Posted by: tipper ||
09/17/2012 12:17 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Baath Party
#1
Nigel is the lone voice in the wilderness. So now, if he pays his fine, he legitimizes who these EUniks are. If he does not pay the fine, then can the EUniks boot him out? I noticed that there are not very many seats occupied in that august chamber.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/17/2012 14:45 Comments ||
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#2
Mr Rompuy has yet to prove that he does NOT have the charisma of a damp rag.
Which should be easy because he doesn't EVEN have the charisma of a damp rag.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/17/2012 16:55 Comments ||
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Greece must "fortify" itself against illegal immigration, fearing a new wave from conflict-torn Syria, the public order minister said on Monday as officials reported pressure on maritime borders.
"Measures were discussed... to fortify the Aegean Sea," Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that also included the ministers of defence and shipping.
"A migration wave is starting to show, it has not yet reached Greece in large numbers, currently it is heading to Turkey, Jordan and Iraq, but the country must be ready," Dendias said.
More than 250,000 Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries to escape the 18-month violence that has killed more than 27,000 people according to activists.
Turkey currently hosts some 80,000 refugees in several camps in the southeast bordering Syria. But it has warned it can handle no more than 100,000 refugees.
Greece, battling a five-year recession and insolvency and already home to hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers over the past decade, is also unable to cope with the strain.
Police reinforcements have been sent to Greece's northeastern border with Turkey, the main overland route used by migrant smugglers, but the flow appears to have switched to the Aegean Sea islands facing the Turkish mainland.
"I wake up every morning and say, 'Has anything happened to Syria today?'" the prime minister told the Washington Post over the weekend.
"If something happens in Syria, thousands of people would be flowing into Greece. Illegal immigrants are already a very big problem for us. We are already taking big steps to disallow illegal immigrants from coming in. Imagine if that number is multiplied by 10," Samaras said.
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Local security services say terror groups may try to conduct reconnaissance and gain access to community buildings
JTA -- The security service of La Belle France's Jewish communities has alerted French Jews to "individuals pretending to be Jewish to gain access to community facilities."
In a statement released Sept. 14, the Service de Protection de la Communauté Juive, or SPCJ, also declared a state of elevated alertness during the High Holidays.
"This year we have noticed in La Belle France various suspected cases of intelligence gathering on Jewish targets," the communiqué read.
"The new [Jewish] year will be celebrated at a time when the threat from terrorist attacks is particularly high," it added. SPCJ requested French Jews exercise vigilance at synagogue, at Jewish schools and at community gatherings.
On March 19, an Islamist turban killed three children and a rabbi at Otzar Hatorah school in Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... . SPCJ documented more than 90 anti-Semitic incidents in the 10 days that followed the shooting.
In its announcement, SPCJ also referenced the July 18 terrorist attack in Bulgaria.
The perpetrator killed himself and six other people -- five of whom were Israelis -- in a pre-planned attack at Burgas airport. Israel said Hezbollah was behind the attack.
Continued on Page 47
I'm sure Stalin would have had a blast. Shows trials, the authentic Gulag experience, firing squads at dawn.
It's a report on a communist run music festival in France. Continued on Page 47
#2
Mao and Stalin's body count dwarf Adolf and the National Socialists, but get far better press in academia as cover for a failed political construct.
This is one of my pet peeves lately. Everyone "knows" the commies are left-wing and the Nazis are right-wing. (we learned it in school!). Yeah, maybe compared to each other, but the name Nazi came from National Socialist German Workers' Party. They were into national socialism (duh!) vs the commie's international socialism. Nazis, commies, call it what you want, but it's still socialism and still a left-wing ideology.
#5
"I, on the other hand, have been striving for twenty years with a minimum of intervention and without destroying our production, to arrive at a new Socialist order in Germany which not only eliminates unemployment but also permits the worker to receive an ever greater share of the fruits of his labor.
The success of this policy of economic and social reconstruction of our people, which by systematically eliminating differences of rank and class, has a true peoples' community as the final aim of the world."
