RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah, vowed the top oil producer would crush Al Qaeda militants and called on its citizens to stand united against all threats. "The challenges facing us today necessitates that we be vigilant towards anyone who tries to harm the country's unity," Abdullah said in comments carried by the official Saudi Press Agency late on Friday. "Those who hate this country of monotheism and solidarity will not rest when they see us united ... but you will be victorious over everyone who tries to violate this country." Saudi Arabia has been fighting a surge of Al Qaeda violence since May 2003, in which about 170 people - including Westerners - have been killed. On another front, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador in Tripoli on Wednesday over what it said was a Libyan plot to assassinate the Crown Prince. Libya rejected the charge. Riyadh has accused exiled Saudi dissident Saad al-Fagih, whose group says it aims to topple the Saudi monarchy by peaceful means, of involvement in the assassination plan. On Thursday, U.N. Security Council members agreed to impose sanctions on Fagih, accused by Washington of links to Al Qaeda. reuters
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2004 00:00:00 ||
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The Metropolitan Police will no longer describe black people as black, as part of a new attempt to counter charges of racism in the force. Both black and Asian people will in future be referred to as "visible minority ethnics". The term, which replaces the phrase "black and Asian minority ethnics", is expected to be adopted officially in January.
Is that when they issue the Oxford Grammar of Newspeak?
The decision was criticised yesterday as unnecessary and confusing by black police officers.
Tut tut, my good men. Since when has that mattered?
Anna Scott, the general secretary of the National Black Police Association, said it amounted to a step too far by the "political correctness" movement.
There's no such thing as "a step too far" when it comes to PC...
"We have gone from saying 'black ethnic minority' to 'black minority ethnic' to 'visible minority ethnic' in a matter of years," she said.
Don't like it? Just wait a year or two...
"There has been so much emphasis on the issue of terminology, that the issue has become confusing for black police officers, let alone white ones. We are risking becoming too politically correct at the expense of being clearly understood by officers and the general public." A senior police official told The Telegraph that some white officers were using the phrase so that they could avoid saying the words "black" or "Asian", for fear of causing offence.
Wait! Wait! I've got it! Why not call them Worthy Oriental Gentlemen?
The official claimed that the term would allow these communities to be distinguished from others - such as the Irish and the Greeks - whose members are, according to the new terminology, "invisible" because they tend to be light-skinned.
Such are the fine gradations of minoritude in the world we live in...
In the 1960s, the phrase "coloured" was officially used by some police forces. By the 1970s, this had changed to "black" to describe people whose ancestors originated from the Caribbean and Africa and "Asian" for those who originated from the Indian subcontinent.
"East Asian" for Chinese, of course. "Further East Asian" for Japanese? "Further North East Asian" for Koreans? What'd they use for Kalmyks?
The phrase "ethnic minority" was also widely used as a collective term for both groups, but this was dropped in favour of "minority ethnic" five years ago, prompting criticism that it was an improper use of English.
I think the lobes of somebody's brain must have switched sides to come up with that distinction...
Bernard Lamb, the chairman of the London branch of the Queen's English Society, said that the new description was grammatically incorrect and over-sensitive. "I do not like this new term at all. The word 'ethnic' is an adjective and you cannot pluralise an adjective," he said.
You could if you used it as a noun. Not as a verb, though. But that's only because we don't really have plural verb forms in English. "They're busy ethnicking" is formed the same way as "He's busy ethnicking." Now, if you use it as a conjunction...
"They seem to have used a euphemism for black and Asian when I imagine most black and Asian people do not mind the words at all." The change will cost a significant sum of public money in retraining officers and rewriting manuals and a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said that some senior officers were already using the term.
Ahhh... Job security for bureaucrats. Parkinson would be pleased...
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Authority said that the new term was not a redefinition but was meant to standardise the phraseology used by the police. "Concerns have been raised about the nature and range of terms used in papers presented to the authority when discussing ethnicity. To ensure that there is a uniform approach and understanding of terminology used in future, and that offence is avoided, the January meeting of the authority's equal opportunities and diversity board will make decisions about the terminology we expect to use," he said. The trick in avoiding offense is to not refer to people, but events. For example, in Arkansas, and elsewhere, a "violent confrontation exclusively involving persons of African-American descent" is referred to as a "UND", for "Usual N* Deal". This does not impugn specific individuals, just their behavior.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
12/26/2004 10:20:34 AM ||
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#1
The Metropolitan Police will no longer describe black people as black, as part of a new attempt to counter charges of racism in the force. Both black and Asian people will in future be referred to as "visible minority ethnics
So if for some reason the police are looking for someone who is not white they will notify the public that they are looking for a "visible minority ethnic"? How will they now differentiate between Black and Asian?
So maybe a new verb is born: "To Ethnicate"?
Can it mean the police equivalent to 'obfuscate'?
#2
Why oh why did I think that this story would be about the UK when I read the title?
I've lost a hell of a lot of respect for the police in this country - they are just rolling over every time some officious twat decides they need more 'education'.
One thing that cracks me up about this article is the fact that the 'National Black Police Association' has a view on it. In my opinion, they shouldn't even exist - how racist is it to have an association made up entirely of one race? Replace 'Black' with 'White' and *then* see what would happen. Same goes for the Association of Black Lawyers. I guess some people *are* more equal than others after all.
I truly despise PC language - it really is DoubleSpeak
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
12/26/2004 13:01 Comments ||
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So, Tony, will they be renamed the "National Visible Minority Ethnic Police Association" (NVMEPA)?
