THE father of an Australian woman has described the final act of a heroic young skydiving instructor, who calmly told his daughter their plane would crash and embraced her to protect her from the impact.
The instructor and five other people died when their plane hit a power pole and nosedived into a tree soon after take-off from an airport near St Louis, in the US state of Missouri, on Saturday.
Investigators believe the plane suffered an engine failure. A witness reported seeing its right engine in flames moments after take-off.
Two people, including 21-year-old Australian tourist Kimberley Dear, were seriously injured and remain in a US hospital.
Ms Dear's father Bill, of Sydenham in Melbourne's north-west, today said the final moments of 22-year-old sky diving instructor Robert Cook's life had been truly heroic.
He's a hero. There's no other way I can describe it, Mr Dear told the Channel 9's Today show, from his daughter's bedside.
It was utterly amazing.
When he realised the plane was actually going to crash, he grabbed Kimberley and he calmly talked to her and he told her that the plane was going to crash.
(He) told her what to expect and what to do and kept her calm and focused her attention on him and what he was saying rather than what was happening around her.
Kim was going to do a tandem jump with Robert so that she had the harness for the tandem jump on as Robert did as well, so Robert actually clipped the harness together and as the plane was coming down he put his arms around her and pulled her close.
As he pulled her close, her head rested on his shoulders. He put his head against hers to stop it flopping around.
He said to her: 'As the plane is about to hit the ground, make sure you're on top of me so that I'll take the force of the impact'.
"The plane actually hit, they believe, a power pole or a power line and it went into a vertical situation, and she became a little bit disoriented, but she felt Robert actually twist his body around until Kim was on top of him and when the plane hit the ground.
He took the full force of the impact.
Kimberley suffered pressured vertebrae, severe muscle tears around her spine, a broken pelvis and collar bone, many cuts and abrasions, concussion and severe bruising, Mr Dear said.
Kimberley's sister Tracey Dear, speaking in Melbourne, said Mr Cook must have known he was giving his life for Kimberley's as the plane plunged to earth.
There's nothing. I can't even put it into words but the only thing I can think of is saying thank you so much, she said.
I can't believe that in this world when so many people are so jaded that there are people out there like that.
He met Kimberley, as far as I know, that day. I would do that for her but I can't believe that a stranger who just met her would knowingly give up his life for her.
I just want his family to know we appreciate that from the bottom of our heart.
Kimberly is not expected to return to Australia for up to 10 weeks, Tracey told Nine.
The father plans to fly to the US attend the funeral and tell everyone that he was a hero
A JEWISH youth centre in Sydney has been targeted in an attack community leaders say is clearly linked to the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
It is the second anti-Semitic attack in Sydney in four days.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff said today attackers had failed in their bid to set alight the Jewish youth movement centre, adjacent to the Mizrachi Synagogue on Old South Head Road at Bondi.
Investigations had shown the assailants intended to cause much greater damage, dousing wooden blocks inside the building with gasoline and trying to set them alight.
The building, which is in construction, was vacant at the time of the fire and had minor damage.
Mr Alhadeff said the incident was clearly linked to rising tensions in the Middle East.
"Whenever there is a rise in tensions in the Middle East, there is a clear increase in the number of anti-Semitic attacks in Australia," Mr Alhadeff said.
"Racism has no place in our society."
Parramatta Synagogue, in Sydney's west, was the target of an anti-Semitic attack on Sunday evening when projectiles were hurled at the building's roof and blocks of concrete were thrown at two cars, smashing windows.
Officers are searching for 10 men of Middle Eastern appearance seen laughing and running from the Mason Street synagogue after it was attacked about 9pm (AEST).
NSW Police have responded by stepping up patrols of Jewish and Islamic sites as the crisis in the Middle East deepens.
San Diego: With a speed and decisiveness that surprised some, the Senate on Tuesday approved a plan to transfer the land beneath the Mount Soledad war memorial to federal control in an effort to avoid a court-ordered removal of the cross that stands there.
The Senate's unanimous vote sent the cross-transfer plan to President Bush for his expected signature. It creates what some consider an entirely new dynamic in the 17-year effort to save the cross, but which others say is a hopeless attempt to preserve a symbol on city land that courts have said unconstitutionally favors one religion over others.
Obviously we're delighted, said Charles LiMandri, an attorney advising a group of Soledad cross supporters. I think even the more liberal side of the Democratic party has to recognize that there is widespread, grassroots support for preserving veterans memorials in general, and the Soledad cross in particular.
James McElroy, the attorney representing atheist Philip Paulson who first sued to remove the cross on the grounds it amounts to an unconstitutional preference of the Christian religion over others said the bill is still unconstitutional.
I guess the Senate has a short memory, he said. You've got a local issue here. What business does the federal government have getting involved?
The legislation would preserve the 29-foot-tall cross on Mount Soledad by vesting title to the memorial in the federal government and having the Secretary of Defense administer it. The Department of Defense would manage the monument. The Mount Soledad Memorial Association, a private group that built the current cross in 1954 to honor Korean War veterans, would continue to maintain the site.
Today's vote represents a significant step forward, said El Cajon Rep. Duncan Hunter, the Republican who joined his two GOP colleagues from San Diego to write the cross-transfer legislation, which passed the House late last month. The action taken by both the House and Senate reaffirm the overwhelming desire of the San Diego community to keep the memorial exactly where it has proudly stood for over 50 years.
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has fought to keep the cross atop 800-foot-high Mount Soledad, said through spokesman Fred Sainz that he was grateful for the resonance with which the Senate spoke on the issue.
I think that the Senate was able to put political correctness aside for a moment and understand this truly is a war memorial, Sainz said. The fact there that a cross is part of it is an issue that senators of all religious faiths were able to come to terms with and accept.
In July the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court order forcing the city to remove the cross by yesterday (Aug.1) on grounds it violated the state constitution's ban on government support of religion.
The deadline was set by U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Thompson Jr., who first ordered the cross removed in 1991. It would have imposed a $5,000-a-day fine for failing to comply.
Senate approval came less than two weeks after the House voted 349-74 on July 19 to seize the land and give it to the Defense Department. After some brief wrangling among senators over who would carry the Hunter legislation through the upper chamber, the bill was placed on a so-called consent calendar, which indicated it had little opposition. It's a hot potato, and I suspect the Senate would just as soon pass it and get it to the president and let the courts deal with it, said Charlie Berwanger, attorney for the Mount Soledad Memorial Association, which has fought to keep the cross where it is.
McElroy said he didn't expect California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Democrats, to embrace the measure as they did.
I didn't expect them to go with this fad, McElroy said. But this has become good fodder for politicians in an election year.
Feinstein and Boxer tend to be staunch church-state separation advocates. But both also support a plan to spend federal money to preserve California missions that hold church services because, the senators argue, the missions have historical significance.
The Mount Soledad cross has been a great source of hope and inspiration for decades, and it has important historical significance to veterans and San Diegans alike, Feinstein said.
Boxer said, I believe this monument to be a memorial to our veterans, and therefore should be allowed to stay. The Hunter bill was drafted in a way that is consistent with the latest court action.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also supported the Senate action, saying that allowing this landmark to be destroyed would send the wrong message to our nation's veterans. Should the Mount Soledad cross end up in federal hands, its future likely will rest on interpretations of the federal Constitution, not California's. Cross supporters say the courts have been more willing to allow religious symbols on public land on federal constitutional grounds, particularly if the symbol has historic or cultural significance.
Last year, a pair of 5-4 rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court in separate cases involving the Ten Commandments established fuzzy guidelines: The court found that a display inside a Kentucky courthouse was unconstitutional, but that a 6-foot granite monument outside the Texas Capitol was all right.
The time may be ripe for the court to revisit the issue, said LiMandri. They'll take this case because the law needs clarity.
Cross foes note that the courts have ordered the removal of other crosses based on federal constitutional grounds. Five years ago, the American Civil Liberties Union successfully sued to remove a 5-foot-tall cross of metal tubing in the Mojave National Preserve, although the removal is on appeal.
I don't think the Supreme Court is going to rewrite the Constitution or the last 50 years of precedent, McElroy said. This is not like the Ten Commandments cases. The Latin cross is a powerful symbol of religion.
For now, congressional action does not interfere with various lawsuits being pursued in state and federal courts.
In state court, cross supporters are appealing a decision by a Superior Court judge that invalidated Proposition A, a measure approved last fall by 76 percent of San Diego voters that would have donated the cross to the federal government, but which the judge said violated the state Constitution.
In federal court, the city is appealing Thompson's order to remove the cross or be fined. That case is to be heard in October.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006
20:58 ||
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#1
when's the last time you saw an unanimous vote in the Senate defending a Christian symbol? Right before an election, I bet...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 21:17
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#2
Unlike the imperial judiciary, the Senate was moved to be subject, as Jefferson wrote, to the consent of the govern. It's way past time that the judiciary also be brought into a full consent position. Stangely enough, I believe in the people, who are just as qualified to read and understand what the writers really intended the Constitution to say. Just not for elites anymore.
THE ABC has apologised to the Jewish community for presenting biased, anti-Israeli information to school children during an episode of Behind the News. The educational program described Hezbollah terrorists as "soldiers" and as "refugees" whose land had been "taken by Israel".
In a letter to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, which lodged a formal complaint with Communications Minister Helen Coonan, the ABC admits the information presented on the program was "inappropriate".
Audience liaison manager Denise Musto said the ABC acknowledged "that the content failed to meet the requirements of balance and impartiality".
"In its attempt to be simple and concise, the story did not represent key relevant viewpoints," she said. "Some of the descriptions were over-simplistic and inappropriate."
Behind the News is a news program designed for school students. The episode on the crisis in the Middle East was shown on July 25, with the transcript removed from the ABC website earlier this week. Ms Musto said the "errors of judgment" were "regrettable and not indicative of the program's overall high standards". She said the content removed from the web was "being reviewed and revised material will be posted in due course".
Council president Grahame Leonard wrote to the ABC and Senator Coonan about "errors and lack of balance" in the program. Mr Leonard said Hezbollah could not accurately be described as a "Palestinian refugee organisation".
"It is an extremist Lebanese Shiite Muslim organisation. Its ideology is the same as that of Iran and includes the destruction of the state of Israel," he said.
#1
Revised material isn't good enough. To offset the damage caused, they need to put on a program to the same target audience, explaining why such beliefs are wrong, and what the truth is. Within days, or the lesson will be lost in the great mass of information coming at the children. Anything less is the farmer's apology to the pigs... which is what they hope to get away with.
ISRAEL today hacked into the television station of Hezbollah, emblazoning images on the screen showing pictures of corpses and claiming the Shiite militant group's leader Hassan Nasrallah was a liar.
One of the images shown on Al-Manar television portrayed the body of a fighter lying face-down, wearing khaki trousers with a text beneath in Arabic reading: "This is the photograph of a body of a member of Hezbollah's special forces".
"Nasrallah lies: it is not us that is hiding our losses," continued the text, which appeared during the evening news and stayed on the screen for several minutes.
A photograph of Nasrallah himself also appeared with the legend: "member of Hezbollah: watch out".
Another photograph of corpses was framed by the words: "there are a large number of corpses like this on the ground and Nasrallah is hiding this truth".
Israel also hacked into FM radio stations and instead of normal programs a two-minute recording was repeatedly broadcast.
"Hassan sent men to fight the Israeli army, an army of steel, without preparing them. Stop listening to patriotic hymns for a moment, reflect and bring your feet back to the ground," said the Arabic message.
Israel has used a variety of technological weapons to wage a psychological war in Lebanon, also sending text messages to mobile phones and voice messages saying their war was against Hezbollah and not the Lebanese people.
THE Federal Government has flagged closer military ties with Japan.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who is visiting Tokyo, says Australian troops have already worked effectively with Japan's Self Defence Force in Iraq, and it could be time to consider joint military training.
We've been able to work together well in East Timor, we've been able to demonstrate we've been able to work together well in Iraq, he told ABC Radio.
Who knows what the future may hold, but the fact that two countries that share the same values and the same alliance relationship with the United States, in the same broadly defined region of the world, it's only natural that there should be some association between the Self Defence Force and the Australian Defence Force.
Japan's constitution limits the role of its Self Defence Force, and the military is a sensitive issue in the country.
Tokyo's relationship with China which Japan invaded in 1937 and occupied until the end of World War II has soured because of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to a controversial shrine in Tokyo.
The shrine honours Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals who were executed after the conflict.
Mr Downer, whose father was a prisoner of war in Japanese-occupied Singapore, raised the issue of the shrine visits with Mr Koizumi yesterday.
But he said he was guided by his father's approach to dealing with Japan.
He took the view that, well, we had to look to the future in the relationship, we couldn't just keep reliving the past, Mr Downer said.
He'd been in Changi for three-and-a-half years.
I've taken my lead in life in respect of the Japan relationship very much from him.
The conflict in the Middle East, as well as others involving Muslim extremists, revolve around "modernization within Islam" and whether the Western system of values can "beat theirs," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a speech Tuesday.
Speaking to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Blair went on to say that the struggle was between moderate, benign values versus the hatred and intolerance of fundamentalism.
"Even the issue of Israel is just part of the same wider struggle for the soul of the region," Blair said. "If we recognize this struggle for what it truly is, we would be at least along the first steps of the path to winning it. But I fear a vast part of Western opinion is not remotely near this yet."
He added, "Whatever the outward manifestation at any one time -- in Lebanon, in Gaza, in Iraq, and add to that in Afghanistan, in Kashmir, in a host of other nations, including now some in Africa -- this everywhere is a global fight about global values.
"It's about modernization within Islam and out of it. It's about whether our value system can be shown to be sufficiently robust, true, principled and appealing that it beats theirs."
The strategy behind Islamist extremism, Blair said, is based "on a presumed sense of grievance that can motivate people to divide against each other. Our answer has to be a set of values strong enough to unite people with each other.
"And this is not just about security or military tactics -- it is about hearts and minds. It's about inspiring people, persuading them, showing them what our values at their best stand for. And just to state it in these terms underlines how much we have to do."
Many Westerners wonder if the United States and Europe pay too high a price for supporting Israel, and Blair said he can understand why many Muslims condemn that alliance. But "absent from so much of the coverage is any understanding of the Israeli predicament."
The prime minister said he "wants the war (between Israel and Hezbollah) to stop now" and that the loss of civilian life in Lebanon is "unacceptable." But he did not back down from his support for Israel.
The Jewish state, he said, has been targeted by Hamas and Hezbollah, which have captured Israeli soldiers, provoking Israel's response. Re-energizing the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians will be "fundamental" to defusing the conflict.
Blair also took aim at Iran and Syria, which back Hezbollah financially.
"We need to make it clear to Syria and Iran that there is a choice: Come into the international community and play by the same rules as the rest of us, or be confronted.
"Their support of terrorism, their deliberate export of instability, their desire to see wrecked the democratic prospects in Iraq is utterly unjustifiable, dangerous and wrong. If they keep raising the stakes, they will find that they have miscalculated."
HT to DrudgeFederal prosecutors investigating a leak about a terrorism funding probe can see the phone records of two New York Times reporters, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned on a 2-1 vote a lower court's ruling that the records were off limits unless prosecutors could show they had exhausted all other means of finding out who spoke to the newspaper.
The judges said a grand jury investigation of the disclosures wasn't likely to go anywhere without help from the reporters or access to their records.
"There is simply no substitute for the evidence they have," Judge Ralph K. Winter wrote.
The newspaper was considering an appeal, its lawyers said.
The case involved stories written in 2001 by Times reporters Judith Miller and Philip Shenon that revealed the government's plans to freeze the assets of two Islamic charities, the Holy Land Foundation and the Global Relief Foundation.
Prosecutors claimed the reporters' phone calls to the charities seeking comment had tipped the organizations off about the government investigation.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald asked the Times for information about the source of the reports in 2002, then threatened to subpoena phone company billing records in 2004.
The newspaper sued to block any such effort, saying prosecutors might use the records to fish for information about the Times' sources for a long list of stories.
In February 2005, the newspaper appeared to achieve a victory when U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet ruled that the government had failed to prove that it had exhausted all other methods.
Tuesday's decision to overturn the lower court ruling prompted a dissent by Judge Robert D. Sack, who said prosecutors had made little effort to assure the court that the information was unavailable from any other source.
He noted, however, that the majority opinion contained at least two victories for journalists: It held that reporters do have a right, in some circumstances, to protect the identities of people they speak to, and government investigators may not simply bypass an uncooperative reporter by seizing records from a phone company.
"Without such protection," Sack wrote, "prosecutors, limited only by their own self-restraint, could obtain records that identify journalists' confidential sources in gross and virtually at will.
"Reporters might find themselves, as a matter of practical necessity, contacting sources the way I understand drug dealers reach theirs _ by use of clandestine cell phones and meetings in darkened doorways."
Times attorney Floyd Abrams said the closeness of the vote illustrates a disagreement within the courts about whether reporters have a limited privilege to protect their sources.
"Not until the U.S. Supreme Court takes one of these cases and decides it will we really know where we are," Abrams said.
It is unclear whether prosecutors already have the Times' phone records. Fitzgerald's office has refused to say whether it received the records before the Times sued.
A spokesman for Fitzgerald declined to comment.
Fitzgerald had Miller jailed last year for refusing to tell a grand jury about conversations she had with the vice president's chief of staff regarding CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006
19:32 ||
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NEW DELHI, August 01, 2006: Even with Israel bombing Lebanon, India is preparing to enter into a first-ever joint defence venture with Israel to manufacture cargo ammunition.
The joint venture is proposed between the Khamaria ordinance factory near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and Israel Military Industries (IMI), a public sector company. This will be the first foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector in India since new policies about the manufacture of military products were framed last year.
However, the estimated cost of the project is undisclosed. Cargo ammunition is an explosive that can be fired from both artillery guns and tanks and is designed to damage and maim the enemy over a large area. Cargo ammunition of various calibres will enhance the importance of artillery on the battlefield dramatically, officials said
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006
19:11 ||
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During the Kargil War, Israel supplied India with ammunition from its own miliatry stocks.
The UAVs and artillery rounds were essential for destroying the invaders - over 100 000 artillery rounds were fired on Pak positions
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006 19:24
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The German shepherd police dog, placed in service two weeks ago, got zapped with electricity at 3 a.m. Friday when the man he was arresting bit into a 220-volt electrical cord, with the announced plan of killing anyone who touched him, police say.
No one died, but Adalberto Cardoso, 39, of Sumner Street, will face a raft of charges, including cruelty to animals, once he is discharged from the hospital.
An employee at McDonalds, 255 Lonsdale Ave., called for help at 3 a.m. after Cardoso used his fists to break open a plate glass window and enter the business, police allege.
The first police officers on the scene report seeing Cardoso inside McDonalds, wearing only boxer shorts and his blood that covered him from his head to his feet.
Police surrounded McDonalds and ordered Cardoso to surrender, officers report.
Cardoso, instead, jumped out of a broken window and fought with police, who report they could not get a good grip on him because of his strength and the blood and sweat that covered him.
He also fought with the police dog, punching it in the mouth and neck, police allege. Cardoso was able to crawl back to the broken window and Officer Ernest Pendergrass, who handles the police dog, pulled back the dog, fearing it would be injured by the jagged glass still in the window frame.
Cardoso escaped and jumped back into McDonalds through the broken window, police allege.
Police entered to find Cardoso standing on top of the milkshake machine, officers allege. As they approached, police say, Cardoso turned the machine on and began throwing handfuls of milkshake at the police and the police dog, officers allege.
Cardoso was able to pull the machine from the wall, police say. When Bak, the police dog, pulled him to the ground, Cardoso announced: "I'm going to kill us all," and bit into the electrical cord, police allege.
The dog, Officer Jeffrey Davis, Officer Robert Cardente and Officer Dino Giorgio all received electrical shocks because they were wrestling with Cardoso as he bit the cord, police allege.
Officer Pendergrass pulled back Bak, his partner, and reports he struck Cardoso on the shoulder and back with his fighting baton, causing him to drop the electrical cord from his mouth. Police say they dragged Cardoso away from the electrical cord and outlet and handcuffed him.
Besides cruelty to animals Cardoso is to be charged with breaking into McDonalds, assault on police officers and resisting arrest.
He was admitted to Memorial Hospital because of the deep cuts to his hands and forearms, apparently caused when he broke through the plate glass window, police report.
The dog was not injured, but three police officers were treated for cuts and bruises at Memorial Hospital.
Because the breaking and entering charge is a felony, Cardoso will face charges in Superior Court.
Lebanese army and security officials said early Wednesday that special IDF forces attempted to kidnap Sheikh Muhammad Yazbek, a member of Hizbullahs High Council and one of 12 senior organization members, near Baalbek in the west Bekaa Valley. According to reports, the operation began with at least six rapid air strikes, after which IAF choppers attempted to land ground forces in the citys western sector.
A Lebanese army outpost in the town of Shlifa, west of Baalbek, was also attacked.
The Lebanese officials estimated that the IDF forces planned to kidnap the sheikh from the Dar el-Hichma hospital, located north of Baalbek; Yazbek was reportedly surrounded by other senior Hizbullah members. Current reports say the kidnapping attempt failed and gun battles are taking place at the scene.
Flares held aloft by parachutes lighted the night sky to a daytime brilliance, a Lebanese official said. It was also reported that Israeli jet fighters attacked targets in the city of Hermel, 75 miles north of the Israeli border in the Bekaa Valley, and Hizbullah said it attacked an IDF outpost in the Shebaa Farms on the border.
Meanwhile, Al-Manar aired images of what it said was booty left behind by IDF forces near Kila in south Lebanon. The photos released were of two-way radios, shoes, canteens, and other military equipment. It is not clear when the photos were taken.
#1
Helo-dropped troops are on the ground in eastern Bekaa - Fox confirms. Making Syria-Hezb resupply trips a little more dangerous? Nabbing Hezb higher-ups? Locating, securing WMD sites? Who knows....
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 19:13
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Sounds like op is on-going. "Failed" may be a little premature.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/01/2006 19:16
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Israel doesnt have enough heliborn/aerial capacity to put a meaningful (enough to cut) force there.
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/01/2006 20:36
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#8
Well, then there's the whole training thing. If they are going to conduct special ops raids like this, they should have the firepower loitering above to back it up.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Dropping into Baalbek is pretty much sticking your arm directly into the hornets nest. There are probably Syrians, Iranians, and who knows who elseians in there. That is their training base and their logistics base. HQ for the Iranian revolutionary guards in Lebanon and former HQ of the Syrian forces. It would be like Iran trying to pull off a helocopter raid of the hospital at Ft. Bragg.
"We have so far now about six efforts running inside Lebanon ... brigade-size or even bigger than brigade-size efforts in each one of them," Israeli Brigadier General Shuki Shahur said. An Israeli brigade usually has at least 1,000 soldiers.
#12
"We have so far now about six efforts running inside Lebanon ... brigade-size or even bigger than brigade-size efforts in each one of them," Israeli Brigadier General Shuki Shahur said. An Israeli brigade usually has at least 1,000 soldiers.
No it is not. There arent 1000 men brigades in conventional armies. Why a BG would say how many efforts are there at time of war it only can be for desinformation.
#13
Or it could be a double fake on the Hizzies : announce the real number, knowing that people will think it is disinformation. Then once the operation is done, point out that you had told everyone the whole truth about the number of troops involved. Gains your spokesman credibility with the media and sets up propaganda opportunities in the future.
#15
There might be differences in size between wartime and peacetime too. Brigades might have some reserve battalions that are not part of the active unit and are only called up in emergency.
But different armies have different sized units. A Russian division during the cold war was about the size of a US reinforced brigade.
I have seen the Golani Brigade estimated at 2000 in combat so if the journalist was using a 1000 peacetime average number ... that might explain it.
#16
DEBKAfile reports: A fleet of helicopters drops large Israeli special forces Tuesday night at the Shiite village of Shraifa west of Hizballahs E. Lebanon stronghold of Baalbek
August 2, 2006, 12:44 AM (GMT+02:00)
The Hizballahs Beqaa commander Muhammad Yazbek is reported by DEBKAfiles exclusive sources as having converted the Dar al Hikmeh Hospital in the village into the headquarters for his staff. Israel troops who made for this target are engaged in heavy clashes around the building.
Lebanese witnesses report an unprecedented number of Israeli warplanes over the Beqaa valley Tuesday night and aerial strikes against five Hizballah positions near Baalbek. From the Mediterranean, Israel naval artillery pounded Hizballah rocket sites on the Lebanese shore.
DEBKAfiles senior military sources report Israel is going all out Tuesday night in an effort to finally overwhelm Hizballah on all fronts and generate conditions for the deployment of a multinational force
The IDF reported at daybreak on Wednesday that its troops returned from the operation to their base in Israel unharmed. IDF also reported that Hezbollah militants sustained some casualties during the fighting and that several militants were captured by the IDF and taken back to Israel.
The Israeli military engaged in fierce fighting Tuesday with Hezbollah forces just across the border with Lebanon, and the Lebanese Army reported Israeli aircraft struck targets near the Syrian border. Israeli aircraft hit "several" targets near the northeastern Lebanese town of Baalbeck, the Lebanese army reported. The army also reported heavy helicopter traffic east and west of the town. The Arab-language television network Al-Arabiya said it appeared the Israeli army was attempting to drop in soldiers. The Israel Defense Forces had no comment on the reports. Israeli... May they do to the Bekaa what Sherman did to the Shenandoah Valley.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/01/2006 18:31
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From the NYT;
Brig. Gen. Shuki Shakar of the Northern Command, briefing reporters in Misgav Am, said Israeli troops were now on both sides of the red line, by which he meant the new security zone Israel is trying establish along the border.
He said there were six brigade-size or larger efforts engaged Tuesday, a number that would seem to mean around 10,000 troops. The average Israeli brigade contains 1,200 to 1,600 soldiers.
Another Israeli officer of lower rank said that he was told the number of soldiers inside Lebanon was closer to 4,000 and that he could not explain General Shakars comments.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/01/2006 18:43
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#8
Just got done submitting Ynet report from Lebanese sources:
Lebanese army officials say special IDF forces fail in attempt to kidnap Hizbullah High Council member Sheikh Muhammad Yazbek from hospital near Baalbek; gun battles reported at scene.
#12
Troop is the size of a recon unit is not used in my contryso i dont know.
Section 10-15(usually the size you can put inside
a vehicle)
Platoon 50-80
Company 100-200
Battalion 400-1000
Regiment 800-2000(rarelly used)
Brigade 3000-7000 (the standart combat unit
3 Tank Battalions +1 Infantry Bn+ rec Co+ Arty Bn + Eng Bn+ other support units)
Division 10000-20000
Corps: 2 or 3 divions plus support independent forces
Army: 2-3 Corps plus suport and independent forces
#15
US Army only. All numbers reflect attachments that go into effect upon deployment. These vary from country to country.
Company = Troop: About 10-13 armored vehicles. 65-130 soldiers.
Battalion = Squadron = 3-5 manuever companies: 500 to 700 soldiers (all above company includes support troops)
Regiment = Brigade = 3-5 maneuver battalions: 2000+ soldiers when plussed up with arty, engineers, logistics, etc.
Division = 3-5 maneuver brigades plus several combat service support and combat support battalions. 12,000 to 20,000 soldiers.
There have been recent changes to US units. A lot of the units controlled formerly by the division have been put under brigade control. Most of these units would have been chopped to brigade control anyway for an actual deployment, so the over all numbers don't change that much.
DEBKAfile reports: A fleet of helicopters drops large Israeli special forces Tuesday night at the Shiite village of Shraifa west of Hizballahs E. Lebanon stronghold of Baalbek
August 2, 2006, 12:44 AM (GMT+02:00)
The Hizballahs Beqaa commander Muhammad Yazbek is reported by DEBKAfiles exclusive sources as having converted the Dar al Hikmeh Hospital in the village into the headquarters for his staff. Israel troops who made for this target are engaged in heavy clashes around the building.
Lebanese witnesses report an unprecedented number of Israeli warplanes over the Beqaa valley Tuesday night and aerial strikes against five Hizballah positions near Baalbek. From the Mediterranean, Israel naval artillery pounded Hizballah rocket sites on the Lebanese shore.
DEBKAfiles senior military sources report Israel is going all out Tuesday night in an effort to finally overwhelm Hizballah on all fronts and generate conditions for the deployment of a multinational force
A new InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll for the Democratic primary runoff in Georgias 4th Congressional district shows challenger Hank Johnson maintaining his lead over incumbent U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney by a full 15 percentage points as the runoff election looms closer.
McKinneys totals moved up from the last poll late last week, but she still sat well behind former DeKalb County Commissioner Johnson.
The tracking survey of 300 likely voters was conducted the evening of July 31, and has a margin of error of plus or minus six percent.
"There has been some shift in African American voters in McKinneys direction," said InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery. "However, the black vote remains split with local black leaders endorsing Johnson, who is trouncing McKinney among eligible white voters."
The winner of the August 8 runoff election will go on to face Republican challenger Catherine Davis in the November general election.
#1
Only 15%? If this nutcase is even competitive we should rethink allowing Georgia to stay in the Union. Maybe a phone call to Diebold will do the trick?
#3
I've been kind of confused by the tag. WoT Background covered one set of ground, but WoT Politix is an odd overlap. I was using it as WoT & Politix.
That leaves non-WoT, but that's such a dukes mixture.
"Attention all comrades! Everything is normal! That is all!"
Cuba's Communist government tried to impose a sense of normalcy Tuesday, its first day in 47 years without Fidel Castro in charge. Businesses remained open and workers rallied in support of their ailing leader, who temporarily handed power to his brother after surgery. Raul Castro, the island's acting president, was nowhere to be seen as Cubans began to worry about what comes next and exiles in Miami celebrated a development they hoped signaled the death of a dictator. Cuban dissidents kept a low profile while watching for signs of Castro's condition. "Everything's normal here for the moment," said hospital worker Emilio Garcia, 41, waiting for a friend at a Havana hotel. "But we've never experienced this before it's like a small test of how things could be without Fidel." The main newscast on state-run television gave no details of the 79-year-old Castro's condition, but ran a string of man-on-the-street interviews with Cubans wishing him well and professing confidence in the revolution's staying power. The anchor said Castro had the people's "unconditional support." The usual suspects leaders of China, Venezuela, Bolivia and Mexico wished Castro well.
Good news from the NYT and your downbeat pessimist
Up to 10,000 Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon on a wider front today after the Israeli cabinet decided to widen its offensive, aiming to push Hezbollah back from the border before a cease-fire is declared and a multinational force is deployed there.
Israeli troops backed by air support, tanks and armored bulldozers entered Lebanon at four different places along the border, moving up to four and a half miles inside Lebanon to engage Hezbollah fighters and destroy their outposts and infrastructure.
Red-and-white tourist buses full of soldiers who had waited for more than two weeks for orders moved into Lebanon today through corridors cleared by bulldozers, tanks and engineering units. Now it is clear why the tourism minister was giving the body count.
There were house-to-house battles with hundreds of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanese towns and villages close to the border, but the fighting has been intermittent and closely contained, partly to keep down Israeli casualties.
At least three Israeli soldiers and more than 20 Hezbollah fighters died in periods of heavy fighting today, according to Arabic television and the Israeli Army, which censored its own casualty figures. News agencies reported that Israeli officials said 300 of an estimated 2,000 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since the offensive began. Israeli troops may push northward to the Litani River, some 15 miles from the Israeli border, cabinet ministers said following the meeting, which ended long after midnight. But the Israeli intention now seems to be to clear out a wide strip of land along the border into which an international force can deploy without itself having to fight Hezbollah, a cabinet minister said. They should still try to kill as many as possible.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said this evening that we are at the beginning of a political process that in the end will bring a cease-fire under entirely different conditions than before. Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the National Security College, Mr. Olmert spoke of the achievements Israel has already made in its war against Hezbollah. If the military campaign would have ended today, today we could already say with certainty the face of the Middle East has changed following the great achievement of the Israeli army and Israeli people, he said.
Mr. Olmert, whose government has been criticized by some Israelis for being too slow or timid to use large numbers of ground forces in Lebanon, seemed eager to defend his record as he looked ahead to an end to the fighting. This threat will not be what it was, he said of Hezbollah. Never will they be able to threaten this people they fired missiles at. This people will defeat them. Every additional day is one that erodes the power of this cruel enemy, Mr. Olmert said. Every additional day, the Israeli Army reduces their ability to fire and also their ability to strike in the future.
Brig. Gen. Shuki Shakar of the Northern Command, briefing reporters in Misgav Am, said that Israeli troops were now on both sides of the red line, which roughly marks the Litani River and the old security zone. He said that there are six brigade-size or larger efforts engaged today, which would mean around 10,000 troops. The average Israeli brigade contains 1,200 to 1,600 soldiers.
Israeli forces were engaged in heavy fighting northeast of Shtula near the Lebanese village of Aita e-Shaab, and in E-Taibe, Adessa and Rab e-Talatin, villages near Metula and Misgav Am, the Israeli Army said. There was also fighting southeast of Bint Jbail.
General Shakar said Israel controlled movement along the Litani River and was currently leaving open two corridors for villages to travel north and for aid agencies to deliver needed supplies. Any Israeli forces north of the Litani are commandos, not infantry units fighting in mass.
