The creation of a new quasi-military command for Africa will not boost U.S. troops or resources for the continent, a senior official said. "They shouldn't look at this like, 'Here's another donor, here's another source of revenue,'" said Principal Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Ryan Henry at a Pentagon press conference Monday.
U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, will be operational by September 2007, although its headquarters location has still not been determined. It will be based in Africa, but will likely have a small staff, with just over half military personnel. The remaining staff will be State Department and other government agency representatives who together will comprise a new kind of military combatant command -- not to plan and wage wars, but to train foreign militaries, help them coordinate their activities across country lines, and coordinate U.S. government diplomatic, humanitarian and military efforts with individual nations.
Unlike other regional commands, AFRICOM's deputy commander will be a civilian from the State Department. "We are looking at a different mission set for AFRICOM," Henry said. Its principal mission is security cooperation, Henry said. "It will not be in warfighting."
Henry denied that the creation of AFRICOM was a response to growing Chinese business and government involvement in Africa, expanding terrorist activity or Africa's known oil reserves and other natural resources. AFRICOM should be operating as a sub-unified command by September 2007, with full capabilities in September 2008, the U.S. official said.
Henry's comments highlighted the increasing concern that U.S. policymakers have towards the spread of extreme Islamism and other destabilizing forces in sub-Saharan Africa.
#1
Just a note that the military operates with a manpower ceiling determined by Congress who for all their whining about 'not enough' soldiers haven't seen fit to do more than a temporary increase of about a division strength. Further command billets and flag officer positions are also limited in number by Congress. So any new formations or organizations in the DoD side of the house must be taken from some other resources. Looks like the Pentagon has determined that uniform manpower isn't there to play diplo games anymore. It doesn't mean that another Headquarters element doesn't have designated responsibility for planning and coordinating potential ops on the continent. Some part of the world is in some command's mission statement somewhere.
#2
Lest we fergit, various NET NEWS sites [e.g. ASIA TIMES/WORLDNEWS], in past and present, continue to have articles denoting the new geopol and trade relationships between RUSSIA, CHINA, and INDIA [plus several smaller nations], and its challenge = threat to both the USA + West. RUSSIA + CHINA have no qualms about adding AFRICA + CENTRAL-SOUTH AMERICAS, etal. to their anti-US/Western list. 9-11/WOT > WAR FOR THE WORLD + WAR FOR OWG-SWO + WAR AGZ USA/WAR FOR ANTI-US + WAR FOR ANTI-DEMOCRACY, etc. .............. + WAR TO THE DEATH, even it seemingly does not appear to be so. *Lest we fergit Part Deux, PRAVDA/
WORLDTRIBUNE > RUSSIAN GENERAL > WAR AGZ AMERICA BY YEAR 2015 [NOT counting other articles or sources denoting 2014-2020 +/-].
Imams denounced April 11 attacks and said them a major crime and sin; they further exhorted the so-called betrayed not to follow mystifications. Whereas religious affairs minister Mr. Abu Abdellah Ghlamallah called to putting an end to religious advice exported from abroad.
Algiers religious affairs direction gathered yesterday Algiers mosque Imams at Dar al Mohammedia in order to denounce the terrorist operations. The meeting has been closed by a communiqué that considered April 11 attacks a breach to Koranic law aims claiming life, decency and properties to be preserved. When mentioning April 11 attacks, the Imam recalled that all Imams convene that killing oneself is an unforgivable sin, as the right to life is a holy right established by Koran, recalling that Koran forbids killing oneself, and that religious justification used by the terrorist act masterminds are misleading. The communiqué also underscored that unemployment, exclusion and ignorance cannot serve as an argument for terror.
On another side, religious affairs minister denounced foreign religious scholar fatwa (religious advice) who allowed fighting in Algeria, but when terrorism broke up in their countries they started denouncing it. That'd be Soddy Arabia, of course.
In the same respect, he refused to say that mosque brings about terror; he rather said mosque is a victim of terrorism as 96 mosque employees have been killed by terrorists. Some Imams criticised some press sources striving to alter mosque role through marketing lies and slander, while Ghlamallah talked about a press who hates Islam as it impute terrorism plague to mosques.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
See also RIAN > AL-QAEDA THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET TO EU EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA. The Radics including Islamists wanna show that, as per the "Western Model" of doing things, ITS ENUFF TO SHOW THAT NON-ISLAMIST IDEOS-MODELS DON'T WORK, as compared to Radical Islamists proving that their -ism(s) does. EASIER TO WIN BY "NOT LOSING", THAN WIN BY WINNING.
#2
Saudi is the home of Jihad teaching.We need to put some fear into the Saud family to reform asap!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
04/24/2007 9:51 Comments ||
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#3
Hey Algeria, you gonna take that crap from those ignorant Arabian camel humpers?
Posted by: ed ||
04/24/2007 9:58 Comments ||
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So, Algeria, when are you going to put out a death fatwa on Yusuf Qaradawi? He's the top Islamic authority who gave such prominent sanctions for this sort of filth. Why not show the world how serious you are about this and go off the slimeball real soon. Then, maybe I'll believe you.