THE Inland Revenue is considering recognising polygamy for some religious groups for tax purposes. Officials have agreed to examine "family friendly" representations from Muslims who take up to four wives under sharia, the laws derived from the Koran.
Emily and Barbara, will you marry me?
Existing rules allow only one wife for inheritance tax purposes. The Revenue has been asked to relax this so that a husband's estate can be divided tax-free between several wives. The move is bound to create controversy if it leads to a change in the rules. It is seen as a breakthrough by Muslim leaders who have been campaigning to incorporate sharia into British domestic law.
Didn't the Brits used to have a law against bigamy? My wife's an excellent housekeeper, but I've often wished I had a wife who could play the harpsichord and I've always been deterred from proposing by the majesty of the law...
Ahmad Thomson, of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, said: "Wives and immediate children should be exempt from inheritance tax. If the government is family friendly they should change a tax which is unfairly hitting minority religious values."
If the laws are enforced impartially, there would be no "second wives"...
Any concession by the Revenue could open a wider debate about the legality of plural marriages. At present a person married to more than one people can be charged with bigamy.
Ahah. They haven't dumped the bigamy laws. I guess I'll have to wait until I'm rich enough to dump the current Missus and acquire a trophy wife...
Muslim marriages to second, third and fourth wives are not valid in civil law, with the women effectively regarded as mistresses with no legal or tax rights. However, some official bodies have already pointed out that tax laws are unfavourable to religious groups that recognise more than one spouse.
That's always been the disadvantage of being a mistress, hasn't it? That blasted impartiality puts Fatimah into the same category as Mrs. Parker-Bowles ...
(NAO) recently concluded that the tax system inadvertently penalised devout Muslims.
... and non-devout philanderers...
An NAO inquiry into inheritance laws found that devout Muslims were not able to take full advantage of British tax law, which allows spouses to inherit an entire estate from their husband or wife tax free.
Neither can ladies named Tiffany and Trixie when Sugardaddy pegs out...
By contrast, for the many Muslim families who observe sharia, the woman receives only an eighth share of her husband's estate tax free. The rest of the estate above the British inheritance tax threshold of ĆĀ£265,000, is taxed by the Inland Revenue at 40%. Sadiq Khan, a leading Muslim politician, said: "I am pleased to see the Inland Revenue applying common sense to the application of Islamic law on uncontroversial matters such as inheritance.
Doesn't look like common sense from where I sit. It looks more like they're tossing sound legal principle overboard...
"There are some other uncontroversial areas of Islam law which could easily be applied to the legal system we have in the UK."
"... like lopping off hands. That's not very controversial. And the infidels used to chop off heads, too. We've read it in their history books. It's an old English custom. We just want to bring it back."
He insisted there was no question of pressing for the introduction of sharia's criminal code "where people are flogged or have their hands chopped off". He said: "This is not the thin edge of the wedge."
"That part's already been done, since they recognize shariah. This is more like the middle portion of the wedge."
The NAO also points out that Jews who follow the traditional code of halakah are similarly penalised because it requires estates to be passed through the male line.
Somehow they've managed to live with it for what? A couple thousand years now?
The change in position by the Revenue emerged in correspondence from its capital taxes technical group sent to Haroon Rashid, an expert in inheritance tax planning at the law firm, BK Soliciors. John W Murray, an official, wrote on November 29 in reply to a question on how to calculate tax on a will under Islamic law: "It is a question of Islamic law whether or not this is the case. If there is any authority that you could direct us to then we would gladly consider it."
"We have no case law in the United Kingdom, and we were wondering if you had any..."
A Treasury spokesman said: "We keep all areas of the tax system under review, and we are willing to consider all representations put to us on how to ensure the tax system operates in a fair, simple and consistent way." Gordon Brown, the chancellor, has already made one significant concession to adapt to the dictates of sharia. In the 2003 Finance Act he spared Muslims from paying stamp duty twice on their properties when they took out "Islamic mortgages" that complied with the sharia ban on paying interest. The Islamic mortgages involve the lender buying the house Ā ownership is transferred to the purchaser only at the end of the repayment period.
That was part of the thin edge...
Posted by: dennisw ||
12/26/2004 5:48:38 AM ||
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#1
but I've often wished I had a wife who could play the harpsichord and I've always been deterred from proposing by the majesty of the law...
#5
Why is it EVERY time the Muslims whine about anything , all of the politicians fall all over themselves to kiss their asses.
But have a Catholic put a nativity scene out on their own front yard for Christmas and the same politicians want to crucify you and your family. The LLL is straight out of the Twilight Zone these days.
To our UK posters and lurkers, I'm sorry, but I have to take your Queen out back to the woodshed. She's redeeming her Xmas gift certificate for a session with the clue-by-four.
Queen Elizabeth used her Christmas televised address to praise the virtues of religious and ethnic tolerance, telling her fellow Britons that diversity is "a strength and not a threat".
I saw this message broadcast on BBC America. I was appalled. It was all about making nice with Islam, with visits to mosques and cute lil "Asian" kiddies talking about how it was great to study their religion. No temples, no Sikh or Hindu or Wicca places of worship. Not even a church.
"Religion and culture are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about tolerance and respecting others," the 78-year-old monarch said in her annual address to the nation, as she reflected on the meaning of Christmas. "For me, as a Christian, one of the most important of these teachings is contained in the parable of the Good Samaritan, when Jesus answers the question, 'Who is my neighbour?,'" she said. "It is a timeless story of a victim of a mugging who was ignored by his own countrymen but helped by a foreigner -- and a despised foreigner at that. The implication drawn by Jesus is clear. Everyone is our neighbour, no matter what race, creed or colour. The need to look after a fellow human being is far more important than any cultural or religious differences."
