Pakistan's Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Zakah and Ushr Ejazul Haq and Muslim World League Secretary-General Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki yesterday discussed ways to counter the smear campaign against Islam and pledged cooperation in various fields. The meeting, held in Makkah, also reviewed the implementation of the resolutions adopted at the OIC summit in 2002. The summit had adopted resolutions outlining ways to fight anti-Islam campaigns in the wake of Sept. 11 attacks. Profiling Muslims as terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks was the commonplace in the West. The summit had also discussed ways to remove the misconceptions about Islam and Muslims.
Ejaz and the MWL secretary-general also discussed issues confronting the Ummah. Pakistan's Ministry of Religious Affairs and the MWL will jointly publish religious books and work together to fight anti-Islam campaign. Turki briefed the Pakistani minister on steps being taken to provide more facilities to pilgrims. He also told the minister about big projects undertaken in Mina and other places to facilitate pilgrims. The MWL secretary-general will visit Pakistan in June to discuss more cooperation between the MWL and Pakistan's Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2005 00:00 ||
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The opposition candidate in the race for the mayor's office in the southern Bangladesh port city of Chittagong has been declared elected, officials said yesterday. Mohiuddin Chowdhury, incumbent mayor and opposition Awami League's candidate, polled about a hundred thousand votes more than his nearest challenger Mir Nasiruddin who has been backed by the ruling coalition. Counting of ballots started overnight soon after voting closed in all the 577 polling stations in the business hub which has more than a million registered voters. As the result of the polls was announced by senior election official Golam Quddus, there was spontaneous jubilation in the port city with tens of thousands of Chowdhury's supporters taking to the streets.
The mayoral election in Chittagong, the country's second biggest city, was held Monday amidst tight security with soldiers and paramilitary police patrolling the streets during the non-stop eight-hour voting. The local government election assumed a high profile after top leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the dominant faction in the ruling coalition, and the main opposition Awami League began viewing the mayoral polls as a test of the popularity of their parties ahead of a general election scheduled for next year. At least 20 people were wounded in festivities clashes late on Monday between police and supporters of incumbent Chowdhury, who accused officials of trying to rig the vote.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2005 00:00 ||
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GEORGE GALLOWAY, the MP who taunted the Prime Minister over Iraq after scoring an upset victory in the election, faced fresh accusations last night that he had received oil allocations from the Saddam Hussein regime and may have used his Mariam Appeal charity to conceal payments.
A US Senate committee published evidence from Iraqi documents and interviews with Iraqi officials that the former Labour MP, re-elected to Parliament for his Respect party, received allocations for millions of barrels of oil.
Taha Yassin Ramadan, the ousted Vice-President of Iraq, told Senate investigators last month that Mr Galloway had been granted the oil allocations because of his opinions about Iraq and because he wanted to lift the embargo against the country. Another Saddam-era official told US Treasury Department officials in 2003 that a British MP, identified as Mr Galloway, "benefited tremendously from the illegal trade of oil by Iraq".
"Despite Galloway's denials, the evidence obtained by the sub-committee, including Hussein-era documents from the Ministry of Oil and testimony from senior Hussein officials, shows that Iraq granted George Galloway allocations for millions of barrels of oil under the Oil-for-Food programme," the report said. "Moreover, some evidence indicates that Galloway appeared to use a charity for children's leukaemia to conceal payments associated with at least one such allocation."
Mr Galloway, who overturned a 10,000 Labour majority in Bethnal Green & Bow, dismissed the congressional report last night as a "Republican Party dirty trick". He repeated his earlier denial that he had received any oil allocations from Iraq.
"For the 500th time, I have never seen a barrel of oil, never owned one, never bought one, never sold one, and neither has anyone on my behalf," he said. "The Mariam Appeal's finances were exhaustively investigated by the Charities Commission and nothing improper was found.
"This committee has never written to me, never spoken to me and has not even acknowledged my offer last year to appear in front of them, so it is not much of an investigation."
In December, Mr Galloway won £150,000 in damages and £1.2 million in legal costs in a libel action against The Daily Telegraph for suggesting that he was an agent of Saddam Hussein. The newspaper, which based its reporting on documents that it said were found in the burnt-out Foreign Ministry in Baghdad shortly after the war, is appealing against the decision.
The staff report by the Senate Permanent Sub-Committee of Investigations emphasised that its findings were based on documents that had no relation to the "seemingly forged documents" used in the Daily Telegraph piece, noting that the panel was relying on Iraqi Oil Ministry documents from 2001.
"The Daily Telegraph documents reportedly included allegations that Galloway was on the payroll of the Hussein regime, receiving a salary or direct payments," it said. "In contrast, the evidence examined by the sub-committee indicates that Galloway was granted oil allocations that would have to be monetised through complex oil transactions."
Mr Galloway is allegedly one of hundreds of politicians and other prominent figures in many countries to whom Iraq is said to have awarded oil allocations, which could be sold to oil traders for up to 30 cents a barrel. The Senate report tracks four of the six oil allocations totalling 20 million barrels allegedly given to Mr Galloway between 2000 and 2003.
One transaction in 2001 was described in a letter by the Iraqi state oil marketing organisation as having been signed with "Aredio Petroleum Company (Fawaz Zuraiqat — Mariam's Appeal)".
The report said: "This document indicates that Galloway may have used the charitable organisation to conceal payments from the oil allocation he had received from the Hussein regime."
The appeal was the charity Mr Galloway founded to help Mariam Hamze, a four-year-old Iraqi leukaemia victim, to receive treatment in Britain and which later began lobbying against UN sanctions on Iraq.
It's what they do best
BRUSSELS, May 11 (UPI) -- The European Union is demanding tougher safety standards and access to all nuclear facilities in the wake of a leak at England's Sellafield power plant. "The recent Sellafield incident shows once more that the EU should be allowed overall framework control for the safety of nuclear installations," Energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement. "In an area as sensitive as nuclear energy, it is essential to show the greatest form of transparency."
The leak occurred April 18, but was only made public this week. The Guardian said enough nuclear waste spilled "to half-fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool." The fluid is so dangerously radioactive that special robots may have to be built to clean up the mess, officials said. It isn't the first time Sellafield has provoked the EU, Deutsche Welle said Wednesday. Last year, EU commissioners threatened legal action after Britain refused to give EU inspectors access to the entire reprocessing plant.
"All your base plants belong to us!"
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 2:55:52 PM ||
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#1
Yea give the German/EU Greens control over your nuclear industry, that's the ticket.
The UK will bend over on this. They have been brain washed by their MSM just like we have that nuclear is deadly and evil and must be wiped out. The Reds Greens have won.
When they all are freezing and starving in the dark since they can't use coal or nuclear then the Reds Greens will be happy.
#2
I have no idea why, but this story's got barely a mention in the UK media. You'd have thought the BBC at least would be all over it. Maybe they've decided nuclear power is the new alternative to fossil fuels after all.
#5
Howard - That's because the static (background radiation) is interesting enough!
3dc - I presume you're refering to the leak rather than the EU's attempt to grab British nuclear resources. In which case: Sellafield's an occasional national embarrassment which most people would rather ignore. Like a sausage, electricity's great, but you wouldn't necessarily want to spend too much time seeing where and how it's made. But perhaps it's also true that - now campaign groups like Greenpeace and their media fellow-travellers are belatedly warming to nuclear power - there's really no one left to give a rat's a*** about spills and leaks any more. Everyone more or less would rather keep quiet about it.
The U.S. military is investigating what has gone wrong with its operations in Colombia, where troops have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs and selling arms to far-right militias, a senior U.S. officer said on Wednesday.
Gen. Bantz Craddock, commander of the U.S. military's Southern Command, said he was concerned by the recent incidents.
"I have talked to the commander of the units involved. We are initiating a complete review of our procedures, our processes and our security standards," Craddock told Reuters while visiting Colombian troops on a high mountain plain above Bogota -- recently a strategic transit route for Marxist rebels -- as a Black Hawk helicopter whirred overhead.
Colombian police arrested two American soldiers last week on suspicion of planning to sell stolen ammunition to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, an outlawed far-right militia group classified as "terrorist" by the United States.
Just over a month earlier, another five troops were detained in the United States for allegedly trying to smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine on a U.S. military aircraft leaving Colombia.
The arrests damaged the image of the large U.S. anti-drug operation here and led to calls by some Colombian officials and lawmakers for revision of a treaty granting immunity from prosecution to American personnel.
A Colombian Senate committee on Tuesday invited U.S. Ambassador William Wood to appear before it and explain how U.S. authorities were conducting the investigations.
Referring to the latest incident, Craddock said those involved would be punished if found guilty.
"We take very seriously allegations or indications of support for terrorist organizations, so I assure you that the United States military investigations will be thorough and complete," he said.
Congress has authorized the presence of up to 800 U.S. troops in Colombia as instructors and advisors to help the local armed forces against cocaine smugglers and rebels, but not to take part in fighting. This is part of a mainly military aid program to the Andean nation on which the United States has spent more than $3 billion since 2000.
Craddock inaugurated a primary school built with $50,000 in U.S. aid money on a site where rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known by their Spanish initials FARC -- used to imprison people they had kidnapped for ransom.
The children will study at 12,500 feet above sea level in an Andean region where temperatures never rise above freezing.
