Sukkot festivities ended early for Jewish students at San Jose State University after someone burned the outdoor shelter - known as a sukkah - that marks the Feast of the Tabernacles.
A student arrived Wednesday morning and found the sukkah - made of a metal frame and nylon walls - melted, said Sue Maltiel, executive director of Hillel of Silicon Valley.
Police and Hillel officials believe the fire was deliberately set but was not a hate crime. There were no notes or messages indicating anything other than vandalism, said Sgt. Mike Santos with university police, noting that the campus is downtown and vagrants often sleep on Hillel's patio.
Hillel had planned to observe the seven-day festival until Friday. Students had been eating meals, celebrating the Sabbath and holding talks in the sukkah, which represents the huts the Israelites built while wandering in the desert.
The 24-by-12-foot sukkah was new and cost the group $1,700, Maltiel said. In the past, students hung sheets on wood frames.
"We've never had a nice sukkah before," she said. "We're going to have to do a fundraiser. We have to replace it, but I hate to see it burned again."
#5
Pay my way there and back, and I'll stand guard with my trusty 10-gauge. Anybody planning any funny business better have rhino-gauge skin. I still have three or four 00 buckshot rounds, soaked in brine.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/06/2007 15:38 Comments ||
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(AKI) - Osama bin Laden is alive and well and continues to lead the activities of al-Qaeda, according to one of his Afghan lieutenants, Mustafa Abu al-Zayd. But there is continuing uncertainty surrounding America's number one enemy and considerable debate in the Middle East, in particular, over whether the man who appeared in an Internet video in September was actually bin Laden.
Bin Laden's son recently said that it was not his father who appeared in the video distributed on the worldwide web to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US. Sources quoted in the Arab media have also questioned whether bin Laden is still alive. "The uncertainty about the issue of Osama is great but behind such ambiguity are the Taliban leaders who are giving the al-Qaeda leader their hospitality," said the Kuwaiti daily, Al Rai Al-Amn. "It is only through a low profile that Osama could possibly escape the electronic surveillance of the Americans and become an immediate missile target."
According to the Kuwaiti daily, a group of Arab Afghanis based in Waziristan, on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, was protecting bin Laden and the activities of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The paper said the region was divided into two zones - the first under the Pakistani government that offered support to tribal leaders in exchange for their respect for Pakistani institutions, while the second was inhabited by Pashtu tribes that supported Sharia law and promoted hostility to the West.
It said al-Qaeda's number two, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri who generously makes declarations after every significant event was probably living in a populated area where technology was available.
In an audio message distributed this week on Islamic sites and translated from Pashtu this week, Mustafa Abu al-Zayd said bin Laden was still the leader of the global terrorist organisation. "The Sheikh Osama Bin Laden is alive and well," said al-Zayd. "He is still the leader of al-Qaeda and continues to direct its activities and is in good physical condition."
Al-Zayd launched an appeal to support guerillas in Afghanistan. " I invite all Muslims wherever they are in the world to unite in resistance," he said. "All you who suffer in your hearts....for this you should come and fight for the independence of Afghanistan."
This article starring:
AIMAN AL ZAWAHIRI
al-Qaeda
MUSTAFA ABU AL ZAID
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Hundreds of asylum seekers who were deported upon the rejection of their application, were allegedly abused racially and physically by British teams escorting them to their home countries, The Independent reported on Friday.
Citing a dossier of more than 200 cases compiled by a combination of legal firms, doctors, campaign groups and immigration centres, the newspaper said that in nearly every case, the allegations were made against private security companies contracted by the government to carry out enforced removals.
A spokesman for the Border and Immigration Agency, which contracts companies to help deport failed asylum seekers, was quoted as saying by the newspaper: Any allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated and all allegations of physical and racial abuse are referred to the police.
The paper said that of the three companies approved by the government to carry out forced removals, Group4Securicor said it was aware of the complaints but noted that nothing had been proven, and noted that it condemned such abuses.
The other two companies, International Training Academy and GEO, both declined to comment on the report when contacted by The Independent.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Bloody awful! Obviously time for Group4Terminacor branch to move in and assume duties.
#2
Huh. Organizations & individuals with a vested interest in finding abuse announce that they've found abuse. Will wonders never cease?
What I want to know is why Britain needs to contract out deportations to private companies. What, there aren't enough public servants around to escort terror-symp rotters back to the sewers that spawned them?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/06/2007 12:16 Comments ||
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The Dutch Caribbean island of St Maarten allegedly serves as a distribution centre for the international drug trade and the financing of terrorist activities in the Palestinian territories and Afghanistan, it was reported Friday.
Reports were based on information leaked from a confidential report by the Dutch Justice Ministry on organised crime on the island. The 175-page report, dated June 2007, was prepared by the Justice Ministry's Academic and Research Documentation Centre (WODC).
The investigation began in 2004 at the request of the former minister of justice of the Dutch Antilles. The report's six researchers refer to investigative sources in St Maarten claiming to have information about money transfers from the island to terrorist organisations in the Middle East.
Large sums of money are allegedly transferred from bank accounts on the Dutch island to organisations linked to the Taliban in Afghanistan and the militant Palestinian Hamas movement.
The money originates from the drug trade and human trafficking, the researchers said.
St Maarten's strategic location, "between drug producing and drug consuming countries," contributes to its alleged central role in drug transports, according to the report.
A company located on the island is also suspected of transferring money to the Taliban, the researchers say, referring to a request by authorities in the United States to investigate the company.
There are also indications that St Maarten is used by certain people to enter the US.
It is alleged people on the island have been trained in al-Qaeda training camps. Others are reportedly registered on a US list of people not permitted to travel to the US by aeroplane.
The report is not conclusive about the allegations. The researchers indicate the Dutch are not as pessimistic as the US about the situation on the island.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy levelled a new charge against Russia on Thursday, accusing the country of complicating the world's problems, and urging it to start helping resolve them.
Russia "should understand that big countries have not only rights, but also responsibilities," Sarkozy said during a question and answer session with students during a visit to the University of Sofia.
"And among those responsibilities, there are two, to be exemplary in the domain of democracy and helping to resolve the big issues in the world and not being a country which complicates the resolution of the world's big problems," he added.
The French president's statement comes ahead of his first official visit to Russia on Tuesday and Wednesday, at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.
Sarkozy has become more critical towards Russia than his predecessor Jacques Chirac, and moved closer to the United States, meeting President George W. Bush only weeks after his election.
During his election campaign and in a policy speech on August 27, Sarkozy attacked Moscow's "brutality" in the war in Chechnya and in international diplomacy.
He accused Russia in particular of using its vast oil and gas reserves to impose its will on its neighbours in Europe.
Sarkozy has also taken a tougher line against Iran's suspect nuclear programme, which is expected to figure in his talks with Putin, an opponent of further sanctions against Tehran.
Sarkozy was Bulgaria on Thursday to receive the country's highest award for helping secure the release of six Bulgarian medics jailed in Libya.
The Japanese government has decided to grant the Palestinian nationality for children born of Palestinian parents living in Japan, the Justice Ministry said Friday. Under the current nationality law, children with Palestinian parents are provided with Japanese citizenship, as the government does not formally recognize Palestinian regions as a state and considers that the people there have no formal nationality.
"Given that the Palestinian Authority has improved itself to almost a full-fledged state and issues its own passports, we have decided to accept the Palestinian nationality", the ministry said, adding that the new rule will apply to children born on and after Oct.15. Japan is the third-largest donor to Palestinians after the US and the EU.
#2
The only thing wrong with this is the question of why there are Palestinians living in Japan. You would think they would be more selective in the issuance of visas.
President Abdullah Gül said on Wednesday Christians could practice their faith freely and safely in Turkey. Asked by the parliamentarians about the attacks targeting Christians, Gül said: There are no attacks targeting Christians in Turkey but political crimes have occurred and one of them was against a Christian priest. The murderer was captured and is being tried by independent courts.
The Supreme Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a jail sentence of nearly 19 years for the teenage murderer of an Italian Catholic priest, reported the Anatolia news agency. One year ago a Trabzon court found the boy guilty of premeditated murder, illegal possession of a firearm and of endangering public security. His family appealed against the jail sentence. But the Supreme Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence of 18 years and 10 months for the boy, who has not been named since he is a minor.
Witnesses say the boy, then aged 16, shouted God is great (Allahu Akbar) before shooting the priest dead. The Turkish government strongly condemned the shooting, which coincided with increased religious tensions worldwide after the publication of cartoons lampooning Islam's Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper.
Addressing the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, President Abdullah Gül said on Wednesday Christians could practice their faith freely and safely in Turkey. Asked by the parliamentarians about the attacks targeting Christians, Gül said: There are no attacks targeting Christians in Turkey but political crimes have occurred and one of them was against a Christian priest. The murderer was captured and is being tried by independent courts. He was referring to the Santoro case.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"There are no attacks targeting Christians in Turkey but political crimes have occurred."
So the attack in which two Turkish Christians and a German Christian worker were butchered last June just happened to be political? The killers weren't were not targeting Christians?
A Syrian businessman wanted in the US on charges of conspiring to provide weapons to Marxist guerillas in Colombia challenged his extradition request Thursday in a Spanish court. Long-time Spanish resident Monzer al-Kassar has been in jail since he was arrested in June as he arrived at Madrid airport on an internal flight.
New York prosecutors have charged him with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, money laundering and conspiracy to acquire an anti-aircraft missile and kill US nationals. They say rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, wanted to use the weapons he supplied to fight US forces aiding Colombia in its battle against drug traffickers.
He denied the US charges during an appearance in a Madrid court Thursday and said he did not believe he could get a fair trial in the US as the extradition request was a form of "political vengeance" sought by President George W. Bush. "If Spain believes I have committed a crime, my wish is to be tried here," Kassar told the court.
I'll bet it is.
According to prosecutors, Kassar has been an arms dealer since the early 1970s, providing weapons and military equipment to various factions in Nicaragua, Brazil, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Somalia, Iran, and Iraq.
#1
Yeah. In the US, he'll actually get a prison sentence, and it'll be hard time. In Spain, I don't think they jail anyone for more than a few years, no matter what the crime.
Mahmood Saqib has a tremor in his voice when he talks about the night a mob of Germans went on the rampage and ransacked his snack bar in the eastern town of Buetzow.
"I was in my flat above the premises when they looked up and saw me. 'We'll come up and finish you off,' they yelled. I was terrified," said the Pakistani man from Gujat.
"It was obviously a racist incident," he said. "My German neighbours were looking out of their windows and witnessed the attack, but they did not receive any threats."