-- Adolf Hitler
Living in the grinding poverty of the Vienna slums, Hitler soon realized that a wholesome national pride could not be aroused in men who lacked the necessities of life. Hence his interest in social betterment, which ultimately brought the word 'Socialist' into the name of his party. Like William Morris, he turned to Socialism as a necessary preliminary to the dissemination of his great idea. Morris became a Socialist, bent on improving the living conditions of the English masses, in order to make them listen to his artistic gospel. Hitler became a Socialist (in his sense of the word) so that the German masses would listen to his gospel of nationalism.
-- Nicolas Fairweather, The Atlantic, March 1932
"We have backed the wrong horse in Spain. We would have done better to back the Republicans. They represent the people. We could always have converted these socialists into good National Socialists later. The people around Franco are all reactionary clerics, aristocrats, and moneybags they've nothing in common with us Nazis at all!"
-- Adolf Hitler, April 1938
The following analysis looks in more detail at the unusual series of murders that took place in the French Alps on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sep 5 (2012). As a few more details have trickled out about the killings, it is possible to start to piece together the "tactical jigsaw puzzle".
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OVERVIEW: The crime occurred on a remote mountain road near the town of Chevaline in the French Alps. The murder scene was in a parking lot off a road ... the road itself is a dead-end street that leads to an overlook. Four adults were killed, one 7-year old girl was seriously injured, and one 4-year old girl was unhurt (but traumatized).
Three of the dead adult victims were discovered inside a red BMW station wagon. Killed inside the BMW were: Saad al-Hilli (50) a British citizen originally from Iraq, his wife Iqbal (47) who was a dentist from Iraq, and his wife's mother who was a Swedish citizen.
Al-Hilli's station wagon was parked at the back of a quiet parking lot, surrounded mostly by trees. All three adults had been shot at least 3 times, including two shots to the head for each victim. The victims were shot with a low-caliber pistol, probably a 32-cal or a 7.65 mm. That would imply that the murder weapon was probably a Walther-PP series handgun or a Tokarev. Quite possibly a silencer was used on this gun, since no people nearby reported any loud noises.
Al-Hilli was in the drivers seat (dead). The two adult women were in the back seat (dead) and they apprently threw themselves over al-Hilli's 4-year old daughter Zeena who was still alive. The women did such a good job at concealing the young girl that she remained terrified - but undiscovered - for many hours after the crime was committed.
Also involved in the attack was al-Hilli's older daughter Zainab (7) who was badly injured but not killed, and a cyclist who was shot dead. Zainab was found outside the family vehicle. She was shot once in the shoulder, then pistol whipped hard on the head - she collapsed on the asphalt in the parking lot. The cyclist was Sylvain Molliere (45) from Grenoble, France. Grenoble is about 25 miles from the crime scene. Molliere was a rider in a bicycle race taking place in the area. He was shot 5 times, then collapsed to the pavement. His body and his bicycle were nearby the vehicle.
The crime scene was discovered by another British cyclist and reported to the police. The police found many shell casings from 32-cal ammunition near the BMW. The engine was still running, and the rear wheels were still spinning in the dirt when the British cyclist arrived (he turned off the ignition).
Interviews with people in the area established that three suspicious vehicles had been seen recently: a white Peugeot driven by a man in a dark shirt which was seen speeding down the road away from the murder, a green 4x4 vehicle, and a motorcycle.
COMMENTS: A variety of early theories emerged about this killing, including the possibility that it was a mafia hit, or a murder by an upset relative, or the work of robbers, or a strange case of espionage. However, police were puzzled as to why professional killers would leave shell casings at the scene - and not pick them up. In addition, no-one could explain why the daughters were not killed by the hit men. And finally, if this murder was associated with a clandestine meeting - why on earth did al-Hilli take his family to the rendezvous point? As deeper details were uncovered about the backgrounds of the people involved in the Alps incident - the plot became much more complicated.