Thousands of people are killed in Colombia's four-decade-old war every year, and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and FARC both obtain much of their money from cocaine.
Brasilia, May 11 (Prensa Latina) The South American-Arabian Summit is winding down today with a final declaration that will recognize IraqÂŽs right to resist foreign occupation. The text will condemn terrorism but will recognize peopleÂŽs right to fight any foreign occupation within international law, according to Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim. This is an issue directly related to the occupation of Iraq by a US-led coalition and the Palestine territories occupied by Israel.
How predictable
Representatives from several nations discussed jointly on Tuesday PalestineÂŽs right to create an independent state. Current Arab League leader and Algerian President Abdelazis Bouteflika called for countries to focus on the serious crisis threatening todayÂŽs world. He also denounced the tragedy experienced every day by the Palestine people over more than half a century of denied justice. Bouteflika encouraged the world to find a definitive solution to get Israel to submit the issue to international law, accept the negotiated peace, and spoke in favor of PalestiniansÂŽ right to have Jerusalem as capital. He also demanded that Israel withdraw from the occupied Arab territories.
Nine South American presidents and six leaders of Arab states attended the summit, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 10:24:49 AM ||
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#1
this is but one step towards the public sponsorship of terror networks by south american countries
Posted by: too true ||
05/11/2005 10:33 Comments ||
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Interesting Talabani would have anything to do with this if it really rejects the occupation that freed his country and put him in power.
I also think Brazil, which is hosting this conference to give it a leg up on a UN Security council seat would be unlikely to come out and tweek the nose of one of the members in the process. I would think Brazil would want nothing said about Iraq at all if they could help it.
#3
Austin Bay's take on this at http://austinbay.net/blog/
It's about Brazil's angling for a UNSC seat, but I also think it is about increasing trade to the Arabs.
Posted by: ed ||
05/11/2005 11:10 Comments ||
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"Nine South American presidents and six leaders of Arab states attended the summit,... ."
Declassified US files have revealed an anti-communist Cuban, who has applied for asylum in the United States but is wanted by Venezuela for the bombing of a Cuban airliner 29 years ago, spent years on the CIA payroll. CIA and FBI files, published by George Washington University's National Security Archive, revealed US investigators believed Luis Posada Carriles was involved in the 1976 bombing plot in Venezuela of the Cubana Airlines jet in which 73 passengers died, including teenage members of a Cuban fencing team. Posada's application for asylum has presented the US Government with a dilemma of how to reconcile its traditional sympathy for politically powerful Cuban exiles, and its firm stand after September 11, 2001, against terrorism suspects.
Venezuela, now a close ally of communist Cuba, plans to ask for his extradition and Cuban President Fidel Castro has used his presence in Miami to hammer away at what he calls US hypocrisy in the war on terrorism. "We going to step up our demands for extradition," Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel told reporters last week. "I hope Mr Bush will take note of his own anti-terrorism policies and hand over Posada Carriles."
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#1
I feel for the Cuban exiles, but if we believe this guy bombed the jet, we have to hand him over. A terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist. He should have stuck to pure military targets, then you have a better case of saying you're a resistance fighter.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 8:21 Comments ||
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TBILISI, Georgia, May 11 (UPI) -- A grenade found close to where U.S. President George Bush addressed thousands of people in Georgia's capital was a non-explosive training device. Gela Bezhuashvili, secretary of Georgia's National Security Council, said Wednesday the device was a "so-called engineering grenade" found in "inactive mode," CNN reported.
The device was found Tuesday afternoon in Freedom Square in Tbilisi after Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili drew cheers in their speeches about the U.S.-Georgian alliance and friendship. Initial reports said the grenade had been thrown and struck someone in the crowd, but Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Guram Donadze said that was false. Georgian officials notified U.S. authorities, and the Secret Service, FBI and State Department all began investigating.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 8:41:05 AM ||
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#1
Has anybody checked the whereabouts of Baghdad Jeff Spicoli?
Correspondent of the Radio Liberty's Chechen editorial staff, Aslan Ayubov, conducted a short interview with Dokku Umarov, the minister of national security CHRI and the commander of the Southwestern Front. On the correspondent's request to confirm the information about the new kidnappings by the Russian terrorists of his relatives, Dokku Umarov said that his 70-yrs old father, 45-yrs old brother, wife and six months old baby have been abducted. The direct executors of this kidnapping were the bandits from the so-called "petroleum regiment", which is commanded by some Adam Delimkhanov - a close relative of the Kremlin puppet, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Dokku Umarov also reported that the Russian special services using the same Kadyrovite bandits abducted several close relatives of Abdul-Vakhab Khusainov, the minister in the CHRI government. He also shared with the Radio Liberty's correspondent his fears related to the fact, that these hostages taken by Russian chastisers who are the relatives of the Chechen leaders, including the relatives of killed President Aslan Maskhadov, have been already secretly killed by Putin terrorists, because of publicity of these in formations in the world media. On words of the Radio Liberty correspondent about a lack of combat information from Chechnya, Dokku Umarov answered, that this lack of information testifies not about any reduction in intensity of military clashes, but only about the fact that Putin's regime suppresses the media, converted Chechnya into a zone that's closed for the independent journalists. He noted that in different regions of the country, and especially in the mountains and the foothills, a large scale fights with the occupiers go on and the enemy suffers heavy losses.
The correspondent asked a question about what consequences for the resisting forces entailed the death of President Maskhadov. Dokku Umarov answered, that this has been unconditionally heavy loss for the resistance and the whole Chechen people; however, on combat efficiency and solidarity of Chechen soldiers the death of Aslan Maskadov showed no negative consequences. According to Dokku Umarov, the Chechen command keeps under arms a necessary number of soldiers and possesses needed reserves in order that at an given moment to sharply strengthen a quantitative composition of forces of the Resistance.
On a question about the state and personal qualities of new Chechen President Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev, Dokku Umarov said that the new Chechen leader has among the soldiers and the commanders unconditional authority as a brilliant expert of the norms of Sharia and the Chechen traditional laws, and that the Mujahiddeen are deeply impressed by a crystal honesty and justice of Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev. All the members of GKO - Madzhlisul Shura, all commanders and soldiers of resistance have already sworn the oath to the new Chechen President.
Correspondent asked about further plans of the GKO - Madzhlisul Shura. Dokku Umarov stated that intention of the Resistance is to move military actions to the enemy's territory, which until now, have been held by Aslan Maskadov's orders and combat operations were limited to the territory of Chechnya. However, now when the killings and abductions of Chechen innocent civilians not only have increased, but also got demonstrative nature, the GKO - Madzhlisul Shura made its decision still to start still in this year some large-scale operations on the territory of Russia.
At this moment, according to Dokku Umarov, regrouping of the Resistance units is going on, calculation of all available forces are determined for the directions of main attacks.
This article starring:
ABDUL KHALIM SADULAIEV
Chechnya
ABDUL VAKHAB KHUSEINOV
Chechnya
Adam Delimkhanov
Aslan Ayubov
ASLAN MASKHADOV
Chechnya
DOKKU OMAROV
Chechnya
Madzhlisul Shura
Ramzan Kadyrov
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:30 ||
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Pyongyang, May 10 (KCNA) -- All efforts have been concentrated on agriculture to solve the food problem in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Brilliant! Why didn't they think of that before?
Interesting that they admit to having a food problem
The rural communities across the country have made material and technical preparations for farming such as securing high-yielding seeds, making various kinds of big and small farm implements, producing or repairing farm machines and fertilizing fields. Despite of sharp temperature disparity between daytime and night and continued gale, they have sowed seeds in time.
Bad weather at planting time is not a hopeful sign for a good crop
Temperature disparities between daytime and night? Boy, what won't they think of next?
Those in some areas of South Hwanghae Province have started transplanting rice-seedlings and all others of the country plan to do it from mid-May. Potato dibbling (planting) is in full swing in Taehongdan and other counties of Ryanggang Province.
"I'll be with you,
In potato dibbling time...!"
New steps to boost the agricultural production considerably this year have been taken in the country. The Ministry of Agriculture has set up a central office for introducing and expanding scientific farming. It has already redistributed crops to rural communities to suit their topographical conditions.
Government control of what you can plant, that's worked so well in the past
"Hokay. For your area, you can plant rutabagas, kohl rabi, and squash!"
"I hate kohl rabi!"
"Pak, shoot him!"
Great importance is being attached to bean farming, not less than rice farming, so as to solve the issue of edible oil and protein food.
"Oh, boy! Musical fruit! My favorite!"
"Shuddup. Those're for guests. Eat your tree bark!"
The whole country is out to help the peasants. Ministries and national institutions have preferentially provided farming materials to the agricultural sector, while officials and workers of industrial establishments have rendered material and labor assistance to the rural communities.
I take that to mean workers are being pulled from factories and sent to help with the planting.
Choe Yong Nam, a department director of the Ministry of Agriculture, told KCNA that the entire Korean people are determined to solve the food problem without fail and thus to significantly celebrate the 60th anniversaries of the Workers' Party of Korea and the liberation of the country.
Yup, things must be really bad down on the farm.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 8:58:16 AM ||
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#1
There was a report a week or two back about city-dwellers being shipped en masse out to the country to work the fields.
