Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer may have been murdered after angering radical Muslims on his cricket team, according to a BBC investigation. Reeeeeally? Golly. Gosh. Shucks. Self-destructively murderous Moose limbs? Who'da ever guessed that?
The allegations come after preliminary toxicology tests showed Woolmer was rendered helpless with a powerful poison before being strangled. British television program Panorama alleged some players on the Pakistan team follow extremist Muslim movement Tablighi Jamaat, and suggested they may have plotted to kill their coach after he complained about their preoccupation with religion.
The team's former media manager, PJ Mir, told the program Woolmer shared his view that the team was suffering as some members of the squad were more interested in praying than playing. "(Bob) wasn't particularly pleased when players were going out to say their prayers in the middle of the game and a substitute was coming in," he said.
Mir was forced to flee Pakistan after his comments led to a fatwa being issued against him. He believes Woolmer may have been threatened as well. Woolmer, 58, was found strangled in his Kingston hotel room on March 18, the day after Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup in an upset loss to Ireland.
The reports of poison being involved in the murder may serve to explain how the former England player, who stood 1.88m tall, was unable to defend himself as he was being strangled. "Bob Woolmer was a large man and that's why one could argue that it was an extremely strong person, or maybe more than one person, but equally the lack of external injuries suggests that there might be some other factors and that's what we're looking into at the moment," said Jamaican Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields
Former South Africa cricket star Clive Rice, who was one of Bob Woolmer's best friends, told ninemsn he still thinks the murder is related to match-fixing. "I'd like to hear what Shields has to say about the whole thing before they come to a conclusion like that," Rice said. "When the perpetrators are caught, then we will find out what is going on. If it is players that have gone and done it, there has to be a vast investigation to find out who is associated with those players, and who else was involved, including the bookmakers."
Woolmer's body arrived back in Cape Town, where he lived, on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
I wouldn't think radical muslims would have the sophistication and presence of mind to strangle someone to death let alone use poison. Does this sound real? I would expect something more like a rock to the head or a knife being the murder weapon.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for a Sudanese minister and a militia leader suspected of war crimes in the Darfur region.
Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun and Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, also called Ali Kushayb, are wanted on 51 counts. Sudan says the ICC has no jurisdiction to try Sudanese and that its own courts are capable of prosecuting suspects. Some 200,000 people have died in the four-year Darfur conflict, says the UN.
Mr Haroun was a minister responsible for the Darfur portfolio in 2003 and 2004.
According to the ICC he was responsible for organising and funding the Arab militia known as the Janjaweed. Ali Kushayb is accused of ordering the murder, torture and mass rape of innocent civilians during attacks on villages near Kodoom, Bindisi Mukjar and Arawala in west Darfur.
"We completed an investigation under very difficult circumstances, from outside Darfur, and without exposing any of our witnesses," ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement, AFP news agency reports. "We transformed their stories into evidence, and now the judges have confirmed the strength of that evidence." He said the Sudanese government had a legal duty to arrest the men.
In February, they were named by the ICC as suspects in a total of 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including the murder, rape, torture and persecution of civilians in Darfur. Correspondents say the ICC moves have transformed a long-running disagreement with Khartoum into a head-on collision.
Mr Haroun has said the move against him was political and that he had a clear conscience. Mr Kushayb is thought to already be in the custody of the Sudanese government for attacks committed in Darfur, but Mr Moreno-Ocampo has said his evidence relates to different incidents.
Sudan has said it is capable of trying alleged war criminals without any help from the ICC. Sudan has complained that the ICC has not indicted any Darfur rebels who it says are also guilty of murderous attacks. It rejects the ICC's jurisdiction over its nationals and says it will not allow anybody, including rebels, to be tried outside Sudan. The BBC's Geraldine Coughlan in the Hague says in the light of the court's decision, Sudan, despite its rhetoric, is now obliged to co-operate in handing these first two named suspects over to the ICC.
More than 2m civilians have fled their homes in Darfur, with most now staying in insecure camps supported by humanitarian agencies, who complain of frequent harassment from the Sudanese authorities.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2007 08:59 ||
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#2
OOOOOOO!!! A head-on collision between the "Government" of Sudan and the ICC. The static electricity sparks are gonna fly. My prediction:
1. Sudan will tell the ICC to take a flying f*ck at a rolling donut.
2. ICC will make all kinds of indignant statements and demand that the individuals named in the warrants be handed over to the court.
3. Sudan will tell the ICC to FOAD.
4. ICC will repeat their statements.
5. The issue will slowly die off as people get bored of the whole thing.
Remember the UN plans for Darfur going ahead "full steam?" Well, what happened to them?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2007 13:48 Comments ||
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#3
lmao alaska paul i was gonna rant but it don't get any better than that
Obviously, he must be killed.
Berber Leader Belkacem Lounes: 'There Is No Worse Colonialism Than That of the Pan-Arabist Clan that Wants to Dominate Our People'
Belkacem Lounes, president of the World Amazigh Congress, wrote an open letter to Libyan leader Mu'ammar Qaddafi in response to the latter's March 1 speech in which he denied the existence of a Berber or Amazigh [1] people in North Africa. In his letter, dated April 10, Lounes protested Qaddafi's statements, saying that the 30 million Amazigh living today in North Africa cannot be ignored. He added that the Amazigh had played a central role in the fight against European colonialism, but that since independence they had been oppressed by the "internal colonialism" of pan-Arabism, which he labels an imperialist ideology. Lounes stated that it was archaic to consider diversity a danger, and calls on the North African governments to commit to democracy and human rights. Yeah, right.
The following are excerpts: [2]
"What Worse Offense to Elementary Rights is There Than Denying The Existence Of a People?"
" I waited until April to respond to your speech, since it is during this month that the Amazigh people celebrates every year a great moment in its history, known as the 'Tafsut Imazighen' ('Amazigh Spring'). [3] For us, this is a celebration of our memory, of our spirit of resistance to all forms of imperialism, and of our love of liberty
"The people of whom you spoke [in your speech] are women, men, and children who speak their Amazigh language daily. They are women, men, and children who live every day their Amazigh identity, which your words injured. What worse offense to elementary rights is there than denying the existence of a people?..."
"It is Difficult to Imagine That You Are Unaware of... 30 Million Amazigh Speakers" In North Africa
"You claim that Amazigh civilization disappeared due to 'a century of drought in North Africa' It is difficult to imagine that you are unaware of the existence of 30 million Amazigh-speakers living today in all of the countries of Tamazgha [i.e. North Africa]
"You let it be understood that the Amazigh are supposedly an invention of colonialism! What colonialism is capable of creating a people ex nihilo, with its language and traditions that go back several thousand years? How could colonialism have done this - given that when the first foreigner arrived on North African soil, he found that the Amazigh had already been there for a long time?...
"How to explain these contradictions and the brutal return to this desire to negate a tangible history and reality? You even denied the evidence, when you assured us that the Amazigh problem did not exist in Libya. But the Libyan Amazigh, like Amazigh elsewhere, face ostracism, exclusion, and discrimination of all kinds "
"Thinking That Diversity Is a Danger is an Archaic and Totalitarian Idea"
"You say that 'Libya is for the Libyans' and that you will not accept anyone's saying that they have this identity or that identity.
"So be it - but then [you] must immediately suppress any reference to Arab identity in all of the country's legislative texts, as well as in the names of political, economic, and cultural institutions, starting with the Arab Libyan Republic, Libyan Arab Airlines, the Union of the Arab Maghreb, etc. Then we will be entirely [favorably] disposed to speak of a 'Libyan Libya,' with its history, languages, and cultures. But if your conception of Libya is one of an exclusively Arab country, then for us, the fight for our identity continues
"You menace the Amazigh, warning that whosoever asserts their identity will be considered a traitor in the service of colonialism Thinking that diversity is a danger is an archaic and totalitarian idea that is contrary to all of the principles of universal rights.
"We Are a People... Determined To Live Free"
"In addition, I see it as my obligation to repeat here what I told you [face to face]: We are a people and we are determined to live free, whatever it costs us. We are generally peaceful and hospitable. Whoever offers us his hand, we take him into our arms. But whoever tries to keep us from living in dignity, we will fight him with all legitimate means."
The Amazigh Were the First to Fight Colonialism
"As for colonialism, history proves that the colonizers did not need us in order to occupy our country. On the contrary - the first to have fought them were the Amazigh, because they felt that they were defending their country, their ancestral land.
"In the Algerian national movement, when the Amazigh of the country posed, in the 1940s, the question of Algerian identity after independence, the Arab nationalist clans immediately accused them of dividing the movement and of playing colonialism's game, and excluded them.
