Nearly 5,000 store owners, managers and business executives have been arrested since the government began its campaign to slash prices last month, state media reported Thursday.
The government ordered that prices be slashed by around 50 percent to curb inflation, officially at 4,500 percent but estimated to be twice as high. Already scarce staple foods, gasoline and many basics have disappeared from shelves because store owners say they can't afford to sell at the new low prices.
The Herald newspaper said that at least 23 owners and managers of shops and gasoline stations had been arrested for overcharging Wednesday, bringing the total to 4,926.
A senior police official, Bothwell Mugariri, told the newspaper -- a government mouthpiece -- that the latest to be arrested were rounded up in Harare's central business district and would appear in court Friday. Most of those arrested -- among them several of the country's top businessmen -- have been briefly jailed.
President Robert Mugabe told parliament Tuesday that his government was committed to its program to restore "price stability" and protect ordinary consumers from "inexplicable and astronomical" price increases by profiteers.
#1
That's right! At Crazy Bob's, we're slashing prices! SLASHING PRICES!! SLASHING PRICES!!! Anybody who slashes them anymore ought to be arrested! So come on down to Crazy Bob's where the prices, and the owner, are...INSANE!!!
LONDON (AP) - Britain has agreed to let the United States use a Royal Air Force base as part of its planned missile defense system, British Defense Secretary Des Browne announced Wednesday. Browne said Menwith Hill, a U.S. military listening station in northern England, would be equipped with communications equipment enabling it to route satellite warnings about missile launches to British and American officials.
The defense secretary said in a written statement to lawmakers that the move was "a building block to enhance our national and collective security." He said there were no plans to locate missile interceptors in Britain, but added that the government was keeping the matter under review.
Britain supports the contentious U.S. plan to deploy a missile defense system in Europe, although American officials have indicated that Britain's role would likely be limited to providing early warning information.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
RAF Wideawake is it? Well, that certainly answers the ranging question. And there you have it President Putin.
#2
One of Russia's criticisms agz Amer interceptors being based in Eastern Europe is their claim that Amer actually intends to build a stratified or multi-layered TMD in Europe aimed at Russia, and not only wid 10 'Ceptors either. *WORLDNEWS/
LUCIANNE > the US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES had recently voted to preclude/deny Dubya = USA from building permanent military bases in Iraq and by extens Afghanistan, which undoubtedly makes Russ happy as to prospects for LT US GMD basings in Eastern Europe.
Riots which erupted in Harmondsworth and Campsfield House immigration removal centres could happen again, an official report warned yesterday.
It blamed overcrowding, poor physical conditions and problems in handling casework for contributing to the disturbances which destroyed a block at Campsfield, Oxfordshire, in March this year and caused extensive damage to Harmondsworth, near Heathrow, last November.
The review, commissioned by the Home Office, calls for better staff training, more information for detainees and legal representatives, and tighter controls on foreign prisoners kept with those refused asylum. The report's author, Robert Whalley, said: "The underlying causes are still there and, without any changes, the same thing could happen again at either establishment."
He said the two incidents were very different, but noted that both occurred when "population pressures ... were accompanied by dislocation in casework handling, especially in the case of foreign national prisoners". He added: "Much benefit would be gained, and much frustration relieved, by giving more attention to basic office disciplines and courtesies such as answering faxes, returning phone calls, checking information is accurate and giving regular updates."
Mr Whalley also noted that foreign prisoners tempted to join in disturbances had little to lose, because they were already facing deportation. But realistically they would continue to be held with those refused asylum, because of pressures on the prison system.
The Harmondsworth riot broke out after the chief inspector of prisons criticised "aggressive" and "intimidating" staff there. Yesterday's review describes her remarks as a trigger for events, but not a cause.
Lin Homer, chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, said it had begun implementing changes, as well as building a new centre at Gatwick and rebuilding Harmondsworth. She added: "Detention is an essential element in the enforcement of immigration control."
But Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the report detailed "fundamental flaws" with the centres, adding: "Detention is not an appropriate way to deal with people who are seeking, or who have sought, asylum in the UK. These are people who have committed no crime, and who are often extremely vulnerable, yet who have been locked up in circumstances where there is little access to information, who don't know how long they will be imprisoned, and held in centres that are poorly run and badly managed."
Damian Green, the shadow immigration minister, said the government should stop holding foreign prisoners with failed asylum seekers.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
07/26/2007 07:29 ||
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Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Who's worse: simple, uncomplicated people whom thousands of years of experience taught that they must conquer and subjugate---or forever remain inferior; or highly educated members of the World most advanced societies who assist said conquest?
#5
I'ma gonna start waging jihad with a Libyan bullet.
What chall think about THAT?? My freestyle goes to a whole new level... CHALLENGE ROUND: y'all gotta fight the boss this time.
#11
I'm just mouthing off TW, seeing if you have any nice things to say to me (you always do- yay!) or if some DHS guy comes up and demands my biometric passport. If you don't hear from me, John Ashcroft is hold a secret military tribunal for my sorry *ss.
#12
"The Arabs here were sad after 9/11. Believe me, nobody in this community supports bin Laden. He is a criminal. He makes our life difficult here," said Walid Rabah, chief editor of Paterson's Arab Voice newspaper.
Sad enough to hold well-attended protest rallies and publicly denouce al Qaeda, violent jihad and genocide against the Jews?
Didn't think so.
Sad because Osama blew your cover and forced you to start paying lip service to American values instead of continuing your insular existence?
More likely.
Certainly not sad enough for your local imams to issue a death fatwa against Osama. How many of those have there been?
WASHINGTON A provision aimed at providing whistleblower protection to Americans who report suspicious activity has advanced on Capitol Hill despite opposition from some Democrats, as top Republicans announced an agreement last night.
The House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, and Rep. Peter King, a Republican of Long Island, said last night that they had reached agreement to include what has become known as the "John Doe" amendment in the final version of a major homeland security bill to implement the recommendations of the commission established to investigate the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Hey Zenster, feeling better?
#2
Several blogs posted yesterday that the language has raised the bar on the protection. There must be "reasonable, objective evidence" that the baddies are in fact baddies. Sounds OK on the face of it but it is designed to allow scumbag lawyers (please excuse the the redundancy) to argue that it wasn't reasonable and therefore John Doe should be subject to harassment suits.
Air Force Gen. Victor "Gene" Renuart, who heads U.S. Northern Command, said that as the terrorism threat within the nation's boundaries has increased officials have strengthened intelligence sharing, particularly in an effort to shore up security at ports.
"I believe there are cells in the United States, or at least people who aspire to create cells in the United States," Renuart said in an interview with The Associated Press. "To assume that there are not those cells is naive and so we have to take that threat seriously."
Renuart, who took over at U.S. Northern Command just four months ago, said the military has one brigade-size unit available to respond to nuclear, chemical and biological incidents at home. That number, he said, needs to grow to three. A brigade is about 3,500 troops.
Port security has long been identified as a key weak point for terror attacks, including the need to scan cargo containers coming into the country by ship.
Renuart said officials are expanding their use of sensors and other technologies that allow them to track ships, including their location, their speed and other commercial information. And, while he would not provide details, he said there has already been "real payback" in terms of identifying vessels of concern and either checking or boarding them well before they entered U.S. waters.
In addition, he said he is increasing the number of Coast Guard personnel assigned to U.S. Northern Command to help during port security incidents or hurricanes. Currently there are 20 active duty personnel, and a new team of five reservists was created in April. Another five reservists are being added to that team by the end of the year.
"Because the national intelligence estimate talks about the vulnerability of ports, and because of the importance that we place on the movement of a variety of goods through those ports, finding ways to improve that is a really important element of our day-to-day work," Renuart said.
Renuart said he has been working to improve the interaction between his office and the other intelligence agencies to ensure that information on terror threats is shared. That way, he said, the military will better be able to anticipate how terrorists might try to take advantage of any gaps or weaknesses in the system.
At the same time, he said it will be at least two years before he is able to pull together the military units he needs to better respond to a chemical, biological or nuclear disaster in the U.S.