#4
Pappy it sounds as if they've taken a page out of Soleth Sar's playbook. Nothing beats an idiotic and futile response to a long standing systemic failing. Funny how after over 50 years of reign by Glorious Leader #1 and #2 they still don't have the basics of feeding people down.
#5
Gee, a workers paradise and they still use terms like peasant. There must sure be a lot of incentive to bust ones ass farming only to have the state take all of the harvest and maybe decide to give some back
North Korea has moved to "increase its nuclear arsenal" by removing fuel rods from a nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, according to an official statement.
The rods can be treated to produce plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. The statement comes amid an escalating stand-off between North Korea and the US, after reports that Pyongyang may be preparing a nuclear test.
South Korea expressed "serious concern" about the North Korean statement, while China urged restraint from all sides. "We have been taking steps necessary to increase our nuclear arsenal for defence purposes," the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
There has been mounting speculation about the Yongbyon reactor since South Korea reported last month that it appeared to have been shut down, presumably in order to remove spent fuel rods. Recent satellite images are reported to also suggest possible preparations for a nuclear test in North Korea's remote north-east. The BBC's correspondent in Seoul, Charles Scanlon, says this latest announcement will be seen by the US as more provocation.
The row over North Korea's nuclear programme first flared between Pyongyang and the Bush administration in 2002, when North Korea allegedly admitted to having a secret uranium programme. North Korea responded by expelling International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors and restarting its plutonium reactor at Yongbyon - frozen under an agreement with the Clinton administration. Six-party international talks were set up to address the stand-off, but the North pulled out of them last June. The US envoy to North Korea, Christopher Hill, was in Beijing recently to try and persuade China to use its influence over the North and draw Pyongyang back to the talks.
The US and Japan have been hinting at more coercive measures in recent weeks, but China and South Korea oppose sanctions and say more diplomacy is needed.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said at the weekend that North Korea already has enough weapons-grade plutonium for five or six nuclear weapons from its last harvest of spent fuel rods, begun in 2003. Analysts estimate that the latest extraction of rods could give the North at least another two atomic bombs, once the fuel has cooled down in about three months time. There is a sense in the region that tensions are again coming to the boil, says our correspondent.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 8:33:02 AM ||
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#1
Khan's bomb and plans are suppose to be for a U-bomb. A P-bomb is a different and more complicated animal. Where did the Norks get that design?
#3
Interesting question ... and a related one is what China got from Russia or elsewhere.
Posted by: too true ||
05/11/2005 10:09 Comments ||
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Mmmmmm, stakes...
Posted by: Homer Simpson ||
05/11/2005 13:16 Comments ||
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http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/nuke-test.htm A Test in Pakistan?
In the autumn of 1998 a report leaked from Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory indicated that air samples acquired from the Kharan Desert test by US intelligence aircraft contained traces of plutonium. Pakistan, at the time of the tests, had not had time to develop a warhead from the minimal quantities of plutonium generated by the research reactor at PINSTECH. The most plausible explanation was that North Korea had participated in a joint test of an atomic weapon.
Posted by: john ||
05/11/2005 20:13 Comments ||
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#6
Note that there are TWO weapon producing agencies in Pakistan - KRL and PAEC.
A.Q. Khan runs one (KRL) and the other was run by his rival Munir Ahmad Khan.
AQK's bomb was Uranium but the PAEC weapon (also Chinese in origin) was plutonium based and more sophisticated.
Posted by: john ||
05/11/2005 20:19 Comments ||
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#7
Benazir Bhutto, mother of the Taliban, has practically admitted that Pakistan, under her watch, traded nuclear warhead technology (originally obtained from China) for North Korean missiles.
There seems to have been trade with China as well.
AQK (who is a metallurgist not a physicist) stole the centrifuge plans from URENCO in Europe.
This is technology that the Chinese would have been interested in.
There is also the matter of the single F-16 transferred to Beijing (for reverse engineering attempts) by Pakistan.
Posted by: john ||
05/11/2005 20:29 Comments ||
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#8
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/nuke.htm Pakistan Foreign Minister Yakub Khan was present at the Chinese Lop Nor test site to witness the test of a small nuclear device in May 1983, giving rise to speculation that a Pakistani-assembled device was detonated in this test.
Note Pakistan assembled not Pakistan designed
As I mentioned before, Pakistan simply lacks the scientific and engineering talent to design nuclear and missile systems.
During the first 40 years, all the universities and research institutions in Pakistan produced only 128 PhDs in scientific disciplines. Of these 89 were produced in 1982-86.
Most of these PhDs were in chemical and biological sciences. Physics, a subject essential for developing a nuclear energy programme, has been a neglected science in Pakistan. In the first 40 years, Pakistani universities and research institutions produced less than a dozen PhDs in this field
A directory of Pakistani scientists and technologists with a PhD degree (mostly from abroad) produced in the late 90s listed just over 2,000 names. Ten per cent of these had already retired. The situation has improved little since then.
http://www.mshel.com/book00079.html
Posted by: john ||
05/11/2005 20:53 Comments ||
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China on Tuesday ruled out applying economic or political sanctions to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, appearing to undercut a crucial element of the Bush administration's evolving North Korea strategy. The announcement comes just as American intelligence agencies are trying to determine whether North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test. Echoing President Bush's public comments, the Chinese said in a briefing on Tuesday that they still hoped that talks with North Korea would succeed in disarming the country, even though it has boycotted those talks for 11 months.
Liu Jianchao, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Tuesday that China rejected suggestions that it should reduce oil or food shipments to North Korea, calling them part of its normal trade with its neighbor that should be separate from the nuclear problem. "The normal trade flow should not be linked up with the nuclear issue," he said. "We oppose trying to address the problem through strong-arm tactics."
Beijing's apparent unwillingness to go along with Mr. Bush's backup plan to squeeze North Korea takes away the crucial pressure point that Mr. Bush's aides have been counting on. It also suggests that the strategy of threatening to go to the United Nations Security Council - which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has begun to discuss - could fail.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:36 ||
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#1
They should trade Kim to China for Taiwan. He would be guaranteed we won't annihilate him, protected by Chinese nukes in exchange for his and information. He's not as intelligent as the turbans and he obviously has the technology, probably from Khan, and may have exported missiles to terrorists already. The major drug bust near Australia a while back was a fluke and we really have no idea what he's already shipped. Sanctions only hurt the peasants who already are in dire staits and the UN so ineffective that the Security Council is no plan at all.
#3
The Chinese are walkin' the walk, but are soul mates with the Commie Kimmies.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/11/2005 17:34 Comments ||
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Taiwan deserves our efforts if only as the first front in the Sino-American WW3
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/11/2005 17:56 Comments ||
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#5
I didn't expect the Chinese to push too hard on this. No real surprise there. I agree that an appeal to the UN is probably a waste of time. Taiwan is also not anybody's to trade. It's clear the carrot didn't work. So I guess it's time for these guys get the stick...
#6
Between now and 2020 is Clinton time, aka amongst other things as Betty Crocker, Easy-Bake-Oven, "Girley Man" Communism, espec for America. The US DemLeft > are no Democrats anymore, only American, alleged Repubs, Rightists, and pseudo GOP-Rightists for [Leftist]Socialism, Empire,SWO/CWO and OWG, i.e. Regulation and Protection, Govt-based control and more Govt-based control. There are only Rightist and alleged "Rightist" anti-Unitarian/Unformitarians Unitarians-Uniformists.The Commies want and prefer CONVENTIONAL WAR, or in the alt MOSTLY CONVENTIONAL WAR(S)WITH LIMITED [TACTICAL][REGION-SPECIFIC] NUKE-WMD ESCALATION - the more protracted, casualty-intensive, and anti-USA the better, more PC for the Commie Clintons and Socialist Amerika. The objective, for now, is NOT to militarily/absolutely destroy America, but to PC "force" Washington DC to defer all matters of national or state policy to the Global Govt, aka Moscow-Beijing. America MUST create global empire and modernize the world while NOT being allowed to govern or control its own newfound Empire - to this end, the Chicome will NOT stop at only Taiwan, as they must eliminate any and all forms of Western democracy, Capitalism, State(s) sovereignty/Republicism, and US influence in Asia and around the world. The Commies and Lefties are in "the Final Struggle/Conflict" mode, WE ARE IN A "KILL OR BE KILLED" SITUATION - the Left is intent on killing America and the West no matter how rational, reasonable, and or appeasing the Right is to the Left. Like any Warlord or predatory Bandit-Slaver, you either give them your food, women, wealth and properties, or they'll destroy the town, your people, and the countryside. The Failed Left > either Concessions and Unconditional Power; OR ITS GLOBAL, WORLD-ANNIHILATING NUKE WAR!? ITS NOT ENOUGH ANYMORE TO MERELY CONTAIN THE LEFT AND COMMIES!?
The terrorists that carried out the Madrid bombings in March 2004 have been trained at special Al Qaeda based in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The news was broken Tuesday by the chief of the local police department Dragomir Andan at a special press conference. RIA Novosti cited the top police chief as saying that all 11 terrorists left for Spain passing through Sarajevo. It was also reported that the explosives used in the terror acts were produced in Bosnia.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:27 ||
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Immigration and civil liberties groups call the "Real ID Act" that would impose federal requirements on state-issued driver's licenses an attack on refugees and asylum-seekers, but supporters say it will make U.S. borders safer. The House last week overwhelmingly passed the measure 368 to 58 as part a "must-pass" $82 billion Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill expected to be approved by the Senate this week. President George W. Bush supports the legislation, which includes nearly $76 million for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and funds for anti-terrorism and tsunami relief.
