Coalition forces detained a foreign fighter during an intelligence-driven operation in northern Arab Jabour Aug. 22.
Intelligence indicates the targeted individual is a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device cell leader targeting coalition forces operating in the Arab Jabour area. He was born in Egypt but came to Iraq in the early 1980s and later joined al-Qaeda fighters. He has Iraqi citizenship and believed to be a former high ranking official of the Baath party during Saddam Husseins reign.
There were three other individuals detained during the operation.
It's one of Minnesota's greatest mysteries. It's something that puts settlers in America well before Columbus. A Minnesota geologist thinks the controversial Kensington Runestone is the real thing and there is evidence that he says backs up the theory.
The Kensington Runestone is a rock found near Alexandria a century ago. It's inscription speaking of Norwegians here in 1362. It begs the question. Were Vikings exploring our land more than 100 years before Columbus? Or is it just an elaborate hoax?
New research shows that the stone is genuine and there's hidden code that may prove it. It contains carved words that have haunted these hills and the Ohman family for more than 100 years, yet their faith has never wavered.
"I just never had any doubt. I mean I was very emphatic about it. Absolutely it's real. There's no doubt," said Darwin Ohman. His grandfather found the Runestone.
Darwin's grandfather Olof Ohman has been considered the author of Minnesota's most famous fraud, the Runestone. He says he found it buried under a tree in 1898. Critics say the language on the stone is too modern to be from 1362, that some of the runes are made up. They say this simple farmer carved it himself to fool the learned.
"You're calling him a liar. If this is a hoax he lied to his two sons, he lied to his family, lied to his neighbors and friends and lied to the world," said Scott Wolter a geologist and researcher of the Runestone.
Wolter and Texas engineer Dick Nielsen are sharing for the first time new evidence about the hidden secrets they say are carved in this stone.
"It changes history in a big way," Wolter said
In 2000 he performed one of the very few geological studies on the stone. He says the breakdown of minerals in the inscription shows the carving is at least 200 years old, older than Olof Ohman. Those findings support the first geological study in 1910 that also found the stone to be genuine.
"In my mind the geology settled it once and for all," he said.
Linguistic experts are not convinced. They say runes like those on the stone are made up. But Nielsen has now found the same one here in an old Swedish rune document dating back to the 1300's.
"It makes me ask the question if they were wrong about that what else were they wrong about?" Wolter said.
For the first time Wolter has documented every individual rune on the stone with a microscope. He started finding things that he didn't expect. He was the first to discover dots inside four R shaped runes on the stone. He said they are intentional and they mean something. So Wolter and Nielsen scoured rune catalogs.
"We found the dotted R's. It's an extremely rare rune that only appeared during medieval times. This absolutely fingerprints it to the 14th century. This is linguistic proof. This is medieval, period," Wolter said.
They traced the dotted 'R' to rune covered graves inside ancient churches on the island of Gotland off the coast of Sweden. What they found on the grave slabs were very interesting crosses. They were Templar crosses, the symbol of a religious order of knights formed during the crusades and persecuted by the Catholic Church in the 1300's.
"This was the genesis of their secret societies, secret codes, secret symbols, secret signs all this stuff. If they carved the rune stone why did they come here and why did they carve this thing?" Wolter asked.
He has uncovered new evidence that has taken his research in a very different direction. Wolter now believes that the words on the stone may not be the record of the death of 10 men but instead, a secret code concealing the true purpose of the rune stone.
Two runes in the form of an L and a U are two more reasons why linguists say Olof Ohman carved the stone. They are crossed and linguists say they should not be.
A third rune has a punch at the end of one line. Each rune on the stone has a numerical value. Wolter and Nielsen took the three marked runes and plotted them on a medieval dating system called the Easter Table.
"When we plotted these three things we got a year, 1362. It was like 'oh my god is this an accident? Is this a coincidence?' I don't think so," Wolter said.
They wondered why Templars would come to North America, carve the stone and code the date.
"If it's the Templars that were under religious persecution at the time, that would be a pretty good reason to come over here," Wolter figured.
"I'm sure a lot of people are going to roll their eyes and say oh it's the Davinci Code and if they do they do. This is the evidence. This is who was there. This is what the grave slabs tell us. It is what it is," he said.
#1
Maybe not as ridiculous as it sounds. Greenland was both occupied by Norway around that time, and had a Bishop located there. So if some Knights Templar were bugging out, it would not be a big stretch to imagine them sailing all the way to the South side of the Hudson bay.
And it's a straight shot to Minnesota, between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Superior. If they brought horses with them, it would just be a matter of steering around the minefield of lakes from James Bay to Minnesota.
#8
i did not use the "L" woid, and would beg off any Swede from doing so, thank youse.
*
Did yo'all ever hear the one about the Runestone Cowboy?
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/25/2007 21:10
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#9
Upper Minessota has copper all over it, in the form of nuggets, but there are also very old mines. Some of them were dated to 1400 BC, based on dating of remain of wooden supports. Now, the local natives did not use copper, they stuck to stone industry. I would understand if they picked up some nuggets and used them for trade with southern tribes some of which used copper. But mining? Not their cup of coffee it was. So the question is, who the hell mined copper there 1400BC? There were some inscriptions found in the vicinity of the mines that look Phoenician. These were considered hoaxes. But were they?
#10
Try to remember that the Vikings explored a huge swath of turf that stretched from Russia in the eastall the way down to the Black Seaand extended into the Mediterranean and regions of North Africa, plus Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. It would have been no great shakes for them to transit the St. Lawrence and then gone across all the Great Lakes.
#11
twobyfour: People did get around. One Indian tribe in New Mexico, with a language and art very different from the typical in that region, was found to have some genetic traits common with ancient Japanese. Only after they found that out did they realize that their art looks a lot like primitive Japanese art.
And down in South America, archaeologists were startled to find poured metal brackets between large construction stones, to hold them together. At first they realized that this meant the society was far more advanced then they thought, having to have had portable bellows furnaces. But then they tested the alloy used, and found that it was almost the same as one used by the Egyptians for that same purpose.
And the odds of duplicate alloys independently achieved are minuscule. There are just too many variables, unless you are using the same recipe.
To make matters even weirder, this same ancient city had a solar observatory that was wrong. Its solstice points were outside of where they were supposed to be. Then one of the archaeologists realized that the Earth's axis shifts have been slowly decreasing for eons.
Calculating out when that solar observatory would have been accurate, they estimated that it had been so about 12,000 years ago.
Finally, a couple of genetic discoveries, one in a small tribe in South Africa. That their ancestors had been from the Jewish Priestly tribe whose home was in Yemen. Their mythology even retained the approximate name of the city of their origin, which still exists in Yemen, and the name of the guy who led them out of there in the manner of Moses.
The other is a village in China that looks somewhat Caucasian, and claim to be descended from some of Alexander the Great's army. They may actually be.
#12
Moose__ going back to the original story.... there has always been a lot of controversy about the Mandan indians in the upper midwest. Grey eyes, reddish hair, dwellings that look like Norse huts and an apparent shaman's lodge roughly shaped like a longship. Of course, they all died out in the early 1800's due to smallpox and you'd think anyone decended from Europeans would have retained a bit more resistance to the disease....
Posted by: Prince Madoc ||
08/25/2007 23:54
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HT to Captain Ed, whose takedown of this asshat is delicious
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007
17:58 ||
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#1
Unbelievable.
Despite what Lewis might believe, this actually is an open call for sedition against the legitimate government of the USA.
Of course, he's so ridiculously out of line on the issue of the JCoS arresting the POTUS or at least denying his CIC roll that he probably doesn't have a clue that's he actually has called for sedition.
#4
Sounds like a not well thought out idea. I hear the military are mostly Republicans and, gasp, gun friendly.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2007 20:13
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#5
gotta love the thought "train": If not Bush(!), then Cheney, military will then "return to barracks". Liberal pieces of shit Progressive Citizens assume power!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 20:30
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#6
The lefties have been warning us that under the Bushitler Regime(tm) we would have martial law. Kinda seems like cheating to actively campaign for it, though.
I honestly cannot understand how someone could write that (and all of the replies in the comments) w/o realizing that he is a fool of the first order, and deserves to lie in the mud and be humbled.
And I would say the exact same thing if the president was a democrat. Even Clinton. Either one of them.
BAGHDAD - This year's U.S. troop buildup has succeeded in bringing violence in Baghdad down from peak levels, but the death toll from sectarian attacks around the country is running nearly double the pace from a year ago.
Some of the recent bloodshed appears the result of militant fighters drifting into parts of northern Iraq, where they have fled after U.S.-led offensives. Baghdad, however, still accounts for slightly more than half of all war-related killings the same percentage as a year ago, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.
The tallies and trends offer a sobering snapshot after an additional 30,000 U.S. troops began campaigns in February to regain control of the Baghdad area. It also highlights one of the major themes expected in next month's Iraq progress report to Congress: some military headway, but extremist factions are far from broken.
More spinning at the link. They did mention that one attack killed 500 Yazidis. The military offers no statistics to the contrary. Quagmire!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/25/2007
17:03 ||
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#1
To the AP:
Terrorist Murderer Death == Civilian Iraqi baby ducks and bunny Death
#2
Yes according to the AP all Iraqi on Iraqi deaths are the the fault of US forces.
According to the moonbats and muslims there are thousands killed everyday by US forces. They spread this crap about the web on a daily basis as part of their infowar. The AP is just trying to back them up.
Even though President George W. Bush wasn't in town, more than 1,000 anti-war protesters marched by his family compound Saturday in Kennebunkport.
Activists from all over the country arrived by bus, bicycle and foot at a local school to begin a two-mile march to the Bush summer home at Walker's Point.
Along the way they pounded drums, chanted and carried signs and banners with slogans such as "Don't Pay for this War" and "Care for Vets." Some protesters called for Bush's impeachment, but others had more moderate messages of support for the troops but opposition to the war.
Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich and Cindy Sheehan, who became an activist when she threatened to run over Casey with her car when he wanted to re-enlist after her son was killed in Iraq, spoke to the crowd.
Sheehan said it was energizing to be with people who want this war to end. Guessed 1000, based on the amount of trash and feces they left along the route.
#4
used to be a time when people protesting outside an empty house would feel embarrassment. I think it speaks less to lower societal standards than the lower standards of today's protestors, if that's possible. Shame and embarrassment do not appear to be in the "Democrat activist image". I would expect it's a genetic flaw - something in a twisted chromosome? Certainly, it's damaged lobes of the brain...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 17:55
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#5
Did they buy carbon offsets to lessen the effect of all these dorks burning fossil fuels to get there?
Florida Democrats would forfeit their votes in selecting a presidential nominee unless they delay their state election by at least a week, the national party said in a stern action Saturday meant to discourage others from leapfrogging ahead to earlier dates. The Florida party has 30 days to submit an alternative to its planned Jan. 29 primary or lose its 210 delegates to the nominating convention in Denver next summer.
There is general agreement that the eventual nominee will seat Florida's delegates rather than allow a fight at a convention intended to show party unity. But the decision by the Democratic National Committee's rules panel could reduce Florida's influence because candidates may want to campaign in states where the votes are counted.
Florida party officials said they originally opposed the early primary date, which covers both the Democratic and Republican primaries. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the change and the GOP governor signed it into law in an effort to give the state a more prominent voice in national politics.
Continued on Page 49
#1
everybody wants to be first so they get mucho attention and faux-love from the candidates (and pork promises for the future). Pretty soon we'll be holding primaries 3-1/2 yrs before the next election
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 15:31
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#2
Actually, time travelling historians will point to the run-up to the 2007~8 primaries as the impetus for the invention of time travel, which allowed the parties to send delegates back in time to stage primaries even earlier. This trend was pulled up short when the dems realized it would eventually allow the unborn to vote, and they realized they couldn't have that...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/25/2007 17:22
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#3
of course! *head-smacks* why didn't I think of that! LOL
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 17:26
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#4
Was it Lyndon Johnson who said, "the difference between liberals and cannibals is that cannibals only eat their enemies"?
Posted by: Harry Trueman6433 ||
08/25/2007 18:03
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#5
Red-on-red - gitcher popcorn right here! :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/25/2007 20:15
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#6
Guess they're still pissed about 2000 at the DNC. ;)
But on a more serious note, Florida's got more Electoral College votes than the other four states combined, so do you really think they are going to go out of their way to piss us off in the Sunshine State?
A troop of pervert vervet monkeys is giving Kenyan villagers long days and sleepless nights, destroying crops and causing a food crisis.
Earlier this month, local MP Paul Muite urged the Kenyan Wildlife Service to help contain their aggressive behaviour.
But Mr Muite caused laughter when he told parliament that the monkeys had taken to harassing and mocking women in a village.
But this is exactly what the women in the village of Nachu, just south-west of Kikuyu, are complaining about.
Sexual harassment
They estimate there are close to 300 monkeys invading the farms at dawn. They eat the village's maize, potatoes, beans and other crops.
And because women are primarily responsible for the farms, they have borne the brunt of the problem, as they try to guard their crops.
They say the monkeys are more afraid of young men than women and children, and the bolder ones throw stones and chase the women from their farms. Intifada!
Nachu's women have tried wearing their husbands' clothes in an attempt to trick the monkeys into thinking they are men - but this has failed, they say.
"When we come to chase the monkeys away, we are dressed in trousers and hats, so that we look like men," resident Lucy Njeri told the BBC News website
"But the monkeys can tell the difference and they don't run away from us and point at our breasts. They just ignore us and continue to steal the crops."
In addition to stealing their crops, the monkeys also make sexually explicit gestures at the women, they claim.
"The monkeys grab their breasts, and gesture at us while pointing at their private parts. We are afraid that they will sexually harass us," said Mrs Njeri. Call the sexual harassment panda!
The Kenyan Wildlife Service told the BBC that it was not unusual for monkeys to harass women and be less afraid of them than men, but they had not heard of monkeys in Kenya making sexually explicit gestures as a form of communication to humans.
The predominantly farming community is now having to receive famine relief food.
The residents report that the monkeys have killed livestock and guard dogs, which has also left the villagers living in fear, especially for the safety of their babies and children.
All the villagers' attempts to control the monkeys have failed - the monkeys evade traps, have lookouts to warn the others of impending attacks and snub poisoned food put out by the residents. IED are next.
"The troop has scouts which keep a lookout from a vantage point, and when they see us coming, they give warning signals to the ones in the farms to get away," said another area resident, Jacinta Wandaga.
'Monkey squad'
The town has been warned by the Kenya Wildlife Service not to harm or kill any of the monkeys, as it is a criminal offence.
Running out of options, residents are harvesting their crops early in an attempt to salvage what they can of this year's crop.
Unfortunately, this only invites the monkeys to break into their homes and steal the harvested crops out of their granaries.
Even the formation of a "monkey squad" to keep track of the monkeys' movements and keep them out has failed.