AL-HILLI was a mechanical engineer working for an aerospace company in Britain that did secret satellite work. The company produces satellite imagery for high-profile customers and various foreign governments. Al-Hilli and his wife lived in an expensive home, but his income may not be fully adequate to meet all his expenses. He had some private ventures going - but they showed low profits on the books. It has been reported that al-Hilli's bank accounts show large deposits that seem inconsistent with his normal work and projects. Al-Hilli was also known as an outspoken critic of Israeli policies and frequently voiced strong opinions on internet chat rooms.
SYLVAIN MOLLIERE, the cyclist, also worked with confidential information. It has been reported that Mr Molliere was a metallurgist who specialized with nuclear technology. He had a deep understanding of the alloys and coatings needed to produce fuel rods in nuclear reactors.
There appears to be no known relationship between al-Hilli and Molliere ... at least none that police have identified or made public at this time. The unusual backgrounds of these two individuals lead to two possible scenarios about the Alps murders - which I will elaborate. Leading scenarios revolve around espionage and the leaking of hi-tech secrets. The main difference between the two scenarios is simply ... which man was the primary target in this murder??
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SCENARIO A: Under this scenario, al-Hilli was the primary target of the hit men and the cyclist Molliere was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time (although as it turns out, Molliere acted bravely). Since al-Hilli worked with secret satellite imagery, it is plausible that he may have used this access to sell information on the black market. Information is a commodity like everything else ... and it is most valuable when it is in high demand. Since the countries of Iran and Israel are currently locked in a military struggle, al-Hilli may have been selling sensitive information to the Iranians. The relationship is plausible because al-Hilli was a Shiite Muslim, and was strongly opposed to Israeli policies. Therefore he could have been approachable by Iranian agents. This kind of deal would be lucrative to al-Hilli, but if he was offered high-resolution satellite photographs of Israeli installations then this would put him at the top of "persona non grata" for Mossad. This is one speculation about motive. But it is also possible that al-Hilli was killed by an Iranian hit squad who feared that he would compromise their on-going espionage relationship. Finally, it is conceivable, though less likely, that al-Hilli was killed by some other competitor/customer in the information business, since satellite imagery can be very valuable for certain commercial activities.
Scenario A: al-Hilli was probably under surveillance from the time he entered France. The hit men no doubt knew his itinerary, and the Alps would make a good place for a quiet kill. It is possible they looked for opportunities to kill al-Hilli as an individual (without his family), but could never get him separated from his family. So the decision was made to kill al-Hilli as a high-value target, and to kill all the adults to eliminate witnesses. On the day of the murder, it may have gone something like this. Al-Hilli decided to take a quiet drive with his family into the mountains. However, he was being shadowed by agents using a motorcycle and a 4x4 vehicle. During the drive al-Hilli's older daughter needed to make a restroom stop. So al-Hilli pulled off the road to let the child go and relieve herself. The hit men who were trailing al-Hilli recognized this location as an excellent kill zone. They needed only a motorcycle and a larger vehicle to do the job - the large vehicle would pin al-Hilli's car into the parking lot and the assassin on the motorcycle would kill the driver and passengers. Al-Hilli saw the danger coming at the last moment and attempted to reverse - but the BMW's rear wheels became stuck in a soft dirt embankment. The motorcycle rider began shooting the adults in a very calm and professional way (through the side windows, close range), starting with al-Hilli. Meanwhile the driver of the 4x4 vehicle had to get out of his car and chase down Zainab ... al-Hilli's older daughter. In the pursuit he fired his gun but only shot her in the shoulder. Then he pistol whipped her to the ground. Quite possibly Zainab would have been killed at this point, but by sheer coincidence the cyclist Molliere was passing by and noticed the girl was under attack. He rode in to help and was shot repeatedly. The hit men could not risk the possibility that the cyclist might call the police, who would then seal off their escape routes. The actions of Molliere might truly have saved the life of the oldest daughter - who would otherwise have been shot. After this, the hit men finished killing the adults. However, their concentration had been rattled by the the older daughter being outside the vehicle and the arrival of the cyclist. In addition (see later comments), it is possible that a third witness saw the killing and drove away. Hence the hit men fled the scene quickly before anyone else could see them. The 4-year old daughter posed minimal risk since she had seen nothing, and the older daughter may have appeared to be almost dead at that stage. It is a quick hop for the hit men to cross back into Switzerland - that is a viable escape route with false passports.
