Chinese defector Hao Feng Jun has provided further alleged evidence about the claims of surveillance and monitoring of Australian citizens and residents by China.
Mr Hao told Lateline that two weeks ago when he came into Australia on a tourist visa that he smuggled a computer file carrying hundreds of Chinese security documents that he had secretly downloaded from his police computer.
ABC TV's Lateline program has had some of these documents translated and if they are accepted as authentic, the targets are members of the spiritual movement Falun Gong in Australia.
Mr Hao's lawyer Bernard Collaery says that for the time being he is not giving the documents to ASIO because of his concerns that Australian officials may have visited senior Chinese officials in the Public Security Bureau.
However, he is already cooperating with another Western intelligence agency.
"The thought of Australian officials going in the front door and (Chinese security office) 6-10 information going out the back door leaves us with some fears about making this information available to the Australian intelligence services," Mr Collaery said.
The Chinese Embassy declined to comment on the claims.
A second Chinese defector, former diplomat Chen Yonglin, backs Mr Hao's claims.
Mr Chen said the document given to Lateline by Mr Hao is most likely genuine.
"This document sounds like a real one, except no stamp and I believe that - yes, it sounds like a real one," he said.
Members of the movement in Australia believe they have been subjected to a sustained campaign of harassment by Chinese agents.
Intelligence report
One of the documents is an alleged intelligence report, dated October last year, apparently compiled in Beijing and circulated to senior Chinese officials.
It details plans by the New South Wales Falun Gong to hold a conference in Sydney after Christmas and it names the organisers, including John Deller, an Australian Falun Gong practitioner, whom it describes as being behind "quite a few activities to disturb and damage the Chinese Government".
Mr Deller confirms the broad accuracy of the intelligence report - Falun Gong did hold a conference in Sydney after Christmas - but he is horrified by the personal references.
"It's a little creepy actually to think that activities here in Australia are being monitored so closely by Chinese Communist officials," Mr Deller said.
"I think it's outrageous that an ordinary Australian citizen like myself is coming under such surveillance."
Chinese-Australian university student Yan Yan Che is also named in the report as a key Falun Gong organiser among Chinese students on New South Wales campuses.
It describes her as "an overseas Chinese student, female, 22 years old, "from Shangdong province, second year student of NSW University".
"It's surprising, it's just sickening, it's scary," she said.
"It pinpoints my name, where I came from, where my ancestors came from, my age, where I study.
"I never know that I am actually being monitored by 610. I never felt so close to China and the Communist Party as I do now."
Another document, dated January 24 this year, names a Chinese woman presently seeking refugee status in Australia.
It says the woman, named Chen Hong, was sentenced to a year in a labour camp in 2000 because of her Falun Gong beliefs and was expelled from the Communist Party.
She applied for a visa from the Australian commission in Shanghai in 2003. It records that she is now in Australia.
'6-10 Office'
Speaking on ABC TV's Lateline program, Mr Chen still says he is living in fear of being sent back to China to face imprisonment or death.
While waiting for the Australian Immigration Department to process his asylum claim, Mr Chen has been given the number of a policeman to call if he is threatened in any way.
Mr Chen again maintained the existence of the Chinese 6-10 security office that defecting policeman, Mr Hao, had previously told Lateline he had worked for in China.
"Yes, 6-10 Office was established in 1999 on June 10," Mr Chen said.
"That was established to control the Falun Gong organisation and, in my view, to persecute Falun Gong practitioners."
Mr Chen says it is common knowledge among Chinese officials, diplomats and consular offices that the 6-10 Office exists.
"Every diplomat working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knows that existed, yes, 6-10," Mr Chen said.
Mr Chen says China wants to crack down on Falun Gong members in Australia.
"Their idea is that it is overseas missions to blame that caused the problem in China," he said.
"If there is no disturbance from overseas in China, the 6-10 Office can solve every problem in China, should finish the Falun Gong issue very quickly.
"Overseas - the Falun Gong practitioners put pressure to the government, the Chinese Government, and launch too many activities so that - and try to influence, mobilise their force, their influence in China."
Alleged kidnappings
Mr Chen stands by his previous claims that Chinese citizens have been kidnapped from Australia
"I'm an honest man even in a state of fear. I'm a very honest man, a man of dignity," he said.
"I get it (the claim) from a very reliable source ... just because it's not the proper time to get into all the details of it.
"To my sense, I talk about this case to draw the attention of the Australian Government. I believe the Australian Government has taken some necessary steps to prevent such a case from occurring in the future - that's the result I would like to see."
Mr Chen says when "it is time and necessary", he will give the evidence he has to the Australian authorities.
He says that he and his family remain in danger.
"I'm still worrying about my family and we haven't been assured about the security and at this stage we have a bridging visa with condition of no work and no Medicare, and I am still worrying about my future," he said.
"And there is still, the possibility is there that may possibly be sending back to China.
"My walking out of the consulate is an action against the Chinese Communist Government. They won't tolerate any official who would take actions against the Communist Party.
"For my case, some lawyers said that I may be sentenced to 15 years to prison or even the death penalty because of my case - very special."
THE Federal Opposition last night called on freed Australian hostage Douglas Wood to consider repaying taxpayers for his rescue mission from proceeds of the sale of his story to a television network.
The Greens said he should donate the proceeds to Iraqi charities such as those looking after war orphans.
US resident Mr Wood was reunited with his family in Melbourne yesterday - five days after he was released by his kidnappers following 47 days in captivity.
In a press conference the 63-year-old engineer apologised to US President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard over comments made under duress during his captivity, and said his rescue was "proof positive" that the two countries' policy of training Iraqi forces was working.
Mr Wood, who said he would consider returning to Iraq to pursue business opportunities, did not give detail on his time in captivity.
It was later announced he had sold the story of his capture and rescue to Channel 10 for an undisclosed sum.
Foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said last night the Opposition was delighted Mr Wood had been freed.
Asked whether it was appropriate for Mr Wood to sell his story, Mr Rudd said: "I think that ultimately it's a matter for Mr Wood and his family.
"I'd hope they'd be having a discussion with the Australian Government given that this effort has cost the Australian taxpayer a lot of money."
Mr Rudd said he had noted that the Wood family had repeated it planned to make a donation to an Iraqi charity - something it promised during his captivity as part of its bid to win his release.
It should be accompanied by "appropriate consultations" with the Government.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said it was unclear how much of taxpayers' money had been spent on attempts to rescue Mr Wood.
Sources said the figure would "almost certainly" be at least several million dollars.
A spokesman for the Wood family said last night Mr Rudd was "jumping on the talkback bandwagon".
"Douglas would pay that amount and more to erase those 47 days of his life," he said. "Any Australian citizen should expect appropriate protection from the Government."
Mr Rudd disagreed with the view that Australian policy in Iraq was working. He said the number of people taken hostage in Iraq and the number of civilians and soldiers killed by car bombs showed the security situation was not improving.
Greens leader Bob Brown said Mr Wood was wrong in his analysis of Australian policy and it was unfair that he profit from his experience.
"I think Mr Wood is fortunately home, but there's 850 Australians who aren't," Senator Brown said, referring to Australian troops in Iraq. "Rather than just saying God bless America I would just say God bless those Australian troops and let's get them home."
He said Mr Wood should donate the money he made in his deal with Ten to humanitarian causes in Iraq, such as children who had lost their parents in the conflict.
"Mr Wood is very, very fortunate that he is free," Senator Brown said. "Iraq is suffering terribly. I don't think Iraq should be seen as a place where we can profit."
#1
THE Federal Opposition last night called on freed Australian hostage Douglas Wood to consider repaying taxpayers for his rescue mission from proceeds of the sale of his story to a television network.
Regardless of what one might think of Mr. Wood selling the rights to the story about his ordeal, talk at this time about him "repaying taxpayers" for his rescue is simply tacky.
MIAMI Attorneys for two terrorism suspects tied to an alleged al-Qaida dirty bomb suspect are asking for the dismissal of a federal indictment against them based on a jailer's mishandling of a Quran and intimidating jail cell searches that removed handwritten papers in Arabic.
The defense claims the seizures from the cells of Adhan Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi in May and June amount to government misconduct and an unconstitutional intrusion on trial preparation.
Jailers also disrespectfully tossed Hassoun's Quran on his bunk and left 8,000 pages of trial papers in disarray, his attorney Kenneth Swartz said in motions filed Friday.
Yes, it has come to that. "Your honor, my client was planning to set off a nuke somewhere, but he should be excused because his holy book was tossed onto a bunk"
We will now conduct a short review of inferences drawn from observations of this case:
Zoology and the Legal Profession 103, Lab
Section: Gifted and Talented (Rantburg)
Date: 6-20-05
1. What's the difference between a lawyer and a vulture?
One is a foul-smelling, carrion-eating scavenger; the other is a bird.
2. What's the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?
One is a slimy, cold-blooded bottom-feeder; the other is a fish.
3. What's the difference between a hyena and a lawyer?
A hyena will laugh even when nobody gets hurt.
4. What's the difference (if any) between a lawyer and a leech?
One is a repulsive blood-sucking parasite, the other one lives in the water.
5. Rattlesnake and lawyer?
(Two acceptable answers)
Some people actually like rattlesnakes.
Rattlesnakes live by making a rich diet of vermin, lawyers live by making vermin rich.
#1
A blind bunny and a blind snake were blundering through the woods and slammed into one another. In order to make peace, they agreed to have a game of "guess what I am." The snake went first and said, "Hmm, you have long ears, soft fur, and a short, cottony tail. I guess you're a bunny!"
"That's right!" said the Bunny. "Now it's my turn. Let's see, you're low, slimy, and you have no balls. Hey, you're a lawyer!"
Yes, Short Attention Span Theater can tie in with the war on terror... I'll put it on page 3, but it feels like maybe it should be page 2. I am going to have to look up how this saga ended sooner or later; the events in the article transpired in 2000.
Poor little rich Brunei. For the past two years the tiny sultanate, which controls vast oil fields off Borneo's coast, has been wracked by a squabble between Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his brother Prince Jefri Bolkiah. Jefri left for London after his sprawling Amedeo Group collapsed under $10 billion in debt--blowing a sizable hole in the national budget. Although auditors suspect Jefri and his associates of embezzling billions from the state treasury, there was hope the feud would end when Jefri returned from London in January.
Not a chance. On Feb. 21 the government sued Jefri in Brunei High Court for the funds he allegedly ''misappropriated.'' Government lawyers then filed injunctions--in Brunei and London--freezing Jefri's assets. Now, both sides are drawing battle lines across the U.S. and Europe to fight what palace watchers in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei's humid capital, are calling ''the mother of all legal battles.''
That may not be far off the mark. At this point, it's not even clear how much Jefri may have siphoned off during his years as finance minister, chairman of the Brunei Investment Agency, and head of Amedeo--all hopelessly intertwined positions. The Borneo Bulletin, a Bandar daily owned by Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, another of
Jefri's three brothers, says Jefri is accused of making off with $9 billion. John M. Callagy, a lawyer at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP in New York, says it's $40 billion--and that the charges are false. Kelley Drye represents Amedeo Hotels Ltd., one of 68 companies the government contends Jefri controls.
URGENCY. There's some urgency to all this. For one thing, Brunei (population 300,000) needs the missing billions to help recast its economy. In February, the Brunei Economic Council, headed by Mohamed, issued an economic diversification plan and warned that with dwindling reserves, the sultanate's dependence on oil--even amid rising prices--is ''unsustainable.'' For another, the sultan wants the mess cleared up before November, when Brunei hosts a regional summit that is to include President Clinton and the Japanese Prime Minister. ''They're anxious to settle,'' a diplomat in Bandar says. ''They want to improve their image.''
That won't be easy. In 16 months of negotiations before Jefri returned, the sultan insisted that his errant sibling unload a pile of assets that includes everything from Old Master oils to a global hotel chain and a yacht. But Jefri hasn't parted with much. Many of his baubles, palace watchers say, are too vulgar to fetch anything close to what the prince paid. In the case of Amedeo Hotels, whose properties include the New York Palace, Jefri refuses to let go.
And then there's the email I got this morning...
I am Prince Fayad Bolkiah, Son of Prince Jefri Bolkiah of the Royal Family of Brunei Darussalam.
I urgently need help with a discrete business in London involving a few millions of dollars.
You can visit this web site http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_14/b3675221.htm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1494944.stm to undertand why I need your help.
Due to the policital situation here, I am not able to handle the operation my self and I sincerely need your help.
I assure you the business is 100% legitimate and I would give you full details of the transaction when you reply to this message.
Your reward/commission for his service would be discussed when I hear from you.
Finally, handle his business as top confidential. Insah Allah, you would be richer than you can dream about very soon as you would be working for me and my father on many more project like this.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Regards,
HRH Prince Fayad Bolkiah
Brunei Darussalam
Alternate Email: fayadbolkiah@bruneipage.com
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/20/2005
18:31 ||
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Fears of a bloody Taliban resurgence, bolstered by newly arrived al-Qaida militants, are mounting in southern Afghanistan amid a string of Iraq-style attacks, assassinations and a steadily rising US death toll.
Yesterday the Taliban claimed to have killed a district police chief, Nanai Khan, and seven of at least 31 officers being held hostage since an ambush last week in Kandahar province.
In the neighbouring pro- vince of Helmand, between 15 and 20 insurgents were killed in US air strikes yesterday after a joint patrol of US and Afghan troops came under attack, the US military said. The airstrikes were launched after the patrol was pinned down by small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Hours earlier a rocket exploded near an American special forces base in Kandahar city. No casualties were reported.
Afghanistan is fast becoming the forgotten eastern front of President Bush's "war on terror". Twenty-nine US soldiers have died since early March, about a fifth of the entire death toll including the Taliban offensive in 2001.
Although a helicopter crash claimed 15 of the recent casualties, attacks on US and Afghan forces have become increasingly deadly, a trend that officials link to a renewed collaboration with al-Qaida.
This month a bomb ripped through a mosque in central Kandahar, killing 20 people including the Kabul police chief. The victims were attending the funeral of a pro-government mullah who had been assassinated a few days earlier.
Last week another suicide bomber wounded four US soldiers in Kandahar. Until recently, suicide bombings were rare in Afghanistan.
The defence minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak, said the two bombers were part of a group of six Arab militants who had slipped into the country over the past three weeks. "It looks like al-Qaida ... may have changed their tactics, not only to concentrate on Iraq but also on Afghanistan," he told the Associated Press.
A Taliban spokesman, Abdul Latif Hakimi, taunted the government to collect the body of Mr Khan. "They said his crime was high so he should be executed," he told Reuters. The statement could not be verified and Mr Hakimi has made unreliable claims in the past.
Predictions of a Taliban collapse, made by US commanders after last October's peace ful presidential election, look increasingly hollow.
Insurgents were carrying out the same number of attacks as this time last year but with greater effectiveness, said Christian Willach of Anso, an aid agency security group.
"Last week they attacked one southern district and held it for a few hours. That never happened before," he said.
An increase in targeted assassinations, usually of "soft" targets, marks another tactical shift. On Saturday night gunmen in Helmand, killed three civilians - a judge, an intelligence worker and a civil servant, according to a spokesman for the governor.
But senior US officers and Afghan officials insist the insurgency is under pressure. Last April the former combined forces commander, Lieutenant General David Barno, predicted that a government amnesty offer would split the leadership.
The US claims to have killed more than 150 Taliban this year and yesterday the Afghan national army said it had captured a Taliban intelligence chief in Ghazni province.
But the violent surge bodes ominously for September's parliamentary elections, said Mr Willach. Voter intimidation, especially in the southern belt, was likely. "Insurgents may try to influence voters in favour of ex-Taliban candidates," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005
16:36 ||
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#1
...the forgotten eastern front...
Wow, it's not like Vietnam, it's like Stalingrad. The similarities are really eerie, except for the fact that one side runs away PDQ.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/20/2005 17:05
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#2
Actually, I think there will be a decided uptick in violence, because right now Pakistan is throwing the last of its Afghan refugees out, "by the end of June". These a-holes have nowhere to run to. I predict that they will quickly realize that if they are in small groups, the locals will eat them for lunch, so they will form larger, platoon-sized brigand groups. Who will get slaughtered like there is no tomorrow.
From John Kass at the Chicago Tribune, June 16. Don't think we noted this one here and we should have. I favor "Muskrat Love", myself.
Have U.S. interrogators been too mean in questioning suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay? I don't think so. They didn't go far enough. For example, they foolishly used the recorded voice of pop star Christina Aguilera as an implement of torture.
Music as weapon is a brilliant tactic. Just ask former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. The problem at Guantanamo wasn't music. They used the wrong music and failed to call me first.
Amateurs! Dilettantes! I could have told them about the Worst Song in the World: "Ballerina."
In it Vaughn Monroe--known as "The Voice with Hair on Its Chest" and "Old Leather Tonsils"--annoyingly croons, "Dance, ballerina, dance."
If you're online and an official terrorist interrogator and wish to hear a sample of the deadly tune--a measly snippet since Tribune lawyers are too chicken to violate copyright laws--then click here. If you're reading this in the paper, too bad, I'm not going to sing it, but go to chicagotribune.com/kass (ka-ching).
Intelligence officials did their best to break the terrorists with unspeakable torments, including offering plenty of honeyed chicken, fruit, various breakfast cereals and, for the less devout, photographs of naked women.
Then they blew it big time by using Aguilera.
Her music reportedly was piped into the cell of Osama bin Laden's henchman Mohamed al-Qahtani. He allegedly was the 20th hijacker, the only one kept out of the country, so he couldn't make his plane on Sept. 11, 2001. "I will tell the truth," he was quoted as saying in Time magazine. "I am doing this to get out of here."
Then he shut up.
Because I'm not 13, I've never heard Aguilera's music. But a photograph in a tabloid depicted a blond showing cleavage, with her pants spray-painted on. Obviously, she's talented.
But U.S. intelligence officials failed us once again. Had they spent any "time in the field" they'd know that hardened criminals prepared to murder thousands of Americans with jets would never be intimidated by some pop pixie.
So, what's needed at Guantanamo is the Worst Song in the World, something so bad it would drive bin Laden to church, and not just so he could blow it up.
I offer "Dance, Ballerina, Dance" freely to my nation. It would break any terrorist; and it could be used as part of the soundtrack in the next Quentin Tarantino movie during a killing spree, say Pam Grier with an egg slicer, the kind with wires.
Others are now rushing forward in their own patriotic frenzy, offering their own Worst Songs in the World, hoping to break the terrorists before other nations make fun of us for the Aguilera tactic.
"How can you talk about the worst song? You don't listen to music," said Mrs. Flynn, who once helped me with the column. She suggested "Unskinny Bop" by Poison, a hair metal band. And "Lonely," sung by Akon, which sounds like a chipmunk being skinned with a butter knife. "It makes you sick, the chipmunk thing, the high chirpy voice like Alvin, and they're playing it on the radio all the time now," she said.
The Swede who helps these days offered up a '70s band, perhaps to curry favor with the geezer who hired him. "Anything by the Bee Gees," he said, fully aware that I liked Black Sabbath then. "The Bee Gees sound like castrati."
Others mentioned sensitive punk rockers Dashboard Confessional, which is chock full of incessant whining, sort of like U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin worried about America abusing terrorists.
"Baby Got Back" was offered, since it contains the immortal line "I like big butts and I cannot lie," but it is unsuitable for terrorists and children. "Cracklin' Rosie" by Neil Diamond was nominated, as was Donna Summers' "MacArthur Park" and "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl. What a Good Wife You Would Be)" by some crappy band nobody cares about.
Yet let's not forget that the Worst Song in the World is "Dance, Ballerina, Dance," sung by Mr. Tonsils. I heard it while stuck in Hubbard's Cave on the Kennedy Expressway during rush hour. The air conditioning and the radio were broken and the only available station was an oldies one I despised, being then in the "Sweet Leaf" mode.
So breathing truck exhaust, trapped in a rusty Datsun, listening to "Dance Ballerina, Dance" and snickering at my misfortune, it stuck in my mind lo these 20 years now. If I hear it repeatedly, I'll confess to anything.
"Dance, ballerina, dance/and do your pirouette in rhythm with your achin' heart. Dance, ballerina, dance/You mustn't once forget a dancer has to dance the part ..."
"Whirl, ballerina/ once you said his love must wait its turn/You wanted fame instead/I guess that's your concern/We live and learn ... So dance, ballerina, dance."
A couple spins of that and any terrorist would sing.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2005
16:15 ||
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#3
In the early 60's Jimmy Cagney made a B&W comedy about being a Coca-Cola VP in Berlin. His daughter wants to marry an East German border guard. At one point, the EG's capture him, thinking he's a capitalist stooge, and torture him by plaing "Itsy, Bitsy, Teeny-weenie, Yellow Polka-Dot bikini" with the hole drilled off-center. Gives new meaning to ROTFLOL.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 18:24
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#4
Oh, yeah. The name of the Movie is 1-2-3. It's not easy to find; I got mine at Virgin records.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 18:26
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THE government was last night facing demands to reassess the security threat to the G8 summit after plans to protect the world's most powerful people were leaked.
Confidential documents detailing the assessment of the terrorist threat - including from chemical or radiological attack - were passed on by a member of the intelligence community in an apparent attempt to embarrass UK ministers. The whistleblower said he was appalled by the "complacency" towards security.
The documents were said to include an analysis of the hotel's possible vulnerability and the likely positioning of security forces. The report stated that the blueprint, drawn up for what is known as Operation Sorbus, included a list of vulnerable areas at the venue. It showed reinforced fencing to keep out potential protesters and suicide bombers and aerial photographs of the venue marking likely terrorist targets.
But Tayside Police yesterday dismissed as "nonsense" suggestions that the leak had exposed flaws in the preparations for the summit in July. Willie Bald, the Tayside Police Assistant Chief Constable, said any suggestion that preparations for the event had been thrown into disarray following the leak was "nonsense".
"We can see no reason why someone genuinely concerned about security plans for the summit would see any benefit in speaking to the press," he said. He added: "No such concerns have been raised with Tayside Police and to say ministers, or indeed anyone involved in the preparations for the summit, are approaching the event with complacency could not be further from the truth."
Mr Bald said he was confident of the "comprehensive security operation" in place to protect the world leaders, including Tony Blair and the United States president, George Bush.
The whistleblower reportedly leaked the plans to shock ministers, who he believed had taken security arrangements at the summit for granted. He was quoted in the paper saying: "I have been increasingly appalled by the air of complacency surrounding this event, particularly as displayed by ministers.
"The release of a portion of non-operational material is intended as a wake-up call before that complacency becomes truly dangerous."
The leaked plans also reportedly contained the location of a special forces base, the placing of troops and a wrangle between the US and the UK over the deployment of surface-to-air missiles. David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said the leak was potentially an "immensely serious breach of national security".
He added: "The immediate task for the Home Secretary must be to reappraise all aspects of security at the G8 in light of this breach."
Last night a Downing Street spokeswoman said the government did not comment on security arrangements, but the leak casts further doubt over the security arrangements made for Gleneagles, the cost of which has been put in some estimates at £100 million.
Amid continued speculation on the scale of the threat posed by protestors, there were also reports yesterday that teams of riot police from Northern Ireland will be drafted into Scotland. Despite July being the height of the loyalist marching season, police from the province will be brought in to help in Edinburgh - where Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof has called for a million people to protest - and around Gleneagles itself.
There has also been confusion over the level of security around the hotel. Tayside Police confirmed on Friday that a second inner security cordon will be put in place around the hotel. The authorities refused to go into details of the new cordon, which they claimed had always been part of their plans, but it was likely to be inside the five-mile fence already erected round Gleneagles.
During the huge security operation in Edinburgh, police are planning to secure the Scottish Parliament building, as well as the official Royal residence of Holyroodhouse, by building a fence around them. The security operation in Scotland will involve about 5,000 extra police officers drafted in from forces across England and Wales.
Last week there was a dispute over whether protestors could march close to the hotel itself. The police officer in charge of security has given the green light for protesters to demonstrate next to the fence. John Vine, Tayside's Chief Constable, said protesters would be free to demonstrate along the perimeter fence provided they did not break the law.
But Perth and Kinross Council has refused to grant permission for a march past the hotel, saying public safety would be put at risk. Instead, the council has said it will allow a rally for up to 4,500 people in nearby Auchterarder on the opening day of the summit.
Mike Yardley, an independent expert, said release of the leaked information was a criminal act and could potentially be used by protesters and terrorists to cause chaos at the event.
But Yardley said the release of such "specific" information was not in the public interest.
"Information like this could be used by a range of people, from low-grade risk globalisation protesters to something much more serious."
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
16:09 ||
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#1
Who cares, let's get down to brass tacks.... what are they gonna wear for the group shot? Kilts?
#2
The real question is, what will they wear UNDER the kilts. If anything.
Which reminds me of the old Scottish joke about the drunk asleep beside the road, the young women passing by and a hair ribbon, with the Scotsman waking up the next morning to muse, "I dinna know where ye've been lad but ye've ta'en first prize ..."
(no photos provided LOL)
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 20:22
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With the closure last Thursday of the Consulate of the United States Embassy in Lagos, followed the next day by the missions of Germany, Italy, Finland, Russia, Sweden, India and Lebanon, there are now palpable fears that the Al-Quaeda network of Osama Bin Laden, might have infiltrated Nigeria in its bid to wreck havoc on US interests. THISDAY gathered at the weekend that the tip-off relied upon by the US embassy was supplied by an anonymous Nigerian but the questions remain: how real and genuine was this terror scare? Or was there more to it than mere security alert?
Walter Carrington Crescent is the most popular street in Lagos when it comes to diplomatic matters. It is shaped like a loop and has only one entrance. United States, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands and Russia have diplomatic missions on the road. In fact, nearly all the embassies of the most influential countries in teh world are located therein and despite the busy activities noticeable in the zone, the serenity of the crescent is second to none. A sharp contrast to the peacefulness of Walter Carrington was displayed last Friday when there was an unusual security presence in the zone. Vehicles were screened with bomb detection devices by members of the Nigerian police and hundreds of gun totting security men paraded the area.
This was a precautionary measure taken as a result of a statement released by the American government last week that it has received threats from terrorists that an attack was imminent on US interests in Nigeria. Because of this terror scare, US temporarily closed its consulate and those of Britain, Germany, Italy, Russia and other nations followed suit.
Nigerian security officials who spoke to THISDAY on conditions of anonymity said there were telephone calls to the embassy which warned of attacks. The security officials offered no further details.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005
15:57 ||
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via Drudge
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Sixteen foreign-born construction workers with phony immigration documents were able to enter a nuclear weapons plant in eastern Tennessee because of lax security controls, a federal report said Monday. I'd like to know where these people are from. Just about every time they don't say where they are from they turn out to be from someplace where Allan is popular.
Controls at the Y-12 weapons plant have since been tightened and there was no evidence the workers had access to any sensitive documents, said the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees nuclear weapons facilities for the Department of Energy. "And no US warhead technology ever made it into the hands of the Chinese either."
However, the DOE inspector general's office said in the report issued Monday that its field agents found "official use only" documents "lying unprotected in a construction trailer which was accessed by the foreign construction workers" at the plant. Nice.
"Thus, these individuals were afforded opportunities to access ... (this) information," the inspector general wrote. "We concluded that this situation represented a potentially serious access control and security problem." Ya think? Jeez, our government at work.
The report, initiated by a tip in 2004, said the workers had fake green cards that certified them to work in the United States. Their cases were turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for deportation. I'm sure the hearing will held within the next four years. Gotta let the ALCU prepare their defense first.
In response to the foreign workers intrusion at the plant, visitors now must provide passports or birth certificates along with other background information. I wonder if that Mexican Consulate card will suffice.
The inspector general said it was particularly concerned about allowing subcontractors to self-certify the citizenship of their employees, and that the Office of Counterintelligence didn't know foreign constructions workers were at the Y-12 site until it was notified by the inspector general's office. Since it doesn't seem to matter much who's a citizen and who's not anymore, I'm surprised they bothered. Sheesh.
My father works at K-25, just down the road. I asked if he knows more about this. I'll update if he has anything.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
06/20/2005
14:59 ||
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Maaybe something has changed but when I was there back in 93, 94, 95, Y-12 was not making bombs any more but was storing a lot of stuff. When the Berlin wall came down they got a bunch of Russian material as well to store.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/20/2005 15:50
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I wonder if that Mexican Consulate card will suffice.
It probably will. It seems to suffice for a lot of other things.
