(SomaliNet) The commander of Ethiopian forces in Somalia has been called back to his country for his failure to bring peace to the war-torn nation.
And for failing to spread the boodle around ...
A Press TV correspondent reported Tuesday that Ethiopia's government ordered General Gabre Heard as well as a colonel connected to the Ethiopian secret intelligence agency to return to the country for failing to perform their duties. In what has been described as a discreet handing-over ceremony in Somali capital Mogadishu, the men have since been replaced by two new Ethiopian army commanders.
General Gabre had been accused by the former deputy prime minister of Somalia, Hussein Mohamed Farah Aideed, of allowing the killing and displacing of thousands of Somali civilians. But Gabre and the unnamed colonel were reportedly also called back because of their suspected involvement in financial scandals including the blackmailing of the Somali president, prime minister and various businessmen. Both men are thought to have gained large sums of wealth from the war in Somalia.
And both clearly failed to provide the proper gratuities to the proper people ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Howdy, Doudy...the line for the denunciations forms to the left.
Al Qaeda's North Africa wing has called for truth justice and the American wayhis pipe, bowl, and fiddlers three Jihad in Mauritania to establish Islamic rule after a military junta ousted the country's elected president. "Raise the banner of jihad and let us bleed and have our limbs severed until we bring back a caliphate styled along the lines of The Prophet's way," the leader of the al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, Abu Mus'ab Abd el-Wadoud, said in a statement posted on the Internet on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, Abd el-Wadoud said the troops who toppled President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in the northwest African state last week were probably acting upon a green light from "infidel states; America, France and Israel". He called on followes: "Wake up and prepare for the war; the cross is marching towards you."
Tuesday's Web statement condemned what it called "apostate regimes ruling the Islamic Maghreb". "Those regimes that enslave their people have always raised the banner of democracy in their fight against Islam, while people see that most of them assumed power through military coups," el-Wadoud said.
Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) last night beat up three leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir at Zahurul Haq Hall of Dhaka University (DU).
The injured were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, campus sources said. Two of them were identified as Al-Amin of Sociology and Mohammad Shifat of Law department. Eyewitnesses said at least 20 leaders and workers of Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, came under attack while they were coming out of the hall after a meeting at room No. 3006 at around 11:45pm. Over 100 leaders and activists of BCL, the student front of Awami League (AL), took part in the assault.
Three of the Shibir men were caught by the Chhatra League activists and battered with sticks and cricket stumps while the rest managed to flee the scene. Additional police forces were deployed in the hall premises to avert further violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
Ummm...yeah?
Posted by: Boss Thravith3041 ||
08/13/2008 0:53 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Darn! And here I was thinking this was at Democratic Underground!
#3
Shibir is the "student" wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. They form a corps of brownturbans who beat people up at the universities in Pak and Bangla if they're not being Islamic enough. In this case they got a little of their own back, which happens seldom enough.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 18:54 Comments ||
Top||
At least 25 students were injured yesterday in a clash between outsiders of Islami Chhatra Shibir and students of Medical Assistant Training School (MATS) following the latter's protest against the Shibir intruders' selling of admission guides and other publications on the campus. Seriously injured third year student Manash, second year student Russel of MATS and Shibir cadres Shakhawat and Amjad Hossen, both outsiders, were rushed to Noakhali General Hospital.
Shudharam Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mosharaf Hossen Talukder said the clash ensued as some Shibir activists of Noakhali university college, defying protest of general students, entered MATS campus to sell admission guides and other publications of Shibir.
MATS students also kept seven Shibir activists of MATS confined to the principal's office room, from where police later rescued them.
Police have been deployed on MATS campus to avert any untoward incident. There are allegations that outsider Shibir activists accompanied by a few pro-Shibir students of the institution often intrude there to motivate general students to join the Shibir.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
Y'know, I'd be real careful attacking 'Medical Students" they know just where you hurt the most, and bleed the easiest.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/13/2008 17:44 Comments ||
Top||
Even before taking oath, Rajshahi mayor-elect and Awami League leader AHM Khairuzzaman Liton has drawn considerable controversy for his activities like visiting the den of militant-kingpin Asadullah Al Galib.
File under "best government money can buy."
Referring to the visit, even his party men say he bagged votes from many of Galib's followers. They add Liton during campaign avoided clearing his stance on militancy fearing impact on his vote tally and now made the visit.
He visited central offices of Galib's outfit Ahle Hadith Andolon, Bangladesh (Ahab), its youth front Ahle Hadith Jubo Sangha (AHJS) and Ahab-run Al Markajul Islami As-Salafi Madrasa in Nawdapara on Sunday and was accorded a reception.
An AHJS press release says Liton in his speech observed that Ahab and AHJS [suspected militant outfits] leaders and workers faced atrocities during BNP-Jamaat rule as Galib and his men were detained over "false" accusation. The release also claims Liton demanded Galib's release as none of the cases against him was proved.
Acting Ahab Ameer Shayekh Abdus Samad Salafi chaired the reception. Ahab Organising Secretary and AHJS Central President ASM Azizullah were present. Salafi and Azizullah were arrested with Ahab chief Galib in February in 2005 on charge of scheming militancy and the outfit's connections with different international militant outfits.
Among others, councillor-elect Shahadat Hossain Sahu, Ahab-run monthly At Tahreek editor Dr Muhammad Shakhawat Hussain and Rajshahi Ahab chief Abul Kalam Azad were present during the reception.
Some arrested militants of the outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) across the country have named Galib as their supreme leader.
"He [Liton] has now become mayor of all citizens and so he can look after everyone's well-being. But the news is alarming if the mayor's relation with militant outfits is deep," said Rajshahi district Awami League chief Tajul Islam M Faruk.
"We wanted a clear stance regarding militancy from the mayor hopefuls before the election. As none of them gave us [voters] their opinion, they are now taking the opportunity," said Abdul Bari, a voter and victim of JMB torture.
Liton also drew flak from party men for visiting the house of Rafi-us Shams, a former general secretary of Rajshahi District Sports Association on August 6. Shams is an accused in a graft case for misappropriation of around Tk 22 lakh from the association fund.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
Turkey plans to buy eight missile defense systems abroad to protect itself against possible missile attacks, an undersecretary for the Defense Ministry said on Monday.
Murat Bayar said two missile shields are to be deployed in and around Ankara and Istanbul by 2010, and that Turkey is currently negotiating a deal with four countries: Russia, the United States, China and Israel.
The cost of the Turkish air defense system has been put at $1 billion.
#5
So what happens when a bunch of these smaller countries get an effective missle defense? It seems to me that sopme of the ones feeling threatened and some of the ones who are threatening will change sides. Whole new ball game.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/13/2008 16:32 Comments ||
Top||
An Australian court has heard a man on trial for terrorism offences put information about shooting down planes, training assassins and making bombs on the internet. Jamelle Wells reports the Crown prosecutor told a Supreme Court jury, while there's nothing wrong with political opinion, one must draw the line when it comes to advocating terrorist acts.
He said Sydney man Belal Khazaal compiled religious and historical writings into a book on terrorism which he published on the internet in 2003. The prosecutor said the book espoused violence against non-believers in the Muslim faith and the benefits of assassination. The court heard the billing address for the website was a residence at Lakemba in Sydney's South-West.
Belal Khazaal has pleaded not guilty to producing a document connected with terrorism and to urging others to committing a terrorist act.
#2
europe aint gonna die cause some local bureaucrat writes down a marriage that happened overseas.
I know, I know, boiled frogs, gradual defeats, all that. I wasnt born yesterday. But them Eurabians had better move fast before all their kids are assimilated and are spending their time making Dutch language Rap videos, or whatever.
#4
Im going more by France than NL - in France theyre assimilating without integrating - ie they are losing their traditional culture while remaining on the margins of society in the under class - a minority of the youfs become radical islamists (in some cases a profound rejection of their parents Sufist Islam) but most are just part of a more mongrel underclass rap culture.
Muslim pop in NL includes Indonesians, etc as well as North Africans - im not sure all those subgroups are moving the same way.
#5
And, right after that, it's time to march down to the local welfare office I'm sure and get the new missuz on the program.
If ya can't beat em, bankrupt em.
#6
Not untrue, re french muslims, BUT, islam remains a very strong cohesive identity glue (ramadan observance is almost universal among french muslims, even generations removed from arrival, and so is aid el kebir, a MASSIVE fait accompli that goes against all french laws and customs, but which still goes on every year), and I'm not even talking about the alimentary restriction (huge halal business, obsessive pork thing),... as a matter of fact, all sociologists, even the most PC ones (hard to top sociologists in term of PCness, french or otherwise) observe that religious observance is *increasing* along the passing of generations, younger muslims are more observant (and DEMANDING) than their fathers or grandfathers, a global trend of muslim pop IIUC.