Israel continued its partial suspension of aerial activity, as the army called it, but it seemed more partial than suspended. The air force flew missions in support of ground troops and to hit Hezbollah targets that included, the army said, two groups of fighters who were launching rockets, missile launchers, missile launch sites, access routes in the Bekaa Valley used to bring weapons from Syria to Lebanon and Hezbollah structures and headquarters. At least one truck suspected of carrying weapons was bombed near the Syrian border, the army said.
Last week, the cabinet called up some 30,000 reserve soldiers, many of whom reported to their bases earlier this week to begin training. The reserves will be used partly for Lebanon and partly to be ready just in case Syria, whose military is on high alert, chooses to broaden the war, Israeli officials say.
We have reached the stage where we have to expand the operation, said Defense Minister Amir Peretz, without giving the dimensions of the next phase.
The goal is to hit at Hezbollah fighters and their weapons arsenals, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said in a televised interview. And today, we are not doing a bad job.
The Jordan-based Arab Bank yesterday asked a federal judge in Brooklyn to dismiss a lawsuit brought by thousands of Israelis who claim the bank fueled terrorism by providing payments to the relatives of suicide bombers. Lawyers for the bank said that the 4,000 foreign citizens who are plaintiffs should not be allowed to have their case heard in the American court system. They argued that terrorism against Israel does not violate any "international norm." . . .
"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter that holding is binding on this court," said an attorney for the bank, Kevin Walsh of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene and MacRae.
The plaintiffs who are suing Arab Bank in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn are the victims of terrorist attacks during the second intifada and the relatives of victims. While the overwhelming majority are citizens of Israel, some plaintiffs are from Afghanistan, Moldova, and several other countries. They claim that Arab Bank which has an office in New York used offices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to distribute payments to people who could prove they were relatives of recent suicide bombers.
The plaintiffs are suing under a 217 year-old-law, the Alien Tort Statute, which has been used by foreign citizens to bring lawsuits in America's federal courts stemming from human rights violations that occurred anywhere in the world. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling last year that suggests that only the foreign victims of the most egregious human rights violations such as genocide and slavery can file suit under the law. One standard the Supreme Court employed was whether the lawsuits stem from violations of norms that have been accepted by "civilized nations." . . .
Judge Gershon asked few questions during Arab Bank's argument, but she quickly seemed to have heard enough of it. She asked Arab Bank's lawyers to "move on" on at least four occasions. She did not issue a decision from the bench yesterday. Last year, Judge Gershon rejected Arab Bank's motion to dismiss similar lawsuits brought by about 500 American victims of terror attacks in Israel. Those lawsuits were brought under a different law, because they involved American citizens.
Comment: in any law practice, you sometimes have to represent people you'd never voluntarily associate with outside of your practice. While your ability to disengage from an established client relationship is somewhat constrained by ethical rules, you are free to turn down any client--and, in situations where "the exercise of professional judgment on behalf of the client will be or reasonably may be affected by the lawyer's . . . personal interests"--a polite way of saying, among other things, "if the client's too icky for you"--you may even have an ethical duty not to take on the representation.
You also have an ethical duty not to make frivolous arguments to a court, and it is permissible in the exercise of professional judgment to advise clients not to make an argument they might be wanting you to make because it is frivilous, unlikely to succeed, or otherwise counterproductive.
What, then, do we make of Mr. Walsh, who argues that it is an accepted norm in the international community to murder Israeli civillians, and that a United States court should be bound by that "accepted norm" to relieve the murderers of liability? My take:
1. Sad to say, he's probably right about "world opinion."
2. Screw "world opinion." "[B]e not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)
3. Mr. Walsh either has no qualms about this line of argument, or has suspended his own personal moral judgment to continue the representation.
4. While "frivilous" is usually pretty generously construed in favor of a lawyer's freedom of action, this is close to the line.
5. Fortunately, the judge appears not to be buying it.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/01/2006
16:14 ||
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#1
This seems a logical as foreigners being able to bring war crimes charges against American in Belgian courts.
#3
I read an article a couple of weeks ago indicating that Muzzies in America have decided to attack us in our own court system. Many are now attending law school with the intent to tie us in knots in the courts. This could happen due to the high number of leftist judges. It just takes a bit of common sense to dismiss these irrelevent cases however.
#5
Ahhh, LEGALISM + DIALECTICISM - the same wafflins' that says America = Amerika, and that Fascists are hated despicable Male Brute Hitlerists-Nazis when it comes to the ME Muslim nations, but simul well-intentioned but misguided, immature = anti-Perfectionist, Limited Communists, Stalinists, Marxists, Limited Governmentists and Limited Totalitarians.
SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, If one believes that a War against Islamo-Fascism = war against Fascism aka [Ultra]Rightist Socialism, then logically conversely is a WAR FOR ISLAMO-COMMUNISM = WAR FOR COMMUNISM, i.e. ULTRA-LEFTIST SOCIALISM, since the normal antithesis of Rightist SOCIALISM is LEFTIST-SOCIALISM, which includes COMMUNISM; ditto RIGHIST CONSERVATIVISM is LEFTIST CONSERVATISM.
#1
Last month, a separate investigation into the military response to and reporting of the incident concluded that senior leaders failed to sufficiently investigate the killings in spite of conflicting information, according to a defense official.
That's probably what's driving the investigation. The Marines on the ground may or may not have done wrong, but their superiors should have given the matter proper attention.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/01/2006 16:49
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#2
That's probably what's driving the investigation. The Marines on the ground may or may not have done wrong, but their superiors should have given the matter proper attention.
In other words, the superiors should have anticipated another lefty media storm along the lines of Gitmo, Ramadi [Part Un], etc. CYI.
You know if you stuffed a lot of the whiny media into a small village and let them experience first hand what the French citizens of St. Lo got in 1944, they might get an historical perspective of what is like to be caught between people killing each other. From 2006, that unfortunate fact of war, seems to have been worth it.
Three weeks into the war with Hizbullah, the IDF's intelligence picture is growing clearer, although at the same time darker. According to new intelligence obtained by the defense establishment, Syrian President Bashar Assad, alongside senior military officials, is directly involved in the attempts to smuggle weapons and rockets to Hizbullah in Lebanon.
On Monday, Assad called on his army to increase readiness to cope with "regional challenges."
In addition, the extent of Iran's intimate involvement in Hizbullah attacks is also starting to emerge. According to the defense establishment, the reason Hizbullah has not fired long-range Iranian-made Fajr missiles at Israel is due to Teheran's opposition. Israel now understands that without direct orders from the ayatollahs, Hizbullah is not allowed to use Iranian missiles in attacks against Israel.
The IDF also believes that it seriously damaged the long-range rocket array in the first night of air strikes almost three weeks ago and impaired Hizbullah's ability to fire the rockets.
Nevertheless, Hizbullah is still believed to have 10,000 short-range Katyusha rockets, after 1,500 were fired at Israel and another 1,500 were destroyed by the air force.
The longer-range Zelzal missiles, manufactured by Iran and capable of reaching Tel Aviv, have also not been fired at Israel, and the IDF believes this is because it destroyed almost two-thirds of these in the Hizbullah arsenal.
In addition, Israel has identified the bodies of 200 Hizbullah operatives killed in fighting, out of the organization's total number of fighters estimated to stand at 1,000. Hizbullah fighters were also found to be using special thermal suits that retained their body heat and curtailed IDF attempts to discover them at night.
Alongside the regular Hizbullah fighters, the defense establishment has identified two senior officials in the organization who were killed in IAF missile strikes: Jihad Atayeh, head logistic officer for Hizbullah in southern Lebanon and one of the planners of the cross-border attack in 2000 during which three IDF soldiers were kidnapped; and Nur Shilhav, responsible for coordinating the smuggling of weapons from Syria into Lebanon.
Iran is also believed to have a strong presence in Lebanon, including dozens of members of the Revolutionary Guard that are instructing the Hizbullah how to use advanced weaponry similar to the Iranian-supplied C-802 missile which hit a navy missile ship two weeks ago.
A special Military Intelligence unit, consisting of six professional profilers, has been established to profile Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. According to the unit, Nasrallah is scared of a massive ground incursion, which he understands could destroy his infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
The bottom line is that in contrast to public perception that Hizbullah was winning the war, the defense establishment believes that the group has been dealt a fatal blow and while it still had the ability to shoot Katyushas at Israel, firing a record 150 Sunday, the fact that on Monday the group only fired two rockets demonstrated Nasrallah's interest in reaching a cease-fire with Israel.
#11
Very interesting summary, Sherry. Where did you find it?
I like your emphasis on Hizbullah fighters were also found to be using special thermal suits that retained their body heat and curtailed IDF attempts to discover them at night. While making Israeli efforts more difficult, a man could easily overheat in such a thing -- and fried brains don't think effectively.
Tuesday's airstrikes meant that two of the four border crossings [Syria-Lebanon] are now closed because of damage. Repeated airstrikes have made the main Beirut-Damascus highway impassable
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/01/2006 18:34
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#13
"Assad smuggling weapons to Hizbullah"
In separate news, Bears Shit in the Woods.
Posted by: Tibor ||
08/01/2006 18:37
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#14
Assad sez, in a blustery quote-choice of macho MSM/koffi retorts; cites "regional challenges."
Wish I could say with some assurance that Assad's bodily spray would make the desert bloom. (neck juice is MOST fertile).
Posted by: at ||
08/01/2006 20:32
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#15
What? No Captain Obvious graphic for this one?
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/01/2006 20:39
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#16
DEBKAfile reports: A fleet of helicopters drops large Israeli special forces Tuesday night at the Shiite village of Shraifa west of Hizballahs E. Lebanon stronghold of Baalbek
August 2, 2006, 12:44 AM (GMT+02:00)
The Hizballahs Beqaa commander Muhammad Yazbek is reported by DEBKAfiles exclusive sources as having converted the Dar al Hikmeh Hospital in the village into the headquarters for his staff. Israel troops who made for this target are engaged in heavy clashes around the building.
Lebanese witnesses report an unprecedented number of Israeli warplanes over the Beqaa valley Tuesday night and aerial strikes against five Hizballah positions near Baalbek. From the Mediterranean, Israel naval artillery pounded Hizballah rocket sites on the Lebanese shore.
DEBKAfiles senior military sources report Israel is going all out Tuesday night in an effort to finally overwhelm Hizballah on all fronts and generate conditions for the deployment of a multinational force
#17
So far Hezbollah has fired 3,500 Katyushas. The IAF and the artillery have destroyed 2,500 more. In toto, from 40 percent to 50 percent of Hezbollah's rocket capability has been destroyed. In addition, at least a third of its launchers has been destroyed.
Fidel Castro's surgery to stop intestinal bleeding was successful and the Cuban leader was recovering, his allies said Tuesday. Darn. I was hoping for "stable."
The Venezuelan government said in a statement that it had "received with satisfaction the information from Cuban authorities according to which the recovery process of President Fidel Castro is advancing positively." The statement did not give specifics about Castro's condition.
A leftist Argentine lawmaker, Miguel Bonasso, said he called Castro aides Monday night and was told the surgery "was successful" and the leader was resting.
Cuban state television announced Monday night that Castro had been operated on to repair a "sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding" and had temporarily turned over presidential powers his brother Raul, shocking Cubans on the island and in exile. It was the first time that Castro, two weeks away from 80th birthday, had relinquished power in 47 years of absolute rule.
Castro said in a letter read live by his secretary, Carlos Valenciaga, that extreme stress "had provoked in me a sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding that obligated me to undergo a complicated surgical procedure." Castro did not appear on the broadcast.
Some government work centers summoned employees to participate in outdoor political gatherings to express support for Fidel. Dozens of workers at one gathering waved small Cuban flags and shouted: "Long live Fidel!" "There is no one else like him," True, now that Pol Pot and Hitler are dead. said Osmar Fernandez, 27, drinking rum at a cafe. "I want Fidel to live for 80 more years." As long as it's in great pain.
It was unknown when or where the surgery took place or where Castro was recovering. I guess the CIA wouldn't know. And if they did, wouldn't do anything (effective) about it.
Chinese President Hu Jintao also sent a message of good wishes to Castro, the official Xinhua News Agency said. He would.
LONDON -- The head of Britain's domestic spy agency refused to testify on anti-terror practices before a parliamentary human rights committee, outraging lawmakers demanding to know whether the country receives intelligence gleaned from suspects tortured overseas.
The committee released its correspondence with MI5 chief Eliza Manningham-Buller on Tuesday as part of a report on counterterrorism strategies and human rights. Lawmakers miffed at being ignored pointedly suggested she should have testified _ and tucked the letters into the report to make their point. And then gave her the Stinky-Eye just for good measures.
"We do consider it a matter of some importance that the head of the security services be prepared to answer questions from the parliamentary committee with responsibility for human rights," the report said. Manningham-Buller wrote that she was only able to testify before the Intelligence and Security Committee, which uses safeguards to protect sensitive information. Dame Eliza could say no more.
The human rights committee was interested in questioning her about allegations that the United States has used British airports for the secret, international transfers of terrorism suspects, a process known as extraordinary rendition. They also wanted to ask about data gleaned from such interrogations.
The committee's report recommended that Britain set up an independent body to monitor the activities of MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, and MI6, the international spy service. It also said that terrorism suspects held by British authorities, but not charged, should be entitled to compensation. A new law allows police to hold terror suspects for up to 28 days without charge, and the panel said anyone held for longer than 14 days should be entitled to counseling. Entitled to compensation, counseling, also maybe job training, a pony, and a box of Fig Newtons.
The committee also recommended that Britain relax its ban on using surveillance material, such as telephone taps, as evidence in court to make it easier to prosecute terror suspects. The government says using such information as evidence would compromise the work of intelligence agencies, but the committee said security safeguards could address such concerns.
You do begin to wonder if our cousins are up to the task of preserving their freedom.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/01/2006 15:04
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General Buller was blamed for Spion Kop but he accepted responsibility for the withdrawl, held his ground, and refused to resign. You do likewise Eliza!
Captain Ed writes in the Washington Examiner today, lamenting that the United Nations and the world community denounce every child killed by Israel, because they hold it to a high standard; no one bothers to denounce Hezbollah for endangering children, because it's what we have come to expect from terrorists.
I think he, perhaps unwittingly, hit on the key point in one of his closing paragraphs:
If the world wants to live without terrorism, it needs to stop enabling terrorists with disproportionate criticism of civilized nations that wage war within established limits. This soft nihilism of low expectations encourages non-state actors to engage sovereign nations, knowing that the world will not allow the nations to fight terrorism effectively.
Does "the world" really want to live without terrorism? To the extent that one opinion can be ascribed to the six billion or so people on the planet, and to judge from the actions of the nations of the world, I think the answer is no. The overwhelming attitude among many peoples and many nations including the United States is that terrorism somewhere far away isn't our problem.
Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel? As Ed notes, denouncing Hezbollah is so ineffectual and pointless that some commentators don't even bother to do it anymore.
Israel killing innocents in its hunt for Hezbollah? Notice that for all the denunciation you hear on the "Arab Street", no regime is actually willing to send troops to separate the two sides. They'll complain about what's going on, and denounce the IDF as terrorists, but they won't go as far as to actually risk anything. Not Egypt, nor Jordan, nor Saudi Arabia. Not the Gulf states. (Turkey is iffy; they're hinting they may send troops, don't want to lead the operation.) Even when Syria and/or Iran send men or arms to help out Hezbollah, they do so secretly. For all their hatred of Israel, they don't deem the Jewish state's "terrorism" as bad enough to risk outright war. They'll stick to the less difficult proxy war.
Bombs demolishing trains in Bombay? It was a one-day story.
A hundred civilians dying a day in Iraq from sectarian violence and lunatics blowing up car bombs in crowded markets? Eh, we're used to it. What did Mel Gibson do today?
Go down the list - Beslan, Madrid, the British consulate in Istanbul, the Jordanian hotel bombings, Bali, 9/11, the U.S.S. Cole, the Marine Barracks in Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania... terrorists slaughter people, and only among the impacted community do you hear the response, "do whatever you have to do in order to eliminate the threat." Everywhere else, it's "this is terrible, but let's remember proportionality... Let's remember restraint. Let's not let this turn into an all out war."
Hell, one could argue that the United States is making the same argument to Turkey, regarding PKK terrorists who target innocents in Turkey and then retreat to Iraq.
At some point, some group - probably ethnic - that hides, sponsors, offers material support for, cheers on, or simply refuses to intervene against a terrorist group within its borders is going to pay the price when that terrorist group commits a devastating attack. It might be the Chechnyans. It might be the Kurds. It might be the Lebanese. I'm sure you can think of other potential cases.
At some point, a powerful nation is going to wipe out a smaller nation for not taking action to stop the terrorists in its midst in a manner that will make the U.S. toppling of the Taliban look like a pillow fight. The result will be bloody and awful; but we will not be able to say we didn't see it coming.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/01/2006
14:16 ||
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#1
At some point, a powerful nation is going to wipe out a smaller nation for not taking action to stop the terrorists in its midst in a manner that will make the U.S. toppling of the Taliban look like a pillow fight.
right. We haven't really started the mano y mano fighting yet. But once we do it will be bloody. These cowardly liberals who prevent reasonable actions from weeding out the bad guys early - as always- will cause millions of innocent to be killed. Stitch in time, as my dearly departed mother used to say.
#2
Totally agree - I thought we might see it with the Russians after Beslan, but for reasons that are beyond my mere divining, they didn't go postal. Sooner or later, it's going to happen, and the appeasers and moral relativists will have a huge amount of blood on their hands.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/01/2006 15:57
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As much as theyve snuggled and back-patted, as much as they act like dysfunctional father and bratty son, the death of the linchpin of Latin American Communism will probably be the best news Hugo Chavez has gotten since he met his useful anti-Bush idiot dream girl, Cindy Sheehan.
Because as much as the Venezuelan ruler spouts adulation for the Cuban social model and figureheads such as Che Guevara and Castro, they are the old revolution. Cuba is the isolated Communist island that has never squeezed itself out from under the thumb of the West, focusing most of its energy on weathering the U.S. trade embargo. Though Castro survived U.S. attempts on his life, like the CIAs famous exploding seashell, his famous tumble down the stairs in old age was a metaphor for his regime. Cuba became the floating prison from which thousands of influential American immigrant businesspeople, politicians, etc., hailed, and never has ceased to be the island from which citizens risk life and limb to escape. Whereas Castro envisioned that his Communist utopia would set the gold standard for the world, he has been handily upstaged by dissidents and exiles who have, over the decades, become poster children for the fundamental thirst for liberty.
Chavez sees this as old Communism, and he is the future. He is the Bolivarian revolutionary learning from his Communist forefathers mistakes save for the fundamentally-flawed-philosophy one and thinking beyond even his own Venezuela. He is quashing opposition, press and even clergy with such slick spin to successfully delude outsiders into believing that he is a humanitarian who has perfected socialism not the power-ravenous megalomaniac who claims even Jesus Christ was a socialist revolutionary.
Chavez fancies himself the cult of personality that will eclipse the long-fading allure of Castro; he fantasizes about being the larger-than-life leader who can unite even the most stubborn and independent Latin American countries into the United States of Hugo. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
08/01/2006
14:13 ||
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A free Cuba will transform the region and cut Chavez's Bolivaren stock to junk status. Nothing will paint communism in starked relief for the local than watching the billions pouring into post-Castro Cuba virtually overnight.
#4
Sad to say, I doubt it. I think Cuba will fall into chaos post-Castro, for many years. After all this time there is no civil society left, and the mental habits of the population aren't up to running a decent country.
Any returning exiles will just be another faction, or the financiers of various factions, like it or not.
Policing of borders - and with it, the sensitive subject of immigration - is once again making the news in Britain. The UK is set to introduce new embarkation controls. Soon, leaving the country via ports or airports will be controlled by a uniformed border force.
On the other side of the Channel, France has revealed plans to deport over 12,000 illegal immigrants.
British Home Secretary John Reid says that there will be passport checks to ensure there is a record of who has left Britain. He adds that there will be more enforcement powers, resources and new technology.
Those who need to be deported will be removed within six months of arrival.
France is also in the deportation business. John Reid's counterpart, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy says that he expects to expel a proportion of the over 400,000 illegal immigrants that are in France today.
But to sweeten the pill Sarkozy says he will grant 'papers' ie, permanent residency, to 6,000 applicants.
The situation in France is ironic in the sense that Sarkozy is the son of an immigrant. And deportation is a dirty word in the republic because so many citizens were sent to German SS concentration camps during the war. Some French groups have played up the comparison by "sheltering" children destined to be returned to their parents' country from the authorities, drawing parallels with how Jewish children were concealed from the Nazis by sympathetic French families. Associating M Sarkozy with the Nazis - as the protesters clearly intend to do - is in questionable taste, not least because the minister's father fled Hungary during WW2.
It doesn't seem to have deterred the government, however: In the end the offical message is: we like you, but not in our back yard.
#2
British Home Secretary John Reid says that there will be passport checks to ensure there is a record of who has left Britain. He adds that there will be more enforcement powers, resources and new technology.
Now if there was just a record of everyone who entered Britain.
#4
The situation in France is ironic in the sense that Sarkozy is the son of an immigrant.
Legal? If so, there's nothing ironic about it. Laws are for everyone. Ignore that, and you become a barbaric land like, say, Lebanon.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/01/2006 17:49
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Article: And deportation is a dirty word in the republic because so many citizens were sent to German SS concentration camps during the war.
Lemme guess - the illegals being deported are innocent civilians destined for gas chambers back in their home countries. If not, I don't get the references to concentration camps. Various countries have used concentration camps to fight guerrillas/rebels before and after WWII. They were primarily a means of separating guerrillas from their sympathizers/supporters. Only the Germans weren't doing it to fight rebels, and they sent the inmates into gas chambers.
Gen. Yury Sapunov, head of the FSB's international terrorism department, said Hizballah and Hamas were not listed because they have not planned terrorist acts on Russian territory. More here. On 23 August, 1939, the world was shocked when, suddenly, Russia and Germany signed a 'Non-aggression Pact'. Anyone "shocked" today?
#5
Once again these guys are playing all the angles. They still have dreams of a Communist empire. These guys are so crooked they have to screw their socks on in the morning. Problems in Chechyna aren't that much that different than islamofascist problems anyplace else so why don't they join the west in fighting these islamofascists?
More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready due largely to vast equipment shortfalls that will take as much as $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.
The comments by Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum came in the wake of disclosures by Army officials, analysts and members of Congress that two-thirds of the active Army's brigades are not rated ready for war.
The problem, they say, is driven by budget constraints that won't allow the military to complete the personnel training and equipment repairs and replacement that must be done when units return home after deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan.
"I am further behind or in an even more dire situation than the active Army, but we both have the same symptoms, I just have a higher fever," Blum said.
One Army official acknowledged Tuesday that while all of the active Army units serving in the war zone are "100 percent" ready, the situation is not the same for those at home. It is actually going to save a ton of money for all the old equipment to be left "over there", instead of warehoused, surplussed, sold off or disposed as scrap. And it will radically speed up NG force modernization.
#1
One Army official acknowledged Tuesday that while all of the active Army units serving in the war zone are "100 percent" ready, the situation is not the same for those at home.
No different in peacetime. for the 70s and 80s, Europe was always kept at 100% at the expense of stateside units, personnel, equipment, and training dollors outside the strategic reserve divisions like the 82nd. It enjoyed personnel authorizations above 100%. Given that there was always some part of the manpower pool in transit, in training, hospitalized, etc, that meant other units were well below authorized strength. Equipment priorities and funding followed a similar pattern. Further down on the food chain were the reserves and NG.
#3
More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready due largely to vast equipment shortfalls that will take as much as $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.
and in other news, the pope is catholic. The NGB/DoD Has been looking at this as an opportunity to bring selected bde's up to modern standards since OIF I.
The problem, they say, is driven by budget constraints that won't allow the military to complete the personnel training and equipment repairs and replacement that must be done when units return home after deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan.
It will be done, it will just take longer and cost even more than they expect. This will be fun to watch.
Posted by: N guard ||
08/01/2006 18:25
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#1
Why link to anything from the BBC? Of course Bush didn't 'win over' the NAACP. The glee with which folks like the BBC point to American political conflicts makes me want to vomit.
#2
Exactly what did the delegates expect President Bush to give them? The field is level PLAY! The only people who get left behind are those that dont play. If you want to reminisce about how your ancestors were treated then we can all tell stories of conquest and slavery so just get over it, move on, and makes something of your life.
#3
"He's [Bush] the born-again Christian, he should be the one to press Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that would be a national apology for slavery,"
While hes at it he should apologize for piracy. Lord knows the tragic legacy that still haunts us today.
#4
I wonder if those in the media realize the connection between apolgies and lawsuits. I know Jessie and Al Sharpton realize the connection.
Did the United Kingdom ever apologize for slavery? Yeah they got rid of it, and the Royal Navy attempted to stop the slave trade (just as the US fought the Civil War to end slavery a tad later) but the Virginias were a British colony with slaves.
Did the citizens of Rome every apologize for the slaves held by their Republic and later Empire?
Does anyone care that there is still an active slave trade in parts of the Islamic world, East Europe and Asia? Bush actually tried to stand up against that.
#5
The debt of slavery was repaid in blood to the tune of 620,000 or thereabouts. According to the 1860 Census, there were a total of 31,443,321 people living here at the time.
Nearly 2% of the population of the country killed by wound or disease. (That would be like 6 million Americans getting killed in the same time frame today.)
#6
Any "descendants of slaves" will collect reparation after I'm compensated for the loss of my ancestors in the Civil War. In fact, I think I'm owed money. Gimme them Earned Income Credit refunds, dammit!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 21:12
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KATRINA-GATE + SHARPTONISM > Whites, Asians, Hispanics and non-African Americans can do what they want, but African-Americans have the fundamental right to subsist, receive and live off Government-based public assistance FOREVER, FOREVER AND EVER. WHATEVER THE WHITEWASH, IT COMES DOWN TO UNIVERSAL SOCIALISM + UNIVERSAL WELFARISM-NANNY STATE, aka FREE MONEY = OPPORTUNITY PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES OR THE STATE TO IMPROVING ONE'S SELF BY DOING NOTHING, AND BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR NOTHING SAVE TRANSFERRING ONE'S BURDENS OR LIABILITIES UNTO SOMEBODY ELSE. * DREW CAREY SHOW > "This is America, D *** It, and you know what that means -SOMEBODY ELSE IS RESPONSIBLE [for my actions/decisions/problems]"!?
Iran's foreign minister blasted the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday for failing to stop the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and he called the United States and Israel "partners in these brutal crimes" against Lebanese civilians. "The U.N. Security Council has proven its uselessness and ineffectiveness during this (Israeli) aggression," Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters after meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a strong Hezbollah ally.
He also accused the United States, without naming it, of complicity in bringing about the death and destruction caused by Israel's 20-day-old offensive in Lebanon. "We think that the protectors of the Zionist entity and those who support it are partners in these brutal crimes being committed against the innocent women and children" of Lebanon, Mottaki said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
12:51 ||
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Britain and Germany today watered down a strong European Union call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Lebanon conflict as foreign ministers clashed in Brussels. Instead of calling for an immediate ceasefire a convoluted statement issued by the 25 member states called for "an immediate end to hostilities to be followed by a sustainable ceasefire".
The move by Britain and Germany backs the stance of the United States which believes a ceasefire call should only be made if it was "sustainable". It will be also interpreted as a snub to Jacques Chirac, the French president, who has been demanding an immediate ceasefire. Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, was joined by her German, Czech and Polish counterparts in resisting a challenge by the Finns and the French to unite behind a stronger statement which also warned of breaches of international law in the three-week old conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
12:49 ||
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#1
Is it time yet to start tallying up who all is on the Allies side?
#2
What was interesting was the split: for the cease fire, France, Sweden, Greece, Spain; against, Britain, Gernamy Czech, Poland. Yeah, I knew which ones I wanted on my side before I saw how they voted.
#3
I don't trust Germany. Actually, I don't trust any of them but Germany is the most likely to switch sides on us again. Sadly, I think Britain is next most likely.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/01/2006 16:07
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#4
The German press is almost 100% anti american all the time. To the point of just making stuff up anti american. Not a reliable ally.
Israel and the US will go this alone. With the current3rd way Defense Minister of Israel we may end up going it alone in the end.
#6
Merkel is in charge for now. Germany will be a better ally with her and the press will probably also improve with time. I wouldn't write them off completely like France and Belgium.
(UPI) -- Hamas could hand abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit over to Egypt or Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas until the group's demands are met, an official said. The Palestinian official said "we are looking into the possibility of handing him over to Egypt until Israel fulfills the Palestinians and the abductors' demand to free Palestinian prisoners," Ynetnews.com reported Tuesday.
He said the basic principles of an agreement to transfer the prisoner have been agreed to by Abbas and Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin. The deal would transfer Shalit to Egypt or into Abbas' custody until Israel halts military operations in the Gaza Strip, ceases targeted killings, and releases Palestinian prisoners.
Israel and Hamas have relied heavily on Egypt in the negotiations, as Israel has refused to meet directly with members of the organization, Ynet said. Egyptian officials corroborated reports of the plan, saying Shalit's destination has not yet been decided upon. An official said "this is the outline aimed at resolving the Shalit affair."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
12:47 ||
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The world is presently at its most wicked. It is beyond human help. It requires only a nudge to implode and prepare for the divine ruler, the Saheb-ul-Zaman (the Mahdi, the Lord of the Age) to come and set it aright. It is the sacred duty and privilege of every Muslim to do all he can to hasten the death of the old world and the birth of the global Islamic Ummeh. Thus goes the thinking of Irans ruling mullahs and their hand-picked president Mahmood Ahmadinejad.
It seems like the old millennialism thinking, a belief held, in one version or another by major religions. Indeed it is, with one terribly alarming difference. This time around, a group of believers with tremendous resources are intent upon forcing the issue, making the conditions so dire that it leaves the reluctant Saheb-ul-Zaman no choice but to appear and assume his universal reign. The belief in supernatural intervention to set the world aright is scriptural to major religions, including Islam. The Jews have been earnestly supplicating the Lord for the Messiah to come; the Christians are impatiently awaiting the second coming of Christ; and, the Zoroastrians are convinced that Saoshayant is the one who shall come, defeat the trouble-making AhrimanSatanand make the creatures again pure.
Up to this point millennialism was a belief and a hope. No one ever aspired to or had the means of making the anticipated events come about. The matter was in the hands of God. The Muslims perennial prayer recited every day, posted in mosques and even on bumpers of vehicles has been, O, Saheb-ul-Zaman, hasten your coming. The prayer for the advent, thus far, has been limited to passive supplications of the faithful.
It is a well-established fact that beliefs are potent impetus to action. If you believe your home is about to be burglarized, you secure the house and take other precautions. If you, under the influence of cocaine, believe that a bug is burrowing into your skin, you may take a knife to your own body and try to dig the imaginary bug out.
Hence, it is shortsighted to dismiss the mullahs as a bunch of lunatics who are out of touch with reality and that they have no intention of doing catastrophic mischief to compel the Mahdis coming. Maybe some arming of the Iraqi Shiites, a little support for Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestinebut no, no major idiocy. After all, they are rational people and in touch with reality. Any large scale troublemaking spells their doom as well. Thus goes the rationalizationthe greatest risky tranquilizer of the mind.
Rationalization, compounded by complacency and denial, can be deadly, particularly when the adversaries have different realities. To the fanatic mullahs ruling Iran Sahaeb-ul-Zaman is an absolute reality and his promised advent is irrevocably ordained. This is their reality and their belief and they have every intention of leading their life according to them.
It is foolish for the non-Muslims to dismiss the mullahs and the Bin Ladens as a bunch of fringe lunatics who are going to go away simply by wishing it. The Islamist reality is that the non-Muslims are the ones who deserve to be done away with; they are the ones who have refused to submit to the summons of Allah for much too long; and, it is time for the faithful to get rid of them. This makes for a lopsided contest. The non-Muslims are passively wishing that the nightmarish surge of Islamism is only a temporary fringe phenomenon doomed to die on its own, while the other side is marshalling its huge destructive power to accomplish its aim by eradicating the non-Muslims.
The cabal of fanatical mullahs ruling Iran has lost its patience, not only with the unbelievers, but also with the Mahdi as well. They aim to force his arrival. The mullahs believe they have the means to make it impossible for the Mahdi to tarry any longer by causing unprecedented death and destructionconditions deemed essential for his coming. The world must hit the very bottom, before the Savior of the world comes to the rescue, so they firmly believe.
The question is: What does prudence demand? Clearly wishing the problem to go away is not a very effective solution in the same way that wishing for the Saheb-ul-Zaman to come has not been. Reasoning and negotiating with the mullahs and their ilk hold very little, if any, lasting promise. There are always the easy ways of denial and appeasement. We are very good at both practices. No, the Muslims have been around for ages. They make some troubles from time to time. But they really are not all that bad and dangerous. Well get along. If we have too, well even let them live by the Shariatheir stone-age laws in our midst. Well be reasonable and they will come around. Well just have to get along. So goes the line.
