ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) A huge beach party to honor late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury must be stopped because the Zanzibar-born rock star was gay, a Muslim leader said Thursday. Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991, violated Islam with his flamboyant lifestyle, said Azan Khalid of Zanzibar's Association for Islamic Mobilization and Propagation. "That's why he was branded a Queen," Khalid said, adding that anything linking Mercury with Zanzibar's Muslim population would be offensive.
Linking anything fun with islam is offensive
He said that a waterfront restaurant's plans for a Sept. 2 party honoring Mercury's birthday would be stopped.
I'd check on my fire insurance if I was them
Mercury restaurant, which was named for the singer, will go ahead the party, manager Simai Mohammed said.
Mercury, who acknowledged being gay, was born in Zanzibar when the country was still a British protectorate. He was educated in India and moved with his family to Britain in 1964, after a bloody revolution that drove out many immigrants of Indian or Arab descent. "Our main idea is to promote tourism and Freddie Mercury was from Zanzibar. It's part of our history," Mohammed said. "We are all Muslims and it's not our intention to offend any religion."
Last year some 500,000 tourists traveled to Zanzibar, bringing vital foreign currency to the Indian Ocean island. This semiautonomous part of Tanzania is mostly Muslim. Zanzibar's government sent a letter asking state-owned media not to report on Mercury's birthday because of the tension between the religious group and the restaurant. The group's aim is for Zanzibar to be ruled based on the Muslim holy book, the Quran. Last year, the group broke up a gay man's birthday party in Zanzibar's Pemba island.
Mercury gained fame as the bravura singer for Queen, whose elaborate and occasionally bombastic songs made the group one of the favorites of the 1970s. The group's hits included Bohemian Rhapsody,We Are The Champions and Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
Wonder when the gay community will wake up to the fact they're on islams hit list?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/31/2006 12:08 ||
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#1
I want to break free
I want to break free,
I want to break free from your lies,
you're so self satisfied, I don't need you
I've want to break free
God knows, god knows I want to break free
And it's getting to the point that linking anything offensive with Islam is fun! :-)
Anyway, Muslims have taken this denial thing to a whole new level. To many of these mullahs, it is inconceivable that anything perceived to be unislamic could be perpetrated by a Muslim! And if it obviously was, they push it away to make sure everyone on the planet sees that it didn't happen. It must be unislamic to deal with a problem in a rational way, I guess. In any case, they just end up looking like the pathetically ignorant and immature lot that they are. Except to other "true believers", it seems.
Stereotyping is leading to terror, says first Muslim Miss England
The first Muslim to be crowned Miss England has warned that stereotyping members of her community is leading some towards extremism.
Hammasa Kohistani made history last year when she was chosen to represent England in the Miss World pageant.
But one year on, the 19-year-old student from Hounslow feels that winning the coveted beauty title last September was a "sugar coating" for Muslims who have become more alienated in the past 12 months.
She said: "The attitude towards Muslims has got worse over the year. Also the Muslims' attitude to British people has got worse.
"Even moderate Muslims are turning to terrorism to prove themselves. They think they might as well support it because they are stereotyped anyway. It will take a long time for communities to start mixing in more.
"People may feel I am just a sugar coating on the situation. I am a symbol to show it's not really that bad.
But at the same time, she said, "there is this hostility" which comes "mainly from the Government".
The Prime Minister told MPs last month that moderate Muslims were not doing enough to tackle extremists in their own community.
Miss Kohistani said: "Tony Blair addressed Muslims in particular, telling them that they need to sort out the problem within. That was a huge stereotype of the Islamic community. Even the more moderate Muslims have been stereotyped negatively and feel they have to take actions to prove themselves.
Born in Uzbekistan and raised in Afghanistan, Miss Kohistani divided Muslim opinion when she entered and won the Miss England pageant in Liverpool.
Several community leaders openly declared her to be betraying the laws of Islam while radical Muslims sent the teenager and her family death threats.
But after a busy year travelling around the world as an ambassador for England, Miss Kohistani said she feels Muslims are unfairly being branded as terrorists.
She added: "For a Muslim to represent England is asking for controversy at the moment. I feel after everything that's happened Muslims are being stereotyped negatively. The whole community has been labelled and, whether they are guilty of crime or not, they are getting penalised for it.
"I like being in the limelight because people can look at me and see I am a Muslim but good. Most of the people being pinpointed are judged by their outer appearances and people assume because they are Muslim and have a beard they have done something wrong."
She continued: "The bridge I have made is slowly being broken by more and more wars. Now the Iran situation is brought up and another Islamic country is under scrutiny - and the recent Heathrow scare. I guess I am needed even more now than last year to an extent because of what has happened.
"It is not for me to answer how to get people to turn away from terrorism. The politicians don't know what to do and I am just a 19-year-old."
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Last updated at 16:13pm on 31st August 2006
The first Muslim to be crowned Miss England has warned that stereotyping members of her community is leading some towards extremism.
Hammasa Kohistani made history last year when she was chosen to represent England in the Miss World pageant.
But one year on, the 19-year-old student from Hounslow feels that winning the coveted beauty title last September was a "sugar coating" for Muslims who have become more alienated in the past 12 months.
She said: "The attitude towards Muslims has got worse over the year. Also the Muslims' attitude to British people has got worse.
"Even moderate Muslims are turning to terrorism to prove themselves. They think they might as well support it because they are stereotyped anyway. It will take a long time for communities to start mixing in more. Ummm... Do we have a chicken and egg situation here. Lack of speaking out causes alienatiopn, not the otherway around...
"People may feel I am just a sugar coating on the situation. I am a symbol to show it's not really that bad.
But at the same time, she said, "there is this hostility" which comes "mainly from the Government". Random acts of violence uncondemned is bound to engender hostility.
The Prime Minister told MPs last month that moderate Muslims were not doing enough to tackle extremists in their own community.
Miss Kohistani said: "Tony Blair addressed Muslims in particular, telling them that they need to sort out the problem within. That was a huge stereotype of the Islamic community. Even the more moderate Muslims have been stereotyped negatively and feel they have to take actions to prove themselves. Killing and maiming only gets people a tad upset and proves nothing.
Born in Uzbekistan and raised in Afghanistan, Miss Kohistani divided Muslim opinion when she entered and won the Miss England pageant in Liverpool. Born before before the breakup of the USSR, when Gorbachev was in power
Several community leaders openly declared her to be betraying the laws of Islam while radical Muslims sent the teenager and her family death threats. Your family gets death threats from YOUR OWN community, and you are blaming the British government. You really are 19 aren't you.
But after a busy year travelling around the world as an ambassador for England, Miss Kohistani said she feels Muslims are unfairly being branded as terrorists. Who else is doing "Terrorism-R-Us" besides Muslims?
She added: "For a Muslim to represent England is asking for controversy at the moment. I feel after everything that's happened Muslims are being stereotyped negatively. The whole community has been labelled and, whether they are guilty of crime or not, they are getting penalised for it. Then speak out against the violence. that comes from within your community. That is a large reason why peole are painting with a wide brush.
"I like being in the limelight because people can look at me and see I am a Muslim but good. Most of the people being pinpointed are judged by their outer appearances and people assume because they are Muslim and have a beard they have done something wrong." It isn't the beard. I have a beard, but I am not Moslem. Moslems wearing beards are the ones directing the terror.
She continued: "The bridge I have made is slowly being broken by more and more wars. Now the Iran situation is brought up and another Islamic country is under scrutiny - and the recent Heathrow scare. I guess I am needed even more now than last year to an extent because of what has happened. If you learn that you have to speak out, THEN you will help. Silence will only make things worse for you, AND your community, since you now have a prominent status.
"It is not for me to answer how to get people to turn away from terrorism. The politicians don't know what to do and I am just a 19-year-old." Well you need to start, and don't hide behind your age. Your new status gives you a platform since you come from that community. Use some carefully tought out words. You could do more than you know.
The first Muslim to be crowned Miss England has warned that stereotyping members of her community is leading some towards extremism.
Hammasa Kohistani made history last year when she was chosen to represent England in the Miss World pageant.
But one year on, the 19-year-old student from Hounslow feels that winning the coveted beauty title last September was a "sugar coating" for Muslims who have become more alienated in the past 12 months.
She said: "The attitude towards Muslims has got worse over the year. Also the Muslims' attitude to British people has got worse.
"Even moderate Muslims are turning to terrorism to prove themselves. They think they might as well support it because they are stereotyped anyway. It will take a long time for communities to start mixing in more.
"People may feel I am just a sugar coating on the situation. I am a symbol to show it's not really that bad.
But at the same time, she said, "there is this hostility" which comes "mainly from the Government".
The Prime Minister told MPs last month that moderate Muslims were not doing enough to tackle extremists in their own community.
Miss Kohistani said: "Tony Blair addressed Muslims in particular, telling them that they need to sort out the problem within. That was a huge stereotype of the Islamic community. Even the more moderate Muslims have been stereotyped negatively and feel they have to take actions to prove themselves.
Born in Uzbekistan and raised in Afghanistan, Miss Kohistani divided Muslim opinion when she entered and won the Miss England pageant in Liverpool.
Several community leaders openly declared her to be betraying the laws of Islam while radical Muslims sent the teenager and her family death threats.
But after a busy year travelling around the world as an ambassador for England, Miss Kohistani said she feels Muslims are unfairly being branded as terrorists.
She added: "For a Muslim to represent England is asking for controversy at the moment. I feel after everything that's happened Muslims are being stereotyped negatively. The whole community has been labelled and, whether they are guilty of crime or not, they are getting penalised for it.
"I like being in the limelight because people can look at me and see I am a Muslim but good. Most of the people being pinpointed are judged by their outer appearances and people assume because they are Muslim and have a beard they have done something wrong."
She continued: "The bridge I have made is slowly being broken by more and more wars. Now the Iran situation is brought up and another Islamic country is under scrutiny - and the recent Heathrow scare. I guess I am needed even more now than last year to an extent because of what has happened.
"It is not for me to answer how to get people to turn away from terrorism. The politicians don't know what to do and I am just a 19-year-old."
Ok, little missie, how bout this for a stereotype: 'Beauty queens are empty-headed'. Oops, you just proved that one.
#1
Only when the islamists put 100 lashes across her back for violating sharia with her half naked body, will Miss Kohistani understand what "extremism" and its "causes" are about...
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 13:27 Comments ||
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#2
Of course, no one has stereotypes about, say, Jews or Italians or Poles, so they don't have to resort to terrorism.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
08/31/2006 14:01 Comments ||
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#3
Perhaps she is sort of right. Stereotyping IN her community has led to much violence. If Moslems thought non-Moslems were human, and not dogs to be abused, murdered and stolen from, much of this would not be a problem.
#5
Stereotyping doesn't lead to terror, little miss. Islam leads to terror. What do you think the death threats you got were all about, you stupid child?
#10
The first Muslim to be crowned Miss England has warned that stereotyping members of her community is leading some towards extremism.
Naughty, naughty. Don't construe Effect as Cause.
But one year on, the 19-year-old student from Hounslow feels that winning the coveted beauty title last September was a "sugar coating" for Muslims who have become more alienated in the past 12 months.
Fine, if she's so unhappy then strip her ... of the title, that is.
#12
"Even moderate Muslims are turning to terrorism to prove themselves. They think they might as well support it because they are stereotyped anyway.
just terrific, yeah let's blame their actions on Blair. So much for assimilation.
Hey, how did she win? Did she not wear the traditional berka?