"More than half a century later, at a 2005 colloquium in Algiers on the history of Algerian nationalism, the historians [at the conference] unanimously confirmed that the true patriots were precisely the group of those excluded, as they laid the foundations for an authentic and democratic Algeria - an Algeria that is first and foremost Algerian, rich in its Amazigh identity and in all of its linguistic and cultural components.
"There is an identical ingratitude towards the Amazigh of Morocco, who provided the largest contingents in the struggle against the Spanish and French occupiers in the Rif and the Atlas. Today the heroes of this resistance are neglected in official history. Not arab enough.
"The same misfortune befell the Amazigh of Libya who, after very many of them had consented to make the supreme sacrifice for the liberty of all Libyans, find themselves today menaced, reviled, and deprived of their very right to existence by those at whose side and for whom they fought "
"Establishing a Culture of Dialogue and Friendship Requires Merciless Struggle Against All Acts of Intolerance, Racism, and Discrimination"
"We like to think that colonialism no longer exists But there is no worse colonialism than internal colonialism - that of the pan-Arabist clan that seeks to dominate our people. It is surely Arabism, in that it is an imperialist ideology that refuses any diversity in North Africa, that constitutes a betrayal and an offense to history, truth, and legality.
"Even the Muslim religion has been put into the service of these projects of Arabization and domination. The Amazigh queen Dihya was the first, 14 centuries ago, to have understood this colonial strategy - which is why she declared to the Arabs who came to attack her kingdom: 'You say that you are carrying a divine message? Fine then, leave it here, and return whence you came'... [4]
"In principle, it is the responsibility of every head of state to protect, respect, and promote the rights of his people. The challenge of establishing a culture of dialogue and friendship among civilizations and peoples requires a merciless struggle against all acts of intolerance, racism, and discrimination.
"Thus, we expect the Arab heads of state in North Africa both to abolish the policies of negation and exclusion of the Amazigh people and to [show] much more ambition regarding human rights. It is with respect to the recognition of the Amazigh people and its inalienable rights that the sincerity of the governments and their will to build peaceful societies will be measured
"In the meantime, strong in the justice of our cause and convinced of the legitimacy of our rights, we will unflaggingly continue our fight for dignity and liberty for our people through democratic means. We reaffirm today that, in light of the impasses towards which the Arabist governments of North Africa are driving us, it is urgent that we assume the right to take our destiny in hand, in asking the community of nations for its support for us to exercise our right to self-determination, in all of the countries of Tamazgha [i.e. North Africa] in which we live.
"As befits our noble fight, we will remain eternal optimists, permanently in search of reasons to hope, encouraging and privileging the positive aspects of human nature, and always endeavoring to give a chance to the least glimmer, the least opening for liberty " Links and footnotes at original article.
#1
The Berbers fought of the Islamic Arabs for a long time before they were overwhelmed. Many have ill feelings for the arabs and the islam that was forced on them. Good for stirring up trouble.
#3
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Berbers, ever since The Wind and the Lion
To Theodore Roosevelt - You are like the Wind and I like the Lion. You form the Tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours. - Mulay Achmed Mohammed El Raisuli the Magnificent, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers
Posted by: Mike ||
05/02/2007 14:32 Comments ||
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#4
Arabs are the blight, not Berbers, or Armenians or anyone else. How long must we suffer these animals.
#5
The Berbers have direct experience, the kind arabs need when they look in the mirror and extol the depravity of the world....its almost funny how when someone has access to a mouthpiece, that mouthpiece needs amplifiers to reach anyone above all the other mouthpieces.
#6
"Berber Leader : No Worse Colonialism Than That of the Pan-Arabists that Dominates Our People"
Yee-haw!
I love it when someone stands up and tells the truth.
No one will pay any attention to him - except the
Arabs who come to kill him.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/02/2007 16:30 Comments ||
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#7
Lounes stated that it was archaic to consider diversity a danger, and calls on the North African governments to commit to democracy and human rights.
Hey, Lybia chairs the UN's Human Rights Council. What more does he want?
#9
Damned Arabs! They claim anyone who speaks that primtive lingo is one of their own. How many Hong Kong Chinese or Delhi Indians say they are English? And why the hell would anyone want to be an Arab. They are cockroaches in human form.
The fertiliser bomb plotters recently imprisoned in Britain were influenced by a radical cleric who preaches that violence and terrorism are a part of Islam, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.
Omar Bakri Mohammed encouraged his small band of followers to turn their ideological zeal to violence, training them in boxing and urging them on, writes Duncan Gardham in the Telegraph report. It was at one such meeting that Omar Khyam, the leader of the fertiliser plotters, first came into contact with radical Islam as an impressionable teenager. It was Bakris boundless energy that drew together the various parts of the radical group he had founded, writes Gardham.
Living on disability benefit in north London, Bakri drove round the UK encouraging members of radical group al-Muhajiroun. His radical ideology called for the establishment of a worldwide Muslim Caliphate and the black flag of Islam flying at No 10. Bakri helped organise a seminar after the September 11 attacks in favour of the Magnificent 19 and went on to call the July 7 bombers the Fantastic Four.
In documents seen by The Daily Telegraph, al-Muhajiroun claimed: Terrorism is a part of Islam and Allah made it obligatory to prepare and to terrify the enemy of Allah. The article advised: The kuffar of USA and UK are without doubt our enemy. There is no such thing as an innocent kafir, innocence is only applicable for the Muslims. Not only is it obligatory to fight them, it is haram [forbidden] to feel sorry for them.
Al-Muhajiroun included several distinct groups the fertiliser plotters Omar Khyam and Waheed Mahmood became involved in Crawley, Anthony Garcia in east London and Salahuddin Amin in Luton. In Pakistan, after September 11, those groups came together under the guidance of Mohammed Babar, an al-Muhajiroun member from New York, and others, including allegedly Hassan Butt from Manchester, says the Telegraph report.
Babar and Butt allegedly set up an AM office in Lahore, with Butt said to have boasted of sending British recruits to fight allied forces in Afghanistan.
Another young man inspired by Bakri was Omar Sharif, from Derby, a student at Kings College London who went on to become a suicide bomber in Israel. Six months after the arrest of the fertiliser plotters in 2004, Bakri announced that he was closing down al-Muhajiroun but other organisations have been set up by his followers. The New York Police Department said last year it believed that al-Muhajiroun and its successors had connections with Islamic societies in 21 British towns and cities as well as student bodies, publishers and a software company. In a recent article in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al Sharq al-Awsat, a former leader of one group said: The students of Omar Bakri continue to preach on campuses.
Bakri now lives in the Lebanon and has been banned from returning to Britain, although his wife and seven children still live in London. In a sermon in English, given over a secure Internet site by Bakri last week, he talked of anti-terrorism arrests as a good sign. He said: When you put people under pressure everywhere, I think you are leading to explosion.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
That's a rotten dirty lie, ev'ryone knows Islam is a religion of peace. Omar is a Zionist agent trying to Humiliate the ummah by cherrypicking quotes from the Koran.
#5
Bakri now lives in the Lebanon and has been banned from returning to Britain, although his wife and seven children still live in London
Kick them out also.How much tax payers monies are they receiving a month????
Posted by: Paul ||
05/02/2007 7:53 Comments ||
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#6
Duh! terrorism is part of every organised religion. that's how you make people behave, when they don't want to.
#9
Well, I'm all for giving Islam as much violence as they can take. After several nukes going off in the arab world, including mecca, then we can see if they are still for violence. If so, then we continue to bake targets. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Not if you make sure he bounces a few times. I know a certain cliff in Colorado that will work just fine! 200 feet straight down at first, then bouncing all the way to the bottom, 3000 feet below.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/02/2007 14:09 Comments ||
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#14
terrorism is part of every organised religion
Blaming your own society there, AC1154? Easier (and safer!) to do than it is to get over your denial and learn about and confront the real issues here, isn[t it? Or haven't you figured that out yet?
Still don't believe it? Well, if the playing field is so level, walk down the middle of the gaza strip (or just about any muslim-run area for that matter) with a sandwich board that says "Islam sucks! in arabic and see how far you get. Now if the doctors do manage to get you back on your feet, try the same experiment walking down the middle of the road wearing a sandwich board that says "Judeo-Christian religions suck!" and see if anything more than getting honked and maybe hollered at for being an idiot happens to you.
Pakistani relatives of a British man jailed for life for plotting Al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks said on Tuesday he was a religious man but had never shown any hint of militancy. Waheed Mahmood was one of five Britons jailed for life in London on Monday for plotting attacks on targets across Britain ranging from nightclubs to trains and a shopping centre.
Were sad but helpless. Theres nothing we can do, said Mahmoods uncle, farmer Chaudhry Manga, in the village of Doongi, in rolling hills and wheat fields 60 km southeast of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. He was a religious person and used to offer prayers regularly. Perhaps that was his only mistake, Manga said wryly, puffing on a cigarette in his modest living room.