#3
My father hadn't even heard of this incident, but he did have this to say:
"This report leaves more questions than answers. When did this occur? Where in Y-12? There are a number of areas that are considered to be in the plant where uncleared people can work. They mark almost everything official use only. Also, a construction site could mean buildings that are strictly support buildings or more probably associated with some of the cleanup that is going on. I assure you that no one entered the real security area where you must have your hand stamped from GOD to enter and you are strictly controlled even then."
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
06/20/2005 16:15
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This was a bunch of Mexican laborers no doubt.
No Mexican construction worker/groundskeeper/restaurant worker anywhere in the country has real greencards, the guards should have noticed they were fake when they all had the same name, and were printed on a home computer.
The security guards probably don't even check these guys, they Mexicans not Arabs!
MM
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 16:26
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Deacon Blues - I believe that Libyan material went to Y-12 as well.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
06/20/2005 17:03
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Much ado about nothing. To get onto a construction site at a location, you need some regular 'ol ID. To get into a "restricted" area, you need a badge, issued by the security officer. To get into a "secret" area, you need previously said badge with color coded clearance, followed with the door combination lock and past the guard. To get into a "top secret" area, you need the above things, past several more guards and some have eye scanners and fingerprint scanners in addition to the keypad lock.
These guys got onto the construction site. Big whoop. Bitch about something else besides nuke plants MSM. And Gitmo or Abbu Grabbie doesn't count.
#7
mmurry, I agree. The only way to get into the really secret sites was how you described. Even a Q clearance wouldn't get you into most places. I worked at all three sites in Oak Ridge.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/20/2005 18:25
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I worked onsite at Y-12 on and off for 10 years. Security there is tight. I doubt these fellars got anywhere close to any real sensitive information. Lots of work on the DOE property is in unclassified areas. I dont think you even need a clearance for OUO.
It is a black mark for the security. They will have to explain how this won't happen again.
Some of this might have to do with DOE's unoffical set asides for minority and disadvantaged companies. PC forbids me to talk about this.
MADRID - Spain extended the detention on Monday of five alleged militants suspected of abetting the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid, which killed 191 people, court sources said. The five men face charges ranging from recruiting jihadists to helping the bombers escape after the attacks. If convicted of forming part of a terrorist group, one of the charges against them, they would face up to 14 years in prison.
They were arrested last week along with 11 others who are suspected of being followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq and the head of the anti-American insurgency. A judge's decision on whether to hold these men is expected on Tuesday, the sources said.
Judicial investigations in Spain, Italy, Germany and Sweden suggest Ansar al-Islam -- a group with which Washington linked Zarqawi before the Iraq war -- has emerged as the most prominent militant group engaged in fundraising and recruitment in Europe.
Spanish authorities have arrested some 200 suspected Muslim extremists in recent years. Twenty-four alleged members of Al Qaeda are on trial in a specially built court house in Madrid charged with belonging to a terrorist group. Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said on Monday there remained a considerable threat from terrorism in Spain.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
14:49 ||
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DUBAI (Reuters) - A little-known group said it had abducted an Iranian security agent and would behead him unless Iran freed jailed members of the group, Al Arabiya television reported Monday. A video tape aired by the satellite channel showed four gunmen standing near the hostage, who was identified as Shahab Mansouri. A fifth man appeared to be questioning him, but there was no soundtrack.
"A group calling itself the Organization of God's Soldiers ... said it would send the hostage's head as a gift to the elected president if its demands are not met," Al Arabiya said. The group gave Iranian authorities three weeks to free its imprisoned members, the channel said. Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment.
The gunmen shown in the video, whose authenticity could not be verified immediately, were dressed in tribal robes. Their faces were covered in black cloth. Al Arabiya said it did no broadcast the full tape because some segments promoted "hatred and sectarian violence."
Yeah, we can't have any of that on Iranian TV.
Kidnappings are rare in Iran. The Islamic Republic will hold its second round of presidential elections Friday.
The polls were preceded by a rare string of bomb attacks that killed nine people, including in southwestern Iran, home to the country's Arab ethnic minority. At least six people were reported arrested after the bombings. Iran says it is holding an unspecified number of al Qaeda members whom it plans to try for crimes against the Islamic state.
Boy, this is tough. I can't decide between popcorn or the sympathy meter.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
14:43 ||
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The bad news is that terrorism is spreading; the good news is where.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 15:29
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Sounds like Sunni Arabs taking on the Shiite, Persian mullahs. Should be interesting .....
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 15:49
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Iran has been dealing with violence in the ethnic Arab region of Khuzestan (where a lot of the oil is) ever since their plans to ethnically cleanse the area were leaked to the locals.
The proles weren't happy ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005 16:35
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A lot of nes out today that Iran may be where Osama Bin Laden is. If so, I would hate to be Osama when his own are beheading his hosts.
Great picture at the link. Hope she changes her route home from work from time to time.
Kuwait's first female Cabinet member took the oath of office in parliament Monday over the shouts of Muslim fundamentalist and tribal lawmakers opposed to women in politics.The parliament floor was in uproar as conservatives stood and cried out that Massouma al-Mubarak's appointment was unconstitutional because she was not a registered voter. Liberal lawmakers then stood as well, shouting back, "Congratulations." Congratulations, indeed. George Bush who?
Amid the din, al-Mubarak — dressed in a pinstriped dark blue pantsuit, and an Islamic veil that covered her hair — rose from her seat in the front row and read the oath from a paper seemingly unaffected by the screaming match. The U.S.-educated political science teacher was named as minister of planning and administrative development June 12, a month after Kuwait's parliament gave women the right to vote and participate in politics for the first time. Al-Mubarak described the event as a "great day for all Kuwaiti women." She said she was willing to "cooperate with all lawmakers" in the interest of her country.
Wankers Tribal representatives and fundamentalists, who believe women should not mix freely with men and should stay at home to take care of their families, repeatedly blocked the legislation giving women voting rights until it was finally passed. And they've made it clear they oppose al-Mubarak's appointment, saying it was unconstitutional because she does not satisfy one of the conditions for becoming a minister: being an "eligible voter." She was unable to register in the annual registration period in February because the suffrage bill had not yet been passed. "If she is not registered, she is not a voter," lawmaker Deiffallah Bou Ramia shouted during the oath-taking. Bou Ramia earlier collected 10 signatures of fellow lawmakers to discuss the minister's appointment in the house, a step that could lead to raising the matter to the Constitutional Court.
The Cabinet and pro-women's rights members of the house counter that registration is not a requirement for being an eligible voter."Tell me, is Sheik Nawwaf (Al Sabah, the interior minister) registered?" roared liberal legislator Mohammed al-Saqer. "You just want to wage war!"
The prime minister, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, who walked into the chamber in the middle of the heated exchange, said: "I would like to tell you that I am not registered, if there is a law against this, then we (unregistered Cabinet members) will all have to walk out of this parliament."
Conservative members of the house accused the speaker, Jassem al-Kharafi, of siding with the pro-women's rights lawmakers by trying to prevent them from speaking out. They all managed to speak, however, mostly out of turn. Al-Kharafi said the request from the 10 lawmakers to deliberate al-Mubarak's appointment will be on parliament's agenda June 27. Sheik Sabah told reporters the legislators have the right to try to take their case to the Constitutional Court, but what is done is done. "She took the oath and she is staying," he said.
#1
Just a second. Does giving a "thumbs up" gesture in Kuwait mean what it means in the US, or what it means in Greece? It's hard to tell from her grin.
Canada has vowed tough counterintelligence measures to stay on top of an alleged Chinese espionage ring. The Canadian government is taking seriously a Chinese defector's allegations Beijing has more than 1,000 spies in Canada and has pledged to take whatever security actions are necessary to protect its sovereignty, the Globe and Mail reported.
That's funny. I thought all the Chinese spies were trying to take over Australia
Under pressure from Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper to crack down on Chinese spying, Prime Minister Paul Martin told the House of Commons: "Canadians can rest assured that we maintain a very strong law enforcement and security system that will enable Canadians to be assured of their own protection and their own security."
Then his lips fell off
Martin was responding to questions about the assertion of former Chinese police officer Hao Fengjun that Beijing maintained more than 1,000 spies in Canada to inform on members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa flatly denies the allegations. But both the Australian and Canadian governments have indicated they are taking Mr. Hao's allegations seriously enough to investigate. "We always take all of these allegations very seriously," Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
14:37 ||
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The Chicoms do not need too many spies, as their front compaines are buying up critical industries in Canada. Cat's oot of the bag, Mr. Martin.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/20/2005 15:35
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... pledged to take whatever security actions are necessary to protect its sovereignty...
Heavily edited for facts regarding THIS incident only. See link for hand-wringing, finger-pointing, and more evidence of the peace processor at work.
Palestinian gunmen ambushed an Israeli minivan driving through the northern West Bank early Monday, riddling the vehicle with bullets, killing one passenger and wounding a second. Early Monday, Palestinian gunmen hiding in an alley shot at the minivan as it drove near the West Bank town of Jenin, the army said. One Israeli was shot in the forehead and killed, and the other occupant was slightly wounded, it said. The gunmen escaped. The minivan, which burst into flames when its fuel tank was hit, continued traveling toward a nearby army roadblock, Maj. Sharon Asman said. Soldiers ran over to the vehicle and helped the occupants out before it exploded, Asman said. Islamic Jihad militants claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for the alleged desecration of the Islamic holy book at a prison in Israel, and Israel's continued pursuit of the group's members. Israel rejects the desecration charges as fabrication.
MIAMI - Two men accused of supporting terrorism by recruiting Muslim extremists are seeking dismissal of the charges, alleging that jailers mishandled a Quran and conducted inappropriate searches of their cells. Attorneys for Adhan Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi said in court motions that jailers disrespectfully tossed Hassoun's Quran on his bunk and left 8,000 pages of trial papers in disarray.
Boo freaking hoo.
The incidents occurred in May and June at a federal detention center in downtown Miami and amount to government misconduct and unconstitutional intrusion on trial preparation, according to the motions filed Friday.
"By depriving the defendants of the confidentiality of their own case-related notes, the government has destroyed any possible confidence that their case can be prepared with privacy," the attorneys wrote.
I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think anything a prisoner has in his cell is not subject to a search.
Jayyousi, a U.S. citizen and former assistant superintendent of Detroit public schools, has been in isolation since he was arrested in March and transferred to Miami. Hassoun, a Lebanese-born Palestinian, has been held in solitary confinement for nearly a year following two years in an immigration jail.
They are accused of conspiring in the 1990s to raise money and recruit Muslim extremists to fight in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya and Somalia. They allegedly recruited Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member and Muslim convert who is held by the United States as an enemy combatant.
Arrested in May 2002, Padilla allegedly planned attacks on the United States, including use of a radioactive "dirty bomb."
The trial for Jayyousi and Hassoun is set for September 2006, which would leave them in solitary for another year. Their attorneys are seeking an end to their solitary confinement through release or house arrest. The two face life terms if convicted. Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said Monday that prosecutors would respond in writing. Messages left at the jail were not immediately returned.
This article starring:
ADHAN AMIN HASUN
al-Qaeda
JOSE PADILLA
al-Qaeda
KIFAH WAEL JAIYUSI
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
14:12 ||
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#1
These terrorist rights advocates can go on beating their chests about the stupidity of their support for the terrorist's legal processes but it will most definitely back fire on them.
As far as the Quran is concerned, burn the thing in front of them. To terrorists it is just another Al Qaeda manual.
#2
It appears that the inmates are starting to believe that they run the asylum. I might suggest that we disavow them of that notion, and fast.
For a start, no more friggin Korans!
#4
One more idiotic complaint about "abusing" the Koran and it'll be time to set up a website dedicated to pictures and video of Korans being desecrated.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/20/2005 15:44
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Give them a Bible. See if they desecrate it? If they do, let's watch the left squirm, and tell us the difference. After all, is'nt a prison to reform people?
No kidding! Why are we giving our enemies the ammunition to use against us?!? As far as I know, if you are in the klink, you have absolutely no rights to own anything.
#7
I think each of the Holey 'Q'u'ra'ms' issued to the prisoners should have a little flip cartoon on each corner, maybe stickmen having sex with stick sheeps, MAD like steam powered blimps puffing along, the idea being to entertain and instruct.
#8
A great new product idea: disposable Karens. Yes, your flushable, mishandle-able Karens that can take a descretation lickin' and keep on tickin. Impress our muslim friends.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/20/2005 17:57
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Koranic Phrase of the day toilet paper - just like Word of the day. "Clean both ends at once" could be the motto.
#10
Just shoot them. That way, we don't have to provide anything to them. If they're American citizens, they lied to get their citizenship. If they're not, they're foreign combatants waging war against the US, and not due prisoner of war status. You also save a huge chunk of change by not having to feed, clothe, bathe, or cater to their whims. It also sends a POWERFUL message to their 'friends'. Just line 'em up against the back of the jail, and start shooting. no shot more than chest high. Leave them out overnight for the buzzards and 'possums to chow down on.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 20:52
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I am considering takign up a collection to buy several dozen Qurans. Then take my digital video cam, and a buddy's woodchipper...
And for added effect, show the shreds being used as pig-pen bedding, to absorb all the pig piss & manure it can get.
Mr Juncker was in a such a state his officials feared that he would lose his composure completely. "Basically, they had to take him off into a small room and hose him down," a British source said.
Yes, he seems quite peeved. Probably that Prussian heritage (Google Junckers + Prussia). Later:
As the briefing wars continued Mr Juncker, in a barbed aside, declared he would not be at the European Parliament on Thursday to hear Mr Blair's keynote speech to MEPs announcing the working programme for the forthcoming British presidency, on the spurious-sounding grounds that "it is Luxembourg's national day". Journalists applauded.
The assassin of Col. James Rowe, the "political prisoner" Danilo Continente, is scheduled to be freed from prison on June 28th after serving his maximum sentence. Philippine President Fidel Ramos refused to pardon Continente during his term of office despite representations by 'human rights organizations'. But with his sentence served, Continente will soon be a free man. The left-leaning Philippine Daily Inquirer has started a countdown to the blessed moment.
In just nine days, Donato Continente becomes a free man. And for him, freedom means becoming a full-time father to his 6-year-old son. Continente, 43, one of two men convicted in the killing of US Army Col. James Rowe in 1989, is set to be released from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa on June 28. Bureau of Corrections records show that he has served the maximum sentence of 16 years.
Read the whole article. It's sad, sobering, and it will likely make you very mad. Donato...I truly hope you hear quiet footsteps every moment for the rest of your miserable life.
Congress is likely to step into the operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention center with legislation on how the U.S. should legally categorize an unorthodox enemy.
Congress does have a role, and legislation is proper. The whole issue of 'illegal combatants' has vexed the world for a century. The Prussians just shot them, as did we in WWII. But that was different than today, and having some sort of plan is a good idea. And let's get it done now while the Repubs are in charge of both houses.
Fitting the enemy in the war on terror into the proper niche is challenging. Al Qaeda terrorists do not wear a uniform. They target civilians and never signed the Geneva Convention governing the treatment of wartime detainees.
The Bush administration set what it thought would be a unilateral and a long-lasting policy after the September 11 attacks. It deemed terrorists caught in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region as enemy combatants entitled to trial only by military commissions. But those plans began unraveling after accusations of mild detainee mistreatment and a Supreme Court ruling that detainees had a right to court hearings. The lower federal courts are wrestling with the ruling's ramifications, and the commission-style trials have been put on hold.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, convened the first hearing last week on legal issues at the Guantanamo prison. The witnesses provided the first in-depth public discussion of how the Bush administration views al Qaeda detention in the long term. In the process, officials offered a vigorous defense of holding al Qaeda members rather than giving them another chance to kill Americans.
Any elected official who advocates letting go the people who have avowed to kill Americans should be reminded of this, often, on the campaign trail.
"The detention of enemy combatants serves the vital military objective of preventing captured combatants from rejoining the conflict and gathering intelligence to further the overall war effort and to prevent additional attacks against our country," said J. Michael Wiggins, deputy associate U.S. attorney general. "Some of those individuals are being held at Guantanamo Bay."
Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Hemingway, who is chief legal adviser to the appointing authority for the military commissions, added, "I think that we can hold them as long as the conflict endures. But we have ... a very detailed process for releasing them if they no longer present a threat."
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and a strong advocate for detainee rights, asked, "Well, we now have a government in Afghanistan, yet the conflict continues. Is that what you're saying?" Gen. Hemingway replied, "The conflict is not with the government of Afghanistan. The conflict is with a nonstate organization."
What a great thing to be labeled a 'strong advocate for detainee rights'. Sorta like being labeled a 'strong advocate for al-Qaeda' or a 'strong advocate for the KKK'. Hemingway zings it back just right.
Another Democrat, Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, worried about how the Muslim world viewed Guantanamo, noting, "We have to deal with the 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. And guess what, General? We're doing real badly. We're doing real badly on that part of the war. Matter of fact, it's a disaster." thanks to you and your buddies, yes it is
So says the man who's thinking about running for President. The 24 million people in Iraq have a different opinon -- many different opinions -- but to hell with them, eh?
Part of the screening process involved conducting hearings for each inmate to determine whether he was an enemy combatant. The panels last spring confirmed that all but 38 fall into that category. The Pentagon is releasing the 38, but has had trouble finding countries to take 15 of them.
Sorta says something, doesn't it.
So far, the Pentagon has released more than 200 detainees. About 10 have resurfaced on the battlefield in Afghanistan and been killed or captured, administration officials said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, endorsed the idea of using some type of stress to induce captured terrorists to talk. "We need to look at a way to standardize that because I worry about some of our own troops getting prosecuted under our own laws if we don't have standardization," he said. Oh shit, why not just publish all the rules up front so the prisoners know what to expect. Hell, we could even publish a schedule - you know, touching Korans at 0830, strippers at 0845 etc.
At the same time, we have to defend our troops against the malicious attacks from the Looney Left, and having some rules helps to do that.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
12:20 ||
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That's great. I'll remember this the next time I see them running from the Capitol and screaming like little girls when some flight instructor gets lost in his piper cub...
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 12:49
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#4
I have an idea, why don't we allow those who want them released to become their sponsors. Anyone American national, who wants to sponsor a terrorist in their household can do so.
If these people believe that these prisoners are safe enough to be released to live somewhere, why not with them. That way, they can show the world that they truly believe what they say, that these poor little jihadi's can be reformed with a little love and tlc.
#5
"The 24 million people in Iraq have a different opinon -- many different opinions -- but to hell with them, eh?"
Joe Biden has been Iraq five times I think, and has reported back recently on progress on training Iraqi forces. He is NOT one of those who ignore the people of Iraq, as the loony left does. He was clearly referring here to the broader picture.
#13
Lets start by establishing a comparison with a tour first of Attica, Pelican Bay....
Let's add that other garden spot, Angola State Prison in Louisiana. It's 40 miles from anywhere, surrounded on three sides by swamps filled with 'gators, copperheads, and water moccisains, the temperature ranges from 0F to 112F, humidity is ALWAYS 100%, and the walls are always wet and slimy. Just to make sure Congress knows what they're doing, let's let ALL of them spend a month there, longer if necessary.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 23:25
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Syria's security at its border with Iraq remains basic, relying on guards who lack night-vision equipment needed to stop militants crossing to fight U.S. forces in Iraq, a British defense official said Monday at this desert frontier post. Syrian authorities gave journalists a rare tour of border areas Monday to tout improvements in security measures as U.S. forces on the other side waged the latest offensives against insurgents believed to have entered from Syria. Damascus is under intense pressure from Washington and Baghdad to tighten control of its porous border.
A giant picture of President Bashar "Pencilneck" Assad looked over a bleak desert landscape and several hundred trucks waited to cross at Tanaf, one of the main posts along the 360- mile frontier with Iraq. Journalists were driven for 120 miles along the tall sand berm that the authorities have put down along the border to impede crossing.
Col. Julian Lyne-Pirkis, a defense attache from the British Embassy in Damascus who has surveyed the entire length of the border, said the Syrians have been increasing their work along the border starting nine months ago. The berm has been heightened, for example, he said, but the border is "very difficult" to control. "They are making progress, but they can still do more on the border to improve it," he said.
He said security measures remained "fairly basic," relying on Syrian troops who have "mostly just their eyes to survey the border, and that is not enough." They have asked the British for night-vision equipment, but the details have not been worked out, Lyne-Perkis said. They also need to improve patrols and get better intelligence to understand how the insurgency works, he said.
A Syrian border official said Britain had promised to deliver night-vision equipment but had not followed through yet. The official said insurgents could not cross during the day, but it was more difficult to stop them at night. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the border issue, said several border guards had been killed by fire from U.S. troops who apparently mistook the Syrians for infiltrators. He did not provide more details.
Easy mistake to make.
On the Iraqi side, some 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are carrying out two military campaigns, code-named Spear and Dagger, aimed at destroying militant networks near the Syrian border and north of Baghdad. About 60 insurgents have been killed and 100 captured since the campaigns began at the end of last week. Troops said they found numerous foreign passports and one roundtrip air ticket from Tripoli, Libya, to Damascus, Syria.
Intelligence officials believe Anbar province, which borders Syria, is a portal for extremist groups, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda in Iraq, to smuggle in foreign fighters.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005
12:05 ||
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A PAKISTANI poured kerosene over his sleeping wife and daughter and burned them to death in the country's latest example of so-called honour killings, police said today.
The 45-year-old man, named as Jalil Ahmed, snapped after his brother caught his daughter having sex with a neighbour in the remote town of Samasatta, about 105 km south of the central city of Multan, police said. He rushed back from his workplace in the southern city of Karachi and with the help of his brother tied the 20-year-old girl, named as Shomaila, and her mother to wooden beds as they slept, local police officer Arif Nawaz said.
They then set light to the two women - the girl for having an affair and the 40-year-old mother Azeem Mai for "not discouraging her daughter", the police officer said.
Police have arrested the girl's father and uncle and efforts were under way to arrest their neighbour, who fled the town after the incident.
"We have registered a case against three persons and arrested two of them, who have confessed the crime," the policeman said.
"They said they had killed them for honour."
Officials say about 4000 people, mostly women, have died as a result of brutal "honour punishments" in rural areas of Pakistan over the past four years.
Last week a Pakistani widow and her two daughters were beaten and forced to parade naked through a market after her son allegedly had an affair with another man's wife in Qabula, 175 kilometres east of Multan.
Mukhtaran Mai, 33, became the victim of a notorious gang rape in June 2002, in Meerwala village, which is in the same area. She was raped for more than an hour on the orders of a tribal council to atone for her brother's alleged affair with a woman of a powerful rival clan.
President Pervez Musharraf early this year signed into law a bill introducing the death penalty for honour killings.
I await with bated breath the Amnesty International condemnation....
#2
You know, I wonder how far back this custom goes.
The idea that innocent female relatives are appropriate targets for retribution for the sexual misdeeds of males is a curious one.
This is not an Arab thing that I know of - among the Arabs its a matter for family to kill the misbehaving woman to preserve their "honor". And this is not peculiar to the Arabs either, though they are the only ones backward enough to be still at it today, but there are echoes of it in obsolete customs from around the Mediterranean. But that is not the case with the Paki thing.
So that Pakistani custom is most likely a folk holdover from pre-Islamic times, and maybe something unique to the Punjab. It would be interesting to see whether any British records from the days of the Raj had something to say about it.
#3
The way to end Islamofascism is to tell everyone of the braindead terrorists either:
- their mother is looking at another man,
- their wife/girlfriend is looking at another man,
- their daughter is looking at another man.
#4
And of course, the "womens' rights" groups do nothing.
There's been a lot of criticism that those groups (Yes, Gloria Steinem & friends, I'm talking to you!) don't care about women who happen to be various shades of brown. I see that criticism is well earned.
#5
Why just the other day the walas down at the bazaar were worked up in a frenzy on how Osama's woman was seen patting the hand and comforting Mullah Omar behind Slahp Salahmi's hut last week. Worse yet was the shepherd boy who recognized her not wearing her burqa veil. This had been the second time the boy had seen her face and barely lived thru thye last event last summer. Osama's private lessons with the boy had been interrupted by her delivery of hot howels for the two when her veil slipped and Osama got so unholy angry. That was how the little shepherd boy recognized the uncovered woman with Mullah Omar. This was not the fault of Mullah Omar since his blind eye faced her facial nakedness. But both eyes of the innocent shepherd boy were filled with her facial nakedness and thus caused him shame and even blush. The walas down at the bazaar are already arriving at a punishment to be reecommended to the oldest, smelliest and nastiest bearded wala who is honarable enough to convene a sharia shing ding in the valley. Mullah Omar is exempt due to his exemption tax and being such the loveable old perv that he is. He is a victim as well as the shepherd boy. "Osam's woman is really gonna get it good!", said one old wala red and wrinkled in furious anger. "Yeah!" seconded a second old grizzled bearded one with pita stuck in his beard.
For Atomic Conspiracy.
Remember when a handful of media companies were supposedly going to take over the world and program our brains? Back in 2000, for example, a number of folks were running around saying that the media sky would fall after Time Warner and AOL announced their mega-merger. As Reason journalist Matt Welch has noted, when the deal was announced, the Chicken Little crowd came out in full force with claims that the AOL-Time Warner deal represented "Big Brother," "the end of the independent press," and a harbinger of a "new totalitarianism."
But it turned out that AOL-Time Warner was "the Big Brother who never was," as Welch put it. In fact, by April of 2002, just two years after the marriage took place, the firm had reported a staggering $54 billion write-down in the worth of the company's combined assets and a $200 billion loss in stock market value. By September of 2003, Time Warner decided to drop AOL from its name altogether. More recently, Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons has hinted that he would consider entirely spinning off AOL as a separate stock if the division's latest business strategy doesn't work. And what is AOL's latest business strategy? Giving away most of its content. That sounds like the impact of intense competition to me, but some people still claim that Time Warner is part of a "New Media Monopoly."
Two years ago, those same "media monopoly" concerns prompted a great deal of hand-wringing following the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) revision of its rules governing media ownership. Although the FCC's order only moderately relaxed the existing regulations -- and even retained or strengthened some of the rules under consideration -- many groups and lawmakers mounted a vociferous campaign to overturn the revisions alleging that media ownership liberalization would result in more industry consolidation, less "diversity," the "death of localism," and a "threat to democracy." During the debate on the House floor over the rules, for example, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) said the FCC's tweaking of the rules was an attempt to impose a centralized "Saddam-style information system in the United States." Other lawmakers expressed their opposition to the new rules by making references to the movie Citizen Kane, or referred to the new rules as "mind control" that would result in Soviet Union-esque control of the media. Things got so out of hand that, at one point, big media cry baby Ted Turner compared the popularity of the Fox News Channel to the rise of Adolf Hitler prior to World War II.
OK, now let's flash-forward to the present. What a difference a few years makes. Today's headlines about the media industry all scream one consistent message: Traditional media providers and outlets are in big trouble. A recent issue of The Wilson Quarterly featured a cover story / symposium on "The Collapse of Big Media." The Christian Science Monitor recently ran a story entitled, "Newspapers Struggle to Avoid Their Own Obit," which was ironic since the CSM is currently undergoing major changes and is rumored to be considering a switch to an all Internet-based format. In an editorial entitled "Death to the Networks," Broadcasting & Cable magazine posits that several of the traditional TV networks may be extinct within the next few years.
What has happened over the past few years to lead to such a stunning reversal of fortunes for traditional media? The Age of Scarcity has given way to the Age of Abundance. The code words for our new media environment are customization, personalization, choice, competition, and, above all, abundance. Citizens now enjoy more news and entertainment options than at any other point in American history or human civilization.
These developments were well underway when the AOL-Time Warner deal and the FCC ownership revisions were announced, but many still feared that the old media giants would just buy up everything in sight and stifle the new forms of competition and choice. That fanciful scenario never developed, of course. Indeed, since the time of AOL-Time Warner, old media operators have done a stunning about-face and engaged in DE-consolidation maneuvers to get back to basics and salvage some value out of deals gone wrong. As a result, beyond the gradual disintegration of AOL-Time Warner, we have seen divestiture moves or spin-off proposals by many large media operators over the past year, including: Viacom, Clear Channel, Disney, Emmis Commnications, Liberty Media, and Cablevision just to name a few.
In some cases, the "synergies" that many media operators hoped for simply did not develop. In other cases, technological change and the rapid evolution of the media marketplace overtook them and nullified any advantages that might have been gained from the mergers.
