July 27, 2006: The already complex situation in Somalia is becoming even more so. The virtually powerless "Transitional Government" remains based in Baidoa, and is growing weaker as some sub-clans that formerly supported it, have made their peace with the Islamic Courts. The Islamic Courts have been consolidating control of much of southern and central Somalia, and its militiamen were threatening Baidoa. Then several thousand Ethiopian troops entered the country. The Ethiopians now appear to be providing security for the Transitional Government, and there is evidence that they are bringing in more troops and heavy equipment. As a result, despite its calls for "jihad" to oust the Ethiopians, the Islamic Courts have pulled their militiamen back from the vicinity of Baidoa.
Ethiopia's opposition to the Islamic Courts stems partially from traditional Christian-Moslem hostilities (despite centuries of Islamic pressure, most Ethiopians remain stoutly Christian), and also from long-standing Somali claims to the Ogaden region, which has long been in dispute between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Al Qaeda influenced Islamic Courts are pressing for the imposition of Sharia law on the parts of Somalia that it controls. People have been harassed, arrested, and reportedly even executed for various "vices," such as watching the World Cup. As in much of Africa, however, the Somali brand of Islam is blended with many old customs. In addition, Somali Islam is strongly influenced by Sufism. That can be a problem for Sunni hard liners, as Sufi has some elements of Shia Islam, plus a strong mystical streak and a tradition of poetry, music, and spiritual dance. This is quite at variance with the hard-line Sunni version of the faith being pushed by the Islamic Courts. While the Islamic Courts has garnered popular support, the support is primarily derived from the desperate desire of most Somali for some order in their lives, after over 15 years of almost total chaos. As a result, many of the smaller clans, tired of being pushed around by the larger ones, committed themselves to the ICU. If the ICU pushes its agenda too hard, that support could begin to melt away.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/27/2006 10:02 ||
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Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has publicly criticised the United States over reports that a Scottish airport was used as a stop-off for flights carrying arms to Israel. Mrs Beckett accused the US of not following the right procedures over arms flights and threatened a formal protest after raising the matter with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
With Tony Blair due to visit to Washington for talks with President Bush on Israel and Lebanon, Downing Street is keen to play down any possible rift with the US.
Mrs Beckett said she was not happy about reports Prestwick airport had been used for refuelling and crew rest for two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes filled with GBU28 laser-guided bombs, adding she had "already let the United States know that this is an issue that appears to be seriously at fault".
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell seized on the news as evidence Britain was being "taken for granted".
Mrs Beckett's comments came as she resisted calls for the British government to back an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon after a crisis summit failed to agree action.
al-Guardian: Aviation chiefs are expected to decide later on Thursday whether the US broke international rules when using a British airport as a staging post for transporting weapons to Israel. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said it was responsible for policing international regulations governing transport of hazardous material in Britain. "We're looking into the issue at the moment," he said. "We expect to make a decision later today."
Flights such as that by the two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes - which were carrying GBU28 laser-guided bombs - usually require "specific exemptions" from hazardous material rules, according to the spokesman.
Times Online: The United States has denied it contravened British air transport procedures by allowing two cargo aircraft loaded with bunker-busting bombs bound for Israel to stop over in Scotland. The US Defence Department said Washington had double-checked its records of all flights since the reports emerged and found it has not broken any regulations in Britain or anywhere else.
British defence sources have alleged that the Airbus jets stopped to refuel at Glasgows Prestwick airport last weekend during a flight to transport GBU28 laser-guided bombs to Israel. A US Defence Department spokesman, Joe Carpenter, said: "Its our policy that US military flights and those contracted on our behalf comply with existing bilateral agreements. "There have been no recent deviations from those procedures."
BBC: The White House has dismissed UK concerns about the use of Prestwick Airport, in Scotland, by US planes carrying bombs to Israel. "Apparently, the British foreign minister thinks the paperwork was not in order," said spokesman Tony Snow. "The Department of Defense does," he added. "We'll get it straightened out."
Opposition parties reacted angrily, with Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond claiming the UK government should decide whether to "be an aircraft carrier" for the US. Mr Salmond said that "with an escalating Middle East conflict", it was ill-advised to send bombs "to arm one side in that conflict to the teeth".
The UK's Civil Aviation Authority said it followed a series of procedures set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation "to facilitate the international movement of civil aircraft". These "apply to everyone who may be involved in putting or taking dangerous goods on an aircraft", its website stated. Countries must "hold permission to carry dangerous goods" and submit to "audit-style inspections" to "check for compliance".
If insufficient information was supplied then all available evidence would be gathered to try to inform the originating state "so that action can be taken there", it said. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority was unable to confirm whether it had been informed of the contents of the flight to which Mrs Beckett referred.
Prestwick has supplied logistical aid for military flights since the Second World War in "moving troops and cargo", an airport spokesperson said. "That support involves allowing crew to rest, refuelling aircraft and providing food and water. "The airport is obliged to allow aircraft from any CAA-registered country to land here."
#1
I can't remember where I read it but this airport is designated as able to handle aircraft with "hazardous goods." This airport is used by the RAF the CAF and the US to transport "hazardous goods" everyday. Margaret Beckett is just an uninformed twerp. That or a typical leftist anti-semite.
#2
Got yer codpiece in a wad Margaret my dear? It was actually a bit south of you at RAF Brize Norton. Big phueching planes you know, chocked full of missiles and such. The bog is to shallow in the highlands... maybe next time dear.
#4
SPOD: Margaret Beckett is just an uninformed twerp. That or a typical leftist anti-semite.
Labor needs that Muslim vote. If they had their druthers, they'd lock in their electoral advantage by making Britain majority Muslim via open immigration to Muslim countries.
#5
"taken for granted".
Ya filthy foreighners flying your deadly, lazerguided, garlicovered, snidey, nasty, pokey,*effective* evil bombs. There are fluffy ducks, fuffy ducks in "the lebernorn" ya could be savin did ya think of that! Naw naw , ya heathen sasanach's never daey, yer all a bunch av war monggering savages, wheres ma claymore I'll sort these c*nts reet out.
Britain's moral authority in the escalating crisis in the Middle East is being undermined by its close relationship with the US, a former aide to Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday. Blair's refusal to call for a ceasefire between Israel and the Shi'ite Muslim militia Hizbollah is indefensible, according to Stephen Wall who until last year was the prime minister's European adviser.
Writing in The New Statesman magazine, Wall says: "Our government and that of the US have weasel-worded their way through this tragedy. Why? Tony Blair would argue that words of condemnation come cheap and that the job of a leader is to forego the glib sound bite if, by grabbing a headline at home, you write yourself out of the script where it matters most - in this case, in Israel and the US." Wall says that though he is sure Blair is urging US President George W Bush to act in private, and is right to sympathise with Israel's plight, "the overriding reason for Britain's loss of moral authority is Blair's conviction that he has to hitch the UK to the chariot of the US President."
"Could the prime minister really not speak up for the simple proposition that the slaughter of innocent people in Lebanon, the destruction of their country and the ruin of half a million lives were wrong and should stop immediately? 'What kind of ceasefire?' Blair asks. One that stopped the horror, even for 24 hours, would be a start. Is it the conviction of our government that we should leave it to George W Bush to set the bearings of our moral compass?"
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Ours is low theater, but the UK political system is simply surreal.
During his three-day tour to Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez went to the countrys world-known armory center, Izhevsk (Udmurtia). In Izhevsk, Chavez announced the intention to rearm Venezuelan army with the help of Moscow and lashed out at the United States, contrasting it with Russia. The Bush administration that is attentively eyeing the visit called on Moscow not to sell the innovative weapons to Caracas, including Su-30 fighters. But the Kremlin made clear the military cooperation with Venezuela breaches neither the international agreements nor the laws of Russia.
As a former colonel of Venezuelas army, Chavez obviously enjoyed the yesterdays trip to Udmurtia. Straight from the airport, the president went to the firing range of Izhmash works, where he spent an hour watching the demonstrational shooting from innovative Kalashnikov sub-machine guns and new types of rifles. He was also shown TOP-M1 and Osa (Wasp) air defense systems. The president didnt bother to conceal his admiration.