Special Comment: The white Peugeot. This vehicle was seen driving quickly away from the scene. There are several possibilities. One idea is that the white Peugeot was acting as a surveillance vehicle that was tracking al-Hilli as he drove through France. Certainly possible, since the assault vehicles (green 4x4, motorcycle) were too readily identifiable. The second idea is that the Peugeot was driven by a tourist who had just happened to visit the lookout at the end of the road where the murder took place. The tourist was returning and noticed the entire murder scene unfolding. He then panicked and floored the accelerator of his car to escape. If the latter possibility exists, then there is an additional (frightened) witness who saw the murder scene. This would also explain why the hit men fled the parking lot and never retrieved the spent bullet casings.
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SCENARIO B: Under this scenario Molliere was the primary target of the hit men, and al-Hilli's family was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Molliere had technical knowledge that would certainly be valuable to the Iranians - particularly as they are trying to develop their own nuclear reactors (producing plutonium as well as electrical power). The exchange of information would be lucrative to Molliere, but would require meetings with Iranian agents. Israel has acted proactively to remove highly-placed technical personnel within the Iranian regime who are accelerating the country's nuclear progress. But could this rationale be extended to a citizen of another country ... it is a big leap - but maybe if the knowledge from Molliere was critical to Iran's progress.
Under Scenario B, Molliere was under surveillance and the bicycle race provided a quiet spot in the Alps to make the kill. On the day of the murder, it may have gone something like this. Molliere was being trailed by a motorcycle and a larger vehicle. At some point the motorcycle pulled alongside him and several shots were fired. Due to the low-caliber bullets, he had a few moments of life left in his body. By chance he happened to be near a pull-out, and Molliere raced his bicycle into the parking lot. Being in a panic, he noticed a car parked in the pull-out and tried to get their assistance. However, he collapsed on the ground and died before anyone could do anything. The disturbance of the cyclist aroused the attention of al-Hilli's older daughter, who jumped out of the car and tried to help. At this moment the hit men doubled back from the road - they had seen Molliere go to the BMW parked there. They were forced to eliminate all the witnesses. The motorcycle rider fired repeated shots into the BMW to kill the adults - and was not even aware of the 4-year old in the back seat (covered by the women). The driver of the other 4x4 vehicle got out, put more bullets into Molliere to ensure a certain kill, then shot Zainab - but only hit her shoulder. He then pistol whipped her very hard. And at that point the hit men rushed out of the kill zone and went into their exit strategy. As mentioned before. there is some possibility that a white Peugeot passed by while this action was taking place - causing the hit men to leave in a great hurry.
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It appears that French police believe that Scenario A is closer to the truth - since they have passed the momentum of the investigation over to British police. It is not clear if the UK authorities have embraced this option fully. Further background investigations may help to clarify which scenario is more plausible.
The actions of the hit men may be described in the following terms: bold, coldly logical, brutal, very lethal. These terms paint a certain "character" to the tactical execution of the job - which may also suggest which agency was involved in the killings. At this stage the investigation is still ongoing ... but progress may be slow as the trail goes cold. If professional agents were involved, the trail will go cold quickly.
Continued on Page 47
The fact Saad al-Hill worked for an "aerospace company in Britain that did secret satellite work", along with Steve White's post this morning "Iran Starts Work on Advanced Radar" is all very interesting. Yes, seperate disciplines, but they share some common technological links.
#5
Or Al-Hilli was meeting with the cyclist, unknown to his tracker, who didn't have enough ammo for the extra hit. The girl was pistol-whipped, being of low priority after the adults were taken care of and the possibility of another eyewitness kept him from cleaning up the casings. A shoulder hit by a professional who would also have known that Al Hilli had 2 daughters may imply a glimmer of conscience, leaving the innocent to live another day. Mossad?