Saqib, who has lived in Germany since 2001, escaped injury in the fracas, one of half-a-dozen racially-motivated attacks that rocked this country towards the end of August.
Kulvir Singh was not so lucky. He suffered serious injuries when another mob chased eight Indians through the streets of Muegeln and tried to kick down the doors of a pizzeria where they sought refuge.
Elsewhere, an Iraqi was beaten over the head with a baseball bat, an Afghan woman was pushed down a flight of stairs, and men from Sudan, Egypt and Ghana required treatment for injuries inflicted by their German assailants.
In all but one of the attacks, some of those involved had links to the extreme right-wing
In all but one of the attacks, some of those involved had links to the extreme right-wing, which is growing in popularity in the former communist east of Germany, particularly among young people.
This was a far cry from 2006 when Germany hosted the football World Cup and showed the world it was a hospitable country that welcomes people of all skin colours and religious beliefs.
The worst scenes of violence have been in the eastern states, which have seen an inordinate number of attacks on foreigners since German unification in 1990.
Stephan Kramer, secretary general of the Central Council of Jews, spoke of a "dangerous situation" for foreigners and said authorities should warn them against settling in certain regions.
Asked by a television interviewer if he would ever consider going for a stroll in the evening in a small east German town, he replied: "I would not do that. I'm not tired of life."
A report by Germany`s domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, showed there were 1,047 violent crimes committed by right-wing extremists in 2006, an increase of 9.3 per cent over the previous year.
The total of politically motivated right-wing crimes climbed 14.6 per cent to 17,597, it said.
"The observation of this apparent upward trend in extremist activity in Germany is supported by reports of increased right-wing attacks noted by victim support organizations in eastern parts of the country," said a report by the European Union on racism and xenophobia issued August 27.
One of these groups, the Berlin-based Amadeu-Antonio Foundation, has criticized the government for not doing enough to combat right-wing extremism.
Not so, says Family Affairs Minister Ursula von der Leyen, pointing out the government has spent more than 120 million euros (163 million dollars) in the past five years on programmes to counter neo-Nazi sentiment.
Most of the money has gone to states in the east such as Saxony where right-wing parties have capitalized on voter apathy in a region where unemployment and discontent is much higher than in the west.
The extreme right-wing National Democratic Party (NPD) has been particularly active, canvassing young voters during election campaigns by setting up youth clubs in neglected rural areas and distributing CDs with songs by right-wing rock bands.
Friedeman Bringt, who heads a mobile construction team in Saxony, told the news magazine Der Spiegel that the real root of the problem is that many easterners lack empathy and are unable to understand other people's point of view.
The August violence revived calls for a ban on the anti-foreigner NPD, which is represented in the regional parliaments of two of the eastern states where the attacks occurred.
But leading German politicians have expressed doubts whether a ban could be imposed after a similar attempt was quashed by the country`s top court in 2003.
"The Constitutional Court can order the confiscation of the party`s funds, computers and propaganda material, but it won`t change the way its members think," said the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The attacks have embarrassed Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the incident in Muegeln as "shameful," while government spokesman Thomas Steg said it harmed the country's image abroad.
But it is not only right-wing extremists that foment racism, according to Juergen Mickish, chairman of the Intercultural Council, an organization of rights groups, religious leaders and trade unions.
The government has unwittingly contributed to an increase in xenophobia and racism by tightening citizenship requirements and making it more difficult for immigrants to bring their families to Germany, he said.
#1
This does not surprise me. I except similar behavior in the US too. Even in France. Not everyone is content with dhimmitude. And lots of people are kind of stupid. There is bound to be some overlap between those two groups.
#2
On the "Rise" in a big way! The German government is getting very serious and tightening the screws on tourist visits and foreign temp employment is in full swing. I suspect we'll see a return of closed borders and checkpoints within a few years. Just my guess.
#3
The pushing women down flights of stairs bothers me. It should bother you too.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
10/06/2007 8:31 Comments ||
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#4
Women are easier to push down stairs. Or more likely it just happened she was the first apparent Untermensch they came across as they wandered around that day. Such as they don't moderate their behaviour for chivalry, Eric.
#6
Sounds like the German establishment has played right into the hands of the "right-wing, neo-Nazi extremist" by importing so much trouble in the form of muslim immigrants from places like Turkey and Pakistan. The government has presented this issue to the NPD on a silver platter. Stupid, stupid, stupid. What did they expect?
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 ||
10/06/2007 13:24 Comments ||
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The 27 EU nations' commerce with Iran stood at 37 percent of the Islamic republic's total foreign trade from March 2006 to March 2007
Italy, Germany and France would have to pay the heaviest price for any European Union sanctions against Iran, at a time when the Islamic republic is already turning more toward Asia for its business.
The 27 EU nations' commerce with Iran stood at 37 percent of the Islamic republic's total foreign trade from March 2006 to March 2007, according to a document from the economics department of France's embassy in Tehran.
But this figure "is down compared to the two previous years", it said, because the EU is "progressively losing its share of the market to Asian countries."
Italy: Rome is Tehran's top European trading partner with two-way trade totalling 5.2 billion euros (7.3 billion dollars) in 2006, though Italian exports there decreased by 18 percent last year. Oil and gas group Eni is the biggest Italian investor in Iran, running with the Iranians the onshore oil field at Darquain and is an operator of the giant South Pars gas field. In the auto sector, Fiat is a main partner of Iran's PIDF in producing and distributing the Fiat Palio line of cars, which are specially produced for developing countries.
Germany: Berlin is Europe's top exporter to Iran, and accounts for 12 percent of all Iranian imports &0151; mainly through industrial equipment, metal and chemical products &0151; beaten only world-wide by the United Arab Emirates. After a period of spectacular growth, these figures declined in 2006. Almost all German banks stopped their activities in the Islamic republic following pressure from the United States.
France: Once ranked third in terms of market share for imported products by Iran, Paris fell to fifth in 2006. Crude oil represents about 97 percent of French imports from Iran, while refined oil products from France are among the biggest items heading the other way. Under a deal from last year, oil giant Total is set to exploit phase 11 of South Pars to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export and to build a liquefaction plant, but the deal is held up by a dispute over prices. Iran is also important for France's auto sector. It accounts for around two thirds of French sales to the Middle East.
Posted by: lotp ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Do none of these European shits feel the least twinge of conscience over dealing with one of the world's biggest sponsors of terrorism?
Fiat is a main partner of Iran's PIDF in producing and distributing the Fiat Palio line of cars, which are specially produced for developing countries.
When driven past a synagogue do they spontaneously explode?
#2
RUMORMILLNEWS > SECESSIONIST.US > SECESSION PROJECT - SECESSION from US Union is a natural right of US Citizens; + IRAN > MULLAH - WEST CANNOT STOP IRAN FROM GETTING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY.
#3
dit dit dit da da da ..... flash, flash, flash, New England to go the way of the CSA? Film at 11. Army of Northern Virginia on the move, NY National Guard helpless, Hudson Valley threated by nary-do well, good times over for nation leech states. General D. Blues offers kindly surrender terms but shows the pepper of deth.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/06/2007 12:02 Comments ||
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(AKI) Two Bosnians arrested this week in connection with a foiled attack on the US embassy in Vienna are allegedly linked to a radical Islamist Wahabi movement, the Bosnian daily Nezavisne novine said on Friday.
The newspaper quoted Gerhard Jarosh, a spokesman for the Vienna prosecutor, saying that the Wahabi background of the two individuals was being investigated. That link hasnt been proven, but will certainly be investigated, which might take some time," he said.
Police on Monday arrested 42-year-old Bosnian, Asim Cejvanovic, when he entered the embassy grounds with a rucksack of explosives. It was later alleged that Cejvanovic was mentally ill and he was taken to a prison hospital.
During questioning, Cejvanovic told police he was told to carry the explosives to the embassy by another Bosnian, Mehmed Djudic, who was later arrested.
According to Vienna media reports, Djudic has been connected to Muhamed Porca, who heads the Vienna branch of the Bosnian Wahabi movement which preaches radical Islam.
Porcas group, which is reportedly the main financier of the Wahabi movement in Bosnia, has been under police surveillance for some time, Vienna media reported.
Darko Trifunovic, a professor at Belgrade University's faculty of security studies and terrorism expert, told Adnkronos International (AKI), Cejvanovic may have been used only to test security around the embassy, because no detonators were found in his possession. They have used a mentally deranged person in the hope that the whole thing would end there, Trifunovic said. But the real question is from whom did he get the explosives.
The Wahabi movement in Bosnia is relatively new and small in numbers, but it has worried local Muslim authorities because of its violent behaviour and attempts to infiltrate local mosques. Wahabi ideology was imported to Bosnia during the 1992-1995 civil war when thousands of mujahadeen from Islamic countries came to fight with local Muslims. Many have remained in the country, indoctrinating local youths and even operating terrorist training camps, foreign intelligence reports said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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For some time Code Pink has been demonstrating against the war outside Walter Reed Hospital, to the great distress of the wounded soldiers and their families. This is simply unconscionable. Who are these people?
Brave counter-demonstrators have shown up regularly and voluntarily to show their support for the troops, and the Code-Pink crowd has dwindled. Among the regulars holding up the line for Code Pink is Bruce Wolfe, of local 2 of the Office and Professional Employees Union, who's called the soldiers "scabs". One of the counter-demonstrators reports:
This week, one of their newbies came by our troop-support rally at the gates by mistake, and spilled the truth: a labor union had recruited this worker to show up at the lefties' phony "vigil." The worker's remarks clearly revealed that standing outside the Walter Reed Army Medical Center with anti-war signs wasn't a personal choice, but a workplace commitment demanded by a union representative.
Our rally must have looked a lot more attractive, even at a glance-in fact, that's what this unionized worker said. I'm going to avoid describing this person's looks or gender, to avoid making trouble. Why? Because this office worker's confusion appeared sincere, revealing that the decision to be there wasn't intentional; in fact, the person didn't really seem to know what either demonstration was about.
When we explained that we were there to support the mission, having kicked their anti-war demonstration away from the gates many months ago, the worker said, "I'd better go over there [to the leftist's area] - I've already committed. I can only be there a half-hour, though." And when we said, "Come back any time," the worker spoke with pride about a relative's service in the military.
One wonders if the rank and file of the AFL-CIO or of Mr. Wolfe's union know what Mr. Wolfe is up to. Surely there are AFL-CIO members opposed to the war, but is their opposition so devoid of decency that they want their members recruited in an effort to torture those who were wounded in the service and their families?