After the firing range, Chavez headed for Izhmash weapons maker, Kalashnikov museum of small-arms weapons and had a personal meeting with Mikhail Kalashnikov, the legendary armourer of Russia. The Kalashnikov sub-machine gun is the banner of Venezuelan armed power, Chavez said after receiving an autobiographical book by Kalashnikov.
And the presidents rhetoric was well-justified. Venezuela has acquired 100,000 Kalashnikov AK-103s of the latest model and Chavez is in to mood to stop at what has been accomplished. Chavez vowed that on Thursday he will seal an agreement in Moscow to construct a Kalashnikov works and an ammunition maker in Venezuela. Whats more, Chavez promised to conclude one more agreement on the same day. It will set forth buying Su-30 fighters with the first planes to be delivered to Venezuela already this year.
#3
Buying lots of arms is a dictator's Viagra. It's a fair bet that he's seriously math-challenged - stupid, actually - and tolerates no one around him saying "No"... So I figure he's going to burn through his declining income until he can no longer buy off his peasant base. Then the fun will begin in earnest. And they'll be armed, LOL.
#5
Venezuela's oil model: Is production rising or falling? The state oil company, PDVSA, reports production of 3.3 million barrels a day. There is no way to independently confirm this, and most outside analysts, including the International Energy Agency, say PDVSA's numbers are inflated and production is closer to 2.6 million barrels per day. The Financial Times reported this month that Venezuela's shortfall in production is such that it was actually forced to strike a $2 billion deal to buy about 100,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia to avoid defaulting on contracts - a claim the Chávez government says is false.
But whatever the real output, Venezuela - because of the high price of oil - is raking in more petrodollars than ever before. When Chávez came into office in 1999, the country reported production of 3.5 millionbarrels per day and, with oil selling at about $15 per barrel, was making just over $18 billion a year. This month, with oil at about $70 a barrel, PDVSA Finance Director Eudomario Carruyo told Reuters he expects revenue to top $85 billion this year. PDVSA officials have reportedly said that oil production will increase to 4 million barrels per day by 2012.
Chavez isn't hurting for money when he has 5 times as much to play with. That money can buy a lot of friends and destabilize surrounding governments.
Again, when the US and the west refuses to produce it's own energy, it only funds those who wish to weaken or destroy us. Of course if that ever happens, their oil will be worthless in a non-market economy.
Posted by: ed ||
07/27/2006 13:26 Comments ||
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#6
Actually the more Hugo spends on an air force the better it is. An air force is very expensive and makes for lovely pictures when it hits the giant buzzsaw that is the USAF. The more millions he pours into an Air Force, the bigger a money sink it becomes for him. If he really does plan on fighting the US, having an Air Force is honestly just flushing money down the toilet. He simply can't spend enough on an Air Force to really make a threat to ours.
The Russian Prosecutor Generals Office has launched a new criminal case against Chechen separatist envoy Akhmed Zakayev on charges of instigating ethnic enmity, Interfax news agency reports. In June-July 2006, Zakayev, who resides in the United Kingdom, gave several interviews, allowing himself to use such phrases as to oust Russians from Chechnya, to throw Russians away, the Russian aggressors inhuman methods and so on, the Prosecutor Generals Office said in a release. These phrases convey an intention to instigate hatred and enmity with regards to ethnic Russians, and to shape a negative ethnic image of Russian people. Zakayev ascribes hostile actions and dangerous plans against residents of the Chechen Republic to Russians and, in fact, issues a threat of the use of force against ethnic Russians, the Prosecutor Generals Office said.
Prosecutors claim that Zakaevs actions come under the British law on terrorism, which envisages criminal responsibility for spurring terrorist activity. In particular the law restricts calling for committing or preparation of terrorist acts. Prosecutors informed Britain about their position. Earlier Zakaev was charged with armed rebellion, forming of criminal bands and an attempt to kill a police officer. Russian authorities think Zakaev could have been involved in the terrorist seizure of a theater on Dubrovka Street in Moscow. Earlier a British court refused to hand over Zakaev to Russia, Gazeta.ru online daily reports.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Beijing: Denouncing the Dalai Lama as a "splittist," China has accused him of collaborating with the CIA and Indian military to establish the "Indian Tibetan special border troops" to reclaim authority in his Himalayan homeland from Beijing.
In the name of "organising armed troops to fight their way back into Tibet", the Dalai Lama collaborated with the Indian military and American CIA to organise the "Indian Tibetan special border troops", the state-run 'China Daily' reported on its website, quoting a lengthy report appearing in an official Tibetan publication.
It is not clear whether the report was alluding to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, a para-military unit of India.
The report noted that the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader has been setting up "representative offices" in some countries, organising the "Tibet youth congress", "Tibet national democratic party" and "Tibet women's federation." "All these organisations have engaged in separatist activities overseas," the report said.
Moreover, the Dalai Lama set up his "government in exile" overseas and worked out a "Tibetan constitution" and setting up a rebel army in Nepal for border harassments, it said.
Despite his frequent statements of not seeking 'Tibetan independence,' the article accused him of pursuing his agenda of seeking independence under the guise of seeking 'real autonomy' for the remote Himalayan region.
"People who know Tibetan history well know that the Dalai Lama stands for the "independence of Tibet" when he has fled to India in 1959," it said.
The article also rejected his demand for implementing the "one country, two systems" formula in Tibet, similar to Hong Kong and Macau as also his bid for an "enlarged Tibet" including the Tibetan-inhabited areas in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
Posted by: john ||
07/27/2006 17:23 ||
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#1
For being such a pleasant fellow that Dalai Lama sure seems to get under alot of Chicom skin.
In the name of "organising armed troops to fight their way back into Tibet", the Dalai Lama collaborated with the Indian military and American CIA to organise the "Indian Tibetan special border troops"
What? So the Chinese hired Kimmie's foaming propogandist to write copy? Interesting development
#2
Rather bizarre... didn't the Dalai Lama make some conciliatory speeches recently? The Indian defence minister also tried to gloss over some of the irritants, reopening a border pass to trade.
Why this propaganda now?
Posted by: john ||
07/27/2006 19:56 Comments ||
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July 27, 2006: There was a major embarrassment at the CIA when it was discovered that Italian detectives had been able to identify and track some CIA agents because the agents had used a frequent flyer card to travel around Europe. That card provided enough information for the Italians to identify the CIA men as CIA employees. All this was going on because the Italian agents were trying to find out if the CIA was involved in the abduction of a Kurdish terrorist from Italy in 2003. Although this was done with the cooperation of Italian counter-terrorism officials, it was also done without the permission of the Italian government. That has turned into a major scandal in Italy, where fear of terrorists and anti-Americanism both compete for media attention.
The CIA is conducting an investigation to find out how widespread this sort of sloppiness is among its field agents. One thing that will probably come out of this is that the CIA agents thought that, since they were operating in an allied country, and with obviously cooperative Italian counter-terrorism agents, they did not have to use the kind of precautions meant to keep them safe in a hostile environment.
While European counter-terrorism organizations have been diligent at tracking, and fighting, Islamic terrorism in Europe, their political bosses are faced with media and public attitudes driven more by fear (of terrorist attack) and a desire to blame someone else (like the U.S.) This creates some strange situations. Like Italian courts trying to track down and arrest American CIA employees.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/27/2006 10:10 ||
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#1
Well the problem is the CIA is no longer a clandestine field agent agency. It lost that ability years ago when it snuggled up to satellite and phone intercepts.
#2
"It lost that ability years ago when it snuggled up to satellite and phone intercepts." That would be great but that business is done by NSA. The problem is still need good field agents to puts eyes and ears on intelligence targets or you get a distorted picture. The LLL Mo0nb@+5 that took control of the CIA are too PC to do actual field work without a sandwich board proclaiming "Spy at Work". Wouldnt want to upset anybody with our spying would we?