Posted by: Jan ||
08/31/2006 16:38 Comments ||
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#13
As far as I am concerned, if Muslims were to police themselves better, the WoT would be over sooner and we could do away with any "stereotyping" or profiling that is being forced upon society by the absence of this policing.
#14
Yup, we unfairly ignore the many attacks perpetrated by Buddhists and Methodists to focus simply on some stupid gits who have made it impossible to fly with hair gel in your carry on luggage. Thanks for pointing that out, Miz Hammy.
#19
STFU B**ch...put your burka back on or sme muzzie who can't be responsible for his self control will have his way with you along with a half dozen of his co-religionists. Whoops ...is that too sterotypical for you?
Posted by: Mark Z ||
08/31/2006 20:46 Comments ||
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#20
Muslim terrorism leads to stereotyping. She put the battery in backwards.
KAZAN, Russia - Officials and religious figures from Russia and more than a dozen Islamic countries kicked off a conference here Wednesday that organizers said was aimed at deepening their dialogue and defending a multipolar world in the face of US power.
Values cannot be imposed by force, Mintimer Shaimiyev, president of Russias mainly Muslim republic of Tatarstan where the three-day conference was being held, said in an opening address to delegates. The example of Iraq has shown that democracy can only be the result of internal development. Liberal values cant be exported like cars. A multipolar world without a system of equilibrium leads to tensions and civil war, Shaimiyev said. Representatives of more than a dozen Islamic countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, converged on Kazan for discussions led by former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, a veteran diplomat and respected Middle East expert.
In addition to historically close ties with numerous Islamic countries, Russia has 20 million Muslims among a total population of 142 million. The country also gained observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2005, and should feel that it is part of the Muslim family, Ravil Gainutdin, president of the Russian Council of Muftis, told AFP.
As a member of the UN Security Council, Russia will be able to actively defend the rights of Muslims and prevent rules being dictated that they oppose, Gainutdin said. The Islamic world wants Russia to return to the role the Soviet Union played in the Muslim world, Gainutdin said. The Soviet Union was a prominent supporter of Islamic countries in conflicts with Israel, including the Arab-Israeli War in 1967 and the October War between Egypt and Israel in 1973.
For Ramil Yunussov, imam of the Kul Sharif mosque in Kazan Europes largest the conference was meant to overcome what he called a lack of understanding between East and West. It should explain the essence of Islam to Europe in a language Europeans can understand, Yunussov told AFP.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/31/2006 10:10 ||
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#1
All your pathetic conference and fantasies of world power are belong to US!!!
#2
In not winning, Israel lost. The failure to generate respect and fear in its enemies means there will be less time until they strike again. Israel must always strive to utterly destory its enemies. It is fine for her allies to dissuade her from completing the mission, but there should be no uncertainty what the mission is and that it can be achieved.
I'll bet that brought a hoot from the Islamic delegates.
#5
explain the essence of Islam to Europe in a language Europeans can understand,
mmm that should be entertaining.
Stooopid Russians.
Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
08/31/2006 13:46 Comments ||
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#6
Values cannot be imposed by force
You mean the value on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as long as it doesn't interfere with someone else's life, liberty, or pursuit of hapiness? Must be tough being threatened by such a horrible regime!
Yet that's EXACTLY what Islam tries to do - impose values - religious values - by force. The idiot condemns himself, and doesn't even realize it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/31/2006 19:59 Comments ||
Top||
#10
---The country also gained observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2005, and should feel that it is part of the Muslim family, Ravil Gainutdin, president of the Russian Council of Muftis, told AFP.---
Ball's in your court, Pooty, or do you think the Chicoms will take care of your problem?
The attention of South Korean officials once again focused on the whereabouts of North Korea`s reclusive leader Kim Jong Il amid media reports he may be secretly visiting China to meet President Hu Jintao. If it is true, Kim`s trip could provide a crucial momentum to resolve the security crisis on the Korean peninsula fueled by the North`s recent missile tests and reported moves toward a nuclear test, officials and analysts say.
The North Korean leader has used a special train rather than aircraft for visits to China or Russia because of his alleged fear of flying...
According to news reports in Seoul. South Korean officials obtained intelligence that a special train used by Kim was seen crossing the North`s northeast border with China on Tuesday. 'There is intelligence that the United States or Russia have confirmed through satellite photography that a special North Korean train was moving in China,' a South Korean government source was quoted as saying. The source said, however, it was not clear whether Kim was aboard the train. Seoul`s YTN television also said the government has received intelligence reports that the special train headed for China. The North Korean leader has used a special train rather than aircraft for visits to China or Russia because of his alleged fear of flying.
Cue the saboteurs, the missile launch, and the banjo playing 'Orange Blossom Special' ...
Rumors of Kim`s possible visit to China had been earlier reported from Seoul and Tokyo last week. South Korea`s most influential Chosun Ilbo newspaper said that a senior military official from the North was staying in Beijng to discuss summit talks with Hu slated for this week. 'Authorities in Seoul and Washington were briefed that Kim Jong Il is to take a three-day trip to China around Aug. 30,' it said, citing sources. The semi-official Yonhap News Agency reported that the Chinese government has invited Kim Jong Il to visit 'as soon as possible.' Japan`s Sankei Shimbun newspaper also said Kim was expected to travel to China this week, citing multiple sources.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2006 0:48 Comments ||
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#3
Blow his train clean off the rails. Rocket every d@mned car of it. End this loathesome regime for once and all. How many more innocents must starve to death before we rid the world of this monster?
#6
That train must give the Chinese Police nightmares.
Given the official NoKO involvement in drug smuggling and counterfeiting, Kimmie's train probably has a few wagons full of heroin and counterfeit dollars and yuan.
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 12:07 Comments ||
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#7
"because of his alleged fear of flying"
He dam sure should fear flying the last time he went for a train ride to Manchuria on the way back at a station he was nearly killed when another train loaded with explosive chemicals exploded literally leveling a huge portion of the city. Hopefully this time he wont be so lucky.
JOHN Howard has singled out Muslim migrants for refusing to embrace Australian values and urged them to fully integrate by treating women as equals and learning to speak English.
The call for a shift in attitude among some Muslims infuriated community leaders last night, and comes as The Australian can reveal the Prime Minister's own Islamic advisers have already accused Mr Howard and senior ministers of fuelling hatred and mistrust by using "inflammatory and derogatory" language.
Mr Howard said: "There is a section, a small section of the Islamic population, and I say a small section, which is very resistant to integration."
"Fully integrating means accepting Australian values, it means learning as rapidly as you can the English language if you don't already speak it," the Prime Minister said during a radio talkback discussion.
"And it means understanding that in certain areas, such as the equality of men and women ... people who come from societies where women are treated in an inferior fashion have got to learn very quickly that that is not the case in Australia."
The comments prompted a fierce reaction from young female Islamic leader Iktimal Hage-Ali, a member of the Prime Minister's advisory group. She accused Mr Howard of threatening to further marginalise Muslims. "There's no value in pointing out the minority of the Muslim group," she said.
"There's a whole lot of other ethnic communities whose parents, whose grandparents don't speak the English language, and it's never a problem in the mainstream Australian community for them to go on living their everyday life without speaking language.
"Yet as soon as it's a person of a Arab descent or a Muslim person ... politicians feel like they need to bring it to mainstream attention as the only group, like marginalising us even more then we already feel marginalised today."
As Mr Howard's Muslim reference group prepares to hand over its long-awaited report on how to tackle extremism and other problems in the community, The Australian can also reveal that the Islamic leaders the Prime Minister asked to advise him were actually gagged when they raised concerns about Government remarks demeaning the community.
According to a draft of the final report of the Prime Minister's Muslim Reference Group - which will be handed to frontbencher Andrew Robb later this month - among the key problems identified by the community are isolation and radicalisation of converts and the treatment of women and young people.
But in the report, produced as part of the Government's $35 million Muslim strategy, the group criticises "government leaders" for public comments fanning conflict and says the issue has grown worse in the context of the Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon.
While the yet-to-be-released report does not identify the Government figures, The Australian has obtained a letter the reference group wanted to release in March attacking a speech by Peter Costello, in which he said many Australian Muslims had divided loyalties.
But the group, led by academic Ameer Ali and made up of clerics and community leaders, was stopped by the Government from publishing the letter.
The Australian understands the letter, which also refers to remarks made by Mr Howard, Philip Ruddock and backbenchers Bronwyn Bishop and Danna Vale, was sent to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs for release, but never went past Mr Robb's office.
The advisory group was furious about the Costello remarks and the furore that focused on Muslims when Ms Bishop called for traditional Muslim dress to be banned in schools and Ms Vale said Australia was in danger of aborting itself "almost out of existence" and becoming a Muslim nation.
They were also upset that Mr Howard singled out Muslims when he told The Australian in February: "You can't find any equivalent in Italian, or Greek, or Lebanese (Christian), or Chinese or Baltic immigration to Australia. There is no equivalent of raving on about jihad, but that is the major problem."
The gagged letter says Mr Howard and the other MPs were "just a few" politicians who have made remarks against "Islam and Muslims".
"All we ask is that when Mr Costello, or any parliamentarian, wishes to have the debate about the citizenship of Australia or the 'mushy, misguided multiculturalism' they do so with the engagement of all Australians, rather than alienating any one community group," it says.
Yasmin Khan, a member of the reference body's seven sub-groups, said last night she wrote the letter on behalf of the group and sent it to a Department of Immigration employee who said she would have to send it to Mr Robb's office.
"She said ... 'We've got to release it through his (Mr Robb's) office' ... so we left it at that and I waited and waited and waited."
A spokesman for Mr Robb last night told The Australian that the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs, who is responsible for the reference board, had not received the letter. DIMA spokesman Sandi Logan said the department had received the letter and sent it back to members of the reference group.
Despite the dispute, the Federal Government-- which through DIMA has worked closely with the reference group on the final report - has already agreed to a raft of proposals.
Under the $35 million strategy, the Government has agreed to a series of programs ranging from a university for imams to issuing police with a detailed booklet explaining Islam.
In a section titled "Addressing isolation and marginalisation", the group says society must be more inclusive to keep young Muslims away from radicalism.
"A more inclusive Australian society is a key issue in making rigid thinking and possible involvement in terrorism less attractive to those at risk," the 26-page report says.
Among other proposals from the group, set up in the wake of the London Tube bombings last year, research will be conducted by University of Western Australia and the West Australian Government into why young Muslims turn to militant Islam through extreme literature.
"The project aims to develop an understanding of the pathways whereby second and third-generation Muslim youth in Western liberal democracies move to a position of militant Islamic identity," the report says.
#4
"The project aims to develop an understanding of the pathways whereby second and third-generation Muslim youth in Western liberal democracies move to a position of militant Islamic identity," the report says.
They could save a lot of time money by just realizing that these people come from places with militant Islamic identities.
#7
Hear them down in Soho Square
dropping abus everywhere.
I'd rather hear Cooper running flat.
Mooooselims..... oh what a sound!
It's 'oom and 'omb that set's her apart,
Not the ragged burka or crooked teeth.
Posted by: Henry Higgins ||
08/31/2006 17:45 Comments ||
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#8
#3, #5, and #6
I hope the western countries follow your advices. Every one knows if you are in Rome, do as Romans do. Any one not following this natural law, whether human or animal is just a trouble maker. If you love the trouble makers, keep them. Otherwise throw the bastards in the ocean and let them swim to the stupidity they originally came from. Cant be any simpler than that
Pinocchio, Tom Sawyer and other characters have been converted to Islam in new versions of 100 classic stories on the Turkish school curriculum.