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
10/06/2007 17:59 ||
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#1
If they had a vote in every shop the unions would soon be a bad memory.
Mollie Levitas emigrated from Riga, Latvia with her family in 1891, at the age of six. As a child, she was an avid reader, and exposure to family discussions of socialism and unionism led to an interest in unions...
Country music legend Willie Nelson, literary icon Gore Vidal, Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega, author and radio host Thom Hartmann, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, and dozens of other prominent Americans have signed a letter asking the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. military personnel to refuse orders to launch an aggressive war on Iran.
The letter has been posted as a petition for others to sign at http://www.dontattackiran.org
The text of the letter follows:
ATTENTION: Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. Military Personnel:
Do not attack Iran.
Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be illegal.
Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be criminal.
We, the citizens of the United States, respectfully urge you, courageous men and women of our military, to refuse any order to preemptively attack Iran, a nation that represents no serious or immediate threat to the United States. To attack Iran, a sovereign nation of 70-million people, would be a crime of the highest magnitude.
Legal basis for our Request Do not attack Iran:
The Nuremberg Principles, which are part of US law, provide that all military personnel have the obligation not to obey illegal orders. The Army Field Manual 27-10, sec. 609 and UCMJ, art. 92, incorporate this principle. Article 92 says: "A general order or regulation is lawful unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the law of the United States "
Any provision of an international treaty ratified by the United States becomes the law of the United States. The United States is a party and signatory to the United Nations Charter, of which Article II, Section 4 states, "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state " As Iran has not attacked the United States, and as the U.S. is a party and signatory to the Charter, any attack on Iran by the U.S. would be illegal under not only international law but under the U.S. Constitution which recognizes our treaties as the Supreme Law of the Land. When you joined the military, you took an oath to defend our Constitution.
Following the orders of your government or superior does not relieve you from responsibility under international law. Under the Principles of International Law recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal, complicity in the commission of war crime is a crime under international law.
Background:
The Bush Administration's charges against Iran have not been proven. Neither the development of nuclear weapons, nor providing assistance to Iraq would, if proven, constitute justification for an illegal war.
An attack on Iran might prompt the formidable Iranian military to attack U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. Thousands of our soldiers might be killed or captured as prisoners of war. A U.S. attack against Iranian nuclear facilities could also mean the deaths, from radiation poisoning, of tens of thousands of innocent Iranian civilians. The people of Iran have little control over their government, yet would suffer tremendously should the U.S. attack. Bombing raids would amount to collective punishment, a violation of the Geneva Convention, and would surely sow the seeds of hatred for generations to come. Children make up a quarter of Iran's population.
Above all, we ask you to look at the record of our actions in Iraq, which U.S. intelligence admits is a cause celebre for jihadists a situation that did not exist before we attacked. We must face the fact that our rash use of military solutions has created more enemies, and made American families less safe. Diplomacy, not war, is the answer.
Know the Risks Involved in Refusing an Illegal Order or Signing This Statement:
We knowingly and willingly make this plea, aware of the risk that, in violation of our First Amendment rights, we could be charged under remaining sections of the unconstitutional Espionage Act or other unconstitutional statute, and that we could be fined, imprisoned, or barred from government employment.
We make this plea, also aware that you have no easy options. If you obey an illegal order to participate in an aggressive attack on Iran, you could potentially be charged with war crimes. If you heed our call and disobey an illegal order you could be falsely charged with crimes including treason. You could be falsely court martialed. You could be imprisoned. (To talk to a lawyer or to learn more about possible consequences, contact The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, Courage to Resist, Center on Conscience and War, Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild 415-566-3732, or the GI Rights Hotline at 877-447-4487.) **
Final request:
Our leaders often say that military force should be a last resort. We beg you to make that policy a reality, and refuse illegal orders to attack Iran. We promise to support you for protecting the American public and innocent civilians abroad.
Our future, the future of our children and their children, rests in your hands.
You know the horrors of war. You can stop the next one.
Sincerely,
Daniel Ellsberg, Thom Hartmann, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Cynthia McKinney, Willie Nelson, Cindy Sheehan, Norman Solomon, Elizabeth de la Vega, Gore Vidal, Ann Wright,
James Abourezk, former U.S. Senator, (D) South Dakota
Stacy Bannerman, Author, "When the War Came Home", Military Families Speak Out Charter Board member
John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney and author of "Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush."
Amy Branham, Gold Star Mother of
Sgt. Jeremy R. Smith, US Army Reserves, Nov. 1981-Feb. 2004
Blase Bonpane, Ph.d, Director OFFICE OF THE AMERICAS
David Clennon, Actor/activist
Tim Carpenter, Executive Director, Progressive Democrats of America
Daniel Ellsberg, author of "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers."
David Cobb, 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate
Jeff Cohen, author/media critic
Elizabeth de la Vega, former federal prosecutor and author of U.S. v. George W. Bush
Karen Dolan, Director, Cities for Progress/Cities for Peace
Anne Feeney, activist/folksinger or Local 1000, AFM
Mike Ferner, Navy corpsman; Secretary, Veterans for Peace
Bob Fertik, President Democrats.com
Laura Flanders, Radio Host on Air America
Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Lila Garrett, KPFK Host of Connect the Dots
Liberty Godshall, writer, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council
Hon. Jackie Goldberg, California Assembly Member (AD 45), retired.
Kevin Alexander Gray, writer, and organizer with the Harriet Tubman Freedom House Project
Representative Betty Hall, Hillsborough District 5, New Hampshire General Court
David L. Harris, MD
Tom Hayden
Thom Hartmann, author and Air America radio host
Valerie Heinonen, o.s.u., Ursulines of Tildonk for Justice and Peace
Jenny Heinz , member of CodePink, member of Granny Peace Brigade Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Los Angeles
Michael Jay, Steering Committee, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles
Charles Jenks, co-founder and editor of traprockpeace.org
Justice Through Music
Antonia Juhasz, author, The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time
Jerry Kass, playwright and professor at Columbia University
Dr, Nazir Khaja ,Chairman, Islamic Information Service, Los Angeles, CA.
Mimi Kennedy, National Chair, Progressive Democrats of America
Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor, Tikkun and Chair, the Network of Spiritual Progressives
Summer Lipford, Gold Star Mother,NC 28677
David Lindorff, Author, The Case for Impeachment
Alice Lynn, Delegate, California Democratic Party (41st AD)
Ben Manski, Executive Director, Liberty Tree
Ray McGovern, Army infantry/intelligence officer, 1962-64; CIA analyst 1964-90.
Cynthia Mckinney, former Congresswoman
Barbara Mills-Bria, Be The Change-USA
Bill Moyer, Executive Director, Backbone Campaign
Willie Nelson, Entertainer, Peace Activist Annie Nelson, Sustainable Biodiesel/Peace Activist
Honorable Eric Oemig Washington State Senator
Geov Parrish, Executive Director Peace Action of Washington
Jacob Park, Founder, A28.
Brad Parker, Officer of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party
Bill Perry, Director, Delaware Valley Veterans For America
Gareth Porter, investigative journalist and historian
Marcus Raskin, member of National Security Council Staff under President Kennedy
Dorothy Reik, President, Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains
Coleen Rowley, retired FBI Agent and former Chief Division Counsel of Minneapolis Division of the FBI
Bill Scheurer, Editor, PeaceMajority Report
Randi Scheurer, IL-Dist. 8, Congressional Candidate
Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace
Alice Slater, Abolition 2000 New York
Norman Solomon, Author and syndicated columnist
David Swanson, Afterdowningstreet.org
John Stauber, Co-author, "Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq"
Jonathan Tasini, PDA NY
Ethel Tobach, Ph. D., member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Tina Richards CEO Grassroots Americaredith, Gold Star Mother, Proud Mom of Lt Ken Ballard- KIA 5.30.04
Gore Vidal, Author
Marcy Winograd, President, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles
Ann Wright, US Army Colonel (Retired) and US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war.
Kevin Zeese on behalf of Voters for Peace and Democracy Rising
Velvet Revolution
** These resources are publicly available, and our offering them does not indicate that these organizations support this petition.
#1
They're getting desperate and bold. None of the Vietnam-era tactics are working to their satisfaction so they're going to have to try ever-more-brazen provocations. If Hillary doesn't get elected, things will get interesting.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/06/2007 13:38 Comments ||
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#2
I'd like to see 'em 2 at a time in the electric chair, with one on another's lap. Keep the juice on til there's a brownout...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/06/2007 13:45 Comments ||
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#4
I don't believe this petition is criminal: it is correct in saying the military is actually required to disobey unlawful orders, and it is legitimately debatable whether orders to attack Iran would be lawful. At the moment, it is not clear to me that such orders would be lawful. Or that they would not. It comes down to whether Iran has or has not actually attacked the US. Iranians have. And the Iranian government talks big. And I personally believe the attacks are government sponsored. But belief is not proof, and governmental plausible deniability is going to be a continuing problem for us in developing anti-terrorism strategies.
(The problem is compounded by the perceived lack of competence of our intelligence agencies, and the inherent impossibility of publically proving their competence.)
#7
Also known as the To Be Deported List. If they had any conviction, they would volunteer to chain themselves to the Iranian reactors and centrifuges.
Posted by: ed ||
10/06/2007 14:39 Comments ||
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#8
They need to be careful what they ask for.
If the military does go against the government and cross the Rubicon, these morons will be the first rounded up.
#9
I don't believe this petition is criminal: it is correct in saying the military is actually required to disobey unlawful orders, and it is legitimately debatable whether orders to attack Iran would be lawful.
Glenmore, this is a legitimate point where the intent of those calling for disobedience of an order is an honest concern for propriety and legality. But that is not the case with these signatories; they are not concerned with sincerely advising the military about the legality of an order, they are concerned with subverting the lawful authority of a commander-in-chief that they hate. Moreover, the declaration of the IRG as a terrorist organization, the discovery of Iranian agents and military personnel involved in killing US personnel, and the various other depredations of the Iranians can all be interpreted as casus belli.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/06/2007 14:57 Comments ||
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#10
Oh, and that first paragraph was a quote from Glenmore's comment.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/06/2007 14:58 Comments ||
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#11
Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be illegal.
Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran would be criminal.
Bullshit strawman argument for openers. I stopped reading right there. Thank goodness I don't recognize a lot of the names on their list of political traitors.
If they had any conviction, they would volunteer to chain themselves to the Iranian reactors and centrifuges.
Bingo, ed. Let's see just how dedicated they really are.