#6
They are there to do SUPER SECRET work with deep undercover agents that drive from their luxury homes in Virginia to the CIA HQs in Langley. Real good tradecraft Valarie "Clouseau" Plame! BTW does she have the CIA parking stickers on her car too? Just betting she does.
#8
I know why this is. Late in Clinton's term, he signed an Executive Order (I believe) that said you could use Freq. Flyer miles you accumulate for Federal Gov't jobs for your own PERSONAL use. Before that, you could still accumulate miles, but then you could only use them on gov't travel. You had to keep a separate personal FF miles account for your personal trips.
Unintended consequences. Of course, any "real" CIA agent would've thought...I can't put my real name on the account, duh!
Posted by: BA ||
07/27/2006 14:05 Comments ||
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(SANA) - Hundreds demonstrated in Washington last night near the Israeli embassy to protest the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. Agence France Press correspondent in Washington said the demonstrators who belong to ten NGO organizations asserted that the "US government is involved in this war because it helps Israel in a " dishonest mediator form." A demonstrator said the" US ought to actually interfere as to reach to a ceasefire." Another marcher "said what is happening in Lebanon should not take place and the aggression was financed by the United States."
Participants raised the Lebanese flags while others carried coffins covered with black cloth symbolizing victims of the fight. Three lorries carrying medicines and blankets from the Turkish al-Manara Association accompanied by a delegation from the Organization of Islamic Conference OIC Wednesday arrived at the border point with Lebanon Arida. Representative of the higher body for relief was handed the aid to be later moved to the Lebanese Erman Army barrack to be distributed by the delegation that will head to Beirut for this purpose.
In Amman, the Arab Legal Committee to Defend Syria showed total solidarity with every resisting Arab effort in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq voicing great appreciation for martyrs blood. In a statement, the committee appealed "every free Arab to announced unlimited support to the Arab nation right to resist and self-defense before this international attack" calling western governments to confront and put pressure against this campaign to oblige them to play their role in a way that goes with masses aspirations.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Did they have permits for a demonstration and march ? I thought not. Gas these assholes with a real potent dose. When they're down on their knees puking their guts out, bring on the water cannons and clear the street of the refuse.
July 27, 2006: Since many more countries have declared the Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger (LTTE) organization terrorists, they have been investigating local LTTE activity more intensively. As in earlier experiences with groups like Hamas, the IRA and Hizbollah, it was discovered that the fund raising front organizations hid terrorists, and often plans for local terrorist activity. Canada recently announced that, on closer examination, it had found that the LTTE was not only ready for running terrorism operations, but was already doing so. And more might be on the way.
One reason the LTTE got into trouble in Canada was because of its use of terror against its own supporters. To raise money, the LTTE basically holds hostage family members of expatriates. The overseas Tamils want to return to Sri Lanka to visit, but can only do so if they have paid all their "LTTE taxes" (officially, charitable contributions). If they don't make such visits, their kin are still in danger if the expatriates are not sufficiently generous to the cause. Canada, after numerous reports of illegal activity, recently declared the LTTE a terrorist organization, and made fund raising for them illegal. This came after years of complaints about LTTE terrorism, and use of strong-arm methods to get Canadian Tamils to contribute. The LTTE managed to stave off the terrorist designation for so long because the Tamil community voted heavily for the Liberal party, which, until recently, held a majority in parliament and ran the government.
The LTTE dominated Tamil community pushed all of the Liberal party's guilt buttons to great effect. This is a favorite tactic with other terrorist organizations. Islamic terrorists often get away, literally, with murder, by claiming they are victims of Western imperialism and that their terrorism is a legitimate response. Many Western politicians and special interest groups go along with this, to the great benefit of terrorist fund raising among expatriate populations. While the Tamil fund raising racket is one of the best organized, those that support Islamic terrorism also do very well. For decades, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorists depended heavily on money raised among Irish-Americans in the United States.
The war on terror investigations have made it much more clear that this type of fund raising is extensive, and a critical factor for keeping terrorist organizations active. Take away the money, and you still have angry people, including many willing to kill for the cause, and risk their lives doing it. But without the money, you are left mainly with smoke, not fire. The Soviet Union was well aware of this, and funded many terrorist organizations, keeping them going and causing much death, destruction and unease in the West and Middle East. When the Soviet Union disappeared, so did a lot of active terrorists.
For many years, countries in Europe and North America had been generous in their acceptance of foreigners coming (often illegally) and asking for political asylum. Many of these asylum seekers were accused of terrorist activity back home, but human rights groups in the West had taken sides, and declared the terrorists as oppressed and worthy of asylum. Worse, everyone looked the other way as these terrorists/asylum seekers set up shop, raised money, and planned terrorist operations. Usually these attacks were to be carried out back in the old country, but eventually they were carried out against their host countries. Even the human rights activists (many of them, anyway) recoiled at this, and the bans began to appear.
Canada now fears that LTTE might launch attacks against Canadian targets. There are still LTTE terrorists living in Canada, and going after them has to deal with public attacks from human rights groups. Terrorists have rights, too, and they should be protected.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/27/2006 10:08 ||
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NANCY PELOSI bared fangs to show that the Democratic Party no longer has toothless gums. On national security, she said, ``When you think of women and defense and security, think of a lioness. You come anywhere near our cubs, you're dead."
As Al Qaeda quivers...
On mid term election strategy, she sounded like she was warming up for the old World Wrestling Federation. ``You cannot go head to head with the president until you take him down. Take him down, make him pay, and then we can have a conversation."
On party unity, she sounded like she had what the Republicans have had for President Bush's term and a half: ``the full backing of our entire caucus . . . geographically, philosophically, generationally."
The House minority leader said, ``This is our moment. I can't answer for how anybody did it before. This is how we're doing it."
Pelosi said this, knowing how the party's dentures dropped out in 2000 and 2004. Speaking last week to members of the Trotter Group of African-American newspaper columnists, the San Francisco congresswoman said Bush's crumbling record on the economy and Iraq gives Democrats a chance to go on the attack in a way they did not during the overly cautious presidential runs of Al Gore and John Kerry. Every major poll taken this month and last shows that respondents generically favor Democrats in House races by anywhere from 7 to 16 percentage points.
``The way they've come at us in the past has been gays, guns, and God: abortion, gay marriage, and guns, and they've had some success with that with people whose personal interests are served by voting Democratic," Pelosi said. ``I maintain that's because they've not heard a Democratic economic message that addresses their needs. They haven't heard anything with the clarity that they need . . . With no criticism of the presidential candidates, I don't know if the message they had reached these same people whose interests are served by a Democratic agenda but voted Republican for president."
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/27/2006 18:13 ||
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#1
The headline made me think she was going to unveil her new bust.
#2
they've had some success with that with people whose personal interests are served by voting Democratic,"
Personally, if she articulates where the Democrat Party stands on subsidies for molybdenum production and initiatives to cure dandruff, I might, just might vote Democratic.
#4
Wrong. My personal interest has never been served by voting Democratic or having them in power. They have controled my state for much of my adult life and have ruined it. All I have to do is take a look at the highways in my state for a starter. What is collected in fuel taxes gets spent on teaching basket weaving and otehr nonsense not fixing the roads. Diesel fuel costs the same as regular unleaded fuel due to over taxation. There are no living wage jobs for folks like me to be had. I have less real liberty and freedom than the day I was born. This is the 'progressive' vision of Democrats. Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.
After nearly a year on the job and under the watchful eye of Congress, John Bolton is inching toward Senate confirmation of his post as U.N. ambassador. Bolton has the green light from Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who last year sided with Democrats in opposing the president's nomination. While Democrats are still expected to oppose the confirmation, Bolton also has retained the support of other key GOP senators.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee planned to conduct a hearing Thursday to reconsider Bolton's nomination. By resubmitting Bolton's nomination to the Senate, the president has made clear "that Ambassador Bolton is important to the implementation of U.S. policies at the United Nations and to broader U.S. goals on the global stage," Sen. Richard G. Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in prepared remarks. Lugar, R-Ind., noted in his remarks that the Senate has already conducted an "exhaustive review" of Bolton's credentials.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, has said Bolton should not get a confirmation vote until the White House turns over documents Biden requested when Bolton was nominated last year.