Sorry to be so cynical, your Majesty, but England's not doing so hot on the mugging front lately. You won't allow your citizens to defend themselves from the criminals to begin with, and then you persecute them if they choose to stand up for themselves.
The queen went on to highlight the benefits of diversity, noting that "we have only to look around to recognize the benefits of this positive approach in business or local government, in sport, music and the arts."
"Mmmmmm, isn't this milk tasty...what do you mean, it's sour? Oh my, you're right. The carton DOES say best if used before September 2001."
While conceding that many challenges lie ahead she sounded an upbeat note about Britain's future in a globalized world. "There is certainly much more to be done and many challenges to be overcome. Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures," she said.
I don't think she is understanding just whose culture is being threatened. Rats. I expected better of the momarch of the United Kingdom.
"They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat. We need also to realize that peaceful and steady progress in our society of differing cultures and heritage can be threatened at any moment by the actions of extremists at home or by events abroad. We can certainly never be complacent.
Complacency, I kinda sorta understand. Willful blindness, absolutely not.
"But there is every reason to be hopeful about the future. ... I believe tolerance and fair play remain strong British values and we have so much to build on for the future," the queen said.
You'll have lots to rebuild after Al-Mujiharoun and the Abu Hamzanauts start exploding in Piccadilly Circus...speaking of Abu Hamza, have you paid him all the dole money he is owed yet?
Her speech was interspersed with video sequences including one apparently shot in a mosque and in which she appears with her head and shoulders covered by a scarf.
That's when I spit out my cereal. Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of this Realm and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith....in hijab. Even the French would be appalled.
The monarch also recounted an anecdote she heard from an overseas visitor who said the best part of his visit had been "traveling from Heathrow into central London on the tube (subway). "His British friends were, as you can imagine, somewhat surprised, particularly as the visitor had been to some of the great attractions of the country. What do you mean, they asked?," the queen said. "Because, he replied, I boarded the train just as the schools were coming out. At each stop children were getting on and off -- they were of every ethnic and religious background, some with scarves or turbans, some talking quietly, others playing and occasionally misbehaving together -- completely at ease and trusting one another. How lucky you are, said the visitor, to live in a country where your children can grow up this way."
Apparently, this "overseas visitor" just flew in from America, where all the subways are ghettoes, and the kids shoot one another on sight. The Queen needs a better speechwriter. I suggest Peggy Noonan.
#1
I'm not much of a Royalist, as recently there's been so few decent role models (unless you count Prince Philip - he comes out with some excellent quotes). I don't listen to the Queens message for example. Lucky I didn't this year, or I'd have been in a foul mood yesterday.
To my mind, the powers that be have had a word with her - "remind them of tolerance, and where their currys come from", because they know they can't be lucky all the time, and a Madrid level attack is all but inevitable (our coppers have been saying that for a while - although they say they've stopped at least one). Once the first boomer goes off in the centre of London, or at a football match, I think people will be stunned more than anything else - and then they'll get angry. I've read stories where they're looking at multiple simultaneous booms up and down the country. God only knows what will happen after that.
To end on an upbeat note, here's two quotes from Prince Philip...
(1995 To a Scottish driving instructor in Oban) "How do you keep the natives off the booze for long enough to pass their test?.."
(1998 To a student who'd trekked in Papua New Guinea) "You managed not to get eaten then?.."
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
12/26/2004 5:10 Comments ||
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#2
Happy Boxing Day Tony! It was always my British buds favorite day of the year.
#3
That's because there's loads of footie and other sports on, you can legitimately escape from the house (and dreadful rellys), and the pubs are open normal hours.
(Says he, who has had a nice quiet day at home, encoding DVDs for said rellys, and been munching on Toblerone - now onto a *rather large* glass of red wine! :)
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
12/26/2004 12:28 Comments ||
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Let's all try to remember that these words are coming from the world's richest woman while she sits ensconced in a highly secure and luxurious residence. She faces not one whit of the danger and suffering that loom as a result of her blithe and entirely misguided notions.
Far too many of the British Royals continue to display insular and roseate attitudes that can result in the rest of us unwashed plebians getting blown to bits or worse. This sort of poisonous treacle is merely one more splendid reason to abolish royalism in all of its manifestations.
About 50 rioters hurled stones and set fire to a car on Christmas Eve at a police station whose officers were earlier accused of abusing Afghan immigrants, the Athens News Agency (ANA) said on Saturday.
Anti-riot police drove off the assailants, described by police as anarchists.
One man was arrested for allegedly attacking police cars with an axe and another 18 were taken into temporary custody, ANA quoted police as saying.
Police said they found the axe in a bag carried by the 29-year-old man and believed it had been used to damage cars outside the building.
No casualties were reported.
Non-governmental organisations had earlier accused police from the same precinct station of torturing Afghan immigrants.
Human rights activists claimed last Tuesday that police raiding an Athens hostel carried out mock executions on Afghan immigrants, with one officer allegedly sticking a gun in a teenager's mouth.
"At least 30 immigrants were very seriously maltreated by police who even carried out simulated executions on them, placing weapons against their heads and necks," said Maria Kali, who works for a rehabilitation centre for torture victims.
Police said Monday after the broadcast of a television documentary highlighting the allegations that they would investigate reports that officers had beaten Afghan and Iranian immigrants.
The programme, shown by the private TV channel Mega on Sunday, quoted reports from rights groups alleging that police clubbed the group of about 30 immigrants during raids last week.