Germany has reason to believe it is about to finalize a billion-dollar deal with Japan on military equipment.
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, during his Asia trip last week, met with Japanese Denfens Minister Fumio Kyuma. While Jung had initially said he was not willing to use his trip for arms deals, German news magazine Der Spiegel said Monday he had led experts' talks involving Kyuma to find "a common relationship."
Japanese military officials will visit Germany and examine Bundeswehr military equipment, such as the Eurofighter jet, choppers and submarines, the news magazine said.
While a Eurofighter order is unlikely due to Japan's close ties with the United States, Tokyo is interested in transport and training helicopters, as well as a new German fuel cell engine for submarines and German technology to detect sea mines, the magazine said.
#1
That would be cool, and might even mean that the Euros will stop agitating to sell arms to China, since any Japanese purchases would probably be conditional on the continuation of the arms embargo.
#4
...The comment about the Japanese looking at the Eurofighter is kind of interesting, especially as they are dropping hints about how badly they want the F-22.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/24/2007 10:08 Comments ||
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The technology is going to leak anyway. Let's sell 96 to them, it'll bring our cost down and scare hell outa China. Australia needs a wing too, New Zealand needs an autographed picture and maybe a flyover. We may have to eventually just give Canada 48, then double our order.
THE man found guilty of raping a woman as punishment for reading the Bible lured her to his unit by claiming he had news of her family overseas. Abdul Reda al-Shawany was today found guilty of sexually assaulting the then-Muslim mother of four - a refugee from the Middle East who had left her children and husband behind - for her "insult" to Islam.
She had been studying the Bible because she was interested in Christianity. After the attack, at al-Shawany's Warwick Farm unit in Septmeber 2002, she converted.
It took a jury just half an hour to convict al-Shawany, 52, of two counts of assault at Campbelltown District Court. Even after the decision was handed down he protested his innocence, with his lawyer Christopher Pike indicating his intention to appeal. He said there was a viable alternative hypothesis as to how al-Shawany's DNA, in the form of semen, came to be on the victim's underwear - and that he believed his client could be acquitted on appeal.
An application for bail was refused by Judge Brian Knox, who said that the crime was "a fairly brutal attack". Al-Shawany will be sentenced in the Downing Centre on Friday, June 15th. His victim was not in court today.
#2
Is it possible for the "Appeal" to increase his sentence?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/24/2007 6:20 Comments ||
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He said there was a viable alternative hypothesis as to how al-Shawany's DNA, in the form of semen, came to be on the victim's underwear - and that he believed his client could be acquitted on appeal.
About the only thing I can come up with was that they were his underwear. Tell all his jailmates!
More of the kind of logic that will never solve anything!
#8
Note that this didn't shame her so much that she didn't convert to Christianity or kill herself. He was trying to inflict lethal shame on her, but all it did was to firm her desire to convert.
If Muslims lose their ability to coerce through violence, people will vote against them with their feet.
Reporters Without Borders (or Reporters Sans Frontiers) condemned on Monday an assault on a journalist working for a Pakistani newspaper in Canada, urging Ontario authorities to quickly punish those behind the attack.
According to an RSF report, Jawaad Faizi, working for Urdu weekly The Pakistan Post in Mississauga, Ontario Canada, was thrashed by two men. The attackers warned him of more violence if did not stop writing against Islam. His family also suffered harassment. The incident took place on April 17 when Faizi was leaving the home of his Editor Amir Arain. He was getting in a car when one of the attackers smashed the car windscreen and beat him up with a cricket bat.
They warned Faizi of more violence if he continued criticising an Islamic-aid organisation, Idara Minhajul Quran. Headquartered in Lahore, the organisation has offices in 17 countries and a representative in Toronto.
Faizi, who sustained an injury to his arm, told RSF, a Paris-based global press freedom organisation, that he was sure that Idara Minhajul Quran was behind the reprisals against him.
A day after the assault took place, he said he received a call from the administration of the school attended by his three children, asking him to keep them at home. He said he was worried for his family.
The evening before the attack, Faizi and his editor had told police that they had received threatening phone calls.
Arain had already received threats in December 2004, when he exposed the alleged involvement of some leading members of the Pakistani community in Canada in a drug case.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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In the conventional template of reporting on Iraq, glossy, controversial headlines often fail to reflect the reality of the situation on the ground. Take the latest reporting by McClatchy Newspapers' Nancy A. Youssef concerning the purported shift of U.S. military power away from training Iraqi Security Forces and back toward stability operations. The Detroit Free Press titles the article "U.S. plan backs off training of Iraqis," with a subtitle of "Policy shift entrusts security to American troop buildup." The Kansas City Star leads with "In a reversal, U.S. reliance on Iraqi army is fading," and subtitles with "Training troops is no longer a priority, changing the role of American forces." Forget the fact that Youssef provides no evidence within the article to back up such bold assertions. She relies on vague or nonexistent quotes from unnamed Pentagon and Washington officials, as well as Defense Secretary Robert Gates' failure to mention training last Thursday, to support her unfounded claim. In fact, many of the named officials in her article refute her assertion.