Plus, in addition to this muslim identity, well, there is a clearcut rejection of french and westernvalues and traditions (with the help of the culture of criticism of the Enlightened Elites and their narratives pushed through school and msm, about the crimes and villainies of europans, the crimes of France, the debt of the West toward the looted third world from which we stole our weatlth,...), and an actual anti-european racism, up to and including reccurring, every day hate crimes of various seriousness, mixed with HUGE over-representatrion of arab & african Youths in criminal activity (both street level, and increasingly, organized crime, hounding the traditional italian, corsican and gypsy crime families).
So, in a way, islam is not something that is being assimilated out of the Youths, it rather adds fuel to the whole anti-white "gangsta" culture. And I might even add if there's a real acculturation process going on, it's with the lower class ethnic french stuck (for all purpose, those who can't move out and cannot afford the white flight out of what were once access-to-middle class social housing that were the dreams of 60's working classes, and are now supposedly ghettoes created by the racist french to park away those poor migrants away) in the 'hoods being actually assimilated... to the dominating muslim model, and to the spread of that "model" to the middle class (coupled with the breakdown of the educational system, which churns out, well, ignorant idiots who can't speak nor write their own language, out of touch with their history, their heritage, and who try to speak with that odious yob accent and that arab slang to be like the manly Youths who dominate the street, get the girls instead of the european boys, and racket them out of their ipod).
#7
"Not untrue, re french muslims, BUT, islam remains a very strong cohesive identity glue (ramadan observance is almost universal among french muslims, even generations removed from arrival, and so is aid el kebir, a MASSIVE fait accompli that goes against all french laws and customs, but which still goes on every year), and I'm not even talking about the alimentary restriction (huge halal business, obsessive pork thing),... "
Mouse, I dont eat pork, I observe Rosh Hashanah AND Yom Kippur AND Passover. I consider myself 100% American, and I like to remind people that no less a person than Robert E Lee gave his men of the "Hebrew faith" time off to celebrate RH and YK.
We Americans (or at least some of us) find your French views of what constitutes "assimilation" very odd.
The problem is, they really don't see them (even "assimilated" muslims I know or have known) as "100% french", but rather as 100% muslims living in France, being "french" (since they've got ID papers and are inserted into french society), but still belonging to the old country, even if they have no intention of going back there except to spend vacations, and perhaps to bring back a wife (and from there, her whole family), an increasing trend among YOUNGER immigrant generations. To them, being french is not being an heir to this patrie, but just living in this territory and having the ad hoc gvt stamp.
Besides, the point is moot, I'm a "blood & soil" guy; you either are born french, or you can become one, by actually embracing this identity, this history, and, most importantly, by shedding your old identy (the melting pot idea, obviously only for a limited minority ideally, WE ARE NOT A NATION OF MIGRANTS, period, and so aren't the USA, too, you're a nation of FORMER migrants, I'd rather think).
But, for the majority of african & arab or turkish migrant, they retain their allegiance. Embrace multiculturalism.
#9
And, again, the french muslim identity (arab & black african) is built against what I perceive as french identity, in a continuum ranging from open warfare from the islamists to the chip-on-his-shoulder of the very "assimilated" muslim. This is true of all non-western migrants (I put european migrants totally out of this, attitude is 180° from that, with the glaring exception of the ever-loving "romanians"), who basically either don't mold or don't want to mold themselves into France, even when they are troubleless like the chinese, who just keep to themselves.
A major, easily identifiable point is the first names of the child born in France; you'll find with a 99.99% occurrance that asian most often give their kids french first names, speak with non-descript french accent, and are accepted as fully french despite being non-white, while almost all african or arab or turks or pakistanis... give muslim or african first names to kids born even after 3rd generation, or from mixed couples.
#10
"the melting pot idea, obviously only for a limited minority ideally, WE ARE NOT A NATION OF MIGRANTS, period, and so aren't the USA, too, you're a nation of FORMER migrants"
We are former immigrants who have contributed our immigrant customs to the common mix, and who have often retained our old customs, esp where those customs are specifically religious.
Im not going to suggest that the racial and politial tensions in the banlieus are not important. But you cited specifically dietary questions and holiday observance as evidence of failure to assimilate, and here in the USA those just are NOT criteria for assimilation.
If some guy whose father came from Algiers is not really French cause he wont eat pork, then either Im not really American cause I wont, or else theres a fundamental difference between the USA and France.
Or else, political and social issues are being confused with ones of religious ritual.
#12
France is not an aggregate of communities united under one ideal like the current notion of the USA seems to be. If muslims want to live in France, AND become french, then, in an ideal world they must conform to the larger french "standard" (which is not set in stone, but is self-evident as one assimilates himself into its curretn version) and that implies giving up on the non-private part of islam, and eventually disappearing as a separate community, to become, again, french of muslim descent, not muslims living in France.
Of course, since this is not an ideal world, the exact reverse is happening, and almost all schools have dropped pork out of their meals not to offend muslims (most do not even propose non-pork priducts as a separate choice, and many even propose halal food even to non-muslims), entire streets are blocked by public praying several times a day in marseiiles or elsewhere,... and anyway, that french "standard" which I mentioned above doesn't even stand anymore, having been supplanted by the dogma of métissage and multiculturalism, and most of our heritage, religious notably, has been left over on purpose. So, even for those who would like to assimilate and melt themselves into France, well, there is nothing to assimilate to anymore, or almost.
#13
"Of course, since this is not an ideal world, the exact reverse is happening, and almost all schools have dropped pork out of their meals not to offend muslims "
but that isnt required to not offend muslims. In schools where I live, meals that include pork are noted by a tiny picture of a pig, and those, whether Jewish or Muslim who prefer to avoid them can take another offering.
perhaps French schools dont offer as many different offerings as American schools do?
#14
" If muslims want to live in France, AND become french, then, in an ideal world they must conform to the larger french "standard" (which is not set in stone, but is self-evident as one assimilates himself into its curretn version) and that implies giving up on the non-private part of islam, "
what is public, and what private? Do you have to eat pork to be a good Frenchmen? Because if so, then there are thousands of observant French Jews who need to depart.
#15
Galitzianer, I think the point is that in America a person will consider himself 100% American, and consider his religious observances as a part of that. In France, the Muslims are using their religious observances to distinguish themselves -- in their own minds, most importantly -- as French in name only.
Granted, France has a problem with those who insist on clinging to their religious particularity. I think it was Napoleon who, speaking of the French Jews, said, "To the individual, everything. To the group, nothing." But regardless, there is now an openly aggressive Muslim piety that aims to clarify to the native French that France now belongs to the Muslims.
To help my understanding, anonymous5089, do you consider yourself a Catholic/Christian?
#16
Sounds like the components for a large fire.
Oh, yeah, that's been happening right along.
Rioting, check...Raping, check...Murder, no doubt, looks like we're all set for a civil war in Frogland. Cake for the winners.
#17
"In France, the Muslims are using their religious observances to distinguish themselves -- in their own minds, most importantly -- as French in name only. "
and again, im not sure thats really the case. There are old folks who keep the old ways. There are youfs who are seriously alienated, but arent deeply muslim, though they may refrain from pork and keep ramadan out of solidarity. There are also folks whove adopted the jihadist POV of denying any loyalty to an infidel state, but from what Ive been told by Frenchmen on other sites (see I know someones gonna say Im not there and dont know, and I admit that, but Im not going to limit myself to anecdotal evidence from folks here, who arent necessarily representative of all "christian" frenchmen)
I mean what Im seeing, TW, is claims that French muslims are failing to assimilate, made on the basis of behavior that in the USA would be considered good assimilation by muslims, and furthermore that would hold me (if not you) as a failure to assimilate as well. Now Im perfectly fine that France isnt the US, has its own traditions and political viewpoints (indeed, I think Im rather more fine with that than most people here, who get in a tizzy that they dont mostly share our approach to economics) but I think that when an American reads that French Muslims arent "assimilated" and that "eurabia" is threatening, they arent thinking "oh, they dont eat pork, and consider themselves a distinctive community, just like the Jews or the Amish or the Mormons in the USA do"
And that leads to considerable misunderstanding on THIS side of the Atlantic.
#19
No, I was responding to Mous statements about keeping halal and ramadan.
Obviously gang rape of woman for being unveiled is an indicator of being unassimilated (and is also criminal and vile, as ANY rape of anyone for any reason would be)
What percent of muslim men participate in such rapes?
Note Im NOT saying there isnt a problem with assimilation. But "europe is lost" statements are usually based on data that INCLUDES not only muslims who dont condone such acts, but even the women who are victims of such acts. Ironic, eh?