Iro Varsami, a doctor with the medical charity Doctors of the World who tended 10 of the victims, said: "The number of immigrants who were tortured must be some 60, but we've found out only about 30 because others are hiding out of fear."
Greek non-governmental organisations have frequently condemned the treatment of asylum seekers and clandestine immigrants by Greek authorities.
As President Bush begins a new year's effort to rebuild ties with European allies, one good place to start would be in the heart of Europe, with Kosovo. Europe needs this festering problem resolved - and strong U.S. involvement to do it.
Kosovo is becoming increasingly dangerous. Five years of uncertainty about its future - in or out of Serbia - has left its U.N. overseers unable to foster economic development and, despite a series of democratic elections, unwilling to give the Kosovo government more power to run itself. The result is enormous popular frustration, leading to new and ugly violence against Kosovo's Serbs and renewed talk of unilateral action. A further complication is the possible Hague tribunal indictment, for alleged wartime atrocities against Serbs, of the newly named prime minister, war hero Ramush Haradinaj. Sending him to The Hague could generate massive popular anger, leading to violence not just in Kosovo but also among Albanians across the border in fragile Macedonia.
The situation in Serbia continues to decline. Recent elections generated gains for extreme nationalists and produced a government that barely functions. Leading politicians are afraid to publicly accept an independent Kosovo, even while privately recognizing that Kosovo's 2 million ethnic Albanians would make Serbia unviable. They have put forth a plan to gather Serbs in Kosovo's north and east, apparently aiming to establish a strong basis for partitioning Kosovo. Kosovo's Serbs, frightened by Albanian violence and unwilling to accept Albanian rule, have come firmly under Belgrade's thumb and refuse to participate in Kosovo's political life.
Concern is growing that this spring the perception of international indifference or division will unleash more undesirable results: massive popular protests, pressure on Kosovo's politicians to move on independence somehow and attempts by Kosovo's hard men to use force to further their ends. Belgrade's leaders see such violence as increasing the prospects for Kosovo's partition, and they may want to use provocation to help matters along.
That would be tragic for the people of Kosovo and a great embarrassment to the West. Continued uncertainty over Kosovo's future and over a possible flare-up in violence does more than just hold the region back economically; it brings into question the viability of multiethnic states, and it particularly threatens fragile Macedonia and even Serbia with all its minorities. That is a distraction that neither Brussels nor Washington wants.
The present situation is a direct result of dawdling in Washington, New York and European capitals. For too long the difficulties of working out a Kosovo solution that would stick were just too painful to face. From 1999 on, all sides resorted to hoping something would turn up. When nothing did, they foisted a neocolonial administration on Kosovo and saddled its citizens with standards for government that were desirable but unrealistic - while offering little economic development and no reason to hope for a permanent solution.
Today it is the prospect of stalemate and renewed violence that is too painful to face. The United States usefully nudged the process along this year by declaring that 2005 would be the crucial time for starting the resolution of Kosovo's status. Now the time has arrived.
Western countries and Russia - the so-called "contact group" - must work out both the tricky nature of a solution and the difficult process for getting there. A settlement must bite the bullet on independence, provide ironclad protection for Kosovo's Serb population and offer Serbia a fast track toward membership in the European Union once it resolves the Kosovo problem. Any solution will also require the rest of the world to continue providing resources, troops and careful monitoring for years.
The process of reaching a solution will be equally difficult. The road to resolution will, at some point, have to traverse serious negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia, proceed through a balky and sovereignty-obsessed U.N. Security Council, and, ultimately, be expressed in a final act or international conference.
Time was that the U.S. and European presence in the Balkans symbolized a robust commitment by NATO to defend its interests and values. Today, instead, that presence poses this serious question: if the United States and Europe can't work more vigorously together to resolve conflicts in Europe, how can either hope to deal successfully with much larger conflicts outside Europe? President Bush should commit the United States, working with its European friends and allies, to thrash matters out on Kosovo this year. I wonder what argument the left might use to involve us in Kosovo again? It is somewhat like a dead raccoon under the back porch.
#1
I've got an idea: We arm both sides, pull our troops out, and tell the Euros to fix their own problems.
When the slaughter spills across the borders, they'll find a way. And until they do, the innocent won't be unarmed sheep ready for slaughter. (The guilty never were.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/26/2004 17:23 Comments ||
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Serb Christians vs Muslim ethnic Albanians. The only solution is partition, it has been since the begining. But politicians never get that. Build a concret wall between them and leave. It is beyond the ability of the EU or UN to deal with. This is the only solution.
#3
Afghanistan-US invades and elections held in 2 yrs.
Iraq-US invades and elections held w/in 2 yrs.
Kosovo-Franco/German approved NATO action,UN involvement and now as EU mission results in "neocolonial administration" w/no end in sight after 6+ yrs.
When it comes to building democracies,the US has more practical experience than any other country,as well as having a democratic government far longer than any Continental country.
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/26/2004 18:07 Comments ||
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#4
Let's not forget the Milosevic trial - the "trial of the century" - cause that's how long it'll take to conclude it. And the EU wanted to handle the Saddam trial - yeah, right!
IRNA release, but no link to the original... I'd guess it's IRNA's "interpretation" of the report, as ICG doesn't usually turn out hack work.