The fact is that the U.S. and Iraqi government continue to push the training of additional Iraqi combat and support troops, and are funding a dramatic growth in the capabilities in the Iraqi Security Forces. The Congress' failure to pass the Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) Supplemental Budget is the only thing holding up the growth and training of the Iraqi military. In the FY07 budget, Congress has inserted the demand for a date for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, a demand which has prompted President Bush to insist he will veto the legislation.
The decrease in the training of the Iraqi Security Forces that Youssef is detecting is the first effect of delaying the FY07 supplemental budget. The money to train the Iraqi units has dried up. While about 75 percent of the expansion of the Iraqi Security Forces is funded by the Iraqi government, this money is focused on equipping and training new combat units, including upgrading units to armored and mechanized divisions. The funds to train and equip over 33,000 Iraqi Army logistics, sustainment, maintenance, and support personnel comes from the U.S. FY07 supplemental budget.
Currently, the Iraqi Army has about 13,000 support personnel to sustain a 138,000 man force. The expansion of support personnel by 33,000 troops by the end of 2007 would provide the bare minimum support necessary for independent operations. The money to train the support units cannot be legally reappropriated from U.S. budgets to fund a foreign military equipment/training program, so the programs has stopped. This weakness in current Iraqi Security Forces structure is the focus of U.S. training in the "Year of Logistics." Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
04/24/2007 09:50 ||
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#1
Bush should direct the military to regain the funds by slashing the precious subsidies going to democrat congressmen's districts. We have enough mohair to last us to the year 5000, so we don't need more.
#2
...there are no indications the training has been curtailed, other than what is being restricted by the U.S. Congress' failure to pass the supplemental funding bill. Youssef should do her homework before making such provocative and inaccurate statements.
Why would she be interested in doing that, Bill?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/24/2007 12:54 Comments ||
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Government offices and banks reopened in Parachinar, Kurrum Agency, but government and private schools are still closed, officials said on Monday. Parachinar was the scene of some of the worst sectarian clashes in its history on April 6.
According to official figures, 83 people were killed and 210 were injured in the weeklong clashes. Government offices and banks opened today as law and order has improved with the deployment of army and paramilitary forces, said the officials, asking not to be named.
They said that long queues of people were seen in front of banks and other government offices and that the administration had arrested six people for allegedly disturbing law and order. The Parachinar-Peshawar highway is still dangerous and people are travelling in convoys with security cover, they said, adding that a night curfew was intact in Parachinar.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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Growing anger against the clerics of Lal Masjid was in evidence for the second time in less than a week as a throng of mostly women protesters gathered at China Chowk on Monday to demand the closure of Jamia Hafsa. The protestors gathered at the chowk and shouted slogans against religious extremists before rallying to the Parliament House. Undeterred by the midday heat, they shouted slogans like Mullah-Military itehad murdabad and Mullah raj nahain chaley ga and branded US President George W Bush and President Gen Pervez Musharraf as terrorists.
Police, including female personnel, tried to stop the protestors from approaching the Parliament building when they reached Parade Square but the people would not be deterred and continued their march. They held placards and banners with a host of messages against religious extremists trying to impose their brand of Islam on others. The most prominent banner stated, Stop barging into peoples homes, an obvious reference to the recent abduction of three women and a six-month-old child by madrassa girls.
The students of Jamia Hafsa and Fareedia madrassa recently kidnapped Shamim Akhtar along with her daughter, daughter-in-law and a six-month-old child, beat up the adults and freed them only after they sought public forgiveness. The extremists at Lal Masjid think that prostitution is the only wrong being done in this country. Why are they blind to the other, worse corruptions taking place? asked Aurat Foundations Naeem Mirza. He said the state was promoting lawlessness by not acting against the Taliban operating in the heart of the capital. No one has the right to take the law into his own hands, he added.
The protestors said the government was preaching enlightened moderation while allowing dangerous religious extremism to flourish right under its nose. They termed the illegal occupation of a childrens library by Jamia Hafsa students, the kidnapping of Akhtar, the patrols by madrassa students, the burning of CDs and DVDs and the imposition of Shariah in the Lal Masjid as fascist steps.
The rally participants condemned these acts and completely rejected enforcing religion in such a manner. They claimed that extremism in Islamabad and elsewhere in the country was a result of the governments thoughtless and dictatorial policies.
The rally, dominated by women, ended at the Parliament House amid slogans of Mullah Musharraf hai hai and Jamia Hafsa dramabazi bund karo. One of the protesting women said the growing extremism in the capital was the result of the governments refusal to act. These people know that they can go about terrorising everyone in the name of religion as no actions seems to be forthcoming against them, she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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One of the protesting women said the growing extremism in the capital was the result of the governments refusal to act. These people know that they can go about terrorising everyone in the name of religion as no actions seems to be forthcoming against them, she said.
Good gracious allan! She's bang on. Maybe light is beginning to dawn in Wakiland.
The president of the Iraqi Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent, the only relief organization operating in Iraq, is calling on the Democratic-led Congress to rethink its troop withdrawal strategy and recognize that Iraq suffers from a worsening humanitarian crisis. His call follows on the heels of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reids (D-Nev.) announcement yesterday that Appropriations Committee conferees will set a non-binding goal, as part of the 2007 emergency war supplemental, of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1, 2008.