"Give me some bread, for Allah's sake," Pinocchio says to Geppetto, his maker, in a book stamped with the crest of the ministry of education.
"Thanks be to Allah," the puppet says later.
In The Three Musketeers, D'Artagnan is told that he cannot visit Aramis. The reason would surprise the author, Alexandre Dumas.
An old woman explains: "He is surrounded by men of religion. He converted to Islam after his illness."
Tom Sawyer may always have shirked his homework, but he is more conscientious in learning his Islamic prayers. He is given a "special treat" for learning the Arabic words.
Pollyanna, seen by some as the embodiment of Christian forgiveness, says that she believes in the end of the world as predicted in the Koran.
Heidi, the Swiss orphan girl in the tale by Johanna Spyri, is told that praying to Allah will help her to relax.
Several more books have been altered, including La Fontaine's fables and Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.
The clumsy insertions by Islamic publishing houses have caused controversy in Turkey, which has been a strongly secular state since the 1920s.
Other books contain insults, slang and rude rhymes which mock the president and the prime minister.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is Turkey's first Islamic premier, has called for swift action to be taken against the publishers.
The education ministry has threatened to take legal action against any publisher which continues to issue such books.
Huseyin Celik, the education minister, said: "If there are slang and swear words, we will sue them for using the ministry logo."
#1
Tom Sawyer may always have shirked his homework, but he is more conscientious in learning his Islamic prayers. He is given a "special treat" for learning the Arabic words.
#3
Meanwhile, citizens and officials in Elmira NY reported that Samuel Clemens dug his way out of his grave, stood up, hollered "Bullshit!", then promptly re-buried himself.
#4
Islamic Tom Sawyer? I can see it now. Tom gets the kafir kids to paint the fence, the scary moment in the cave with jOOOO Joe, then Becky getting honor killed for going with Tom into the cave.
#8
So, it ain't just airplanes that get hi-jacked by the muzzies. Boy, won't these indoctrinators educators be shocked to learn that Ali Baba and Alladin were both Christians.
#9
Hey! What about me Boss? Does I get a happy ending?
Posted by: Jim ||
08/31/2006 17:47 Comments ||
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#10
Sorta Jim. Your genitals get cut off, but you get to work in a harem.
Posted by: ed ||
08/31/2006 18:03 Comments ||
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#11
Imagine how much fun it would be if an anonymous someone wrote an additional "lost" chapter of the Koran, in which Mohammed is baptized, after learning that only Jesus can save him from going to Hell for his violent and perverted acts.
It ends with a prediction that Mohammed's teachings will be corrupted by countless worshippers of Satan, all claiming to be Moslem holy men. But they can be recognized because they are afraid to gaze on the face or body of women, and they always seek after jihad, and hate peace.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2006 19:49 Comments ||
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#13
Wow, actually I think this could be rather fun. Re-writing stories with an Islamic twist to them...
Lemme see...Pinnochio...yes, he finds an Island of j00000 boys playing cards and drinking...only, they don't turn into donkeys...No! They turn into pigs and apes. And then theres his two friends, one is blind....one is lame...
Anti-war demonstrators who protested near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, said today they are planning to shift their protests to Washington next month. The planned protests and events, which will be known as Camp Democracy, emerged from activist Cindy Sheehan's demonstrations near Bush's ranch. After protesting in ditches off the road leading to the ranch, Sheehan purchased a five-acre campsite called "Camp Casey," where she urged opponents of the war to join her.
Camp Democracy organizers said their latest efforts will focus not only on ending the war but also on holding the Bush Administration and Congress accountable on other issues, such as health care and attention to Hurricane Katrina victims. The camp will be in Washington from Sept. 5 to Sept. 21, with a series of events to be held near the U.S. Capitol and the White House. For health reasons, Sheehan likely will not be able to attend September's events, said David Swanson, an organizer.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Press corps gettin' a little thin down in Texas, is it?
#1
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, ran a TV ad campaign and a petition-drive called "Not in the Name of Islam," which repudiates terrorism. Hundreds of thousands of people have endorsed it, according to Ibrahim Hooper, the group's spokesman.
Taqiyya all the time.
Gorb, you need two buckets of salt with these articles.
#1
Boaters have a sense of divine entitlement and will not obey exclusion zones. I participated in a live fire exercise off of San Nicholas Island in 1985. We were shooting I-Hawk missiles at QF-86 drones carrying electronic warfare equipment. After scrubbing testing three days in a row because pleasure yachts/fishing boats refused to exit the danger zone (even after helicopters flew next to the boats and warned them with bullhorns), the grizzled Marine Gunnery Sergeant in charge of range safety sighted down the line at a very large and expensive yacht and pronounced it outside of the exclusion zone. To his surprise, the EW equipment worked as advertised and the missile warhead detonated directly over the boat. All that could be seen in the films of the test were flaming debris falling from the sky onto two giant roostertails as the boat exited the area at warp speed. We had no difficulty in clearing the area for the following day's testing.
#2
The Michigan Environmental Council isn't so sure. If the data aren't available to the public, there is no way to determine whether that claim is accurate, the council said in comments to the Guard. Federal law prohibits hunters from using lead shot because it's toxic to waterfowl, the council said.
Not to worry; we use depleted uranium.
{giggle}
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2006 15:31 Comments ||
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Without naming any nation, Pakistan on Thursday said a "neighbouring country" had supplied a large quantity of ammunition and money to slain Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti for his campaign against the government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Khan Niazi told the National Assembly that a "huge quantity of ammunition and currency" had been found from the cave in which Bugti was killed on August 26 during a Pakistan Army operation.
The munitions and money were "provided by our neighbouring country to Akbar Bugti via Kabul" and Bugti used the ammunition against security forces and national assets through his frari (fugitive) camps, Niazi said.
Army spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan too spoke about the involvement of an "external hand" in the campaign by Baloch nationalists.
"Bugti was not fighting for public interest but he was involved in harming the country and innocent people," said Niazi, a defector from former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party who became a loyalist of President Pervez Musharraf.
Niazi accused the Baloch leader of involvement in "subversive activities including destroying national assets, gas pipelines and railway lines besides the killing of innocent people and security forces personnel".
Sultan told Indian TV channel Times Now that an "external hand" was involved in the Balochistan issue and supplying weapons to Bugti. "I am surprised why there is so much of interest by the Indian media on Balochistan," he said.
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 12:09 ||
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THE uprising in the southwest of Pakistan could be the beginning of the end for Pervez Musharraf, the President.
Not that he has had a smooth ride in the seven years since he seized power in a military coup. But many forces have suddenly come together to try to dislodge him. His attempt at using the Army to crack down may make matters worse and, for the first time, he may not have army support.
At the moment, from a British perspective, all roads lead to Pakistan: Molly Campbell, the missing Western Isles schoolgirl, believed to have been taken by her father to Lahore; the row over Test match ball-tampering; the hunt for the perpetrators of the plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. Beyond those, in the rarefied air of United Nations diplomacy, is the threat of Irans ambitions to develop the nuclear skills that it bought from a Pakistani scientist. There is every sign that today it will defy the UN deadline to stop.
These stories are unrelated but the simultaneous prominence is not entirely a coincidence. Pakistan has long combined an intimacy with Britain and America with an immutable separateness of its own intricate culture and politics.
That has been particularly true of Musharrafs regime; he has tried to weave together his role as a US ally with courtship of religious parties at home. But his plan is unravelling.
The crisis this week has come from Baluchistan, the wild southwestern province that contains valuable gas reserves. The highways linking Quetta, the provincial capital, to Karachi and to Iran have been paralysed since Saturday by riots, after the Army killed Nawab Akbar Bugti, the tribal chief. The blockades forced many businesses to close. The Baluchis, fiercely independent, have had a grievance for years that they are being Red Indianised their land and resources usurped by incomers while they watch and withdraw. That has sharpened as gas prices have soared and land along the spectacular coast is developed.
Musharrafs chosen tactic of sending in the Army to crush revolt has appeared to inflame sentiment, particularly as army officials take land for their needs. Critics say that he would have done far better to accept their moderate demands for a better share of gas revenues. The Baluchi revolt is dangerous to him because it is bigger and better organised than before, and because its leaders are finding common cause with other opponents of Musharraf.
The Army is badly demoralised by the long, wearing campaign against the Taleban in the tribal lands of Waziristan, on the Afghan border. The action came after demands by America for Pakistan to help more on the border, but it has strained Musharrafs command of the Army as nothing before.
The demand that Britain would most like to make of Musharraf is for him to curb religious militants in Quetta, but it is far from clear that he could.
This summer, retired generals and former supreme court justices wrote to him openly calling on him to stand down as head of the Army. Meanwhile, although financiers are impressed with Pakistans recent growth of 6 per cent a year, poorer Pakistanis are aggrieved at inflation of about 9 per cent.
The religious parties, whom Musharraf has found helpful, have now joined the main parties in trying to stop him glueing himself to the presidency beyond next year, when the constitution says that he must step down.
This week Shaukat Aziz, his Prime Minister, survived a no-confidence vote. But the joint action by Musharrafs formerly divided critics is a far more serious threat than he has yet faced.
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 10:36 ||
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#1
Guest journalist Ahmed Rashid assesses what the killing of a rebel tribal leader in Balochistan province means for the Baloch rebel movement and for the Pakistani government.
In his death and the manner in which it was carried out, Sardar Akbar Bugti is likely to become a martyred hero for Baloch nationalism and nationalists elsewhere in Pakistan - rather than the anti-government renegade and reactionary tribesman Islamabad would like to portray him as.
Bugti, the Sardar or chief of more than 200,000 Bugti tribesmen, was killed along with more than 35 of his followers when the Pakistan Air Force bombed his hideout in the Bambore mountain range in the Marri tribal area.
Pakistani officials say that at least 16 soldiers including four officers were killed after they went in to mop up the remnants of the Baloch guerrilla group. A fierce battle ensued which led to their deaths.
Bugti, a 79-year-old invalid who could not walk due to arthritis, is reported to be buried in the rubble of the cave where he was hiding.
For months, Pakistani politicians including members of the ruling party had been insisting that the military regime agree to hold talks with the Baloch leaders in order to stop what was becoming an ever-widening civil war in the province.
Several security agencies and advisers to President Pervez Musharraf, including the Interservices Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau, asked Musharraf to talk to the Baloch leaders.
However, other advisers and the hawkish Military Intelligence advised him to crush the Baloch leaders, which includes three prominent Sardars, Bugti, Khair Bux Marri and Ataullah Mengal.
Senior politicians say that Mr Musharraf's lack of understanding about the Baloch issue, his underestimation of the growing sense of alienation in all the smaller provinces and the attack on his ego when his helicopter was fired upon by Baloch rebels last December, all contributed to his helping him take the decision to kill Bugti.
Bugti was not the leader of the mysterious Balochistan Liberation Army which has been banned by Pakistan and Britain, but he was certainly its most visible spokesman over the past three years, as the Baloch insurgency against Islamabad has grown.
The army has attempted to divide the Baloch by promising large aid grants to those tribal leaders who support the government, even as Islamabad claims that it is eliminating the Sardari system.
Baloch nationalists have long argued that while Islamabad exploits their massive gas and mineral deposits, they give little in return to the province.