Overall, this seems like a pretty pathetic level of resources for a damned important function. I'd feel a whole lot safer if half the TSA budget were put under this guy's authority and passengers could carry heat.
It would appear to me that he has already provided more than enough "detail." Gen. Victor "Gene" Renuart....? Why do I picture a man in a Kepi, reviewing a line of pilots standing in front of their Spads?
#2
Overall, this seems like a pretty pathetic level of resources for a damned important function. I'd feel a whole lot safer if half the TSA budget were put under this guy's authority and passengers could carry heat. why , so they can blow holes in the plane?
#3
Re: the comments about scanning ships; the WA-Canada Peach Arch truck crossing customs station has installed some new sensors at all the queues for cars; i did not see the truck portals but i am going to guess they also have them. i can only assume they are some sort of x-ray or explosives detectors, but there were no warnings signs visible. on one hand that makes me feel good that there is actually something positive being done, but the other wants to know about any potential concerns for those with pacemakers and the like...
All cargo entering the US on ships would have to undergo thorough screening at foreign ports under new legislation agreed by key congressional committees - a move attacked on Wednesday by the shipping industry as a recipe for chaos.
The Senate and House homeland security committees reached a deal late Tuesday on implementing recommendations made by the 9/11 commission established to investigate the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
US cargo importers warned that the measure would threaten already congested cargo systems with chaos.
US cargo importers warned that the measure would threaten already congested cargo systems with chaos. The legislation, which still needs full congressional approval, breaks with the principle followed since the 9/11 attacks, which required just containers seen as posing a risk to be examined.
Stewart Verdery, a former senior Bush administration Homeland Security official, said the measure would be very difficult to implement because technology did not exist to conduct such comprehensive scans. James Carafano, a homeland security expert at the Heritage Foundation, agreed, saying the requirement was political theatre that would antagonise US allies.
But Democrats painted the legislation as a victory. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, called it a bill to make the American people safer.
The bill calls for all air freight to be examined within three years and all sea containers within five years.
The bill has been supported by Congress members who believe previous legislation such as last years Safe Ports Act has been too weak in addressing the risk that a terrorist attack might be mounted on the US from within a shipping container.
It calls for all air freight to be examined within three years and all sea containers within five years, although it allows for extensions to the deadlines.
Erik Autor, vice-president for international trade at the National Retail Federation, said there would be significant technical challenges in meeting the bills requirements. He questioned, for example, whether the Department of Homeland Security had the resources to examine promptly the millions of images that would be created annually of containers scanned at overseas ports.
A homeland security official said the legislation could also prevent some eastern European countries from participating in the US visa waiver programme. Under the legislation, countries with visa refusal rates higher than 10 per cent, which include Poland, would have difficulty signing up for the programme.
#1
These are good measures, long overdue. F**k these importers and the f**king camels they rode in on. Who are the main whiners, Wally-Mart ? Screw them.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, called it a bill to make the American people safer.
no thanks Nancy. Sounds like alot of money to me for not knowing how well the foreign ports are monitored.
Posted by: Jan ||
07/26/2007 1:01 Comments ||
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#3
"AT overseas ports" > well alrighty then, lets start scanning them at PIncorrect domestic ports closer to political constituencies. WHat this article is basically inferring is thatas time goes on, THE THREAT TO THE USA + NORAM [NAU???] FROM NUCLEAR-WMD TERROR ATTACK(S) WILL SHIFT OVERSEAS AND BEYOND THE INTERNAT DATE LINES, e.g. Guam + other Pacific Islands, etal.
+ Late great Guam singer JD CRUTCH > GOTTA LISTEN TO THE VOICES ... GUAM TAOTAOMONA PROPHECIES FOR GUAM + USA + WORLD.
#4
Well, let's not forget that most of what exists in the room that you're in right now was imported. Raising freight charges can make or break a lot of companies.
And there's the whole issue of it won't work. This idea is a clusterfuck waiting to happen.
#5
Perhaps we need to import less and employ more two and four legged inspectors. How much tariff and tax money is being scammed by not paying for what is really in those containers?