Mahmoods grandfather first went to Britain in the 1950s or 1960s, villagers said. Mahmood, who relatives said was in his early 30s, was born in Britain but built a two-storey villa-style house of brown tiles and white walls in his family village. Married to a cousin, Mahmood came to stay in the house with his three daughters and son but left and went back to Britain when his children got sick, villagers said. He hadnt been seen for about three years, relatives and other villagers said. His house was empty on Tuesday, although villagers said a watchman was looking after it.
When he stayed here I never saw anything suspicious about him, Manga said. I can tell from a persons face what theyre like. Had anything been wrong with Mahmood, I would have stopped him. Mahmood and his gang planned to use 600 kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser to make bombs in revenge for Britains support for the US after the September 11, 2001, attacks, prosecutors said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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A crowd of aggressive Russian nationalists attacked a car carrying Sweden's ambassador in Moscow, Johan Molander, on Wednesday morning. The ambassador was returning from a visit to the Estonian embassy when the attack took place.
For twenty minutes, Molander and his driver looked on from inside the vehicle as the Swedish flag was ripped off and the car was vandalized by an angry mob shouting nationalist slogans. Neither the ambassador nor his chauffeur were injured in the attack. "Russian police intervened far too late and in insufficient numbers," said the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a statement. Somebody in Washington needs to bring this matter to the front burner, now.
Christina Johannesson, First Secretary at the Swedish Embassy, was a witness to the events. "The atmosphere was nasty and aggressive. Russia police did intervene but they were too late. What's more, they were at a numerical disadvantage," she told news agency TT. The Russian ambassador in Stockholm has been called to a meeting with cabinet secretary Frank Belfrage on Wednesday afternoon. Sweden is expected to lodge a strong formal protest with regard to Russia's handling of the incident.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told news agency TT the incident was serious and unacceptable", and reiterated Sweden's support for the Estonian government.
Pro-Soviet youths have been camped outside the Estonian embassy in Moscow for six days to protest against the relocation of a Soviet war memorial in the Baltic state's capital Tallinn. Putin's budding Black Hundreds?
Molander visited the Estonian embassy to discuss the diplomatic tension between Russia and Estonia.
#1
Withdraw the diplomats. Cite the "instability" as the reason. Then harass every Russian "businessman" passing through Sweden.
Of course, that would take balls.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/02/2007 9:42 Comments ||
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#2
Forget the Swedish ambassador - the Estonians ambassador got it worse. She got her car vandalized, and actually got blowback with Putin's Nashi youth stormed the press conference she was having at a local Moscow newspaper, and the protestors were dispersed with tear gas.
The embassy staff has been trapped inside for four days now by the Nashi youth, whom the Estonian FM, Paets, accused of being paid by the government 3000 rubles a day for their spontaneous "demonstrating."
Estonia's government web sites are under cyberattack; some of the IPs, the foreign minister claimed, originated in the Russian presidential office.
If the Swedes get the pub and get the EU involved, fine. But this has been building for a week now.
#3
"Somebody in Washington needs to bring this matter to the front burner, now. "
Nope. Dont make it about the US, dont let the pro-authoritarian Russians change the subject to Iraq, or Guatemala in '54, or whatever. Let the Euros move it to the front burner first. Let them see what theyve got there. Let the Nordics ask the Germans and French for diplo back up first. The US should only get more visibly involved if either the Germans and French ask for help, or if they turn their backs.
#5
Nope. Dont make it about the US, dont let the pro-authoritarian Russians change the subject to Iraq, or Guatemala in '54, or whatever. Let the Euros move it to the front burner first.
Doesn't work that way, LH - Estonia is a member of NATO.
#7
Doesn't work that way, LH - Estonia is a member of NATO.
So are Germany, France, the UK, Italy, etc. They are all Estonia's allies just as much as the US is. Let's see what being an ally of France and Germany is worth these days.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
05/02/2007 11:05 Comments ||
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#9
#5. Unless they have solid proof Russian intell was behind the riots, which I doubt, the Russians being pros and all, theres no immediate NATO matter. At this point the Estonians are looking for diplomatic support,as are their nordic friends. Now the Estonians have been pretty decent to us, and IF they ask for anything, Im not saying we should deny it. But lets wait to be asked.
#10
Well well well. Looks like things are back to normal in the frozen east. I'm with LH and Laurence - let the other NATO members deal with it. Besides, collective defense is not the issue here. Plus, you wouldn't want to interrupt this educational session being put on by the Russkis. While the situation is different there may be some benefits akin to the effect on Japanese public opinion when the Chicoms organized that outrageous and barbaric attack on Japanese diplomatic properties. It's "mission accomplished" with Japan, as the Norks and Chicoms have helped move that country back into the realist column, and while the line-up is different in Europe, it can't hurt to have the barbarians scaring the effete parasites of western Europe a bit.
Excerpt:
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian oil firms rushed on Wednesday to re-route a quarter of their refined products exports away from ports in Estonia after Russia's railways halted the route amid a political dispute with Tallinn.
Oil traders said the state railway monopoly was not accepting volumes slated for May shipment and they were looking now at Russian Baltic Sea ports and Ukraine's Black Sea outlets as alternative destinations.
Russian coal exporters also said May exports of Russian steam coal via Estonia had been effectively halted due to a shortage of rail wagons after the rail monopoly RzHD told them they must use their own rail wagons, not RzHD's, but it had not been possible with such short notice to find alternative wagons.
Up to 900,000 tonnes of May exports could be lost as a result, they said.
"It was bound to happen given the recent political dispute. And there is nothing new in the Russian reaction. Just look at the examples of the neighboring Latvia and Lithuania," said a trader with a Russian major.
European and U.S. leaders have repeatedly accused Russia of using its energy resources as a weapon against its neighbors. Russia has always denied it, citing different technical reasons for energy supply halts.
this article has a pretty good rundown of what Russia is up to at this point.
This is a statement by the Estonian Foreign Minister charging Russia with orchestrating events on Estonian soil.
Even though I'm in Estonia, I agree with other commenters - I think this should be handled at the EU level right now. A lot of Estonians I know didn't want to vote to join the EU, but they did because they thought if they didn't -- they'd be somewhere "else", with the Kremlin's tentacles all over them.
Time to find out if the EU's vaunted "soft power" is worth anything to its members.
If you're interested in following this story at the ground level, Itching for Estonia probably has the most hoppin' blog on the events right now.
#14
MM, great links, and more when you have time, please.
Not only has Russia stopped RR oil and coal shipments to Estonian ports, according to Reuters, Russian RR energy shipments have been halted to ALL of the Baltic states' ports, with re-routing of rail traffic to Russian and Ukranian facilities.
It's likely that thousands of Baltic port workers, and those in related industries are going to take a major hit. I think it would be better if Washington made a public, but low-key statement now, given that Putin has escalated this matter considerably in just the last few hours.
#15
Russia wants the Baltics back and knows there is no one in Europe who will stop them. If the Dems win in 2008, look for the Russian bear to start ambling west in 2009. This should be a clue to the clueless EUnichs who are becoming more dependent upon the Russians for natural gas.
#17
Interesting: Põlevkivi (oil shale) provides over 75% of Estonia's total energy supply, making Estonia the only country in the world where oil shale is the primary source of energy. ... Eesti Põlevkivi forecasts stable production of about 12 million tons per year for the next five years, but after 2006 production likely will fall as Estonia tries to curb pollution from the oil shale industry in an effort to meet EU environmental regulations.
The next sources are coal (2M tonnes) and gas from Russia. It would be easy for Europeans to guarantee Estonia's energy supply. A European pledge of Estonia's territorial integrity might even restore some respect Old Europe.
Posted by: ed ||
05/02/2007 17:07 Comments ||
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#18
#13: "Time to find out if the EU's vaunted "soft power" is worth anything to its members."
No need to wait - it ain't worth shit.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/02/2007 18:39 Comments ||
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The Estonian ambassador in Moscow Marina Kaljurand fell victim to a physical attack in Moscow on the morning of May 2.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ehtel Halliste said that the ambassador was physically attacked with a tear gas like substance sprayed into her face. The attack took place while Kaljurand was giving a press conference at the editorial office of the newspaper Argumenty in Fakty. At about noontime on wednesday, the ambassadors car was surrounded by members of the radical pro-Kremlin Nashi (Ours) youth organization, who had gathered outside the press conference. The ambassador was not in the car at the time, and her driver said he would wait it out inside.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) has sharply denounced demands by Russia for the resignation of the Estonian government. Speaking in a television interview on Monday evening, Vanhanen said that the EU and Finland must support Estonia in rejecting the demand.
A Russian delegation that arrived in Estonia on Monday called for the resignation of the Estonian government in the dispute that was sparked by the decision by the Estonians to move a controversial Soviet war memorial from the centre of Tallinn to a military cemetery further away from the downtown area.
