin Laden killed by cruise missiles or other means, and there would be little the Taliban could do to prevent it," according to the documents.
Another alternative, Ahmed said, would be for the United States to provide the Taliban with cruise missiles to have "the situation resolved in this way." Ahmed also noted that expelling bin Laden likely would result in the Taliban regime being overthrown, according to the documents.
And while Ahmed suggested a possible assassination of bin Laden, he also "urged the U.S. not to bomb Afghanistan again" as Washington did in the weeks following the embassy bombings. Ahmed "asked instead for a new U.S. proposal aimed at resolving the matter," the documents said.
Ahmed expressed anger about the cruise missile attacks ordered by President Clinton on al Qaeda training camps in Khost, Afghanistan, targeting bin Laden after the embassy bombings. Twenty-two Afghans, including members of al Qaeda, were killed in the attacks.
"If Kandahar could have retaliated with similar strikes against Washington, it would have," Ahmed said, according to the documents.
"I consider you as murderers of Afghans," Ahmed told Eastham. "The U.S. said bin Laden had killed innocent people, but had not the U.S. killed innocent Afghans in Khost too? Was this not a crime?"
The declassified State Department documents were cables recapping the meetings and outlining the U.S. position on bin Laden. They were originally sent to U.S. officials in Washington; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Peshawar, Pakistan; Cairo, Egypt; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Lahore, Pakistan; and the United Nations.
A State Department cable sent on October 19, 1998, said the best course of action in getting bin Laden handed over would be through Saudi Arabia, which "maintains significant prestige in Pakistan and Afghanistan."
It said a then-upcoming trip by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to Pakistan provided a "ready-made opportunity for the Saudis to press the Pakistani government to exert pressure on the Taliban concerning bin Laden."
It also said the United States should continue to pursue talks amid "indications that other Taliban leaders are getting nervous on the issue."
"The U.S. should appeal to the natural trading mentality of many Afghans -- and perhaps some Taliban -- by setting out what the Taliban stand to gain by expelling bin Laden as well as what they stand to lose," the cable said.
At the same time, U.S. officials were under no illusions about the prospects of Taliban cooperation: "The fact is that the leader of the Taliban appears to be strongly committed to bin Laden. It is questionable whether U.S. or Saudi efforts can influence Omar's decisions."
By the end of the November 28 meeting, pressed on why the Taliban refused to turn over bin Laden, Ahmed said that the Afghan people "would not understand why the Taliban had expelled a man who was regarded as a 'great mujahid,' or Islamic fighter, during the war against the Soviets. They would reject the Taliban if the Taliban took this action."
Eastham responded by telling Ahmed the Taliban had to recognize for itself "that the role of political leadership is to shape public opinion, not to decline to act because they think opinion is otherwise."
The cable concluded that Ahmed "wanted very strongly to convey the message that the Taliban did not consider the bin Laden matter resolved in the wake of the recent supreme court decision."
But within a month, it was clear the Taliban had hardened its position. "We have little indication that anything we said got through to" Ahmed, a cable said about the December 19 meeting.
The documents indicate that bin Laden was clearly Washington's priority with the Taliban in 1998 -- rather than reported human rights violations by their Afghan government.
"The continued presence in Afghanistan of bin Laden and his network is by far the most important," said a State Department cable sent on October 19, 1998.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 02:46 ||
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Clinton was obsessed with getting OBL, juz ask him.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/20/2005 2:49 Comments ||
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Article: The newly declassified documents, posted Thursday on the National Archives Web site, provide a fascinating glimpse into U.S. diplomacy exerted on Afghanistan's ruling Taliban -- a regime officially unrecognized by Washington -- nearly three years before the September 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the United States.
National Archives is a deceptively-named leftist website and has no affiliation with the federal government. You might as well rely on the Nation or Mother Jones as a source of official information.
#3
So basically, the US tried to resolve the solution thru diplomacy before engaging in military action? Heh, so much for our reputation as irredeemable warmongers.
Nearly four years after a U.S.-led military intervention toppled it from power, the Taliban has reemerged as a potent threat to stability in Afghanistan.
Though it's a far cry from the mass movement that overran most of the country in the 1990s, today's Taliban is fighting a guerrilla war with new weapons, including portable anti-aircraft missiles, and equipment bought with cash sent through Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, according to Afghan and Western officials.