Build it here with US citizens doing the work instead of importing some crap that breaks in 90 days that was made in China.
#6
James Carafano, a homeland security expert at the Heritage Foundation, agreed, saying the requirement was political theatre that would antagonise US allies.
Uh thank you, uh thank Jim for remembering all off our wonderful Allies overseas-uh....both of them-uh, no worries here tonight volks. And now Myron will crank up his accordion for a lively polka which you will all recognize. Come Norma lets uh-dance.
#8
This makes as much sense as inspecting airline passengers as they deplane. If it's a good idea, let's implement it for food and everything else coming across the Mexican border.
#10
Also a recipe for chaos? An atomic bomb detonating in Boston harbor.
Beating a dead camel here but the better thing to do would be to cut off the evil at its source rather than adding bandaid after bandaid to the problem.
#11
I agree with SPOD.
But it's sad to realize that we've already crossed into the world trade market and I don't see us going back.
NS, the vision of feeling folks up gave me a morning chuckle. lol
Posted by: Jan ||
07/26/2007 11:41 Comments ||
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#12
I'm sorry if your shirt was Made in China and now your gonna have to pay more for it. But then I saw a shirt at Nordie's the other day that was Made in China and cost $120. We can't make a shirt in this country for $120? Sometimes I think it's just all a big lie.
I really hate to see the commies getting all our money so if this slows them down a bit I'm all for it even if there is no security benefit and even if it cost more. Spiteful, huh?
If we can't make it here then moving the manufacturing to Mexico means more jobs for that country which means fewer illegal aliens from that country and less money for the PLA. Win-win-win.
#13
how does this smoke and mirrors prevent a ship from docking someplace else and shuffling containers with the stack pierside? or simply meeting up underway and doing the same thing? who's to know? we gonna put folks on all the piers in all the ports in all the countries?
Federal Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq has said the government will not hesitate to take action against any madrassas involved in militancy. Speaking in a Geo television programme on Wednesday, Haq said clerics would be taken into confidence before the government takes any action against such madrassas. He said the Interior Ministry had been asked to gather information about unregistered madrassas and those involved in militancy. Concerning the Lal Masjid operation, the federal minister said the government had nothing to hide about it because it was launched on provocation. He said there were still 50 bodies that were unidentified and DNA testing was being carried out before their identities could be revealed to the public. He said Maulana Ashfaque had only temporarily been appointed as Lal Masjid deputy cleric.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman may again have to step in to save the 2006 peace pact with Taliban militants in North Waziristan, after an all-tribes jirga requested the local Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam MNA to approach his party chief.
A member of the jirga told Daily Times on Wednesday that JUI MNA from North Waziristan Maulana Nek Zaman had been asked to approach Maulana Fazl to break the deadlock over the question of removal of security check-posts, with both the government and the militants sticking to their positions on the issue.
We told the MNA that as the Maulana sahib had played a role in the deal last year he can play the same role now as well, the member said on condition of anonymity.
The JUI-F MNA was told the Maulana sahib should talk to (President Gen Pervez) Musharraf to elicit some sort of flexibility from the government on removing the check-posts. What we want is that both sides move away from their present stands to keep the negotiations going, the jirga member said. The Taliban pulled out of the accord on July 15, saying the government had violated the September 5, 2006, deal by re-establishing check-posts.
On Tuesday, NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai rejected the Taliban demand for removal of the check-posts, saying the Taliban have to guarantee peace first. He told the jirga members that deteriorating law and order prompted the security forces to take control of the check-posts. Jirga members from North Waziristan dashed to Miranshah on Tuesday to try and secure a Taliban guarantee for peace as a pre-requisite for withdrawing the check-posts, after they declined to offer this guarantee on behalf of the Taliban.
Maulana Fazl was instrumental in convincing Taliban leaders to reach the deal with the government last year. Tribal sources in Miranshah told Daily Times that the Taliban could change their stance on the withdrawal of security check-posts if Maulana Fazl intervenes. His request will be difficult for the militants to ignore, they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
Pro-Taliban militant commander Abdullah Mehsud, who blew himself up on Tuesday to avoid arrest by security personnel in Zhob, Balochistan, was buried in his native Nanoo village in South Waziristan on Wednesday amidst pro-jihad slogans by armed militants and thousands of tribesmen, witnesses said.