Moreover, the declaration of the IRG as a terrorist organization, the discovery of Iranian agents and military personnel involved in killing US personnel, and the various other depredations of the Iranians can all be interpreted as casus belli.
Which they are. Iran has declared war upon the United States of America countless times. It's long past tea to take these terrorist scumbag thugs at their word.
#12
Has Iran attacked the US? ummmmmmm....yes, I believe that the embassy takeover and hostage crises during Carter's aministration is all the provocation we need. That, along with what could be credible evidence that DenimJacket took a leading role in that attack, would seem to provide more than enough legal precedence.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
10/06/2007 15:15 Comments ||
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#13
Lets understand some fundamental concepts. Oath. The enlisted oath has a line to obey the President and the officers appointed over them. The officer oath is only to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Fidelity is to the compact that forms the United States. The latter instance is of allegiance to law is pointed out because of several historic individuals obtained similar oaths of loyalty to themselves and not to law or a concept of law. One just has to look south to Hugo to see the process at work. No where is there cited Constitutional law as the basis for the military to obey such direction. The only way to do so would for the structure of law to be set aside to include those Constitutional guarantees of liberty these wretched few are exercising. What can not be achieved through the proper organs of democratic government they seek to impose. What they are expressing is clearly sedition. As they sow, so shall they reap.
Fact: The 1979 attack on and occupation of the US embassy in Tehran for 444 days constituted an unprovoked attack and occupation of US soil. Under the UN charter, a nation is allowed to defend itself and its territory by any means necessary, when and where the state under attack decides to respond.
Fact: Multiple assassinations and attacks on US installations around the world by one terrorist group or another have been directly linked to Iran and/or it's state-sponsored terrorist groups. Under international law and the Geneva Convention, an attack on a foreign nation by a state-sponsored group can be considered an attack on the foreign nation by the state sponsoring the group that conducted the attack(s).
Fact: Technology and weapons used to kill US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have been directly linked to Iran and/or its state-sponsored terrorist groups. Under international law, a state sponsoring the deaths of another state's soldiers in any fashion can be considered to have made a direct attack upon the state whose soldiers are dying by use of weapons supplied by the other state.
Fact: A nation whose ally or allies are attacked by a foreign power is permitted by international law to respond to the attack upon its ally or allies in a manner such that the responding and allied power had been itself attacked by the offending state.
Fact: Iran declared war upon the United States of America not just once in 1979, but many times since. By Iran's own past and current actions it has provoked not only direct confrontation with the United States, but direct response by the United States to Iran's unprovoked and continued attacks upon the United States, its citizens, and its allies.
Unprovoked, my ass. Iran has it coming and has had it coming since 1979 at least.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/06/2007 17:19 Comments ||
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#16
On reflection, the current precedent as set by the SCOTUS is Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969):
"It held that government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless it is directed to inciting *and* likely to incite imminent lawless action."
So they would find that unless the president had already issued orders to the military that conflict with Iran is imminent, *and* some military personnel, having received this warning order, were already citing their intention to disobey it, based on this letter, then this letter would be legal.
They would probably have to cite a second, subsequent letter, after the order was issued.
However, whether or not it was a lawful order in the first place, would not be in question, as both the WH legal staff and the Attorney General would need to make determinations before the fact that it was legal, both by US and international law.
So legality would be presumed until the president's order was challenged in court, probably much later.
#17
Iran initiated the Islamic Cold War against us in 1979, but we need to be subtle in how we progress toward winning it. Until we have exhausted every form of subversion, diplomatic and economic pressure at our disposal a direct physical confrontation between the U.S. and Iran should be avoided.
As things are now progressing, the likelihood is great that Iraq will be stabilized before Iran's nuclear weapons development program can come to fruition. This would strengthen our hand in dealing with them and give us time to attempt the overthrow of the mullahcracy by less drastic means.
Of course if it is determined that Iran's nuclear program is prematurely approaching completion Israeli and/or U.S. aerial actions could be taken to degrade the facilities, but we are not there yet.
As for the Useful Idiot Brigades who signed this petition, most of these deluded Leftists probably see Iran as a harmless victim of American imperialist aggression. While I do not believe there is anything criminal about the petition, it seems as laughably foolhardy as a similar 1930's petition aimed at heading off war with Nazi Germany would have been.
#21
Now I have a target list... None of these people will see any support from me. I will not pay to watch their programs, I will not buy their material, I will not mention them to others (except with derision), I will not listen to radio stations that broadcast their materials (big deal - I don't listen to radio anyway, but just saying), and I will not acknowledge their presence, that they are citizens of the United States, or that they have any intrinsic worth other than as fertilizer. May God deal with them as He will, the traitorous swine.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/06/2007 19:25 Comments ||
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#22
None of these people will see any support from me. I will not pay to watch their programs, I will not buy their material, I will not mention them to others (except with derision), I will not listen to radio stations that broadcast their materials (big deal - I don't listen to radio anyway, but just saying), and I will not acknowledge their presence, that they are citizens of the United States, or that they have any intrinsic worth other than as fertilizer.
Bravo, Old Patriot. This is the sort of financial, intellectual and physical boycott that must be imposed upon Rosie O'Donnell, Michael Moore and all of their verminous co-conspirators. All of us need to increase public awareness of the threat Islam poses and the inaction or outright collaboration that so often greets us.
Just the other night, I took an extra few minutes to tell a young woman at a nearby store about the Saudi schoolgirls that burned to death and other diseased facets of shari'a law. She grew evermore stunned and I used the opportunity to close with a request that she please tell all of her friends about this ongoing war upon the West. We will succeed in this war against Islam by winning one mind at a time here at home. All of us know by now that we cannot trust the media to assist in any way.
Canada's security-certificate law may be crumbling, but it will keep one al-Qaeda suspect imprisoned for at least a few more months. Hassan Almrei, the only inmate of a multimillion-dollar prison built in Kingston to hold alleged terrorists whom Canada cannot legally deport, Friday lost his bid for bail. A Federal Court judge ruled he will continue to be held for his alleged ties to al-Qaeda. The Syrian national has been imprisoned for six years, remaining in custody even as he has seen four other al-Qaeda suspects released into strict forms of house arrest.
In the other cases, judges have decided that the threat represented by the suspects has diminished over time. Spouses and immediate family members, it has been ruled, must watch them around the clock to ensure they are upholding release conditions. Unlike the others, however, the 34-year-old Mr. Almrei has no close family in Canada. His supporters have yet to find an acceptable bail surety.
Mr. Justice François Lemieux Friday reiterated that Mr. Almrei should be considered dangerous because of his lack of credibility, his role in the early-1990s Afghan jihad, his ties to a people-trafficking network in Thailand and his role in procuring a fake Canadian passport for a fellow mujahed in Toronto.
The Federal Court has found all of the security-certificate detainees represent probable threats to Canadian national security. But the courts have found it would be inhumane to deport these men to Egypt, Syria or North Africa, because the states have reputations for torturing Islamic fundamentalists.
It is unclear what constraints Mr. Almrei or any of the men under house arrest would face if the clock runs out on the security-certificate law.
Twin derailments of commuter trains this week were accidents and unrelated to suspected sabotage along the same line last week, authorities said Wednesday. Nothing to see here, please move to the next posting.
Metra determined that heavy vehicular and train traffic caused a teeny, tiny, slight separation between the tracks, leading to Tuesday night's derailments of the slow-moving trains near a busy crossing. The cars remained upright and no injuries were reported.
"We can say with absolute certainty there was no foul play involved, no tampering to any extent," Metra spokesman Judy Pardonnet said. "It was a strange situation where two trains derailed on two separate tracks at the same location." Absolute certainty. I hear about that all the time from our transit agency. No tampering. Nothing to see. Strange situation. Poltergeist. Doppelgangers. That's it Doppelderraileurs.
The FBI is still offering a $50,000 reward for information about who pulled about 30 railroad spikes on a different stretch of the same line, discovered last week by Metra workers.
"The removal of spikes, in our opinion, was an intentional act," FBI spokesman Ross Rice said.
Last month, federal regulators announced that a seriously flawed inspection and maintenance program likely played a major role in the CTA derailment. The CTA has said it had already implemented many of the federal report's recommendations. This wouldn't be happening if they had Dick Daley in charge. They do? Good argument for term limits.
#2
Nothing new here. During the ARC LIGHT and BULLET SHOT days of VietNam, aircrews going to Andersen AFB on Guam had their orders written for 179 days to avoid having to give anyone credit for a short tour (overseas deployment) of 181 days. Had anyone gotten credit for a short tour then they couldn't have been redeployed. As it was we went for 179 and then home for 28 and then back for 179 for over 5 years.
Of course, the flip side was that it was considered temporary duty so you got $10 a day per diem.
#3
Two boats (SSNs) I was on were given a couple of back to back 89 day voyages. Just to save the Navy from having to pay $1 a day "lack of nooky" pay to the married guys. We had to be 90+ days out to get it (the money not the nooky).
#4
Yeah, but the bean counters still screw everybody they can, any time they can. The bean counters really screw up what would otherwise be a superb military. May they all be sent to Attu for a 90-day "TDY" - four or five times a year.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/06/2007 20:04 Comments ||
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President George W. Bush defended his administration's detention and interrogation policies for terror suspects on Friday, saying they are both successful and lawful. "When we find somebody who may have information regarding an attack on America, you bet we're going to detain them, and you bet we're going to question them," he said during a hastily called appearance in his official Oval Office. "The American people expect us to find out information, this actionable intelligence, so we can help protect them. That's our job."
Bush was referring to a report on two secret memos in 2005 that authorized extreme interrogation tactics against terror suspects. "This government does not torture," the president said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Anything not done at a college frat initiation in the past 10 years? Got problem with that, go look at the photos of our troops after the enemy finished mutilating their bodies. Any attempt to equate the two has the effective range of zero.
SRINAGAR: Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir Bashiruddin on Saturday asked Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to clarify his position with regard to his reported statement putting Gandhian philosophy above religion, saying that making such remarks amounted to an "anti-Islamic" act.
"I suggest to the Chief Minister to clarify his position with regard to his statement calling for adopting Gandhian philosophy, putting Gandhian philosophy above religion," he said in a statement issued from office of Supreme Court of Islamic Shariat, central Dar-ul-Futwa Jammu and Kashmir here.
The religious leader asked Azad to offer regret ( tauba ) if he has said such a thing, saying, otherwise his act would be considered as "anti-Islamic".
Azad, addressing a function on Gandhi Jayanti, reportedly said that there was no greater figure to look up to when it comes to worldly affairs, especially the domain of politics. Gandhian philosophy is the best political role model for the world and the message of religion is relevant for afterlife, he had reportedly said on October 2.