The monument was seen by many native Estonians as a reminder of the Soviet occupation of their country, while it was generally viewed by members of the country's Russian minority, backed by Russia itself, as a tribute to the victory against fascism in the Second World War.
Vanhanen sees it as a violation of "international table manners" for politicians visiting another country to demand the resignation of a democratically-elected government. Vanhanen emphasised that Estonia should decide itself what it wants to do with its monuments and how it controls unrest. "Estonia is a sovereign state, and it has the right to deal with these matters. We as the other member states of the European Union support this right of an independent country. This includes Finland's first statement, according to which outside powers should not interfere with this. This is equally a message in the direction of Russia", Vanhanen said in the interview.
There was some confusion over what the Finnish government's policy really is, when Vanhanen noted that the situation in Estonia is the country's own affair, which outsiders should not be involved in. Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coal.) sent a message to the Foreign Minister of EU Presidency-holder Germany, saying that he wanted clear support for Estonia from the member states.
Then on Monday Vanhanen said that the EU countries, including Finland, must naturally show solidarity toward Estonia in the face of pressure from Russia.
Vanhanen also said that he does not support granting special status to Finland's Russian-speaking minority. Russia's Ambassador to Finland Aleksandr Rumyahchev said on Monday that he hoped that the Russian-speakers in Finland would be granted the official status of a national minority.
Vanhanen said on a television news broadcast on Monday that he understands the calls but that the time is not right for a discussion on the matter. "Finland is taking very good care of its language minority. The Russian-speakers are a valuable resource for us, but we have no intentions to change our legislation in this respect", Vanhanen said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kanerva visits Estonia today. He will meet President Toomas Hendrik Ilves as well as Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, and will visit the Estonian Parliament to meet with Members of Parliament.
So the Russkies are demanding the resignation of the Estonian government, while an ultra-nationalist mob attacks the Estonian ambassador in Moscow. Where's the EU? Where's the UN? Hey, Condi and Robert Gates are Russian specialists, what do they think of this?
#2
"Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coal.) sent a message to the Foreign Minister of EU Presidency-holder Germany, saying that he wanted clear support for Estonia from the member states"
Good luck Mr Kanerva? Maybe Finland and Sweden should have joined NATO, and not relied on the EU for security? I really hope Germany helps y'all, but if they dont, dont come crying to us. Well, maybe do, but at least face the reality thats been revealed.
#7
Anonymous 2U: That was exactly the joke a couple weeks ago.
After Russia beat Estonia 2-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier, Estonians joked that they should tell the thousands of Russians that came in for the game that it was a trophy for their victory, and let it take it home with them ...
The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.
Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.
The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update.
#2
On one hand I can see the Army's point about wanting to corral in leaks about operations. But I would add that only the Army has made this an order so the Airman, Sailors, and Marines are covered by the order. Also if a soldier really wants to get his mesage on the web he could do so by sending his message to a 3rd party. It's a bad rule that will hurt morale.
#6
They are all volunteers. Volunteers who took an oath. That oath involves among other things, defending democracy, not necessarily participating in it. Appears to be way too much time on soldier's hands these days, the 9-5 rear area shuck and give "fobbit," it ain't my MOS syndrone for many, not all mind you. I think KBR is feeding they much too well. Appears AR 600-9 was trashed quite a while back. I've never seen such grossly overweight rear area slugs. Get off the computer, do some PT, and give that poor bastard outside the wire a break. There, I said it.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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Not really. Just buttering up the illegal vote. Fred Thompson is the Pub candidate who is unequivacol on border security. Also firm on allowing self-deportation to work its magic. Of course, Tom Tancredo was there first and Duncan Hunter right behind. Just that Fred commands a lot of name recognition.
#2
If name recognition gets your vote, maybe you should stay home, or list the candidates and memorize the names until you recognize them all equally.
Then you will realize that there are differences in what they believe, how they function, and whether they will hurt or help America.
Oh, I know, Fred Thompson did have some good lines in a few movies, but so did Alec Baldwin.
#3
After reading the statement, I couldn't agree more with Guiliani. His approach shows an organized step by step solution which does not upset countless families and businesses, but establishs registration, payment of fines and taxes, and acceptance that these people actually hold jobs and have value. He emphasizes English speaking and understanding as necessary, and he is correct because a nation of 2 languages is 2 nations, not one United. Guiliani is definitely a problem solver and he has a record to prove it.
#4
As long as the Mexican ruling caste control Mexico, nothing is going to change. The friggin Communist Chinese government which doesn't have a neighbor to dump 8 million plus of their unemployed chose reform. In ten years they've created more jobs and opportunities for their people than the patrons who've operated Mexico have done in decades. The flood will continue till those who run and operate Mexico are gone along with anyone taking their place knowing that they're next unless they initiate real reform starting with their xenophobic constitution.
#5
As long as the Mexican ruling caste control Mexico, nothing is going to change.
You might have the car before the horse. Sealing the border and shutting that political pressure valve might be what it takes to remove the Mexican ruling caste control of Mexico. Every politician has framed the border arguement backwards.
#6
I have to agree w/ Rudy's idea; it is logical and so far the only workable one ( IMHO). Trying to round up and throw back the estimated 12 million will not work. Amnesty will not work. So either go with Rudy or ignore the 12 million pound gorilla in the US.
#7
A lot of them will probably self-deport if they can't work. That means a Social Security card that cannot be forged - DID YOU HEAR THAT MS. PELOSI? MR. REID? - and enforcement actions against employers who don't check. And, yes, Mexico needs to change. The current situation is tragic. I know a lot of Mexicans who are friendly, honest, hard working, fun loving, family oriented people. You can't help but like them when you get to know them. But I don't have time to list here all the problems that illegal immigration creates in this country. As far as I know, Trancredo and Hunter are the only two candidates with any credibility on this issue. They have been saying the same thing for years and I believe they mean it - NO AMNESTY. The bottom line is that any soveriegn nation that wishes to remain soveriegn needs to control immigration instead of just letting it happen the way it does on our southern border.
#8
This is going to be painful because the issue has been neglected for so many years. It has actually been ENABLED by both political parties, so I have my doubts that they can do it right this time. Lucy, Charlie Brown and the football thing.
First: Secure the borders. This is like damage control on the ship. Stop the water flooding in. No debate, no compromise. You have a border, enforce it.
Second: Illegals have no rights to free stuff. That means no welfare, medical, etc. Those states that enable this stuff lose their federal funding. THAT will get their attention. Counties like SF better watch it, too.
Third: No Anchor babies allowed. You want to immigrate, fill out the form and get in line like the rest.
Fourth: Severe penalties, both criminal and civil on businesses found hiring illegals. No Social security deductions for them.
Fifth: Provide free transportation back to the place of origin for illegals. Rather than do roundups, just take the financial incentives away. The 12 to 20 million illegals will sort themselves out. If someone wants to give them sanctuary, let them do it on their own nickel.
Sixth: People enabling forgeries of documents can lose their own citizenship, in addition to jail time. That should get some attention.
I agree with EU6305. No Amnesty. We did it before and lost big time. If this congress cannot do the mission, we need to unload them all and find a new crop. This Congress is so corrupted and compromised that it cannot do anything.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2007 16:48 Comments ||
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I like AP's strategy. However, I still like round-ups and mass deportations - f*ck'em, quit cloggin up my freeways.
If Bush can't talk to the American people about this war, maybe he can?
HUME: Is the war so unpopular now that it does not matter what the arguments are for continuing? . . .
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: I think it matters. . . . If you can make the case, maybe the president can't ever speak to the American people again on this, but I think Petraeus can.And when he comes back in September, if he makes the case that, A, were succeeding against al Qaeda and we have had remarkable developments in Anbar, a province which had been declared lost to al Qaeda, justhalf a year ago, completely lost. We now see the Sunnis in Anbar rebelling against al Qaeda and taking up arms against them. And thats remarkable. If he returns and says were making progress and if we leave al Qaeda wins Iraq, that will make the case.
Petraeus feels that he is making slow, steady progress against the myriad enemies that Coalition forces confront, but he is keenly aware that results may not come fast enough to please antiwar politicians back home who are eager to pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq, and damn the consequences. "The Washington clock is ticking faster than the Baghdad clock," Petraeus often says. His goal is to speed up the Baghdad clock by pressing for more reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites, and to slow down the Washington clock by showing gains on the ground that can reverse public pressure to pull U.S. troops out prematurely. The former is hard to do because of the mutual suspicions that grip this country. The latter is equally hard, because a few high-profile insurgent atrocities can obscure the progress being made by Coalition forces in stopping ethnic cleansing in Baghdad, which Petraeus views as his most important immediate goal.
More of the story at Link and a video of General Patraeus speaking on 4/26 as well.