Brussels, IRNA -- An international think-tank in a report published here on Thursday announced that the US campaign in Iraq has failed to achieve Washington`s desired goals, warning that anti-US sentiments have deteriorated in Iraq. "In Iraq, the US is engaged in a war it may already have lost," stressed the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) in its latest report on Iraq. "Iraqi hostility toward the American-led occupation, more widespread and deeper rooted than the US has acknowledged, means the Bush administration`s policy there can no longer achieve its original aims." The ICG stressed that the initial US objective was to turn Iraq into a model for the region. It said the US initially planned to make Iraq a democratic, secular and free-market oriented government, sympathetic to US interests, not openly hostile toward Israel, and possibly home to long-term American military bases. "But hostility toward the US and suspicion of its intentions among large numbers of Iraqis have progressed so far that this is virtually out of reach," the ICG warned.
The report further added that soaring resentment feeds the insurgency to make the transition process a source of the legitimacy deficit. The ICG further called on the US to recognize the new realities under which it operates and accept the dual disengagement course. The group said the US should gradually disengage from Iraq in political and military domains. "Washington has to realize: you occupy the Iraq you have, not the Iraq you might wish to have later", states Robert Malley, Director of Crisis Group`s Middle East and North Africa Program. "The credibility of Iraqi institutions depends essentially on their ability to respond to the Iraqi population`s needs and aspirations, which inevitably will entail distancing themselves from the US-led occupation", opines Peter Harling, ICG`s Middle East Analyst.
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12/26/2004 5:23:23 AM ||
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Unless maybe the report is wrong, or was misrepresented, or written by AXE GRINDING MARTIANS from San Fransisco, or devotees of the maximum moon gawd. Hard to say. Brussels Based ya say? That does make it trickier....
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/26/2004 9:51 Comments ||
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#3
Disinfopedia lists the U.S. board members of this "International Crisis Group" organization, among which are Zbigniew Brzezinski, Wesley Clark, and George Soros.
Having established their credentials, I say, "BULLSHIT!"
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/26/2004 10:14 Comments ||
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"Washington has to realize: you occupy the Iraq you have, not the Iraq you might wish to have later", states Robert Malley, Director of Crisis Group`s Middle East and North Africa Program.
They can't even make up original quotes. Methinks this is a spin-off of Rummy's infamous "You go to war with the Army you've got, not the Army you wish you had." quote!
Posted by: BA ||
12/26/2004 13:20 Comments ||
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#7
The Henny-Penny Report goes on to proclaim that the sky is falling.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/26/2004 13:53 Comments ||
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A secret intelligence report has revealed that security chiefs believe al-Qaeda may target New Year celebrations across Britain, The Telegraph has learned.
The document, which has been distributed to every military base in Britain warns that "crowded places or events" are under "a severe threat" of attack from terrorist bombers. The report, which is marked "restricted", is understood to have been compiled by military intelligence specialists, MI5 and Special Branch officers.
Under the heading "International Terrorism", the report warns that military personnel and establishments within the Government Security Zone in central London, which includes Horse Guards in Whitehall, and Buckingham and St James's Palaces, face a "substantial" threat of attack. It says military bases across the country are also facing a similar threat...
#1
Interesting that we don't seem to be under the same "threat."
Or do the islamonazis think Britain is an easier target, what with their large - and vocal - and apparently supported by parts of the government - fifth column? Low-hanging fruit, as it were.
I think Al-Q has changed their strategy - pick off the other nations first and then use their weapons against us.
I'm just surprised they haven't taken over Frogistan by now. Or maybe they have.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/26/2004 17:16 Comments ||
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#2
I always thought Britain was getting a "bye" due to their tolerance and the freedom Islamic extremists have there to express themselves.
#4
I'm just surprised they haven't taken over Frogistan by now. Or maybe they have.
We'll know once Chiraq sends his grandkids to a Parisian madrasa for some good ol' fashioned Islamic schooling.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/26/2004 21:37 Comments ||
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#5
Every year since Sept. 2001, there have been news stories about possible New Year's Eve attacks in the US. Now that Christmas is over, that news cycle is sure to repeat.
Posted by: ed ||
12/26/2004 21:38 Comments ||
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#6
The muslims will take over France in about 40 years. The have 3 times the number of children that the native French have. In 10-15 years, 1/2 of all babies born in France will be muslim.
Posted by: ed ||
12/26/2004 21:43 Comments ||
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#7
I always thought Britain was getting a "bye" due to their tolerance and the freedom Islamic extremists have there to express themselves.
You must have missed the many accounts of terrorist attacks we've thwarted in the last three or four years - sarin factories, huge explosive stashes, etc... The only 'bye' we've had is through our own efforts.
Actually the struggle to get the world's governments to recognise the human rights of indigenous peoples began long before the United Nations dedicated the decade 1995-2004 to their concerns. But finalising a human rights document was the main aim of those 10 years, which U.N officials labelled a "partnership" between states and the world's roughly 350 million human beings known as tribal, native, aboriginal and indigenous peoples. That decade ends next week -- with just two of 45 articles of the U.N. 'Draft Declaration on the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples' finalised...
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
12/26/2004 10:12:06 AM ||
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Not having a sense of humor, I'd regard the ghost firms as evidence. But maybe that's just me...
The United Nations probe into oil-for-food corruption is being seriously hampered by a web of ghost firms set up around the world to cover the tracks of bribes to Saddam Hussein as he cheated the $60 billion program, a top investigator said. Some front companies in this global oil trading center and elsewhere that dealt with Hussein have been liquidated or have hidden ownership, complicating the search for evidence of financial improprieties, said Swiss criminal lawyer Mark Pieth. He's one of three commission members leading the probe headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.