"Nanoo" village, Orson? What kind of projihad slogans? "Death before decomposition"?
The militants looked extremely sad when Mehsuds body was lowered into the grave, Shafiullah, who attended Mehsuds funeral, told Daily Times.
You're supposed to do that at funerals, dumbass. You wait until the grave's been filled in to dance on it.
There is no confirmed report that senior Taliban leaders like Baitullah Mehsud, Mullah Abdul Khaliq or Mullah Nazir Ahmed attended the funeral of their dead comrade.
No, no! Certainly not! But I'm wondering what a bearded and beturbannned Talib uses for a disguise. A false smooth chin?
Just how many burqa-clad 'wimmin' were present?
Mullah Nazir paid his tribute when Mehsuds body was moved through Wana early on Wednesday, but he did not comment on the incident.
"I gots nuttin' to say. Nuttin'."
Villagers said it is not clear whether Mehsuds supporters would launch attacks on security forces in South Waziristan to avenge the loss of their commander. South Waziristan has been peaceful since Mullah Nazir threw out Uzbek militants earlier this year.
"Ah, da tranquil calm of Sout' Wazoo!"
AFP adds: Commander Abdullah died a heros death, local Taliban commander Noor Sayed told the gathering at Mehsuds funeral. He did not surrender to the forces working for the infidels and preferred to die in an honourable way, setting an example for all mujahedin to follow him, he added.
Yeah. "Death before decomposition."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#2
Why was this maggot's body surrendered for proper burial? Know terrorists killed in action should have their remains cremated as an unfriendly gesture towards those who seek to murder us. Please pause to consider the jihadi networking and recruitment that went on at this guy's funeral. This must no longer be allowed, that is, unless we drop a JDAM on the procedings when they're at peak attendance.
A forthcoming visit by the new British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to Pakistan comes at yet another delicate moment in relations between the West and President Pervez Musharraf, according to a BBC News article.
Didja ever notice that when they get one of these important furriners come visitin' they usually manage to bang a Key Aide or somebody of similar stature?... You did?... It's that obvious, is it?... And I thought I was so smart...
Concern has been expressed, particularly in Washington, about President Musharrafs ability to control the remote tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan, in which, according to US officials, Osama Bin Laden is probably located and Al Qaeda is rebuilding its organisation in a safe haven.
Musharraf counters that he is acting against terrorism throughout Pakistan, doing so most recently when he ordered troops to storm Lal Masjid occupied by Islamic militants in Islamabad. The current point at issue is the future of the agreement he reached with tribal leaders in North Waziristan last year under which the areas would be policed largely by the tribes themselves. A US National Intelligence Estimate on the threat to the US homeland from Al Qaeda issued last week concluded that this policy had not worked, We assess the group has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability, including a safe haven in FATA, operational lieutenants, and its top leadership.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Al Qaeda #3 coming right up....
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/26/2007 8:16 Comments ||
Top||
Terming Qazi Hussain Ahmeds resignation a complete violation of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) manifesto, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman has formally asked Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to explain in what capacity Qazi resigned from the National Assembly. The National Assembly seat was the property of MMA, not that of an individual or of a single political party. As part of a larger alliance, Qazi has violated the MMA manifesto and he is not allowed to take decisions in his individual capacity, said Fazl in a press conference here on Wednesday.
He said Qazis decision had startled him and his party. Subsequently, a JUI delegation met in Karachi with senior JI leaders, including Professor Ghafoor Ahmed, Syed Manwar Hassan and former Karachi City District Nazim Nimathullah Khan a few days ago. During the meeting, the JUI delegation asked the JI leadership how Qazi could resign without taking his own party and the MMA into confidence. Qazi has to make it clear that either he does not abide by the JI party rules or JI should tell us that it does not abide by the MMA rules. Alliances do not function and survive like this. Individuals and single parties are always bound to respect the decision of the majority in a larger alliance, he said. Fazl made it clear and final that MMA will not resign from the present assemblies at any cost. Therefore, we should no longer be asked whether or not we are resigning from the assemblies.