Regardless, this is an example of a well-functioning, dynamic marketplace at work. Media critics seem to think that any merger or acquisition is all just part of some sort of grand conspiracy to destroy democracy or competition, but in the end, things sort themselves out and we end up with an ever-expanding universe of media options at our disposal. Indeed, ask yourself a simple question: Do you have more media options and outlets at your disposal today than you did 5 to 10 years ago?
It's safe to say that the "mass media meltdown" we are witnessing today will likely continue and perhaps even accelerate. With traditional media operators and industries (books, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, CDs, etc.) experiencing rapidly declining audience share thanks to substitution by new forms of digital media (Internet, blogging, mobile devices, DVDs, video games, i-Pods, satellite radio, etc.), we can be sure that the media environment five years from now will look radically different than it does today.
Of course, that process may be accelerated -- and unfairly so -- by the continued existence of a complex web of FCC regulations that burden just the older media outlets. Thus, old media operators are struggling to reinvent their business models and offer consumers new products and services that fit their more demanding media needs, but they are being forced to make this gut-wrenching transition with one arm tied behind their backs.
The real danger here in not just that asymmetrical FCC regulations will doom old media players to an early extinction, it is that -- in the name of fairness and "leveling the playing field" -- the old rules gradually come to incorporate new media outlets and technologies as well. The current debate about the applicability of campaign finance regulations to the Internet and blogs in particular foreshadows many other debates to come about media policy for the Age of Information Abundance. Do we need children's programming mandates for IPTV (Internet protocol television) operators? How about indecency regulations for satellite radio and cell phones? Should politicians get free airtime for ads and debates on all these new digital outlets? And so on.
Of course, in the Age of Information Abundance, why do we really need any of these rules anyway? The question of who owns what or how much they own is irrelevant in a world of information overload. In such an environment, it is fundamentally unfair to impose asymmetrical regulations and ownership controls on one class of information providers while leaving others completely free to arrange their affairs -- and, by extension, their speech -- as they wish.
Adam Thierer is Senior Fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation (www.pff.org) in Washington, D.C. and Director of PFF's Center for Digital Media Freedom. He is the author of Media Myths: Making Sense of the Debate over Media Ownership.
In GQ, believe it or not...
NEW YORK - Thrust unexpectedly into the role of prison guards for Saddam Hussein, a group of young American soldiers found the deposed Iraqi leader to be a friendly, talkative "clean freak" who loved Raisin Bran for breakfast, did his own laundry and insisted he was still president of Iraq, says a report published on Monday. GQ magazine's July issue says Saddam greatly admired President Reagan and thought President Clinton was "OK," but had harsh words for both President Bushes, each of whom went to war against him."The Bush father, son, no good," one of the soldiers, Cpl. Jonathan "Paco" Reese, 22, of Millville, Pa., quotes Saddam as saying. But his fellow GI, Specialist Sean O'Shea, then 19, says Saddam later softened that view."Towards the end he was saying that he doesn't hold any hard feelings and he just wanted to talk to Bush, to make friends with him," O'Shea, of Minooka, Pa., told the magazine. Getting to know you...getting to know all about you...
A third soldier, Spc. Jesse Dawson, quoted Saddam as saying of Bush, "He knows I have nothing, no mass weapons. He knows he'll never find them.'"
The three GIs were among members of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 103rd Armor Regiment, a Pennsylvania National Guard unit from the Scranton area that was activated for duty in Iraq in late 2003. Instead of combat, they were chosen by the FBI to serve as guards at a U.S. military compound where Saddam was an "HVD," or high value detainee. The nine-month assignment was so secret that they could not tell their families, according to the article by GQ correspondent Lisa DePaulo. The article names five of the soldiers who agreed to discuss the experience, with the military's permission. They were required to sign statements prohibiting them from revealing the location, dates, garrison strength and certain other details of Saddam's incarceration. But they were free to describe their interactions with the prisoner, according to the article.
The soldiers' descriptions of Saddam's life in prison match the recent photos of him that apparently were smuggled out of prison — showing the former dictator in his underwear and a long robe. They describe a man who once lived in palaces and now occupies a cell where he has no personal privacy.
Once, when Saddam fell down during his twice-a-week shower, the article says, "panic ensued. No one wanted him to be hurt while being guarded by Americans." One GI had to help Saddam back to his cell, another carried his underwear, it adds. EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Wonder if he tripped over a Koran lying on the bathroom floor?
Saddam learned the names of the GIs guarding him, was interested in the details of their lives, which they were not supposed to discuss, and sometimes offered fatherly advice. They conversed in English. When trying to score with chicks, threaten to kill their entire family. That worked for Uday. Or was it Kusay?
O'Shea said when he told him he was not married, Saddam "started telling me what to do." "He was like, `you gotta find a good woman. Not too smart, not too dumb. Not too old, not too young. One that can cook and clean.'" Male chauvinst pig! NOW says kill him immediately!
Then he smiled, made what O'Shea interpreted as a "spanking" gesture, laughed and went back to washing his clothes in the sink. Wonder what he's "spanking" these days?
The soldiers say Saddam was preoccupied with cleanliness, washing up after shaking hands and using diaper wipes to clean his meal trays, his utensils and the table before eating. "He had germophobia or whatever you call it" said Dawson, 25, of Berwick, Pa. The article quotes the GIs on Saddam's eating preferences — Raisin Bran Crunch was his breakfast favorite. "No Froot Loops," he told O'Shea. He ate fish and chicken but refused beef at dinner.For a time his favorite food was Cheetos, and when those ran out, Saddam would "get grumpy," the story says. One day the guards substituted Doritos corn chips, and Saddam forgot about Cheetos. "He'd eat a family size bag of Doritos in 10 minutes," Dawson says. The commercial opportunities here seem endless.
Saddam prayed five times a day in his cell and kept a Quran that he claimed to have found in some rubble near the underground hideout. "He proudly showed (it) to the boys because it was burned around the edges and had a bullet hole in it," the story says. THE KORAN! IT'S BEEN ABUSED! DON'T LOOK AT IT!
According to the author, Saddam told his guards that when the Americans invaded Iraq in March 2003, he "tried to flee in a taxicab as the tanks were rolling in," and the U.S. planes attacked the palace to which he intended to escape rather than the one he was in, injuring some of his bodyguards. "But then he started laughing," recalls Reese. "He goes, `America, they dumb. They bomb wrong palace.'" Saddam told the guards his capture in an underground hideout on Dec. 18, 2003, resulted from a betrayal by the only man who knew where he was, and had been paid to keep the secret. Saddam, he dumb. He not pay flunky enough.
"He was really mad about that," says Dawson. "He compared himself to Jesus, how Judas told on Jesus. He was like, `that's how it was for me." If his Judas never said anything, nobody ever would have found him, he said." U.S. officials said at the time that Saddam's capture resulted from intelligence from several sources rather than a single informant. Jesus and Sammy. To tell you the truth, I never made the connection.
The article says that if Saddam knew the statue of himself in Baghdad's Firdos Square was toppled on April 9, 2003, he never mentioned it to the GI guards. He insisted that everything he did, including the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, was for the good of his people, and invited his guards to return to Iraq and stay at his palace after he was restored to power. Yeah, we'll think about it, Sammy.
"He'd always tell us he was still the president. That's what he thinks, One hundred percent," says Dawson. Shut up and eat your Doritos, Sam...
#1
A third soldier, Spc. Jesse Dawson, quoted Saddam as saying of Bush, "He knows I have nothing, no mass weapons. He knows he'll never find them.'"
Assuming this is accurate, was Hussein's remark a tongue-in-cheek comment about trying to find something that doesn't exist? Or is his stuff THAT well hidden?
#2
Like Hannibal Lecter you should NEVER reveal personal info to Saddam.
Much as I enjoyed reading about his doritos I fear for those young soldiers.
Sammy still has the ability to carry out mischief, he has friends outside the prison.
And Sammy has been blessed with a VERY good memory. I've been reading a biography of him. He never forgets a grudge, no matter how small. One soldier gives him doritos when he asked for cheetos, 10 years later, if he has the ability, he would pay someone to shoot that man's family.
I'm not kidding this is what he is like.
Friendly to all and behind the scenes 5 years later tortures and kills your family and you.
No one could have predicted, back in the early ninteies, that the young skinny Saudi youth, Abdul Aziz bin Isa bin Abdullah Muhsin Al Muqrin would become an al Qaeda sympathizer and mastermind of the Khubar and al Mahya bombings in 2003. Classmates at the Al Imam al Bayhaki intermediate school in the conservative district of al Suwaidi, West of the capital, Riyadh, remember how al Muqrin joined the al Tawiya al Islamia (Islamic awareness) religious group and isolated himself from student activities, except for his favorite pastime, football, as he was the goalkeeper for the school football team. One pupil, a few years older than al Muqrin, remembers them joking in school, adding "the thin sideburns growing on his face were a sign of an early religious devotion". Al Muqrin's lighthearted personality soon disappeared, replaced by religious fervor and an affiliation with fundamentalist groups; he was still a teenager at the time.
Al Muqrin left school at an early age, despite some inconsistent reports to the contrary. He traveled to Afghanistan, for the first time, in 1991, aged 17. His classmate, however, is adamant that, they were in school together for three years, starting in 1992. He doesn't believe al Muqrin visited Afghanistan during that time. "He was too young. I don't remember him talking or showing excitement about jihad (holy struggle)." Could Abdul Aziz al Muqrin have kept this matter secret from his fellow pupils?
A fellow militant, known by his initials, MD, who is ten years older than al Muqrin, and a religious hardliner in the past, though never involved in violence, remembers him as "a marginal figure. I was never too interested in al Muqrin. I felt uneasy about him because he was reckless. I never imagined he would become the leader of al Qaeda inside the Kingdom." He continues, "He was a young man who couldn't recite the Quran without making mistakes. I never saw him interested in reading or learning."
According to an expert on al Qaeda and security matters in Saudi Arabia, al Muqrin, "was never a man of leadership. He was merely a facade for the group." In effect, he added, "The person who ran and masterminded the militant networks in the Kingdom was the Yemeni Khalid al Hajj. He was killed on 16th March 2004 in the al Naseem neighborhood, East of Riyadh. He had all the contacts with the overseas al Qaeda leadership."
In the expert's opinion, "perhaps the only person who could rival al Hajj was the Saudi national Yousif al-Ayeeri, before he was killed trying to flee from a security patrol near the Northern city of Hail, on 1st June, 2003.
Here are a few highlights in al Muqrin's life as an Islamic militant:
On visits to Afghanistan, between 1991 and 1994, al Muqrin was trained to use a variety of weapons. He then became an instructor at military camps for Arab fighters such as the Al Faruk and Wal Camps. It is believed that, during his sojourn in Afghanistan, al Muqrin made the acquaintance of many Arab fighters and militant leaders. He had a reputation for being hard on his trainees, to the degree that other militants nicknamed him "al Mukrif" (Mr. Nasty) instead.
Soon after his return to the Kingdom, al Muqrin traveled to Algeria and smuggled arms on behalf of militant groups with the border with Morocco. He was arrested by the Algerian police but managed to escape. Some say he received help from fundamentalist groups. He returned to Saudi Arabia.
Al Muqrin continued his world tour and visited Bosnia to train a group of fighters in Arab camps. It is unknown whether he joined the camp of Algeria militant Abu al Maali or the non- official, more violent camp of al Zubair al Haili. According to some sources, eight Arab men he trained later died in combat.
After returning to Saudi Arabia and leaving for Yemen, al Muqrin joined the fighters of the Somali Islamic Union, based in Ethiopia, who were calling for the independence of the Ogadin region. He was captured by the Ethiopian army after a chase he never tired from recounting.
News of his arrest then reached the Saudi government who asked he be handed over. After spending two years in prison in Ethiopia, al Muqrin was transferred to the general prison, al Hayir where he served two years of a four year sentence. He was released early because of his exemplary conduct and studies of the Quran. I remember meeting al Muqrin soon after his release. He turned away and refused to greet me, for he thought I was an infidel.
After staying in Saudi Arabia for some time, al Muqrin left for Yemen and then, once more, to Afghanistan . His arrival coincided with an influx on Saudi and non-Saudi groups to the country, as the US was about to begin fighting in Afghanistan. Many of those fighters were killed or captured, with some flown to US Camp Delta, in Guantanamo Bay .
He then decided to return home to join al Qaeda, and play a leading role in its activities in the Kingdom. His name featured on the list of 19 most wanted militants published in May 2003 and the list of 26 most wanted announced in December of the same year.
Terrorist activity erupted in Saudi Arabia on 18 th March 2003, in an apartment in Al Jazira, in Riyadh, when bomb- making material exploded prematurely, killing Fahd Samran al Saidi, aged 29.
Weeks later, Saudi police raided an apartment in the Ishbiliya neighborhood and found forged identity cards and passports, in addition to weapons and explosives, with a weight exceeding 700 kg. In May 2003, some of the names on the most wanted list carried out suicide operations against residential compounds in Al Hamra and Granada residential compounds.
After the escalation of violence, al Muqrin was to be propelled into the limelight, if only for a brief time. He had started to make himself noticed, under the protection of al Ayeeri and al Hajj, who was also known as Aby Hazim al Shair. Among the operations al Muqrin participated in were the bombings of al Muhayya residential complex in the capital in November 2003, and al Waha in Khubar, in May 2004.
He was proud of his group's activities, which included killing foreign hostages. He justified targeting the oil industry by citing orders from Osama bin Laden who had mentioned, in one of his speeches, the US company, Haliburton, who had contracts in Iraq.
Perhaps the most violent and peculiar confrontation with Saudi security forces occurred by a building in the al Suwaidi neighborhood where al Muqrin was born and raised. Clashes broke up one morning in November 2004 between elements of al Qaeda and the Kingdom's police. One operative, Amer Al Shahri was badly injured and later died. He was buried in the desert near Riyadh . Ironically, the building where the exchange of fire took place was erected on the rubble of the al Imam al Bayhaqi intermediate school where a young al Muqrin was busy trying to keep the ball out of his net, playing for his school football team and starting.
Al Muqrin changed strategies, after the death of his protector al Hajj, and kidnapped the US Engineer Bob Marshall Johnson. His beheaded corpse was shown on an al Qaeda website on 16th June 2003 . Two day afterwards, al Muqrin and his assistant, Faisal al-Dakhil, and Ibrahim al-Duraiham, and Turki al-Mutairi, were killed during a raid on 18th June 2003 . It was al Muqrin who appeared, veiled in black, giving the Saudi authorities a 72 hour deadline to release militant detainees and expel foreigners from the Kingdom.
After contesting al Muqrin's death, al Qaeda later admitted its leader in Saudi Arabia had, indeed been killed. In a message broadcast on the internet, it added that the loss would not deter the organization from continuing its jihad in Saudi Arabia.
Al Muqrin's story raises an important question. How did a young man from the Eastern al Ahsa region, whose family migrated to Riyadh , like many others, become an extremist militant Islamic fighter?
The answer requires us t take a step back in time to al Muqrin's first involvement with militant activity inside the Kingdom, when in November 1995, a group he was related to blew up the training grounds of the Saudi National Guards, in the upscale Al Alia neighborhood in Riyadh . The architects of the attack, Khalid al-Saeed, Riyadh al-Hajiri, Abd al Aziz al Muthim, confessed live on national television and were sentenced to death. Al Muqrin was closest to al Muthim, whose name was used to refer to the group.
Sources close to Saudi militant groups reveal that al Muthim's group was radicalized after meeting a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, Sheikh Abu Mohammed al Maqdisi, the theorist on Salafi jihad (struggle following the methods of early Muslims) and teacher of Abu Musab al Zarqawi. For his part, al Muthim visited the Sheikh in Jordan on many occasions in 1995. In turn, al Maqdisi paid several visits to Saudi Arabia where he met with a number of young supporters.
In 1989, I saw al Maqdisi in Mecca , at the end of the month of Ramadan, with a group of religious Saudis. It was the first and last time we would meet. At the time, the Sheikh wasn't, yet, speaking of the duty of jihad or military action against the authorities. He did, however, talk, fervently, about bad governance and the infidelity of Arab regimes, since they didn't follow the rules of God and were biased towards the West. Openly, at least, the Sheikh didn't mention armed struggle.
He retuned to the Kingdom in the mid 1990s and stayed for some time, giving lessons and providing excuses for denouncing government and fighting it. It appears that his discourse was divided into two: a theoretical attack on Arab regimes, in public, and a more militarized talk of fighting those in power, in private. This is probably where al Muthim and his group found the inspiration to attack the National Guards base.
The expert M.D who was in contact with these militant groups thinks the main reasons they "became indoctrinated with the belief in armed confrontation is Khaled al Said, the eldest member, ho had visited Afghanistan, met with Algerian and Egyptian militants and agreed with their beliefs in exporting jihad outside on Central Asia."
Our review of the activities of al Muthim and the role of al Maqdisi in providing the group with religious reasons to move from opposing the regime to fighting it, aims at understanding how al Muqrin chose the path of violence. A keen supporter of al Muthim, he encouraged the group to adopt more militant ideologies, to the degree where it opposed all recognized Sheikhs in Saudi Arabia because they didn't believe the teachings of al Maqdisi. When a dispute erupted between al Muthim's group and other militant fundamentalists, al Muqrin sided with the former.
These early days in al Muqrin's life were decisive and a warning of a bloody future. He is buried in the small cemetery Mansuriya cemetery in Riyadh.
This article starring:
ABD AL AZIZ AL MUTHIM
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
ABDUL AZIZ BIN ISA BIN ABDULLAH MUHSIN AL MUQRIN
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
ABU AL MAALI
al-Qaeda
Abu Musab al Zarqawi
ABY HAZIM AL SHAIR
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
AL ZUBAIR AL HAILI
al-Qaeda
AMER AL SHAHRI
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Bob Marshall Johnson
FAISAL AL DAKHIL
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
IBRAHIM AL DURAIHAM
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
KHALID AL HAJJ
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
KHALID AL SAID
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
RIYADH AL HAJIRI
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
SHEIKH ABU MOHAMED AL MAQDISI
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
TURKI AL MUTAIRI
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
YUSIF AL AIIRI
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005
11:35 ||
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No, Dan. al-Muqrin's fleas are very, very sad indeed.
Iraq's al Qaeda group said on Sunday U.S. forces were doomed to failure in the country, after President George W. Bush called the conflict a vital test for American security, according to an Internet statement. "What test of a defeated army are you talking about? You have failed the test and tasted disaster in Iraq," the group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said. "Who promised you victory, you loser?
"You and the Christians are destined for defeat, as you see every day and everywhere in Iraq," it said in a statement posted on a Web site used by Islamists.
Bush on Saturday rejected calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and tried to counter growing impatience with the war by calling it a "vital test" for American security. "This lying devil spoke the truth when he said we are the enemies of any rule other than of God and we will only accept His law," said al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq.
"We are the ones who are free, not you Westerners. We are free in our worship of God and in implementing His laws while you are slaves of earthly concerns, falsehoods and the devil."
Coming under renewed attack for his rationale for invading Iraq in March 2003, Bush described the conflict as part of the broader U.S. "war on terrorism". He said stabilising Iraq and quelling the insurgency were important for American interests.
Washington cites Zarqawi, who al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has declared as his deputy in Iraq, as evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein's ousted government and al Qaeda.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005
11:33 ||
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Oh, bite me Wahabbi-boy.
Yer mother wears army boots and your sister smells like overcooked asparagus.
#2
If we are tasting defeat, why did your boys get their asses handed to them at Fallujah? Why do they die in massive quantities whenever they meet our forces in battle? Why are you now attacking civilians and using remote bombs instead of attacking our troops?
#7
Hasn't Zarqawi heard he works for Bush,at least that's what the Pakistanis are saying, so if Bush fails Zarq does too?
A bit self destructive there Abui...You need to be thinking job security, maybe if Bin Laden dies you can get that executive bathroom key and a new AK.
MM
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 16:10
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#8
And we poured bacon fat all over the graves of your parents...
#9
Hey you, Girlyboy! If the US is losing, why are your brave Jihadist bombing women and children in the market place rather then trying to take on the Americans.
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/20/2005 17:58
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The Sudanese government is said to have turned over to the US a series of dossiers regarding the leaders of the al-Qaeda network, who lived in the African country until 1995, according to a leading Islamic terrorist expert interviewed by the pan-Arab daily, al Sharq al-Awsat. According to Hani al-Sebai, director of the London-based al-Maqrizi Institute for Historical Studies, the dossiers are the reason that the number two of al-Qaeda Ayman al-Zawahiri, attacked the Sudanese government for the first time, in his latest message broadcast by the al-Jazeera satellite television network last Friday.
Al-Sebai said he had received information that Sudan had handed over to the US authorities dossiers on the al-Qaeda leadership, which contain photos of most of the leaders of the network and members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad members who lived in the Sudanese capital until 1995. Under pressure from the US and Saudi Arabia, Khartoum later expelled the al-Qaeda leaders residing in the east African country.
Al-Sebai, a former Egyptian Jihad activist who spent time in a Cairo jail with Dr. Zawahiri, also confirmed that the Sudanese security services knew most of the fundamentalists who lived in Khartoum, even if they were living under false names and with false passports, following a deal reached with Islamic groups.
It is for this reason, he argued, that in his video message the al-Qaeda number two, Egyptain doctor Ayman Al-Zaawahiri, attacked the Sudanese, Saudi Arabian and Egyptian governments.
Bin Laden who lived in Khartoum from about 1991 until 1995. While under protection from the Sudanese government he is reported to have set up camps to train al-Qaeda members and opened multimillion-dollar businesses that funded and provided cover for al-Qaeda activities.
Before expelling bin Laden, Sudan offered to arrest him and extradite him to Saudi Arabia. However, the Saudis, who stripped bin Laden of his citizenship in 1994, feared having him back in the country, even as a prisoner, rejected Khartoum's offer.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005
11:31 ||
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OK... we give you dossiers and now you stop all bad press OK? Darfur your eyes only.
The latest video message by al-Qaeda number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, indicates that the international terror network finds itself in a situation of isolation, according to Islamic terrorist experts. The video was broadcast last Friday on the al-Jazeera satellite network. According to the journalist in whose programme the video message was broadcast, Faysal Qasim, the words of the Egyptian doctor indicate clearly the present difficulties and isolation of al-Qaeda in relation to the reformist movements in the Arab world "because it is the only one which excludes a priori the use of the democratic vote."
Muntasir Ziya, an Egyptian expert in Islamist movements, concurs, noting that the Arab secular movements in general appear to be trying to isolate Islamist political groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood.
In his speech, al-Zawahiri outlined his organisations conception of "reformism" as opposed to that of the Americans, saying "any reform must be based on three fundamental principles: 1) that the government is based on Islamic Sharia law 2) the lands of Islam must be free and until their occupation is over, no reform can be accepted while they are occupied and their governments take orders from the US embassies in those countries 3) nations are free to administer their own affairs based on the Sharia law and on the principle of organising the good and forbidding the evil."
A further condition for any reform is "the elimination of the current leaders of Islamic countries." From this basis, the new 'reformist' ideology of al-Qaeda excludes a priori any instruments of change other than those of the Jihad or Holy War.
"The way of the Jihad is the only one to be followed to introduce reforms in the interests of the Islamic nation," al-Zawahiri continued. "I want to repeat that the departure of the 'crusader' troops from our countries will not be achieved with pacifist demonstrations."
"There will be no reforms if not with battle, on the way of Allah. Allah said: fight them until all religion will be for Allah," he added.
In the message, al-Zawahiri strongly attacked the Pakistani, Saudi and Egyptian governments. He also criticised the violations of womens rights at the demonstrations for the reform of the Egyptian constitution. Female activists protesting against the nature of the constitutional referendum on 25 May, and several female reporters covering the event, were molested by ruling party supporters.
Furthermore, the al-Qaeda number two warns the Palestinian people about what he calls "attempts to involve them in the 'elections game' which has the scope of removing Sharia law from the Palestinian Authority."
The previous video of al-Zawahiri was broadcast on 20 February. In that message he attacked what he referred to as "the reforms on which the US are working and which they want to impose in the region".
It is not the first time that al-Zawahiri attacks the American concept of reform and freedom, and on other occasions he has also verbally threatened the governments of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005
11:30 ||
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THE "stupid action" of military forces who raided the Iraq house where Douglas Wood was found had risked the lives of two Iraqi hostages, Australia's Islamic spiritual leader said today. Australian Mufti Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly returned to Sydney today from his Middle East mission to try to secure the 63-year-old engineer's release. Sheik al-Hilaly's arrival in Sydney this morning coincided with Mr Wood touching down in Melbourne.
Mr Wood was released last week when Iraqi and American troops on a general sweep-and-cordon operation in Baghdad were tipped off to a house of interest where the Australian was found, Prime Minister John Howard said today. They weren't tipped off it was a random, accidental find. Howard is still trying to diplomatically brownose the sheik. Why? And why the backflip on illegal immigrants?
At a Sydney mosque today, Sheikh al-Hilali told of his concern for two Iraqi hostages â one of whom was Mr Wood's driver. He said both men, known only as Farris and Adel, had families and were still in grave danger.
Reports last week said the troops who freed Mr Wood had also found another hostage, a 19-year-old Iraqi identified as Rasool.
Sheikh al-Hilaly was critical of the military operation in Baghdad and said Mr Wood had been close to being released anyway. He said the raid had endangered the lives of the other two hostages. "The stupid action that was taken last week has exposed the fathers of these families to death," he said in Arabic, translated by his spokesman Keysar Trad.
"And besides, I got no credit!"
"There's a 90 per cent chance they will not be released." For behold I am the master expert of percentages
If military forces had only delayed their actions, the two Iraqi nationals might also have been freed, he said. "If they waited 12 hours everything would have worked out all right," he said. Just like last time i told you Wood would be freed... weeks ago, you remember?
The sheik said he could have secured Mr Wood's release within the first week of his arrival in Iraq but had held off to try to also secure the release of the other two Iraqis. "It was within my reach, it was almost possible to free him (Douglas Wood) in the first week ...," he said. "You need me no really you do! It is better to have my help than the military.. no really believe me!"
"I coulda been a contenda!"
Sheik al-Hilaly said he had co-ordinated his actions with those of the head of Australia's emergency response team, Nick Warner, whom he said had been advised "step by step" and knew of Mr Wood's imminent release. "We had reached an agreement that somebody would contact Mr Warner and tell him that Mr Wood would be taken to the Babel Hotel and from there he could be taken to the Australian embassy," he said.
But military forces had wrongly used the information that had been supplied, he said. "As I see it, the Iraqi forces were going for one thing and they discovered something else and they handed Mr Wood over to the Americans," he said. "Like someone who goes fishing, he puts his fish in a bucket â next thing someone comes and takes it from behind his back." That's my fish give it back baggins... Baggins.. we hates it ! my precious... my victory... i'm important... allah allah
The sheik said he had wanted to avoid the raid and secure Mr Wood's release in a more "civilised and peaceful" way than had occurred. For behold i am the master of CIVilisation... Fatima be silent or I'll beat you with this stick ... it is the will of allah.
#2
Forgot to tell you, earlier our great big Muff said Wood had a 20% chance of survival when he was kidnapped followed by a 70% chance as soon as the Great One Sheik Hilaly set foot in Iraq followed by a 100% chance of release... if only those pesky infidels didn't foil it by rescuing him.. allah allah...
never trust an infidel.. allah ...oooo we hates it .. allah allah ... percentages ... allah
#3
Hilaly did nothing to free to Mr. Wood. Hilaly should be put down like the rabid dog he is.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
06/20/2005 12:37
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#4
Sounds like a snake oil salesman to me.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/20/2005 13:01
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#5
The sheik said he had wanted to avoid the raid and secure Mr Wood's release in a more "civilised and peaceful" way than had occurred. As opposed as to how he was caputured and kept. Bet he had a bible given to him. And Australian food.
#8
When is someone in authority going to call open season on Muslim "clerics" who interfere in international diplomacy? I'd appreciate an open season, limited to 430 years, bag limit per person per day at 3, possession limit 0, $5 license fee refunded upon delivery of the first body. Allow any means at all to bag a "cleric", as long as no one else is hurt (unless it's another "cleric"). Large-caliber weapons, bombs above 500 pounds of semtex, and unconventional weapons require prior approval. Hunter is allowed to keep any turbans captured, as long as there is less than 2 pounds of organic material attached.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 20:37
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#9
Wow, OP -- I see they've pushed you too far. How about a $100 per cleric tax rebate too?
Posted by: Tom ||
06/20/2005 20:45
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#10
I'm starting to feel a little sorry for our Muff.