One problem: The other side doesnt think this way. The Islamofascists dont believe in the notion of Live and let live. They believe that the earth is Allahs and it has been sullied by the heathens, the unbelievers and the kafir for far too long. Now that they have the means, they aim to make the world to their design and bring about the final solutiona nasty reminder of not too long ago Nazism.
Is this alarmist, or even hatemongering? You dont believe Muslims can be that intolerant and hostile toward non-Muslims and that theyll never go to the extremes? You know Muslims personally in your neighborhood or your work place and they are nice people? The nice Muslims you personally know are presently small minorities in alien lands. They have to be nice, and they may indeed be nice. Yet, when the main force of Islam surges forward, these nice folks will either have to join it or be swept aside like the rest of the resisters.
The concern is not with individual Muslims who live as solid citizens in democratic societies. They may have developed a taste for the freedom democracy bestows or have simply learned to tolerate it. Our concern is with the gathering Islamic storm from the heart of Islamdom. To truly appreciate Islam, you must experience firsthand Islam in power. Take a quick trip to the lands of the Muslims and find out for yourself how horribly they treat the non-Muslims, even the, People of the book, Jews and Christians. Try to have a Bible study group or build a church in Saudi Arabia and discover the benevolence of Islamic rule.
The world is a laboratory where the experiment with Islam shows irrefutable results. To the extent that Islam rules any society, that society is stagnant, backward thinking, repressive and violent. The Islamic Republic of Iran represents the cutting edge for the newly petrodollar invigorated Islam. It is determined to complete its task of ending the world of Dar-ul-Harbthe non-Muslim world to be warred uponand establishing the Dar-ul-Solh, or Dar-ul-Salamthe Muslim world of the Ummeh under the rule of the Mahdi. If achieving this aim hinges on the conflagration of the Third World War, the mullahs are happy to make it happen
TEHRAN - The nuclear disarmament of the Zionist regime would be the best way to establish lasting peace and security in the region, Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said here on Monday.
If you listen for a while to the fascists they'll usually tell you exactly what they're going to do, and exactly what their worst fears are. This article has both.
Referring to the Zionist regimes ongoing massacre of innocent civilians in Lebanon and Palestine, in which unconventional weapons are also being used, he told a number of Defense Ministry officials, Israels major air, ground and sea aggression on Lebanon is not only against Hezbollah and the Lebanese national resistance. This war is against international peace and security.
He said a lack of unity in the Islamic world is the main reason behind the occurrence of such brutalities in Lebanon. The Muslim countries can prevent the repetition of such incidents by being unified and adopting common stances, he added.
Launching attacks on civilians, destroying residential areas and economic infrastructures in Lebanon are among the concrete examples of war crimes, Najjar said. A fate worse than those of Hitler and Saddam awaits Zionist criminals and their supporters, he said.
Underlining the fact that the resolute resistance of the Lebanese and Palestinian nations against the brutal atrocities of the Zionist regime and the United States has frustrated their strategic objectives, Najjar said that the Lebanese and Palestinian nations proved once again that no weapons, including nuclear ones, can overcome the strong determination of free and independent nations.
The U.S. is seeking to gain domination over the Middle East and the whole world by insisting on implementing the so-called Middle East peace plan, he stated. The U.S. and Zionist officials that seek to realize their objectives through militarism, occupation, coups and the massacre of innocents are quite unfamiliar with peace, security, democracy and human rights. They legitimize every crime to bring to fruition Israels domination over Islamic and Arab Middle East, he added. Sorry Mostafa, we ain't bitin today. The only way they'll short of Big Boys is when they begin using them on YOU!
#2
the Zionist regimes ongoing massacre of innocent civilians in Lebanon and Palestine, in which unconventional weapons are also being used
Underlining the fact that the resolute resistance of the Lebanese and Palestinian nations against the brutal atrocities of the Zionist regime and the United States has frustrated their strategic objectives
He means the "peace" and "security" of the GRAVE - for the Joooooooos.
Nobody cares what you think, Mostafa-gotten-his-meds-today.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/01/2006 15:09
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#4
I wonder if all the countries in the area who have problems with Israel would let someone go over their country with a fine tooth comb every year or two if Israel were to "disarm". :-)
With this in mind, let me translate what Mostafa just said:
"I say Israel and the US are bad thereby keeping the sacred hate alive therefore I'm a good extremist. Please keep me on the payroll."
#6
Israel's nuclear threat and its ever increasing military might certainly have failed Israel's aim of peace in the region (if peace is Israel's aim).
Israel certainly denigrated the value of the NPT. Why bother signing on or honouring it? Look how well Israel's made out as regional threat to its neighbours because it didn't sign on! No wonder other nations want a taste of that nuclear might.
Israel, however, isn't going to nuclear disarm. And those in the region are not going to trust Israel to be less aggressive and belligerent than it continues to be. So Israel does not want peace. Why pretend otherwise?
Pregnant woman among 12 addicts held at orgy A WOMAN who is eight months pregnant was among 12 drug addicts caught having a sex party when police surprised them on Sunday, according to Harian Metro. The addicts, aged between 15 and 30, including five women, were high on syabu on the 17th floor of an empty building along Jalan Pudu in Kuala Lumpur.
The daily said the group took syabu to increase their stamina for sex. Dang Wangi police chief Asst Comm Kamal Pasha Jamal said when the police raided the place, one of the suspects, in his teens, wanted to jump off the building but was too frightened to do so. Thirty policemen and Rela volunteers were involved in the operation.
#1
Remember the great soft drink spermicidal contest?
It concluded that the old wives tale of Coca-Cola as a spermicide was wrong, as was the use of most sodas, with the exception of Diet Coke, that was so lethal than it was almost on a par with commercial spermicides.
Against the backdrop of the quantum jump in Indo-US defence cooperation, another American firm -- Raytheon Systems Limited -- offered its Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR) system to India for long-range battlefield surveillance. In a deal worth $1.2 billion, the radar system has just been supplied to the UK Ministry of Defence. The Sentinel R1 aircraft forms the heart of the ASTOR platform, which uses an active electronically scanned array radar for relaying precise imagery to ground stations for optimal mission support.
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006
11:50 ||
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Impressive system ... expect much Pak seething..
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006 19:33
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And best of all, it has huge utility in countering any Chinese moves on the border. It has the resolution to make really nice images for distribution, showing the enemy emplacements and vehicles.
EFL:... Texas for the first time supplanted historic leader California as the top state in cumulative wind power capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Associations (AWEA) Second Quarter Market Report.
The report also shows that U.S. developers brought online a capacity total of 822 megawatts (MW) in the first half of the year [later on the article forecasts 3000MW for the whole year]. With the strong growth, the U.S.s cumulative wind power capacity surged to 9,971 MW...
Texas s cumulative total now stands at 2,370 MW of capacityenough to power over 600,000 average American homesfollowed by Californias 2,323 MW. Texas edged ahead of California by adding a total of 375 MW, about half of the total amount installed in the country since the beginning of the year....
Posted by: Matt ||
08/01/2006 14:37
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Just came in from the Austin hot sun from filling up my gas tank, while the Texas wind was blowing my hair to new heights! Yep, we got plenty of wind.
#10
Besoeker, Navajo Grill is good, but we go for the German food. I Like Der Lindenbaum, but the biergarten style places are pretty good too. As for Austin, I second that. Land of fruits and nuts.
#12
FYI. Don't ever live near wind farms. The low-level vibrations from the turning blades will bake your brain and make you really, really sick. Not good for humans or animals, and of course birds get whacked by the thousands. "oooohhh . . . wind power . . . !" More "green" idiocy.
A senior cleric has called on Muslim states to provide weapons to Hezbollah to fight Israel, an Iranian news agency reported Tuesday.
...it is expected that Muslim states not spare any assistance to Hezbollah and the Lebanese people, especially providing weapons, medicine and food...
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the hard-line head of the powerful Guardian Council, was quoted by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency as saying that Islamic states should arm Hezbollah in fighting Israel in Lebanon. "Now, it is expected that Muslim states not spare any assistance to Hezbollah and the Lebanese people, especially providing weapons, medicine and food," Jannati told ISNA.
Israel and the United States accuse Iran of arming Hezbollah but Tehran has repeatedly said it only provides moral support. The Guardian Council is a constitutional watchdog arbitrating between parliament and the government. Jannati is not considered a government official.
EU foreign ministers have clashed at emergency talks over a draft statement calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah in Lebanon. The statement also warned of violations of humanitarian law in the three-week-old conflict. It went on to say a political solution was needed before an international peacekeeping force could be deployed.
Diplomats said France, Sweden, Spain and Greece backed the draft but it was rejected by Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. That split is certainly not surprising. A British official said the text had been sprung on ministers without consultation and was completely unacceptable. Would the French do that?
Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said any call by the EU for the fighting to end now will fall on deaf ears. "On one hand you can argue the EU has a voice in the world... and it's taking the humanitarian line. On the other hand, you can say, 'How many divisions has the EU got? What difference does it make, this ground-breaking, historic agreement - the latest in a long line?'"
The row came as Israel pounded towns and villages after approving a military sweep four miles into Lebanon. Fierce resistance from Hizbollah reportedly left three Israeli soldiers dead in the village Aita al Shaab.
In other developments, Israeli aircraft have bombed eastern Lebanon near Syria to prevent "the transferring of weaponry" to Hizbollah, the army said.
Israel's Justice Minister Haim Ramon today claimed 300 Hizbollah fighters have been killed since the fighting began. The tourism minister has it at 400.
At least 605 people have died in Lebanon in the violence, although some estimates put the figure at well over 800.
At least 51 Israelis are known to have been killed.
Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said there is no end to the hostilities in sight. That's the good news.
Israeli Tourism Minister Yitzhak Herzog said on Tuesday as many as 400 Hizbollah fighters have been killed in three weeks of fighting in Lebanon.
He was speaking minutes after another minister said 300 Hizbollah guerrillas had been killed. A spokesman for the Shi'ite group had said 43 fighters had died in the conflict.
"Four hundred of its dead have been counted by us, 400 terrorists killed by the Israeli army," Herzog told Reuters television in an interview.
#2
Then, of course, there is the other 172 that we thought we had taken prisoner, but seemed to have been lost in transit somewhere near the Tel Aviv airport.
#3
What's a Tourism Minister doing announcing body counts? Seems rather incongruous to me.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/01/2006 13:04
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"Four hundred of its dead have been counted by us, 400 terrorists killed by the Israeli army,"
I bet you there's a few hundred more here and there in pieces not allowed to be counted by the IDF. I'm sure the Hezb leadership wouldn't want give a morale booster shot, to the IDF.
#13
No one knows how many are dead buried in one rubble pile or another. When the media goes on location, look for passer bys covering thier noses, best casualty detector ever. The stench of the dead causes the reflexive action by all passser bys.
#15
Whomoter Spavish7645, I hope I'm not reading you right. Though I sympathize with death of any "innocent' person in war, if you are exercising moral equivalency, please take it elsewhere. When Isreal kills civilians, it's a mistake. When Hezbollah kills civilians, it's on purpose. If you can't draw this distinction, you need help. Again, I hope I was just reading too much into your comments.
#16
My dad was mailed this today:
Horrible day in the war
What a horrible day! Luckily, many Israelis have left the northern border towns, or the statistics would have been more grim. Today 47 missiles fell on Kiryat Shmona alone, the day of the greatest number of rockets and missiles. The other town which has seen great numbers of missiles is Maalot, near Norman. And we haven't heard much from Metulla, but they have had more than their share, too.
In southern Lebanon the story is very different. The people don't leave home. Maybe the Hizbollah doesn't let them go, because IDF distributes flyers, warning them to leave. They are truly a human shield, and they have paid for it dearly. There is no doubt in my mind that the army does not intend to attack civilians. But when it happens, the whole world turns on us. The irony is that the Hizbollah is almost only attacking civilians. And believe me, they are rejoicing at the attack of this morning. This is what they were hoping for the whole time.
Western intelligence services say China is taking advantage of a thaw in ties with the Vatican to send its state-ordained priests abroad, according to a newsletter.
The Paris-based Intelligence Online reported last week that changes in the balance of power between the underground, unofficial Catholic Church and the official, communist-dominated Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association are under way following recent talks between envoys from Rome to Beijing,
The official church is headed by Fu Tieshan and Liu Bainian, also known as the Red Pope.
Chinese counterintelligence and Liu regard the Vatican and unofficial Catholics as potential threats, similar to the Falun Gong sect. The government denounced the Vaticans appointment of 40 bishops in the unofficial church in February.
"China's foreign intelligence service Guoanbu is taking advantage of the thaw with the Vatican to send government-approved Chinese priests abroad," the report stated. "They are, in fact, intelligence operatives, as European counter-intelligence agencies have come to realize in recent months."
Two papal envoys held high-level talks in Beijing in late June, the newsletter reported. They included Archbishop Claudio Celli, of the Vatican property office who is charge of relations with China, and monsignor Gianfranco Rota Graziosi, a senior aide in the Vatican state secretariat. But unlike many communist-leftist priests in the west, some of these ChiCom priests may actually believe in God.
August 1, 2006: The current war in Lebanon involves keeping secrets to survive, and win. Take, for example, casualties. Hizbollah is a totalitarian organization, and does not have to release any casualty figures. In fact, Hizbollah has an interest in not letting the Israelis know how many Hizbollah operatives are being killed. That way, the Israelis won't know how badly they are hurting Hizbollah, nor how effective the Israeli tactics are. In addition to saying nothing, Hizbollah can also get away with lying. Since Hizbollah fighters don't wear uniforms, many of the Hizbollah dead can be reported as civilians. This makes sense in terms of propaganda, as Hizbollah wants to portray Israeli attacks as unwarranted attacks on innocent civilians.
When pressed, Israeli officials said that they believed they had killed about 200 Hizbollah fighters during the first two weeks of the fighting. But now Western journalists in Lebanon are reporting seeing dead civilians who were apparently Hizbollah members. The Israelis probably do have a better idea of Hizbollah losses than they are admitting, because Israel maintains a network of agents inside Lebanon. They know that the military wing of Hizbollah is not large, with only a few thousand trained fighters. Once that crew takes serious losses, Hizbollah will have to rely more on less effective part-timers. Israel really wants to know when that point is reached, for at that point new tactics can be applied, that will speed up the destruction of Hizbollah. So, for Hizbollah, secrecy is a matter of life and death.
Israel, being a democracy, with a free press, every military and civilian casualty has to be reported. So Hizbollah knows how their enemy is doing. But the Israelis are so much more powerful militarily than Hizbollah, that precise knowledge of Israeli losses is not all that important.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
10:06 ||
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Hizbollah is a totalitarian organization, and like the UNdoes not have to release any casualty figures.
#2
That's not what's important. What's important is that we are burying them by the truckload. Massive death counts are the best way to get their attention. They are way too stoooopid to deal with any other way. Have you listened to any of these braying fools in any interview sessions ?
The House passed the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) by 410 votes to 15. The Act forbids publicly funded organisations, such as schools and libraries, from allowing young people to access sites that have chat rooms or "social networking" elements. Under the proposed law, adults in such institutions can ask for permission to access the sites.
"The social networking sites have become, in a sense, a happy hunting ground for child predators," said Republican congressman Michael Fitzpatrick before the vote. The Act prohibits the publicly funded bodies to give children access to sites where they might receive "unlawful sexual advances".
The move was condemned by the American Library Association (ALA). "ALA is disappointed by the House's passage of DOPA," said ALA president Leslie Burger. "This unnecessary and overly broad legislation will hinder students' ability to engage in distance learning and block library computer users from accessing a wide array of essential internet applications including instant messaging, email, wikis and blogs.
"Under DOPA, people who use library and school computers as their primary conduits to the internet will be unfairly blocked from accessing some of the web's most powerful emerging technologies and learning applications. As libraries are already required to block content that is 'harmful to minors' under the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), DOPA is redundant and unnecessary legislation."
The law suggests that the FCC consider as social networking sites any site that allows users to edit a profile, chat to users or post personal data.
Under that loose definition a very large number of sites would qualify, including Amazon.com, which allows users to post lists of preferences and create profiles of authors, eBay, in which each user has a profile which changes as they shop, or any number of major news sites, where users can discuss stories online.
I think that legislators dare not oppose or even properly discuss any legislation that purports to even slightly reduce child predation, regardless of its flaws. Activists have noticed this, and have used it to ramrod other dubious bills in the last few years, often naming the law after some kid to add further poignancy.
#3
I suspect we will see more and more ineffectual laws like this until the kids who grew up with the net start making the laws. This is also how the liquor and drug laws got to be the way they are.
#6
Lofgren is in San Jose. CD 1-20 are Northern Calif, 21-51 Southern. Diane Watson is the only SoCal. Her district is south of Hollywood and encompasses Culver City and USC.
#9
This is a stepping stone. Soon you will have to 'register' to be able to access such sites even from your own computer - much like you have to show ID to get beer or smokes -- and will be just as ineffective.....
#10
This is a stepping stone. Soon you will have to 'register' to be able to access such sites even from your own computer - much like you have to show ID to get beer or smokes -- and will be just as ineffective.....
Abso-f*cking-lutely Right.
"Those who would give up essential liberty, for a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety". -- Ben Franklin
The video shows two bare-knuckle brawlers brutally punching each other until one slumps, beaten, to the ground. The fight doesn't end there: The victor straddles the chest of his fallen opponent, firing rights and lefts into his face.
This is not a scene from the Brad Pitt movie Fight Club. Instead, it involves real teenagers in an underground video called Agg Townz Fights 2. Their ring: the grassy schoolyard of Seguin High School here. They're engaged in a disturbing extreme sport that has popped up across the nation: teen fight clubs.
This year, authorities in Texas, New Jersey, Washington state and Alaska have discovered more than a half-dozen teen fight rings operating for fun or profit. These illegal, violent, often bloody bouts pit boys and girls, some as young as 12, in hand-to-hand combat. Some ringleaders capture these staged fights with video or cellphone cameras, set them to rap music, then peddle homemade DVDs on the Internet. Other fight videos are posted on popular teen websites such as MySpace.com and YouTube.com.
Some bouts are more like bare-knuckle boxing matches, with the opponents shaking hands before and after they fight. Others are gang assaults out of ultra-violent films such as A Clockwork Orange, with packs of youths stomping helpless victims who clearly don't want to fight.
"When you watch the video, you're appalled by the savagery, the callousness, the lack of morality," says James Hawthorne, deputy police chief of Arlington's West District, who's leading a crackdown on fight clubs. "This is an indictment of us as a society. It's not a race issue or a class issue. It's a kids issue." There are lots of people who just freak out at the thought of any violence, anywhere. They are psychologically incapable of dealing with it in any form, and become irrational when trying to stop it, like force-feeding wild lions tofu. It's funny to see the "It's societies' fault" argument, which was a popular (ridiculous) argument used in the 1960s.
#3
The police have taken away just about every avenue for cleaning up the gene pool. These guys will probably give it a nice high-gloss shine. Fight on, teen boys!
#4
The police broke up a fight ring here in Austin a few months back. Funny thing most of the teens were from the wealthiest area of town, the Westlake area.
#5
Funny thing most of the teens were from the wealthiest area of town, the Westlake area.
They probably have a zero-tolerance policy on fighting in their schools - where the victim gets punished for fighting back.
I went to an old private boarding school that had a fighting policy akin to duelling: it was discouraged but allowed if witnessed and done fairly. As long as noone was ambushed or sucker-punched, that was the end of it.
It sounds quaint and archaic, but we only had a handful of such fights in my three years there. Pretty good for a place with hundreds of teenage boys living in close proximity 24/7.
I have a suspicion that this policy has been abandoned in our hyper-PC era.
Asia's energy needs are soaring, and the region is increasingly turning to nuclear technology to meet the rising demand. Many governments see nuclear power as a way to cut air pollution and ease the need for imported oil.
In the face of rising oil prices and chronic air pollution, Asian nations are looking to nuclear power to solve their energy problems.
Reactors are being built across the region. Japan and South Korea have the most developed nuclear industries, but China and India are leading the charge with new projects.
John Ritch is the director general of the World Nuclear Association.
"The two largest nuclear planned programs in the world right now are those of India and China," he said. "I would expect that each of those countries, by the middle of this century, will have 250 nuclear power reactors. Now that sounds like a lot, but it won't be a very substantial portion of their electricity."
China alone plans to build 30 reactors by 2020, up from nine now. Eight of those are under construction, with two nearing completion. The reactors are part of an ambitious government effort to rapidly expand electricity output to keep up with its booming manufacturing industry.
China has been moving to alternative energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric and nuclear in an effort to cut its use of coal. Pollution from coal burning plants blankets most Chinese cities. And moving coal from the mines in the north and west to the industrialized east is straining the transportation system.
India has 15 reactors operating, and nine are under construction. Although nuclear power provides only about three percent of India's electricity, the World Nuclear Association estimates that could increase to 25 percent by mid-century.
Unlike China and India, which only recently began rushing to build reactors, Japan and South Korea have long relied on nuclear technology to reduce their need for foreign fuels.
Japan depends on imported oil, gas and coal for about 80 percent of its energy needs, which leaves its highly industrialized economy vulnerable to market fluctuations.
Nuclear reactors account for about a third of Japan's energy production, and the government says it plans to increase that to more than 40 percent by 2014, after adding more than 10 new reactors.
South Korea is even more dependent than Japan on imported fuel - as much as 97 percent of its fossil fuel supply is imported. South Korean government reports show 20 reactors provide 40 percent of electricity production, and at least eight new reactors are planned.
There are concerns, however, about this rush to go nuclear. Reactors present the risk of a radiation accident that could kill or sicken thousands of people. They also are expensive to build.
Liu Changxin of the China Nuclear Society says one of the main factors in China's nuclear plan is the need to reduce air pollution. Still, he says, it is only part of the solution.
"I don't think nuclear power can play the most important, or even a very important role in China's energy supply," he said. "Just a part of our energy policy, just one of the choices."
Liu says that China's energy needs are growing so rapidly that the country needs to consider all options.
Greenpeace wants to see countries such as China and India explore other choices. Szeping Lo, a Greenpeace spokesman in Hong Kong, says China has taken steps to develop renewable energy sources.
"Just last November the deputy minister of energy announced that China will increase its wind energy development target from 20 gigawatts to 30 gigawatts by 2020," he said.
That is almost the same amount of energy China plans to produce using nuclear power.
Lo opposes all uses of nuclear power because of the dangers and costs.
"The nuclear industry is a dying industry. No new nuclear power plant has been built in the U.S. in the last decade, and there's no new nuclear power plants being built either in Western Europe, in many other countries," Lo said.
John Ritch at the World Nuclear Association is frustrated by the opposition to nuclear technology. He says nuclear energy is clean and safe and should stand side by side with other clean energy technologies.
"The catastrophic effects of an intensifying concentration of greenhouse gasses are going to make the planet unlivable," he said. "And it is incumbent on the governments of Asia and the governments of other regions of the world to shift as quickly as possible to clean energy technologies, and nuclear is the quintessential clean energy technology that can be expanded on a large scale."
As the economies of Asia continue to grow, so will the energy needs. The Asia Development Bank says that from 1973 to 2003 Asia's energy consumption grew by 230 percent, compared with an average worldwide increase of 75 percent.
With much of Asia seeing economic growth rates above six percent over the past few years, electricity needs are likely to continue expanding rapidly. That means despite concerns over safety and cost, some of the region's smaller economies, including Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, are looking to nuclear power to fuel their futures.
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006
09:16 ||
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#1
What a good idea. I wonder why it never occurred to us?
#3
Petroleum constitutes only 1.6% of the fuel used for power generation in the US. Nuclear will do nothing to dent our dependence on oil which is used primarily for transportation, unless we suddenly move to electirc vehicles by legislative fiat. As long as you drive your car, you'll be paying Ruskies & Muslims to do it.
#4
Your right NS. We are still being prevented from building nuclear plants due to 'enviromental' concerns. By 'environental' I mean junk Gore-class science and not real 'solid' enviromental science.
#5
Nuclear isn't the solution, but it's part of it. There's still plenty of low hanging fruit in the US energy picture. Nuclear energy and drilling ANWR and the OCS come to mind.
#6
I believe I heard that US has 16 projects ready to enter application process. If we would get off our ass and get reproceesing cycles back on stream we could burn about 95% of the fuel using secondary burn cycles in fast reactors. Storage issues which all the envirno touchy feelies concentrate on would be minimal.
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006
09:11 ||
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#1
In Pakistan, however, some 60 per cent of marriages are between first cousins; the frequency in Bradford and Leeds is thought to be comparable. The result is that clinical genetics units serving the British Pakistani community see a range and frequency of genetic disorders unknown elsewhere in the country.
60 percent... Gawd...
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006 9:19
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#2
IIRC, I've read here in RB, many moons ago, that 70% of soodi newly-wed are blood-related (this was in an article about the gvt willing to regulate this); also, from a separate article, the jordanian % is 50%, more or less the average in the region. Don't know about north africans, though extended families of "cousins" (french arab "cousin" greeting = african american "brother" are common too).
This could go a long way towards explaining what is, to us, irrational and psychopathic behavior amongst the normal population and the embracement of a fascistic pseudo-religious death cult which blames everything wrong with their own society on anyone else.
That's not excuse for the Islamonazi's, but it sure could go a long way towards explaining it to westerners.
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula didn't help the government's public relations effort when he recently suggested that people who whine about crime should just leave the country.
Thank you Charles, appears many are acting upon your suggestion.
Across this most religious of Indonesia's provinces, brown uniformed policemen in black wagons enforce Shariah, or Islamic law. They haul unmarried couples into precincts and arrest people for drinking or gambling. Increasingly, many of the cases are pushed to the ultimate conclusion, public canings at mosques in front of pumped-up crowds.
In mid-July, a 27-year-old man sentenced to 40 lashes fainted on the seventh stroke of a rattan cane from a hooded man in the yard of a mosque here in the provincial capital.
The caning was televised nationally, with an announcer reporting that the man, who had been arrested for drinking at a beachside stall, would receive the remainder of his punishment once he had recovered.
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Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006
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TOKYO Japan's military is undergoing a major transformation to give it more government clout and a bigger role in international peacekeeping while aligning it more closely with U.S. forces, a government report said Tuesday. The annual report by Japan's Defense Agency also stressed that Tokyo is under increasing pressure to defend itself from possible attack by North Korean ballistic missiles, and while careful not to call China a threat urged Beijing to provide more information of its military expenditures to ease tensions in the region.
This year's report devotes a full chapter to the realignment of the roughly 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan and efforts to meld the Japanese and U.S. forces into a more effective, more closely coordinated force. The realignment, the result of years of negotiations, involves a streamlining of the U.S. military in Japan including the transfer of some 8,000 U.S. Marines off the southern island of Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam. It also entails closer coordination on intelligence-gathering and in ballistic missile defense, a major concern for Japan.
The report repeatedly cites North Korea's development of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons as a destabilizing factor in the region, and strongly condemned its test-firing of seven missiles into the Sea of Japan on July 4. It also criticized Pyongyang for pouring money into military expenditures "while it is suffering severe economic difficulties and must rely on international aid for food." "These activities of North Korea escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and are a serious source of concern not only for our nation but for all of east Asia," the report said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
08:50 ||
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#1
I have to say, the Japanese spirit really impresses me. Take a warrior culture, thousands of years old and overnight turn it into a pacifist nation and expect it to work seems impossible (and much press during 1946-1948 stressed this). But yet, they accepted their fate, turned their economy around and have become a major power in the pacific. Most other nations would have collapsed into civil war. And now, the Japanese people are once again ready to turn their thinking in a very short time to again become a modern, democratic military power.
Jews living precariously in the world's most violently anti-Israel states in the Middle East have apparently signed their names and countries of origin on an Internet site that is coordinating a world-wide prayer rally slated for Tuesday for IDF soldiers.
Twenty-eight from Iran, 12 from Syria, and five from both Lebanon and Iraq have signed up so far, according to Eran Gefen, CEO of Y&R Interactive, a PR firm that established the site with the aid of Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger. Others involved with the effort include the Jewish Agency, the Foreign Ministry and numerous media, including The Jerusalem Post.
Gefen admitted that he could not know for sure whether those who signed up were actually Jews. "We can't check their family tree, but they are joining the prayer for the IDF," he said. He added that he would keep the names of these signatories secret to protect their safety.
"Iranian Jews normally do not have access to Israeli Internet content," said Gefen. "But it seems that some managed to bypass the block and it is very exciting to hear their virtual voices."
Anti-Israel hackers from Saudi Arabia and other countries have launched an aggressive attack on the site, Gefen said. But, despite numerous delays, Israeli technicians have managed to keep the site up and running.
"Hackers create thousands of artificial hits a second, which puts tremendous strain on the servers." Gefen added that there were thousands of hits from Arab countries, most of them anonymous.
At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jews from all over the world will simultaneously say a prayer for IDF soldiers fighting against Hizbullah and for kidnapped soldiers. So far more than 50,000 Jews from 170 different countries have registered as participants in the prayer session. Registration is at www.tfila.org.il.
The names of those who registered, written in tiny print, will be placed in the Kotel by Metzger. As a WASP athiest, I'll offer my own prayer for Israel. Humiliate them ( the Arabs) and take their land away from them. It's all they understand.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Tamil Tiger rebels destroyed a Sri Lanka navy boat in a battle near an eastern port killing eight sailors, a pro-rebel Web site reported said Tuesday. The battle erupted when rebels attacked a ship that was carrying more than 850 government soldiers from northern Jaffna peninsula a to the Trincomalee port in the east.
Navy spokesman Commander D.K.P Dassanayake denied the report and said sailors destroyed three rebel attack boats. He said he was unaware of rebel casualties.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
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ON THE CONGO-SUDAN BORDER (AP) - The elusive leader of a brutal 19-year northern Uganda rebellion held his first formal meeting with a chief peace mediator and an Ugandan government negotiator Tuesday. Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, warmly shook hands with Riek Machar, who is vice president of the autonomous government of Southern Sudan and chief mediator of the northern Uganda peace talks. After exchanging pleasantries, Kony, Machar and an Ugandan government official went into a private meeting under a tent.
Kony, who has made rare public appearances in the past, was dressed in a neatly pressed cream short-sleeved shirt, matching trousers and polished black shoes. A day earlier during a meeting with leaders from northern and eastern Uganda, he wore a crisp military uniform.
On Monday, Kony met with a delegation of 160 officials and lawmakers from northern and eastern Uganda and representatives of non-governmental organizations for about three hours. He allowed photographers to take pictures of him but did not speak to journalists. He appeared friendly with members of the delegation, slapping some of them on the back and laughing with them.
The meetings took place in a makeshift rebel camp set up for the peace talks about 2 miles inside the Congolese border. The camp was decorated in palm leaves as a sign of peace. Journalists were taken there, but were not told exactly where they were. "For meaningful talks to continue there must be a cessation of hostilities," the rebels said in a statement after Monday's talks.
Kony has yet to meet with the main Ugandan government delegation, led by Interior Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
The Lord's Resistance Army is made up of the remnants of a rebellion that began after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni took power in 1986. Its political agenda is unclear. It has set up rear bases in Sudan and Congo, and has been accused of attacking civilians and threatening stability in those countries. It is known for abducting thousands of children, forcing them to become fighters, servants or concubines. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict and more than 1 million have been forced to flee their homes.
Kony is under indictment by the International Criminal Court, but Museveni has offered to protect him if the Lord's Resistance Army agrees to give up its weapons. The rebels, however, have demanded that they be incorporated into Uganda's national army. New York-based Human Rights Watch denounced all calls for amnesty, saying international law rejects impunity for "genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
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This is not to say that it will lose the war, or that the war was unwinnable to start with. But if it keeps going as it is, Israel is headed for the greatest military humiliation in its history. During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israelis were stunned by their early reversals against Egypt and Syria, yet they eked out a victory over these two powerfully armed, Soviet-backed adversaries in 20 days. The conflict with Hezbollah--a 15,000-man militia chiefly armed with World War II-era Katyusha rockets--is now in its 21st day. So far, Israel has nothing to show for its efforts: no enemy territory gained, no enemy leaders killed, no abatement in the missile barrage that has sent a million Israelis from their homes and workplaces.
Generally speaking, wars are lost either militarily or politically. Israel is losing both ways. Two weeks ago, Israeli officials boasted they had destroyed 50% of Hezbollah's military capabilities and needed just 10 to 14 days to finish the job. Two days ago, after a record 140 Katyushas landed on Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice he needed another 10 to 14 days. When the war began, Israeli officials spoke of "breaking" Hezbollah; next of evicting Hezbollah from the border area; then of "degrading" Hezbollah's capabilities; now of establishing an effective multinational force that can police the border. Israel's goals are becoming less ambitious while the time it needs to accomplish them is growing longer.
It is amazing how much can be squandered in the space of three weeks. On July 12, Israel sat behind an internationally recognized frontier, where it enjoyed a preponderance of military force. It had deterrence and legitimacy. Hezbollah's cross-border raid that day was widely condemned within Lebanon and among Arab leaders as heedless and provocative. Mr. Olmert's decision to respond with massive force enjoyed left-to-right political support. He also had a green light from the Bush administration, which has reasons of its own to want Hezbollah defanged and which assumed the Israelis were up to the job.
