ISLAMABAD - Pakistan announced on Saturday a suspension of military operations against Islamist militants for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but a senior official said security forces would respond if attacked.
The government's top Interior Ministry official, Rehman Malik, said security forces would suspend operations from Sunday night for the month of Ramadan, which ends at the beginning of October, but would retaliate if attacked. "If militants take any action the security forces will respond with full force," Malik told reporters in the eastern city of Lahore.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008
22:34 ||
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VIENNA - The UN atomic watchdog called on Iran Monday to clear up allegations that it had been involved in nuclear warhead studies, while Tehran protested it has not seen any evidence backing up the charges. Instead of simply dismissing the allegations as 'forged' and 'fabricated', Iran 'should clarify the extent to which the documentation is factually correct and where, as it asserts, such information may have been fabricated or relates to non-nuclear purposes,' IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said.
Oh. That's all. Just ask and they'll answer. Why didn't we think of that?
Iran should provide 'substantive information to support its statements and access to relevant documentations and individuals,' ElBaradei told the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board.
In a report last week, ElBaradei had accused Iran of stalling an UN investigation into its disputed nuclear programme.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008
22:20 ||
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Two soldiers was seriously hurt, 4 moderately, the rest slightly injured when a black BMW crashed into a party of soldiers on the sidewalk of Shivtei Yisrael Street halfway between the Old City and the Jerusalem municipality, Monday night, Sept. 22.
One of the soldiers shot the assailant dead. He came from Jebel Mukaber in southern Jerusalem. The soldiers were on the way to the Western Wall.
This was the third vehicular attack in Jerusalem in recent months. In the first two, terrorists crashed bulldozers into traffic on main Jerusalem thoroughfares.
On the West Bank, an Israeli soldier at the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus lost the sight of one eye when a Palestinian woman threw acid on his face.
Military sources report a proliferation of Palestinian attacks since Israel eased some counter-terror restrictions for Ramadan. Just as standard practice, whenever crap like this happens, immediately pour bacon grease over the Muslim, live or dead. Yell out: "This is bacon grease!", and pour it on them. And yes, I'm sure some secular Jews would be willing to do this.
WASHINGTON Throw the flag against: Barack Obama. Call: Unsportsmanlike conduct. What happened: Obama played the fear card, telling the elderly they'd have lost their Social Security last week had John McCain been president.
"If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it would've had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week," Obama said.
"How do you think that would have made folks feel? Millions would've watched as the market tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes."
Obama rolled out the incendiary comments in Florida, home to a large retiree population and a crucial battleground state in the election. He trails McCain by nearly 3 percentage points there in an average of recent polls compiled by www.realclearpolitics.com.
Why that's wrong: McCain doesn't propose that the elderly divert their Social Security money into the stock market. He's said that he wants to allow younger workers not current retirees or those close to it to divert some of their Social Security taxes into privately managed accounts that could include stocks. He's said that he'd want a plan "along the lines of what President Bush proposed."
Bush said flat out in 2005 that current retirees and those close to retirement wouldn't be included and their benefits would remain exactly as they were now. Only those born after 1950 55 or younger at the time of Bush's proposal would have the option of diverting some of their taxes into private accounts.
In an interview Sunday with CNBC, McCain repeated his support for voluntary private accounts, but said again that they'd be available only to younger people.
"I still believe that young Americans ought to . . . be able to, in a voluntary fashion . . . put some of their money into accounts with their name on it," he said.
Penalty: 15 yards for using a financial crisis to scare the elderly.
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Forced off Iraq's streets and with diminished political clout, what anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia do next will be crucial if they are to remain relevant.
The rallying cry of the Mehdi Army and Sadr's political movement since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 has been to kick American soldiers out of Iraq. With a 2011 deadline for a U.S. troop withdrawal possibly in sight, Sadr must find another cause to give his movement purpose and cohesion.
Sadr has largely frozen the Mehdi Army, which led two uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004, and has shifted to cultivating the cultural wing of his movement.
The cleric has huge support among Iraq's Shi'ite poor, and similar movements in the Middle East have traditionally replaced or bolstered armed struggle with cultural and charitable works that have fed into votes at the ballot box.
But the cleric has decided his movement will not compete in upcoming local elections under the Sadr banner. Sadrists will instead join independent candidate groups.
The move could be a way of keeping a hand in politics without giving legitimacy to elections held while U.S. forces are still in place.
But the move could limit their influence in increasingly powerful provincial councils, where they hold little sway after largely boycotting the last local elections in 2005, and rob them of momentum in national polls due at the end of 2009.
Sadrists took part in the previous parliamentary elections, but control only 10 percent of seats. They withdrew their six cabinet ministers from the government in 2007 in protest at Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Sadr's movement is unlikely to survive as a purely cultural and charitable organization with no military or political clout, said Toby Dodge, an Iraq specialist at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
"They'd disappear almost overnight if they did that. It would go against every model they're copying ... If they don't run (in elections) and demobilize their militia, what's the point of them? What's the unifying ideology?" he said.
SADR SLIPPING?
Sadr spokesmen say the cleric froze his militia partly to give Baghdad and Washington space to agree a security deal, now in its final stages of negotiation, that is likely to pave the way for a large-scale U.S. troop withdrawal by the end of 2011.
"If the agreement has positive points and a defined deadline then I'm sure we will support it," chief Sadr spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi said in an interview at the cleric's headquarters in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf.
Ubaidi last month suggested the Mehdi Army would dissolve if the United States withdrew according to a defined timetable.
With violence in Iraq at four-year lows, the Pentagon will pull 8,000 soldiers out by February, leaving 138,000 troops.
But the Sadr movement will only outline its next move after the U.S. presence ends, not before, Ubaidi said.
Meanwhile, rival political groups are consolidating power, while a series of crackdowns by an increasingly assertive Maliki has forced the Mehdi Army from many of its former bastions.
Attacks on Shi'ites by Sunni militants, which drove many to Sadr's militia for support, have plunged. Criminal elements among the Mehdi Army's ranks have also frustrated Sadr.
"Moqtada may be beginning to feel that the Mehdi Army is becoming more of a liability than an asset," said Reidar Visser, an Iraq expert and editor of the www.historiae.org website.
Luwaa Sumaisem, head of the Sadr parliamentary bloc's political committee, said the movement had future political ambitions and wanted to be central in efforts to rebuild Iraq.
Focus on the Sadrist cultural wing, which defines itself as an "army of cultural and religious doctrine" that wages jihad on the "western and secular tide," could be considered a political move in preparation for the departure of U.S. forces, he said.
"That we don't have political ambitions, that may be for the moment. It's not our priority," he told Reuters.
RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY
Greater religious authority could be one way Sadr intends to retain relevance. Widely believed to be studying in Iran, Ubaidi said it would not be long before Sadr would enter the ranks of the Marjaiya, or senior Shi'ite Islamic clergy.
"The next key step for the Sadrist movement may relate to Sadr's religious status, and in particular whether he is going to make an attempt to act as a scholar with the ability to issue his own fatwas (religious edicts)," Visser said.
In Shi'ite-majority Iraq the Marjaiya have huge influence, although frosty ties with Iraq's top Shi'ite clergy mean it is unclear how much weight would be given to Sadr's fatwas.
Often ambiguous and sometimes contradictory, many of Sadr's frequent statements give few clues to his thinking.
Making few public appearances, Sadr may next appear when the U.S.-Iraqi security deal is signed, Ubaidi said. Until then, the support of at least some of Iraq's Shi'ite poor remains strong.
"Of course we hope for no more violence. Look at all these young men," said Abdul-Zahra Darwish, the brother of a slain Mehdi Army fighter as he stood among graves at a Sadrist cemetery in Najaf. "But I am ready to fight and die."
#1
The ISLAMIST HIDDEN IMAM-MAHDI can't ask for better or more opportune LOCAL-WORLD conditions to make an Appearance.
ANd again, given MUSLIM/ISLAMIC MIL HISTORY [vee "Honor"] = The US-Allies + IGA should expect an eventual return by Islamists in time to refight the "War/Battle for Iraq", etal.
OSAMA, SADR, NASRALLAH, etc. as GENERAL MACARTHUR > "WE SHALL RETURN"???
WOT > RADICAL ISLAMISM + ISLAMIST JIHAD > WAR/JIHAD FOR DOMINATION, NOT JUST PARITY, AGZ NON-ISLAM/ISLAMISM. IMO the key will be IRAN'S SUCCESSFUL CONDUCTION OF AN INDIGENOUS NUKE BOMB TEST(S), ESPEC NLT 2010.
Iran desires to keepa a MEDIA/DIPLOM-CORRECT "LOW PROFILE" AMAP WHILE IT NUCLEARIZES, hence the ISLAMIST RAMPAGE IN CENTRAL, etal. ASIA = GEOGRAPHIC AREAS OUTSIDE OF THE ME + PERSIAN GULF.
I don't agree with Paul Krugman on many things, but in this case, I'll make an exception.
Some skeptics are calling Henry Paulsons $700 billion rescue plan for the U.S. financial system cash for trash. Others are calling the proposed legislation the Authorization for Use of Financial Force, after the Authorization for Use of Military Force, the infamous bill that gave the Bush administration the green light to invade Iraq.
Theres justice in the gibes. Everyone agrees that something major must be done. But Mr. Paulson is demanding extraordinary power for himself and for his successor to deploy taxpayers money on behalf of a plan that, as far as I can see, doesnt make sense.
Some are saying that we should simply trust Mr. Paulson, because hes a smart guy who knows what hes doing. But thats only half true: he is a smart guy, but what, exactly, in the experience of the past year and a half a period during which Mr. Paulson repeatedly declared the financial crisis contained, and then offered a series of unsuccessful fixes justifies the belief that he knows what hes doing? Hes making it up as he goes along, just like the rest of us.
So lets try to think this through for ourselves. I have a four-step view of the financial crisis:
1. The bursting of the housing bubble has led to a surge in defaults and foreclosures, which in turn has led to a plunge in the prices of mortgage-backed securities assets whose value ultimately comes from mortgage payments.
2. These financial losses have left many financial institutions with too little capital too few assets compared with their debt. This problem is especially severe because everyone took on so much debt during the bubble years.
3. Because financial institutions have too little capital relative to their debt, they havent been able or willing to provide the credit the economy needs.
4. Financial institutions have been trying to pay down their debt by selling assets, including those mortgage-backed securities, but this drives asset prices down and makes their financial position even worse. This vicious circle is what some call the paradox of deleveraging.
The Paulson plan calls for the federal government to buy up $700 billion worth of troubled assets, mainly mortgage-backed securities. How does this resolve the crisis?
Well, it might might break the vicious circle of deleveraging, step 4 in my capsule description. Even that isnt clear: the prices of many assets, not just those the Treasury proposes to buy, are under pressure. And even if the vicious circle is limited, the financial system will still be crippled by inadequate capital.
Or rather, it will be crippled by inadequate capital unless the federal government hugely overpays for the assets it buys, giving financial firms and their stockholders and executives a giant windfall at taxpayer expense. Did I mention that Im not happy with this plan?
The logic of the crisis seems to call for an intervention, not at step 4, but at step 2: the financial system needs more capital. And if the government is going to provide capital to financial firms, it should get what people who provide capital are entitled to a share in ownership, so that all the gains if the rescue plan works dont go to the people who made the mess in the first place.
Thats what happened in the savings and loan crisis: the feds took over ownership of the bad banks, not just their bad assets. Its also what happened with Fannie and Freddie. (And by the way, that rescue has done what it was supposed to. Mortgage interest rates have come down sharply since the federal takeover.)
But Mr. Paulson insists that he wants a clean plan. Clean, in this context, means a taxpayer-financed bailout with no strings attached no quid pro quo on the part of those being bailed out. Why is that a good thing? Add to this the fact that Mr. Paulson is also demanding dictatorial authority, plus immunity from review by any court of law or any administrative agency, and this adds up to an unacceptable proposal.
Im aware that Congress is under enormous pressure to agree to the Paulson plan in the next few days, with at most a few modifications that make it slightly less bad. Basically, after having spent a year and a half telling everyone that things were under control, the Bush administration says that the sky is falling, and that to save the world we have to do exactly what it says now now now.
But Id urge Congress to pause for a minute, take a deep breath, and try to seriously rework the structure of the plan, making it a plan that addresses the real problem. Dont let yourself be railroaded if this plan goes through in anything like its current form, well all be very sorry in the not-too-distant future.
Like I said, companies that haven't made losing bets with too much money (i.e. they're not hedge funds in drag) have nothing to worry about from short sellers.
Okay, someone left this in comments but we can't find anything like it online (we also called DHIL for comment but apparently the guy who answers questions on the matter is out to lunch 'til 2:30).
"NASDAQ issuer Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc. (DHIL) has voluntarily opted-out of NASDAQ's list of Covered Securities under the SEC's Emergency Order, effective today, September 22, 2008. Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc. will not be subject to the restrictions of the Emergency Order."
If this is true, GOOD FOR DIAMOND. While GS et. al. apparently need the protection of Christopher Cox, you are sending a message that the big bad short sellers can huff and puff all they want, but unlike Lehman's house of straw and Bear's trailer park of hemp, your house of bricks ain't coming down.
#1
The one sure way to prevent financial stocks from going down is to ban selling. It's possible that the best minds at the SEC are working on this as I type this.
#2
ZF, I believe the Feds are looking for breathing room until liquidity can be restored. By limiting short selling and rapid price declines, stocks will still have some value that they can use to borrow working capital until some confidence in the capital market can be restored.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 17:10
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#3
By limiting short selling and rapid price declines, stocks will still have some value that they can use to borrow working capital until some confidence in the capital market can be restored.
One of the big reasons for a public stock listing is to get working capital and money for expansion. These companies are publicly listed. They have gotten their pound of flesh from stockholders. It's practically criminal that they don't have any working capital on hand. If these companies need to borrow money just to stay afloat, they've made too many bad bets with too much borrowed money, and deserve to fail.
#4
Companies don't use equity to fund ongoing operations. Even if they have lots of money in the bank, they still borrow short term to meet operating expenses.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 17:53
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#5
Companies don't use equity to fund ongoing operations. Even if they have lots of money in the bank, they still borrow short term to meet operating expenses.
They don't issue new stock to fund ongoing operations. But some of the cash from their previous stock issues ought to have been on hand as a buffer in cash of a temporary hiccup. If they can't generate sufficient cash from operations to pay for day-to-day expenses, they ought to be in liquidation.
#6
For rantburgers who know nothing about finance, for a company, cash from operations can be explained in this way - if you were given - free and clear - the company tomorrow, with its payroll, assets, and so on, would more cash come in than go out? If this company can't make payroll without borrowing money, it shouldn't be in business.
Note that companies in technology don't borrow money to make payroll; banks don't generally lend to them, because nobody knows if they'll ever make a buck. What they do is issue lottery tickets in the form of stock.
#7
They don't issue new stock to fund ongoing operations.
Wrong, Ford just did exactly that, selling 500 million bucks (Around 125 Million new shares)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 18:30
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#8
They don't issue new stock to fund ongoing operations.
Wrong, Ford just did exactly that, selling 500 million bucks (Around 125 Million new shares)
Well, that just proves my point - Ford is a basket case, along with Chrysler and GM. They just asked for $50b from the federal government. And their stock prices (and yields for Cerberus's debt) reflect this. The right thing to do would be to grind the unions to powder by declaring bankruptcy and wiping out the union contracts, so that in the long term, they can survive against foreign competition. Instead, they're asking Uncle Sam for a handout.
And you know what? If we're gonna give handouts, I prefer to give them to the Big 3. They are the repository of a lot of manufacturing technology. In the long run, we can do without the specific banks and brokerages that might go under without a bailout plan. But the Big 3 are the last of the Mohicans. If they go under we will have lost access to an important set of manufacturing skills. This country will never have a shortage of banks and bankers. Car makers are a different story.
#9
It's practically criminal that they don't have any working capital on hand. If these companies need to borrow money just to stay afloat, they've made too many bad bets with too much borrowed money, and deserve to fail.
Shareholders demand the most return possible on quarterly financials. Any corporation that kept major amounts of cash on hand would have a lower ROE and ROA than one that stayed cash lean by investing cash in a variety of instruments, usually money market funds and short term CDs, and then in option positions related to their industry, etc.
B-school 101A. But don't blame it on the MBAs - blame it on investors (at the big houses and Mr. I'm Getting Rich By Day Trading In My Free Time From My PC) for demanding very short profit horizons instead of investing for the longer run.
When I was an operating executive that investor mindset drove me crazy.
#10
B-school 101A. But don't blame it on the MBAs - blame it on investors (at the big houses and Mr. I'm Getting Rich By Day Trading In My Free Time From My PC) for demanding very short profit horizons instead of investing for the longer run.
This is why these types of companies need to be liquidated. This would wipe out the stock holdings of this class of investors. Rescuing these companies with taxpayer bailouts handouts would simply encourage investors to take greater risks, knowing that the taxpayer will bail them out. Bottom line - investors and company management need to learn the meaning of prudence, which means keeping corporate debt ratios within safe limits.
#12
investors and company management need to learn the meaning of prudence
The only way to teach this lesson is to let their investments tank. But this would tank everybody else's investments as well. And the cost would be greater than the cost to bail them out. So we will bail them out and no lessons will be learned. Like busting up concentrations so no one is too big to fail.
#13
The only way to teach this lesson is to let their investments tank. But this would tank everybody else's investments as well. And the cost would be greater than the cost to bail them out. So we will bail them out and no lessons will be learned. Like busting up concentrations so no one is too big to fail.
We let the Nasdaq tank from 5000 to almost 1000 not too long ago. We seem to have made out OK. The Japanese organized bailout after bailout. They've been stuck in a zero-growth time warp for 20 years. The cost of bailouts is no growth. We pay off the enablers only at the expense of everyone else.
#14
RNJ: They don't issue new stock to fund ongoing operations.
Wrong, Ford just did exactly that, selling 500 million bucks (Around 125 Million new shares)
In 2000, management handed out $5 in special dividends and bought back $5b in stock priced at $25. My feeling is that that is $10b they could use today. Some managements have no concept of saving for a rainy day, even in industries that live by the product cycle. This is why Ford suddenly had to issue stock at $5 that they had previously bought back for $25.
#15
If businesses have to make dumb investments that prevent them from wisely holding their own operating capital, then this item is a perfect opportunity for regulation. With an enforced regulation, the playing field would be even and cheaters would pay big enough fines to make cheating unprofitable. Just like environmental or safety regulations.
Now with that said, why is it better for a firm to hold their operating capital?
#16
Now with that said, why is it better for a firm to hold their operating capital?
Here's the analogy - why do you keep money aside for rent and groceries every month? Why not max out your margin brokerage account with investments and rack up charges on your credit card to pay for day-to-day expenses? Because you might not be able to service your debt due to job loss, your credit line might get canceled, your car might need fixing in a way that more than maxes out your credit line or the market might crash just as you need money for some major expense. This is why having some cash for emergencies is so important - nobody knows what tomorrow will bring.
#17
Alternatively though, they could invest that cash in their business, which grows the company and economy and pays a better return than the market or the company would dissolve, and then borrow at market rates for operating funds.
Even a small amount more growth compounded over time provides a competitive advantage.
Parts of KwaZulu-Natal were transformed into a "winter wonderland" after snowfalls blanketed several areas of the province.
Temperatures plummeted into the low teens, with residents of Kokstad and Giants Castle waking up to 0C. Durban experienced its coldest September night in recorded history on Friday night. Snowfalls were reported in Kokstad, Matatiele, Underberg, Mooi River, Bulwer, Himeville and Nottingham Road.
Several roads in the province were closed and people were advised not to go snow hunting, as they risked becoming stuck in traffic and not being able to keep themselves warm.
#3
Tomorrow or the next day, NASA is expected to announce that the sun is nearly spot free. This means more snow in places where it is seldom seen. Global warming may need to take a back seat to serious global cooling. Stay tuned for further details as they unfold.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/22/2008 19:18
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#4
Richard, it will still all Bush's fault for not personally ratifying Kyoto.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
09/22/2008 21:30
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#5
When was the last time anyone sacrificed anything to the Sun Gods? I'm sure Gore is on it.
A Russian navy squadron set off for Venezuela on Monday, an official said, in a deployment of Russian military power to the Western Hemisphere unprecedented since the Cold War. The Kremlin has moved to intensify contacts with Venezuela, Cuba and other Latin American nations amid increasingly strained relations with Washington after last month's war between Russia and Georgia.
During the Cold War, Latin America became an ideological battleground between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the nuclear-powered Peter the Great cruiser accompanied by three other ships sailed from the Northern Fleet's base of Severomorsk on Monday. The ships will cover about 15,000 nautical miles to conduct joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan navy, he told The Associated Press.
Dygalo refused to comment on Monday's report in the daily Izvestia claiming that the ships were to make a stopover in the Syrian port of Tartus on their way to Venezuela. Russian officials said the Soviet-era base there was being renovated to serve as a foothold for a permanent Russian navy presence in the Mediterranean.
The deployment follows a weeklong visit to Venezuela by a pair of Russian strategic bombers and comes as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez -- an unbridled critic of U.S. foreign policy who has close ties with Moscow -- plans to visit Moscow this week. It will be Chavez's second trip to Russia in about two months.
The intensifying contacts with Venezuela appear to be a response to the U.S. dispatch of warships to deliver aid to Georgia, which angered the Kremlin. "It's a show of the Kremlin irritation about the U.S. deployment to Georgia. It's a signal to the United States: You have broken into our zone of influence, and we will show you that we can enter yours," said independent military analyst Alexander Golts.
Golts added that the small Russian squadron could not pose any threat to the United States. "Without protection from the air, it makes a sitting duck," Golts said. "It's ridiculous to even talk about the Russian ships providing a counterweight to the U.S. Navy."
Chavez said in an interview with Russian television broadcast Sunday that Latin America needs a strong friendship with Russia to help reduce U.S. influence and keep peace in the region. In separate comments on his Sunday TV and radio program, he joked that he will be making his international tour to Russia and other countries this week aboard the "super-bombers that Medvedev loaned me," a reference to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "Gentlemen of the CIA, to be clear, I'm joking," Chavez said with a laugh.