The Mufti said Prophet Mohammad is the lone leader and ideal for Muslims world over and there would be no parallel to him. Gandhiji's philosophy may be for his community which is "not necessary" for Muslims to adopt.
He said the message of the Prophet is for the entire world and peace for entire humanity and calling for adopting Gandhian philosophy is an "anti-Islamic activity".
Azad has already received flak for his comments from separatist leaders who termed him "anti-religious".
Posted by: john frum ||
10/06/2007 16:08 ||
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#1
Ghandian non-violence is anti-Islamic, which is, of course, the Religion of Peace. To paraphrase Al-Fred, these mooks wake up each morning, believing five impossible contradictory things, and proceed accordingly
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/06/2007 17:27 Comments ||
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#2
Hey they live in India not Pakiwakiland.. If Mufti doesn't like it he should just cross the line of control to Pakiwakiland were everything meets his approval.
Unofficial results on Saturday showed Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf sweeping the presidential election.
But the Supreme Court could still disqualify the military leader.
Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq announced that Musharraf had won 252 of the 257 votes cast in Parliament, with three ballots judged invalid and two votes going to his main rival, retired judge Wajihuddin Ahmad.
Pakistan Television reported on unofficial results that Musharraf had also swept the voting in three of Pakistan's four provinces.
Vote counting had yet to start in the fourth province of Sindh.
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the official results can only be declared after it rules on petitions lodged by Musharraf's opponents that his candidacy is unconstitutional.
(AKI) - The current political crisis in Pakistan is likely to intensify even if General Pervez Musharraf is re-elected as president in this weekend's presidential polls, according to well-known Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid.
"In essence the army is running the country," said Rashid in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI). "Neither the politicians nor the Supreme Court has the power to dislodge him [Musharraf]. Only the army can remove him power."
Pakistan's presidential election on Saturday will be conducted within the national parliament and provincial assemblies. Musharraf is expected to win the presidential election on Saturday, although at least 86 parliamentarians have resigned in protest over his eligibility to stand while he is still chief of the armed forces.
"Certainly he's going to win in the election, but he's not going to regain his credibility," said Rashid who is currently in Italy to attend a conference of international journalists organised by the Italian news magazine, Internazionale.
According to Rashid, through attacks on the media and last month's deportation of former premier Nawaz Sharif just hours after his return to Pakistan after seven years in exile, Musharraf has shown himself to be the "autocract and the general that he is".
Following Saturday's presidential poll, general elections have to be held in Pakistan by mid-January. Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, has said that she will return to Pakistan on 18 October and stand in the parliamentary polls and is expected to seal a reconciliation deal withMusharraf.
However Rashid believes that even if Musharraf eventually gives up his army post and becomes a civilian president, it is unlikely he will be willing to share power with a genuinely elected prime minister.
"He has been in power for eight years and he's has shown no sign of wanting to share power with anyone," he said. "The crisis is unlikely to go away with Musharraf's election."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Fox sez it was a landslide for Perv
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/06/2007 7:49 Comments ||
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India said on Friday that it had strong suspicions that a sudden increase in fake currency notes currently circulating in Indian markets had their origin in Pakistan.
In a presentation, at the ongoing four-day police conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), concern was expressed over the fact that all fake currency notes seized by the police had security features making it hard even for banks to detect them.
The forensic examination of the seized notes indicated a uniformity in notes security features, the meeting was told.
It can be inferred that the notes originate from the same source and there is a strong suspicion that it may be from Pakistan, it was said in the presentation.
Security features that govts alone can design: It said the replication of many security features showed the involvement of sophisticated elements with a proper support and paraphernalia only available with governments.
The conference was told that security agencies had seized fake currency notes worth Rs 100 million this year alone and that it was only the tip of the iceberg.
The presentation also said that fake currency notes were being smuggled from different trans-shipment points such as United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Nepal.
They are also being smuggled from land routes through Nepal, Bangladesh and Kashmir, train routes through Atari and Munabao-Khakrapar and even by air, it said. In two recent cases, fake currency notes were transported in containers by sea, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[8 views]
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#1
If the bank notes are that good, they must be North Korean. North Korea - counterfeiter to the world.
#2
Perhaps NoKo also provided counterfeit technology to Pakistan along with the missile tech.
Several years ago Pakistan purchased, from a European company, color shifting ink supposedly for use in new passports. That same ink is used in Indian rupee notes.
The new Pak passports were never produced... so where did the ink go?
Posted by: john frum ||
10/06/2007 12:21 Comments ||
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#3
John Frum comes through with yet another piece of golden information.
Fred, give that man a raise!
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/06/2007 12:26 Comments ||
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#4
Perhaps NoKo also provided counterfeit technology to Pakistan along with the missile tech.
The greatly anticipated power-sharing deal between President General Pervez Musharraf and former self-exiled Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been signed and endorsed by the cabinet.
After hectic negotiations between the government and Benazir Bhutto, chairperson of secular Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the two sides Friday announced that the power-sharing deal had been finalized and signed. The accord, called the "national reconciliation ordinance," is expected to be made public later today. The accord dusts a huge amount of pressure off President Musharraf, who is desperately trying to save his political career and secure another presidential term at the cost of his military uniform, which he has said is essential to fight terrorism.
Meanwhile, in an informal hurriedly-called cabinet meeting in early hours of Friday -- chaired by Musharraf and attended by the prime minister -- the deal ordinance was endorsed.
According to the deal, President Musharraf will be elected for a second five-year term, all corruption cases against Benazir will be annulled and a constitutional amendment will be introduced for Benazir's re-election as the prime minister of Pakistan for the third-time.
The agreement was reached amid the Supreme Court resumed hearing into legal petitions against the approval of Musharraf's nomination papers as the presidential candidate. The court is expected to give its verdict Friday. There were reports that the presidential elections, to be held on Saturday, are expected to delay.
BAGHDAD (Rooters) - Iraq's two most powerful Shi'ite leaders have signed their first written agreement, pledging to prevent bloodshed by working together to avoid confrontation, Iraqi officials said on Saturday.
Supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), the two biggest Shi'ite blocs in parliament, are locked in a power struggle for control of towns and cities in the predominantly Shi'ite south.
The factions have clashed more often this year throughout the south, areas where U.S. forces have little or no presence. Political analysts fear the struggle for dominance will intensify ahead of provincial elections expected next year.
"Sayyed Abdul Aziz al Hakim and Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr have agreed on the necessity of preserving and respecting Iraqi blood under any condition," said the agreement signed by Hakim and Sadr, which was seen by Reuters.
Shi'ite officials said the deal was aimed at preventing clashes similar to those in Kerbala, southwest of the capital, in August.
At least 52 people were killed when Sadr's Mehdi Army clashed with police linked to Hakim's rival Shi'ite political movement, the SIIC and its Badr Organisation.
The police in many southern towns are seen to be loyal to Badr. Two SIIC governors of southern provinces were assassinated in August.
Last month, the political movement loyal to Sadr in parliament pulled out of Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki's United Alliance in which it has the same number of seats as Hakim's grouping.
Sadr suspended armed action by the Mehdi Army for up to six months after the Kerbala violence. His aides have said the order was to let him weed out rogue elements in the militia.
The agreement between Hakim and Sadr recommended forming committees in all provinces to bring the two groups' views together and to manage problems.
"This deal could be seen as the first step towards preventing clashes and fighting between the two groups, specially after the Sadrists pulled out of the Alliance," a Shi'ite official in the Alliance told Rooters.
The AP title is misleading, so I substituted the above. Rice hasn't any authority to set rules for all Blackwater activities in Iraq, so far as I know.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered federal agents on Friday to ride with Blackwater USA escorts of U.S. diplomatic convoys in Baghdad to tighten oversight after a shooting in which private guards are accused of killing 13 Iraqi civilians.
She also ordered video cameras installed in Blackwater vehicles.
The steps will require the State Department to deploy dozens of additional in-house Diplomatic Security agents to accompany Blackwater guards and are the first in a series of moves Rice is expected to take to boost control of contractors the agency relies on to protect diplomats in Iraq.
They are aimed at "putting in place more robust assets to make sure that the management, reporting and accountability function works as best as it possibly can," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
The measures, which also include recording radio traffic between the embassy and diplomatic convoys and improving communications between those vehicles and U.S. military units in the vicinity, were implemented amid intense criticism of the department's security practices in Iraq and Blackwater's role.
They also come as Iraqis and U.S. lawmakers are clamoring for clarification of the now nebulous jurisdiction and authority under which the State Department's private security guards work.
On Thursday, the House passed legislation that would place all private government contractors in Iraq under U.S. criminal statutes. The Bush administration has expressed concerns about the proposed amendments but has pledged to work with Congress on improvements before the Senate takes up the bill in coming weeks.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said Friday that Rice's move was welcome but overdue.
"It goes without saying that contract personnel who are armed and authorized to use deadly force ought to be closely monitored," he said in a statement. "The secretary still needs to address the essential question of accountability: How will rogue individuals who commit criminal acts be brought to justice?"
In ordering changes, Rice accepted preliminary recommendations from an internal review board she created after the Sept. 16 incident in which Blackwater guards are accused of opening fire on Iraqi civilians in a main square in Baghdad.
Blackwater contends its employees came under fire first, but the Iraqi government and witnesses have disputed that, saying the guards opened fire without provocation.
McCormack did not say that previous practices lacked proper safeguards to ensure accountability, but said the practices could be enhanced for all the department's private security contractors, including Blackwater. The company, with about 1,000 employees in Iraq, is the largest of three private firms that guard U.S. diplomats in the country.
The new rules initially will apply only to Blackwater details because the initial recommendations cover just Baghdad, where the company operates. This could be expanded to include the other two firms, Dyncorp and Triple Canopy, which work in the north and south of Iraq, McCormack said.
The United States has not made conclusive findings about the incident, though there are multiple investigations under way to determine what happened. The FBI on Thursday took control of what had been a State Department probe, in part to prepare for the possibility the incident may be referred to the Justice Department for prosecutions.
The orders issued Friday were recommended by a separate commission Rice created to look into the Baghdad embassy's overall security practices. McCormack maintained they are not intended to imply that the other investigations have determined Blackwater employees may have violated procedures.
The panel is being led by Patrick Kennedy, one of the most senior management experts in the U.S. foreign service. Rice also brought in outside experts, including retired Gen. George Joulwan, a former NATO commander in Europe; Stapleton Roy, a retired veteran diplomat; and Eric Boswell, a former State Department and intelligence official.