But it seems they are not up to the job. The war began with a string of intelligence failures: Israel had lowered its alert level on the northern border prior to the raid; it did not know that Hezbollah possessed Chinese-made antiship missiles, one of which nearly sank an Israeli missile boat off the coast of Beirut; it was caught off guard by the fierce resistance it encountered in the two Lebanese villages it has so far attempted to capture. Such failures are surprising and discouraging, given that Israel has been tracking and fighting Hezbollah for nearly a quarter-century.
Harder to understand is a military and political strategy that mistakenly assumes that Israel can take its time against Hezbollah. It cannot. Israel does not supply itself with precision-guided bombs; it does not provide its own cover at the U.N. Security Council; it does not have 130,000 troops at risk in Iraq of an uprising by Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. It should be immensely worrying to Israel's leaders that Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is calling for an immediate cease-fire. Ayatollah Sistani--unlike, say, Kofi Annan--is the sort of man who can get George W. Bush's ear.
Israelis have compounded that mistake with an airpower-based strategy that, whatever its virtues in keeping Israeli troops out of harm's way, was never going to evict Hezbollah from southern Lebanon, just as airpower alone did not evict Saddam from Kuwait in 1991. The law of averages, however, guaranteed that over the course of 5,000 bombing sorties one bomb (or two or three or four) would go astray.
Last night in Tel Aviv, Mr. Olmert delivered another blood, tears, toil and sweat speech; the Israeli cabinet later approved a stepped-up ground war, the scope of which remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Ms. Rice left Jerusalem for Washington with a different idea: "I take with me an emerging consensus on what is necessary for both an urgent cease-fire and a lasting settlement. I am convinced we can achieve both this week."
Timelines are colliding here; agendas may follow. Israel has a prime minister who talks tough. What remains to be seen is whether he can act fast.
#1
So the WSJ editorial board is openly shilling for Hezbollah now. Those who write for the WSJ oped board can't possibly be stupid enough not to realize that's the impact of this piece.
#2
Yeah, Bret Stephens, formerly of the Jerusalem Post is openly shilling for Hezb'Allah. I think he realizes the impact of this article is to give Olmert and Paretz a swift kick in the pants, because that is what they need. Even though Perets makes it clear that we aren't allowed to criticize.
There is no case to be made that Israel is winning this war, only that Israel has not yet lost it and still has time to win if it gets its act together.
#3
Bret Stephens made some unfortunate remarks at the Davos meeting around the time that Eason Jordan was exposed. He's been 'moving and shaking' with the big money, i.e. Soros and the Saudis, for some time now.
#4
Yup, and I dumped on him here for it and his cute dinner with the German diplomat. But that doesn't mean he's in the tank for Hezb'Allah or that this analysis is incorrect.
Once again, it looks as if another Western nation (if I may be allowed to classify Israel as Western) utterly lacks the will to take out the big hammer.
Somewhere in the first couple of chapters of On War, Clausewitz tells us there are only two ways to defeat your enemy: physically annihilate him or break his will to fight. So far, it appears the Israelis aren't attempting either path.
#6
NS, you're right - it doesn't mean he's wrong. What I worry about is that NONE of the western countries seem willing to actually fight for our won cultural, economic and political survival in the face of these classic ongoing attacks by barbarian tribes at our edges.
#7
I agree, dreadnaught. But I also worry about the fact that so many are wanting Israel to do what we ALL need to be doing. I've been in Israel - it's about the size of New Jersey, folks. That's it. Time for the bigger countries either to step up to the plate or admit they are surrendering.
#8
Just for the sake of argument, lets just imagine for a moment a worst case scenario, and the goat boinking tribes of Allan actually defeated Israel. If a Dunkirk rescue effort were to unfold, please name if you will, the nations that would provide transport, sanctuary, and citizenship.
#11
Another thing I have talk to everybody that I know of around my neighborhood even the Bush haters and all have said that Israel needs to put a deep smack down on the hizzys.
#12
What gives with this defeatist claptrap of late? Does anyone remember how Israel was caught off guard in the opening days of the Yom Kipur War in Oct. 1973?
For an upbeat assessment that includes links to the pessimists, see here. Check for periodic updates and chuck the negativity BS.
I'm with you 100%. It's hard to get folks in the USA to understand the seriousness of this, but in a country where the rockets are literally raining down, I thought that sheer self-preservation would kick in and get the Israelis to fight in a serious fashion. Attriting rocket lauchers is fine, but Hizb Allah will just get new ones.
Of course, it is possible that these yahoos are such fanatics that the only way to break their will IS to literally annihilate them (a la Japan 1945).
#14
What gives with this defeatist claptrap of late?
Nothing is wrong with defeatist claptrap if someone is being defeated. Do you think Israel is winning?
And Israel is not being defeated on the battlefield. It appears that Israel is defeating itself because it has a political leadership that adopts a strategy d'jour...or two.
And the consequences for Israel and for us of their defeat will be monumental. We need to do everything we can to prevent it. And so does the Israeli leadership.
Israel can win this thing. Easily. If their political leadership has the will. They appear not to. That's why leaders get tested early and why 2009 will not be a pleasant year, whoever wins in the previous November.
It's one thing to encourage as Horowitz did today and another to shill as this article does. The folks at the WSJ oped understand exactly what they are doing.
#19
I don't think NS is being defeatist, just pessimistic. A trait I share at this point.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/01/2006 12:44
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#20
pessimistic is fine, and prudent.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 13:01
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#21
People whose job is to track financial markets fully understand the consequences of this type of pessimism in the op ed of an American paper.
Translate this to high school. "This is not to say that Miss Popular WILL lose the title of homecoming queen, but if she keeps eating like she did yesterday,s he is headed for the greatest public humiliation in history.
#22
NS has a point about Israel's political will and the PR defeat she is suffering from of late.
However, anyone who thought world opinion would side with Israel is whistling past a graveyard.
As for taking the gloves off, exactly. It is basically the USA, UK, Israel, possibly India, Australia, and Japan (and throw in a few Eastern European nations) against the Islamist-Fascists and their enablers among the Leftist-besotted nations and communities, including our own Leftists.
#23
The world was prepared to let Israel have its way with Hezb'Allah after the kidnappings. It was a PR victory at that point. If they'd turned in victories, they'd still have the edge in the PR battle. But they didn't and Hezb'Allah capitalized with that manufactured Cana incident under the direction of Mr. Green Helmet. It is this wasted opportunity that has made me so upset.
#24
What's interesting is that TradeSports doesn't even have a market going on any of this, unless I missed it in a quick check. They had markets during the Iraq invasion. People aren't sure anymore how serious any of this is, I think.
Now, there isn't the groundswell of pushback against the Islamacists I would like to see. OTOH, people are beginning to realize this isn't Grenada or the Brits vs. Argentina on a windswept island, either. I think it's going to have to get very bad and overt before public opinion will rise up against Islamacist agression (including how they've taken over e.g. many aspects of the UN).
#25
"Israel can win this thing. Easily. If their political leadership has the will."
Easily??? Nimble, respectfully I disagree? To say that Hezbollah is a formidable opponent is a colossal understatement. Furthermore, politically speaking, it will be impossible to end this conflict with any perceived humiliation on either side. No amount of will can erase that fact. IMO, given all the other complexities, that makes it the exact opposite of easy.
#26
I don't share the pessimism. Do you really think that these rampaging backwater monkeys who don't have anything to offer except hate, anger, blame, murder, and false belief in a KKK like superiority are going to do anything other than just get a bunch of people killed for no purpose whatsoever?
Here's an article to burst the pessimistic bubble. grownups meet
Remember, survival is an instinct. Israel is starting to act in terms of survival and so will we.
#27
A formidable opponent with no artillery, no air, no armor? Sure they have well laid out positions and tunnels and training and, you're right, it won't be easy. But neither should it be terribly difficult, nor should the outcome have ever been in question as it now is.
#28
pshaw. How is it in question? Has Israel stopped worrying about civilians yet? Has it used NBC's? Then they haven't lost yet. This isn't the 20th century anymore. Israel is fighting for survival and I'll bet Fred's tip jar that the Israelis won't just lay down and die. History's on my side - not yours. Pick up a Bible now and again and you might get a better clue what they are capable of.
#32
I told you so. The problem is the Israel Political and Military department(just hearing the quotes from Halutz seems he is kid bragging but dont delivering).
This reached this stage starting with Rabin/Peres if you know MEMRI is from an Intelligence officer that got out protesting the delusional kumbaya vision that were propagated. Then came Barak and the retreat from buffer zone a self inflicted defeat, a treason to many Lebanese, emboldened Hizb and was a loss of inteligence assets. Then Sharon trading 400 prisioners for 3 death soldier bodies and one apparently corrupt Israeli and
Gaza retreat without any agreement.
This was supported by the majority of media establishment and Israel vote.
This is why i say that the problem is much more deep than just Olmert and the squezzed Peretz.
#33
That's a fair point, anon. I may have to eat my hat on this one, but I'm just not sniffing any weakness on Israel's resolve. To the contrary - I'm not going to be surprised if they smash on through.
Lot's of folks and the entire MSM counting on them not having the will. No matter how many people tell me it's true, I'm just not seeing that.
#34
The article makes the same points I and others were making over the past weeks. So just because the author has been repeatedly wrong in the past, doesn't mean he cannot be dead-on for once. "stopped clock" and all that applies.
1) You cannot expect this to go with airpower only. Ground units needed to be involved from day one in deep actions across Hezbollah's defense zone. Israel's political leadership did not do this, assumed they could use airpower only, pinprick assaults on the ground and keep casualties to a minimum. This is probably a residual effect of the "peace protester" mentality of the DM and PM and the last actions in Lebanon of the IDF - their "Vietnam". Now they are paying for their timidity with rocket attacks on their citizenry, and their troops will be battling and dying in larger number than had they acted earlier and more decisively.
2) You need to strike with Force Majeure - that is, to hit extremely hard at the weakest point of the enemy. Israel's political leadership has put troops in piecemeal, and wasted the impact they could have had. Read FM 100-5 or the USMC similar field manual on Operational Combat.
3) Telling the truth isn't defeatist - its the only way to victory. And truth is truth no matter where you find it. Unpopular opinions and analyses, if they are well formed and well informed, are the most valuable but usually the hardest to accept. I agree that Israel had some major intelligence failures - but the worst failure of all was the failure of the political leadership to command the military to act decisively and hit hard while it would have had immense impact.
4) Time is NOT on Israel's side. They needed to do a 48-72 hour prep from the air to isolate and degrade Hez forces, interdict the supply lines, etc. Then launch a massive invasion - including recon-in-force up to the Litani in places. This would "stampede the herd" as it were, and completely disrupt Hezbollah. Instead, they have allowed time and space for Hezbollah to reform and regroup repeatedly, and the lack of direct ground troops has lead to the civilians staying put to hide from airstrikes instead of fleeing the advance of an armored column (far more humane than dying as Hezbollah human shields in Israeli air attacks).
5) Indecisiveness. Israel squandered the opportunity by hesitating and doing things in fits and starts instead of acting in a decisive and forceful manner. The hokey-pokey with the occupation of Hezbollah towns, the inability to decide to clear a deep security zone along the border, the on-and-off air campaign, the lack of counterbattery capability, the call up of cadre but not combat troops...
It all smacks of martial incompetence on the part of the political leadership of Israel. They have squandered too many opportunities - the chance for a decisive strategic victory is slipping away, surely as the sun sets on every additional delayed day in the campaign. Only heroics and blood of the troops of the IDF and some bold actions by the military leadership can salvage this.
I told you this a while back and it still stands: a decisive ground campaign from Tyre to the Golan along the Litani will be the only way for Israel to achieve victory. Had they done that in the second week of the conflict, it would be over with by now.
Call me defeatist? Go ahead. But I challenge you to come up with a better interpretation in light of all the warnings and predictions made that have been on the money so far. Politicians and others may want to spin this a different way, but anyone that is tasked with the defense of their nation and the blood of their troops would be pretty pissed with the results so far, were they to be put in the position of an Israeli military commander. Yes they have accomplished some things and are starting to cover the ground - but not nearly as much as they could have and should have.
Israel must follow through, and the political leadership must learn the lessons they were taught early in the conflict, eternal military lessons that every military knows but politicians seem to repeatedly forget.
Surprise. Concentration. Tempo. Audacity.
Alternately, in the immortal words of Nathan Bedford Forrest:
"Get there first-est with the most-est"
Notably Israel has achieved none of these - no surprise, spread operations preclude concentration/impact of forces, tempo has been lethargic and sporadic on the ground and sporadic in the air, and they have shown little audacity in operations.
I had more to say but need to get back to the job.
#35
I'd agree Olmert has said the right things fairly consistently. It just hasn't been backed up by others like Peretz and Kaplinski and the evolution of action has been pretty slow. I certainly hope the train is now on the tracks and rolling. We all need a big victory and lots of dead Hezbers.
#37
Don't forget that all of the same was said about Iraq - much of it true. We should-have/could-have done lots of things differently - but the end result is that Saddam will hang and there is a democracy in Iraq.
I've been taken astray from my original point. It's one thing for rantburg members to post concerns, etc - but quite another for the WSJ op-ed to feed the hopes of the jihadis that the western world will lose their will. What happens, is it gives them false hope that they can just keep killing us and we will not have the will to fight back. It's bad because it is not true. When pushed far enough we will fight and we will fight to win. The war in Iraq would have been over a year ago with lots fewer dead if they MSM hadn't kept that hope alive in their deranged brains. What will happen is that they will keep pushing and each time we will become a little more ruthless and a little less civilized as we fight back. One step at a time - we will lose our patience and the end result will be more bloodshed than was necessary if we nipped it in the bud early on. 60 million dead in WWII. 50+ thousand killed at Gettysburg in ONE DAY. The idea that the Americans or Jews are just going to allow ourselves to be terrorised by these barbarians is not correct. It's time to make that clear to these terrorists so they can begin to grasp what will happen when they finally push too far. I agree that the political will is lagging right now, but a few more big terrorist attacks and eventually we'll get into the survival mode. Don't kid yourself that we won't.
#38
I agree 2b - the bleatings of the MSM, the apologists for Western Civilisation and other fifth columnists are limiting the options that we have to stop this.
When the next big terrorist attacks occur, all that's going to be left is the mediaeval response. Someone really ought to point this out to the people that are going to be at the sharp end of that response...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/01/2006 18:11
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#39
apologist (n.)
A person who argues in defense or justification of something, such as a doctrine, policy, or institution
#40
2b - Check your figures. Only 5000 KIA at Gettysburg in 3 days. Think your WWII numbers are off, even including civilian deaths. Casualties != Deaths.
Oldspook - I think a reason for the lack of a grand advance here is that the strategic need is different. The IDF doesn't want to bypass Hezbollah as they would a regular army - they need to kill as many of the terrorists as possible. Breaking up the units means the cadres can reform. Remaining in contact bleeds them white. The longer they stay in position in the south, the more losses they take.
#41
Check the map. Israel forces from Kyriat Shmona and other localities near western Golan could have advanced West to cut Hizb and another pince will reach near Tyre and move East. Then another towards Bekaa. This is what were done in 1982 except that the Tyre force went to Beirut.
#42
You know people, I was sure that the Oslo accords are the end of Israel. All these "strategic/tactical" analyzes are a pile of bull. Even if the desired results are not accomplished now, Arabs will provide us with another opportunity. The only important thing is that Israel no longer afraid of collateral damage.
#44
I admit I were puzzled by the Israeli leadership somewhat, and understand OS concerns. But there are some factors that may shed some light on the Israeli strategy.
1. Israel has been caught by a surprise. They neglected intelligence in the past several years as the HA is concerned--mainly the HA prep of the battlefield and logistics. I think they expected a different stratagem played by Iranian puppet masters and their intel was directed more in that direction. Not saying that Iran won't pull a fast one, yet, I think their strategy has several facets and HA attack was only the first card in the deck.
2. The previous 2 weeks, beside attacking the "hot" targets, were spend on gathering the intel needed for ground offensive. That means weapons delivery points in specific locations and the entry/exit points of underground structures. If the ground offensive started without previous mapping of these locations, the price paid may have been too high.
3. The Qana incident was a PR disaster for Israel, at least in the short term, but gave a pretext for announcing a break in aerial bombardment. The usage of terms "aerial activity" was a master move, because the enemy may have interpreted it as they wanted to and disregard their security while trying to resupply. I think Israel got the data it needed to start the ground offensive without going blindly into many traps HA prepared in the last 6 years.
To a degree, one can say that Israelis "muddled through" up to this point and were rather reactive than proactive. But the blank spots in the intel had to be bridged over--to put in place an effective millitary strategy to crush the HA scourge.
#45
Figures as soon as I say they lacked audacity, they finally show some. And re: US in Iraq - there was certainly a lot of audacity and operational surprise shown early on, and a fast op-tempo, which was lost when Bremer and his guys decided to sit on thier hands instead of immediately declaring and enforcing martial law and dragooning the old army into service. So early bold and hard moves are no guarantee of a hard and lasting victory.
Sometimes you just have to grind.
Don't take my comments on Israel as being completely pessimistic: there is still room for major victory, but its going to be a harder than it would have been earlier; the opportunities were far better.
The good thing is that Israel seem to, in cavalry terms, have found their "seat". Now if they can push the tempo, and keep sharp jabs coming at Hezbollah to keep them off balance while Israel goes after their logistics (Bekaa) and leadership - they can pull off a major win.
There are other things afoot that will come to light soon as well.
As far as current action, they mirror the ones I called for in a post here a while back. There are a few key roads and chokepoints that Israel needs to hit, and the launchpoints and targets are pretty obvious to someone that analyzes the map, and plots the Hezbollah hardpoints against roads and villages.
A bar waitress checking to see if a woman was legally old enough to drink was handed her own stolen driver's license, which was reported missing weeks earlier, police said. "The odds of this waitress recovering her own license defy calculation," police Capt. Guy Turner said Monday.
Maria Bergan, 23, of Lakewood, was charged Sunday night with identity theft and receiving stolen property. She was arrested at her home in suburban Cleveland and was jailed in Westlake to await a court appearance. The 22-year-old waitress, whose name was not released, called police last week and said she had been handed her own stolen driver's license by a woman trying to prove she was 21. The woman, who became suspicious of the delay as the waitress went to call police, fled the Moosehead Saloon, but her companion provided her name.
The waitress said she had lost her wallet July 9 at a bar in Lakewood. The victim also had a credit card stolen. The stolen card has been used to make $1,000 in purchases, Turner said.
#2
I hope she got her beer first, geez. Were not getting the important part of the sequence here - darn MSM! Women files lawsuit for being refused drink in local bar, cites profiling. Evil George Bush daughters cited in lawsuit.
#3
Similar thing happened to my daughter a few weeks ago. A girl at the bar used her stolen ID to try to by booze. The bartender kept the ID and called the police. The girl was under age and didn not look like my daughter. Stranger than fiction.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/01/2006 12:41
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(IsraelNN.com) Harsh fighting is taking place between IDF soldiers and Hizbullah fighters in the southern Lebanon town of Ayat al-Ashad. Hizbullah members have been firing barrages of anti-tank missiles and there are reports of injuries on both sides. IDF ground activities have been increased following a security-cabinet decision Monday night.
Preliminary: Katyusha Missiles Fall Near Metullah
(IsraelNN.com) Katusha missiles fell in Metullah and the surrounding areas Tuesday at noon. Mortar shells were fired during the night and again Tuesday morning at the western Galilee. No injuries were reported.
Updated Instructions For Northern Residents
(IsraelNN.com) Residents of the north, living north of the Acco-Tzfat road are being instructed to remain in their bomb shelters and safe-rooms by the IDF Home Front Command. Those with shelters in their places of work are being told they are allowed to return to work. In Haifa, the Carmelit subway will run free of charge for the foreseeable future, according to Israel Radio.
In all of the cities hit by missiles in the recent weeks, parking tickets are no longer distributed.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
08:06 ||
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#1
Great news, the cops have something better to do than give parking tickets. So much for the 48 hour cease fire.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/01/2006 9:28
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#2
Hizbullah members have been firing barrages of anti-tank missiles and there are reports of injuries on both sides
from memory.
recall '73 Sinai; open dessert battle grounds were cris-crossed with USSR Sagger anti tank wires and littered with knocked out IDF tanks.. solution bring up IDF ARTY and kill Egyptian anti-tank missile teams.
from reports.. Hizzies are dug in which protects them to a greater degree..BUT lots of accurate Arty, Air and sniper fire will still get the job done
#4
Bringing back memories of studies on the 73 war. I read the wires were so thick ground vehicles had issues with the wires and rotary winged aircraft had problens also.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/01/2006 10:23
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#5
Oh, but not ARTY!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/01/2006 10:24
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#6
What I bet is taking place is that the Iranians have organized the Hezbollah into units, with three or four Iranian zampolit-style managers. Then they goad the Hezbollah to attack the Israelis in the stupidest possible ways.
The Iranian leadership probably wants to maximize destruction of Lebanese towns, and it figures that it can use its expendable pawns in urban combat to inflict the most casualties on the Israelis, even if Hezbollah takes it in the shorts.
#7
Look for Hezbollah to take down the Lebanese government if they are not destroyed by Israel. Hezbollah takeover means Syrian and Iranian control and a firm base to attack Israel.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/01/2006 12:37
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KABUL , Afghanistan A group of enemy extremists attacked a girls school on July 28 in a village east of Bagram in Parwan Province .
The enemy fighters used small arms and rocket propelled fire to attack the school, causing a partial collapse of the roof of the school.
Villagers returned fire on the enemy extremists and one Afghan civilian security guard was injured in the attack, according to local authorities.
This is another example of total disregard for the progress the Afghan people have achieved, said Col. Thomas Collins, Coalition spokesman. The extremists offer nothing but a bleak return to oppression. Coalition forces, together with the Afghan government, will continue to seek out those who want nothing but darkness for the country. The actions on the part of the villagers in Parwan demonstrate the Afghan peoples abhorrence for the terrorists agenda. The alternative is clear: the Afghan people want to provide an opportunity for young men and women to receive an education.
#1
Silence from the NOW gals as the administration and armed forces work to liberate more women than the rad left auxiliary of the Donk Party has done in decades.
#2
Civilian resistance makes everything the terrorists do ten times harder. It's what finally broke the outlaw gangs in the old West. When you can't go into a town for fear that a rifle barrel will be pointing out of every window.
France's agriculture minister on Monday condemned the destruction of two fields of genetically modified corn by terrorists activists in southwestern France.
Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau called Sunday's slashing of the crops "terrorism vandalism contrary to the rule of law and the respect of private property," a statement from his office said.
More than 200 terrorists without jobs activists tore up 7.3 hectares (18 acres) of the corn in two fields near the southern city of Toulouse. Five suspects were detained by police and held for questioning on Monday. Where's the RAB when you need them?
Jose Bove, a well-known anti-globalization terrorist activist who led the group, urged more terrorism "civil disobedience" if the government rejects its call for a national referendum on whether genetically modified crops should be permitted in France.
One of the fields belongs to U.S. seed company Pioneer Hi-Bred International. Aha! A sinister Rovian plot!
A private farmer owns the other.
Bussereau said the crops are legal. The terrorists activists advocate traditional farming methods, and insist the modified strains could affect other crops. That's right, traditional methods that can feed only half the population...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 10:27
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#5
None of the Euros like or want genetically engineered food on their continent, I think the "terrorist" lable is getting a little overused in this case.
Posted by: bk ||
08/01/2006 13:33
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#6
These people feel they have the 'right' to impose their beliefs on others by force. That makes them terrorists. They don't have to eat genetically modified corn, or products derived from it. They don't have the right to destroy the crops of others, however, and in so doing, have set themselves up as the 'conscience' of the nation, without public support or approval. Hang them as scarecrows in the reseeded GMF fields.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2006 21:18
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#7
gee....Ok - I can live with that :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 22:38
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When on Monday, July 31, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert told the city leaders of the rocket-blitzed north: The war goes on. There will be no ceasefire in the coming days! the script was ready for the next stage of the Israeli offensive to its push Hizballah back behind the Litani River. It was approved by the inner cabinet unopposed that night with no time scale. Next morning, Israel ground operations continued to destroy Hizballah outposts close to the border and hit rocket sites, weapons stores and fighters. The air force bombed arms vehicles incoming from Syria in eastern Lebanon.
DEBKAfiles military analysts say it would be wrong to assume that that the Israeli advance to the Litani comes in the form of troops fanned out the full width of the southern Lebanese front. This is not so. The ground forces are in fact quite far from the river. They are driving forward in three spearheads in the western, central and eastern sectors, battling heavy Hizballah resistance in their path.
The Central Sector: . This force is fighting to take control of the villages of Rumaich and Yaroun south of Bin Jubeil and close to the Israeli border.
The Eastern Sector: This force has split in two, with A Section fighting to cleanse three villages directly north and west of the northernmost Israeli town of Metulla: Kila, Deir Mimas and Taibe; and B Section, which has turned east up the western slopes of Mt. Hermon, to operate 16-18 km east of Metullah in the villages of Shouba, Shaba and Rachaiya al Foukhar, east of the Litani River and north of Golan. This operation aims at sealing south Lebanon off to outside incursions from the east
The Western Sector: This force entered Lebanon near Zarit (where the Hizballah raid which sparked the war took place on July 12). After cleansing Yarin and Alama Chaab, this unit will head west to Naqoura on the Mediterranean coast to occupy a pocket no more than 2-4 km from the Israeli border.
Five points stand out from these military movements:
1. The IDF aims to carve out and control three enclaves along the Lebanese-Israel border in an area not yet cleansed of Hizballah fighters in nearly three weeks of combat.
2. The operation to push Hizballah out of the south past the Litani River is proceeding very slowly and is still in its early stages.
3. The IDF will need another 3 to 4 days just for the initial stage and the attainment of a strip no broader than 3-5 km from the Israeli border. Another 20 km of hostile territory remain to be traversed and neutralized before the Litani is reached. Therefore, the talk of winding this operation up by the end of the week, as some Israeli officials have suggested is totally unrealistic. While the 48-hour qualified halt in Israeli attacks induced a euphoric sense in some parts of Israel including the war was over, there is still a long way to go.
A more realistic estimate is up to 14 days. This fits with the time-scale Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz offered the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice before she left the Middle East Monday, July 31.
4. Even if one of the three forces reaches the Litani, Hizballah concentrations will remain behind, the largest around the Mediterranean town of Tyre and its satellite Palestinian refugee camps. It is hard to imagine Israeli forces going in for a large-scale clean-out of this densely population enclave. Israeli commanders will prefer encirclement and siege. A decision will also have to be taken about the small town of Tebnine and the entire Jebel Amel mountain region of central Lebanon. Here too, Israeli tacticians may settle for artillery and aerial control over Hizballahs ability to fire rockets from this stronghold.
5. The operation to control territory up to the Litani River is beset by a number of difficulties:
One: Hizballah has halted its rocket assault on northern Israel as part of the fog of war to keep Israeli guessing about its next steps. The Israeli air force was forced against its will by the policy-makers in government to release figures showing war gains that have degraded Hizballahs war machine, such as two-thirds of its long-range Zelzal-2 missiles destroyed. But the fact remains that after three weeks of warfare, air force intelligence and AMAN cannot say for sure how many rockets, launchers and operators remain to Hizballah arsenal and where they are cached.
Two: The IDF has not so far plumbed the full extent of Hizballahs bunker network across Lebanon.
Three: After sustaining heavy losses, Hizballah still retains enough manpower to mount counter-attacks on Israeli tanks and armored infantry units as they advance. They will save themselves casualties by avoiding frontal attacks and rather harassing the advancing forces from the flanks and rear.
Four: Hassan Nasrallah and his Iranian sponsors are believed to still hold surprises up their sleeve, most likely preparing to land them in the small hours of Wednesday, August 2, when Israels limited suspension of air strikes expires.
Olmert did in fact make a point of warning that there is still some hard going ahead before the war is over and Israel has not seen the end of Hizballahs rockets. The conditions for a multinational stabilization force to take over southern Litani are still very much up in the air. Until then, even after Israeli forces reach the Litani, the territory will remain volatile. More combat lies ahead to defend the pockets they have occupied.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
07:56 ||
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#1
According to a JPost article I just submitted, "The cabinet-approved plan, according to senior IDF sources, was to utilize the last remaining days of the operation, which they estimated would be over by week's end, to push Hizbullah back as far north as the Litani River in central Lebanon." Someone should tell DEBKA or Olmert that folks don't seem to be using the same book, let alone being on the same page. This is not disinformation or confusing the enemy, it is the keystone kops. I am very worried about how Hezb'Allah will metastisize if they are not really destroyed, something no one on the Israeli side appears to have the stomach for.
#4
Damn it, Mojo, they don't come into the hills anymore. [/Firesign Theater channeling]
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Bethel, Alaska ||
08/01/2006 21:51
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#5
Anyhoo, iff Nasrallah makes good on his promise to begin using larger-sized rockets, etal. the Litani buffer isn't going to cut it as a buffer for Israel. And, iff what Israel's ambassador says about Syria + Iran seeing no borders between them and Israel = Lebanon, Israel is already "over the border" vv Syria-Iran as the latter do not consider Lebanon a sovereign nation anyways. The Hizzies, Hezzies, Hamies, and Jihis are in effect para-military extensions/proxies of the Syrian-Iranian armed forces and Radical Islamic [Shia?]fundamentalism.
Intense clashes erupted on Tuesday morning between IDF paratroopers and Hizbullah terrorists in the southern Lebanese town of Ayta a-Shab. Heavy gunfights were reported involving light machine guns and rockets. The IDF said that the guerrillas fired anti-tank rockets at troops from a house in the town. There were no reports yet of any casualties.
Earlier, the security cabinet approved expanded ground operations in Lebanon, while the IDF, under the assumption that only a few days were left for the operations against Hizbullah A self-fulfilling prophecy, geared up Monday night for a massive ground incursion into Lebanon on three different fronts, utilizing the Golani, Nahal and the Paratroopers infantry brigades. Meanwhile, several Hizbullah-fired Katyusha rockets landed in open territories in Nahariya on Tuesday morning. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.
Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe "Look Ma, No Ground Troops! Kaplinsky said Tuesday that the IDF needed "several more days" to complete its operations against Hizbullah in southern Lebanon. Which controls? objectives or a schedule? "Hizbullah's might MIGHT? Cowards who hide behind children and women have might? was known three weeks ago and we need several more days [to complete the operation and I believe we will get them." Kaplinsky said the IDF's objective was to deal a fatal blow to Hizbullah in Lebanon. And they only need a few more days.
Concurrently, Defense Minister Amir Peretz dismissed criticism Tuesday from former defense officials that Israel had waited too long to launch a massive ground invasion into Lebanon. "There is no room for such criticism. The way we operated was the correct way and the operation should only be judged at its conclusion, "he declared while talking to troops of Brigade 300 near Shomera in the north. Clearly it was correct. That's why Mighty Hezb'Allah is so clearly destroyed.
Peretz said he was sorry that there were people who under appreciated the IDF's achievements, which he said have "changed the reality in southern Lebanon." Regarding diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict, Peretz said the IDF had presented different types of operations, which could accommodate various diplomatic windows made available to Israel. He said that the IDF was taking into consideration that the window might be narrow. Peretz also mentioned that the 48-hour suspension of aerial attacks ended Tuesday night. He added that Israel was not interested in waging war on Syria but would continue to target convoys smuggling weapons across the border into Lebanon. I hope they aren't playing the radio in Sharon's room.
The IDF reported that ground forces had taken up positions in the southern Lebanese town of A-Taybe and were carrying out operations in Al-Adaysa and Rav a-Taltin, west of Metulla. Officials said that the above-mentioned towns were being used as Katyusha rocket launching sites. During clashes with Hizbullah guerrillas in the area, anti-tank missiles and mortar shells were fired at troops, causing no casualties. Meanwhile, the IDF said that in recent operations in the region, 20 Hizbullah operatives had been killed and troops had discovered stockpiles of anti-tank missiles.
The cabinet-approved plan, according to senior IDF sources, was to utilize the last remaining days of the operation, which they estimated would be over by week's end, to push Hizbullah back as far north as the Litani River in central Lebanon. In addition to the attempt to push Hizbullah north to the Litani, the IDF is also working on carving out a two-kilometer security zone along the northern border, under which all of the Hizbullah outposts there would be completely razed and guerrillas would not be allowed to return to the borderline area.
At the moment, the IDF said Monday that it did not intend to send the thousands of reservists who had been called up under emergency orders into Lebanon. Sources said the reservists would be used the earliest by Wednesday, although the decision was dependent on decisions made at the late-night cabinet meeting. Also Monday, in accordance with a decision by the political echelon and in light of security assessments, a general closure was imposed on the West Bank. Throughout the duration of the closure, the IDF said there would be an easing of restrictions for the population, and humanitarian cases would be handled and approved by the District Coordination and Liaison offices.