Voinovich announced last week he would support Bolton.
"My observations are that while Bolton is not perfect, he has demonstrated his ability, especially in recent months, to work with others and follow the president's lead by working multilaterally," Voinovich said in a statement. The senator insisted he had not been pressured into his decision by the White House and that he believed Bolton's personality had been "tempered" in recent months.
#2
Sen. Dayton (D-MN) also signaled he may give the thumbs up. Now that he's not running for re-election he can speak his mind ("Fiengold is a grandstander")and now maybe he will vote on principle.
#3
The dumos promised a fillabuster of the nomination. However, Jewish groups across the U.S. support the Bolton nomination because of his position on Israel. The dumos are now handwringing about what to do. Election time is coming up. Don't want to piss off any potential voters. Don't you just love it.
Leaders of the country's Muslim, Middle Eastern and South Asian communities are urging the FBI to use sensitivity if it investigates possible activities by the Islamic militant group Hezbollah on U.S. soil.
Twenty-five groups, including the Islamic Society of North America and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, urged FBI Director Robert Mueller in a letter Wednesday to issue instructions to field offices and agents to avoid unwarranted profiling and respect the legal protections of people they may question.
"We want the FBI, not so obviously, to protect our nation from those who do us harm, but we want them to focus on smoke and mirrors actual credible evidence of wrongdoing and not target people based on their ethnicity or religion or based on First Amendment political expression," said Farhana Khera, head of Muslim Advocates, the lead drafter of the letter. "We want to avert any kind of raw fishing expedition-type initiative."
Khera, whose group is the charitable arm of the 500-plus-member National Association of Muslim Lawyers, said activists decided to send the letter after learning in recent days that the FBI has increased its focus on the worldwide activities of Hezbollah in light of the most recent fighting in the Middle East.
The letter says that since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the FBI has launched a number of interview programs that targeted Arab and Muslim men in particular. Some agents engaged in "harassing, unduly burdensome and improper questioning," it states.
On Wednesday, Mueller told reporters at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., that the agency's efforts continued. But when asked if there was any indication Hezbollah is planning an attack in the United States or on U.S. interests abroad, he said, "At this juncture, no."
FBI spokesman Stephen Kodak said the agency plans to reach out to the groups that sent the letter. He said there are no plans for large-scale interviews regarding Hezbollah.
"We are sensitive to the cultural differences in dealing with the Muslim community," Kodak said, adding that the agency already has guidance about how to deal with the various groups. "Whether or not there's going to be special, additional guidance, that I don't know at this time."
#2
YJCMTSU. And that includes the FBI actually tip-toeing around. Moron Mueller's just as PC as that dipshit Freeh. Sometimes I think the only thing between us and being hit again with huge loss of life is that our enemy is dumber than dirt.
#3
Don't forget the port guys and regular policing guys. They are really the ones sniffing out some plots. Not the PC boneheads up top.
Goddamn FBI and government.
#5
Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Some day, unless we get REAL lucky, one of our cities is going to take a Big Hot One up the ass because of this "sensitivity" bullshit.
#7
Yeah, I'll 'reach out to the groups who sent the letter'. Seems to me they need to answer a few pointed (and very, very, insensitive) questions themselves. Time to reach out and grab them by the throat.
#9
Bullshit! Treat them just like any other terrorist criminal. When McVeigh was being investigate not one farmer bitched about the FBI being sensitive! The FBI needs to find these guys and capture or kill them.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/27/2006 11:14 Comments ||
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#10
This scum is beyond any words. They are an internal fifth column. They should be bitch slapped, humiliated verbally and any other way possible, and simply told to pack their rat asses back to the shitholes they came from if there is any part of the inquiry they don't like. Quit coddling these Muzzie F**kers !
#11
How about the Muslim/Arab/Asian community pointing out some of the people whom they feel might embrace Islamic Fanaticism a little too much? They live among them, should know their community, and proclaim to the Religion of Piece how about stepping up. Every time they Capture/Kill one of the fanatics EVERY leader in the perps Muslim community is quick to point out that they fell in with a bad crowd. How about they tell the FBI who the bad crowd is TODAY and skip the CNN/MSNBC sound byte about how you Deep down support America.
Bangladesh - Chittagong Anchorage Tally: Twenty three incidents have been reported since January 28 2006.
Recently reported incidents
July 24 2006 at 0200 LT, 1.5 nm off breakwater, Pointe Noir, Congo. Robbers boarded a bulk carrier at anchor by using hooks. They stole ship's stores and escaped.
July 23 2006 at 0015 LT at Chittagong Alfa anchorage, Bangladesh. 10 robbers armed with long knives boarded a tanker at forecastle. They attacked shore watchmen and tied them up. Deck Officer raised alarm, crew mustered and robbers jumped into water and escaped with one lifebuoy. Port control and coast guard informed.
July 20 2006 at 0205 LT in posn: 08:45.9S - 013:16.6E, Luanda bay Anchorage, Angola. One robber boarded a container ship. He broke forward store padlock and stole ship's stores. Ship's motion sensors sent signal to Deck Officer and he raised alarm and crew mustered. Robber jumped into a waiting boat and escaped. Master was unable to contact port control.
Big surprise there...
July 18 2006 at 0345 LT at Telok Banten, Merak, Indonesia. Four armed robbers boarded a tug at anchor. Alert crew mustered and robbers left empty handed.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, saying that the biggest challenge Iraq faces is the threat of terror. Speaking before Senators, Representatives of the House and members of the White House Cabinet, the newly appointed prime minister vowed that terrorists who kill civilians would face the same fate as the former Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi who was killed by US fire.
His address to Congress came one day after he met for the first time at the White House with US President George W. Bush, although the two leaders met last month when Bush made an unannounced visit to Iraq. Bush and Al-Maliki announced after their meeting that the number of US and Iraqi forces in Baghdad would be bolstered beyond the nearly 44,000 already there. But they stopped short of saying how many forces would be relocated from other parts of the country to Baghdad in the coming weeks.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Kill Tater and tots
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/27/2006 0:51 Comments ||
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#2
Hey, this democracy thing is starting to work!
And no, he's not going to blame Hezballah just yet because he doesn't want to die. Wait until they get neutered before you ask those kinds of questions. The disrespectful congressmen who walked out or boycotted him should understand that. They don't represent me.
#4
Yes Nimble. I believe how their Parliment system works is the people vote for the party they want, the party with the most votes appoints a PM. I could be wrong, since Parlimentry systems give me a headache (Worst form of democracy EVER).
#5
I agree about the parliamentary thing, but I would think the Members of Parliament elect him as opposed to him beiong appointed; but maybe it is a leftover of the King appointing his Prime Minister.
#6
It's Muzzy Democracy. Here's how I think it works.
By agreement, they divvy up the positions. The Shia get the PM, IM, etc, the Sunnis the DM, etc, The Kurds the Pres, etc. - it's a bullshit formula based upon the usual irrelevant things.
They form alliances - based upon sect or "racial" group. The Shia banded together into a block to maximize their seat count and to squabble over candidates for their allotted positions in private. The Kurds did too. The Sunni aren't quite so cohesive. The remainder end up with little except the ability to vote for / against nominees.
The party block within each group that has the most seats, per election results in each district, chooses the candidates for the posts that are available to their group.
The PM, as with all other national positions, must be approved by a majority of the Parliament. Then he puts forward the nominees for each post allotted to his group. Same for the other groups who won enough seats in the elections.
That's the game as I understand it. It sucks since its party slates put forward after the fact, the public doesn't get to vote for individuals.