He repeatedly has warned that the U.S. Navy poses a threat to Venezuela.
Russia has signed weapons contracts worth more than $4 billion with Venezuela since 2005 to supply fighter jets, helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. Chavez's government is in talks to buy Russian submarines, air defense systems and armored vehicles and more Sukhoi fighter jets. Russian and Venezuelan leaders also have talked about boosting cooperation in the energy sphere to create what Chavez has called "a new strategic energy alliance."
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who visited Venezuela last week, announced that five of Russia's biggest oil companies are looking to form a consortium to increase Latin American operations and to build a $6.5 billion refinery to process Venezuela's tarlike heavy crude. Such an investment could help Venezuela, the world's ninth-biggest oil producer, wean itself from the U.S. refineries on which it depends to process much of its crude.
Russia's Gazprom state gas monopoly also said in a statement Monday that its delegation that visited Venezuela last week signed a tentative agreement to tap its offshore gas fields.
Sechin warned the United States that it should not view Latin America as its own backyard. "It would be wrong to talk about one nation having exclusive rights to this zone," he said in an interview broadcast
#6
Sechin warned the United States that it should not view Latin America as its own backyard. "It would be wrong to talk about one nation having exclusive rights to this zone,"
In other words, Russia gets to have military and political control over its near abroad, but the U.S. does not. Oh, well. No doubt it will be good experience for the sailors, and it will be nice for them to feel welcome when they land.
#7
Sechin warned the United States that it should not view Latin America as its own backyard. "It would be wrong to talk about one nation having exclusive rights to this zone," he said in an interview broadcast
Sechin must not be familiar with the MONROE DOCTRINE.
#8
Dygalo refused to comment on Monday's report in the daily Izvestia claiming that the ships were to make a stopover in the Syrian port of Tartus on their way to Venezuela. Russian officials said the Soviet-era base there was being renovated to serve as a foothold for a permanent Russian navy presence in the Mediterranean.
What the heck do Russian sailors do on shore leave in Syria?
#11
Hugo, Hugo, Hugo - we're way down the list of your problems. For starters, look closer, and behind you.
As for the soviet cruise, does the soviet navy even have tropical gear? Is there a Milo Minderbinder in the fleet who's got a big consignment of Hawaiian Tropic to unload?
#12
I forgot to add earlier that back in the olden times the CIA made a big deal about the Russian aircraft carrier ?Kudnestoff? trasiting from the northern fleet to the Med. It got about 100 miles out before it had to turn back. I think the Indians bought the leftovers.
#11
For a street I like Alameda de los Pulgas (avenue of the fleas)
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/22/2008 21:47
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#12
lotp, Last Friday I drove right next to Olema [Point Reyes]to git to the Circle S Ranch to sight in my new Savage model 110 w/ scope and my new Remington Model 220 12 guage side by side. [Double Barrel Shotgun]
Fun Fun Fun
.....and BTW I never saw O'Blabber nor any of his entourage and/or hand maidens!
*spit*
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/22/2008 23:13
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#13
For a street I like Alameda de los Pulgas (avenue of the fleas)
San Mateo eh Paul... lol lots of parties there'abouts in High School and CSM.
<:)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/22/2008 23:15
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SUSPECTED Taliban militants kidnapped more than 150 civilian labourers as they travelled by bus in Afghanistan while a bomb blast today killed six civilians. The labourers were kidnapped yesterday as they were driving in three buses through the southwestern province of Farah, Afghan authorities said.
"About 156 workers who were travelling in three buses were captured by Taliban and are still being held by them,'' an army authority said. "They were working for a construction company which is contracted to build facilities for the ANA (Afghan National Army),'' he said.
The provincial governor, Roh-Ul Ameen, confirmed the mass abduction. "One hundred and fifty workers and three drivers have been taken hostage by Taliban since yesterday. They were driving in three buses to Herat,'' he said. "We are trying through tribal elders to secure their release.''
A SHADOWY group calling itself Fedayeen of Islam has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel in a telephone call to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television, the channel said today.
So Baitullah's got a new name-de-jour, huh ...
Its correspondent in the Pakistani capital said he received a text message on his mobile phone showing a telephone number, which he called and then heard a recording in which the group admitted launching Saturday's attack.
The speaker on the recording spoke in English "with an Asian accent,'' he said.
A suicide bomber rammed a truck packed with more than half a tonne of explosives into the security gates of the luxury hotel, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 260 in a massive fireball.
#1
The federline of pisslam. Worthy of ridicule, but clearly dangerous until taken out with the rest of the trash.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/22/2008 13:11
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#2
nicely put M. Murcek.
..and the sub-humans are fuxing PROUD of the 60 Humans killed & the wounding of more than 260 in a massive fireball. BURN VICTIMS
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/22/2008 15:10
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#3
This event is being ascribed as the "PAKISTANI 9-11".
Realist or Propagandistic, it again shows that the US = US-Allies includ NATO-EU are now in a WAR/STRUGGLE AGZ RADICAL ISLAMISM FOR THE DOMINATION AND CONTROL AMAP ASAP OF THE ASIAN MAINLAND + PERIPHERAL AREAS, includ for the PRO-MILITANT-TERR PROCUREMENT OF ADVANCED MILTECHS [e.g. Nukes = CBRN].
Just got off the phone with Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney, who was able to confim that "investigatory activity took place in Knoxville over the weekend."
In keeping with policy of not commenting on active investigations, Ms. Sweeney said she "can't be more specific than that." However, she did say that the Department has had several media inquiries. "It's a pretty big news story," she said. No further official Department comment is to be expected unless and until someone is charged in the case.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/22/2008
13:03 ||
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The US and its allies succeeded in toppling Taliban regime in November 2001 and replacing it with a puppet regime, but the Taliban were neither militarily defeated nor eliminated from the system. But for effective encirclement of Afghanistan from all directions and massive air support provided by USA, the Northern Alliance could not have made any progress. Once the Taliban realised that they were no more in a position to offer resistance particularly after Pakistan ditched them, they considered it prudent to carry out a tactical withdrawal from Kabul and most took shelter in Pashtun dominated southern and eastern Afghanistan. Some trickled into FATA and Baluchistan where they had their kith and kin and some moved into Iran. They remained inactive till 2002 but utilised this time to regroup and refit themselves to be able to strike back at the invading forces that had devastated their country. Bush and his teams of neo-cons felt complacent that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda had been taken care of and only the remnants had to be flushed out. It was this smugness which impelled them to invade and occupy Iraq in March 2003.
In the meanwhile, the vices that had been eliminated by the Taliban during their short rule reappeared in a big way. Besides lack of justice, war lordism, corruption, poppy growing, drug business and nepotism reigned supreme. The Taliban and their supporters were either brutally killed or put in Bagram jail and subjected to horrendous torture. The Pashtuns being in great majority were persecuted and power got concentrated in the hands of non-Pashtun Northern Alliance elements and war lords. The occupation forces inflicted heavy collateral damage on civilians whenever they confronted the militants. These developments disillusioned the Afghans and sympathy wave among the Pashtuns living both sides of the border started to shift towards the Taliban. Induction of NATO forces in 2003 together with deteriorating law and order situation provided the spark to ignite insurgency.
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#1
sheesh. Speak for yourself, VDH. Many Americans did not do this and they are the ones who are going to foot the bill for those who did. What caused this mess was that regulators looked the other way in exchange for sweetheart deals and allowed the risk to removed from those who hawked bad loans for commissions. No one cared that any blind man could see that a huge number of borrowers would eventually be unable to pay. It was a ponzi scheme that anyone who had even a minimum amount of knowledge knew would eventually crash.
The problem is that those who were making the loans didn't care. They could make their commissions and bonuses and then sell the junk to someone else all nicely wrapped in packages that kept the stink under wraps long enough for them to get out of town.
Cairo - Up to 15 tourists have been kidnapped in Egypt, amid conflicting reports on the nationalities of the victims, media reports in the region said Monday.
The television broadcaster Al-Arabiya said that 10 to 15 tourists were seized in the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan, with five of the victims being Italian nationals and possibly two others being Israelis.
A later Al-Arabiya report said that five Germans were also among the kidnap victims.
There was no official confirmation by Cairo authorities of the report, also with regards to speculation that the kidnap victims were taken across the border into Sudan.
So far, no group has come forward to claim the kidnappings.
While there was no initial reaction in the Israeli Foreign Ministry to the reports, Israeli radio said that no Israelis were among those kidnapped, but that instead the 15 victims included five Italians, five Germans, four Egyptians and one Romanian.
One week ago, Israel warned its citizens against travelling to Egypt and calling on Israelis to return home amid specific warnings about the danger of a kidnapping.
Governor Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, was scheduled to speak today at a rally in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to protest the appearance here of President Ahmadinejad of Iran. Her appearance was canceled by rally organizers who sought a nonpolitical event. Demo's threaten to take away exempted status is they allowed her to speak
Following are the remarks Mrs. Palin would have given:
I am honored to be with you and with leaders from across this great country leaders from different faiths and political parties united in a single voice of outrage.
Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for.
Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him.
He must be stopped.
The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation." Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.
The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is running at least 3,800 centrifuges and that its uranium enrichment capacity is rapidly improving. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Iranians may have enough nuclear material to produce a bomb within a year.
The world has condemned these activities. The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its illegal nuclear enrichment activities. It has levied three rounds of sanctions. How has Ahmadinejad responded? With the declaration that the "Iranian nation would not retreat one iota" from its nuclear program.
So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.
If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.
But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the no. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.
Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy. Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work, and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments.
It is said that the measure of a country is the treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. By that standard, the Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.
If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed.
If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested.
But in the face of this harsh regime, the Iranian women have shown courage. Despite threats to their lives and their families, Iranian women have sought better treatment through the "One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws." The authorities have reacted with predictable barbarism. Last year, women's rights activist Delaram Ali was sentenced to 20 lashes and 10 months in prison for committing the crime of "propaganda against the system." After international protests, the judiciary reduced her sentence to "only" 10 lashes and 36 months in prison and then temporarily suspended her sentence. She still faces the threat of imprisonment.
Earlier this year, Senator Clinton said that "Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is in the forefront of that" effort. Senator Clinton argued that part of our response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. John McCain and I could not agree more.
Senator Clinton understands the nature of this threat and what we must do to confront it. This is an issue that should unite all Americans. Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Period. And in a single voice, we must be loud enough for the whole world to hear: Stop Iran!
Only by working together, across national, religious, and political differences, can we alter this regime's dangerous behavior. Iran has many vulnerabilities, including a regime weakened by sanctions and a population eager to embrace opportunities with the West. We must increase economic pressure to change Iran's behavior.
Tomorrow, Ahmadinejad will come to New York. On our soil, he will exercise the right of freedom of speech a right he denies his own people. He will share his hateful agenda with the world. Our task is to focus the world on what can be done to stop him.
We must rally the world to press for truly tough sanctions at the U.N. or with our allies if Iran's allies continue to block action in the U.N. We must start with restrictions on Iran's refined petroleum imports.
We must reduce our dependency on foreign oil to weaken Iran's economic influence.
We must target the regime's assets abroad; bank accounts, investments, and trading partners.
President Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, a crime under international law.
We must sanction Iran's Central Bank and the Revolutionary Guard Corps which no one should doubt is a terrorist organization.
Together, we can stop Iran's nuclear program.
Senator McCain has made a solemn commitment that I strongly endorse: Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise.
#1
Ahmadinejad is just the dummy. The ventriloquists are the ones with the long beards and soulless eyes. It will require much more than a JDAM or a well aimed shot.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 11:49
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#2
Great Speech - wish she whould have been able to make it but, as the comments stated, the Democrats threatened to take away the group's exempted status. I guess that is how the DNC shows support for its allies (Iran).
The only point I have is calling Ahmadinejad a 'dictator'. He is only a puppet controlled by the Supreme Counsel - they are the real dictators who pull the strings. Unlike Saddam - if we were to remove Ahmadinejad today - he would only be replaced with a different puppet.
Contrast Palin's support of Iranian women with NOW's complete and total silence.
#3
CF, everyone knows that NOW is only concerned with the rights of a very few, select women.
If you have other issues than "when will I be allowed to sit on a corporate board?" and "I need subsidized child care so I can concentrate on my important career....and I better not have to pay more than $5 a day for someone to watch my kids" (or, if you don't want to have kids, "I better be able to abort a child up to my delivery date,") they really can't be bothered.
#5
TW -- I saw that also -- questions came to my mind. Wonder if she is already setting the stage for 2012 campaign?
Alto -- it could have been a slap across to face to Hillary, since she had consented to be there, then pulled out when she found out Sarah was also speaking!
Can you hear Hillary saying, "How dare her to use my name in her speech!"
#6
TW, i think those words were of a statesman, er, statesperson if you will and from one that is not worried about partisanship. statemanship is something that has been missing in our politics for far too long.
#7
Sarah Palin sounds like she has plenty of savvy concerning international politics--far more enlightened than BO or Biden. It is a shame that an idiot like Ahmahdinejad speaks in the U.S. at the UN and Palin was disinvited. Hillary could not rise above partisan politics. It is a shame Ahmadinejab spoke at Columbia but they didn't allow ROTC on campus. We should have arrested the little criminal and terrorist for seizing our embassy in 1979 as soon as he got off the plane.
#8
Well politically you can understand the Dem's dilemma. You just can't have Hillary on the same platform as Palin or it makes it look like she's supporting her. So unfortunately the best interests of the country must take second place to partisan concerns.
Posted by: Bob Sloluque7930 ||
09/22/2008 15:38
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#9
The speach is being published in newspapers around the world.
It just may have a greater impact than if she gave it at the rally.
Anyway, the whole incident pretty much wipes out any good feelings about Hillery that I had developed based on the treatment she had been receiving from the Democratic party.
She and It deserve each other.
Posted by: Kelly ||
09/22/2008 15:45
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#10
Makes it 'difficult' to dump Biden and replace with Ms. Clinton, too.
Dumping Biden is still on the table, as I understand from a couple of Dem Beltway folks I know.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/22/2008 16:33
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#11
Hillary couldn't allow Sarah Palin to share a stage with her. It would show the Nation how much more energy and Can Do attitude Sarah Palin has then Hillary. It would also undermine Hillary's message that people need the Government to take care of them and provide for them. They can't do it alone, don't you understand.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/22/2008 17:51
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#12
"Dumping Biden is still on the table, as I understand from a couple of Dem Beltway folks I know."
Speaking of dumping, Richard, I just received the following e-mail forwarded from a friend:
"Biden Is Out
The following is from a source that has been correct on wild rumors like this on 4 out of 7 occasions.
On or about October 5th, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing ?health problems?, and he will be replaced by Hillary. This is timed to occur after the VP debate on 10/2.
There have been talks all weekend about how to proceed with this information. Generally, the feeling is that we should all go ahead and get it out there to as many blog sites and personal email lists as is possible. I have already seen a few short blurbs about this. The ?health problem? cited in those articles was an aneurysm. Probably many of you have heard the same rumblings.
However, at this point, with this information from the DNC, it looks like this Obama strategy will be a go. Therefore, it seems that the best strategy is to get out in front of this Obama maneuver, spell it out in detail, and thereby expose it for the grand manipulation that it is.
So, let's start mixing this one up and cut the Obamites off at the pass. Send this information out to as many people as you can and post it on every website and blog that you can access.
Editor's Note: I've heard this from several sources. Biden is a loose cannon and an amazingly poor choice for VP. Hussein's hatred for Hillary will be trumped by his sponsor's (Soros and gang) rabid desire to hijack America."
Dunno his "source" (and he probably sent it as a joke), but I responded that Hill wouldn't take it because it screws her last chance to run in 2012.
And anyway, I thought Biden's "health problem" was going to be infected hair plugs. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/22/2008 18:33
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#13
Palin on Ahmadinejad: 'He Must Be Stopped'
ed: Ahmadinejad is just the dummy. The ventriloquists are the ones with the long beards and soulless eyes. It will require much more than a JDAM or a well aimed shot.
I'd like to dump the A$$atollahs and Mahmoud AhmadiNutJob into the Alaskan Wilderness for a month along with Ted Neugent and Sarah Palin.
Of course Ted and Sarah would have to be willing..
..each team gets one Rifle & ammo and an 8 inch knife.
Losers get eaten by Brown Bears.
:>
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/22/2008 18:44
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#14
Thanks for the update Barbara.
The October 5th date (heard this before from a couple other folks) puts it on the weekend after the debate (Thursday the 2nd). Let's see, he falls ill on Thursday night or Friday (blood pressure?, stress?), hospital on Saturday and pulls out of the race by Sunday, just in time for everyone to feel sorry for him and welcome the 'exciting new choice' on the talk shows. The Dems would get a 4-week period for 'explanations', etc. plus an 'excitement bounce' out of this, putting them in fair shape for the Tuesday of the 5th week (Nov. 4). Don't laugh, these folks are 'masters of timing'.
For real drama, he could have a 'seizure' Thursday night during the debate.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/22/2008 20:22
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#15
Senator Clinton said...
Senator Clinton argued...
Senator Clinton understands...
Keeping in mind that Sen. Clinton was supposed to be sharing the stage with Gov. Palin.
This demonstrates a level of bipartisan respect and personal class that Palin carries that drives her enemies completely mad.
John McCains campaign released one of its hardest hitting ads in this election on Monday, aiming to ratchet up the guilt-by-association game by linking Barack Obama to convicted felon Tony Rezko.
The new spot, Chicago Machine also connects the Democratic presidential nominee to three prominent Illinois politicians former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, Illinois state Senate President Emil Jones and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich all of whom have faced criticism for questionable ties to businessmen and political power brokers.
The ad claims Obama is born of the corrupt Chicago political machine, before calling Jones his political godfather and Rezko his money man.
Jones and Blagojevich are under an ethics cloud, says the McCain camp, relating to investigations into nepotism and favors to political donors by the two pols. As for Daley, the ad suggests cronysim is at play for the former Fannie Mae lobbyist and brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
The ad is to be released nationally. The Obama campaign responded by saying the Democrat is the true maverick when it comes to ethics reform.
Its no coincidence that on the very day newspapers reported that John McCains campaign manager was paid $2 million to lobby against tighter regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the McCain campaign would launch this false, gratuitous attack, said spokesman Bill Burton.
Barack Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate as an independent Democrat. He took on the Chicago Democratic organization in a primary to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. And in both Illinois and Washington, he has challenged the Old Guard for landmark ethics reforms, Burton said.
McCain campaign advisers say that they decided to make the ad in response to the association game played by Obamas campaign, which most recently issued a Spanish language ad linking McCain to Rush Limbaugh on the topic of immigration.
The first ad to hit Obama for would-be shady associations came out last week. It tied the Illinois senator to former Fannie Mae executives Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson.
Still untouched by the McCain camp are Obamas connections to Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers and Obamas controversial former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama called Wright a legitimate political issue back in the spring. McCain advisers say those names and associations will not be off-limits and could come up in the last 43 days before the Nov. 4 election.
#1
These guilty-by-association ads never seem to work for me. It won't work for McCain/Bush or Obama/Rezko. What's most important is who says the right thing most of the time without making up this weak gossip and rumors.
From the days of FDR, the vast majority of American Jews have identified with the Democratic Party almost if it were their religion. This included most especially secular Jews like me whose blasé attitude toward their faith and toward religious observance in general made such a replacement all the more important emotionally. This same Jewish majority also identified with the cause of social justice and, as Barack Obama among many others has noted, were some of the most active participants in the civil rights movement of the Fifties and Sixties. That was all how it should have been and was a perfectly logical and praiseworthy epoch in the development of our country.
Hello those days are over! . . .
The reasons for this are many, but paramount among them is that being hostage to one political party is tantamount to giving up your freedom and relinquishing your ability to confront reality and act in your own interest, not to mention the interest of others. Many Jewish Americans still do this for reasons that are at best sentimental and nostalgic, and at worst self-destructive. But a tipping point may be approaching. The virtual night of the long knives played out between the Democratic Party and various Jewish organizations surrounding the Iran demonstration, including allegations that party operatives were threatening the loss of tax exempt status over Sarah Palins appearance, with more unpleasant revelations undoubtedly to come, is obviously causing people to reconsider this allegiance to the Democratic Party that approaches fealty.
I urge my fellow Jews to keep thinking about this and not to retreat into the cocoon-like safety of an outmoded tradition. Change is difficult. But remember that Hillary Clinton that paragon of the Democratic Party, a woman who calls herself a progressive (oh, desecration of the English language!) was willing to forego the protest of the man who is arguably the most significant enemy of the Jews since Hitler for partisan and (most likely) personal pique reasons. How morally repellent is that!
And then Joseph Biden told us he was busytoo busy to protest a nuclear-armed madman who fervently believes that his mysterious Twelfth Imam (Mahdi) is destined to unite a chaotic globe under Allah. (And dont tell me that evangelicals believe similar things. If you think there is an equation between evangelicals and Khomeinist Islamists, you need a cold bath.)
No, those Democrats thought of themselves and their party first, the citizens of this country and the world later. When Republicans behave in a similar reprehensible manner, we should condemn them with all ferocity. But fellow Jews, stop being slaves to the Democratic Party. End this illicit love affair not just for your own good, but for the good of humanity.
I would be very interested in Liberalhawk's reaction.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/22/2008
10:44 ||
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Unidentified gunmen abducted Afghanistan's ambassador-designate to Pakistan and killed his driver Monday in a brazen ambush in the northwestern city of Peshawar, officials said. Six attackers in a black car chased the vehicle of Abdul Khaliq Farahi, the Afghan consul general in Peshawar, forced it to pull over and shot his driver in the head, witnesses said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the incident was likely to heighten tensions over Afghan allegations that Pakistan is failing to crack down on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in its tribal border regions."The driver was killed in the firing, consul general Abdul Khaliq Farahi has been abducted," Zahir Khan Babari, an official at the Afghan consulate, told AFP.
The kidnappers were apparently aware of the Afghan diplomat's movements, Babari said. "They were waiting for him and when he came they seized him from his car," he added. Police said they had sealed off all entry and exit points to the troubled city near the Afghan border, which adjoins the rugged tribal belt.