Last year, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League agreed on a package of incentives for the Baloch that included a constitutional amendment giving greater autonomy to the province, but it was overruled by Mr Musharraf and the army who then vowed to militarily crush the rebellion.
The army argues that millions have been spent in development, but projects such as the building of the Gawadar port, the building of cantonments and even new roads do not necessarily benefit ordinary Baloch.
The projects are defined by the army and its national security needs, rather than through consultations with the Baloch or even the Balochistan provincial assembly. Then the projects are carried out by outside companies who give few jobs to the Baloch.
By killing Bugti, the president has now earned the permanent enmity of not just the Baloch rebels but the wider Baloch population who may not believe in taking up arms, but are still frustrated with Islamabad for its failure to develop the province.
He may have seriously underestimated the power of Baloch nationalism which has led to four wars with the Pakistan army in the past.
Nationalism within the smaller provinces has always been the biggest threat to military regimes just as it is to mr Musharraf.
The hanging of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979, who was a Sindhi, by an earlier military ruler has made Sindhis resentful of the army, while they have, by and large, always voted for the opposition Pakistan People's Party.
In the North West Frontier Province where Talebanisation is rampant, Pashtun nationalism is presently taking the form of political Islam.
By killing Bugti, the army is sending a clear message to nationalists in other provinces as to how they will be dealt with if they rear their heads.
However, the smaller provinces are seething with resentment against continued military rule. Their sense of frustration and alienation is growing as they see the army representing only its own interests or that of Punjab, the largest province in the country.
The army is also sending a powerful signal to neighbouring India and Afghanistan.
The army has accused India of financing and arming the Baloch rebels, while it has accused Afghan President Hamid Karzai of allowing the Baloch to train in Afghanistan.
India and Afghanistan have denied these charges at the highest level, but Pakistani officials say there is little doubt that the Indians were involved in funding the Baloch movement because of their long-standing involvement with the Baloch and the evidence that arrested Baloch rebels have provided the Pakistani intelligence services.
The tit-for-tat proxy war between Pakistan on one side and India and Afghanistan on the other, will now heat up.
India accuses Pakistan of continuing to arm and finance Islamic extremists in Kashmir and funding anti-government and Maoist movements in other parts of the Indian sub-continent.
Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of arming and giving sanctuary to the Taleban and its leadership.
Pakistan denies both charges.
There is an ever-deepening political crisis in Pakistan which the death of Bugti will only exacerbate.
Many people say that the country is rapidly unravelling with Mr Musharraf refusing to give clear-cut guarantees about free and fair elections next year, while he insists on running again for another five-year term as president even as he remains army chief.
Bugti's death will only add to the growing fears about the country's future and the danger inherent in a policy of killing political opponents rather than holding a dialogue with them.
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 12:36 Comments ||
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#2
It would also serve to the Iranians as an example of how having nuclear weapons invites the unwanted interest of big players when there is a change in control.
The UAE government released one of the Marri Nawab's sons, instead of transferring him to Pakistan as requested by Perv. Speculation was that this was done on the behest of an "outside power".
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 12:43 Comments ||
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The UN's humanitarian chief has described Israel's use of cluster bombs in south Lebanon during the final three days of the conflict there as "shocking" and "immoral". Jan Egelund said on Wednesday that thousands of Lebanese civilians remain at risk from unexploded cluster bombs dropped there.
What's shocking and I would say completely immoral is that 90 per cent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict when we knew there would be a resolution...
"What's shocking and I would say completely immoral is that 90 per cent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict when we knew there would be a resolution, when we knew there would be an end."
Egelund said that the UN had assessed "nearly 85 per cent of bombed areas in south Lebanon" and identified "359 separate cluster bomb strike locations that are contaminated with as many 100,000 unexploded bomblets". In Geneva, Chris Clark, head of the UN Mine Action Service in southern Lebanon, said there had been a total of 59 confirmed casualties, including 13 deaths, caused by the explosives since the end of hostilities on August 14.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#5
What's shocking and I would say completely immoral is that 90 per cent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict when we knew there would be a resolution...
Probably because Israel was pounding them so hard, dumba$$.
I'd say Egeland is especially reprehensible, but it's a wash at the top of the UN - Kofi, Morlock-Brown, Egeland - each is a hypocritical lying scumbag of the first order. The only thing I find remarkable, anymore, is the consistency of their transparent biased spew. No doubt every utterance is from an agreed-upon script of anti-Israel / anti-US vilification. Vulture Elites, indeed. The day we withdraw funding from these parasites will be VM (Victory for Morality) Day - True Morality.
#7
Thge imorality rests firmly on the UN and the UN troops under it command for allowing Hezb'allah to get away with what it did right under it's noses. Israel again is tard with a brush rightfully deserved by someone else.
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Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/31/2006 7:37 Comments ||
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#9
The UN and its pantheon of irrelevant elitist rogues have the moral clarity of dirty dish water. Whenever personal danger exists for them and their priestcraft, cut and run, is their modus operandi.
Ever the since second Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld embraced the self serving idiotarian multiculturalist pro-villian appeasenik approach completely, the UN has no true soul worth tuppence. And Kofi's gang prospered corruptively especially because of that. Yes, the UN deserve only to FOAD so that more light can potentially shine on the human situation. Bad 'medicine' is as good as any veritable poison.
#11
To fight a terrorist gang which does not abide by Geneva conventions for warfare, an attacked country must use only PC approved weapons.
Further suggestions are for warning all area people in advance of any bombing...say with a sign off sheet for documentation, also, frontal assaults only because we must assume the terrorist gangs don't understand evolved warfare, also, provide a team roster for all participating units to the terrorists or at least to the press before any hostilities take place.
Anything else ?
#13
Well gee, Jan - according to the tenets of the "First Church of Whack The Jihadi Bastards", all's fair in war. So bite me, diplo-boy. I got yer morals hangin'...
#15
Egeland said he would launch an appeal for more money for mine clearance when he attends Thursday's conference in Stockholm on Lebanon's reconstruction.
Dude, that's harsh! Those syphilitic pygmys are probably the offspring of UN Peacekeepers.
Note: Even though we are talking 'shocking and immoral', good taste prevents me from mentioning yesterday's story about UN penises injured while engaged in attempted goat boinking.
#18
Of course, the marvelous Egeland doesn't mention the fact that during those last 72 hours of the conflict, Hezbollah fired an unprecedentend amount of rockets on Israel, and that Israel was thus only retaliating.
But we know that, for the UN, the Jews, and them solely, have never the right to retaliate to anything.
#19
"In the last 72 hours of the conflict when [Israel] knew there would be an end" (Jan Egeland)
Usually, in any cartesian world, a war is fought till the end of this war. But now, the UN is saying that, 72 hours before the end of this war, Israel shouldn't have used weapons, because she knew that there would be an end to this war; - but 144 hours before the end of this war, Israel shouldn't have used weapons, because she knew that 72 hours after this moment, she would have known that there would be an end to this war; - and 216 hours before the end of this war (...); - and 288 hours before (...); - so, in fact, at the very beginning of this war, Israel shouldn't have used weapons at all.
For the UN, Israel (and the Jews) has no right to use weapons.
That is reminiscent of Warsaw's ghetto , when the nazis accused the Jews, who were fighting back, of using weapons...
(KUNA) -- South Korea has cut its military presence in Iraq by 890 troops, and plans to reduce an additional 100 troops by the end of the year to downscale the Zaytun unit in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil to some 2,300, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
South Korea deployed some 3,300 troops at the request of the US government, making it the third-largest troop contribution to the coalition after the US and Britain...
The ministry said it has started discussions to decide whether to submit to the National Assembly a motion to extend the deployment of the contingent whose tour of duty expires at the end of December, according to public broadcaster KBS.
Zaytun unit, which means 'olive' in Arabic, was deployed in late 2003 to help reconstruction efforts in Irbil. South Korea deployed some 3,300 troops in the city at the request of the US government, making it the third-largest troop contribution to the coalition after the US and Britain. Meanwhile, a total of 1,179 replacement soldiers left for Iraq Wednesday after a farewell ceremony, while about 1,800 will be returning home, South Korean Yonhap News Agency said. The troop reduction, the third of its kind since April, is to take place in six stages until mid-September, when more homecoming soldiers will be replaced by ones arriving in Irbil, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Fair enough, now that Iraq's troops are picking up the slack. South Korea came when it mattered, and has been doing its share of what needed to be done.
According to Roz Al-Yusuf, "Hizbullah has recruited over 2,000 innocent children aged 10-15 to form armed militias. Before the recent war with Israel, these children appeared only in the annual Jerusalem Day celebrations, and were referred to as the 'December 14 Units,' but today they are called istishhadiyun ['martyrs']..."
"The children are selected by Hizbullah recruitment [officers] based on one criterion only: They must be willing to become martyrs."
"The children are educated from an early age to become martyrs in their youth, like their fathers, and their training is carried out by the Mahdi Scouts youth organization... [This organization], which is affiliated with Hizbullah, teaches the children the basic principles of Shi'ite ideology and of Hizbullah's ideology... The first lesson that the children are taught by Hizbullah is 'The Disappearance of Israel,' and it is always an important part of the [training] program...
"The Mahdi Scouts organization was founded in Lebanon on May 5, 1985... According to the organization's website, the number of [scouts] who had undergone training by the end of 2004 was 1,491, and the number of scout groups which had joined [the organization] was 449, with a membership of 41,960. According to the organization's most recent statistics, since 2004, 120 of its members have been ready to become martyrs.
According to the article, Na'im Qasim, deputy to Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, said in an interview on Radio Canada: "A nation with child-martyrs will be victorious, no matter what difficulties lie in its path. Israel cannot conquer us or violate our territories, because we have martyr sons who will purge the land of the Zionist filth... This will be done through the blood of the martyrs, until we eventually achieve our goals."
#3
Angie, apparently those that were "martyred" and did not have children yet won't have them. Maybe Hezbos won't send a member on a suicide mission if he doesn't have at least one replacement (kid).
#4
From a practical military view, when they start using old men and children in the lines, it means they're getting down to their last reserves.
I hope so. But from these subhumans, I'll have to see it to believe it. They nurture hate very carefully. This could be looked at simply as good stewardship of a precious resource from their twisted perspective.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has launched a scathing attack on armed groups that are firing rockets from the Gaza Strip, saying Wednesday they were responsible for bringing death and destruction to the Palestinians. Addressing thousands of demonstrators outside his office in Ramallah, Abbas said, "So far we have about 250 martyrs in the Gaza Strip and thousands of wounded people and destroyed houses. Why? What are the reasons for this? Let's start searching for the reason for all this."
Abbas was referring to the number of Palestinians who have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit in June. His comments, which were interpreted as criticism of Hamas and its government, came hours before Abbas headed to the Strip for talks with PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on forming a national-unity government. Abbas described the rockets that are being fired into Israel as "pipes" that provided Israel with an excuse to carry out military operations in the Gaza Strip. "Our people don't deserve these tragedies," he said. "If these pipes provide an excuse, it's time to stop using them."
Last week, Abbas's Fatah party, after three days of discussions in Jordan, authorized him to open negotiations with Hamas and other Palestinian factions. It's not clear how long Abbas will stay in Gaza, but one of his aides told The Jerusalem Post that he was "very serious" about striking a deal with Hamas as soon as possible. "The negotiations with Hamas could take one day or one month, but this time the president is determined to reach an agreement on the national-unity government because of the deteriorating situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," the aide said. "The financial and security deterioration cannot continue for long and the pressure from the people is growing."