The area is simply too large for the few volunteers to cover, they say.
Some residents have lost hope and abandoned their homes and farms, but those who have stayed behind, like 80-year-old James Ndungu, are making a desperate plea for assistance.
"For God's sake, the government should take pity on us and move these monkeys away because we do not want to abandon our farms," he said.
"I beg you, please come and take these animals away from here so that we can farm in peace."
President Bush's top intelligence aide has confirmed that Iraqi terrorists have been captured coming into the United States from Mexico.
The confirmation comes from National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell, who talked about the situation in an interview with the El Paso Times recently.
"Coming up through the Mexican border is a path," McConnell said. "Now, are they doing it in great numbers? No, because we're finding them and we're identifying them and we've got watch lists and we're keeping them at bay."
But, he said, "There are numerous situations where people are alive today because we caught them (terrorists)."
Intelligence officials say the numbers and details of such situations are classified, but McConnell pointed as an example to Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, who entered the United States through Tijuana, Mexico, in 2001, and later pleaded guilty to helping raise money for Hezbollah, which has been designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.
The goal, McConnell said, is for terrorists to gain admittance to the United States, and then produce "mass casualties."
"You've got committed leadership. You've got a place to train. They've got trainers, and they've got recruits," McConnell told the newspaper. "The key now is getting recruits in. So if your key is getting recruits in, how would you do that?"
McConnell's office did reveal some numbers, during fiscal 2006, there were 14 Iraqi nationals caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally, while so far in 2007, that number is 16.
"Now some we caught, some we didn't," McConnell told the newspaper. "The ones that get in what are they going to do? They're going to write home. So it's not rocket science; word will move around."
Also revealed was that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted 60 Iraqis crossing the nation's southwestern border in 2006 who were seeking asylum in the U.S., while that number so far in 2007 is 178.
The Times report said a U.S. intelligence analyst said there's been evidence that human smugglers, or coyotes, are telling Iraqis to ask for amnesty if they are caught.
The typical scenario is this: Forged documents are used to get an Iraqi into a country in South or Central America. Since travel from country to country is allowed without visas in many locations there, they work their way north to the U.S. border.
McConnell told the newspaper the numbers are classified, but there have been a relatively small number of people with known links to terrorist groups who have been caught at that point.
Kourani, for example, apparently paid a Mexican Consulate official in Lebanon $3,000 for a Mexican visa and then was smuggled into the United States in the trunk of a car.
He was sentenced to more than four years in prison after admitting he helped raise funds for Hezbollah.
When the newspaper asked U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, about the situation, he said, "It's not something we would talk about."
"We have had intelligence about al-Qaida identifying Latin America as a potential or prospective area where they could come through, but frankly, I'm surprised that the director would make definitive statements like that because, even if it were true, you wouldn't want to publicize that," Reyes told the Times.
McConnell was senior vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton, focusing on intelligence and national security, before being appointed to his current post by Bush in February.
He previously was the director of the National Security Agency and served as a member of the Director of Central Intelligence senior leadership team before then.
#3
I neglected to mention how thousands of Americans are already being killed each year at the hands of Mexican illegal immigrants aliens. Quite obviously, if that death toll means nothing to our pols, how is a terrorist attack going to change anything? All that will make these money-grubs act is the threat of being voted out of office. Something that should happen to every single supporter of the failed immigration bill.
#4
We can seal the border to terrorists now, and worry about Mexicans later, because we can do something, and on the cheap now, that will stop terrorists in a week or two:
Pay Mexicans a bounty for them.
Anywhere from $100, to $50,000 for a real top of the line non-Mexican bad guy, paid to Mexicans for a phone call of where the non-Mexicans are crossing. In exchange, they get a seven digit code number. If whoever we arrest is a non-Mexican, they win. If we don't catch them, they don't get paid.
Up here, that much money is tiny, but down there it would be like winning the Powerball jackpot. No non-Mexican could get near the border without us finding out about it. Hell, even their own mules would take their money, and then turn them in--an old custom.
Best of all, it is so relatively inexpensive to do that the US government doesn't even have to be involved. An individual or a group could chip in and set it up. All they need is a phone number and some money, and to let the Mexicans know, and the tips will roll in.
#5
If the story is true (WND is wrong sometimes) and we ARE catching Iraqi terrorists entering through Mexico, then either:
1) a lot more are getting through uncaught, or
2) something like 'moose suggests IS going on, or
3) they're not actually terrorists, but ex-terrorists (e.g. Baathists), coming to the US because they can and it is far better than staying in Iraq.
#6
Zen, unfortunately, many. Then and only then will the "elites" see this is more important.
Unless the attack occurs on the Upper East Side of Manhattan or the Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard will the elites ever consider it a priority. Not until it is "Our Kind, Deah" who get their ox gored.
#7
they will never specify or quantify who or how many have been caught because it puts a face on the terror entrance. That would spur the American people to rise up and demand "where's the GODDAMN FENCE?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 14:37
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#9
I think that Moose and Glenmore may be on to something. Could it be that we're purposefully leaving an obvious open door in place to draw the enemy to it, rather than another, less watched entry point?
#11
Get the Chinese to build a wall similar to the Great Wall. It'll be a tourist attraction for generations and stop the influx cold.
Demand actual cultural assimilation before anyone talks about increasing the number of legal immigrants. The multicultural mindset is half the problem.
Hyderabad, India: Twenty persons were killed and nearly 60 injured in two powerful near-simultaneous blasts at a crowded park and a popular eating joint in Hyderabad on Saturday evening.
Eight persons died when an explosion ripped through an auditorium in Lumbini Park in the heart of Hyderabad when a laser show was on, police said.
The blast occurred at about 7.45 pm when the laser show had just started. So powerful was the blast that some of the bodies were flung into the air and scattered over the area.
The police rushed to the spot and took the injured to the nearby Mediciti hospital. The condition of several injured persons is stated to be critical.
In another blast around the same time at Gokul Chat Bhandar at Kothi area, at least 12 persons were killed and scores were injured. The police is not sure whether it was a LPG cylinder burst or a bomb explosion. The injured were rushed to Osmania General Hospital.
The police cordoned off the areas and sounded a red alert across Hyderabad and conducted searches at railway stations and bus depots.
Soon after the explosion, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy reviewed the situation with Director-General of Police M A Basith and other top officials.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007
12:04 ||
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#1
Near-simultaneous blasts and they don't want to conclude but one of them was a bomb?
What kind of eating joint was it? Unless it was Muslim, we can make a good guess as to the religion of the perps (and even if it was Muslim, it might be the 'wrong kind'). Or is that 'profiling'?
India's majority has been mighty patient and accepting of such attacks, even on their Parliament; when (if) that ever ends, the confrontation could dwarf anything in the last 50 years.
#2
Reports of a third blast at Osmania University and the recovery of 2 unexploded IEDs at one site.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 12:53
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#3
About a decade ago I went to Hyderabad India on business (they've got a Hyderabad in Pakistan as well). I could be wrong but I think Lumbini park is in Gulcunda fort in the center of town. That's where I saw a light show at least. The center of town is the Muslim part of town, by the way. Gulcunda is one of only two real tourist attractions in the city. The other is a temple (might be Gokul Chat Bhandar, I honestly have no idea).
The people in Hyderabad were nice people even if a few did quiz me on US support for Pakistan (well if you hadn't sided with the Soviets...). It makes me sad to hear the city was targetted.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/25/2007 19:01
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#5
Some history....
OPERATION POLO: THE LIBERATION OF HYDERABAD
L N SUBRAMANIAN
The State of Hyderabad comprised most of the Deccan Plateau. At the time of Indias independence, Hyderabad was the largest Indian princely state in terms of population and GNP. Its territory of 82,698 sq miles was more than that of England and Scotland put together.
Having risen from the ruins of the Mughal Empire, it was like many other princely states where a Hindu majority was ruled over by a ith a Muslim ruler called the Nizam. Established in the 18th century by Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jha, it came under British protection under the policy of Subsidiary Alliances instituted by Arthur Wellesley.
In 1947 the Nizam of Hyderabad was Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, a man of vast wealth. Dreaming of an independent state he sought Dominion status from the British only to rebuffed by Lord Mountbatten. The Indian Government was averse to a forced takeover and agreed to conclude a Standstill Agreement. It was hoped that this would open negotiations and the eventual peaceful accession of the state. However this only emboldened the Razakars a militant organization led by Kasim Rizvi. Helped by the manipulations of the Nizam and his men the Razakars aided by the communists let loose an orgy of violence.
The Razakars went on a recruiting spree including many from outside the state. There was an orgy of political murders and Hindu villages were razed. By the spring of 1948 they become bold enough to raid the Union territory. On 6th September a police post near Chillakallu village came under heavy fire from Razakar units. A squadron of Poona Horse and a company of 2/5 Gorkha Rifles were sent to investigate. They too came under fire. The tanks then chased the Razakars to Kodar, in Hyderabad territory. Here they were opposed by the armoured cars of 1 Hyderabad Lancers. In a brief action the Poona Horse destroyed one armoured car and forced the surrender of the state garrison at Kodar. Since the trouble began the Razakars had attacked about 70 villages in the state, 150 attacks outside the state, killing, raping and looting. The Nizam was given a last warning to rein in the Razakars.
The Nizam instead continued to insist that the conditions were normal and that his own troops were capable of maintaining law and order. Then hoping to get the UN to intervene, a delegation of his advisors left for UN headquarters via Karachi. This raised the possibility of the same power politics that plagued the case of Jammu & Kashmir. It was time for decisive action. The first plans for a military operation were outlined by Lt General E.N. Goddard GOC-in-Chief Southern Command. This envisaged the capture of Hyderabad the state capital with a dual thrust by 1st Armoured Division, from Vijayawada (Bezwada) in the East a distance of 250 km and Sholapur in the West, a distance of 300 km while small units will pin down the Nizam forces on the border.
Hyderabad had a large army with a tradition of hiring mercenary forces. This included Arabs, Rohillas, UP Muslims and Pathans. The State Army consisted of 3 armoured regiments, a horsed cavalry regiment, 11 infantry battalions and artillery. There were supplemented by irregular units with a horse cavalry, four infantry battalions (Saraf-i-khas, paigah, Arab and Refugee) and a garrison battalion for a total of 22000 men. Finally there were the Home Guards and Razakars. They were commanded by Major General El Edroos an Arab. The Razakars totaled about 200,000 although only 25 percent were armed with modern small arms and the rest with muzzleloaders and swords.
The Indian Armys police action was as violent as it was swift. It killed 1373 Razakars and captured 1911. In addition Hyderabad State Army lost 807 killed and 1647 captured. The Indian Armys losses were never officially revealed but a figure of less than 10 killed is commonly accepted. It was a sudden and crushing blow to a movement that had vowed to hoist the Asafia flag on the Red Fort.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 19:50
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#6
There were apparently harsh measures taken against the Razakars, especially the Arabs... summary execution. The survivors were deported to Yemen IIRC
The Indian State took possession of the Nizam's jewel collection. Kept in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India, they are occasionally put on display
Dating back to the early 18th century to the 20th century, the jewellery includes the world famous 184.50 carat Jacob diamond mined in the 11th century A.D. and priced at over Rs. 400 crore. Twenty-two priceless uncut Colombian emeralds, believed to have been part of the Romanov treasury, the Alexandriate ring, step-cut emerald arm bands weighing 100 to 150 carats and said to be from Tippu Sultan's collections and a 250-carat necklace studded with 12 diamonds unearthed from the hinterlands of Golkonda are also part of the display.
some of the pieces...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 19:56
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#7
The MIM, the Islamist political party that organized the Razakars, still exists. Its main MP is the son of a Razakar leader.
Known for his pro-Pakistan sympathies, he has a history of asking quite detailed technical questions in the Indian parliament on Defense matters. Many think him an ISI operative.
He has built an office block that coincidently overlooks a DRDO defense facility.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:17
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#8
The Jacob diamond
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:18
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#9
WOW great read John. I'll bet the local Mooselimb old timers git royally pissed off every time those Jewells are "Aired Out".
*
damn wouldn't my girls fight over those rocks eh?
~:)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/25/2007 20:20
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Hyderabad, Aug. 25: The explosive chemical used in the Hyderabad twin blasts was manufactured at Nagpur, police said on Saturday. Investigators also confirmed that the twin explosions were carried out by crossborder terrorists. Bomb experts who worked on the unexploded bomb found near the Malakpet foot overbridge near Veknatadri theatre, identified the explosive as Neo Gel 90, a slurry and emulsifier (class 2 explosives) manufactured by Ameen Chemicals at Nagpur. A wooden container was used to stuff the slurry. The bomb was fitted with an alarm clock manufactured by Prince Company.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:22
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#11
Nasty bit of work ... ball bearings and glass shard shrapnel...
Police said that high explosive slurry (ammonuim nitrate plus emulsifier) was used in all the bombs that shattered the peace in Hyderabad on Saturday. All the three bombs the ones at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat and the unexploded one at Malakpet were connected to mechanical timers for detonation. Commissioner of Police Balwinder Singh confirmed that the blasts were terror acts. The two explosions are linked, he said. At least 36 people were killed and 39 were injured. Sleuths of the City Security Wing and bomb experts said that high explosives were stuffed in metallic containers and placed in black bags at Gokul Chat Bandar and Lumbini Park. "We found pieces of nine volt batteries and remnants of high explosives at the scene of the blasts, said a senior police officer.
At Gokul they used cycle balls and glass pieces as splinters, the police officer said. He added that the same technique was used in the Dilsukhnagar Sai Baba temple blast to produce maximum casualties. Four persons were killed in that blast in November 2002. There is a metal detector in Lumbini Park but they dont usually check the baggage, said the police officer. Experts from the bomb squad confirmed that both the blasts were triggered at 7.40 pm with timer devices. Black bags were also used in the Mecca Masjid blast which occurred three months ago. But whereas RDX was used in the Mecca Masjid, slurry was used in Saturdays blasts. Meanwhile, mischief mongers spread rumours across the city and police got 16 bomb threat calls. All of them were found to be hoax.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:24
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#12
184.50 carat Jacob diamond, jeebus!!
John is it approximatly the size of a Hard Ball? Damn, looks flawless too, not that I would know.
Worth? Priceless because of its history... the Gulf A-rabs would pay anything to git their hands on it.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/25/2007 20:28
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#13
Indian politicians are at it again... the Chief Minister has visited a hospital...
Describing the blasts as the cruellest act against humanity, he said its perpetrators could have no religion, ideology or national identity.
Unwilling to point the finger at local Muslim groups...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:37
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#14
It must be those stateless, atheist, random bomber people... yes.. anybody but Muslims...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:40
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#15
Muslims? Where is the previous tie-in? Certainly not...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 20:45
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#16
The current Indian government has pressured the police against "unfairly targeting" the Muslims.
Not a single terror case has been solved since they have been in power. This will be no different.