The diplomat was heading from the consulate in the city centre to his home in a plush suburb when he was attacked, police officer Banaras Khan said. "The driver was killed, it was an Afghan consulate car. Gunmen then whisked him away in their car. I am on the spot, we are investigating," Khan told AFP by telephone. The information minister for Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, confirmed that Farahi had been kidnapped.
The Afghan diplomat had recently been promoted as ambassador to Pakistan, consulate official Babari said, adding that he was yet to take over the position since his papers were still with the Pakistani foreign ministry. Witnesses said six people pursued the Afghan envoy in a black car. They forced Farahi out of the car and when the driver resisted they shot him dead.
Gaza Maan Two Gazans were killed as another tunnel beneath the Egypt-Gaza border collapsed on Sunday afternoon near Salah Ad-Din gate that leads to border lines with Egypt in the Gazan town of Rafah.
A source in the de facto governments civil defense department confirmed to Maan that bodies of 20-year-old Hussein Abdel Al and 48-year-old Abdel Nasser Udwan were lifted from the tunnels.
According to unofficial study, 36 civilians were killed in tunnel collapses since the siege on the area began. The number includes the death of a man on Saturday, who was electrocuted while wiring lighting for an underground passage.
In 2000, the long fought for and long admired democracy of the United States of America began a slow and steady decline toward fascism - a Bush family tradition - with the installment of a president - a man the citizens overwhelmingly rejected (although the funny math told a still believed myth) - by a few corrupt judges on the US Supreme Court. That coup is now nearly complete and checkmate is all but unavoidable. . . .
It seems this time around, the Bush family is trying the more subtle approach to open bloodshed: first create a crisis, then under the guise of addressing that crisis, overthrow democracy. Yes, it does sound terribly conspiracy-theory-esque when explained just this way. But what else does one call a criminal conspiracy to destroy Congressional powers permanently, alter Judicial powers permanently, and steal public funds?
As I see it now, we have but two options and I have long alluded to hoping against hope that one of these options would not be the only one left to a peaceful people. The first and frankly most preferable option is for Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against the members of this latest Business Plot.
No time needs to be wasted on hearings as we already now have in writing, formally as presented to Congress, the intentions of this administration to nullify Congressional powers permanently, to alter Judicial powers permanently, and to openly steal public funds using as blackmail the total collapse of the US economy if these powers are not handed over. You do see how this is blackmail, do you not? You do see how this is a manufactured crisis precisely designed to be used as blackmail, do you not?
The other option, the one I have long prayed we would never need to even consider, is a total revolution. But, If Congress won't act in its own self-defense, in the defense of democracy, in defense of us - the people who have elected them to protect us from this very danger - then what is left for us to do? I don't want to see it come down to this, but I fear that it will. "Revolution NOW, man! Off the pigs! Acid is groovy! Hendrix!!"
Put your party politics aside right now. We are in a crisis so dangerous that should these people succeed in their coup, your party affiliation will no longer matter, your American flag will be a nice collectible item of something that once was, and your version of God will be worshiped in secrecy because your freedoms will be owned by the few. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
09/22/2008
08:52 ||
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#1
Had I not read it in the Huffington Post, well... I simply would not have believed!
#4
The really sad thing is the elections happen, the coup never arrives, but four years later they are convinced it will happen this time. I guess its easier to postpone your collision with reality than reevaluate your opinion of Bush.
HATE preacher Abu Hamza claimed his human rights were breached because he was served RUM ice cream in prison. The hook-handed cleric, 50, said the sweet broke halal rules because it contained alcohol.
A source at top-security Belmarsh jail in Woolwich, South East London, said: "It's utterly barmy and a massive over-reaction -- most prisoners would see it as a treat.
Other notorious terrorists in the jail -- including dirty bomber Dhiren Barot, 35 -- have joined the protest. It is backed by a website linked to controversial lawyer Mudassar Arani. The site said: "Muslims were provided with rum ice cream. This obviously contains alcohol and therefore could not possibly be deemed compatible with the Islamic faith." It also claimed that Muslims were given yoghurt containing traces of unsuitable products.
The site urged inmates to write to their MPs to complain their rights are being breached.
Egyptian-born Hamza is serving seven years for inciting murder and race hate.
A prison source said last night: "Hamza spent his life urging fanatics to kill Jews and Christians yet has the gall to claim his rights are being abused over ice cream."
A Prison Service spokesman said yesterday: "Regrettably, non-halal food was offered in error. It was quickly substituted with appropriate halal alternatives." "Made with silt."
#3
Geez. Why should other cutlures have to bow down to the wacked out & weird needs of Islam. Eat the ice cream with your hooked hand you whinging, whining retard.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/22/2008 16:34
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#7
It probably wasn't really "rum" ice cream, but rum-FLAVORED ice cream. It's just something else for this retard to complain about and try to stir up trouble. Stick an ice pick in both ears, and spin him around three or four times, vertically. I'm sure he'll just LOVE rum-flavored ice cream after that. Not sure if they serve it in Hell, though...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/22/2008 19:33
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#8
Well then, the holy one better not touch the vanilla ice cream either. There's alcohol in that extract, too.
#1
I wonder how much 'priceless' Iraqi artifacts are worth? Because if I was ever on "The Price Is Right" and the prize was a box of priceless Iraqi artifacts, I'd hate to look like a chump for making a ridiculous bid.
#2
The Holy RPG, the revered Mortar shells, and don't forget the holy hand grenade of antioch,
the sacred ammo dump and the holy homemade explosives.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 13:03
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#3
Hey, we looted that stuff fair and square.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 13:10
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#4
First thought that came to mind was "pearls before swine," but the decent folk seem to be in ascendance there, so let's help them reclaim their culture...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/22/2008 13:14
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Posted by: Paul ||
09/22/2008 12:04
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#4
"The national assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership, for the President, Prime Minister and armed services chiefs at the Marriott that day," interior ministry chief Rehman Malik told reporters.
Who among them had to wash their mustache that evening?
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 13:15
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#1
And who died and left the UN God "gave" the seabed to the UN to "grant" to anyone?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/22/2008 20:56
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#2
And next they'll be selling title to the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, the stars.... [all yours for 19.95, plus shipping and handling, operators standing by now. This is a limited offer pending the success of the CERN accelerator to generate a blackhole. So act now!]
MORE than 20 flights have been grounded at Brisbane Airport's domestic terminal after an apparent breach of security in the departures zone. Sources at the airport said security had been breached at the Qantas screening area and that the top floor of the terminal was being cleared of passengers, The Courier Mail reported.
Twenty-four flights have been suspended and passengers have been told they must be re-screened by security staff.
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. helicopters that intruded into Pakistani airspace on Sunday night, forcing them to turn back to Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani security official said on Monday.
It was the second such incident in a week, and reflects frayed relations with the United States over Pakistan's failure to act more forcibly against Islamist fighters in the tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.
The number of missile attacks by U.S. drone aircraft in the remote tribal areas has multiplied in recent weeks.
The helicopters violated the border in the area of Lowara Mandi, 40 km (25 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, at around 9 p.m. on Sunday, the official said. There was no official confirmation. "We don't have any information on border violation by the American helicopters," Major Murad Khan, a military spokesman, said. Residents said drones had been flying overnight and early on Monday over Miranshah but did not attack.
"It's really so scary, we just can't sleep when you hear them flying," said Zia-ur-Rehman, a resident of Hamzoni village near Miranshah.
Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. helicopters that crossed the border at the same village, Angor Adda, a week ago, again forcing them to turn back, according to residents and security officers. Pakistan and the United States issued denials.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is scheduled to meet President George W. Bush on Tuesday in the United States, and is also due to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, held talks in Islamabad with top Pakistani officials last week. Mullen "reiterated the U.S. commitment to respect Pakistan's sovereignty," the U.S. embassy said in a statement.
The United States is Pakistan's largest donor, and the dissonance between them has been a factor pushing down Pakistani shares and the rupee because Pakistan needs an inflow of dollars to rebuild rapidly depleting foreign currency reserves to prop up its ailing economy.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
09/22/2008
05:53 ||
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#1
Hilarious. The Pakistanis are now having to guard the border, which means either the Taliban can't pass through it, or they have to do it with Pak army permission.
Otherwise, if the Pak army aren't there, the US helicopters can enter and leave at will.
#2
After the Marriott bombing I think the Paki's will be a little more concerned about not allowing us some leeway in our operations at their border. In the immortal words of John Rambo, "you want a war, well I am here to give you one".
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/22/2008 10:20
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#3
well considering that our helicopters where fired upon first even though they may have been in their airspace i think they should have smoked the asses whether they where paki military or not especially considering it's hard too tell the dif between paki army and taliban
#4
Sounds like the bad guys are beginning to get the upper hand in this war with obvious help from Pakistan. When Zardari gets here Bush needs to take him to the woodshed, that is, assuming he has any control at all over the military.
If we can't go after the bad guys in Pakistan we might as well bring all of our guys home. That would then mean no more American dollars for Pakistan. Just tell 'em that we're getting ready to leave them to the tender mercies of their little Frankenstein monster. Maybe if they got hungry enough or desperate enough to save their own hides they'd be willing to sell their nukes. Or maybe they'd have to use their nukes on Wazoo.
What a mess and it looks like it can only get worse. And what's the payoff? Some pathetic old creep hiding in a cave?
Last night on CBS's 60 Minutes (yeah, I know) Obama said if the Pak army is unable or unwilling to go after bad guys in that country then we have to. He's a lot more adamant in this position than either Bush or McCain. Makes me wonder if he understands all the ramifications. In case you're getting ready to flame me for any of this particular rant, I'm not saying that I understand it all. I'm just trying to piece what I do know together.
Obama's willing to make war in Afghanistan and Pakistan while forfeiting Iraq. But Iraq has the oil and it bugs the hell out of Binny and the Z-man that we're there.
I kinda wonder if it isn't better if we just say to Binny, "OK, you get to hide in Wazoo for now, if you don't mind dodging the occasional arclight. But we got Iraq."
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/22/2008 11:48
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#5
Makes me wonder if he understands all the ramifications.
No. It's part of the "Iraq is the wrong war," meme, and no more thought than that, in my opinion. Admittedly, I don't think highly of the honourable junior senator from the great state of Illinois.
#6
I don't think highly of the honourable junior senator full-time presidential candidate from the great state of Illinois.
There, fixed it for ya, TW. This twerp hasn't been present in the Senate 30 days out of the last year. He needs a salary cut - he's overpaid to do nothing.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/22/2008 13:19
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#7
If Barack Obama gets elected President, we will see a real disaster in this country. Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House and Harry Reid Majority Leader of the Senate. The Constitution won't be worth a plug nickel.
#8
When Zardari gets here Bush needs to take him to the woodshed, that is, assuming he has any control at all over the military.
I think that may be the crux of the problem. I doubt very much whether the military gives a damn what Zardari tells them WRT to the Americans. They know this puts him in tight spot, and thats probably why they are doing this.
#9
I kinda wonder if it isn't better if we just say to Binny, "OK, you get to hide in Wazoo for now, if you don't mind dodging the occasional arclight. But we got Iraq."
Not if theyre using the Wazoo base to train, to launch ops in Afghanistan, and to plan ops around the world.
Plus the sheer fact that Binny is out there makes it hard for us to look like the strong horse.
I dont like that the chosen one has refused to be honest about the success of the surge, but about the importance of the Afghan/Pakistani front he is not wrong.
#2
But it is certainly so today. And standing against all this hypnotic power the power of the mythmakers in Hollywood, the power of the information peddlers in the media, the corrosive power of America-hating professors on every campus in America against all that we find an old warrior a paladin if ever there was one an old, beat-up warhorse standing up in defense of his city one last time. And beside him: a wonder. A common person just a regular mom who goes to work, does a difficult job with intelligence and energy and grace and every-day competence and then puts it away to go home and have dinner with the family.
#4
Whittle is someone Winston Churchill would approve of. All I can say about his article is that I'm ready to vote, work and, if necessary fight to insure that the values he espouses are not lost through the corruption of the elites in this country. The good people of this country have been through tougher times than this and survived them. We'll get through this too.
#5
On February 9th, 1933, the ruling elite of the worlds great Civilization held a debate in the Oxford Union. With thunderclouds growing dark across the English Channel, at a time when resolute action could still have averted the worst catastrophe the world has ever known, these elites resolved that This House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country.
I guess these disinterested liberal elites thought it was preferable to live under the boot of a tyrant than to live as free men and women.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke
Two-days of talks between the Thai government and representatives from Thailand's Muslim south hosted by Indonesia have achieved some progress in an attempt to end years of conflict that have claimed the lives of thousands of people, media reports said Monday. The talks are being mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the presidential palace in Bogor, about 60 kilometres south of Jakarta, the presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said.
Djalal said the Indonesian government will keep promoting peace in southern Thailand through its position as a facilitator for talks between the government and the separatist group in the region. "The first meeting between the two sides had concluded and produced some progress," the state-run Antara news agency quoted Djalal as saying. "They agreed to exercise restraint to avoid any incidence that would undermine this peace process. They agreed not to commit any violence."
Five representatives from the Thailand's predominantly Muslim Deep South and the Buddhist-led government in Bangkok attended the two-day meeting which ended on Sunday. A number of important principles had been agreed upon although the settlement of a number of crucial issues still needed mediation, he said. "What is important is that this process will continue. It was agreed that the conflict had to be settled peacefully and within the Thai constitution," Djalal said.
The two sides had also agreed to hold a second round of talks on November 1 and 2, with a third round in the middle of November, also in Bogor. "We hope the talks would continue and develop in stages like in the peace process for Aceh. What is encouraging is that they have agreed to hold talks on politics and administrative systems in the second round," he said. In addition, they would also discuss defence, military, socio-cultural, economic and educational issues, he said.
Suspected separatist terrorists insurgents shot dead four people in attacks across Thailand's mainly Muslim far south on Sunday, police said.
In Pattani province, a 60-year-old Muslim rubber tapper was killed as he filled his motorbike at a petrol station, while in a separate attack a Buddhist market vendor was shot dead as he travelled to work. In nearby Yala province, a 22-year-old Muslim man was killed in a drive-by shooting. Hours later in the same province, two men on a motorcycle shot dead a 50-year-old Muslim man who worked for the local village chief.
#1
The Thais have been unusually passive uncreative confronting the Islamic Terrorist "problem".
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/22/2008 9:22
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#2
Bring in a few hundred Hmong tribesmen from central Laos and Vietnam, guarantee them that if they capture and hand over the militants, they will be deeded a hectare of land, give them modern weapons, and turn them loose. The problem will be resolved in a few weeks. Too many Thais are Buddhists who don't like to harm other living things, or Muslims who don't want to fight their own kind. The Hmongs have neither problem. If Hmongs aren't available, try some Lao or Me tribesmen, or import some Karens from Burma.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/22/2008 16:36
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#3
Disagree OP. It was Buddhist Thais who conquered the muslim Malay in the first place. Make the Thais uncomfortable enough and the will go Genghis Khan on the muslims.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 16:50
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#2 Bring in a few hundred Hmong tribesmen from central Laos and Vietnam, guarantee them that if they capture and hand over the militants
"No interrogation necessary. Identification of VC and enemy is simple. ALL Vietnamese are enemy!"
Anon Hmong raider
It will come as a shock to most Americans and the media, but as the election reaches a crescendo on the issue of preparedness and energy, neither presidential candidate - nor anyone in local, state or federal government - has developed a contingency plan in the event of a protracted oil cut-off. It is not even being discussed. Government has prepared for hurricanes, anthrax, terrorism and every other disaster, but not the one threatened daily - a protracted oil stoppage, whether caused by terrorism, intervention in the Persian Gulf or a natural disaster.
So the JPost is read in on all of the contingency plans that exist at the federal level?? Yeah, right.
The reality is that such a cut off would have massive consequences but they would be very much tied to the details at the time. Is there planning? yes. Should we be talking about it? no. Knock it off, JPost.
Of course we've planned. We have a Strategic Oil Reserve. We have plans to distribute it as needed. We also have (unlike Y'urp) a capable military that could help with various contingencies. There is just no need to publish our plans in the New York Times.
#2
The other part of the plan is to drill here, drill now. President Bush put in motion, future President McCain will take the advice of his vice president, who considers oil nurturing oil production one of her areas of expertise. Israel, however, she merely counts as an interest, as far as I know.
#5
part 1
A while ago we had a story about the US military researching synthetic fuels, Germsny did just that in WW2
[art 2
and Nimble Spemble asked what they know that we don't.
We know it's just a wartime thing when costs don't matter, synthetic fuel is for last-ditch times when no other fuel is available at any cost,
(They're trying to bring the costs down, but no real success yet)
Best saved for a war, not general consumption.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 18:46
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#6
Actually the USAF has already tried Synthetic fuel in a B1 and a couple of fighters. Supposing of cours that it would be cheaper. An account from a F-15 pilot said that "He could not tell the difference and the aircraft performed as expected"
#7
The bulk of military land vehicles are diesel. Diesel engines can run on biodiesel with little or no modification (modification tends to be required in cold climates). The military could run off of vegetable oil new or used. It's the tanks and aircraft that require a better class of fuel.
Of course the economy would have issues. Serious issues. but if the US is having issues the world is screwed.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- Local Muslim leaders will seek a compromise with officials at a Grand Island meatpacking plant in hopes of resolving a prayer dispute. More than two dozen representatives from the local Somali community and a Somali Muslim group from Omaha met Sunday to discuss the protests and firings that stemmed from an ongoing confrontation at the JBS Swift & Co. plant.
Mohamed Rage, that's an...interesting...name
who leads the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization, oh look, a community organizer!
said there were more firings Saturday, and he believes 180 to 200 Somali Muslims have been terminated altogether. "The company is asking people to be loyal to God or their employer," he said. "That is not a position (the workers) should be put in."
The Grand Island plant employs about 2,500 people, not including managers. About a fifth of them are Muslim. The Muslim workers -- most of Somali background -- have been asking for accommodations with break times to allow prayer at sunset. The issue led to walkouts at the plant last week -- not only from Muslims, but also from non-Muslims who protested such accommodations as preferential treatment.
JBS Swift has confirmed 86 firings, saying the employees were fired for repeatedly leaving work without authorization. The company has also said it issued warnings before terminating workers. Messages left over the weekend for a company spokeswoman weren't returned.
Rage said he anticipated all the Muslim workers would be fired before the end of this week, but he was encouraging those still employed to keep working. He and other Muslim leaders called Sunday's meeting as some workers contemplated additional protests.
The Muslim group that gathered Sunday decided that their first course of action is to negotiate with company officials to ensure workers' constitutional rights aren't violated. The group says it has tried to strike a compromise with plant management on three occasions -- all before the first walkout early last week.
If further negotiations don't work, the workers will seek help from the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and its federal counterpart. Phone messages left in recent days with the state commission have not been returned.
Several of the counterprotesters on Thursday held brochures from the commission -- printed in English and Spanish -- that explained how it handles complaints. They said they were given the brochures in case they were fired. Christine Nazer of the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission said last week that the agency is prohibited by law from discussing complaint filings or ongoing investigations.
Earlier Sunday, about 100 Somalis gathered outside a local apartment complex to discuss the prayer issue with the Muslim representatives. One man carried small U.S. and Somali flags. Another carried a sign bearing the words "We respect all faiths."
Several Somalis, including a woman on crutches who had fallen at work and broken her leg, detailed stories of mistreatment at the hands of management. Asha Hussen said it took a significant effort to convince plant nurses she'd been injured that badly. When she went to the plant for help with a doctor visit, she was fired, Hussen said.
Asha Abdi detailed how she'd been locked in a room after she was caught praying. She also said management took away the pieces of cardboard she and others were using as prayer mats.
On Monday, hundreds of Muslim employees walked off the job, saying they weren't being allowed to take a break to pray during Ramadan. Break times were then altered on the second shift so that Muslim employees could make their fourth of five daily prayers at sunset.
Then hundreds of non-Muslim workers walked off the job in counterprotests Wednesday and Thursday. Later Thursday, plant managers did an about-face, saying the new break times weren't working.
Khadar Ducaale of the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization said Sunday that tension has been building between the Muslim employees and their co-workers. "This is a place where people are holding knives, and they can kill each other. They can finish each other, and at the end of the day it would be up to the plant to pay for whatever happened," he said. Standard threat of violence if we don't get what we want and Its All Your Fault!
JBS Swift & Co. said in a statement Friday that the company is working to resolve the issue. "JBS values its diverse workforce and has a long track record of making significant accommodations to employees," the statement said. "We work closely with all employees and union representation to accommodate religious practices in a reasonable, safe and fair manner."
#2
They were fired and/or quit. Pack their asses up and deport them back whence they came. They have nothing to do in Nebraska or any other damn place in the US now. We already have an overflow of Muzz cabdrivers in Minneapolis and don't need any in Dallas. These people are trouble. Increasing their polulation here only increases the likelyhood of a "Cologne event" here in the US. We don't want nor need that.
#3
That's, ok. They can all go to work for thatkosher meat processor in Iowa, the one whose illegal workforce was all deported by ICE a few weeks ago. They've been hiring legal Somalis as replacements, and this lot won't need very much training.
#7
The walk-outs from other employees were Hispanic workers who intensely dislike the Somalis for getting preferential treatment. It could turn violent very easily. We can thank the UN/State for resettling legal Muslim refugees here, on the taxpayers running tab.
#8
"The Muslim group that gathered Sunday decided that their first course of action is to negotiate with company officials to ensure workers' constitutional rights aren't violated."
Can somebody please explain to me what constitutional rights they're talking about? I don't know of these constitutional rights to shut down meat processing lines for prayers or to walk out and still keep your job. Help me with this.
Rantburgers have contributed links to this. Rusty Shackleford at My Pet Jawa and his posse did the sleuthing on this. Ace of Spades and Michelle Malkin are all over it. Go read 'em for additional comments, but read this linked work at My Pet Jawa first.
#1
Update here. More circumstantial evidence that the Obama campaign was behind it.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/22/2008 9:56
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#2
Axelrod at his best. What a slumdog. Every election he's involved in has turned into a slime-your-opponent contest. Nothing new. Big pal of yer fav Mayor...Daley.
#3
And the walls come tumblbling down... Thanks, Rusty.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/22/2008 10:38
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#4
Great detective work!
VIOLATION OF FEC RULES?