#20
Oh, I agree that religious observance per se should not be a mark of not assimilating. Nor should being an active member of a religious congregation as we both are, Galitzianer. But demanding imposition of one's own rules on the general population signals a problem. Hence anonymous5089's objection to halal food and daily prayer. Not because some keep it themselves, but because too many insist school meals for the general population must also comply, and because they choose to block traffic several times a day so that they may pray were they stand instead of taking themselves off to a mosque, or praying quietly at their desks, as everyone else must do if they wish to keep their jobs.
#21
i dont know much about the insistence on school meals, or the traffic issues, and id be happy to see links to an unbiased source (and yeah, it could be in French, Im rusty but could struggle through it)
Based on my past experience with this kind of discourse, you will forgive me for guessing that whats involved is some French school that serves only one entree (not being as commited to choice as we in the USA are) or else its some school in a 98% muslim neighborhood where the pork entrees simply find no takers.
I recall the heated discussion of teh evil mooselimbs trying to keep an NGO from giving pork to poor frenchies, and it turned out they were doing a pork soup kitchen in a mainly muslim neighborhood, with fairly obvious intentions to insult.
and, again, btw, TW, i dont just belong to a congregation. I observe a fair amount of halacha, I participate in federation activities INCLUDING support for Israel, and otehr political issues. I am a PUBLIC jew, very much so, and that does NOT mean I want to subordinate non-Jews to Judaism or create a Jewish polity here. I am going to be just as demandign of evidence that most muslims are doing trying to impose Islam in "eurabia". And I will not accept assumptions based on a misunderstanding of what constitutes observance that defines religion in essentially Christian terms, and combines that with a parochial french definition of assimilation.
#23
so, proselytization is okay if its a religion thats "private" like christianity, "public" religion is okay for a religion that doenst proselytize, like Judaism, but when you both proselytize AND has is a "public" religion, thats bad.
Not sure I follow the logic.
I guess that makes LDS unAmerican though - I mean they wont drink COFFEE, and to me thats more essentially american than pork. and damn, they sure do try to expand.
Also, note well, there are a FEW Reform Jews who think the discouragement of proselytizing is wrong, and IIUC not all of them eat pork ;)
#26
Duh, the taxi drivers of Tel Aviv, who make a good part of their living cause theres no bus service on Shabbat, in a mainly secular city, also say hi.
as do the folks who fly to Cyprus to get married when their marriages are forbidden by halacha, cause theres no civil marriage in ISrael, also say hi.
But anyway, thats not really what you meant is it? Not the fact that alcohol is banned in muslim countries (as it is in many US cities and counties) or other such things, but the belief in aggressively taking over non-muslim countries and THEN imposing sharia on them, and not just minor stuff, like no booze, but deeply political stuff, like forms of punishment, blasphemy laws, etc. That latter tendency among the Jihadists has no equivalent among Jews, or even Mormons, I agree.
But Im not convinced the majority of french or Dutch muslims support it either, and I dont think the stuff mous was saying showed that it is. Im also not sure that a dutch population registrar noting that Abu Abdullah got married to BOTH fatima abdullah, AND aisha Abdullah, back in Rabat, necessarily means that the Mooselimbs are about to force the Dutchies to stop drinking heineken. Its a complex area of law, and may have been misdecided by the local registrar, I agree, but its not eurabia.
#27
In reference to the article lotp posted, I think we can agree it is not a good thing for a Western nation to allow a select group to openly flout a culturally significant law, and benefit from that flouting. In this case, the equal treatment of men and women under the law, and the sparing of offspring from the psychological dangers of the harem -- or do the Dutch plan to allow women to bring in spare husbands, too? I think we can assume that the purpose of recognizing these formerly illegal wives is to allow welfare benefits to the extra wives and their children when the husbands cannot or will not support them financially. Will the Dutch then go on to support the unmarried mistresses of those who can attract them, on the grounds that the men would have engaged in polygamous marriages had it been available... or is this something that will only be available to those reared in a culture of polygamy?
#28
"They are simply acknowledged. It is important for us to check that the documents are authentic and that the husband does not have Dutch nationality." Otherwise the construction is illegal, Verhoeven explained."
Its not clear from the article WHAT is done as a result of the registration.
thought experiment for you, TW. Abu married Fatima in Rabat. Abu married aisha in Rabat. The three of them move to Amsterdam. Abu divorces Fatima, in accord with Dutch law. Abu DOES NOT divorce Aisha. Abu attempts to marry Christina. Aisha complains that Abu is commiting bigamy. Abu rejectst that, saying his marriage to Aisha has no standing in Dutch law, since it was a second marriage.
How do you decide?
Note, this is not an idle question, it comes up in halacha - sometimes being lenient makes you strict, and being strict makes you lenient (again issues of intermarriage and bigamy and proper divorce and annulled marriages and all that)
Without a full explanation of what the implications are, which the article does not provide us, I wont make assumptions.
#29
I recall the heated discussion of teh evil mooselimbs trying to keep an NGO from giving pork to poor frenchies, and it turned out they were doing a pork soup kitchen in a mainly muslim neighborhood, with fairly obvious intentions to insult.
Nope, this was indeed a clever agitprop by a rightwing group, BUT, this was not set in a muslim 'hood (this would not have been physically possible, simply put), this was just it, a soup for homeless with pork and red wine - and the stomping was not done by muslims but by the power-that-be, who have curiously no problem allowing jewish or muslim-only soup. Intent of the move was to expose the double standards, and it worked.
For some reason I keep trying to connect this to the 'up you ally' deal in san fran - must have something to do with government breaking its own laws for its own political expediency. That of course is a breach of contract with the citizens and erodes the faith in government; the governors no longer consider themselves accountable to its citizens or to their duty as representatives of state and obligation.
I think what A5089 meant is that the soup must be acceptable for everyone or it is not allowed. That attitude is in the USA as well though not as mean (as stated it may have been a bait but it was a NGO which the government forced its influence upon) but with a smile (not everyone likes to play tag so nobody can play tag).
#32
I think that some wits ought to turn this on its ear by having a woman marry four men, just to make sport. It would be especially good if she is a leather "master" type and they dress up like "slaves".
If they really wanted to be over the top, they could make a video of them wearing masks, the men wearing Mohammed masks. With her spanking them and making them eat pork chops for being naughty.
#33
thought experiment for you, TW. Abu married Fatima in Rabat. Abu married aisha in Rabat. The three of them move to Amsterdam. Abu divorces Fatima, in accord with Dutch law. Abu DOES NOT divorce Aisha. Abu attempts to marry Christina. Aisha complains that Abu is commiting bigamy. Abu rejectst that, saying his marriage to Aisha has no standing in Dutch law, since it was a second marriage.
I think that's why the rabbis decided to outlaw polygamy, supergalitz. ;-) Were I to rule on it, I'd say that Abu could only bring one wife with him, not both. The situation of the second wife back home is a matter between him, her, and their families, but has no legal standing in the monogamous country. Likewise, the second wife's objections to Abu's divorce and remarriage in the monogamous country are not a concern for the Law there, although I personally would not be willing to marry someone with a pre-existing wife back home. However, divorce of the first wife does not make Abu less bigamous when he takes a third, as this is not a case of serial monogamy, but of serial bigamy, which is illegal in the monogamous country. Wife number three thus would have a legal case against Abu, although wife #2 would not as she has no legal standing to bring suit in the monogamous country. I've done this particular thought exercise before. ;-)
Being nonjudgemental of those who are different is all very nice, but not when one or the other way really is better... or worse.
#34
I think that's why the rabbis decided to outlaw polygamy, supergalitz.
only the ashkenazim did. the sephardim allowed it till modern times.
anyway, outlawing polygamy doesnt entirelyavoid the problem. There are many complications introduced by civil divorce, intermarriage, etc.
as for Aisha, I did not specify that she was "brought" by Abu. She simply decided to migrate to the NL, bought a ticket like anyone else. So now she IS in the NL. I think ignoring her prior marriage to Abu is going to have to mean you allow him to remarry and give her no option, which seems unfair as her marriage was completely legal WHERE it was entered into.
this isnt about being nonjudgemental between different CULTURES - its about dealing with problems created by differences between different national LAWS.
IIUC there are many situations where a country recognizes marriages which would not be legal to perform in that country.
#35
It is my understanding that American law requires that before entering into a marriage here, all previous spouses must be divorced. Marriages that have taken place under foreign laws are considered to be pre-existing. So if I am correct, Abu would have to legally divorce both Fatima and Aisha before he could marry Christina, and come to an agreement on divorce settlements and support for all the children. Nonetheless, here only Fatima would be given legal rights as Abu's wife, and only her children would have standing as legal children. Ignoring, of course, those in New York City who chose to wink at the law when handing out welfare to the poor multiple wives and children that Somalian idiot kept in the same apartment building until it caught fire a few years ago... and his compatriots who boasted about similarly gaming the system.