Such a package is difficult for Congress members to vote against. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., the House sponsor, says the "Real ID Act" which requires states to verify four documents before issuing a driver's license, would strengthen border security. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups contend the bill is about more than IDs that are difficult to fake. They call the act a crackdown on immigration that rolls back asylum laws and a prelude to a national identification card.
States would have three years to enact changes requiring applicants for a driver's license to prove they are in the country lawfully to receive a license accepted as a form of federal identification. A state could issue a second-tier license clearly marked not valid for federal identification purposes good for up to one year. Temporary driver's licenses issued to foreign visitors would expire when the visitor's visa expired with a maximum term of one year. States would have to retain paper copies of identity documents for seven years and digital copies for 10 years. "This sensible legislation is aimed at preventing another 9/11-type attack by disrupting terrorist travel and bolstering our border security," said Sensenbrenner. "Now more than ever, drivers' licenses can be accepted as identification for federal purposes, such as boarding a commercial airplane, entering a federal building or a nuclear power plant. Giving state drivers' licenses to anyone, regardless of whether they are here legally or illegally, is an open invitation for terrorists and criminals to exploit." Supporters say all the federal law does is require states to vouch for the authenticity of the person presenting a driver's license: that they are who they claim to be. Backers say the law won't prevent all forgeries but it will make it harder to make and use phony IDs.
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#1
Article: The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups contend the bill is about more than IDs that are difficult to fake. They call the act a crackdown on immigration that rolls back asylum laws and a prelude to a national identification card.
The ACLU doesn't like it. That's good enough for me.
#4
Didn't we wear out this topic on Tuesday?
http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?HC=1&D=2005-05-10&ID=118834
And on Sunday:
http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?HC=1&D=2005-05-08&ID=118651
And on Saturday:
http://rantburg.com/poparticle.asp?HC=&D=5/7/2005&ID=118549
Anonymoose, have you disguised yourself as Thineling Flomoper5900?
Posted by: Tom ||
05/11/2005 10:36 Comments ||
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By the Central Scrutinizer?
Great FZ reference, Mojo. Overnite Sensation's on deck...
Arabic satellite television news channel al-Jazeera has hired the former Tribune editor Mark Seddon to be New York correspondent for its new 24-hour English-language station.
Mr Seddon, who resigned as the editor of the leftwing weekly newspaper last year, is likely to take up his posting with al-Jazeera International in September with a broad remit, including covering US politics.
"He will have a special brief to cover UN stories," an al-Jazeera International spokeswoman said today.
He said today it would be crossing a "journalistic boundary" to work for the network in the US, which has been hostile to its coverage of the war in Iraq.
"It is going to be interesting to see what the reaction of people will be.
"It is one of those things that happens quite rarely, a new channel setting up. Because it has got a big following in the developed world it is probably going to be a major player.
"In terms of what happens in US television I suspect that there's going to be a lot of people attracted to something a bit different to Fox News and CNN."
Earlier this month John Pullman, a former editor of ITV News At Ten and the 10.30pm bulletin, joined the network to be its head of output, based in Doha.
Other journalists to have signed up include Susan Phillips, previously the London bureau chief of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, who is now al-Jazeera's London chief; Paul Gibbs, a former editor of BBC Breakfast, and Steve Clarke, who used to produce Sun columnist Richard Littlejohn's show for Sky.
Al-Jazeera is owned by the government of Qatar, which is considering privatising the network following pressure from the US and a de facto advertising boycott by Arab countries offended by its sometimes critical stance.
Al-Jazeera International will begin broadcasting globally early next year.
The United States and other countries have secretly sent scores of Islamist detainees to Egypt since the mid-1990s, where they have likely been tortured, a human rights group has said.
I feel so sad for them...
Human Rights Watch issued a 53-page report criticising Egypt as the world's main recipient of detainees, including suspected Islamist militants believed to offer useful intelligence for the US war on terrorism. The report, titled Black Hole: The Fate of Islamists Rendered to Egypt, identifies 61 individuals who have been transferred into Egyptian custody since 1994. Nearly all are Egyptians suspected of Islamist militancy.
That pretty well does away with any sympathy I might have felt...
Two others were Yemenis transferred from Egypt, one to Yemen and another to US custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Because such transfers usually occur in secret and without legal safeguards such as extradition hearings, Human Rights Watch said the number of people sent to Egypt is likely to be much higher.
Lawsy, I hope so!
The report cites estimates by Egyptian analysts, lawyers and Islamist activists who believe 150 to 200 detainees have been transferred since the September 11, 2001, attacks. "Egypt ... has been the country to which the greatest numbers of rendered suspects have been sent," the report says.
I guess we're getting something for our money, then...
Most of the countries transferring detainees to Egypt are Arab or South Asian, but the list also includes Sweden and the United States. The report said Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have shown a greater willingness to transfer suspects to other countries since September 11. "The person sent back to Egypt under these circumstances is almost surely going to be tortured," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch. At least 292 torture cases occurred in Egypt between January 1993 and April 2004, said the report, citing statistics from the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights. In 120 cases, the suspect or prisoner died. Mr Stork said torture and other forms of mistreatment are so prevalent in Egypt that the United States and other countries violate the international convention against torture each time they sent a terrorism suspect to the country.
#1
Article: "The person sent back to Egypt under these circumstances is almost surely going to be tortured," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch.
#4
Most of the countries transferring detainees to Egypt are Arab or South Asian, but the list also includes Sweden and the United States.
And yet they focus on the US, because that's what brings in the cash.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/11/2005 7:35 Comments ||
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The United States and other countries have secretly sent scores of Islamist detainees to Egypt since the mid-1990s, where they have likely been tortured, a human rights group has said.
Who the phuque cares about Islamists? They're the worst kind of vermin.
Source: Human Rights Watch
The Iranian government should immediately release Yusuf Azizi Banitaraf, an Iranian journalist of Arab descent, and allow independent journalists and human rights monitors to report on a government crackdown on protests in the southern province of Khuzistan, Human Rights Watch said today. Plainclothes agents arrested Banitaraf, who has written 20 books on ethnic minorities in Iran, in Tehran on April 25 during a press conference held by the nongovernmental Center for the Defense of Human Rights. During this event, Banitaraf publicly criticized the government's violent suppression of protests by ethnic Iranian-Arabs in Khuzistan's capital, Ahwaz. He spoke out about the killing of local residents during the protests, which began on April 15. According to government critics, at least 50 people were killed by the government's security forces.
"The Iranian authorities have again displayed their readiness to silence those who denounce human rights violations," said Joe Stork Washington director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division. "We have serious allegations the government used excessive lethal force, arbitrary arrests and torture in Khuzistan."
Protests erupted in Ahwaz on April 15 following publication of a letter allegedly written by Mohammad Ali Abtahi, an advisor to President Mohammad Khatami, which referred to government plans to implement policies that would reduce the proportion of ethnic Arabs in Khuzistan's population. The province is home to nearly two million Iranians of Arab descent. After security forces tried to disperse the demonstrators and opened fire on them, clashes between protestors and security forces turned violent. The violence spread to other cities and towns in Khuzistan. The next day, Abtahi and other government officials denied the existence of the letter and called it fake.
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Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 2:15:18 PM ||
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I wonder if the Iranians are still celebrating the overthrow of the Shah because his secret police SAVAK did stuff like this.
#2
The pro Shah forces are, according to my info, much in the minority inside Iran and in the Persian dispora. However, the inheritor of the Shah's wealth have been using some of that wealth to support various anti Mullarky websites and other activities and are fairly well integrated into the anti Mullarky movement. Personally, I think the Shah's descendents should publically renounce any monarcial asperations --- this would permit an even more robust anti Mullarky movement.
[Khamenei] said that imitation of western political schools has proved to be a failure for the international community. "The West has the record of Fascism, Communism and liberalism which have caused enormous crimes to humanity in the past two centuries," he was quoted as saying.
(As opposed to the tyranny and desolation which you preside over? Oh, that's different...)
"The capitalists have forged dominance over the mass media and the press and there is no real democracy in the Western states proving that the Western models of democracy could not work," the Supreme Leader said.
Khomenei is so, um, derangeddeludedinsanepointlessignorantfoolishvapidasininepatheticmoronicinsipidtiresomeludicrousdaft f'n brilliant! What a rapier wit and intellect!
#3
So says Mr. Bubba Mullah whilst his nation is enjoying a few of the fruits of the west and jealously desiring the remainder. Maybe he could put heads together with other mental giants such as Chavez, lil Kim, and Assad Jr. so as to bless us with their combined wisdom.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promised Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati his support for Lebanon in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which stipulates that Palestinian factions in Lebanese camps be disarmed. During a meeting with the Lebanese prime minister on Monday in Brazil on the sidelines of the Arab League-South American Summit, Abbas assured Mikati the Palestinian Authority would back Lebanon in its decision regarding the disarmament of the Palestinian refugee camps.