Federal election law requires that a disclaimer from those paying for campaign ads, "must appear on any "electioneering communication" and on any public communication by any person that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or solicits funds in connection with a federal election." Even when the ad is not paid for nor coordinated with the candidates election committee, "the disclaimer notice must identify who paid for the message, state that it was not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee and list the permanent street address, telephone number or World Wide Web address of the person who paid for the communication."
#5
Unless the Main Stream Media carries this info it will not get out to the average American and the meme the Dems have been working on for a month (That McCain ran the dirtiest campaign in history and Obama ran a squeeky clean one) will become the conventional wisdom no matter how distorted.
The Media is almost broken but they still are the guardians of the information for a large swath of political johnny-come-lately. Of course if McCain asks Obama directly in a debate we might get the word out as well. hint, hint.
#6
Daily Kos is the blog that really launched Obama's successful campaign. DailyKos diarist "geekesque" tells his audience of a plan to get this and other smear videos to go viral. And I mean just that: he admits that the video and others like it make false claims, but that the ends justify the means. It's pretty long but I'll post the whole thing just to show I'm not taking this out of context:
Viral attacks are where it's at in 2008. Emails, blogs, online news sources. Content flows upstream in today's media environment.
We can be the gun.
Indeed, if Barack can't or won't do the dirty work, then we have to do it for him. No excuses. No more hand-wringing.
Let's get to work.
How, you ask? Simple.
It's all about finding really damaging stuff--news stories, YouTubes, informative blog posts. And then circulating those with the intent of having them work their way up the media stream. Email it to your friends. Email it to any journalists whose email you have. Post it in diaries or blog comments.
Example, here is a devastating YouTube on Sarah Strangelove:
[The Palin smear video was inserted here]
You should email this to ten people. Or ten bloggers. Or both. Spread it far, spread it wide.
If you would like to do this on a regular basis, I've set up a couple of Google Groups to help out with that process.
One group, [group's name] is a gathering point for potentially damaging stories about the enemy. Folks who belong to that one can post whatever stories they find anonymously. Just post a link or create a page, and others will take it from there.
That brings me to the other group, [other group's name]. This group is the actual action group--the one where the most damaging stories collected by folks at the VMP. It's real simple. You log in or get an email alert, you copy and paste, and you email it to various folks--either friends and family or content-based websites like blogs and online news sources.
I am more than happy to add folks to either group or both. Just email me at:
[redacted e-mail]
and let me know which you'd like to join.
Let's go out and expose these bastards for what they are.
To the barricades.
Note: If you don't believe in scorched-earth politics, no one is forcing you to join this effort, of course. We all contribute in our own way.
#7
So....just for the hell of it, let's assume this all pans out to be 100% true. What would the consequences be for Obama? Is there a possible fine, jail time, burning at the stake, what?
#8
The Klan has return to its roots. Nightriders of intolerance and hate to put down anyone who dare challenges the power of the 'MAN'. The same self rationalizing gutter bigotry, just a different target. The same nod and wink from their establishment, cause it keeps them in the seats they lust for. What's the next level above 'get in their face'? Cause we all know what the Klan did next to those who didn't go along.
#13
The McCain camp could line up Barry for a knockout blow over this. This is a direct violation of McCain/Finegold and if they play their cards right they could have Barry scrambling for an entirely new PR firm at best...
Oh hell, who am I kidding? The McCain camp won't do or say a thing about this.
I emailed every TV station and newspaper in town anyway. Can't say I didn't do my part.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/22/2008 18:01
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Venezuela will buy combat and training aircraft from China this week, leftist Venezuela President Hugo Chavez confirmed in a television broadcast Sunday. The purchases will be made as part of a six-country tour, Chavez said in his broadcast of the "Alo President" television program from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, hours before leaving on a "strategic interest" trip to Cuba, China, Russia, Belarus, France and Portugal.
Chavez, a staunch foe of the US government, confirmed that during his stay in Beijing he will purchase 24 K-8 aircraft "to train fighter pilots." The planes could be part of Venezuela's air force by next year.
The president also confirmed that while in Beijing he will arrange the construction of tanker vessels in Chinese shipyards, with the aim of installing a shipyard in Venezuela in the near future. These plans come in addition to the construction of a refinery in China to process oil from Venezuela, and plans to create a bi-national company to install a refinery in the remote oil-rich Orinoco region in eastern Venezuela.
Caracas provides 500,000 barrels of oil per day to Beijing, a trade which is expected to increase to one million barrels a day by 2012.
Chavez, who describes China as a strategic ally, will move forward with a six billion dollar bilateral investment fund. China will contribute four billion dollars to the fund, and Venezuela two billion dollars. Caracas will use the fund for "socialist productive projects."
Just taking care of his friends ...
"Before we had to go to Washington to beg for money. Not now. Now we negotiate with the Chinese," said Chavez. Chavez announced that during his visit to Beijing the investment fund will benefit from an additional four billion dollars for further "development" in Venezuela.
After China, Chavez will head to Moscow. Chavez's trip is expected to last until September 27.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008
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#1
and some cookies.....oh and don't forget the milk...lots of milk
#3
A fighter plane is only as good as the pilot. I have no faith the Venezualan pilots would put up any kind of fight against the US. I wonder if we might find Venezuelan pilots speaking Russian for the next decade or so.
#4
If the planes aren't any better than the baby milk, dog food, autos, etc, etc., the Hugos in trouble. Let's not tell him and let him find out himself.
#6
The J-* can also be used as a ground-attack/COIN aircraft. As far as Venezuelan pilots - no doubt a sizable cadre of trainers comes along with the support package.
#7
Interesting that he bought this plane from China instead of buying more AMX's (a similar type of plane, can be used for light attack or training) from Brazil (you know, leftist government, right next door, etc)?
Millions of voters in US states crucial to this fall's presidential election received DVD copies of a controversial documentary film as advertising inserts in their morning newspapers last week, with more sent out over the weekend. The 2006 film, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," which has been accused by critics of encouraging Islamophobia, was reportedly delivered, or slated for delivery this weekend, into tens of millions of households in states such as Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri and other "swing states" that don't vote consistently for either party and usually decide elections.
Republicans and their candidate, Senator John McCain, have made battling the threat posed by radical Islamists a central platform of their campaign, while presenting their Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, as being weak on the issue. Obama has also fought off persistent smear campaigns, particularly aimed at Jewish voters, that he is a "closet Muslim."
Gregory Ross, the spokesman for the Clarion group, which produced and is distributing the DVD, told the Harrisburg Patriot-News that the movie was being delivered to 28 million homes throughout the month of September and that the intention was not to sway voters to either candidate.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
I got a copy in my local paper on 16 Sept at the local library. I asked the librarian if I could borrow the DVD, and she gave it to me instead, saying they had no way to catalog newspaper inserts. I'm a bit surprised it took so long for news articles about the DVD distribution to appear.
#2
I was walking out of Park's Seafood in Ormond Beach on Saturday evening. I heard a plane go over very low and one nearly hit my car in the parking lot.
Theo Van Gogh was the Dutch co producer of "Submission" and was murdered. The other co producer being Ayaan Hirsi Ali. This was in 2004. It emphasizes the violence against women that is inspired by Islam.
In 2008, the movie Fitna was produced by Dutch elected official Geert Wilders. It shows how specific verses in the Koran inspire specific forms of violence.
Obsession is a 2006 film in documentary style with lots of interviews of counter terrorism officials and also ex Muslims which goes into the methods and strategies of Jihad.
#6
Gentlemen, you're correct about my confusion. Clearly it was the -ssion ending that had me confused, along with the closeness of the Dutch and German languages. (And skipping my morning nap. I don't think at all well without the extra sleep.) Thank you very much.
#7
You callin' me a shadowy, right wing Zionist? That's a Federalist, Christian, armed to the teeth, shadowy, far Right Wing Zionist to you libtardcommiecrat mfer!
Thousands of people in France and Germany took to the streets over the weekend, calling for soldiers deployed in Afghanistan to be brought home, police and march organizers said. Both countries have parliamentary votes coming up on the issue. Over 5,000 people demonstrated in Berlin and Stuttgart Saturday to protest the decision to prolong the deployment of German troops in Afghanistan, police from both cities said.
Demonstrators, who had been mobilized by 250 pacifist groups and trade-union organizations, carried banners with slogans including "Give peace a chance - Bring the troops back from Afghanistan."
At least 3,300 people rallied in Berlin and a further 2,000 in Stuttgart, although the event organizers put the total figure at 7,000 people.
In France, marches calling for the recall of French troops in Afghanistan took place in about 10 towns across the country, organized by political activists, trades unions and several left-wing opposition political parties. In Paris, 3,000 people took part in a march - 2,000 according to police. Opposition parties backing the demonstrations included the Greens, the Communist Party, and the far left Revolutionary Communist League.
The march took place two days ahead of a parliamentary vote on the France's deployment in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
doesn't seem like a very impressive turnout for protests that had been mobilized by 250 pacifist groups and trade-union organizations.
Sheesh. It seems with that much organization you should at least get a better turnout than what the local art in the park can pull.
#3
THe French Communist Pary helping Taliban and Al Quaida. Just like in 1940 when it helped the Nazis through undermining of French soldiers morale and sabotage of tanks and of plane manufacturing.
#4
doesn't seem like a very impressive turnout for protests that had been mobilized by 250 pacifist groups and trade-union organizations.
As an aside, regarding "activist", "civil rights", "gay rights", "anti-racist", IE all those "community organizers" parazites living off society... in France, you've got to understand that 1) they represent NOTHING in term of actual manpower and representative democracy (most of them are weak false noses for movements with no actual electoral weight like commies, trostkysts, anarchists, or even foreign gvts like algeria)
BUT
2) they get both an absurd Msm coverage and resonance (that is, they are the default "representative face" of any given movement, not to mention actual complicity from like-minded media drones), and they are STATE-FUNDED.
None of those orgs could ever exist thanks to members fees & donations, they are purely funded by public money, through local or national organisms... even though they are basically trying to subvert established order.
What this means is that for example, "anti-racist" orgs can freely sue anyone guilty of thoughtcrimes and I don't mean just big cheezes, but even very average people, without having to worry about money, since it's the State's, not their. And it also allows for a camarilla of "civil rights" lawyers to live off that racket.
One ex... During the 2005 ramadan riots, about 300 such orgs called for a demonstration, which brang about 250-300 people, not even one per org (because since the market for subsidies is so juicy, you've got the president of one being the treasury guy of an another whuile his president is an adviser for his own, and so on)... yet, they got a full & very favorable msm coverage (as opposed say to an anti-strike demonstration organized by free-market guys in 2005???? which got about 10 000 people, and was NOT covered by any teevee, literally not the memory hole from the start).
As for the unions, they represent NOTHING either. My figures are a bit fuzzy, but I think unionization in France is around 2-4% of the workforce... most, or almost all of it in the public sector, IE people hired for life who can't be fired whatever they do, thanks to the commie status given to them in the provisional gvt days right after WWII.
Bottom line of this overly long comment is that those thousands represent NOTHING. They are the usual suspects, they are virtual entities enabled only by the complicit msm and by a socialist, constructivist State.
Not to say many french don't agree with them, but it's only because people think what they are told to think, by the general doxa (exactly as I'm myself told what to think here, except that I chose that because I like thinking that way, as opposed to being spoon-fed by the mass-media and not even knowing it. At least, I know my poison).
Saudis are lining up in droves for a ticket to outerspace, topping the list of passengers who have booked a ticket on board the first commercial spaceship.
With tickets costing $200,000 (750,000 Riyals), Virgin Galactic, the first commercial spaceline, reported that Saudis top the list of space travelers from the Middle East. These space tourists will be among the first 1000 humans to have left the planet.
Saudis are among the most interested in space tourism and top the list of soon-to-be astronaut tourists from the Middle East, followed by Kuwait and U.A.E. according to Virgin Galactic's marketing manager, Sharon Garrett.
Saudi travel agencies have also expressed their desire to create Saudi-based divisions devoted to space travel, she said.
More than 65,000 passengers from 125 countries have already registered and paid the $20,000 deposit, according to the company. The $200,000 price tag gets space tourists a two-and-a-half hour flight at least 100 km above earth (68 miles) and includes three days of pre-flight training. Each flight will carry 6 passengers, who will be able to get out of their seats and experience weightlessness, and two pilots.
Virgin Galactic, which will launch its service in January, wants to give people -- not just professional astronauts -- the chance to explore outer space. The company's outlook is that in the future space travel with be as common as normal air flights.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#4
Coming soon to a space station near you perhaps, "Wahhabi's in Space". How are daily prayers going to be handled I wonder. On commercial airliners, space can be a bit cramped. I wonder if Virgin Atlantic has given thought to this possible problem.
#5
Read the same story TW, as I remember the whole idea was population control, the ships were NOT expected to make the journey, but just shoddy enough to lift clear of the atmosphere before failing.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 13:12
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#6
Can it be a one-way trip? For all of 'em?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/22/2008 13:19
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#7
I think you are talking about C.M. Kornbluth's The Marching Morons. Nothings better than a trip to Venus, once people get there they don't want to come back!
Posted by: bruce ||
09/22/2008 17:53
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#8
I also recall the "Leader" was stuffed into the last "Heavy lifter", that solved a whole slew of problems right there No tial, just justice.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 18:22
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If they ever get to enjoy an actual orbital flight they'll have to put there prayer mats on a lazy susan.
Posted by: Bob ||
09/22/2008 19:20
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as I remember the whole idea was population control
Population reduction and chopping off the left half of the bell curve. The ad man was indeed allowed to make the trip... and he was excited until the ship started to take off, as I recall -- the liar who fell for his own lies. The Marching Morons sounds right. I do love Rantburgers!
Iraqi Shiite fighters who trained inside Iran to operate in assassination squads are starting to return home, the U.S. military told CNN."We are beginning to see indications that some 'special group' members are returning to Iraq and may be planning assassinations of key [Iraqi] government and security officials, as well as coalition forces," a U.S. military spokesman said.
The U.S. military uses the term "special groups" to describe Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq.
In Baghdad, U.S. forces have distributed flyers featuring pictures of wanted "special groups" militiamen and offering rewards for tips that lead to arrests, residents say. On the backs of the flyers are an image of handcuffs and an Arabic message that reads: "Welcome back -- We have been waiting for you."
Last month, the U.S. military said the assassination training was being conducted by Iran's Quds force and elements of Lebanese Hezbollah at four locations inside Iran: Qom, Tehran, Ahvaz and Mashhad. The militiamen were trained for four months on subjects such as small arms and weapons training, reconnaissance, terrorist cell operations, sniper techniques, improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades -- including the RPG-29, a signature weapon of Lebanese Hezbollah and the Quds force, the military spokesman said.
The United States believes many of the Shiite fighters fled Iraq during a U.S. and Iraqi security crackdown this year.
...Check out the chart showing the recent spikes in the US 10-year credit default swap. In other words, the market is now pricing-in the genuine possibility that the US will struggle to pay-back some of its long-term T-bills.
That possibility is still deemed to be quite low. But the ultimate financial question - until recently, unthinkable - is now being asked. Yes siree, the mighty US government could default. That's how much the world has changed.
#1
Yeah, and an asteroid could come hurtling out of the blue tomorrow and destroy the planet completely. Neither one is likely.
If the U.S.G. defaults, the world's money markets are gone for good. It would hurt us terribly and the rest of the world worse. There would be governmental collapse in a great many places. The items of most value would be guns, ammo and canned goods.
#2
Governments don't default on debts in their own currency (they do default on debts in other countries currency, gold or when they introduce a new currency). They print money.
Which says to me we in for a period of asset deflation and consumable inflation.
#3
" The items of most value would be guns, ammo and canned goods."
Uh-huh. Been at the top of my list for a while now. Do you really think these shysters have not contemplated defaulting ? Look at their play now. Would it cause world-wide upheaval and possibly a world war ? Probably. Think they care ?
#4
The U.S. Naitonal debt is $9,671, 430,687,608.40 as of this morning.
The estimated population of the United States is 304,774,370 so each citizen's share of this debt is $31,733.08.
What has this money been used on? Do we want to add a trillion on to it for these douche-nozzles on Wall St? How much can we borrow before it ruins us? Or has it already hurt us irreparably?
#5
There's always the Zim-Bob model. I guess he doesn't have to sell T-Bills.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/22/2008 12:49
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bigjim-ky: The six parts of the US budget are, in order,
Medicare & Medicaid (21%),
Social Security (21%),
Defense (20%) ,
Interest on the national debt. (9%)
Other Discretionary (18%), and
Other Mandatory (11%)
#7
Remember the total world burden of credit default swaps (CDS's) is in the neighborhood of $62 trillion, but no one knows for sure -- the CDS market is unregulated & unmonitored. CDS's are contracts where one party agrees to pay another if certain financial conditions are met, i.e., the swap is a bill that may need to be paid by someone to someone.
The Masters of the Universe who invented & propagated schemes like CDS's were really just Sorcerer's Apprentices. I strongly suspect the world CDS market will collapse long before the US Gov't needs to worry about defaulting.
#8
The government's focus on short-sellers was an attempt to divert attention from the highly-levered hedge funds in drag that now comprise our banks and brokerages. The reason these banks and brokerages haven't been reined in is because they're gambling with exotic instruments that regulators have decided should remain regulation-free, instead of the highly-levered bets with plain old futures and options that Long Term Capital took. The problem with non-regulation of banks and brokerages is what just happened last week - if anything bad happens, the government is on the hook, because of the vast numbers of voters negatively impacted.
#9
#3: " The items of most value would be guns, ammo and canned goods."
I reload Woozle, and have enough to get by, no way to provide 20 years of canned goods, not rich enough, and no warehouse available.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 18:39
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Perhaps we should each invest in grain, vegetable, and spice seeds, and a small mixed herd of sheep. Just make sure the ram is heterosexual, and all will be well.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was not involved in a series of orchestrated bombings across India, a spokesman said on Sunday. Lashkar-e-Taiba said it only wanted to kill Indian troops in Kashmir, not to kill civilians in Indian cities. The denial came after the Indian police said that Lashkar-e-Taiba was backing the previously unknown Indian Mujahideen, which claimed responsibility for serial blasts in several cities including attacks in New Delhi on September 13. "It is a propaganda to discredit us," Lashkar-e-Taiba spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi told AFP. "Such attacks are not right, Islam does not permit the killing of innocent people," he added. "We are fighting for the freedom of Kashmir and we will fight until we achieve our goal."
This article starring:
ABDULLAH GHAZNAVI
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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A dozen policemen and two militants were killed in clashes in western Afghanistan, a district governor said Sunday. The policemen, responsible for the security of a dam being reconstructed by Indian engineers, were on patrol when they came under attack from dozens of rebels in Herat Province Saturday, he said.
"We lost 11 policemen," Chishti Sharif district Governor Sayed Gul Chishti told AFP. Two rebels were also killed in the attack, he added.
About 20 more policemen went to the scene on Sunday for a follow-up operation and were surrounded by the attackers, Chishti said. The siege lasted the whole day and another policeman was killed before it was broken and the other officers were able to escape, he said.
Chishti blamed the attack on rebels loyal to Ghulam Mustafa, a former anti-Soviet guerrilla commander "who has now joined the Taliban." Mustafa, speaking to AFP over the telephone, admitted his men killed the policemen but denied his links to Taliban and said his men had been attacked.
The Taliban had pledge that it would observe a cease-fire on Sunday, the International Day of Peace, and that it would not interview with a three-day polio-vaccination campaign in the country. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force reciprocated the pledge, and apart from the violence in Heart, most of Afghanistan was relatively quiet.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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A Gaza-based human rights organization said it has opened an investigation into the violent raid by Hamas security forces that left 12 members of one family dead and 42 injured.
Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights in Gaza called the armed incursion by Hamas forces against members of the Doghmush clan in the Sabra district in West Gaza last Tuesday a "mass murder" and condemned the escalation of violence.
The fighting last Tuesday erupted when Hamas police moved to arrest members of the Doghmush clan accused of gunning down a police officer and turned into a several hours long gun fight that left 12 dead, including a toddler.
"Flagrant violation of human rights"
Al-Dameer called the action by Hamas forces a flagrant violation of human rights and condemned the use of weapons in such a densely populated area since it endangered the lives of innocent civilians, according to a statement issued by the organization. "Keeping law and order cannot be at any price and without maintaining the rules that protect the safety of citizens," the statement said. "The death of an 18-month old child was the result of the excessive use of armed force."
The organization demanded an investigation to unravel the circumstances of the incident, especially in light of speculations that the killings were extralegal measures taken despite the possibility of arresting many of those who were instead murdered.
Kafa Ali Hassan Doghmush told AlArabiya.net that a police force stormed her house and searched it then broke into one of the rooms where a number of the family members were gathered. They arrested Ibrahim Farouk Doghmush, who was disguised as a woman. He was injured, but the forces shot him in front of his father and family. "Then the forces shot everyone in the room," said Kafa.
Differing accounts
Makram Youssef Daghmash said her four sons were shot and that as she and Kafa were trying to save their sons Hamas police shot them both in the legs. "Why haven't they arrested them in the legal way? The government has to clarify how things reached that level," Makram told AlArabiya.net.
The clashes took place in the aftermath of the assassination of officer Abdul-Karim Adel, 21, and the injury of officer Saleh Fouad, 32, who were shot while trying to arrest Jamil Doghmush, according to Ihab al-Ghosein, spokesman of the ousted Interior Ministry.
According to Ghosein, the aim of the incursion was to arrest a number of outlaws, especially Jamil, who was accused of killing the officer. He said that Hamas security forces had warned members of the clan for more than a year that they were breaking the law. "We tried to talk them into turning themselves in, but no avail," said Ghosein. "The forces didn't start shooting until after one of the Doghmush clan snipers shot one of our officers, Sameh Mahmoud al-Naji."
Ghosein added that the toddler's death was accidental. "But many of the family members insisted on committing their crimes, which aroused the resentment of citizens," he added.
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British Airways (BA) has suspended flights to Pakistan, Geo News reported on Sunday. Samma TV reported that British authorities had decided that the airline's services would remain suspended until September 29. However, ARY quoted the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) director general as saying he had no information about the suspension of BA services, and no notice to this effect had been received.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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A car bomb attack against a police building in western Mosul has left a policeman killed and 25 others injured, reports say.