#1
The latter is equally hard, because a few high-profile insurgent atrocities can obscure the progress being made by Coalition forces in stopping ethnic cleansing in Baghdad
Atrocities that the MSM are glad to report. Nothing sells newprint like atrocities. Screw the guys on the ground, show us the money.
#3
As said before, iff Radical Islam fails to initiate new terror strikes inside the USA proper, i.e. high-profile, Dubya/GOP-blamed "new 9-11's/Amer Hiroshimas", the Dems are gonna CYA = Hedge by taking post-2008 MSM credit for Dubya's entrenchment in the ME. Radical Iran is being surrounded and isolated - EVERY DAY THAT RADICAL ISLAM FAILS TO ATTACK THE USA INSIDE THE USA IS ANOTHER DAY OF DUBYA-LED ENTRENCHMENT-CONTAINMENT OF RADIC IRAN IS ANOTHER DAY MOUD-MULLAHS BECOMING TERTIARY IFF NOT IRRELEVANT TO US DEMS = DEMOLEFT WHOM MUST NOW INCREASINGLY FOCUS ON PRESERVING THEIR OWN HIDES = LOCAL POL POWER-POSITION VV THE US GOP-RIGHT WITHIN THE US NPE. aS ALSO SAID BEFORE, unless something drastically or detrimentally changes, the day is looming/coming when not even having an anti-US andor anti-Rightist, etc. POTUS in the WH will help or save the Radical islamist agenda.
My Prayers go out to this soldier, his mates in Iraq and his family. Semper Fidelis!
Kin: Fallen Easton Marine selfless
The proud mother of a Bay State Marine killed in Iraq by a cowardly insurgent said her 28-year-old son was courageous to the very end as he attempted to defuse a roadside bomb.
My son is a hero. He fought for the Iraqi people, said Mary Ellen Callahan yesterday outside her Hanson home.
Marine Staff Sgt. William J. Callahan of Easton was killed Friday while attempting to disarm a roadside bomb when a nearby terrorist detonated it, said his uncle, Jeffrey Sullivan of Marshfield.
He was just above and beyond. He was selfless, Sullivan said.
Callahan, a 1997 graduate of Whitman-Hanson Regional High, became a new father two weeks ago when his wife, Amy, gave birth to their son, Daniel Allen.
His grieving widow said yesterday in a statement: We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support that our family has received during this difficult time. Bill was a hero to all of us and I feel fortunate and blessed to have spent the last 10 years of my life with him.
The couples son is named after two members of Callahans unit who died during maneuvers on Nov. 1, 2005, Sullivan said.
At that time, Callahan was serving on his first tour with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, and he received a letter of commendation from his commanding officer for his heroic efforts during that night. Callahan is credited with saving the lives of many by putting himself in harms way to ensure the safety of his unit.
Callahan was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, and was assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. Callahan worked as an explosive ordnance demolition expert.
Sullivan said his nephew would go out of his way to help anyone in need, once delaying a trip home to deliver a truck filled with toys to a family who lost their house in a fire.
In part: Callahan joined the Marines in June 2002 and graduated from technician's training in July 2005.
He volunteered for Iraq and arrived there in September 2005. Callahan was named the Marine Explosive Ord nance Disposal Technician for 2006 for what happened to him and others with him on Nov. 1, 2005.
According to the citation from the Marine Corps Engineers Association, a fraternal organization, Callahan used a robot to disarm an IED and had exited his vehicle to remove the bomb parts when a bomb placed underneath his vehicle exploded, wounding several men in his unit. At least two men eventually died, according to the association's account.
With insurgents pouring small arms fire into the Marines, Callahan rushed to help the wounded. After making sure they were safely evacuated, Callahan ignored small arms fire and returned by himself to the original IED site and completed his investigation, the citation said.
"These actions demonstrate an uncommon resolve to persevere in the face of grave danger," the citation said.
Everyone's talking about it so we thought you'd like to see the film that started out as a home movie and became one of the most downloaded documentaries of all time. Was 9/11 a government set up? Were the twin towers brought down in a controlled explosion for an insurance payday? These questions and more are posed in this controversial film, seen by millions, derided by many. Now it's your chance to make up your own mind. If they really wanted that, they would show a rebuttal with it, or at least offer one. They should change their name to "Dhimmi Whore Atlantic"
History is seldom as entwined around people as that of Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, former President of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Khans life begin in a village in Poonch district of undivided India where a Hindu teacher would lure Muslim boys to improve their math scores by offering an apple to each of his pupils.
At 23, he led a Muslim militia that broke his village and the rest of PoK away from India; his political career was spent in raising jihad forces and funds to foment militancy in Kashmir.
Today, at 83, when Sardar Qayyum Khan comes to Delhi to wage jihad for peace in the sub-continent, he wants to be taken seriously. The British had divided us then, he recalls, but our tragedy continues today [so] when it comes to resolving our ghar ka jhagra, India and Pakistan are looking towards Western powers.
For him, the genesis of Indo-Pak tensions lay in the tenuous and conflicting nature of Hinduism and Islam. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world, while Islam in the sub-continent came from outside, and we had the British who exploited these differences to the hilt.
Having taken a sudden u-turn against pursuing a violent and jihad-based fight for freedom for Kashmir, he managed to shock both Islamabad and embarrassed separatists in Kashmir. I felt the gun had overplayed its role in Kashmir and politicians should start talking, he says.
On more recent happenings inside PoK, the Sardar says, There are no [armed training] camps in Azad Kashmir these had been dismantled long before 9/11, obviously under American pressure. The humanitarian issue today, he claims, is about the fate of hundreds of PoK youth who had apparently come to join jihad in Kashmir and were held up there.
While Qayyum foresees Kashmir turning into a zone of peace with India and Pakistan opening their respective territories for communication, trade and cultural exchanges, he feels both countries continue to indulge in subversive activities through an unchecked media propaganda war. He says he adviced General Musharraf to stop Pakistan televisions anti-India propaganda.
The PoK leader lashes out at Hurriyat leaders for their recalcitrant attitudes, but seeks a compassionate view for the jihadi groups based in Pakistan. The boys of the Lashkar-e-Toiba need to be understood and not isolated and targeted, he pleads. They are affiliated to a religious sect Ahlee Hadees which had fought against British rule in undivided India.
His argues against the Western worlds and particularly Americas allegations that Pakistan is training jihadis.
America needs to own up to its mistake of using jihad as a doctrine and Pakistan as a base camp for fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. What you see in Pakistan today is a slipover of that war.
The 83-year-old leader is sceptical of political happenings inside Pakistan. I am so distant from Islamabad, he says about the speculative deal between Benazir Bhutto and General Musharraf, but insists: Whatever happens in Pakistan, the Indo-Pak peace dialogue should continue.
#1
Sardar Qayyum Khan comes to Delhi to wage jihad for peace
...
I felt the gun had overplayed its role in Kashmir and politicians should start talking, he says.
A definate candidate for this years Nobel Jihad For Peace Prize.
So it was the "overplaying of the Gun" that brought them to peace, in the end. Just think of all the zillions we wasted building that McAllahBurton EarthQuake Haarp, when all we needed to do was sell them more guns...
Any good NRAer could tell ya - more guns == more peace; these boys have actually got gun fatigue; aint that a beautiful thang?
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sabeel, the prayer leader of the Grand Mosque, has condemned the recent wave of terrorism in Pakistan and deplored the actions of Jamia Hafsa students, said Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq on Tuesday. The minister told a press conference details of his recent meeting with Al-Sabeel in Saudi Arabia. He said Al-Sabeel was unhappy with the tense situation created by Jamia Hafsa. "He told me that he had relations with father of the cleric brothers of Lal Masjid," said Haq.
Islam did not allow anyone to construct a mosque or seminary on encroached land, Haq quoted the prayer leader saying so. He said Al-Sabeel was of the view that those involved in terrorist activities had no relation with Islam as they were misguided.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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not necessarily moderate, but not insane, muslim watch.
National Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday said that foreign hands were involved in suicide bombings in the country. We guessed that. They usually are. I'm guessing it's Paraguay this time...
Rehman, who is also Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF) chief was inquiring about the health of Charsadda blast victims at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), where he told reporters that foreign militants were involved in suicide bombing in the country. He said hidden hands were behind the Talibans resurgence in DI Khan, Bannu, Tank and Lakki Marwat districts. Hidden hands engaged in nefarious plots, by Gad! I knew it all the time!
He said local Taliban were being labelled as militants for leading their lives in accordance with the Shariah in the southern districts. And forcing everybody around them to lead their lives the same way, like it or not...
He said the MMA had already issued a fatwa (decree) calling suicide attacks haram (unlawful) in Islam, and had asked suicide bombers to refrain from tarnishing Islams image by carrying out such acts. He added that the federal government should stop politicising issues and blaming NWFP for worsening the law and order situation.