As for his support for Hezbollah, anyone raised within a Muslim country is thoroughly conditioned to hate Jooos. I wouldn't doubt that, out of the supposed Muslim population of 1.2 Bn, the number of Muslims who aren't Jooo-haters would number in the tens of thousands world-wide, if that many. It passes for "normal" among Muslims and everyone should expect it, not act like it's an aberration. It's silly to think otherwise, in fact. Those jackasses who "boycotted" his speech are morons who know far less than the average Rantburger.
When Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers two weeks ago, provoking the current conflagration, the Shiite terrorist outfit apparently intended to use them as bargaining chips to demand the release of prisoners. Press reports often discuss this as if there were an equivalence between the Israeli soldiers, who committed no crimes but were simply defending their own country within its borders, and Arab terrorists. So it's worth pointing out just who the "prisoners" in Israeli hands are.
According to the BBC "the prisoner Hezbollah wants most" is Samir Qantar. On April 22, 1979, Qantar murdered 28-year-old Danny Haran and his 4-year-old daughter and caused the death of another Haran daughter, age 2. Haran's widow, Smadar Haran Kaiser, describes the crime (she transliterates the murderer's name as "Kuntar"):
It had been a peaceful Sabbath day. My husband, Danny, and I had picnicked with our little girls, Einat, 4, and Yael, 2, on the beach not far from our home in Nahariya, a city on the northern coast of Israel, about six miles south of the Lebanese border.
Around midnight, we were asleep in our apartment when four terrorists, sent by Abu Abbas from Lebanon, landed in a rubber boat on the beach two blocks away. Gunfire and exploding grenades awakened us as the terrorists burst into our building. They had already killed a police officer.
As they charged up to the floor above ours, I opened the door to our apartment. In the moment before the hall light went off, they turned and saw me. As they moved on, our neighbor from the upper floor came running down the stairs. I grabbed her and pushed her inside our apartment and slammed the door.
Outside, we could hear the men storming about. Desperately, we sought to hide. Danny helped our neighbor climb into a crawl space above our bedroom; I went in behind her with Yael in my arms. Then Danny grabbed Einat and was dashing out the front door to take refuge in an underground shelter when the terrorists came crashing into our flat.
They held Danny and Einat while they searched for me and Yael, knowing there were more people in the apartment. I will never forget the joy and the hatred in their voices as they swaggered about hunting for us, firing their guns and throwing grenades. I knew that if Yael cried out, the terrorists would toss a grenade into the crawl space and we would be killed. So I kept my hand over her mouth, hoping she could breathe. As I lay there, I remembered my mother telling me how she had hidden from the Nazis during the Holocaust. "This is just like what happened to my mother," I thought.
As police began to arrive, the terrorists took Danny and Einat down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see. Then he smashed my little girl's skull in against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Kuntar.
By the time we were rescued from the crawl space, hours later, Yael, too, was dead. In trying to save all our lives, I had smothered her.
The BBC gives a rather more sanitized account of the crime: "Qantar . . . attacked a block of flats in Nahariha in 1979, killing a father and his daughter."
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/27/2006 17:44 ||
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#1
I've got a "wish list" too.
It involves LOTS of dead Mikey Moore's "minutemen" terrorists.
In lots of different hell-holes countries.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/27/2006 18:00 Comments ||
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#2
Oh my god. What monsters.
And they MSM protrays these 'prisoners' as 'innocent civilains being held by the Israeli's'. That makes the MSM just as monsterous in my eyes.
#3
What I don't get is why Israel doesn't have the death penalty (the exception for Nazi war criminals is pretty much moot at this point). If they feel justified in helizapping murderous thugs and their "spiritual leaders" - which I fully support - why can't they execute these same murderous thugs when they're captured alive? That would keep these monsters from becoming bargaining chips.
#4
Israel is too infected with Trans-National-Socialism to be sensible and have a death penalty.
Look at the Dean look-a-like they have has defense minister.
REUVEN Zelinkovsky was a colonel in the Israeli army, but now he has renounced military might to join a squadron of yogic flyers at the Sea of Galilee to throw a "shield of invincibility" around the Jewish state.
As Hezbollah rockets fired from nearby Lebanon boomed in the background, he explained that the solution to the latest conflict to engulf the Middle East was "not to kill the enemy but to kill enmity." This can be done through the "technology" of yogic flying which, for those trained in the technique, is the spontaneous result of transcendental meditation, said Zelinkovsky as he emerged from the first of two daily four-hour sessions.
The bespectacled electronics engineer, who served in the army from 1966 until 1982, is part of a worldwide movement led by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the former guru to The Beatles. The movement's Natural Law Party has unsuccessfully fielded candidates in US presidential and British general elections, touting yogic flying as a solution to the world's ills.
Yogic flying, derided by critics as glorified bum-hopping, is the purported ability to levitate through the advanced practice of transcendental meditation, or TM. Proponents of the art say world peace can be achieved by thousands of simultaneous yogic flyers spread across the globe.
Here in Israel, according to a formula that says the square root of 1 per cent of a country's population is the number needed to tap into a collective consciousness robust enough to create a "shield of invincibility", 265 people are needed. But Zelinkovsky's squadron, which includes architects, health workers and pensioners, many of whom are also teachers of TM, now numbers only about 20 after falling from a peak of 65 last week.
This, he explained with the conviction of the converted, is why Israel's war with Hezbollah, which has already left hundreds dead, has not stopped. "All my life I've been looking for scientific solutions to problems," Zelinkovsky said.
He slowly came to realise that his belief in the power of TM and military life were not compatible. "I went to my commander and presented this solution. It was like talking to the wall so I left. In my mind I continue to be an army man. But now I use a new technology to serve the nation."
Alex Kutai, the leader of the yogic flying movement in Israel who titles himself the Prime Minister of the Peace Government of Israel, was leading the squadron at the lakeside Nof Ginnosar Hotel from where all other guests have fled for fear of being hit by rockets. He has called on the elected Israeli government to recruit the required number of yogic flyers instead of wasting millions of dollars on military equipment.
As Zelinkovsky put it, "if you take the cost of the just the tail of an F-16 fighter jet you could have peace in the Middle East for a year. We can do what no army can do".
Across the border in Lebanon, another yogic flying group is believed to be at work but the group here in the Galilee is not in contact with them, said Zelinkovsky, who worked in telecoms after the army before becoming a full-time TM teacher.
An hour after he spoke to AFP, a rocket fired from Lebanon landed in the town of Mghar, just a few kilometres from the hotel, and killed a 15-year-old Arab Israeli girl.
#6
How long are they supposed to bounce on their butts to bring about world peace, anyway? Maybe the other 45 just got sore, or hit their tailbones hard?
#13
First, they have to levitate to about 4 feet up, then spin clockwise on an axis perpandicular to both gravity and magnetic north at a speed so fast as to become unseen, then a vortex of ions will form which can stop motion within a mile or so, and this lasts until the levitator needs to take a dump, which is often. This can also interfere with electronic devices and slow clocks and cause uncontrolled giggling and drueling.
#15
Speaking of Transcendental Meditation and other similar things: Back in the 60s in Berkeley, my buddy and I went to a lecture on Transcendental Meditation as told by the Maharishi Yogi himself. It was all smiles, generalities, and flowers. Basically it was a pitch speech for a later series of courses that cost money. There were a number of students asking him honest and pointed questions, but the Maharishi kept smiling and talking generalizations. Well, the mood started getting tense and angry. Then, as if on cue, some stray dogs wandered into the lecture hall and eventally got on stage. The Maharish kept talking and smiling amid the flowers. Two dogs started copulating on stage, and the place eruped in hilarious laughter. After that, everyone left. Totally entertaining evening.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/27/2006 12:30 Comments ||
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Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya yesterday said the US view of a new Middle East was one that began with "destroying Lebanon" and with killing the maximum number of Palestinians. "In the name of the government, we condemn the American positions- giving the green light to the occupation to continue its aggressions," Haniya told the Hamas-led cabinet, according to an official statement released to journalists. "We ask the American administration to stop its blind support for the occupation and not allow the continued killing of children, women and old people by American weapons on Palestinian and Lebanese lands. It seems that from the American point of view, the new Middle East starts by destroying Lebanon, by killing the maximum number of our Palestinian people and by bringing down the resistance," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#4
"We ask the American administration to stop its blind support for the occupation and not allow the continued killing of children, women and old people by American weapons on Palestinian and Lebanese lands. It seems that from the American point of view, the new Middle East starts by destroying Lebanon, by killing the maximum number of our Palestinian people and by bringing down the resistance," he said.