The attack comes when an explosive-laden truck struck a building said to be a secret Ninewa police base in the city's al-Jadida neighborhood on Sunday, the Voices of Iraq reported.
In another bombing in the northern city of Kirkuk, two other Iraqi police officers were killed and 24 others injured.
A bomber detonated his car outside the police academy in the oil-rich city as groups of volunteers were leaving the department. Ten of those injured were in critical conditions.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Militants are killing, looting and kidnapping innocent people for ransom and attacking security forces personnel in Darra Adam Khel for over a month. A press release issued by the Frontier Corps Headquarters said that the miscreants were regularly attacking the personnel of law-enforcement agencies and looting banks and disrupting traffic on the main Indus Highway. It said the miscreants destroyed two important bridges leading to Kohat-Peshawar Tunnel and made repeated attempts to damage the Friendship Tunnel; however, their attempts were foiled by the FC troops. A big chunk of population has left Darra Adam Khel for safer places in other areas. It said Darra people were now asking the law-enforcement agencies to establish the state writ in the area so that they may return to their homes.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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After three years of digital courtship involving instant messaging and webcam meetings a Saudi couple has decided to take their virtual relationship into the real world for their wedding, which will take place later this year.
The relationship began when a Saudi man, in his thirties, started chatting with a girl he met online through MSN Messenger. With the approval of the girl's mother the couple began chatting regularly online. Three years after meeting online and chatting, the mother agreed to allow the Saudi suitor to take a "legitimate look" at her daughter using a webcam.
According to Sheikh Abdul-Mohsen al-Obeikan, the couple viewing one another through the Internet is religiously permissible as long as others do not see them.
The wedding will take place in the Greater Bairam following the next Eid Al-Adha, the Saudi newspaper al-Madina reported last week.
According to one of the largest surveys of its kind, a 2007 poll found the rate of spinsterhood, or women that had not married by age 30, in Saudi had reached 2.6 percent. Spinsters in Saudi are estimated at more than 180,000, or one in sixteen women. According to the same study, the percentage of divorced women and widows are both 5.4 percent.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
So, how old is the bride?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/22/2008 10:18
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According to Sheikh Abdul-Mohsen al-Obeikan, the couple viewing one another through the Internet is religiously permissible as long as others do not see them.
---
religiously permissible as long as others do not see them.
----------
LOL- BUSTED!
This Sheikh has just opened a BIG can of Western worms........
Next thing ya know, since no one can "see" them - they'll be getting nekkid in front of the camera.....
and where will that lead???
Let's take it a step further - he's on the webcam, she's not, but chatting w/him and his buds........
they try and they try, but the modern world will intrude.
#1
...A friend of mine was standing on shore when the CVN USS George Washington sailed into New York after the 9/11 attacks - he says to this day he's never heard cheering as loud and as long as he did when that carrier arrived. Guessing that the same thing happened in Galveston.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/22/2008 9:50
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Thanks Mike. I had never heard that before. I know that had I been there I would have felt the same way. Too bad the media never tells these great stories.
Iran is trying to enrich uranium, a critical step in developing nuclear capability, the head of Military Intelligence's research department told the cabinet on Sunday. "Iran is developing a command of uranium-enrichment technology and is galloping toward a nuclear bomb," said Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz.
He said there is an increasing gap between between Iran's progress in developing the bomb and the global pressure to halt that process, and added that Israel's assessment that the Islamic Republic is focusing on improving uranium enrichment is consistent with the latest International Atomic Energy Agency report on the matter.
Iran is improving the centrifugal array in its enrichment facility in the desert city of Kashan, Baidatz said, adding that since the beginning of the year, Tehran has activated 4,000 centrifuges, generating 60 grams of UF-6 gas an hour - a product used to enrich uranium to a military level. Baidatz also noted that Iran already has about 480 kilograms of low-level enriched uranium - between one-third and one-half of the amount of fissionable material needed to create a single nuclear bomb.
"We believe that the time until the point of no return is getting increasingly shorter," said Baidatz. "The international front against Iran is weak and not consolidated, and isn't putting enough pressure on the regime so that it will stop enriching the uranium."
There is an increasing gap between the Russian and Chinese positions on Iran and that of the United States and the European Union, which reduces the chance of a fourth round of UN Security Council sanctions being launched against Iran, Baidatz said. The Iranians' self-confidence is growing, he added, because they realize that the rest of the world is too weak to stop them.
Baidatz said Tehran is using diplomatic dialogue "to gain time - and in the meantime, the cracks in the West are getting ever larger."
"The sanctions have very little influence, and are far from bringing to bear a critical mass of pressure on Iran," he said.
Baidatz also discussed the Gaza Strip, noting that the current lull could be destabilized by small Palestinian groups attempting to either smuggle terrorists into Israel via Sinai, or to abduct Israelis from Sinai and bring them to Gaza. "We had solid intelligence as a result of which we released travel advisories," said Baidatz.
He added that Hamas was not rushing into a deal for the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit: "There is obstinacy in Hamas regarding the Shalit matter, and they see him as an asset whose value just rises."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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Rescue teams hunted for survivors yesterday in the ruins of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel, where a massive truck bomb killed at least 53 people in what officials said looked like the work of al-Qaeda.
Around 200 more were wounded in the suicide attack Saturday night in the heart of the capital, which came just hours after Pakistan's new president gave his inaugural address to parliament and vowed to stamp out terrorism.
Around 200 more were wounded in the suicide attack Saturday night in the heart of the capital, which came just hours after Pakistan's new president gave his inaugural address to parliament and vowed to stamp out terrorism.
Pakistan's interior ministry Sunday blamed al-Qaeda linked Taliban militants from tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan for the massive suicide attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. Top ministry official Rehman Malik told a news conference that attackers involved in recent bombings were all from the tribal areas known here by their acronym FATA, and said the militant region was behind the latest carnage.
Rescuers on Sunday retrieved the body of Czech Republic's envoy to Pakistan Ivo Zdarek from the wreckage of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, officials said. Ivo Zdarek called his embassy moments after Saturday night's bombing from inside the hotel asking to be rescued, but he has not been heard from since, the embassy's number two diplomat Jaroslav Kalfirt told AFP in Islamabad. Kalfirt said joint efforts with the Pakistani authorities to locate the ambassador had failed.
A Danish diplomat is also missing after Saturday's devastating suicide bomb attack on the Marriott hotel, the Danish foreign ministry said Sunday. "We are concentrating right now on finding on finding the Dane who has been missing since yesterday," Klavs Holm, ambassador for public diplomacy at the Danish foreign ministry, told AFP.
The bombing also came on the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's call for Pakistani Muslims to unleash Jihad or holy war against the government.
The bombing also came on the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's call for Pakistani Muslims to unleash Jihad or holy war against the government, a vital ally in the US-led "war on terror" that has cracked down on militants.
The brazen attack appeared to have been timed to inflict maximum casualties, ripping through the hotel when it was packed with families having dinner to break the daily fast in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "It has the hallmarks of al-Qaeda," a senior official involved in the investigation told AFP. "It was an al-Qaeda style bombing."
The official said investigators believe up to 600 kilos (1,300 pounds) of explosives were packed into the truck, which exploded in a giant fireball at the security gate and tore an enormous crater in the ground. The blast ignited gas cylinders in the kitchen, setting off a blaze that swept through the 300-room hotel. A security official said some victims leapt to their deaths rather than be burnt alive on the upper floors.
Pieces of human flesh were still scattered outside the hotel on Sunday morning. The intense heat inside kept rescuers, who were wearing masks and chemical protection suits, from getting inside most of the destroyed building. A senior security official said at least 53 people were dead. The government put the confirmed toll at 53 Sunday, and it was not known how many people might still be unaccounted for. Bodies pulled from the debris were burnt beyond recognition.
The hotel was popular with politicians, foreigners and the Pakistani elite.
"We will rid the country of this cancer," Zardari said in a message to the nation after the attack. "I appeal to all democratic forces to come and save Pakistan."
The bombing is a serious challenge to new President Asif Ali Zardari, who faces a desperate battle against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants whose campaign of violence has killed 1,300 people in Pakistan this year. "We will rid the country of this cancer," Zardari, who took office less than two weeks ago, said in a message to the nation after the attack. "I appeal to all democratic forces to come and save Pakistan."
"We will not be deterred by these cowards, Pakistanis are brave and fearless people, they are not afraid of death," he said. "I promise you that such actions by these cowards will not lower our resolve," he said.
But analysts say the ability to carry out such a massive bombing at one of the most secure sites in the capital, not far from parliament and the prime minister's residence, is an unmistakable sign of the militants' reach.
Zardari's predecessor Pervez Musharraf turned Pakistan into a close ally of the United States after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the government has waged a crackdown on militants in Pakistan's volatile northwest. That campaign has drawn the ire of many in Pakistan, the world's only nuclear-armed Islamic nation, and critics say elements of the army and intelligence services are supporting the militants.
Many militants poured into the northwest tribal areas from across the border in Afghanistan when the United States invaded after 9/11, and much of the region is now effectively outside the Pakistani government's control. The administration of US President George W Bush says militants are using the area as a base of operations to lead the deadly insurgency in Afghanistan, and US forces have fired missiles and even raided the region. But even Zardari has warned that US operations on Pakistani soil are unacceptable.
The perceived violation of sovereignty, and the Pakistan army's campaign against militants, have infuriated many Pakistanis. Exactly one year ago on September 20, Bin Laden called on Muslims in Pakistan "to carry out Jihad and fighting to remove (Musharraf), his government, his army and those who help him."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
"We will rid the country of this cancer," Zardari said in a message to the nation after the attack. "I appeal to all democratic forces to come and save Pakistan."
Hmmm! Lets see, "democratic forces". In that area of the world that would be India for one and the USA (in Aghanistan) for the other. Does this mean that he has now agreed to us and the Indian's to come into Pakistan and eliminate this "cancer"?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/22/2008 10:26
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#2
so how can the democratic forces come in to save Pakistan if they are getting shot at when they enter (see choppers and pak army fire)
#3
an article this am said the attack was aimed at Zardari, who had just given a speech against the terrorists that morning and was supposed to go to the hotel afterward for dinner....
The United Nations said Sunday its offices in the rebel-controlled north of Sri Lanka had been looted after aid workers were evacuated last week. A statement from the UN said that it suspected the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were involved in the theft from buildings it had left on the orders of the Sri Lankan government. The UN did not disclose what was stolen, but local media reported that the suspected rebels took large stocks of fuel and electricity generators. UN and other international agencies pulled staff out of the tense area near the rebel political capital Kilinochchi after the government said it could not guarantee their safety.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#5
What a missed opportunity. We shoulda had some private contractors in there, had that building assume smoking black hole status the minute it was filled with looters. Bang for OUR buck.
As the war of words over Iran's nuclear ambitions intensified, its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned on Sunday that the nation's military will "break the hands" of invaders if attacked. "If anyone allows themselves to invade Iranian territory and its legal interests, our armed forces will break their hands before they pull the trigger," Ahmedinejad told a military parade.
"Yeah! We got the fourth largest army in the world, y'know!"
"Our nation is seeking friendship and peace, but today it is not in a position to show the least flexibility towards its bullying enemies," he said in the speech marking the 28th anniversary of
Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq.
In Israel, former army chief Moshe Yaalon told military radio that Iran threatens the West in the same way Adolf Hitler once did and that if economic and political sanctions fail conflict will be "inevitable."
"Today, we in the West are facing the same situation, the lack of decisiveness towards a threat that is no less severe than that which Hitler posed in 1939," he said. "We can still stop Iran with political and economic measures but if we do not, then a military confrontation is inevitable," Yaalon said.
The broadsides came on the eve of a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board on Monday where the UN nuclear watchdog will discuss the stalemate in its probe into Iran's nuclear drive. At the moment, the agency and Iran are gridlocked over Tehran's refusal to provide proof that it was not involved in studies to make a nuclear warhead, as a wide range of intelligence suggests.
And during Sunday's parade, Iran's armed forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards, showcased their weaponry. On display were the long-range Shahab-3 missile and Qadr-1, both of which a military commentator said have a range of 2,000 kilometers. That would put the borders of Israel, 1,000 kilometers away, within their reach.
Banners displayed on trucks bore slogans including "Israel must be eliminated from the universe" and "Down with the USA."
No European military attache was present, and a European diplomat told reporters that all EU embassies had been told not to attend the parade because of the possibility of the display or chanting of anti-Israel slogans.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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Unidentified men blew up a grid station in the Rahimabad area in Mingora, disrupting power supply to Swat and Shangla districts.
The grid station was destroyed with bombs early on Sunday morning. Officials said it would take two to three months to rebuild the grid station and restore power supply to the districts of Swat and Shangla.
WAPDA officials in Mingora said the destruction of the grid station had caused the government losses worth one billion rupees.
According to Online, the grid station was located in the Amman Kot chowk. A minor girl, a woman and three others were injured in the blast. They were shifted to the Saidu Sharif Hospital. The news agency quoted an employee at the grid station as saying that unidentified men held the staff hostage and fixed remote control bombs in the control room.
Withdrawal: Meanwhile, security forces withdrew from the Kooza Bandai area in Kabal tehsil after establishing three checkposts in the area, officials said. Taliban had vacated the area two days ago after an agreement with a local jirga.
APP quoted a press release of the Media Information Centre in Swat as saying that the forces had cleared the area of landmines and improvised explosive devices. A relief camp was set up to assist in the rehabilitation of the displaced locals returning to their homes.
Four members of a family died when a mortar shell went off in the Bara Bandai area of Kabal tehsil. Police said Bakht Noor's children were playing with a mortar shell at their home when it exploded. Noor, his two sons and a daughter died.
In the Dadawar area of Barikot tehsil, four people were injured in a blast at a house, police said. Police arrested the owner of the house.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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And they had a mortar shell at home, Why?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 12:56
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With the approach of the deadline to register unofficial marriages fast approaching, Moroccan officials are urging families in tribal areas to submit their requests but are facing resistance from some tribes who view the registration as a waste of time and money.
The Moroccan Ministry of Justice is carrying out a campaign in tribal areas urging families to submit their requests to the court before the February deadline. has set the registration deadline for February set for unofficial marriages to be registered, the authorities. Many tribes, however, view official marriage registration as an unnecessary burden and as an infringement on their customs.
Unofficial marriages in Morocco can trigger several social and ethical problems, according to Abdullah al-Hamoumi, head of the Lawyers Syndicate for Fes. With no official marriage documentation parents put the status of their children at risk, he told AlArabiya.net. Children of unofficial, or urfi, marriages are legally equated with illegitimate children since in both cases there no official document and creates problems issuing birth certificates or enrolling in school.
"Moroccan courts are looking at many cases of that type," Hamoumi added.
There are two dimensions from which to interpret unofficial marriages, according to sociologist Aziz Meshwat. The first and more basic dimension is the long-established tradition where marriage represents a social ceremony validated through making the union known to everyone in the community.
The second dimension is the urfi marriage concept that was imported to the Arab Maghreb from the Arab Mashreq, or Western region. "Some tribes in the Atlas and other remote areas resist all modernization attempts by the state and inherit the custom of marriage without contract, and the marriage is only validated by 12 witnesses from the tribe and an announcement," Meshwat told AlArabiya.net
Some fundamentalists resort to the second type, urfi marriages, as part of their rebellion against society and the state, which they consider illegitimate, said Meshwat.
Feminist and head of the Women Solidarity Organization Aisha al-Shanna told AlArabiya.net that many of the urfi marriage cases she deals with come from couples with Salafi backgrounds, and that women will often refuse to say who the fathers of their children are. "This marriage was done through reading a verse from the Quran after which the women tells the man, 'I marry you,' and the husband refuses to have a contract under the pretext that he does not acknowledge the legitimacy of the state," explained Shanna.
But she also noted that women were more forthcoming with that information following the deadly terrorist attacks in Casablanca in May 2003.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) reponses coming soon from Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah.
SAVANNAH, Ga. --When he wasn't leading his squad on patrol south of Baghdad, Army Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson liked to challenge his men to games of pick-up basketball. Sgt. Wesley Durbin made sure troops followed rules, but also offered a sympathetic ear if they had problems. Members of their Army unit described both men Sunday as well-liked, professional soldiers who quickly proved themselves after being tapped to fill leadership roles in Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment.
Dawson and Durbin died Sept. 14 after being shot at a small patrol base in central Iraq. The Army says a U.S. soldier in their unit is suspected of shooting both men. Few other details have been released.
"When it initially happened, there were a lot of feelings of confusion," Capt. Eric Tisland, the unit's company commander, said in a telephone interview from Iraq. "The basic question everybody wants answered is why, why did something like this happen. A majority of the soldiers are still definitely upset and disturbed, but have continued on."
A Defense Department official in Washington, told The Associated Press last week that the suspected shooter was a sergeant who was in a meeting with Dawson, of Pensacola, Fla., and Durbin, of Dallas, to discuss his leadership performance.
Tisland and two other soldiers interviewed on Sunday declined to discuss the shootings because the slayings are still under investigation. But they spoke highly of the two slain soldiers, who were mourned last week at a memorial ceremony in Iraq.
#1
Oh yeah, the AP is definitely on this story. Afterall, it does confrim that our soldiers are unstable, bloodthirsty killers and everyone needs to be reminded of that...as often as possible.
WASHINGTON -- Congressional Democrats began to set their own terms on Sunday for a plan to rescue the nation's financial institutions, including greater legislative oversight of the Treasury Department, more direct assistance for homeowners and limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help.
The Democrats' demands came as Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. blanketed the Sunday talk shows to promote the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout package, emphasizing that it was needed not just for Wall Street, but for all Americans. He urged Congress to move swiftly to approve a "clean" rescue plan without tacking on extra programs. "I hate the fact that we have to do it, but it's better than the alternative," Mr. Paulson said on "Fox News Sunday."
The Bush administration proposal could be the largest government bailout of private industry in the nation's history, and it calls for nearly unfettered powers to the Treasury secretary. There is intense pressure to pass a rescue measure quickly because the markets remain jittery.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008
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as Democrats pushed for oversight authority of the bailout program.
Mules, 40 acres, reparations, all credited to the Obamessiah, Pelooosi, Harry Reid? They simply cannot let any type of salvation take place during a "W" administration.
#6
We need a Special Prosecutor to expose and indict the democrats who have contributed to this clusterphuck mortgage situation. That $700,000,000.00 is your money, don't let go without kicking ass a plenty. Demand full accounting, or surrender to corruption.
This scam started by Slick Willy Clinton, and enhanced by Dodd, Obama, Kerry, Barney Frank and company. Let's roll !
#7
I have no problem with some oversight -- nice to see the Dhimmis finally agree that oversight is needed after years of killing the calls for oversight of Fannie and Freddie. In return for more oversight, not a single earmark. Not. One.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008 9:26
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#8
From what I can gather, Senator John Kerry (or at any rate his charming wife) and Representative Nancy Pelosi lost pots of money when Fannie and Freddie fell of the cliff.
I nominate Rudy Giuliani to set it up! We need to shut down operations like this CARPETBAGGER! who have been making housing loans to the unqualified for years and immediately pawning them off to Freddie and Fannie.
#10
Reed wants Treasury to speculate in firms under temporary regulation with *warrants*? Yeah, that'll end well.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/22/2008 10:56
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#11
Pig Men Lobbyists moving in
"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it...investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees." -- These are the same firms that earned millions of $ originating these bad assets. Nice work if you can get it.
You're setting the wolves who've been eating your sheep to be your sheepdogs if you let the dems get anywhere near this cash, it sticks to their hands FIRST, then what's left MIGHT go where needed. (But don't count on it)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/22/2008 13:26
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Still we need _some_ oversight. Or at least make this very, very, transparent. No 'secret funds' or 'An undisclosed congressman asked for 45M for Hostile Takeover Bank in bumcluck Iowa'...
Unfortunately I fear that, while we need this now, the Democrats in congress won't be able to decide which pork, earmarks, and outright giveaways to include in this before its too late.
Its a case of so-much pork to choose from.... so little time...
#16
This two-year plan would be risky even if you trusted Paulson to do the right thing (which I don't). The fact is - in four months, a Democratic presidency might be in charge of this thing. Why would we give them a blank check over $700b?
#17
Think of the "Fox in the henhouse," "The inmates in charge of the asylum" and the donks in charge of the checkbook. I don't see much of a chance at a break for the American people anytime soon unless McCain get elected. Even at that I would anticipate more of the same--an obstructionist Congress at every turn and partisan politics ratcheted up a few more notches.
#19
The following is why the bailout must not go forward - while we're allocating dollars to the bailout, Democrats have insisted on the continual addition of new items to the books that will require future bailouts. From the Journal:
Fan and Fred's patrons on Capitol Hill didn't care about the risks inherent in their combined trillion-dollar-plus mortgage portfolios, so long as they helped meet political goals on housing. Even after taxpayers have had to pick up a bailout tab that may grow as large as $200 billion, House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank still won't back a reduction in their mortgage portfolios." In the Journal's Political Diary, Holman Jenkins Jr. adds, "[Frank's] House Finance committee quietly voted out a reversal of a recent mortgage reform. The latest bill would again require the Federal Housing Administration to allow seller financed downpayments which even the FHA calls an engine of fraud.
#20
While we can blame Paulson, a Bushite, or even Phil Gram, the Republican instigating part of the legislation that led to it, it isn't addressing the problem. Many consider the Fed Reserve Chairman to be the most powerful person in the US, as well as the world, as they determine monetary policy yet are unelected and without oversight. The Depression era banking laws separating the investment banks were repealed by Allan Greenspan(wife is Andrea Mitchell, of oppositional NBC infamy) during the Clinton years. Paul Volcker, former Fed chief, was at the helm of the UN when Oil-for-Food was set-up, yet got to conduct the investigation into it, absolving himself from any responsibility. The UNDP's investment banks have even been traced to financing the Nork's nuclear program and have been unaccountable. Bernanke should have seen this coming, too. I hope Congress doesn't hastily pass legislation without correcting the real problem. And since these CEO's have paid themselves billions while stealing bread from the taxpayers' children, I'd hope some tracking of their Swiss/offshore accounts would lead to funds for restitution to our coffers. Every billion helps.