Reacting to Information and Broadcasting Minister Muhammad Ali Durranis statement that the provincial government had failed to maintain law and order in NWFP, Rehman said the federal government should improve the law and order situation throughout the country rather than issuing controversial statements. He said the MMA was ready to play its due role in maintaining law and order and added that the federal government should take notice of the rising street crimes and killings in Punjab and Sindh.
The MMA secretary general said that bans on barbers, issuance of threatening letters to CD shops and imposition of fines on people in southern districts and FATA were a drama staged by hidden hands. He said the NWFP government was capable of thwarting this drama by maintaining the governments writ.
It is for the first time during the MMAs four-year rule that the NWFP government is facing the threat of Talibanisation, as local Taliban have started taking law into their own hands in several southern districts, including Bannu the hometown of NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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Saudi money and ISI control comes to mind!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
05/02/2007 7:57 Comments ||
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Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) twice warned British intelligence about the terrorist threat from a group of British men one of whom would later take part in the 7/7 suicide bombings of Londons transport network living in Lahore in 2003, The Times reports. There is no question that 7/7 could have and should have been stopped. British agencies did not follow some of the information we gave to them, a high-ranking ISI official told The Times.
This information related to a group of British men who took rooms in Sufi House, No 13 Ilyas Street, Lahore, in the summer of 2003. Says The Times report: These young men were no ordinary students. They had come to Pakistan to study violent jihad.
Among those staying at Sufi House that summer were Omar Khyam, and Mohammad Siddique Khan from Yorkshire, who would on July 7, 2005, lead Britains first suicide bomb cell, which killed 52 people in London. The Times learnt that Khan gave immigration officers the telephone number of the Sufi House as his contact point on arrival in Pakistan that summer. The mass murder may have been prevented had intelligence agencies picked up on the trail of clues and connections that identified Khan as a terrorist in the making, says The Times.
Khyam was later arrested and tried for plotting a bombing campaign in Britain. He and four others were convicted and sentenced to 35-40 years in prison on Monday. Khan and Khyam had attended terrorist camps before they met at Islamabad airport in July 2003, on their way to the same jihad training expedition.
In Ilyas Street the neighbours also had their suspicions, and called police after hearing a series of late-night explosions. One woman said: We knew what they were doing and we were afraid at those boys being here, but we couldnt do anything about it.
The group told police that a propane gas cylinder had exploded. The officers alerted their superiors, who ordered a surveillance operation. The authorities became aware that the group had travelled to the mountainous Malakand region, where Al Qaeda maintains training camps and compounds, says The Times. Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, the Al Qaeda commander who was transferred to Guantanamo Bay last week, directed their training and attack planning.
Intelligence sources in Pakistan told the newspaper that the group was taught how to manufacture and detonate homemade explosives using ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder. In Lahore members of the group were observed making regular visits to the Gohar Centre, an office complex where the extremist group al-Muhajiroun rented space. Pakistani intelligence sources told The Times that they reported their concerns to British agencies because they were satisfied that the group was not a threat to Pakistan but was intent on carrying out attacks back in Britain.
The report says Khan returned to Britain in August 2003, and after that police missed several clues as to his future intentions as they carried out a surveillance operation of Khyam and his gang.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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the 25-year-old Khyam, a Briton of Pakistani descent, also personifies a larger and more immediate concern: As a British citizen, he could have entered the United States without a visa, like many of an estimated 800,000 other Britons of Pakistani origin.
U.S. officials, citing the number of terror plots in Britain involving British Pakistanis, expressed concern over the visa loophole. In recent months, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has opened talks with the British government on how to curb the access of British citizens of Pakistani origin to the United States.
Among the proposals that have been put on the table, according to British officials, was the most onerous option to Britain - that of canceling the entire visa waiver program that allows all Britons entry to the United States without a visa. Another option, politically fraught as it is, would be to single out Britons of Pakistani origin, requiring them to make visa applications for the United States.
Posted by: John Frum ||
05/02/2007 7:47 Comments ||
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single out Britons of Pakistani origin, requiring them to make visa applications for the United States.
Of course, that would make waaaaaay too much sense.
#4
British and US officials today denied a report that the US was seeking ways of imposing entry restrictions for visiting Britons of Pakistani origin, following a spate of UK bomb plots involving citizens with links to Pakistan.
Posted by: John Frum ||
05/02/2007 19:44 Comments ||
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The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has allocated plots for six out of seven mosques that it demolished in January because they were built illegally and considered a security risk. The demolitions led to confrontation between the government and the clerics of Lal Masjid.
The reconstruction of Masjid Ameer Hamza has already started at an alternate location in Sector F-10/3 while work on the remaining five mosques will begin after preparation of feasibility reports next month, sources told Daily Times on Tuesday. The plan for reconstruction of the six mosques has been approved and survey for alternative places for them completed, the sources added.
The CDAs road and anti-encroachment directorates had razed seven mosques - Masjid Ibn-e-Abbas, Orchard Road; Masjid Ameer Hamza, Murree Road; Masjid Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, Police Colony; Masjid Aamna, Shakarparian; Masjid Syedna Ali, Nai Kacherian; Masjid Umar, G-8 Markaz and Masjid Madni. The sources said the government would give alternative plots for Masjid Ibn-e-Abbas, Masjid Madani and Masjid Aamna at Murree Road, Margalla Town and Rawal Town. Masjid Ameer-e-Hamza would be shifted to Sector F-10/3 while a plot has also been reserved for a mosque at Expo Centre, Shakarparyan.
Acting CDA Chairman Kamran Ali Qureshi said the authority would follow the agreement reached between the government, the CDA, the Lal Masjid clerics and the Islamabad administration. The reconstruction of the mosques will start soon, he said. The sources said that PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had told Lal Masjid clerics that the government would accept their demands in phases.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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One next to the distillery, one next to the pork slaughterhouse, one next to the nude beach,...
Pakistan remains a major source of Islamic extremism and a safe haven for some top terrorist leaders, despite being a frontline ally of the United States in the war on terror, according to the US State Departments Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, released in Washington on Monday. According to the report, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have been a safe haven for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Despite Pakistans efforts to eliminate threats and establish effective governance in FATA, these tribal areas continued to be terrorist safe havens and sources of instability for Pakistan and its neighbours, says the report.
Pakistan maintains 80,000 Frontier Corps and Army troops in FATA, but has been unable to exert control over the area, says the report. The US is helping Pakistan train the FC so it becomes more effective in its role. The planned closure of four refugee camps near the Pak-Afghan border would also help. The failure of the tribal leaders in FATA to fulfil their promises to the government under the terms of the North Waziristan agreement signed in September, failed to stem insurgent infiltration into Afghanistan, it says.
The report says Pakistans government is taking a three-pronged approach to increase its writ in FATA political, security and developmental. For the political prong, Pakistan seeks to bolster effective governance by empowering local officials. For the security prong, Pakistans objective is to increase the capacity and efficacy of local security forces. For the developmental prong, the government has designed a comprehensive sustainable development plan for the region.
The report says that though President Gen Pervez Musharraf remained a forceful advocate for his vision of enlightened moderation, calling on Pakistanis to reject extremism and terrorist violence, the governments crackdown on banned organisations, hate material, and incitement by religious leaders continued unevenly.
The report estimates that 900 Pakistanis lost their lives in more than 650 terror attacks in 2006, with another 1,500 people seriously injured. These attacks came from Al Qaeda and its supporters, as well as violence stemming from Sunni-Shia sectarian strife and militant sub-nationalists in Balochistan. The report notes that Pakistani security services cooperated with the US and other nations to foil the August London Heathrow bomb plot, and Pakistans leaders took steps to prevent support to Kashmiri militancy and denounced acts of terrorism in India. And though hundreds were killed in sectarian violence, the report says the total number of sectarian terror attacks continued to decline for the second year in a row in 2006.
It says though Pakistan continued to work with the UNSCR 1267 Committee to freeze the assets of terrorist entities linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, several UN-sanctioned entities continued to operate. It also noted that an anti-money laundering bill introduced in the National Assembly in September 2005 has still not been passed, adding that the legislation would significantly broaden Pakistans ability to cooperate internationally on counter-terrorism finance issues.
The report also said the Bush administration had designated Islamic groups Harkatul Mujahideen (HUM), Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba all said to be based in Pakistan - as foreign terrorist organisations, prohibiting US residents from extending material support to them. This also denies individuals representing these groups from entering or doing business in the US. In all 42 groups, active in different parts of the world, figure in the US terrorist list. The report says HUM and JeM are politically aligned with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and operate primarily in Indian-held Kashmir. The department has designated Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jamaatul Mujahideen as groups of concern.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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Until you deal with the funding of these groups ie Saudi these groups will flourish.Perv has built his power on the back of the military/ religious partnership.We need to fund democratic groups to take over from Perv/MMA
Iraqs main Sunni bloc is considering quitting the Shiite-led government because it believes the concerns of Sunnis are not being addressed, members of the bloc including the vice president said on Tuesday.