Kennedy has been in Baghdad for nearly a week. Rice had asked for a preliminary review by Friday.
McCormack noted that not all members of Kennedy's team were in Baghdad yet and stressed that Rice's decision to implement changes did not preclude further revisions to security policies.
Before Rice's orders, Diplomatic Security agents only accompanied U.S. convoys on an "ad hoc" basis, according to McCormack. Now, at least one agent will be in every convoy, he said.
It was not immediately clear how many more agents that would require, but McCormack said it would number in the "dozens." Department officials have refused to say how many Diplomatic Security agents are in Iraq, citing security concerns.
In addition, video cameras had not previously been mounted in convoy vehicles as a matter of policy and radio traffic had been monitored but not recorded by the embassy, McCormack said. Rice's orders also mandate that convoys have direct contact with tactical U.S. military teams in their vicinity, he said.
"In case there is an incident, we will have an improved capability to ensure that we have all the possible information we can collect to determine exactly what happened," McCormack said. "And, we want to make sure that we have full connectivity, up and down the chain, with the military operating in the area."
The State Department has counted 56 shooting incidents involving Blackwater guards in Iraq this year. All were being reviewed as part of the comprehensive inquiry Rice ordered.
#3
In other news: Rice to make automotive seatbelts mandatory in all new cars by 2010.
......duhhhhh, ok the bullshit flag is down. The US State Department Regional Security Officer (RSO) and Diplomtatic Seurity (DS) already have overall responsibility for all contracting associated with with diplomatic security details, to include tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP). If Blackwater's TTP was in error (and nobody has said it was), Rice has one bellybutton to push. His name is Greg Starr, he is the Principal Duputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security.
#4
One further comment.... unless I've missed it, please note the absence of any reference or mention of State Department Diplomatic Security liaison person(s) riding shotgun on the incident in question, or any of the other alleged 56 engagements mentioned. No add campaign intended here, but also never mentioned is the fact that while Blackwater has lost over 30 employees, they have yet to lose the first principal. I always enjoy searching for the obviously absent commentary.
#5
It's a contract. Nothing stops either party from terminating the contract. Blackwater could lose money. State can quickly lose influence and power by being isolated leaving DoD to run things. Guess who values what more than the other?
#6
Mr. Besoeker - point of order. Sec. Rice relies on Asst. Sec. for Diplomatic Security Amb. Griffin to advise her on all matters related to security. PDAS Starr reports to Amb. Griffin and overseas the day to day operations of DSS. Several belly buttons are being pushed (believe me!) but in a pure wire diagram sense, Amb. Griffin is first in line.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
10/06/2007 14:11 Comments ||
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#7
I've become seriously disappointed with Condi Rice over the last year and a half. She's been a dud as Sec/State. In fact, I'm also beginning to be seriously disappointed with GWB. I think it's a$$-kicking time in Washington - in the legislative branch, in the judicial branch, and most especially in the executive branch. Several (all?) Departments believe they can do what they wish, not what they executive desires. Such unelected decision-making is contrary to our Constitution, and greatly undermines it. That includes a bunch of paper-pushers wearing uniforms in the Pentagon, too.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/06/2007 20:33 Comments ||
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The September Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear site in Syria had been in the works for months, ABC News has learned, and was delayed only at the strong urging of the United States. Of course. Why is the Bush administration starting to sound like the Clinton one?
In early July the Israelis presented the United States with satellite imagery that they said showed a nuclear facility in Syria. They had additional evidence that they said showed that some of the technology was supplied by North Korea.
One U.S. official told ABC's Martha Raddatz the material was "jaw dropping" because it raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence had not previously picked up on the facility. Because the CIA was never retooled to be a true intelligence gathering and processing agency. They just look at pretty pictures and go to lunch.
Officials said that the facility had likely been there for months if not years.
"Israel tends to be very thorough about its intelligence coverage, particularly when it takes a major military step, so they would not have acted without data from several sources," said ABC military consultant Tony Cordesman.
U.S. Cautious After Flawed Iraq Intelligence
A senior U.S. official said the Israelis planned to strike during the week of July 14 and in secret high-level meetings American officials argued over how to respond to the intelligence.
Some in the administration supported the Israeli action, but others, notably Sect. of State Condoleeza Rice did not. One senior official said the U.S. convinced the Israelis to "confront Syria before attacking." I used to think Rice was a good conservative. Unfortunately, she has proven to have less of a spine than Bush. We just keep digging our own graves when it comes to dictators.
Officials said they were concerned about the impact an attack on Syria would have on the region. And given the profound consequences of the flawed intelligence in Iraq, the U.S. wanted to be absolutely certain the intelligence was accurate.
Initially, administration officials convinced the Israelis to call off the July strike. But in September the Israelis feared that news of the site was about to leak and went ahead with the strike despite U.S. concerns.
The airstrike was so highly classified, President Bush refused to acknowledge it publicly even after the bombs fell.
Easy. they are too busy holding their political power in the eastern elite old boys club and screwing this administration politically (via eaks, etc) to actually do anything like defend the nation.
#5
I find it reassuring, that after a month,the US nor Israel has still not indicated that a tactical 'Bunker Busting' nuke was not used during the attack! That 800lb gorilla is still 'in the room'. The Arab world would reverberate a shockwave should the headline: Israel Nukes a Muslim Nation splatters across the world!
#6
OK... I have a question, there has been much talk that a nuke was used - but there would have been rad detection or seismic disturbance noted by other countries - ... ?
Any one with any proof...
#10
Don't get me wrong, it would put a wry smile on my face if Israel dropped a tactical on a Syrian nuke site, (Now that would send a message) but I can't see a reason for letting the nuclear cat out of the bag by using it on a facility that wasn't hardened.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/06/2007 21:45 Comments ||
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#2
Yes, there will be a two state solution, Israel and Jordan. When their Syrian and Iranian patrons are toast, look for the Paleos to get much more docile.
After failing to organize a popular uprising against Hamas in Gaza, Fatah has begun resorting to "insurgency" tactics in a bid to undermine the Islamist movement, Hamas officials said Thursday.
The officials told The Jerusalem Post Fatah militiamen were behind a series of bombings that targeted Hamas members and institutions over the past few weeks.
On Tuesday, three Fatah men were killed in a "work accident" as they were trying to place a bomb near a Hamas security installation west of Gaza City. The three, Hudaibi Khader, Yusef Hamadeh and Mu'taz al-Qami, belonged to Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.
"They were killed when the bomb they were carrying was detonated prematurely," said a senior Hamas official. "We have evidence that Fatah is behind a series of explosions that occurred in Gaza recently."
The official dismissed as "untrue" claims by Fatah that the three men were killed when Hamas militiamen fired a rocket at their vehicle.
The Aksa Martyrs Brigades threatened to avenge the killing of its members. The group accused Hamas of eliminating the three "while they were on a jihad mission" - meaning an attack on Israeli targets.
Early Thursday morning, three Hamas militiamen serving in the local police were wounded, one of them critically, when a bomb was detonated near their vehicle at the Askoulah junction in Gaza City. Again, Hamas accused Fatah of standing behind the attack.
Hamas's security forces on Thursday arrested Maher Khwaiter, a Fatah activist from the city's Zeitun neighborhood, on suspicion of involvement in the bombing.
Another Hamas official told the Post that Fatah was behind at least 14 attacks against Hamas figures and institutions in the Gaza Strip over the past month. He added that Fatah's decision to resort to an "armed struggle reflected Fatah's frustration after failing to ignite a popular uprising against Hamas."
Over the past two months, Fatah has organized a series of peaceful protests against Hamas in the Gaza Strip; thousands of Fatah supporters participated in open-air prayers to protest against Hamas's June "coup."
The protests, which have meanwhile been suspended, led to street clashes between the two parties, seriously embarrassing the Hamas government of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Most of the alleged Fatah operations have targeted security vehicles used by Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip. Following the attacks, the Hamas Ministry of Interior, which is in charge of security in the Strip, instructed all its operatives to check their vehicles before using them and to be on alert for roadside bombs.
"Apparently, Fatah is trying to copy the tactics of the anti-American insurgents in Iraq," said a Palestinian journalist in Gaza City. "It's ironic that Hamas is now describing the Fatah attacks as acts of terrorism."
Khaled Abu Hilal, a Fatah dissident closely associated with Hamas, said the latest wave of bombings was designed to destabilize the situation in the Gaza Strip. Accusing Fatah leaders in Ramallah of instructing their men to attack Hamas, he said: "These crimes reflect the terrorist mentality of the murderers and of those who give them the instructions from Ramallah."
Denying the allegations, Fatah officials in Ramallah said they were unaware of an "armed resistance" against Hamas.
"Hamas is trying to cover up for its daily crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip," said one official. "Now they are trying to justify their crimes."
The official accused Hamas of raiding the Fatah headquarters in Gaza City late Wednesday night. "Their forces stormed the building and kicked everyone out," he said. "They did not offer an explanation for the raid."
Ihab al-Ghissin, spokesman for the Hamas Ministry of Interior, confirmed that his forces had "occupied" the headquarters. But he said it was a "temporary" measure taken for security reasons.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Hamas paid salaries to some 10,000 of its security force members in Gaza on Friday and next week the movement plans to pay some 10,000 civil servants in the Strip. A Hamas official said that the wages were paid in suitcases of cash due to international pressure on Gaza's banking system not to transfer money to the movement. "We do not want to embarrass the banks in the Strip and expose them to international pressure," explained a Hamas official.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah, with all those modern PCs and printers, you can make some really decent copies of money till you run out of paper or ink. Wonder who's currency they'd use? /sarcasm off
Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan said on Thursday that the Palestinians must renew negotiations on a final-status agreement with Israel, beginning from where they stopped seven years ago in the Taba talks, Israel Radio reported. In an interview with the Al-Arabiya television station, Dahlan also criticized Israel, blaming the Jewish state for not moving forward to meet the Palestinians on a solution.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Actually, we've been thinking of another solution.
Palestinian MP and former Foreign Minister Ziyad Aby Amr denied Friday reports claiming agreement between Hamas and Fateh to hold confidential talks in Cairo to end the current national stir.
According to Middle East News Agency (MENA), Abu Amr said he kept very close contact with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as Hamas' leaders within and outside Palestinian territories. He added that on Thursday he had contacted a number of telephone calls with figures from the two factions and Egyptian officials, noting that his contacts affirmed that there were no talks.