That's funny, it sounds a lot like what Israel is asking of you terrorists.
#5
He's seriously behind the times. The new Middle East started with the de-Talibanization of Afghanistan followed by the de-Saddamization of Iraq. But it's cute when these kind of local yocals think themselves the center of the universe.
#7
I'm getting awfully tired of the MSM calling this two-bit murdering thug the 'PM of Palestine'. The minute this coward steps foot in Israel he's deat meat.
Thailand and Australia dismissed concerns Thursday that violence-stricken southern Thailand might become a breeding ground for regional terrorists, saying Muslim insurgents there have shown little desire to tie up with foreign militant networks.
"As far as the situation in the southern part of Thailand is concerned, there is no relationship with any international linkages of any sort,'' Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said after a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer, on the sidelines of an Asian security conference.
Some counterterrorism experts have warned the conflict could worsen if Islamic militant networks in Southeast Asia, such as the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, get involved in providing external assistance.
Kantathi rejected speculation that southern Thailand could become like Mindanao province in the southern Philippines, which has been wracked by decades of Muslim separatist violence.
Downer, whose country has boosted counterterrorism cooperation with Southeast Asia in recent years, said the southern Thai conflict was being contained so that it was "not seen as something relevant to international terrorism.''
"There's very limited evidence of any contact with any broader jihadist movement,'' Downer said. "I suspect some of the jihadists have endeavored to link up, but have failed to do so with those in southern Thailand.''
Downer declined to say whether Australia supports Thailand's use of emergency rule in the south, which lets the government impose curfews, prohibit public gatherings, censor and ban publications, detain suspects without charge, confiscate property and tap telephones. "I don't try to micromanage Thailand from Australia,'' Downer said. "It's a sensitive and difficult issue. ... The main thing is that the international community gets behind the Thai government's efforts to try to solve the problem.''
Kantathi said the current situation in southern Thailand was "very stable,'' stressing that authorities were working to settle the issue through education, equal opportunities and oragami, lots of oragami helping people of different religions accept each other.
Muslim students were being encouraged to further their education in countries where they could live among and learn from moderate Muslim communities, including Australia, Kantathi said
#1
I didn't see discussion on which assets are protecting their eastern border - they have Turkish border covered, and Lebanon, and Israel/Golan, but not the back door. Presumably an obsolete article?
#4
While it is still largely true that the Syrian military remains one of the largest and best-trained forces in the Arab world[...]
"Best-trained"? Where the hell did that brainfart come from? The Syrian Army was, and probably is, the worst-trained major Arab armed force in existence, if you class the Libyan & Lebanese armies as "minor", which I'm inclined to do. The Saudi, Jordanian, and Egyptian armies are US-trained, in part or in whole, and while they may still be typically rubbishy Arab laughingstocks with deeply ingrained cultural military incompetence bred into their bones, they are still ahead of the Syrians, who are still organized & semi-trained to sadly obsolete Soviet standards.
The author of the article himself notes that the Syrian army has badly lost every single war, every single encounter it's ever fought with anyone other than the Jordanians. It only managed to occupy Lebanon after fifteen grinding, exhausting years of civil war, and that with the connivance of Hezbollah.
In fact, I suspect that Hezbollah could out-fight the entire Syrian Army itself, despite the ten-to-one numerical disparity.
Hmm. I wonder whether such a thing might occur, Black September-style, if Hezbollah was driven out of Lebanon into Syrian exile for any particular length of time.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/27/2006 17:28 Comments ||
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"the Syrian military remains one of the largest and best-trained forces in the Arab world"
But any Texas high-school girls' cheerleading squad could kick the crap out of them in 15 minutes. On a slow day.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/27/2006 17:50 Comments ||
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#6
Goodness, another thing for poor Mr. Levant to worry about, being as he posts via Syria (according to our clever moderators who read IP addresses like I read English).
#7
that the Syrian army has badly lost every single war, every single encounter it's ever fought with anyone other than the Jordanians.
Oh I get it, so while we trained Egypt, Soddies, and Jordan, the French must have trained Syria?
Sorry it was just too easy.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/27/2006 18:17 Comments ||
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#8
Oh come on Barbara, use a more realistic comparison.
Posted by: Matt ||
07/27/2006 18:33 Comments ||
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#9
Mitch-
FWIW, my experience with the Saudis was that although the Israelis could kick their asses up around their ears if it came down to it, the Army and AF was fairly professional and capable - IF there was an American standing close by.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/27/2006 19:36 Comments ||
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#10
OK, #8 Matt - any Texas grade school girls' cheerleading squad.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/27/2006 19:43 Comments ||
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#11
LOL -- that's more like it.
Posted by: Matt ||
07/27/2006 20:29 Comments ||
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#12
"Goodness, another thing for poor Mr. Levant to worry about, being as he posts via Syria"
Yes, I suppose the poor thing has been called up by now. Imagine being a second-rate commentor in a third-rate army.
The US is "counseling" Israel to negotiate a possible withdrawal from the Mount Dov (Shaba Farms) area with Lebanon as part of a long-term arrangement for Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post has learned. This issue was one of the focuses of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's talks in Jerusalem Tuesday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. However, this issue - as well as discussions about the mandate and composition of a possible multinational force in Lebanon - was shunted aside Wednesday because of the bitter fighting and the IDF losses at Bint Jbail.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
If true, a disappointing development. Land for pieces indeed.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/27/2006 0:55 Comments ||
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#3
G*ddamnit! Are you f%$king stuck on stupid!?
That means you freaking morons in the State Dept or wherever this bullsh*t came from - and any Israeli government member who even briefly entertains the idea.
Land for peace, land for peace, land for peace - give this up and I'll promise to do that; give that up and I promise we'll do this other thing over here; Give that thing up over there and I double honest to Allah promise we'll never, ever come after anything you have again...
On and on and on and on...
This is freaking ridiculous and the sooner somebody begins to realize that this state of affairs cannot go on forever the better.
#4
I am sorry. but whoever in the US State Dept. said this needs to be fired. Israel do not give up land to a single Arab country until you had 50 years of not one muslim terrorist attack.
#9
*TAKE* (not "give") as much territory as possible, militarize to the hilt, use a portion of it as a buffer around Israel proper, and dare anybody to do anthing about it. Screw this, and screw the arab nations around Israel that have never given it a moment's peace.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and criticized US policy in the Middle East on Wednesday, saying Washington wants to "recarve the map" of the region with Israel's help. Ahmadinejad's nation is a major backer of Hizbullah and a sworn enemy of Israel, but he denied that Tehran provides military support to the militant group.
They make the rockets in their basements...
In addition to a ceasefire, Ahmadinejad called for talks on the Lebanon crisis without conditions and demanded Israel compensate the country and apologize for its actions. Ahmadinejad is in Tajikistan for talks with President Emomali Rakhmonov. They signed a joint statement Tuesday declaring "that the use of force against Palestine and Lebanon is unacceptable."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Hezbos are almost out of rockets I see.
Posted by: Scott R ||
07/27/2006 0:42 Comments ||
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#2
Funny how AhMad and Co. wants an Islamofascist caliphate (i.e., recarve the map), but projects it on US.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/27/2006 0:57 Comments ||
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#8
His supply routes are shut down, his troops are dieing. He either has to come out and admit starting this war or risk losing his trapped and soon to be destroyed forces. What an ass.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/27/2006 11:19 Comments ||
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#9
Calling for a cease-fire so soon, Ah'm-a-dinnah-jacket?
