Rome (dpa) - Italy's government is "surprised" and "irritated" by United States criticisms of the exchange of Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government to secure the release of a kidnapped Italian journalist, media reports said Thursday. According to daily Corriere della Sera, Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government has reacted to the criticisms with a mix of "irritation, surprise and suspicion." Italian officials noted that the criticisms came just hours after Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema had publicly thanked US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her "understanding" over the affair.
On Wednesday, a senior US administration official said the US had formally complained to Italy for pressurising the Afghan government into agreeing to release several insurgents, saying the deal had "caught the US by surprise."
Similar criticisms were voiced by the British Foreign Office, which said the deal sent "the wrong signal to prospective hostage- takers," as well as by Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen. "When we create a situation where you can buy the freedom of Taliban fighters when you catch a journalist, in a short term there will be no journalists any more," Verhagen told reporters during a visit to the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul.
Hummmmm....
La Repubblica correspondent Daniele Mastrogiacomo was released on Monday, two weeks after being "arrested" by the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to release five insurgents described by the US as "dangerous" terrorists. An Afghan presidential spokesman admitted on Tuesday that his government had handed over some Taliban prisoners to secure Mastrogiacomo's release.
In an interview Wednesday with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, the 52-year-old reporter defended the Afghan government's decision, saying human life should be "safeguarded at all costs." "I think it is right to negotiate if it means showing that we are different from the Taliban, that we know how to forgive and that we respect human life above anything else.
Including honor ...
"The Taliban control three-quarters of southern Afghanistan. There's 5,000 of them. Releasing two or three prisoners wouldn't make any difference," he told dpa.
The spat comes at a sensitive time for the Prodi government, which is in the process of pushing through parliament a bill extending Italy's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. A final vote is due to take place next week in the Senate, where the government enjoys only a wafer-thin majority. Prodi was forced to step down briefly last month after left-wing dissidents voted against his government's foreign policy in opposition to Italy's role in Afghanistan. D'Alema planned to phone Rice later on Thursday to try and clarify the situation.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 08:19 ||
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#1
In an interview Wednesday with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, the 52-year-old reporter defended the Afghan government's decision, saying human life should be "safeguarded at all costs." "I think it is right to negotiate if it means showing that we are different from the Taliban, that we know how to forgive and that we respect human life above anything else.
Good luck with 'showing that we are different' having any effect on the Taliban. That's why they are killing us. Our wanting to 'protecting life at all costs' is what the vermin are counting on. Dipshit!
#2
In an interview Wednesday with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, the 52-year-old reporter defended the Afghan government's decision, saying human life should be "safeguarded at all costs."
At all costs? Looks like you kinda forgot that when they gave your driver the chop, eh, Daniele? What did you do "at all costs" to stop that?
What a sanctimonious, hypocritical pig.
""I think it is right to negotiate if it means showing that we are different from the Taliban, that we know how to forgive and that we respect human life above anything else. "The Taliban control three-quarters of southern Afghanistan. There's 5,000 of them. Releasing two or three prisoners wouldn't make any difference," he told dpa.
So is it about respecting human life or is it about a few not making a difference? Like a desperate teenager trying all alibis until one gains traction.
This is the sick altruist Eurothink carried out to its fullest. I forgive you when you kill me. Over and over. Till there's no more "me"s.
Scramble all you want to try to avoid what happened; it will come back to you at night in your dreams.
A former Italian hostage, Giuliana Sgrena, kidnapped in Baghdad in 2005, said she believed that the Italian government was obligated to do all it could to save a hostages life. She argued that paying ransom for reporters was a far smaller issue than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
If there is no war, there will be no hostages, Ms. Sgrena, also a journalist, said in a telephone interview from New York, where she is promoting a book about her experience.
#9
May both these traitors to civilization have nasty "work accidents" very soon. They have no concept of honor, or of the sanctity of human life. All they're concerned about is themselves. If even ONE of the released Taliban is caught killing either ISAF or Afghani troops, Idiot Stick deserves to hang for accessory to murder.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/22/2007 13:56 Comments ||
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#10
If there is no war, there will be no hostages, Ms. Sgrena, also a journalist, said in a telephone interview from New York, where she is promoting a book about her experience.
There'd be even less terrorism, war and hostage taking if these Euro turds stopped exchanging prisoners, paying huge ransoms and generally appeasing every gang of Islamic thugs that come knocking.
#11
human life should be "safeguarded at all costs
So what do you think about the good people who will end up getting killed directly or indirectly as a result of this capitulation? Or are we ignoring that in favor of our own miserable excuse for a life? You were there by choice, unlike those who live there and get blown up in a market bombing or get caught in the crossfire.
Hypocritical pig. Don't forget to repent before you die so you can get into heaven.
#12
Human life should be safeguarded at all costs...
Tell this to the thousands of firefighters, police, paramedics, National Guard, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, security personnel, and others who risk themselves every day in the pursuit of excellence and "doing what's right" in the face of danger to their own lives.
Who are these righteous assholes (or anyone else) to tell me I do not have the right to risk my life or sacrifice my life for someone else or that my own life should be safeguarded above all others at all costs?
Asshats...that is the philosophy of those who would be conquered.
#14
Tell this to the thousands of firefighters, police, paramedics, National Guard, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, security personnel, and others who risk themselves every day in the pursuit of excellence and "doing what's right" in the face of danger to their own lives.
Which is why, whenever I meet any of the aforementioned individuals on a casual basis, I always take time out to thank them for the incredible job they do.
FOTSGreg, it finally occurred to me that "FOTS" means "First On The Scene", am I correct? If so, are you willing to describe your work in that capacity? My own Haz Mat (Hazardous Materials), CPR and First Aid training has made me stop and be first on the scene many times. There are few finer feelings than knowing that potential and avoidable harm to victims or bystanders has been averted.
It is simultaneously happy and sad to see an often shocked look on the faces of uniformed soldiers that I stop and gratefully shake hands with. Many are unprepared for such a demonstration of genuine appreciation and are sometimes abashed at receiving such thanks. I always do my best to get them used to being the recipients of this nation's gratitude and let them know (with Rantburgers specifically in mind) that there are many, many Americans who respect, approve of and actively support their actions in every way.
#15
The Germans and Italians (and perhaps others) have greatly stained their honor and reputations (such as they might have been) with their idiotic, outrageous, and incompetent antics WRT hostages in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It's very hard for me to care about what a German officer or Italian soldier would do if he were in charge, or to count their views in the balance any more - I'm pretty much done with the selfish, unintelligent, arrogant, reckless, incompetent, back-stabbing, shameless nonsense from Europeans.
#16
"When we create a situation where you can buy the freedom of Taliban fighters when you catch a journalist, in a short term there will be no journalists any more,"
Very interesting proposal.
How about spreading out a rumor that, indeed, is the case, send an army of journalists in and then issue a "no negotiations" statement?
Maybe what would we be left with afterwards will be just reporters...
The rebels who claimed responsibility for kidnapping staff from the British embassy in Ethiopia have said they will take more foreigners hostages, the Eritrean government said today.
Last week five hostages with links to the embassy were released 12 days after being seized in the desolate Afar region, which straddles Ethiopia's northern border with Eritrea. There has been no word on eight Ethiopians captured with them. The Foreign Office had assumed that the embassy group were seized "in error" after members of the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Front (ARDF) raided the compound where they were staying. But according to the Eritrean government, the rebels have said they will kidnap other westerners who venture into the Afar region.
The ARDF claims to represent all the Afar peoples in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti and demand a nation of their own. They don't claim to be either Marxist or Islamist but they do have an AK-47 on their flag.
Mussa Ibrahim, chairman of the ARDF, which seeks greater autonomy for the Afar region, was in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, this week. Without quoting him directly, the Eritrean information ministry said on its website that, according to Mr Ibrahim, the embassy staff were held captive after they entered Afar without permission. The website warned: "Even now, it [the group] would take similar measures against any foreigner who ventures into the same area, Mr Mussa asserted. In this regard, he [Mr Mussa] warned foreigners not to do so without permission from the front."
Ethiopia claims that the Eritrean government is behind the kidnapping. "The kidnapping was carried out by no one but Eritrean military intelligence. This is an incontrovertible fact," an Ethiopian foreign affairs spokesman, Ambassador Solomon Abede, told Reuters. "The government of Eritrea is trying to insult the intelligence of the international community. Everybody knows that the Eritrean government has developed the habit of creating organisations working against its neighbours."
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been strained since 1993, when Eritrea gained independence from the government in Addis Ababa following a 30-year guerrilla war.
This article starring:
ARDF
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Two men, aged 23 and 30, were held at Manchester airport in northern England shortly before 1 p.m. GMT on Thursday as they were due to catch a flight to Pakistan, New Scotland Yard said. A third man, aged 26, was arrested hours later at a house in the nearby city of Leeds. Police were searching five addresses in the Leeds area as well as a flat and business premises in east London, the statement said.
"The three men were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000," it read. Fifty-two people -- as well as the four bombers -- died and more than 700 were injured in the 2005 bombings aboard three London Underground trains and a bus during morning rush hour.
Three of the bombers -- Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, and Hasib Hussain, 18 -- came from the Tipton area of Leeds. The fourth, Jamaican-born Jermaine Lindsay, 19, was raised in southern England.
Delegates at talks on disarming North Korea's nuclear programme voiced impatience yesterday that the negotiations remained stalled for a second day over a dispute on when $25 million of Pyongyang's funds will be released from a Macau bank.
North Korea said it would not take part in the six-party negotiations in China's capital to meet goals outlined in a landmark February 13 disarmament agreement until the money was transferred. China's official Xinhua News Agency said discussions, originally set to end yesterday, were "very likely" to be extended by a day.
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said it was upsetting that no talks had taken place while the problem is being resolved. "While these forms have been filed out and faxes sent, while that is going on, our nuclear talks have not made progress. That has been the real opportunity cost to this," he told reporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear programme have ended without progress after its chief negotiator flew home amid a row over money.
The Beijing talks stalled after Pyongyang refused to discuss a deal to disable its nuclear facilities until it recovers $25m held in a Macau bank. ...
A statement from the hosts, China, said the talks had been suspended with no date set for a resumption.
"The parties agreed to recess and will resume the talks at the earliest opportunity," a Chinese government statement said.
North Korea's chief negotiator Kim Kye-gwan made no comment as he arrived at Beijing's airport. An Air Koryo flight bound for the North Korean capital Pyongyang left soon afterwards.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/22/2007 7:33 Comments ||
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#2
$25 mil in Pyongyang's accounts, but how much is stuck in the accounts for the Chinese bigwigs?
Really, we don't make this stuff up. SYDNEY: Australias Islamic clerics should volunteer as surf lifesavers and firemen to improve their image in a country which has had enough of us, an influential Muslim leader suggested on Wednesday. Picked right up on that, didn't you, Tom? What was your first clue?
The president of Australias largest Islamic organisation, the Lebanese Muslim Association, made the call in a 16-page report to be considered by the nations clerics at a meeting this weekend. Tom Zreika suggests Muslims have become as unpopular as communists once were, and accuses some clerics of inciting hatred and violence on the preposterous justification that they are simply acting in self-defence in a time of war. I'm not too sure how hollering "Lookit me! I'm the extreme lower end of a digestive tract!" can be termed "self-defense." Sounds more like a plea for a kick to the scrotum.
We are not at war, says Zreika, who confirmed that details of his report published in The Australian newspaper on Wednesday were accurate. We have become the new communism, particularly in the West, and some people in our community are so repulsed by our actions it is making life unbearable for us and our offspring, Zreika says. "So the problem we face is: How do we overcome being repulsive?"
In a nation where beach culture is strong and public service volunteers are hailed as heroes, Zreika said fire fighting and lifesaving could help Australias 300,000 Muslims improve their image. It would be great to see a turbaned imam fighting fires alongside other bushfire service volunteers, Zreika, a lawyer, says in his submission to the Australian National Imams Council. Organisations like the Surf Lifesaving Association should be joined as a matter of course by the imam and his followers. "Mum! You'll never guess what happened! I wuz havin' a swim when I got caught up in the undertow and swept out to sea! I thought it was all over, but then some obnoxious arsehole in a turban rescued me!"
"Gosh, Molly! I wonder if it was the same obnoxious arsehole who put out the fire at the Jones' house?"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Ifn I squint and use me periferial visions I can almost see the 5 Swimming Imams.
#2
We have become the new communism, particularly in the West, and some people in our community are so repulsed by our actions it is making life unbearable for us and our offspring,
How quaint of Zreika to confuse communism with Nazism. Where he is most mistaken, however, is in thinking that a repulsed community is making things unbearable for them. This is another fine example of the incessant fixation that Muslims have with playing the victim. In quite the opposite fashion, Australian Muslims, with their gang rapes, seditious terrorist plots and interminable whingeing are unbearable and that is what makes them repulsive. Not the other way around.