The IDF said it would continue to exercise sensitivity said like Michael Savage, no doubt towards the West Bank population, while performing thorough inspections at checkpoints and crossings. The army added that it would continue to operate to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel, while preserving, to the best of its ability, the fabric of life of the Palestinians. Touchy-feely warfare. What happened to "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!"
Syrian President Bashar Assad also called on his army Monday to increase readiness to cope with "regional challenges." Travelers from Syria have reported that some reservists have been called up for military duty _ a sign that Syria is concerned the fighting in Lebanon could spill over.
#1
The Israeli Minister of Defense needs to be sacked and put in charge of egg production. This "3rd way" artist is a fool who is wasting Israel's advantages for his leftist idology and PC stupidity.
#2
Granted Israel's military command have made mistakes as has its political leaders.
However, having the major ground op after 3 weeks of bombardment of enemy positions is not necessarily a horrible idea (compared to having the group op without such bombardment).
Three British soldiers have been killed after a vehicle patrol was ambushed by militants in southern Afghanistan. A fourth soldier was seriously injured in the incident in the north of Helmand province, the Ministry of Defence said.
It happened early on Tuesday, hours after a British solder was killed in Iraq in a mortar attack in Basra. The Ministry of Defence said a vehicle patrol came under attack at 0730 local time. "Forces are involved in an ongoing action with insurgent forces," said Army spokesman Lt Col Kevin Stratford-Wright.
"This morning, during one incident, a pair of UK vehicles were attacked by insurgents who were armed with rocket propelled grenades and a heavy machine gun." He said the said the injured soldier was being treated at a military hospital.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
07:47 ||
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Damascus, 1 August (AKI) - Syrian intellectuals and activists have come out in favour of a proposal by their Egyptian counterparts to persuade top cultural Arab and international figures to act as 'human shields' for civilians under Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Promoters of the campaign say that, since the Israelis, fearing negative publicity, are not likely to target them, the famous personalities will be able to guarantee the aid consignments get to the needy.
Syrian activists have responded to the appeal, first launched by the EgYptian-based Kifaya movement, and are now trying to enlist the support of prominent religious, political, cultural and sports figures.
I nominate Al Sharpton, Cindy Sheehan, Michael Jackson and Bucky Dent.
Kifaya has started drawing up a map of pinpointing isolated villages in southern Lebanon as well as routes that can serve as "humanitarian corridors" to deliver assistance. Activists say they hope some of the "human shields" will be able to take up their positions next week.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006
07:28 ||
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#1
They already have "human shields"--they're called "Lebanses civillians."
Posted by: Mike ||
08/01/2006 7:55
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#2
...the famous personalities will be able to guarantee the aid consignments get to the needy next round of weapons shipments.
#4
top cultural Arab and international figures to act as 'human shields'
I nominate 'Baby' Assad (Syria), Khaled Mashal (Hamas), Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran), Ali Khamenei (Iran), Muqtada al-Sadr (Iraq), Ayman Al-Zawahiri (AQ), and Osama Bin Laden (AQ). They should position themselves to 'shield' a LARGE ammo site.
#5
I dont see them falling over each other to stand next to a rocket launcher that WILL be targeted by Israel. If anything they will volunteer to stay in a hospital in the Christian section of Beirut. That way they get cred for being a human shield but they arent very likely to get hit by Israel. BTW what would constitute a top cultural Arab and international figures? I cant think of any off the top of my head.
A circumcision festival attracted Kosovo's Albanians and Serbs to a Bosnian Muslim rite for dozens of small boys. Residents of villages near Kosovo's southern town of Prizren say the Sunet circumcisions of more than 100 small boys in one day could be explained simply by poverty.
"It dates from a period of crisis when people had no money. It was simpler for everybody to come together and share the expenses," Rafik Kasi, a journalist from Gornje Ljubinje said. His nephew was circumcised during the one-day festival, The New York Times reported Monday.
In the ethnically divided Serbia's predominantly ethnic-Albanian Kosovo province, there are a number of other Bosnian Muslim villages in the Zupa Valley near Prizren, between Albanian and Macedonian borders, that had mass Sunet ceremonies. Now, only these two villages maintain the ancient circumcision festival, all along with a Romany band.
On Saturday, two surgeons and a doctor performed procedures on boys under local anesthetic for a small number of parents, while a 69-year-old barber from Prizren, circumcised a great majority of boys, mostly aged under 5.
U.S. wants to deport man associated with charity allegedly tied to Hamas The top fundraiser for an Islamic charity walked out of a detention facility to cheers from a few dozen supporters, more than two years after the government claimed his group had ties to terrorism. No words can describe how Im feeling right now. Im ecstatic, Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, who has never been charged with terrorism, said Monday as he left the federal detention center with his wife and five children.
Hamdan, who founded a mosque in Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004 as federal authorities unsealed an indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The government charged that the Texas-based charity funneled millions to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Hamdan was convicted of overstaying a student visa he got 27 years ago and ordered deported. The Holy Land Foundations president, chairman and director of endowments were charged with terrorism-related crimes.
Hamdan had requested that he be released on bond while he fought the immigration charge, but the request was denied for nearly two years by immigration judges until U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ordered him freed last week. Hatters move was based on the recommendations of a magistrate judges report calling the governments conduct dilatory and the amount of time it took authorities to prepare certain court transcripts troubling. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected a last-ditch government request to keep him locked up.
After he was released, federal authorities promised to continue to press to remove him from the United States. Both the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals have previously held that Mr. Hamdan is deportable and subject to mandatory detention, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Hamdan, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, has acknowledged traveling around the country as a Holy Land fundraiser. He insists, however, he has no information to support allegations the group aided Hamas, which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization. My mission was purely humanitarian, to help the children and the disadvantaged people in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and around the world, he said during an earlier hearing.
#1
he's overstayed his student visa by 27 years, but the gov't was dilatory? Guess we know who's playing politics on the bench
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 11:32
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#2
Redacted by moderator. Comments may be redacted for trolling, violation of standards of good manners, or plain stupidity. Please correct the condition that applies and try again. Contents may be viewed in the sinktrap. Further violations may result in banning.
Besoeker: there was no reason to single out judges of one race over another. Let's not do that sort of thing here at the Burg. AoS.
#5
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. ...
....and sometimes they get it!
African-American judges in the Ninth Circuit
Circuit
Judge Jerome Farris
Arizona
District Judge Raner Collins
Magistrate Judge Glenda Edmonds
C.D. Cal.
District Judge Audrey Collins Chief District Judge Terry HatterMagistrate Judge Jeffrey Johnson
District Judge Consuelo Marshall
Bankruptcy Judge Erithe Smith
District Judge David Williams
N.D. Cal.
District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong
Magistrate Judge Phyllis Hamilton
District Judge Thelton Henderson
Magistrate Judge Maria Elena James
District Judge Martin Jenkins
District Judge James Ware
E.D. Cal.
District Judge Garland Burrell, Jr.
S.D. Cal.
District Judge Earl Gilliam
Magistrate Judge John Houston
District Judge Napoleon Jones, Jr.
Oregon
District Judge Ancer Haggerty
Nevada
District Judge Johnnie Rawlinson
W. Wash.
District Judge Franklin Burgess
District Judge Jack Tanner
Federal prosecutors have charged a Michigan man with making false statements in a terror investigation in Toledo. Jihad Hekmat Dahabi, 47, of Dearborn, is accused of lying to investigators in February when he was asked whether he set up a charity for Marwan El-Hindi, one of three Toledo men facing life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kill U.S. troops in Iraq.
On the same day federal agents arrested El-Hindi - Feb. 19 - Dahabi told agents in Michigan that he hadn't finished the paper work for the charity because El-Hindi hadn't provided all the information, according to an affidavit filed last week by U.S. Treasury agent James Echols. But investigators say Dahabi didn't file the paper work because he knew he was mixed up in something nefarious.
On June 7, investigators showed Dahabi parts of secret audio and video recordings of an April 2005 meeting involving Dahabi, El-Hindi and another man - apparently Darren Griffin, the government's informant in the case. El-Hindi wanted to set up a charity to get government grants. After reviewing the tapes, Dahabi came clean, the affidavit stated, noting that the charity never got off the ground because Dahabi destroyed all the paper work after El-Hindi left his office in April. Dahabi "suspected possible terrorism implications, based upon the expressed intentions to apply for grants for 'self-defense-training,' and his personal knowledge regarding world events relative to terrorist acts," according to the affidavit.
Dahabi, being held in Michigan, couldn't be reached for comment and apparently didn't have an attorney as of Monday. El-Hindi, Wassim Mazloum and Mohammad Amawi are scheduled to stand trial on terror charges May 1.
"The only thing we can glean from this is the guy [Dahabi] doesn't tell the truth," said Stephen Hartman, El-Hindi's lawyer. Meanwhile, the affidavit filed last week said a federal grand jury continues to investigate El-Hindi and others for possible mail and wire fraud.
Hat tip African Crisis; see below for the site owner comments, in bracket. [I am an admirer of Horrowitz. Since he was a communist insider himself, in the USA, he understands how communists and their terrorist buddies work. He knows their psychological tactics. He is quite correct in asserting that all this damned PACIFISM is going to lead to defeat. Its not defeat in the traditional sense... it is defeat through being too weak willed to fight a deceitful enemy. The enemy then gets to prepare and he'll be on the attack again...
I am delighted that so far, the war goes on, and each day that it carries on is good. I don't want to see a cease fire. Let the Israelis sock it to the terrorists.
I note that quietly, the US Forces in Iraq have increased because deaths there are double what they were in January 2006. Clearly the new Iraqi Govt can't hold them off.
I hope the Israeli war can carry on for much longer - months if need be. I hope the morons like Condi Rice and the Political Left are unable to bring about a cease fire soon. What these bastards need... these terrorists... is to be killed outright.
In Rhodesia and South Africa, surrender to the terrorists was the wrong thing... but a stupid Western world foisted that on us. I hope that with the USA and Israel getting ever more embroiled in these festering wars in the Middle East that eventually some kind of common sense (or DESPERATION) will prevail and people will realise that these wars will never go away until they are fought to the logical conclusion.
Look at the Gulf War in 1991. Did Americans learn NOTHING? Learn from that. The good American General, socked the living crap out of Saddam's troops, and the US Army was on the verge of slaughtering ALL OF THEM... when the idiots on high decided to stop the war. That was one of the dumbest moves ever. Now... 15 years later... the USA is still fighting in Iraq.
Some scumbags... just need to be killed. Its that simple. Until you blow their brains out... they won't stop with their nonsense. But I watch as the quagmire of war in the Middle East grows... and it will continue to grow until the idiots at the top start thinking in BOLD and DECISIVE TERMS. But then... to achieve that... you must not get all soppy... and start crying over the poor dead terrorists. You may need to leave fields and cities full of the DEAD behind you as you fight your way forward. If the leaders continue to wimp out and continue to be wishy washy... the slow killing will go on - for decades if need be. Western leaders currently are only prolonging the suffering of everyone by lacking the backbone to fight these scum without giving quarter. Remember Churchill? "We shall fight them on the beaches, and in the streets..."? That's what you need... to fight THEM without giving quarter... to strike fear into their hearts... to never let up until they are smashed to a pulp and they cannot recover from it. This is how you win wars, and how you bring about a TRULY LASTING PEACE! All other strategies are just a complete waste of time, and will only lead to even greater suffering for everyone concerned. Jan]
By David Horowitz
The United States and Israel and every sentient being in the path of the Islamist crusade are teetering on the brink of a massive defeat in Lebanon and thus in the war on terror. Lest it be forgotten, this is a war that began with the Ayatollahs revolution in Iran in 1979 which established the first radical Islamic state whose masters war cry was Death to America and the establishment of a global Islamic empire. Nearly thirty years later, Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons and its imperial war is now being waged on Irans Lebanese frontier by its Hezbollah proxy. One month into the fighting which began with the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah on the state of Israel, the scenario for the Wests defeat in this phase of the war is quite obvious and quite simple.
The appeasers of Islamofascism, who have been calling for a ceasefire and bewailing civilian casualties in Lebanon and Gaza, will succeed. Hezbollah will agree to turn over its arms to the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese army. The pro-Hezbollah UN will establish a security zone on Lebanons southern border to keep the area clear of non-government militias, of which the Hezbollah militia is the only one. The credulous in the Western camp will greet this as a victory for the peacemakers. But exactly the opposite will be the case.
According to a recent poll in Lebanon eighty percent of the Lebanese Arabs support Hezbollah. In other words, just as Hamas, which was created by the same Muslim Brotherhood that spawned al-Qaeda, is now the Palestinian government, so Hezbollah will emerge as the government of Lebanon. The Lebanese army will become the new Hezbollah militia. Only it wont be a militia. It will be the terrorist army of a sovereign power, with the right to openly negotiate its arms deals with Syria and Iran. The next battle with Iran, in other words, will be World War III.
In fact, the next battleground in the spread of Shiia fascism is already in progress and aflame. It is Iraq, where Irans Shiia armies are already in the field under the command of the sheik of Sadr City, the America-hating cleric Moqtadar al-Sadr. Al-Sadr, it should be noted, is alive and in the field because the appeasers in this country, beginning with the Democratic Party but extending into the Bush State Department, stymied the first battle of Fallujah and the Bush offensive generally when al-Sadr was trapped in Najaf and could have been killed and his militia destroyed. The Bush administration had to delay the Fallujah attack until after Kerrys defeat in the November 2004 elections in order to avoid the political complications that would have attended the battle in the midst of an election campaign. By then Sistani had staged a "peace march" and going after Sadr was off the table.
But the first battle of Fallujah is only one of many defeats inflicted by the appeasers and abettors of Islamic imperialism in the West. The aid to the enemy within the Western camp has taken many forms, beginning with the hysterical and reckless attacks on the commander-in-chief of Americas forces as a liar and murderer, and the source of the terror that the Islamists create. Are there terrorists in Iraq? There were none there before George Bush created them. Is Hezbollah a Nazi army? Its because the Jews occupied Palestinian lands. Of course, this is two lies in one. All Israeli occupation is the product of four aggressive Arab wars against Israel. When Israel withdraws as in Lebanon it is attacked. The source of the terror in Lebanon, as in Iraq, is to be found in the Koran and in the despotisms of the Arab Middle East. But the appeasement camp cannot face the reality that its enemy is implacable and its hatred uncaused by anything its targets Jews, Christians, infidels have done.
The division of America is the greatest threat to our ability to prevail in the War on Terror and the Left knows this and is incited by it. America is not divided enough for the American Left, which is now in full purge mode in Connecticut, where it is attempting to bring down the one statesman in the Democratic Party who might re-unite this country in the face of its enemies.
Those who in the midst of these wars clamor for ceasefires with an implacable foe, those who call for withdrawals that would leave sovereign states in the hands of the terrorist forces, those who decry civilian casualties caused by the only forces in this war who do not target civilians, those Blame-America-Firsters who exploit the Abu Ghraibs on our side and not their atrocities, those whose hysterical fear of the conflict we face takes the form of pathological denial and projects the rabid hatred of the enemy for us onto our own commander in the war, are destined to have a lot to answer for before this conflict is over.
"The division of America is the greatest threat to our ability to prevail in the War on Terror and the Left knows this and is incited by it. America is not divided enough for the American Left, which is now in full purge mode in Connecticut, where it is attempting to bring down the one statesman in the Democratic Party who might re-unite this country in the face of its enemies."
#1
Sniff, sniff, and to think it only took 20-plus years to officially discover it - Yoohoo, Perfesser, do I get the "A" now!? Think I'll celebrate by going to Subway and ordering two or three footlongs, plus same again later for dinner, plus maybe watch some naked babes at a local strip club, Clintonian Male Brute that I and all Men and Repubs are. Iff only America = Amerika would only adopt OWG and Socialism my cholesterol wouldn't be so high - the Motherly Chicoms can't exterminate 200Milyuhn-plus Fascist Amerikans fast enough to help save my Male Brute soul.
#6
DarthVader - I have no doubt that there's some serious RPG hours logged in the past of many here (me included)...
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/01/2006 9:35
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#7
The monstrous Cthulhu will soon rise from the seas...
"That cult would never die until the stars came right again, and the secret priests would take Cthulhu from His tomb to revive His subjects and resume His rule of earth. The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the Great Old Ones; free and wild, and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and reveling in joy. Then the liberated Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006 9:55
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#8
DV, one doesn't have to have logged some serious RPG hours to be an HPL fan and thus know of such things as mere mortals should never seek to know.
However, with that said, I myself confess to having logged some very serious RPG and wargaming hours over the last couple of millenia or so. In point of fact, I still run an email game online which has some very serious RPG aspects to it (Fire On The Suns or FOTS if anyone's interested).
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 13:08
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#12
When I read this article, I thought it sounded familiar. I used to watch the Kirk/Spock/McCoy/Scotty Star Trek program in the 1960's. I guess life eventually imitates art.
There was a episode called the Immunity Syndrome and, you guessed it. A giant space blob errrr; giant jellyfish; but you get the point.
Anti-Syrian elements in Lebanon openly point finger at Hizbullah as guilty of killing of dozens of civilians in order to curtail plans for disarming group. 'Hizbullah has placed rocket launcher on building's roof and brought invalid children inside in bid to provoke Israeli response,' they write
Is Hizbullah behind the tragic incident in the village of Qana that claimed the lives of some 60 people? While the Israeli army continues to investigate the circumstances leading to the building's collapse, some in Lebanon do not hesitate to point the finger at the Shiite organization and claim it is to blame for the death of dozens.
The Lebanese website LIBANOSCOPIE, associated with Christian elements in the country and which openly supports the anti-Syrian movement called the "March 14 Forces," reported that Hizbullah has masterminded a plan that would result in the killing of innocents in the Qana village, in a bid to foil Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's "Seven Points Plan", which calls for deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbullah.
Disabled children placed inside building
"We have it from a credible source that Hizbullah, alarmed by Siniora's plan, has concocted an incident that would help thwart the negotiations.
Knowing full well that Israel will not hesitate to bombard civilian targets, Hizbullah gunmen placed a rocket launcher on the roof in Qana and brought disabled children inside, in a bid to provoke a response by the Israeli Air Force. In this way, they were planning to take advantage of the death of innocents and curtail the negotiation initiative," the site stated.
The site's editors also claimed that not only did Hizbullah stage the event, but that it also chose Qana for a specific reason: "They used Qana because the village had already turned into a symbol for massacring innocent civilians, and so they set up 'Qana 2'." Notably, the incident has indeed been dubbed "The second Qana massacre" by the Arab media.
#1
I suspect this article is exactly true, but I doubt it will ever be proven, or even believed by very many. The West surrendered the propaganda war years ago.
#5
It may be that in a few weeks the only way to criticize Hezbollah will be through the internet.
Oh yeah? Hezzies havee always threatened. It's in their nature. Let them continue their psychotic rants. I almost hope they do carry out a threat against the US. All the pretext we need to blow their moon-god worshipping asses back to the 7th century. As for media censorship, there are now plenty of alternatives, some of which are not internet related. The truth has a way of getting out eventually.
#6
There is also anecdotal evidence that corraborates this account. As much as this seems plausible, credible, and believable...I think we should be skeptical. That's in spite of the fact I believe Hezbollah and their islamo-cockroach buddies are subhuman.
We accuse muslims of being Kool-aid drinkers (e.g., believing Israelis drink the blood of Paleo babies) because of some fatwah or pronouncement from some illiterate iman. We probably need to be equally careful that we are not guilty of the same thing.
A GUN-shop owner has given evidence today at a court hearing for 13 Victorian men accused of being members of a terrorist group.
Mr Schaefer told the court one of the three said he wanted a gun to use at the Williamstown rifle range. Mr Schaefer said he thought it strange because the Williamstown rifle range had been closed for several years...
On the second day of evidence in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court committal hearing, gun shop owner Tim Schaefer said three men of Middle Eastern appearance visited his store in late 2004. The prosecution alleges that one of the accused, Izzydeen Atik, 26, of Williamstown, was one of the three men who turned up at the Footscray shop.
Mr Schaefer told the court one of the three said he wanted a gun to use at the Williamstown rifle range. Mr Schaefer said he thought it strange because the Williamstown rifle range had been closed for several years, the court heard.
All 13 men, who are charged with belonging to a terrorist group and various other related charges, appeared at the hearing today under high security. The hearing before magistrate Paul Smith continues.
AN Australian scientist credited with a major role in eradicating smallpox says humanity may not be able to wipe out any more infectious diseases - including bird flu.
Professor Frank Fenner, who launched his autobiography in Canberra today, said the world has changed since he announced smallpox eradication at the World Health Assembly in 1980.
The 91-year-old, whose other major achievement was controlling Australia's rabbit plague using the myxomatosis virus which he famously injected into himself to prove its safety to humans said smallpox was the only disease scientists had wiped out.
Prof Fenner chaired the global committee charged with determining if smallpox had been eradicated, and his knowledge was instrumental in demonstrating that no animals carried the virus.
Ridding the world of smallpox was made easier because it could be diagnosed easily from a distinctive skin rash, whereas the majority of people infected with the other most likely candidates for eradication - polio and rubella - display little or no symptoms, he said.
Prof Fenner said smallpox cost $200 million to eradicate, while polio had already cost $4 billion and was still present in several countries.
"Despite enormous efforts, really astonishing efforts, it's very hard to get rid of it entirely," he said.
"The world has got so much more difficult.
"There was no air travel to speak of, or not much, in the smallpox days compared to nowadays.
"And that is why we are so worried about the possibility of this H5N1 (bird) flu, because if it retains its virulence and is transmissible from person to person, then it will be around the world whatever you do about it."
Prof Fenner, who won the Prime Minister's Prize for Science in 2002 and the Japan Prize in 1988, said influenza was humanity's greatest disease threat.
"The 1918 epidemic is said to have killed between 20 and 40 million people, and this is much more virulent that that," he said.
"That only had a five per cent mortality, and there was no air travel.
"If it got into Africa, there is no way in which you could get vaccination running throughout Africa. It would be hard enough in the industrialised countries to get it going."
Prof Fenner's 23rd book, which also details the life of his father Charles, covers almost a century of the family's involvement in Australia's research community.
Prof Fenner, who remains a visiting fellow at Australian National University's John Curtin School of Medical Research, said his father a geologist, science writer and geographer as well as a state director of education was his inspiration to become a medical researcher.
#1
To stop eating dead carrion birds would a good place to start, unless Commie factories are gonna explode, AGAIN, due to any future secret FRANKEN-BIRD projects.
Dr. Fenner is a hero, but the article is the usual media science drive-by that cruises past the details. Money quote: "The world has got so much more difficult." Indeed. Polio would already be gone if it were not for the evil stupidity of Islamic leaders stopping vacination programs in the countries where polio is still endemic.
Eradicating smallpox was a great accomplishment for the UN. Let's give credit where credit is due, even if it was a couple of decades ago.
Influenza is a harder problem because the virus mutates so easily that any vaccine must be made specifically for that strain. We see the same problem every year with plain vanilla flu vaccines.
#3
Not only will air travel cause the rapid spread of bird flu, so many people are living in refugee camps and other overcrouded conditions like illegal immigrants packed into small rooms. The bird flu has a great chance of stopping civilization dead in it's tracks. I hope the US government will tend to assure the survivorship of Americans, but somehow I doubt it.
The first person to call for the eradication of smallpox was Jenner, but the first modern call was from the Soviet Union in 1958. An international team was set up by an American, Donald Henderson, a heck of a guy.
The eradication program legitimized the WHO, worldwide, and its credibility is good enough to go anywhere, even North Korea, for give and take with their medical services.
#5
wxjames: A lot of people have been working overtime to minimize the US casualties.
Stuff in our favor: the US is underpopulated, good public health and sanitation, good public understanding of hygiene, good communications to get information out, and high disease fear factor.
Problems: rapid spread because of good transportation, push shortage of all medical supplies (almost no reserves), ability to produce only 30M vaccinations within six months of obtaining the 'actual' pathogen.
What we have done. There is now a worldwide system of alert/notification, and now even many third world nations have high quality outbreak response. That is an amazing achievement right there.
The US has changed its vaccination policy to reduce the spread of the avian flu. Instead of the "old, very young and infirm", the emphasis will be "school aged children (the best flu vector), and 'ring' vaccinations around outbreak areas." This is an older technique used in other epidemics in past.
Some individual States and some cities are creating effective plans with novel and intelligent preparations, such as plans to create civilian door-to-door auxiliaries, for para-medical and body recovery purposes.
Other plans include traditional quarantines, isolation areas in airports, telephone hotlines, and computer-made mass phone dialings for public notifications of recorded messages.
Even some corporations are getting into the act, with plans for how to continue operations with staff reductions of maybe 50%, and other problems.
#2
The U.N. is nought but an aggregation of totalitarians and transnational socialists. ITHO, the two things standing in the way of world socialist government are 1) private health care in the U.S., which allows Americans to be less dependent on their government than any other people in a developed country, and 2) private gun ownership by Americans, which acts as a check on government power unique in developed countries.
If you dig a bit, you can see how much effort from around the world is focused on eliminating these two situations, and how the U.N. is the lens focusing these efforts.
The U.N. should be booted from NY and moved to Brussels, and we should get out ASAP.
As an American, I will not suffer to be judged or regulated by dictators and socialists.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
08/01/2006 6:28
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#3
"The U.N. should be booted from NY and moved to Brussels, and we should get out ASAP."
Better yet, why don't we just shut the damn thing down, period! Declare it in violation of its original charter, revoke all U.N. Diplomatic Immunity and arrest the fuckers. Prosecute!
This article just confirms what I have believed for some time now, the Muzzies are going to leave us no choice but to exterminate them.
By the time the majority reaches a consensus on this, I hope there are people with the backbone and means to carry it off.
#4
If I was in charge, I would declare the US was pulling out of the UN. All diplomatic immunities are revoked in one month's time, although new ones can be applied for through that diplomat's national embassy (don't fucking count on it being approved either). Funding would be immediately halted. All US troops in UN rolls would be sent to Iraq. The land the UN is on would be seized and the building bulldozed to the ground.
#8
The building needs to be demo'd, according to Donald Trump, and who knows NY real estate better than him?
I've thought for a while that the UN would do better by being located in a third-world capital somewhere. I like Dar-es-Salaam, though Lagos, Ascension, or Manila would work. It'd do the effete some good to see the third-world up close and personal, and why reward the diplomats of the thug-world with all expenses paid in NY?
Maybe Chittagong. Nah, the RAB would never tolerate it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2006 15:20
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#9
I was in it a number of times 94-96. It was a dump.
Extreme weather conditions have produced a rare cloud formation over Australia's Mawson station in Antarctica.
Meteorological officer Renae Baker captured spectacular images of the nacreous clouds, otherwise known as polar stratospheric clouds, late last month.
Reflecting like an airborne mother-of-pearl shell, the cloud colours are produced when fading light at sunset passes through water-ice crystals blown along a strong jet of stratospheric air more than 10 kilometres above the ground.
A weather balloon measured temperatures down to minus 87 degrees celsius when the photographs were taken.
"That's about as cold as the lowest temperatures ever recorded on the surface of the Earth," Ms Baker said.
"Amazingly, the winds at this height were blowing at nearly 230 kilometres per hour."
Australian Antarctic Division atmospheric scientist Andrew Klekociuk said the clouds were seldom seen but could have long-ranging effects.
"These clouds are more than just a curiosity," he said.
"They reveal extreme conditions in the atmosphere and promote chemical changes that lead to destruction of vital stratospheric ozone."
#1
WHEN CLOUDS ATTACK, or NANCREOUS - THEY AREN'T
THE NIMBUS YOU THINK THEY ARE, or CLOUDS, WHY DO THEY HATE US SO? A future episode for History Channel's MEGADISASTERS. These clouds wouldn't hate us or harm us so much iff only America would adopt OWG and the right kind/brand of Perfection-centric, anti-sovereign national Socialism These clouds wouldn't threaten or harm anybody iff they + eeeevery other type of cloud had no rights, and no privately-owned guns, to do so. The Failed Left + MSM just know Dubya, Rummy, and Rove are behind the actions of these angry delinquent independence/violence-minded Male Brute abuser molester imperialist clouds, they just know it.
#6
Aliens? Ptui...it's all Bush's fault(tm), if only he'd signed Kyoto! And, I imagine that even though it's the coldest temps on record, it's somehow tied to global warming to the gaia freaks!
Posted by: BA ||
08/01/2006 13:31
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#7
Halliburton's Scary Clouds Division could not be reached for comment.
North and South Korean troops exchanged gunfire across their heavily fortified border for the first time in about a year, a military official said on Tuesday, with the incident coming as once warming ties turn chilly.
North Korean troops fired two shots at a South Korean guard post near the Demilitarized Zone late on Monday and South Korean troops returned six shots, an official said by telephone.
"No one was injured in the incident," the Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, referring to South Korean troops. There was no word if any North Korean soldiers were hurt.
The Joint Chiefs issued a statement saying the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission -- monitoring a truce that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War and has left the two countries technically at war since then -- will look into the skirmish.
One of the shots hit the guard post, causing South Korean troops to immediately return fire, the official said.
Ties between the Cold War foes had warmed in recent years after they reached agreements on economic cooperation and military confidence-building.
But even warmer ties did not prevent the occasional clash.
Last October, North Korea fired a bullet toward a South Korean guard post and the South returned fire and the two navies clashed along a disputed maritime border in 2002, resulting in deaths and casualties on both sides.
#1
D *** it, was expectin' it o'er the weekend, not today. D *** ed CIA-INTEL psychics, whom officially are not andor not there, playin' too much touchy-feely wid the leg hairs, AGAIN - Prioritize, men, prioritize.
#3
North Korean troops fired two shots at a South Korean guard post ... South Korean troops returned six shots
A disproportionate response. Just terrible.
#8
Right on GK. Where's the UN.
Maybe the North only had two bullets. Let's give the North more money, so we can get these exchanges more proportionate.
I learned today that is was Colin Powell and Cap Weinberger that talked Reagan out of destroying the Hellz Boolah after they killed our fine Marines, and that the French were ready to go too since they also lost 60+ paratroopers.But it was one of Reagan's regrets that he let them talk him out of it.
The moral: What you can do today, don't postpone till tomorrow. Or the price you pay may increase manifold.
#1
And terms of battle pressured Bush1 from taking Baghdad, in 1991. The Coalition needed Saudi bases and conditions were imposed to get them. Iran had half the population then, and the Russians were new friends. And Saddam had nothing but retreating deserters.
Hey! My surprise meter's working! It didn't even twitch at his name being connected to letting our enemies live!
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/01/2006 9:28
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#3
I learned today that is was Colin Powell and Cap Weinberger that talked Reagan out of destroying the Hellz Boolah
Redemption is possible for past mistakes. We all make them. The beauty of democracy is that it can be self-correcting. Islamic countries have little room for self-correction as is evidenced by the islamofacists living in the 7th century. There is an opportunity today to correct the mistakes of the past. Go hard on the Hezzies. Destroy them and their ability to spread terrorism. Be hardline with the two-bit tin horn dictators of Iran, Syria, and North Korea. If we are not, we will repeat the mistakes of the past and have to live with these mistakes in the future. That is not the legacy to leave our children and our children's children.
General of the Army Yury Baluyevsky, Russia's chief of staff, has written an article entitled "U.S. NMD: What Next?" It was published by the Russian national defense weekly Voenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer 10 days after the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. Leaders as senior as the chief of staff, who is also deputy defense minister, seldom write articles for the Russian press. They prefer writing articles and giving interviews to the foreign media before official visits abroad, and seldom reach out to the people via the Russian media. When they do, it is usually for a very serious reason.
Baluyevsky, the No. 2 man in the Russian defense establishment, could not keep silent when the Pentagon accelerated the U.S. National Missile Defense project, and his article can be considered a policy statement by the Russian defense establishment.
He writes that Washington has taken a turn towards unilateral global superiority, although "the time when Russia and the Untied States regarded each other as adversaries or a strategic threat is past" and their defense departments have been promoting cooperation in the last few years.
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Posted by: Captain America ||
08/01/2006
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#1
They are just mad their ballistic missile exports just went to shit with the deployment of the missile defense.
#2
You know the [Ultra] Left > the world would be a safe place iff everyone had the same, ergo which is why the USSR didn't give their East-Euro Warsaw Pact nations their own nukes nor controlled their own Govts + armed forces, etal.
#5
The great irony of ballistic missiles is that their era is drawing to a close. Energy weapons are the wave of the future, and they give the edge back to defense weaponry, instead of offensive weaponry.
No recent mention has been made of the eastern effort to build a nuclear detonation powered ballistic missile shield, theoretically able to take down an entire salvo of ballistic missiles at once.
#6
Not only did Russian missile sales dump but if you were an Islamic Psycho looking for secondary targets the Great Satan with its great distance, missile defense, and heavy handed responses isn't such a good target while the Lesser Satan with its slaughter of Chechnya, close distance, and no missile defense might be worth a launch or two.