While it was in power, the Taliban provided safe haven to bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
The violence continued Thursday. A homemade bomb hit a U.S. convoy, killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding two others, near the southern city of Kandahar. A surge of violence since winter has killed about 1,000 people in Afghanistan -- 59 U.S. soldiers among them.
Al Qaeda's monetary support is crucial, officials say.
The money is coming from "rogue elements and factional elements living in the Middle East," Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said in an interview.
Lt. George Hughbanks, an Army intelligence officer in Zabul province -- one of the worst hit by the Taliban insurgency, said: "Al Qaeda is channeling money and equipment."
The Taliban is now a disparate assemblage of radical groups estimated to number several thousand, far fewer than when it was in power before November 2001.
The groups are linked by a loose command structure and a desire to drive out U.S.-led coalition and NATO troops, topple U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai and reimpose hard-line Islamic rule in Afghanistan, according to Afghan and Western officials and experts.
The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ronald E. Neumann, said Thursday that the Taliban had "absolutely no chance" of derailing the Sept. 18 legislative elections because security would be too tight.
Some experts fear the Taliban's resurgence may be part of an Al Qaeda strategy aimed at keeping the U.S. military stressed and bleeding in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
"I think" Al Qaeda is "opening a second front," said Marvin Weinbaum, a former State Department intelligence analyst who's now at the Middle East Institute in Washington. "I don't think the elections are really the focus."
U.S. officials said they had no proof of such an Al Qaeda-coordinated strategy.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 02:43 ||
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I hear the poppy trade is blooming.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/20/2005 2:48 Comments ||
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We are to weak. This story has me running to the toilet to hurl. How pathetic. How can this be happening? Is the WOT becoming the WOD? Billions spent to keep the crops, but just enough progress to make us think that the lives lost are making a difference of the dope being caught?
I don't care anymore about the burning cinders of humane flesh of the innocent. I want the bad guys dead!!! If 2 million of the oppressed idiot MOOOOSLIMS die in the proses well so be it. The men have their 72 virgins and the women have...what? What do the women get out of all this? Oppressed heaven? I just don't get this.
None of you seem angry enough. My party is being out flanked. South Americans are over running my state. The war in the middle east is being fought like pussy's.
If we do not act my family will be the burning flesh of innocent. Kill them now!~!!
#4
Chill, LHR. Take a deep breath, bro (or sis as the case may be). Easy ... that's right ... now let it out slowly .... feel the relaxation begin ... and in again slowly ....
#5
"[Thursday] a homemade bomb hit a U.S. convoy, killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding two others, near the southern city of Kandahar."
That sentence, right there, is the only item of actual news in this article. All the rest of it is opinion disguised as context, and cherry-picked quotes from various "officials" and "experts", many of them anonymous.
In other words, it's the usual MSM bullshit concocted to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt-- and make weaklings fly into a panic.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/20/2005 10:04 Comments ||
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#6
Not just weaklings Dave, there is a distinct group of people out there that want very badly to hear this kind of news. For if it told of victory and progress, all would be lost to them. They still hope and pray the war effort will backfire and spiral down into complete chaos, so that it can be used against GW Bush. Their blind hatred for the man (kind of an icon at this point, eh?) and their belief that there is never a reason to go to war have turned them against the best interests of their country. They are traitors and losers, angry, depressed , feeling inadequate, impotent and out of control of the country. Yehaw!!!!
A rocket attack Friday morning missed two U.S. Navy vessels docked at this Red Sea port city, killing one Jordanian soldier and hitting the nearby Israeli town of Eilat. The assault raised fears that militants tied to Iraq's insurgency were operating in Jordan.
Three Katyusha rockets were fired from an industrial zone on the outskirts of town, authorities said, apparently targeting U.S. warships that docked here last week, the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge and the landing ship USS Ashland.
The first rocket sailed over the bow of the Ashland at 8:44 a.m. and hit a warehouse near the Kearsarge, killing a Jordanian soldier, said Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. The vessels left port shortly after the attack, the first against U.S. warships since the bombing of the destroyer Cole in Yemen five years ago.
Another rocket exploded near an airport in neighboring Eilat, about 10 miles away, hitting a stretch of road and wounding a taxi driver. A third rocket landed in an open lot at a nearby military hospital, causing little damage.