#3
Imams worldwide could begin to improve their image by issuing vocal public condemnations of terrorism, recommending staunch loyalty to the nations they immigrate to, and advocating that members of their congregation report to the authorities any subversive/jihadist recruitment efforts that come to their attention.
#4
Some follow up news....From the Melbourne Age newspaper
Outspoken Muslim seeks police protection
By Barney Zwartz
March 22, 2007
One of Australia's most important Muslim leaders has sought police protection after criticising controversial cleric Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali.
Tom Zreika, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association - and Sheikh Hilali's employer - said he received non-stop phone threats yesterday after he released a document urging greater integration and for Muslims to "mend their ways".
The report, prepared for a national meeting of imams in Sydney this weekend, says some Muslims are "ruining it" for all and that Australians have "had enough" of Muslims. His report also recommends that imams become involved in community activities such as voluntary firefighting and surf lifesaving.
Mr Zreika said he was threatened recently after saying, "I can't tolerate this freak show", following recent remarks by Sheikh Hilali.
But yesterday, after the contents of his paper were publicised, the threats, from Muslims, came non-stop.
"They just say, 'Mate if you don't shut your mouth we are going to come and fix you up'," Mr Zreika said. "I know they are Muslims because they quote Muslim prayers."
In his paper, Mr Zreika, a barrister, says the vast majority of non-Muslims understood and empathised with Islamic issues in Australia, but a small group of Muslims were inciting anti-Islamic feelings.
"Only when we mend our ways and we respect our fellow country people can we demand tolerance and forbearance."
Among Mr Zreika's suggestions for the new board of imams, which will be responsible for accrediting prospective clerics, are that imams should be citizens or permanent residents and not have been members of suspicious groups. He says they must do everything possible to prevent radicalism or fanaticism.
#8
Wouldn't rescuing someone from drowning be going against the will of Allah?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 11:26 Comments ||
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#9
The stuff of nightmares. I have the image of an imam in full flowing robed and sandaled regalia, beard rippling down his manly chest (all firemen have manly chests by definition), turban tightly wound, in the midst of a fire... as a spark lands on the hem of his garment. Never mind drowning, he's going to burn like an oil-soaked torch.
#10
You know, I think ole Tom is on the right track in some ways.
He recognizes that THEY are the problem.
"some people in our community are so repulsed by our actions it is making life unbearable for us and our offspring,
Note: OUR actions seems to imply he realizes that Muslim actions are the problem. Of course this means that some of his fellow Muzzies want to kill him.
#12
Public service is far outside the domain of a culture bent on self worship. Forget it. It's "beneath" these fanatic Mohammedans to lift a finger to help someone else. They think of themselves as kings and all others as slaves. They have no Judeo-Christian cultural framework to fall back on, nor a prosocial one to access in terms of public service. But-- nice try Tom.
Also, probably against some stupid "code of Mohammed" for them to touch infidel females--not that they wouldn't like an excuse.
#14
Tom Zreika, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association - and Sheikh Hilali's employer - said he received non-stop phone threats yesterday after he released a document urging greater integration and for Muslims to "mend their ways".
Ha Ha [/Nelson Muntz]
"Never mind drowning, he's going to burn like an oil-soaked torch."
#15
He'd get in the way of the other firefighters actually trying to put the fire out, Zenster. Separately, my apologies to all female fire and their fans, but there is no feminine version of "beard rippling down his manly chest" that I even want to begin thinking about.
#16
He'd get in the way of the other firefighters actually trying to put the fire out
Pish tosh! The flaming imam (Great band name: The Flaming Imams), would serve as a perfectly good urinal, if the other smoke-eaters even bothered to feel so inclined.
Paris, 22 March (AKI) - France's largest Muslim organisation, the conservative Union of French Islamic Organisations (UOIF) on Thursday vowed to appeal a verdict by a Paris court acquitting satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo's editor of insulting Muslims by reprinting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. "We do not understand a ruling that describes one of the cartoons as shocking but says this is freedom of expression," said UOIF president, Lhaj Thami Breze in a statement. Hilites on Comedie Centrale
The Grand Mosque of Paris, which is close to interior minister and leading French presidential contender Nicholas Sarkozy, however praise the court's verdict. "This is a wise ruling that manages to balance the right to satire with a group of people's right to lodge a complaint," the mosque said in a statement. It said it would not appeal the verdict. No-brainer - with the UOIF mounting the charge, the GMP can slipstream behind without committment.
Any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous according to Muslim teachings.
One cartoon shows a bomb in the Prophet's turban. A second cartoon published in Charlie Hebdo shows the Prophet reacting to Islamist militants by saying: "It's hard to be loved by idiots." Another shows the prophet standing on a cloud, turning away suicide bombers from paradise with the caption "Stop, stop, we ran out of virgins." That "bomb in the turban" cartoon rules.
PARIS (AP) A French court was expected to rule Thursday on a court case brought by French Muslims against a satirical newspaper that printed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Charlie-Hebdo, a weekly, and its director, Philippe Val, are charged with "publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion." Val risks a six-month prison sentence and a fine of up to euro22,000 (US$29,250).
The case was being closely followed in a country with Europe's largest Muslim community and a strong commitment to secularism and free speech. At the trial in February, the defense read a letter of support from Interior Minister and presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, who said he preferred "an excess of caricatures to an absence of caricatures." Sounds about right unless you work for the American MSM
A state attorney has called for the dismissal of the case, saying the cartoons denounced terrorists' use of the Muslim faith but did not damage Islam. Damage the reputation of a terrorist manifesto takes more effort that drawings.
The case against Charlie-Hebdo was brought by the conservative Mosque of Paris and the fundamentalist Union of Islamic Organizations of France. Attorneys for the Mosque of Paris denounced the mixing of religious and terrorist themes. But favored burning Paris, something even the Nazis didn't do
In September, a Danish court rejected a lawsuit against the newspaper that first printed the cartoons a verdict some Arab politicians and intellectuals warned would widen a cultural gap slow their surrender and Dhimmitude.
#1
from Yahoo News:
PARIS - A French court cleared a satirical weekly newspaper Thursday in a case brought by Muslims who were angered by its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
The newspaper Charlie-Hebdo and its director, Philippe Val, were accused of "publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion." Val had risked a six-month prison sentence and a fine of up to $29,250.
The court ruled that Charlie-Hebdo showed no intention of insulting the Muslim community with the caricatures, several of which appeared first in a Danish paper and sparked angry protests across the Muslim world and in Europe.
The case drew massive attention from politicians and the media in France, which has western Europe's largest Muslim population 5 million people and a deep commitment to secularism and free speech.
Val said the ruling was a victory for believers in freedom of expression, and for secular French Muslims."
#2
The Times says the ruling was that the cartoons were not insulting to Muslims. link
The court ruled that two of the cartoons were absolutely not offensive to Muslims. One, reprinted from Denmarks Jyllands-Posten, showed the prophet standing on a cloud, turning away suicide bombers from paradise with the caption 'Stop, stop, we ran out of virgins'.
The second, by the French cartoonist Cabu, showed Muhammad sobbing, holding his head in his hands and saying:It is hard to be loved by fools, under the caption 'Muhammad overwhelmed by fundamentalists".
On the third cartoon - showing Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb, and first printed in Jyllands-Posten - the courts ruling was more nuanced.
The court decided that the caricature could potentially be insulting to Muslims but that the context of its publication in Charlie Hebdo made clear there was no intention to offend.
The trial was seen as an important test for freedom of expression in France and large crowds crammed into the Paris courtroom during hearings last month to hear the arguments put by both sides. Applause broke out in the courtroom at the announcement of the verdict.
Candidates in next months French presidential election also lined up during the trial to defend their ideas about religion and freedom of expression, while a group of 50 intellectuals including many French Muslims published an open letter urging support for Charlie Hebdo.
The editors of Jyllands-Posten were acquitted in October of any wrongdoing in a separate case in a Danish court and very few of the dozens of newspapers worldwide that reprinted the cartoons have faced legal action.
The March 19 Sunday New York Times Magazine cover story was a gripping account of the emotional problems some female veterans suffer as results of their war experiences, sexual assaults or both.
One of the women featured in the story was a former builder constructionman Amorita Randall, 27, who served six years as a Seabee. Randall told the Times that while in the Navy, she was raped twice in 2002 while she was stationed in Mississippi, and again in Guam in 2004. She also told the Times that she served in Iraq in 2004, which the Times reported as fact but which it now appears was not the case.
The story was written by Sara Corbett, a contract writer for the magazine. Heres how Corbett presented it: Her experience in Iraq, she said, included one notable combat incident, in which her Humvee was hit by an I.E.D., killing the soldier who was driving and leaving her with a brain injury. I dont remember as all of it I dont know if I passed out or what, but it was pretty gruesome.
The story goes on:
According to the Navy, however, no after-action report exists to back up Randalls claims of combat exposure or injury. A Navy spokesman reports that her commander says that his unit was never involved in combat during her tour. And yet, while we were discussing the supposed I.E.D. attack, Randall appeared to recall it in exacting detail the smells, the sounds, the impact of the explosion. As she spoke, her body seemed to seize up; her speech became slurred as she slipped into a flashback. It was difficult to know what had traumatized Randall: whether she had in fact been in combat or whether she was reacting to some more generalized recollection of powerlessness.
The Navy, while expressing sympathy to a woman it believes is suffering from stress, is annoyed that the Times did so little to check the womans story. A Times fact checker contacted Navy headquarters only three days before the magazines deadline. That, said Capt. Tom Van Leunen, deputy chief of information for the Navy, did not provide enough time to confirm Randalls account of service in Iraq. Nonetheless, Van Leunen said, by deadline the Navy had provided enough information to the Times to seriously question whether shed been in Iraq.
Aaron Rectica, who runs the magazines research desk, disputes that. He said that by deadline, the Navy had not given the Times any reason to disbelieve Randalls claim of service in Iraq. Rectica said the Navy only told the paper that Randalls commanders believed shed been in Iraq but that no one in the unit had been in combat.
Unlike daily newspapers, which are usually printed very early on the day they are distributed, the Times magazine is printed a week ahead of time. The March 18 magazine went to press Friday, March 9. On the following Monday, March 12, the Navy told the Times that it had no record of Randall ever receiving hazardous duty pay or a combat zone tax exemption. One of the reasons for the Times apparent error was a medal. Randalls personnel file includes a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, which is only awarded to troops who have served in a war zone. The Navy now says that medal was given to Randall in error.
Reached by phone at her home in Grand Junction, Colo., Randall declined to talk but gave the phone to her fiancé, Gregory Lund.
This lady was sexually assaulted twice in the Navy and no one was ever punished for it, he said. While the Navy says it can find no rape complaint, Lund says she told her doctors about the assaults.
She went through a lot. Lund said. But he admits he doesnt know for sure if Randall was ever in Iraq.
If she wasnt, it was a bad mistake on her part, he said. But, he added, For her to cope with [all shes been through], her mind somehow believes she was in Iraq. She doesnt remember anything in Iraq. If she was wrong about that, shes sorry. But what you folks need to realize is how traumatized she is. If shes wrong, I dont know. She doesnt know.
The editor of the magazine, Gerry Marzorati, said he now suspects Randall was never in Iraq.
I think she thinks she was in Iraq, he said. I dont think she was trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Yeah. I think I was in Iraq, too. And I was in Afghanistan. And Pork Chop Hill. And I was at the Battle of the Bulge. And Pearl Harbor. Somebody should give me lotsa money.
The magazine did not call the Navy to check Randalls Iraq story sooner, Marzorati said, because they believed that checking rank, years of service and time in Iraq would be a perfunctory thing.
Marzorati said the Times is preparing a correction. He added that no one has challenged the military records of the 30 other women mentioned in the article.
#1
while i have no room for those that commit crimes like the ones described, i have just as much 'no room' for those that either have a time delay in reporting or blatantly fabricate such stories. i think she may be telling a story.....
#5
They lost their credibility a long time ago Zenster. Now they really don't care as they figure not very many people, if any, will go back and check the facts of the story.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/22/2007 15:52 Comments ||
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#6
He said that by deadline, the Navy had not given the Times any reason to disbelieve Randalls claim of service in Iraq.
Great. Gave the Navy three whole days to dig through a mountain of paperwork. They're sort of like a dinosaur, where the head doesn't know the tail has been bitten until a week later! High standards the Times displays there. I figure they're doing it knowingly. Ditto, DB. The worst that will happen is they have to print an itty bitty correction on page 73 amongst a billion other footnotes that few ever read.
#8
Aaron Rectica, who runs the magazines research desk, disputes that. He said that by deadline, the Navy had not given the Times any reason to disbelieve Randalls claim of service in Iraq.