Some members of the Sunni Accordance Front have been urging the bloc for several months to pull out of Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis cabinet, partly over accusations that reconciliation with minority Sunni Arabs has moved too slowly. But frustration has grown in recent weeks, members said. We are serious in withdrawing if nothing new happens with progress in the political process, Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the Sunni bloc, told Reuters from Amman where he was on a visit. Reconciliation the government speaks of is only for conferences and speeches. No results can be seen on the ground.
Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a senior member of the bloc, told Reuters the Front would make its position known soon. We are very serious in taking a real unified stance over a possible withdrawal, said Hashemi, who discussed the issue with US President George W Bush in a telephone call on Sunday.
Washington has set Iraqs government benchmarks that it wants to see progress on by September, and which US officials believe will be crucial to bringing Sunni Arabs, the backbone of the insurgency, more firmly into the political process. It wants parliament to delay a two-month summer recess due to start in July to pass laws on sharing Iraqs oil wealth, easing a ban on former members of Saddam Husseins Baath party holding office, and paving the way for provincial elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Provincial elections are fine, as they may help create more, and more local, power bases and orientations apart from the very problematic "national" parties. But again, I am very dubious of the actual, real-world payoff to getting any of these items passed.
If Hashemi and Dulaimi and Co. had the pull with the muchachos doin' the shootin' and killin' to "deliver" them in terms of stopping their mayhem, I've never seen any evidence of it. I'm sure there are various situations in different Sunni communities, but it strains credulity to assert, or assume, that the hydrocarbons law or Shi'a promises of Ba'athist re-integration in an environment of Shi'a revenge squads (pre-dated Golden Mosque bombing, more systematic) will motivate a meaningful number of "insurgents" to stop their shenanigans.
Such things might make the elected Sunnis feel less insecure, or embarrassed, but I don't see how that translates into valuable change.
By all means push for these sorts of limited progress - but beware the counter-intuitive mental affliction that has gotten us into so much trouble in Iraq and repeat before every senior staff meeting at Victory or in the North Wing of the Palace: bitter wars with high stakes are settled with "iron and blood" .... not political finesse.
#2
Plus the Sunnis can not take advantage of their Democratic allies to press Maliki for more rapid change, lest he fail to achieve the upcoming "benchmarks".
Waytago Dems! Make it impossible to achieve peace!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/02/2007 5:37 Comments ||
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#3
And it will be Bush's Fault. Because it always is and always will be. (Or so hope the Dems.)
Any day now...
Gaza Ma'an Palestinian Prime Minister Isma'il Haniyeh has, on Wednesday, stated that his government is making "intensive efforts to hold a meeting with the group believed to be the captors of the BBC reporter Alan Johnston, in order to end the kidnapping". What, did he walk down the hall?
Haniyeh stated, "The issue of the kidnapped journalist has become inter-related with the case of the captured Israeli soldier, [Corporal] Gil'ad Shalit, and other profiles, and we take the issue very seriously that it became one of four issues which we discuss with European and other countries." The other three issues, money, money, and...money.
Prime Minister Haniyeh revealed, in a celebration to launch the new "Palestine" newspaper in Gaza City, that the captors have submitted 10 legal-religious questions, related to the capture of Johnston, in addition to seven demands, which have subsequently been reduced to three demands. Negotiations continue, split now 30-70.
The demands are related to the Palestinian situation, and a cabinet member was entrusted to follow up the entire issue, after he meets with the group. Sounds like a "mysterious" group. With mysterious objects and mysterious gunfire...
Haniyeh said that the captors were "confused in regards to the political and religious legality of the capturing". He said: "From the beginning of the kidnap, I made contacts with the heads of the security services, we arranged a joint operation room and we thought seriously of using force to reach the place where Johnston might be kept." It is understood that British officials in London requested that the PA not use force in a potential rescue attempt. Yeah, no use Alan gets his feet blown off...
Haniyeh added, "the case of Johnston has become a source of pain for all Palestinian people, and for journalists in particular. The government is still endeavouring to secure the release of Johnston and his safe and healthy return." He also applauded the role played by journalists and the media, and highlighted the importance of professionalism, credibility and objectivity in dealing with all issues. Worried about your mouthpiece, Ismail?
#2
Please imagine the pacifying effects that would be obtained from making sure that, just as this rectal cavity is screaming "Kill all Americans" in front of some big crowd, a 50 calibre bullet blows his head off.
This is what needs to happen all around the world wherever our Islamic enemies feel free to shout "death to America". We must continue this campaign until every one of these maggots feels compelled to look over their shoulder before uttering such trash.
#4
yeah zen it's about time for us too come off this no assasination shit whetther it is public or not. i bet that would stop alot of this shit of the mouth syndrome
#8
All together now, wid feeling, "NO WOT > WAR TO THE DEATH OF USA-WEST HERE". Plus, lest we fergit, ITS FOR OUR OWN GOOD + EVERYBODY, ITS WHAT AMERICANS = AMERIKANS WANT, besides also SAVING THE WHALES, SAVING THE EARTH, GLOBAL WARMING, ...................................@etal.
D ***ng it, to save Terra Firma = future of humanity we need to get rid of 5.0 Bilyuuhn or more, BUT WE CAN'T DO IT BECUZ THE TREASONOUS SELFISH ARROGANT "MALE BRUTE", etc. SUN REFUSES TO SURRENDER.
A member of Ehud Olmerts cabinet quit on Tuesday, opening the first crack in Israels government after the prime minister vowed to ride out a scathing reprimand by an inquiry into last years costly Lebanon war. Announcing he was stepping down, Eitan Cabel, a minister without portfolio from the Israeli leaders main governing partner, the Labour Party, told a news conference: I cannot sit in a government headed by Ehud Olmert.
Cabel said Olmert must resign after the Winograd Commission probing the conflict with Hezbollah gunmen listed severe failings on the part of the premier, Defence Minister Amir Peretz of Labour and the army chief, who has already quit. The panel said the government had rubber-stamped the decision to go to war but Olmert bore supreme responsibility for launching the air, sea and land offensive without a proper plan after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers on July 12.
The government-appointed commission, however, stopped short of recommending that Olmert step down. A snap Israel Radio opinion poll after its interim report examining the start of the war found that 69 percent of Israelis wanted Olmert to go. Olmert, who heads the centrist Kadima party, said he would not resign, insisting he was the best man to put things right. It would not be right to quit and I have no intention of doing so, Olmert told Israelis in a concise televised address, hours after the nation watched former Supreme Court judge Eliyahu Winograd read out sharp criticism of his actions.
Cabel said he would try to persuade Labour to pull out of its power-sharing partnership with Kadima. Labour holds a leadership election on May 28 that Peretz is widely expected to lose. Labour holds 19 of the Olmert coalitions 78 seats in the 120-member parliament.
A survivor of decades at the heart of Israels combative politics, Olmert declared himself indestructible last month. This government made the decisions and this government will deal with correcting the defects, Olmert told the nation on Monday. The cabinet would meet on Wednesday to discuss how.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Brings to mind the old SNL/Belushi skit - "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave."
#3
See also HAARETZ > A GOVERNMENT WITHOUT GOD. WHy GOD/FAITH matters more to Gubmint + Society than the Totalitarian Neutralism-Dialecticism-Politicism, etc. known as SECULARISM.
#4
this am yithaki, head of Kadimas parliamentary faction, called for Olmert to go, and rumor apparently is Livni, Foreign Minister and Olmerts main rival in Kadima, will call for his ouster any hour now.
I give Olmert two weeks, at the outside. Maybe days.
Next question: can Livni hold the coalition together?
#6
I think at this point Kadima needs to go. It was lovely as a vehicle to make Ariel Sharon Prime Minister, but sadly it's too full of weak characters to be safely allowed to rule the country. I vote for a quick election putting Likud in power, so they have a little time to prepare for the next round of war.
Thai government has told head of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) that it will seek an amnesty for people involved in the violence in Thailand's deep south, a gesture welcomed by the OIC.
Thai Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram told secretary- general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of the world's largest Islamic organisation, OIC, who concludes a two-day official visit to Thailand on Wednesday, that Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has made a final decision to grant an amnesty to those involved in the violence in Thailand's Muslim-majority southern border provinces "provided they did not commit an offence under the Penal Code."
"I think by announcing the amnesty during my visit, the government is sending a message that it's committed to a peaceful solution," Ihsanoglu told a press conference on Tuesday. "The initiative of the government is appreciated and we welcome that," he said.
The Thai government will forward the amnesty bill to the National Legislative Assembly, which acts as Thailand's post-coup parliament, to legislate the act, Nitya said.