The JUI chief totally disowned district party leader Sheikh Ayub, who owned the house in Zhob in which leading Taliban commander Abdullah Meshood blew himself up on Tuesday. The man who has been identified as a district leader of JUI no longer belongs to our party. He was expelled three months ago due to violation of party discipline. The government is conspiring to defame our party and portray it as an undemocratic party, he said, stating also that the government had once launched a similar line of action against Jamaat-e-Islami.
Replying to a question, Fazl said the worsening law and order situation in the country and the new wave of suicide bombings in the tribal areas was an overt backlash against the operation carried out in Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid. He offered mediation between the government and the tribal leaders of Waziristan in the greater national interest. This is our country and we have to save it from breaking. The end of the Waziristan peace accord between tribal elders and the government has only pleased the US and western countries. The country has been overtaken by a conflagration from all sides due to the wrong policies of the government, he added.
According to Fazl, peace cannot be established in Waziristan unless the army fully withdraws from the tribal areas and the government respects the accord tribal elders had signed with the government, which envisaged complete internal autonomy for the tribal agencies. The leader of the opposition said his party would never negotiate with General Musharraf or any other dictator. He added that he regretted the news about Benazir Bhutto brokering a deal with the establishment.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
The US authorities have pointed out the locations of nine alleged terrorist training camps in North Waziristan to Pakistani authorities and an anti-terrorism campaign has been started in the area, Geo news reported on Wednesday. Quoting its sources, the channel said that Pakistan and the US would act secretly against terrorists in Waziristan. They said that the action against Abdullah Mehsud in Balochistan was part of the silent operation started under US pressure. The channel reported that US authorities have warned of dire consequences if America was attacked by terrorists during this period.
Meanwhile, a United States embassy spokeswoman rejected Geo television channels report that the US planned to strike nine places in North Waziristan. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton told Daily Times that there was no threat to Pakistan from the US government. Pakistan and the US are allies in the war on terror and we are cooperating closely, she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Would prefer they were pointed out to the Paki-Waki's as "use-to-be's." It is written: "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."
#2
Now that they have been pointed out, give the Pakistan military 24 to take them out, or the U.S. will send a couple of cruise missiles or Special Ops teams to deal with them. Enough is a enough of this nonsense.
Israel is proposing new talks with the Palestinians about an agreement of principles that could establish a Palestinian state on 90 percent of occupied territory, the Haaretz daily newspaper reported on Wednesday. The Haaretz newspaper said that while Olmert wanted to discuss Palestinian institutions and economic issues with Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as first stage, he hoped to move on to a discussion of borders. Under the so-called principles the sides could agree to, a Palestinian state could be built on some 90 percent of land in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, the newspaper said. The sides had discussed a similar deal in peace talks that broke down during violence in 2001. Israel would also propose linking the West Bank to coastal Gaza with a tunnel, and a territorial exchange that would permit the Jewish state to keep major Jewish settlement blocs in the land it captured in a 1967 war, the newspaper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The Tamil Tigers use a worldwide network of fake charities and a sophisticated smuggling operation to raise up to $300 million a year to fund a separatist battle with the Sri Lankan government, Jane's Intelligence Review reported in its August edition. The London-based journal said the Tigers' fundraising prowess enabled the group to develop "one of the most sophisticated insurgencies in the world," which includes an army, navy and even a primitive air force of a few light aircraft.
An international crackdown on funding for terror groups in recent years was thought to have battered the Tigers' fundraising. But Jane's reported that the group still managed to make between $200 million and $300 million a year. The group uses fake charities to raise money from Tamil expatriates and also smuggles arms, drugs and possibly even people through the nearby southern Indian province of Tamil Nadu, the report said.
Sounds a lot like the Paleos, doesn't it.