I believe this is the new modus operandi of the press: call for a response when it's too late for the target to respond accurately, then blame the target for "not responding by our deadline". It gives them the out of saying "we asked them!" while simultaneously making it impossible for any evidence counter to their preferred story line to be produced.
And given Randall's "memory" of an attack that never happened, I'd tend to doubt her claims of being raped. Which sucks, because that kind of false -- and dramatic -- claim makes it harder on real victims.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
03/22/2007 17:42 Comments ||
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#9
Don't know about the rest of you, but I wouldn't believe the NYT if they said the sun was going to rise in the east tomorrow morning. They're lying, hypocritical bastards with a truly severe case of BDS, a case so bad they'd see America brought to its knees before they would help the war effort.
Posted by: Mac ||
03/22/2007 17:44 Comments ||
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#10
Randalls personnel file includes a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, which is only awarded to troops who have served in a war zone.
It wouldn't the first time one had been issued by 'mistake'. All it takes is a good story to a sympathetic ear, or a clueless friend in PSD (personnel support detachment)trying to do a good deed. Especially if Randall was being separated (the medal at that point might've been considered a moot issue).
Marzorati...added that no one has challenged the military records of the 30 other women mentioned in the article.
March 22, 2007 -- SOME celebrities don't know when to keep their traps shut - like Charlie Sheen and Rosie O'Donnell, who are throwing their weight behind the twisted theory that the United States government was behind the 9/11 terror attacks.
Page Six has learned that Sheen, the ho' hooker-loving Hollywood hunk, has agreed to narrate a new version of the loopy YouTube documentary "Loose Change," which claims that a corrupt faction within the federal government orchestrated the mass murder at the World Trade Center. His brains ran out his penis. Charlie Sheen? Star of "Hot Shots"? He had brains to run out?
Sources say Sheen - whose father, Martin Sheen, has been arrested 63 times protesting on behalf of various leftist causes - is in talks with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's Magnolia Pictures to distribute "Loose Change." Sheen has called for a new independent probe of the attack, telling Alex Jones' radio show: "It seems to me like 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 percent of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory. It raises a lot of questions." It actually was a conspiracy, you dumbass seditionist, not that a professional liar like you would know the real thing if it reached out and bit him on the arse.
Amazing, huh: they can't believe the conspiracy theory that's right in front of them.
Sheen's rep confirmed his participation. Cuban e-mailed us: "We are having discussions about distributing the existing video with Charlie's involvement as a narrator, not in making a new feature. We are also looking for productions with an opposing viewpoint. We like controversial subjects, but we are agnostic to which side the controversy comes from." I piss on the Mavs from a great height and may Cuban's Gulfstream be cut up for beer cans.
"Because it just wouldn't be right for us to take sides, you know."
Meanwhile, on her blog, O'Donnell has pasted in a widely debunked rundown of the collapse of 7 World Trade Center from the whatreallyhappened.com Web site, created by conspiracy theorist Matt Rivero.
America's National Sow O'Donnell repeats his discredited theories, which include the notion that because the fires were not evenly distributed, it made the building's perfect collapse into its footprint "impossible that landlord Larry Silverstein told the FDNY that "the smartest thing to do is pull it," a phrase conspiracy theorists take to mean that he ordered the skyscraper's destruction; and that firefighters withdrawing from the building feared it was going to "blow up."
O'Donnell's rep declined comment.
"Go away. Leave me alone. Haven't I suffered enough yet?"
Remember Julius Streicher, Truther swine: Follow his path, share his fate.
#2
I'm convinced! I used to think the 9/11 Truthers were a bunch of insane idiot assholes, but now that somebody I've seen on TV has put all the hard evidence in fauxku form like this, there's nothing to do but admit that George Bush murdered 3,000 of his own citizens in one morning, and yet he's still the president 5 years later, and even though I claim to believe this stuff I'm still living in this country for some reason.
-- Jim Treacher
#5
I'm not a fan of Rosie, Charlie or the "Bush Bashers" but certainly would welcome as much additional info on 9/11 as possible. I never thought that the government's explanation for the massive failures was good enough for me and can understand that its not for many others either. Alex Jones predicting (on video record)that our government planned on hitting the towers 2 months before they did was deeply disturbing as well and as far as I know was never investigated. The flight manifests/names, lack of released video from the pentagon hit, Building 7, private audio recordings of the explosions, no visable wreckage/blood in PA, thermate/sulfer residue on tower metals, US security, FAA, & DOD failures should have been better addressed.
That's assuming there's any brain to rot in the first place.
no visable wreckage/blood in PA
johnniebartlett, have you ever seen a wrecked RV or house trailer? Did you notice how they're built out of tissue paper and metal foil? Jet passenger liners are like that too, except they conform to incredibly high test standards and are specifically designed to reliably carry huge loads in an extremely light weight airframe. That's how Boeing and the airlines make any money.
Now, douse all of that thin metal (which can burn quite nicely, ever light off some magnesium ribbon or aluminum powder?), flammable interior materials and so forth with several thousand gallons of jet fuel and guess what's gonna happen?
I recommend that you spend more time worrying about the people who really caused this atrocity: Namely, the Saudis. They're the ones who are really out to kill us in large numbers. Focusing your attention on inane conspiracy theories wastes your time and only gives such traitorous tommyrot more credibility than it already does not deserve.
#13
Forget the Twin Towers auto-collapse Johnnie, let's talk about the Federal Reserve and it's use of FIAT money to force the American public to buy ABARTH bonds. Are you aware of this? You should be. Buy my book. FIAT Money and ABARTH Bonds, The Plot by Rome and Mexico take STEAL OUR CORNFLAKES.
#15
Forget the Twin Towers auto-collapse Johnnie, let's talk about the Federal Reserve and it's use of FIAT money to force the American public to buy ABARTH bonds.
Fiat has their own currency!?!?! Who knew? Damn, those Italians sure are tricky.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/22/2007 06:04 ||
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"One day after 21 people were arrested during a demonstration that vandalized a U.S. Army recruiting office on Milwaukee's east side, Wisconsin peace activist groups on Tuesday said some protesters might increasingly turn to destruction as their frustrations mount."
Make my day, assholes. The time for baseball bats and tire irons is nigh.
"Arrested were: Kelsey M. Kazik, 20, Sara Keiza, 17, Jillian Duckwitz, 21, Richard A. Ketcham, 22, Thomas P. Buckholt, 17, Andrew L. Ortlieb, 24, Kathryn E. Jacobs, 20, Keith Crum, 20, and Andrew Smart, 19, all of Milwaukee; Craig R. Barringer, 20, of Waukesha; Jonathon W. Wilson, 17, of Wauwatosa; Amy M. Barger, 19, Jessica L. Brooks, 18, Derek W. Johnson, 17, Nathan J. Bartelt, 20, Jeffrey G. Lavato, 18, and Kyle Sawson, 21, all of West Bend; and David W. Clerkin, 21, of Madison. The three juveniles were not named."
I got news for you: they're ALL juveniles. And fifty years from now, in their dotage, they'll STILL be juveniles-- and just as stupid, clueless, self-absorbed and liberal as they are today.
Damned f*cking idiots...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/22/2007 6:58 Comments ||
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#3
A good baton (or bayonet) charge can become the quickest means of educating these idiots.
Posted by: ed ||
03/22/2007 7:40 Comments ||
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#4
Just the threat of a good skull bashing would wise these maggots up. Cowards aren't, like, into confrontation, man, especially when they're almost guarenteed a good ass kicking if they start any shit. Case in point, DC last weekend.
#5
No better yet. Round them up and drop them in Mecca for a week. Better yet leave them there. That is after all the side and cause they are protesting for.
#6
The great advantage of these high-profile Bolshevik agitators, (as opposed to, say, garden-variety media terror-shills) is that they can be ridden down in the streets Cossack style; once we equip the mounted police with the requisite fur hats and sabers, of course. Quite an entertaining spectacle by all accounts.
Something a lot like this happened in LA during a Moonbat riot a few years ago. A surly mob of lefty blackshirts were milling around in a parking lot, responding with obscenites when told to disperse. The mounted police showed up (sans sabers, sorry to say) and charged. The Moonbats fled in all directions, some probably so fast they left their birkenstocks sitting on the asphalt.
Prediction: A hasty exodus by the Doper-left forces when the real masses of the people begin to assert themselves. Timid creatures that they are, they may simply bolt in panic, leaving behind a squalid litter of empty Evian bottles, ruined banners, forgotten backpacks and birkenstocks, reams of garishly printed propaganda, and abandoned bongs; sort of a Moonbat Mitla Pass.
#7
"Prediction: A hasty exodus by the Doper-left forces when the real masses of the people begin to assert themselves."
That is, IF they assert themselves. I'm not holding my breath.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/22/2007 10:04 Comments ||
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Well said, AC. It is time to take back the streets. I'm just waiting for something like this where I live. I have a bat in the car especially for the occasion.
#9
I have a bat in the car especially for the occasion.
Get rid of the bat, and buy yourself a "GOOD" Telescoping Tactical Baton. They're much more concealable, and they render people docile a lot quicker than a bat. Can you say shattered bones? Sure, I thought you could.
#11
Yeah, real surprise this shit happens in Portland. And...wait...this just in from Portland...
Don't Bomb Iran, Portland City Council Votes
Never shy about expressing their opinions about national or world affairs, Portland City Council members voted Wednesday to urge President Bush and Congress not to bomb Iran. Portland becomes the second U.S. city, behind Berkeley, Calif., to demand a diplomatic solution to escalating tensions over Iran's continuing exploration of nuclear technology. Peace activists hope to spur a national call for a nonviolent end to the increasingly heated debate.
"We believe a military escalation is not the right way to go, and we believe the current conversations have far too much similarity to what was clearly a duplicitous effort to lead the world into war in Iraq," said Commissioner Erik Sten, who authored the resolution on behalf of Portland's American Iranian Friendship Council. "If we can spark a conversation in city halls across the country, we can have a real political impact."
With its 4-0 vote, the City Council asked members of Congress to vote for the Iran Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 2007, an effort to block President Bush from spending taxpayer money for military action against Iran "in the absence of an imminent threat." The fifth council member, Sam Adams, was at the International Global Cities conference in Montreal.
During Wednesday's hearing, more an affirmation than an actual debate, a dozen activists and immigrants testified that conditions for Iranian women, scholars and political activists have improved in recent years. They described the violence and extremism that resulted from the 1953 CIA-backed coup of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. They talked about similarities between the U.S. buildup before the Iraq war and what's happening now in and around Iran. They found a willing and enthusiastic audience in the City Council.
Mayor Tom Potter said the United States should focus on restoring relationships and infrastructure in the Middle East, much as the Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe after World War II. Commissioner Dan Saltzman said he supports peace in Iran, though he is troubled by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's insistence that the Holocaust did not happen.
...but not that troubled, evidently.
"The United States . . . should be a force for good," Leonard said. "Instead we find us using our resources to get a foothold in oil and preserve our industrial engine." In recent years, Leonard and his colleagues have voted to call for an end to the Iraq war, to condemn abuse of the U.S. Patriot Act and to deplore the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward homosexuality.
Although they followed Berkeley's lead on Iran, Portland council members have not gone as far as leaders of California's famed liberal hub: On the same day they passed a similar Iran resolution last week, Berkeley City Council members encouraged Germany to indict former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes.
Jeez, how'd we miss that one?
#12
Timid creatures that they are, they may simply bolt in panic, leaving behind a squalid litter of empty Evian bottles, ruined banners, forgotten backpacks and birkenstocks, reams of garishly printed propaganda, and abandoned bongs; sort of a Moonbat Mitla Pass.
#13
I'd like to see a bunch of these idiots attempt to destroy a Marine Corps recruiting station, and a Marine Corps Reserve unit show up. I'd love to see the faces of these idiots when the commander of that unit gives the command, "Fix Bayonets".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/22/2007 15:15 Comments ||
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Use homosexuality to demoralize troops.
No Gods.
No Country.
No Masters.
So . . . anarchists.
And to top it off:
" . . . a dozen activists and immigrants testified that conditions for Iranian women, scholars and political activists have improved in recent years."
Whatever. And, what a lie.
The burning thing always gets media attention because it's VISUAL, and the media is driven by visual images, and when they find anything that remotely hearkens them back to the "hero days" of reporting on the Vietnam war, they're all for it. Never mind the facts or the context.
Oh, and these are the guys the Iranians and the rest of the facist Mohammendans just love. Useful idots.
A Republican congressman representing rural southern Michigan is taking heat for saying that most of Iraq is at least as under control as Detroit is. Freshman Rep. Tim Walberg's comments, made Monday on WILS-AM in Lansing, didn't sit well with Democrats -- who issued a news release Wednesday -- or the office of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. "Any reference to Detroit as a war zone is absurd," said Matt Allen, the mayor's spokesman.