The perpetrators will be said to have vanished, either to Pakistan or Bangladesh and that will be that...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:58
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#17
/cynical asshole, John, you should be used to me by now ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 21:24
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#18
Reports of unexploded bombs being discovered in a movie theatre in Narayanaguda and in Dilsukhnagar suggested that the attacks - similar to the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad that killed 16 people this May - were well-planned serial attacks aimed at causing maximum casualties among citizens chilling out over the weekend.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 22:53
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#19
It's like a Rambo Series: Same story, over and over again. They aren't stopped and then, finally, people get sick of them and anhilate them.
Since the trouble began the Razakars had attacked about 70 villages in the state, 150 attacks outside the state, killing, raping and looting. The Nizam was given a last warning to rein in the Razakars.
The Nizam instead continued to insist that the conditions were normal and that his own troops were capable of maintaining law and order. Then hoping to get the UN to intervene, a delegation of his advisors left for UN headquarters via Karachi. This raised the possibility of the same power politics that plagued the case of Jammu & Kashmir. It was time for decisive action
The Indian Armys police action was as violent as it was swift. It killed 1373 Razakars and captured 1911. In addition Hyderabad State Army lost 807 killed and 1647 captured. The Indian Armys losses were never officially revealed but a figure of less than 10 killed is commonly accepted
A clash between troops and Kurdish rebels near Turkey's southeast border with Iraq left 10 rebels and two soldiers dead, the military said Saturday.
The fighting erupted Friday near Uludere, a town in Sirnak province, when the troops called for the rebels to surrender but were met with gunfire, the military said in a statement on its Web site.
It was the number of casualties in a single clash in recent months.
The rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.
Kurdish rebels have killed about 80 soldiers since January, most in roadside bomb attacks on military vehicles.
Turkey has threatened to invade northern Iraq to eradicate rebel bases there if U.S. or Iraqi forces do not crack down on the PKK.
During a visit by Iraq's prime minister to Ankara last week, the two countries agreed to try to root out the rebels. But Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the Iraqi parliament would have the final say on efforts to halt the guerrillas' cross-border attacks into Turkey.
The military statement said troops were pressing ahead with anti-rebel offensives in Sirnak, but gave no further details.
CALGARY (ALBERTA): The reading skills of young male students may improve more when boys are tutored by women, a Canadian study shows, contradicting some school policies to hire male teachers to improve boys literacy.
Herb Katz, an education professor at the University of Alberta, took 175 boys in the third and fourth grades, identified as struggling readers, and paired them with a research assistant who worked on their reading skills for 30 minutes a week over 10 weeks.
On average, the boys paired with female tutors felt better about their reading skills after the 10 weeks than those who were coached by a male research assistant.
Katz said the study, published in the US journal Sex Roles, may prompt educational policy-makers in countries such as Australia and Britain to rethink directives that call for more male teachers to be hired to provide role models for boys whose reading skills lag their peers.
It tells us that the way governments respond with policy is maybe a little too quick and a little too simple, Katz said.
Boys and girls enter kindergarten with reading similar skills, Katz said, but by the end of the third grade, boys have lower reading scores than girls. The reasons behind that difference are not entirely clear.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007
10:07 ||
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heard a little radio humor the other day:
"I had sex with my 7th grade teacher....pretty hot, huh? ....unfortunately, I was home-schooled"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 12:24
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The reading skills of young male students may improve more
On average, the boys paired with female tutors felt better about their reading skills
China is running into problems in its military technology dealings with Russia. The country has postponed high-level military talks on defense technology and stopped all new military contracts until Russia delivers an overdue shipment of aircraft, according to industry sources in both countries.
China has also complained about the quality of Russian weapons. Russian dealers, on the other hand, are upset about blatant Chinese imitations of their products, built from designs supplied in the understanding that the weapons were to be purchased.
The aircraft issue involves a deal signed in 2005 whereby China agreed to purchase from Russia 30 IL-76 transport aircraft and eight IL-78 aerial refueling tankers. However, Tashkent Aircraft Plant, based in the capital of Uzbekistan, which was to have manufactured the IL-76 and IL-78, declared soon after the signing that the plant was unable to build the planes independently due to financial and technical problems.
To resolve this issue, Russia has given three proposals to the Chinese side, according to a source from Rosoboroonexport, a state-owned military trading company. One is to coproduce the plane's parts in Tashkent and Russian Ulianovsk or Voronezh aviation factories, with final assembly of the IL-76 in Voronezh. The second is to fully manufacture the aircraft in Russia. The third is to assemble all the planes in Tashkent with most of the parts produced in Russia.
Whichever solution is selected, additional investment will be required from the Russian side to add new equipment to the Ulianovsk and Voronezh aviation factories. Consequently, Rosoboroonexport has asked the Chinese partner to accept a higher price for the aircraft.
China's response has been to twice postpone an annual high-level conference on cooperation in defense technology. Beijing has indicated that the condition to restart the talks is for Russia to fulfill the aircraft contract. Russia contends that the existence of this problem is reason enough to hold new discussions, without any condition.
This Chinese tendency to set preconditions for political talks and other negotiations is well-known to U.S. and Japanese negotiators. Now the strategy is being applied to the Russians.
To add salt to the wound, China has also criticized the quality of some Russian weapons it previously purchased. For example, it has complained of the short service life of optical/electronic detection devices (IRST) for the SU-27SK fighter. The Russian factory has deflected the blame, saying the problems are caused by improper usage. Photos of the IRST used for the Chinese air force's SU-27SK show that they are used without protective coverings even in inclement weather.
One of the biggest buyers of Russian arms, the Chinese air force, or PLAAF, has purchased 100 advanced Su30MKK multipurpose fighters and 48 earlier version SU-27SK fighters. It also obtained license production rights for the 200 SU-27SK, which started in 1996. However, the contract was suspended after 95 China-made J11A were completed last year. Russia reportedly backed out of the deal due to technical reservations.
The Chinese navy also received 12 Kilo Class 877/636 diesel submarines and four Type 956E/EM missile destroyers, other naval subsystems for Chinese carriers, and new warships as well as more than eight battalions of S-300PMU/PMU-1 and another eight battalions of S-300PMU-2 long range surface-to-air missiles, deployed by the Chinese air force in recent decades.
For its part, Moscow is unhappy with China's massive production of imitation versions of Russian weapons. Many Russian arms manufacturers have told the Western press how surprised they were by the scale of China's copycat capabilities. In many cases, Chinese dealers will express their intention to purchase Russian arms, begin negotiations, ask as many technical questions as possible, take photos and videos of the weapons, request all available documents, come back to the table to "discuss" more technical issues, and after a few more "negotiations," the dealers disappear. Two or three years later, a Chinese copy of the weapon under discussion appears on the international market.
A typical example is the Chinese A100 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), an imitation of the Russian SMERCH MLRS, without even superficial changes in shape. The Chinese PLZ05 155-mm self-propelled gun (SPG) system is also a copy of the Russian 2S19M1 SPG.
The same trick has been used by the air force and navy. In the mid-1990s, China asked the Russian Phazotron Radar Design Bureau to help the PLAAF to upgrade their F8II fighters. For this purpose, China purchased two ZHUK-8II airborne radars from Phazotron. Certainly many technical documents were transferred, as the Chinese had promised to buy at least 100 of the radar devices. But, the Chinese never came back. Two years ago, the new Chinese F8IIM fighter was released with the new "indigenous multi-function radar."
"That is a copy of our radar," the designer of Phazotrol told this author. "We were so inexperienced at that time."
Along with the Type 956E/EM missile destroyer, the Chinese navy received subsystems from Russia including the Fregat M2EM 3D radar and MR-90 tracking radar and sonar. The same radar system has been seen on China's domestic Type 054A missile frigate (FFG).
"This is our radar!" was the first comment by Russian designers from Salyut factory when they saw photos of the 054A FFG taken from far. After more careful examination, they added, "Unbelievable, the speed at which they were copied."
Italy and France had similar experiences during their military cooperation honeymoon with China in the 1980s. At that time, China purchased two sets of Sea Tiger shipborne radars, two sets of Crotale air defense missiles, and two sets of the TAVITAC naval command and control systems from France, and a few sets of the sonar and EW systems from Italy. Chinese versions of the above systems are fitted on Chinese navy battleships today.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007
09:47 ||
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China has also complained about the quality of Russian weapons.
You know it's got to be bad when the Chinese complain about crappy quality.
Russian dealers, on the other hand, are upset about blatant Chinese imitations of their products, built from designs supplied in the understanding that the weapons were to be purchased.
Nobody saw that coming. Nosiree, Bob.
China's response has been to twice postpone an annual high-level conference on cooperation in defense technology. Beijing has indicated that the condition to restart the talks is for Russia to fulfill the aircraft contract.
Otherwise known as the "North Korean Gambit".
Russia contends that the existence of this problem is reason enough to hold new discussions, without any condition.
Otherwise known as "Hey, wait a minute! We're getting screwed, blued and tattooed!"
This Chinese tendency to set preconditions for political talks and other negotiations is well-known to U.S. and Japanese negotiators.
Who are all fed up with playing on the usual tilted pitch.
Now the strategy is being applied to the Russians.
Awww, poor baby!
To add salt to the wound, China has also criticized the quality of some Russian weapons it previously purchased.
To have chiseling cheapskate Chinese bastards diss your own garbage military gear has really gotta hurt.
For its part, Moscow is unhappy with China's massive production of imitation versions of Russian weapons.
Something China has never, ever done before.
Many Russian arms manufacturers have told the Western press how surprised they were by the scale of China's copycat capabilities. In many cases, Chinese dealers will express their intention to purchase Russian arms, begin negotiations, ask as many technical questions as possible, take photos and videos of the weapons, request all available documents, come back to the table to "discuss" more technical issues, and after a few more "negotiations," the dealers disappear. Two or three years later, a Chinese copy of the weapon under discussion appears on the international market.
So, they finally caught on to China's favorite ploy of buying only one of something?
"That is a copy of our radar," the designer of Phazotrol told this author. "We were so inexperienced at that time."
Translation: "We got taken like a couple of carnival marks!"
Cost of the Cold War with Russia: Untold gazillions of dollars.
Annual trade deficit with China: Over 120 billion dollars
Watching China screw Russia like a two-bit whore: Priceless!
#2
Neither nation has real power projection capabilities so the only kind of cooperation they could expect is transfering equipment/pilots to fight on the other sides team against an enemy. Since most Chinese equipment is Soviet based I should think they wouldn't require a whole lot of cooperation at all.
Me thinks the cooperation was simply for propoganda purposes.
#3
The Russians shouldn't take it personally. When I was working in the aerospace industry, Boeing sold the Chinese a 707 as a sign of good will. A few years later the Chinese introduced a near exact copy. Fortunately the Chinese made a few mistakes in their measurements and their copy was dangerously unstable.
You give the Chinese anything at your own risk.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/25/2007 15:20
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#4
Or, if you're Clinton and Gore, in exchange for campaign $$ flowing through Buddhist nuns.
#5
Well all those copys are functional. The Naval one are the big worry. We have a shrinking Navy and they have a growing one even crappy ships can be a threat if you have enough of them. Too few good ones are no protection against them.
#6
I wouldn't discount Chinese. If we had someone's elses designs on a superior weapon, we'd copy and steal just like we did off of Nazi technologies after the war and put it to maximum use. We've got to keep our secrets close!
Posted by: Boss Craising2882 ||
08/25/2007 18:57
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#7
LOL. Em Pot calling kettle darkie.
Tu-4 etc.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 19:57
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan on Saturday successfully test-fired a new air-launched cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the military said.
The missile, named Hatf-8 or Ra'ad, has a range of 220 miles, an army statement said.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007
09:26 ||
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I see deliveries from Uncle Hu's takeout have not been disrupted by the Lal Masjid affair...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 9:46
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#1
Geez, even back in the 1960s, lunchrooms had a staffer with a money box who would take a students lunch money, given them a ticket, which in the same line they would redeem for lunch. If they bought a bag lunch, they would just go to the lunch table and eat. And it was the same line you would wash your hands in first. If you left the line and wanted back in, you had to wash your hands again, and go to the back of the line.
And any little racketeer who thought he could steal somebody else's lunch money and get away with it didn't try more than once. If the other students didn't beat him up, then the principal would. And then probably tell their parents, who would also beat him.
#2
The Administrative Court of Appeal already gave the go-ahead to the schools to use fingerprints, but the board argues that the school should find another way to identify pupils.
Wow! fingerprints aren't enough and they have to bump it up to eye scanners. Tough crowd :)
Ala Abu Srour, the local leader of the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank city of Jenin, was killed when undercover IDF troops opened fire on his car, Saturday, Palestinian security forces said.
Another Islamic Jihad gunman was wounded in the incident but was in a stable condition after hospital treatment, the sources said. An Israeli military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv confirmed such an incident, saying that three gunmen had been killed.
According to the spokeswoman, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary border policemen, in a joint operation, killed all three gunmen who were travelling in a vehicle. She said the Israeli force later found two additional assault rifles and ammunition clips in the vehicle.
Israel says raids against Palestinian militants help to foil attacks against its citizens. Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, where the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas holds sway, say such operations harm chances for peacemaking.
Israel recently stopped pursuing hundreds of wanted Fatah fighters in the West Bank in a bid to boost Abbas after the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.
But it has carried on targeting Islamic Jihad, a group that has mounted numerous attacks against Israelis since the start of a Palestinian uprising in 2000 and opposes Abbas' efforts to revive peacemaking with Israel.
#1
I love "feel good" stories in the morning. Makes me feel all sunshiney inside
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 8:07
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Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, where the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas holds sway, say such operations harm chances for peacemaking.
Of course it does, because for them "peacemaking" = "Jew killing". How in the hell is there supposed to be any "peacemaking" obtained with people vermin whose sole desire is genocide? It's long past tea to rip the mask off of the Palestinian "peace" process and start calling a spade a spade.
A bomb exploded as Buddhist monks collected alms in Thailand's restive south, killing a man and injuring 11 other people, including six soldiers who were guarding the monks, police said.
A bomb hidden underneath a table in front of a grocery shop in Pattani's Muang district went off as two Buddhist monks climbed off a military vehicle to accept an offering of food from the shop's owner, said police Col. Somchit Nasomyon. The blast instantly killed the shop owner, Yaowaphan Thientham, Somchit said. It also injured six soldiers who were part of the patrol guarding the monks, three villagers and two monks known as novices because they are under 15 years, he said.
Buddhist monks have been slain and dozens injured in bomb explosions. For three years, the military has provided escorts for Buddhist monks while they collect alms in the morning.
During an official visit to Malaysia earlier this week, Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi discussed the ongoing construction of a bridge connecting the countries to facilitate the movement of people across the border. "Malaysia has no policy of supporting separatism (within southern Thailand). It wants to develop its northern region, and that cannot happen if the violence in southern Thailand continues," Surayud said in his weekly address Saturday during a visit to Narathiwat.