Is this unfair to Aisha and her children? Yes, until Abu is forced to divorce her. However, you said nothing about Aisha mustering law and family connections to force Abu to divorce her back home, before she joined him and Fatima over here (or in Amsterdam or wherever), which would make the whole thing moot. What benefit did she see in coming to a land where she and her children have no legal standing? For that matter, why did she not force the issue by suing him for bigamy once they settled here, and making him provide support for her and their children, so that they would neither be in legal limbo nor a burden on the State?
Admittedly I haven't read the article, so I don't know how the Dutch plan to handle this, nor whether they are recognizing pre-immigration polygamy or allowing a certain group of men to legally marry multiple women in Holland. The second should be anathema, the first is a bit more complicated but can be handled.
#36
However, you said nothing about Aisha mustering law and family connections to force Abu to divorce her back home, before she joined him and Fatima over here (or in Amsterdam or wherever), which would make the whole thing moot.
Her whole family died in a tragic accident, she has no more connections. What benefit did she see in coming to a land where she and her children have no legal standing?
see above. Plus she has a REALLY big thing for windmills and wooden shoes. And for freedom, dont forget that.
For that matter, why did she not force the issue by suing him for bigamy once they settled here, and making him provide support for her and their children, so that they would neither be in legal limbo nor a burden on the State?
first, of course, I said nothing about being a burden on the state. There is nothing in what I said, nor in the linked article saying this has ANYTHING to do with eligibility for welfare. Lets assume it does not. In fact given NL generous social services, it seems to me quite reasonable that it does not. They might well give social supports to anyone without regard to marital status.
second, why doesnt she sue to avoid legal limbo? Well cause she likes the dude, and she had no particular problem with the first wife (we can specify that teh first wife is her cousin, if that makes it more credible) Or simply that her mind was opened after teh first wife was divorced. Or simply that she considered a marriage contracted in Rabat just fine, cause that was the custom there, but to be bigamized in Amsterdam was a totally different matter. as for kids, she has none. Cause I say so.
#37
so I don't know how the Dutch plan to handle this, nor whether they are recognizing pre-immigration polygamy or allowing a certain group of men to legally marry multiple women in Holland
at most its the first, as the part i quoted indicates. Its not even clear that they will recognize the foreign multiple marriages for ALL purposes.
#38
After the Murder arrest of African American militant, Rap Brown, it was disclosed that he had married 2 ladies in islamic ceremonies. It didn't come out until the issue came up of care of his property when he was in prison. Many more of these shariah arrangements are concealed.
#40
I need to get hooked up with that. But play it straight and have a wife that's a lawyer, one that's a doctor, one that's a hedge fund manager, ect, ect, ect. Then you got something. Not just a house full of circumcised burka babes.
#41
Talmudic hairsplitting aside, IMO there really is a larger issue here that needs recognizing.
In the late 90s the Moslem Brotherhood called for Muslims to chip away at western societies until full Shari'a could be imposed.
This past year a very senior Islamicist theoretician, Sheik Abu-Bakar Naji, published his new book Edarat al-Wahsh (Governance in the Wilderness) in which he urges a program of decentralized attacks by Muslims on non-Muslim societies through lawfair, use of Western welfare and human rights mechanisms and low-level violence. Non-Islamicist societies must, he says, be turned into 'wildernesses' where no one can feel safe or secure unless they live by Shari'a practices.
In order to achieve such an effect, one must first chip away at being a small numeric and cultural minority. Polygamous marriage recognition is exactly this sort of chipping away at Western society, especially when it consists of *officials* ignoring the explicit law of the land.
There has been no debate in Netherlands about the law and whether it should be changed. There has been no consent by the people. Instead, there has been a covert submission by officials to implicit and often explicit demands.
The Netherlands isn't the only place this is happening. The brazen welfare frauds committed in the UK by Abu Hamza al-Masri, drawing substantial welfare payments each year while somehow being able to own a very expensive home, originally caused an outcry when it was uncovered. Shortly afterwards a British law lord ruled that the government could not cut off those benefits. Nor has he yet to be extradited to face trial in the US --- a battle that has been going on for over 4 years now.
Looking at the twigs on the trees misses the forest. The rule of law and public consent are key elements in western civilization. Our law codes conflict with Shari'a and with tribal customs such as forced marriage of underage girls, female circumcision and honor killings. Insofar as we do not strongly defend our way of life it WILL be eroded beyond recovery.
#42
There has been no debate in Netherlands about the law and whether it should be changed. There has been no consent by the people. Instead, there has been a covert submission by officials to implicit and often explicit demands.
its not clear that FROM the article whether this was about demands, admin convenience or what.
And Im sorry, but you have to look at leaves to see if the forest is there.
welfare fraud existed long before there were muslim immigrants in the west. as did bureucrats holding themselves above legislators, esp in Europe.
I insisnt on examining leaves because Ive seen too many distortions to trust folks telling me about the forest.
I note in your penultimate sentence you included customs that are widely held to be against Sharia. And use that as a basis for the assertion that Sharia in general is incompatible with our law codes.
SOME items of Sharia ARE incompatible with "our law codes" some items of the law codes of the US are incompatible with the law codes of european countries. of course, or theyd be the same law code.
The real question is whether muslims who consider themselvs to be following Sharia can live in accordance with the laws of non-muslim countries that dont recognize Shari, non-muslim countries that DO recognize it, and muslim countries that are predominantly secular. The answer to all three is a resounding YES - hundreds of thousands of observant muslims live in the US and obey US law, despite the lack of explicit recognintion of Sharia. Other muslims live in non-muslims states that partially recognize Sharia, notably india and Israel, both states that have avoided the imposition of sharia on non-muslim citizens (i am, needless to say, much mroe familair with the status of Sharia in Israel than in India) and there are muslims who live in more or less secular muslim states from Morocco to indonesia.
THAT is the forest.
The Sharia phobia thing is getting very tiresome.
I hate radical islamists with a passion. I have real issues with "moderate" muslims, notably their willingness to selectively excuse atrocities that support certain political movements. But the notion that there is a serious movement to impose Sharia on the non-muslim world by the muslims who live there, has very little real world support outside of maybe Britain, and not even as much there as some think.
Saying it is so, at great length, does not a proof make.
I've cited one recent influential force who has laid out such a course of action. I've referred with out detailed citation to another, whose validity can easily be checked online.
A French citizen comments thoughtfully and with some nuance on matters in his country and you contradict him without any facts or experience to back it up.
You've sidestepped both of us -- and others here -- to offer generalized assertions at great length without data. From the number of comments you've made today, it would appear you intend to substitute volume for content. Not very persuasive.
#44
Im sorry if ive posted too much, Ive been away from here a long time.
My opinions on muslim behavior and opinion in the west is based on hundreds of things ranging from my personal observations of people I know, to reports in all different kinds of media, to my study of history, to very nuanced reports from individuals who live in europe and who wouldnt be caught dead posting here. I dont have cites at my fingertips sorry - Ive come here mainly to discuss Georgia and found myself distracted by this thread. You can choose to disbelieve me, if you wish, there would be nothing unreasonable if you did. I can only give you my word I am sincere, for what its worth.
I have tried to focus on the actual article you posted, and I think I have demonstrated there is not much there. When i do so, you complain that I am focusing on leaves and missing the forest. Well the forest necessarily is something impressionistic and my impressions are quite different from yours.
Yes, I understand some Imam thinks muslims should be trying to impose Sharia. I happen to be aware (from Bernard Lewis, amogn other sources)that the problem of muslims living in non-muslim states is along standing problem for muslim theologians. Its NOT clear to me that the fatwas on that matter are really of much import to the vast majority of muslims living in the west. In fact I strongly beleivethey are not.
are the actions of a small minority of western muslims from gang rapes to terror acts something to be reviled and opposed? Of course. Does it mean there is real danger of Europe being lost? That question is dependent on how many muslims support those things, and how that is changing over age cohorts. It cant be answered by studying fatwas.
as for the frenchman here, his views of what constitutes "assimilation" are so different from mine (the discussion of halal etc that you lost patience with) that his assertion that most young muslims in France arent assimilated is not relevant. Its great hes there to empirically measure things (assuming of course, he really does spend time in the banlieus - my informant on a differnt site DID spend such time, and came to rather different conclusions, and also asserted that many frenchmen do NOT spend much time in the banlieus and do not have accurate views of what goes on there) but if hes not measuring what we agree is important - not how many muslims keep halal, but how many want to change french law to allow things like plural marriage - than his data is misleading.
#46
At Partition, India assumed constitutional protection for Shariah. Yes, Muslim polygamy is allowed in India. And the Muslim education curriculum imposes Arabic and Islamic studies requiring 30% of a student's time. Google "Muslim Personal Law" if you doubt that our muslims demand piecemeal shariah in the West. Warning: doing the search will challenge stereotypes.