Walberg of Tipton didn't quite say Detroit was a war zone. He said most of Iraq "is reasonably under control, at least as well as Detroit."
Walberg's spokesman, Matt Lahr, said the congressman "frequently shares sentiments expressed to him by the soldiers and veterans he meets." He wouldn't say whether a soldier or soldiers made the Detroit remark.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 11:48 ||
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Hey, Kwame? How come houses are going for less then the price of cars in your fair city?
Possibly on account of his wife's health. He's called a press conference for today in Chapel Hill. She's been battling cancer since the 2004 elections.
John Edwards is suspending his campaign for President, and may drop out completely, because his wife has suffered a recurrence of the cancer that sickened her in 2004, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, an Edwards friend told The Politico.
"At a minimum he's going to suspend" the campaign, the source said. "Nobody knows precisely how serious her recurrence is. Itll be another couple of days before theres complete clarity."
"For him right now he has one priority which is her health and the security of the two young children," said the friend.
As for the campaign, "You don't shut this machine off completely, but everything will go on hold."
Condolences to Mrs. Edwards and her family. This is a tough road, and I hope the oncologists can help her.
Withdrawing from the race would be unfortunate, considering that he is a favorite chew-toy here at the 'Burg. My advice is go with the Edwards/Kerry ticket this time. Halp us, Jonh Edwurds!
#7
Good God, I hope she manages to beat this round of cancer. Its a horrid disease. God Bless Mrs Edwards - and I credit Mr Edwards for putting family ahead of fame.
#11
My mom had breast cancer -- she basically had to stop her life to fight it. It's been in remission for a long time, thank God. Let's hope that the announcement means that Mrs. Edwards just had a scare, but is otherwise fine.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
03/22/2007 13:10 Comments ||
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#12
Hope she can tough it out. I won't comment on the politcal ramifications of this.... but (HHH mode) lemme say this, it's a big positive, better even than standing by a cheating husband.
#15
please keep the family health issues apart from politics.
like several others here, i have had family die or severly affected by various forms of cancer and would not wish it on anybody.
having said that, let eddy run and dilute the donks voter base....
#16
Spoke too soon. Edwards is so power mad that he is CONTINUING the campaign from what I read.
For God's sake, Edwards is young enough, he should skip this election cycle, go to his family and take care of his wife! What sort of man does otherwise in this situation? What an ugly ugly thing to do to his wife.
If anything, his withdrawal would build an even stronger sympathy case for him the next cycle, and next cycle he won't be in the path of Hildabeest, Al Bore and the press's Frankenstein, Barak Hussein Obama.
So he is neither smart nor right.
Flush twice - this turd Edwards has a long way to go.
#17
Edwards is young enough, he should skip this election cycle, go to his family and take care of his wife!
Absolutely correct
What sort of man does otherwise in this situation?
One who wants to be president. There is something desperately wrong with the way the president is elected. I think a preferable method to elect the president that would be more in line with what the founders intended (and what would reduce the ridiculous constant campaigning) would be for the incoming House, Senate and Governors, after the November elections, to select a President from among the 50 pre election governors.
The Presidency is a good office the way it is empowered. We don't need a parliamentary system with a Prime Minister. But the way the President is selected is shameful and pathetic.
#18
Since she will not be up to making all the stops, Johnny will wear her dresses while campaigning.
I had cancer too, and all I can say is that politicians are such whores. I didn't have a press anouncement about my problem, but I'm sure Johnny has had his shit bronzed for posterity.
Sorry for the lady, but isn't she a parasite living on a parasite ?
Well, maybe life goes on, blah, blah, blah.
As someone with a cancer that is currently incurable, but "controllable," you go for what gives the best life you can get. Don't ever give up.
Oh, and maybe your husband shouldn't campaign against the drug companies that invent all the treatments. You think Ifosfamide, Etoposide, or Temadar were invented by trial lawyers?
WASHINGTON - Believing they have been given a clear mandate from voters, Democrats are trying to challenge President Bush on the Iraq war while struggling to find enough votes to do it.
Party leaders are facing a caucus deeply divided on the issue and hold only a narrow majority in Congress. With their hands tied if just a few members stray, Democratic leaders are finding it tough to pass legislation that would require Bush to start bringing troops home. House debate on an anti-war measure was expected to begin Thursday, with a vote the following day, while a Senate committee planned to vote Thursday on a similar measure.
The stakes are high for Congress' new Democratic leadership, which wants to prove it can govern, influence Bush's war policy and still support the military. "If they fail to provide our troops with what they need it's on their backs," said Republican Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia.
The House's $124 billion spending bill would fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and require that combat troops leave Iraq by fall of 2008, and possibly sooner if the Iraqi government does not make progress on its political and security commitments.
But several hurdles remain. Several anti-war liberals are expected to join Republicans in opposing the measure because they say it continues to bankroll an immoral war. And if the bill does scrape by in the House, it may sink in the Senate, where many Democrats have resisted firm timetables on the war. On top of that, President Bush has vowed to veto such a restrictive measure if it ever reaches his desk.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continued Wednesday to press party members to back the bill, unsure whether she had enough votes to pass it. In a closed-door meeting, former President Carter's national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, tried to convince party skeptics that the bill was their best chance at ending the war.
Pelosi initially had planned for a final vote Thursday but pushed it off until Friday, a tactic that gives her more time to ensure she has the 218 votes to pass it. This Friday? Next Fridday? Some Friday?
Friday has 100 hours ...
"This is not going to go anywhere," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., who wants legislation to end the war immediately. "So if you're going to be symbolic, be bold." So I'm gonna hold my breath until the people give me what I want! [stamps feet]
But some of Woolsey's colleagues say it's not that easy. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said he feels the heat from voters who do not want another penny to go toward the war. "But I'm thinking about if the bill fails, what happens?" Cummings said. "If the bill fails, we start from scratch."
Democrats then would be forced to pass spending legislation without the deadlines, whereas the current bill would at least send Bush a message that Congress is not behind the war, he said. "I think when all the dust settles, no matter what, we're going to have troops in Iraq. And so long as they're there, I have a duty to protect them and provide them what they need," Cummings said.
In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee bill would require troops to start coming home in four months. Unlike the House bill, which sets a firm deadline for combat operations to cease, the $122 billion Senate bill identifies a nonbinding goal of getting troops out by March 31, 2008.
Both the House and Senate measures would allow an unspecified number of troops to be left behind to conduct anti-terror missions, train Iraqi forces and protect U.S. diplomatic personnel and infrastructure. Of the more than 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, fewer than half are combat forces.
The Senate bill is similar to a resolution rejected last week. It failed on a 50-48 procedural vote, falling 12 votes shy of the 60 needed to move forward to final vote. But Democrats think the spending legislation has a better chance of passing. Sen. Ben Nelson,who voted against last week's resolution, has agreed to support the spending legislation because of language added outlining benchmarks for the Iraqi government. Nelson, D-Neb., opposes arbitrary deadlines to end the war, but wanted legislation that would put pressure on the Iraqi government to take more responsibility.
Republican leaders and the White House say they will reject the bill. "It is unfortunate that the Senate is wanting to delay vital funds for our troops by producing a bill that mirrors House legislation that will never become law, attempts to tie the hands of our military commanders and is a Christmas wish list of non-war related spending add-ons," said Sean Kevelighan, spokesman for the White House budget office. And the hits just keep on comin'!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 06:54 ||
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Believing they have been given a clear mandate from voters,...
That's what the whole 'culture of corruption' propaganda was about from September to November, wasn't it? well, wasn't it? The Donks are still trying to figure out if their message was about too much or too little.
If it really was about the 'war' the resolutions and cut off would have happened already. Madame Defarge Pelosi knows its a crock and knows that pushing the resolutions will sink the Donks power that took them a decade to get back. Now they got to work with the bullcrap they've been selling. Keep digging.
#2
Both the House and Senate measures would allow an unspecified number of troops to be left behind to conduct anti-terror missions, train Iraqi forces and protect U.S. diplomatic personnel and infrastructure. Of the more than 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, fewer than half are combat forces.
Of the 140,000 US troops in Iraq, the remaining are training Iraqi forces, and protecting diplomatic personnel and infrastructure. The other projects they do in their remaining time. What this does do is make very difficult any action against Iran... or it would were it passable. Pity for the Democratic leadership that it isn't.
#3
In a closed-door meeting, former President Carter's national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, tried to convince party skeptics that the bill was their best chance at ending the war.
I guess actually winning the war was never really considered as an option for ending it.
Peace nimrods activists armed with really bad poetry occupied the Capitol Hill office of Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Tuesday to protest Democrats support for a bill funding the Iraq war.
"This is the song that never en-n-n-nds, it goes on and on my frien-n-n-nds ..."
They camped out in his office for nearly eight hours, reading bland verse and insulting the memmories of reciting the names and biographies of soldiers killed in Iraq, punctuating each by banging on a gong they had brought with them.
KLANG! How'd you like that going off -- KLANG! -- in your office every minute?
The protesters also taped pictures of soldiers onto the walls of Van Hollens office. They were finally led out of the office at 11:35 p.m. by Capitol Police, said Kevin Zeese, the director of Democracy Rising and one of the organizers of the protest. Zeese and his fellow fools activists live in Van Hollens Southern Maryland district and are angry with him because they say his anti-war rhetoric does not match his support for legislation funding the U.S. military mission in Iraq.
We want his actions to line up behind his words, said Stuart Morris, an idiotic activist from Mt. Rainier, Md., ...
... he's a politican, you idiot ...
... who added that Van Hollens staff tried to ignore the protesters but made no attempt to evict them during the height of the protest.
More charitable than me; I'd had them out on their ears in minutes.
The activists said 16 to 20 hooligans protesters occupied Van Hollens office. The group included Tina Richards, whose son is a Marine reservist required to report for duty on March 24. Richards said she would attempt to occupy more congressional offices on Wednesday.
Gotta imagine your son is grimacing over this.
Obviously, when you have a group of people in your office sounding a gong and reading off names its somewhat distracting, but it did not disrupt the workflow, said Marilyn Campbell, Van Hollens spokeswoman.
"We don't get a whole lot done here anyways, to be honest," she added.
Campbell said she was not aware of any vandalism in Van Hollens office. She said that fewer people showed up than the activists claimed.
"It's the new math," she noted.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Am I the only person who realizes that this is naked authoritarianism? We are so used to it anymore, we just shrug it off, and the media (another band of self-appointed rulers and arbiters) simply treat it as the peace movement's due.
To hell with elections and the legislative process, the peace hypocrites alone have the right to decide policy and they will physically block anyone from doing otherwise.
This movement is entirely about power and authority, and forcing others to accept what has only been presumed rather than earned.
The question is what antidote to apply. Athough, one can argue whether we are talking about poison or rather a pandemic vector of some disease. A disease, because ultimately, moonbatism is inherently destructive (primarily auto-destructive, but its destructiveness affects much a wider pool, of course). I'll write more about it when I put my finger on it.
"I'm gonna hold my breath until I turn blue, then you'll be sorry and gimme what I want! And then I'm gonna cry until your ears bleed!"
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 6:12 Comments ||
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yeah, but he's the chairman of the Deomcratic Congressional Campaign Committe. Those of us old enough to remember the good ol' sixties have to relish the irony of this moment. hahaha. Should have died at 29.995 and you could have lived the dream.
#5
I'd propose to lock the doors, close the blinds, get a louisville slugger and beat every one of these to a pulp. Then pitch their bodies in the river, but that's just me. I'm a softie that way....
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/22/2007 6:55 Comments ||
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#6
Burning the ROTC building and trashing the business district of Ravenna wasn't smart either. For all the hand wringing and apologies, notice how many colleges burned after four were shot at Kent State? They're tough when it was shouting for the overthrow of the lawfully elected government, but suddenly they became 'our children' when the historical response was played back at them. This is just more examples that liberals are just adolescents that never grow up and take responsibility for their acts.
#8
The great advantage of these high-profile Bolshevik agitators, (as opposed to, say, garden-variety media terror-shills) is that they can be ridden down in the streets Cossack style; once we equip the mounted police with the requisite fur hats and sabers, of course. Quite an entertaining spectacle by all accounts.
Something a lot like this happened in LA during a Moonbat riot a few years ago. A surly mob of lefty blackshirts were milling around in a parking lot, responding with obscenites when told to disperse. The mounted police showed up (sans sabers, sorry to say) and charged. The Moonbats fled in all directions, some probably so fast they left their birkenstocks sitting on the asphalt.
#10
Someone pointed out on TV last week that the MSM fails to show the "protestters" for what they are. They always show firey speeches and chants but they don't show the true nature of the rank and file. Never do you see on TV the Anarchists, Commies, and Socialists that make up 99% of each rally. I think they are embarrrassed to show them.