Surayud and Abdullah also discussed establishing exchanges of students and Islamic teachers, as well as a program to allow Thais to cross the border to work and return home at night.
Ever wondered what is so great about those black GMCs that escort POTUS around? Maybe a big engine? Maybe some armor? Well, wonder no more about this piece of the puzzle.
Yeesh! This is a series of five pics. Nothing too graphic but not for little kids. The pics are tiled out in reverse order, so start at the bottom right.
Click the link, just let me get out of the way first!
My first thoughts:
I haven't heard of anyone complaining about being sent to jail over something the government heard through a wiretap.
We are protected against unreasonable searches and seizures.
This is a war.
It is reasonable to tap suspected terrorists' phones during a lawful war. It's reasonable to tap suspected terrorists' phones during peacetime, too.
See that big red button labeled "What Can You Do?" I didn't click on it, but I'll bet my last dollar it has something to do with the ACLU tapping into Liberal paranoia/naivete to solicit donations so they won't have to go out and find gainful employment, which would be difficult given they are a$$holes have a skill-set that most employers would find useless except maybe for being a Dell customer service representative.
It seems like these guys have chosen one political party over the other rather than to condemn a particular practice. Does this mean they lose any tax-protected status or other privileges they might enjoy?
Is it true that if I used my debit card to make a $0.01 donation that it would cost the ACLU $0.35? >:-}
#2
This is just the reality of the world we live in. Despite all their talk the Democratic leadership is for the most part supporting what has to be done to protect our safety. That said, it is entertaining to watch the far-left nuts twisting themselves in knots. With any luck they will support some nut-case independent candidate and split the Democratic Party's vote in 2008.
#4
anonymous5089: Thanks for those links. I've read them before - quite the eye-openers. The ACLU really does think the Constitution is a suicide pact.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2007
01:56 ||
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THE SUMMARY OF the findings of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq released today is the predictable product of the process that created it. The consensus report of 16 intelligence agencies is full of on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand paragraphs that allow partisans of either side to make their points, if they are willing to quote selectively from the 4-page document. And it is a 4-page document (not 10 pages, as some media reports have it--the first six are title pages and descriptions of the methodology, and only the last four discuss Iraq). Its findings are broad and sweeping generalizations backed by little or nothing in the way of facts (which is natural, since intelligence agencies do not generally declassify the factual basis of such estimates).
Australian and French scientists have made another breakthrough in the technology that will drive next generation computers and teleportation.
The researchers have successfully superposed light beams, which produces a state that appears to be both on and off at once.
Light beams that are simultaneously on and off are vital for the next-generation super computers which should be faster than current computers based on bits, that are either on or off.
Previously, only smaller light particles had been superposed and the group has also proved a quantum physics theory known as Schrödinger's cat.
This theory, named after an Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, proposed that a large object such as a cat could be simultaneously alive and dead.
Researchers from The University of Queensland and University of Paris South have published the latest breakthrough in the international journal NATURE.
UQ Centre for Quantum Computer Technology researcher Dr Hyunseok Jeong devised the scheme to generate and superpose the beams which was tested and proved by his French collaborators.
Dr Jeong said his group used special lasers, crystals, photon detectors, half-mirrors and other optical devices to generate and measure the superposition of light beams.
"It has been known to be extremely hard to generate Schrödinger cat states, particularly with traveling light," Dr Jeong said.
"Even though one could generate such Schrodinger cat states, it would be extremely hard to observe them because in a very short time, they would be reduced to either alive or dead states."
He said his group's research findings would help speed up the development of quantum information technologies such as quantum computers, quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation.
"Using Schrödinger cat states, quantum teleportation may be performed with nearly 100 percent success probability."
#2
Further research has proven that while light seems to have two distinct quantum states, Schrödinger's cat actually has nine distinct quantum states, making cats more desirable than light as a medium for memory and communication in the next generation of computers. The challenges now will be developing a computer architecture that can take full advantage of this principle, what form the batteries will take because this kind of computer will consume catfood, and how to minimize and dissipate waste kitty litter smells generated during high-intensity calculations.
Good to hear. I hope he mantains an even state. Many poor animals like Pavlov's Dawg still have the shakes. Now what has become of Schrödinger's Cat's fleas? Were they along for the ride?
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 4:20
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Schrödinger's cat actually has nine distinct quantum states
#5
Light beams that are simultaneously on and off are vital for the next-generation super computers which should be faster than current computers based on bits, that are either on or off.
Have you ever tried to corral your bits when they start to run hogwild all over your office? It's worse than hurding cats. Then you have to go down to the Bit Store and buy a bunch more to replace the ones that ran off.
#8
Heisenberg and Schroedinger are driving down the road.
Heisenberg says "Erwin, I think you ran over a cat."
Shroedinger asks "Is it dead?"
Heisenberg replies "I cannot be certain."
#10
SteveS: The bawdy end to that joke is, that when they get to the nightclub where they were going, they bragged to the other physicists that the reason they were late was because on the way, they knocked off a little pussy.
Jordan has charged five men with killing a female relative who allegedly had an affair, according to a court document obtained Friday.
The 22-year-old woman's father, three uncles and a fifth relative were charged with premeditated murder Thursday by Jordan's criminal court.
The 22-year-old woman's father, three uncles and a fifth relative were charged with premeditated murder Thursday by Jordan's criminal court, according to the indictment sheet made available to The Associated Press.
The charge sheet said one of the uncles confessed to shooting his niece in the head six times for allegedly having an affair with a man she eventually married. The others were reportedly involved in planning the "honor crime," and all were also charged with illegal possession of weapons. The court did not release the names of the individuals involved in the case, and a trial date has not been set.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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Jordan charges five men in honor killing case
It took five of them?!? No wonder they're being charged!
#2
You know, the term "honor killing" suggests to me that someone was killed to reclaim a family's honor. Given that it was probably a secret affair (if there was any affair at all), I doubt that anyone knew about it. So why would someone kill in this case? Just shut your trap and all will be well. Now the whole place knows what happened. Oh the shame. Or maybe not, I don't know.
Now suppose the whole place knew what happened before this girl was murdered. Do they really look down on the family in a way that makes their life hard? Are their children unmarriageable or something? Do the vendors at the markets refuse to sell them food? Is someone going to kill the father and the uncles unless they kill the girl? Now that the girl is dead, do they get preferential treatment or something?
I notice there was no mention about the guy. I suppose that it was OK for him because there was uncovered meat laying around or something.
A federal judge refused Friday to block the extradition of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France, where he faces up to 10 years in prison on charges of laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds through French banks. Senior US District Judge William Hoeveler rejected arguments by Noriega's lawyers that his status as a US prisoner of war negated the French request under the Geneva Conventions and required his return home to Panama.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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I never quite understood the Noriega story. Sure, he was a smuggler and a thug and a general (heh) no-good, but he was our guy for the longest time. So what happened? Did he finally do something so far beyond the pale that even the CIA was horrified? Did he become too self-important and demand too big a payoff? Or did he simply outlive his usefulness? Inquiring minds want to know!
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/25/2007 12:12
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#3
Lots of escalating arrogance, including fronting for the Medellin cocaine cartel when they were killing many US citizens within the States. Murder & attempted murder of legitimate election winners captured on TV feeds. Increasing harassment of US troops in the canal zone.
Final straw came when a US Marine was stopped and harassed so badly he feared for his life. He tried to flee and was shot dead.
US invaded in a quick response (Operation Just Cause), with nighttime troop drop and a quick march that took Noriega and his Guard by surprise. Noriega fled and took refuge in the Vatican embassy, from which he was finally dislodged due to diplomatic pressure and the famous 24-7 broadcast of loud rock & roll music.
#5
Thanks, lotp. Interesting wikipedia article, too. Not quite as rabid as some of them.
I do remember the bit about the rock music at the Vatican embassy. I didn't realise so many players were involved. My vague recollection is the news made it sound like just another episode of NYPD Blue.
As for Woodrow, those guys may have been our dog in a particular fight, but once a dog turns and bites you, it is time to put 'em down.
Israeli military boats fired at several Palestinian houses in Beit Lahyia, north of Gaza, Palestinian witnesses said on Friday. They told KUNA Israeli gun-boats which usually cruised near the Gaza shores fired at houses close to the beach, damaging several of them.
#1
Just a little reminder that it's time to stop the shag, steal your daddies cue and get back to school, bye, bye, so long farwell aufwidersehen, see you in September etc.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 4:02
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#2
Paleo Maggy May?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 6:47
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#3
I vaguely recall a Palestinian Navy was in the works; guess it didn't help much here...
Mahmood says Musharrafs options include naming his successor as VCOAS or selecting another general to take over the top post when he leaves in December
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President General Pervez Musharraf on Friday told a group of FATA parliamentarians that army would be withdrawn from tribal areas after January 2008, sources said. Paramilitary forces including Frontier Constabulary (FC), Levies and Khasadars will take over the charge of tribal areas from military, which would be withdrawn after January 2008, the president told the FATA parliamentarians who called on him here at the camp office.
The parliamentarians assured Musharraf during the meeting that they would fully support him in his re-election bid.
He said paramilitary forces would be fully equipped and trained to take charge of the volatile area. He said that NWFP governor would take the FATA parliamentarians into confidence on deployment of traditional forces in place of a regular army. The president has also tasked the governor with consulting the parliamentarians and preparing a strategy so that the army should be called back from tribal areas, the sources said.
They said that nearly 100 FC platoons presently deployed out of NWFP would be sent back to the province and their movement had already started. The parliamentarians, including Senator Hamidullah Jan Afridi, Senator Hafiz Abdul Malik Qadri, MNA Munir Khan Orakzai, Federal Minister GG Jamal and Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, assured Musharraf during the meeting that they would fully support him in his re-election bid from the sitting assemblies, said the sources.
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Two Egyptian workers who claimed they were tortured by Kuwaiti police were re-arrested by authorities here Friday after a prosecutor had ordered them released, their attorney said. The case of Hossam Saleem, 27, and Gamal Abdel Shafi, 35, has drawn media attention and official condemnation from Egypt.
The two laborers were first arrested July 24 on charges of forging work permits. Their lawyer Tariq al-Khars said that a preliminary forensic report issued Thursday supported their claims of being tortured by police at the time. A prosecutor ordered their release Thursday but police then re-arrested them on charges of violating residency laws, he added. Al-Khars alleged that acid was used to burn the men during their interrogation.
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#1
I suspect there is a lot more to this story than is given. Perhaps they were cheeky to the constabulary, or were caught doing something more akin to spying, or other criminal activity. I doubt they were just minding their business.
Floods in North Korea in recent weeks have affected 437,000 people and damaged more than one-fifth of the countrys rice crop, according to official North Korean estimates, the UNs food relief agency said on Friday
According to figures from the North Korean agriculture ministry, 223,381 hectares of rice, corn, and soja have been damaged, or more than 20 percent of rice crops, and 15 percent of corn fields, said World Food Programme spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume. The reclusive communist state had so far reported about 300 people dead or missing after torrential rain earlier this month, 300,000 homeless and 11 percent of the grain harvest - equivalent to 450,000 tonnes - lost.
This article starring:
World Food Programme spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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#1
Quick! Throw billions of dollars at Kimmie so he can help his people!
#5
"Dear Leader and Juche has generously supplied local water supplies far beyond your individual needs. All citizens should give thanks"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 14:39
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#6
It will be interesting to see how many outsiders they let in to see the damage. One of the NK's favorite games is insurance fraud as I recall - making claims of big losses with perfect documentation, but not allowing any outsiders from the insurance company in to verify the damages.
The Iraqi List (IL) announced Friday it quitted the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki seventeen days after it boycotted cabinet meetings. The decision to quit the government is a final one and there are no backpedaling on it, Iyad Jamal-Eddin, a leader of IL told KUNA here.
I'm hoping Verlaine could parse this for us...
A note on the decision will be tabled to Al-Maliki early this week, he pointed out. "The decision resulted from the government's failure to respond to our demands raised first in February. "The reasons behind the decision are the same as those behind our boycott of cabinet sessions since August 7.
"We reached a desperate situation in dealing with the government," Izzat Al-Shabandar, an IL MP, told KUNA. "All MPs from partners of the IL, except for the Communist Party of Iraq (CPI), are unanimous on the decision to withdraw from government," he underscored, adding that a note to this effect will be sent to the prime minister soon.
The IL attributed its decision to the government's disregard of demands included in two previous IL notes and the government's inability to improve performance. The IL parliamentarian ruled out the link between the timing of quitting the government, on one hand, and the coming visit of IL chief Iyad Allawi to the US and growing demands by the US Congress to change Al-Maliki's government, on the other. However he said the political atmosphere was promising. There are growing demands by Iraqi MPs as well to change the government of Al-Maliki who is no longer able to run the country's affairs.
Invited by some members of the US Congress, Allawi will visit Washington soon. The IL has 25 out of a total of 275 seats of parliament. Its decision to quit the government followed a similar decision made by the Iraqi National Accord, the third largest parliamentary bloc, which controls 44 seats. Out of 37 portfolios of Al-Maliki's cabinet the IL used to control five ministries namely: justice, science and technology, communications, human rights and the post of a minister of state.
#2
I think it's time to start putting pressure on them to get with the program. Not as separate political parties, but as a country. A little talk of pulling out might be just what they need to hear from Bush.
Coalition Forces killed seven terrorists and detained 12 suspected terrorists during operations Friday to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq networks in central and northern Iraq.
Coalition Forces returned to an area east of Tarmiyah where they killed 13 terrorists and captured 12 suspects last week during an operation targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell in the area. Local Iraqis who had helped Coalition Forces target the cell last week continued to provide information about terrorist operations there. Upon the assault forces arrival on the scene, two armed men engaged them with small arms fire. Coalition Forces returned fire in self defense, killing the two terrorists. As the assault force continued to secure the group of buildings, they encountered five separate armed men, each attempting to barricade himself in a room. In each case, when the armed men drew their weapons, Coalition Forces defended against the hostile threat and engaged them, killing all five.
Inside one of the buildings, the ground forces found fighting positions carved out of the structure. Coalition Forces detained four suspected terrorists, and assess that nine individuals identified by name in intelligence reports had been killed or captured.
With the help of the Iraqi community, we basically crippled this cell, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. Well continue working with local citizens to dismantle the rest of the networks that threaten the security of Iraq.
Three other operations in the Tigris River Valley rounded up eight suspected terrorists. In Mosul, Coalition Forces detained two suspects while targeting an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq leader who issues orders to attack Kurds, Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces, and is believed to be a key recruiter for al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Near Taji, information from an operation Aug. 17 helped Coalition Forces target a weapons facilitator who is associated with al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders. The ground forces detained four suspected terrorists during the raid. North of there, an operation to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraqs influence in Bayji netted two suspected terrorists allegedly tied to the top terrorist leaders in the area.