Cambodia is a major source of the militant group's weapons, though it is also believed to smuggle arms in from North Korea, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine and other Southeast Asian nations, Jane's reported. The Tigers are expected to use a wave of unrelenting government airstrikes against their de facto state in northern Sri Lanka to appeal for further funds to buy anti-aircraft technology, Jane's reported.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
As the list of dead soldiers grows, anger mounts in villages of north Lebanon where the army has been locked in a deadly showdown with Islamist militants for more than two months. Black-clad women shout angrily as men in sombre mood sit in heavy silence next to portraits of the "martyred" soldiers in impoverished villages in the remote north -- a main reservoir for the country's armed forces.
Elite unit soldier Bassam Jawhar, 29, was killed on July 14 during the ongoing battles around Nahr al-Bared refugee camp where Fatah al-Islam militants have been under army siege since May 20. He was killed when a booby-trapped building collapsed on a patrol in Nahr al-Bared and it took the army six days to retrieve his body from under the rubble due to the intensity of the battles.
Like Jawhar, six other soldiers from Bebnin fell in combat in Nahr al-Bared in two months. At his family home in the village, his widow Mariam, wearing a black dress and an embroidered headscarf, sits near the giant portrait of the "Shahid" (martyr in Arabic) standing proudly in full combat gear and holding a rocket-launcher. "I delivered our baby the day he left, 50 days ago exactly," said Mariam, 23. "He only saw the baby twice."
In another room, the grandfather holds his newly-born granddaughter in his arms as an endless queue of men flock in to present their condolences. The procession takes place in silence, but anger is boiling. "Don't say Fatah al-Islam, it is an insult to Islam. Say 'the criminal gang of Shaker al-Abssi,'" the Islamist group's commander, said Mohammed Jawhar, a cousin of the slain soldier.
Across the dusty villages of the impoverished northern province of Akkar, the men enroll in the country's armed forces by local tradition but mostly by necessity. "There is not a single house where there is no soldier," explained 42-year-old Zeina Sufain, who lost her 19-year-old son Firas on May 22. "There is no work here. Even for those who go to school," she said.
The list of soldiers killed in Nahr al-Bared has painfully reached 116, including 27 servicemen on the first day of the clashes when the Islamist extremists attacked most of them in their beds. Reports of "massacres" against off-duty soldiers by Fatah al-Islam, including harrowing stories of servicemen executed at gunpoint or slaughtered with knives seemed to have at least momentarily ended decades of good relations with the Palestinian refugee camp. "Let them go to hell," shouted Sahar, Bassam's aunt. "We will never let the camp be rebuilt. We will never accept that the Palestinians come back.
"We used to buy from their shops, but they are traitors. They harbored these criminals, they helped them... Some of them even married their girls to the terrorists."
We used to buy from their shops, but they are traitors. They harbored these criminals, they helped them," Mohammed Jawhar said.
"Some of them even married their girls to the terrorists" from Fatah al-Islam, shouted another man.
But despite their grief and great losses, Akkar villages continue to back the army and its military campaign on Nahr al-Bared. "In Akkar we love the army," said a cousin of one of the slain soldiers in Bebnin.
But in a poor house further down the street, Zeina Soufain voices rare criticism of the army. "They sent them (soldiers) there (to Nahr al-Bared) like cannon fodder. They had no experience, and they only had a Kalashnikov," she said.
Back at the Jawhar reception hall, a soldier came to present his condolences before returning to Nahr al-Bared after a six-hour leave, his first in 14 days. "Morale is high, even the wounded soldiers want to return" to the battlefront, the soldier who did not wish to be identified told Agence France Presse.
"With our meagre means, we are combating a very well-trained enemy that kills with unbelievable savagery,"
"With our meagre means, we are combating a very well-trained enemy that kills with unbelievable savagery," he said.
The soldier said the army was surprised by the "very sophisticated arms" of Fatah al-Islam which he said had "high-precision rifles, infra-red goggles and remote-controlled landmines." He said the soldiers "stay three days in the camp. They take turns to sleep. Then they leave and others replace them."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Fatah al-Islam
#1
What are they waiting to use artillery and planes?