#12
Actually, CyberSarge, I was watching CSPAN the other day when they were having a demo, I think in or near the Pentagon parking lot. One of the speakers started in about how "free" and "liberated" the people of Cuba are under Fidel Castro. This is no joke. She was serious. She was an outright, full-fledged, card carrying Communist and the people in the parking lot applauded her. The irony is that committed Communists like her would never hesitate to resort to violence and they don't give a rat's ass how many people die. They only protest the war because they hate George Bush and they hate America. I'm sure she had no problem with the Soviets invading Afganistan. I just couldn't believe she was so up front about it.
The recent move by a powerful House panel to reverse a decision to close Walter Reed Army Medical Center may open a political can of worms, inviting lawmakers to fight to save other military installations from being closed, too. The House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously last week to keep Walter Reed open, effectively removing it from the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005 by taking away the funding required to shutter the hospital in 2011.
The BRAC, as it is known, was an independent process completed two years ago that mandated that the hospital and more than 180 other military installations be closed, saving $36 billion over 20 years. The Appropriations Committee took the rare action to keep the hospital open in the wake of the scandal that surfaced there last month, when shoddy care and poor living conditions were made public by a report in The Washington Post. But the move to fix Walter Reed rather than close it may create an environment of me-tooism among lawmakers who will see the Walter Reed reversal as a political opportunity. "I think potentially it's a very serious precedent," says Christopher Hellman, a former congressional staffer who worked closely on the BRAC process at the time. The commission that worked on the BRAC was structured in such a way so as to keep "congressional meddling" at a minimum, says Mr. Hellman. "While members all agree that BRAC is a good idea, they don't want to see the bases in their districts touched."
In May, various committees on Capitol Hill will begin marking up authorization bills an optimal time for members to begin requesting studies for bases scheduled to be closed, Hellman says. Some installations were removed from the BRAC list before it was ratified by Congress. Others were contested yet remained on the closure list. Lawmakers representing districts in which some of those bases, such as Fort McPherson, Ga.; Fort Monmouth, N.J.; and Fort Monroe, Va.; could step up the pressure to reconsider those bases.
Some lawmakers, like Rep. James Moran (D) of Virginia, will argue that while many of the BRAC decisions were sound, some were not. Representative Moran will fight the decision made by then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as part of BRAC that forces Defense Department personnel working in leased office space in the Washington, D.C., area to move to nearby military installations. Moran argues that the decision means more than 9,000 personnel will have to leave transit-friendly office space in his congressional district to far-flung areas that are now clogged with traffic. Although most personnel are moving to areas that are still in his district, it's the kind of tinkering that could help to unravel the entire BRAC process.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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So keeping it open is the solution?
And we'll re-open the BRAC fights, again - which state gets to keep the jobs - but somehow we have to cut military spending, so ... let's de-fund the war! Pretty soon the public will forget Congress had anything to do with the funding, closure, or conditions of a facility a whole six miles north of the Capitol.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 6:08 Comments ||
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...Of course, no one has yet to question the utter and complete stupidity of closing bases in the middle of a f*cking war in the first place...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/22/2007 9:26 Comments ||
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#3
BRAC, the real "peace dividend". BRAC only works because of the principle of shared misery. Clinton almost killed it with the special deal on McClellan AFB that he gave Barbara Boxer. I am more familiar with the AF side of BRAC, but when you reduce the force structure by 40% you can't support the old infrastructure. Closing the old bases frees up money to recapitalize the forces and maintain the remaining bases. Same reason we sent a third of the B-1s to the boneyard: more money and spare parts for the survivors.
#4
of course the whole mechanism for this is that the president has to approve the list submitted to him in an all or nothing basis, and this is nothing more than another democratic 'do-over.' this is not a good thing.
#5
I havent been to Walter Reed in several years but can't imagine the good of closing the hospital down. It seemed to me to be in great shape with the finest staff probably on the face of this earth. Some buildings around the main hospital were defintely outdated, including the medical hold facility which was pretty bad but I think this is not the main issue. The main issue is the current treatment of medical hold patients. After many are treated by great doctors and staff, they are sent to medical hold where they are treated very poorly and are mismanaged horribly. Some are trapped there for years with severe disabilities from active duty then discharged with ridiculous under-ratings for their noble service. Seems to me that someone is trying to take the real issue and spin it to look like the facilities are the main issue. Hell, most of these guys have lived in much, much worse facilities without complaint. Its their out-patient treatment thats shameful.
Hat tip Instapundit. What's been going on with the investigation of Muslim charities in Virginia, including the Sami al Arian hunger strike. Hint: lots!
Dozens of grand jury subpoenas issued in recent months in a terrorism financing investigation of Muslim charities in northern Virginia have spawned a largely secret legal battle before a federal appeals court, according to court records and a person close to the investigation. One of the appeals involves former Florida college professor, Sami Al-Arian, who pleaded guilty last year to a terrorism-support charge and is currently on a hunger strike to protest a judge's order jailing him for refusing to testify before a Virginia-based grand jury.
Court filings indicate that the inquiry into terrorism financing and possible embargo violations began soon after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In March 2002, federal agents served search warrants at more than a dozen locations in northern Virginia, including the International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT) think tank. A similar operation Al-Arian ran in Florida, the World Islam & Studies Enterprise, received $55,000 from IIIT in the early 1990s, and an IIIT leader once described the two groups as intertwined.
The Virginia investigation has focused primarily on alleged links with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, though the government has alleged that Al-Arian's Florida operation was an arm of a rival terrorist organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In 2004, a prominent Muslim leader whose Virginia home was searched in the 2002 raids, Abdurahman Alamoudi, pleaded guilty to repeated violations of the trade embargo with Libya and admitted to involvement in a plot to kill Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Alamoudi, who founded the American Muslim Council and once had entrée at the top levels of the Bush and Clinton administrations, was sentenced to 23 years in prison. In addition, an Egyptian banker, Soliman Biheiri, was convicted on immigration charges and a charge that he lied to investigators about his ties to a Hamas leader, Mousa abu Marzook. Biheiri got two sentences of about a year each and was released in 2005.
Since those cases concluded, however, there have been few signs of where the investigation is headed. The New York Sun has learned that one grand jury subpoena issued last year went to a Maryland-based group that espouses political and free-market reforms in the Islamic world, the Minaret of Freedom Institute. The group's president, Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, said immigration agents visited his home in November 2006, seeking notes about a panel discussion he moderated in 1999 that was broadcast on C-SPAN. The session, titled "The United States and Iran: It's Time to Talk," took place at the American Muslim Council's annual conference.
Another reason for prosecutors' interest could be that the Minaret Web site says the panel was organized by a Springfield, Va. think tank, United Associates for Studies and Research. That operation was founded by Mr. abu Marzook, who issued a forceful statement deploring Israel's killing of a Hamas spiritual leader in 2004, and, according to the New York Times, was identified by a Palestinian activist as Hamas's American base of operations.
The U.S. attorney in Alexandria, Chuck Rosenberg, declined to comment yesterday about Mr. Ahmad's complaint that the investigation was due to religious bias. However, the prosecutor told the Washington Post last year: "We do not prosecute people because they are Muslims or Catholics or Jews. We prosecute them because they have committed criminal acts that warrant prosecution." Last week, Mr. Rosenberg was named to replace the recently resigned chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Al-Arian's attorneys also have complained of bias, alleging that the government lawyer directing the Virginia charities probe, Mr. Kromberg, exhibited an anti-Muslim attitude in rejecting Al-Arian's request to delay his appearance until after Ramadan. "If they can kill each other during Ramadan, they can appear before the grand jury; all they can't do is eat before sunset I am not going to put off Dr. Al-Arian's grand jury appearance just to assist in what is becoming the Islamization of America," Mr. Kromberg said, according to a defense court filing.
A former US sailor was indicted Wednesday on federal charges of sending classified information on the movement of US warships in the Middle East and how they could be attacked to suspected terrorists.
A treason charge should be included in the indictment.
The US attorney for the District of Connecticut, Kevin O'Connor, announced the two-count indictment against Hassan Abujihaad, 31 -- formerly known as Paul Hall -- of Phoenix, Arizona. Abujihaad, who was arrested on March 7 in Phoenix, is set to face a judge on Friday. If found guilty, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
According to the indictment, Abujihaad was in contact throughout 2001 with British nationals based in London that operated websites supporting people engaged in acts of terrorism. Abujihaad allegedly sent via e-mail in the spring of 2001 information on the movement of US Navy ships deploying for operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. At the time he was serving as an enlisted man aboard one of the ships.
Hang him, cut him down, and then hang him again.
Abujihaad left the navy in January 2002, but the information that he sent as well as his military e-mail address was discovered when British authorities in 2003 confiscated computers belonging to British nationals that operated the websites.
Federal prosecutors in Connecticut are involved because the computer server handling the Internet traffic is located that state.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Abujihaad left the navy in January 2002, but the information that he sent as well as his military e-mail address was discovered when British authorities in 2003 confiscated computers belonging to British nationals that operated the websites.
Bites don't it Hassan, busted by your own hand, have fun in Fed-Max sh*thead.
#5
Hassan Abujihaad, 31 -- formerly known as Paul Hall -- of Phoenix, Arizona.
Another Phoenix connection. Ima getting suspicious that more than illegal Messicans are turning up there.
Posted by: ed ||
03/22/2007 7:54 Comments ||
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#6
Makes me pine for the good ole days on the High Seas.
Ayeee ya scurvey dog! Dere will be no Brigg sittin for ye. And hangin from de yardarm be too good for ye. Ye shall be walkin de short plank right inta Davey Jones locker! At least de eels will make good on yer waste o skin.
#8
"Keelhauling" is side to side not longways.
The prisoner is fastened to a rope that goes over one rail, under the Keel and back up the other side, usually tied at the wrists to one rope end, and the ankles to the other.
The punishment begins with throwing the bound man over the side (Tied, He cannot swim) A team of sailors then hauls in the line on the other side of the ship, dragging the Criminal beneath the ship, and up the other side.
This is a lot worse than it first seems, the ship's bottom is always covered with barnacles which are very sharp, the prisoner is both drowned and cut up severely during the passage, it was not uncommon for barnacles to cut the line, and the prisoner either drowned, or was killed by blood loss, with the line cut, he drowns, and the body is NOT recovered, even if all goes well, the prisoner emerges both unconscious(Lack of air) and severely cut up, many died from blood loss after being hauled back aboard.
Keelhauling was considered a very small step better than hanging, because there was a small chance of living through the ordeal (But, not much chance) still slightly better than outright execution.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/22/2007 19:12 Comments ||
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#9
Keelhauling was considered a very small step better than hanging
And hanging a small step better than being flogged-'round-the-fleet...
Pakistan says it has successfully tested a cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Oh, great...
The country's armed forces said the missile had the capability of avoiding being detected by radars. That's sort of what cruise missiles are supposed to do, right?
The Babar or Hatf-VII missile has a range of 700km (430 miles), the military said. You named your missile after a baby elephant?
In February Pakistan test fired a nuclear-capable, surface-to-surface Hatf VI missile, with a much longer range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles). Earlier this month, Pakistan said it had successfully tested a short-range missile, also capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The military did not say where Thursday's test took place.
[India and Pakistan] stepped back from the brink of war after India blamed Pakistan for involvement in an armed attack on the parliament in Delhi in 2001. It's BusHitlers fault!
Syed Saleem Shahzad of the Asia Times, so salt to taste.
The present bloody infighting between al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan's Waziristan tribal areas is likely to end in reconciliation between the two groups that will mark the beginning of the Taliban's major Afghan offensive.
Maybe they'll have a Trucefire!
They always reconcile. The question is whether the reconciliation lasts longer than 24 hours.
Well-placed sources maintain that the chief commander of the Taliban in South Wazirstan, Baitullah Mehsud, was in Afghanistan's Helmand province when the fighting, in which scores have died this week, erupted. He immediately rushed to South Waziristan on the orders of Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah. He put his foot down, and the fighting has now eased.
"Stop that! Stop it this instant!"
A new protocol is imminent, under which all parties will agree to fight in Afghanistan and not inside Pakistan.
'cause you listen to Mullah Dadullah if you value your life, you know ...
And they've all agreed, in fact, not to cross the border to fight in Afghanistan, recall...
How did this internecine strife in South Waziristan evolve?
Because they're an ignorant, truculent lot?
Is it just a battle between foreign militants and Pakistani Taliban - a clash of interests - or is it a blessing in disguise for the Taliban and a serious problem for the US-led forces in Afghanistan?
When the story's being written by somebody with "Syed" in his name, I'll guess that it's a blessing in disguise for the turbans and a serious problem for civilized man.
There has long been debate within the Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants over strategy in the fight against North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and US-led-coalition forces in Afghanistan: Should war be waged against all opponents - including US ally Pakistan - without discrimination, or should political issues be considered, so as to allow for strategic repositioning in future? The Uzbek al-Qaeda-linked militants in South and North Waziristan believe in a global war against NATO and all its allies, such as the Pakistani government. This strategy is now in conflict with that of the Taliban leadership.