#6
Shooter(s) not knowing how many were in the Saad al-Hilli party (hidden child not discovered), may indicate the targets were not surveilled or followed from their point of departure. If this was the case, the al-Hilli travel itinerary and destination may have been known in advance.
[Al Ahram] The cooled for a few years ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... leader of the Basque independence movement, Arnaldo Otegi, apologises to victims of the bully boy separatist group ETA in a new book, according to extracts published Sunday.
For the first time the leftwing independent leader offers "his most sincere apologies" for exacerbating the "pain and humiliation" of victims of ETA, which announced last year it had abandoned its armed struggle but has not formally disarmed or disbanded.
Arnaldo Otegi was cooled for a few years ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... for six years in 2009 for attempting to reform Batasuna, the separatist party banned in 2003 and considered the political arm of ETA.
In the book compiled from interviews, "El tiempo de las luces" ("The time of light"), which comes out on September 28, the Basque leader said he wanted to make amends, according to extracts published in the Gara newspaper.
"If as front man (and I speak in the name of all spokesmen of Batasuna), I have added in any way to the pain, suffering or humiliation of the families of the victims of armed actions by ETA, I want to present here my most sincere apologies, accompanied by an 'I am sorry' from the heart," he wrote.
#3
It reads as a chilling examination of how war changes man
No, no and no. When their comanders make them clear that some actions will make soldiers shot, when they know their comrades will loath their actions and report or even frag them then there will be few atrocities.
But when, like the Wehrmacht in Russia, high command implicitly allows rape of women, murder of civilians or prisoners, when the soldier has been told he is a an ûbermensch who can do what pleases him to untemenschen, when he nows hos comrades share these thesis and will support him then you have what the Wehrmacht (all of it not only the SS) did in Russia
And if you want to know why the Russians after massively surrendering in 1941, fought like devils at Stalingrad despite a life expectancy of mere hours it is because they had seen first hand what the Germans had done and because they were being told of articles in the German press telling of future market slaves where robust Russains would be sold for agricultural work and the prettiest girls would be sold to Hamburg's brothels. These articles were not fakes manufactured by Red Army's political comissars, they were authentic and published in publicaklly sold newspapers. When such papers are sold without scandal then don't wonder about war crimes since an Army is the mirror of the country who fields it.
About the massive rapes perpetrated by the Red Army in Germany it was not merely vengeance: "Krasnaia Sviezda" the Red Army's journal was running articles inviting soldiers to "break the racial pride of the German woman". Again it was no accident and again it was not "war changes man". It is some armies who change man, not war
(1) Former soldier Heinrich Boll, writes in "Portrait of a group with Dame", about a column of Soviet POWs marched without food and water, a five years old girl is sent by her parents tries to bring them some. No warnings, no tries to restrain her, no attempts to frighten her, no nothing: Bang, Bang, Bang. Five years old dead.
#4
My mother-in-law is a survivor of the holocaust. She lived in Poland. Her father and mother and four of her siblings were murdered. The children who were murdered were but children--not even teens. Similarly for my father-in-law, he lost his mother and father and others in his family. They were shuttled around to various concentration camps during the war until they were liberated by American soldiers. She still keeps in touch with one of these soldiers and feels a deep debt of gratitude to the Americans.
My background is Catholic and Irish and I never had much knowledge of the holocaust except through newsreels as a kid. However, I can remember being shocked as a kid upon seeing newsreels of showing bodies of people in concentration camps stacked like so much cord wood while others ended up as ashes in huge ovens.
I wouldn't expect much better from the islamists than the Nazis.
#5
You should Google the English translation of the speech Hitler made to the German nation when he declared war on America publicly 12/11/1941, even though he declared war on America privately on 9/11 of that year.
He lied through his teeth almost as bad as Obama lies now. Only Hitler was, at that time, 8 years after being in power, much more militant in his speeches than Obama is at the moment.
Posted by: Dino Prince of the Poles3605 ||
09/17/2012 23:14 Comments ||
Top||
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.
[Al Ahram] The 