He believed that Hamas-Fateh talks were quite unlikely at this time as both movements were unprepared to do such a thing, refusing the notion that the US had banned Abbas from holding any talks. All current efforts are mere initiatives to set the stage for talks, but Hamas and Fateh are not part of this process, he said.
While urging Hamas to take the initial approach by approaching Fateh, he said talks would be more fruitful after the US-sponsored peace forum next November.
He noted that Hamas' latest initiative was discussing matters to clarify committed mistakes.
The September Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear site in Syria had been in the works for months, ABC News has learned, and was delayed only at the strong urging of the United States. In early July the Israelis presented the United States with satellite imagery that they said showed a nuclear facility in Syria. They had additional evidence that they said showed that some of the technology was supplied by North Korea.
One U.S. official told ABC's Martha Raddatz the material was "jaw dropping" because it raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence had not previously picked up on the facility. Officials said that the facility had likely been there for months if not years. "Israel tends to be very thorough about its intelligence coverage, particularly when it takes a major military step, so they would not have acted without data from several sources," said ABC military consultant Tony Cordesman.
A senior U.S. official said the Israelis planned to strike during the week of July 14 and in secret high-level meetings American officials argued over how to respond to the intelligence. Some in the administration supported the Israeli action, but others, notably Sect. of State Condoleeza Rice did not. One senior official said the U.S. convinced the Israelis to "confront Syria before attacking."
Officials said they were concerned about the impact an attack on Syria would have on the region. And given the profound consequences of the flawed intelligence in Iraq, the U.S. wanted to be absolutely certain the intelligence was accurate. Initially, administration officials convinced the Israelis to call off the July strike. But in September the Israelis feared that news of the site was about to leak and went ahead with the strike despite U.S. concerns.
The airstrike was so highly classified, President Bush refused to acknowledge it publicly even after the bombs fell.
#5
One reason I would try to restrain such an attack is that it has apparently revealed some technology we had available to us. Whenever you pull a new trick out of the bag, it doesn't take long for someone to develop a countermeasure for it. We might not have wanted to have this technology exposed to the Russians and Iranians.
#6
Gotta make sure they like us, they really like us.
When it comes to Muslims, the best way of doing that is by making sure we scare the ever-living-shit out of them. They need to be pissing all over themselves in abject gratitude and relief whenever we smile their way. Maybe then they'll "like us".
#10
Aviation Leak sez: U.S. aerospace industry and retired military officials indicated today that a technology like the U.S.-developed Suter airborne network attack system developed by BAE Systems and integrated into U.S. unmanned aircraft by L-3 Communications was used by the Israelis. The system has been used or at least tested operationally in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last year.
FYI: Suter as in Colonel Richard "Moody" Suter, USAF. The concept of Colonel David Burney, Colonel Richard "Moody" Suter became the driving force in its implementation, persuading Tactical Air Command commander Lt. Gen. Robert Dixon to adopt the program. Red Flag is one of a series of colored "flags" providing realistic training under combat conditions
Posted by: ed ||
10/06/2007 22:30 Comments ||
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#11
it's quite likely that the suppression technology was from the US, not Israel, or at least not Israeli alone.
I'm more than aware of this, LOTP. A sweetheart of mine used to work at Addington Laboratories along with some members of the Old Crows. Let's just say that their stories were rather "amusing".
The September Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear site in Syria had been in the works for months, ABC News has learned, and was delayed only at the strong urging of the United States.
In early July the Israelis presented the United States with satellite imagery that they said showed a nuclear facility in Syria. They had additional evidence that they said showed that some of the technology was supplied by North Korea.
One U.S. official told ABC's Martha Raddatz the material was "jaw dropping" because it raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence had not previously picked up on the facility.
Officials said that the facility had likely been there for months if not years.
"Israel tends to be very thorough about its intelligence coverage, particularly when it takes a major military step, so they would not have acted without data from several sources," said ABC military consultant Tony Cordesman.
U.S. Cautious After Flawed Iraq Intelligence
A senior U.S. official said the Israelis planned to strike during the week of July 14 and in secret high-level meetings American officials argued over how to respond to the intelligence.
Some in the administration supported the Israeli action, but others, notably Sect. of State Condoleeza Rice did not. One senior official said the U.S. convinced the Israelis to "confront Syria before attacking."
Officials said they were concerned about the impact an attack on Syria would have on the region. And given the profound consequences of the flawed intelligence in Iraq, the U.S. wanted to be absolutely certain the intelligence was accurate.
Initially, administration officials convinced the Israelis to call off the July strike. But in September the Israelis feared that news of the site was about to leak and went ahead with the strike despite U.S. concerns.
The airstrike was so highly classified, President Bush refused to acknowledge it publicly even after the bombs fell.
ABC's Martha Raddatz filed this report for "World News With Charles Gibson."
Found via Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit, who also linked to this bit from Meryl Yourish. All I can say myself is, I wish we had had a CIA that was more interested in protecting the country than it was in playing "gotcha" by pretending Iraqi WMD being moved to Syria means it didn't really exist in the first lace.
#1
Re: the comments on the other two posts of this story... it seems the CIA has been busy training the administration to never do anything about WMD because whatever the CIA tells them about them existing isn't to be believed, and they'll be held accountable for "phony cooked intelligence for another misbegotten war..."
#2
Wow, three copies of the same article.
Re contents, I've a suggestion to make. I wouldn't take MSM accusation against Bush administration (and as all the regulars know, I'm hardly a fun of theirs) without collaboration.
Lebanese parliament member Saad Hariri, the son and political heir of slain former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, told President Bush and other U.S. officials yesterday that he feared neighboring Syria was still determined to obstruct Lebanon's upcoming presidential election and destabilize the region.
"In the meantime, there is a killing machine that has started killing the majority and it has not stopped," Hariri said in an interview, referring to a string of assassinations of anti-Syrian Lebanese legislators. "We believe that somehow, that the Syrian regime will stop the elections from happening."
He added: "We are not afraid of a compromise. We are afraid there won't be presidential elections."
"At the end of the day, what the Syrians want is terrorism, and what we want is democracy," he said. "If we do not succeed as a moderate democracy in the region, there will only be terrorism and extremist regimes like Syria will flourish."
At a briefing with Washington Post columnists and reporters, Hariri, 37, said he was seriously engaged in dialogue with Nabih Berri, Lebanon's parliament speaker and an interlocutor for the opposition to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government, to find a way out of the current political impasse. The country of about 4 million people, which he described as a moderate democracy, is eager to extricate itself from regional strains, he said.
Hariri asserted that the armed Hezbollah movement, backed by Syria and Iran, was now "in a corner" politically despite the popularity it achieved last year after its 33-day war with Israeli forces inside Lebanon.
Lebanon's Syrian-backed opposition is composed of Shiite Muslim officials and legislators loyal to Berri's Amal party and Hezbollah, as well as Christian followers of Michel Aoun, a former general with presidential aspirations. The opposition has boycotted the government and parliament for 10 months, virtually paralyzing the country's institutions.
Under the constitution, Lebanon's president, traditionally a Maronite Christian, has to be elected within the next seven weeks by the unicameral legislature. Failure to reach a quorum of two-thirds of the 128-seat legislature for a first round of balloting would allow legislators to come together at another location and elect a president with a majority of 65 votes. However, six legislators loyal to Hariri's bloc have been killed in a spate of assassinations.
Hariri vowed that Lebanon would not end up with a candidate chosen by Syria, but one from the coalition of Christians, Muslims and Druze known as the March 14 group.
"We believe we are a majority, we have a big say and we have the right to choose our new president," Hariri said.
He said he was content to lead the majority bloc and had no ambitions to become Lebanon's next prime minister, praising Siniora as a statesman at home and abroad.
"I am quite happy where I am," he said. "I have great respect for Prime Minister Siniora. My political ambition is not to be a prime minister; my political ambition is to have Lebanon reach a safer haven."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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2. We're talking national police force. $60 mil isn't much. The NYC police budget in 2005 was $3.5 billion. Over $350 million of that was in overtime.
3. We're talking a national police force that's been, like the army, under-equipped, under-trained, and subjected to various interests. What money that was allocated by Lahoud's regime was... mis-allocated.
4. Getting Nasrallah would take the army. That means political support, better equipment, training, leadership, etc. That isn't gonna happen.
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michen Aoun threatened that his supporters would take to the streets if fellow partisans detained by police on charges of paramilitary training were not released.
The FPM also denied Friday that some of its members were undergoing paramilitary training, but rather "having fun."
"They were just out having fun with real weapons but not undergoing any military training as such," said FPM spokesman Alain Aoun.
His comments came after security officials on Thursday announced that two FPM members had been arrested for undergoing paramilitary training, fanning tension ahead of a delayed presidential vote.
The security forces also released photographs of uniformed young men and women armed with automatic rifles. Authorities said the group was receiving instructions on the use of weapons in the Jbeil region north of the capital.
The FPM spokesman said the group had been in charge of protecting residence of the movement's leader outside Beirut in 2005 and that the photos released by the authorities were taken at least 18 months ago.
"These kids made a mistake," he said. "But we're not talking here about combat units as the ruling majority is claiming."
But Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Fatfat, a member of the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, said the government could not tolerate political parties each having their own security forces.
"Such a situation could lead to a new civil war," he warned.
Under the Taif agreement that ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, all factions disarmed their militias with the exception of the Shiite militant group Hizbullah which fought last year's war with Israel.
Aoun, a candidate in this month's vote for a new president, is allied with Hizbullah and the Amal movement of parliament speaker Nabih Berri, which are backed by Syria and Iran.
The two sides have been deadlocked over the choice of a new president to replace pro-Syrian incumbent Emile Lahoud and a first parliamentary session convened last month to elect a successor failed to achieve a quorum.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Israel wants to take control of the Middle East and drag the region into war, Hizbullah spiritual leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Friday evening.
Nasrallah spoke in honor of Al-Quds Day, celebrated on the last Friday of the Ramadan fast, on which Muslims worldwide express support for the Palestinians and the importance of Jerusalem to Islam. "Israel is an entity that steals other's land," Nasrallah said in his speech, which was broadcast on giant screens in the Hizbullah-controlled areas of southern Beirut.
The Hizbullah leader also criticized Arab nations for failing to help the Palestinians and said he hoped they would use military force against Israel. Nasrallah also called the "Palestinian 'occupation' one of the [world's] biggest disasters."
"The Zionists arrived and established gangs. Supported by the British and many [other] nations, they moved onto Palestinian land. Their country is based on occupation, murder, and theft," Nasrallah said.