#8
Russia has had, and still has, a potent missile defense system around Moscow, and the latest surface-to-air missiles were primarily designed to stop the threat of tactical missiles and cruise missiles. The Russian ABM ring around Moscow has some very LARGE missiles, all nuke-tipped. Russia just doesn't want the US to develop a missile defense system because it would tip the balance of power toward the west and away from Russia and China. Just a bunch of whining, kinda like the muzzies when Israel hits back.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2006 21:09
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Pyongyang (KCNA) -- The Reunification Solidarity, the South Headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification, the south Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the south Korean Federation of University Student Councils and the south Korean Council of Youth Organizations reportedly called a news conference in front of the "government" building in Seoul on July 24 at which they condemned it for toeing the U.S. hostile policy towards the north. A press release read out at the conference accused the "government" of taking the lead in pressurizing the north, pursuant to the U.S. hostile policy towards it despite the fact that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is getting tenser as days go by and the existence of whole nation is threatened due to the U.S. financial sanctions and large-scale war exercises targeted against it.
With nothing can the "government" justify its zealous cooperation with the U.S. in its moves to stifle the north betraying all the fellow countrymen desirous of independence and peace, the press release said, adding that this would be always recorded as a disgraceful act in the history of the movement for reunification. It urged the "government" to come out to improve the south-north ties in the spirit of the June 15 joint declaration.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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Kidnappings + Border Incidents + Commando raids = intra-Korean peace, love, and friendship to the Norkies = anti-Chinese Chinese - undoubtedly undeniably and unequivocally continuing the pan-Korean people's heroic struggle against Chinese control by being suborned to same. Yessirree, Bub, pan-Korean sovereignty, freedom, and independence = Pyongyang getting Beijing's approval for everything and anything. Obviously, of course, the central problem for Pyongyang's fight for Universal Korean democracy and freedom is Tokyo. Why those Chicom PLAAF planes buzzin' and penetratin' Japanese airspace are actually Norkie AF planes, flown by Norkie pilots but painted wid Chicom PLAAF pennants in order to prove the independence of North Korea from Beijing by foolin' and pissing the Japanese SDF, not the Chicom PLA-PLAAF, off. The Norkie AF protects NorKor from Beijing, ergo they buzz Japan.
Republican Sen. George Allen has a 16-point lead over Democratic challenger Jim Webb in the latest independent statewide poll, published Sunday, but a fifth of the electorate is still undecided. The election is closely watched nationally as an off-year referendum on the embattled Bush presidency because Allen, one of Bush's most reliable Senate allies, is preparing a 2008 presidential bid. Last year, Allen voted in support of the White House more than 95 percent of the time.
Forty-eight percent backed Allen and 32 percent supported Webb in the Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. survey of registered voters likely to vote in the Nov. 7 election. However, 20 percent of the 625 respondents surveyed statewide by telephone July 25-27 said they had not decided between Allen, a former governor seeking a second Senate term, and Webb, a former Republican who was President Reagan's Navy secretary. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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I am a Virginia registered voter. If my gut feeling is anything to go by, Allen is going to tear Webb up. George is popular in VA; most things Democrat aren't. Kaine wouldn't have gotten elected if the Republicans hadn't run an absolutely horrible candidate against him.
Posted by: mac ||
08/01/2006 0:55
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Sri Lanka's two-decade civil war is back on, a top Tamil Tiger said, as seven soldiers and three rebels were killed on Monday in the first army advance on rebel-held territory since a 2002 ceasefire. S. Elilan, head of the Tigers' political wing in the restive eastern district of Trincomalee, said army troops had resumed a bid to advance toward land they control in the east and had fired artillery and mortars at their territory in the north. "The ceasefire agreement has become null and void at the moment," Elilan told Reuters by telephone from Trincomalee, adding government troops were continuing an advance toward their forward defense line in the east in a water supply dispute. "The war is on and we are ready," added Elilan. "The war has begun. It is the government which has started the war ... Militarily, we have decided to fight back if the Sri Lankan army enters our area." Elilan is not the Tigers' main spokesman, but he is one of their top officials and their political head in Trincomalee. He has repeatedly warned of a return to war.
#1
Like Saint Bill, the Tigers really really Really REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y, R-E-A-L-L-Y D *** IT, LIKED/LOVED THEIR NEIGHBORS + PEACE, ERGO THE TIGERS BLOODY POST-CEASEFIRE TERROR ATTACKS.
The prosecution on Monday asked the State Security Court (SSC) to convict the three Islamist deputies charged with fuelling national discord and inciting sectarianism. The three deputies betrayed the Jordanian people by their actions, the SSC prosecution said in its 16-page closing argument.
The prosecution was referring to the deputies condolence visit on June 9 to the family of Abu Mussab Zarqawi and also to a televised interview in which one of the MPs allegedly described the former Al Qaeda in Iraq leader as a hero and a martyr. The three Islamic Action Front (IAF) MPs on trial are Ali Abul Sukkar (Zarqa, Second District), Mohammad Abu Fares (Amman, Fifth District) and Jaafar Hourani (Zarqa, Fourth District). The deputies actions angered the Jordanian people who expected the MPs to stand next to them in fighting terrorism and terrorists, the prosecution said.
Zarqawi, who was killed in a US strike in Iraq on June 8, claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 terrorist attacks against three of the capitals hotels, killing 60 people and injuring around a hundred. The Jordanian people and the prosecution awaits justice from your tribunal to calm people down and hand the defendants the maximum punishment, the prosecution said. If convicted of the charges, the MPs, who do not have parliamentary immunity because the Lower House is currently in recess, could receive a maximum of three years in prison.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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Turkish police yesterday detained some 130 people at a meeting organized by the countrys main Kurdish party on the grounds that the function was linked to armed Kurdish rebels, security sources said. Police said the meeting in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa was held in the name of the terrorist organization, the official term used by Turkish authorities to describe the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The Democratic Society Party (DTP) said the meetings only aim was to hold a debate on the citys problems. The detainees are expected to appear in court after testifying to police and some of them could end up facing criminal charges, the sources said. Kurdish politicians in Turkey are routinely regarded with suspicion and often seen as instruments of the PKK, which has been fighting a bloody campaign against the Ankara government since 1984 aimed at winning self-rule for the Kurds.
Posted by: Fred ||
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DTP are not "rebels." They're not armed, they were elected in the last elections. . . etc.
Posted by: Azad ||
08/01/2006 13:38
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Supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who officially lost Mexico's presidential vote, have set up camps across the capital as they demand a poll recount in the disputed election. Lopez Obrador is reported to have spent the night outside in Mexico City's main Zocalo plaza with an estimated 500,000 protesters who had attended a rally on Sunday. Lopez Obrador earlier asked supporters of his Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) to set up camps along the city's Reforma boulevard as part of a campaign of civil disobedience to demand that a top electoral court orders a recount.
Is it time to suggest a partition? Will it turn out to be a quagmire?
I'll bet we don't have an exit strategy, do we? Damn that Bush!
The barrier could block most east-west traffic on one of the main arteries in the city that is home to 20 million people. "We hope that some day people will realise that we were right, and we needed to do this," protester Tirso Vicente told the Associated Press news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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Is this like the EU thing where they keep going until it comes out "right"?
#2
Any different than the whiny American left who keep alive their myth that the 2000 election was stolen, even though the NYT and Miami papers paid for a recount and found that indeed Bush won Florida.
#3
This is communist way. We have seen same behavior by illegals here in US. I'm surprised the military hasn't stepped forward to squelsh this. May be that the generales think they'll be able to extract more payoffs from this clown.
#6
Yes, Glineling, it is different. Here, so far, all we have is whining and lawsuits. In Mexico they have rallies designed to intimidate and disrupt--and I'd guess it will go farther than that shortly. I hold no brief for the alternative reality leftists here, but so far they've been peaceful.
Posted by: James ||
08/01/2006 17:12
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Palestinian gunners fired rockets in the direction of Israeli targets directly hitting and damaging a restaurant on Monday after Israeli warplanes struck houses in Gaza Strip. Izz-Eddine Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of the Islamic organization, Hamas, said the gunners unleashed two missiles on the Israeli settlement of Yad Murdechai, located north of the strip, and four others on Nahal Ouz. A third missile attack targetted an Israeli farm village locted east of Absan. The group said the attacks were in retaliation for "the Zionist aggression targeting Gaza Strip and the continuous crimes by the enemy in Palestine and Lebanon."
Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military arm of Fatah, and the National Resisitance Battalions of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine reported firing three rockets on an Israeli military position east of the border town of Rafah. The attack on the position in Abu Salem Al-Askari location was in response to "the Israeli occupation's massacres in Lebanon and Palestine."
A spokesman of the Israeli Army said in remarks broadcast by Israel Radio that a missile, fired by the Palestinian forces in the direction of Nejev, hit a restaurant in a farm village causing heavy damage. Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources said Mohammed Al-Maghari, 22, who was wounded in an Israeli incursion two weeks ago, pegged out succumbed to to his injuries early today. He was wounded in the Israeli attack that targetted central Gaza.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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"the military wing of the the Islamic organization militant wing, Hamas..."
#2
Gunners fire missiles in retaliation gunners fired rockets the gunners unleashed two missiles A third missile attack targeted reported firing three rockets a missile, fired by the Palestinian forces
What's the gig? Are they missiles or are they rockets? Or both? After reading this you might get the impression they are interchangeable terms.
Iranian U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif rejected as without legal basis on Monday a Security Council demand that it suspend its nuclear activities by the end of the month or face the threat of sanctions. "Iran's peaceful nuclear program poses no threat to international peace and security and therefore dealing with this issue in the Security Council is unwarranted and void of any legal basis or practical utility," Zarif told the council.
... dealing with this issue in the Security Council is unwarranted and void of any legal basis or practical utility...
In lengthy comments following the council's 14-1 vote on a resolution giving Tehran until August 31 to comply with its demands, Zarif said Iranians were determined to exercise their "inalienable right" to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Iranians were not interested in developing nuclear weapons or any other weapon of mass destruction, he said, recalling a chemical attack staged by then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on the Iranian people in 1980. "As the only victims of the use of weapons of mass destruction in recent history, they reject the development and use of all these inhuman weapons on ideological as well as strategic grounds," Zarif said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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"Iran's peaceful nuclear program poses no threat to international peace and security and therefore dealing with this issue in the Security Council is unwarranted and void of any legal basis or practical utility."
For the first time since the recent conflict with Hizbullah began, the IDF buried 10 bodies of guerillas that were killed in clashes with the IDF in southern Lebanon. Members of the IDF Rabbinate oversaw the burial which took place in the Cemetery for Enemy Dead in northern Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
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I saw an Israeli graveyard for fallen fighters on the opposite side on TV. The (Hebrew) sign was said to have warned all to treat the site and its residents with respect. You'd think SOMEONE would notice the difference between the 2 sides.
An Iraqi man being held hostage by terrorists was freed during an early morning raid Sunday by Iraqi and US Soldiers near the city of Muqdadiyah, a statement by the multinational forces said on Monday. The man was found bound and blindfolded in a mud hut in the middle of a palm grove north of the city. He was transported to a nearby Iraqi base and reunited with his family, the statement added. The raid was aimed at disrupting insurgents' activity in the area. In addition to freeing the hostage, the raid also resulted in the detention of 16 suspects and the discovery of a cache of explosives making materials and terrorist propaganda, it concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
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We had five stories put up tonight about Fee-del: youse guys are quick! We've consolidated to this one and the following story, from CBS and Fox respectively. The accordion lady is on stage, but no word yet on whether the fat lady will make an appearance. Let's all hope for more good news later today!
(CBS4 News) HAVANA In an unprecedented announcement, the Cuban government announced Monday night that Fidel Castro was temporarily giving up power to his brother and Vice President Raul, due to surgery for an illness he developed while traveling to Argentina. This is the first time Castro has turned over power to anyone since taking control of Cuba in 1959.
Will Raul give it back, or is he sitting with his feet on his brother's desk, smoking one of his cigars, and thinking about how he's been waiting a very, very long time.
"You and what army, Fidelito?"
The announcement was made at 9:15 Monday night on Cuban Television, monitored in Miami. A spokesperson for the Cuban government made the announcement, which came in the middle of a newscast. There was little advance notice of the special announcement. Quick, someone find the accordian lady.
#7
Maybe dem dar expensive imported Spanish/Black Hams finally got him - you know, the stuff Fidel can eat anytime he wants to while his People + Army starve. Iff Fidel were Radical Islamists > GOD/HEAVEN WANTS ME TO KILL YOU ANDOR TAKE YOUR LANDS, WELATH, WOMEN, PET DAWGS, AND YOUR HAMS - ONLY AN D ***** INFIDEL TRAITOR WOULD STOP THE HAMS FROM FLOWING.
#11
What's the big deal? Chicago and Cook county are governed the exact same way, only we have lousy winters and the offices go to the departing pol's kids.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/01/2006 6:59
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#17
I can see the NY Times headlines now, "Latin world mourns. World leaders gather, Jimauh Carter to join Raul in eulogy at a soccer field which formerly contained soviet missle silos."
Ring up the heavenly whores and break out that bottle of Guayabita del Pinar Che, he's finally coming home!
#20
CHICAGO The intestinal bleeding problem Cuban President Fidel Castro is believed to be suffering from could be life-threatening. Doctor Stephen Hanauer, the gastroenerology chief at the University of Chicago hospitals, says ongoing bleeding can be serious. Hanauer says it is difficult to deduce the cause of Castro's bleeding without knowing what part of the digestive tract is affected.
Ulcers are a common cause of bleeding in the stomach or upper intestine, while a condition called diverticulosis also can provoke bleeding in the lower intestine, especially in people over age 60. Hanauer says this condition involves weakened spots in the intestinal lining that form pouches, which can become inflamed and provoke bleeding.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006 10:06
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#22
I cant wait till the Funeral. I hope its just before the election so the LLL M0onb@+5 will get a photo op with Raul and the dead corpse. You just know they can skip Fidels funeral, lest they upset their base.
#24
My brother had diverticulosis. Nearly killed him and he was in his early 50's. Had to have a chuck of intestine removed. He wore a colostomy bag untill a doctor could be found to reattach everything. He nearly died on the operating table.
That said, the problem was caused by rich diet, smoking and heavy drinking.
#25
Is it "meet the new boss, same as the old boss", or has Raul said or done anything to spur the optimism I've seen here and elsewhere? The folks celebrating in Miami might be jumping the gun.
#28
Look for military posturing by both the Cubans and their allies - Chavez et al - as they jostle for power. It may sound like something to laugh at, but in fact will be sufficiently serious that we will need to divert attention to it while we have other things on our plate.
Same thing is going to happen when NORK falls - in fact, it's the best explanation for Kimmie's current mischief-making.
If you mean diverticulosis, it can be if it flares up due to eating something like, say, a peanut. My dad had his colon resection to remove that area a decade or so ago. He said he feels much better since having it done.
#35
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration has been carrying out secret reconnaissance missions to learn about nuclear, chemical and missile sites in Iran in preparation for possible airstrikes there, potential post-Castro investment opportunities, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday.
#38
Lol!!! closing comments of the french lci reportage about this (reportage which by the way consists of testimonies of cubans singing the praise of fidel) : "many cubans wait for the return to health of fidel castro so he can act like their family father again".
IRANIAN Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, whose country is a main backer of Hezbollah, met his French counterpart in Beirut today for talks on resolving the crisis in Lebanon. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said earlier today in Beirut that contacts with Tehran were needed to help restore stability to the Middle East.
France and Iran have called for an immediate ceasefire to halt the war between Hezbollah and Israel. The United States has refused to back calls for an immediate halt, instead calling for a sustainable end to the conflict which erupted on July 12 when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a raid into Israel. Mr Douste-Blazy had said Iran was a significant, respected player in the Middle East which is playing a stabilising role, putting him at odds with Washington which accuses Iran and Syria of destabilising the region.
Mr Douste-Blazy said Iran was a significant, respected player in the Middle East which is playing a stabilising role
Mr Mottaki met Mr Douste-Blazy at the Iranian embassy in Beirut. Journalists were invited to the Iranian Embassy to cover the meeting but Mr Douste-Blazy had not been expecting press and did not want to speak to reporters, Iranian embassy sources said. Iranian embassy officials escorted cameramen and photographers to see Mr Douste-Blazy sitting on a couch with Mr Mottaki. "The Islamic Republic of Iran underlines the necessity for an immediate halt to the attacks of the Zionist entity on Lebanon," Mr Mottaki told reporters after an earlier meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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How can you tell the Israelis are winning?
When the French, Iranians, and Syrians call for an immediate ceasefire.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/01/2006 0:38
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I hope the become very stable. Stone cold stable.
Termed a "child killer" and "scoundrel" by Arab MKs during an appearance at an emergency Knesset session Monday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Israel must not agree to an immediate cease-fire, but rather expand and strengthen its attacks on Hizbullah.
Of course, opposition members of parliament in the Arab countries frequently call government ministers phrases like 'child killer.' We have those articles here on Rantburg all the time.
Peretz's speech was interrupted dozens of times, and three Arab MKs - Ibrahim Sarsour and Taleb a-Sanaa (United Arab list) and Jamal Zahalka (Balad) - were eventually ejected from the session by Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik. Sarsour called Peretz a murderer and a child killer. Zahalka said he was a liar and a warmonger.
Strange, in an Arab country the opposition usually is thumped and jugged.
Itzik said she was giving the three the "gift" of throwing them out, since they had plainly sought to cause a stir with their own constituency. She threatened to eject Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List) as well, but calmed him down after reminding him that he is a deputy Knesset speaker and that it would be undignified for him to find himself thrown out.
Aside from the heckling by members of Arab parties, however, Peretz's speech was widely echoed by MKs across the political spectrum, including opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who added that Hizbullah posed a strategic threat, and that Israel therefore required a strategic victory.
In the wake of the attack on Kafr Kana, Peretz insisted that the IDF had not deliberately targeted civilians. "There was no, and there will be no, Israeli commander who will issue an order to hurt uninvolved civilians," said Peretz.
And those commanders would give a front tooth if they could get the human shields out of the way without harming them.
He said that Israel was fighting "for the home" and that Hizbullah, a terror group with a murderous ideology, was the proxy force of the extremist regime in Iran. "We didn't choose the military option," Peretz stressed, adding that Israel, by pulling back to the border lines, had demonstrated that it had no territorial ambitions in either Lebanon or Gaza.
But the terrorists "never rested,' he said, and Israel could not afford to "shut our eyes" to the threat.
Peretz praised soldiers who had come to hear the session, and their colleagues on the front, for their valor in the "fight for the state of Israel." A new generation was displaying "courage, sacrifice, camaraderie" and a willingness to do everything for Israel. "We are proud of you. You are doing an exceptional job," he said.
Netanyahu, backing the government's declared goals in the conflict, noted: "The journey of war is like any other journey. It starts easily but midway there's a difficult junction where we must decide whether we continue to climb the mountain or stop. I call on the government: Don't stop midway. Complete the job."
Benny is a man and loyal to his country. This is exactly the speech he needed to give.
Netanyahu began his speech by also thanking the IDF for its work, saying first he was doing so in the name "of all the MKs." But he was quickly forced to reword his statement to "in the name of most of the MKs," as Arab Knesset members interrupted his speech.
Netanyahu recounted that during World War II, Britain's Royal Air Force intended to bomb the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, but missed and hit a children's hospital nearby, killing 83 Danish children.
"This is a tragedy of war, but it happens," said Netanyahu. "Unlike the other side, which rejoices when our children are killed, we are truly sorry when it happens, and we really and truly try to reduce casualties on the other side."
Which side fights in front of a baby carriage, and which side hides behind one?
He added that, "The difference between us and the terrorists is that we hit [civilians] by mistake, and they do it with malice. This is the difference between a legitimate war and war crimes. This is the difference between us and them."
Don't expect the usual suspects to hear that, or even care.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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And exactly how do they refer to the Sunni-Shiite killers in Iraq?
#2
I'll let more knowledgeable (not hard) people comment, but IIRC, about 20% of the israeli population is arab (don't know the muslim/christian/druze %, neither the part of bedouins, could look it up online I guess); during the last intifada round, the shifting of loyalty of israeli arabs towards their "brothers" has been quite evident, both in acts (coordinated demonstrations right at the very start of the preplanned "al aqsa intifada", terror) and politically, as demonstrated here.
IMHO, Israel should be very, very aware of that. Also, the "maternity war" is raging in Israel too, so don't think that Europe alone is threatened by the boumedienne "we'll conquer you with the wombs of our wimmen" strategy..
#3
Twenty percent of Israelis are Arabs. Post-Oslo, there has been a steady trickle of family unification citizenships given to Palestinians from the PA, who've brought their curious ideas with them. The womb competition is not a shoe-in for the Arabs, though. While the Europe-descended Jews (Ashkenazis) tend to have small families, those that fled/were expelled from the Muslim world post-1948 have birth rates approaching that of the Arabs. If I recall correctly, the Ashkenazis are now less than half of the Jewish population, taking the Labour party with it -- and the non-Ashkenazis do not have the same Western guilt hang-ups, but they do remember the pleasures of dhimmitude.
Iran's foreign minister on Monday called for an immediate cease-fire to the Israeli-Hizbullah fighting and criticized the UN Security Council's failure to stop the crisis. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki spoke after holding talks with his Lebanese counterpart in Beirut in the first visit by an Iranian official to war-torn Lebanon since fighting broke out between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas nearly three weeks ago. Mottaki arrived over land from neighboring Syria, border officials said. It was not immediately known if he planned to meet Hizbullah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah as he traditionally has done on past visits to Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Israel's Ambassador to the UN reminded the Fox audience that both SYRIA + even IRAN DO NOT NOTICE ANY BORDER BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THEIR NATIONS AND ISRAEL. Simply verifies, however imperfect or subjective, that Lebanon is viewed as Syria + Iran as the same's sovereign territory > also same as saying Syrian andor Iranian Shia territory, since Shia Muslims govern both nations. Within this narrow context/scope, LEBANON = BERUIT > controlled from either DAMASCUS vs. TEHRAN - QUESTION IS WHETHER BERUIT CAN BE CONTROLLED FROM TWO CAPITAL CITIES, OR JUST ONE??? KEEP BUYING THAT POPCORN. IFF IRAN RECOGNIZES NO BORDERS BTWN IT AND LEBANON, IMPLIES PART OF JORDAN IS ALSO IRANIAN TERRITORY, BESIDES OF COURSE SYRIA.
Move along, boyz, obviously no Radical Iranian empire, or design for empire, here - Lebanese Muslims or Other are now Syrians or Iranians, with "Syrian" = "Syrian" but "Syrian" also meaning "Iranian", as "Jordanian" also means "Iranian".
(KUNA) -- A Palestinian young man was killed Monday after he was hit by shrapnel of an Israeli shell in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses said. The eyewitnesses, from Beit Hanoun, said 19-year-old Nahedh Shenbari was killed after Israeli artillery shells were fired at the Gaza town. Medical sources said the dead Palestinian was hit by several shrapnel causing his immediate death.
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Palestinians opened fire towards an IDF post north of Nablus on Monday night. No one was wounded and troops were sweeping the scene in search of the suspects.
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The IDF assessed on Monday that Hizbullah's rocket launching capability was significantly compromised by the fighting that took place in the past three weeks. It was estimated that, while the organization still has hundreds of rockets with a sufficient range to reach Afula and Haifa, there were only a number of launchers remaining with launching capability. The Hizbullah still had several Zilzal rockets left that could reach central Israel, Army Radio reported.
In the course of the fighting, the IDF asserted that it had killed some 200 Hizbullah operatives. Though most of the names were not released, one of the more prominent targets hit was Jihad Atiya, who was said to be responsible for the killing and kidnapping of IDF soldiers Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Sueid in 2000.
Meanwhile, it was released for publication that an IAF UAV bombed a truck that was said to have been importing weapons from Syria, through the Masnaa border crossing, into Lebanon. The driver of the truck was wounded, as well as four additional Lebanese customs workers. Israel had declared a cessation in IAF action, but reserved the right to attack in the case of immediate threat. Lebanese police officials, however, said two missiles struck near a vehicle carrying relief supplies near the Lebanese customs post. LBC television interviewed an unidentified man who was part of the convoy that was hit, reiterating that it was carrying private relief supplies from Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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#1
Mohammed: "We'3e gettin' more rockets!"
Ali: "Wha'tta relief!"
#3
IDF has killed only 200 Hizbillies? Given the number of intense firefights, the overwhelming air and arty support, the many hits on missile launchers, and the 600 civilians alleged killed, the number 200 seems much too low.
IDF hit a convoy "carrying private relief supplies from Syria" - and just what were those relief supplies? Replacement rocket launchers? Israel has got to get out in front of HA propaganda efforts somehow.
#5
Glenmore, the reason they say 200 is because they have 200 BODIES. They don't want to give out a real number of how many they probably killed and get it wrong. The actual number may never be known due to Hezbollah hiding the corpses and collapsed tunnels.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/01/2006 9:40
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...and more than a few bodies just get well....(some poetic justise here) *ucking incinerated!
#7
Another thing to consider is the moral of Hezbollah. If they think too many are dead they might run and hide and deny Israel the chance to kill them.
Key Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have united to call on President Bush to begin pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of the year, citing an overtaxed military, billions of dollars spent and ongoing sectarian violence. In a letter to Bush released Monday, the Democrats backed a plan for the "phased redeployment" of troops. "U.S. forces in Iraq should transition to a more limited mission focused on counterterrorism, training and logistical support of Iraqi security forces and force protection of U.S. personnel," the Democrats wrote.
Bush has consistently said there will be no such pullout until the fledgling Iraqi government can secure its position and Iraq's security forces can defend the country. Republicans said the letter amounted to Democratic leadership surrendering to terrorists. "The Democratic leadership continues to demand that American soldiers end their mission and wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists that we are fighting in Iraq," Ron Bonjean, a spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said in a statement.
Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued a similar statement. "Waving a white flag in Iraq may appeal to the nut net roots," Mehlman wrote, referring to Internet activists, "but it will embolden the enemy, encourage more terrorism and make America less secure."
Democrats had previously advocated reducing reduce troops levels in Iraq, but were split on the precise approach. During a recent floor debate in the Senate, Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin proposed legislation that would require troops to be out of Iraq by July 2007. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other Democrats backed a measure that called for a phased redeployment to begin by Dec. 31, but did not set a deadline for all troops to be home.
The recent letter, dated July 30, is significant because - signed by every top Democrat on committees with oversight of military, intelligence and international affairs - it solidifies the Democrats' position and presents a unified front as members head into election season. The letter also was signed by Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, his House counterpart.
I think we should have several roll call votes on this excellent suggestion....oh, that's right, we did.
I'm betting Mr. Rove would like at least one more in early October ...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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#1
New '06 Democratic Campaign theme song - Surrender by Cheap Trick.
#4
Motherly Islamo-Communism will save the ME + ME democracy from Fascist Male Brute Israel. GO MOM, iff you want flowers and love with your local gulags, work camps, and death camps. Hollywierd wants to see hugs, kisses, and trendy expensive Armani fashions when you happily report to your local labor-death chambers. GOOD CLINTONIAN AMERIKANS DEMAND TO BE EXECUTED AND EXTERMINATED WITH THE BEST, MOST EXPENSIVE THINGYS AROUND, D *** IT. LIFE ISN'T WORTH LIVING IFF YOUR GULAG DOESN'T HAVE TUPPERWARE + MARTHA STEWART.
#6
Fred, you left out the spin - There are currently about 130,000 troops in Iraq. Boosting the troops by such a substantial number (the troops moving into Baghdad, not necessarily being added to the total) dashes Bush administration hopes of dropping the figure by tens of thousands by the fall congressional campaign. So even when W tries to get with the Dems program, he's somehow pandering to the voters. Bad Bush!
With a bit of luck, we can do both - move 10,000 to Baghdad and bring 30,000 home by Christmas.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/01/2006 6:26
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The "cut and run" strategy. Bound to be popular in California, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Not to sure about the US however.
#10
Way to go, Dems! Great way to signal the enemy that we're losing our nerve, and all he has to do is just wait us out.
Fucking idiots...
Posted by: Dave D ||
08/01/2006 9:13
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I say we have a meeting of all these nutjobs in a rousing public forum. Featuring left-wing music, speakers, celebraties and all those sorts with the polititians. Call it, "We are back in '06 by surrendering" or something.
#12
Although an official "babyboomer" (born in 1948), I can't help but think how much better the prospects for this country will be once my generation finally dies off. The performance of America's young, at least the ones in the military, give hope that in spite of our best efforts to dumb them down, a few understand what America is about and will keep her strong and free.
#14
John Kerry, whose main problem in life is whether conditions will be good for windsurfing off Cape Cod, can't wait to surrender. Twenty-year old Marines with multiple gunshot wounds can't wait to get back to their units. We are going to win this thing despite him.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/01/2006 12:10
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Unless we quit, we will win in spite of the democrats, the EU, the UN, commie countries everywhere, and the cowards among us.
While we're at it, I pray we have the sense to except unconditional surrender only.
#16
RWV, I'm with you ("class" of '49) as is my wife. There are a number of us in the generation that are sane, but a depressingly large number that are true LLLoons.
#17
class of '59 here, and no assertions of sanity....
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 15:09
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Although an official "babyboomer" (born in 1948), I can't help but think how much better the prospects for this country will be once my generation finally dies off. The performance of America's young, at least the ones in the military, give hope that in spite of our best efforts to dumb them down, a few understand what America is about and will keep her strong and free.
Disclaimer : I don't endorse this book... since I haven't read it (of course!), but this sure looks interesting as far as this thesis goes.
Has anyone read it and is willing to give his impression on its content???
#19
"...it solidifies the Democrats' position and presents a unified front as members head into election season."
There's your money-shot right there folks. Ironically, the Democrats have an opportunity not only to do the right thing but also have a chance to sway swing voters. Predictably, their craven lust for headlines prevents them from saying We stand shoulder to shoulder with the President because War is not a partisan issue. Yet in their minds, this is the classic no-lose stunt. If troop levels remain constant they simply continue with the ole Its the Presidents War BS. If there is a reduction in troops they can attempt to claim responsibility. Disingenuous sluts!
#22
Mother told me, yes, she told me I'd meet Democrats like you.
She also told me, "Stay away, you'll never know what you'll catch."
Just the other day I heard a Senator falling off
some Vietnam junk that's going round.
Pelosi's alright, Kerry's alright, they just seem a little weird.
Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away, ay, ay, ay.
Old Reid says, "Murtha's right, he's really up on things."
"Before we met, Murtha served many years in the U.S. Marines."
Now, I had heard the Marines recruited heroes for the war.
But Murtha isn't one of those, I've known him all these years.
Pelosi's alright, Kerry's alright, they just seem a little weird.
Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away, ay, ay, ay.
Whatever happened to all this season's losers of the year?
Ev'ry time I got to thinking, where'd they disappear?
When I woke up, the Democrats were rolling on the couch.
Rolling numbers, rock and rolling, got their old Stones records out.
Pelosi's alright, Kerryy's alright, they just seem a little weird.
Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away, ay, ay, ay.
One of the Hizbullah operatives killed in the current fighting in Lebanon was Jihad Adiya, Hizbullah's head of logistics in southern Lebanon, according to an IDF list of approximately 200 Hizbullah members killed in clashes, it was reported Monday. Adiya was involved in the kidnappings of three soldiers in the Mt. Dov area in 2000.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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Hizbullah's head of logistics dead? Who will handle the funeral?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 0:42
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Gorb,
No need for funeral, as a "Martir" he directly ascended to haven without living behind any physical remains.
The only problem is that we will not be able to attend when Azazzel (the Devil) explains to him that:
1) we are out of virgins due to increased demand.
2) OTOH we have plenty of Brimstone.
:)
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
08/01/2006 5:14
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Shanghai: A massive bunker complex capable of sheltering 200,000 people from a nuclear attack has been built, a local newspaper has reported. The 970,000sq ft complex has water, electricity, lighting, ventilation and protective doors, and connects to shopping centres, office blocks, apartment buildings and the subway system via 15 tunnels.
Um. Okay. Alrighty then. WTF???
Seeing as Shanghai has 14 million people, and the metro area likely double that, they're going to save 200k people? Hmmm, I think somehow drawing lots isn't what they have in mind.
#3
My feeling is that it won't survive a direct hit. And a facility that big can easily be targeted. Sounds like Massachusett's Big Dig, but bigger by some exponential factor. Be nice to get the contract, since there's all kinds of ways to cut corners (vs the official bid) on materials in a structure that will only be tested in the event of a nuclear war (i.e. never). Besides, if there's a nuclear war, what else can the government do to you?
#9
This announcement is as much about Chinese nationalism rising as anything. I know a bunch of Chinese grad students studying computer science and such here - they aren't antiAmerican, but they are distinctly more Chinese-proud than their counterparts of a decade ago were.
#10
Seeing as Shanghai has 14 million people, and the metro area likely double that, they're going to save 200k people? Hmmm, I think somehow drawing lots isn't what they have in mind.
Sounds like they have a mine shaft gap.
Posted by: SLO Jim ||
08/01/2006 12:12
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...they aren't antiAmerican, but they are distinctly more Chinese-proud than their counterparts of a decade ago were.
Yeah, I've worked with Chinese who come across the same way. They don't bad-mouth the USA, but the nationalism sure came out when I mentioned Tibet.
I wouldn't even touch Formosa Taiwan after that exchange.