He has in the past tried to clamp down on the really extreme Wahhabist saudi-faction, even taking jihadi literature dumped on his mosque to the tip.
I think he really DID try to free Douglas Wood and this humiliation is extremely damaging to him given the whole honour-shame thing.
Perhaps when he first heard Wood was free he really believed he was released (after all the Jihadis repeatedly told him they would release him).
And also, perhaps, Douglas Wood was kept alive due to the Mufti - after all, they could have killed him easily enough.
So really, we should thank the Mufti for doing something, even if he didn't free Wood.
I feel really bad now that I ripped into the Mufti so much.
Shares of Michelin & Cie, the world's largest tiremaker, fell more than 3 percent after Formula One cars using its tires pulled out of the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on safety concerns.
Seven teams, accounting for 14 of the 20 cars in the world's most popular racing series, withdrew, leaving only six drivers using Bridgestone tires in the race yesterday.
``Considering all of the investment and the company's image in the U.S., there will be consequences to sales,'' said Salah Seddik, a fund manager at Richelieu Finance in Paris, which manages about $2.2 billion of equities.
Michelin, which generates a third of its sales in North America, told the seven teams not to participate in the event, the only U.S. stop on the Formula One circuit, because it couldn't determine the cause of tire failures that led to two crashes during practice earlier in the month. The tires, being used for the first time this year, have had unexplained drops in pressure.
``It was a fiasco, but we don't regret the decision,'' Frederic Henri Biabaud, deputy director for Clermont-Ferrand, France-based Michelin's racing-related operations, said in an interview. ``We couldn't have risked the possibility of an accident.''
Michelin shares dropped as much as 3.1 percent and fell 70 euro cents, or 1.4 percent, to 50.8 euros at 2:35 p.m. in Paris.
World championship points leader Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, who's second in the standings, dropped out. Michael Schumacher won his 84th career race and the first this season.
Angry Fans
Fans booed and threw debris when Schumacher entered victory lane. Some held up hand-written signs saying, ``Money Back.'' Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One champion, didn't spray champagne as is customary for the race winner.
Formula One has had a hard time winning over U.S. fans who favor Nascar stock-car racing to the open-wheel series. Many drivers and team owners expressed concern that yesterday's race wouldn't help them attract new fans.
``It's the worst possible advert for Formula One,'' Nick Fry, chief executive of the BAR-Honda team, said in a statement. ``We all wanted to race, that's what we came here to do.''
The International Automobile Federation, known by its French acronym FIA, told teams yesterday they would have to compete with original Michelin tires as required by the rules rather than switch to new models shipped in overnight. It said the drivers would have to go slower through a high-speed turn where the practice crashes occurred.
Safety Query
The FIA sent a letter to Michelin two weeks ago not to sacrifice safety for performance after the suspension on Raikkonen's McLaren car failed at the European Grand Prix in Nurburgring, Germany. Damage to the right-front Michelin tire caused the problem. Michelin's failure to bring a backup tire to Indianapolis may prompt the FIA to sanction the company, the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper reported.
Max Mosley, president of the sport's governing body, last week set out his proposed rules for the sport from 2008, including using a single tire supplier for the series.
North America accounted for a third of Michelin's 2004 sales of 15.7 billion euros ($19.2 billion). The company makes Michelin, B.F. Goodrich, Uniroyal and Kleber tires.
``We are totally aware that the USA is an important market for Formula One,'' the Michelin teams said in a joint statement yesterday. ``It is sad that we couldn't showcase Formula One in the manner we would have liked.''
Michelin quit Formula One in 1984, citing a recession in the global tire industry. Attracted by the sport's increased worldwide television audiences, the company announced its return to the grand prix circuit in December 1999. Formula One this year halved its viewing audience estimates to 150 million people a race because of a drop in European viewers. U.S. TV audiences last year were as low as 244,000 on Speed Channel, a cable TV station, according to BusinessF1 magazine.
Formula One cars, which have top speeds of over 200 miles an hour, use special tires that are built to be lightweight and strong and to last only about 120 miles.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
11:21 ||
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#1
One of the fat cats that you would love to despise is Bernie Ecclestone. This couldn't have happened to a better one than him. Plus it is the most boring racing league in the world. All this has done is "cement" further the popularity of NASCAR in America. If I was NASCAR I would start to think about a few races in England (where they were suppose to be building an oval track somewhere in the Midlands) or better yet, Germany!! I think the Brits and the German auto-fanatics would immediately fall hard for NASCAR.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/20/2005 13:40
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#2
Worse news, rule changes in 2 years posit only 1 tire supplier and I doubt it will be Bridgestone.
F1's not boring but it is an acquired taste and the acquiring is gettnig more and more difficult.
#4
This was a major screw up by Michelin. Don't look for them to be the single supplier now. There are oval tracks in both the UK and Germany. Champ cars have run at both of them. The Euros have what they call "saloon" car classes, which are similar to NASCAR. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out, but it really is a huge black eye to F1, not just in the US, but all over the world.
Turkey's Defence Industries Undersecretariat (SSM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with US company Sikorsky for the acquisition of an additional 12 Seahawk SH-60B shipborne anti-submarine helicopters for the Turkish Navy Forces Command (TNFC).
The agreement was signed shortly before Minister of National Defence Vecdi GönÃŒl visited the US on 10 June where he announced the deal. Turkey has become the largest operator of Sikorsky helicopters after the US Army and already operates 125 Sikorsky Black Hawk multi-purpose helicopters. The $389 million Seahawk deal came after long-running negotiations stalled over the price and some technical disputes. About $324 million of the project will be financed by the US Eximbank and the remainder from SSM funds. Sikorsky plans to deliver the helicopters in three to four years time and made a $200 million offset pledge.
The seven SH-60Bs already operated by Turkey will be upgraded, including glass cockpits, to bring them to the same standard as the new helicopters.
In Turkey's other major helicopter procurement, a troubled multi-billion dollar effort to buy 50 attack helicopters (with an option for a further 41), French-German Eurocopter plans to offer Tiger helicopters. However, a commercial dispute continues between the SSM and competitors on both sides of the Atlantic over the terms and conditions of the tender.
Bidders told JDW that a revised tender document fell short of satisfying their needs and did not go beyond what they described as cosmetic changes. Turkey, however, extended the deadline from 10 June to 13 September for responses to the Request for Proposals released on 10 February.
In a related development, the Turkish-US dispute over technology transfer surfaced during an American-Turkish business meeting
Major General Peter Sutton, chief of the US office of the defence co-operation in Ankara, described Turkey's requests as unrealistic: "Not even all our closest friends and allies receive all technologies.
"On the other hand, in fairness to our friends and allies, I also believe it's necessary for US policymakers to continually review our technology transfer policies to ensure they are right for the times and that we are only withholding those specific technologies that absolutely must have protection," Maj Gen Sutton added.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
11:05 ||
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Bit by bit ....
The rebuilding of Iraq's naval capability is proceeding so successfully that the service might be ready to take over responsibility for many maritime security operations from coalition forces by the end of 2005, the senior US Navy officer in the region said.
According to Commander of US Naval Forces Central Command and the Fifth Fleet Vice Admiral David Nichols, training and equipping the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force (ICDF) "is an easier challenge than standing up an army". "They are off to a very good start," Adm Nichols said.
The 800-strong force has stood up five trained patrol boat crews, whose operations have been integrated into coalition operations in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, Adm Nichols said.
Iraq has five Chinese-built 27 m patrol craft armed with heavy machine guns, as well as smaller craft for use on the country's inland waterways. Iraq is building additional patrol vessels, Adm Nichols said, noting these could include logistic support ships for smaller boats to use as staging bases at sea for tasks such as refuelling and maintenance.
I like the fact that they're building the new boats rather than buying them. Let's get some indigenous industry moving.
UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary Stena-type forward repair ship RFA Diligence is already working with the Iraqi forces in an experimental support role.
The Iraqi Coastal Defence Regiment - roughly equivalent to marines - is also performing security duties on oil platforms. A signal to Iran ....
"At some point - I believe later this year - the Iraqis will assume full responsibility for security aboard their two oil platforms and will be further integrated into the coalition maritime force," Adm Nichols said.
Security on the country's oil platforms, Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya, became a high priority following attempted suicide attacks by insurgents on 24 April 2004. Following the incident, coalition maritime security operations in the northern Gulf were strengthened, included putting Iraqi and coalition security personnel on the platforms and adding additional patrol boats to the region, Adm Nichols said. Since then, there have been no further attempts to attack the oil platforms, he said, adding "but we know through intelligence that the terrorists have notional plans and desire to attack targets in the maritime environment, including key oil infrastructure".
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
11:03 ||
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The UK's high-profile Future Offensive Air System (FOAS) programme, a replacement for the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) Tornado GR.4 strike aircraft, has been scrapped after years of planning and concept evaluation to make way for a fundamentally different kind of project focused on a family of long-range, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that will probably embrace the combat, reconnaissance and surveillance roles.
The UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Strategic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Experiment (SUAVE) will place the testing of UAV technologies - and probable procurement decisions stemming from it - at the centre of a wide-ranging plan to replace the capability currently vested in the Tornado. The Future Combat Air Capability (FCAC) programme, as the plan is known, will rely on 'legacy' programmes - platforms and weapons already in the inventory or on order - to fulfil the mandate originally laid down for FOAS. SUAVE, however, will add the final dimension to the 'force-mix' - placing a UAV and unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capability at the centre of a gap that cannot be filled by manned combat aircraft and cruise missiles.
FOAS began life as the Future Offensive Aircraft programme in the early 1990s but soon developed into a more broadly focused effort, as the UK attempted to address the strike gap vacated by the Tornado GR.4's anticipated departure from service in around 2018. FOAS' broad suite of capabilities were expected to comprise the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - to which the UK committed itself in 2001 - and the conventional cruise missile capability represented, respectively, by the UK Royal Navy's Raytheon Tomahawk (later Tactical Tomahawk) and the RAF's MBDA Storm Shadow weapon systems.
FOAS has drifted in the last five years, however, as it has struggled to establish a firm identity. Big and amorphous, and scheduled to absorb a vast amount of money in an increasingly constrained fiscal environment, FOAS had simply lost its way in the view of most observers. Moreover, the budget set aside for the system is badly needed elsewhere.
"It was not well-enough defined and no one is prepared to take big-bang risks anymore," one analyst commented. "We don't need any more killing machines. There's a view that the needs of the army should be met first, with money invested in communications, body armour and technologies that cater to the soldier of the future. In the current climate [the UK military's commitment to Iraq and the war on terror], a big aircraft programme at this stage would simply have been shot down in flames."
The UK Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) acknowledges that FOAS is "no more" and that parts of its former "activity" - mainly in the form of personnel - have been diverted into "other project teams where they will be better managed". This probably refers to efforts now underway to 'rescope' the F-35 and Storm Shadow programmes to meet key parts of the former FOAS (now FCAC) requirement, and to extend the life of the Tornado GR.4 well into the 2020s.
The UK must decide by the end of 2006 whether it will commit to the production phase of the JSF and whether it will stick by the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant or supplement its STOVL capability with a conventional take-off and landing version of the aircraft. The Storm Shadow, meanwhile, will undergo a series of growth evolutions, to be tested in the next five to 10 years via technology demonstration programmes that will add bomb damage intelligence; increased range; the ability to strike hard and deeply buried targets; network 'connectivity'; and other modifications to the missile now in service.
A SUAVE integrated project team (IPT), meanwhile, will look at UAV- and UCAV-related technologies under development in the UK and elsewhere, to prepare the way for a 'strategic' UK UAV and UCAV capability within the next 15 years. "The SUAVE IPT will be responsible for directing all the work (previously within FOAS) to establish the potential of UAVs across a wide variety of long-range roles so the UK MoD can make informed decisions on their procurement options by 2009/2010," a DPA spokesman told JDW. The work will cover technology, cost-effectiveness and interoperability issues, the DPA added. A long-range UAV stemming from the evaluation may feed into an emerging MoD programme for ISR collection 'in the deep' called Dabinett. Other platforms, including satellites, could ultimately feed into the Dabinett architecture.
The key question is whether the UK will end up buying a domestically developed UAV or UCAV capability or one that has been produced by the US or Europe. Since the early 1990s, BAE Systems has been working on a range of classified technologies at its Warton facility in north-west England. Many of these technologies have been stealthy and directly applicable to UAVs and UCAVs. Funded by the UK MoD, BAE Systems may even have built and tested a UAV/UCAV to validate its technology work. At the Paris Air Show, BAE Systems chief executive Mike Turner alluded to UAV and UCAV technologies that the company had been developing 'in the black'. "Suites of activities underway in the north-west", Turner said in a cautious reference to Warton, could directly feed into a UK UAV/UCAV development and production programme. The industrial imperative for the UK to establish itself openly in the UAV/UCAV field is contrasted, however, by a desire on the part of sections within the RAF to forge ever closer ties with the US, where the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) programme will begin test flights of the Boeing X-45C and Northrop Grumman X-47B in 2007.
The UK MoD and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in March announced a co-operative programme to determine the military benefit of UCAVs for future coalition operations. One outcome of a deeper dialogue with the US on UAV and UCAV technologies is that the UK could end up buying Boeing or Northrop airframes. The UK could then 'anglicise' the airframes with technology developed indigenously via the BAE/MoD classified demonstration effort and other UK systems and equipment.
"We expect to fight alongside forces operating advanced UAVs, so we must understand these systems even if we do not buy them ourselves," Air Commodore Andy Sweetman, IPT leader for SUAVE, said in a statement on 14 June. "Our work with the US should answer many of the questions we have about operational concepts and effectiveness." Good call, Commodore. We look forward to working with British forces for a good while into the future.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
10:58 ||
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#1
Here's an early look at on of the possible contenders.
FBI Failed to Hire, Promote Terror Experts (WAPO/AP)
In hundreds of pages of sworn testimony obtained by The Associated Press, senior FBI managers argued repeatedly that Middle East and anti-terrorism experience aren't required for promotion and that they see little difference between solving a traditional crime and a terror attack. THAT is why we will have another 9/11 type attack: The FBI refuses to treat terrorism like it should.
Internal counter-intel and security should be taken away formt he FBI, given to the DHS - and a new organization formed with powers and accountability for Counter-Intelligence, Coutnerterrorism, and security of the US. IT falls under DHS, and would report to the Director of National Intelligence, liek the CIA, DIA, and NSA, whith whom it would work. Strip the FBI of all this and turn it into what it wants to be: federal police.
#1
Eds: My comments above lost thier "hilite" please delete them other then whats hilited now. I repeat there here.
Internal counter-intel and security should be taken away from the FBI, given to the DHS - and a new agency formed with powers and accountability for Counter-Intelligence, Counter-terrorism, and security of the US. THis agency would belong to DHS, and would also report to the Director of National Intelligence, like the CIA, DIA, and NSA, with whom it would work.
Strip the FBI of all this and turn it into what it wants to be: federal police.
Dale Watson, the FBI's terrorism chief in the two years after Sept. 11, 2001 couldn't describe the difference between Shiites and Sunnis, the two major groups of Muslims. "Not technically, no," Watson answered when asked the question."
The FBI's current anti-terrorism chief ... when asked about his grasp of Middle Eastern culture and history, he replied: "I wish that I had it. It would be nice."
OUTRAGEOUS!! The FBI, as ignroant as they are, (and as I suspected) are STILL concentrating on law enforcement techniques - which mainly amounts to examining things AFTER THE FACT and then going after bad-guys based on what they find at the smoking crater or antrhax envelope. Thats what they knwo how to do and they apparently will not budge off their butts to change.
The FBI, in general, did and continues to do, precisely dick when it comes to prevention and preemption of terrorism inside the US. Its not as active as it shoudl be and furthermore itsis taking the wrong approach - and has little to no expertise. ITs starting to show itself as a rotten agency, like the CIA has been, rife with "old-boys networks" and "do it the way we always did it"
The rot of the FBI started under Louis Freeh & Janet Reno (Worst director & worst Attny General ever), and continues today. Director Mueller is NOT getting the job done and should be sacked. Just like Porter Goss was needed at CIA, we need someone to go through the FBI with a flamethrower and burn out the dead wood and complacent mind-sets that are screwing over subject matter expertise and CT/CI people in favor of thier police attitude "leaders".
Will it take another 9/11 to restructure domestic intel and take it out of the hands of the plodding ignoramuses who continue lead the FBI with "its just a crime" way of thinking?
President Bush - get off your ass and fire this guy - and push Congress for the reorganization that is truly needed, a new internal intel agency tasked with protecting the nation inside out borders.
#3
Hear hear. Bring in some Brits to advise DHS about how to make an American MI5 and let FBI handle the mob and whatever. They're only in the counterintel business because J. Edgar Hoover won a turf war a long time ago and they've never been good at it.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
06/20/2005 11:25
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#4
I'm all for stripping the FBI of all counter-terrorism. There still needs to be inter-agency communication though. I can see terrorists linking up with drug trafficers for money, smuggling, etc. But with no need to go after terrorists, the FBI can work on fugitives and child porn cases. Maybe actually do something worthwile for a change.
#5
the FBI can work on fugitives and child porn cases.
yeah, as if they have been successful even at that.
There is a reason the mob thrives, the drug war is lost and women disappear everyday never to be found. It's cause the FBI is a failed institution. My apologies to the good FBI agents out there who work hard and do a good job - but I think we all agree the FBI is a horrid mess mired in bureaucracy, political correctness. The mob is comfortably rooted in our cities, the child porn trade thrives, drugs are openly traded on the street corners, women and children disappear daily never to be seen again.
Just go back to perusing the press and network news of what Muller was doing after 9/11.
Being PC in today's world is crazy and cozying up to organizations since shown to have terrorist links shows just how inept the FBI has been, not to mention the behaviour in response to those in the field reporting on the would be airline pilots.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2005 12:27
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#8
I'll say it again, in the hopes that somebody will hear me. What's wrong with the FBI is that all they do is collect information while the bad guys root and multiply. Oh sure every so often, they take down a Escobar or a mob boss, but usually, by the time they do, the distribution networks have been firmly established, and a new market created.
The FBI is good at collecting information and doing very little of substance with it. They pride themselves on this. I'd prefer they took pride in walking downtown DC without a drug dealer to be seen - or to go downtown NY and not see everyone cow-towing to the mob bosses.
#9
One of the ironies with the FBI and intel applicants is that their Human Resources is the biggest obstacle to bringing on experienced and willing intel folks. I refer to the failed attempt by the FBI to hire on hundreds of new intel folks last summer. Overall, it was a failure. The announcements and criteria were well done, but the process was a failure. Many folks with an intel background, languages, and expensive security backgrounds were stunned to find that their application efforts were pointless and suspiciously handled. I encourage no one but the traditional law enforcement disciplines pursue a career with the FBI. They do great work in most areas, but intel is not one of them. Its a management problem since the leadership is lacking. The Dept of Agriculture runs a better information collection, analysis and dissemination system than the FBI. Thats one reason we lead the world in agro-superiority. Shhh! Don't tell nobody!
#11
Well, this was telling enough: I know personally of a young man in his late 20's. Fluent in Arabic, Saudi dialect. Former US Army Intel Analyst (thats how I know him), solid clearances, a pile of accesses, SSBI, CI & Lifestyle polygraph, etc. Been working as a computer programmer with a defense contractor since he got out of the Army in 1999 (disability). Tried to get hired by the FBI in 2001, right after 9/11. Turned down, no reason given.
Tried again in 2003. Turned him down as not having enough "law enforcement background".
I got him on elsewhere. But the FBI really passed up a good chance to hire in an intel pro, because his background was military (not law enforcement), his degree was engineering (not social science or criminal justice), and I think there may have been a bit of prejudice in that he is of Iranian descent (3rd generation American) and is very "Arab" looking (instead of Persian) when he has gotten a lot of sun.
The FBI is broekn when it comes to CI and CT, especially preventative or preemtpive cross-agency CT. Most FBI people I have worked with have ben competent, but snobs when it comes to intel on US soil, thinking they know it all and that other agencies dont have anything of value to contribute. Thats just opinion. Others experiences may differ.
3 lynched in Khulna
Two extortionists were lynched by an angry mob yesterday in front of Baitun Noor mosque under Sonadanga thana of Khulna city, while an extremist was also lynched in a separate incident at Sonakhali under Fakirhat upazila of Bagerhat. None of the dead could be identified by police at the time this report was filed.
Sounds...messy
According to police, the extortionists, calling over a cell phone, demanded taka one lakh in tolls on Saturday night from Jatiya party leader and former MP Abdul Gaffar Biswas. Biswas agreed to pay Tk 50,000 at noon yesterday.
"Sure, I'll pay. What time did you say you'll be over, 3pm? No problem, yes, I'll be alone. (heh)"
Police said an angry mob caught the extortionists red handed when they came to Baitun Noor mosque at 3pm to collect the toll. They were beaten to death then and there.
"Ouch..ouch..rosebud!"
Eyewitnesses said the extortionists were killed by a group of plainclothes policemen. A senior officer of Khulna Metropolitan Police denied the allegation.
"No, no, certainly not!"
The dead bodies are now lying in the morgue of Khulna Medical College Hospital. A general diary was filed with Sonadanga thana this evening in this connection.
In another incident, an extremist was lynched by an angry mob at Sonakhali under Fakirchat upazila of Bagerchat early yesterday morning.
According to police, a group of extremists assembled at Sonakhali village to prepare for a criminal mission. One of them was caught by an angry mob and beaten to death, while the others managed to escape, police said.
"Run away!"
Earlier on Saturday night, two snatchers were severely injured when they came under attack by an angry mob at the Picture Palace Cinema Hall Square under Khulna thana. The injured were identified as Masum, 30 and Babu, 32. They are undergoing treatment in the Khulna general Hospital. According to eyewitnesses, the snatchers were attacked when running away after snatching money from a woman. Eyewitnesses added that Masum and Babu identify themselves as police informers and realise tolls from unauthorised roadside stops.
Transport leader held with huge arms, ammo by RAB
FENI, June 19: The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained a local transport leader from near Zia Women College and later on his confession recovered grenades, firearms and ammunitions from a hideout, reports UNB.
Normally, the words "confession", "firearms", "recovered" and "RAB" lead to "crossfire". Must be the new kinder, gentler RAB.
RAB-7 sources said they caught Abul Kashem Milon, secretary of inter-district bus workers association and a transport extortionist on Saturday night. On his statement, RAB members recovered two grenades, a cut rifle, a homemade gun, 22 rounds of bullets from near his home in Charipur same night.
That's it? I've got more guns under my sofa.
RAB filed a case with the Sadar Thana under Arms Act against Milon.
UNB correspondent reports from Narayanganj: RAB arrested 10 associates of a listed criminal Darjee Selim from Siddhirganj upazila Saturday night along with arms and ammunitions. Official sources in Narayanganj said members of the elite force picked up Jakaria, Halim, Shahidul Islam Sumon, Kazi Hassan Ali Murad, Kadir, Kamruzzaman, Asaduzzaman Hridoy, Khalilur Rahman, Bachhu and Abdul Huq while they were preparing to commit dacoity at Char Shimulpara. Most of the accused were wanted in dacoity, killing, extortion and arms cases.
Other than that, they're good boys
A number of firearms including a revolver, two shotguns and a pipegun were recovered from their possessions.
UNB Shariatpur correspondent adds: RAB members, acting on a tip off, arrested four suspects -- Dalim, Mahbub, Nurul Islam and Dixon -- from Jovapatra, Rokondapur and Mashura villages of Naria upazila Saturday night. Two one-shooters were seized from the house of Dalim, a bus helper, following his confessional statement.
Alleged extremist killed in mass beating
June 19: A suspected extremist was killed in a lynch-mob attack in Mulghar union of Fakirhat upazila early today. Police said night guards chased a group of extremists when they were moving at Sonakhali suspiciously. Local people rushed in, caught one of them and beat him black and blue. The unidentified man died on the spot. His associates managed to flee the scene, the sources said. Police recovered the body from Sonakhali beel and found some leaflets of Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML) with the deceased.
Another dead commie, sympathy meter didn't budge
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
10:55 ||
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That's it? I've got more guns under my sofa. Must make for knobbly sitting. I'll take that chair over there, if you don't mind. ;-)
MADRID — Spanish police have arrested 22 mafia 'capos' or bosses of the Russian and Georgian crime gangs in raids from Barcelona to Marbella.
In what police called the biggest anti-mafia operation in Europe, the 'capos' were among 28 people detained over the weekend for alleged offences of money laundering, fraud and belonging to criminal gangs. Most were from mafias from the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
More than 400 officers were involved in 'Operation Wasp' in which 41 homes were raided. At least 800 bank accounts were frozen in 41 different banks. More than 42 luxury cars, including Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar, BMW and Bentleys were seized. Police also said "numerous" properties were raided along the Spanish coast, from Marbella on the Costa del Sol to Barcelona in the north-east.
The international operation has involved help from German, French, Belgian, US, Russian and Israeli forces as well as Interpol and Europol.
The Spanish Interior ministry said the Georgian mafia had been involved the second phase of expansion, principally in Catalonia, the Costa del Sol and Alicante. They had been creating economic and financial infrastructures often with Spanish front men to give them extra legitimacy. These financial entities were often used for money laundering funds gained from criminal activities in their own countries. The cash was used to buy "numerous" bars, houses, restaurants and luxury cars.
The operation started in Barcelona, Castelldefels, Malaga, Marbella, Fuengirola, Benalmadena, Torremolinos, Alicante, Orihuela, Benissa and Altea. Police disclosed the 'capos' were called 'Vor z Konen' in Russian, in the same way as the 'capo di capi' or boss of bosses of the Italian mafias were known.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
10:53 ||
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PARIS, June 18 (AFP) - The EU summit in Brussels was a "Franco-British" war in which President Jacques Chirac was trounced by Prime Minister Tony Blair on the ruins of the European Union, the French press said on Saturday.
The summit which collapsed in chaos in the early hours was seen as a duel between Chirac and Blair recalling the historic defeats for France of Waterloo and Trafalgar in the Napoleonic wars. "Our people have confronted each other for 1,000 years," said France Soir.
Remember who won?
Those tensions, it wrote, have ended in Europe's "great divorce", and "the weakening of Jacques Chirac" by the French rejection of the EU constitution which "put Tony Blair in a position of strength."
"It is Europe that suffered through Waterloo on this June 18," wrote the left-leaning daily Liberation, noting that the summit closed in the small hours on the anniversary of that great battle 190 years ago not far from Brussels. "Blair aboard", read its headline. "The idea of a European constitution has been set back indefinitely," lamented its editorial.
Further left, the communist L'Humanite railed: "The European Council is mocking us!"
So are we, but pray, continue.
"The euro-liberals have dug up a 'Plan D' for denial of democracy," a reference to the 'Plan B' that was never prepared in case the constitution failed, it said.
Le Figaro, in its on-line edition, recalled Chirac's warning that France should not become the "black sheep" of the 25-member bloc. "In this context, it is important for him not to become closed off in what would appear to be a quarrel between the old and the new."
It was Blair who came in for special treatment in all the smaller dailies. "You can't call him the 'Iron Man' yet but he can bitterly defend his patch," wrote La Provence in an editorial in reference to Britain's former premier, 'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher. But it begrudgingly acknowledged that Blair was part of the "legitimate nouveau riche" and that he "really humiliated President Chirac."
L'Union, based in Reims, east of Paris, said the British leader was "intransigent and intractable", calling him a "petulant, tight-fisted Labourite" who was dressed "in a Thatcherite suit in the worst-possible taste."
I'd like such a suit. 52L, cuffs.
All that was missing from the show, its editorial writer, said "was Punch's big stick to make his partners dance to the metronomic beat of Big Ben."
In the country's biggest and most respected regional paper, Ouest-France, editorial writer Francois Regis expressed deep concern over the seriousness of the crisis that the 25-member bloc was now facing. "Now is the time, once again, for the great voices to rise and remind everyone that a failure does not have to mean the end of a project, as General (Charles) de Gaulle ... once proclaimed amid widespread despair." Besides being an amusing example of French self-importance, this suggests Chirac's popularity is waning. So does this other article which reports his support down to 28%.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
10:50 ||
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Europe reminds me of an old couple who have lived together for years, but never got married:
There can be closeness, but only when a safe distance is maintained...