The meeting was attended by Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Qidwa and the Palestinian president's advisor Nabil Abu Rudayna. Commenting on the meeting, Mikati said: "Our meeting today with the Palestinian president gave us true hope in the establishment of peace." Mikati also met with Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, in the presence of Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud. Following the meeting, Moussa said: "We have discussed issues related to the Arab world." He added: "As the secretary general of the Arab League, I am concerned about the future and the interests of Lebanon."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2005 00:00 ||
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Registration of candidates has begun for Iran's 17 June presidential election which will choose a successor to President Aleksandr Karensky Mohammad Khatami. More than 90 Iranians applied on Tuesday - the first day of registration - with the country's Interior Ministry scheduled to keep the registration offices open for five days. The likely frontrunner, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, declared on Tuesday definitely for the first time that he will run. Aljazeera said he cited several reasons for his decision, including his belief that a new Middle East could not be shaped without Iran's participitation and that Iran's isolation was unacceptable. Opinion polls suggest Rafsanjani is likely to win despite the uncertainty surrounding his candidacy.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2005 00:00 ||
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Whew - glad that's over with. The suspense was getting to be a bit much.
KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait announced on Wednesday it has completed indictments against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his top aides for war crimes committed during Iraq's 1990-1991 occupation of the emirate. In a statement carried by the KUNA news agency, public prosecutor Hamed al-Othman said the indictments were against Saddam Hussein, eight of his top aides and 293 senior officials of the former regime. The list includes Saddam's representative in Kuwait during the occupation, Ali Hassan al-Majid, former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and others.
Making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty and.....just pure evil
They are charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes and the use of armed force to invade Kuwait, the statement said. Saddam, whom the US-led coalition captured in December 2003, ordered his army to invade Kuwait on August 2, 1990, occupying it for seven months before being driven out by a US-led multinational coalition.
Kind of hard for his lawyers to argue he didn't have anything to do it. But, I'm sure they'll try.
The indictments, prepared by a specialized committee formed 10 years ago, have been referred to the foreign ministry as a prelude to forwarding them to the Iraqi Special Tribunal which will try former regime officials. Kuwait has sought assistance from United Nations expert on war crimes, Sharif Basyouni, to help prepare the indictments.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 2:34:06 PM ||
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TRIPOLI - Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi announced on Wednesday that Tripoli is to host an African mini-summit on Sudan's war-torn region of Darfur on May 16.
"The meeting will take place in Tripoli at the request of many of you," Gaddafi said in front of representatives of two Darfur rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement.
So, Moamer is fronting for the rebels? That's right, he's an African leader now.
The summit, grouping Chad, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria and Sudan but not the rebels was initially due to be held in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh next week.
The rebels asked the Libyan leader for financial support of seven million dollars and funds to compensate their ethnic minority supporters for the ravages of the Sudanese security forces and their Arab militia allies. They also agreed to resume peace talks with Khartoum, to respect an April 2004 ceasefire and asked Gaddafi to defend their interests at the summit. A similar five-way meeting over Darfur -- also without the presence of the rebel movements -- was held in Libya in October 2004 but failed to yield any significant results.
The rebels have accused the Sudanese regime of pursuing a "war of extermination" against Darfur's minorities since they launched their uprising two years ago. As many as 300,000 people have died in the conflict and more than two million more fled their homes, according to a British parliamentary committee report.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 2:26:01 PM ||
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heheh Remember, if they speak arabic they're arabs. heheh.
May 11, 2005: How far ahead of the pack is the F-22? Especially when compared to European fighters like the Rafale, Eurofighter, and Gripen? This is something that matters a lot to the Air Force, which thinks the F-22 is vital to maintaining air superiority — replacing the F-15C as soon as possible, even at the expense of reducing the buy of the F-35. How valid is the Air Force's claim?
First, one needs to look at how visible the aircraft in question are on radar. The F-15C is probably the most visible, entering service just as Lockheed began work on the F-117 Nighthawk. The Rafale and Eurofighter have taken steps to reduce their radar-cross section from the front. The Gripen has not had as much work on this front. The F-22, however, has the lowest radar-cross section and has it on all aspects. It also has another major advantage in this regard when compared to these European fighters: the F-22 carries its weapons internally, while all three of the European fighters carry the weapons externally. While some missiles like the Storm Shadow and SCALP have reduced radar cross-sections, some weapons still reflect radar well. This means that the Rafale and Eurofighter will still be at a huge disadvantage.
The next question is how good the radars are. The F-15's APG-70 has been upgraded over the years, to the point where it can distinguish an aircraft using Non-Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR). The Air Force does not reveal much about the system, but NCTR is said to be capable of revealing the model and even variations on a given model of a target being tracked by radar. The Rafale's RBE2 is capable of searching out and tracking targets in the air and on the ground or sea, as well as classifying those targets, and it also is a low-probability of intercept radar, which means that it can track targets with less chance of the target knowing it is a target. The Eurofighter's CAPTOR (a variant of the Blue Vixen used on the retiring Sea Harrier F/A.2s) has a unique three-channel system that gives it additional ability in electronic counter-counter measures (ECCM) as well as air-search and surface-search capabilities. The F-22's radar is designed to use spread spectrum transmission to locate and track targets before they even know the F-22 is there. The F-22 also has the most advanced NCTR system put into a fighter aircraft.
Finally, how good are the countermeasures? The Rafale, Gripen, and Eurofighter rely on active jamming systems. These put out energy to distract radar. However, these systems will still advertise the presence of the aircraft and provide ample warning. These days, missiles can be programmed to home in on jamming — and that means life could be exciting and short for pilots who use them. The F-22, on the other hand, does not rely on jammers as much as they rely on diverting and absorbing radar waves. Comparing these systems is difficult, since information about systems used in electronic warfare (including jamming and systems like NCTR) is usually classified.
Even though stealth is wrapped in cloaks of secrecy, two things are apparent: First, the United States has a significant head start on stealth technology — mostly because of the head start of ten to fifteen years that was gained by the successful protection of the F-117's gestation. France is working on a stealthy UAV, which will supposedly have a lower RCS than the F-22 or F-35, but that is not yet proven. The United Kingdom is also rumored to be working on a stealth aircraft called HALO, with D-Notices allegedly being issued to press outlets to keep sightings from making news. Second, the stealth race is on, and efforts are being made to catch up with the United States.
If you have two very stealthy fighters going at one another from opposite sides, are we going to go back to the time of having to close within visual range and rely on heat-seekers and guns?
Posted by: Steve ||
05/11/2005 9:21:48 AM ||
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#1
I prefer that we have a huge (and unshared) advantage over any eurofighters, inasmuch as China will likely be flying them against us in the next big confrontation. Thanks for nuthin', french assholes
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/11/2005 10:26 Comments ||
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I've read a lot on the F-22 and have been watching closely since it won the contract. From everything I've seen, it is the most advanced and best fighter out there. The Stealth aspect will be viable for at least 15-20 years from now, while the Rafale and the Eurofighter are almost obsolete when it comes to stealth. I've also read reports from the pilots and mechanics of the Eurofighter that claim it is a huge piece of crap. Prone to breakdowns, hard to work on, shortage of parts (including sensor and jamming equipment that should have been installed on the plane), and not real user friendly (what do you expect from a commitee design?). The shortage of parts will be fixed when more aircraft will be brought online, but the other problems will remain. The Rafale, aside from its stealth, is no more advanced than the Mirage 2000, and the F-15 blew them out of the sky without difficulty during the Iraqi wars. I have also read rumors that the F-22 has a highly advanced infared scope which can detect targets up to 15 nautical miles (don't know if it is true or not). This capability, along with real time feads from JSTARS would allow the F-22 to track and fire at targets without ever turning on its own, highly advanced radar system. The AIM-120 anti-air missle has its own software to receive JSTAR information and launch and stear itself to the last know location of the enemy plane. The AIM-120 also has its own onboard radar tracking that it turns on 5 miles away from the last know position of the enemy plane for a final correction to target. All that tech put together spells real danger for any enemy who is foolish enough to send aircraft against the F-22, which is why the Air Force is so thrilled with the plane.
#3
good - don't let NATO have one. Jacques and Dominique will have their Chinese friends scouring it within 24 hrs
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/11/2005 12:39 Comments ||
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FrankG -
Hopefully the US doesn't sell the F-22 to ANYBODY. We have already given enough high tech weapons to other countries, some of the countries are not are allies either. The F-16 and F-15 can and will still defeat any other aircraft out there except for the F-22, so sell other countries the older stuff.
#7
[T]he F-22 carries its weapons internally, while all three of the European fighters carry the weapons externally. ... This means that the Rafale and Eurofighter will still be at a huge disadvantage.
And the UK version of the Eurofighter doesn't even have an internal gun. Our Government, in its wisdom, saved the country a whopping £2m by eliminating the gun from our version of the aircraft. It's costing £87.5m to install a non-functioning gun, the functioning version of which would be £90m. It makes one proud.
#8
No one,, shipman. Remember all the technology the Japanese companies sold to the USSR? I'd probably trust the Brits in isolation, but as they get further sucked into the EU, I'll trust them less and less, as they are less British and more European. Sorry, Bulldog; I'd trust you but not Gordon Brown.
I'd probably trust the Aussies, but could they afford the F-22?