#21
Dodd just came up with a good idea - that Paulson opposes - any losses from the disposition of assets bought by the government from the banks or brokerages should be made good as debt owed to the Federal government on the balance sheets of those banks and brokerages. Paulson appears to prefer handing out free money at taxpayer expense by buying bank assets for more than they're worth.
The US government's $700bn bailout plan needs a name what should it be called? The US Treasury likes 'Troubled Asset Relief Programme', or Tarp. One of our readers suggests 'Secured Housing Investment Trust'.
#26
Dodd just came up with a good idea - that Paulson opposes - any losses from the disposition of assets bought by the government from the banks or brokerages should be made good as debt owed to the Federal government on the balance sheets of those banks and brokerages. Paulson appears to prefer handing out free money at taxpayer expense by buying bank assets for more than they're worth.
I'm no fan of the bailout, but that won't work. No chance of a buyout ot merger for any of these banks or brokerages if there's still an outstanding debt of yet to be determined amount.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/22/2008 18:50
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#27
No chance of a buyout ot merger for any of these banks or brokerages if there's still an outstanding debt of yet to be determined amount.
My view is that any bailout should consist of an attempt to stabilize the markets and ensure that assets are sold at fair, not fire sale prices. If they get fair prices, and the banks get liquidated, that's fine with me.
Bernanke, while fed chairman, testified to congress that bank write-offs would be $50 to $100 billion max. He has no idea what he is doing.
He understands numbers in a book, but not human behavior. He has no understanding of the source of wealth - productive capacity.
The best solution I see is debt forgiveness/default. Bad banks fail. Debt holders take haircuts and either receive/issue equity or sell assets. Look at the results of the Lehman failure - within a week large portions of Lehman are fuctioning again.
Short term lending at a real rate of interest is a necessity. Forcing negative rates stifles the basic reason for investing - to earn a return.
(Xinhua) -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that he would outline Iran's nuclear activities in the UN General Assembly meeting during his visit to New York, the official IRNA news agency reported. Ahmadinejad made the remark prior to his departure for New York on Sunday.
He also told reporters that the UN should be a real representative of all nations and not a servant to certain powers, lobbies or parties. "All UN bodies should be run based on democratic principles," he said, adding that the international body "should be located in an independent land so that it would be possible for every parties to express their views freely."
According to IRNA, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the UN meeting and also meet the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting, Ahmadinejad is also to hold separate talks with different heads of state attending the UN meeting and will participate in several regional meetings.
Ahmadinejad left Tehran on Sunday for New York to attend the 63rd meeting of UN General Assembly which is scheduled to open on Sept. 23.
Ahmadinejad shrugged off international sanctions threat last Thursday. "Whatever they do, Iran will continue its activities. Sanctions are not important," he told a news conference. "The era of such threats has ended."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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(Xinhua) -- The Thai government and Muslim insurgents on Sunday agreed to address a four-year bloody conflict in southern part of the country through talks and to resume halted ceasefire, Indonesian state spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here.
The agreement was reached after a two-day talks brokered by Indonesia, which has experience in terminating rebellions in Aceh and dealing with insurgency in Papua, said the spokesman.
Five representatives from Thailand's predominately Muslim deep south and the Thai government ended their first round of close-door negotiation on Sunday in presidential palace in Bogor, about 50 km south of the capital Jakarta, Dino said.
"The first round of the talks ended today and there were some agreements achieved including the conflict in southern Thailand must be settled in a peaceful way, and all parties must restrain from acts which can create violence," Dino said at the State Palace.
The talks between the two sides in Bogor was mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla who was one of architect of the peace process between Jakarta and rebels in Aceh, said Dino.
He said that the Thai government delegation led by Kwanchart Klaharn, a former southern army commander and adviser to Thailand's defense ministry, but he did not identify the southerners.
He also disclosed that the second round of the talks will be conducted on 1 and 2 of November followed by the third round in the mid of the month. All are in the presidential palace in Bogor.
Muslim rebels in Thailand have never expressed themselves publicly or responsibility for the frequent deadly strikes since the latest violence occurred in the country's some southernmost provinces four years ago.
In July, Thai authority announced ceasefire, but then it was dismissed as violence did not stop.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
Hanafi law, however, permits the Muslims to terminate a truce arbitrarily: The imam may denounce the armistice whenever the continuation of warfare is more favorable for the Moslems than the continuation of peace.
An illegal migrant boat carrying 83 Egyptians headed for Europe has gone missing off the coast of Greece after leaving Egypt three days ago, Egypt's foreign ministry said on Sunday. "The foreign ministry has learned that the boat left Damietta (on the northern coast) three days ago and that communications were cut off, and there has been nothing to suggest it reached the Greek shore," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it had been alerted to the disappearance by Egypt's embassy in Athens, and that Egypt was coordinating with the Greek rescue authorities to locate the vessel. Greek authorities said they were unaware of any such incident off the Greek coast.
Egyptian authorities have warned citizens of the dangers of trying to cross the Mediterranean illegally, saying many of the boats are overcrowded and unseaworthy. At least 21 Egyptians drowned in two incidents off the Italian coast in October 2007.
But people are willing to pay around $2,000 for the chance of a new life, and authorities in Egypt and other Mediterranean countries have had to rescue survivors or locate the bodies of illegal migrants after several failed attempts.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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(PTI) World leaders today condemned the "inhuman" and "disgraceful" suicide attack on the five-star Marriott hotel here that killed 60 people and vowed to assist Pakistan in fighting violent extremism. "I strongly condemn the terrorist bombing in Islamabad that targeted and killed many innocents, including at least one American. I extend condolences to the families of all those killed in this brutal attack," US President George Bush said in a message released by the White House.
This attack is a reminder of ongoing threat faced by US, Pakistan and all those who stand against violent extremism, he said, adding Washington will assist Islamabad "in confronting this threat and bringing the perpetrators to justice." In New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon termed the attack "heinous" and said "no cause can justify the indiscriminate targeting of civilians." Strongly condemning the "inhuman" terror attack, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed his country's readiness to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in combating terrorism in bilateral and multilateral international format.
"I am confident that the perpetrators of this barbaric act will be found and face a just punishment," Medvedev wrote in his message to his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the UK would continue to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder with the government of Pakistan against the violent extremists who have no answers but only offer death and mayhem." In a statement in London, he said the bombing is "yet another shocking and disgraceful attack without justification. Such an indiscriminate and brutal act of terror deserves the condemnation of the entire international community." "This horrific attack reinforces our shared determination to tackle violent extremism."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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German police said tens of thousands of Cologne residents took to the streets Saturday to protest an "anti-Islamization" conference of European far-right leaders.
Carrying banners saying: "We are Cologne -- Get rid of the Nazis!" protesters gathered outside the city's cathedral to demonstrate against the congress organized by the local far-right group Pro-Koeln (For Cologne).
Pro-Koeln began two days of seminars Friday during which speakers denounced an influx of Muslims to Germany and the construction of one of Europe's largest mosques in the city.
Earlier Saturday, police banned a rally organized by far-right adherents in Cologne just as it was about to begin, following clashes with thousands of opponents.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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Roughly 1/2 of Cologne population is now Muslim. They are about to erect one of the largest mosks (and arms storage facilities) on the Euorpean continent. Who mught the anti-islamo protestors have been ? They apparently violently attacked these protestors, who were native Germans, and who did the cops suppress ? You guessed it.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 11:16
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#3
The Muslims are an interesting group. They are savy enough to use our systems and prejudices to advance their own agenda but not savy enough to shut up and breed and win outright without warning.
If it ever gets to a shooting war they also have the disadvantage that they tend to congregate to known locations for Friday Sermons.
#4
"We are Cologne -- Get rid of the Nazis!" Gotta love it when idiots show their political naivete. islamofascist supremacists run neck and neck for first billing with nazis on the political spectrum - from the LEFT.
#5
Whoops, I stand corrected, Ed. I was thinking total population around 360,000. Mebbe that's what it was some 38 years ago, the only time I visited. But, that's worse. That means the Muzz start their takeover moves and beligerence once they exceed 10% of the population. At 12%, they ought to be squashed like a bug on a sidewalk and nothing more be said.
NEW DELHI: Indian police arrested four Muslims, including three accused of planting bombs that killed 23 people this month in the capital, New Delhi, officials said on Sunday.
The four were picked up during overnight raids in the city. The arrests come two days after police shot dead two men, one of whom they said organised the New Delhi bombings and also deadly attacks in the western cities of Jaipur and Ahmedabad. "We have arrested four people - three are bombers and one is a caretaker of the building where they were hiding," said Rajan Bhagat, spokesman of Delhi Police.
The Indian Mujahideen group has said it carried out the September 13 bombings. It has claimed other attacks in recent months as well. Police have identified Abdul Subhan Qureshi, also known as Tauqeer, a convent-educated computer expert and member of a banned students' group, as the chief suspect in the New Delhi attack, and said he was also involved in bombing the western city of Ahmedabad in July. They are also looking for a man they named as Qayamuddin, also known as Ashfaque. With the latest arrests, the total number of people held by police over the New Delhi attacks has gone up to six.
This article starring:
ABDUL SUBHAN QURESHI, ALSO KNOWN AS TAUQIR
Indian Mujahideen
QAIAMUDIN, ALSO KNOWN AS ASHFAQUE
Indian Mujahideen
Rajan Bhagat, spokesman of Delhi Police
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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A delegation representing Fatah movement arrived in Egypt on Sunday for talks with officials aimed at starting a national dialogue between rival factions, the Egyptian MENA news agency said.
The Fatah delegation, headed by President Mahmud Abbas adviser Nabil Shaath, was to meet Egyptian intelligence chief negotiator Omar Suleiman on Tuesday, MENA said. "The meeting is part of a series of bilateral talks between Egypt and the Palestinian factions aimed at defining a unified Palestinian position to be presented at the comprehensive meeting of the factions which will take place in the second half of October," it reported.
Egypt has been holding separate talks with rival Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah which have been bitterly divided since June 2007 when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Fatah. Cairo has been acting as a mediator between the two groups, and between Hamas and Israel, which views the Islamist movement as a terrorist group.
A delegation from Hamas is expected in Cairo on October 8, the agency said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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Saudi Arabia has returned 16 Iraqi prisoners to Iraq and received eight Saudis in return ahead of a new agreement on swapping convicted criminals, Saudi media said on Sunday. The move is the latest in slow steps by Saudi Arabia and Iraq to rebuild ties after the 2003 United States-led invasion of Iraq brought leaders from the majority Shia Muslim community to power. A Saudi Interior Ministry statement carried by the state media said the swap was to strengthen security "in preparation for an agreement on exchanging those convicted of jail sentences". Iraq's National Security Adviser Mowaffaq Al Rubaie said earlier this month that Saudi Arabia would repatriate all 434 Iraqis in Saudi jails under a new agreement. Rubaie said the Iraqi prisoners included drug traffickers, Iraqis who had crossed into the Gulf kingdom illegally, and other criminals, including 'terrorists'.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
I bet none of the saudis were terrorist though LOL
Posted by: Paul ||
09/22/2008 7:50
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Baghdad US-led forces arrested 25 people during operations against Al Qaeda in Iraq this weekend, the American military said on Sunday. The American military said those detained included alleged members of car bomb cells, financial networks and a suspect who allegedly assisted in the movement of suicide bombers from Iran to Iraq.
Most of the suspects were detained in Baghdad and the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, which remain volatile despite improvements in security in many parts of the country.
Coalition forces will continue to target the Al Qaeda network to further diminish its ability to conduct terrorist attacks against the Iraqi people, said Major John C. Hall, a US military spokesman.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008
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"Coalition forces will continue to target the Al Qaeda network to further diminish its ability to conduct terrorist attacks against the Iraqi people"
Meanwhile, the MSM will continue to ignore our successes in Iraq to further diminish both their reputation as a reliable news source and the ability of people everywhere to understand what is going on in the world.
#3
Thanks Mike, the article made it seem as if the elections were just around the corner.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008 9:21
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#4
I'm a bit sheepish about the possibility of a conservative Kiwi government at the moment. Your longstanding, and I might add quite accurate perconceptions remain sound TW.
#8
Yes indeed NZ might go conservative. They do have a crazy electoral system though which I don't pretend to understand.
They did go free market under the Labour party government in the 1980's as a result of a push by their finance minister Roger Douglas. I don't think they had much choice but NZ still looks too regulated to me. I've got a dog in this hunt as my lovely wife hails from NZ and has 7 siblings there.
Posted by: Aussie Mike ||
09/22/2008 17:24
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#9
Kewi's going conservative eh? Then I say... GO BLACKS!!!
#3
Up here in Canada too many people still believe in the cradle-to-grave nanny state and that the evil conservatives have a 'hidden agenda'. The Conservatives are ahead in the polls but they still have only about 40% support. The remaining 60% is split between the 4 socialist parties, the most popular of them being the Liberals. The main reason why the Conservatives are ahead of the Liberals (the 'natural governing party') is that the Liberal leader is a complete wanker. However in the system we have here, one can still win the majority of the seats in the Parliment with less than 50% of the popular vote. Typically you need 40% or better to do so.
Nigeria's main militant group said on Sunday it had begun a unilateral ceasefire after a week of clashes with the military and attacks on oil installations which cut output in Africa's top producer.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) launched strikes against pipelines, flow stations and other oil and gas facilities last Sunday in response to what it said were ground and air strikes by the military against one of its bases. "Effective 0100 hours (0000 GMT) September 21, exactly one week after we launched our reprisal, MEND will begin a unilateral ceasefire till further notice," the group said in an e-mailed statement.
It said it had taken the decision after a plea by elders but warned it would restart its campaign if it came under attack from the security forces. It also warned that other groups aligned with it may not respect the ceasefire. "We hope that the military has learnt a bitter lesson. The next unprovoked attack will start another oil war that will be so ferocious that it will dim the pleas of the elders," it said.
MEND has carried out at least six attacks in as many days over the past week, its most intense campaign for years against the oil industry in Nigeria, the world's eighth biggest exporter. Royal Dutch Shell, the company hardest hit by the violence, declared a force majeure on shipments of Bonny Light, a type of crude oil, effective from Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The market was 500 trades away from Armageddon on Thursday, traders inside two large custodial banks tell The Post. Had the Treasury and Fed not quickly stepped into the fray that morning with a quick $105 billion injection of liquidity, the Dow could have collapsed to the 8,300-level - a 22 percent decline! - while the clang of the opening bell was still echoing around the cavernous exchange floor.
According to traders, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, money market funds were inundated with $500 billion in sell orders prior to the opening. The total money-market capitalization was roughly $4 trillion that morning.
The panicked selling was directly linked to the seizing up of the credit markets - including a $52 billion constriction in commercial paper - and the rumors of additional money market funds "breaking the buck," or dropping below $1 net asset value.
The Fed's dramatic $105 billion liquidity injection on Thursday (pre-market) was just enough to keep key institutional accounts from following through on the sell orders and starting a stampede of cash that could have brought large tracts of the US economy to a halt.
While many depositors treat money market accounts as fancy savings accounts, they are different. Banks buy a variety of short-term debt, including commercial paper, with the assets. It is an important distinction because banks use the $1.7 trillion commercial-paper market to fund their credit card operations and car finance companies use it to move autos. Without commercial paper, "factories would have to shut down, people would lose their jobs and there would be an effect on the real economy," Paul Schott Stevens, of the Investment Company Institute, told the Wall Street Journal.
Cracks started to show in money market accounts late Tuesday when shares in one fund, the Reserve Primary Fund - which touted itself as super safe - fell below the golden $1 a share level. It had purchased what it thought was safe Lehman bonds, never dreaming they could default - which they did 24 hours earlier when the 158-year-old investment bank filed Chapter 11.
By Wednesday, banks sensed a run on their accounts. They started stockpiling cash in anticipation of withdrawals. Banks, which usually keep an average of $2 billion in excess reserves earmarked for withdrawals, pumped that up to an astounding $90 billion by Wednesday, Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrighton ICAP, told The Journal.
And for good reason. By the close of business on Wednesday, $144.5 billion - a record - had been withdrawn. How much money was taken out of money market funds the prior week? Roughly $7.1 billion, according to AMG Data Services.
By Thursday, that level, fed by the incredible volume of sell orders pouring in from institutional investors like pension funds and sovereign funds, had grown to $100 billion. It was still not enough to stem the tidal wave. The banks knew something drastic had to be done. So did Paulson.
The injection of capital into the market was followed up by calls from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to major money market players like Bank of New York Mellon and State Street in Boston informing them that federal money was in the market and they should tell their clients the Feds would be back with a plan to stem the constriction in the credit market.
Paulson knew the $105 billion injection was not a real solution. A broader, more radical answer was needed. Hours after Paulson made his round of calls to calm the industry, word leaked out that an added $1 trillion bailout of banks was being readied. Investors cheered. At about 3 p.m., news of the plans was filtering up and down Wall Street, fueling a 700-point advance in the Dow Jones industrial average through 4 p.m. Friday.
By that time, Paulson had announced the plan. It included insurance on money market accounts, a move that started in quiet Thursday morning, when the former Goldman Sachs executive saved the country from a paralyzing meltdown.
#1
The Treasury has since limited its new FDIC-like coverage of money market funds to those on deposit up to 9/19/08, new deposits will not be covered. The commercial paper market may still be in trouble.
#3
Had the Treasury and Fed not quickly stepped into the fray that morning with a quick $105 billion injection of liquidity, the Dow could have collapsed to the 8,300-level - a 22 percent decline! - while the clang of the opening bell was still echoing around the cavernous exchange floor.
In 1987, we had a similar decline. Seems to me that we're still around today.
#4
Looks like we are becoming Japan, a country that sought to prevent rapid movements in its capital markets, unless those movements were in an upward direction. The result? The Nikkei average is less than 1/3 of its peak levels in 1987.
Sri Lanka's police have started registering thousands of people, nearly all ethnic Tamils, who have fled the war-torn north for the capital Colombo. All those who arrived in the city in the last five years were ordered to attend special registration centres.
The government says the rebel Tamil Tigers are using the influx of people to infiltrate the city and plant bombs.
The registration was ordered for people who had arrived in Colombo and surrounding towns from five northern districts. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said those without what he called a valid reason to stay should leave the area.
The registration centres were set up in schools and temples across the capital city and surrounding towns. The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says the vast majority waiting in line are from the ethnic Tamil minority. He says the impromptu census began as government forces pressed ahead with an offensive to crush the Tiger rebels in the north, and end their fight for a separate state for the Tamils.
He adds that Tamils have complained of harassment, frequent searches and arbitrary detentions amid heavy security. The police said they were updating information in order to help those who had arrived in the city.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2008
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Intelligence agencies have arrested four men suspected to be affiliated with an outlawed organization and recovered weapons from their possessions, Daily Times learnt on Sunday. The arrests were made during a raid conducted at Sohrab Goth. It is also believed that the arrested men are affiliated with the Taliban, sources claimed, adding that there were some reports that the Crime Investigation Department (CID) has arrested the men but CID DIG Saud Mirza was not available for comments. "I just heard about the arrest of some members of a banned religious outfit but I do not know much about this," said Karachi Chief of Police Wasim Ahmed, when asked for comments.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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The Centre's rap to Karnataka over attacks on churches in the state has not stopped Christian prayer halls from being targeted.
On Sunday, for the first time since the attacks by Hindu mobs on churches began last week, two churches were desecrated in Bangalore. There was another attack in Kodagu district, about 300 km from Bangalore.
Neighbouring Kerala wasn't spared either with two churches being desecrated near the international airport in Nedumbassery, close to Kochi. The assault was decried by Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, and the state home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan warned the miscreants of serious consequences.
Continued on Page 49
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PPP senior leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that after completing the democratic process in the country, the government should decide if it wants to investigate Benazir Bhutto's assassination itself or leave it to the UN. "The country faces terrorism and extremism. However, I am not part of the government so I can't give any suggestion to the rulers," he stated on Sunday, adding that he does not want to accept any government posts and wants to support PPP as a worker only. This is why he declined the post of PM. "I will never betray the party," said Fahim. On the issue of the suicide attack in Islamabad, he said that he is not in a position to say whether or not this is a failure on the part of the government. Replying to a question, Fahim stated that President Zardari must decide on whether he wants to keep the co-chairmanship of PPP.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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(PTI) The suicide bomber, who struck at the luxury Marriott hotel here killing 60 people, had probably intended to attack Pakistan's Parliament during President Asif Ali Zardari's maiden address there but switched to the 'optional' target after failing to enter the high-security area, officials said.
Rehman Malik, the Prime Minister's Adviser on Interior Affairs, told reporters that authorities had received intelligence reports on Thursday that "some big suicide attempt" would be made on Parliament during Zardari's address yesterday.
Malik said he and the Interior Ministry experts believed the truck used in the attack tried to enter Islamabad's "red zone" a high security area in which Parliament, Supreme Court, presidency and Prime Minister's House are located at the time of Zardari's speech.
Strict security arrangements put in place along the Constitution Avenue, the central boulevard on which Parliament is located, and orders barring the entry of private vehicles prevented the suicide attacker from entering the area, he said.
Malik said the attacker had two targets, "one direct and one optional", and decided to strike at the Marriott -- which was earlier also targeted by a suicide bomber in January 2007 -- after failing to attack the Parliament house.
The explosives in the truck were hidden under sand and stones in view of construction activity going on in the "red zone", where new accommodation is being built for some ministers, he said.
Officials said they believed 1,000 kgs of explosives were packed into the truck.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
Seems far-fetched, but could Iran have a hand in this?
(PTI) The Czech Ambassador to Pakistan was among the 60 people killed in the deadly suicide attack on the five-star Marriott Hotel here, Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani said today. 47-year-old Czech envoy Ivo Zdarek had moved from Vietnam to Pakistan a month ago and was staying at the hotel. Police had initially reported that Zdarek was missing after last night's blast.
Gilani told reporters at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences that the envoy was killed in the attack. The premier had gone to the hospital to enquire about the injured.
While TV channels and media reports put the death toll at 60, Gilani confirmed 53 deaths. Nearly 260 others were also injured in the massive suicide truck bomb attack on the hotel, which was popular among foreigners including diplomats.
A statement issued by the Interior Ministry said two foreign nationals had died and another 21 were injured. The nationalities of the injured foreigners were being ascertained, it said.