Congressional leaders find themselves in a continuing stalemate with President Bush, who has vowed to veto any measure that contains a withdrawal timetable. Bush has the support of most Republicans on Capitol Hill.
In Washington for a series of advocacy meetings in Congress, Said Hakki, the president of the Iraqi Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent, expressed concern that by setting a withdrawal timetable, the U.S. would abandon Iraq at the height of a humanitarian crisis. It is important that Congress identifies that there is a humanitarian crisis in Iraq, Hakki said in an interview with The Hill. If they agree theres a crisis, lets not have America be a problem but the solution.
The Iraqi Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent Society or Organization, as it is often referred to, is an auxiliary arm of the Iraqi government and is a member of the International Federation of Red Thingy Cross and Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent Societies and the International Committee of the Red Thingy Cross (ICRC). Insisting that he is not a politician, Hakki a U.S. citizen who spends most of his time in Iraqs red zones is pushing for a time-out in what he calls the partisan squabble over the U.S. troop withdrawal timetable.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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Maybe Queen Nancy could go confer with Said Hakki?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/24/2007 5:45 Comments ||
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Rethink? Doesn't that imply they thought about it once already?
#3
The man obviously is not a politician. That there is a humanitarian crisis is important only so long as it is deemed to be Bush's humanitarian crisis. Anything that has the possibility of lessening that crisis can only serve to let Bush off the hook, so don't look to the Dems for help with this one. Its just politics.
#3
No more Trucefire? How will we live? How will we tell?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/24/2007 14:31 Comments ||
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The palies are mobilizing. I can hear their tiny little trains hammering across the countryside. The Lamps are going out all over Gaza I doubt we'll see them lit again in our lifetime, since most of them well have been sold to Italian metal merchants.
#5
Like Dinnerjacket in Iran, Hamas senses weakness and is exploiting it. In their peabrains, it is time to attack, with the West and Israel backing down, or not totally flattening Hizb'Allah.
They will back somebody in a corner, and that somebody will do some serious a$$kicking then. But before that time, it is business as usual.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/24/2007 18:00 Comments ||
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#6
well, then, there's no need for that EU funding transfer, is there. It's open season!
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/24/2007 20:32 Comments ||
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Point well made, Frank. Let's all hope that the EU will purchase a clue and realize that funding must not be resumed because Hamas has no intention of complying with any peace measures.
The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that President General Pervez Musharrafs offer to play mediator between the Palestinian authority and the Israeli government was part of his peace initiative and had nothing to do with Pakistans recognition of Israel.
Addressing a weekly press briefing, FO spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said that Pakistan was willing to play its role for peace in the Middle East if both sides agreed to have Pakistan as a mediator. She said that before making the offer, President Musharraf had visited Muslim countries and Pakistan hosted a meeting of foreign ministers of like-minded countries. She added that the presidents peace initiative had already yielded results in the form of reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah and it had raised awareness of the Palestinian issue. She said that Pakistans eagerness to help resolve the issue stemmed from the fact that the Middle East situation had a direct impact on Pakistan and the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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GAZA - Palestinian Interior Minister Hani Al Qawasmi has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in the first crack in a month-old unity government, Palestinian officials said on Monday.
That didn't take long.
One official said Qawasmi, who drew up a plan to reduce lawlessness in Gaza, had been frustrated by a lack of cooperation between Palestinian security chiefs.
"Please don't kill me!"
As interior minister, Qawasmis role was to oversee major Palestinian security services but President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah appointed one of Hamass main rivals, Mohammad Dahlan, to serve as the overall national security adviser. Some Palestinian analysts saw the appointment of Dahlan as a bid to sideline Qawasmi and minimise his control over the security services.
Felt a little superfluous, did he?
He discovered the lawlessness is a feature, not a bug.
Qawasmi assumed the post just over a month ago as part of a unity government between Hamas and Fatah aimed at ending factional fighting. But tensions between Hamas and Fatah remain high and lawlessness has spread, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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A proposed visit to Israel by King Abdullah II has triggered polemics both inside and outside Jordan. A meeting of 11 Arab foreign ministers in Cairo last week decided to send a delegation comprising the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt to Israel to relay the text of the Arab peace plan to Olmert. Up to 30 deputies of the Jordanian lower house of parliament have submitted a memorandum calling for an immediate halt to all negotiations and meetings with Israel, parliamentary sources said.
The signatories, who included both Islamists and pro-government lawmakers, cited Israels failure to abide by any truce with the Palestinians as well as its failure to implement any UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to the Palestinian question.
Less than 24 hours after Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had extended an invitation to Abdullah to visit Israel, Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians in new attacks on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, house members said. According to the head of the royal courts media department, the monarch is ready to exert any effort that may boost the Arab peace initiative that was readopted by Arab leaders in their summit meeting in Riyadh at the end of March despite the resumption of Israels assaults.