We will continue with our efforts to achieve national unity. We want a government that would be able to bring us money.
Abbas told the demonstrators, who came to demand their salaries, he supported the establishment of a national-unity government because it would convince the international community to resume financial aid to the PA. "We will continue with our efforts to achieve national unity," he said. "We want a government that would be able to bring us money."
Security and stability will be achieved only if the legitimate rights™ of the Palestinians are achieved...
Earlier, Abbas met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and urged him to get Israel to halt military operations in PA-ruled areas and to release Palestinian prisoners. Abbas also called for an end to the construction of settlements and the security fence in the West Bank. Abbas told reporters he had briefed Annan on his efforts to establish a national-unity government and to secure the release of Shalit. "Military force and the continued occupation of Palestinian lands won't bring peace," he said. "Security and stability will be achieved only if the legitimate rights of the Palestinians are achieved."
Annan said after the meeting that the IDF had killed more than 200 Palestinians since the end of June, adding that this "must stop immediately." He said he fully agreed with Abbas that "the end of occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel is the key to resolving all the problems of the region. We have to implement all Security Council resolutions and that includes, of course, Resolutions 242 and 338."
Annan said he had also discussed efforts to release Shalit and to end rocket attacks with Abbas. He called on Israel to reopen the main crossing points to the Gaza Strip. "Beyond preserving life, we have to sustain life. The closure of Gaza must be lifted [and] the crossing points must be opened, not just to allow goods but to allow Palestinian exports out as well," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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"We want a government that would be able to bring us money."
"us" meaning he and his cronies. The sanctions are hurting
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2006 8:35 Comments ||
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A group of former generals has drafted a letter in which they call on Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz to resign because of what they are calling "his poor management" of the the war in Lebanon. The generals said they felt Halutz needed to take responsibility for the outcome of the war and the mishaps and mistakes that occurred throughout. Halutz invited the former generals to a meeting next week before their letter became public. "Someone needs to take responsibility for what happened in Lebanon," one of them said Wednesday evening. "We cannot just sit back and watch what is going on without doing anything."
One thing I can say for sure is that, despite my lack of experience, I stood up to the challenges and the difficult situation that I inherited from the people with experience...
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Amir Peretz defended himself in face of public calls for his resignation, claiming Wednesday that his predecessor Shaul Mofaz was responsible for creating the unprepared situation in which the IDF found itself when it embarked on a war against Hizbullah. "One thing I can say for sure is that, despite my lack of experience, I stood up to the challenges and the difficult situation that I inherited from the people with experience," he said in a speech at the Army Radio awards ceremony in Herzliya. The political echelon, Peretz said, needed to be investigated without any cover-up. "I am also willing to be investigated. I want to be investigated and am asking to be investigated," he said. "One thing I assure is that there will be the same level of in-depth investigation for both the military and the political echelons."
Peretz said that he had yet to decide if he would support the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, as several members of the Labor Party have demanded, in place of the commission established by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and led by former Mossad chief Nahum Admoni. On Tuesday, the IDF held a conference involving all the senior officers who took part in the war. At the meeting, Channel 10 revealed, Brig-Gen. Guy Tzur, commander of Division 162 which fought in the eastern sector, admitted to mistakes during the fighting and that if necessary he would resign. Brig-Gen. Erez Zuckerman, commander of another division, also admitted to having made mistakes and hinted that if needed he too would submit his resignation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Maybe iff Lebanon and Syria don't realize yet they are both future provinces/peon states of Radical Iran, fortunately for them, Israel's other neighboring Muslim nations + Sunnis, Israel does. Like Lefty naked babes at the GOP Convention, iff they wanna stay naked vote for Dubya and the GOP - once the GOP = free America is gone, Commie-SOcialist = Universal Governmentist Sovietized Stalinized Amerika under OWG, and anti-sovereign anti-Amer Amer SOcialism will force the naked babes to put thier clothes back on in the name of "proper" Socialism and ultra-Conservative, "Barefoot + pregnant/PHD in Kitchenhood", MORALIST-BECUZ-AMERIKA-IS-BROKE/NO MONEY ANYMORE Totalitarian Motherhood-Womanhood. Clothes on, or its the Gulag.
Opposition to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to launch two committees of inquiry swelled in the Knesset Tuesday, as politicians rejected his decision as "insufficient and cowardly." Labor ministers Ophir Paz-Pines and Eitan Cabel added their voices to the growing complaints about the decision and promised they would vote against it in the upcoming cabinet meeting. "I intend to oppose [Olmert's decision] in the government, and will try to convince other ministers," said Paz-Pines. "The commission Olmert has appointed to investigate the political echelons does not have clear authority or a timetable, and increasing the number of commissions of inquiry will lead to chaos."
Knesset members were disappointed Monday night when Olmert ignored their calls for a state committee of inquiry, which would have the authority to conduct a comprehensive investigation and dismiss officials if it saw fit. The two committees formed by Olmert will independently investigate the government's handling of the war.
While the opposition party MKs sounded their criticism of Olmert's decision immediately following his announcement, opponents within the coalition have been slower to emerge. Several MKs have taken parliamentary action against Olmert, including MK Arye Eldad (NU-NRP), who filed a private bill to call for a state commission, and MK Uri Ariel (NU-NRP), who called on Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to convene the Knesset immediately for an emergency session. In the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, all of the MKs save the three Kadima MKs issued a call for a state commission on Tuesday.
While opposition among the MKs grew, there was little they could do to force Olmert to retract the two inquiry committees and form a state commission. If, however, enough ministers were convinced to vote against the inquiry committees, Olmert could be faced with a serious rebellion that might lead to reevaluating the coalition, said a source in the Prime Minister's Office. That type of rebellion remained unlikely, however, as many ministers said they were still gauging the public's reaction and the ongoing reservist protests before they decided on their support.
Most important may be the decision by Defense Minister and Labor chairman Amir Peretz. Sources close to Peretz said he was still weighing his options, but had no fear of a state commission of inquiry. "It would be seen as a real slap in the face if Peretz joined the opposition to Olmert's decision," said one source in the Defense Ministry.
The declaration by Cabel, however, who serves as Labor faction chairman and has been a close ally to Peretz, could nudge Peretz closer to the opposition. "Peretz has been having trouble keeping support in the party, and he might be forced to join the opposition so that he can reel in criticism that he has become an Olmert lackey," said one senior Labor Party official. Labor MKs Avishay Braverman, Ami Ayalon, Danny Yatom and Matan Vilna'i, who have led the rebellion against Peretz's leadership, have all come out against the two inquiry committees and in favor of a state commission of inquiry.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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European truce monitors in Sri Lanka say they believe the army was behind the recent killings of 17 local aid workers. They said there were signs that government forces carried out the execution-style attacks in the north-eastern town of Mutur earlier this month. The killings followed several days of fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces. The slain workers belonged to the French charity Action Against Hunger. The monitors are in Sri Lanka to oversee a fragile 2002 truce between the rebels and government forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#4
I think the Iranians should drink the cool aid flavored heavy water then SPOD if it's not good for you--sounds like they have. What are the symptoms of heavy water ingestion? Trouble getting off the ground? Difficulty getting up from your seat? Dwarfism?
#5
Heavy water inhibits the activity of telomeres and interferes with the anaphase of mitosis.
It thus affects cells undergoing mitosis. It will prevent seeds from germinating. It will kill cancer cells (which are replicating quickly).
Ingestion is not wise. Replacing about 25% of your water with it will cause irreversible sterility.
Rats whose water was replaced with 75% D2O will die.
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 22:05 Comments ||
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#6
Deuterium is not radioactive. Being heavier, reactions take longer than with H1/proton, so the living tissue selectivly have less H2 than is in water..
Posted by: ed ||
08/31/2006 22:08 Comments ||
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#7
Interesting. What's the down side for us if Iranians ingest heavy water and it cause sterility?
Prostate cancer is treated with radiation--seed inplants or some form of external beam radiation or hormone therapy. Most of these treatments have a deleterious effect on sterility while treating cancer cells.
#8
Expanding in John, H2 being heavier and slower, inhibits biochemical reactions and is prefentially expelled. At such high concentrations mentioned by john, it would inhibit biochemical reactions (e.g. proton exchange) so much that it leads to death.
Posted by: ed ||
08/31/2006 22:14 Comments ||
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#9
Heavy water is far too expensive and offers no advantages to normal chemo to be used for cancer patients.
A heavy water moderated and cooled research reactor is actually useful for medical purposes. It can be used to create medical radioistopes like Cobalt 60, or Technicium (used in tracer studies).
Of course, you can actually buy this stuff, instead of making it yourself. No nation would take the risks that Iran is taking (inviting sanctions and militray strikes) if the program was really peaceful. Thermal power plants are far easier and cheaper to build.
Very small reactors (<5MW) are also desirable if you are truly interested in medicine.
Going for a 40 MW reactor that you can later scale up (Israel did this with Dimona) has only one purpose -- bomb making
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 22:24 Comments ||
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#10
""There is no connection whatsoever between heavy water and plutonium."
I like that one.
's true they could easily buy all the medical eqipment they want.
Nobody's drinking any heavy water.
Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
08/31/2006 23:40 Comments ||
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Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah refused to emerge from his bunker on Thursday to celebrate his 46th birthday.
"No. I'm not coming out until February 2nd. And if I see my shadow, that means six more weeks of rocket attacks! So there!"
A Hizbullah source told the Egyptian Al-Ahara'am newspaper that Nasrallah turned down a request from youngsters in his movement and in other organizations to celebrate his birthday in a modest manner in the Da'ahiyeh neighborhood of south Beirut.
"Whuddya mean 'modest'? No three days for fireworks? No precision dance team flown in specially from Pyongyang? Well! I never!"
Nasrallah said that he preferred to celebrate with his "warriors" when security conditions made it possible to do so.
"Yeah. Me and the guyz."
On Tuesday Prime Minister Ehud Olmert mocked Nasrallah saying, "I walk around freely, and he's still hiding in a bunker."
"But I can't be fired, and Olmert's gonna be, so there!"
Olmert said that he was not concerned by the last interview given by the Hizbullah leader and he was not bothered by Nasrallah's "victory speech."
#6
So if Nasrallah does finally emerge, and doesn't see his shadow, does that mean 6 more weeks of jihad? Or is it if he does see his shadow, or, or....aw hell, this thing always mixes me up.
First wave of arrests inside Hizballah of suspected informers to Israeli intelligence
No commissions of inquiry for Hassan Nasrallah. Our exclusive sources learn that Hizballah special security service has begun rounding up suspects in the northern Beqaa Valley, Baalbek and South Lebanon of members and others suspected of tipping off Israel intelligence on the location of the storehouse holding the heavy Zelzal missiles. Those missiles, no more than three or four, were held in reserve as Hizballahs most devastating strategic weapon against Israel, capable of hitting Tel Aviv.
Monday, Aug. 28, prime minister Ehud Olmert revealed for the first time that the Israeli air force destroyed those missiles in the first 34 minutes of the Lebanon war on July 12. Nasrallah needs urgently to find the leak through which the missiles place of storage and very existence, one of Hizballahs most tightly kept secrets known only to very few top leaders of the organization, reached Israel.
The first arrests were made among people living in the vicinity of the missile cache. More arrests have been carried out in the Shiite communities who live near or are connected with the Hizballah intelligence and secret command centers in Baalbek, which were targeted by Israeli air strikes and commando forays.