The Hizbullah leader also has words about Israel's September 6 air strike on an unidentified Syrian facility. "Israel talks about peace but is preparing for war. The purpose of Israel's entry into Syria was to damage Syria's position ahead of the [US-sponsored Middle East parley] in November," Nasrallah declared. "[US President George W.] Bush's plan is war, not peace, as in Iraq and Lebanon," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd settle for dragging Nasrallah by his heels through the streets.
Millions of Iranians attended nationwide rallies Friday in support of the Palestinians, while the country's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel's continued existence was an "insult to human dignity."
"The creation, continued existence and unlimited (Western) support for this regime is an insult to human dignity," Ahmadinejad said. "The occupation of Palestine is not limited to one land. The Zionist issue is now a global issue."
Ahmadinejad's remarks came as millions of Iranians held rallies across Iran to protest Israel's continued control of Jerusalem. The demonstrations for "Al-Quds Day" - Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem - also spilled over into anti-American protests because of US support for Israel. In the capital Teheran, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets as they chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." Some protesters also burned American and Israeli flags. State television reported similar large rallies in all other provincial capitals and smaller towns across Iran.
The Iranian president once again said Palestinians should not pay any price because Europeans committed crimes against Jews in World War II. He said they could give a part of their own land in Europe or Alaska so that the Jews can establish their country. "I ask European governments supporting Zionists and the American people that will you allow occupation of part of your land under a pretext and then talk about a two-state solution?," Ahmadinejad said after the rallies.
Ahmadinejad said a "free referendum" was the solution to the Palestinian issue, saying Jews, Muslims and Christians as well as five million Palestinian refugees should take part in a vote to determine their own fate.
Ayatollah Mahould Hashemi Shahroudi, Iran's judiciary chief, said Friday's rallies was "a good start for the destruction of the Zionist regime."
Parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands was a "blatant oppression" and warned that the relationship between the Islamic world and the West won't improve as long as Palestinians are not allowed to determine their fate in a referendum.
Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has observed the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as "Al-Quds Day," as a way of expressing support to the Palestinians and emphasizing the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims.
Meanwhile, thousands of Gazans marched from Beit Lahiya to Jabalya to commemorate "Al-Quds Day." The protesters burned, Israeli, US and British flags.
Also, on Israel's northern border, Hizbullah activists and Lebanese Shi'ites held an anti-Israel protest next to the border fence. Lebanese troops manned the rally and prevented the protesters from approaching the border. IDF troops in the North were instructed to raise their level of alert.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Ala OSAMA + WHITNEY, either Moud likes Oliver Stone, AEROSMITH, and of course MADONNA, etc.; or somebody's PYWAR-PYOP is getting seriously out of Govt.-INTEL control.
#3
If the Jews want to open a big colony in Alaska, I would recommend anywhere along the southern coast. It is drop dead beautiful, lush, temperate for half the year, there are wild animals everywhere as well as huge pine forests.
#7
They can whine, but they can't take the Jew from Jerusalem. After all, if Allah had wanted those little peckerwoods to have the land, he would have made them fight a little harder instead of running away. Every time they try and take it back, including 1973 the Arabs have had their asses handed to them. Next time the returned parts will be extra crispy.
#8
"Palestinians should not pay any price because Europeans committed crimes against Jews in World War II. He said they could give a part of their own land in Europe or Alaska so that the Jews can establish their country."
Crimes were committed against Jews OUTSIDE Europe, long before WWII-including crimes by Muslims against Jews.
I suppose one could argue that the Jews should be given land in Alaska, had their historical claims to that place predated that of the Inuit and Yupik. Your reason is failing; try again, o deluded Mahdi.
#9
America offered us Grand Island upstream from Niagara Falls, once. George Washington thought highly of the Jews who'd come here; he saw them as good citizens of his new country. Britain offered us somewhere in Africa -- Kenya, I think -- instead of that tiny, oil-free corner of the Middle East. But there have been Jews in the Promised Land since the exodus from Egypt, even if a majority of our population have lived outside the Land ever since Cyrus the Great, so by right of historic continuity the land is ours, even as every inch has had to be bought and rebought with gold and blood.
America had better move soon on Iran, or Israel will take care of it again. Ehud Barak is no Olmert.
Myself, I would prefer that Israel take care of Iran.
However, it's in every western nations interest for any strike against Iran to be a 100% success, so it's prolly best that both Israel and America put their heads together for this one. After all, we have more guns and control od a lot of turf bordering Iran.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/06/2007 21:41 Comments ||
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#11
Amen, Anonymoose. The Jews would be more than welcome in Alaska. As to Europe, I seem to recall they tried that before and I don't think it worked out too well.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Friday that Iran will not negotiate over its "nuclear rights" but said the government was prepared to answer questions from the UN nuclear watchdog agency.
On Wednesday, French diplomatic officials said Iran is set to run almost 3,000 centrifuges by the end of the month, nearing the threshold for industrial-scale uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad said Iran has already achieved proficiency in the whole nuclear fuel cycle, from extracting uranium ore to enriching it, and that Teheran has removed any hurdles in the way of its nuclear progress. "The Iranian nation favors talks but it won't negotiate over its definite and legal nuclear rights. They (world powers) have to know this," Ahmadinejad said in comments before Friday prayers in Teheran.
In a setback for the United States, Iran won a two-month reprieve from new UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program last month. The Bush administration and its European allies ceded to Russian and Chinese demands to give Teheran more time to address international concerns.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah Friday carefully wiped the blood off his hands and accused Israel of being behind the assassinations in Lebanon, calling for constitutional amendments to enable the Lebanese people to elect a new president.
Nasrallah, in a televised speech in southern Beirut marking International Quds Day, said the Israelis were assassinating the March 14 group's leaders, and the Lebanese people should be aware of that. Israel, he said, considered the Lebanese resistance an obstacle against its strategic objectives in Lebanon. He warned that Israel wanted to drag the resistance into a conflict inside Lebanon.
Talking about the election of the Lebanese president, Nasrallah said Syria was supporting a consensus among the Lebanese to elect a president. "It is Israel that has no interest over a consensus. If we fail to agree on a presidential nominee the best way is to seek the Lebanese people," said Nasrallah. He called for the amendment of the constitution for one time only to allow the people elect their president. He said the opposition was keen on conciliation and dialogue in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Nasrallah called on Saudi Arabia not to support a US-proposed international conference on the Middle East peace process. He called on the Arab countries to provide political and financial support for the Palestinian people. He urged Hamas and Fatah to resolve differences peacefully.
#1
By now, it's pretty clear that Muslims are congenitally predisposed to a condition that precludes the ability to blush or experience embarrassment of any sort.
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia - Fidel Castro insists Ernesto "Che" Guevara could never have been taken prisoner 40 years ago if his gun hadn't malfunctioned. But the retired Bolivian general who led the mission to capture him says the Argentine revolutionary was hardly a heroic figure in his final moments.
The man that Gen. Gary Prado remembers sad, sick, hungry, dressed in rags and alone in the jungle simply dropped his gun and surrendered, saying, "Don't shoot, I'm Che."
"He wasn't the figure of the heroic guerrilla," Prado recalled in an interview with The Associated Press Thursday night.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Simon Bolivar still has fans here, but Guevara not so much. The only people I see in Panama wearing Che shirts are leftist Americans & Euros.
Posted by: Destro in Panama ||
10/06/2007 5:15 Comments ||
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#2
The lad is still obviously loved at Rutgers and in leftest, communist academia circles.
Mason Gross
School of the Arts
33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901-1959
April 30, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lara Hoyt, Coordinator for Public Relations and Alumni Affairs
732/932-7591 x512 publicrelations@masongross.rutgers.edu
Forty years of Che Guevara at Mason Gross Galleries Concurrent show features fusion of visual arts and dance
New Brunswick, NJ Marking the year of the 40th anniversary of Che Guevaras death, Mason Gross Galleries at Civic Square presents a show inspired by an extensive private collection of posters, dating from the 1960s to the present, that depict the iconic Marxist revolutionary. Opening May 9, Beauty Is in the Street: The Iconography of Idealism brings part of that collection together with specially commissioned contemporary artworks made in response to the posters as printed artifacts and as ideas.
The exhibition looks at the continued power of Che as a symbol of hope and of opposition across cultures, said curator Gerry Beegan, a professor of visual arts at Mason Gross School of the Arts. Whatever one might think of his beliefs, his use of violence, and his political failures, Che retains a remarkable cultural resonance 40 years after his death.
#9
Some time ago there was a nostalgia type concert on the local PBS TV station in which Eric Burdon of the old rock group The Animals appeared wearing a Che T-shirt. His voice was gone, his hair was short and graying and he was fat. It was pathetic. I still think some of the old Animal songs were great but I couldn't take seeing Eric this way. I changed the channel.
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 ||
10/06/2007 13:36 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
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.
(AKI) - Osama bin Laden is alive and well and continues to lead the activities of al-Qaeda, according to one of his Afghan lieutenants, 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy levelled a new charge against Russia on Thursday, accusing the country of complicating the world's problems, and urging it to start helping resolve them.
Canada's security-certificate law may be crumbling, but it will keep one al-Qaeda suspect imprisoned for at least a few more months. Hassan Almrei, the only inmate of a multimillion-dollar prison built in Kingston to hold alleged terrorists whom Canada cannot legally deport, Friday lost his bid for bail. A Federal Court judge ruled he will continue to be held for his alleged ties to al-Qaeda. The Syrian national has been imprisoned for six years, remaining in custody even as he has seen four other al-Qaeda suspects released into strict forms of house arrest. 
India said on Friday that it had strong suspicions that a sudden increase in fake currency notes currently circulating in Indian markets had their origin in Pakistan. 
The greatly anticipated power-sharing deal between President General Pervez Musharraf and former self-exiled Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been signed and endorsed by the cabinet. 
By Mariam Karouny
The September Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear site in Syria had been in the works for months, ABC News has learned, and was delayed only at the strong urging of the United States.
Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan said on Thursday that the Palestinians must renew negotiations on a final-status agreement with Israel, beginning from where they stopped seven years ago in the Taba talks, Israel Radio reported. In an interview with the Al-Arabiya television station, Dahlan also criticized Israel, blaming the Jewish state for not moving forward to meet the Palestinians on a solution.
Lebanese parliament member Saad Hariri, the son and political heir of slain former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, told President Bush and other U.S. officials yesterday that he feared neighboring Syria was still determined to obstruct Lebanon's upcoming presidential election and destabilize the region.
Israel wants to take control of the Middle East and drag the region into war, Hizbullah spiritual leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Friday evening. 