June 20, 2005: It's difficult to keep track of who's winning the war on terror when so many other issues are getting mixed up with an already complicated situation. "Winning the war" takes on new meanings when it comes to the war on terror. A more conventional war also presents rather murky scorecards at times. While looking at a map, and noting whose forces are advancing, gives you an idea of how the war is going, it's not over until it's over. And as we discovered in Korea, where the front line didn't move for over two years, everyone eventually declared it a draw. In Vietnam, the U.S. declared victory and went home. That "victory" lasted for several years until the other side decided that guerilla war wasn't working, and just came across the border with tanks and divisions of infantry. They did that twice. First time (1972), it didn't work. Second time (1975), it did. People kept saying the U.S. lost that war, but American troops were long gone by 1975. Even during World War II, when it was obvious that Japan was defeated, they still would not surrender. Their fleet was sunk, their cities were bombed to rubble, but they would not surrender. Two atomic bombs, and Russians charging into Japanese occupied China finally changed their minds. But by then, it was still something of a surprise. It seemed that the Japanese would require a massive invasion of their home islands, and would keep fighting to the end, as they had done on the smaller Japanese island of Okinawa. It's not over until it's over, but you can often see how it's going to end, when it eventually does.
Now we have the war on terror, where there aren't even any front lines. How do you measure progress? The problem is more complex than that, as there is much dispute over exactly who the enemy is. If you examine all the people involved in Islamic terrorism, you will see some pretty strange patterns. Basically, Islamic terrorism is an effort by Sunni Moslem purists to impose their version of Islam on everyone. Starting with fellow Moslems, this has created a lot of violence against non-Sunni sects. While Sunnis make up over 90 percent of all Moslems, Islamic radicals are only a small percentage of Sunnis. But these radicals are violent and determined to get their way. Islamic radicals have been persecuting other Moslems for centuries, and their radical ideas do not represent the feelings of most Moslems. This can be seen in the opinion surveys conducted in Moslem countries. The complaints of most Moslems have to do with bread & butter issues, especially the shabby performance of their own leaders, and the violence of Islamic radicals. But when these Islamic radicals are around, you speak ill of them at great personal peril.
Islamic radicals have also been at war with the West for centuries, and the current spasm of terrorism has been going on since the early 1990s. But it was a police matter for the West, until September 11, 2001, when it became war. The police approach wasn't working, because many wealthy Moslems in Saudi Arabia were providing lots of cash for the spread of Islamic radicalism, which led to more Islamic terrorism. These wealthy Saudis could believe, if they wished, that they were not supporting violence, only the spread of conservative, and rigorous, Islam. But young men indoctrinated with these militant, and intolerant, ideas, often turned to violence. They were on a mission from God, a God that demanded martyrdom and blood.
Fortunately, militant Islam doesn't demand a lot of deep thought or attention to discipline and detail. Most Islamic terrorism is inept, and doesn't come off. You hear a lot about the successful attacks, but not the much larger number of ill-conceived and bungled efforts. While many educated (in the Western sense) Moslems are attracted to Islamic radicalism, most of the manpower has the typical low levels education so common in Moslem countries. But these guys make for great street theater, as it is easy for religious leaders to gather an angry crowd, and shout about how all the local problems are the fault of distant infidels.
Poor leadership, poor planning, poor training and poor material to work with means that the Islamic terrorists have not done so well since September 11, 2001. A few hundred American troops invading Afghanistan, and defeating the local Islamic dictatorship in two months, was quite a shock to Islamic radicals the world over. But the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a chilling reminder of what supporters of Islamic terrorism were up against. The Sunni Arab governments in the region were all against the Iraq operation. While none of these governments openly supported Islamic terrorism, the majority of the people in Arabia cheered the ability of "their boys" to carry out such a daring terror attacks against the West. It's become popular in the Moslem world to blame the West, or infidels (non Moslems) in general, for all that's wrong with Islamic countries. Changing this attitude is a crucial battle in the war on terror.
After two years in Iraq, Moslems now admit that Islamic terrorism is evil, mainly because of the ruthless terrorist attacks on Moslems, as terrorists brought the war "home" in an attempt to get American soldiers out of the Middle East. Moreover, the enthusiastic support of democracy, and self-rule by Iraqis, made it obvious who the enemy was, and where the solutions are to be found.
Islamic terrorists do back some popular ideas, namely the poor governments found in nearly all Moslem nations. Al Qaeda preached against Moslem government before it turned its full attention to infidels. Al Qaeda found itself unable to overthrow the existing governments in Islamic countries, and noted how popular terrorist attacks against infidel (Western) targets was.
It was long a popular myth in Moslem countries that the backwardness and poor government they suffered was somehow caused by the West. Much to the dismay of Islamic terrorists, coalition operations in Iraq show how false this is. While people are reluctant to admit they have been duped, many Moslems are now admitting that the problems in Moslem countries are internal, not some infidel conspiracy to "keep the Moslems down." Changing attitudes like this cuts off the flow of recruits for Islamic terrorist groups. This is a war that is not followed via troops dispositions and casualty counts, but by opinion polls and election results.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
10:49 ||
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Indeed Wahabbis are f@#king everyone in their wake, destroy them and end the problem.
MM
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 12:33
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June 20, 2005: While roadside bombs and suicide car bombers get most of the media attention in Iraq, they are not the main cause of combat deaths. Gunfire is still the most deadly cause of death, accounting for 25 percent of them. Next come roadside bombs (IEDs), at 20 percent, and moving IEDs (non suicide car bombs) at five percent. RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) account for four percent. Mortar fire, usually at bases, accounted for four percent of deaths. Helicopter crashes, caused by enemy fire, was three percent of deaths. Vehicle accident deaths, caused by enemy fire, were two percent, as were sniper fire and suicide bombers on foot. A long list of other battlefield dangers accounted for the remaining 31 percent.
By far, the most common combat experience for American troops is someone just opening on them with an AK-47. This fire, while abundant, is not very accurate. Few Iraqis have gotten enthusiastic about marksmanship. While there have been more sniper kills of late, that could be the result of just a few individuals. One thing the hostile Iraqis do pay more attention to is their getaway. Often they make their attacks in crowded residential areas, and if they hit a few civilians while they are at it, it does not seem to concern them much. Indeed, the attackers will often use nearby civilians as shields, either during their attack, or as they are making their getaway. They know that the ROE (Rules of Engagement) American troops follow emphasizes minimizing civilian casualties. The al Qaeda ROE has no such restrictions, and sees live civilians as good protection from American firepower, and any resulting dead civilians as good propaganda.
Knowing the speed and accuracy with which American troops return fire, most of these gunfire attacks are of the "empty the magazine, turn and run" variety. Any attacker who does not follow that drill, rarely lasts more than an attack or two. Because of the speed and skill of American troops, the IED, usually a roadside bomb, has become very popular. Like the AK-47 and RPG attacks, the attackers are usually paid to do the deed. But in the case of planting IEDs, the fee is a lot less. That's because the risk to the attackers is a lot less. Some terrorists are caught planting IEDs, but most of those are arrested. Fleeing is often not a good idea, again because of the accuracy of American firepower. For some reason, many Iraqis think they can outrun a helicopter or AC-130 gunship. However, it's probably the case, usually at night, where the terrorist doesn't know where the fire is coming from, and is just responding with a very natural reaction ("get out of the area, as fast as possible.")
Many of these attacks, either with guns or bombs, often show a fair amount of planning and preparation. But the people who set these attacks up, rarely expose themselves to return fire. This is why the Israelis finally shut down Palestinian terrorist attacks last year by concentrating on the planners and organizers. That's what is going on in Iraq now, and, not surprisingly, more and more of the attacks and IEDs are crude and ineffective.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
10:46 ||
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#1
Spray and pray almost never works.
As for the IEDs being crude and ineffective, faster please!
#3
One thing the hostile Iraqis do pay more attention to is their getaway. Often they make their attacks in crowded residential areas, and if they hit a few civilians while they are at it, it does not seem to concern them much.
Nor does it seem to concern the media either. But when U.S. military action occurs that inadvertently results in Iraqi civilians being killed, the shrieking is loud and sustained for as long as possible.
#5
This is what my friend, Sgt. Hank Harvey, was telling me. Most often an ambush is initiated by an IED and then it looks like someone kicked over an anthill with terrorists running out in the open to empty a magazine and then run. No coordination and very little planning except for the initial bomb detonation followed by indescriminate shooting. If our troops are lucky enough to catch them without civilians around they are just mowed down. Hopefully they won't learn any good tactics but continue to be targets.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/20/2005 11:18
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These tactics don't ever last long, the insurgents that live are becoming more sophisticated everyday. Battling the greatest force on earth teaches you a few new tricks... The trick for us is to kill them before they learn any more.
MM
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 16:18
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June 20, 2005: American military intelligence analysts in Iraq continue to pick up signs that the Islamic terrorists they are fighting, are using Syria as a base. The earliest, and most obvious, signs were documents, and confessions, from terrorists that they had entered Iraq via Syria. Then came comments, and other information, indicating that some training was being given to the terrorist recruits while they were in Syria. There was also the captured weapons, and now bomb parts, that were coming across from Syria. Naturally, the Syrians deny everything. Later, the Syrians admitted that they had little control over the smugglers, who have been moving goods across the border for generations. What Syria was less willing to admit was that corruption along the border had flourished for a long time. And the government was unable to do much about it. The bribes keep many government officials happy. Stop the bribes, and the shaky government of Syria gets a little closer to chaos. The Syrians are pretty confident the United States won't invade, but there are other ways to make you uncomfortable. The diplomatic pressure on Syria has been intense, and unofficial Special Forces raids across the border are not out of the question (although these won't get much in the way of official publicity.) Meanwhile, American troops, and Iraqi commandoes, are chasing the terrorist groups around western Iraq, killing them as they corner them. Long term, however, it is feared that the al Qaeda hit squads and suicide bombers will just try to operate out of Syria, taking refuge in residential areas (to make smart bomb attacks more risky, from a media perspective.)
Intelligence operations inside Syria are likely to get more numerous, and bolder. The Syrians may just stand back, not wanting to complicate their situation with captured American operatives.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
10:43 ||
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EFL:Seemed lahk a good idea at the time...
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Sen. Robert C. Byrd's new memoir reveals both his encyclopedic knowledge of political history and the unlikely inspiration that helped launch his own political career: A Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Think if a Republican ever said this that there might be a... bit of a stink?
It was a Klan leader who motivated the young Byrd during his short-lived tenure in the racist organization — something he writes was "an extraordinarily foolish mistake" that has haunted him for 40 years."It has emerged throughout my life to haunt and embarrass me, and has taught me in a very graphic way what one major mistake can do to one's life, career and reputation," the West Virginia Democrat says in an autobiography being released Monday. "I displayed very bad judgment, due to immaturity and a lack of seasoned reasoning."
It's a mistake he has paid for time and again, the only significant scandal ever attached to a man who grew up in Wolf Creek Hollow and who next June stands to become the longest-serving senator in U.S. history. He's been a senator for a thousand years. How much did it hurt him?
Even now, with the 2006 election more than 18 months away, Republicans are using it in their campaign to oust him. Byrd has not declared whether he will run again, and his book gives no hints."Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields" chronicles his 87 years, from boyhood to his re-election in 2000.But at 770 pages, the $35 paperback from West Virginia University Press is more weighty tome than light reading. Looks like the West Virginia University Press will do VERY WELL when this year's pork is doled out...
It portrays a man who is religious, socially conservative, respectful and respected — a man for whom a promise is an unbreakable bond. But it is more the chronology of a career than the story of a man, dispassionately detailing virtually every federal dollar brought to West Virginia. ...and it's only 770 pages?
According to Citizens Against Government Waste, he's helped secure $1.6 billion for the state just since 1999. But any reader expecting an apology will be disappointed. Byrd is proud of supporting a state that suffered more than most through economic recessions — long exploited for its natural resources and slower than most to attain prosperity. "The Washington critics of 'pork' had a full-time job in trying to keep up with me," he writes. Look soon for The Robert C. Byrd Center for Frog Shit Research in Morgantown.
The book reflects Byrd's appreciation for political history, but the private man remains private, revealing little of his heart. One exception lies in his explanation of the folly with the Klan. As a boy, he watched a parade of white hoods in Matoaka, learning years later his father had been among them. Back then "many of the 'best' people were members," he says, and Byrd was vulnerable to the anti-Communism rhetoric.He recruited 150 members, and when Grand Dragon Joel L. Baskin came to a meeting in Crab Orchard, Byrd was unanimously elected Exalted Cyclops. The Exalted Cyclops! And here we were demeaning him with that Kleagle title.
"You have a talent for leadership, Bob," Baskin told him. "The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation." "Suddenly lights flashed in my mind!" Byrd writes. "Someone important had recognized my abilities. I was only 23 or 24, and the thought of a political career had never struck me. But strike me that night, it did. "It was the appealing challenge I had been looking for. Wolf Creek Hollow seemed very near and Washington very far away, with the road in between all uphill," he says. "But I was suddenly eager to climb the mountain." ...and the rest is history! Another reason to despise the Klan.
He belonged to the Klan for a year, then moved in 1943 to Baltimore to help build ships. Byrd says he never resented blacks, Catholics or Jews, but he failed to "examine the full meaning and impact of the ugly prejudice behind the positive, pro-American veneer. My only explanation for the entire episode is that I was sorely afflicted with tunnel vision — a jejune and immature outlook — seeing only what I wanted to see because I thought the Klan could provide an outlet for my talents and ambitions." ...and since Ah'm a Democrat, Ah get a swell free pass!
Posted by: Beaucoup: King of the Ukuku ||
06/20/2005
10:32 ||
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Oh, you feel bad now Senator blowhard? Take the advice of many - just phuking resign and shut the heck up, hypocritical idiot. No need for you to gain experience and "seasoning" on the taxpayer's dime is there?!
#3
yeah, west virginia is known for a center of culture and enterprise. Why, what other state can claim as many doublewide trailers as the state of west virginia.
If I were a citizen of West Virginia, I think that by now I'd be asking of the old Byrd...show ME the money, Senator.
#7
What Byrd "laments" is it's no longer fashionable to be a racist bigot. And the MSM can't cover for him any longer.
How do you spell the illustrious senator's name? "Worthless POS"
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/20/2005 17:21
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#8
at least there will be full employment in W. VA for a century, chiselling the old f*&kers' name off gov't buildings, bridges, monuments, and schools
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2005 19:34
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June 20, 2005: Last month, France revealed that at least five French citizens had died fighting as Islamic terrorists in Iraq. One of them died as a suicide bomber. This month, Spanish police rounded up 16 men suspected of being active with Islamic terrorist groups, particularly Ansar al Islam. This outfit has been dominated by Kurds, and has received support from Iran in the past (largely to provide another irritant for Saddam Hussein.) Since Hussein fell in 2003, it's unclear how much support Ansar is getting from Iran. But Ansar is a major player in Europe, where it raises money and recruits people to undertake terror operations outside Europe. Ansar in particular, and Kurdish activists in general, have followed this policy so as to preserve their base of operations in Europe, where about a million Kurds live. While only a small percentage of those support Islamic radicalism, it's enough to make Ansar one of the largest Islamic terrorist groups in Europe. Moreover, Ansar works closely with Islamic groups that do carry out terrorist attacks in Europe.
Until recently, European counter-terrorism forces merely watched the Kurds, and Ansar. The "arrangement," that kept Kurds from being violent in Europe, was respected by European police, until it was noted that the Kurds were tight with a lot of quite violent (in Europe) terrorists (particularly the bunch that bombed Madrid in March, 2005). When French and German police dug into their Kurd files, and pressed those they had in custody, they found Ansar to be a major player in the terrorism universe.
Ansar al Islam was founded in late 2001, with the help of al Qaeda. From the beginning, it was largely Kurdish, and determined to unite all Kurds in an Islamic state. Violence and terrorism committed in Iraq by Ansar has made the organization unpopular there. But in Europe, Kurds don't suffer from those attacks, and see Ansar as heroic freedom fighters.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
10:30 ||
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The budget summit fiasco has left Poland feeling bitter that richer EU members particularly Britain, until now a close Polish ally were unwilling to be generous to the much poorer countries that entered the Union last year. "We see it as a fault in national egoism in many countries," Jaroslaw Pietras, Poland's European affairs minister, told the Financial Times, naming France, Britain and Germany as particularly guilty of being influenced by the short-term concerns of the voters at home instead of the long-term good of Europe.
Senior British figures acknowledge the collapse of the deal was bad news for the EU's 10 new accession states because the lack of a budget agreement threatens to delay projects and slash structural payments.
Having often posed in the past as the champion of the "new Europe" against the Franco-German core, Tony Blair, British prime minister, will therefore try to keep the 10 new member states on his side by pledging to try to get a budget deal agreed in the next six months.
Given the dramatic clash between Mr Blair and President Jacques Chirac of France in Brussels last week, it is hard to see a deal being brokered rapidly. Mr Chirac ruled out any attempt to reopen the deal on Common Agricultural Policy spending agreed in October 2002. "It was not the most acrimonious European council I have been at but it was certainly up there," said a UK official, suggesting that President Chirac and German chancellor Gerhard Schröder had rounded on Mr Blair on Friday night.
In Poland there is a sense of unfairness that old EU members, suddenly afraid of their eurosceptical voters, have taken to defending their national interests single-mindedly without thinking much about the EU as a whole. Warsaw is mindful of the enormous benefits gained by other poor countries included in earlier enlargements such as Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain and is worried that similar generosity may not be on offer to the former communist states who joined last year.
Funny, the French and the Belgians were looking to you new EU members to fix their problems.
It is not just a question of money. Only Britain, Ireland and Sweden allowed workers from the new member states access to their labour markets. Old Europe has also been wary about reducing barriers for service providers, hugely important for poor, high-unemployment countries like Poland.
But wealthy European self-interest may exact a price. "Rich countries cannot say that we aren't going to give you a free market and aren't going to give you much money either," said Mr Pietras. "If we get no compensation, then we want competition."
Marek Belka, Poland's prime minister, had offered a last-minute proposal to reduce payments to new EU members, an idea that Mr Blair rejected. "If there had been a will to compromise, then the offer by the new member states might have been accepted," Jan Truszczynski, Poland's deputy foreign minister, told the Financial Times. "If Britain had signalled its minimum conditions earlier, a compromise might have been possible."
For Poland, the failure to pass an EU budget for 2007-2013 could have enormous consequences. If the budget is adopted next year, under the Austrian presidency, funding for some Polish projects could be delayed. If there is no new budget, then a provisional budget would go into effect that would see annual structural fund transfers to Poland cut to â¬4.6bn ($5.7bn, £3.1bn) from the â¬8.7bn under the failed Luxembourg proposal.
The next EU budget cycle is Poland's best chance of catching up to western Europe. Poland could get a total of â¬81bn, including both regional and agricultural funds. The budget cycle after that would be for an EU that included much poorer Romania and Bulgaria, and would also be looking toward possible Turkish membership, leaving much less for Poland. Mr Truszczynski said: "A future budget compromise may be less advantageous for Poland."
Polish anger at the old EU's lack of financial generosity is matched by dismay that an inward-looking Union will have no time or energy to think of further expansion. Warsaw is in favour of Turkey joining the club but is most interested in attracting Ukraine, which would move Poland from Europe's periphery closer to its centre.
Gunter Verheugen, vice-president of the European Commission, sounded a cautious note about a future enlargement of the EUover the weekend, saying, "No new promises can be made." While Bulgaria and Romania have already completed accession negotiations, the EU's commitment to these two countries provided for "a postponement of membership, should [they] prove insufficiently ready", he told Germany's Bild-am-Sonntag weekly.
Mr Verheugen, a former enlargement commissioner in the previous Commission, also stressed that accession talks with Turkey, scheduled to begin in October, would be open-ended and might not necessarily end with full EU-membership.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
10:13 ||
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Hidden in all of this is the significant tension that now exists between "old" and "new" Europe. Interestingly, it is the "new" guys that want to keep the Union strong and expanding and on-budget and with-purpose versus the "old" guys who only want to "twitch" their pecs. Poland and the Balts offered to accept reduced payments from the EU in order to allow the UK to get its usual and entitled rebate. Even that was received as being unacceptable since it would show the "old" rich guys as needing help from the poor "new" guys. Can't have that can we?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/20/2005 14:00
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#2
After a good thunderstorm the air is much fresher.
Blair cannot justify the British rebate any longer BUT he is right about the idiocy of agricultural subsidies. They should be drastically reduced.
Chirac won't bite: His stauchest supporters are French farmers. The stupidity of the subsidies is that mostly the big agricultural enterprises benefit from them, not the small farmer with his 20 cows.
But the real issue will be to find out where we want Europe to go:
1) A free market, with free exchange of goods, services and people, but no political union (The British Way)
2) A not so free market, with high subsidies, bureaucracy and a political role in a "multipolar world" (French Way)
3) A bit of a mix (current German position, likely to change)
My way?
Leaning on the British model, but Europe should have common political aims as well, a cohesion of states that goes beyond merely economical issues. Europe is more than a free market.
#3
but Europe should have common political aims as well
Which will boil down to French & German aims. Won't work unless Europe goes for option 1.a.) free market, with free exchange of goods, services and people, and some form of political union (in other words, a US of E, totally like the US of A... but that's a long time off).
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/20/2005 14:25
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#4
The unholy Chirac/Schröder only hides that France and Germany actually do NOT have the same political interests.
Germany will look to Central and Eastern Europe. France hasn't much to offer except overpriced whine and running cheese.
#6
Blair cannot justify the British rebate any longer
Why not? AIUI Britain recieves less per capita than wny other EU member from CAP spending. Why should any one country be the lowest recipient and not receive some form of compensation?
#7
Bulldog, that should read "the full rebate". The UK (with the rebate) is the second biggest net payer (after Germany).
But I guess we agree that not every country can be a net beneficiary.
The real problem is France. You have all my sympathies for not wanting to subsidize French farmers.
If EU money is put to good use, I'm sure the UK is willing to compromise on the rebate. That's how I understand Blair. The system is rotten.
Is Europe losing ground in its fight against radical Islam? Recent events and trends have investigators worried that it is.
Last week Spanish police broke up a network that allegedly sent radical Islamic volunteers to fight in Iraq and brought veterans of that war back to Europe to create new terror cells. 3 guesses which country they're moving through - see the 2nd last para Meanwhile, Spanish prison officials are worried that their jails have become breeding grounds for terrorists. And in coming months, dozens of terror suspects will be released from European jails because formal charges have yet to be filed.
Despite a massive police crackdown in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. and improved police and judicial cooperation across Europe, investigators say the terror threat isn't diminishing. European Union counterterrorism boss Gijs de Vries says Islamist terrorism could challenge European governments for decades. Former Central Intelligence Agency counterterrorism chief Cofer Black says the endless stream of new recruits to radical Islam in Europe's target-rich environment presents a "clear risk and danger" that has grown more acute, not less.
Spanish investigating magistrate Baltasar Garzón says terrorist groups exploit Europe's freedom to prepare short-term and long-term attacks. "Islamist terrorists recruit a new generation ... to continue the fight before they execute their own attack," Mr. Garzón says.
Paradoxically, Europe's quick jailing of terror suspects soon after the U.S. hijackings may have aggravated the problem. In Spain, for instance, police nabbed 15 Algerian suspects with paramilitary equipment two weeks after the attacks on New York and Washington. They haven't been formally indicted, and will go free in September; Spanish law caps pretrial detention at four years.
To an extent, the U.S. reliance on extralegal detention centers such as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan obviates part of the problem facing Europe. By keeping terror suspects away from other inmates vulnerable to recruitment, these facilities minimize jailhouse indoctrination. They also avoid the early release of potentially dangerous inmates. gee, ya think????
But a growing contingent of U.S. lawmakers now are convinced that facilities like Guantanamo Bay fuel resentment and help drive recruitment to jihad across the Arab world, hurt! our feelings are hurt and we demand that some people get blown up to make it better! and some have called on the Bush administration to shut it down. Spanish investigators have identified a similar phenomenon: Suspects nabbed in recent years say they joined jihad out of anger at long-term detentions and sweeping police crackdowns. uh huh. and cause Fatima won't give me the time of day in this infidel country. an' I can't even get a high paying job without learning math an stuff I'd rather major in seething.
In Europe, merely calling for jihad isn't a criminal offense; prosecutors often need evidence of intent to commit a violent crime to obtain conviction. In the Netherlands, a person linked to a militant Islamist network that has ties to the man who allegedly killed Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh -- Samir Azzouz -- was released in April. He was sentenced to three months for a firearms violation after prosecutors failed to make terror-related charges stick. In Germany, a veteran of Afghan training camps, Ishan Garnaoui, will be released next year.
Civil-liberty advocates say the men should be set free, because prosecutors have been unable to build convincing cases despite years of investigation. Rolf Gössner, president of the German section of the International League for Human Rights, says presumption of innocence requires that suspects be charged or released in a reasonable amount of time.
In fact, some European officials say throwing suspects in pretrial detention may worsen the matter. Spanish investigators say hundreds of common criminals are being indoctrinated by suspected Islamists. Prisons traditionally haven't installed their own Muslim religious leaders, so radical emirs have taken charge of informal prayer services in Spanish, French and German jails. Prison officials say radicals promise salvation through jihad, and can indoctrinate drug dealers and pickpockets to fundamentalist beliefs in a matter of weeks, preparing them to form sleeper cells when their short sentences finish.
What's more, while police normally get permission to track terror suspects upon release, judges are reluctant to authorize wiretaps or other surveillance of common criminals, on the theory that they have paid their debt to society. The men often can disappear into urban immigrant communities. Spanish police broke up one cell in November, created among prison inmates, that allegedly was plotting to blow up the nation's High Court, seat of the antiterror fight.
To prevent recruitment behind prison walls, officials in Spain wrote an 18-page manual last month detailing how to spot changes in prisoner behavior. Potential recruits who notably change their attire, grow beards or pray more than usual can be moved to other areas of the prison. But prison officials are skeptical they can get a grip on the situation.
Investigators say the problem is compounded by a wave of holy warriors returning from fighting in Iraq. Though many recruits sent from Europe to Iraq are believed to be suicide-bomb volunteers, police and terrorism officials say there are dozens more who return to act as ringleaders.
Spanish police say the 13 men they arrested on June 15 formed part of a network that recruited volunteers for Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq. Police believe Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, a Syrian with Spanish papers, may have helped create the network, which shuttles recruits out of Europe and coordinates their return via Syria. Mr. Setmarian Nasar, subject of a $5 million bounty offered by the U.S. government, called on radical Islamic Web sites in early June for European volunteers to wage jihad in Iraq.
"The key gauge of the terror threat is the survival rate of Iraqi-trained holy warriors returning to Europe," says Mr. Black, the former CIA official. Even if they are imprisoned, he says, many are experts in explosives, bomb-making and document forgery, and can pass on their skills in prison.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
10:03 ||
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#1
Note that in the past few weeks, there's been a dispute between various factions of the CFCM (official muslim representatives council set up by french gvt) about who was going to lead prison service prayers and select chaplains.
Finally, french authorities wielded, and the UOIF, France's muslim brotherhood, was to be chosen!
This then stalled due to more power-struggles, and is on the backburner until further notice (the CFCM has just had a new "election" of very dubious democratical value, rigged to lower the UOIF's influence vs algerian and moroccan-backed orgs).
#2
presumption of innocence is still important. corby case reminded aussies of that, but maybe there should be much more stringent laws about the preaching of jihad. Ie: ban it.
#3
At least in Germany "calling for jihad" would qualify as "incitement of violence" and is very well punishable, and if a direct influence to a killing can be proven this can get you life.
QOLQEPUNKU GLACIER, Peru -- One recent moonlit night high in the Peruvian Andes, about 200 men dressed in furry cloaks and woolen masks trekked up to a glacier whose ice is said to have magical healing properties. In the past these men, called ukukus after the word for bear in the local Quechua language, cut and hauled down large blocks of ice to share with family, friends and livestock as part of an annual Catholic pilgrimage known as El Señor de Qoyllur Rit'i that usually draws about 40,000 worshipers to a dizzying 16,000 feet above sea level.
These days, cutting ice is all but taboo. "We used to take ice, but now it's prohibited," said Darwin Apaza Año, a broad-faced ukuku from the province of Anta. The bear-men say their sacred glacier is disappearing. Over a period of two decades, its edge has drawn back 600 feet along the boulder-strewn slope leading to the church in the valley below, according to people here. Even compared with last year, the glacier is noticeably smaller. That's a worrisome portent for locals who still worship snowcapped mountains as gods, or apus. It's out of concern for the apu living here, the bear-men say, that they have decided not to take any more blocks of ice.