Major oil trading companies and individuals -- from American businessmen to French, Chinese and Russian politicians -- are suspected of benefiting from Iraqi oil contracts that involved kickbacks, according to the independent panel's initial findings. Those who profited might have been able to hide by making transactions through ghost firms that exist mostly on paper, Pieth said. Despite the thin trail, Pieth said he was confident investigators would ultimately trace the funds to those who might have made illicit profits -- or allowed Hussein and his regime to profit illegally -- during the program, which existed from 1996 until 2003. "It is a problem. . . . But on the other hand, we also have means of finding the beneficial owners," Pieth said. "There is usually a file, if the banks have done their job."
Pieth said national authorities and banks in Switzerland and other nations where front companies handled oil-for-food deals should have their own records of who was behind the firms. "Switzerland and Liechtenstein have promised to help," Pieth said of the two countries where about 25 firms got oil under the program, according to an AP examination of records. According to a list Volcker released of 248 companies that exported Iraqi oil under the program, firms based in Switzerland took more than those from any other country except France and Russia. Liechtenstein -- which has 33,000 inhabitants -- came in eighth on the list. Volcker has said that being on the list doesn't necessarily imply guilt in paying kickbacks. Switzerland and Liechtenstein are among countries whose lax regulations and traditions of discretion in business and banking make them attractive for trading companies. Front companies registered in other tax havens -- such as Cyprus, Jordan and Panama -- also figure in the oil-for-food probe.
Posted by: .com ||
12/26/2004 3:29:37 AM ||
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The United Nations probe into oil-for-food corruption is being seriously hampered by a web of ghost firms set up around the world to cover the tracks of bribes to Saddam Hussein as he cheated the $60 billion program, a top investigator said.
This probably explains why Goo-fi doesn't seem overly concerned about probe findings. With luck on his side, the trail will go cold or it'll become impossible to uncover the links that would really put the heat on his slimy little ass.
#2
Put a couple of our IRS and FBI forensic accountants on the case, and the ghosts will soon be fully fleshed out. Mr. Annan's confidence is seriously misplaced.
Residents of a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip have agreed to move to a community inside Israel and will begin the evacuation in March, an Israeli official said Sunday. Yonatan Bassi, head of the government administration in charge of Israel's planned withdrawal, on Sunday confirmed a deal had been reached with residents of Peat Sadeh last week. The community, located deep in the southern Gaza Strip, will be the first to be dismantled under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza next year. Bassi said a total of 25 Gaza families have finalized agreements with the government, 20 of them from Peat Sadeh. Although the deal affects a tiny percentage of the 8,200-strong settler population of Gaza, it would give Sharon an important boost. The settler leadership has pledged mass resistance to the evacuation, and Israeli officials are concerned about the possibility of violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2004 10:15:34 AM ||
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In his Christmas eve encounters with U.S. military commanders and hundreds of their troops, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld heard — and said — little about armor or troop shortages, issues that have made him a political target in Washington among both Democrats and Republicans. His main message over a four-city tour was quite different: that the insurgency has staying power and a seemingly endless supply of weapons, and the time has come for ordinary Iraqis to realize that they — not the Americans — will ultimately decide who prevails in this conflict.
If it's their country, they've got to control it.
Rumsfeld emphasized his personal support and understanding of the sacrifices troops make, especially around the holidays. "You face a determined and vicious enemy," Rumsfeld said in dinner remarks Friday to hundreds of 1st Cavalary Division soldiers at a post near the Baghdad International Airport, where they feasted on a holiday meal of prime rib, fried shrimp and chicken, mashed potatoes and all the fixings.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2004 10:10:06 AM ||
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that the insurgency has staying power and a seemingly endless supply of weapons, and the time has come for ordinary Iraqis to realize
It is not surprising that the MSM would ignore this point, because afterall, their self-loathing selves would never "find fault" with any non-Christian, non-white persons. However it is disapponting that Rumsfeld's neocon/RINO GOP detractors consciously chose to avoid stating the obvious about whose responsibility it is that the endless numbers of "insurgents" have access to weaponry, shelter, and food and that the majority of "insurgents" apprehended are not foreign nationals but rather are Iraqis.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/26/2004 13:43 Comments ||
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Seems to me that the point should be driven home via their own media, that the Iraqis have a lot to lose if they just passively tolerate enemy activity in their midst.
#4
Time for people to open their history books on Korea. The South Korean Army was pretty much wasted in the first couple of months of fighting when the North Koreans invaded in 1950, not to mention the incredible low state of readiness the American forces sent there. The South Korean Army had to be rebuilt, during the fighting. It took time and a lot of bodies, mostly drafted in the most classical term of impressment. After the breakout from Pusan by the ROK/US/UN, a large number of North Korean soldiers faded into the population resulting in an insurgency/civil war focused, but not limited to the southwest quarter of the country which went for a good period of time even while conventional operations moved to the north. That 'internal' campaign was largely done by South Korean military and para-military police units. It also wasn't a kinder nicer form of warfare. The South Koreans eventually stepped forward and assumed the bulk of the war fighting and the casualties. Amazing the depth of historical ignorance displayed daily in the media. 50 years later, South Korea is a prosperous democratic nation. It just takes time. Its going to take time to train and equip motivated Iraqis to do the same.
#5
As you suggest WW1888 this isn't a job for regular military, or for the Iraqi military and police, and we don't need to wait for those organizations to be in place. It's a job for elite intel and paramilitary assassination teams. This approach needs to be stepped up in a hurry, if it's not already being done. If sufficient loyal Iragis can't be found, use Jordanians, Egyptians, Algerians, whatever.