Geo News channel, meanwhile, reported that a Yugoslav, an American, a Saudi national and an Egyptian were among the foreigners who died. The dead foreign nationals included three women, the channel said.
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09/22/2008
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#1
When this stuff happens I often wonder what is running through the Minister of Tourism's head?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/22/2008 10:23
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About a month ago, I was asked to deliver a short presentation to the Canadian Army on tactical counterinsurgency lessons learned over the past years in Iraq. What initially seemed like an easy task quickly became difficult as I synthesized the complex and varied experiences of US Army units into relevant and concise points transferrable to a foreign army. After a long night, I produced ten observations that reflect enduring lessons from Iraq that would resonate with military audiences. They are:
Learn from the past.
Learn to ask understanding questions.
Data is not understanding.
Mass all of your resources to achieve the objective.
Security matters.
Population control is critical for success.
Build human infrastructure alongside the physical.
Understand perceptions matter far more than truth
Communicate effectively.
more depth at the Adobe pdf source document - see link
Russia plans to equip Iran with advanced antiaircraft defense systems amid reports that Israel will soon acquire advanced smart bombs. Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport has disclosed that despite US opposition, Moscow intends to empower Iran by supplying the country additional air defense systems.
Moscow has already delivered 29 Tor-M1 missile systems to Iran under a $700 million (£386 million) contract signed in 2005.
Reports, however, began to surface as early as 2005 on the possibility of another deal - the delivery to Iran of S-300 surface-to-air missile systems that can complicate any aerial strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
"If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer in military thinking for tackling Iran. That could be a catalyst for Israeli air attacks before it is operational," said Dan Goure, a long-time Pentagon advisor, in late August. "This is a system that scares every Western air force," he continued.
Israeli officials themselves have also commented on the issue, confirming that the system, once acquired by Iran, would complicate a potential attack on the 'numerous, distant, and fortified' nuclear sites in the country.
News of the possible Tehran-Moscow S-300 deal came just days after the Pentagon notified Congress of plans to sell 1,000 GBU-39 smart bombs to Israel. The 'bunker-buster' bombs, the Guided Bomb Unit-39 (GBU-39), have been developed to penetrate fortified facilities located deep underground - such as Iran's nuclear facilities.
On Monday, dozens of Iranian fighter jets, surveillance planes, interceptor aircraft and radar drones took to the skies in a joint three-day military exercise. The maneuvers also involved testing a surveillance network equipped with state-of-the-art systems for identifying enemy aircraft.
In mid-August, Iran's Air Force chief, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, announced that the country had revamped its fighter jet fleet to fly distances of 3,000 kilometers without refueling. The upgrade allows Iranian aircraft to fly to Israel and back without needing to refuel.
Iranian military officials have also warned that Iran would not hesitate in taking the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty - including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - in case the country comes under attack. In further preparations, the IRGC has recently equipped its navy fleet with high-tech weapons systems capable of targeting any vessel within a range of 300 km (185 miles) from its shores.
Should the S-300 system become operational in Iran, it would effectively rule out Israeli air raids and seriously complicate any US aerial bombings, according to George Friedman - the director of leading US private intelligence agency Stratfor. "Back Georgia and Ukraine for NATO membership and you'll see the S-300 to Iran. It is a very powerful bargaining chip and a major deterrent to US actions in the region. Moscow is playing very strategically on America's obsession with Iran," he said in late August.
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#1
Seems futile if Russia is trying to leverage this card to keep Georgia and Ukraine out of NATO. The way Russia is behaving lately is one step short of terrorism. I'd say bring Georgia and Ukraine into NATO because Russia seems to fear it. Make sure NATO has teeth, though.
#2
Georgia is outside Nato's reach, just look at thje map and say me how are you going to supply it or any forces you deploy there.. There is nothing more dangerous that given guarantees you cannot honor. Ukraine on the other side...
#5
So long as Turkey is still in NATO, Georgia shares a border with NATO. In theory, we have landlines with them, and they can be supplied and supported via that line of communication.
That assumes that *Turkey* is staying with NATO. How's that decade or so of alienating the Turks working out for us, folks?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/22/2008 10:06
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#6
Not militarily, not yet anyway.
True. I saw an article today in the International Herald Tribune (once one of the best newspapers in the world before it became a day-old, skim milk version of the New York Times)about the EU hurrying to put together a 300 person observer unit that is wanted in Georgia before the end of the month.
#7
Didn't Russia supply Syria with their latest and best? How did that work against an Israeli raid on their NK nuke facility?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/22/2008 10:46
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#8
Georgia's defense entirely hinges on Turkey. But Turkey is less than reliable. I mean they could have denied Russian vessels through the bosporus for a dozen reasons just as a threat and they never did. I can easily see them playing neutral and screwing NATO.
#10
Turkey's denying passage of the russian vessels (including military vessels) through the Bosporus would be a slap in the face of monumental proportions. Turkey can be a NATO member but the passage through the straits is not a NATO issue, it is an international navigation issue. By not restricting navigation with respect to any particular country, Turkey merely upholds its international obligations and it's behavior should not be considered as a stab in the back vis a vis NATO.
#12
You don't actually believe Israel and the US don't have planes, munitions, electronics and decoys well tested against the S-300? The S-300 will be destroyed from 500km away before it any blip even shows up on the radar screen.
BTW, the GBU-39 isn't really a bunker buster. It's designed to penetrate hardened aircraft shelters. Most useful are the 5000 lb GBU-28s that the US has denied Israel. Not that Israel can't strap on an LBG or JDAM kit to an old artillery barrel.
Way to show the world what a formidable AF Ivan has.
passage through the straits is not a NATO issue, it is an international navigation issue.
Then Russia had no basis for complaint when NATO vessels traversed the Bosphorus. Just shows that Ivan has no class.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 12:38
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#13
Then Russia had no basis for complaint when NATO vessels traversed the Bosphorus. Just shows that Ivan has no class.
Russian did not object to the passage of the NATO weapons throught the straits per se. Russia objected to the build up of eight NATO ships in the Black See area for no apparent reason other then to meddle there? And what's the outcome of their visit. Nothing in particular.
It would have been better if the aid the U.S. was delivering to Georgia arrived on civilian ships.
#14
You don't actually believe Israel and the US don't have planes, munitions, electronics and decoys well tested against the S-300? The S-300 will be destroyed from 500km away before it any blip even shows up on the radar screen.
1) The S-300 is not a panacea. It is simply a cost increaser. As for jamming and other coutermeasures: North Korea, Vietnam etc. How many U.S aircraft were lost there due to SAM activity?
2) Right now S-300 is the most effective system in the world (well, aside from S-400 which is not exported, and is a new system) If you want to argue that, that's silly, just read the general consensus on Janes Defense or Aviation Week or any other such themed websites/magazines.
3) A point target in the desert with known coordinates and easy reachability by the enemy aircraft can be destroyed no matter what systems protect it. Change any term in the preceeding sentence and situation gets more complicated.
4) Bulding nuke reactors in the desert, like Syria does, is stupid b/c Israel will always be able to destroy them.
#15
General_Comment, there are no civilian ships in the world that have either the shipping capacity or the capabilities (hospital, massive water purification facilities) that the American aircraft carriers do, as far as I understand. No doubt one or two experts will weigh in here.
#16
It turns out that the Russians lost eight aircraft (four Su-25s, two Su-24s, one Tu-22 and one Mi-24 helicopter.) The Russian pilots were not prepared to deal with the three batteries of SA-11 anti-aircraft missile systems the Georgians had bought from Ukraine last year.
Way to show the world what a formidable AF Ivan has.
It just shows that: (i) they were in a hurry, (ii) Georgians fairly competently deployed the Ukranian-updated, agian Soviet-designed systems, and (iii) those losses are frontline aviation (Su-25), those are aways at a higher risk of shot-downs.
If you want to compare airforces, take a look at the recent Red Flag excersizes where Indians with Su-30MK (with TVC) kicked ass of anything that was thrown their way - and that includes all updated F-15's.
As for the need to update, yes there is a need to update. I wrote about that the other day.
1. to work it has to be staffed by people who know what they are doing; if they don't know what they are doing they are likely to hit their own assets
2. it has to be maintained
3. the people with operational control must have pre-clearance to fire; if they have to call the office of the chief mullah for firing permission, the system loses
That's quite a feat kicking your own ass. And that's against antiquated/emulated Soviet SAMs, not the vastly more electronically sophisticated western SAMs. Still, the Indian SU-30s have some Western/Israeli avionics. The Indians junked as much of the Soviet crap as possible.
The most effective Russian weapon in Georgia was the Bush administration. They pressured Georgia to give up their large stock of Soviet manpads. Even the lowly SA-7 could have dealt with the primitive Russian air support. For Gods sake, strafing runs with unguided rockets? That's 1944 F4U Corsair tactics.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 14:31
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#22
General Command...
what about the nuke powered subs we slipped in the black sea?
They can do something....
#23
The S-300 will be dead meat. While the missiles have good kinematic performance, the electronics are old and well characterized. Syria deployed the newer SA-15 (Tor-M1) yet their entire early warning and SAM systems never saw the Israels coming.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 14:43
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#24
Ed, this is incomplete (and you know it)
first of all it pertains to Surface to air engagements (so right there it is not what I was talking about). Second it is not the report of air-to-air combat excersizes. Third, Indian pilot were "handicaped" on purpose, for the purposes of that particular excersize.
#25
Below is a complete quote from the article, Ed.
Shame on you for such an overt misrepresentation.
"But the Indian Air Force (IAF) is fighting with its hands tied.
Why? To protect the secrets of their top-of-the-line Russian-designed Su-30MKI fighters (pictured), according to Dave Fulghum over at Ares. "To observers' dismay, and no doubt to that of the U.S. intelligence community, the IAF flew with a number of handicaps."
#26
A doubt that american nuke subs ever were in the Black Sea. I suspect the reason for this, but b/f that . . . care to provide a reference for your assertion?
"The self-imposed radar restrictions prevented U.S. snoops from "mapping" the high-tech radar. But other restrictions were dictated by the Indians' U.S. hosts, Fulghum writes in his excellent piece. The Indians were barred from using data-links, chaff and flares. "When we were targeted by SAMs, we were shot down," Choudry said. "And there was no [data] picture in the cockpit to help our situational awareness so the work load on the [aircrews] was very high."
So, they were not using the radars for secrecy reasons, thus the difficulties experiences.
Search for air-to-air combat with Indian Su 30's in the Red Flag, there are tons of articles on that one.
#28
The Indians said they limited radar modes. Radar modes have nothing to do with SAM defense. It's more of a situational awareness thing, like radar warning receivers, missile plume detectors, threat location displays. Non of them radiate, so the Indians could have used them to their hearts content, if they had them.
Read it again: "When we were targeted by SAMs, we were shot down," Choudry said. "And there was no [data] picture in the cockpit to help our situational awareness so the work load on the [aircrews] was very high."
BTW, those mentioned equipment would also be used determined the location of threat aircraft. No situational awareness = stranded baby seal.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 14:58
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#29
BTW, you do know the purpose of Red Flag? It is a training exercise tailored to challenge and increase the proficiency of participants. It is not a "Let's throw the US Air Force at them" thing. That means over the course of the exercise, increasing threat levels are presented, some are won, some are lost by design.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:06
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#30
Ed, I just doubt very much that Su-30 has no adequate missile/threat warning receivers.
For one thing, their business culture. I know Indians, they would not have bought Su-30 for the life of them, had they not thought it's the best thing since sliced bread. They definitely do not buy stuff that does not work. When there where problems with IL-38 maritime patrol airctaft, they gave russian the hard time.
And they have Western equipment in their army, and airforce. And they constantly conduct tenders. When they feel, Western equipment is better they get that.
#31
Ed, U.S. Airforce is not in the charity business.
Red Flag, just like other exercizes is to train, teach, evaluate the adversary, and conduct dissimilar combat training, and command-and-control. Basically, it is "Top Gun" with foreign participants.
#32
Then explain "And there was no [data] picture in the cockpit". So data links were off. But unless they brought their AWACS, it wouldn't have done the Indians much good since I don't believe their equipment is compatible with Link-16. Where was the radar warning receiver display so the SU-30's could avoid even antiquated SAMs?
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:14
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#33
Also, with respect to electronics, Russia is no longer isolated like it was during the Cold War.
It cooperates with France and India, for example on the hardware and software aspects (and just like U.S. buys parts from Taiwan :)): so it does not have to do everything itself.
#34
It's not being reflected in the quality of Russian military equipment.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:23
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#35
You are reading each sentence in disjunctive. Read the whole thing to properly ascertain the message conveyed. What was the message of the article? It was "We did well." Not, "Oh, man our planes were crap, better give them back to Russia." Also, just find more artcles on the subject, not just this one. Indians have an operational squadron of Su-30MK and they are very pleased with their performance. They are spending billions on Su-30's and other russian hardware, keeping the industry alive. And so are other Asian countires.
#36
" It's not being reflected in the quality of Russian military equipment."
A: It is not being reflected in the quality of outdated equipment which fought (and won) in Georgia. And as I said, yes it needs updating.
It is being reflected in the quality of the Russian equipment being bought. For e.g., Russia just won a tender for portable anti-tank guided missiles Konkurs (burns thru M1A2 like a hot knife thru butter), to Turkey (NATO member to whom any sale would be apriory very hard beign political and all), against, among other's Rayethon.
#37
No. YOU are reading things the general never said. "Regardless, Choudry insisted Red Flag was a good experience for his pilots."
Good experience, not "Red Flag excersizes where Indians with Su-30MK (with TVC) kicked ass of anything that was thrown their way - and that includes all updated F-15's."
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:33
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#38
Konkurs? Welcome to 1970, Comrade. A downmarket TOW I.
Care to show me all those burned out M1s? The after action reports by the Israelis last year had very few Merkava total losses. Nothing like Russian tanks.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:43
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#39
Here is another article, that shows that beign "shot down" was part of that particular excersize.
BY : The Telegraph.
Flying near-blind in the US, the Indian Air Forces frontline Sukhoi 30Mki fighters have been shot down in missions at the Red Flag wargames, the toughest combat aircraft exercise that the US hosts for its allies.
The Russian-made Sukhoi 30Mkis have been asked to fly in the exercise only after switching off a sophisticated radar and without recourse to a key shield against surface-to-air missiles, a senior air force officer said. The exercise in which the IAF is participating for the first time entered its most complex phase today.
Shooting down or getting shot down must necessarily take place in a wargame. In 2003, US Air Forces (USAF) F-15 Tomcat aircraft participating in an exercise out of Gwalior in India were similarly shot down.
Despite being hamstrung at the Red Flag games, the IAF contingent was getting invaluable training as part of a Blue force tasked to defend its territory against an aggressor Red force in the Nevada desert. The range over which the exercise is taking place has mock-ups of several targets that are mostly military establishments, air force spokesman Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani, who is with the contingent, told The Telegraph from the Nellis air force base.
The IAF is participating with eight Su-30s, two IL-78s (mid-air refuellers), an IL-76 (heavy lift transporters) and 247 men led by Group Captain D. Chaudhary. Frontline aircraft from the air forces of South Korea and France and, of course, the US are engaged both with the IAF and against it in the drills.
Captain Marcus Spike Wilson of the USAF Aggressors in his appreciation of the IAF has said the IAF is a world-class air force with great aircraft and great leadership, said Upasani.
The IAF Sukhois have been asked not to show the full capacity of their BARS II radar so that their signatures may not be recorded.
Top"
This is exactly, what rails me the most, superficial and incomplete reading, inability to search and obtain the full picture.
#40
Wow, that's a lot of words to say "Got shot down a lot.".
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:50
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#41
"Konkurs? Welcome to 1970, Comrade. A downmarket TOW I."
A: Not the one you are thinking about.
Apr. 10, 2008Print | E-mail | Home Turkey to Buy Russias Antitank Missiles
Federal-run Rosoboronexport has won the tender to supply antitank missiles to Turkey. Along with Russias arms exporter, Israels Rafael and U.S. Raytheon were fighting for delivering 80 antitank systems and 800 missiles. The contract budget hasnt been disclosed so far.
Whats more, the plans are to supply Russias Kornet E antitank missiles to Jordan this year. The respective agreement was signed far back in 2006 and Jordans King Abdullah II confirmed his countrys desire to get the facilities within a year when visiting Moscow in February.
Syria is another big buyer of the antitank missiles of Russia, including Kornet E, Metis M, RPG 29 Vampire. But the military action that Israel staged against Hezbollah guerillas in summer of 2006 revealed that the militants were armed exactly by Russias antitank missiles supplied by Damasks. By using the systems of Russia, they shot 46 tanks and some 15 armored vehicles of Israel during 34 days of the combat operation, clouding the relations of Moscow and Tel-Aviv.
Turkey is the NATO member and exactly the United States is the traditional arms supplier for it.
Rosoboronexport is Russias sole state-run intermediary for the export/import of product, technology and services of military and double-purpose nature.
#43
Konkurs is a wire guided antitank missile. TOW I is a more powerful wire guided AT missile that was in service in 1970. Disabled M1s have been shot multiple times with TOWs and 120mm DU penetrators which still did not penetrate the front aspect armor.
Assessing the performance of Merkava Tanks The IDF employed several hundred tanks [a mix of Merkeva 2,3, and 4] in combat. According to official reports, about ten percent were hit by various threats. Less than half of the hits penetrated. In overall assessment, the potential risk to crewmen would have been much higher, if the tank would be of a conventional design. A colonel commanding an armored brigade, which bore the brunt of battle, mentioned in an interview that during the war that hundreds of antitank missiles were fired on his unit and in total only 18 tanks were seriously damaged. Of those, missiles actually penetrated only five or six vehicles and according to statistics, only two tanks were totally destroyed, however, both by super-heavy IED charges.
Piss poor. Compare that to thousands of T-55s to T-72s with their turrents blown 100 meters away.
If I buy a Konkurs, do I get a free polyester suit and Afro wig?
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 16:08
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#44
My dear delusional comrade,
You haven't proven a point. In fact you have been proven to be wrong on both the SU-30 and Konkurs accounts. Admit it, the SU-30 got "shot down" a lot in Nevada and the Konkurs is not up to the missile standards that American senior citizens used back in their youth. Confession is good for your soul.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 16:14
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#45
Search for Kornet, not Koncurs (which was a 70's weapon) Also, all of these T-55/70's you are citing, whoever used TOW on them? Which war, ed? U.S. was shooting those in the desert at night in Iraq mostly from Apaches, F18's and sometimes M1A's.
#46
"shaped-charge HEAT tandem warhead, with armour penetration of about 1200 mm of RHA behind ERA. Thermobaric anti-personnel/anti-material warhead is also available."
Ed, are you disputing that this is going to burn thru M1A2?
#47
TOWs, Hellfires, AT4, RPG, 120mm, 30mm. It doesn't matter. It's a design issue of Russian tanks. Penetrate them, even with autocannon, and the ammo and fuel will preferentially explode. That's a consequence of the Russian low regard for life, even of other Russians.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 16:25
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#48
Ed, don't change the topic of discussion from Su-30's and modern laser-guided antitank missiles to tanks. Whatever those tanks were, they were good for their time. That time has passed. An automatic autoloader was a revolutionary design, which kept the weight down, crew to a minimum, and high rate of fire. U.S. really cought up with T-70, T-80, T-90 designs when it introduced M1A. M1A2 is probably superior to T-90 now.
And just recall for a second that during WWII, american Sherman was a piece of shit, which thier drivers called "lighters." Far inferior to T-34.
Now, the times of tanks have generally passed. Russia will intoduce a new design tentatively named T-95 shortly. It probably will be a touret-less design with a 150 mm smothbore main gun. I don't think they should field large numbers though.
Getting back to the antitank missiles: Just for the fun of it, I suggest you sit in M1A2 and I will shoot Koncurs at you, and see how you're going to feel (and fight) after that!
#49
Read "Assessing the performance of Merkava Tanks". Piss poor penetration performance. That's even considering old Merkeva 2 and 3s and the incredible flanking shot opportunities available on mountianous terrain.
Only few hits penetrated the frontal arc, where the tank has the heaviest armor. Realizing this, Hezbollah aimed their missiles to the sides, and rear, when possible.
Hebzallah used Kornet in last year's war. Let's repeat, "Only few hits penetrated the frontal arc" of Merkeva 2,3,4. The M1 is considered to much more heavy armored in the frontal arc than the Merkeva 4. The turret is considered to have an armor rating of 1,320-1,620 RHA, much greater than the capability of the Kornet. That's without ERA.
So no. But I'm sure the Turks will put it good use against Russian tanks. Blow the turret 100 meters away.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 16:42
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#50
Ed, don't change the topic of discussion from Su-30's and modern laser-guided antitank missiles to tanks.
Your are the one who went from SU-30 to Konkurs to Kornet. How the hell can you discuss antitanks weapons without mentioning tanks? Jeeze, it's like arguing with a Frenchman. No self awareness or how deep a hole you have dug.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 16:46
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#51
"Russian low regard for life, even of other Russians.
I know this argument. I can see it having some truth to it for the Stalinist times. But not so much now. Look at the Zvesda 0/0 ejection seat - state-of-the-art safest ejection seat in the world: that's care for the pilots (and confidence booster) for you.
Also, having low or high regard for life, has nothing to do with the ability to produce a kick-ass missiles which are obviously directed at the opponent (not self) and do not involve coveniences for comfort creatures.
What have we just been discussing? The Konkurs and Kornet suck compared to both contemporary peer missiles and potential adversaries.
How did this discussion start? The S-300 has been characterized and defeat strategies in place. That's not "kick-ass".
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 17:01
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#54
"When we [SU-30MKI] were targeted by SAMs, we were shot down," Choudry said. "And there was no [data] picture in the cockpit to help our situational awareness so the work load on the [aircrews] was very high."
You are shot down in flames.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 17:02
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#55
Ed, don't change the topic of discussion from Su-30's and modern laser-guided antitank missiles to tanks.
And I moved to antitank weapons.
Do you have a victim of short term memory, fetal alcohol syndrome or Alzheimers?
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 17:05
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#56
Are you a victim ...
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 17:06
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#57
What have we just been discussing? The Konkurs and Kornet suck compared to both contemporary peer missiles and potential adversaries.