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A former Arab MK accused of spying for Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War last summer praised the guerrilla group Friday, saying it is now stronger than ever. Azmi Bishara, a once prominent Arab Knesset leader who has been on the run since June, made the comments during a tour of south Lebanon border villages, where he visited the graves of Lebanese war victims and met with their families.
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Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers battled with insurgents in the Doura neighborhood of Baghdad Aug. 20 leaving three suspected terrorists dead. Troops from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div, heard gunfire near a bridge and went to investigate. When the Warriors saw a checkpoint taking fire, they engaged one insurgent with small arms fire, killing him.
Twenty minutes later, the troops began taking small arms fire and noticed numerous suspected insurgents armed with AK-47s and PKC machine guns preparing fighting positions. The troops once again opened fire killing two more insurgents. Combat aviation elements were called in for support but did not fire. There were no Coalition casualties from either incident.
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Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, the frontrunner to become Turkeys next president, failed to secure the post in a second round of voting in parliament on Friday, but is virtually guaranteed victory in next weeks third ballot. Gul, whose Islamist past is treated with deep suspicion by the army and secular establishment, garnered 337 votes from the 550-seat house, 30 short of the two-thirds majority needed. He had failed by a similar margin in the first round vote on Monday.
The other two candidates, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu from the right-wing Nationalist Action Party and Tayfun Icli from the centre-left Democratic Left Party, were way back on 71 and 14 votes respectively. Gul is now poised for certain victory in the third round next on Tuesday when a simple majority of 276 will suffice. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), to which he belongs, commands 340 parliamentary seats.
The foreign minister had first run for the presidency in April, triggering a political crisis and snap general elections. At that time, his bid was blocked by a boycott by the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) that denied parliament the quorum needed to vote. The CHP, which argues that a Gul presidency would undermine Turkeys fiercely-guarded secular system, also boycotted Fridays ballot, but the participation of other opposition parties secured the quorum.
The crisis over Guls candidacy in April, which saw millions take to the street to protest against the prospect of an AKP president, climaxed when the army warned it stood ready to step in and defend the secular system. The AKP responded by calling early elections on July 22 in which the party won a huge majority that it hailed as a popular mandate to re-nominate Gul.
Opponents say that with Guls presidency, the AKP, the moderate offshoot of a now-banned Islamist movement, would complete the seizure of all top state offices and get a free hand to erode the separation of state and religion.
Hardline secularists are also irritated by the fact that Guls wife wears the Islamic headscarf, which they see as a symbol of defiance of the secular system. Supporters point out that the AKP has disowned its Islamist roots, pledged loyalty to secularism and conducted far-reaching reforms that stabilised the economy and ensured the start of Turkeys EU membership talks.
Turkeys president is a largely ceremonial figure, but has the authority to name senior bureaucrats and judges and to return legislation to parliament. Gul has repeatedly pledged to stay loyal to the secular system and be impartial if elected. Ten years ago, the army forced the resignation of Turkeys first Islamist-led government of which Gul was a member.
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A van packed with explosives blew up Friday outside a police station in the Basque country, shattering windows, destroying cars and injuring two officers in the first serious attack by the separatist group ETA since it called off cease-fire in June.
Authorities blamed ETA for the pre-dawn blast targeting a Civil Guard station in Durango, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Bilbao, the region's main city. It caused residents of nearby apartment buildings to dash out in the streets in rainy weather, some still in their pajamas.
The police facility also includes living quarters for 30 officers and their families, although it was not known how many people were there at the time of the blast. ETA usually phones in warnings before it attacks, but this time it did not. "Families and children live in that police station, which makes the attack all the more despicable," said Paulino Luesma, the Spanish Interior Ministry's representative in the Basque region. Two officers were treated for cuts from flying glass and later released.
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#1
I wonder how the Basque feel about being compared to muzzies? I wonder if the Basque people are ripe for conversion to Islam?
#2
Based on reading about Basque history and culture, I don't think they are likely converts.
This is a people that quite likely are direct descendents of the original Cro Magnon humans in western Europe. They have distinctive faces, a language that cannot reliably be affiliated to any other known language in existence, a unique profile of blood types (many Rh negatives) and a culture and remaining homeland they defend fiercely. They give allegiance, not to a country or an ideology, but literally to a 'house' etxea, a clan symbolized by their ancestral homes which are given names of their own. Two Basques introduce themselves not by surname but by the name of their family house even if that building is no longer standing. A well known modern Basque poem goes, in English,
I shall defend the house of my father,
against wolves, against draft, against usury, against the law.
I shall defend the house of my father.
I shall lose cattle, orchards, pine groves,
I shall lose interest, income, dividends,
but I shall defend the house of my father.
They will take my weapons and with my hands I shall defend the house of my father,
they will cut off my hands and with my arms I shall defend the house of my father,
they will leave me armless, without shoulders, without chest
and with my soul I shall defend the house of my father.
I shall die; my soul will be lost; my descendents will be lost,
but the house of my father will endure on its feet.
ETA might perhaps consider some operational coordination with jihadis. But for their own purposes, not as converts. The Basques are not likely to embrace their dissolution into a caliphate.
Ignatius of Loyala, founder of the Jesuits, was Basque and is still highly revered there, although not necessarily by the ETA types.
#3
Another reason that I doubt Basques are good candidates for conversion to Islam is that among traditional Basque families women have an homored place as well as men.
For instance, traditionally each etxea has an etxekandere, an older woman who is seen as the spiritual head of the house and who looks after blessings and prayers for all members of the family, living and the dead buried in the house burial ground. This is true even in devoutly Catholic families, or so I've read.
Somehow it's hard to see your basic sexually screwed up jihadi dealing well with a people who stubbornly endure on their own terms even while in many cases doing quite well as explorers, capitalists and outstanding seamen.
One guerrilla of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit has surrendered to the police in the Doda district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. LeT guerrilla -- Abu Hafiz, alias Bashir Ahmed Malla, of Doda district surrendered before Indian security forces and also laid down arms and explosives late Thursday, the news agency United News of India reported Friday. Hafiz was active in Bharat, Kulhand, Desa and Kothi areas of the Doda district since 2003.
Two Palestinians were killed and one wounded after Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Border Police who were operating in a West Bank village in search of Palestinian fugitives. Among the dead is an 11-year-old boy, Palestinian officials said. Elsewhere, the IDF killed two Palestinian gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip after they opened fire at a military force.
In the West Bank, Mahmoud Ibrahim Karnawi, 11, was shot after troops moved into Saida village, witnesses said. They said the troops were trying to arrest his older half-brother, a wanted Islamic Jihad operative, and came under fire as they approached the family's home, setting off a gunfight. Neighbors said the boy was inside the home at the time of the shooting and hit in the crossfire. Hospital officials in the nearby town of Tulkarem confirmed the death. The IDF said that it was unclear at this point whether the boy died from Israeli gunfire or not, Israel Radio reported. Relatives said the boy lived in Israel with his parents - a divorced Palestinian woman who is now remarried to an Arab Israeli. The family was visiting relatives in the West Bank at the time of the shooting, the relatives said.
Border Police said its forces came under fire during an operation, sparking an exchange of fire in which two Palestinians were killed and another gunman was seriously wounded. It said one of the dead was a gunman, but did not immediately have details on the identity of the second. A member of the border police was lightly wounded and treated at the scene, the army said, adding that troops confiscated two AK-47 rifles and ammunition.
Meanwhile, Golani Brigade troops killed two Palestinian gunmen near the northern Gaza Strip's Karni Crossing after they opened fire at the force.
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Hezbollah lashed out Friday at Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt accusing him of rejecting any settlement to the ongoing political crisis. Hezbollah, in a statement, defended its ally, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who was accused by Jumblatt Wednesday of becoming a "mail box" for the militant Shiite party. "Mr. Jumblatt believes that (accepting) internal settlement is tantamount to treason," Hezbollah said. "We tell MP Jumblatt that Speaker Berri is a full partner in leading the resistance as well as in its accomplishments and victory, and he is a first class nationalist decision-maker and not a mail box for any body," the statement added.
Berri heads the AMAL movement, which is part of the Hezbollah-led opposition that seeks to topple Premier Fouad Siniora's Majority government that is backed by Jumblatt and the rest of the March 14 coalition. Jumblatt on Wednesday accused Berri of becoming a "mail box for Hassan Nasrallah."
"Unfortunately Berri has finished himself with his own hands," Jumblatt said in an interview with the youth supplement of the daily An Nahar. In 2005 Jumblatt was the leading supporter of Berri to be the speaker of the parliament and lobbied hard for him. Jumblatt lost faith in Berri after the resignation of the Shiite ministers from the cabinet. Jumblatt saw Berri transformed from being the leader of the Amal movement to becoming the rubber stamp of Hezbollah. Berri refused to convene the parliament ever since the Shiite Ministers resigned, despite pressure from several groups.
Berri's credibility suffered greatly during his November 2006 trip to Iran. He was asked right after the resignation of the Shiite ministers from the cabinet " if the cabinet was still constitutional " He responded by saying " of course it is " . He later , reportedly after pressure from Syria and Iran , retracted the statement and said the cabinet was unconstitutional .
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#1
Treason? Hizbollah is mostly composed of Paleos; it also attracts Shiite militants/terrorists from the Persian Gulf region. What if Mexican illegals began referring to American citizens as "traitors."
Immigration by a disloyal minority can do nothing other than conduce social dissolution in the countries where the human pollutants migrate.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on Friday claimed that it had killed six people, five security personnel and a Baloch spy working for the government, in two separate incidents. The BLA claimed it fired rockets on a security forces camp in the Siyapadh locality of the Khoistani Marri area on Friday, killing five security personnel. BLA spokesman Bibarg Baloch told Daily Times via satellite phone from an unidentified location that the BLA had killed the army personnel.
The organisation also claimed responsibility for detonating a bomb at a security forces camp in Sibi. The killing of army personnel in Kohistani Marri could not, however, be confirmed from official sources despite repeated attempts by Daily Times to verify the BLA claim.
The BLA spokesman said there had been no let-up in military operations in Balochistan. Government forces had initiated the latest round of operations in Pishin, Kahan, Chapikach, Bamboor, Jandaran and Uch Daman, he said, adding that the epicentres of the latest operations were the Marri and Bugti tribal areas, where forces were using fighter jets and heavy artillery. Bombardment of these areas, which started several days ago, continued till Friday morning. Many Baloch women and elderly citizens have been killed in the fresh round of military operations, said Baloch.
The BLA also claimed responsibility for killing Niaz Mohammad Marri, who the spokesman said was a traitor. Unidentified assailants killed Marri in the Kili Kamalo area of Quetta on Friday. Marri was a Baloch traitor who was operating as an agent for government intelligence agencies. He provided Baloch secrets to the government and facilitated Baloch youths recruitment in intelligence agencies to undermine the nationalist struggle, the BLA spokesman said.
He said not many people were aware of Niaz Marri but he was even more dangerous than former Balochistan government spokesman Raziq Bugti, whose killing last month the BLA had also claimed responsibility for. We wish to warn all Baloch people who join the Pakistan army or its intelligence agencies to prepare for dire consequences, the BLA spokesman warned.
He said the BLA had formulated a long hit-list of Balochis and Punjabis operating as government spies. All of them have been issued warnings individually. If they continue to work for the government, the BLA will have no option but to kill them one after another, he said.
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Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun criticized Lebanon's clergymen, including the Christian Maronite Patriarch and the Sunni Grand Mufti, for their "dreadful" silence regarding the heated political bickering, threatening that he would no longer listen to them.
Speaking to his supporters, Aoun demanded a response from deputy Saad Hariri's Al-Mustaqbal Movement as to whether the group supports partitioning Lebanon. "And if they are against partitioning, do they endorse a call by MP Walid Jumblatt and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea which is aimed at disuniting Lebanon? Aoun asked. " Is this a Sunni policy?" He urged Hariri a swift response "because the situation is no longer bearable." Aoun assured Lebanon's Sunnis that "no one wants to wipe them out."
"This principle should be applied to everyone," he told fans who visited his residence at Rabieh on Thursday evening. "I will not ask whether or not Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir is with or against this policy," Aoun went on. "He is free to voice his opinion or refrain (from expressing his opinion)."
"I will not ask the Grand Mufti (Sheikh Mohammed Qabbani for his opinion). I am not going to listen to clergymen who daily interfere in politics and give their views. But then again, their silence is dreadful," Aoun said. "Let it be known to everyone that from now on we will not hush up and we will not accept anyone to hide behind silence," Aoun threatened.
Addressing the pro-government camp, Aoun said: "They want partitioning, let it be. Why should we kill one another? Let us divide! They want unity? Unity cannot be established by (violent) means We do not dread any settlement. But we refuse to reach any deal through bloodshed."
Aoun's agreement with Hezbollah according to analysts is the main wedge that has weakened the Christian community by dividing it the right in the middle and has led to the current political crises in Lebanon. The agreement gave Hezbollah the Christian cover he needed to divide the country starting with the summer war and ending in the protests that paralyzed the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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#1
Translated:
I'd kill my granny to be President.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 4:09
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Yeah, let's broadcast this to the Taliban who are I'm sure monitoring our airwaves. Hey Makmood, all we have to do is bomb America.... What an idiot.
"But, if certain things happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how badly they have mishandled it, no matter how much more dangerous they have made the world."
Posted by: Jan ||
08/25/2007
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#1
More like: Hey Makmood, please don't bomb America until after I'm elected. Then we can surrender and you won't hate us anymore!
#9
I really don't think AQ works under this mindset.
In fact, from what I've watched over the last 6 years, it seems more likely that AQ has been effectively challenged, not becaue they care about who wins our elections, but because they enjoy stabbing those who grovel before them in the back.
I think that if AQ can manage it, they would love this opportunity to globally humiliate an infidel of Hillary's stature and get the added bonus of kicking the entire weak-kneed Democratic party in the groin area (they don't have balls) to boot.
AQ's mindset, isn't, Oh! Thank You! Infidel Hillary. We now owe ya one, we're buds, Luv Ya.
They way they see it, they are not going to suck up to anyone, especially a western bitch and weak willed Dhimmis. Allah is on their side. Why should they?
The challenge is more along the lines of Hillary said, "don't kick me" to the meanest bully you know.
Ghazi Hamad, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's spokesman, resigned from his post on Friday morning, citing the Islamist organization's refusal to take the initiative in negotiating a deal with Fatah. Asharq Alawsat reported that Hamad was strongly opposed to events in Gaza and believed Hamas made numerous mistakes in the Strip. The London-based newspaper went on to say that Hamad believed Hamas needed to show more flexibility towards Fatah in order to "to get out of the trap."