Since that leaves them taking with the right hand and slapping their benefactors with the left. Not that it's in the least unusual in that part of the world, but they try not to be quite so blatant about it until the check's cleared.
The tension between the two sides broke out into open warfare on Wednesday in South Waziristan, with thousands of Pakistani Taliban dug in against the Uzbek militants and their supporters, believe to number 20,000. So far, at least 110 people have been killed, mostly Uzbeks.
With 20,000 potential corpses they barely even scratched the surface.
The fight has isolated the chief of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Tahir Yaldeshiv. Tahir is the main preacher of the idea that fighting the Pakistan Army is the first priority, and he is violently opposed to any rapprochement between Pakistani Taliban and the army. "The implementation of the sharia [Islamic law] and the appointment of the emir of the sharia emirate are supposed to be the first priority of mujahideen in Pakistan," Yaldeshiv said in a speech now widely available on disc.
"Far, far better that we face the combined NATO-American force to the west and an invigorated Pak army on the east and have the flow of money cut off and the ISI helpers removed from our midst than to ignore an Islamic jot or tittle."
"He said 'tittle'! He must be killed!"
"Oh, shuddup!"
Should the Taliban be part of a solution for their sympathizers in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or a constant problem? That was the debate initiated by Mullah Dadullah when he tried to mediate a ceasefire between Pakistani Taliban and the Pakistani military early last year. Dadullah has constantly argued that Pakistani Taliban going into Afghanistan and fighting against NATO forces was a greater service to Afghanistan's cause of freedom than staying in the two Waziristans and fighting Pakistani soldiers.
"And nobody took us seriously when we pledged not to."
The dialogue convinced the leading anti-army commanders in North Waziristan, Sadiq Noor and Abdul Khaliq, and they agreed that jihad was only relevant in Afghanistan and that fighting against the Pakistan Army had no relevance to the Afghan resistance. Al-Qaeda elements in North Waziristan, including Uzbeks settled in the town of Mir Ali, were converted to this point of view and broke with Yaldeshiv, who was living in South Waziristan and still demanding the establishment of the Islamic Emirates in Pakistan by waging jihad against "the crusaders' ally".
At present, information coming from South Waziristan suggests that Uzbeks settled in three main points, Shin Warsak, Azam Warsak and Kaloosha, have now in effect been surrounded by local Taliban. The Uzbeks are tenacious fighters, but the most likely outcome will be their surrender and agreement that from now on all fighting will be done in Afghanistan. Such unity of purpose would be a boon for the Taliban's looming offensive against NATO.
Hard to be unified when you're giving each other angry stares and muttering in your beards.
This article starring:
ABDUL KHALIQ
Taliban
BAITULLAH MEHSUD
Taliban
Mullah Dadullah
MULLAH DADULLAH
Taliban
SADIQ NUR
Taliban
TAHIR YALDESHIV
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 09:05 ||
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A new protocol is imminent, under which all parties will agree to fight in Afghanistan and not inside Pakistan
We cannot piss off our bosses ie Perv and ISI!!!!!
Ambassador Munir Akram told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that there was no proven direct co-relation of an increase in incidents inside Afghanistan with the conclusion of the North Waziristan agreement signed by the Pakistani government with tribal leaders.
He told the council during a debate on the situation in Afghanistan that Pakistan was pursuing a comprehensive strategy to promote peace and progress in its frontier regions, and this involved military, political, economic and administrative components. The objective of this strategy is to win the hearts and minds of the local population and isolate the militants from the moderates.
He said Pakistans commitment to promoting peace, security and progress in Afghanistan was complete, unswerving and unquestionable. Peace in Afghanistan would enable Pakistan to realise its strategic objective of serving, together with Afghanistan, as the hub for trade and economic cooperation between the adjacent regions of South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia, he added.
Akram said, Pakistans frontier regions have been deeply affected by three decades of war and conflict in Afghanistan. As part of our programme for modernisation and rapid socio-economic development, it is in Pakistans vital interest to eliminate Al Qaeda terrorists, Taliban militancy and Talibnisation in these frontier regions. He stressed that the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is close, cooperative and intense. As many as 60, 000 Pakistanis work in Afghanistan, bilateral trade has grown up to $1.2 billion and Pakistan has committed $300 million for development in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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The appointment of Justice Rana Bhagwandas as the acting chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) is against Islam, said a Jamatud Dawa activist. "Sez so right in the Koran someplace. Youse could look it up!"
According to a press statement issued on Wednesday, Professor Hafiz Abdur Rahman Makki said that Pakistan was a Muslim state, therefore, a non-Muslim could not be appointed as the acting chief justice. "Nope. Nope. Can't do it."
He said that when Hazrat Omar (PTUI PBUH) was the head of the Islamic state, Abu Musa Ashari (PTUI PBUH) appointed a Christian as a chief record keeper but Omar (PTUI PBUH) ordered Ashari (PTUI PBUH) to remove the Christian from the post. He said according to the constitution, the chief justice of Pakistan was also the head of the Federal Shariat Court, a post that must be headed by a Muslim.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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India on Wednesday said that the terrorists have started using banks to finance their activities. "I'd like to apply for a loan, please!"
"Whaddya got for collateral?"
"How about this?"
"Holy shit! I mean, Allahu Akbar! If that thing goes off we're all goners!"
Minister for State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal told the Rajya Sabha that while the hawala system was the primary source of terrorist funding, banking channels are also emerging as significant routes for movement of money by these elements. As per available reports, terrorists and terrorist organisations active in India are using different channels to fund their operations. They route their funds mainly through hawala and other informal means, he said, adding that the government was pursuing a multi-dimensional approach to deal with terrorist operations and supporting states to neutralise their activities. To a question on the recent observations of National Security Advisor MK Narayanan on the matter, Jaiswal said the NSA had recently recounted the methods adopted by terror outfits to generate funds and had pointed towards the reported misuse of the formal financial system by them. He said the revenue, security and law enforcement agencies were regularly sensitised to pursue an inter-agency approach to detect these channels and that the proposals relating to such sectors were referred to the Home and Defence Ministries for vetting from the security angle.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
See also RIAN > USA IS FUNDING TERRORISM > CONDI RICE - cannot fully guarantee that any and all US funding will be successfully precluded = secured from reaching Paleo groups whose true intent is to attack Israel, e.g. PA police force Abbas 17.
Lt Gen (r) Hamid Gul, former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, said on Wednesday that he would table a resolution at a meeting of retired military officials in Rawalpindi to ask them to take part in the ongoing struggle against President Pervez Musharraf. The meeting will be held on March 24, Gul told reporters in front of the Supreme Court. He claimed that 2.2 million retired military officials would start protests against President Musharrafs decision to suspend the chief justice once the resolution is passed. He said the government had made a big mistake by suspending Mr Chaudhry.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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We all talk about Bin Laden and Blinky but this guy is a major player against the West!!!!
"The quality of the Nuggets has been dreadful lately! Take that! An' that!"
Hyderabad: The editor of a prominent Urdu daily in Hyderabad was attacked late in the night when he was returning home. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Zahid Ali Khan, editor of Siasat, was attacked on Tuesday night at Mehdipatnam area of the city. Some unidentified people intercepted his car and threw filth on him. Khan alleged that Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator Muqtada Afsar Khan was behind the assault as his newspaper had been exposing the legislator's alleged land grabbing activities.
The incident led to tension in the area as activists of Telugu Desam party (TDP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and Majlis Bachao Tehreek gathered in large numbers to protest against the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Quality? Hell let's talk quantity. We're living on Jinn juice here.
An Iraqi air force colonel disappeared recently from an Alabama Air Force base and is being sought in a regional manhunt by federal and military agents, defense officials say. The colonel, who was not identified, was studying at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, near Montgomery, since last winter in a leadership training course that is part of U.S. efforts to rebuild the Iraqi air force.
The officer disappeared along with his family, who were living either on the base or in the Montgomery area. He left a note stating that he was leaving the yearlong military course because he did not want to return to war-torn Iraq, said officials familiar with the case.
Check the landscaping companies and the chicken-processing plants.
Air Force security, FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have started a search throughout the Southeast for the colonel and his family.
One official said that the Iraqi is a "high-interest" target and that Montgomery police are involved in the search. He is thought to be planning to hide in the United States or to be fleeing to Mexico. "He was a afraid to go back, and he's either here or trying to cross into Mexico," said one official.
Going north to south over the Rio Grande? Suppose that could happen.
Lt. Col. Gregg C. Bottemiller, a spokesman for the Air University at Maxwell, confirmed that the Iraqi was missing, but declined to comment further and would not disclose the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.
Air Force spokesman Capt. Tom Wenz declined to comment when asked whether the Iraqi posed a national-security risk or whether he may be linked to insurgents or terrorists. He referred calls to the Homeland Security Department and the Iraqi Embassy in Washington. An ICE spokesman had no comment.
The Air Force college hosts regular yearlong sessions for several hundred colonels, who are taught military operational and strategic topics. The last class, which began in August, included 78 foreign military officers from 66 nations.
The disappearance of the Iraqi officer is a setback for U.S. military efforts to rebuild the post-Saddam Hussein Iraqi air force and highlights continuing problems in finding reliable people to staff the Iraqi armed forces.
Spokesmen in Iraq briefed reporters on efforts to develop the Iraqi air force last week. Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Hoog, air commander for Multinational Force-Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad last week that the goal is to set up an air force that Iraqis can maintain. "It's not that they don't know how to run an air force. It's that they don't know how to do an air force in this environment. And we're trying to introduce some Western influence," Gen. Hoog said.
The current Iraqi air force consists of new recruits and rehires from the air force under Saddam's regime and has 950 Iraqis, including 83 trainees. Later this year, training will begin for helicopter and fixed-wing pilots.
The former Iraqi air force once had 900 modern aircraft. Currently, Iraq's forces have Bell Ranger, UH-1 and Russian Mi-17 helicopters. Its fixed-wing aircraft include C-130 transports and several light aircraft, such as SAMA CH-2000s and Seeker 2000s. This answers the question of whether we are training their air force command and general staff. But the big question is are we training their fixed wing combat pilots?
#2
Maybe he figured he could lie low as an illegal and give his children a better future in America. I don't blame him - given the mayhem caused by the terrorists, his family is probably safer stateside.
#3
A few students each year decide not to return home after graduating from the Defense Language Institute English Language Center. There was one two years ago, fast burner - NCO of the Year type from one of the Slavic countries. She turned up later working as a waitress in a Mexican resturant.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 11:37 Comments ||
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#4
I grew up just across the Alabama River from Maxwell. Used to sit out in the back yard, well, actually the whole farm was the yad, and watch the jets.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/22/2007 11:44 Comments ||
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#5
Look for him in the protected cities of NY or San Fran. Both he and his family will be safe from deportation.
Not sure about the fighter group, but the helicopter guys are being trained.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/22/2007 12:08 Comments ||
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#10
Sinse, we take a number of officer from other countries into our war colleges and staff colleges. They are not learning to fly, they are learning the principles of war, staff planning, leadership, laws of land war, etc... The concept is to expose future high ranking officers to the US military and to build professional relationships. The program usually works well.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/22/2007 23:34 Comments ||
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The coalition forces that invaded Iraq in March 2003 made a "mistake" in not handing power to Iraqis quickly enough, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said in an interview on Wednesday.
"The real problem was in not relying more on Iraqis," Bolton told the BBC. "By imposing the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) for a year, we denied the Iraqis at least a year of learning how to live with each other ... So in 20/20 hindsight, and I confess it's hindsight, that was a mistake, obviously ...
The CPA was established by the United States about two months after the March 2003 invasion, and was only dissolved in June 2004 in the run-up to national elections in Iraq. "It's perfectly obvious given the circumstances that we should have handled it differently, and what I would have done differently is much earlier, much sooner after the overthrow, given it back to the Iraqis," he said.
That's a reasonable read, and he includes himself in the mistake.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Bolton is right. It was an understandable mistake to want to handover to an elected government, but a non-elected interim government could have been formed and given control. Hindsight is 20/20 as always.
#2
I disagree 100%. The main mistake has been precisely the rush to "transition" when the recipients weren't ready. I understand the strategy, and the dynamic at work (tension between fostering dependency by not handing over, and risking disaster by handing over prematurely). This is a pure hindsight call on my part, as I was generally favorable and focused on the benefits of rapid transition in spring 2004.
But once it became clear that the Sunni community(ies) would support/tolerate/be intimidated by a campaign of extreme violence to oppose the new Iraq, a big change needed to be made. Ever since that point, our main problem (aside from ROE and a quasi-judicial element in our operations/detentions) has been the ungodly rush to hand over when it obviously was too soon.