DEBKAfiles intelligence sources reveal that Hizballahs special security apparatus is focusing on two lines of inquiry:
1. Israels Aug. 1 commando raid on the Deir al Hikhma hospital in Baalbek.
2. The series of Israeli incursions in the course of the war in the hills northwest of Baalbek, where Hizballahs main command center, including its intelligence headquarters, are hidden underground in well fortified quarters and are still in place.
#6
It has been reported by an unnamed source that Nasrallah himself is the chief informer; it must be true or the Mossad would have gotten him. (Good thing nobody from Hizballah reads stuff here; it would be a shame if something were to happen because of this revelation of a secret agent.)
#7
" that Hizballah special security service has begun rounding up suspects in the northern Beqaa Valley"
And the Lebanon is letting them "round up suspects"? If they are a country unto themselves, then the ceasefire is'nt valid.
THE US military is operating on the assumption that Tehran is five to eight years away from being able to build a nuclear bomb, The Washington Times reported today.
The five-year window provides the Bush administration time to decide whether to launch air strikes to cripple Tehran's atomic program, the newspaper said, citing defence sources familiar with discussions inside the Pentagon. But the sources said they suspected the projected time-frame underestimated Iran's determination to build a bomb as quickly as possible, the newspaper reported.
Asked about the report, a Pentagon spokesman said the US military never commented on contingency planning. "The United States government has been very clear about its approach to dealing with Iran. The president and the State Department are working diligently with the international community to include organisations like the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and the United Nations to address diplomatically the troublesome activities of the Iranian government," air force Major Patrick Ryder, said in an email response to Reuters.
#1
There is no possibility of obtaining a valid assessment regarding Iran's progress towards fabricating nuclear weapons. Their constant dissembling, extensive subterfuge and outright lies make a joke of the entire concept. Any proposed solution must address the issue on an immediate basis. Anything less is fiddling while Rome burns.
#2
USA: It's true, world; We're the Great Satan alright. Would you like to nuke me now or wait 'til you get home?
Ahmadinahijab: Nuke him now! Nuke him now!
USA: You keep outta this! He doesn't have to nuke you now!
Ahmadinahijab: He does so have to nuke me now! [to world community] I demand that you nuke me now!
[The world community readies a nuke. As Ahmadinahijab sticks his tongue out at the USA, he is nuked. Ahmadinahijab walks back over to the USA, gunsmoke pouring out of his nostrils]
Ahmadinahijab: [to USA] Let's run through that again.
USA: Okay.
USA: [deadpan] Would you like to nuke me now or wait till you get home.
Ahmadinahijab:[similarly] Nuke him now, nuke him now.
USA: [as before] You keep outta this, he doesn't have to nuke you now.
Ahmadinahijab: [re-animated] Hah! Thats it! Hold it right there! [to audience] Pronoun trouble. [to USA] It's not "he doesn't have to nuke you now", it's "he doesn't have to nuke me now!"
[Pause]
Ahmadinahijab: [angrily] Well, I say he does have to nuke me now!! [to the world community] So nuke me now!
#4
Iff the Burg's articles today, from or pertaining to NORTH KOREA, is accurate, Radical Iran is just one or more plane flight(s) away from having a bomb. The CSIS org believes Iran has a handful of Dick-Dastardly, "Unhand her, Dan Backslide" nukies already. YOOHOO, DUBYA, CAN WE HAVE A DRAFT NOW!?
#5
Like everyone else, I wish I (we) knew precisely where things stand... Reasoning it out I come up with...
If it's impossible to say when they will have a nuke, then it's impossible to say. The infamous #2: the known unknown.
But -- Is Rome burning? I don't know. It's certainly disconcerting not knowing any more than we do and simultaneously having little or no faith in our intelligence services. That defines the new brinkmanship.
Perhaps we know more than we make public. We were informed of this program by an exiled Iranian dissident group, after all, who obviously have (had?) well-placed connections in Iran. No telling how many of these brave souls might have been burned in letting us know, since we went public with it. Are they still delivering quality intel? Perhaps they are. Perhaps not.
I'd like to hear what Oldspook thinks of this article...
The point is, that without any accurate and verifiable intelligence, we are obliged to use worst case logic. That predicts the Iranians are much farther along than we think.
Admittedly, there are certain techniques, such a air sampling that might reveal the presence of heavy isotopes liberated during the enrichment process. Quite obviously, our government is not going to tip its hand regarding these surveillance methods.
What must be remembered is that Iran is pursuing this on a truly grand scale. They imported subway boring machines to rapidly create underground tunnels and chambers. They have already laid out facilities for testing of high explosives related to the fabrication of HE lenses. These focus the initial implosion of the critical masses.
Beyond this, one prime indicator that Iran cannot be trusted and certainly expects the worst is that many of their facilities have been hardened to some extent, either by placing them undergound or partially burying them. This alone strongly suggests that they have expected from day one that an effort to interdict their activities will be attempted.
All of this further concretes the need to view Iran in the light of worst case scenarios. Should it happen, Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons will go down as one of the most monumental strategic blunders of this new century. The repercussions will last for decades if not longer and the upshot will involve destabilization of the entire Middle East, renewed nuclear proliferation amongst many other Islamic nations and the near-certain guarantee that a limited nuclear war will happen at some future point. If not with Israel (a most likely outcome) then among each other (due to sunni and shiite differences) or, at the very worst, the delivery of a device to terrorists who will detonate it on American soil.
Any single one of these outcomes is entirely unacceptable. All of them represent a tremendous loss of human life if not genocide, a devastating blow to the global economy and a completely senseless empowerment of the most brutal despots our modern world has ever seen.
Is it worth risking any of this solely for the sake of desiring a greater degree of certainty regarding Iran's potential progress towards obtaining atomic weapons? I don't think so.
#9
The only way to know for certain is to invade, conquer, and go through the equipment and the files. Anything from a greater distance than that is merely philisophers observing the shadows at the back of the cave.
#10
The actual nuke bomb is just an secondary artifact.
The real issue is know-how and motivation. In this regard, the so-called intelligence community is meaningless, as the Iranian regime has been very clear about their motivation and ambitions. Their know-how increases by the day.
Our bombing nuke facilities is merely a time spacing measure. The real objective should be the removal of the Iranian regime and its terrorist groups.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/31/2006 8:20 Comments ||
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#11
The Pentagon was confident the USSR was five to ten years away from the bomb - right up until one went 'boom.'
I don't think the Pentagon estimates included the communist cabal within the Manhattan Project at the time.
#13
"without any accurate and verifiable intelligence, we are obliged to use worst case logic"
I agree with you Zen, but in this case we do have quite a bit of verifiable and accurate intelligence. All the more reason to act 'immediately' as you said.
#14
This estimate is just wrong. It took the USA much LESS time in WWII (starting from basically scratch.) Iran has access to some prior art from China/Pakistan.
This estimate is just wrong. Zenster has the right idea. Iranian nukes are just unacceptable and we need to act NOW to prevent it.
#16
The possession of nukes by Iran would have apocalyptic results for the entire world, and, as Zenster says, "the repercussions will last for decades".
So, pre-emptive strike is necessary.
When a pre-emptive strike is necessary, the best is to do it as soon as possible.
Nothing can be improved by waiting. The only thing that would change is that the pre-emptive strike would come too late.
#17
Per the really long thread where .com showed up in the other day, it is incumbent upon me to mention how any attack on Iran need not necessarily be this very instant.
I'll grant Bush (as if it were even within my power), the leeway to opt for intervention before or after the November elections. Whether I agree with him or even like him or not, he is the de facto leader of his political party and entitled to make whatever decisions that will best affect the electoral outcome for the republicans.
Past that, Bush has no wiggle room when it comes to Iran. The mullahs must have their nuclear arms plucked off like a fly's wings.
"It is time for Iran to make a choice. We've made our choice. We will continue to work closely with our allies to find a diplomatic solution, but there must be consequences for Iran's defiance, and we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon."
Once the November elections are past, as the leader of this planet's sole superpower, it will be Bush's mandate by this world's entire population (Muslims included) to put paid to Iran's pursuit of atomic weapons.
#19
Every President faces a foreign policy challenge early in its administration.
Presidents are pretty limited in what they can do in their last two years, especially if they don't have control of Congress.
If you wanted to defang Iran would you be satisfied with just cruise missiles and JDAMs?
Absent unequivocal provocation from Iran, I am starting to believe Bush will do nothing but tee this up for his successor so that Iran can be the early foreign policy challenge.
#20
I agree with you Zen, but in this case we do have quite a bit of verifiable and accurate intelligence.
Without wishing to be too contentious, mcsegeek1, accurate by what measure or standards? Have we been provided with photographs or blueprints (however verifiable [or not] those might be)? I doubt it. Eye-witness accounts of Iran's nuclear program are worth every bit as much as court room eye-witness testimony, namely, pretty well worthless.
As I mentioned, we may have been able to gather atmospheric sampling indicating the purity of Iran's enriched isotopes. Personally, I doubt this rather highly. Given the massive expenditure Iran has undertaken with this project, it is quite likely that they scrub all exhausted environmental air and processing fumes before release into the atmosphere. Again, how will we obtain the least clue?
Once more, while I most certainly do not have access to the intelligence gathered about Iran, all of their actions point towards denial of access to even the least significant facts. Ergo, the most critical indicators must be sheathed in numerous layers of defense. All of this points to worst case reasoning.
All the more reason to act 'immediately' as you said.
I'm glad to know we agree, mcsegeek1. Let's hope that Washington DC purchases a clue.
#21
If you wanted to defang Iran would you be satisfied with just cruise missiles and JDAMs?
At this point? Yes. There has already been significant discussion here at Rantburg about how an Iranian campaign should not entail any boots on the ground. Aerial bombardment must play a key role in compromising both Iran's nuclear ambitions and it's leadership.
Per 'moose's assessments vis Iran's petrol supplies those, too, can be addressed by munitions and ordnance. Again, not boots on the ground. Cripple Iran's economy? Same thing. Nail the feeder conduits to the Kharg Island pumping and loading complex. Not good enough, nail the complex itself. Military bases? Ditto. Tehran's statehouse or the mullahs' chalets? Likewise.
Is there nothing that well targeted ordnance can't solve? Possibly, but let's give it every chance we can before spilling any more precious American blood. Especially in such an unworthy shithole as Iran.
what a great idea. but it won't work because it's a mature, thoughtful response to an immature, thoughtless idiot. he won't go.
Holocaust survivors on Wednesday invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tour the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and called on the leader in Tehran to invite survivors to a planned conference on the subject of the Holocaust in Iran. Noach Flug, head of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel (COHSI) offered to host the Iranian leader as a guest of the organization in Auschwitz.
Tehran is set hold a conference on "the reasons for anti-Semitism in Europe, the Holocaust and Zionism" in December. Flug said that the presence of survivors at the event could facilitate a more serious debate on the issue.
Flug, a survivor of Auschwitz, heads an international organization that includes Jewish and non-Jewish survivors of the Holocaust from Poland, Hungary, France, the U.K. and U.S. The survivor leader told Ahmadinejad that ever since the Iranian leader took office, the group had been closely monitoring his statements and found him to be a "serial Holocaust denier."
Flug also mentioned Ahmadinejad's letter to German leader Angela Merkel, which claimed that the Holocaust had been fabricated by the allied forces to allow Germany to save face after the war. "This is not the first time you have questioned the murder of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis," Flug added, "I have reached the conclusion that you lack knowledge on the matter."