Within hours of the attack, the Jordanian army started an intensive search for four men, two Egyptians and two Iraqis who recently rented a workshop from which the rockets were fired, Jordanian television reported Friday afternoon. A fifth suspect, thought to be a Syrian who guarded the shop, was also said to be sought.
Because of the style of the attack and the possible involvement of Iraqis, it stoked growing fear within this country that insurgents may be operating on Jordanian soil.
Katyusha rockets are crude rockets prone to poor accuracy, but they are capable of significant damage. They are a hallmark of insurgent groups in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Although militants have been caught with weapons seeking to cross into the West Bank over the years, there has not been such an attack on Jordanian soil in recent memory.
A group calling itself the Brigades of the Martyr Abdullah Azzam claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks in an Internet posting, saying the United States had "corrupted the Earth" and that the Jordanian "devil" had to stop jailing Muslim scholars, according to the SITE Institute, a group based in Washington that tracks terrorist messages on the Internet.
The attack on Friday raised serious concerns in Jordan, which until now has generally been able to keep the violence in neighboring Iraq and the West Bank at bay.
That militants were able to smuggle rockets into Jordan, or manufacture them here, and fire them undetected in one of the most secure cities in the country, has shaken security officials.
"Jordan's relative advantage for decades has been stability," said Mohammad Momani, professor of political science at Yarmouk University. "Although there was not much collateral damage from this attack, symbolically this is very damaging to Jordan's reputation. And it may indicate a spillover of the American war in Iraq."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 02:39 ||
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#1
Fired three times at these bog ol ships and didn't come near hitting the targets...
Militants fired at least three homemade rockets from a warehouse hide-out in the Jordanian port of Aqaba on Friday, narrowly missing two U.S. Navy ships and killing a Jordanian soldier.
As Jordanian forces cordoned off the port and scoured the desert and surrounding hills for suspects, a group loyal to al-Qaida issued an Internet statement claiming responsibility for the attack.
"A group of our holy warriors targeted a gathering of military ships docking in Aqaba port and also in Eilat port" in neighboring Israel, said the statement from the Abdullah Azzam Brigades. "The warriors returned safe to their headquarters." The authenticity of the statement could not be verified; previously the group has claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks in Egypt's Sharm el Sheik resort that killed at least 64.
About 2,000 members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit were aboard the two ships, the Kearsarge and the Ashland. They are part of the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group, which was sent to the Middle East in March. Navy officials said group members were performing a naval exercise in cooperation with Jordanian troops at the time of the attack. The group left the port soon after the rocket strikes to avoid any further attacks.
Jordanian sources said four non-Jordanian Arabs, including Iraqis and at least one Egyptian, had rented a commercial warehouse in an isolated industrial zone in Aqaba earlier this week. Local news reports indicated that a Syrian also was involved. The men are suspected of making Katyusha rockets in the warehouse and launching the weapons from the building.
If they meant to hit the two U.S. vessels, the rockets veered off their mark. One slammed into a warehouse used to store goods for the Jordanian military, leaving an 8-foot hole in its roof. A soldier who was standing guard was killed, and another Jordanian was wounded. Another rocket landed near a Jordanian hospital.
A third rocket struck near the airport in the resort city of Eilat, where it smashed into the roof of a taxi without exploding. Eilat, a popular Israeli beach resort, is about nine miles from Aqaba.
The rockets were "intended to hit the Israeli side and the Jordanian side as well," Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told reporters.
Friday's attack revived memories of the bombing of the Navy destroyer Cole in October 2000 off the coast of Yemen that killed 17 U.S. sailors.
The Cole attack alarmed Navy officials and led to sweeping security changes. Since then the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has hired at least 200 additional special agents, a senior NCIS official at the Pentagon said, on condition of anonymity.
Criminal investigators must now deliver threat assessment reports to ship commanders about two weeks ahead of any port visit, and are present at all ports deemed "high threat" zones, including all of those in the Middle East, the official said. The additional manpower and closer cooperation with allies such as Jordan has helped thwart attacks, he said.
Navy officials declined to address the specific protections taken by the ships at Aqaba, or the general security of that port, but it is routinely used to supply the U.S. war effort in neighboring Iraq.