Things not working out as you planned?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/27/2006 16:09 Comments ||
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LGF Has a somber take on Ahmadisnutz's manueverings. And it seems to be centered around the date Aug 22 2006
Just what we need - another Ayatollah whose been out of circulation for 1132 years.
In a visit of support to the north on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that "the IDF operation won't last for months and, even if it lasts for longer than we planned, we'll know how to match the solution to the citizens."
"I don't intend on announcing an end to the operation. They (Hizbullah) will figure it out on their own, the hard way," he continued. Olmert met with 20 heads of local authorities in the north and spoke to them about their distress. "Our strength is what you give us and I hope that next year if you invite me I will be able to formally kick off the Klezmer Festival," added the prime minister.
Pursuant to difficult reports of the fighting in Bint Jbeil, Olmert toured in Safed and met the mayor, members of the local council, defense establishment representatives, and rescue forces. He also visited the Ziv Medical Center in the city, where several civilians and soldiers, wounded as a result of the current crisis, are hospitalized. Olmert spoke to various sources about activities, both military and civilian, being undertaken in the city to protect its residents. He also expressed support for Safed Mayor Yishai Maimon, stating that "this visit gives me spiritual strength."
"We are running a different kind of war than the wars in the past. It wasn't planned, but, two weeks in and during the fighting, the nation is trying to help, as best it can, those parts of the home front that have turned into a battlefront," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Ima likin' this guy.
Posted by: Scott R ||
07/27/2006 0:45 Comments ||
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#2
He actually amazes me. I thought he was going to give away the store. Suddenly he's grown a massive pair and is daily telling the Muzzies just where to go.
#4
Beware mission creep, Ehud. I presume the mission objectives were identified weeks ago. Allocate all of the resources per the advice of your military experts and allow them to execute the mission without interference. If they want it, give it to them. Say the Churchillian things and make no apologies - to anyone.
#5
Maybe he's okay, but I'm not a believer yet.
I hear concerns in Israel about the incoming rockets and such bullshit. It's like only northern Israel is at war. I don't think he will destroy Hizbolla, only scatter them and kiss the UN. I hope I'm wrong.
#6
#5 Maybe he's okay, but I'm not a believer yet.
I hear concerns in Israel about the incoming rockets and such bullshit. It's like only northern Israel is at war. I don't think he will destroy Hizbolla, only scatter them and kiss the UN. I hope I'm wrong.
wxjames:
Cheer up buddy! You're sounding like me on a bad day when I see the progress or lack thereof in WOT. Israel's busted Hezbollah's banking system, cut off its resupply route, and has hundreds of its best fighter trapped in Bint Jbeil where they will die in the rubble. Just watch.
#7
The latest war that has been imposed upon Israel by the Arab Muslim Nazi terrorists gives the Jewish state so many golden opportunities to do so many vital things. But the traitor Israeli government, army, news media, and establishment are predictably squandering every single one of these opportunities.
Immediately after the 1967 Six Day War, little Israel could have easily expelled all of the Arab Muslim Nazis who lived in the Holy Land.
The world was sympathetic to Israel as never before. The whole world witnessed the Arab Muslim Nazi dictators all publicly promising "to push the Jews into the sea" and "to finish Hitler's job."
When the tiny Jewish state, which then had a population of only 2.5 million Jews, beat back the Arab Muslim attackers, who came from nations that then had a combined population of 160 million, it was the ultimate reenactment of David versus Goliath.
Only 22 years after the Nazi Holocaust, when memories of what happened to over six million innocent Jews were still fresh, the Arab Muslim vow to carry out another Holocaust stunned the world.
The world bore witness to the purest example of a war between good and evil. The children of the Holocaust survivors rose from the ashes of Auschwitz with iron fists and blazing guns to beat back the heirs to the legacy of Nazism, the Muslims, in a miraculous and breathtaking victory.
In the atmosphere of June 1967, Israel could have expelled all of the Arab Muslim Nazis in the Holy Land with only minimal protest from the world.
This was a tragic lost opportunity, which Israel has paid a very heavy price for.
Now, in this latest war, Israel has new historic opportunities which she once again is squandering.
The first opportunity involves the Arab Muslim Nazis who live in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza District.
If Israel would hermetically cut off all electricity, water, food shipments, foreign aid, and other assistance to the Arabs, it would cause instant starvation and desperation that would force the Arabs to leave these Jewish Biblical areas.
It would certainly be an understandable act of war to cut off supplies to the enemy. Although the European Jew-haters and the news media Jew-haters would criticize Israel, the criticism would not be very harsh as even the critics would know deep down that Israel is simply doing what every normal nation must do in a time of war.
Israel would not even have to lift a finger to expel the Arabs. The Arabs would leave en masse on their own. Israel would open the borders to enable the Arabs to leave as a humanitarian gesture, since allowing them to leave the war zone is the most humane solution.
Afterwards, there would be demands that the Arabs be permitted to return. Israel would reject those demands just as she has rejected the demands of Arabs who fled the 1948 War of Independence to return.
If only JTF and its heroic Israeli allies were in power in Israel, this golden opportunity would have been exploited already.
A second golden opportunity for Israel in the current war involves Muslim Nazi Iran and its program to develop nuclear bombs.
This is the perfect time for the Israeli air force to destroy all Iranian Muslim Nazi nuclear reactors, factories, and laboratories.
Even the Jew-hating world would have to understand that Israel is retaliating against the Iranian missile attacks on Israeli cities. And that tiny Israel cannot afford to allow the maniacal Iranian terrorist regime to create nuclear bombs, so that the fanatic ayatollahs and mullahs could carry out their promise to "wipe Israel off the face of the earth."
If the world complained about Israel's actions, so what? The world is complaining about Israel's hopelessly wimpy actions now.
This from jtf.org, yes, a rightwing activist Jewish site. Agree or not, their predictions have come true from the second WTC blast to the consequence of unilateral withdrawal. And this fantasy of arabs capable of a two-state solution.
Hezbollah - locked in fierce battles with Israeli forces in south Lebanon - on Wednesday demanded an immediate ceasefire and indirect talks for a prisoner exchange after world diplomats failed to agree an instant truce. Mohamad Raad, leader of Hezbollah's 14-member parliamentary bloc, said: "The position for the Lebanese government is to establish an immediate and complete ceasefire and to start indirect negotiations for a prisoner exchange. "Anything other than that is not acceptable," he said in a statement, as representatives of 15 nations met in Rome to address the crisis, but failed to agree on an immediate ceasefire. "The (Islamic) Resistance will continue its confrontation of the aggression whatever the Zionists do," he said.
The international crisis conference in Rome vowed to work with "utmost urgency" for a truce. Israel launched a massive offensive in Lebanon after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12 in a bid to secure a prisoners' swap. Israeli forces have since crossed into southern Lebanon, facing fierce resistance from Hezbollah fighters.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
You know what I'm going to say right?
"Help! Help! Their defending themselves! And kicking our asses!"
"We demand they immediately stop and allow us rearm ourselves so we can kill more JOOOS!"
#4
Hizb wants the status quo ante-bellum because they fear their status post-bellum. They sowed the wind, now they're reaping the whirlwind and don't like it. Tough sh*t. No ceasefire, let the decision be made on the ground.
(KUNA) -- The international conference on the Lebanon-Israel crisis, held here Wednesday, failed to reach the anticipated agreement for an immediate truce to block the continuous Israeli aggression against Lebanon. After two hours of delay, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema announced the conclusion of the conference with a mere agreement to continue efforts toward reaching a ceasefire. D'Alema said in a press conference following the meeting that he anticipated an immediate truce as several participants insisted; however, he questioned the viability of such a demand.
D'Alema stressed that participants shared willingness to collectively work toward reaching an urgent ceasefire. He said an attempt for a truce required pressuring all of the conflicting parties, noting that the conference started pressuring Israel by demanding it to respect civil establishments and preserve civilian lives. D'Alema said that holding the conference has been a crucial achievement by itself due to the high level of international participation, noting that the main purpose of the conference was to express solidarity with Lebanon. D'Alema averred that participant would continue working together toward an initiative that would include all direct and indirect parties of the conflict.