Israels fatal attacks on Palestinians on Saturday also drew angry reactions from the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordans largest political party and the political arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement. Alluding to the kings proposed visit to Israel, the chairman of the IAF Consultative Council Hamzeh Mansour said that the latest round of Israeli attacks should prompt the Arab world to realize the nature of the enemy they are mulling to cooperate with.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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Under a cloudless Carolina-blue sky, shipbuilders and the Navy on Saturday celebrated the christening of the North Carolina, the nation's newest fast-attack submarine. "May God bless her and all who sail in her," said ship sponsor Linda Bowman, a Navy wife for 38 years.
She smashed a bottle of American sparkling wine on the bow's "breaker bar," splattering the bubbly on her face and down the front of her blue suit. Bowman pumped her fists over her head, laughed as she spotted herself dry with a towel and then exchanged a high-five with her husband, retired Adm. Frank L. "Skip" Bowman, the former director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion.
Earlier, the morning's festive mood gave way to a solemn moment of silence for Monday's shooting victims at Virginia Tech. "We celebrate during a time of mourning and loss," said Mike Petters, president of shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News, who called Monday's shootings a "senseless and horrific tragedy."
More than 350 of the company's employees are Virginia Tech graduates. "It's a place where future shipbuilders are grown - some of the very best shipbuilders in the world," Petters said.
During the ceremony, the current crew's 115 sailors stood in formation, outfitted in dress whites, with arms folded behind their backs.
The North Carolina, estimated at $2.6 billion in 2005 dollars, is the fourth ship in the Navy's new Virginia-class of submarines. Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector is building the subs in a partnership with General Dynamics' Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. The two yards have moved closer to the Navy's target cost of $2 billion each.
Navy officials who spoke Saturday applauded the shipbuilders and the new submarine's capabilities. "At her top speed, she will make less noise than most of our submarines do at 5 knots," said Vice Adm. John Donnelly, commander of Naval Submarine Forces. "Her firepower, stealth and ability are tailored perfectly to meet maritime challenges of the future."
The nuclear-powered submarine is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to be named North Carolina. A handful of former crew members of the World War II-era battleship North Carolina, on display as a floating museum in Wilmington, N.C., attended the ceremony. "I'm happy to see them carrying on the proud name of the USS North Carolina," said Denny Jones, 80, of Jamestown, Ky., who served on the battleship from 1944- 46.
The submarine, which is about 88 percent complete, will be launched into the James River on May 5 with a scheduled December delivery date to the Navy.
They're christening the Hawaii next month at Groton. A friend of mine has family on it and is going up for the christening. (She's a little pissed it's not being christened in Hawaii, where it's supposed to be stationed. ;-p)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/24/2007 15:12 Comments ||
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Too bad it's so expensive and second-class compared to the Iranian super-subs.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/24/2007 15:30 Comments ||
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Too bad it's so expensive and second-class compared to the Iranian super-subs.
That's usually what happens when you compare fantasy to reality, Bobby. Fantasy always wins in talk-talk, but reality usually wins in war-war. The Iranians are going to be sh$$$ing cement bricks when they actually run across one of these subs in a real wartime situation. Iranian submariners will never know what happened to them.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/24/2007 18:00 Comments ||
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I wonder what these indigenous Iranian subs look like. An oil drum with a snorkel?
#7
#6: "I wonder what these indigenous Iranian subs look like. An oil drum with a snorkel?"
Wow, they've added a snorkel, gorb?
Must be the 2007 upgrade.
Their indigenous military-industrial simplex complex is really smokin'!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/24/2007 18:41 Comments ||
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I bet the Iranian Super Subs look like a hydraulic fluid slick after 30 seconds of war
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/24/2007 20:48 Comments ||
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Next year they plan to upgrade the indigenous rubber band propulsion system.
Posted by: john ||
04/24/2007 21:04 Comments ||
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Old Patriot: They would never get a hint of the submarine that nailed them. I gather the latest incarnation of the MK-48 torpedo puts the enemy in the same position as Sarah Connor.
The best hope to save yourself is to beach your ship, then have the crew put on disguises and fan out over the countryside, taking odd jobs for room and board, and hope that it doesn't get all of you.
Tehran, 24 April (AKI) - Police in the Iranian capital Tehran are cracking down on underground musical groups in a 'moralization' campaign which kicked off over the weekend. Security officials carried out raids on three unauthorized recording studios and arrested six members of three diferrent rap and rock groups who had not received the green light to play from the ministry of culture and Islamic orientation. Among those arrested is a top rapper, Reza Pishro, who is very popular among young Iranians. His illegally sold CDs are best selling hits across the country.
For the past two days, police have also been patrolling the apartment building of another star of Iranian rap music, Soroush Lashkari of the Hichkas (Nobody) group, who is at large to escape arrest. The latest album of the Hichkas, ''the jungle of asphalt', is considered homage to the Persian empire before it was "invaded by Arab bedouins to be converted to Islam" as one of the group's lyrics says.
Anyone need a copy? It's available on iTunes
In the Islamic Republic underground music is very popular among young people and all previous attempts to stop this phenomenon have failed. According to unofficial estimates, over 150 rap professional groups are active in the country and illegally record albums. Some of them have even performed in concerts abroad.