President Bush, vacationing at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, was told about the attack as part of his regular briefings Friday, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.
"We strongly condemn all attacks like these and are investigating in cooperation with Jordanian officials," Duffy said.
"An attack on Jordanian territory or from Jordanian territory was always a matter of time, despite the fact that Jordanian security agents are omnipotent and have a pervasive presence in society," said Joost Hiltermann, an analyst with the International Crisis Group who is based in Amman, Jordan's capital. "Sooner or later, somebody will get through as they did today."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/20/2005 02:37 ||
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About 2,000 members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit were aboard the two ships, the Kearsarge and the Ashland.
I bet the Marines went nuts when the ship's CO's decided to leave port. The Marine's specialty is amphibious assault after all. If the Navy has to run away with their tails between their legs retreat, could they have at least "mistakenly" left the Marines on the pier? They could then have been sent on "liberty" in town. A "mistakenly" fully armed liberty at that. Remember the old sailor's adage: If you're not cheating, you're not trying.
#4
If you can't hit either of those two ships, then the Suadis have wasted their scholarship money. There aren't too many targets larger and more slow moving.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/20/2005 13:58 Comments ||
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#5
If they were Qassams, or similar, they did well to get one across the bow of the Ashland.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan naib ameer Hafiz Mohammad Idrees on Friday urged religious parties to regroup and tackle the secular onslaught against seminaries. Talking at Jamia Mosqueâs Syed Maududi Institute, Idrees said the countryâs rulers were following a foreign agenda and it was imperative to launch Jihad against them by mobilising the people. He condemned the ban on magazines Friday Special, Zarb-e-Islam and Wajoud. âThe only fault of these papers was their commitment to expose Western and the ruling partyâs double standards,â he added.
The JI leader said the local council elections had been compromised when the Sindh government âallowedâ the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) to forcibly confiscate ballot boxes. He said the electoral staff was caught filling ballot boxes with bogus votes in Karachi. He added that the governmentâs claims of foolproof security for the polls had proved false in the wake of the people killed in the electionâs first phase.
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ittehadul Ulema president MNA Maulana Abdul Malik condemned the disqualification of candidates with religious schoolsâ certificates. He told the congregation at Jamia Mansoorah during Friday prayers that religion and politics should be separate. Malik said several Muslim rulers and the Holy Prophetâs (PBUH) companions had graduated from the Suffah at Masjid-e-Nabvi, adding, âThey were qualified in Quran and Sunnah which proved its worth in their practical lives.â The people present asked the government to accept the equivalent certificates issued by religious institutions for all practical purposes.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:18 ||
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Does anyone else get the impression that the Islamo-freaks are going full-out all over the world and that they could not possibly keep up the pace for long?
Islami Jamiat Talaba's (IJT) Punjab University branch on Friday campaigned outside the campus's mosque for Muttahida Majli-e-Amal (MMA) candidates in related union council-115. IJT activist distributed pamphlets asking citizens to vote for the MMA candidates "to protect Pakistan's Islamic and ideological base". Asking not to be named, PU students told Daily Times that the IJT's PU chapter activists called students to vote for the candidates after Friday's sermon. They said they were urged to vote for MMA candidates Naveed Sadiq as nazim and Malik Waheed Ahmed as naib nazim in UC 115, the last council of Samanabad Town.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:22 ||
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Terming the local council elections as the worst in history, opposition parties have decided to meet in the first week of next month to form strategy against the government. "Opposition parties have decided to meet in the first week of next month to discuss their response to pre-poll and polling day rigging by the government. The meeting will explore options contained in the joint declaration issued after the 'all parties conference' held on August 11," Raja Zafarul Haq, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chairman, said on Friday. The meeting date would be finalised after consultations with the MMA and the ARD, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:19 ||
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For a minute there I thought this was Howard Dean's daily staff meeting...
* MQM ahead in Karachi
* ANP puts in strong showing in NWFP, JUI-F down
* Mixed results in Balochistan
* Official results today
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League and its allies have won the most seats in the first phase of local elections in 53 districts, according to unofficial results issued by the Election Commission (EC) on Friday. Returning officers will issue final notification of the winning candidates today. With results in from 1,300 of the 1,654 union councils in 17 districts that went to polls in Punjab, the PML appears to be heading for a clean sweep, though the opposition made gains in Multan, Sialkot, Sargodha and Gujranwala cities.