Some Muslim groups work for regulations against sales of alcohol in public universities; and they want halal food and dar-islam mosque privileges.
(AKI) - Three suspected jihadist terrorists accused of sending fighters to Afghanistan and Iraq on Tuesday denied all accusations against them when they appeared before a judge in the northern city of Bologna.
"Lies! All lies!"
The three North African immigrants rejected evidence against them gathered from police phone taps, claiming the taped phone conversations had been taken out of context.
"No, no, certainly not!"
The suspects also said money collected at local mosques (zakat or alms in Arabic) had only been used for the mosque and to help fellow Muslims facing economic hardship - not to fund Jihad (holy war) as investigators allege.
Just some alms for the Widows Ammunition Fund ...
Some of the zakat had been given to Tunisian national Khalil Jarraya, who was unemployed and in Italy illegally as he did not have a valid permit of stay, the suspects said. Investigators claim Jarraya was the ringleader of the alleged international terrorist cell, five of whose members were arrested on Saturday.
Investigators also allege that the suspected cell members sent money to Bosnian groups with links to terror organisations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Jarraya was known as the 'colonel' due to his experience in fighting in the Bosnian civil war of 1992-1995,
Police arrested Jarraya, three other Tunisians and a Moroccan during operations in Bologna and the nearby towns of Imola and Faenza that broke up the alleged cell. A sixth suspect is still at large. He avoided arrest because he had returned to his home country for personal reasons.
Like, for example, to avoid being arrested ...
Investigators say the alleged cell members were prepared to wage Jihad and carry out suicide attacks, but meanwhile were involved in proselytising and logistical support. Investigators suspect the alleged cell had ideological ties to Al-Qaeda although it did not appear to be associated with any terrorist organisation.
That's because you haven't looked hard enough ...
This article starring:
Khalil Jarraya
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Europe
One of the first U.S. Army deserters from Iraq to seek refugee status in Canada has been ordered deported. Jeremy Hinzman said Wednesday he was ordered out of the country by Sept. 23 by Canada's Border Services Agency.
Hinzman deserted the Army from Fort Bragg, N.C., in 2004 after learning his unit was to be deployed to Iraq. He refused to participate in what he calls an immoral and illegal war. Hinzman, 29, fled to Canada with his wife and son after he was ordered to deploy to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division in December 2003. He likely faces military charges in the U.S.
"I'm disappointed, but I think that every soldier that has refused to fight in Iraq has done a good thing and I'm not ashamed," Hinzman said moments after learning of the decision.
Hinzman said reasons were given for the decision but he hadn't gone over them yet. "I don't know how political it was. I had a high profile case," Hinzman said.
Hasn't reviewed the ruling yet but able nonetheless to complain and whine. How typical ...
The Immigration and Refugee Board rejected his claim in 2005 and the Federal Court of Appeal held that he wouldn't face any serious punishment if returned to the United States. Hinzman took his pleas to the Supreme Court of Canada, which also refused to hear the case.
Hinzman fled in January 2004. He had served three years in the Army, but had applied for conscientious objector status before his unit was sent to Afghanistan in 2002 where he served in a non-combat position.
Last month, Robin Long became the first resister to the U.S war effort in Iraq to be removed by Canadian authorities. There are about 200 American deserters believed to have come to Canada trying to avoid service in Iraq. So far, Canadian immigration officials and the courts have rejected efforts to grant them refugee status.
#1
Although written during the Civil War, E.E. Hale's story, "A Man Without a Country" details the appropriate punishment for this scum. NEVER let him or his family ever set foot on American soil again. Don't waste the time trying him, just banish the bastard and let him see how he likes being a citizen of the world.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/13/2008 16:33 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Some sort of pathetic, adolescent hillbilly punishment is warranted here. Send him to my house, we'll get drunk on whiskey and come up with something truly despicable.
#4
The time to decide you are a conscientious objector is before you enlist. Volunteer to be a corpsman. That way you can save lives, not take them, and satisfy your conscience.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/13/2008 19:16 Comments ||
Top||
The Air Force is about to suspend its controversial effort to reorganize its forces to "dominate" cyberspace. The provisional, 8,000-man Cyber Command has been ordered to stop all activities, just weeks before it was supposed to be declared operational.
Transfers of manpower and resources, including activation and reassignment of units, shall be halted, according to an internal e-mail obtained by Nextgov's Bob Brewin -- and confirmed by Air Force sources. Instead, the Air Force's new leadership -- including incoming Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz -- will be given time to rethink how big the command will be, and what exactly it will do.
The suspension is yet another body blow to a service already reeling from a series of hits in recent months. Nuclear weapons have been mishandled; major contracts -- including one for a fleet of new tanker planes -- have been botched; the Air Force's civilian and military leaders have been ousted by the Secretary of Defense; a top general apparently committed suicide.
"I am surprised, but not that surprised, given the turmoil in the Air Force," cybersecurity specialist (and former Air Force Captain) Richard Bejtlich tells Danger Room. "It makes sense for new leadership to want to pause and evaluate major projects like Cyber Command before moving forward. The Air Force is facing severe challenges right now, so leadership may want to consolidate its resources before expanding the AF cybermission."
But even if everything all was calm at the Air Force, Cyber Command's path was far from clear. At a June conference , the command's emerging leaders couldn't agree on what exactly the new unit would do. Some said the command's mission would be the "protection and defense of the Air Force's command and control abilities." Others argued that the "mission is to control cyberspace both for attacks and defense." (The service even changed its mission statement to read, "As Airmen, it is our calling to dominate Air, Space, and Cyberspace.") Some believed the Cyber Command would only be responsible for computer networks. Others thought it'd be responsbile for every system that had anything to do with the electromagnetic spectrum -- up to and including laser weapons.
Heavy-breathing television ads, hyping the nascent command's abilities and scope, only added to the confusion. And within the military, the command was blasted for being duplicative -- and maybe even a cheap internal power grab. As Brewin notes, "The hard sell may have been the undoing of the Cyber Command, which seemed to be a grab by the Air Force to take the lead role in cyberspace."
USAF was hard hit by the Clinton purges and PC general promotions. We're paying for it now that the service's role is under strain due to external events.
#2
USAF was hard hit by the Clinton purges and PC general promotions. We're paying for it now that the service's role is under strain due to external events.
They aren't the only ones (the Navy's up to, what, 12 COs relieved for cause), but it's worse for the USAF.
#4
You can start here to answer that question phil.
USAF builds, launches and operates DOD's comms satellites. That's the basis for claiming the mission. The problem is, in part, that cyber defense itself is DISA's turf. Offensive cyber operations are another matter tho.
HILLSBOROUGH - Mohammed Taheri-Azar pleaded guilty this morning to nine counts of attempted first-degree murder charges stemming from a March 2006 incident in which he drove a rented SUV into a crowd of people on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. As part of a plea bargain, prosecutors dropped nine counts of aggravated felonious assault charges.
According to a plea transcript, Superior Court Judge Carl Fox indicated in a pre-trial conference with attorneys that he would be willing to consolidate the nine charges into two attempted murder charges for sentencing purposes.
Taheri-Azar will likely face 21 to 33 years in prison. Fox scheduled his sentencing for Aug. 26 at 9:30 a.m.
Because Taheri-Azar has been unpredictable with his legal representation, Woodall wanted to separate the sentencing from this hearing so victims could be sure Taheri-Azar was going to plead guilty before arranging their schedules to appear in court. Woodall said he expects seven of the nine victims will testify about their physical and emotional injuries at the sentencing hearing.
Over the past couple of years, Taheri-Azar has tried to fire his court-appointed attorney, been committed to a mental institution and asked to be released so he could move to California to work for his father.
Taheri-Azar was released from Dorothea Dix Hospital last month and is in custody at North Carolina Central Prison.
#1
I wonder why groups like the Islamic Thinkers Society, openly support al-Qaeda in public rallies. Two weeks before 9-11, a Texas ISP dropped the website of the Islamic Circle of North America, because of complaints of open recruitment for jihad training in Afghanistan. And work by CAIR and the ISNA for the Gitmo terrorists, suggests willingnes to embrace their kind in mainstream Islam.
#3
LOTP: Nice catch...but be careful: if you bring these sorts of articles to our attention you could be labeled an anti-islamic bigot. You know...there are so many moderate muslims out there and so few radicals (oddly enough all of whom subscribe to the same ideology).
Tw is correct. CAIR does live off large donations from the KSA. It has for a long time. CAIR's "official" membership rolls shrunk post 9-11. Does that make CAIR pro-American and moderate? I think not.
Were CAIR's rank and file displeased with the behavior of their co-religionists on 9-11? No. I'm hard pressed to recall CAIR condemning by name OBL and his fellow muslim jihadis. Did CAIR condemn the celebrations and parties in the West Bank and Gaza post 9-11? No. CAIR held their parties. Discreetly.