Under new rules which became effective over the weekend, police can arrest and detain women who do not respect the Islamic dress code.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/24/2007 09:24 ||
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Too bad the Iranians aren't stringing up these Muttawah bullies. If they were, I'd feel sorry for them. Since they aren't, they deserve it. Long ago the mullahs passed all boundaries of acceptable rule. The Iranian people are idiots for enduring it.
#2
Too bad the Iranians aren't stringing up these Muttawah bullies. If they were, I'd feel sorry for them. Since they aren't, they deserve it. Long ago the mullahs passed all boundaries of acceptable rule. The Iranian people are idiots for enduring it.
This is purely anecdotal but I think illustrative: I have several online acquaintances from Iran. They are all young and very much into American culture [I wonder what the culture police would think of their preferences for Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Slayer, Quentin Tarrantino films, etc.], but they are also heavily into drugs. They seem to just want to escape the madness by getting as stoned as they can. This fits with reports I've read of >20% drug addiction among young Iranians. For their sake, I don't discuss politics with any of them so I can't really gauge their politics, but I definitely get a sense of Persian pride and nostalgia.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on 14 foreign people, companies and government agencies, including the Syrian navy and air force, as part of a stepped up drive to halt banned military dealings with Iran and Syria.
The 14 entities which also include Hizbullah, a Pakistani national and firms from China, Malaysia, Mexico and Singapore are accused of selling to or buying from Iran or Syria missile technology or material to make weapons of mass destruction.
The sanctions, announced by the State Department on Monday, bar any U.S. aid, government contracts or export licenses to the named entities for two years. They may be renewed at any time during that period.
State Department officials refused to comment on specific allegations against those listed in the notice because the determinations involved sensitive intelligence. But, they said Washington had "credible evidence" they had been involved in illicit transfers.
The measures are largely symbolic because many of the targets are already subject to U.S. sanctions for previous similar transactions, most recently in December 2006, officials said.
However, the Syrian navy and air force, have never before been identified as violators of the Iran and Syria Nonproliferation Act, they said.
Neither has Hizbullah, which is backed by both Syria and Iran and is covered by existing U.S. sanctions because it is designated a "foreign terrorist organization" by the United States, they said.
The listed entities included the China National Precision Machinery Import/Export Corporation, the Shanghai Non-Ferrous Metals Pudong Development Trade Company and the Zibo Chemet Equipment Company (China).
Also listed were Sokkia Singapore PTE Ltd., Challenger Corporation and Target Airfreight of Malaysia, Aerospace Logistics Services of Mexico and Pakistani national Arif Durrani. Companies on the banned list are hq'd in: China, China, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Meheeco, and Pakistan.
Commander of the Islamic Republic navy said that his troops are due to test a missile with a range of over 150 km in the sea.
Speaking to Iran's state-run TV on Wednesday, Rear Admiral Sajjad Kouchaki further stated that the Iranian navy intends to increase its subsurface power, and continued, "If Iran possesses 50 submarines, it will find a good grip of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman."
He also said that the mighty presence of the Iranian navy in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and north of Indian Ocean is tangible for the regional and trans-regional countries, adding that the navy force is striving to reinvigorate its subsurface forces.
Saying that Iran owns the most powerful navy in the Middle-East region, the commander reminded that 90 to 95 percent of the equipment and weapons needed by the navy are designed and manufactured through home-made technology and by the Iranian experts.
He further pointed to the production of dual-purpose torpedoes and test firing of a fast radar-evading missile as among other achievements of the Iranian navy, adding that during future war games, an optimized missile with a range of over 150 km will be test fired.
The Admiral also reminded that the said missile will increase Iran's missile capability and defensive power.
#2
FREEREPUBLIC > CANDA article > 2nd similar report that AL-QAEDA may be planning to use radiological-dispersing device(s) in new mass-casualty attacks agz West.
The 1944 German V-2 had an operational range of 300 km, according to Wikipedia.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/24/2007 6:04 Comments ||
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#4
. . . the commander reminded that 90 to 95 percent of the equipment and weapons needed by the navy are designed and manufactured through home-made technology and by the Iranian experts.
He's probably exaggerating, but Iran has developed something of an indigenous aircraft industry. I remember reading somewhere that they back-engineered the F-5 and were making copies.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/24/2007 6:28 Comments ||
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#5
Mike-
He's exaggerating a LOT. They did come out with a single copy of a reverse engineered F-5but as far as I've been able to tell, they haven't flown it, and they sure as hell can't produce it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/24/2007 10:13 Comments ||
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#6
Not rev engineered. They took an F-5 and added twin stabilizers. No evidence the Iranians can build airframes, engines or avionics. And the video I saw of it "taxiing", I swear, had covers over the engine inlets and sounds of a running turbine. A true Iranian innovation, the non air breathing turbine. The enviros are gonna love it.
And wood/plastic mockups don't count usless the mullahs have a genie we don't know about.
Posted by: ed ||
04/24/2007 11:00 Comments ||
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#7
Interesting link, Ed. Why does it need several stands to hold it up? The landing gear need a rest? Can't take the stationary load?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/24/2007 12:58 Comments ||
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#9
Ed, thanks for the link to that video. In the one shot, I thought I saw intake covers, too, but in other shots there's heat shimmer coming from the exhaust nozzles, and we do see it flying, so there's at least one flyable example somewhere.