In Sindh, PML-ally the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) won convincingly in Karachi. The PML and allied parties, including the PML-Functional, also won in Tharparkar, Thatta, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar and Naushehro Feroze. The PPP-backed Awam Dost panel was doing well in the three other districts of Jacobabad, Kashmore and Sanghar.
In NWFP, the Awami National Party made a strong comeback from its poor showing in the last general elections, emerging as the single largest group in Peshawar, Charsadda, Swabi, Mardan and Tank. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) won in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu. The Jamaat-e-Islami was top in Buner.
The results in the 14 districts that went to polls in Balochistan were mixed. The JUI-F claimed victory in Qilla Saifullah, but other results were not clear. Nationalist parties and the PML claimed to have majorities in the other districts.
Voter turnout was 48 percent in Punjab, 47 percent in Sindh, 38 percent in NWFP and 33 percent in Balochistan, the EC announced. Among women, the turnout was 43 percent in Punjab, 26 percent in Sindh, 21 percent in Balochistan and 16 percent in NWFP. Turnout was higher in urban areas than rural areas. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told a television news channel the female voter turnout was âencouragingâ, particularly in the NWFP, where women had been barred from voting in some districts.
Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar said the polls were free and transparent. âWith the exception of sporadic incidents, the overall process of polling was very fair and peaceful. Foreign and local observers also praised the conduct of polls,â he told Daily Times. He said the EC had not yet received one formal complaint of rigging. He said the EC would not hesitate to act when and if it did receive a complaint. In the NWFP, the ANP was buoyant about its results. âWe are back with a bang,â ANP Information Secretary Zahid Khan told Daily Times.
ANP Provincial President Bashir Bilour hinted the party might ally with the JI, a traditional rival, to form governments in some districts. The ANP would need a coalition partner to form government in Peshawar. The ANP claimed also to have won at 25 of the 48 union councils in Nowshera, but a blockade of GT Road made the claim difficult to confirm. The Pakistan Peopleâs Party, PPP-Sherpao, PML and PML-Nawaz failed to win majorities in any of the 12 NWFP districts that went to polls on Thursday.
The results in Tank were a setback for the JUI-F, which was behind the ANP and PML. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman won a National Assembly seat from the district in the 2002 general elections which he later vacated for his brother to take in a by-poll. The JUI-F also did worse than expected in Karak, constituency of NWFP Law Minister Malik Zafar Azam, where no single group emerged with a clear majority.
In Punjab, the PML looked to have won all 17 districts. The party had a clear majority in Gujranwala, Rahimyar Khan, Sargodha, Sialkot, Multan and DG Khan. The results in Vehari and Muzaffargarh were mixed. Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi hailed the victory of â80 percent of our candidatesâ, while the opposition continued to make rigging charges. âThe magnitude of rigging in the first phase has rendered the whole process of local government elections doubtful,â said PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar.
In Balochistan, there were no clear winners. The Khushhal Pakistan panel backed be the PML emerged as the single largest group. The JUI-F secured a majority in Qila Saifullah and Pishin districts, while the PML was leading in Barkhan, Nasirabad, Kharan, Jaffarabad and Gwadar. Candidates backed by the Rind and Kurd clans, both of the PML, were fighting it out in Bolan. The National Party appeared to have secured the most votes from among the nationalist parties in southern Balochistan, winning seats in Gwadar, Khuzdar and Mastung. Many results are still awaited.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:08 ||
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Chad's government has signed its third peace deal in three years with northern rebels in an effort to end a seven-year-old conflict in the region. The peace agreements of 2002 and 2003 collapsed amid mutual accusations of violations by both sides. Under the new deal signed Thursday, the government of President Idriss Deby and the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad agreed to stop fighting, integrate former rebels into the government and security forces and release prisoners of war. They also agreed to open all main roads and de-mine the region in three months. Smaller rebel factions in the central African nation, however, did not sign the agreement.
Chad's northern rebellion broke out in 1998 and flares up sporadically despite the previous peace agreements. The rebel group made international headlines earlier this year when it captured Amar Saifi, the second-most powerful man in an Algerian Islamist group which has pledged allegiance to al Qaida and is classed by the United States as a terrorist organization. Saifi, of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, was later handed over to Algerian authorities.