Hamad served as Haniyeh's spokesman since the Hamas prime minister was appointed and had been one of the group's spokesmen for several years. Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha said that Hamad would continue to work in Haniyeh's office, albeit in a different capacity. Taha stressed that there was no connection between Hamad's decision to resign and his recent contacts with Fatah.
He sounds like too much of a free thinker to be a Hamassassin. He ends up dead in a ditch or in charge of the whole place in a month.
Hamad's replacement is expected to be Taher Nunu, who was Mahmoud Zahar's spokesman when Zahar served as Palestinian Authority foreign minister. Nunu recently stated that Hamas's military wing should be integrated into the Gaza police force.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad's armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, declared that all its military activities, including Kassam rocket fire, were being coordinated with Hamas, Israel Radio reported. Al-Quds Brigades spokesman Abu Ahmed said the group could not decide on its own to stop or renew the rocket fire. In recent weeks, the Islamic Jihad has been launching increasingly large numbers of Kassam rockets into Israel while Hamas has mainly been firing mortar shells.
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At least 18 people were killed in pre-dawn clashes between Shia militiamen and US soldiers in Baghdad on Friday, a medic and security officials said. Doctor Mohammed Abbas from the Al-Noor hospital in Shuala where the clashes took place said he and his colleagues had received 18 corpses of people killed in the firefight. Those dead were killed by shrapnel and two of them are women, he said, suggesting that some of the dead could be civilians. We have also admitted 15 wounded people.
Prob'ly all of them were. You know how we like potting civilians.
An Iraqi security official said US troops clashed with militiamen between 3:00am and 5:00am on Friday. American soldiers in helicopters fired at militants in Shuala area before dawn, he told AFP on condition of anonymity. The US military did not immediately comment. Pictures by an AFP photographer showed a car riddled with bullets, its windowpanes completely shattered.
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#1
He ain't dead yet, but it won't be long. Raul is doing the necessary getting ready and aligning himself with what might pass for a Cuban reformation movement.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 4:15
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#2
C'mon, Fidel, hurry up and die already.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/25/2007 6:32
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#3
Yeah, we got a massive party to plan in Miami. Die, dammit, die already!!
Japan on Thursday hanged three convicted murderers in their 60s as the country stepped up the pace of executions, officials and activists said.
A justice ministry spokeswoman said the prison system hanged three criminals but declined to provide any further details, in line with standard procedure in Japan.
Amnesty International and media reports said the three were convicted murderers aged between 60 and 69.
Japan is the only major industrialized nation other than the United States to practice the death penalty.
Despite enjoying one of the world's lowest crime rates, opinion polls show Japanese overwhelmingly support capital punishment amid growing public concern about violence.
The executions bring to 10 the number of inmates hanged since December, when Japan ended a 15-month halt in executions which was due to a previous justice minister's opposition to the death penalty.
The current justice minister, Jinen Nagase, took office last year when conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power and may lose his job on Monday when the embattled premier reshuffles his cabinet.
Amnesty International, which keeps records of death-row inmates and stays in contact with their families, identified the executed inmates as Hifumi Takezawa, 69, Kozo Segawa, 63, and Yoshio Iwamoto, 60.
Makoto Teranaka, the secretary general of Amnesty International Japan, said the three inmates, unlike many on death row, had not protested their death sentences after they were finalized.
"These three inmates were the ones we were worried about," Teranaka told AFP.
"It's a grave problem for Japan to maintain the death penalty despite rising opposition to it all over the world," he said. "The government's targeting of people in weak positions such as these three inmates is also problematic."
#2
"It's a grave problem for Japan to maintain the death penalty despite rising opposition to it all over the world," he said. "The government's targeting of people in weak positions such as these three inmates is also problematic."
What a load of crap. I say bravo for the Japanese.
AI Index: ASA 22/009/2002 (Public)
News Service No: 211
20 November 2002
Japan: prison abuses must stop
Amnesty International called today on the Japanese authorities to initiate a thorough, public and independent investigation into the recent ill treatment of a 30 year old man, the death of another prisoner in May in Nagoya Prison, as well as prisoners' complaints regarding the use of force and ill-treatment by prison officials.
"Prison abuses" have obviously ended for Hifumi Takezawa, Kozo Segawa, and Yoshio Iwamoto. It's all good.
#4
Despite enjoying one of the world's lowest crime rates, opinion polls show Japanese overwhelmingly support capital punishment amid growing public concern about violence.
Despite enjoying one of the world's lowest crime rates, this article fails to concede Japan's low crime rate might have something to do with hanging criminals.
#5
There is a very good reason that there is a low crime rate in Japan (actually several). First Japan lets very few non-Japanese people live in the country permanantly. Seciond their culture is VERY strict and they are taugth from very young to follow the rules or else. Finally they are SUPER tough on criminals. Stiff sentences and harsh treatment in prison are meant to deter crime.
#6
Despite enjoying one of the world's lowest crime rates, this article fails to concede Japan's low crime rate might have something to do with hanging criminals.
James Taranto at Opinion Journal calls this the Fox Butterfield Effect. Butterfield's a NYT reporter who has written a few articles that can be summed thusly: 'U.S. prison populations are at an all-time high, but crime rates are near historical lows.' Go figure.
#7
The problem in Japan isn't the death penalty, it's there is no presumption of innocence. I've read conviction rates are an incredible 99.9% and is almost always based on a confession.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced mounting pressure from within Labour ranks Friday over his rejection of demands for a referendum on the new EU treaty. Leading eurosceptic MP Ian Davidson called on the prime minister to demand a rethink from fellow EU leaders on the controversial reform proposals. He was reported by the Daily Telegraph newspaper to have the backing of at least 40 backbench colleagues for an effective ultimatum on the issue: get the treaty changed or put it to the people.
"This new government has been willing to re-examine a number of areas of policy and has encouraged debate and discussion in a number of fields," Davidson later told BBC Radio. "We want to contribute to that and we're quite clear that there are a number of areas of reform that we would like to see that we think would make Europe more popular and make it work better and we want the prime minister to consider these." The UK government insists the new treaty is not the same as a proposed constitution, eventually scuppered by French and Dutch voters, on which Labour had promised a referendum.
Brown insisted again this week that parliament alone should make the decision, pointing to changes secured by the UK to protect national interests. But critics claim the treaty is almost identical to the abandoned treaty and the campaign for a public vote gathered pace this week with the support of major trade unions.
Davidson said he believed it would be possible to force further changes to the deal agreed by Brown's predecessor Tony Blair shortly before he left office in June.
The final version of the deal is now being drafted, with the aim of agreement between EU leaders this October and ratification - by referendum or national parliament - by June next year at the latest.
Speaking after Downing Street talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last Wednesday, the prime minister said, "If we can achieve, as we have done so far, our negotiating objectives, then I believe the proper way of considering this is through detailed consideration in parliament itself. We are determined that when the detail of the amending treaty becomes available and when the discussions of the Intergovernmental Conference happen, that we will achieve in detail all these negotiating objectives that we believe are guaranteed by the signatories in the European Council a few weeks ago."
But Davidson said, "Any time you have a meeting of European Union heads of government, there's the opportunity for discussion and debate. A group of us have come together saying we are interested in formulating proposals for change in the EU. The drawing up of this new constitution, or constitutional treaty as they are describing it, does give us the opportunity for a number of positive changes."
Iran has shut down barbers shops offering unconventional Western hairstyles amid a police crackdown on dress deemed un-Islamic, reports said.
Over the past 15 days, 13 barber shops that had not respected the unions directives have been closed down, police commander Mohammad Ali Najafi said. He told the Etemad daily that the barbers union had banned eyebrow plucking for men as well as deviant Western styles. Eleven womens beauty saloons were also shut down for not having a license or for violations such as tattooing, which is banned by a health ministry directive, he added. Tehrans barbers union said in April that police had issued a directive forbidding its members from giving men offbeat hairstyles. The directive also banned the use of cosmetics in male salons.
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Judging from the meetings of politicians in Rabieh and in Merab, Lebanon's Christians - including the Maronites - seem more divided than ever. This division threatens to undermine their future and historical role in Lebanese political life as they appear increasingly divorced from the country's sectarian-political scene - especially in light of the current Sunni, Shia and Druze positions on politics in general and elections in particular.
Although pluralism is a welcome development integral to democracy, it has become a source of weakness for Christians as compared to the solidarity among Lebanon's other sects and the spirit of cooperation embodied in the Taef Accords. If Lebanon's current division was purely political, it would be only natural for a variety of Christian parties to emerge - each pushing their own political and economic program. However, given the intense sectarian mobilization on the parts of other sects, Christian leadership seems divided into factions - each of which must follow the lead of other sects and - and does not emerge as an equal partner capable of defending its own interests.
The blame for the Christian's predicament lies mainly with the sect's leaders, many of whom brandish slogans that contradict their political positions. This includes MP Michel Aoun, who continues to view the current situation through the same lens as the 'war of cancellation' he fought almost two decades ago. Aoun recognizes no representative of the Christians but himself and attributes any opposition by others to "foreign influence." This thinking was behind Aoun's statement following the Merab meeting in which he insisted that the participants' decisions were not in their hands - apparently forgetting that many of the meeting's attendees had fought hard against Christian marginalization during the peak of Syrian hegemony and had paid a high price for it.
Following each political assassination, all eyes are on Aoun as he scrambles to craft a defense of Syria on the grounds that they have already "withdrawn from Lebanon." The presidential contest has in Aoun's eyes become a battle for survival: either Aoun becomes President or Lebanon enters a political vacuum as elections are stalled. Thus, the 'defender' of Christian rights becomes their violator - and a tool in the hands of those who wish to see a political vacuum in Lebanon for their own reasons. However, it will be Aoun alone who will bear responsibility for the crisis he creates - for the interests of his allies may be guaranteed in international and regional negotiations, while his will not.
In his last role as head of an interim government, Aoun gifted the Lebanese with two wars that resulted in the massive emigration of young Christians. Few are eager to grant him another position of leadership, for there are no longer enough young Christians remaining to don his orange shirts - unless he borrows followers from other factions.
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Sixty suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighters hit national police facilities in a coordinated attacks in Samarra, sparking two hours of fighting that saw three people killed and more than a dozen insurgents captured, police said Friday.
There were no details on insurgent casualties, but police arrested 14 suspects.
The masked attackers drove into the city at dusk Thursday in about 20 vehicles, including pickups with machine-guns, then split into small groups and assaulted four police checkpoints and a headquarters building, a Samarra police official said.
One policeman and two civilians - a woman and an 11-year-old girl - were killed in the fighting in the city 95 kilometers north of Baghdad, and nine others were injured including a police commando and three children. There were no details on insurgent casualties, but police arrested 14 suspects, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
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#1
Strange. An unusually large and complex attack but few casualties. How could they manage to kill only one of their (presumed) targets? Or, if civilians were the target, only two? And manage to get 14 of themselves arrested (20% of attack force)? It doesn't add up to me; something is incorrect about the story as written.
#3
To me it sounds more like the Iraqi police screwed up somehow and made up a story about a big attack to explain it. That may not be the case, but I have serious doubts about the story as written.
The candidate of Turkey's ruling party, Abdullah Gul, has failed to win the presidency in a second round of voting.
He fell short of a two-thirds majority of votes cast by MPs, but is expected to win in a third round next week, when only a simple majority is needed.
Mr Gul's candidacy has been highly controversial, sparking a political crisis that led to early elections.
But since his AK Party won those polls convincingly, correspondents say it has the authority to push its man through.
The country's military and secular establishment have voiced their opposition to Mr Gul, a devout Muslim who, they believe, has an Islamist agenda.
Mr Gul, currently the foreign minister, denies that, and has vowed to remain loyal to the country's secular constitution
The foreign minister's candidacy in an earlier presidential vote in April prompted a boycott by the opposition, street protests and a warning from the military that it would not allow his election.
The army has kept quiet this time, but there are still fears among secularists that by controlling the presidency as well as the government, the Islamist-rooted AKP will be able to push through reforms undermining the secular constitution.
The military will be watching for his slightest slip, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul.
And there is already furious debate because Mr Gul's wife wears the Islamic headscarf.
It is seen by some as a symbol of political Islam and is banned in all state institutions, including the presidential palace.
Gunship helicopters pounded two different positions of suspected militants as six soldiers were killed in two suicide attacks on as many military convoys in North Waziristan, a military spokesman said on Friday.
A convoy coming from Bannu was attacked by a suicide car-bomber near Kamar post, 18 kilometres east of Miranshah, killing five soldiers. Another convoy faced a suicide attack when it reached Dosali, 35 kilometres south of Miranshah, spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said, adding that a soldier was killed in the attack. He said the suicide attacks also injured 30 soldiers. The injured were rushed to a Bannu hospital. Suicide attacks are difficult to stop but we are taking precautionary measures, Gen Waheed told Daily Times, as the operations near Miranshah and Mir Ali towns followed the morning attacks on security forces.
Some reports suggest the same convoy was hit twice, but the military spokesman denied this, saying that two convoys were attacked. Gunship helicopters are pounding suspected areas near Miranshah as we have received credible intelligence about the presence of militants there, the spokesman said.
According to residents, the operation took place in Qutabkhel, five kilometres southeast of Miranshah, where gunship helicopters made various sorties starting from 3:00pm.
Reports from Mir Ali town said helicopters also pounded Patasi Adda. No casualties were reported in the two military operations.
A Touchi Scouts jawan, Zaman, was kidnapped from a chowk in Miranshah and authorities are searching for him, local administration sources said. In another incident, two Frontier Corps and an army jawan were injured after a remote-controlled bomb went off near the Banda post.
AP adds: About 250 militants and 60 Pakistani troops have died in a month of fierce fighting near the Afghan border, the army said on Friday. In the past one month, we lost about 60 soldiers in suicide and other attacks, Gen Waheed said. He added that security forces also killed about 250 militants in the same period.
The fighting has been intense in the North Waziristan tribal region, where militants pulled out of a September peace deal that critics said allowed extremists to take control. Pakistan has about 90,000 troops in the border region tasked with countering Al Qaida and Taliban militants and their local supporters.
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A charter school has been ordered to temporarily suspend Hebrew classes while officials try to determine whether teachers are advocating the Jewish faith.
Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter sent a letter to officials at the Ben Gamla Charter School in Hollywood on Wednesday advising them to halt Hebrew classes until the school board could further examine the curriculum.
#4
According to Kabbalistic legend, the Hebrew language is inextricably interwoven with the Jewish faith. Go ahead, ban it right along with how Arabic is the sole and proper language of the Koran. No? THEN FUCK OFF!
#5
Every Muslim text includes a reference to Muhammed as the "last prophet." Ergo: they negate ALL other faiths. In fact, one Muslim cult - Ahmadiyyah - with dogma that allows for belief that the nominal Muslim deity communicates to post Muhammed humans, is banned throughout the Muslim primitivocracies. The Paki constitution has a provision, denouncing the Ahmadiyyahs as a "non-Muslim minority." Real tolerance! They should get, what they give us.