It may very well be a nice airplane, but if it's Israeli F-15 or F-16 against Iranian F-5 variant, I know which side's favored in Vegas.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/24/2007 15:23 Comments ||
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#10
It's an Estes Saturn V!
As to Iran having 50 submarines and then having a grip on the Persian Gulf, well, let's just say it would be a very "target rich" environment for the 3-4 hours it would take a couple US SSNs to hunt them all down.
DAMASCUS - Voting for Syrias parliament ended on Monday with reportedly low turnout and a widespread lack of enthusiasm for the two-day polls which opposition activists had urged supporters to boycott.
PencilNeck is going to claim a mandate, I just know it ...
Nearly 12 million Syrians were eligible to vote, according to the official SANA news agency, which also reported that 2,500 candidates stood for the 250 seats in the assembly. Results were expected to be announced on Tuesday. The vote took place in total freedom and transparency, SANA said on Monday, without giving turnout figures for the first days vote on Sunday.
Turnout is low but higher than yesterday, an official at a downtown Damascus polling station told AFP shortly before polls closed, walls behind him featuring posters of President Bashar Al Assad with his father and predecessor Hafez. Citizens, elections are a national democratic celebration. Vote for whoever you think is the most competent, read a nearby interior ministry sign.
"And we'll inform you as to who is competent."
While turnout on Monday appeared low at several other polling stations visited by AFP in the capital, an AFP photographer in Damascus poorer southern districts reported relatively high turnout with people queueing to vote.
Of course the AFP noticed that.
Residents appeared split on whether the election, totally lacking in suspense for most people, would bring any change.
Of the 250 seats, 167 are reserved for the ruling National Progressive Front (NPF) coalition, led by Assads Baath party. The party itself is guaranteed 131 seats, or 52 percent of the total. The other 83 seats are allocated to so-called independent candidates close to the authorities, according to lawyer Hassan Abdel-Azim, spokesman for six banned, but largely tolerated, parties operating under the umbrella National Democratic Rally (NDR). Abdel-Azim said it was pointless to take part in an election whose results are known in advance... The NPF will come out the winner, as it has done in all organised elections since 1973.
Does take the suspense right out of it.
Even the official Tishrin daily said last week that Syrians have lost their enthusiasm for the parliamentary elections.
How could they lose something they never had?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
52% of the seats reserved for the party of the president?
That would make Parliment more pliable!
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/24/2007 5:57 Comments ||
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During a press conference in Cairo with Arab league Secretary General Amr Moussa, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was asked by reporters about the status of the Shebaa farms.
Siniora responded as follows: Everyone is saying that Shebaa farms belong to Lebanon. Even our Syrian brothers are saying verbally Shebaa farms are Lebanese, except they will not put this affirmation in writing. We and the UN have asked the Syrians several times to confirm this in writing but they refused.
In view of the lack of cooperation of our Syrian brothers we have suggested to the UN to have this area under UN mandate. This way we will be able to liberate Shebaa farms which are currently occupied by Israel. Of course the alternative is to maintain the status quo which is no solution.
The Syrian foreign minister Walid Mouallem visited me in Beirut during the war between Hezbollah and Israel and confirmed to me during the meeting that Syria has no objection to having the Shebaa farms put under UN mandate. We considered this as a positive move by our Syrian brothers. after all, every centimeter we can liberate from Israel is an Arab gain. But unfortunately there has been a change in the Syrian position. They are now saying that Shebaa farms fall under UN Resolution 242 and not 425. This change in position will not help in reclaiming Shebaa farms in the near future and this will be a big loss for Lebanon and the Arab nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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Syria's Assad clan has always viewed Lebanon as 'greater Syria'. Does that make their terrorist proxies in Hezballah, Greater Syrians? Or just plan killers?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
04/24/2007 7:57 Comments ||
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#2
Well Duh. Shebaa Farms belongs to Lebanon and ALL of Lebanon belongs to Syria. I think the difference is in the equation.
European Union foreign ministers approved a regulation on Monday implementing United Nations sanctions against Iran after it refused to halt uranium enrichments, officials said.
The sanctions are targeted against individuals and organisations involved in Tehran's disputed nuclear and missile programmes, which the West suspects are aimed at making an atomic bomb. The EU list, which was not immediately made public, goes beyond persons identified in U.N. resolutions. EU officials said the regulation and a common political position opened the way for further names to be added to the list of persons denied entry to the 27-nation EU and whose assets are frozen.
On Wednesday, Iran and the European Union will resume talks in Turkey on Tehran's nuclear programme, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic bomb, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday. "Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana have agreed to hold atomic talks in Turkey," an unnamed official told Fars.
The official said Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had talks with Larijani and Solana in the past days over the issue. "I am going to meet him (Larijani) on Wednesday, in Turkey. I expect to begin resumption of the talks that we left some time ago to see if we can move towards negotiations," Solana told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
It will be Solana and Larijani's first such meeting since the United Nations passed fresh sanctions on Iran in March after Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment work. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/24/2007 00:00 ||
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The sanctions are targeted against individuals and organisations involved in Tehran's disputed nuclear and missile programmes
Iranian individual/company affected by the sanctions: "Gee, that bothers me!"