... thereby earning themselves a bit of legitimacy in our eyes...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels agreed Friday to meet in coming weeks to review a cease-fire that has been threatened by a rash of killings, including the assassination of the foreign minister. The meetings will be the first formal sessions between the sides in more than two years. Peace negotiations remain stalled, and the prospects for reviving them as uncertain after the Aug. 12 assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar by suspected rebels. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen said Friday the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam had agreed to hold the talks in the coming weeks. The exact timing and venue were still being worked out.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2005 00:00 ||
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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.
This international terrorist was eliminated on May 17, 2005 during a special operation near Khasavyurt (a town in northwestern Daghestan on the border with Chechnya where the second Chechen campaign began in 1999).
An Islamic preacher who advocates the execution of homosexuals, adulterers and armed robbers plans to start broadcasting his message in Australia on radio, TV and through the internet. Sheik Khalid Yasin, who was born in the US, gained notoriety when his views on homosexuals - and that the Koran endorsed beatings of spouses - were aired last month, bringing condemnation from the then premier, Bob Carr.
Two survivors from the terrorist bombing at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad joined colleagues in a tribute Friday to the 22 people who died, and the U.N. Staff Union demanded the killers be brought to justice. The anniversary of the Aug. 19, 2003 bombing was marked simply — with a minute of silence at U.N. offices around the world. At U.N. headquarters, the Staff Union held a memorial wreath-laying ceremony near the tattered U.N. flag that once flew over the Canal Hotel where the U.N. had its offices and a memorial plaque with the names of the victims. The words "Fallen In The Cause of Peace" are written under the blue and white flag. Speaking on behalf of the Staff Union, Michele Montas said the ceremony was not only to honor the dead "but also to express our undying solidarity to the more than 100 wounded who survived the attack." Then two of those who suffered serious injuries — Denmark's Henrik Kolstrup and Marilyn Manuel of the Philippines — slowly laid a wreath in front of the plaque and flag.
BEIRUT - Outspoken Muslim cleric Omar Bakri said on Friday Britainâs crackdown following last monthâs London bombings was forcing Muslims to choose between selling out their religion and leaving the country.
BERLIN - Iran is forging ahead with a programme to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons while the European Union focuses its energy on shutting down Tehranâs uranium enrichment activities, an Iranian exile said on Friday.
Islami Jamiat Talaba's (IJT) Punjab University branch on Friday campaigned outside the campus's mosque for Muttahida Majli-e-Amal (MMA) candidates in related union council-115. IJT activist distributed pamphlets asking citizens to vote for the MMA candidates "to protect Pakistan's Islamic and ideological base". Asking not to be named, PU students told Daily Times that the IJT's PU chapter activists called students to vote for the candidates after Friday's sermon. They said they were urged to vote for MMA candidates Naveed Sadiq as nazim and Malik Waheed Ahmed as naib nazim in UC 115, the last council of Samanabad Town.
Terming the local council elections as the worst in history, opposition parties have decided to meet in the first week of next month to form strategy against the government. "Opposition parties have decided to meet in the first week of next month to discuss their response to pre-poll and polling day rigging by the government. The meeting will explore options contained in the joint declaration issued after the 'all parties conference' held on August 11," Raja Zafarul Haq, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chairman, said on Friday. The meeting date would be finalised after consultations with the MMA and the ARD, he added.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League and its allies have won the most seats in the first phase of local elections in 53 districts, according to unofficial results issued by the Election Commission (EC) on Friday. Returning officers will issue final notification of the winning candidates today. With results in from 1,300 of the 1,654 union councils in 17 districts that went to polls in Punjab, the PML appears to be heading for a clean sweep, though the opposition made gains in Multan, Sialkot, Sargodha and Gujranwala cities. 
Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels agreed Friday to meet in coming weeks to review a cease-fire that has been threatened by a rash of killings, including the assassination of the foreign minister. The meetings will be the first formal sessions between the sides in more than two years. Peace negotiations remain stalled, and the prospects for reviving them as uncertain after the Aug. 12 assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar by suspected rebels. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen said Friday the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam had agreed to hold the talks in the coming weeks. The exact timing and venue were still being worked out.