#9
Wrong there wasnt any Mirage 2000 in Iraq air force only Mirage F1s a 70's design; The US superiority in Iraq is more atributable to Comand and Control with Electronic Inteligence technology and assets= Awacs, Link16 sharing data , Elint Comint aircrafts etc.
#10
Japan's flying F-15Js now.... they were more advanced in their time than the F-22. I just figure the more build the more the USAF can afford. Besides, we keep some of the good stuff :)
#11
Aussies OK and Brits (if they put Galloway's head on a pike, eject the worst of the Islamists, and bar the EU from getting near one). No canucks (out of spite at the gov't and elites, more than anything), although they don't have a need.....
OK, that's my list
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/11/2005 17:26 Comments ||
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F-22 is slower than the F-15, and its missles don't have enough range when compared to Russians and to the Sparrow. It can't outrun a MIG-29 or a MIG-31. We've gone slower and with less reach in order to get stealth. I'm not convinced it's a good trade.
#13
Mr. Simmins:
Stealth may be worth the trade-offs. After all, our subs are slower and cannot dive as deeply as those of the Russians, but are far quieter and have better sensors. Submarines are not aircraft (really!), but I'd bet there are similarities.
Think of the advantages of being so difficult to find. Plus, if you restrict yourself to using an RWR to find him, and an AIM-9X rather than an AIM-120C, they don't even see it coming. There are a lot of advantages to be purely passive, especially if you have ground radars or an AWACS (or UAVs) to do the active stuff.
Will those advantages overcome the aerodynamic and cost penalties? I have no idea.
#14
CS: F-22 is slower than the F-15, and its missles don't have enough range when compared to Russians and to the Sparrow.
Actually, I believe the F-22 and the F-15 have top speeds of 2462.4 mph and 1600 mph respectively. What's more important is that the F-22 can cruise at 1100 mph, which the F-15 requires turning on the (gas-guzzling) afterburners to do. Bottom line is that the F-22 can go further and faster - pretty much what an air superiority fighter is all about.
#15
Your info is wrong and/or out of date Chuck. The Air Force does not use the sparrow anymore. The AAMRAM AIM-120 missle is used now and has greater range and kill ration than the sparrow. It is nicknamed the "slammer", since it has never missed in air-to-air combat. Last count I am aware of is that it was fired 9 times and resulted in 9 kills. Better than the 20% kill rate of the sparrow. The F-22 also is MUCH faster than the F-15. It can go supersonic without afterburners and with the gas punched on reaches past mach 2.5 (real top speed is classified).
Excerpted
Within seven days, Mike's Place reopened—on Israeli Independence Day, fittingly enough. It had taken nearly seven weeks for it to be built the first time around. Like many Israeli victims of terror, the goal is to return to life as usual as quickly as possible. Not to pretend that a trauma hasn't occurred, but rather to show that it hasn't achieved its intended goals of devastation and debilitation.
The intervening week was largely a blur for the Mike's Place family, with nowhere near the necessary time to process emotions and genuinely grieve. When told by his brother that he was a "hero," Avi—who had just regained consciousness in his hospital bed—slowly raised his middle finger. The hero believed he was just doing his job. After completing a lengthy stint in the hospital and then in outpatient rehab, Avi returned to work at Mike's Place—standing in the exact same place as he was on April 30, 2003. His life has evolved as it should; he's now moved on from his youthful job, and he's getting married next month. Brave folks.
Afghan police opened fire on protesters on Wednesday in violent demonstrations which left four dead and dozens wounded after a report that U.S. interrogators had desecrated the Koran, a health official said. U.S. troops stationed in the conservative Muslim city of Jalalabad, 130 km (80 miles) east of the capital, Kabul, were confined to base during the protest, witnesses said.
Government offices in Jalalabad were set on fire, shops looted, and U.N. buildings and diplomatic missions attacked as thousands took to the streets, witnesses and officials said. Police fired to disperse crowds several times, witnesses said. Four people had been killed and 52 wounded, provincial health chief Fazel Mohammad Ibrahimi said after compiling information from three city hospitals. "Police had to open fire on the protesters, they were destroying the city," provincial police chief Hazrat Ali told Reuters. He declined to comment on casualties.
About 1,000 school students demonstrated in nearby Laghman province. In Khost city, also in the east, protesters burned a picture of U.S. President George. W. Bush and a U.S. flag. There was also a report of a protest in Wardak province, southwest of the capital. Kabul was quiet.
Newsweek magazine said in a recent edition that investigators probing abuses at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay had discovered that interrogators "had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet."
U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai told reporters during a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels: "It shows Afghan institutions are not yet ready to handle protests ... That must be made better." The provincial governor and other officials were unavailable for comment. Witnesses said police and national army troops had restored order by early afternoon.
The United States commands a foreign force in Afghanistan of about 18,300, most of them American, fighting Taliban insurgents and hunting Taliban and al Qaeda leaders, including
Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The United States is holding more than 500 prisoners from its war on terrorism at the naval base on Cuba. Many of them were detained in Afghanistan after U.S.-led troops drove the Taliban from power in late 2001.
ANTI-KARZAI SLOGANS
About 2,000 students chanting "Death to America" protested in Jalalabad on Tuesday demanding an apology and punishment for those involved in the reported incident. But many more turned out on Wednesday with ordinary residents also taking part, said a witness who estimated that well over 5,000 people were involved. The protesters also denounced Karzai, destroying a big portrait of him and shouting "Death to America's allies" and "Death to Karzai" as well as "Death to Bush." "We don't want America, we don't want Karzai, we want Islam," they shouted.
Cars were smashed, shops ransacked and government buildings torched. Protesters also looted the Pakistani consulate, a witness said. An Indian mission was also attacked, he said. "The governor's office building is on fire," said one witness as smoke billowed across the city on the main road to the Khyber Pass and Pakistan. Two U.N. cars were set on fire and two U.N. offices attacked but not seriously damaged, said U.N. spokeswoman Ariane Quentier. All staff had been accounted for and confined to safe areas.
In Kabul, a U.S. military spokesman said the reported desecration of the Koran was being taken seriously. "We are investigating this and other complaints to see if in fact it has happened and, if so, to put in place procedures so that it will not happen again," the spokesman said.
A high-level U.S. military investigation into accusations of detainee abuse at Guantanamo Bay has still to be completed and released. Politicians in neighboring Pakistan have also called for an apology and an inquiry into the Newsweek report and assurances from Washington that those responsible would be punished. Karzai is due to visit the United States this month where he said he would seek special long-term ties with Washington.
Posted by: Billy Bob Shakespeare ||
05/11/2005 07:26 ||
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I am sure I changed the name to 'ed' when posting. Has anyone seen their post showing up under a previous name cookie?
Posted by: ed ||
05/11/2005 8:07 Comments ||
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#2
Article: Newsweek magazine said in a recent edition that investigators probing abuses at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay had discovered that interrogators "had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet."
Looks like al-Newsweek has been inciting the natives again, eh?
#4
Newsweek magazine said in a recent edition that investigators probing abuses at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay had discovered that interrogators "had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet."
Can anyone tell me what the problem is? I mean, other than stopping up the damned toilet.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/11/2005 11:07 Comments ||
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#5
As is the case with stupidity, insanity knows no bounds.
#7
So these are "students" staging the demonstrations? What schools are these types attending? The Afghan government might want to take a closer look at 'em.
That's right folks, a story that has no verifiable basis in reality, that could have come whole-cloth from the reporters imagination, or which could have been made up on the spot by his "source" has resulted in the deaths of four people!
Pulitzer Prize material, without a doubt!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/11/2005 13:45 Comments ||
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#9
Can anyone tell me what the problem is? I mean, other than stopping up the damned toilet.
Right. My cousin just had his system fixed because the previous owner had five daughters that flushed shitloads of tampons down the toilet.
Not trying to make a connection and / or get a fatwa declared on me, I'm just sayin', that's all...
Residents breathe sigh of relief as security forces regain control of city rocked by insurgent violence. With local security forces now patrolling the city centre, Mosul residents say violence has ebbed.
The US began handing over security duties to Iraqi forces more than a month ago and now local police, army and Iraqi National Guardsmen can be seen patrolling the northwestern city. "The Iraqi police, in cooperation with National Guard forces, are determined to impose security on the city," said police officer Waleed Hussein, 33.
Iraqi security forces lost control of Mosul in November 2004 under a sustained insurgent offensive, and have only recently retaken the city. However, Mosul is still seen as a volatile area and there are periodic episodes of violence - such as on May 5, when a car bomb exploded near a police patrol, killing four officers and wounding several others.
But furniture seller Shawkee Ommar, 34, told IWPR that he can now stay out until 9 pm, unlike before when insurgents were controlling the city and he had to be home by 4 pm for safety reasons. "Since the Iraqi forces came into the city, it has become quiet and we have led a normal life," he said. "There are explosions now and then, but right now we are living in peace compared with the past."
Ziyad Mohsin, an electricity directorate employee, 30, said the situation has been relatively calm since Iraqi forces restored security. "There are some figures outside the city trying to create problems within, but God willing, the security forces will cleanse the area of those people," he said.
Mosul residents say although the insurgency has not been completely eradicated, the current situation is much better than it was.