How did this discussion start? The S-300 has been characterized and defeat strategies in place. That's not "kick-ass".
Oh, this is totally silly, Ed, a missile is a missile, yeah, I mean S-300 is a defensive missile system, but it is a missile, and russia has excellent track record and technology behind the whole range of missiles from SAM's to ATGMS to AA etc. You are being hyper-technical. By "kick-ass," I mean a missile regadless of its particular use, which flies and hits its target, whatever that tagret may be: an aircraft, a tank, or a bunker.
And what you have (ok this is unfair) are two Space Shuttles down and 14 people just in them dead. How is that for regard for human life. And how is that for missile technology. I bet if U.S. were to launch its nukes, half of them won't even clear the boost phase. And half of them won't even explode (see for refs problems U.S. had in the 60's and 70's with reliability of its warheads, wiki)
#60
How is the S-300 good if they are blinded, spoofed or destroyed outside radar range. Sure rocks are dangerous weapons, but not to those with bows and arrows.
I already showed you where Konkurs and Kornet were not even penetrating old Merkevas, let alone have the penetration power against Abrams. Other than that, I'm sure they are fine weapons against T-72s and T-80s.
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 17:15
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#61
#58 I definitely do not have Alzheimer's: I know that.
Actually, it's really not that bad. I'm constantly meeting new people.
#62
Hey Guys --- neither one of you are winning at this point -- it's about time to shut it down -- save Fred some money with the bandwidth you both are burning -- this is an argument not to ever be won -- well, maybe with an all out war -- and then we would find a winner.
#63
General_Comment, don't fool yourself. While stopping all traffic from one specific nation might border on act of war, a "terrorist threat" indicating one was carrying something could easily be used to stop them traversing until they had been inspected. Temporary harassment yes, but closing the Bosporus would be the result.
If Georgia fell to the Russians I can imagine a Georgian patriot sinking a large oil tanker full of cement in the bosporus might cause navigation problems for some time. I dont' think they have them but if the Bosporus has Locks and other things they could be damaged cutting the entire black sea off, albeit temporarily. It's not a good place to fight a war.
#64
One last point though, that really goes to the hart of the matter, and elegantly wins the argument. It turns out that Su-30MKI ("I" stands for India) were carrying Indian indigenous electronic countermeasures suit (see bolow), which means that whatever happened - please talk to Indians and their equipment, not the russian designers.
"Electronic countermeasures
An integrated ECM system turns on the warning units that provide signals about incoming enemy missiles, a new generation radio recon set, active jamming facilities and radar and heat decoys. It also includes an electronic intelligence unit, a chaff and flare dispenser and a RWR system.
The RWR system is an indigenously developed system by DRDO, called Tarang, (Wave in Sanskrit). It has direction finding capability and is known to have a programmable threat library. The RWR is derived from work done on an earlier system for India's MiG-23BNs known as the Tranquil, which is now superseded by the more advanced Tarang series.
Elta EL/M-8222 a self-protection jammer developed by Israel Aircraft Industries is the MKI's standard EW pod, which the Israeli Air Force uses on its F-15s. The ELTA El/M-8222 Self Protection Pod is a power-managed jammer, air-cooled system with an ESM receiver integrated into the pod. The pod contains an antenna on the forward and aft ends, which receive the hostile RF signal and after processing deliver the appropriate response."
#65
If Georgia fell to the Russians I can imagine a Georgian patriot sinking a large oil tanker full of cement in the bosporus might cause navigation problems for some time. I dont' think they have them but if the Bosporus has Locks and other things they could be damaged cutting the entire black sea off, albeit temporarily. It's not a good place to fight a war.
A: Fighting a war in a "locked" Black Sea area would benefit the Russians through, b/c (i) their fleet is still there, fully supported from the air from numerous airfields, (ii) their subs are their to attack anyone who does not belong (but airforce will primarily do that anyway), (iii) the airspace is totally controlled by Su-27, Su-30, and Mig-29, (iv) coastal defenses are there, (v) ability to set up mine fields at will is there, (vi) signal intelligence is there (ground based and space based). So, the hypothetical Georgian patriot would be foolish to sink a hypothetical cement tanker (which G. does not have).
#69
"General_Comment you are way way way in over yer head with ed."
I told y'all he it was a General Nuisance, Red.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/22/2008 22:35
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#70
General_Comment. My comments were not anti-Russian but saying what a nightmare logistically any combat in Georgia would be for the US and NATO even if Turkey were to play ball. The Georgian tanker gambit would be unhelpful in saving their own country but in spoiling things for Russian commerce in and out of the Back Sea.
#71
TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > US TO BASE 5000 TROOPS, BUILD NAVAL BASES IN GEORGIA!?
Also from TOPIX > THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE. Russia [ + Georgia]is at a DECISIVE TURNING POINT in its Post-Cold War, perhaps even antiquitious, History as a consequence of the GWOT + ESPEC THE RUSSO-GOERGIAN WAR.
#72
Old Spook, and Barb: you have nothing to bring to this discussion, other than your unsupported assertions. And Barb, you are just meddling. What the hell do you know about military technology anyway (and this BTW has nothing to do with being a woman, Barb, am just not seeing you posting on such topics)?
Next, why do you have to defend Ed, he ran out of arguments himself? Next, unless he was there at the Red Flag, he has no personal knowledge. Next, when you say I am "way over" my head, you don't know that.
Finally, ed may be an F-15 driver, a U.S. Joint Chief of Staff, or the God Almighty himself, it does not matter - he lost the argument about Su-30 because: (i) it is widely acknowleged that this aircraft is the finest 4++ generation figher by experts of Aviation Week and Janes Defense (even if ed is an expert, which I doubt, he is just one and definitely in the minority view), (ii) the Su-30 engaged in the SAM simulation were flying with their radars off, (iii) Red Flag is structured in the way that the attendants are engaged in the exersizes of increased complexity, (iv) ed just took one article, misread it, and ignored the other article I cited. He also ignored the materials about similar excersizes conducted in India, and here in the U.S.: Red Flag 2005, 2006, and 2007.
#74
And the only thing which ed appears to be right about on its face, is the fact that yes, the estimated thikness of the M1A2 frontal turret armor is equivalent to 1,600 mm, which is thicker than 1,200 mm burn thru for the Kornet. Both data are available on wiki. Which would tend to support his position that it won't burn thru.
However, I would tend think that they design these things with the idea that it burns thru the tanks of potential adversary, and the data for M1A2 were surely known to the designers.
#75
"Hebzallah used Kornet in last year's war. Let's repeat, "Only few hits penetrated the frontal arc"
A: It is damn obvious that even according to this admission, if few did penetrate the frontal arc (where the armor is by far the thickest) then given a side shot or a shot from above, there would have been practically all that could have penetrated the armor of Merkavas.
Now what that article did not say was: how many Kornets were actually used in the conflict?
#76
" How is the S-300 good if they are blinded, spoofed or destroyed outside radar range. Sure rocks are dangerous weapons, but not to those with bows and arrows.
A: Than what's the problem, why is U.S. objecting to the sale of some "rocks" to Syria, Iran etc. so much? Defensive weapons and harmless to U.S. or Israel, armed with "bows and arrows," right? Just pointing obvious inconsistencies.
The head of the Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank says they might resort to force to retake control of the Gaza Stripe. "If Gaza remains mutinous, the Palestinian Authority will have no choice but to use force against it," Haaretz quoted Gen. Dhiab al-Ali (Abu al-Fatah) as saying on Sunday.
He said the PA must be ready to use force against Hamas in Gaza "to reunify the homeland."
Ali also downplayed Hamas's power saying Israel's assessments of Hamas' capabilities are mere exaggeration. Ali also claimed that "there must be Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian agreement. But if circumstances permit then we must reunify the homeland."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
Sure. Worked out real well for yas the last time...woof woof woof.
#1
It's about natural gas (NG) currently either being flared off (burned at the site) or pumped back into oil wells in Iraq.
There are only 2 ways to sell this NG -- either pipe it or compress it as liquefied NG (LNG). At the moment Iraq is wasting 770 million cubic feet (MMCF) / day due to lack of domestic uses and inability to export it. Note that Iraq's immediate neighbors have little or no use for NG from anyone. The deal with Royal Dutch Shell is to provide the infrastructure to gather & compress NG to form LNG & to provide terminals for LNG ships to move the product. To put this in perspective, for the year 2007, these are the USA figures for NG use:
23055596 MMCF consumed total
4607582 MMCF imported , of which
770812 MMCF imported as LNG (3.3% of all US consumption) The US lacks capacity to increase imports of LNG in any case, due to the small number of LNG receiving facilities in the US. See this PDF for background, from FERC.
Maybe if the USA had the ability to import a reasonable amount of Iraqi LNG, we might have some cause to complain about this deal. Of course, the usual domestic culprits are fighting tooth and nail to prevent any new LNG import facilities.
#2
There was a recent report on FOX w/r to the fact the only recent LNG terminal on the West coast is in Mexico (1 billion bucks & 3000 jobs). The coast states wouldn't let them build. Same as refineries. Jerks.
#4
According to some U.S.C.G. Inspectors I recently met there is an LNG receiving facility scheduled to open near Port Arthur shortly and another has received regulatory approval to begin construction.
#7
We need to develop our domestic gas resource, esp. here in Alaska. An LNG terminal is a terrorist magnet, and we are trying to get off foreign energy imports, with the exception of Canada. Mexico? Somewhat unstable.
Posted by: Alaska Paul back home ||
09/22/2008 11:21
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#8
Alaska has beenexporting LNG to Japan for years due to lack of pipelines to & lack of LNG import facilities in the USA. So much for developing domestic NG resources, no good if you can't deliver it to the users.
#10
I thought it was Royal Dutch Shell. Are you sure you're not confusing it with BP, the largest extractor of Alaskan oil?
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:47
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#11
Ok, Dutch-Anglo:
Wikipedia: Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known simply as Shell, is a multinational oil company of Dutch and British origins. It is the second largest private sector energy corporation in the world, and one of the six "supermajors" (vertically integrated private sector oil exploration, natural gas, and petroleum product marketing companies). The company's headquarters are in The Hague, Netherlands, with its registered office in London (Shell Centre).
Posted by: ed ||
09/22/2008 15:49
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#12
Pebbles, taht was the point. Our blood and the Dutch get the contract. Our Blood and the Chicoms sign a multi-billion deal. etc. etc.
#14
We sacrificed to rid ourselves of Saddam, to preclude WMD use against us, and (later) to run jihadis through the meat grinder and bring stability to Iraq. The lefties said it was all about oil and we said no, it wasn't. So don't tell me now that it was all about oil and we were cheated out of our share. If Iraq is to be free, they are free to take offers from whomever they choose.
If you want oil for blood, attack Saudi Arabia (Remember 9/11!), decimate the population, and make it our 51st state.
#15
We were never big customers of Iraq's oil anyway, and if they sell to others, that frees up more for us from other sources. If the development contracts go to non-American companies, the American ones can concentrate on developing oil fields in the U.S. Recall, Saddam Hussein went after Kuwait so that he could from there conquer Saudi Arabia and corner the majority of the world's oil supply, thus controlling the world. So from his perspective the war was indeed about oil.
Thousands of Sri Lankans who have fled the country's war zones, nearly all Tamils, lined up on Sunday to register under what police say is an essential security measure to crack down on Tamil Tiger militants.
From 8 am (0230 GMT), people queued at schools, temples and other public buildings to give their details to police, who earlier this week ordered all who had fled five war-affected districts in the past five years to come and be counted. Police have estimated that is roughly 100,000 people.
Details: The order, which affects those who moved to the Indian Ocean island's capital, Colombo, and the surrounding Western Province, came as the military was on the doorstep of the headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in the north. "We had to give the address where we live, family details and the date we came to Colombo and when we are going back. They also asked what my children were doing," retired administration officer M Balakrishnan told Reuters." Balakrishnan said he was treated well and given refreshments. But several others declined to say anything for fear of upsetting police, underscoring the deep distrust between Tamils living in the capital - who regularly complain of harassment - and security forces dominated by the Sinhalese majority.
The Tamil Tigers, on US, European and Indian terrorism lists, have fought one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies to establish a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils, and silenced more moderate Tamil political voices in the process. Since independence from Britain in 1948, the island nation has been ruled by governments led by the majority Sinhalese people, who are 75 percent of Sri Lanka's 21 million population.
As the military has intensified an 18-month campaign to wipe out the LTTE in the north, more bombs blamed by authorities on Tiger sleeper agents have targeted civilians in Colombo. Analysts fear more government military success will mean more blasts. There have been five in the last three weeks alone, the worst of which wounded 45 in a crowded market on Aug. 30. Activists said the registration drive was likely to deepen divisions, coming a year after the Supreme Court nullified as unconstitutional a government attempt to send those who had fled rebel-held districts back home. "At the end of the day, you are only instilling some sense of second-class citizenship and deepening a perception of discrimination," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, of the independent think-tank The Centre for Policy Alternatives.
A senior government official said registration was necessary despite any internal or external criticism it would draw. "We are at war, and 100 percent of the detonators and explosives we have found in the city were in Tamil areas. It is easy for rebels to hide there, and we can't take the risk," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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A grand peace jirga consisting of elders of major tribes of Upper Dir on Sunday unanimously decided that the people of the district will resist militant activities and that action will be taken against those providing shelter to militants or anti-state elements.
The jirga vowed to strongly counter any militant activity meant to damage public or private property, government installations or to kill innocent people.
The decisions were taken during a jirga of Sulthankhel and Payandakhel tribes held at the Government Higher Secondary School Wari in Dir Upper.
The jirga asked people to keep monitor movements of suspected persons to avoid any untoward incident in the wake of the Marriott Hotel suicide bombing in Islamabad. The jirga said that they will help the government in eliminating 'anti-state elements'.
Lashkar: It was decided that a 'laskhar' will patrol restive areas to counter illegal activities besides helping the law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order in the district. Peace committees at the village level will be set up to monitor the situation and compile reports about the presence and activities of 'non-locals' in the district. The committees will subsequently submit their reports to the jirga.
The jirga unanimously decided to continue to co-operate with the government in its efforts against militant activities and decided that the lashkar would continue to take action against perpetrators who harbour militants.
The speakers said the militants had destroyed the peaceful atmosphere of Swat. They said that entry of unwanted elements into Dir district will be strongly resisted. They said that the jirga had been convened to inform and mobilise people against militants who were trying to destroy the peace of the district, which was unacceptable to them.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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(Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday that the Prime Minister House was the target of Saturday's truck suicide bomb attack, which killed 53 people.
Speaking to reporters at the Lahore Airport in eastern Pakistan, Gilani said that the terrorists wanted to hit the Prime Minister House as important personalities including the president and the army chief were present to attend the dinner after a joint session of the parliament.
"They could not do it due to tight security arrangements," he said.
Gilani said that it was a big tragedy and he fully condemned such attempts which are aimed at destabilizing democracy, damaging economy and weakening Pakistan.
When asked as to who are behind the attack, he said, "I can not jump to the conclusion till completion of the enquiry, our main focus is on maintaining law and order and to fight terrorism and extremism."
Terrorists are doing such acts to highlight presence of nuclear weapons of Pakistan, he said, adding that there is an effective command and control system of nuclear arms in Pakistan and terrorist can never come close to these weapons.
Referring to foreign investigators, he said that the matter would be looked into in case of need.
Gilani said that tribal people in Pakistan are patriotic and none of them is terrorist, adding that only a few foreigners are involved in the terrorist acts in Pakistan.
He also rejected the impression that Pakistan is fighting a war of the U.S., adding that 99 percent killings of such incidents are of Pakistanis, and said that Pakistan is working on its indigenous policy.
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09/22/2008
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When I left Baghdad two years ago, the nation's social fabric seemed too shredded to ever come together again. The very worst had lost its power to shock. To return now is to be jarred in the oddest way possible: by the normal, by the pleasant, even by hope. The questions are jarring, too. Is it really different now? Is this something like peace or victory? And, if so, for whom: the Americans or the Iraqis? I don't know, maybe both? That was the idea, after all.
"We are normal people, ordinary people, like people everywhere," Aziz al-Saiedi said to me the other day, as we sat on a park bench in Sadr City, only recently freed from the grip of the Mahdi Army. The park was just a small patch of bare ground with a couple of swing sets; it didn't even have a name, yet it was filled to the bursting. "We want what everyone else wants in this world," he said. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In the 24 months that her sons were gone, Ms. Salman said she rarely ventured outside. The exception, she said, was when she saw American soldiers. "Oh, I love them," Ms. Salman said, brightening in her darkened house. "I always knew I was safe with them." "Paging, John Murtha. John Murtha, please pick-up the nearest yellow courtesy phone..."
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi says that his country's troops will continue to stay in Somalia until their objectives are met.
"The idea of withdrawing troops out of Somalia while its transitional President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed counts on our support is totally unacceptable. Yusuf Ahmad is a friend of ours and we will not leave him alone," the Ethiopian premier told local journalists in Addis Ababa on Sunday.
Zanawi's remarks came as he had earlier vowed to pull Ethiopian's forces out of conflict-stricken Somalia at the very earliest.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2008
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#1
Still a few children that haven't been sexually assaulted?
Preliminary investigation of Saturday's devastating truck bombing in the federal capital suggests a strong connection with South Waziristan Agency, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on Sunday. "It is premature to blame any particular group or individual, but all roads lead to Waziristan," he told reporters at a press conference.
Malik said the six-wheeler dumper used in the attack carried 600 kilogrammes of RDX and TNT explosives, along with splinters, mortars, artillery rounds, mines and aluminium powder -- which caused the fire.
He denied media reports that the hotel was not the intended target. Fifty-three people including four foreigners had been killed in the attack, Malik said, and 266 including 13 foreigners had been injured.
Czech ambassador: The Czech ambassador and his Vietnamese partner were among the dead. The Czech army chief will arrive in Islamabad today (Monday) to take the body home. The United States Defence Department said two American soldiers assigned to the US embassy were also killed in the blast.
Danish official: A Danish intelligence official was missing, the Danish Foreign minister said. To a question, Malik said even the presence of American Marines at the hotel did not justify killing of innocent people.
Malik rejected FBI assistance and said Pakistani security agencies were capable of handling the probe.
A US official at the Guantanamo naval base told Reuters "the attack certainly bears all the hallmarks of... Al Qaeda or its associates".
Six suspects: Online said six suspects from FATA had been held. An investigation team searched the hotel and a Rs 10 million reward was announced on information leading to the planners.
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#1
Malik rejected FBI assistance and said Pakistani security agencies were capable of handling the probe.
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.
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan announced on Saturday a suspension of military operations against Islamist militants for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but a senior official said security forces would respond if attacked.
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Forced off Iraq's streets and with diminished political clout, what anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia do next will be crucial if they are to remain relevant. 
Parts of KwaZulu-Natal were transformed into a "winter wonderland" after snowfalls blanketed several areas of the province.
A SHADOWY group calling itself 
Cairo - Up to 15 tourists have been kidnapped in Egypt, amid conflicting reports on the nationalities of the victims, media reports in the region said Monday. 
Venezuela will buy combat and training aircraft from China this week, leftist Venezuela President Hugo Chavez confirmed in a television broadcast Sunday. The purchases will be made as part of a six-country tour, Chavez said in his broadcast of the "Alo President" television program from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, hours before leaving on a "strategic interest" trip to Cuba, China, Russia, Belarus, France and Portugal.
Saudis are lining up in droves for a ticket to outerspace, topping the list of passengers who have booked a ticket on board the first commercial spaceship. 
Iraqi Shiite fighters who trained inside Iran to operate in assassination squads are starting to return home, the U.S. military told CNN."We are beginning to see indications that some 'special group' members are returning to Iraq and may be planning assassinations of key [Iraqi] government and security officials, as well as coalition forces," a U.S. military spokesman said.
WASHINGTON -- Congressional Democrats began to set their own terms on Sunday for a plan to rescue the nation's financial institutions, including greater legislative oversight of the Treasury Department, more direct assistance for homeowners and limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help.
An illegal migrant boat carrying 83 Egyptians headed for Europe has gone missing off the coast of Greece after leaving Egypt three days ago, Egypt's foreign ministry said on Sunday. "The foreign ministry has learned that the boat left Damietta (on the northern coast) three days ago and that communications were cut off, and there has been nothing to suggest it reached the Greek shore," the ministry said in a statement.
NEW DELHI: Indian police arrested four Muslims, including three accused of planting bombs that killed 23 people this month in the capital, New Delhi, officials said on Sunday. 
A delegation representing Fatah movement arrived in Egypt on Sunday for talks with officials aimed at starting a national dialogue between rival factions, the Egyptian MENA news agency said. 
Baghdad US-led forces arrested 25 people during operations against Al Qaeda in Iraq this weekend, the American military said on Sunday. The American military said those detained included alleged members of car bomb cells, financial networks and a suspect who allegedly assisted in the movement of suicide bombers from Iran to Iraq.
The market was 500 trades away from Armageddon on Thursday, traders inside two large custodial banks tell The Post. Had the Treasury and Fed not quickly stepped into the fray that morning with a quick $105 billion injection of liquidity, the Dow could have collapsed to the 8,300-level - a 22 percent decline! - while the clang of the opening bell was still echoing around the cavernous exchange floor. 
PPP senior leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that after completing the democratic process in the country, the government should decide if it wants to investigate Benazir Bhutto's assassination itself or leave it to the UN. "The country faces terrorism and extremism. However, I am not part of the government so I can't give any suggestion to the rulers," he stated on Sunday, adding that he does not want to accept any government posts and wants to support PPP as a worker only. This is why he declined the post of PM. "I will never betray the party," said Fahim. On the issue of the suicide attack in Islamabad, he said that he is not in a position to say whether or not this is a failure on the part of the government. Replying to a question, Fahim stated that President Zardari must decide on whether he wants to keep the co-chairmanship of PPP.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi says that his country's troops will continue to stay in Somalia until their objectives are met. 
Preliminary investigation of Saturday's devastating truck bombing in the federal capital suggests a strong connection with South Waziristan Agency, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on Sunday. "It is premature to blame any particular group or individual, but all roads lead to Waziristan," he told reporters at a press conference.