Flug says he is confident that the Iranian leader's hatred toward Jews will decrease and his will for peace will grow stronger after hearing what the survivors have to say.
#2
Perhaps George can do the television debate thing after Ahmadinahijab tours the death camp. They can make it a more realistic experience by forcing him to do labor, taking drunken potshots at him just to make sure he is always paying attention, underfeeding him until there is little left of him and they don't need so much fuel to incinerate him, making lamp shades out of his skin, bomb sights from his hair, soap from his fat, and removing the gold from his teeth to help fund the war effort. If his behavior is compliant enough, they could actually let him take a "shower" before they incinerate him. And his family, too. Maybe in the same camp, and maybe not. Then you can send his ashes back to Iran in a matchbox where they can declare victory.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to tell the UN Security Council Thursday that Iran failed to halt uranium enrichment or to cooperate with international inspectors. The deadline set by the council for Iran to freeze all enrichment activity expires on Thursday, and unless there is a huge surprise, the road will be open to imposing sanctions.
The US has announced its intention to draft a resolution calling for sanctions immediately after the deadline expires, and at the same time, it is busy composing a response to the response by Iran on August 22 to the incentive package offered by the US and Europe in exchange for stopping nuclear enrichment activity. The response to Iran's lengthy letter is expected to reiterate that since Teheran did not accept the basic condition of halting nuclear enrichment, there is no room to discuss other elements of the incentive package.
US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton said Wednesday that the US expected all Security Council members to act against Iran if it did not meet the deadline. "If they [the Iranians] haven't done that by August the 31st, we also said repeatedly and the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany have agreed that we would come to the Security Council to seek sanctions," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
Iran says they are not going to comply. That leads us to "crunch time" somewhere down the line. Who's going to enforce the UN resolution that says halt development? I don't think diplomacy is going to work with these hard heads.
Lebanon will not have direct contact with Israel, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said on Wednesday. According to Saniora, "Lebanon will be the last Arab country that would sign a peace agreement with Israel."
"Eeeeewwww! Ucky! Cooties!"
"Let it be clear, we are not seeking any agreement until there is just and comprehensive peace based on the Arab initiative," he said. Saniora was responding to comments made earlier by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in which the latter expressed hope that the UN cease-fire deal would be the "cornerstone of the start of new relations with Lebanon."
... while he was in Beirut, Annan 'felt and realized what Humiliation for the Lebanese the blockade was.'
"We hope conditions will rapidly change to enable direct contacts with the government of Lebanon," Olmert said during a press conference with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan after the two met in the prime minister's Jerusalem office. Saniora added that he believed the Israeli air and sea blockade of his country could be lifted "in the next few days." Saniora told a news conference that he believed Annan, who visited Lebanon on Tuesday, was "sincere" in his efforts to lift the blockade, which Israel imposed early in its 34-day war with Hizbullah. He said all efforts to lift the siege on Lebanon's airport and seaports could bear fruit and "that in the next few days the blockade will be lifted."
Israel has said the blockade was to prevent Hizbullah from rearming. Lebanon has demanded the siege be lifted and has called on the United States to intervene. Saniora said that while he was in Beirut, Annan "felt and realized what humiliation for the Lebanese the blockade was."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
The usual "we want everything our way without making any concessions" horsesh!t. Wah! Wah! Wah! D@mned adults running around with the brains of a three year-old. Excruciating pain needs to result whenever one of these f&ckwits makes some sort of lop-sided offer like this. Same thing goes for those preposterous prisoner exchanges. A taser to the genitals would be a nice start.
#5
cut off all reconstruction aid. They don't deserve it
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2006 10:42 Comments ||
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#6
Saniora is a Syrian lackey. New elections and a new truly anti-Syrian President and Cabinet might change Lebanon's tune very quickly. That is, as long as Syria doesn't kill the new one.
#7
Siniora's not a Syrian lacky. He's the PM, not the president. Lahoude, the president, is in fact a Syrian lacky.
Siniora's problem is that he's constrained in the things he can say and do for fear of his car exploding or his children disappearing.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 13:08 Comments ||
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#8
Siniora can resign and save himself the obvious self humliation of been shown as a dishonest puppet and really totally impotent. Why doesn't he after all the usage of word 'humiliation'? He's just typical Araby leader thinking he can have things both ways and be taken seriously and restfully while endlessly crapping shamelessly.
#10
"Siniora's not a Syrian lacky. He's the PM, not the president. Lahoude, the president, is in fact a Syrian lacky."
Yes, I know he's the PM. But a new President and Cabinet who are truly anti-Syrian would also result in this guy going bye bye. And I still think he's a lackey.
A Hizbollah Cabinet minister said Wednesday that the guerrilla group would not release two captured Israeli soldiers unconditionally, and that they would only be freed in a prisoner exchange. "There will be no unconditional release. This is not possible," Minister of Energy and Hydraulic Resources Mohammed Fneish told reporters in Beirut. He is one of two Hizbollah members in Lebanon's Cabinet. "There should be an exchange through indirect negotiations. This is the principle to which Hizbollah and the resistance are adhering," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Israel should stop their stupid policy of exchanging prisoners at ratios >100 to 1. Aside from conveying their opinion of the relative worth of the prisoners, it encourages the sort of behavior that started the recent festivities.
#3
You are absolutely right, RWV. Israel's willingness to release scads of terrorists in exchange for just soldier or two only exacerbates the problem. They need to go in and begin bulldozing a square city block in each of the "refugee" camps every day until the prisoners are released. If they meet with resistance, walk in some artillery to finish the job from a safe distance.
#6
Well since Olmert already lied to the families, his credibility is now sh*t, and he doesn't have the cajones to try this, it'd never work, but:
Demand the immediate release of the soldiers. Start executing Hezzie prisoners one at a time if they don't comply. After each execution, repeat the demand. If they release them, fine. If not, execute until you run out of hezzies. If they kill the prisoners, well, they were going to kill them anyway, but at least you haven't released scads of angry jihadists back into the Lebanese population only to strike again. Lose two soldiers, save hundreds, maybe thousands of Israeli lives. Not a perfect option, I grant you, but at least the lesser of two evils.
#7
It would be reasonable for Israel to exchange prisoners captured after the seizure of the two soldiers. It would emphasize the uselessness of the original kidnapping.
#8
Negotiations with terrorists Hezbo's or the Lebanese?
I agree with mcsegeek1; If they kill the prisoners, well, they were going to kill them anyway, but at least you haven't released scads of angry jihadists back into the Lebanese population only to strike again.
And why is it money is only being given to the Lebanon side for rebuilding and such? What about Israel and their losses as well?
Posted by: Jan ||
08/31/2006 13:14 Comments ||
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#9
What about Israel and their losses as well?
D@mn fine question, Jan. There should be a fund for Israeli victims' rebuilding and rehabilitation. Screw the Palestinians and the camel they rode in on!
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora on Wednesday said he refused to have any direct contact with Israel, and that Lebanon would be the last Arab country to ever sign a peace deal with Israel.
Let it be clear, we are not seeking any agreement until there is just and comprehensive peace based on the Arab initiative...
"Let it be clear, we are not seeking any agreement until there is just and comprehensive peace based on the Arab initiative," he said.
He was referring to a plan that came out of a 2002 Arab League summit in Beirut. It calls for Israel to return all territories it conquered in the 1967 Mideast war, the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem - all in exchange for peace and full normalisation of Arab relations with Israel. Israel has long sought a peace deal with Lebanon, but Beirut has hesitated as long as Israel's conflicts with the Palestinians and Syria remained unresolved. Saniora said Lebanon wants to go back to the 1949 armistice agreement that formally ended the Arab-Israeli war over Israel's creation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital
You might as well give a Faberge egg to a tantrum prone three year-old. As always, the Arab demands are so absurd as to preclude any possibility of resolution before the time when our sun goes nova.
#2
Year 2010 and a great earth quake felt in the world; or is Osama gonna stop obsessing about Whitney and start obsessing about Courtney??? Iff you can't trust a cracked up moon orbiting in pieces over Milford Pennsylvania what can you trust, D *** it.
#3
Nice to know that next time your country starts looking like one big pothole, the rest of the world can get on with what's really important -- will Tiger earn another Tiger slam?
#4
"...just and comprehensive peace based on the Arab initiative...
That may be exactly the problem. They don't care to understand what represents "fair and comprehenside". Their mindset makes them speak a different language, one that presumes righteousness shorn of self-examination and regards for reality. True to their self-absorped Cultish Creed of Darkness!
Iran's president on Wednesday urged Europe against resorting to sanctions, saying a day before a UN deadline for the country to halt uranium enrichment that punishment would not dissuade it from pursuing its nuclear program.
Sanctions can not dissuade the Iranian nation from conquering the peaks of pride. So it's better for Europe to ... settle problems through negotiations...
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments reflected Iran's defiance up to the Thursday deadline, which threatens sanctions against Iran unless it suspends enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor but that the West fears will be used to build a warhead. "Sanctions can not dissuade the Iranian nation from conquering the peaks of pride. So it's better for Europe to be independent in decision making and to settle problems through negotiations," Ahmadinejad said, according to state-run television.
He made the comments during a meeting with Felipe Gonzales, Spain's former premier, the television report said. Iran has rejected the Thursday deadline as illegal and refused any immediate suspension of enrichment, though it says it is open for negotiations. Iran continued to enrich uranium as recently as Tuesday, UN and European officials in Vienna said Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 00:00 ||
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There you go. What more encouragement do we need? He wants the alternative to sanctions. Fine, give it to him. Namely, blowing his @ss straight to hell.
JOHANNESBURG - There is mounting evidence that the African continent will become the next Al Qaeda hotbed as the militant group seeks to expand its global operations, a senior expert on terrorism said. Al Qaeda would logically look for Africa, Peter Pham, director of the Virginia-based think-tank Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs, told Reuters.
Speaking on Wednesday night at a security conference in Johannesburg, Pham cited Africas weak governments, large Muslim communities, rampant poverty and its proximity to the Middle East as factors that could make the continent a target. Its a natural base of (Al Qaeda) operation, Pham said. There is evidence that Africa will be the next front for Al Qaeda, he added.
The two-day conference on Combating and Preventing Terrorism in Africa was held as senior defence officials in Washington said the Pentagon was considering the creation of a new military command responsible for Africa. They said the idea was being considered by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld but no decision had been made. Responsibility for Africa is divided among three US military regions: European Command, Central Command and Pacific Command. A Pentagon official said a separate Africa command would not mean putting US troops in Africa but would streamline the focus and give appropriate undivided attention to the continent.
Africa has witnessed a number of bloody attacks, notably the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people, and the 2002 suicide attack on a tourist hotel in the Kenyan resort of Mombasa that killed 16. Al Qaeda was suspected in both cases. The African Union set up the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism in Algeria last year, acknowledging that international terrorism had come to constitute a serious threat to peace in Africa. Beyond the immediate goals of dealing with active terror groups there were calls at the conference for more aid for economic growth and democracy.
The meeting is the first of its kind to be held in Africa, indicative of its growing strategic importance, particularly as a growing energy supplier to the United States. West Africa now supplies 16 percent of US hydrocarbons - liquid natural gas and petroleum - and by 2015 it will supply more than 25 percent, Pham said. As it becomes more strategically important theres greater interest. The Horn of Africa has become an area of particular concern to western policymakers, given the ongoing battle for state control in Somalia between Islamists - suspected by the US of links to Al Qaeda - and the countrys transitional government.