Although few on this remote mountaintop are aware of it, the demise of this Andean ice-cutting ritual is likely the result of global warming. The United Nations says rising temperatures are causing glaciers to recede throughout the world, with some of the most pronounced effects on relatively rare patches of ice in countries like Peru that lie within the tropics.
#2
What are these "government grants" you speak of?
Posted by: Beaucoup: King of the Ukuku ||
06/20/2005 10:26
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Global Warming DOES mean the End of the World is Nigh?
Neyt!...'splain...what the ukukus and earth first gloom & doomers have failed to factor into the equation is the world-wide net increase in total ice over the last century.
Thats because the dimwits didn't add up all the ice we make in our freezers at home. Sheesh, I think I'll go get some holy ice right now.
#5
Teodoro Sullca, a mechanic dressed in a furry tunic tied with bells, flags and a plastic doll, was disappointed. "It used to be that everyone went up," he said.
A mechanic wearin' a doll? Heck, in this red state, he'd be run outta town! This mental image alone sums up the eco-nuts to me.
Posted by: BA ||
06/20/2005 10:59
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Mathias Vuille, a climatologist at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., said fireworks and campfires aren't likely to affect a massive glacier. "I couldn't possibly imagine that would have an impact," he said.
But, then he added "But that shouldn't keep us from banning all campfires and fireworks!"
Posted by: BA ||
06/20/2005 11:00
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1) Climate change is inevitable, it has changed hugely over history. Do you expect it to stay static? There is no evidence that a warmer planet will be worse, and some circumstantial evidence that in fact life flourishes in warmer periods.
2) Climate change is never the end of the world, species adapt.
3) Kyoto protocol will do nothing to stop climate change, as even if the US and Australia signed and all countries lived up to their agreed carbon cuts, it would only reduce global warming by 2/10ths of a degree celsius over a 50-year period.
4) Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant but a benign natural gas needed by plants to grow
5) The hundreds of billions of dollars wasted by attempting to hobble the industrialised world by forcing them to stick to punitive carbon quotas (while allowing the developing world to burn as much fuel as they like) could be better spent building water pipelines, desalination plants, nature reserves to conserve habitat for species ... etc.
Wealth breeds environmental conservation. The best way to ensure environmental degradation is to make the world poorer.
So go ahead, piss billions up the wall of Kyoto just to make the industrial world poor for what even Greenpeace admits is just a symbol.
I can think of cheaper symbols.
Meanwhile the nuclear industry creates the most toxic waste imaginable, dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years, and is the main beneficiary of the Great Global Warming Scare (worse than the Y2K scare as there is no end in sight)
Add the solar energy people too cause thousands die every year from heat stroke and skin cancer created by the largest continuous thermonuclear reaction in the neighborhood - The Sun.
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/20/2005 11:31
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Heat stroke is unrelated to nuclear radiation.
Skin cancer is caused by radiation from the sun: correct.
1 in 3 Australians get it we are the skin cancer capital of the world.
But that is why we wear sunscreen, shady hats, sunglasses and long sleeved shirts.
Skin cancer is not an advertisement for how safe radiation is but rather that it is carcinogenic, cumulative and needs to be minimised.
#10
The Nuclear industry can also use those byproducts in breeder reactors, much like Japan is doing, to enrich and create more fuel from the waste. The rest of the waste can be dealt with in many different ways, all of them fairly safe - and much safer in aggregate than the current burning of coal and oil. You're more at risk to radiation poisoning by the radon in your basement than you are to reactor byproducts.
A vast proportion of the "nuclear waste" is low-level stuff that was made into "nuclear" waste not by radiation, but by legislative fiat without regard to actual probabilities of radiative damage. Things like structural members of buildings, etc.
Nukes and the hydrogen economy are the only way out of the oil patch. And even then, eventually nuclear power will have to be fusion, not fisson, power.
Aside fromall that, the solar output probably has more to do with cyclical climatalogical change. Look at temps in the middle ages, or in the earlier eras (dinosaurs, etc). The earth used to be a LOT warmer than now.
#11
Glaciers receding in Montana's Glacier Nat'l park too.
I seen it!
Water Cartels will control all by 2045
MM
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 12:05
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Exactly, Old Spook: earth has been both a lot warmer and a lot colder than now. No biggie!
But re: reactors.
Breeder reactors also make a stack of plutonium for bombs which is why Saddam wanted one so badly in the early '80s.
If nuclear energy is the big winner from the fake-carbon-scare it's going to be impossible to stop every tinpot third world dictator who wants it from getting nukes because they will ALL be clamouring for reactors 'for energy only'.
And the waste is only one problem of reactors, there's the decommissioning, the contaminated land, the fact you cannot get radio isotopes out of the biosphere once they are released into the environment and that even a slight increase in background radiation produces more cancers and birth deformities as the effects of radiation are cumulative.
On the other hand, Saudi oil reserves MAY be running out. They have reportedly all peaked. This leaves Iraq as second biggest reserve and (I think) Venezuela as 3rd biggest...
#13
As has been mentioned here before, there are breeder reactors based on thorium that produced U233 rather than plutonium -- this approach is heavily favored by India and some other countries already. And the Integral Fast Reactor design recycles nearly all of the radioactive waste - what remains decays within 300 years to the base activity of the original ores, i.e. as low as in nature if they had not been mined.
even a slight increase in background radiation produces more cancers and birth deformities as the effects of radiation are cumulative.
Define "slight" and "more". Warning: I am closely related to a health physicist who specialized in nuclear issues so precision and accuracy will get you a better hearing here ....
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 12:50
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Global Warming DOES mean the End of the World is Nigh
I may as well run out and buy that Beemer bike I've been coveting, and enjoy it while I can....
#15
Two things: Global warming started 8,000 years ago and without it, we'd be well into another ice age by now - based on analysis of solar cycles.
Hydrogen is nice, but takes more energy to make than it releases, so you need cheap electricity to make hydrogen. The cheapest there ever was was nuclear. Hydro floods, coal kills (mines, transport, burning), wind power has drawbacks (especially for aesthetics, birds, and bats!), solar costs too much (now), and fusion is still a good ways off.
Third (out of two) there are no easy answers, only tough choices!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 14:17
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#16
A young engineer once asked me what caused the last ice age and I said, "It got cold". He then asked me what ended it and I said, "It got warm".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/20/2005 16:13
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Heat stroke is unrelated to nuclear radiation. Bullsh@@! Sunshine is nuclear radiation. anon1, you sound a lot like the nuclear scaremonger I throughly debunked last year. I'll spell it out for you (again) in words of one syllable. All risks are relative. Doing anything has risks associated with it, as does doing nothing. An argument requires that you quantify the risks relative to any alternatives. Otherwise you are just spewing emotive claptrap.
#18
>And the waste is only one problem of reactors, there's the decommissioning, the contaminated land<
Sorry sport, but you must be thinking about them Soviet reactors. USuns ain't allowed to contaminate the land.
>the fact you cannot get radio isotopes out of the biosphere once they are released into the environment<
Anything can be cleaned up if you're willing to spend the time and money. Even Chernobyl, but the Russkies ain't gots no money, nor do the Ukrainians, Moldavians, Belarussians, etc. etc.
>and that even a slight increase in background radiation produces more cancers and birth deformities as the effects of radiation are cumulative.<
BS and incredible BS at that. You should stop reading Greenpeace's phoney science on nuclear power. There's plenty of sane places on the web were you can find out about nuclear power that doesn't start with "OH SH*T, We're all gonna die!"
1) Climate change is inevitable, it has changed hugely over history. Do you expect it to stay static? There is no evidence that a warmer planet will be worse, and some circumstantial evidence that in fact life flourishes in warmer periods.
Yep. The chair I'm sitting in would have been deep under an inland sea a couple hundred million years ago.
The hundreds of billions of dollars wasted by attempting to hobble the industrialised world by forcing them to stick to punitive carbon quotas (while allowing the developing world to burn as much fuel as they like) could be better spent...
How so? If you mean that it is generated by Sun's nucular oven, you're wroooong! To your consolation, you are not alone. Almost everyone is convinced that is the case. But Sun isn't a slow burning nucular oven.
Born in Nationalist Fervor, Pemex Faces Drying Wells; CEO Wants to Open Doors
Gasoline Imports From Texas
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico is the birthplace of oil nationalism. In 1938, it kicked out foreign oil companies and set up a state company with the seized assets. "The oil is ours," President Läzaro Cärdenas declared, and proud Mexicans donated jewelry and chickens to help compensate the foreigners. The nation still celebrates the event: In the tropical oil town of Poza Rica ("Rich Well"), a new mural in the central square shows a fat, cigar-chomping foreign capitalist abusing local oil workers until Mr. Cärdenas frees them.
Today, the philosophy that created Petróleos Mexicanos threatens to ruin it. Pemex, as it is called, is running out of easy oil fields to drill, and it is barred by the Mexican constitution from tying up with foreign companies that could bring in advanced technology and help it find more oil. In natural gas, Pemex's discovery efforts have been so weak that the country must now import from the U.S. even though energy executives think Mexico's gas resources are so big that they could generate billions of dollars a year in exports if tapped. Even after big job cuts and a cleanup of corruption, the company remains among the most inefficient in the industry.
Pemex is still the world's third-biggest producer of crude oil and Latin America's largest company, with $69 billion in revenue and 142,000 employees. Thanks to high oil prices, it contributed $42 billion in taxes last year to Mexico's government coffers, one-third of total tax revenue. But the risk of a crash in oil and gas production is so high that for the first time in the company's 67-year history, Pemex's own management publicly says Mexican lawmakers must open the door to deals in Mexico with foreigners.
"We Mexicans have oil nationalism in our DNA. But unless we carry out an intelligent opening, we're going to have our backs against the wall someday and will have to sell our oil reserves," warns LuÃs Ramirez Corzo, who took over the company's top spot last November.
"In Mexico, logic ends where our constitution begins," says LuÃs Farias, vice president of energy at cement giant Cemex SA, which generates its own electricity with petroleum residues and even oily rags to reduce spending on natural gas.
The U.S. is also concerned about the fate of Mexico's oil industry. Mexico accounts for 16% of U.S. oil imports, second only to Canada and ahead of Saudi Arabia. If Mexico can pump out more oil and gas, that could ease the supply pressures that have pushed prices up over the past year.
A Political Creature
But from its first day, Pemex has been a political creature -- and politics has blocked all significant change. An opening of Mexico's energy market is one of many economic changes proposed by President Vicente Fox, and they have almost invariably been shot down in a Congress controlled by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. The PRI governed Mexico unchallenged for seven decades until its candidate was defeated by Mr. Fox in the 2000 presidential election.
Mr. Fox is trying again, negotiating with opposition parties to craft a bill that would allow Pemex to co-own oil and gas on Mexican territory with a foreign company. But with only 13 months until presidential elections -- Mr. Fox isn't allowed to run again -- he faces daunting odds in getting the bill passed.
Those who oppose the bill argue that Mexico's earlier attempts to overhaul state companies ended up in disaster for average Mexicans -- and huge profits for a handful of wealthy investors. Businessman Carlos Slim, who bought Mexico's former state telephone monopoly, has since become the world's third-richest man with a fortune estimated at $24 billion, while Mexicans now pay among the world's highest prices for phone service. The country's privatized banks, which went bankrupt during the peso crisis in 1995, had to be bailed out by taxpayers. A few Mexican bank owners then made big profits selling the banks to foreigners, and Citigroup Inc. now owns Mexico's biggest bank.
"Oil built our country. Why would we want to give it up to the Americans?" asks Manuel Bartlett, a leading PRI senator. Umm, because they would pay for it???
Adrian Lajous, a former Pemex chief executive, says would-be reformers are trying to move too quickly. "I am convinced Mexico must maintain a large-scale, integrated, dominant oil firm with a clear national identity," he says.
Another factor behind the inertia is Pemex's considerable success over the years in proving skeptics wrong. When the company was first created, Standard Oil of New Jersey and other American companies predicted a poor nation could never learn the oil business. They organized boycotts to retaliate for Mexico's expropriation of foreign-owned assets. By the 1950s, however, Pemex was pumping out plenty of oil and building its reserves. Brazil and other countries cited Mexico's success when they nationalized their own oil industries.
By the late 1960s, Pemex's fields along Mexico's eastern coast, known as the Golden Belt, were beginning to dry up and some predicted doom again. Then it made several big strikes. One of them came in the mid-1970s after a fisherman named Juan Cantarell spotted oil slicks around his dinghy and reported them to Pemex. The Cantarell oil field turned out to be one of history's great gushers. Jorge Nordhausen, now a Mexican senator, remembers working as a contractor during the field's early days. The oil spurted out of the seabed with such force, he says, that his team didn't even need pumps to get it to the nearest coast several miles away.
With so much cash sloshing about, Pemex was a natural font of corruption. One former union leader built a baseball park with Pemex money, made every worker buy season tickets and pocketed the gate receipts. Last month, the government's bureaucracy watchdog fined six former Pemex officials, including former Chief Executive Rogelio Montemayor, accusing them of colluding with the union to funnel $127 million in Pemex money to fund the PRI's 2000 election campaign. Mr. Montemayor and the others deny the allegations in the "Pemexgate" scandal and are appealing the fines. Even now, Pemex chiefs estimate that corruption, including theft of gasoline, costs the company more than $1 billion a year.
Vast Army
Pemex long acted as a kind of social-welfare agency, hiring a vast army of workers. In the mid-1990s, the company slashed its work force by almost half, but the number of unionized employees has crept up again by about 5,000 under Mr. Fox. In the town of Poza Rica, local union leader Sergio Quiroz spends much of his day dealing with job-seekers who gather outside his office. "I try to say no, but if they persist for about a year, I eventually find them a spot," he says. It takes 27 Pemex workers to operate a well versus an industry average of 10.
Now nature and time appear to be catching up with the company. Cantarell's bounty is expected to begin declining this year or next. Pemex says it can keep oil production at the current 3.4 million barrels a day for the next few years, but some analysts expect output to drop 20% by 2010. Pemex will have to scramble for new supplies in hard-to-reach places such as deep seabeds in the Gulf of Mexico. Absent new finds, Mexico could become a net oil importer within 10 years, Pemex says.
Oil companies around the world face a similar challenge, but Pemex is especially ill-prepared to meet it. The company has never had to develop expertise in extracting oil from tough places. While some believe it could buy technology off the shelf, Pemex says that's difficult because key technologies are considered proprietary by their owners. Besides, "we don't even know what to buy," says Carlos Morales, head of exploration and production.
RTWT at the link. This has huge implications for illegal immigration, the ability of China to buy influence and assets in Latin America and other issues as well.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
09:52 ||
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Notice the xenophobic aspects of the Mexican Constitution never get highlighted in MSM. American prosperity is help by large foreign investments from the British, Dutch, Japanese, etc. The unemployment and poverty which is systemic to the Mexican economic environment is permanent with the xenophobia and corruption that appears not to be correctable short of a revolution.
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/20/2005 11:58
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#3
We spend billions and kill tens of thousands securing Iraq's oil and we can't scheme our way into the Mexican reserves. Nuke em.
MM
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 12:48
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Careful... the stage is being set outsourcing management of PEMEX. Will the tendrils of the ChiCom or Venezuela appear in the shadows overnite probing the possibilities? Don't laugh... search around and take a look at who is outsourced to manage the post and lock areas of the Panama Canal.
Energy prices are so high in Mexico that it's sometimes cheaper to make textiles in the U.S. despite lower Mexican wages
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
(Does that make me a bad person? Good!)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/20/2005 17:16
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should Mexico decide to sell Pemex to the Chicoms, I'd suggest a shutdown of the border and full expulsion of all illegals via roundup. Let the dice roll
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2005 19:31
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Frank G, maybe the adminstration should extend its policy of facilitating regime change in hostile regimes to Mexico. Also, given the dangerous business climate in Mexico, wouldn't be surprised if some of those chicoms and chavezcoms should have the same life expectancy as a Tijuana police chief.
HANOI, Vietnam --Two more people from northern Vietnam have been sickened with bird flu while thousands of chickens have died in the south -- in the country's first new outbreak among poultry in three months, officials said Monday. The two newest victims tested positive for the virus after being admitted to Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi over the weekend, said hospital director Tran Quy. That brought the number of human cases to 13 over the past two weeks, he said, adding the patients, all from the northern provinces, are in stable condition.
Bird flu ravaged poultry farms across Vietnam in late 2003, killing or forcing the demise of more than 45 million birds. The virus began jumping to humans around the same time, and has killed a total of 38 people in Vietnam, 12 in Thailand and four in Cambodia.
Meanwhile, more than 4,000 out of 6,700 chickens on a farm in the southern province of Ben Tre died suddenly on June 9, said Mai Van Hiep, director of the provincial animal health bureau. Authorities killed the remaining chickens two days later, and tests showed they were infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu. Mr. Hiep added that authorities have disinfected the farm and surrounding areas.
So far the majority of human victims have contracted the disease through close contact with sick birds. However, epidemiologists worry that if the H5N1 virus mutates into a form that can be passed directly between people, it could lead to a global influenza pandemic, potentially killing millions.
Medical officials say that there has been only one probable case of human-to-human transmission of the bird-flu virus so far: that of a Thai woman who contracted the disease from her sick daughter.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
09:50 ||
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And thanks to China, one of only two anti-viral treatments available is no longer effective.
Thanks, China!
Oops that last para sent a chill up my spine ... there WAS a case of human-to-human transmission?
OH my GOD it's the coming of the plague. Seriously! If this thing gets human-to-human transmission we may end up with another SARS on our hands only worse as the vector is avian... and thus impossible to patrol the borders for...
#2
I think the human-to-human transition was a long time ago - last year, maybe?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 13:05
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the Institute of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi capital city from June 18-19. Currently, the institute is treating 28 people with bird flu symptoms, of whom 13 have been tested positive to H5N1. The majority reported no contact with domestic animals/birds.
Two Republican members of Congress are calling on the Bush administration to review -- and potentially block -- an expected effort by China's third-largest oil-and-natural-gas company to acquire Unocal Corp.
The move comes as China's Cnooc Ltd. is considering a counterbid for Unocal, a U.S. company with oil-and-gas reserves in North America and Asia. In April, Chevron Corp. -- the second-largest U.S. oil company in terms of market value, behind Exxon Mobil Corp. -- agreed to buy Unocal in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $16.7 billion.
In a pre-emptive move, the congressmen sent a letter to Mr. Bush on Friday seeking a federal review of any bid by Cnooc, the publicly listed arm of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp., based on national-security concerns. "The United States increasingly needs to view meeting its energy requirements within the context of our foreign policy, national security and economic security agenda. This is especially the case with China," wrote Richard Pombo and Duncan Hunter, Republican congressmen from California amen - preach it brothers! . They urged the president to exercise his authority under a 1988 federal law to begin a thorough review by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S., an interagency panel chaired by Treasury Secretary John Snow. After the review, Mr. Bush could block the deal, though such a move would be highly unusual.
Even calling for the review could have repercussions for the U.S. relationship with China. Tension between the major trading partners is on the rise after Washington recently reimposed import quotas on some kinds of clothing from China. Members of the U.S. Congress also are concerned about America's widening trade deficit with China.
Earlier this month, Cnooc said it was examining its options, including making a bid for Unocal. A Cnooc investment adviser has nearly wrapped up its analysis and is expected shortly to issue its recommendations to the company's directors, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
A Cnooc bid would heat up competition over resources among companies from the world's biggest energy-consuming nations. Growing global energy demand is sending prices up. Benchmark crude-oil futures closed Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange at a record high $58.47 a barrel, although that still is below the inflation-adjusted peak in the 1970s. Driven in part by a fast-growing Chinese appetite for fuel, global energy consumption grew 4.3% in 2004, the highest percentage increase since 1984 and a record increase in terms of actual oil-and-gas volume, according to an annual statistical review compiled by BP PLC.
China's hunger for oil and gas, and its willingness to pay top dollar, has made it an aggressive purchaser of natural resources around the world. But a Chinese company has never taken on a purchase of the size and political resonance of Unocal, a fixture of the U.S. economy since its founding 115 years ago. Unocal is the ninth-largest U.S. oil company in terms of reserves.
Cnooc and Chevron both aggressively pursued a deal for Unocal earlier this year. For reasons that aren't clear, Cnooc's all-cash $16.7 billion offer was withdrawn hours before the Unocal board met to consider Chevron's offer. About half of Unocal's reserves are natural-gas fields in Southeast Asia. Unocal also holds a 10% stake in a giant oil field in Azerbaijan, and it controls the oil-and-gas equivalent of 557 million barrels of oil in the U.S. and Canada.
If Cnooc were to make an offer for Unocal, the Chinese company would have to pay a $500 million break-up fee to Chevron. The terms of the Chevron-Unocal deal require that Unocal shareholders vote on the merger, even if another suitor emerges. That vote still isn't scheduled. Chevron spokesman Donald Campbell declined to discuss what the company would do if faced with a rival bid for Unocal. "We are unwavering in our intent to see this transaction through to a successful and quick conclusion," he said.
In their letter, the congressmen expressed concern about China's increasing appetite for oil and its apparent willingness to use its treasury to fund acquisitions. "We fear that American companies will find it increasingly difficult to compete against China's state-owned and/or controlled energy companies, given their mandates to supply China's ever growing demand for energy," they write. "A government-owned company like Cnooc has access to the Treasury of the Chinese government, something no company operating in the free market has."
Industry analysts are skeptical that Cnooc would have direct access to the Chinese treasury. But a Cnooc bid for Unocal would likely benefit from other forms of government support, such as substantial loans from Chinese state-controlled banks.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
09:47 ||
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The ChiComs want to buy an American corporation?
What's that spinning sound coming from Tianamin Square?
Bid to Steal Valuable Data Targets Corporate Systems, Government Institutions
Authorities say unidentified hackers from Asia have been launching a wave of attacks on government and corporate computer systems in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. in an effort to steal sensitive commercial data.
The British government Thursday announced that hackers seeking commercially and economically valuable information were attacking vital U.K. government and corporate computer networks. It cited the source of the attacks as "often linked to the Far East."
The problem appears to be more widespread than the U.K. government initially indicated. The attacks started at least two years ago and have targeted institutions in the U.S., Canada and Australia, among dozens of other countries, authorities say.
The revelations show that computer viruses released via the Internet increasingly are being used to garner confidential information, ranging from personal banking details of consumers to industrial espionage.
Thursday's report was issued by the U.K.'s National Infrastructure Security Coordination Center, or NISCC. The agency reports to the Home Office, the government department responsible for combating threats to U.K. national security.
Home Office spokesman James Cox said the attacks are "well organized" and "appear to be the work of a coordinated group." probably Chinese As for whether data have successfully been stolen, he said NISCC had no evidence that it had but couldn't be certain that it hadn't.
U.S. institutions have suffered similar attacks for at least a couple of years, and investigators suspect that the hacking is coming mostly from computers in China, yup, starting with the Red Lion virus according to a law-enforcement official. Hundreds of U.S. institutions have been targeted, this official said. Many of the targets are involved in technology research and development but also include financial institutions, he said. Government agencies and suppliers, such as defense contractors, were also targeted, he added.
The official added that the government data targeted have been unclassified, rather than classified, information. Still, unclassified information includes valuable details such as emails, contact lists and travel schedules. He said some data had been taken, including information related to technology research and development.
Because computers can be commandeered from afar, security experts say it can be hard to pinpoint the source of cyber attacks. An official at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he wasn't familiar with the attacks. "I have no information to provide at this moment," he said. or ever
Zuwena Robidas, a spokeswoman for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said attacks in Canada date back to November 2003 but recently have increased in frequency.
Ms. Robidas said hackers had gained access to information, which could include some information about the user of an infected computer. "This would likely be limited to their username and password," said Ms. Robidas. She added that an investigation is under way, and it would be "inappropriate to speculate" about who was behind the attacks.
According to Britain's NISCC, the hackers are sending computer code attached to emails to individuals who work with sensitive or "privileged" information. The emails are designed to appear as if they come from trusted contacts, and often carry subject lines that refer to news articles that would be of interest to the recipient.
The software in the emails secretly installs itself on the computer, typically either when the recipient opens an attachment or clicks on a link to a Web site. Once installed, a remote hacker can gain access to the system to obtain passwords, scan the network or gather information.
A spokeswoman at the Australian Embassy in London said no one was immediately available to comment.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005
09:43 ||
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Also South Korea. They're very tech savy and they have a history of hack attacks. Maybe not the government, but a lot of the younger generation do it for "Korean pride". South Korea is a very xenophobic country.
The Downing Street memo has a new fan — Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. — who recently said that the memo was a "stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable statement of the truth and a profoundly important document." The problem for Kerry, however, is that there is another document that contradicts his view, a document that the defeated Democratic presidential candidate ought to remember.
No, I am not talking about the other official British documents disclosed since Kerry made that statement, although they do show just how silly it was for people to interpret the first memo — which contained meeting minutes — the way they did.
So now, back to Kerry, who had virtually the same access to U.S. intelligence as Bush himself and who surely examined the evidence before voting to give Bush the authority to go to war. His views on WMD are contained in a record of Senate debate in which he referred to Saddam "sitting in Baghdad with an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction" and asked:
"In the wake of Sept. 11, who among us can say with any certainty to anybody that the weapons might not be used against our troops or against allies in the region? Who can say that this master of miscalculation will not develop a weapon of mass destruction even greater, a nuclear weapon ...?"
Pretty good argument. Important document.
Bloggers, where are you?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005
09:25 ||
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Two other documents this dimwit should familiarize himself with: the text of President Bill Clinton's February 17, 1998 address to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the text of the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998.
This idiotic "Bush Lied, People Died" crap has gone far enough: maybe it's time to declare the entire Democratic Party leadership, and the Democratic members of the House and Senate, as enemy combatants and treat them accordingly. Send them all to Gitmo, and torment them by flushing their copies of The Nation.
Filthy, treasonous bastards.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/20/2005 12:59
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good!! Kerry's on it. Bush must be relieved!! Go for it, Senator.
Iraq's Jan. 30 elections have been heralded as a triumph of democracy and national unity. For the first time in decades, a legislature that is truly representative of Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious groups will govern.
But whether political alliances forged in opposition to Saddam Hussein can lay the groundwork for a rejuvenated Iraq remains in doubt. The difficulties in creating a committee to draw up the constitution are vivid reminders. Even more glaring is the growing divide between the country's Kurds and Arabs.
Rest at link
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005
09:25 ||
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WASHINGTON - Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said Sunday he intends to run for president in 2008.
But Biden, who also sought the nomination in 1988, said he would give himself until the end of this year to determine if he really can raise enough money and attract enough support.
Going after the nomination "is a real possibility," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "My intention, as I sit here now, is, as I've proceeded since last November as if I were going to run. I'm quite frankly going out, seeing whether I can gather the kind of support," Biden said.
Biden said he was taking his "game on the road, letting people know what I think." He added, "If, in fact, I think that I have a clear shot at winning the nomination by this November or December, then I'm going to seek the nomination."
Biden dropped out of the 1988 presidential race after a series of disclosures that he had liberally borrowed from other politicians in his stump speeches and after questions about his law school records.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005
09:25 ||
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#1
More proof they put those plugs in too tight...
#5
Slow Joe can be dismissed after the first debate....
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2005 11:21
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His role is to show that Hillary won the nomination against competition. It gives the media an excuse for lots of coverage of her.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 11:24
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He's calling for a withdrawal schedule form Iraq. The last time the Dems did this, over 2 millioned died and the abandoned were left with an authoritarian/communist government in Southeast Asia. Yes, please step up to the target circle, the opposition party appears to have finally found a voice after your brother Durbin revealed how your party really supports the troops. Just another Dem program, its all about appearences not about solving the problem, in this case terrorism. This isn't 1976. After the 'gulag, nazi', and other contructive comments, I look forward to the Rep finally getting some guts and start showing the bodies dropping from the Twin Towers. If the choice is casualties in Iraq or casualties here at home, I don't think the Dems have a clue what the American public prefers [even after the 2002 and 2004 elections].
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/20/2005 11:43
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The director of the CIA says he has an "excellent idea" where Osama bin Laden is hiding, but that the United States' respect for sovereign nations makes it more difficult to capture the al-Qaida chief.
In an interview with Time for the magazine's June 27 issue, Porter Goss was asked about the progress of the hunt for bin Laden.
"When you go to the question of dealing with sanctuaries in sovereign states, you're dealing with a problem of our sense of international obligation, fair play," Goss said. "We have to find a way to work in a conventional world in unconventional ways." Translation: when we figure out a deniable way to get him, we will.