#7
If sufficient loyal Iragis can't be found, use Jordanians, Egyptians, Algerians, whatever.
Excellent suggestion. As for the "whatever," I'd suggest private companies who employ mercenaries to do the training and co-ordination of aforementioned elite intel and assassination teams. These trainers would get their teams to get the job done fast if bonuses hung in the balance for a timely "pacification" of "insurgents."
I think, though I could be wrong, that this is a part of the current problem. Let's not go there.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/26/2004 21:34 Comments ||
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#9
The SK Army at the time of Korea 1 was more of a national police force or armed constabulary with minor military or national defense applications. This was post-WW2 and many Americans. mostly naive or unlearned about what Communism or Socialism really meant, wanted their fighting men and women home, not out saving the world or interfering in another nation's affairs. The massive national demobilization that occurred after the end of WW2 resulted in a much smaller US armed force that was inequitable to its EQUAL GLOBAL MILPOL RESPONSIBILITIES-COMMITMENTS in Europe, Asia and Africa - few Americans and national leaders believed, or wanted to believe, and even with the beginnings of the USA-USSR Cold War, that war would begin again so soon. You also have to bear in mind that relatively few Americans well-understood what Communism or Socialism really meant in regards to the lawful and natural rights of the masses, as the former kept promising anything and everything up to the moon for their movement's power and ambitious dominance. Ask what they believe now, about so-called dedicated Leftists and Communists engaging in Fascism and Rightism that is being acribed by them as anything but Fascism or Rightism! As for the IRAQIS, like the Pals and PA they have to be able to control their nation or state, and to succesfully, perennially, and proactively do so against the most anarchic element of their society or existing within their society. Neither Israel nor any other International State or World State, Islamic or non-Islamic or anti-Islamic, is obliged to respect their statehood or nationalism until they do - its apples today amongst Islam, andor Islam versus non-Islam, just as it did decades, centuries, and millenias ago, e.g. as during the medieval PERSIA versus EGYPT VERSUS ANKARA, ...etc, and other INTRA-MOSLEM AND INTER-MOSLEM CITY-CITY, STATE-STATE, REGION-REGION CONTROVERSIES AND SECTARIANISM OF ANTIQUITY/
HISTORY!
The only country in the Western Hemisphere besides the United States still fielding soldiers in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq may extend its troop deployment beyond a scheduled return early next year, El Salvador's president said Saturday. ``We're helping the Iraqi people, and if there is the need to prolong our presence, if the authorities need it and we can help, I would not have a problem,'' President Tony Saca said. A decision will be made after the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq, he said. El Salvador is the only Western Hemisphere country with soldiers still aiding the United States in Iraq. Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic withdrew their troops. Salvadoran forces have been in Iraq since August 2003, with 380 troops currently serving there. The contingent is scheduled to come home in February after a six-month tour.
Notice how the jihadis don't mess with the Salvadorans anymore. Heh.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2004 12:19:48 AM ||
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Mille Gracias! (please accept the intention...what little Spanish I learned is well over 20 years old)
JERUSALEM — Prominent Labour MP Ofir Pines said yesterday he would become interior minister in Israel's new coalition government, set to enforce Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate the Gaza Strip. If confirmed, the 43-year-old dove will take on the most important of the five cabinet porfolios earmarked for Labour in a new coalition line-up with the right-wing Likud party.
Thus showing that Sharon is almost as good a politican as Karl Rove. Sharon just co-opted Labour into enforcing the evacuation of Gaza. No way they can complain about this in the next election. Likud is thus near guaranteed of forming the next government. Genius.
Labour MP Yitzhak Herzog has been chosen as housing and construction minister, Pines added. The key defence, foreign and finance ministries will remain under Likud control. Labour leader Shimon Peres will be made a second deputy prime minister.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2004 12:12:14 AM ||
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Many Moroccans are now turning their backs on the Middle East, trying to break all ties that link them to this region, except that of religion.
Not that I'd tell another person how to pray, but some of the old-timey Berber religions might be worth their re-exploring ...
One step at a time...
The issue is no more that of some individuals, nor is it being expressed behind-the-scenes, as advocates of this approach discuss the issue freely in the media, political, social and cultural fora. The Berber issue is the main cause of this conflict with the Middle East, as supporters of the Berber issue always keep saying that Arab culture is not purely Moroccan, but rather alien. "What have we got to do with the Orient, we are Moroccan Berbers. Arab culture is alien to us. We are not Arabs," one can hear some of them here saying. The advocates of this approach continue to reject the country's Arabisation policy, which is trying to Arabise the country's administration and educational curricula — at present, mostly in French.
A double whammy.
They succeeded in recent times in forcing the government to introduce the teaching of Berber language in the primary school educational curricula and the government's approval and recognition of the 'Tifinag' letters in writing their language instead of the Arabic ones. What remains now is how to succeed in getting the Berber language recognised constitutionally as an official language in the country, beside Arabic. "They are also struggling to get the translation of the Holy Quran into the Berber language legitimised, after which they will close the door completely on everything that is Orient," an observer of the issue said.
The Master RaceĀ isn't going to take this well. Expect seething real soon.
They can't let that Holy Koran thing go too far. It's one thing to say it doesn't make any sense because you speak a funny dialect of Arabic. It's another to read it in your native language and discover it doesn't make any sense.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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The big old timey Berber religions were Judaism and Christianity. They were heavily persecuted by the Byzantine emperors because they refused to accept the Orthodox bishops and more centralized viewpoints handed down in Constantinople. Many were tortured and killed in the best Roman tradition for insisting on hewing to their original version of Christianity. A stubborn people...after all, the Carthagenians fought Rome for something like 200 years (as I recall), before being forced to admit defeat.