Speaking at the news conference, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice affirmed the participants' willingness to urgently end violence in the Middle East. The Italian deputy premier and foreign minister stressed that the anticipated truce should be permanent, complete and able to endure. The conference's final communique called on Israel for self-restraint, welcoming Tel Aviv's decision to secure humanitarian corridors and allow flights to land at Rafiq Hariri Airport for humanitarian purposes. The final communique also expressed the international community's deep concerns regarding the dramatic situation in Lebanon and violence in the Middle East, pledging to provide urgent humanitarian aid and to discuss practical steps to establish a free and independent Lebanon with sovereignty over its lands.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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#1
What a hilarious graphic. I'm laughing so hard, I can't even concentrate on this article. Come to think of it, I don't need to read the article. The graphic sums it up.
#2
Why exactly was a truce the anticipated result when, in the list of participants in the conference, the principals involved in the conflict were not even present?
Natter, natter, natter, indeed.
Posted by: Scott R ||
07/27/2006 0:40 Comments ||
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#3
"Please, Dr. Rice, you're being unreasonable. What's wrong with the status quo? I wanna go home and say the problem was "solved" in one day!"
As far as I'm concerned, she the biggest balls there! The rest have peppercorns. Why are they so afraid of Hezballah?
#5
"Nonetheless, it seems that Annan's plan did not appeal to influential western participants."
Gee...I wonder why? Perhaps it's that whole prisoner swap thingy rather then the unconditional release of the Israeli soldiers. Or maybe it's Hizbullah's refusal to disarm under UN#1559? Those damn "western participants" sure are belligerent!
Lebanese parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday criticised Arab governments for equivocating over what position to take in the face of Israel's offensive on Lebanon, a statement said. "Arab regimes are hesitating," he said in the statement read by Lebanese deputy Yassin Jaber to parliamentarians during an extraordinary session of the Arab Parliamentary Union in Cairo at Arab League headquarters. "They are scared and barely lift a finger in the face of what is happening in Lebanon and Palestine," the statement added.
Berri accused Arab regimes of ignoring the situation in Lebanon "even though they know well that the resistance of the Lebanese and the Palestinians constitutes the only front which defends all Arab countries and the dignity of our people". League Secretary General Amr Mussa, also present at the meeting, criticised Arab governments for their "weak and divided" positions.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Berri tool
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/27/2006 1:00 Comments ||
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#2
They are not ignoring it. They quite plainly see the fingerprints of Non-Arabs all over it. The Arabs will not bail out Iran and Syria or it's proxies. The Arabs are happy to watch Israel deliver a lesson most of them have already absorbed. Attacking Israel just doesn't pay.
#4
Duh! Check out the oil field maps of the Persian Gulf area. Almost all the fields are in Shiite majority areas. Paleos might be demonstrating on behalf of Hizbollah/Iran, but other Arabs are not. Notwithstanding the rhetoric on Israel, the number one enemy of the Arabs are: Iranian Shiites.
Am I the only one who believes that Syria's leader is abandoning Iran, in face of the Shiite menace? But where would Hizbollah go, if Syrian harborage ended? To hell for all most Arabs care.
I don't know if Assad has the stones to go off the Mullah reservation before they get stomped, but I have no doubt he's been worrying about how to save his narrow Alawite ass for at least 3 years, now. :)
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
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July 27, 2006: The already complex situation in Somalia is becoming even more so. The virtually powerless "Transitional Government" remains based in Baidoa, and is growing weaker as some sub-clans that formerly supported it, have made their peace with the Islamic Courts. The Islamic Courts have been consolidating control of much of southern and central Somalia, and its militiamen were threatening Baidoa. Then several thousand Ethiopian troops entered the country. The Ethiopians now appear to be providing security for the Transitional Government, and there is evidence that they are bringing in more troops and heavy equipment. As a result, despite its calls for "jihad" to oust the Ethiopians, the Islamic Courts have pulled their militiamen back from the vicinity of Baidoa. 
Britain's moral authority in the escalating crisis in the Middle East is being undermined by its close relationship with the US, a former aide to Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday. Blair's refusal to call for a ceasefire between Israel and the Shi'ite Muslim militia Hizbollah is indefensible, according to 
During his three-day tour to Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez went to the countrys world-known armory center, Izhevsk (Udmurtia). In Izhevsk, Chavez announced the intention to rearm Venezuelan army with the help of Moscow and lashed out at the United States, contrasting it with Russia. The Bush administration that is attentively eyeing the visit called on Moscow not to sell the innovative weapons to Caracas, including Su-30 fighters. But the Kremlin made clear the military cooperation with Venezuela breaches neither the international agreements nor the laws of Russia.
The Russian Prosecutor Generals Office has launched a new criminal case against Chechen separatist envoy 
(SANA) - Hundreds demonstrated in Washington last night near the Israeli embassy to protest the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. Agence France Press correspondent in Washington said the demonstrators who belong to ten NGO organizations asserted that the "US government is involved in this war because it helps Israel in a " dishonest mediator form." A demonstrator said the" US ought to actually interfere as to reach to a ceasefire." Another marcher "said what is happening in Lebanon should not take place and the aggression was financed by the United States."
After nearly a year on the job and under the watchful eye of Congress, John Bolton is inching toward Senate confirmation of his post as U.N. ambassador. Bolton has the green light from Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who last year sided with Democrats in opposing the president's nomination. While Democrats are still expected to oppose the confirmation, Bolton also has retained the support of other key GOP senators.
Bangladesh - Chittagong Anchorage Tally: Twenty three incidents have been reported since January 28 2006.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, saying that the biggest challenge Iraq faces is the threat of terror. Speaking before Senators, Representatives of the House and members of the White House Cabinet, the newly appointed prime minister vowed that terrorists who kill civilians would face the same fate as the former Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi who was killed by US fire.
REUVEN Zelinkovsky was a colonel in the Israeli army, but now he has renounced military might to join a squadron of yogic flyers at the Sea of Galilee to throw a "shield of invincibility" around the Jewish state.
Palestinian prime minister 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and criticized US policy in the Middle East on Wednesday, saying Washington wants to "recarve the map" of the region with Israel's help. Ahmadinejad's nation is a major backer of Hizbullah and a sworn enemy of Israel, but he denied that Tehran provides military support to the militant group.
In a visit of support to the north on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that "the IDF operation won't last for months and, even if it lasts for longer than we planned, we'll know how to match the solution to the citizens."
Hezbollah - locked in fierce battles with Israeli forces in south Lebanon - on Wednesday demanded an immediate ceasefire and indirect talks for a prisoner exchange after world diplomats failed to agree an instant truce. Mohamad Raad, leader of Hezbollah's 14-member parliamentary bloc, said: "The position for the Lebanese government is to establish an immediate and complete ceasefire and to start indirect negotiations for a prisoner exchange. "Anything other than that is not acceptable," he said in a statement, as representatives of 15 nations met in Rome to address the crisis, but failed to agree on an immediate ceasefire. "The (Islamic) Resistance will continue its confrontation of the aggression whatever the Zionists do," he said. 
(KUNA) -- The international conference on the Lebanon-Israel crisis, held here Wednesday, failed to reach the anticipated agreement for an immediate truce to block the continuous Israeli aggression against Lebanon. After two hours of delay, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema announced the conclusion of the conference with a mere agreement to continue efforts toward reaching a ceasefire. D'Alema said in a press conference following the meeting that he anticipated an immediate truce as several participants insisted; however, he questioned the viability of such a demand.
Lebanese parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday criticised Arab governments for equivocating over what position to take in the face of Israel's offensive on Lebanon, a statement said. "Arab regimes are hesitating," he said in the statement read by Lebanese deputy Yassin Jaber to parliamentarians during an extraordinary session of the Arab Parliamentary Union in Cairo at Arab League headquarters. "They are scared and barely lift a finger in the face of what is happening in Lebanon and Palestine," the statement added. 