Oh wait...maybe Mr. Hooper (CAIR's TV Rep) did go on television to say that "what happened on 9-11 was not right...in fact it was "wrong". Something to that effect.
But I came away from CAIR's statement wondering;
Did Mr. Hooper say that what took place on 9-11 was immoral? No, he did not. He did say that what took place on 9-11 was wrong and not right. Bravo, Mr. Hooper.
In the sense that it was "wrong" and "imprudent" to wake a sleeping giant is what I gleamed from Mr. Hooper. No need to worry Mr. Hooper. Many in the land of the giant still sleep. Too many.
I have no evidence to offer this audience that the membership rolls of CAIR shrank post 9-11 because there were so many wonderful moderate muslims in the USA who were sickened by their co-religionsits killing for the sake of their prophet, their koran, their religion. Old Spook says he knows many moderate muslims and just but a few radicals. He knows 'em personally so his opinion matters more than mine. I guess.
OS - did you ever ask the moderate muslims you say you know what they did post 9-11 and what they're doing NOW (and for the past 7 years)to combat mainstream orthodox islam - oops- sorry- meant to say - radical islam? I define moderate muslim as one not actively trying to kill me while (being supportive of) their radical co-religionsits who is trying to kill me?
ANY so-called muslim who is not practising, who is not observant, who disagrees with any of the dicatates of the koran is an apostate and not a true muslim. Get that straight people. Not my defination It's islam's definition, like it or not.
TW - damn right the membership rolls of CAIR fell off post 9-11. The muslims didn't want their names, addresses, and telephone numbers known to the sheepdogs. Here's hoping the sheepdogs have a list of CAIR's membership pre-911.
Best we can hope for is that the sheepdogs have not been infiltrated (very, very doubtful) and that they don't go soft and begin to suck up to the wolves in lamb's clothing.
Oh, almost forgot... that's right: Just like McZoid, I'm a paranoid anti-muslim bigot. I mean, hey, it's not like the USA or Eurpoe has ever faced a mortal enemy and was infiltrated by that same enemy, right? Hell man, you bigot MarkZ, you got your moderate nazis and you got your radical nazis. You got your moderate commies and you got your radical commies. You got your moderate muslims and you got your radical muslims We can never be infiltrated by the enemy. Could never happen. "Could neva happen...." Just cuz they ALL want YOU dead in the LONG run (per their ideology) doesn't mean a damn thing, right?
#4
Contrary to the assertions, I do know 'moderate muslims'.
I also know the pressure they're under from radicals, the way in which they feel torn between those demands, their homesickness and the freedom they have here.
I linked this article because it comes from a top US official and represents a sober warning of the domestic threat we are facing.
It is not out of the question that we will see IED attempts within the US. If they occur, it won't create guilt for all US muslims. But it will most likely involve some -- quite likely converts of one sort or another.
Police shot dead at least 18 people in Indian-held Kashmir on Tuesday amid Muslim protests against what they termed an economic blockade by Hindus over a land row.
The authorities imposed a curfew in all ten districts of the Indian-held Kashmir Valley for the first time in 13 years, but about 200,000 people marched to the Eidgah graveyard for the funeral of senior Hurriyat Conference (HC) leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who was killed along with five other protesters when police fired at a demonstration on Monday.
Geelani and Mirwaiz: Earlier on Tuesday, thousands of people stormed HC leader Syed Ali Geelani's house where he is under house arrest. The mob attacked police personnel and freed Geelani.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was also under house arrest, was released later. Both the leaders led separate processions and attended the burial. They called for peace and communal harmony.
Army was called out in the curfew-bound Kishtwar in the Jammu area, after two men were killed and 20 injured in communal clashes, police firing and a grenade attack, officials said.
Security forces fired at protesters in parts of the valley killing three people in the Aribal area in Bandipora district, three in Lasjan in the outskirts of Srinagar, two in the Bagh-e-Mehtab area and one each in the Rainawari and Zoonimar areas in Srinagar area, and the Ganderbal and Anantnag districts, official sources said.
Regarding the Bandipora killings, Indian defence spokesman Lt Col Mathur said the army fired in self-defence as the protesters tried to storm their camp.
Thousands of people held protests in the town of Uri despite a curfew and attempted to cross the Line of Control (LoC), but police and army stopped them.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
The Pakistan embassy has formally asked the United States government to repatriate Dr Aafia Siddiqui to Pakistan where she will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
What's that word I'm trying to think of? It's right on the tip of my tongue... Oh, yes. No.
It is unlikely that Pakistan's request will be accepted, since the charge levied against the Pakistani scientist is that she attacked US security personnel with a gun in a Kabul holding facility. The embassy has also asked the US prison authorities not to subject Siddiqui to strip searches, since they are demeaning in the Pakistani and Islamic culture.
We'll keep that in mind next time Pak primitives are parading somebody naked down the street.
There is also a move to have the government bear the expenses of her defence. Her family lawyer and a court-appointed one are helping Siddiqui at present. On the advice of her lawyer, Siddiqui did not answer any of the questions put to her by the two embassy officials who met her. They asked her about her whereabouts since her disappearance from Karachi five years ago, the whereabouts of her children and if she had been in detention all along. The US has claimed that she was arrested in Kabul only on July 17.
Siddiqui told the embassy officials that she was grateful to the Pakistan government for having come forward to assist her and thanked the officers who had spent more than two hours with her. Siddiqui was on Tuesday examined by a medical doctor at the Metropolitican Detention Centre according to sources. The order for providing a doctor to examine Siddiqui within 24 hours was given by a US judge at her bail hearing on Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
from Bill Riggio at longwar journal: Al Qaeda operative Aafia Siddiqui had detailed maps of New York City and list list of potential targets in her possession when she was captured in Afghanistan last month. She also was carrying detailed chemical, biological, and radiological weapon information as well as a thumb drive filled with emails.
#5
tipover: I think you mean "Colombia". For a second there, I was wondering what secret role Columbia University was playing in the anti-terror war.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/13/2008 12:46 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Hey Pakis - Trade ya for Bin Ladin.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
08/13/2008 14:36 Comments ||
Top||
#7
At least she got to talk to the embassy in accordance with "international law". That way, if we decide to execute her, they can't complain that her rights were violated, like with that Mexican rapist/murderer that Texas put down last week.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/13/2008 19:20 Comments ||
Top||
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Tuesday condemned the bomb blast in Peshawar, which resulted in the deaths of 13 people.
In a statement, Qazi demanded an immediate end to all military operations and called for the solving of issues through peaceful means. He said the bomb blasts were the result of the continuation of President Pervez Musharraf's policies. Qazi offered prayers for the victims and the early recovery of the wounded; he also offered his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
Jaish-e-Islami on Tuesday threatened to carry out bombings across Pakistan if the government did not stop operations in Swat and the Tribal Areas, reported Geo News.
According to the channel, Jaish chief Waliur Rehman, however, did not claim responsibility of Kohat blast but said it could be reaction to operations against the Taliban. According to the channel, he said more such attacks would be carried out in other parts of the country but Multan would be their "favourite" target.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Jaish-ul-Islami Pakistan
India is concerned that impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf may leave a "big vacuum" that will give freedom to radical extremist elements to do "what they like in this country". In the first significant comments by anyone from the Indian government on the imminent impeachment process in Pakistan, India's National Security Adviser MK Narayanan said it is the political vacuum that exists there that "greatly worries us".
In an interview to Singapore daily The Straits Times, he said it was not important for India whether Musharraf was impeached or not. "But it leaves a big vacuum and we are deeply concerned about this vacuum because it leaves the radical extremist outfits with freedom to do what they like, not merely on the Pak-Afghan border but clearly on our side of the border too," Narayanan said. "Like nature abhors a vacuum, we abhor the political vacuum that exists in Pakistan. It greatly worries us," he said.
Maintaining that the situation was evolving in a manner that nobody could quite reach a conclusion, Narayanan said India thought Musharraf's impeachment might not take place. "And if at all he has to go, he will be allowed to go in grace and some sort of a compromise would be reached. Obviously that is not happening. Nawaz Sharif is very angry and there is no doubt about it," he said.
He said a large number of people in the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) were unhappy about former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination and most of them correctly attributed it to intelligence agencies. "While Zardari may be more conciliatory towards Musharraf the general temper seems otherwise," he said.
Narayanan said India would not abandon Afghanistan in the wake of the attack on its mission in Kabul saying New Delhi and the rest of the world were not prepared for it. India would "strengthen security very substantially" for its mission in Kabul, he said. "Quite obviously Pakistan wishes to be the only country in Afghanistan so it can have Afghanistan as its client state," he said.