A more than six-month truce between the military government of Pakistan and al-Qaeda - negotiated by militant groups - has been shattered with the arrest of Abu Faraj al-Libbi of al-Qaeda and country-wide crackdowns on militant groups.
Following Abu Faraj's apprehension last week in connection with two assassination attempts against Musharraf in 2003, the government placed the country on high security alert. Generally, such alerts remain in place for three to four days, but it is still in place, and is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future as military and security installations, important personalities and airports are considered at risk.
Asia Times Online has learned that Musharraf's administration secretly secured a deal with al-Qaeda after a series of attacks from the tribal belt of North West Frontier Province to the southern port city of Karachi rattled the country last year. Al-Qaeda has also openly called for the overthrow of Musharraf. The government had launched an unpopular intensive military operation in South Waziristan to root out al-Qaeda and foreign operators, resulting in the death of several hundred soldiers - the operation was bitterly opposed by local tribespeople. The initiative also resulted in a strong backlash within the army.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ABU FARAJ AL LIBI
al-Qaeda
Asif Zardari
Benazir Bhutto
Ejazul Haq
Former military dictator General Zia ul-Haq
MAULANA ABDUL AZIZ
Lal Masjid
Maulana Abdullah
MAULANA ABDUL RASHID GHAZI
Lal Masjid
Pakistan Peoples Party
QAZI HUSEIN AHMED
Jamaat-i-Islami
Shaukat Aziz
al-Qaeda
Jamaat-i-Islami
Lal Masjid
Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:54 ||
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Names associated with these cells include Asif Zardari, the husband of the chairperson of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir Bhutto
Saying Zardari is working with Jihadi terror cells is a pretty bold claim.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/11/2005 3:57 Comments ||
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Reportedly, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has either a nuclear bomb or the materials for a "dirty bomb." Whether that is true remains to be discovered, but it does raise the question how much do we know about al Qaeda's WMD program. Not surprisingly Osama bin Laden views the acquisition of WMD capabilities as a right and religious duty for an Islamist. As such al Qaeda established an organizational structure for its WMD-development program.
A few months ago, the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat began publishing excerpts and a review of a book entitled The Story of the Arab Afghans From the Time of Arrival in Afghanistan Until Their Departure With the Taliban. This was reportedly authored by a senior religious leader, possibly even a member of the Shura Council, of al Qaeda. Although it was not focused on the WMD issue it did provide some important insights that may have been missed and that are even more relevant in light of the Zarqawi reports.
One key was that Abu-Hafs al-Masri, a.k.a. Mohammed Atef, in the role of military commander (a position analogous to the secretary of defense for al Qaeda, i.e. number 3), was personally in charge of al Qaeda's efforts to gain a WMD capability. Bin Laden himself, sometime in the early 1990s, added this duty to the position. In fact, Atef's predecessor, Abu-Ubaydah al-Banshiri, was on a mission to procure material for a dirty bomb possibly part of the embassy-bombing plot originally planned for 1996 but delayed until 1998 when he drowned in Lake Victoria in May of 1996.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ABU HAFS AL MASRI
al-Qaeda
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI
al-Qaeda
ABU UBAIDAH AL BANSHIRI
al-Qaeda
ABU ZUBAIDAH
al-Qaeda
COL. ABU WAIL
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Haydar al-Shammari
KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMED
al-Qaeda
MOHAMED ATEF
al-Qaeda
SAIF AL ADIL
al-Qaeda
Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades
Ansar al-Islam
A. Q. Khan Network
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:52 ||
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The most powerful warlords in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, have agreed to set up a united force, which they say will restore security to the lawless city.
They say they will start withdrawing some of their battle wagons and gunmen from the city by the end of the week.
The BBC's Hassan Barise, just back from Mogadishu, says this is a big step forward in the peace process.
However, some rival members of the exiled government fear that the new force could be used against them.
The Mogadishu warlords are opposed to a peacekeeping force, with the proposed inclusion of Ethiopian troops proving controversial.
A group of MPs based in exile in Nairobi has accused neighbouring Ethiopia of smuggling weapons into Somalia in violation of a United Nations arms embargo and sending troops across the border.
They warn the new weapons could lead to the resumption of fighting in Baidoa - a possible alternative site for the government to be based in if Mogadishu remains too dangerous.
Ethiopia has denied the allegations.
Like the entire country, Mogadishu is divided between rival warlords, whose gunmen can be seen operating roadblocks on many street corners, where they demand money from commercial vehicles.
Our correspondent says this is the first time that the rival Mogadishu warlords, who have been bitter enemies for many years, have agreed to work together.
He says they want to show that the capital is safe enough for the government to set up there.
The new force will dismantle the roadblocks and end banditry, say the warlords, who are all ministers in the new government.
Warlords Mohammed Qanyare Affra, Osman Ali Atto and Muse Sudi Yalahow have agreed on what proportion of the new force each will contribute.
The position of the other main Mogadishu warlord, Hussein Aideed, is not clear.
Mr Qanyare told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the gunmen will be retrained and turned into a security force.
"We want to remove from the city, technicals [battle-wagons] and the militia, in order to get normal security," he said.
However, our correspondent says that, for the moment, the gunmen are likely to remain loyal to the warlords, rather than President Abdullahi Yusuf, who has little support in Mogadishu.
Last week, a blast killed at least 14 people in Mogadishu, as Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi made a speech during his first visit to the city since being appointed.
He later said the blast was an accident and denied he had been targeted.
The transitional government is under pressure from foreign donors to relocate to Somalia.
But Somalia's political leaders and warlords are divided over where in Somalia the administration should be based.
While the interim constitution names Mogadishu as the capital, the city is considered the most dangerous place in Somalia.
The regional body, Igad, has agreed to send up to 10,000 peacekeepers to Somalia to provide security for the government.
However, officials say a lack of funding and security fears mean their deployment looks set to be delayed.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:34 ||
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Our correspondent says this is the first time that the rival Mogadishu warlords, who have been bitter enemies for many years, have agreed to work together.
Hey, I'm optimistic. Aren't you?
I figure the government ought to be moving back from Kenya about the same time the first Somali astronaut walks on Mars...
#2
Sound like a Spemble Tu. First the clans need to get to know each other, maybe have a goat-dance or two and divide up the sand. I envison a great air hockey tournament to decide.
Al-Qaeda in Algeria issued a letter on May 8th, 2005 decrying any action by militants towards surrender to the Algerian government during the government's amnesty period, implemented by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The letter, written by Abu Soheib Miliani, describes a demoralized group "living in the mountain [and] in bad shapeâŠ[they]âŠare swinging between [accepting the Algerian government's offers of] forgiveness and humiliation or staying where they are".
Despite demoralization of the movement, Miliani states that the "jihad in Algeria is readyâŠwe are targeting the Jews and crusaders, individuals, embassies, and interests that are the enemy'sâŠThe [Islamic] nation is united in attacking them everywhere." They have "denounced any action which targets innocent civilians and all Algerian people"
Miliani extols the international jihadist front to remember "the country which taught the world how to sacrifice" and not forsake the Algerian jihad movement. He further suggests that now is the time for al-Qaeda in Algeria to regroup as well as the time to grow. He writes that right now " is open for everyone who wants to in the field forming small cells⊠[however] They must show with every operationâŠ. that they belong in a jihad organization in Algeria. They also must [arrange to] be covered by the media by sending videos of their operations to the station channels to publish or posting them on the internet."
Miliani finished his letter with a message "âŠto mujahid Sheikh Ali Ben Haj: the nation trusts you. You are the leader of the mujahideenâŠ.you can fix it [the jihad]âŠ. The solution is that you disappear. It does not matter where⊠Hide where you can continue guiding and preaching through the statements and visual recordingâŠThe young men trust you, your leadership is very important, especially in creating sharia lawâŠThousands of people will follow, and Islam and Muslims will be glorious."
This article starring:
ABU SOHEIB MILIANI
al-Qaeda
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
SHEIKH ALI BEN HAJ
Salafist Group for Preaching and Fighting
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:26 ||
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Taliban leader Mulla Mohammad Omar has rejected an offer of amnesty and ordered his men to battle on against US and Afghan government forces, a Taliban spokesman said on Tuesday. The man in charge of Afghan government efforts to persuade the Taliban to give up their fight said for the first time on Monday Omar would be accepted under an amnesty offer. "We don't need any guarantee of safety from the government," Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said by telephone from an undisclosed location in Quetta. "We're not hiding. Mullah Omar, our leader, is not hiding. Rather, he is fighting."
More than 80 insurgents have been killed over the past week in the south and east, the US military said. Two US Marines were killed, clearing a cave on Sunday and 10 government men were killed last week. The Taliban deny suffering such heavy losses and say they killed many more government and US troops. President Hamid Karzai has tried to tempt fighters to give up under an amnesty open to all except militant leaders associated with atrocities or Al Qaeda, but only a handful have accepted.
Former president Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, who is in charge of the amnesty programme, told a news conference on Monday it would also be open to Omar and another wanted anti-government militant chief, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
Karzai, who is visiting Europe this week, has not confirmed Mojaddedi's announcement. A US military spokesman said the amnesty was not a general one and people who had commited crimes would have to be held responsible. The Taliban spokesman dismissed the announcement by Mojaddedi, who was a leader of anti-Soviet Islamic fighters during their jihad, or Muslim holy war, in the 1980s. He briefly became president in the early 1990s. "Mojaddedi is not aware of the facts," Hakimi said. "Why has he forgotten the lesson of jihad? He himself fought against the Soviets."