#3
The first step in saving Islam is to seperate Arab culture from Islam in every way. Egyptians have a history that long predates the Arab conquest, they should celebrate that. Same with Persia, Indonesia, and a dozen other states colonized by Arab culture under the guise of the spread of Islam.
This is a huge start. I'd like to see an organization of Non-Arabic Islamic nations to give a face and credibility to the movement.
It is Arab-based Wahhabi Islam that is the major problem after all. The easier it is to draw that distinction the more likely some form of Islam will survive the century.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/26/2004 18:04 Comments ||
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#5
Few English speakers refer to themselves as: "Englishmen." Why the hell are Assyrians, Berbers, Phoenicians, Yemenis, Mesopotamians, Egyptians, etc, "Arabs" by language? Maybe some Bedouins and Hijaz camel cultists might deserve that filthy adjective. If we had nuked Riyadh, when we learned that most of the 9-11 terrorists were subjects of the Saud entity, then the "Arabist" identity sham would have long collapsed. However, Bush-the-squanderer had other ideas. How about somebody doing a cost-benefit analysis of Arab dhimmitudism in the White House. Arabs are the scum of the earth.
KHARTOUM: Khartoum criticised a bill recently signed by US President George W Bush and imposing sanctions on Sudan as unfair and harming ongoing peace efforts, press reports said Saturday. The independent Al-Rai Al-Aam quoted Sudanese Charge d'Afaires in Washington Khidir Haroun as saying the Sudan Peace Act sends a "harmful message" to government negotiators currently engaged in talks with southern and Darfur rebels.
On Thursday, Bush signed a 300-million-dollar bill promoting peace and providing aid for displaced people in Sudan, while imposing an asset freeze and requesting a travel ban on senior officials over the government's failure to stop atrocities in Darfur. Haroun slammed the bill as "unfair", saying it would only "prolong the current war and fuel more fires". The diplomat argued that the US executive had succumbed to Congress, which has aggressively pushed for sanctions against Khartoum and described exactions committed by the government's proxy militias in Darfur as "genocide". "The US Congress has a history of taking a hard line against the Sudan," Al-Rai Al-Aam quoted Sudanese Justice Minister Ali Osman Yassin as saying about the law. "The American law is undue, unjustified and untimely," the paper also quoted parliamentary peace committee head Abdel Rahman al-Fadni as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2004 00:00:00 ||
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US sanctions bill harmful to peace efforts: Sudan
How about: "Ongoing Sudan inaction fatal to non-Muslims: US"??
While Liz and Chuckles may be a tad clueless, Mr. Blair is ready to step up to the, er, wicket.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has ordered the military to prepare to deploy up to 3,000 soldiers to the conflict-torn Sudanese region of Darfur, the Independent on Sunday reported. The newspaper, without quoting sources, said the deployment would be discussed next month with senior military officials. "When you decide to make an intervention you have got to be able to move fast," it quoted an unnamed minister as saying. Any deployment by Britain would be undertaken as part of a new European Union rapid reaction force, it said.
In that case it won't be "rapid".
Fewer than 1,000 peacekeepers are on the ground in Darfur, as part of an African Union force dispatched to help monitor a ceasefire between rebels and government troops. But their presence, expected to be boosted to 3,200, has had little impact so far, amid continued violence between the two sides.
One peacekeeper per every 100 square kilometers? Yeah, I'd say that's true.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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Interesting to see if the Brits have as much seething and venom on this assignment, then they did by helping their US 'friends' with Iraq. Oh, by the way, we won't be down there to back them up!
#2
According to the LLL, this is a 'good' intervention because the West really has nothing at stake. And most of the LLL is willing to admit that what is happening in Darfur is (or approaches) genocide.
I've always thought that the LLL was willing to use military power right up to the moment the USA would declare its intentions to intervene; after which all military moves are declared immoral. Let's see if the same is true when the Brits make a move.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2004 0:25 Comments ||
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#3
Yes we will smn. I don't want you to worry about that. So rest easy.
#4
According to the LLL, this is a 'good' intervention because the West really has nothing at stake.
I think I would more describe it like this: There's a portion of the Left that supports interventions to stop preexisting conflicts, but doesn't support interventions to overthrow tyrannies.
Which is why this portion of the Left supported interventions in Kosovo and now Darfur, but wouldn't support interventions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
#5
Oh, but the LLL is wrong, you see, thar's O-I-L in that thar country. Oh my God!!!! The Brit's MUST be after all of that OIL!!!
Let's see how many troops line up from France and Germany for that dog and pony show.
>>Aris Too bad the left ALWAYS drags their asses for YEARS while millions die in Kosovo/Serbia/Croatia/Bosnia-Herz. and Dafur. Let's not forget the swift action the LLL took to protect millions in Rwanda too. Uh oh. I did forget, they didn't do shit but business as usual. (Read as talk, talk, talk, (is it over yet?), talk, talk, talk (is it over yet?)
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The United Nations probe into oil-for-food corruption is being seriously hampered by a web of ghost firms set up around the world to cover the tracks of bribes to Saddam Hussein as he cheated the $60 billion program, a top investigator said. Some front companies in this global oil trading center and elsewhere that dealt with Hussein have been liquidated or have hidden ownership, complicating the search for evidence of financial improprieties, said Swiss criminal lawyer Mark Pieth. He's one of three commission members leading the probe headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.