#12
WTF? That is only 5 sq ft per person, imagine a square of 2'3" by 2' 3". You could barely even sit down in it! I know Chinese are a little smaller than overfed Americans (such as myself), but this just doesn't sound reasonable at all!
JERUSALEM - Israeli army bulldozers have begun flattening positions previously held by Hezbollah militia so as to create a security zone inside southern Lebanon, a military official said on Monday.
Sixty armoured bulldozers were ploughing areas north of the border, demolishing positions, bunkers and obstacles placed by Hezbollah since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, the official said. Sixty D9s are cleaning a fire-zone of about one kilometre in depth and flattening Hezbollah armed positions, he quoted Defence Minister Amir Peretz as saying during Sundays cabinet meeting.
The Israeli army said Sunday it aimed to establish a security zone along the southern Lebanese border by Wednesday. By Wednesday we are going to establish a two-kilometer (one mile) wide security zone in which there will be no infrastructure or sign of Hezbollahs presence, army operations chief General Gadi Eisenkaut told reporters.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2006
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There may be still Hezboys in some underground tunnels. But since the likelihood is that their exits are under buildings
#13
I don't think this is the time to be praising the use of Caterpillar equipment, what with Tony Blair and Arnold Schwarzenegger calling attention to the problem of global warming.
#15
Good point, Oldcat, not to mention that the Hizb'allah rockets tend to land in the fields, destroying Gaia-preserving Nature, while Israeli missiles land on rocket launch sites, destroying ozone hole creating air conditioners. Truly, an epic battle between Gaia-protecting Israel and evil, Morlock Hizb'allah. We can only hope the Israelis stop Hizb'allah before they cause irreversable global warming. Al Gore must make another movie!
A Democratic filibuster of John Bolton's nomination as United Nations ambassador is "unlikely," Senator Schumer said yesterday. Mr. Schumer supported an effort last year to block Mr. Bolton's nomination from gaining a full Senate vote, but he confirmed that he is considering changing his position.
New York's senior senator said he was weighing Mr. Bolton's backing of Israel against his unwillingness to work with other countries at the United Nations. "There's a good part of Bolton. He's been a staunch and very good defender of Israel," Mr. Schumer said on CNN's "Late Edition."
And I've got a heavily Jewish constituency, especially the ones who contribute ...
"There's a bad part of Bolton. He seems to have a go it alone' attitude at a time when we need the nations of the world on our side. We've seen that in Iran and North Korea."
Oh lawdy. We've been engaged with the 'nations of the world': the EU-3, UN and IAEA with Iran and the group of Six with the NKors. Did Chuckles miss his briefing?
Election year.
Mr. Schumer said he had not made a final decision on which way to vote and that a lot of Democrats were also contemplating their position. The Democrats would need the support of 41 of their 45 members in the Senate to block Mr. Bolton's nomination. Three Democrats crossed over to oppose a filibuster last year, meaning that a shift of even a few senators would signal Mr. Bolton's confirmation. "I think that if you count the votes, a filibuster is unlikely," Mr. Schumer said.
Mr. Bush could reappoint Mr. Bolton again at the end of the year, but some have said it is important for the ambassador to have legislative backing, especially with a war in the Middle East. Two filibusters last year largely came down to a standoff with the White House over lawmakers' request for classified documents that Mr. Bolton had asked to see when he served in the State Department.
Although Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were highly critical of Mr. Bolton at a hearing last week, the minority leader, Senator Reid of Nevada, has not committed to mounting another filibuster attempt.
He's still checking his wind direction indicator.
New York's other Democratic senator, Hillary Clinton, supported a filibuster of Mr. Bolton last year but has not said which way she will vote this time. A statement from her office yesterday, after a week of silence, indicated that she is leaning against Mr. Bolton over the document issue."Senator Clinton remains concerned about the administration's continued refusal to produce documents to the Senate that are critical to conducting a full and proper evaluation of his nomination," it said.
She's against it before she'll be for it.
The large vote from Kiryas Joel, a strongly Chasidic community in NY, played a role in her first election to the Senate. She'll step lightly I think.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2006
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Schumer is one I wish would pop a major blood vessel in his brain. I would feel safer if he did.
#4
Worried about the Friends of Israel donations for the party? Couldn't be a problem with all the anti-Semitic remarks and actions from your rad left and academic members of the party? Just before the election, it must hurt that you can't play to both in your fund raising efforts. It would be revealing to show them what you really believe in by this conformation vote. And it does. Its all about power. Everything is justified by attaining power for the party.
(AIP): Unidentified gunmen shot and injured two American Arab workers of a foreign company in the troubled Zabul province of Afghanistan yesterday, police said Tuesday. Police Chief of Zabul province, Noor Muhammad Pakteen told Afghan Islamic Press that both the Arabs were working for a foreign company in Afghanistan and were injured in firing of unknown gunmen in Jaldak area near Qalat, capital of Zabul province yesterday. He disclosed that both the foreign workers who were from Lebanon and also had US citizenship were now under treatment in the hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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both the foreign workers who were from Lebanon and also had US citizenship
I wonder what the nationality of the foreign company was, and what it was doing there.
GUWAHATI, India - A powerful separatist group in Indias northeastern state of Nagaland agreed on Monday to extend a ceasefire with the government by one year and continue with peace talks, a senior rebel leader said. The ceasefire has been extended by one year, Phunthing Shimray of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah) told Reuters by telephone after three days of talks with Indian negotiators in Bangkok.
National socialists?
More than 20,000 people have died in a nearly six-decade struggle for an independent homeland for the mainly the Christian Naga people on Indias far eastern border with Myanmar, but violence has diminished since a ceasefire was agreed in 1997.
In January the rebels extended the truce for only six months, instead of a year, as there was little progress on the central rebel demands -- unification of Naga-dominated areas in northeast India and ultimately independence.
The group, the largest faction of a divided rebel movement, had appeared to harden its stand few days before the latest round of talks, saying that independence was more important than an extension of the truce. Security analysts say peace with the Nagas is crucial for a broader peace in the remote northeast, seven states connected to the rest of India by a thin strip of land and home to dozens of insurgent groups.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2006
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Gunmen wearing uniforms of Iraqi security forces kidnapped 25 people from an office in central Baghdad in broad daylight Monday, police said. The Iraqi government said Monday that 30,359 families have fled their homes to escape sectarian violence from mid-February until July 30 as violence across the country left at least 20 people dead. The gunmen pulled up in 15 four-wheel-drive vehicles and kidnapped employees and customers at the office on a street in Arasat, once a thriving commercial district that has seen many businesses close due to violence ravaging the country.
Me and five others were left behind because all the cars were full.
Some witnesses said the offices were those of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Al-Rawi mobile telephone company.
"I was on the first floor of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and they took all the men downstairs. They were in camouflage army uniforms. They handcuffed the men and blindfolded them," said a witness who asked not to be named. "Me and five others were left behind because all the cars were full."
"Stay here. We'll be back to kill you later."
"Hokay."
Police said among those kidnapped were the head and 11 employees of the chamber, which represents companies seeking to boost trade between postwar Iraq and firms in the US. "Two gunmen stayed outside and the others entered the building. They dragged the employees and put them in the cars," said another witness.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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logistics - the bane of bad terrorists everywhere
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 0:17
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Jeez! Don't the Iraqi's have a 2nd Amendment? You'd think at least a few of them would go down fighting.
SCHOOLS would no longer be required to teach children the difference between right and wrong under plans to revise the core aims of the National Curriculum. Instead, under a new wording that reflects a world of relative rather than absolute values, teachers would be asked to encourage pupils to develop secure values and beliefs.
It's all relative, you know, 'secure' values.
The draft also purges references to promoting leadership skills and deletes the requirement to teach children about Britains cultural heritage.
No need to teach the Magna Carta, Cromwell, the Restoration, Shakespeare, Dickens, Orwell, how the tommies won the wars, or how British beliefs and langauge circled the world ...
Ministers have asked for the curriculums aims to be slimmed down to give schools more flexibility in the way they teach pupils aged 11 to 14.
The present aims for Stage 3 pupils state: The school curriculum should pass on enduring values. It should develop principles for distinguishing between right and wrong. The QCAs proposals will see these phrases replaced to simply say that pupils should have secure values and beliefs.
Because absolute values for right and wrong make people uncomfortable, and we'd never want to do that.
The existing aims state that the curriculum should develop childrens ability to relate to others and work for the common good. The proposed changes would remove all references to the common good.
Because the 'common good' sometimes requires that you defend the common good, and that leads to icky things like defense.
The requirement to teach Britains cultural heritage will also be removed. The present version states: The school curriculum should contribute to the development of pupils sense of identity through knowledge and understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural heritages of Britains diverse society.
Because wimmins studies and transgendered relationships are more important to the curriculum than Chaucer or Thomas Hardy.
The proposals say that individuals should be helped to understand different cultures and traditions and have a strong sense of their own place in the world.
Except their own, of course.
References to developing leadership in pupils have also been removed. One of the present aims is to give pupils the opportunity to become creative, innovative, enterprising and capable of leadership. This is due to be replaced by the aim of ensuring that pupils are enterprising.
Because the new British man or womyn need not be a leader, they just need to do as they're told.
Professor Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckinghams centre for education and employment research, said: The idea that they think it is appropriate to dispense with right and wrong is a bit alarming.
Teachers leaders said that they did not need to be told to teach children to distinguish between right and wrong. A spokeswoman for the National Union of Teachers said: Teachers always resented being told that one of the aims of the school was to teach the difference between right and wrong. That is inherent in the way teachers operate. Removing it from the National Curriculum will make no difference.
Then why remove it? Seems to me that having it in the curriculum would buttress teacher attempts to teach right versus wrong, and serve as a basis of support should unhappy parents complain. By removing it you send a signal -- make it optional and implicit to teach right versus wrong rather than mandatory and explicit, and sure enough, some proportion of teachers will go light on the issue, if not abandon it alltogether. After all, that's the signal being sent.
But she insisted that it was important for children to understand about their cultural heritage. To remove that requirement can undermine childrens feelings of security in the country where they are living, she said.
A spokesman for the QCA said: The proposed new wording of the curriculum aims is a draft which will be consulted on formally next year as part of the ongoing review of Key Stage 3. One aim of the review is that there should be more flexibility and personalisation that focuses on practical advice for teachers. The new wording states clearly that young people should become responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. It also identifies the need for young people who challenge injustice, are committed to human rights and strive to live peaceably with others.
Yes, responsible citizens who do as they're told taught.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2006
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I always liked Great Britain. I'll really miss it.
#3
"The proposals say that individuals should be helped to understand different cultures and traditions and have a strong sense of their own place in the world.
#6
I would like to see in any 'Immigration Reform' legislation a vast expanded quota for English and mainland Europeans who'd like to escape the future socialist collapse and seek the virtues of capitalism and individualism, like those great ancestors of mine who took the great and glorious plunge into the unknown.
#11
Remember the movie To Sir With Love ?
They should make a sequel, To Haji With Love.
It can be about a teacher who teaches his students how to surrender your past and your property and don a burka gracefully and without malice. The special scene would be the one where they dance their last dance and then the music ends and the seething begins.
#12
This is so outrageous it makes you gasp for breath. Unfortunately, things are every bit as bad in the US. The commies ( leftist Dumocrats) determined long ago the best way to destroy us was from within. They are destroying the future thru the capture of the schools. We need to totally disband public schooling. Once schools are once again a private concern, these commies can be expunged. School discipline can be returned. Those who strive to learn can. And I suspect that it woould be much more economical when all is said and done.
#13
The proposals say that individuals should be helped to understand different cultures and traditions and have a strong sense of their own place in the world.
A $50 million bail was set for the man accused of killing one woman and wounding five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, whispered to his attorney occassionally during Saturday's bail hearing before Seattle District Court Judge Barbara Linde, the Seattle Times reported Sunday.
King County Prosecutor spokesman Dan Donohoe said attorneys would meet this week to decide whether the shootings, classified by investigators as a "hate crime," would fall under capital or state charges. If the case becomes capital, Haq could face the death penalty if convicted. Pam Waechter, 58, of Seattle was in the Friday afternoon shootings. Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske described pandemonium during the shooting, with people jumping out of second-floor windows, hiding in closets and diving beneath desks as the gunman fired randomly at workers. Haq allegedly chose his target after conducting a random Internet search for Jewish organizations, Kerlikowske said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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nice rug too - in the court photo - he's bald
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 0:15
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#2
I think this is his high school pitcher...all the girlies laughed at him at the reunion...
Redacted by moderator. Comments may be redacted for trolling, violation of standards of good manners, or plain stupidity. Please correct the condition that applies and try again. Contents may be viewed in the sinktrap. Further violations may result in banning.
Posted by: mac ||
08/01/2006 0:31
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#4
You're going to have to Sinktrap me too, I agre with #3, wait outside the courthouse with a loaded shotgun.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/01/2006 6:21
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#5
You'd think more jewish people would perhaps get a gun?
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006 9:08
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#9
Nothing pleases Allan like the slaughter of unarmed civilians, especially if they are Jewish...."Peace Be Unto You." Haq's parents and the Seattle Islamic community must certainly be proud of this fine lad.
#11
That's an unfair redaction, Sea. I'm just trying to be a fiscally responsible citizen. I suggest that you check what it cost DC and Maryland to try Malvo and the other sniper. The cost in this case will probably be close to that amount since it's the more expensive Left Coast. Even in King County that kind of cash would go a long way, and there are few worse ways to spend it than by enriching defense lawyers in a long trial for this worthless piece of jihadi garbage.
Posted by: mac ||
08/01/2006 10:13
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#12
Got to agree w. Sea - there's no place for vigilantism. Try him and fry him.
#15
Depends on the day and the moderator, lotp. I've seen much worse slide by without comment.
Posted by: mac ||
08/01/2006 11:20
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#16
I understand the economics of trying Allan's chosen, Mac. If you look up my comments on the DC snipers, whose sniper scope could easily have been trained on me and mine, you'll see I was deeply disappointed that they did not "resist arrest" when the cops caught them sleeping at the rest stop. Now Malvo is free to dawa for the rest of his life, though I think it's likely Muhammed will get his date with the needle. Someday.
Nevertheless, I don't think vigilantism is yet called for in this case, and at any rate it would backfire in the media and give CAIR more grist for the propaganda mill. The heroic actions of the women in that office plus the man's own statements will serve our side much better long term than a "angry white man with a gun."
#18
I've been over the line several times and not been redacted. Usually alcohol was involved and it was late at night. Often the topic deserved a wild rant or two--gasp, maybe even the suggestion of extra judicial civic action.
If you've got to ask yourself why you haven't been sink trapped, then you might need to go see a Dr. and get a through check up....and make sure the good Doc checks out your stones.
#20
Vigilantism always kills the wrong people. Some poor woman, child or old man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just another meaningless death that does nothing but cause senseless grief. You want to see some action - make your representatives do their job.
#22
If this bastard makes bail, I hope for the Washington taxpayers' sake someone who is a good shot is standing outside the jail waiting to arrange his rendezvous with the 72 raisins.
Posted by: mac ||
08/01/2006 0:31
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For over a week now, Crime Branch officials have been grilling a man, who they say, led them to Lashkar-e-Taibas Mumbai chief Faizal Ataur Rehman Sheikh and its city module. A librarian at a research foundations office in the city, Feroz Deshmukh (29) has still not been arrested. Crime Branch officials say they will hand him over to the Anti-Terrorist Squad, which is probing Terrible Tuesdays serial blasts, in a couple of days. Deshmukh is a close associate of Raheel Abdul Rehman Sheikh (24), one of the prime suspects in the Aurangabad arms haul case and now on the run, say sources.
When we were interrogating him, he asked us why we were asking him so many questions about Raheel, when a bigger catch would be Faizal...
The sources also say that unlike the other men whom he sang about during questioning, Deshmukh has not received any terrorist training in Pakistan. "But Deshmukh is an important catch. It was he who spilled the beans on Faizal. When we were interrogating him, he asked us why we were asking him so many questions about Raheel, when a bigger catch would be Faizal," says a Crime Branch officer.
Before zeroing in on Faizal and his software programmer brother Muzamil, the Crime Branch had picked up Unani doctor Tanveer Ahmed Ansari, Sohail Abdul Ghani Sheikh and Zamir Ahmed Latif Chaabiwalaall of whom are now in police custody and are said to be members of Lashkars Mumbai module. "Deshmukh knows Sohail and Chaabiwala to some extent," a Crime Branch officer says.
"During interrogation, he told us that he was very close to Raheel, who also stayed at Grant Road, and has met him on several occasions. He has often chatted with Raheel on the internet. Information provided by Deshmukh may be crucial in getting to Raheel. We believe Raheel is somewhere in Bangladesh," says a Crime Branch officer. Raheel is believed to have provided fake passports to Lashkar operatives, and procured visas on the basis of forged documents for travel to Pakistan via Iran. He is wanted in the Aurangabad arms haul case along with two other Lashkar operativesZaibuddin Sheikh alias Zaby and Fayaz Kagdi, both of whom are also on the run.
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(KUNA) -- An Israeli reconnaissance plane hit a Lebanese military location in southern Lebanon with two missiles killing one soldier and injuring three others, said a Lebanese military source on Monday. The two missiles that hit the Lebanese military headquarter of Al-Qassimiyah in Tyre, southern Lebanon, also resulted in damaging a number of military machineries, the source told KUNA. The Israeli bombardments have hit a number of Lebanese military locations in several areas, which resulted in killing a number of military personals.
Posted by: Fred ||
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As most know by now, there is a 40% chance that the dead soldier was a Shiite/Hizbollah supporter.
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations on Monday indefinitely postponed a meeting called by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to begin planning a new international peacekeeping force for Lebanon.
A UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the meeting, which had been scheduled for Monday afternoon, had been delayed until there is more political clarity on the path ahead in the Middle East conflict.
Meaning they can't find anyone to donate troops.
And all the hotels in Cyprus are full.
Organizers hoped to reschedule the meeting later in the week, but the timing remained uncertain.
Annan had announced the meeting of potential troop-contributing countries last Friday, saying the time had come for the international community to help the warring sides and civilians caught in the middle. Annan had said from the start the discussions would be preliminary because the Security Council has not yet set out a mandate for the international force, defining what the troops would be asked to do.
Major powers have said a force could not be deployed while fighting continued and without the consent of Israel, Lebanon and the Hezbollah organization. The force would aim to implement a peace plan that has yet to be outlined by the 15-nation council. Only after the council has approved a mandate for the new force will countries actually decide whether they to participate.
I hear the French volunteered.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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France is, indeed, angling (hard) to "lead" the new UNIFIL farce, er force. This is an excellent opportunity to both stall the process so Olmert can do his thing and to wring something out of France, though I admit I don't know WTF they have that we want. I'm sure Bush, Rice, and Bolton can come up with something interesting. France seems quite desperate to make this play and bolster their "Arab Creds". It will be after the Israeli deeds are done, so I don't know that it will pose a big problem - as long as there is some participant in the force that isn't on the take and will actually report shit for a change.
#2
O'REILLY on FNC continues to believe and insist that FRANCE had a significant role in both protecting Saddam from UN resolutions as well as in hiding Saddam's WMD assets in order to ensure Amer humiliation once the USA decided to mil enter Iraq ala IRAQI FREEDOM. Meanwhile, LEBANON'S ONLY REALISTIC HOPE FOR DEMOCRACY AND SOVEREIGNTY IS EITHER UNDER THE IDF OR A US-LED UN COM CAPABLE OF KOREAN WAR 1-STYLE MIL ACTION AGAINST THE TERROR GROUPS. Anything less only means new conflicts later on. IRAN is proceeding wid its ambitions for regional, later global, radical empire and domination. The Frenchies have gotta know that FRANCE = LEBANESE/SUNNI/NON-IRANIAN SHIA MUSLIMS, ETC. > ANY DEFEAT OR DESTRUCTION OF THE USA = ISRAEL DOES NOT MEAN THEY WILL BE SPARED OR TREATED AS EQUALS-PARTNERS BY THE VICTORS. Iff Syria + Iran see no borders between their nation(s) and Lebanon, why should they see between them and Paris = Europe??? Radical Islam defeating andor destroying "the Crusaders" from Spain to the ME = also "from the Entire/Whole World". Within the narrow, subjective context of Radical Islam = Islamofascism, iff the Failed Left is engaged in a GLOBAL SECULAR ANTI-DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT/
CAMPAIGN, Radical Islam = Islamofascism = engaged in a GLOBAL GOD-BASED ANTI-DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT/CAMPAIGN. The antithesis of Islamo-Fascism is Islamo-Communism/Islamo-Stalinism - HyperGovt, Commie "Permanent War/Revolution" = "Permanent Jihad", Centralism, and despotic Totalitarian Ultra-Conservatism. Islamification/Islamization is the new Cold War-era Sovietization, Maosification, Militarization and Communization-Stalinization. IFF SYRIA + LEBANON, ETAL. EXPECT TO STAY SOVEREIGN, NATIONALIST, AND INDEPENDENT, espec vv EMPIRE-CENTRIC IRAN, THEY NEED TO WORK WITH ISRAEL + USA-UNO, NOT AGAINST THEM.
Posted by: john ||
08/01/2006 11:50
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Actually, they're proposing to send a shipload of phone sanitizers, philosophy professors and toilet attendants first. The troops will follow later.
Sylver B'lake is getting in touch with his "inner elf."
Oh, how cute. He's got an apostrophe in his name...
The 27-year-old man from Fayetteville, Ark., dressed in what appears to be some sort of homosexual futuristic Robin Hood costume, is aiming a chunk of finely carved eucalyptus branch dead smack at the chest of Koe Jacsmi of Seattle. The 16-year-old girl in the extremely flared brown pants with the orange tiger stripes is taking it all in, absorbing every sound B'lake can blow through his didgeridoo. "It energized my chakras very much," said Jacsmi, 16. "When he did it on my head, my crown chakra just went off."
"My pants just crawled down my legs!"
B'lake and Jacsmi had never met before Sunday, when they came across one another at the Faerieworlds Festival that wrapped up its two-day run at Secret House Vineyards in Veneta. They were just two of several thousand costumed dipsy doodles folk who came to experience an event that's been held somewhere in the West for five of the last six years, and for the second straight year here in Lane County.
Discovered there was money in it, did they?
Emilio Miller-Lopez of Eugene, co-founder of the event along with his wife, Kelly Miller-Lopez, said festivalgoers from 42 states and six countries purchased tickets for the event online.
Hyphens add class to otherwise run-of-the-mill names. And Emilio sounds so much more romantic than Emile.
... And you don't see grown men walking around with Hobbit sticks every day. Or other men with twig-thin legs, wearing skin-tight tights, and dancing like, well, faeries with foliage stapled on their backs...
"There's something for everyone," said Kelly Miller-Lopez, who moved to Eugene from Arizona - where the first two Faerieworld festivals were held in Prescott and Sedona - with her husband in 2004. "And we've put a lot of attention into making sure that's true."
Robert Gould, president of Imaginosis, a Los Angeles-based transmedia arts company that specializes in working with artists of fantasy-based productions, has worked with the Miller-Lopezes to produce all five of the festivals. "The one thing that's always been amazing about these shows is that we don't tell anyone to come in costume," said Gould, who was wearing a black T-shirt with the words "World of Froud" and a black kilt. "That's one of the biggest surprises we have. People really want to be in this world."
One of the big draws at this year's festival was husband-and-wife team Brian and Wendy Froud, internationally best-selling artists, authors and film designers whose work is the artistic inspiration for the festival. Brian Froud worked with the late Jim Henson of The Muppets on the fantasy feature films "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth," and Wendy Froud worked as a sculptor and puppet builder for Henson.
I've always liked faeries," said Romero, "because they're magic and their world is incredible. So opposite of the one we live in every day.
Jacsmi had both artists autograph her skin just below the collarbone. "You can be yourself and no one will judge you," Jacsmi said of why she loves the festival. "That's why you come to any festival." But this one has "faeries all around," she said. "You don't get to see that all the time."
No, you don't. Some of us are grateful for that.
So true. And you don't see grown men walking around with Hobbit sticks every day. Or other men with twig-thin legs, wearing skin-tight tights, and dancing like, well, faeries with foliage stapled on their backs. Or a woman laying in cool mud, blending in so well with the troll sculptures in the "Mud Faery Sculpture Garden" that you have to strain to see that she's there.
Nor do you usually see three generations of women walking around with purple wings. "Faeries are kind of her thing," said Sonja Ingeroi of her mother, Saundra Romero. The Roseburg mother and daughter came Sunday with Ingeroi's 8-year-old daughter, Ursula Evans, whose face was painted green with purplish-blue markings.
"I've always liked faeries," said Romero, "because they're magic and their world is incredible. So opposite of the one we live in every day."
Ursula, who has taken in multiple viewings of "Labyrinth," the 1986 film that starred the Froud's son, Toby Froud, as the baby kidnapped by the "King of the Goblins" (David Bowie), took a break by reading a "Betty & Veronica" comic book on a blanket. But she likes faeries better, she said. "They're pretty much the same as my grandma," she said of Romero. "I like everything that flies."
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"I've always liked faeries," said Romero, "because they're magic and their world is incredible. So opposite of the one we live in every day."
According to myths, they're also amoral, blood-thirsty, and self-centered to an extreme.
Oh, that's why these nutcases like them. Same reason they like Castro, Mugabe, Hezbollah, etc.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/01/2006 6:09
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And I thought the Society for Creative Anachrtonism guys were "out there!"
Posted by: Mike ||
08/01/2006 7:05
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"Faeries are kind of her thing," said Sonja Ingeroi of her mother, Saundra Romero.
Saundra's husband George was fond of gut munching zombies, a fascination that had launched his movie career and helped pay for his wife's decades of counceling.
A battle brewing over a draft anti-smut law has laid bare deep divisions within Indonesia and, say critics, threatens its traditionally tolerant approach to Islam.
I'd guess the traditionally tolerant approach loses, hands down...
With parliament back in session from August 18, the world's biggest Muslim nation faces what could prove a defining moment. Pressured by growing demands from Muslim activists, lawmakers are expected to hammer out the legislation in the coming months. Just what kind of bill emerges - and how much liberal Muslims, secular nationalists, and non-Muslim minorities water it down beforehand - remains to be seen. Already, proposed changes would remove kissing in public from its catalogue of proscribed acts. Other revisions exempt art and cultural activities from censorship, and reduce the chance of vigilante enforcement by Muslim hardliners. Supporters say tough measures are necessary to protect the public from corrupting Western influence. Although barred by law, explicit material is available with relative ease in Indonesia, and television programmes regularly feature bared flesh and sexual innuendo.
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Aha! A hundred years from now it will be written that it was p0rn that brought down the extremists, much like Captain Kirk brought down V'ger with conflicting interests!
I suggest giving free internet connections to all societies extremists live amongst because it's what extremists seem to fear the most!
At least one of them (Burkle) a certified gold-plated FOB and extremely major Clinton supporter. I knew you'd be surprised. Frankly, I hope they toss their entire combined fortunes down that fetid rathole...
Three billionaires, including Hollywood mogul David Geffen, have expressed interest in buying the Los Angeles Times,
I presume it's 'cos their message isn't getting heard by the wretched masses yearning to breathe free of the e-e-e-evil VRWC media machine...
but have been rebuffed for the time being by its owner, Tribune Co., the paper reported. Geffen, property developer Eli Broad and supermarket investor Ron Burkle each wrote to the board of directors of the Chicago-based firm, which is under pressure from shareholders to boost its flagging share price, the paper said in its Saturday edition. The report, citing unidentified sources, said Tribune's directors considered the three letters at a July 19 board meeting.
Tribune Chairman and Chief Executive Dennis J. FitzSimons subsequently wrote to each prospective suitor, informing them that the board "unanimously asked me to advise you that at this time we are not prepared to discuss the possible transaction described in your letter," the paper said. But the FitzSimons letter concluded, "If our perspective changes we will contact you," the paper added.
"Our people will call your people, and... heck, who are we kidding? Get lost!"
The paper said the trio have discussed buying the paper both together and individually. It noted, though, that Geffen and Burkle have a "chilly relationship."
Geffen and Burkle declined comment to the paper, but Broad was quoted as saying that he believed in local ownership of the paper, and that Tribune would have to "unlock values" of its assets. Tribune also declined to comment to the Times, whose report said relations between head office and the newsroom are strained because of demands for cutbacks. Tribune's stock price is languishing at less than half its 1999 high of $60.88. The paper said some investors believe the company's parts are worth more than its current market capitalization of almost $9 billion. Tribune's other assets the Chicago Tribune newspaper, the Chicago Cubs baseball team and two-dozen television stations. Tribune bought the Los Angeles Times' parent company, Times Mirror Co., in 2000. Under the deal, trusts held by descendants of the paper's founding Chandler family became Tribune's biggest individual shareholder, with about 15 percent of its stock. But the Chandlers' representatives have attacked Tribune management's plan to repurchase 25 percent of Tribune's stock. They say the company should instead spin off its TV stations or put itself up for auction.
SERBIA will reject independence as a solution for Kosovo and continue to consider the province part of its territory, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said.
The policy of Serbia would be to declare that Kosovo is part of Serbia...
"The policy of Serbia would be to declare that Kosovo is part of Serbia. That's not empty rhetoric, but a constitutional-legal formula," Mr Kostunica said in an interview with the liberal Serb daily Danas.
Such a step would create a Cyprus-style division in the Balkans if Kosovo Albanians clinch the independence diplomats say could come within six months. "Serbia will reject a solution that takes Kosovo away from Serbia and, very importantly, will continue to consider Kosovo part of its territory," said Mr Kostunica.
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During the Clinton-War on Serbia, my Serb landlord told me of the ethnic cleansing tactics of Muslims. And he said, if Serbs are kicked out of the south of Kosovo Province, the Muslims would destroy every Medieval monastery. Thanks to Clinton, they did exactly that and the de-Serbization of Kosovo continues.
Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels were locked yesterday in the bloodiest ground battle since their 2002 truce went into effect with at least 44 combatants killed, the military said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) accused the government of virtually declaring war on them with the latest offensive and vowed to resist a military advance to open a water canal blocked by the guerrillas 10 days ago in an area under their control. The defence ministry said it had lost at least nine soldiers killed and six wounded, but managed to take control of the sluice gates by Monday afternoon after heavy mortar bomb exchanges with the Tigers. The ministry said "over 35" Tigers were killed.
The defence ministry said the offensive in the island's restive northeastern region of Trincomalee was aimed at ending the LTTE blockade of the Maavilaru waterway that had deprived thousands of farmers of water. There was no immediate reaction from the Tigers to the casualty figures claimed by the military, but the guerrillas said they were resisting the military advance. The LTTE also lodged a formal complaint with the Nordic truce monitors against the government, but made it clear they were not pulling out of the ceasefire agreement, a spokesman for the monitors said.
The Swedish-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said the LTTE protested the military action. "They (the LTTE) have said that the government is violating the ceasefire, but they have not made any decision to resign from the ceasefire agreement," spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson told AFP. Diplomats close to the peace process said the SLMM did not take seriously remarks by a regional Tiger leader asking them to declare that truce was not holding and that the fighting "tantamounted to a declaration of war."
Continued on Page 49
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How was your week? I spent mine with Randi Rhodes, Stephanie Miller, and Al Franken, and it was fabulous. No, really. I stumbled on the local progressive talk station last week, and the commentary left my jaw on the floorboard of my car so often, I couldnt manage to turn the station. My jaw was actually in the way of the radio dial.
Maybe thats the business model. Pack the airwaves with enough crazy and listeners find themselves unable to escape. I learned many things this week.
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I've read stuff by Mary Katherin Ham before, and she was sane, lucid, and quite logical. Now I'm worried about her, LOL. The article is very funny, but I think she's gonna need an industrial-grade scrub-down - steel wool I think - to bring her back to full functionality.
You know you're in for a wild ride when Franken, who's now stumping for some Senate seat or something equally inane, is the realtive voice of reason.
Sheesh, this was supposed to "make it" on the air?
#2
Maybe thats the business model. Pack the airwaves with enough crazy and listeners find themselves unable to escape.
Heh! The reason Howard Stern is successful is because their target audience enjoys weighty topics such as flatulation and Lesbian sex. Even high-profile sponsors are ambivalent to adolescent messages delivered in a vulgar format as long as it sells. Air Americas topics tend to attract their own unique demographic. That might explain why their local-spots sponsors in every market mainly consist of Head-shops, Used-record outlets, and Adult Book stores.
#4
hate to admit it, but they may be onto something with the whole "Mann Coulter"..Never understood what folks have found attractive about her. She comes across in whatever pics I've seen of her as a poorly dressed transvestite.
At the very least, someone should offer her a sandwhich.
#5
hate to admit it, but they may be onto something with the whole "Mann Coulter"..Never understood what folks have found attractive about her. She comes across in whatever pics I've seen of her as a poorly dressed transvestite.
Well to each his own. At the risk of sounding crude, I'd still hit that.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan - A car bomb killed at least six people and wounded 16 outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, but the apparent target, a provincial governor, was unhurt. The blast took place in the city of Jalalabad where thousands of people, including the governor of Ningarhar, Gul Afgha Sherzai, were gathered in front of the mosque. Sherzai escaped unhurt.