1) There's no mention of any kind of Islamic "problem" with the school, so what's up with the anti-Muslim stuff? Please keep it on topic.
and
2) If there is actual religious teaching going on, paid for by taxpayer dollars, that's a big negatory, regardless of what faith is being taught.
It can a thin line, and based on the info in the article I don't know where to draw it in this specific case. I give credit to the people running the school who are trying to encourage the study of Hebrew and yet stay within the laws governing a charter school.
If the parents want religious instruction during the school day, that's perfectly ok. They just don't have the right to have it funded with taxpayer dollars.
#7
SB, without likely additional factors not mentioned in the article, in principle, I agree with you.
If the school decides to fight the ruling, they'd have ample precedent established by the US 9th circuit court of appeals, as mentioned at this link (the Supremes recently denied cert for the appeal against the 9th's ruling).
1. "She BIN had dat han'-made dress" (SE: She's had that hand-made dress for a long time, and still does.)
2. "Befo' you know it, he be done aced de tesses." (SE Before you know it, he will have already aced the tests.)
3. "Ah 'on know what homey be doin." (SE: I don't know what my friend is usually doing.)
AAVE: "Can't nobody tink de way he do." (SE: Nobody can think the way he does.)
4. "I ast Ruf could she bring it ovah to Tom crib." (SE: I asked Ruth if/whether she could bring it over to Tom's place.)
#9
Interesting that the scrutiny here seemed to have begun from within the school (probably from some anti-Semite) but the so called Arabic school in NYC (which is more likely a madrassa and certainly had an Islamic component) had no such scrutiny from within.
#10
I'm hoping trailing wife might please weigh in on this topic and provide us with some insights regarding whether it is possible to properly teach Hebrew without making any allusions to or transmission of knowledge about Judaism.
#12
Zenster: Hebrew is a modern language (once again), and can easily be taught without any reference whatsoever to the Jewish religion or even to Israel as a Jewish nation. There are 2000 years worth of secular literary works -- fiction, poetry, the various sciences, philosophy, history -- that can be studied once a higher level of language fluency has been acquired, just as is available to serious students of French or Chinese. On the religious side, the fact that some of the books of the New Testament were clearly originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, or were written in Greek by native Aramaic speakers, allows for discussion even of the religious side of the language taking a purely Jewish approach. Even some of the literature of the Old Testament, say the Song of Songs, can be addressed as a beautiful example of a Middle Eastern wedding song, still composed and sung by Muslims in the Arab world today.
Riyadh-based Oukaz lashed out at the Syrian regime Tuesday accusing it of having plotted the assassination of Lebanese politicians starting with Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt. "For the last 30 years Syria has set up a clear-cut plan to systematically kill Lebanese leaders to incite strife among various Lebanese sects, and consequently reinforce its presence and role in Lebanon," the newspaper said
The Saudi daily has published in its Tuesday issue a special report from Beirut tackling the role of Syria in Lebanon since 1975. The daily described the current Syrian regime as "a regime of slaying and slaughter," and accused it of making use "of all possible means to restore its influence in Lebanon after their withdrawal in April 2005."
"The Syrian regime has long worked on inciting hatred and conflicts among the Lebanese and has currently created what could be labeled as 'death teams' to silence anyone who dares to speak against Syrian influence in Lebanon," Oukaz reported.
The daily blamed Syria for plotting all the assassinations of March 14 figure which took place following the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri. Oukaz also accused Syria of killing former presidents Bashir Gemayel and Rene Mouawad.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Syria escalated in the last week or so because of discord over Lebanon. Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said last week the kingdom's regional influence was in a state of paralysis. Riyadh snapped back saying Damascus was trying to incite disorder and conflicts in the region.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated after the February 2005 Hariri assassination, which ultimately led to Syria's withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon after a three-decade military presence. "The Syrian regime has brought nothing but harm to the Lebanese as well as the Palestinians in Lebanon; fueling inter-Lebanese and Lebanese-Palestinian skirmishes in an attempt to boost its role in Lebanon," the daily said.
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Iraqi citizens and police fought back against an al-Qaeda attack on two villages near Kanaan early Thursday morning, brought on because the villagers had begun assisting Iraqi Security Forces in pushing the terrorist group out of the area.
An unknown number of terrorists were killed, said Skeik Thar al-Karki, the paramount sheik for the Karki tribe, stating they could not determine the number because AQI members load the bodies in vehicles during attacks. Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of Coalition Forces in Diyala province, visited leaders in both villages where they reported 10 citizens killed, 11 wounded and 14 women and children taken hostage. Many villagers commented to Sutherland that this kind of brutality would only stiffen their resolve and cause other nearby villages to stand up against AQI. This is a disgraceful act showing the truly barbaric acts of al-Qaeda and the disdain they show for the foundations of Islam, said Col. Sutherland. Their actions will not be tolerated and they will be brought to justice.
The attack was targeted at two senior sheiks in Kanaan who have been backing concerned local nationals and security forces in their stand against AQI, said Thar.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
My condolences for those who were killed, wounded, or taken captive. However, resistance must continually be offered to ensure that your manhood is not questioned.
#1
I had a Belgian friend staying out at my ranch for a few days so I can summerize this article for everyone: the Dutch speaking Belgians are getting really, really tired of paying for the French Speaking Belgians. Economically speaking, Wallonia is not pulling its own weight, and probably never will.
A high-level meeting chaired by President General Pervez Musharraf at his camp office in Rawalpindi on Friday decided that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif, would be arrested if they returned to Pakistan, ARY television reported.
Quoting its sources, the channel said that the presidents constitutional experts and legal adviser told him the judiciary had become very aggressive and expressed their reservations over the judicial activism and the cases coming before the Supreme Court in the future. According to the channel, the meeting decided that the Sharif brothers would be arrested on their return and their pardoned sentences would be revived.
Agencies and Staff Report add: The meeting attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat, Attorney General Malik Qayyum, PMs Adviser Sharifuddin Pirzada, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani and some close presidential aides also discussed the current political situation and expressed support to the proposals on political reconciliation between President Musharraf and the opposition parties.
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Gunmen shot and killed a Somali radio journalist in the south of the country Friday, a colleague said, in the third violent death of a journalist within two weeks. Abdulkadir Moallim Kaskey, who worked for a local station called Benadir, died and a woman traveling with him was wounded in an attack on their minibus in southwestern Gedo province, said a colleague, Mohamed Sanweyn. "Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey was a young talented journalist, and we are deeply concerned by his killing," another colleague, Mohamed Mo'allin, told the Associated Press by phone. He did not know why Kaskey had been killed.
On Aug. 11, two journalists from Mogadishu-based HornAfrik were murdered, the first man by gunmen and the second in an explosion when he returned from his colleague's funeral.
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#1
You cannot imagine how conflicted this news item makes me.
The government has rejected the phased release of 15 Frontier Corps jawans kidnapped by militants, and told the Mehsud peace jirga that it wanted the kidnappers to free all the hostages simultaneously.
South Waziristan Political Agent Hussainzada Khan conveyed the governments message to Member of the National Assembly Maulana Mairajuddin at a meeting in Wana on Friday. Mairajuddin, who belongs to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), has been making efforts for the release of the abducted FC personnel. The MMA tribal leader told Daily Times that the government did not want the FC men to be released in phases.
The kidnappers agreed to release the hostages in phases a few days ago. Sources said the kidnappers had been demanding that the government release their accomplices arrested in Zhob on July 24, in exchange for the kidnapped FC men. Mairajuddin said he would raise the issue of the kidnapped FC men at a loya jirga of Mehsud tribes today (Saturday) at Ladah.
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Russian oil supplies to Germany have dropped by as much as one-third in recent weeks, a Russian pipeline official said Friday, sharply pinching supplies at a major German refinery.
Sergei Grigoriev, a top executive with state-controlled pipeline operator OAO Transneft, blamed oil giant OAO Lukoil and several smaller oil companies and said it was not linked to any repairs of the Druzhba pipeline, which runs from Russia through Belarus en route to Europe.
''The reduction was evident last month and this month,'' Grigoriev told Dow Jones Newswires.
''Maybe they're looking for another market,'' he said.
A Lukoil spokesman declined to comment, but said a statement would be released in the coming days.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Schwedt refinery confirmed that the plant in eastern Germany has seen disruptions in supplies from Russia since July.
Karl-Heinz Schwellnus, a spokesman for refinery operator PCK Raffinerie GmbH, would not say what was the causing the disruptions, but said PCK has been talking with suppliers to try and ease the disruptions.
Despite the disruptions in Russian supplies, the refinery was operating at full capacity through the use of its own resources, he said.
The refinery is jointly owned by BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Total SA and Agip, and can process approximately 10 billion tons, or slightly more than 9 billion metric tons, a year, about 10 percent of Germany's capacity.
European leaders have had growing doubts about the reliability of Russian oil and gas supplies following several disputes between state-owned Russian energy companies and Ukraine and Belarus, where transit pipelines for European-bound supplies are located.
The disputes resulted in Russian energy exports being disrupted and led to calls in some European capitals for Europe diversify its sources.
Russia and Germany are also building a natural gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea intended to get Russian supplies directly Germany and bypass transit countries.
I'm putting this in non-WOT for now, because it's likely the work of the far left rather than jihadis. But as Rantburg regulars know, there's an increasing tendency for the two camps to ally with one another.
Three explosive devices were discovered at the campus of the HEC School of Management, one of Europe's premier business schools, police said.
The devices -- now the subject of an investigation by anti-terrorist prosecutors -- were found a week before a planned visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy and several government ministers and senior business leaders.
A police official said "a total of three incendiary devices ... made from 16 glass bottles" had been discovered and disarmed. Each had been fitted with "a classic detonation device".
HEC, one of France's elite "grande ecoles," is in the Paris suburb of Jouy-en-Josas. It plays host next week to a summer gathering of political and business leaders organised by the Mouvement des Entreprises de France, the nation's premier employers' group.
The Ministry of Defence has faced heavy criticism for failing to provide troops with technology that could help prevent "friendly fire" incidents after three soldiers died when an American jet dropped a bomb on them.
Ministers had been warned by MPs this year that they had repeatedly failed to invest in a combat identification system to protect British forces from accidental attacks by allies.
Ministers had been warned by MPs this year that they had repeatedly failed to invest in a combat identification system to protect British forces from accidental attacks by allies.
Yesterday it emerged that the three soldiers died in Afghanistan when a US plane called in by British troops to attack Taliban insurgents they were fighting accidentally hit them with a 500lb bomb instead.
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#2
Hokay, how is it that Muslim terrorist atrocities against fellow Muslims are never termed "friendly fire"? That's what it is, or are all of us foolish Westerners so gulled into believing that substantial rifts exist in how Islam wants us all DEAD?
I thought so. Well, when does the MSM start mentioning how Islamic "friendly fire" kills far more Muslims that the West has ever had the courage to do?
#3
CORRECTION: Well, when does the MSM start mentioning how Islamic "friendly fire" kills far more Muslims THAN the West has ever had the courage to do?
#5
You just knew the Brit lefties and chickenshiite Tories were going to engage in a Paleo-style corpse swarm over this -- if these troops had come home alive they'd have spit on them.
Posted by: regular joe ||
08/25/2007 9:10
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#6
There's a bigger issue here. Britain's model for command and control across the services is a bit different from ours, an older dispersed model. Plus their investment in training and equipment far lags the quality of their (older) troops.
They need an upgrade, but which one? The Euroforce or US-compatible? And how much do we make available to / design alongside them, given that some UK government (Brown's, possibly) will opt for the full Euro alignment?
I do know that we've offered them tech to solve the ID issue. But there has to be a political will to move in the US direction plus an agreement within the upper UK military ranks. And, they have to find the money for it, which is harder and harder now that the EU 'treaty' binds them to a huge welfare burden for an essentially unrestricted immigrant flow.
#7
The US has been bombing friendlies since WW2. There's a tiny bit of truth in this old joke: When the Germans start bombing, the British take cover. When the Brits start bombing, the Germans take cover. When the Americans start bombing, everyone takes cover.
In the case of strategic bombing in WW2, however, the situation was completely reversed.
#8
One of my dad's war stories was one that said a whole squad of infantry soldiers was wiped out in a "tactical" airstrike during the push north out of Luxembourg toward Bastogne. I checked it out - it was true. It wasn't the only incident, either. Many of our soldiers during WWII would praise and curse the "airdales" in the same breath.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/25/2007 13:53
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#9
"The US has been bombing friendlies since WW2"
Lemme give you a hint: everybody's been bombing friendlies since WW2.
Friendly fire is a much bigger problem than is generally admitted. The problem here is that the Brits are more than a decade behind the Americans in blue force tracking. Other counties are even worse off.
That said, the 9th Air Force was proudly known as "the American Luftwaffe" for its impartial strafing of both sides during WW2.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/25/2007 15:33
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#10
Lemme give you a hint: everybody's been bombing friendlies since WW2. The problem here is that the Brits are more than a decade behind the Americans in blue force tracking.
And how many times has it happened that the Brits bombed their own? Supposedly they are the ones far behind with the technology, but I've heard only about incidents involving American pilots. Plain dumb luck?
#17
No doubt. 6 Harriers probably fly no more than every other day. CENTAF Air Power Summaries show 40-50 CAS missions a day, so the Harriers contribute around 5% of aircraft and less in flight hours and bombs dropped due to Harrier load limits vs A-10s, F-15s or B-1.
Will the investigation show the FAC called his own coordinate to be bombed (happened before) or a bomb malfunction? The other possibility of the pilot entering wrong coordinates and verifying it seems small since in that case the bomb is more likely to wildly off.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2007 20:01
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A wealthy Russian tried to buy a U.S. B-52 bomber from a group of shocked American pilots at an airshow near Moscow, a Russian newspaper reported Friday.
The unidentified Russian, wearing sunglasses and surrounded by bodyguards, approached the U.S. delegation and asked to buy the bomber, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper said.
An astounded member of the U.S. delegation said the bomber was not for sale but that it would cost at least $500 million if it were to be sold on the spot.
"That is no problem. It is such a cool machine," the Russian was quoted as saying by the newspaper, which said its reporter overheard the conversation. The bomber was not sold.
Russia's new rich, who built fantastic fortunes trading commodities and contacts after the fall of the Soviet Union, have made a name for themselves as ostentatious purchasers of everything from British football clubs to Faberge eggs.
#7
I'm wondering what this guy has in his collection... I can imagine that certain Russian local officers would not turn down such an offer... he seems quite used to buying stuff from the military
A Tu-22 Backfire perhaps?
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 21:10
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#8
I hope he was told to go to hell; or better yet, to seek out his 'Task Master', R. Chicom Dragon for advice!
A deal was reached with Islamic extremists holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon to allow their families to leave the besieged area, a Muslim clergyman and a senior military official said Friday.