He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made it extremely clear to Pakistan at the recent SAARC summit in Colombo without raising his voice that "it could not be business as usual". "I think the message went home. Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani got the message." Coming from Dr Singh, it had the "most devastating effect," he said.
The security adviser noted that one had to wait and see what Gilani could deliver. He said India was maintaining and would like to emphasise the importance of the composite dialogue.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
PESHAWAR - Lawmakers in the NWFP (North-West Frontier Province) Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday calling upon President Parvez Musharaf to take a vote of confidence from his electoral college or submit his resignation immediately. The move came a day after lawmakers in the Punjab province passed a similar resolution calling on the former army chief to seek a vote of confidence from Parliament and provincial lawmakers or resign.
The NWFP Assembly called upon the Parliament to issue a notice of impeachment under Article 47 if the preisent fails to get the vote of confidence. The resolution moved by parliamentary leaders from four different political parties was backed by 107 in the house of 124 and opposed only by four MPAs from Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League, Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q). All MPAs from Pakistan PeopleÕs Party (Sherpao) supported the resolution against Musharraf.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
ISLAMABAD - A close aide of President Pervez Musharraf met Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and asked him to allow Ôsafe passageÕ to the president, a TV channel reported here on Tuesday. The Pakistan-based channel quoting its sources said that while Zardari is willing to allow 'safe passageÕ to Musahrraf, former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif insists that ÒMusharraf must pay for all the crimes he committed during the past nine yearsÓ.
Speaking to a group of members of the provincial cabinet and the party MPAs from Sindh, Zardari said all four provincial assemblies will adopt separate resolutions asking Musharraf to step down, or seek a vote of confidence failing which he would have to face impeachment motion.
Zardari has said that the decision to impeach President Musharraf had been taken with consensus among the four partners in the coalition.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
ISLAMABAD (August 13 2008): The United States of America (USA) has turned down Pakistan's request for budgetary and balance of payments support, sources in the government told Business Recorder. The budget for fiscal year 2008-09 has envisaged a deficit of 4.7 percent, which is unlikely to be met as the Finance Minister had remained vague about revenue sources identified in the budget.
At the same time, expenditure in general and subsidies in particular are unlikely to be curtailed, given the increase in the number of those living below poverty line due to rising inflationary pressures. Balance of payments position is also unlikely to improve if oil prices remain high in the international market. Therefore, any increase in exports, forecast at 15 percent for 2008-09 in the trade policy announced by Ahmed Mukhtar, is not expected to provide the necessary cushion to absorb the rise in the import bill.
Given the two deficits ie budget and trade deficit, the request by Pakistan government to the US team to extend assistance for budgetary support reflected its deep concerns over impending economic crisis. Sources said that Pakistan's request for further financial assistance had been placed before the US team, which was present in the Finance Ministry on Monday, for the third US-Pakistan economic dialogue, but the response was not encouraging.
"Pakistan's economy is in a serious condition, and the government has not prepared any contingency plan," sources quoted the leader of the US team, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, Daniel S Sullivan, as commenting.
The US team was also of the view that Pakistan is not aggressively seeking foreign and local investors, who are nervous due to the current state of political and economic affairs, sources said. "It was a very disappointing round of talks between the US and Pakistan as nothing was achieved in real terms," they added.
Oh, I dunno - sounds like a message was conveyed.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
What a disappointment this must be for Mr. Pure Pakistan, who posted here yesterday.
#2
What, we don't give them enough already? Cut the bastards off entirely. You've got to give them credit for chutzpah, though. Bunch of two-faced, lying, jihadi-supporting wankers - asking for more money. Here's an idea: stop paying the talibs, ISI, etc. Then you won't be short.
BAGHDAD (AP) - Five years after bombings forced the United Nations to pull out of Iraq, the world body is back. It announced plans Wednesday to help Iraq rebuild and create jobs following complaints the government has been unable or unwilling to spend its oil riches.
An agreement signed by the U.N. and the Iraqi government outlined a series of steps to help the Iraqis improve spending. The U.N. will also aid in the funding of reconstruction, development and humanitarian projects.
With a budget of $2.2 billion through 2010, the U.N. hopes to use its know-how to train Iraqi bureaucrats and create incentives to develop the country's private sector. One of the main goals is to create jobs in a country where widespread unemployment especially in areas outside of Baghdad could undermine recent security gains if young men lose hope in their futures and turn to extremism.
The ambitious plans came ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Aug. 19, 2003, bombing at the U.N.'s Baghdad headquarters that killed 22 people, including top U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
The United Nations pulled out of Iraq in October 2003 after a second bombing at the organization's hotel headquarters and a spate of attacks on humanitarian workers.
It maintained a presence with Iraqi employees and allowed 35 international staffers to return in August 2004 but operations were sharply curtailed.
The current U.N. envoy to Iraq, Staffan di Mistura, said it was time to change that.
"There are moments when we wonder whether all this was worthwhile or not," he said at a memorial ceremony Wednesday. "I can tell you that what we are doing at the moment is sending a signal that the U.N. is back. The U.N. is back to stay."
As security has improved over the past year, the U.N. has steadily been raising its profile here. Di Mistura's deputy, David Shearer, said the organization currently has 140 international staffers around the country.
4,000 strong Kurdish brigade refusing Iraqi defence ministry orders to pull out of Diyala province.
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Kurdish forces are refusing Iraqi defence ministry orders to pull out of Kurdish-populated areas of Diyala province where they have been deployed for the past two years, their commander said on Wednesday. The 4,000 strong brigade will withdraw only when ordered to do so by the president of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq, said Massoud Barzani, its commander General Nazel Kirkuki.
"The commander of Iraqi ground forces, General Ali Ghidan, asked us to withdraw our forces from the north of Diyala province on August 10 but we've received no ordered from the presidency of autonomous Kurdistan," Kirkuki said. "We have a brigade deployed in the Saadiya, Qara Tapa and Jalawla districts and we are not budging because so far we've received no orders from the (Kurdish regional) presidency to withdraw."
The so-called peshmerga troops made up of Kurdish former rebels have never been integrated into the Iraqi army and continue to operate under the command of the autonomous regional government that holds sway in Iraq's three far northern provinces.
But with US backing, the disciplined and battlehardened troops have deployed elsewhere in Iraq to support the army in its efforts to rein insurgents. "We came to take part in restoring order in the region and since then we've joined numerous operations with US and Iraqi forces," Kirkuki said.
The deployment in northern districts of Diyala province is a sensitive one as they are Kurdish-inhabited and Kurdish leaders have long sought to incorporate them in the autonomous region which they directly abut.
Commanders have long regarded Diyala as Iraq's most dangerous province. Its volatile ethnic mix of Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs and Shiite Kurds has proved fertile ground for insurgents. Since July 29, mainstream Iraqi security forces have been engaged in a major offensive in the province involving 50,000 soldiers and police.
Diyala province is just one of a number of areas where longstanding Kurdish claims have drawn opposition from their non-Kurdish neighbours. Concerns among Arabs and Turkmen about Kurdish claims to the northern oil province of Kirkuk was the main factor behind the Iraqi parliament's failure to adopt a provincial election law in time for polls to go ahead as planned in October.
#1
The Kurdish brigade should remember the Sunni's, Sadr's gang. If Maliki thinks he doesn't have the strength now to take care of them he may back down for a bit. But the trend is going his way and if need be he will use a steamroller to pave the road to a unified Iraq. If I were a Kurd in that army, I would making a B plan.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/13/2008 16:27 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Uh, oh.
This is the last thing Iraq needs right now. The kurds have the juice to make it stick too. I hope the turbans in Baghdad play it straight and try not to piss them off.
(VOI) -- Sacked Diala police chief Ghanim al-Qurayshi said on Tuesday that he was discharged from his post after he cut the number of bodyguards allocated to the city's local council members, whom he branded as "thieves."
"I've cut the bodyguards of the Diala local council members because they exceeded the allowed number," Maj. General Qurayshi told Aswat al-Iraq -- Voices of Iraq -- (VOI). A spokesman for the Iraqi Defense Ministry, Maj. General Muhammad al-Aaskari, had told VOI on Monday that the Diala local council decided to sack Qurayshi, adding the Interior Ministry and the Operation Bashaer al-Kheir (Promise of Good) command in the province did not interfere in the decision.
Meanwhile, most districts in Diala saw massive demonstrations protesting the decision to discharge Quryashi from his post as tribal chiefs and notables held news conferences in which they rejected the decision and expressed support for Qurayshi.
Iraqi security forces, since the end of last July, had launched a military operation codenamed Bashaer al-Kheir to track down gunmen of al-Qaeda network who had been flushed out of the western Iraq predominantly Sunni province of al-Anbar by tribal fighters there.
On Monday the Iraqi Interior Ministry denied that it has sacked Qurayshi from his post, noting Qurayshi "is practicing his daily duties as normal."