I was the target and it was the work of Afghanistans enemies, he told Reuters, referring to a term usually used by Afghan officials for describing Taleban insurgents and their al Qaeda allies.
"But since it was organized by Hek, they missed," he added.
The people had gathered in the mosque to attend a prayer ceremony for Maulvi Younis Khalis, a mujahideen commander who died last week.
The car followed Sherzais convoy as he was returning after the ceremony. His four guards and two men in the car in police uniforms were killed in the blast, security officials said. However, it was not immediately clear whether it was suicide attack or the car bomb was triggered remotely.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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Jalalabad, it just rolls off the tounge
Posted by: bk ||
08/01/2006 13:28
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LOL, I recall a young lady built along similar lines plopping herself down in the chair opposite of me at a dinner table and declaring, "Hi! I'm Joy!"
It was all I could do to refrain from replying "I'm sure you are!"
Carrying replicas of boats - the traditional election symbol of the main opposition Awami League party - and chanting slogans such as "No reforms, no polls" and "Accept reforms before it is too late", the demonstrators marched from Gabtali, about 20km west of central Dhaka. The marchers burnt the chief election commissioner, MA Aziz, in effigy. Opposition parties have accused Aziz of being too partisan and said they would not take part in any elections with him at the helm.
The march was on the sixth and final day of protests, which were organised by Bangladesh's 14-party opposition alliance before parliamentary elections next January. The opposition alliance led by Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister and leader of Awami, reaffirmed that it would "boycott and resist" the parliamentary election unless the government carried out electoral reforms. "The massive turnout in the series of marches since July 25 demonstrates people's strong support for the reforms needed to make the election free and fair," the Awami general secretary, Abdul Jalil, said on Sunday. "We will keep adding pressure on the government until it bows to popular wishes."
Begum Khaleda Zia, the Bangladeshi prime minister, accused the opposition of trying to foil the election and disrupt democracy. The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist party also held a march on Sunday, the second day of a three-day programme designed to counter the opposition show of strength.
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LONDON - Protesters demonstrated on Monday outside a British air base believed to have been used at the weekend by US flights transporting weapons to Israel. Around 30 campaigners gathered outside the US Air Force-operated RAF Mildenhall base in eastern England, where two US flights are thought to have stopped over to refuel after being diverted away from Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
Thirty protesters? That's page one news, so long as they're the right kind of protesters.
Two previous flights which stopped at Prestwick caused a diplomatic mini-spat because the United States had not informed Britain of the hazardous nature of their cargo. This will only add to the worsening humanitarian crisis, said Peter Lanyon, 73, of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. These flights are probably carrying bunker-buster missiles and, because Britain has told America to fly these things through our midst, everyone who goes about their daily lives without saying something is allowing the government to get away with it.
About 150 people demonstrated outside Prestwick Airport on Sunday.
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British MSM at it's best
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
08/01/2006 5:28
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170 peo[ple total. Not even newsworthy but it fits the Jew hating ends of the Leftist MSM in the US so it's a story.
(KUNA) -- A senior Iraqi intelligence officer was assassinated in western Baghdad, Iraqi Police reported Monday. A police source in press remarks said unknown militants shot Brigadier Fakhri Salman dead near his home in Yarmouk area, western Baghdad. According to the source, the brigadier, a senior officer in the Iraqi national intelligence, came under a shower of bullets and was dead before arrival to Yarmouk Hospital.
Another official was also assassinated in the same area by unknown gunmen as Police reports the Iraqi Health Minister's advisor Mued Jihad was shot dead. In a separate incident, a car bomb today left one police officer and another civilian injured in Cairo neighborhood, northern Baghdad. The blast also left material damage.
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ya know.... a COMPETENT intel officer might know they were gunning for him....just saying...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 0:11
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You mean like the attack on CIA headquarters?
Or were you refering to the kidnapping of Buckley in Lebonon?
Buckley was an Army LtC employed by the CIA as Embassy Political Officer and Station Chief in Lebanon, not Iraq. Kidnapped and held for 15 mos of torture then hung. Your analogy is not only inaccurate, but offensive. Buckley was in no way controlling forces in his own country against an insurgency. Idjit.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 10:42
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I think that was the problem, he was at home and in his home country - everyone can't have the relative safety of the green zone
(KUNA) Two gunmen of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), were killed in two separate encounters with security forces in the border district of Poonch in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Monday. While the identity of one of the gunmen killed close to the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, was being verified, the other killed in Surankote was identified as LeT 'commander' Wakt Khan, who was of Pakistani origin, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported. Khan was an expert in manufacturing bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the news agency reported.
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(AIP): Two coalition soldiers were injured slightly after they received small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire in the Pech River Valley in Kunr province last evening (Wednesday), a coalition spokeswoman said Thursday. While confirming the incident to Afghan Islamic Press spokeswoman of coalition forces Lt. Tamara Lawrence said, "Coalition forces did receive small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire from various locations in the Pech River Valley in Kunar Province last evening." Coalition forces returned fire toward the enemy positions, she added. Lt. Tamara Lawrence said two coalition soldiers sustained minor wounds in the incident, but they are in stable condition at a nearby Coalition medical facility.
Earlier, spokesman of Taliban fighters, Dr. Muhammad Hanif, told Afghan Islamic Press by satellite phone from and undisclosed that Taliban attacked a base of US troops in Manogi district of Kunar province. He added that the attack sparked a firefight between coalition and Taliban in which three tents of American soldiers were burned. The Taliban spokesman said they had no details of the casualties. Similarly in another incident, Dr. Muhammad Hanif said, Taliban attacked a patrol of US forces in Tarra area in Manogi district of Helmand province last night. He said two military vehicles were destroyed and all the soldiers onboard were killed in the attack. The coalition spokeswoman said they had only one report of engagement from Kunar province.
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Somali MPs threw punches and wrestled on the floor after Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi survived a crucial confidence vote that could have led to the collapse of his weak government. Armed police entered parliament to separate four brawling members of parliament and escort Mr Gedi out during several minutes of chaos, witnesses said.
"Which police?"
"Armed police."
Armed police entered parliament to separate four brawling members of parliament and escort Mr Gedi out...
He actually lost the vote - by 88 votes to his opponents' 126 - but this fell short of the two-thirds majority they needed to censure him in the old grain store which has been converted into Somalia's temporary parliament. Defeat would have sparked the dissolution of the interim government's executive, already in some disarray over the threat from the Islamic militia movement, which has taken the capital, Mogadishu, and a large part of southern Somalia. "Whatever we were accused of we will try to rectify," Mr Gedi told supporters. "I thank those who brought the motion because they proved that we have democracy."
The anti-Gedi faction had argued his performance was incompetent and his removal necessary to create a post for Mogadishu's new Islamic rulers to come into government.
Not getting their way might make the Islamists angry. And you wouldn't like them when they're angry.
Five people were wounded when an IDF UAV bombed a truck that had traveled from Syria into Lebanon on the border between the two countries Monday night. The driver of the truck was wounded, as well as four additional Lebanese customs workers. Israel had declared a cessation in IAF action, but reserved the right to attack in the case of immediate threat. It was unclear what the truck was carrying.
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The cessation message didn't reach the UAV
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/01/2006 0:30
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Turkey on Monday appointed a general who is expected to adopt a tougher line toward EU negotiations to replace the head the country's powerful military, who was widely considered a moderate. The change in leadership, which was widely anticipated, comes as Turkey is insisting that Washington do more to crack down on Turkish Kurdish rebels operating out of bases in northern Iraq. It also comes as the United States is pressing Turkey and other countries to contribute to a possible peacekeeping force along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
General Yasar Buyukanit, the head of land forces, was named to replace Geneina Hilmi Ozkok, the chief of staff, when Ozkok retires later the month. Turkey's Supreme Military Council, chaired by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, will approve Ozkok's replacement and other key personnel changes at a meeting on August 1-4. Ozkok retires on August 30 and has ruled out suggestions he might stay on another year.
"This appointment is important because the Turkish armed forces are still largely autonomous, despite EU reforms trimming their powers," said Lale Sariibrahimoglu, Turkey correspondent of the British-based Jane's Defense Weekly. "Many in [Erdogan's ruling] AK Party would have liked to see Ozkok stay on for another year. Buyukanit is from the old school, against the full civilian control of the military, while Ozkok is more of a democrat," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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#1
He looks like a corpse propped up and with sunglasses to hide the eyes.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/01/2006 6:28
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My understanding is there are two different fights going on, or rather two different dimensions along which people disagree.
Fight between the Islamacists and the oldschool Turkish generals who are mostly secularists but who in any case distrust populism of the sort the Islamacists used to gain office. - one dimension
Along another dimension, there's a fight between those who want into the EU and those who don't because it would diminish Turkish autonomy - including, for the Islamacists, the autonomy to impose Sharia.
These parties overlap, but not entirely IIUC. Comments from anyone who's more intimately familiar with the political issues there would be welcome.
Oh boy, it appears that the great comedic genius of our times, the Saturday Night Live veteran, the sophomoric muse of the left, Al Franken, the guiding power behind the faltering Air America, is testing the waters for a run for the US Senate after moving his unique radio show to Minneapolis from the Big Apple, where wags said, his unique brand of humor was losing some steam with the loss of WLIB-AM, the erstwhile flagship station.
And it is suspected that the imminent failure and final disappearance of Air America is driving Mr. Franken west to his destiny in the US Senate. After all, why would a keen intelligence, a man of such wit and humor, a person so genetically designed for the hurly burly of the big city, seek solace in Minneapolis, the home of Billy Graham? Perhaps Al needs a job with vast guaranteed riches, the ability to trade stocks with non-public information, the ability take his war chest into his dotage, and a grand retirement funded by the very people Mr. Franken has humored and fleeced for so many years -- a sweet irony indeed. You know, the folks the Democrat politicos call the wealthy, the saps like you and me who make up the waning 51% who still pay an income tax. And the politicos that Mr. Franken would fit right in with, worships, and prays will succeed in redistributing all of our hard earned wealth but not his.
And only three final comedic acts remain for this seasoned vaudevillian; the need to shake down those liberal fat cats he has so successfully groomed for many years, to overcome those few negatives his name connotes, and the final act of grand guignol around the ballot box in Minnesota. But will the folks in the North Star State buy into the off color one liners, the outright fiction, obscene jokes, threats to kill the President, that Donald Rumsfeld "ought to be tortured," and that Rush Limbaugh has been accused of "being a Nazi," which Air America and Mr. Franken's hand picked crew of disc jockeys, like the irrepressible Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow, have pumped into a reluctant troposphere, groaning under the weight of their worthless truck?
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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O'Reilly reported that he hit up Babs Streisand for a campaign donation. She gave him a whole $500.
Nineteen soldiers have been killed and two wounded in a bus bombing in northeastern Sri Lanka, amid fierce fighting between Tamil Tiger fighters and government troops following the collapse of a four-year ceasefire. Sri Lankan military officials and hospital sources said that the soldiers were travelling to join the fighting when their bus was hit by a Claymore mine on Monday evening. "They did not expect a Claymore mine attack at that time of the night because usually troops travel on the main road during the day," a local military official said. Officials said 10 soldiers had died instantly and nine others were declared dead on admission to a local hospital. Two soldiers who survived the blast were air-lifted to a larger hospital in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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In recent months, Florida's insurance crisis has mushroomed, spreading quickly from homeowners unable to cope with soaring rates to businesses facing policy cancellations, dwindling coverage and out-of-this-world costs if they can find insurance at all.
Hardest hit are small- and medium-size businesses, the backbone of South Florida's regional economy. They are faced with a tough choice: Raise prices and risk losing customers or absorb costs they hadn't anticipated. Some businesses are near default on loans because required insurance isn't available. Expansion plans are on hold or eliminated. Some real estate sales, both commercial and residential, are grinding to a halt. The insurance industry is cancelling some types of policies everywhere in the US, and the big question remains: are we about to have a nationwide insurance collapse? The end result would almost have to be a massive reformation of tort law, and the elimination of most liability, or hundreds of thousands of businesses would have to shut their doors.
In possibly unrelated news, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) has just rebranded itself. Everyone give a big Rantburg welcome to.... the American Association for Justice.
#1
Drive across an inlet to one of the barrier islands in Florida some time. You've got expensive homes and condos built on an island (often with ONE bridge to the mainland) ten feet above sea level in a hurricane zone.
The alternative is that these (voluntary) risks are subsidised by the rest of the US. Looks to me like market forces in action.
#2
ask the Silky PonyBreck GirlFormer Ambulance chaser Dem VP Candidate why this is happening?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 0:25
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Unfortunately, there are still far too many insurance companies whom will enter local markets-areas only iff State or Local Govts assume their bottom line, or most of it, vv payouts. PUBLIC TAXPAYERS FOOT THE COSTS/BILLS, NOTSOMUCH THE COMPANY(S).
#4
In possibly unrelated news, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) has just rebranded itself. Everyone give a big Rantburg welcome to.... the American Association for Justice.
LOL!Moose Scores!!
Heh what a heartwarming disclosure..
Due to popular demand, the ambulance chasers felt compelled to drop that filthy word "LAWYER" from their title!
#6
That lovely sky blue is Seafarious, RD. As a moderator, she got to choose her own colour. As I recall, Steve White is salmon (not pink!! If your screen shows him as pink, you need to reset something -- his is an entirely masculine salmon), SteveS is bright green, lotp is light green, Pappy is carrier grey. And Fred is comment-box yellow, while the poster looks like yellow highlighter. Or something like that; I'm a verbal, not a visual. ;-)
#7
Yup, it's bad all over the state, not just South Florida.
The insurance companies have jacked up the rates by close to 75% just this year alone. Good luck trying to even get a policy without going through the state insurance pool. It seemed like no one was even writing them when we were applying for our mortgage.
Yes, my house is in Florida, but the area I'm in hasn't suffered any major damage since the early 80's, at least (that's when my house was built, can't say what happened before then, naturally. Maybe it got leveled every year until my magical house was built, but I doubt it.) I even had the previous owners give me permission to talk to their insurance agent regarding their history of claims. They had one....for a broken window when someone tried to break in five years ago. I've never had any claims, not even on my auto policy, and still had to resort to the state pool for insurance.
What goes unsaid in this whole thing is that the insurance companies are pissed that they aren't getting the profit percentages they were hoping for from the state commission. I can't remember if it was Allsnake or Snake Farm, but I recall one of those two was including a 14% profit for themselves in their projected rates. They later reduced it to 6% after the state government gave them a "you gotta be farking kidding me" talk.
You can blame the lawyers all you want, but if they were willing to cut their expected profit percentage in half just to stay in business in Florida, that is indicative more of greed than anything else. If their underwriters are dumb enough to give the same rates to a beachside condo on a barrier island as they do to someone on higher ground, again, don't blame the lawyers.
#8
Swamp Blondie nails it, if the state and insurance companies told people that build thier damn million dollar homes in Hurricane risk areas that your on your own when it comes to rebuilding. This crap would stop.
#9
Oh, and please add, those citizens who don't pay insurance but expect the taxpayer to pick up the bill. Why should they join any insurance pool to share the costs when the feds have shown time and time again, that cry loud enough and get the media to do sob stories and the payouts will roll.
That would be me, and one of the problems is the building boom in coastal areas took place during a period of lower hurricane activity. Now that we appear to be entering a active period, which experts estimate could last a decade or two, people will have to either rethink where they build or build more hurricane resistant housing.
Zoning and building codes need to be tightened, and perhaps insurance companies should insist on stronger structures before they will insure them.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/01/2006 9:40
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Actually, I'm kind of a pinkish-white and not to be confused with our esteemed moderators. It can be hard to tell the members of the AoS apart due to our common traits of manly good looks and insightful wit.
#14
Sgt Steve, SteveS, my apologies for the mistake. The Army of Steve is indeed overwhelming in its Stevishness, at least for us simple little suburban girls. ;-)
(RIA Novosti) - Iran's ambassador to the UN rejected Monday the UN Security Council's demand that it suspend uranium enrichment by August 31. "Iran's peaceful nuclear program poses no threat to global peace and security," Javad Zarif said, adding that the UN's resolution was legally groundless and of no practical use. The UN Security Council voted Monday in favor of a resolution to set August 31 as a deadline for Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment activities. If Iran fails to fulfill UN demands, economic and diplomatic sanctions may be imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Zarif said the Security Council's approach would yield no positive results and could only exacerbate the situation. "The people and government of the Islamic Republic are not seeking a confrontation and have always been ready for sincere and constructive talks on the basis of mutual respect and equality. But they have also been firm in the face of pressure, threats and injustice," he added.
Iran's nuclear program has been a source of major controversy since the beginning of the year, as many countries suspect the Islamic Republic of pursuing a covert weapons program under the pretext of civilian research, despite its claims to the contrary.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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well, I'm shocked.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2006 0:22
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Damn, and they had ordered special stationary for the proposal.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/01/2006 0:39
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"Kofi, it doesn't seem to be having an effect. What do you want to do now?"
"God forgive me, but hit them with the secret weapon. Please change condemn to strongly condemn. I hope that I shall be able to sleep tonight."
"Kofi, remember, the secret weapon doesn't work with terrorists."
"Stop pestering me. Just because I forgot to pull the monitors out of southern Lebanon doesn't mean you have to remind me about everything. Now what was I going to do before you interrupted my manicure?"
SRI Lankan troops yesterday began their first deliberate advance on Tamil Tiger rebels since a ceasefire four years ago, moving to secure a rebel-held water supply and using air strikes to hold off rebel reinforcements.
Those awful Lankans! Handwringing to commence in 3...2...
More than 800 people have been killed so far this year and the rebels' decision to close off a water channel from an eastern rebel-held area to government-held farms prompted a surge in violence in recent days, including air and artillery strikes.
Oh. No handwringing when the rebels seize the water supply.
Ground forces were yesterday sent to secure the channel that irrigates farms in the area - south of the port of Trincomalee - most of which are owned by ethnic majority Sinhalese. The government said troops came under mortar fire from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) but no-one was wounded. "The LTTE are trying to move reinforcements to the area," government minister and spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said. "We are bombing areas where we believe their fighters are. This is a humanitarian operation." The Tigers said they knew nothing of any bombing but had been under continuous artillery fire in the east. They said they suffered no casualties yesterday, but lost eight fighters to an air strike on Saturday. The government put rebel deaths much higher.
As night fell, the army said the advance had slowed with soldiers still well short of the sluice gate and picking their way cautiously through minefields and booby traps. Both the government and the Tigers claim control over the site of the reservoir, but the reality on the ground was that the LTTE controlled the area, military sources said. The Tigers, who want a separate ethnic Tamil homeland and pulled out of peace talks in April as violence soared, denied shutting the sluice gate and said it was done by local Tamil civilians angry at the government. Local Tiger political leader S Elilan said: "If the military advance into our area they will see the consequences in a very strong manner."
CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Monday the UN Security Council had revealed its impotence in its response to Israels conflict with Hezbollah, and again called for an immediate ceasefire.
In an address to the nation, Mubarak said the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians was the core of the problem and so there was an urgent need to revive peace talks. Mubarak said: Egypt expresses its regret and annoyance at the failure to reach an immediate ceasefire... The Security Council has failed to deal rapidly and effectively with the Israeli aggression and to fulfil its responsibility for international peace and security.
This foot-dragging and impotence reflect the fundamental flaws in the joint defence system which the United Nations represents, the Egyptian president added.
Mubarak on Monday sent Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the crisis. Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- three of the Arab governments most friendly toward the United States -- face outrage and protest at home against Israels conduct, pushing them to try to take a tougher line with Washington.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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Mubarak is missing a bet here. If he coordinates with Israel to send in Egyptian peacekeepers, Egypt would make out like a bandit.
First of all, it would be a huge boost to their national prestige. Second, it would get Iran, Syria and Hezbollah out of the Sunni's face and settle down much of the conflict in the area, including Egypt.
Third, the Christians, Jews, Sunni and Druze would be happy with them being there. After a short time, nobody would be shooting at them, so they could just chill out and be friends with the Lebanese.
Best of all, both the US and the EU would gladly pay big bucks to Egypt for the service. The Egyptian army would get a mild workout, and Egyptians would have bragging rights over the entire Moslem world.
Fidel Castro announced Monday night in a letter read by his secretary live on state television that due to illness he was temporarily relinquishing the presidency to his brother and successor Raul, the defense minister.
In the letter read by his secretary Carlos Valenciaga, Castro said he had suffered gastrointestinal bleeding, apparently due to stress from recent public appearances in Argentina and Cuba, and had to undergo an operation
Posted by: Frank G ||
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Palestinians opened fire towards an Israeli car north of Ramallah on Monday night. There were no reports of casualties but the car sustained some damage.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2006
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
THE ABC has apologised to the Jewish community for presenting biased, anti-Israeli information to school children during an episode of Behind the News. The educational program described Hezbollah terrorists as "soldiers" and as "refugees" whose land had been "taken by Israel".
LONDON -- The head of Britain's domestic spy agency refused to testify on anti-terror practices before a parliamentary human rights committee, outraging lawmakers demanding to know whether the country receives intelligence gleaned from suspects tortured overseas.
TEHRAN - The nuclear disarmament of the Zionist regime would be the best way to establish lasting peace and security in the region, Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said here on Monday.
A WOMAN who is eight months pregnant was among 12 drug addicts caught having a sex party when police surprised them on Sunday, according to Harian Metro. The addicts, aged between 15 and 30, including five women, were high on syabu on the 17th floor of an empty building along Jalan Pudu in Kuala Lumpur. 
The video shows two bare-knuckle brawlers brutally punching each other until one slumps, beaten, to the ground. The fight doesn't end there: The victor straddles the chest of his fallen opponent, firing rights and lefts into his face.
Asia's energy needs are soaring, and the region is increasingly turning to nuclear technology to meet the rising demand. Many governments see nuclear power as a way to cut air pollution and ease the need for imported oil.
Across this most religious of Indonesia's provinces, brown uniformed policemen in black wagons enforce Shariah, or Islamic law. They haul unmarried couples into precincts and arrest people for drinking or gambling. Increasingly, many of the cases are pushed to the ultimate conclusion, public canings at mosques in front of pumped-up crowds.
The top fundraiser for an Islamic charity walked out of a detention facility to cheers from a few dozen supporters, more than two years after the government claimed his group had ties to terrorism. No words can describe how Im feeling right now. Im ecstatic, 
General of the Army Yury Baluyevsky, Russia's chief of staff, has written an article entitled "U.S. NMD: What Next?" It was published by the Russian national defense weekly Voenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer 10 days after the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. Leaders as senior as the chief of staff, who is also deputy defense minister, seldom write articles for the Russian press. They prefer writing articles and giving interviews to the foreign media before official visits abroad, and seldom reach out to the people via the Russian media. When they do, it is usually for a very serious reason. 
Pyongyang (KCNA) -- The Reunification Solidarity, the South Headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification, the south Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the south Korean Federation of University Student Councils and the south Korean Council of Youth Organizations reportedly called a news conference in front of the "government" building in Seoul on July 24 at which they condemned it for toeing the U.S. hostile policy towards the north. A press release read out at the conference accused the "government" of taking the lead in pressurizing the north, pursuant to the U.S. hostile policy towards it despite the fact that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is getting tenser as days go by and the existence of whole nation is threatened due to the U.S. financial sanctions and large-scale war exercises targeted against it. 
Republican Sen. 
The prosecution on Monday asked the State Security Court (SSC) to convict the three Islamist deputies charged with fuelling national discord and inciting sectarianism. The three deputies betrayed the Jordanian people by their actions, the SSC prosecution said in its 16-page closing argument.
Turkish police yesterday detained some 130 people at a meeting organized by the countrys main Kurdish party on the grounds that the function was linked to armed Kurdish rebels, security sources said. Police said the meeting in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa was held in the name of the terrorist organization, the official term used by Turkish authorities to describe the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Supporters of 
Palestinian gunners fired rockets in the direction of Israeli targets directly hitting and damaging a restaurant on Monday after Israeli warplanes struck houses in Gaza Strip. Izz-Eddine Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of the Islamic organization, Hamas, said the gunners unleashed two missiles on the Israeli settlement of Yad Murdechai, located north of the strip, and four others on Nahal Ouz. A third missile attack targetted an Israeli farm village locted east of Absan. The group said the attacks were in retaliation for "the Zionist aggression targeting Gaza Strip and the continuous crimes by the enemy in Palestine and Lebanon." 
For the first time since the recent conflict with Hizbullah began, the IDF buried 10 bodies of guerillas that were killed in clashes with the IDF in southern Lebanon. Members of the IDF Rabbinate oversaw the burial which took place in the Cemetery for Enemy Dead in northern Israel.
An Iraqi man being held hostage by terrorists was freed during an early morning raid Sunday by Iraqi and US Soldiers near the city of Muqdadiyah, a statement by the multinational forces said on Monday. The man was found bound and blindfolded in a mud hut in the middle of a palm grove north of the city. He was transported to a nearby Iraqi base and reunited with his family, the statement added. The raid was aimed at disrupting insurgents' activity in the area. In addition to freeing the hostage, the raid also resulted in the detention of 16 suspects and the discovery of a cache of explosives making materials and terrorist propaganda, it concluded.
IRANIAN Foreign Minister 
Termed a "child killer" and "scoundrel" by Arab MKs during an appearance at an emergency Knesset session Monday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Israel must not agree to an immediate cease-fire, but rather expand and strengthen its attacks on Hizbullah.
The IDF assessed on Monday that 
Key Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have united to call on President Bush to begin pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of the year, citing an overtaxed military, billions of dollars spent and ongoing sectarian violence. In a letter to Bush released Monday, the Democrats backed a plan for the "phased redeployment" of troops. "U.S. forces in Iraq should transition to a more limited mission focused on counterterrorism, training and logistical support of Iraqi security forces and force protection of U.S. personnel," the Democrats wrote.
One of the Hizbullah operatives killed in the current fighting in Lebanon was 
Shanghai: A massive bunker complex capable of sheltering 200,000 people from a nuclear attack has been built, a local newspaper has reported. The 970,000sq ft complex has water, electricity, lighting, ventilation and protective doors, and connects to shopping centres, office blocks, apartment buildings and the subway system via 15 tunnels.
JERUSALEM - Israeli army bulldozers have begun flattening positions previously held by Hezbollah militia so as to create a security zone inside southern Lebanon, a military official said on Monday.
A Democratic filibuster of John Bolton's nomination as United Nations ambassador is "unlikely," Senator Schumer said yesterday. Mr. Schumer supported an effort last year to block Mr. Bolton's nomination from gaining a full Senate vote, but he confirmed that he is considering changing his position.
Although Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were highly critical of Mr. Bolton at a hearing last week, the minority leader, Senator Reid of Nevada, has not committed to mounting another filibuster attempt.
(AIP): Unidentified gunmen shot and injured two American Arab workers of a foreign company in the troubled Zabul province of Afghanistan yesterday, police said Tuesday. Police Chief of Zabul province, Noor Muhammad Pakteen told Afghan Islamic Press that both the Arabs were working for a foreign company in Afghanistan and were injured in firing of unknown gunmen in Jaldak area near Qalat, capital of Zabul province yesterday. He disclosed that both the foreign workers who were from Lebanon and also had US citizenship were now under treatment in the hospital. 
Gunmen wearing uniforms of Iraqi security forces kidnapped 25 people from an office in central Baghdad in broad daylight Monday, police said. The Iraqi government said Monday that 30,359 families have fled their homes to escape sectarian violence from mid-February until July 30 as violence across the country left at least 20 people dead. The gunmen pulled up in 15 four-wheel-drive vehicles and kidnapped employees and customers at the office on a street in Arasat, once a thriving commercial district that has seen many businesses close due to violence ravaging the country. 
SCHOOLS would no longer be required to teach children the difference between right and wrong under plans to revise the core aims of the National Curriculum. Instead, under a new wording that reflects a world of relative rather than absolute values, teachers would be asked to encourage pupils to develop secure values and beliefs.
A $50 million bail was set for the man accused of killing one woman and wounding five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. 
For over a week now, Crime Branch officials have been grilling a man, who they say, led them to 
(KUNA) -- An Israeli reconnaissance plane hit a Lebanese military location in southern Lebanon with two missiles killing one soldier and injuring three others, said a Lebanese military source on Monday. The two missiles that hit the Lebanese military headquarter of Al-Qassimiyah in Tyre, southern Lebanon, also resulted in damaging a number of military machineries, the source told KUNA. The Israeli bombardments have hit a number of Lebanese military locations in several areas, which resulted in killing a number of military personals.
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations on Monday indefinitely postponed a meeting called by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to begin planning a new international peacekeeping force for Lebanon.
Sylver B'lake is getting in touch with his "inner elf." 
A battle brewing over a draft anti-smut law has laid bare deep divisions within Indonesia and, say critics, threatens its traditionally tolerant approach to Islam. 
Three billionaires, including Hollywood mogul David Geffen, have expressed interest in buying the Los Angeles Times, 
Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels were locked yesterday in the bloodiest ground battle since their 2002 truce went into effect with at least 44 combatants killed, the military said. The rebel 
JALALABAD, Afghanistan - A car bomb killed at least six people and wounded 16 outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, but the apparent target, a provincial governor, was unhurt. The blast took place in the city of Jalalabad where thousands of people, including the governor of Ningarhar, 
Carrying replicas of boats - the traditional election symbol of the main opposition Awami League party - and chanting slogans such as "No reforms, no polls" and "Accept reforms before it is too late", the demonstrators marched from Gabtali, about 20km west of central Dhaka. The marchers burnt the chief election commissioner, MA Aziz, in effigy. Opposition parties have accused Aziz of being too partisan and said they would not take part in any elections with him at the helm.
LONDON - Protesters demonstrated on Monday outside a British air base believed to have been used at the weekend by US flights transporting weapons to Israel. Around 30 campaigners gathered outside the US Air Force-operated RAF Mildenhall base in eastern England, where two US flights are thought to have stopped over to refuel after being diverted away from Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
(KUNA) -- A senior Iraqi intelligence officer was assassinated in western Baghdad, Iraqi Police reported Monday. A police source in press remarks said unknown militants shot Brigadier Fakhri Salman dead near his home in Yarmouk area, western Baghdad. According to the source, the brigadier, a senior officer in the Iraqi national intelligence, came under a shower of bullets and was dead before arrival to Yarmouk Hospital.
(KUNA) Two gunmen of the 
(AIP): Two coalition soldiers were injured slightly after they received small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire in the Pech River Valley in Kunr province last evening (Wednesday), a coalition spokeswoman said Thursday. While confirming the incident to Afghan Islamic Press spokeswoman of coalition forces Lt. Tamara Lawrence said, "Coalition forces did receive small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire from various locations in the Pech River Valley in Kunar Province last evening." Coalition forces returned fire toward the enemy positions, she added. Lt. Tamara Lawrence said two coalition soldiers sustained minor wounds in the incident, but they are in stable condition at a nearby Coalition medical facility. 
Somali MPs threw punches and wrestled on the floor after Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi survived a crucial confidence vote that could have led to the collapse of his weak government. Armed police entered parliament to separate four brawling members of parliament and escort Mr Gedi out during several minutes of chaos, witnesses said. 
Five people were wounded when an IDF UAV bombed a truck that had traveled from Syria into Lebanon on the border between the two countries Monday night. The driver of the truck was wounded, as well as four additional Lebanese customs workers. Israel had declared a cessation in IAF action, but reserved the right to attack in the case of immediate threat. It was unclear what the truck was carrying.
Oh boy, it appears that the great comedic genius of our times, the Saturday Night Live veteran, the sophomoric muse of the left, 
Nineteen soldiers have been killed and two wounded in a bus bombing in northeastern Sri Lanka, amid fierce fighting between Tamil Tiger fighters and government troops following the collapse of a four-year ceasefire. Sri Lankan military officials and hospital sources said that the soldiers were travelling to join the fighting when their bus was hit by a Claymore mine on Monday evening. "They did not expect a Claymore mine attack at that time of the night because usually troops travel on the main road during the day," a local military official said. Officials said 10 soldiers had died instantly and nine others were declared dead on admission to a local hospital. Two soldiers who survived the blast were air-lifted to a larger hospital in the region.
In recent months, Florida's insurance crisis has mushroomed, spreading quickly from homeowners unable to cope with soaring rates to businesses facing policy cancellations, dwindling coverage and out-of-this-world costs if they can find insurance at all.
(RIA Novosti) - Iran's ambassador to the UN rejected Monday the UN Security Council's demand that it suspend uranium enrichment by August 31. "Iran's peaceful nuclear program poses no threat to global peace and security," Javad Zarif said, adding that the UN's resolution was legally groundless and of no practical use. The UN Security Council voted Monday in favor of a resolution to set August 31 as a deadline for Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment activities. If Iran fails to fulfill UN demands, economic and diplomatic sanctions may be imposed on the Islamic Republic. 
CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Monday the UN Security Council had revealed its impotence in its response to Israels conflict with Hezbollah, and again called for an immediate ceasefire.
Fidel Castro announced Monday night in a letter read by his secretary live on state television that due to illness he was temporarily relinquishing the presidency to his brother and successor Raul, the defense minister.