Asked whether that meant he knew where bin Laden is, Goss responded: "I have an excellent idea where he is. What's the next question?" Shsss! It's a secret.
Goss did not say where he thinks bin Laden is, nor did he specify what country or countries he was referring to when he spoke of foreign sanctuaries. But American officials have long said they believed bin Laden was hiding in rugged mountains along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Can't be Afgan since that wouldn't stop us. Either Pakwakiland or MadMullah-land.
#1
Dan D. was mentioning Southwestern Saudi the other day... (He doesn't say which he believes.) That could make sense.... (don't tip the oil pipe until a new one works...)
#2
I doubt it is SW Saudi - to close to Yemen/Djibouti where we have considerable SFO assets. I still believe he is in the tribal areas of Pakistan and well protected. I just cannot see him with the Iranians - they are the leaders of the Shia world and despise the wahabis. Not in "persian" interests to give bin Laden all this credit of immortality and heroism to Muslim world. Competing forces at work here.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/20/2005 13:37
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#3
Rawalpindi, living in the home of a Pak army general.
Posted by: john ||
06/20/2005 15:12
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Horry - from the three! Abusing my position, Go Spurs Go!
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
09:04 ||
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Brillant play - one even that has been Hubie Brown even predicted. Larry Brown fell on his face on that one. But give credit to Horry - he hurts himself a few seconds before but comes back for the winner. This will be his 6th championship with 3 different teams. Best playoff player in the playoffs.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/20/2005 13:44
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Three members of Algerian security forces and an Islamic gunman were killed and two civilians were kidnapped by armed groups, officials said Monday. A security source said Monday that a land mine planted by Islamic armed groups blew up under a police vehicle in the province of Galfa, 187 miles south of Algiers, killing two policemen and injuring three others. In another incident, army troops clashed with Islamist gunmen as they were patrolling an area in the same province Saturday. A soldier and a gunman were killed. The source said an armed group kidnapped two civilians at a roadblock in the province of Boumedras in eastern Algeria. The gunmen posing as security forces snatched the men from their car and took them to an unknown destination.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
09:00 ||
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#1
Sheesh! Did we invade this country and cause all this violence?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 13:08
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Afghan intelligence officials have thwarted a plot to assassinate U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and arrested three Pakistanis, two senior government officials said Monday.
Not "rebels", "insurgents" or "Taliban", but "Pakistanis".
The men, who were armed with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles, were arrested in the Qarghayi district of Laghman province on Sunday, just 150 feet from where Khalilzad had planned to inaugurate a road with Afghanistan's interior minister. One of the officials said Afghan television would broadcast a video of the men in custody later Monday. He said the suspects had confessed to the crime and told authorities they were in Afghanistan "to fight jihad," or holy war.
Of course they were
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, due to the extreme sensitivity of the intelligence and their positions within the government Khalilzad canceled his appearance at the road opening at the last minute and was never in danger, the official said. The interior minister, Ali Ahmad Jalali, also canceled his appearance. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul had no immediate comment on the arrests, saying it would release a statement later. Pakistan also had no comment. The men were arrested by members of the National Security Directorate, Afghanistan's version of the CIA, after a tip that the assassination plot was in the works.
Nice work, guys.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
08:52 ||
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Come in to my parlor, said the spider to the fly?
Since this is a blog, only link is provided; very interesting analysis on the escalation in Iraq and what it may lead to. Perhaps a bit too positive, as it use negative data numbers to predict success? Still, quite enlightening. Read it all.
#1
Summary: They can't beat us militarily. Escalation always happens in war, but we do not need to escalate - they do. When escalation stops, the war is over. (That's the most telling bit .... Think 1945 in the Pacific - Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Hiroshima, Nagsaki, game over.) Blowing up civilians will not win their hearts and minds, and even if they do drag the country into civil war, they still don't win, 'cuz no one will be able to govern it. But read the whole thing.
As he says at the end, the big variable remains how long the bad guys think it'll be until we back out.
So thank you, Senators, AI, and MSM for encouraging them.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 9:50
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A5089: Perhaps a bit too positive, as it use negative data numbers to predict success?
Actually, he doesn't use those numbers to predict success - he states that they don't mean that the enemy is winning, merely that he is escalating. Roggio's point is that every war involves escalating combat until one side can no longer sustain it. Until then, casualties on both sides will continue to accumulate. Another point worth noting is that in war, conventional or guerrilla, casualties tend to ratchet up until one force is effectively destroyed. In Vietnam, US casualties ratcheted up until the destruction of the Vietcong the Tet Offensive, after which Vietcong attacks, and US casualties, dropped off precipitously.
The other point Roggio makes is that the enemy isn't having much success trying to export his war to the US. Our adversaries have their hands full trying to expel the American infidels from Arabia. And that was the whole point of the Iraq invasion - partly to warn Muslim leaders of the consequences of funding plausibly-deniable terrorist attacks against Uncle Sam and partly to provide a location in the heart of Arabia to slaughter the Muslim holy warriors who want to kill Americans. The rest of it (WMD's, freedom, etc) was the kind of diplomatic hypocrisy we wage to counter the diplomatic hypocrisy that our foreign adversaries wage against us.
#3
Bobby: Think 1945 in the Pacific - Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Hiroshima, Nagsaki, game over.
That's right. Okinawa, the final battle fought against the Japanese, involved the highest US KIA sustained during the Pacific War. Several months before that, Iwo Jima held that honor. Wars generally die out with a bang, not a whimper.
#4
The only three assets the *worldwide* enemy has is some money, hot bodies, and diffusion. Since their money supply is fairly fixed, their only escalation option is to commit more and more personnel in more and more concentrated efforts. Eventually they will run out of willing dummies.
#5
72 virgins in paradise do not procreate new replacements here on earth and I do not think the Jihadist are leaving samples at a sperm back in Mecca.
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/20/2005 12:05
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That was an interesting read: thankyou!
I think it overlooks one thing: the honour-shame and religious fanatacism cult though.
With honour-shame, residents may not make a logical choice. Logically stability under the new government is preferrable to chaos under militants, but a sense of pride in the 'independence' of militants may make them choose the illogically.
second, the forces of religious fundamentalism are holding sway over large numbers of people.
While Saddam was a hated strongman who frequently purged his forces and governed by terror, he kept the Islamofascists in check.
It is possible that by giving the people democracy the islamofascists may simply win a huge victory and thus we lose even as we have won by making Iraq a stable democracy.
#7
Unfortunately, I don't think we are killing them fast enough. We seem to be killing them at a rate of several hundred a month. They can keep this up indeffinately.
On the other hand the American public may be losing heart. One of the problems with allowing the Jihadis sanctuary in other countries is that they get to dictate the tempo. They can pull back whenever they've lost too many folks.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/20/2005 13:19
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What kills a would-be martyr's chance at his 72 virgins?
At least 18 suspected militants have been reported killed in clashes with Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan. Officials said that 11 Taleban rebels were killed in a clash after they attacked a government office in Washer district of Helmand province. They say seven more rebels were killed following an attack on policemen on a highway in Zabul province. The fresh wave of clashes came a day after US warplanes killed up to 20 suspected rebels in an air strike following a rebel attack in Helmand.
The rebels killed the chief of the Washer district and a policeman after attacking a government office on Monday morning, provincial spokesman Haji Mohammed Wali said. The ensuing hour-long clash left 11 rebels dead, he added.
11 to 2, check
In a separate incident, seven rebels were killed after they attacked a police checkpoint on the Kabul-Kandahar highway that runs through southern Zabul province. Zabul's deputy police chief Bari Gul told the Associated Press that a policeman was also killed in the attack.
7 to 1, check. Add 11, plus 20 from yesterday, that's 38 - 3. Not bad, course it sucks if you are one of the 3.
Three American soldiers troops were also injured when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in Paktia province, the US military said. The US has about 18,000 troops in Afghanistan tackling remnants of the Taleban that was ousted in late 2001.
Violence has increased, particularly in the south and east, following a lull over winter, raising fears for security in September's planned parliamentary elections. Nearly 400 people have been killed in Taleban-linked violence this year, most of them suspected militants but also around 30 US troops.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005
08:15 ||
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Nearly 400 people have been killed in Taleban-linked violence this year, most of them suspected militants but also around 30 US troops.
That is misleading. Most of the Americans have been killed in helicopter crashes, not in "Taleban-linked violence". 18 were killed in an April crash (15 military + 3 KBR). 4 in a January crash. There are other accidents not listed (e.g. road accidents).
Of those 400, how many were PakistaniArab Taliban?
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2005 11:25
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According to a news report from Urdu's Jassarat, a big public rally was held in Wana over the weekend, exactly one year after famous tribal commander Nek Muhammad was martyred by Pakistani army during a hunt for al-Qaida operatives.
Wana. That's in South Waziristan, right? In Pakistan...
Thousands of people including mujahideen and Islamic scholars took part in the rally and public gathering. Local scholars Maulvi Noor Mahmood Mahsood, Abdul Aziz Wazir and other speakers atteneded the meeting and expressed their thoughts. They said jihad is Farz-e-ain and it will continue inshaAllah until Qayamah. During the course of the meeting, they declare jihad against America and swore the kuffar and the munafiqeen (hypocrites) will not be forgiven. Tight security for the gathering was provided by Wana Mujahideen entrenched on nearby mountains.
Hokay. Got it. A large crowd of beturbanned yokels gathered in Wana to declare war on us. Killing us is a religious obligation and will continue until we submit and the caliph rules again. Declaration of war received. We ignored it when Binny and his butt buddies declared war on us and we got 9-11 as a reward. We're now justified in leveling Wana and its surrounding environs and killing them all, to include their wives and children and their dogs, right? If you're gonna declare war, you'd better have something to back it up, because the other side just might take your declaration seriously and kick your tail.
This article starring:
ABDUL AZIZ WAZIR
Wazir Taliban
MAULVI NUR MAHMUD MAHSUD
Wazir Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
07:28 ||
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#1
farz is one of the 8 commands of Islam
a 'farz-e-ain' is required of everyone (sometimes the young, the sick, pregnant females, etc. don't have to do certain things)
#4
They know we could Dasiy Cutter them all, right? They assume we will not, I guess.
Watch out, boyz, qayamah is closer than you think!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 9:53
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#5
Problem is guys, we respect the sovereignty of Pakland and will never do anything about these loonies. They can declare war all day and we sit back and put "diplomatic" pressure on Pakland to do something. This same loonies spend their entire days trying to find ways to kill us and foment trouble in Afghanistan and Kashmir. India hasn't been able to stop the flow of moonbats into Kashmir even though they kill and average of 4 a day. More keep coming. It's time to take off the goloves screw Perv, get it done.
#6
Hmmmmm - isn't it about time Allan displayed his displeasure with these backasswrads rubes? I'm thinking a massive flu or other epidemic?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2005 11:20
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#7
If I had a dollar for every mujahideen organization that declared war on Uncle Sam, I'd be a rich man. Declarations like this are a fund raising gimmick designed to raise money from the credulous faithful. When they back up their words with actions, I'll believe them.
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 11:58
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#10
As Fred says. Of course, if they'd just stay in Wana we could sit back and laugh at their eye-rolling, face-making and gun sex. Problem is, they won't stay put.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2005 12:00
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#11
The crowd just calls out for ...
MOAB
I'd prefer the use of napalm myself. Giving 'em a taste of where they're headed would be a nice gesture....
#12
The big problem is that we've been TOO "Kind and gentle" in waging this war, and the enemy has no respect for our type of war. It's time to "go barbarian". We need to napalm and ARCLIGHT one of these villages out of existence, and see how much they want to wage "jihad" against a nuclear-armed, meaner-than-Satan bunch of killers in camouflage fatigues and flight suits. I think it will take twice, possibly three times to send the right message. I propose the first strike be in Wana, the second in Riyadh, and the third in Mecca, to be followed by a VERY LARGE nuke. If the problem persists, rinse and rearm.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 20:17
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#13
"Problem is guys, we respect the sovereignty of Pakland..."
Yeah, and we respected the sovereignty of Afghanistan and Iraq too -- until they pushed us too far. Pak's day is coming.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/20/2005 20:40
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By Abu Haitham Al-Hijazee If you think that Saudi security forces have quashed the Mujahideen in the land of the Two Holy Mosques, as claimed by Prince Nayef, think again. Less than a month ago, three military choppers were set ablaze inside Al-Qaseem airport. The incident was reported as an accident by Saudi officials.
I think we had our suspicions about that at the time...
Two days ago, Al-Qaida organization in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility and provided details on the operation, thereby, dealing the Saudi government another major blow of embarrassment.
I think that was pretty much ignored by the press. Might as well have saved the effort. No corpses, y'know...
Now, Lieutenant Col. Mubarak Al-Sawwat Al-Autaibi, the most notorious interrogations officer and jailer at Ruwaise prison in Jeddah was gunned down by Al-Qaida Mujahideen as he left his house in Mecca for work early Saturday morning. Sawwat was responsible for torturing many Mujahideen prisoners, their friends, and their families. The accompanying Arabic video, which was taped sometime ago, gives a glimpse of what this heartless, and faithless man has done to Muslims and their families. Many of those that have died from torture had been killed in interrogations personally overseen by Sawwat. In many cases, he forced prisoners to confess to violations they have never committed by bringing the wives, mothers or daughters of the accused into their interrogations, ordering the accused to confess to certain violations, otherwise his wife, mother, sister, or daughter will be raped there and then, right in front of the prisoner.
Saddam Hussein reference. Just as bad. No different. Got it.
In a letter smuggled out, one prisoner (who later died from torture) described his first encounter with Sawwat: Sawwat asked him about the thick, long bush of hair on his face, referring to the man's beard (without calling it such). The prisoner replied with pride that it is his beard and it is Sunnah. Sawwat then told him that it is a broom and will be used as broom to sweep the floors of the prison.
Awwww! Diddums offend his Islamic sensibilities?
Sawwat was warned by Al-Qaida in writing and by telephone. He was giving an opportunity to stop his acts against the Mujahideen and repent to Allah, and repeatedly warned that if he did not stop he would be eliminated. He did not heed Al-Qaida's advice and ended up paying for his arrogance with his life. Only Allah knows what further penalties he has yet to pay for his heinous acts.
Soddy copper dead. My sympathy meter doesn't stir. In Dire Revenge™ for mistreating Qaeda thugs. Sympathy meter's trying to nudge into the negative range. The apathy meter, however, seems to be reading pretty high.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
07:19 ||
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I explored the Jihad Unspun site for a minute and was surprised, but not shocked, to see an Al Gore speech reprinted as evidence of the widening gulf dividing the American people.
If you have an infinite number of monkeys, typing on an infinite number of typewriters.....
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 9:13
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Saudi terrorists seem to be getting a clue. Random violence doesn't work, but targeted violence does.
A 17-year-old accused of ties to a banned Islamist group in Syria was sentenced to six years in prison by a state security court yesterday, a human rights lawyer said. Massaab Hariri was initially sentenced to death for allegedly belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, "but the court commuted the death sentence to a prison term instead", said Anwar Bunni.
Hariri was arrested on his arrival in Syria from Saudi Arabia and has been in prison for the past three years. His mother was also arrested but released some months later. Her son's case was transferred to the security court, which operates under emergency laws in place since the ruling Baath party took power in 1963. In addition, Hariri's father is wanted by police for belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, Bunni said.
Okay, I've got no sympathy for the Mooselimb Brotherhood. The state, even a state like Syria, has the right to protect itself from Islamist subversion. The kid was arrested on his way home from Wahhabiland, which is another point against him. But if he's been in prison for the past three years, and he's 17 now, that means he was 14 when he was jugged. Go ahead and stretch Pop's neck when you catch him, and Mom, too, if she's involved in that crap. But give the kid enough time to get old enough to make his own mistakes in life.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
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An explosion ripped through a pizzeria in a town in the southeastern province of Styria, killing two children and injuring seven, in a blast that may have been the result of an attack, authorities said. The explosion Saturday touched off a fire and gutted the building in Wagna bei Leibnitz, a small town in Austria's wine-growing region, Austria Press Agency reported. Several surrounding buildings were damaged. The two dead children were between ages 4 and 5. The injured, including an 18-month old child, were hospitalized.
Police combed the collapsed structure hours after the 2:40 a.m. blast in hopes of determining the cause, though by mid-afternoon authorities discounted the possibility that leaking gas was to blame. "It looks at the moment like it was probably an attack," Fire inspector Guenter Peterka told state television. The Egyptian family that operated the restaurant had been involved in a dispute with others in the building over the noise from the restaurant.
Okay. It's probably unfair of me to immediately leap to the conclusion that they solved the dispute like they would have solved it back home. After all, they could be perfectly honest, ethical businessmen. It could be leaking gas, even though it doesn't look like it. I suppose it could be skinheads, though I haven't seen many other booms attributed to the lederhosen and dirndl set...
Posted by: Fred ||
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Little things in Austria have a way of getting out of control.
The beheaded bodies of a Laotian couple were found in southern Thailand over the weekend and were believed to be the latest victims of Muslim separatist violence, police said Sunday. The bodies of Amkha Duangmala, 26, and his wife, Konmanee Duangmala, 25, were found late Saturday in a hut on a chicken farm in Pattani province, said police commander Col. Suchon Ditbuth. Their heads were found early Sunday about 4 miles away. Police believe Muslim separatists were responsible for the killings but gave no evidence to back up the claim.
Except that nobody else in Thailand chops off people's heads.
Posted by: Fred ||
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But wait, didn't some international Islamic group just report last week that there is no evidence that these sorts of activities are in any way related to Muslims. Letâs not jump to conclusions. It could be a CIA plot to make Muslims look bad or alien abduction or something else, anything else, besides the fruits of the religion of peace.
A suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi military checkpoint north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing two soldiers and one civilian, officials said. Thirteen others were wounded. The suicide attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown 80 miles north of Baghdad, Army Capt. Muhanad Ahmed said. The civilian killed was an employee who manned the security checkpoint. The wounded included eight soldiers and five civilians, Ahmed said. Civilians were near the checkpoint because construction workers were fixing the gate. Elsewhere, gunmen killed two Iraqi police officers in western Baghdad as they headed to work Sunday morning, while a second band of gunmen killed an electrical engineer who was on his way to work at an oil refinery in the Iraqi capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
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In three separate incidents in Fallujah, insurgents trying to place a roadside bomb opened fire with small arms and rocket propelled grenades on a group of Marines. Other insurgents attacked Marines in the same area with machine gun fire. "Fifteen gunmen were killed during the course of the day's operations. No Marines were injured in the attacks," Pool said.
G'bye, boyz! Give our — heh heh! — warmest regards to Himmler!
Posted by: Fred ||
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Abullah....I thought it was 72 virgins...but they say it is 72 Virginians.
A suicide bomber walked into a popular Baghdad kebab restaurant at lunchtime Sunday and killed at least 23 people eating plates of lamb and rice — the deadliest attack in the capital in just over six weeks. The bomber detonated his explosives-laden vest at the Ibn Zanbour restaurant, 400 yards from the main gate of the heavily fortified Green Zone — U.S. and Iraqi government headquarters. The cafe was popular with Iraqi police and soldiers. The dead included seven police officers. The bodyguards of Iraqi Finance minister Ali Abdel-Amir Allawi and 16 other police were injured, police and hospital officials said. The minister was not in the restaurant. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility "for the Baghdad bombing" and said the attacker was from Qaim, near the westernmost of the two joint U.S.-Iraqi offensives. The statement appeared on an Islamic Web site, and its authenticity couldn't be verified.
Another tiresome boomer, accomplishing nothing but to kill a few people and cheese off more Iraqis. They don't know anything else to do.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
one big change from early on is that, in late 2003 and early 2004, when this kind of thing happened, a lot of Iraqis would say, "this can't be the work of a moslem" or even "this is the fault of America" or even "this was done by America"
now, everybody knows that these suicide bombers are moslems and most, in fact, are Arabs from outside Iraq
this fact gets little play partly because it has happened incrementally but I think it is very important
The next important step is for the Iraqi parliment or the prime minister to start delivering passionate speeches denouncing their brother arabs and brother moslems. I've been waiting for this for sometime but the current Prime Minister seems very weak. The person who takes a leadership role in this could gain loads and loads of popularity.
#2
It seems that at last all the toing and froing of Hizbollah and others through the tunnels, along with the weapons, into and out of Gaza under the watchful eye of the Egyptians is being using fruitfully in Iraq G2Bulletin
(subscription reqd.) BREAKING NEWS
Palestinians aid Iraqi terrorists
Rockets, explosives improvements shared with U.S. enemy
Police in Bahrain beat and arrested demonstrators protesting for jobs in the capital Manama yesterday, rights activists and witnesses said, but the Interior Ministry said police had been attacked first. "A group of about 50 unemployed and other sympathizers were demonstrating peacefully near the royal court when police harshly attacked them, beat them and arrested more than 30 of them," human rights activist Nabeel Rajab said. Among those beaten and arrested was Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, head of the banned Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Rajab said. Other witnesses said police hit demonstrators with batons.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The West African nation of Guinea-Bissau held its first presidential elections Sunday since a bloodless 2003 coup, a vote many hope will restore democracy and jump-start development in a war-ravaged country that is also one of the world's poorest. Three former heads of state were among 13 candidates vying for the nation's top post — including ex-President Kumba Yala, the man the military ousted two years ago, and two other former heads of state. The poll marks the nation's first presidential ballot since the military ousted democratically elected Yala in a September 2003 coup, replacing him with interim leader Henrique Rosa, who's not running.
The next president faces a moribund economy based largely on cashew-nut production, with risk-wary foreign investors largely shunning the tiny coup-prone, ex-Portuguese colony of 1.4 million. Decades of instability have left Guinea-Bissau one the world's 10 least-developed countries, according the United Nations, with 80 percent of the population living on less than $2 per day.
Another West African success story. G-B at one time had a little commie revolution going, led by a guy with the nom-de-guerre of Dick Daring. I have no idea whatever happened to him, because it's hard to maintain an interest in that kind of place. It looks like they've taken the traditional path of oligarchy and coup d'etat. But that's okay. We should give them money, because their own ineptitude at running even a small country is somehow our fault.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
I had to look, this is what I found.... is that Spanish or Portugeese?
#2
"Dick Daring of the Mounties"... in Spanish. Un classico!
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 7:14
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Perhaps Bob Geldoff and his bandaid bunnies would like to sing a tune or two for Guinea-Bissau?
Mark Steyn had a good rant that what Africa needs is accounants and a decent administrative system (non-corrupt) and not pop star benefit gigs or billions in foreign aid.
No. Ya think? No, Fred, of course it is all our fault!
A former parliament speaker has been arrested in the brief takeover of Kyrgyzstan's government headquarters last week, according to a news report Sunday. Mukar Cholponbayev, who served as speaker of the Central Asian nation's lower parliament house in the late 1990s, was arrested in the capital Bishkek on Saturday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing an unidentified Interior Ministry official.
According to Interfax, the official said Cholponbayev was suspected of helping organize the takeover Friday, in which about 2,000 supporters of a would-be presidential contender stormed the headquarters. Troops from the Interior Ministry forced them out about an hour later, using tear gas to disperse the crowd in the biggest unrest since opposition protesters seized the government building on March 24 and ousted longtime President Askar Akayev, who fled to Russia. The crowd was protesting election officials' refusal to register Urmat Baryktabasov to run in Kyrgyzstan's July 10 presidential vote. Officials have said he is ineligible because he was a citizen of neighboring Kazakhstan. Acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is expected to win the election.
"You cannot be Zorro, 'cuz you got a fonny assent!"
Posted by: Fred ||
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JAPAN is taking a diplomatic pounding today from anti-whaling nations over its plan to slaughter more than 800 whales over the coming year. Australia, New Zealand and Britain have led a barrage of outrage against one of the world's most powerful countries after it announced plans today to double its catch of minke whales and extend its whaling to include endangered species.
At an International Whaling Commission meeting today, Japan said it would catch about 850 minkes annually in the Antarctic Ocean starting with a voyage late this year. Japan said its research plan submitted to the International Whaling Commission the opening of an annual meeting in Ulsan, South Korea.
New Zealand's Conservation Minister Chris Carter said: "New Zealand totally rejects Japan's proposals to double the number of whales slaughtered in the Southern Ocean," he said. "Where is the science from 18 years of scientific whaling? Where is the science? It doesn't exist."
Australia's Environment Minister Ian Campbell said Japan's plan was an "outrage". Voting at the meeting, he said, "will come down to a clash between those who want to continue to whale and to expand whaling in this millennium and those of us who want to see whaling relegated to an historic fact from the last millennium."
Japan also plans to hunt 20 endangered fin whales and broaden its catch to include humpbacks over the next two years. The quota system lets a country go 10 per cent above or below the round figure, meaning Japan could go up to 935 minke whales. Currently, Japan has a guideline of 400 whales a year and most years kills the top limit of 440.
Japan, where whale meat is part of the diet, says Western nations that oppose its hunt are offending its culture and that it does not need IWC approval. Australia has spearheaded efforts to stop Japan from hunting near its waters.
Japan also said it would extend its hunt from minke whales to larger fin and humpback whales, which are both considered endangered by the World Conservation Union. Japan said it would hunt 10 fin whales a year for the next two years and then raise its quota to 50, with the program to be reviewed in six years. Japan also plans to hunt 50 humpbacks annually from the third year or late 2007.
Ben Bradshaw, the British minister responsible for fisheries said the kind of suffering that many whales were subjected to, was "totally unacceptable in 2005". "We don't think there's a humane way to kill a whale," he said. "This is an absolutely vital IWC meeting ... Future generations will not forgive this meeting if we go backwards in our conservation of whales."
The boost in the Antarctic Ocean will bring Japan's annual cull of whales to about 1300 as the country also hunts about 380 minke and other whales in the northwestern Pacific.
Japan reluctantly accepted a 1986 IWC moratorium on whaling and ended its commercial whaling in the Antarctic Ocean with a voyage from late 1986 to early 1987. But it started "research" whaling with a voyage from late 1987, in line with the IWC charter but was harshly criticised by anti-whaling nations that see it as thinly-disguised commercial whaling. The meat from the "research" is sold on the market in line with IWC rules.
Japan said in a statement its new program was meant to "shed light on the ecosystem centring on whales in the Antarctic Ocean, develop a management model covering several species of whales and improve management of minke stocks." Japan would collect data such as the whales' maturity, pregnancy ratios and stomach contents for "more appropriate management of whale stocks," it said.
Japan says whaling is an essential part of its heritage that if conducted sustainably and through strict quotas should be allowed to continue. It says recovering whale stocks are increasingly swallowing up profits of the Japanese fishing industry, an argument environmentalist groups completely dismiss.
Earlier this month, the WWF conservation group laid into the hunt, saying Japan's stance that it kills whales for research is not only a commercial hunt in disguise but is also based on lousy science. It also said "research" on whales would be more effective by conducting genetic tests on small samples of whale skin that can be removed in a non-harmful way.
But Japanese officials argue that non-lethal research gives them only limited information and they need to kill whales to get more detailed data such as how mature they are and whether they are active in reproduction.
#1
I wish I knew what snazzy comment went with this...
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/20/2005 1:04
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That's a hell of a research project with 400 to 800 whales taken every year.
I have seen several whale hunts around Kivalina and Point Hope, Alaska. Pretty neat. They have bowhead and gray whales up there. One time in Barrow, they were pulling a bowhead whale up out of the water and on to the shore with the traditional block and tackle, and rope. Everyone gets in line and heave-hos the whale. Well, one time something failed and the block went sailing into the pullers and killed a woman.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/20/2005 2:56
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they need to kill whales to get more detailed data such as how mature they are
probably more mature than the whalers
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/20/2005 4:00
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Sorry, but hunting whales is no different to hunting bear, deer, kangaroo or any other mammal. I'm neutral on hunting anything, but as far as I can see the only thing different about whales is international law and treaties have gotten into the act.
#5
Are the specific whales being hunted on the endangered species list? If not, WTF.
Another baby seals, puppy dogs, and baby ducks moment.
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/20/2005 8:07
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Are the specific whales being hunted on the endangered species list? If not, WTF.
Another baby seals, puppy dogs, and baby ducks moment.
Australia, New Zealand and Britain have led a barrage of outrage against one of the world's most powerful countries after it announced plans today to double its catch of minke whales and extend its whaling to include endangered species...
...Japan also said it would extend its hunt from minke whales to larger fin and humpback whales, which are both considered endangered by the World Conservation Union.
So yes, there are.