Casey's remarks in '05 linking transition to US draw-down were a double-disaster - signalling a strategy shift that was doomed in its own terms and also both encouraged the enemy and helped disorient the US populace. To this day most of the discussions on Iraq are framed by time of departure - not by protection of national interest or achievement of objectives.
I can't see a single bit of evidence that logically supports Bolton's assertion.
Having said that, I think Bolton is about the best thing going - utterly serious and responsible about facing threats and problems. He understands a public employee's or diplomat's job is to get things done, not make friend with foreigners or Beltway swells.
#3
I agree with Bolton to some extent, not handing over the government faster allowed Al Queda to convince many idiots in Iraq (and in the anti-war movement) that we were taking over.
Bush should have used the signed law supporting and funding the Iraqi National Congess. We should have supported them the way we did the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. The Iraqi's might have risen up for fellow Iraqi's in a way arabic face-saving didn't allow for Western liberators.
Of course that would have meant a delay to Democracy and Democracy is the ace-card, the long game, the big win. If we can get a functioning Democracy in Iraq everything will have been worthwhile.
#4
WAFF.com/CNN > Iran's Khameini threatens Iran will engage in "illegal" nuke work [iff US-West can engage in illegal criminal actions so can Iran]; + IRAN MUST HAVE NUKES [Iran making no threats but is being threatened by everybody + Dubya]; + BOLTON: REGIME CHANGE OR MILITARY FORCE [Nuclearized IRAN] -pro-democratic "regime change" M-U-S-T take place in Iran, wid or widout the Iranian People, OR THE USA-WEST MUST ACCEPT A RADICAL IRAN WID NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Bolton > latter scenario is absolutely un-acceptable and the worst case scenario for the US-West. US = USA-WEST MUST BE READY AND WILLING TO UNILATERALLY RESORT, IFF NECESSARY, TO USE MILITARY FORCE TO PREVENT RADICAL IRAN FROM ACQUIRING NUCLEAR WEAPONS. * REGNUM.RU >RUSSIA - is NOT convinced NORTH KOREA will shut down reactors = nucprogs in 60 days as per accords and despite release of US$25Milyuhn from Banco Delta Asia. ISLAMSWORD > DYING AMERICA - Amer failure to stop Radical Islam signals a de facto decline in Amer power + legitimacy, AND IN ALL LIKELIHOOD WILL NOT SAVE AMERICA OR WEST FROM MARCH OF ISLAM. See related in FREEDOMNOW > THE COMING AMERICAN COLLAPSE AND CIVIL WAR - surprise, surprise, WAFFLISM aka POLITIX will be instrumental = decisive in the decline of America's power + place in the world. BTW, IN CASE YOU DIDn'T KNOW ALREADY, ITS ALSO AND REMAINS DUBYA'S FAULT. NEWSMAX > MCCAIN > Warns about DISTURBING SOCIALISM in LATIN AMERICA. All together now, wid feeling, "OH, LATIN AMERICA, NOT NORTH AMERICA"???
#6
The Iraqis had been for a generation and a half under the kind of totalitarian dictatorship that reduces puppies to shivering in the corner and piddling themselves, afraid both to do and to not do. There is no way they were ready to take on ruling themselves immediately following the invasion, or even as soon as they did. A longer session with training wheels would have prevented all this Maliki malarky, as would have seriously closing the borders on all sides -- Sneaze is right about foreign agitation. But they're getting there anyway, and I try to remember not to let perfection get in the way of good enough to be going on with.
#7
"The Iraqis had been for a generation and a half under the kind of totalitarian dictatorship that reduces puppies to shivering in the corner and piddling themselves, afraid both to do and to not do. There is no way they were ready to take on ruling themselves immediately following the invasion, or even as soon as they did. A longer session with training wheels would have prevented all this Maliki malarky"
The people I think Bolton is saying he would have handed power to would have been the various exiles, plus the Kurds, not the folks whod been living under Saddams rule (with some exceptions) basically the guys who were on the Iraqi governing council.
In retrospect the corner solutions look better - EITHER we should have given them power right away, and avoided the perception of being the occupier OR we should have kept the training wheels on MUCH longer. What we actually did was fall between the two chairs - kept the CPA long enough to be seen as occupiers, but then turned over power and held elections well before any real change in society had taken place. Of course to make keeping the training wheels on longer make sense, we would have needed a larger armed force in Iraq (so we could do without Iraqi forces on the front lines as long as necessary) and a more intense commitment of US civilian employees, and of US funds. IE we would have had to prepared to play like serious imperialists (at least for a few years) for a variety of reasons, from lefty anti-imperialism to right wing hostility to nation building, to Rummys view of military transformation, we were NOT going to do that. Given that, the strategy Bolton is talking about now looks appealing.
This interview with General Petraeus in yesterday's New York Post hasn't gotten as much attention as it ought. Here's the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq articulating the early success of the president's new strategy, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised, but the general is clearly optimistic.
Speaking on the new strategy of establishing Joint Security Stations in Iraqi neighborhoods, Petraeus says that "After our guys are in the neighborhood for four or five days, the people realize they're not going to just leave them like we did in the past. Then they begin to come in with so much information on the enemy that we can't process it fast enough."
On the Anbar Salvation Council:
"All of the sheiks up there are businessmen . . . they are entrepreneurial and involved in scores of different businesses. The presence of the foreign fighters is hitting them hard in the pocketbook and they are tired of it."
On Sadr City:
"We're clearing it neighborhood by neighborhood." Troops move in - mainly U.S. soldiers and Marines supported by Iraqi forces, although that ratio is reversed in some areas - and stay. They are not transiting back to large, remote bases but are now living with the people they have come to protect. The results, Petraeus says, have been "dramatic."
"We're using 'soft knock' clearing procedures and bringing the locals in on our side," he notes. By being in the neighborhoods, getting to know the people and winning their trust, the soldiers have allowed the people to turn against the al Qaeda terrorists, whom they fear and loathe. Petraeus says his goal is to pull al Qaeda out "by its roots, wherever it tries to take hold."
On the rules of engagement (ROE):
"I've made two things clear," Petraeus emphasized: "My ROE may not be modified with supplemental guidance lower down. And I've written a letter to all Coalition forces saying 'your chain-of-command will stay with you.' I think that solved the issue."
Finally, on the surge's effect in Baghdad:
"Less than half the al Qaeda leaders who were in Baghdad when this [surge] campaign began are still in the city," he said. "They have fled or are being killed or captured. We are attriting them at a fearsome rate."
As Bill Roggio has noted here before, the success in Baghdad has forced al Qaeda to fight a "commuter insurgency" from the provinces surrounding the city. But without first pacifying Baghdad, little else can be achieved. So, while Petraeus warns that we will only "be able to evaluate the situation for sure by late summer," for the first time in a long time, victory seems possible.
#1
Great job on most of those points, Gen. Petraeus.
But I don't think the rate of attrition is near fearsome enough. Nor the rate of emigration/displacement in Sunni areas that show the slightest support for the enemy cause.
I know, easy for this armchair general to say. But I do have this little thing about saving lives (both American and Iraqi), and common sense and history show that truly fearsome aggression is by far the most efficient and humane way to defeat an enemy. I'm all for winning over tribes or sheikhs or parts of neighborhoods - but even those gambits will be easier to accomplish if we convince folks that opposition is a true dead end.
#2
It goes to the US-Allies' LR regional-global strategy. Radical Islam is well aware that Amers like fighting short wars, but they also are aware that something milpol detrimental to the USA occurs in near-term [now-Year2020], the odds are the HYPERPOWER+ USA WILL ONLY GET STRONGER + WILL PROTRACTIVELY STAY IN THE ME FOR AS LONG THE US OR ALLIES WANT, which by extens basically means Radical Islam plus aligned Commies-Socialists, etc. either regionally andor globally have failed. THE GREATEST OR ULTIMATE BATTLE IN THIS WOT IS THE BATTLE FOR THE USA VIA BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF WASHINGTON DC, CONGRESS CRITTERS, US GOP-DEM NPE, and US NATIONAL-FOREIGN POLICIES. Year 2014-2018 [2020] > Russia-China have stated that WAR AGZ USA IS NOT ONLY POSSIBLE BUT DESIRED/REALISTIC > means USA must M-U-S-T ADOPT OWG + SOCIALISM , OR THE USA WILL BE ATTACKED AND DESTROYED BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, VOLUNTARILY = FORCIBLY. 2008 > POTUS elex may be the last "peacetime", traditional elex held in free, officially non-Socialist America. *WORLDNEWS > BOSTONHERALD > US-CHINA: PACIFIC POWER PLAY IN THE WORKS. Gist- No matter how you meaure it, CHINA IS GOING ON THE [anti-US]REGIONAL = GLOBAL = SPACE OFFENSIVE.
#3
I hope our guys and gals in theater, like you just were Verlaine, like what Petraeus is saying. The critical bit about consistent ROE and Iraqis flooding them with Intel sure sounds good to me.
#4
I suppose President Bush feels that he is displaying loyalty to his subordinates by refusing to replace them for inadequate performance, but that is counterproductive as public policy (Michael Brown at FEMA, etc.).
General Petraeus has been one of our leading experts on counterinsurgency (he has figuratively AND literally written the book on it) and he should have been installed in this position years ago. Far greater progress at quelling the violence there would have been made a lot sooner and even the results of the recent elections would likely have been different.
I only hope that the political climate has not eroded to such an extent that the mission will be fatally undermined just as we are making progress.
#5
"I've made two things clear," Petraeus emphasized: "My ROE may not be modified with supplemental guidance lower down. And I've written a letter to all Coalition forces saying 'your chain-of-command will stay with you.' I think that solved the issue."
This one is LONG overdue - blanket folders ahve been adding layers of restictions on things to the point where combat troops havent a clue if they are violating the ROE until after they call up the chain. Makes for escaped terr and US casualties. Fixing this is one of the best thigns he did. Get the damn non-cobat officers back in their concrete bundkers in LSAA out of the loop and let the field commanders command.
#6
I concur with all the other comments just made (well, Joseph, I THINK I agree with you, or something).
RD, I felt fortunate to work in-theater at all, and I felt like I was abandoning post when I left, but .... I want to emphasize that I was a rear-echelon MF, at best. Mostly in the IZ, and when outside not actively looking for trouble like the awesome folks at the tip of the spear (and all my helicopter travel was before the nitwits came up with their truck-mounted AAA gambit). When I was there, and now as I write this, I have felt tremendous frustration at not being able to do a lot more.
#7
I'm glad they finally changed the ROE. They have been fucked up since Vietnam when dealing with non-conventional situations (and a lot of conventional situations too). Makes it easier to do your job as infantry when you don't have to consult the CoC and all their fucking JAG lawyers before you pull the trigger.
#8
JM, your CapsLock button seems to be malfunctioning.
Posted by: Captain Lewis ||
03/22/2007 9:06 Comments ||
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#9
General Petraeus has been one of our leading experts on counterinsurgency (he has figuratively AND literally written the book on it) and he should have been installed in this position years ago.
While I agree that General Patraeus is one of our current leading experts on counterinsurgency, he most definitely did NOT write the book on it. Figuratively, or literally.
He has however, added a few chapters and updated some as well.
JM, your CapsLock button seems to be malfunctioning.
Captain, you're new here, aren't you? JM, is...well...JM. Should you ever begin to understand even half of what he writes, be afraid. Be very afraid!
#11
In all seriousness, I think Joe is a Rantburg asset. Reading his comments is like decoding a legal contract -- a few minutes of unyielding concentration and you've really learned something. Although it helps to take notes.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
03/22/2007 13:02 Comments ||
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#12
I've seen Joe be quite lucid, and brief.
And worthwhile.
But he could use a bit more space between paragraphs, I think.
Does space take much bandwidth, I wonder?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 14:29 Comments ||
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#13
well you can't expect total civility in iraq when you can't get in gherros across the US. Look at how long the bloods and crips and other gangs have been killing each other off and is still going on
#14
I think it has something to do with the previous generation of idiots being killed off before they can learn a lesson, so the next generation starts off without a hope or a clue.
I suggest you go here. Scroll down and see who's signature is on the document. I've worked at CAC. He may not have written every word, but he made sure that it said what he wanted after numerous edits and reviews.
#17
It's a real shame it took so long for Petraeus to gain command. Had he been in charge 18 months sooner Washington might look very different now. I'd've rather had him in Baghdad instead of Leavenworth. Bush has no one to blame but himself. His loyalty to subordinates is misplaced and has wounded him more than once. Clearly Casey and Abazaid were unable or unwilling to do what works.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - A soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday to being an accessory to the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the slaying of her family. Pfc. Bryan Howard, 19, of Fort Campbell, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice by lying to his superior officers about the attack last year in Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad.