According to a joint statement released at the press conference, the OIC delegation reiterated that southern unrest in Thailand is "not a religious conflict, but one that is related to political, civil, and socio-economic rights." The delegation also reaffirmed their support for Surayud's reconciliatory gesture and policies towards the Thai Muslim community.
On the other hand, the OIC delegation suggests the Thai government entail granting the Thai Muslims in the restive southern region greater responsibility in governing their local affairs within the framework of the Thai law.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ihsanoglu, who led the high-level delegation on OIC's first-ever official visit to the Kingdom, made a plea to "fellow Muslims" in Thailand to respect the rule of law, when addressing many prominent Muslim leaders during a meeting at the Foundation of the Islamic Center of Thailand in Bangkok. "We consider Muslim minorities under the Ummah (one Muslim community) doctrine, but the Muslims should be good citizens and respect the laws of their countries," Ihsanoglu was quoted by Thai media as saying.
The second most popular politician in Syria these days may be an American: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The California Democrat warmed Syrian hearts with her trip last month to Damascus, an event that people still share with visiting Americans as conversational currency. "Nancy Pelosi is good, yes?" asked a Damascus laborer who found himself sitting next to an American at a greasy gyro stand this week. "Nancy Pelosi, good American."
Pictures of Mrs. Pelosi and Syrian President Bashar Assad -- officially Syria's most popular citizen -- still turn up on the local news channels, especially during coverage of the dispute between President Bush and Congress over the Iraq war spending bill.
Mrs. Pelosi's two-day visit to Damascus was a major news event here. Camera crews trailed her as she bought sweets in the ancient Hamadieh souk, made the sign of the cross at what is thought to be the tomb of John the Baptist and donned a black abaya to visit the historic Omayyad Mosque.
Mrs. Pelosi, 67, is praised as "a friend of Syria," and that makes her more influential than Oprah Winfrey and more appealing than the old Hollywood movies shown on satellite television.
Many Damascus residents say her private visit with Mr. Assad and senior ministers shattered Washington's attempt to isolate the regime. "She was enormously popular here, a hero," said one such resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "This is the best thing that has happened here, if it proves [Mr. Assad] was right not to give concessions." Along with recent visits by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and officials from the European Union, the resident added, Mrs. Pelosi's trip "bolsters the regime with the Syrian people, and it shows that isolating Syria won't work."
More than burnishing the regime's image in Syria, Mrs. Pelosi is seen as the well-dressed woman who stood up to President Bush, possibly the most unpopular figure in the Arab world after former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The White House criticized her visit, both on the constitutional grounds that she was usurping executive powers and on policy grounds that she was undermining months of diplomatic efforts.
Mrs. Pelosi said she raised substantive issues with Syrian leaders, urging them to stop insurgents from entering Iraq, help win the release of Israeli soldiers thought to be held captive by Lebanese and Palestinian militias, and end Syria's support for terrorist groups. But nobody talks about that now.
"I love her," said an Iraqi woman who has emigrated to Syria. "She's a grandmother, so handsome, so cute. I see myself, my old self, in her."
Despite the lingering personal affection, few expect U.S. policy to change as a result of Mrs. Pelosi's visit. "She is a different face of America, but she does not have ideas, any solutions," the Iraqi woman said. "I watch TV all day, and I know that only the faces change."
#1
Congratulations, Madame Speaker. You are more successful in undermining my country than you are in leading yours.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/02/2007 5:54 Comments ||
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#2
Mrs. Pelosi said she raised substantive issues with Syrian leaders, urging them to stop insurgents from entering Iraq, help win the release of Israeli soldiers thought to be held captive by Lebanese and Palestinian militias, and end Syria's support for terrorist groups.
Anybody can talk to anybody about this stuff. It takes no brains whatsoever. As for making progress in these areas, that's a different matter entirely. Got a progress report for us on these substantive issues, Nancy?
#8
When the American people start paying attention, this pro-enemy foreign policy is going to fail. Negotiating with Syria is one thing. Rehabilitating a dicatorship we are trying to isolate is another.
The bad part is that Pelosi has access to secret briefings. If she really has staked the Dems' political future vested in Assad she may act to derail covert ops against him. This is one of the many reasons why politics need to stay at the water's edge.
It sickens me just as much as when Kerry and Co. went down to Latin America to support the Sandinistas.
After the 2006 election Rahm Emmanuel, the architect of the Dem House victory, stated that the Republicans have officially lost the National Security issue since Iraq is percieved to be such a failure. I was worried he was correct. However, the Dems have way too many people who actively support our enemies for that to happen. A sad commentary. I wish both parties wanted to defeat our enemies and we could limit our debate to 'how' to do so, not 'whether' we should.
With video goodness and more info at link.
No 9/11 conspiracies today, but Rosies diatribe against our nation, the war, and the troops was just as bad. Rosie said we [have] killed way more Americans than terrorists have, comparing 9/11 to the current American death toll in Iraq. You can only guess what she meant by we have killed. Such intelligent comments from someone who thought Mission Accomplished referred to the whole war on terror.
Continuing, Rosie said terms such as terror and cell are shock words used to scare people. Wow, I guess if it wasnt for the invention of those words, we wouldnt be scared of terrorists people who want to convert and kill us.
Rosie used the stereotypical liberal line: we went into Iraq for the oil and then called Bush a oil baron, adding the Bushs are oil people.
#2
Once that big flytrap starts flopping, can't someone be stationed off the set and come rushing in and stuff a large potatoe in the abyss ? Sure used to work on exhaust pipes.
#4
can't someone be stationed off the set and come rushing in and stuff a large potatoe in the abyss
It's been tried a couple of times. The first time she swallowed it without chewing it first. I won't tell you what the other attempt involved or how it worked out.
#11
I checked out Betty Brosmer on "Good Morning" and this story appears about that idiot moron tasteless pea brain Rosie O'Donnell. Where's my Excedrin and stomach medicine Martha?
#15
I say let her talk. Know the enemy.
When you hear the same noise over and over and over, eventually people tune it out. That process happens even faster when most folks realize they're listening to a blithering idiot.
#16
I agree tu. I want her broadcast 24/7 on all major MSM networks. More and more people are associating the left with idiots and we need to accelerate the process. Rosie does wonders for my cause while damaging her own every time she opens her fat, disgusting trap.
#22
So where did Rosie buy her carbon credits to spew all this hot CO2? Where is the authority for this action?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2007 14:02 Comments ||
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#23
Broadcast her rants to all Middle East countries, 24/7. After the first fifteen minutes, the Saudis, Egyptians, Iranians, Syrians, Sudanese, Pakiwackis, and other assorted nutjobs will be crying for mercy. Even THEY can't take that kind of crap.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/02/2007 14:45 Comments ||
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#24
#19 Money + fame + IQ(95) = Rosie
I think you have that IQ WAY to high.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
05/02/2007 15:09 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer may have been murdered after angering radical Muslims on his cricket team, according to a BBC investigation. 
Omar Bakri Mohammed encouraged his small band of followers to turn their ideological zeal to violence, training them in boxing and urging them on, writes Duncan Gardham in the Telegraph report. It was at one such meeting that Omar Khyam, the leader of the fertiliser plotters, first came into contact with radical Islam as an impressionable teenager. It was Bakris boundless energy that drew together the various parts of the radical group he had founded, writes Gardham. 
In documents seen by The Daily Telegraph, al-Muhajiroun claimed: Terrorism is a part of Islam and Allah made it obligatory to prepare and to terrify the enemy of Allah. The article advised: The kuffar of USA and UK are without doubt our enemy. There is no such thing as an innocent kafir, innocence is only applicable for the Muslims. Not only is it obligatory to fight them, it is haram [forbidden] to feel sorry for them.
LOOSE CHANGE 2:
National Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday said that foreign hands were involved in suicide bombings in the country.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has allocated plots for six out of seven mosques that it demolished in January because they were built illegally and considered a security risk. The demolitions led to confrontation between the government and the clerics of Lal Masjid. 
Pakistan remains a major source of Islamic extremism and a safe haven for some top terrorist leaders, despite being a frontline ally of the United States in the war on terror, according to the US State Departments Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, released in Washington on Monday. According to the report, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have been a safe haven for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Despite Pakistans efforts to eliminate threats and establish effective governance in FATA, these tribal areas continued to be terrorist safe havens and sources of instability for Pakistan and its neighbours, says the report. 
A member of Ehud Olmerts cabinet quit on Tuesday, opening the first crack in Israels government after the prime minister vowed to ride out a scathing reprimand by an inquiry into last years costly Lebanon war. Announcing he was stepping down, Eitan Cabel, a minister without portfolio from the Israeli leaders main governing partner, the Labour Party, told a news conference: I cannot sit in a government headed by Ehud Olmert. 