Omar had ordered Taliban fighters to battle on, Hakimi said. "On his orders we have increased attacks on US forces in recent weeks and will continue this."
This article starring:
ABDUL LATIF HAKIMI
Taliban
GULBUDIN HEKMATYAR
Hizb-i-Islami
Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/11/2005 00:24 ||
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I've always thought the phrase, "punishing the one eyed Mullah" would be used more often by college students explaining why they were late for something.
The Supreme Court has been asked to throw out contempt orders against two journalists who refused to reveal sources in the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity. Lawyers for Time magazine's Matthew Cooper and The New York Times' Judith Miller want the justices to clarify protections reporters have in keeping sources confidential. Cooper's appeal was filed Tuesday; Miller's was made Monday. The Supreme Court ends a nine-month term next month and could not consider the cases before next fall.
Cooper and Miller face up to 18 months in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury as part of an investigation into who divulged the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Disclosure of an undercover intelligence officer's identity can be a federal crime... Cooper reported on Plame, while Miller gathered material for an article about the intelligence officer but never wrote a story. A federal judge held the reporters in contempt last fall, and an appeals court rejected their argument that the First Amendment shielded them from revealing their sources. And here is the lede, buried at the end:
Lawyers for Cooper argued in their appeal that without protection for confidential sources, journalists cannot keep people informed.
#1
Great - the Supreme Court is going to invent another right out of thin air. I can't wait for more ethereal pronouncements about umbras and penumbras.
#5
Lawyers for Cooper argued in their appeal that without protection for confidential sources, journalists cannot keep people informed.
For small values of "informed".
Anonymous sources are an excuse to print rumor, lies, and outright fabrications without accountability. An ethical press would limit their use to verified information in cases when the source's life could be in danger. A bureaucrat "risking" his career is not enough. A background briefing from an administration official is not enough.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/11/2005 7:38 Comments ||
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#6
Long before there were 'confidential sources', we used to enjoy some aspect of true and effective journalism. Since the community has thrown away quality, there is no need to create immunities. Clean their own house first, then come seeking standing.
#7
Actually, I will disagree with the majority opinion on this one. There are more than adequate ways for the federal government to pry information from journalists when they really *need* to--just not free license to do so when some whistle-blower steps on their toes. Which is the majority of the time. All sorts of skeletons in the closet, dirty tricks, scams, schemes, rip-offs, partisan political stunts, and cheats done with the complicity of corrupt officials are the norm. And such villains *hate* to be whistle-blown, and always want to punish the whistle-blowers. This goes back to the "muck raking" journalists of the 19th Century, who exposed graft & bribery, prison and insane asylum abuses, military contractor corruption, foreign government influence peddling, illegal voting practices, lethal pollution and unsafe food preparation, organized crime, child sweat shop labor, etc. Now, in none of these circumstances, you might agree, should the politicians and officials *responsible* for them in the first place be allowed to track down and eliminate, punish, or exterminate whoever leaked the truth to a journalist? And just thinking back to the Clinton administration, how many whistle-blowers exposed the travel office scandal, the Castle Grande & Whitewater scandals, the cattle futures scandal, the Chinese fund-raising scandals, ad nauseum? And, if the Clinton people had been able to force journalists to reveal their sources, how many of these scandals would have stayed hidden?
#8
Moose, none of those scandals depended on anonymous sources.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/11/2005 10:28 Comments ||
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#9
shhhhh RC....
interesting that the reporters in this case continue to stonewall. Haven't all the good (i.e.Republican) suspects gone on record as allowing the reporters to disclose their involvement, if any? Who does that leave?....hmmm...
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/11/2005 10:37 Comments ||
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#10
And, if the Clinton people had been able to force journalists to reveal their sources, how many of these scandals would have stayed hidden?
None of these were national-security violations, which the MSM loudly proclaimed about the Plame brouhaha.
#11
Any and all accused have the right to know thier accuser, and to know the full merits and or
demerits of the allegations against him
or her - the only only thing the USSC is
gonna do is to to slowly but steadily nullify their own authority as the Third Branch of Government responsible for the interpretation of laws and the adjudication of the accused.Judges and COurts will no longer determine the merits of allegations or defend the rights of any accused - the police, Government Agencies and the
Medias, etc. will determine whose
guilty or innocent, as dependent by ratings, budgets, and political nepotism. We'll need Socialism, Big Govt., and Regulation just to make sure Mom is still Mom, Grandpa is still Grandpa, and Your Name is Still your Name, iff only for the time being, as per the politics and
special interests of the moment!? The Failed Left, Clintons and Commies wanna kill America forever,and they have no qualms inducing or getting Americans to destroy themselves and their Nation! CLINTONISM > mainstream or middle America is already Communist, Socialist, and
anti-American, where the GOP, the Right, and alleged Ameri FASCISM is both devolved from and controlled by the Left and America's Communist-LeftSocialist majority while existing surreally apart and unique from the Left. A per se hated Nazi/Hitlerist/Fascist is till a hated Nazi/Hitlerist/Fascist, but a Communist is
a Nazi/Hitlerist/Fascist whose still for Marxism, Stalinism, Leftism and Communism,
i.e. a good, societally respectable Nazi/Hitlerist/Fascist!? Now lets all
be Clintonians and PC hope for US military invasion, stalemate or defeat ags North Korea Iran, etc. while ranting ags War -
let's all vote in 2008 for Hillary and her People's Waffen SS Soviet Cookie Corp and
Cupcake Getapo Red Guards and the
StalinPanzers, D*** You!?
SQUEEZED A CHARMIN WO PERMISSION, BAKED A CAKE AT A MERE 275 DEGREES, DID YOU, WELL YOU'RE GOING TO JAIL AND GUANTANAMO, MISTER!
King Abdullah of Jordan has agreed to pardon Ahmed Chalabi, the controversial Iraqi political leader, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for fraud after his bank collapsed with $300m (£160m) in missing deposits in 1989. Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President, asked the king to resolve the differences between Jordan and Mr Chalabi, now Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, during a visit to Amman this week. Latif Rashid, the Iraqi minister of water resources, said Mr Talabani confirmed to him that King Abdullah had promised, in effect, to quash the conviction. He expected there would first be a meeting between Jordanian officials and Mr Chalabi "who has some questions of his own." The rest of the article gives details of Ahmed Chalabi's extraordinarily convoluted journey from Mathematics prodigy to Deputy PM of Iraq.
Egypt's parliament has passed a controversial constitutional amendment scorned by opposition MPs who had earlier threatened to boycott the session. The amendment, proposed by President Hosni Mubarak, will allow multi-candidate presidential elections for the first time in Egypt. The 454-seat house, dominated by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), approved the amendment by a show of hands on Tuesday. Aljazeera later reported that 405 of the total 454 MPs voted in favour of the amendment. The opposition parties and groups aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood walked out of the parliament session in protest. They felt the amendment was inadequate.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2005 00:00 ||
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Two main rebel groups in Sudan's conflict ridden Western Darfur region have declared their commitment to a ceasefire and to unconditionally resume talks with the Sudanese government. Officials from the two rebel groups made the announcement after talks with Libyan officials trying to mediate in the conflict. "We announce in front of Colonel al-Qadhafi that we are completely committed to a ceasefire," Khalil Ibrahim, senior official of the Justice and Equality Movement, said to a round of applause from a gathering of about 200 political, tribal and military personalities attended by the Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi. "And we declare that we agree to resume negotiations ... without any preconditions," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2005 00:00 ||
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Please tell me somebody is smuggling guns to the "rebels"...
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.
Pakistan's Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Zakah and Ushr 
Mohiuddin Chowdhury, incumbent mayor and opposition 
Brasilia, May 11 (Prensa Latina) The South American-Arabian Summit is winding down today with a final declaration that will recognize IraqÂŽs right to resist foreign occupation. The text will condemn terrorism but will recognize peopleÂŽs right to fight any foreign occupation within international law, according to Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim. This is an issue directly related to the occupation of Iraq by a US-led coalition and the Palestine territories occupied by Israel. 
The rural communities across the country have made material and technical preparations for farming such as securing high-yielding seeds, making various kinds of big and small farm implements, producing or repairing farm machines and fertilizing fields. Despite of sharp temperature disparity between daytime and night and continued gale, they have sowed seeds in time. 
The United States and other countries have secretly sent scores of Islamist detainees to Egypt since the mid-1990s, where they have likely been tortured, a human rights group has said. 
Palestinian President 
Registration of candidates has begun for Iran's 17 June presidential election which will choose a successor to President 
KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait announced on Wednesday it has completed indictments against former Iraqi leader 
Egypt's parliament has passed a controversial constitutional amendment scorned by opposition MPs who had earlier threatened to boycott the session. The amendment, proposed by President 
Two main rebel groups in Sudan's conflict ridden Western Darfur region have declared their commitment to a ceasefire and to unconditionally resume talks with the Sudanese government. Officials from the two rebel groups made the announcement after talks with Libyan officials trying to mediate in the conflict. "We announce in front of Colonel al-Qadhafi that we are completely committed to a ceasefire," 