Howard agreed to five years in prison under a plea deal but will not serve more than 27 months if he follows conditions of the agreement, military judge Col. Stephen Henley said. Under the agreement, his rank will be reduced to private and he will be dishonorably discharged. He will also have to testify against others charged in the case. Howard faced up to 15 years in prison.
In a statement to the court, Howard apologized to the military, his family and the victims. He said he regretted not taking action to stop the killings and not telling the truth. "If I could go back, I would not have let it happen in the first place, and I definitely would have told someone," he said.
Five soldiers were charged in the rape and killing of Abeer Qassim al- Janabi and the killings of her parents and her younger sister. Two of the soldiers previously pleaded guilty and said Howard's role was minimal.
Howard told the judge Wednesday he was left behind at a checkpoint while four other soldiers went to rape the girl. Howard said he overheard the four planning the attack. Howard said he only started to realize that someone had been killed after the soldiers returned about 10 minutes later. He said the four soldiers were in a "hectic state and hyper."
Howard said he saw blood on one of the soldier's uniforms, but he didn't remember which one. "I was slowly starting to believe what they had done, that they had committed the crimes, the rape and the murder," Howard said.
Spc. James P. Barker and Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, who have pleaded guilty to rape and murder, have said they took turns raping the girl while Pfc. Steven D. Green shot and killed her mother, father and younger sister. Green then shot Abeer in the head, they said.
Green, who is accused of being the ringleader but was discharged from the military before being charged, will be prosecuted in a federal court in Kentucky. He pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and sexual assault in the March 12, 2006, attack.
Barker said Howard and another soldier charged, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, did not participate in the rape and killings, but he said they were at the house when the assault occurred and had come knowing what the others intended to do. Howard, of Huffman, Texas, was initially described as a lookout for the crime and other soldiers from the 101st Airborne have said he was not directly involved.
Capt. Ryan Rosauer, one of Howard's lawyers, said the defense would have preferred that Howard be allowed to stay in the military and he plans to ask the commanding general for clemency. He said Howard otherwise accepts his sentence. "We are obviously happy that the deal came through and his story of his involvement came out," Rosauer said.
Barker was sentenced to 90 years in prison and Cortez received 100. Lawyers for Spielman have said he was not involved in the planning of the murders and rape. His court-martial is scheduled for April 2.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
OS, I agree wholeheartedly. This would be a good thing for Iraq to see, that even the most powerful are subject to the rule of law. They need examples of that because they've never seen it in their own country before.
Posted by: Mac ||
03/22/2007 4:11 Comments ||
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#3
Sounds like Barker & Cortez got fairly reasonable sentences - 90 & 100 years (though I'd have castrated and hanged 'em)- and should never have tho opportunity to rape (a female) again. Howard pled down, partially for cause and partially for testimony, pretty standard stuff.
If the story is correct, Green is the one who should be extradited to Iraq for trial, and since he's already out of the military and in the civilian justice system, that may just be possible.
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi called on Wednesday for talks with the countrys insurgent groups, as the Pentagon claimed Al Qaeda is using children as fodder in their brutal war in Iraq. Hashemi, a Sunni, said in an interview with the BBC that militants, Al Qaeda excluded, were just part of the Iraqi communities.
I do believe there is no way but to talk to everybody, said Hashemi, who is due in Tokyo later Wednesday. All parties should be invited, should be called to sit down around the table to discuss their fears, their reservations, he said, while adding that Al Qaeda was not very much willing, in fact, to talk to anybody.
Fine, sure, just make sure all the parties who sit at the table understand that there's no other alternative.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Exactly, Steve.
Actually, far better to have WHAT'S LEFT of those Sunni communities drag themselves to the table to say "yes, whatever you want."
This is a cold-blooded strategy, not emotion. Iraq is far more likely to be reasonably even-keeled in the medium term if the Sunnis are taken down 1,234 notches. They're still far from "getting it" that their day is past.
(cue misinformed hysteria about Iranian influence if the Shi'a aren't "balanced" by the Sunnis - as if that's the way Iraqi society or politics work)
As Charles Johnson would say, it's just more Paleo child abuse.
Hamas television broadcast a video dramatization on Wednesday in which the four-year-old daughter of female suicide bomber vows to do what her mother has done. The child is an actress, but the point was clear.
According to Palestinian Media Watch, the child actress, playing the part of a real child named Duha, finds her mother preparing explosives in her bedroom and sings, "Mommy, what are you carrying in your arms instead of me?"
The mother tries to hide the bomb. Later, Duha sees a television news story about her mother's suicide bomb attack. "Instead of me, you carried a bomb in your hand," Duha sings. "Only now, I know what was more precious than us."
Duha asks her mother to tell the Muslim prophet Mohammed that she sends her love -- and that she will be following in Mommy's footsteps. The last image shows Duha finding explosives in her mother's bedroom drawer.
The video is based on real people. Duha's mother was Reem Riyashi, who, at the age of 21, blew herself up at the Erez crossing, killing four Israelis. Hamas and the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades of the Fatah faction claimed responsibility for the 2004 attack.
Palestinian Media Watch Director Itamar Marcus told Cybercast News Service that there have been other programs where young teens express their desire to become martyrs, but he has never seen a child as young as the actress playing Duha serve as an advocate for suicide bombing. "This is Hamas' ideology," said Marcus. Reem Riyashi was said to be the first female suicide bomber employed by Hamas.
After she killed herself and others, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, praised her for setting an example for other women to die in the fight against Israel.
#1
I wonder what Duha would think if she knew her mother was now a gangbang sextoy in Paradise for a bunch of dead, smelly Taliban?
She may be a martyr, but she's still a woman...
#3
Selfish, self-agrandizing idiots. How dare that woman leave her child to a lifetime of anguish and maladjustment--PTSD, attachment disorders, possible psychoses of various sorts, and also without the protection (as weak as it might be) of a mother against the Moslem slime infecting those lands. SHAME ON HER. And it is beyond reprehensible that Hamas TV is exploiting families like this. Interesting that the Moslems NEVER look to their own societies and social/religious structures as having anything at all to do with the problem. The inability to affix blame where blame belongs speaks of the inability of the majority of Moslem males and females to deal effectively with the hideous sexual abuse rampant in their socieities.
#5
I suppose the best psychological profile to advance is: The cock on the dunghill.
Hamas crows about their fighters' dedication and the intensity of their indoctrination, all the while ignoring the shitheap of a society that they pile up around them. Just like Beslan, just like those two poor children strapped into that Iraqi car bomb and just like this young child barely past infancy crooning about cutting her brief life short with murderous self-extinction: All of these travesties will be entered into the ledger by those who shall bring Islam to a final accounting.
Islam already has a terrible price to pay for their centuries of interminable slaughter and perfidy. Such shameless introduction of innocent children into their barbaric cadres only compounds the interest due when their time of reckoning arrives. The consequences that await Islam are not very pretty, nor should they be.
Central Jakarta District Court Wednesday sentenced a Muslim militant to 20 years in prison for masterminding the gruesome murder of three Christian schoolgirls in the Central Sulawesi's town of Poso in 2005. The two men who killed the three girls and beheaded them were sentenced instead to 14 years in prison. Given the fact that all three Islamists could have received the death sentence the courts decision is very lenient. The Indonesian press noted that the sentences corresponded to the demands of the prosecution.
Hasanuddin, who is linked to the terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah, was found guilty of organising the crime, buying the machetes used in the beheading, and writing the notes left near the bodies threatening additional murders. According to the prosecutor Payaman SH, Hasanuddin had asked his men to get at least a hundred Christian heads in Poso as compensation for the Muslims who died in the violent sectarian clashes that had occurred between 1999 and 2001 in Poso itself. Clashes between Muslims and Christians had left more than a thousand dead and driven even more out of their homes. What triggered the violence has not been fully elucidated.
For Judge Udar Siregar, Hasanuddins actions have to be categorised as terrorist crimes which might have reignited sectarian violence in the area where a peace deal was worked out in 2001. However, tensions between the two religious communities flared up again in September 2006 when three Catholics were summarily sentenced to death and executed for an attack against an Islamic school in 2000 in which 70 people died.
Hasanuddin was captured by Indonesian security forces last January with his two accomplices, Lilik Purnomo and Irwanto Irano. All three confessed to their role in the crime and were forgiven by the victims relatives. The decapitation of the three girls had triggered worldwide condemnation, including by both Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Pope Benedict XVI, who called the deed a barbaric murder.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Given the fact that all three Islamists could have received the death sentence the courts decision is very lenient.
Weirdest of all is the probability that even if the victims had been young Muslim girls, these perpetrators might well have gotten off the hook by claiming the three were insufficiently covered or some other such un-Islamic nonsense.
Only if these maggots had killed some upstanding male highya-mucka-mucka imam would there likely have been a shot at the death penalty.
This gross distortion of justice is what must be expected from all corners of Islam. It must not be tolerated or given the least validation by foreign observers and legal authorities.
It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers!
In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late.
Accordingly, I'm readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I will, in turn, do my best for the cause by writing editorials - after the fact.
The more things change, the more they stay the same!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 12:24 Comments ||
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#2
Article at Snopes seems to think it might be true.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 12:30 Comments ||
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#3
I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are.
William Tecumseh Sherman
If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast.
William Tecumseh Sherman
Hat tip Drudge.
A former NFL player who joined the Marines was motivated by college roommate Pat Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Jeremy Staat is shipping out to Iraq Tuesday night. Staat, a former defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Rams who had been playing Arena Football, was one of 300 Marines in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment being deployed from Kaneohe Bay. The unit is expected to be in Iraq for seven months.
"The way I look at it, we're spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you have to support the war," Staat, 29, told KITV in Honolulu on Tuesday as he prepared to leave from Hawaii. "You can't just tell some Marine who just lost his buddy that we supported you but not the war, because in that case you're basically saying that Marine, his buddy, just died for nothing. We're one team." A very intelligent man. And he said all that on television, in front of God and everybody. Fox and AP both picked up the story.
Staat said he felt compelled to join the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but Tillman, his roommate at Arizona State, advised him to stay with professional football until he qualified for retirement benefits. Tillman gave up a $1.2 million NFL contract to join the Army Rangers.
"I felt there is more to life than just a game," Staat said, adding that Tillman's death helped motivate him to enlist. To do so, the 6-foot-5 Staat dropped from 310 to 260 pounds. He said three months of boot camp training gave him a deeper appreciation for team camaraderie. He graduated from the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot in March 2006. Congratulations, Marine, and thank you!
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The rebels who claimed responsibility for kidnapping staff from the British embassy in Ethiopia have said they will take more foreigners hostages, the Eritrean government said today. 
Delegates at talks on disarming North Korea's nuclear programme voiced impatience yesterday that the negotiations remained stalled for a second day over a dispute on when $25 million of Pyongyang's funds will be released from a Macau bank.
SYDNEY: Australias Islamic clerics should volunteer as surf lifesavers and firemen to improve their image in a country which has had enough of us, an influential Muslim leader suggested on Wednesday. 
PARIS (AP) A French court was expected to rule Thursday on a court case brought by French Muslims against a satirical newspaper that printed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Charlie-Hebdo, a weekly, and its director, Philippe Val, are charged with "publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion." Val risks a six-month prison sentence and a fine of up to euro22,000 (US$29,250).
March 22, 2007 -- SOME celebrities don't know when to keep their traps shut - like Charlie Sheen and Rosie O'Donnell, who are throwing their weight behind the twisted theory that the United States government was behind the 9/11 terror attacks. 
Peace 
The recent move by a powerful House panel to reverse a decision to close Walter Reed Army Medical Center may open a political can of worms, inviting lawmakers to fight to save other military installations from being closed, too. The House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously last week to keep Walter Reed open, effectively removing it from the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005 by taking away the funding required to shutter the hospital in 2011. 
India on Wednesday said that the terrorists have started using banks to finance their activities. 
Lt Gen (r) Hamid Gul, former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, said on Wednesday that he would table a resolution at a meeting of retired military officials in Rawalpindi to ask them to take part in the ongoing struggle against President Pervez Musharraf. The meeting will be held on March 24, Gul told reporters in front of the Supreme Court. He claimed that 2.2 million retired military officials would start protests against President Musharrafs decision to suspend the chief justice once the resolution is passed. He said the government had made a big mistake by suspending Mr Chaudhry.
The coalition forces that invaded Iraq in March 2003 made a "mistake" in not handing power to Iraqis quickly enough, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said in an interview on Wednesday.
Central Jakarta District Court Wednesday sentenced a Muslim militant to 20 years in prison for masterminding the gruesome murder of three Christian schoolgirls in the Central Sulawesi's town of Poso in 2005. The two men who killed the three girls and beheaded them were sentenced instead to 14 years in prison. Given the fact that all three Islamists could have received the death sentence the courts decision is very lenient. The Indonesian press noted that the sentences corresponded to the demands of the prosecution.