And it's not like this is real hunting or anything; it's market hunting, and I don't think anyone of average income in Japan is going to be eating much whale meat. Assume about 1000 2000-lb. whales, and the whales are all-meat... and the population of Japan is 100 million... you get 2000000/100000000... which works out to 2/100 of a pound of whalemeat per year per person in Japan.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/20/2005 8:27
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Here ya do,Phil.
"Captain,there be whales here"LTC.Scott:eginering officer.
#13
"It's a cultural thing" means in this case that Japan doesn't want to mothball its whaling fleet. It's like the Japanese engineering firm that landed a contract to build a bridge to an island nobody goes to for a hundred million dollars: we want people to keep their jobs, whether it makes sense or not.
There is no scientific reason to hunt whales. Period.
In related news, whale sharks, the largest known fish, have declined in overall length by 2 meters. What this means is that the population is under stress and the sharks simply aren't living as long. Lobsters and fish off the Grand Banks are in the same trouble: overfishing is killing off the older, stronger, hardier breeders. The fisheries are crashing.
Pro-Syrian candidates appeared headed for defeat Sunday in Lebanon's first free elections in three decades — a win that would break Damascus' longtime domination of Lebanese political life and its parliament.
I'd hardly cause that a surprise, even if all they're really doing is switching oligarchies...
A pro-Syrian leader acknowledged a major defeat for his candidates and an anti-Syrian opposition official said the ticket's unofficial results indicated a near sweep in the contest for 28 parliamentary seats in northern Lebanon. Suleiman Franjieh, a Christian former interior minister who is close to the family of Syrian President Bashar Assad, said: "We bow to the will of the people."
If you'd done that, you wouldn't be on the outside looking in now, would you?
Whatever the outcome, however, the Christian-Muslim solidarity that emerged after the February assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has been deeply marred by sectarian divisions.
We're discussing Lebanon, remember? 20 years ago they were still destroying Beirut and shooting each other dead in the streets. There were so many murderous factions nobody could keep track of them. This is called "progress."
The divide has only become more acute in the heated competition leading to the final round of voting in the north of the eastern Mediterranean country. The ticket led by the slain prime minister's son, Saad Hariri, must win 21 of the 28 seats in the Sunday vote to gain a majority in the 128-member body. "We're ahead and we're very optimistic," an official in Saad Hariri's camp said after their count indicated they were winning. The unofficial tally by the campaigns of tickets backed by Hariri appeared to guarantee the opposition a majority in the new legislature and break the hold Syria has held in the outgoing parliament for more than a decade. The Syrian army withdrew from Lebanon in April.
That was an accomplishment in itself, even if the pols and their supporters continue reverting to type...
Walid Jumblatt, the Druse opposition leader and ally of Hariri who was among the most vocal against Syrian control, declared victory. "We have triumphed in the north," he said, calling the pro-Syrians in parliament "nothing but a bad minority."
Posted by: Fred ||
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The unity of the Islamic nation is the prime objective of a major international conference to be held in Makkah from Aug. 6 to 8. Some 300 Islamic scholars from different parts of the world will attend the conference which has been organized by the Muslim World League (MWL). "The conference will focus on practical aspects to achieve cultural, political and economic unity among Muslim countries and peoples," said MWL Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Turki after a consultative planning meeting.
The conference will discuss prospects of setting up a defense force within the framework of the United Nations Charter to confront foreign aggression. It will also call for an international Islamic court of justice to settle disputes among Muslim countries and organizations. According to an MWL statement, the conference will emphasize the need to strengthen economic and commercial ties among the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference by promoting free trade and establishing an Islamic common market. It will also stress the importance of Islamic solidarity to solve many of the problems facing the Muslim world.
The two-day consultative meeting which ended at MWL headquarters in Makkah yesterday brought together leaders of various Islamic organizations to achieve a consensus on topics for debate at the conference. Those attended the meeting included Ezzuddin Ibrahim, adviser to the UAE president, Khaled Al-Madkur, chairman of the committee for the implementation of Shariah in Kuwait, and Kamil Sharief, secretary-general of the Cairo-based World Islamic Council for Dawa and Relief. The conference, under the patronage of Crown Prince Abdullah, is entitled "The Unity of the Islamic Nation" and has been organized in response to a resolution taken by the OIC summit in Malaysia in October 2003, Al-Turki said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The conference will discuss prospects of setting up a defense force ... to confront foreign aggression. To whom, pray tell, might they be referring? And how on earth do they think they will be able to successfully defend themselves against such?
FLUELLEN
Captain Macmorris, I think, look you, under your
correction, there is not many of your nation--
MACMORRIS
Of my nation! What ish my nation? Ish a villain,
and a bastard, and a knave, and a rascal. What ish
my nation? Who talks of my nation?
-- Henry V, Act 3
#4
...the conference will emphasize the need to strengthen economic and commercial ties among the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference by promoting free trade and establishing an Islamic common market.
#5
Well, just as soon as they can agree on the moon-sightingcontroversy, thay can get on to the less important stuff, like having an economy and better ways to conquer the infidels.
#6
âThe conference will focus on practical aspects to achieve cultural, political and economic unity among Muslim countries and peoples,â said MWL Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Turki after a consultative planning meeting.
The ideal outcome for organizers of this "conference" will be that it won't be just Iran that publicly utters the "Death to America" chant; ALL of them will be doing it.
Somalia's prime minister, lawmakers and members of his cabinet returned home Saturday and began the work of governing after spending months of exile in neighboring Kenya because Somalia was considered too unsafe. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi arrived in the southern Somali town of Jowhar, about 60 miles northwest of the capital Mogadishu, to relocate a seven-month old government from the Kenyan capital, said Yusuf Ismail, a government spokesman. Hundreds of Somalis lined the road to the airport to welcome Gedi, chanting slogans in support of the government's return. Somalia has been without a central government since clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Warlords then turned on each other, and the country of 7 million plunged into chaos.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Hundreds lined the road... in a country of seven million. Success is assured then.
The Iraqi tribunal investigating members of Saddam Hussein's regime released a videotape Sunday showing testimony by the ousted dictator's cousin, nicknamed "Chemical Ali" for his alleged role in the 1988 chemical attack that killed at least 5,000 people in the Kurdish town of Halabja. Ali Hassan al-Majid and seven other former officials were shown testifying before an investigating judge and signing statements. The tribunal did not say when the tape was made, but one of the documents signed by al-Majid was dated June 16. It was the third such tape released by the panel this month. On June 15, the tribunal released a video showing the questioning of three former senior officials — including Saddam's half brother Sabawi Ibrahim. Saddam himself appeared on an earlier tape.
I'm waiting for the trials to start. That'll be when the international circus arrives in town, complete with clowns and elephants and verbal acrobats.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Hey, there's an idea - when the clownd arrive, detail some street sharks to strip 'em of wallets and passports, then arrest 'em for being vagrant aliens without documents.
Palestinian residents of a Gaza Strip enclave that has been branded a haven for collaborators asked the Israeli Supreme Court on Sunday to grant them refuge inside Israel after the Gaza evacuation this summer. Although the residents of the village of Dahaniya insist they are not collaborators — and Israeli officials agree — their lawyer says they will be killed by fellow Palestinians if they are forced to remain after the Israeli soldiers who now protect them withdraw from Gaza.
They're not militant enough, y'see...
Israeli officials say they plan to raze the village in the southern Gaza, compensate the residents and send most of them into the rest of Gaza to build new lives. "The Palestinians see them as collaborators, and if they fall into their hands, it's a death sentence," their attorney, Chaim Mandelbaum, said. The residents, many of them Bedouin, say Israel is responsible for their reputation. In the petition filed with Israel's top court on Sunday, they asked to be relocated as a community to the southern Negev desert in Israel, and to receive compensation similar to that being given to Israeli settlers who are to be evacuated from Gaza settlements during the withdrawal, Mandelbaum said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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I wonder how much of this is due to their apparent tribal identity as Bedouin?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/20/2005 2:08
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Probably a lot. Some Bedouin do work with the Israelis and many dislike town life. They are not related to the clans who get the bribes and wield power in the PLA so staying is a losing proposition.
Will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm not sure Israel has the finances to reimburse them easily.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 9:32
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If the Israelis don't compensate these guys, who is going to work for them against the Palestinians in the future? That's my other gripe against these guys. After the Vietnam War, we accepted millions of Indochinese refugess. The Israelis hung the Lebanese Christians out to dry after they abandoned their positions in the south of Lebanon.
#4
the israelis took in the South Lebanese Army, and their families. What did you expect, that they would take the entire Christian population of South Lebanon? Most of whom had no affiliation with Israel?
#5
its not just beduin BTW. IIUC there are persistent rumors among the Pals, that regular Pal Arab colloborators fled to the Beduin village at various points during the second intifada - rumors that are denied by the Beduin, IIUC. OTOH its not clear that all, or even many Beduin would actually be subject to persecution - as opposed to the ordinary problems of life under the PA, which is just as alien a regime to the beduin as Israel is. So why not try to get into the richer society?
Note that some Israelis have suggested that an even exchange of territory could be achieved by annexing lands in the West Bank where major Jewish settlements exist, and compensating the PA with land from pre-1967 Israel, that has major concentrations of Israeli Arabs (thus further easing the "demographic dilemma") Not surprisingly the Israeli Arabs in question reject this out of hand.
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"More than 28,000 people of Japan and the United States lost their lives here on Iwo Jima. I hope I can contribute to a permanent world peace, knowing that their ultimate sacrifice has brought about today's peace and prosperity," Koizumi said before placing flowers.
But 60 years ago, the American public was growing tired of the war, and the government was supressing bad news. That fear of "quagmire" led to the decision to use the bomb. What will the historians say about the War on Terror in 60 years?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 9:33
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Seven Cambodian men were charged in court Sunday with involvement in the death of a 2-year-old Canadian boy during last week's takeover at an international school.
Takes a lot of guts to plug a 2-year-old, you betcha...
Four men accused of carrying out the attack on the school near northwestern Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex were charged with premeditated murder, kidnapping, illegal detainment of persons for ransom and illegal use of a weapon, prosecutor Bou Bunhang said. The charges carry penalties ranging from 15 years to life in prison.
Being real old-fashioned, which of course makes me barbaric in my outlook, I'd favor the death penalty for the lot of them.
Their three alleged accomplices — two private security guards and a man who sold the handgun used to kill the Canadian boy — were charged with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, illegal detainment and illegal use of a weapon. One of the guards worked at the school.
He doesn't sound like the best investment they ever made...
Four men stormed Siem Reap International School on Thursday and held about 30 students and some teachers hostage for more than six hours. Their alleged leader, Chea Sokhom, used the handgun, their only weapon, to shoot the Canadian boy in the head because he would not stop crying, according to police.
I usually get by with my sainted father's tactic of threatening to swat the child's bottom, thereby giving the little brat something to cry about. I can't say I've ever had the urge to shoot a 2-year-old, though it has occurred to me with regard to some of their parents. But even that urge quickly passed...
The crisis ended when police cornered the van in which the attackers tried to escape with several child hostages and a reported $30,000 ransom. Ou Em, head of the serious crime division in Siem Reap province, said police Saturday arrested Un Nee, who allegedly sold the handgun to Chea Sokhom for $150. The two security guards told police that Chea Sokhom had invited them to join in a plot to hold the school's students for ransom, police said.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
Posted by: Fred ||
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MeI ussally put thier littlte butts in another room,tell them they can come out when they stop crying and shut the door.
Sounds like they need UN peacekeepers... Oh. Wait...
Posted by: Fred ||
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No, no, no....what they NEED is the services of Jimmy Carter, John Kerry, Joe Biden, and Dick Durbin, and ... um ...wahsherface ...Maureen Dowd! Yeah!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 14:54
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#2
They've got jihadis in Haiti?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/20/2005 23:05
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Police yesterday raided flats in Deira and Bur Dubai and arrested a number of people including women from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries for prostitution and overstaying. The Dubai police warned real estate agents to be cautious when renting out flats and stressed a passport copy on its own would not determine the credentials of the tenant. They asked agents to make sure where the prospective tenants worked and their terms of employment. The warning comes in the wake of yesterday's raids, which police said were part of an investigation and manhunt for a suspect in a major case. The police said some rent out their flats to people they don't even know and move into cheaper accommodations.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
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#1
Hookers in Dubai? Nooo. Can't be.
I love how real estate agents will be made the scapegoat, requiring them to verify employment details - LOL!, instead of the Immigration Officials who are handsomely paid off to let them in. How perfectly Arab.
Oh, and you bet they've got a bunch of CIS girls - the Arabs get all giggly over blonds.
I'm guessing somebody, somebody with wasta, either didn't get his cut - or has decided to take over the whole show... maybe he found his own foreign source for wymyns. Remember the bombings in Riyadh where they blamed those poor tortured Brits and Canucks? Same game. That time booze, this time broads.
#2
.com -
When I was there, we were warned to watch out for the 3000 AIDS-infected Russian stewardesses that had somehow gotten into Bahrain. Apparently they've just moved down the coast.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/20/2005 1:11
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Mike - 3000 with AIDS? That has to be a monumental exaggeration! I'd believe 300-400 Russian wymyns total. I don't want to admit too much, lol, but given the number of likely hotels added to the ones I'm sure of, I'm not sure you could even house 3000 Russian hookers in Manama without massive, and I mean wholesale, "official" collaboration. Sheesh - that's an army... they'd stick out like a sore thumb in a tiny place like Bahrain, and all with AIDS? Nah. Mebbe a creative Medical Officer was havin you guys on!
As for Dubai, well, it was the BA stews, looking ahead to their retirement you understand, that I'll remember best, lol!
#4
.com-
'Exaggeration' would have been an improvement. We knew it didn't pass the smell test, and that getting 3000 of ANYBODY into Bahrain would have been a challenge. However, we got straightfaced briefings on that - somebody at CENTAF took it seriously. I remember a couple of guys getting pinged on during the briefing because they wouldn't stop laughing.
(Of course, I promised not to laugh after that.)
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/20/2005 7:34
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Mike, when we got to Korea we were forced to watch a horrific slide show on VD. It was graphic, disgusting, and (because of the female 2LT seated next to me) very entertaining. The Commanders don't want you out of service due to a case of VD and they always use the scare tactic to try and stop you.
#6
CyberSarge-
I'm with you there - when I was at Kunsan, I had the unpleasant experience of having my entire crew - 4 airmen - all report to sick call one Monday morning with cases of NSU. Needless to say, the leadership was unhappy with me.
Didn't intend to belittle the concerns of the local leadership at Al-Kharj, I know they only had our best interests at heart. It was the near hysteria with which CENTAF trumpted the story that made the impression it did.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/20/2005 20:52
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
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I just got the chance to see, on FoxNews of course, excerpts of Dr Rice's speech - and she pulled no punches on Egypt, Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia - and maybe more, that's just what Fox featured. Very blunt and plain-spoken. It rocked.
For those who've been having hissy fits about Bush not calling a spade a spade - per their voyeur's schedule, when NO ONE BEFORE HIM EVER DID SO or even had the stones to IMPLY change should come, well, Bush definitely stands alone, now. This was the naked gauntlet - democratic freedom, without hesitation, without exception, no partial or half-measures, throughout the Middle East. The Bush Doctrine without nuance or exceptions in your face. There's no hesitation out there to issue blame, whether due or not. It's time for credit where due. Bush. Rice.
The Iraqi government announced Sunday it had arrested a suspected member of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, a man it claimed was responsible for building car bombs and carrying out more than 60 bombings around the capital. Musaab Kasser Abdul Rahman Hassan, known as Abu Younis, was arrested on May 26 during an operation in Baghdad, the government said in a statement. "The terrorist Abu Younis is one of the extremists who has close ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and is the mastermind of more than 60 terrorist attacks in Baghdad, targeting governmental officials and Iraqi army and police" it said. The announcement added that the "terrorist confessed to making more than 20 car bombs ... in addition to recruiting foreign suicide attackers."
We'll be looking forward to seeing him on the teevee, courtesy of the Wolf Brigade, hopefully with two or three black eyes and a fat lip.
This article starring:
ABU YUNIS
al-Qaeda in Iraq
MUSAAB KASER ABDUL RAHMAN HASAN
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
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black eyes???? I wuz thinking more of the baseball bat inserted in places that would really hurt.
The front-runner in Iran's presidential runoff sought to rally moderates Sunday by warning that his hard-line opponent would run a totalitarian regime.
As opposed to...?
The statement from the campaign manager for Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani came amid suspicions the powerful Revolutionary Guard would rig the runoff vote for conservatives.
Rafsanjani's a "pragmatic" this week, keep in mind...
Rafsanjani's campaign manager, Mohammed Baghir Nowbakht, said Friday's runoff was crucial because hard-liners would not tolerate differences of opinions if elected and would run a "totalitarian" regime. "They would never let other groups participate in the government," he said. One losing candidate already has accused the Revolutionary Guard and its vigilante supporters of fixing votes during the first round of balloting. None of the seven candidates received the necessary 51 percent to win outright, forcing the runoff.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
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Lol! Only symps or fools could possibly:
a) think this election means anything - other than a position from which to loot, pillage, and exercise power...
#2
It is hilarious, in the usual dark way, to behold the full panoply of stories being unrolled WRT the Iranian electoral farce. First there were the "horse-race" stories, complete with color pieces about youth involvement, use of pop-culture approaches to attract them, etc. Now we have disputes over "vote-rigging".
On January 30 I heard a major western news agency bureau chief in Baghdad solemnly (and absurdly) state that a turnout of less than 50% in that day's elections would impair the legitimacy of the enterprise. And now we witness extensive, sometimes lavish, coverage of the Iranian events by the MSM, all of it explicitly or implicitly respectful of the emperor's wonderful new wardrobe, hardly a hint that perhaps the whole thing is a hollow exercise. Astounding -- if it weren't commonplace by now.
As if to challenge me to unslacken my jaw and stop shaking my head, the other night CNN International had a typically self-serious and tsk-tsking piece on Microsoft's bowing to PRC pressure WRT web-search, etc. Imagine, a western corporation bowing to local censorship pressures -- even if the company's core mission wasn't about democracy or free expression. This, on CNN!
Hello! Can you say "Gaza"? How about "West Bank"? How about "Iraq, pre-Iraqi Freedom"? I've long since concluded that this level of unintentional self-parody and factual/moral inversion can only be explained by IQ levels, not merely extravagant bias, politicization, and lack of professionalism. Though all those are certainly on display, as well ......
The Basque separatist group ETA said Saturday it had halted attacks against "elected members of political parties," but Spanish politicians dismissed the claim. The statement published in the radical Basque daily Gara, which is often used as a mouthpiece for the group, said that as of June 1 ETA had "closed the front" against elected politicians because of changes in Spain's political atmosphere. These changes included the split in the anti-terrorist pact between Spain's governing Socialists and the conservative Popular Party.
It was now up to Madrid and Paris to "respond positively to the willingness shown by ETA in recent months," the statement said. The statement was published a day after the group offered dialogue to end the conflict in the northern Spanish region, but ignored demands that it disarm — vowing to fight until Spain acknowledges Basques have the right to self-determination. Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said Friday "the only communique the government wants to comment on is the one in which ETA announces it is abandoning violence definitively, in which it announces it will stop killing, that it will stop extorting, that it is disappearing."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005
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We won't kill you, if you allow us to kill the plebes in exchange for political favors. Yeah, that should go over well with the plebes.
Douglas Wood, the Australian freed after being held hostage in Iraq, has apologised for comments he made while in captivity.
Mr Wood arrived in Melbourne this morning, where he will reacquaint himself with family and friends as he recovers from 47 days in captivity as a hostage of Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad. At a press conference at Melbourne Airport, Mr Wood said he supports Australian and US policies on Iraq, and apologised to Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W Bush for some of the things he said while in captivity. "I'm proof positive that the policy of the American and Australian governments is the right one," he said.
Mr Wood says his rescue by local police is evidence of the successful training by Australian and American troops. "I think the quicker we hire, recruit, train police and the Iraq Army up to speed, then, when they're fully engaged and ready, they can start going around door to door and start developing confidence in the Iraq population," he said.
In videos of Mr Wood broadcast by Iraqi insurgents, the hostage pleaded with Australia and the US to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Mr Howard says he appreciates the apology, but he was not seeking it. He says its symbolic and moving to see the family reunited.
The Prime Minister has also rejected suggestions the Australian team sent to Iraq actually hindered rescue efforts. "This suggestion that in some way a botched operation by Australians meant that he would have been, that he was not released as early as he might have been, that is completely wrong," he said.
Mr Wood also paid tribute to his family. "I love my family, and I knew that they'd be doing as much as they could to get me out," he said. When asked if he was feeling fragile he replied: "Not especially [but] I've got some physical ailments and I've been deprived of medication for a bit."
Mr Wood also said he had not ruled out ever going back to Iraq.
Yvonne Given, Mr Wood's wife, says she never lost faith her husband would be rescued. "I am so excited and so happy and very, very grateful to the Australian Government," she said.
Mr Wood's brother Vernon says the family has hired a management company to deal with the media and has dismissed criticisms that his brother Douglas is seeking to profit from his ordeal. Vernon Wood says the story of his brother's capture and dramatic rescue should be told by Douglas on his own terms. "Our family has been inundated with inquiries from the media and businesses seeking to explore commercial opportunities for Doug," he said. "We took the step of securing professional support to ensure we can handle and protect Doug's interests.
"Doug's story is amazing. We owe it to Doug to make sure it is told fairly and accurately in the fullness of time.
Mr Wood says he has made no plans to sell his story.
Mr Wood is travelling with his wife, and his family is hoping for a meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says he is pleased Douglas Wood is looking fit and well despite his ordeal. Mr Beazley says he can understand Mr Wood's comments regarding Australia's policies in Iraq, but it does not mean things are getting better in Iraq. "We have never denied that fact, that it's important that Iraq assumes responsibility of Iraqis, assume responsibility for their own security," he said. "But if you go and extrapolate from that a discussion about whether or not things are going well, they're not going well, things are going very badly in Iraq indeed."
I am very impressed with him. He has spoken right out: including such gems as (roughly paraphrased) "I am proof positive that the US is following the right policy by training Iraqi soldiers as I was freed by Iraqis."
He has squarely laid the glory with the US and Iraqi armed forces and been silent on the Sheikh. God bless you Douglas Wood.
And yes, Sheikh Hilaly WAS trying to force his mug into the victory picture but now he is suffering sour grapes. "The 'stupid' action of armed forces raiding the house risked the hostages lives" Hilaly has come out saying.
I'll post the full attrocity under 'Loser Sheikh throws temper tantrum'.
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.
Martin was responding to questions about the assertion of former Chinese police officer Hao Fengjun that Beijing maintained more than 1,000 spies in Canada to inform on members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa flatly denies the allegations. But both the Australian and Canadian governments have indicated they are taking Mr. Hao's allegations seriously enough to investigate. "We always take all of these allegations very seriously," Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said.
3 lynched in Khulna
QOLQEPUNKU GLACIER, Peru -- One recent moonlit night high in the Peruvian Andes, about 200 men dressed in furry cloaks and woolen masks trekked up to a glacier whose ice is said to have magical healing properties. In the past these men, called ukukus after the word for bear in the local Quechua language, cut and hauled down large blocks of ice to share with family, friends and livestock as part of an annual Catholic pilgrimage known as El Señor de Qoyllur Rit'i that usually draws about 40,000 worshipers to a dizzying 16,000 feet above sea level.
Three members of Algerian security forces and an Islamic gunman were killed and two civilians were kidnapped by armed groups, officials said Monday. A security source said Monday that a land mine planted by Islamic armed groups blew up under a police vehicle in the province of Galfa, 187 miles south of Algiers, killing two policemen and injuring three others. In another incident, army troops clashed with Islamist gunmen as they were patrolling an area in the same province Saturday. A soldier and a gunman were killed. The source said an armed group kidnapped two civilians at a roadblock in the province of Boumedras in eastern Algeria. The gunmen posing as security forces snatched the men from their car and took them to an unknown destination.
Afghan intelligence officials have thwarted a plot to assassinate U.S. Ambassador 
According to a news report from Urdu's Jassarat, a big public rally was held in Wana over the weekend, exactly one year after famous tribal commander Nek Muhammad was martyred by Pakistani army during a hunt for al-Qaida operatives. 
If you think that Saudi security forces have quashed the Mujahideen in the land of the Two Holy Mosques, as claimed by Prince Nayef, think again. Less than a month ago, three military choppers were set ablaze inside Al-Qaseem airport. The incident was reported as an accident by Saudi officials. 
A 17-year-old accused of ties to a banned Islamist group in Syria was sentenced to six years in prison by a state security court yesterday, a human rights lawyer said. Massaab Hariri was initially sentenced to death for allegedly belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, "but the court commuted the death sentence to a prison term instead", said Anwar Bunni.
An explosion ripped through a pizzeria in a town in the southeastern province of Styria, killing two children and injuring seven, in a blast that may have been the result of an attack, authorities said. The explosion Saturday touched off a fire and gutted the building in Wagna bei Leibnitz, a small town in Austria's wine-growing region, Austria Press Agency reported. Several surrounding buildings were damaged. The two dead children were between ages 4 and 5. The injured, including an 18-month old child, were hospitalized.
The beheaded bodies of a Laotian couple were found in southern Thailand over the weekend and were believed to be the latest victims of Muslim separatist violence, police said Sunday. The bodies of Amkha Duangmala, 26, and his wife, Konmanee Duangmala, 25, were found late Saturday in a hut on a chicken farm in Pattani province, said police commander Col. Suchon Ditbuth. Their heads were found early Sunday about 4 miles away. Police believe Muslim separatists were responsible for the killings but gave no evidence to back up the claim.
A suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi military checkpoint north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing two soldiers and one civilian, officials said. Thirteen others were wounded. The suicide attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown 80 miles north of Baghdad, Army Capt. Muhanad Ahmed said. The civilian killed was an employee who manned the security checkpoint. The wounded included eight soldiers and five civilians, Ahmed said. Civilians were near the checkpoint because construction workers were fixing the gate. Elsewhere, gunmen killed two Iraqi police officers in western Baghdad as they headed to work Sunday morning, while a second band of gunmen killed an electrical engineer who was on his way to work at an oil refinery in the Iraqi capital.
In three separate incidents in Fallujah, insurgents trying to place a roadside bomb opened fire with small arms and rocket propelled grenades on a group of Marines. Other insurgents attacked Marines in the same area with machine gun fire. "Fifteen gunmen were killed during the course of the day's operations. No Marines were injured in the attacks," Pool said.
Police in Bahrain beat and arrested demonstrators protesting for jobs in the capital Manama yesterday, rights activists and witnesses said, but the Interior Ministry said police had been attacked first. "A group of about 50 unemployed and other sympathizers were demonstrating peacefully near the royal court when police harshly attacked them, beat them and arrested more than 30 of them," human rights activist Nabeel Rajab said. Among those beaten and arrested was Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, head of the banned Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Rajab said. Other witnesses said police hit demonstrators with batons.
A former parliament speaker has been arrested in the brief takeover of Kyrgyzstan's government headquarters last week, according to a news report Sunday. 
Pro-Syrian candidates appeared headed for defeat Sunday in Lebanon's first free elections in three decades — a win that would break Damascus' longtime domination of Lebanese political life and its parliament. 
The unity of the Islamic nation is the prime objective of a major international conference to be held in Makkah from Aug. 6 to 8. Some 300 Islamic scholars from different parts of the world will attend the conference which has been organized by the 
The Iraqi tribunal investigating members of Saddam Hussein's regime released a videotape Sunday showing testimony by the ousted dictator's cousin, nicknamed "
Seven Cambodian men were charged in court Sunday with involvement in the death of a 2-year-old Canadian boy during last week's takeover at an international school.
Police yesterday raided flats in Deira and Bur Dubai and arrested a number of people including women from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries for prostitution and overstaying. The Dubai police warned real estate agents to be cautious when renting out flats and stressed a passport copy on its own would not determine the credentials of the tenant. They asked agents to make sure where the prospective tenants worked and their terms of employment. The warning comes in the wake of yesterday's raids, which police said were part of an investigation and manhunt for a suspect in a major case. The police said some rent out their flats to people they don't even know and move into cheaper accommodations.
The Iraqi government announced Sunday it had arrested a suspected member of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, a man it claimed was responsible for building car bombs and carrying out more than 60 bombings around the capital. 
The front-runner in Iran's presidential runoff sought to rally moderates Sunday by warning that his hard-line opponent would run a totalitarian regime.
Harvey Fierstein and Ayatollah Rafsanjani...separated at birth. 