#4
"Let them go to hell," shouted Sahar, Bassam's aunt. "We will never let the camp be rebuilt. We will never accept that the Palestinians come back. We used to buy from their shops, but they are traitors. They harbored these criminals, they helped them," Mohammed Jawhar said.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Tehran would never yield to international pressure to suspend its nuclear program. "Iran will never abandon its peaceful (nuclear) work. Our nuclear work is legal and why should we stop it?" Ahmadinejad told state television.
Ahmadinejad said any further U.N. resolutions would not prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear technology. "Let's say they issue resolution number 300 ... what will happen? It should be remembered that Iran is obtaining nuclear technology. They have to eventually accept that," he said.
In an attempt to avert tougher sanctions, Tehran has agreed to increase cooperation with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to clarify the scope of its atomic work. Iran agreed during negotiations with the IAEA on Tuesday to let U.N. inspectors revisit its Arak nuclear reactor site early next week.
Watch the pea in the shell, boys, which shell is it under ...
The IAEA inspectors would arrive in Tehran on Thursday, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported on Wednesday. "They will visit Iran's Isfahan Uranium Conversion facility (UCF). It is a routine visit," Fars said.
Ahmadinejad said Iran had "some thousand centrifuges which are spinning every day". "(The West) want us to stop right here ... If we were to abide by their demands, we had to negotiate for 10 years to obtain only 20 centrifuges ... but look what we have now," said Ahmadinejad.
Diplomats have said Iran had installed about 2,000 centrifuges by early in June, most enriching uranium and others undergoing test "dry runs" without uranium in them. The 3,000 mark was likely to be reached by the end of July, they said. Three thousand could produce material for one bomb within a year if run non-stop at supersonic speed.
But analysts say Iran has yet to demonstrate such capability and probably remains a few years away from being able to build a bomb if it wants one.
So it's said, based on imperfect and incomplete information.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/26/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Those little bits and parts left over? They are your gift to Allan. You may make the pilgrimage and throw them down the well."
#2
Yes, you will. You'll either stop voluntarily or you'll be stopped using "other" means (preferably via the application of intense heat and shockwave over Tehran and Qum and about 1500 other "most holy sites in all Islam").
Best of all, you get to choose which route you'll take.
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.
LONDON (AP) - Britain has agreed to let the United States use a Royal Air Force base as part of its planned missile defense system, British Defense Secretary Des Browne announced Wednesday. Browne said Menwith Hill, a U.S. military listening station in northern England, would be equipped with communications equipment enabling it to route satellite warnings about missile launches to British and American officials.
Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman may again have to step in to save the 2006 peace pact with Taliban militants in North Waziristan, after an all-tribes jirga requested the local Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam MNA to approach his party chief. 
Pro-Taliban militant commander Abdullah Mehsud, who blew himself up on Tuesday to avoid arrest by security personnel in Zhob, Balochistan, was buried in his native Nanoo village in South Waziristan on Wednesday amidst pro-jihad slogans by armed militants and thousands of tribesmen, witnesses said.
A forthcoming visit by the new British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to Pakistan comes at yet another delicate moment in relations between the West and President Pervez Musharraf, according to a BBC News article.
Terming Qazi Hussain Ahmeds resignation a complete violation of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) manifesto, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman has formally asked Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to explain in what capacity Qazi resigned from the National Assembly. The National Assembly seat was the property of MMA, not that of an individual or of a single political party. As part of a larger alliance, Qazi has violated the MMA manifesto and he is not allowed to take decisions in his individual capacity, said Fazl in a press conference here on Wednesday.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The Tamil Tigers use a worldwide network of fake charities and a sophisticated smuggling operation to raise up to $300 million a year to fund a separatist battle with the Sri Lankan government, Jane's Intelligence Review reported in its August edition. The London-based journal said the Tigers' fundraising prowess enabled the group to develop "one of the most sophisticated insurgencies in the world," which includes an army, navy and even a primitive air force of a few light aircraft.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Tehran would never yield to international pressure to suspend its nuclear program. "Iran will never abandon its peaceful (nuclear) work. Our nuclear work is legal and why should we stop it?" Ahmadinejad told state television.