Iranian government: "Here, have some money. Now go be a good boy and get it done because it's a matter of national pride."
#2
FARSINEWS/BIGNEWSNETWORK > EU WILLING TO LET IRAN KEEP PART OF ATOMIC PROGRAM, despite SPACEWAR/WORLDNEWS articles yestiddy ascribing that Moud = Iran will NOT yield or compromise on its right to "nuke enrichment" for "energy".
#3
See also GUARDIAN.uk > FUTURE OF NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA BEING WIEGHED. US General says NK may be a "moderate nuclear power" by Year 2010. USA Officios > NK's failure to retrieve its $$$ from Banco Delta Asia despite US release may be due to its lack of experience in international banking matters.
#1
The event is real, the article is satire. Very good, Scrappleface-style satire. One can only wish the event was reported this way in the real media.
A middle school student in Lewiston, Maine is being investigated by the police for a possible hate crime after he placed a bag containing a ham sandwich on a table where Somali students eat lunch. According to the school's superintendent, Leon Levesque, the student has been suspended, and more disciplinary action could follow pending the outcome of the investigation.
According to Superintendent Levesque, "the school incident is being treated seriously as a hate incident." Police are currently investigating the matter alongside the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, who is also working with the school to create an anti-ham "response plan."
"If people think insulting Muslims with ham is okay, more degrading acts will follow. The Jews had to go through the same thing when the Nazis would force-feed them bacon; do we really want our schools to become concentration camps?"
#4
The Jews had to go through the same thing when the Nazis would force-feed them bacon
This has to be from Scrappleface, right? AFAIK, the concentration camps barely got any food, and even if the Nazis had tried to feed them nothing but pork, as I understand it, in Judaism it's acceptable to eat pork if the alternative is starving.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/24/2007 9:12 Comments ||
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Stephen Wessler, the executive director of the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence: "... No child, Muslim or normal, should have to endure touching a ham sandwich."
So, there you have it from the PC policeman himself-- Muslims aint normal.
#7
Sure, it starts out with ham sandwiches. Then it escalates to deviled ham squirted into lockers.
Posted by: ed ||
04/24/2007 10:00 Comments ||
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#8
Stephen Wessler, the executive director of the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence: "... No child, Muslim or normal, should have to endure touching a ham sandwich."
#10
. "That ham sandwich in a bag where we couldn't even see might as well have been that pig's head," said one of the traumatized Somali students, "and that cafeteria might as well have been the most religious building for Muslims in the state of Maine."
First off, these "students" don't know what actual trauma is all about. After a good dose of the real thing they'd realize that a ham sandwich is their bestest friend.
Second, this crapulence about the cafeteria being "the most religious building for Muslims in the state of Maine" is just the usual Muslim expropriation of Infidel property. The cafeteria isn't Mecca, its a place where people eat all kinds of strange stuff like ham, bacon, liverwurst or sausage. Horreurs! If the notion is repulsive, get the fuck out and stay out!
I'm hoping the above quotes are part of the satirical writing, but I've got this uneasy feeling that they aren't. This sort of Muslim entitlement has got to end. It is absolutely corrosive to our freedoms and encouraging the very worst subversion of our constitutional rights. All of this is being done by the least constructive members of America's immigrant community. When will this nation wake up to this fact?
#11
Although docile in nature, the ham sandwich is the natural predator of the Muslim middle-school student, often disguising itself as a lunch item until it can get close enough to the Muslim to consume its soul.
#14
Another bit of satire would be the origination of the well meaning citizens of Maine bringing in the 'refugee' Somalians in the '90's. Working out for you Senators Snowe and Collins?
#15
I still think it would be a brilliant idea to market an inexpensive hand cream to Hindus, Buddhists and Christians living near Muslims, that contained some variety of pork by-product.
If they objected to pork fat, not wanting to hurt the pigs, then a small quantity of pig urine or sweat could be added instead.
Imagine the effect it would have on Muslims if all an infidel had to do was to touch them, for them to go to hell.
#22
The article doesn't state specifically whether the student did it wid MALICE AFORETHOUGHT, although malice may be implied as via his "suspension" from school [no malice, no suspension?].
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.
Reporters Without Borders (or Reporters Sans Frontiers) condemned on Monday an assault on a journalist working for a Pakistani newspaper in Canada, urging Ontario authorities to quickly punish those behind the attack. 
Growing anger against the clerics of Lal Masjid was in evidence for the second time in less than a week as a throng of mostly women protesters gathered at China Chowk on Monday to demand the closure of Jamia Hafsa. The protestors gathered at the chowk and shouted slogans against religious extremists before rallying to the Parliament House. Undeterred by the midday heat, they shouted slogans like Mullah-Military itehad murdabad and Mullah raj nahain chaley ga and branded US President George W Bush and President Gen Pervez Musharraf as terrorists.
DAMASCUS - Voting for Syrias parliament ended on Monday with reportedly low turnout and a widespread lack of enthusiasm for the two-day polls which opposition activists had urged supporters to boycott.