"The news reports about discharging Qurayshi were groundless and incorrect," Abdelkareem Khalaf, the head of the interior ministry's National Command Center (NDC), said in statements to VOI. Awf Rahoumi, the deputy governor of Diala province, had earlier told VOI that Qurayshi was sacked, mentioning no reasons for the reported measure.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Thieves" is kind of harsh. Maybe they are just old school Chicago Democrats.
Nowadays, he hides out at the home of an old friend, sleeping on the floor of his living room with his clothes stuffed in a plastic bag. He keeps a pistol tucked in the back of his trousers. His wife and children are staying with relatives. He has no money to rent a home for them.
He is hoping to evade authorities in Najaf, where a turban and clerical robes could conceal his identity. He says the authorities have his name but do not know what he looks like.
Still, Abu Ali refuses to acknowledge the militia's defeat in Sadr City. No army, he said, can prevail over opponents who risk their lives out of loyalty and for their faith.
This piece almost belongs in Opinion as it is a warm-n-fuzzy hagiography of a man "caught in circumstances beyond his control". I am quite amused by the picture at the link of Tater's Tyros looking all fearsome and fierce. Circa 2005. Ima guessing the 2008 pictures don't tell quite the same story.
Abu Ali has had enough of war. Nothing, he insists, can change his mind. Four years ago, the father of five swapped his clerical robes for the black pants and shirts of Muqtada al-Sadr's feared Mahdi Army. Now at 37 and eager to get on with his life, Abu Ali is headed back to the holy city of Najaf to resume his clerical studies.
"I have paid my dues," he said in an interview last week at a hiding place in Baghdad's Sadr City. "It is time to start looking after myself and my family."
But Abu Ali, who gave his nickname because of fears for his family's safety, must remain incognito. As a senior Mahdi Army commander, he is on the Iraqi government's wanted list.
#1
Is Mr. Ali quite, quite certain the Iraqis don't know what he looks like? He must resemble his brother, whose home they have raided. And did his brother burn all those family photos before they burst through the door, as he'd promised? Not to mention that with the publication of this article, all clerical students are now objects of suspicion, which his fellow students will no doubt enjoy immensely.
The Hamas rulers of Gaza on Tuesday lashed out at militants who fire rockets at Israel from the Palestinian territory in violation of a seven-week-old truce, calling them collaborators. "About the rocket-firing, I think those who are responsible are those who collaborate with Israel because there is a consensus by all Palestinian groups to respect the truce," said Mahmoud Zahar, the most influential leader of the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza.
On Monday, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip slammed into an empty field outside the southern Israeli city of Sderot, causing no casualty or damage. Zahar told a Gaza radio station that the party which fired the rocket was "linked to Israel as they provide a pretext to exercise pressure on the Palestinian people."
So now the evil Zionists are rocketing themselves. That might make sense in an Islamic way ...
After the latest firing, Israel on Tuesday closed the Nahal Oz crossing to Gaza that is used to ferry in fuel and the Sufa passage for food deliveries to the impoverished and blockaded territory.
In all, 40 rockets and mortar rounds have been fired from Gaza since a truce between Hamas and Israel went into effect in and around Gaza on June 19, according to the Israeli army. Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in June 2007, insists it is respecting the truce and has vowed to crack down on smaller Palestinian militant movements which still fire at Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
They "blasted" them? Usually that means...something else.
Computer experts from Estonia are travelling to Georgia today to keep the country's networks running amid an intense military confrontation with Russia. Poland has also offered support, allowing Georgia space on its president's Web page to post updates on its ongoing conflict with Russia.
The cooperation between the former Soviet bloc allies is aimed at blunting pro-Russian computer hackers, who have been blamed over the last few years for cyber attacks against Estonia, Lithuania and Georgia in incidents linked to political friction between those nations and Russia.
Two of the four experts that staff Estonia's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) were waiting Tuesday morning in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, seeking permission to drive into Georgia, said Katrin Pärgmäe, communication manager for the Estonian Informatics Centre. The two officials are also bringing humanitarian aid, she said.
From Government Computer News: Networking experts from the Shadowserver Foundation said attackers orchestrated the DDOS assaults with "MachBot" code, which has been used before by Russian-based bot herders. The code uses Hypertext Transfer Protocolthe same protocol used for transmitting Web pagesto communicate with compromised personal computers, often unbeknownst by their owners.
The attacks were similar to those that brought Estonian government Web sites to a standstill in April 2007and in some regards, were predicted by Estonian Undersecretary for Defense Lauri Almann. In a recent GCN interview, Alman said, "There will be a next cyberattack. And governments need to cooperate to overcome those threats."
A Syrian official says the presidents of Lebanon and Syria have agreed to establish full diplomatic relations Buthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, says the decision was made Wednesday during meetings in Damascus.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is on a two-day visit to Syria--the first by a Lebanese head of state in more than three years. Syria and Lebanon haven't had full diplomatic ties since they both gained independence from France in the 1940s.
Lebanon's new national unity government won a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday following a stormy debate among lawmakers on the thorny issue of Hezbollah weapons.
The vote will allow the 30-member cabinet -- which was formed by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora a month ago under a May power-sharing accord that ended a protracted political crisis -- to finally start work. "One hundred MPs have given their confidence to the cabinet, five voted against and two abstained," parliament speaker Nabih Berri announced.
The vote follows the government's drafting of a policy statement which also insists on "the right of Lebanon, its people, its army and its resistance to liberate its land."
The ruling majority in parliament, backed by the West and most Sunni-led Arab states, nevertheless insists on the disarmament of Shiite militia Hezbollah, something vehemently rejected by the group and its political allies. It is the first government to be formed after the crisis between rival factions that degenerated into violence that left 65 dead in May, taking the country to the brink of a new civil war.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei has been summoned by parliament for having made pro-Israeli comments, Iran's ISNA news agency reported Tuesday.
The cultural commission of the parliament has called for a special session on Wednesday with Rahim-Mashaei for him to reply to "questions, ambiguities and criticism" by the deputies over the comments.
The vice-president, who is in charge of cultural heritage and tourism, had said "Iran wants no war with any country, and today Iran is friend of the United States and even Israel.... Our achievements belong to the whole world and should be used for expanding love and peace." He reiterated this position again on Monday.
Reacting to Rahim-Mashaei's comments, parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Monday reiterated that Iran was no friend of the Israelis.
The reaction by the parliament and Larijani was surprising as the Vice President's remarks are in line with the stance of Iran's Islamic system, which distinguishes peoples from governments, including political arch-foes Israel and the United States. Even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has earned himself international notoriety for his frequent verbal assaults on Israel, has several times stressed that he was addressing the Israeli administration and not the Jews, and hence rejected charges of being anti-Semitic.
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.
Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) last night beat up three leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir at Zahurul Haq Hall of Dhaka University (DU).
At least 25 students were injured yesterday in a clash between outsiders of Islami Chhatra Shibir and students of Medical Assistant Training School (MATS) following the latter's protest against the Shibir intruders' selling of admission guides and other publications on the campus. Seriously injured third year student Manash, second year student Russel of MATS and Shibir cadres Shakhawat and Amjad Hossen, both outsiders, were rushed to Noakhali General Hospital.
One of the first U.S. Army deserters from Iraq to seek refugee status in Canada has been ordered deported. Jeremy Hinzman said Wednesday he was ordered out of the country by Sept. 23 by Canada's Border Services Agency. 
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Tuesday condemned the bomb blast in Peshawar, which resulted in the deaths of 13 people. 
Jaish-e-Islami on Tuesday threatened to carry out bombings across Pakistan if the government did not stop operations in Swat and the Tribal Areas, reported Geo News. 
ISLAMABAD - A close aide of President Pervez Musharraf met Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and asked him to allow Ôsafe passageÕ to the president, a TV channel reported here on Tuesday. The Pakistan-based channel quoting its sources said that while Zardari is willing to allow 'safe passageÕ to Musahrraf, former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif insists that ÒMusharraf must pay for all the crimes he committed during the past nine yearsÓ.
ISLAMABAD (August 13 2008): The United States of America (USA) has turned down Pakistan's request for budgetary and balance of payments support, sources in the government told Business Recorder. The budget for fiscal year 2008-09 has envisaged a deficit of 4.7 percent, which is unlikely to be met as the Finance Minister had remained vague about revenue sources identified in the budget.
An agreement signed by the U.N. and the Iraqi government outlined a series of steps to help the Iraqis improve spending. The U.N. will also aid in the funding of reconstruction, development and humanitarian projects.
4,000 strong Kurdish brigade refusing Iraqi defence ministry orders to pull out of Diyala province. 
Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei has been summoned by parliament for having made pro-Israeli comments, Iran's ISNA news agency reported Tuesday. 