The United States already has a strong presence in the Sahel under the $500 million Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative. It provides military expertise to nine Saharan states where swathes of desert are believed to harbour militant Islamist groups involved in smuggling and combat training. But Pham also pointed to West Africa where he said Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has tried to raise funds among the large Lebanese community. There is a large Hezbollah fundraising presence in Africa on the west coast - in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Counter-terrorism efforts in Africa have been criticised in the past by domestic opponents who say repressive governments have taken advantage of US President George Bushs War on Terror to solicit western aid and clamp down on freedoms
Posted by: Steve ||
08/31/2006 10:05 ||
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Islamo-Fascist works for me. I don't see much difference between our World War 2 enemies, and the current savage opposition.
...it is philosophically apt to apply the word to specific Islamist political movements. But does it help the antiterrorist struggle for the president to label it a "war against Islamic fascists"? For several reasons, the answer is a resounding "no".
This blanket term confuses the American public about the nature of the struggle they are facing. This is not World War II, where an Adolf Hitler was bent on territorial conquest. This is not a war of standing armies seeking to capture land. The West is engaged in a long-term fight against disparate radical Islamist groups that are alienated by globalization and the backwardness of their countries. In the words of Steven Cook, Mideast expert for the Council on Foreign Relations: "There are different groups with different political interpretations of Islam and different goals. There is no real address for Islamo-fascism. "
But "General Delivery, Riyadh, S.A." and "To Whom It May Concern, Tehran, Iran" will do for a start.
Lumping all these groups under a single rubric creates the image of one worldwide and powerful jihadi movement, rather than disparate groups whose differences can be exploited. For example, Iranians hate al-Qaida, which considers them to be infidels.
But they will let them bunk in the guest house on their way to kill Americans...
And Arab Sunnis will never follow the lead of Shiite Iranians, no matter the current cockiness of Irans leaders...
But the Arab street cheers them on when they confront the Great Satan
#1
Not to mention that the leftists feel a bit less comfortable getting in bed with a group labeled "fascist". Easier on their (withered) consciences if it's not there.
(And with the CFR hosting antisemites, I don't think it's a good idea to cite them on anything. But, hey, the author's trying his best to keep from identifying our enemies, so he has to go to where the fellow-travellers are.)
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/31/2006 8:25 Comments ||
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#2
So Trudy prefers another choice of words: Radical Islamism is hostile to the West (not just to Western policies) and to non-Muslims
And besides, Bush just uses the wrong words, and stuff.....
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2006 8:37 Comments ||
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#3
I think he's missing one important thing: the concept of the Dar al-Islam and the Dar al-Harb. For the Muslims who butcher the innocent and hide in caves, it is, among other things, a war for territory: the territory of Islam. The religion may be, because of its many sects and the violent applications of its teachings, inherently unstable, but until an area is "controlled" by Islam, I suspect that a lot of the sects are very happy to help each other (after it's taken from the infidels, then you can start the backstabbing to ensure that the "right" Islam is practiced).
The West is engaged in a long-term fight against disparate radical Islamist groups that are alienated by globalization and the backwardness of their countries.
I was about to say "Not this old argument again," but it does occur to me that at least in part it may be accurate; globalization does have the tendency to put people in geographic regions not their own, which would amount to infidels setting foot in Muslim lands. However, I think we can safely say that it ain't poverty that's keeping these people fighting us. It's their own sick, twisted minds, and their inability to comprehend anything that is not out of a dusty old book made up some time during the seventh century.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
08/31/2006 9:19 Comments ||
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#4
Icky Muslims? Baddy Muslims? Not Nice Muslims?
Get a boyfriend, Trudy...
#5
Heh. It's not poverty that's got them fighting us, but the newfound riches of oil. Without oil, they're Subsaharan Africa with turbans and no pygmies.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2006 9:51 Comments ||
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#6
Personally I would call them all Jihadists (or Jihadi).
So you cannot fight a war because there is no return address? Which is exactly the reason we need to make state support for this 'no fixed address' ideology so expensive and painful that "Cave#6, Hindu-Kush" is the only shingle they have.
This twit only answer to Islamofacism is to say "I'm so confused, I recommend we all lie down and hope it goes away".
These are the same morons who blame George Bush for sleeping through Katrina. Yet their plan for the War on Terror is exactly the same! This only reveals the severe mental illness that has infected the Liberal mind.
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 10:47 Comments ||
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#8
"Liberal Says: "Islamo Fascism" Confuses the Stupid"
#9
Without oil, they're Subsaharan Africa with turbans and no pygmies.
That gets my vote for Snark-o'-The-Day!
It may well be that the term Islamo-Fascism is short, brusque and cuts too close to the bone for some, but it is certainly a nice shorthand for Yet Another Annoying Totalitarian Ideology Intent On Global Conquest And Domination (YAATIIOGCAD).
I was kinda sorta hoping that after the fall of Communisim, we could spend our time holding hands singing Kumbaya, exploring Mars and going to WalMart. Unfortunately, we have some more cleanup to do first. While we are at it, we might as well call a spade a spade. Or aren't we allowed to say that anymore?
#10
Islamo-Fascism is exactly what it is - a fusion of european fascist philosophy and fundamentalist islam.
What are the ideological origins of islamic fascism?
The writing sof Ibn Taimiyya, Abd Al-Wahhab, Sayyid Maududi, Sayyid Qutb.
While Taimiyya advocated a fundamentalist reform, "cleansing" islam of all that had "corrupted" it and overhtrow of the Mongol conquorers (converted to islam), and he influenced Wahab, it was the fusion of european revolutionary and fascist thought, as expresssed by Maududi and Qutb that created islamic fascism.
Maududi writes of the need to possess "coercive power", that islam is a "complete code of life", that democracy was against god.
It was he who put forth the idea of jihad as perpetual revolution. Khomeni learnt this from him.
In one of the Osama videos he is seen with his kalashnikov propped against a bookcase. What does OBL read?
The books of Sayyid Maududi and Sayyid Qutb - islamo-fascist thought.
Consider the characteristics of a fascist state like Nazi Germany
- belief in a strong father leader (Hitler)
- racial superiority (aryan race)
- a glorious destiny (the 1000 year reich)
- a glorious lost past (nordic origin myths)
- a sense of injustice ('betrayal not defeat' in WW1 and punitive reparations)
- inculcation of a suppressed warrior spirit (prussia etc)
- powerful ememies that must be destroyed (bolshviks and jews)
What are the characteristics of Islamic fascism ?
the leader - Osama
racial superiority - arab muslims and kaffirs
glorious future - the caliphate
glorious past - historic rule from Andalusia to India,
injustice - "oppression" of muslims - Palestine, Kashmir, Chencheya, Bosnia ad nauseam,
martial spirit - the legacy of conquorers like Umar, Bin Qassim, Ghauri,
enemies - the US, Israel, India.
Posted by: john ||
08/31/2006 13:06 Comments ||
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#11
the leader - Ahmedinajihad
racial superiority - persian muslims and kaffirs
glorious future - the caliphate
glorious past - Persian Empires
injustice - Mossadeq, Shah, US domination
martial spirit - the legacy of conquorers like Cyrus, Xerxes
enemies - the US, Israel, India.
#12
Everything confuses the stupid. Why else would they become stupid. The left knows about stupid because that's all they have left. Their followers are either full card carrying commies, or stupid.
#13
YAATIIOGCAD it is. Like swattin flys that fly over a carcuses body after it is long dead. I could never tell which part of the church of Satan they were whoring With the left playing their reverse psychology, beating us with a B.S. chain. Who are they sleeping with? Holy Crappers Batman! could it be Soros?
#15
the San Diego UT carries this bullshit column as well. She made the comment a few weeks ago that Iran neither has a nuke nor can obtain it in the near future, and all Bush Admin statements to the contrary are lies/propaganda. In an email I questioned her basis for that comment, but never heard a reply. I can only hope that Trudy Rubin, her ancestors still living, and her progeny suffer the consequences for that assumption and non-preparation.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2006 23:16 Comments ||
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#16
"But does it help the antiterrorist struggle for the president to label it a 'war against Islamic fascists'?"
I think the President should be more clear.
Murdering moslem bastards works for me.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/31/2006 23:19 Comments ||
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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
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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.
The first Muslim to be crowned Miss England has warned that stereotyping members of her community is leading some towards extremism. 
The attention of South Korean officials once again focused on the whereabouts of North Korea`s reclusive leader Kim Jong Il amid media reports he may be secretly visiting China to meet President Hu Jintao. If it is true, Kim`s trip could provide a crucial momentum to resolve the security crisis on the Korean peninsula fueled by the North`s recent missile tests and reported moves toward a nuclear test, officials and analysts say.
Anti-war demonstrators who protested near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, said today they are planning to shift their protests to Washington next month. The planned protests and events, which will be known as Camp Democracy, emerged from activist 
The UN's humanitarian chief has described Israel's use of cluster bombs in south Lebanon during the final three days of the conflict there as "shocking" and "immoral". 
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has launched a scathing attack on armed groups that are firing rockets from the Gaza Strip, saying Wednesday they were responsible for bringing death and destruction to the Palestinians. Addressing thousands of demonstrators outside his office in Ramallah, Abbas said, "So far we have about 250 martyrs in the Gaza Strip and thousands of wounded people and destroyed houses. Why? What are the reasons for this? Let's start searching for the reason for all this." 
A group of former generals has drafted a letter in which they call on Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz to resign because of what they are calling "his poor management" of the the war in Lebanon. The generals said they felt Halutz needed to take responsibility for the outcome of the war and the mishaps and mistakes that occurred throughout. Halutz invited the former generals to a meeting next week before their letter became public. "Someone needs to take responsibility for what happened in Lebanon," one of them said Wednesday evening. "We cannot just sit back and watch what is going on without doing anything." 
Opposition to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to launch two committees of inquiry swelled in the Knesset Tuesday, as politicians rejected his decision as "insufficient and cowardly." Labor ministers Ophir Paz-Pines and Eitan Cabel added their voices to the growing complaints about the decision and promised they would vote against it in the upcoming cabinet meeting. "I intend to oppose [Olmert's decision] in the government, and will try to convince other ministers," said Paz-Pines. "The commission Olmert has appointed to investigate the political echelons does not have clear authority or a timetable, and increasing the number of commissions of inquiry will lead to chaos." 
European truce monitors in Sri Lanka say they believe the army was behind the recent killings of 17 local aid workers. They said there were signs that government forces carried out the execution-style attacks in the north-eastern town of Mutur earlier this month. The killings followed several days of fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces. The slain workers belonged to the French charity Action Against Hunger. The monitors are in Sri Lanka to oversee a fragile 2002 truce between the rebels and government forces.
Two things in life that always float, Bull Shit and Cream. No Cream 
First wave of arrests inside Hizballah of suspected informers to Israeli intelligence
THE US military is operating on the assumption that Tehran is five to eight years away from being able to build a nuclear bomb, The Washington Times reported today.
Lebanon will not have direct contact with Israel, Lebanese Prime Minister 
A Hizbollah Cabinet minister said Wednesday that the guerrilla group would not release two captured Israeli soldiers unconditionally, and that they would only be freed in a prisoner exchange. "There will be no unconditional release. This is not possible," Minister of Energy and Hydraulic Resources 
Iran's president on Wednesday urged Europe against resorting to sanctions, saying a day before a UN deadline for the country to halt uranium enrichment that punishment would not dissuade it from pursuing its nuclear program. 