Bad translation of the source documents. The actual agreement was for "a battalion of children, to be accompanied by an appropriate number of persons wearing burkas."
Sheik Mohammed al-Haj of the Paleo Scholars' Association said he was contacted Friday by Fatah al Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha, requesting his mediation with the Lebanese army command for a truce to allow the remaining civilians most of them relatives of the fighters to leave the refugee camp. The Association has been mediating between the militants and the army since fighting broke out in the camp on May 20.
The senior military official confirmed that a deal has been reached with Fatah al Islam fighters to allow their civilian relatives to leave the camp. "There is an agreement that they (the families) come out today ... If they're being truthful, we are ready," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to military rules. "We have taken all the necessary arrangements," he added, declining to elaborate.
"Each kiddie or its guardian may carry personal sidearms and enough ammunition for the first week of school."
Witnesses near the Nahr el-Bared camp in north Lebanon said the army seemed to have halted its bombardment as of Friday morning, suggesting that a truce to evacuate the families may be in place. A number of Muslim sheiks from the Paleo Scholars' Association have gathered at the southern entrance to the camp from where the civilians were expected to emerge, they added.
For weeks, the army has been calling on the estimated 100 women and children still in the camp to leave, clearing the way for a final military assault to eradicate the remaining Fatah al Islam fighters there. In the last two weeks, the Lebanese army has augmented its months-old artillery bombardment of the camp with massive 1000-pound bombs dropped from helicopters, which may have prompted the fighters to ask for the truce.
The camp's more than 31,000 civilian residents fled in the first weeks of the fighting and the army estimates only 70 Fatah Islam fighters remain, down from 360 when the fighting began. The army has refused to halt its offensive until the militants completely surrender, while, until now, the Islamists have vowed to fight to the death.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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#1
Double check anyone wearing a burkah.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/25/2007 12:08
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The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the mandate of the 13,600-member U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon and called for a permanent cease-fire and long-term solution to last summer's Israel-Hezbollah war.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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Brigadier General Richard Sherlock, deputy director for operational planning for the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday that terrorists and insurgents may use coincident sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the onset of Ramadan, and the much-awaited US progress report to accelerate attacks in Iraq. An unconfirmed report says that some unidentified individual has made a $700M PUT order for Standard and Poor's Depository Receipts (SPY), for mid-September. If the S&P 500 crashed, they could make perhaps $2B.
#2
Not wrong merely stupid and didn't happen. A fantasy.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 4:23
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#3
It's like an unconfirmed report with no links to Unconfirmed reports have B-2's leaving Whiteman on the back of New Super-Stealthy-Transports, said to save time and money.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 4:25
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#4
How come Bernake intervened just before the August put expiration, harshly sticking it to put holders?
http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/211386
It is strongly suggested in this article that this was a strong warning that he could do the same in September.
The families of the Fatah al-Islam terrorist militia battling Lebanese troops for the past three months, began leaving a battered Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon on Friday. "The evacuation has begun," the source said. "We announced a ceasefire to ensure the evacuation within a specific time frame."
Witnesses said the Lebanese army told journalists to stay away from the area where the civilians -- 22 women and 41 children -- were to leave the camp. The civilians are said to include the wife of Fatah al-Islam chief Shaker al-Abssi and the widow and child of his number two, Abu Hureira, who was killed in recent weeks.
He added that the army was processing the group before taking them out of the camp. A military source said the group would likely be questioned by the army command and any foreigners among them would then be handed over to their respective embassies. Anyone needing emergency medical assistance, particularly the children, will be taken to hospital, the head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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#1
Hope that "processing" includes looking under the burquas to make sure they be wimmin.
Coalition Forces delivered several blows to al-Qaeda in Iraqs car bombing networks Friday, killing two terrorists and detaining 18 suspected terrorists during operations in central and northern Iraq.
Information from a raid in Baghdad Aug. 15 led Coalition Forces to a weapons facilitator in the city. Two men in the targeted building refused to comply with the interpreters instructions and made threatening movements toward the assault force. Coalition Forces defended against the hostile threat and engaged the two men, killing both. One of the men was identified as the weapons trafficker sought in the raid. Coalition Forces detained one suspected terrorist from the scene.
Iraqi and Coalition Forces detained nine suspected terrorists associated with two high-profile bombing attacks during operations in Kirkuk and Tikrit. In Kirkuk, Iraqi and Coalition Forces targeted a member of the local car-bombing cell who is believed to have used his house to store the truck bombs used in the July 16 attack that killed 80 people. The ground forces detained four suspected terrorists linked to the cell. Coalition Forces also targeted associates of Haytham Sabah al-Badri who participated in the Samarra Golden Mosque bombing. Coalition Forces detained five suspected terrorists during the operation and found an 80-pound bag of Iraqi money.
In Mosul, Coalition Forces conducted two raids targeting the suicide bombing network there. A precision raid nabbed a suspected expert car bomb maker in charge of all suicide bombers in the area. During another raid, Coalition Forces detained three suspected terrorists linked to a safe house operator who shelters suicide bombers for attacks in Ninewa and Dahuk provinces.
During a raid in the Tarmiyah area, Coalition Forces captured a suspected senior operative of a bombing network whose leader was killed during an operation Aug. 20. Three additional suspects were detained for their ties to the bombing network. Each operation presents us the next piece of intelligence, the next target, the next mission to capture and disrupt the networks conducting brutal and indiscriminate attacks against Iraqis, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. Were pursuing them relentlessly we want to stop them before they can strike.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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#1
It's become clear that we have the upper hand and they will disappear by attrition.
This, of course, is bad news for the MSM and thge democrats. However, attrition is taking it's toll on the MSM as well. Do you think the democrats will fare better ?
A Christian televangelist in Florida who harshly criticizes Islam and other religions said Friday that his late-night program is being pulled off the air because of pressure from a Muslim group. Earlier this month, officials from the Council on American Islamic Relations wrote a letter to the TV station's owners asking for an investigation of the show it broadcasts, "Live Prayer with Bill Keller."
In a May 2 broadcast, the televangelist said Islam was a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell" and called the Prophet Mohammed a "murdering pedophile." He also called the Quran a "book of fables and a book of lies."
Station manager Laura Caruso of WTOG, which airs the show, said the decision to end Keller's contract was a programming one, made by station executives and the televangelist.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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#1
Yea sure it was honey, you got a law suit threat.
#2
In a May 2 broadcast, the televangelist said Islam was a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell" and called the Prophet Mohammed a "murdering pedophile." He also called the Quran a "book of fables and a book of lies."
#3
Mixed feelings here, most televangelists are crap, but the muslims are greater crap.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/25/2007 12:05
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#4
Even televangelists are right once in a while.
said Islam was a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell" and called the Prophet Mohammed a "murdering pedophile." He also called the Quran a "book of fables and a book of lies."
#6
You always have the right to turn off the television if it offends you. You do NOT have the right to shut down the television station because it broadcasts something that offends you. That's the difference CAIR refuses to acknowledge. CAIR should be shut down and all its members expelled from the United States for undermining the Constitution and the rule of civil law.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/25/2007 15:30
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#7
I suppose the owners of the station are free to broadcast or not broadcast whatever they want. But if they were smart they would sit back for a while and watch to see if their ratings jump when people find out they are broadcasting the truth. I mean, as long as CAIR is willing to give them the free publicity this guy Bill Keller could develop quite a following.
#8
You can believe that Muhammed: concocted the Koran; received the Koran through an angel; there is insufficient evidence to decide the issue of whether or not he was truthful. You CANNOT be a Christian, and believe that the Koran is a revealed document. Keller is very bright - I know about the 3 years in federal lockup - and he attacks all sects of Islam, Kabballah and liberal Christianity. I have found that he argues from conviction, and is open to allowing others to test his faith. Muslims deny: the crucifixion; the ressurection; the record of miracles; the divinity of Jesus Christ; the finality of the Christian prophecy and the inevitabilty of prophetic narrative. Do we silence Muslim imams because Christians find their denials to be abhorrent?
Can Muslims deny Muhammed's pedophilic tendencies? Bukhari and al-Tabari both record his marriage to a 6 year old girl, and the consummation of same when the "prophet" was 55. Was Muhammed a murderer? The Hadith notes only 1 killing attributed to Muhammed, and that was of a prisoner of war. Ergo: the "prophet" of Islam was a "murdering pedophile." Since the Koran is a hearsay document, calling it a "lie" is proper.
#9
If eliminating Islam requires putting up with televangelist slimeballs, I'm down with that. At least they aren't out to nuke us all.
Check-out that last chapter.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 19:42
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#10
Check-out that last chapter.
Fear not, Thomas Woof. I've had the occasional disturbing conversation about Revelations with Christian fundamentalists who would like nothing more than have Armageddon happen tomorrow. Fortunately, the vast majority of Christians I know understand thatunlike certain Persian fanatics and their 12th imamthey are not supposed to actively bring about the End of Days and instead realize it is either allegorical or something that will be invoked by malign entities.
Old Patriot cuts to the chase on this one. Americans have the right to simply remove their support from a concept by boycotting it. Muslims seek to materially excise all contrary, antagonistic or competing thought models. CAIR needs to be banned, its stateside operations shut down, all of its executive directors imprisoned or deported and have its membership placed under 24/7/365 surveillance.
Former Iraqi president Abdel Rahman Aref, who was ousted by Saddam Husseins Baath party in 1968, died in Jordan on Friday at the age of 91, his family said. Aref, who had been living in Amman for three years, died of natural causes at Al-Hussein Medical Centre, a military hospital in the Jordanian capital, according to a family source. Aref, who is survived by five children, took part in the 1958 military coup led by his brother Abdel Salam Aref that overthrew the Iraqi monarchy. After his brother died in a helicopter crash, he ruled the country from 1966 to 1968, until he himself was ousted in a Baathist coup and then lived in exile in Turkey before returning in 1979.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unknown assailants gunned down an activist of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) early on Friday. The banned SSPs activist Kaleen Ullah, 22, was shot dead in Tareenabad Colony in Cantonment Police Stations jurisdiction. The assailants managed to escape from the scene.
This article starring:
KALIN ULLAH
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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Hamas security men scuffled with rowdy Fatah supporters, fired in the air and briefly detained journalists at a protest against the Islamic group's rule in the Strip. Hamas gunmen fired over the heads of hundreds of demonstrators who gathered after Friday prayers organized by the rival Fatah movement. The protesters converged on a former Fatah compound in Gaza City now occupied by Hamas, chanting pro-Fatah slogans, throwing stones and empty bottles and waving yellow Fatah flags.
It was the second time in recent weeks that Hamas men have clashed violently with Fatah protesters - and could signal possible cracks in Hamas's two-month-old ironclad rule of Gaza. Harassment of journalists and political opponents appears to be on the rise.
When several Hamas security men roughed up a Reuters TV cameraman filming the protest and tried to confiscate his camera, protesters surrounded the Hamas men, beat them to the ground and prevented the cameraman's arrest. The demonstrators cursed the Hamas men, calling them "Shiites" - a derogatory allusion to Hamas' alliance with the hardline Shiite Muslim regime in Iran.
The Hamas men also detained a photographer working for Agence France Press and a cameraman for the Russian TV channel Russia Today, along with two other reporters working for local news outlets. They also broke a TV camera belonging to the Arabic-language TV network al-Arabiya. All four detained journalists were released after being held briefly, Hamas officials and witnesses said. A Hamas militia spokesman, Saber Khalifa, said no protesters were injured. He had no comment on the reporters' arrest.
The Islamic militant group claims it is willing to tolerate dissent but has cracked down on the remnants of Fatah in Gaza, including breaking up private parties earlier this month where people were singing pro-Fatah songs. At a protest in mid-August, Hamas security men clubbed Fatah protesters, seized the cameras of journalists covering the event and raided media offices to prevent news footage from getting out. Hamas has closed down all opposition media and banned protests that lack official permission.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007
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#1
fired in the air and briefly detained journalists
Is this written out somewhere in a secret Palestinian instruction manual or does a predisposition for gunsex and kidnapping journos go deeper down to some sort of genetic level?
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.
By Juliet Njeri 
Ala Abu Srour, the local leader of the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank city of Jenin, was killed when undercover IDF troops opened fire on his car, Saturday, Palestinian security forces said. 
Jordan has charged five men with killing a female relative who allegedly had an affair, according to a court document obtained Friday. 
Floods in North Korea in recent weeks have affected 437,000 people and damaged more than one-fifth of the countrys rice crop, according to official North Korean estimates, the UNs food relief agency said on Friday
Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers battled with insurgents in the Doura neighborhood of Baghdad Aug. 20 leaving three suspected terrorists dead. Troops from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div, heard gunfire near a bridge and went to investigate. When the Warriors saw a checkpoint taking fire, they engaged one insurgent with small arms fire, killing him. 
At least 18 people were killed in pre-dawn clashes between Shia militiamen and US soldiers in Baghdad on Friday, a medic and security officials said. Doctor Mohammed Abbas from the Al-Noor hospital in Shuala where the clashes took place said he and his colleagues had received 18 corpses of people killed in the firefight. Those dead were killed by shrapnel and two of them are women, he said, suggesting that some of the dead could be civilians. We have also admitted 15 wounded people. 
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced mounting pressure from within Labour ranks Friday over his rejection of demands for a referendum on the new EU treaty. Leading eurosceptic MP Ian Davidson called on the prime minister to demand a rethink from fellow EU leaders on the controversial reform proposals. He was reported by the Daily Telegraph newspaper to have the backing of at least 40 backbench colleagues for an effective ultimatum on the issue: get the treaty changed or put it to the people.
Gunship helicopters pounded two different positions of suspected militants as six soldiers were killed in two suicide attacks on as many military convoys in North Waziristan, a military spokesman said on Friday.
Riyadh-based Oukaz lashed out at the Syrian regime Tuesday accusing it of having plotted the assassination of Lebanese politicians starting with Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt. "For the last 30 years Syria has set up a clear-cut plan to systematically kill Lebanese leaders to incite strife among various Lebanese sects, and consequently reinforce its presence and role in Lebanon," the newspaper said
A high-level meeting chaired by President General Pervez Musharraf at his camp office in Rawalpindi on Friday decided that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif, would be arrested if they returned to Pakistan, ARY television reported.
Gunmen shot and killed a Somali radio journalist in the south of the country Friday, a colleague said, in the third violent death of a journalist within two weeks. Abdulkadir Moallim Kaskey, who worked for a local station called Benadir, died and a woman traveling with him was wounded in an attack on their minibus in southwestern Gedo province, said a colleague, Mohamed Sanweyn. "Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey was a young talented journalist, and we are deeply concerned by his killing," another colleague, Mohamed Mo'allin, told the Associated Press by phone. He did not know why Kaskey had been killed. 
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unknown assailants gunned down an activist of the banned 
