Police in Riyadh continued their raids in several districts on Friday. According to a police report, the raids are part of a continuing crackdown on all types of illegal activities and those suspected of taking part in them. The areas in which the raids occurred were Al-Janadriya District, Al-Oud District and Al-Thulaim District near Al-Manfooha. The police report said that 30 suspects, all of them illegal residents, were apprehended in Janadriya. A stolen vehicle, originally rented by a Saudi from a car rental company, was also found during the raid. A rented house was raided in which an Indian was found to be running a gambling den. The police also shut down 21 unlicensed businesses specializing in international phone services and arrested six Bangladeshis for running the businesses.
Last week, police officers arrested four Saudis on drug charges in the Haraj Bin Qassim area of Riyadh. A gang which forged iqamas was arrested when police raided the house they operated from. Some 32 forged iqamas, 15 forged passports, and 25 medical certificates were confiscated, in addition to several stamps used by the group to stamp fake documents.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:15 ||
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Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Saturday US policy aimed at stopping Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, which, he said, was damaging his country's space industry. "The unilateral practice by the United States of sanctions in the field of control of exports in respect of Russian space enterprises, as well as certain provisions of the law on non-proliferation regarding Iran" were an obstacle to economic cooperation between Russia and the US, he told an audience of US investors.
Putin's target was the 2000 Iran Non-Proliferation Act which bans the purchase of technologies from countries that do not respect it. Washington believes that Iran is seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction. Moscow is helping Iran build a nuclear power station but with US worries in mind, Russia has stressed that its contract violates no law or international agreement and will go ahead only if Tehran gives the watertight assurances the world has demanded that it will not pursue uranium enrichment.
Russia's space industry is penalised by the law as it is banned from selling space equipment to the US. "Our programmes with Iran are transparent, open and controlled by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," Putin said, speaking in Saint Petersburg. "And so there is no lack of understanding, no mutual reproach or suspicion in respect of the Iranian leadership."
#1
Hey, he's had the choice since it passed in 2000 of either selling launchers to the US or selling nukes to Iran. He's chosen the latter.
I'd rather *not have a space program* than buy the parts from the guys selling Iran the bomb. IMHO.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/26/2005 0:32 Comments ||
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#2
The next (and hopefully last) shuttle mission should evacuate all US and any Russ that want to come home and set the demolition charges on the US modules of the ISS. Otherwise this law is useless. Unless they re-word it to no launches except those that feed US astronauts or allow US astronauts a safe reentry.
#3
The notion of long-term collaborative efforts, especially where we are dependent upon (i.e. we don't have a US mfg'd fallback) another country, is sheer stupidity - and Putty is the poster child proof. More fallout from the nummy-nummy feel-good Clintoon Camelot II era. So much potential wasted. He's in the running for International Hermaphrodite of the Decade - so few have so thoroughly fucked themselves. Arafat, Khomeini & Co, ronery Kimmie, Chirac, Shroeder, Annan, Chavez, Mubarak, Pervy, Assad, Niyazov (of Turkmenistan), Soros, et al - there are quite a few similar tools and fools, blinded by their own propaganda, sharing the stage and vying for the dishonor, but in terms of sum lost opportunity, squandered good will, stupid choices, personal egomania / self-aggrandizement, and just simply wasted time on-station, well, Putty's at or very near the top of the list.
China is building its military forces faster than U.S. intelligence and military analysts expected, prompting fears that Beijing will attack Taiwan in the next two years
Moderator note: do not, repeat do NOT, embed the source link as an 'href' tag in the story. Put it in the 'source' box in the Poster, where it's supposed to go. We do the rest behind the scenes. Thanks,
Posted by: john ||
06/26/2005 09:58 ||
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#1
Reference Old Patriot's post elsewhere regarding hitting China's big freakin' 3 Gorges Dam. I'd make that target #1.
#2
This impresses me as a tad fishy. Bill Gertz is the official Pentagon leaker, so I have a feeling the Pentagon is trying to do or get something. The tip-off is the "two year" timeframe and the rather excited tone of the article.
President Roh Moo-hyun said Saturday that North Korea's nuclear ambitions were the biggest threat to regional peace, and he called for a prompt resumption of six-nation disarmament talks. The talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions "must resume soon, and we are making our best efforts for this," Roh said, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. "The North Korean nuclear issue will definitely be resolved peacefully." The participants in the talks are the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. "The North's nuclear issue is the biggest threat now to peace on the Korean peninsula," Roh told war veterans in Seoul, according to the news agency.
Saturday was the 55th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war. The North has boycotted the disarmament negotiations for a year, citing what it calls "hostile" U.S. policies. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il raised hopes last week when he told a visiting South Korean Cabinet minister of a possible return to the table as early as next month, if the North gets appropriate respect from the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Roh gets my "F**kin' Duh" Statement of the Day nomination. Nitwit.
#2
tomorrow he'll say something different. Get our troops out
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2005 10:09 Comments ||
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#3
Get our troops out and annouce we are going to target areas that could be potentially overrun. Just to make sure SK industry does not fall into NK's hands in the event things "go badly".
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
06/26/2005 11:41 Comments ||
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MILAN, June 25 - The extraordinary decision by an Italian judge to order the arrest of 13 people linked to the Central Intelligence Agency on charges of kidnapping a terrorism suspect here dramatizes a growing rift between American counterterrorism officials and their counterparts in Europe.
European counterterrorism officials have pursued a policy of building criminal cases against terrorism suspects through surveillance, wire-taps, detective work and the criminal justice system. It's not a war, just a job for Colombo and Joe Friday. The United States, however, has frequently used other means since Sept. 11, 2001, including renditions - abducting terror suspects from foreign countries and transporting them for questioning to third countries, some of which are known to use torture. Maybe they're at war, eh?
Those two approaches seem to have collided in the case of an Egyptian cleric, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, or Abu Omar, who led a militant mosque in Milan.
By early 2003, the Italian secret police were aggressively pursuing a criminal terrorism case against Mr. Nasr, with the help of American intelligence officials. Italian investigators said they had told the Americans they had strong evidence that he was trying to build a terror recruitment network, possibly aimed for Iraq if the United States went forward with plans to topple Saddam Hussein.
On Feb. 17, 2003, Mr. Nasr disappeared.
When the Italians began investigating, they said, they were startled to find evidence that some of the C.I.A. officers who had been helping them investigate Mr. Nasr were involved in his abduction.
"We do feel quite betrayed that this operation was carried out in our city," a senior Italian investigator said. "We supplied them information about Abu Omar, and then they used that information against us, undermining an entire operation against his terrorist network."
He and other senior Italian officials in Milan's police and prosecutor's office were angry enough to answer detailed questions about the case, but insisted on anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
snip. 1/3 of entire article. At least they feel like they have to explain using anonymous sources 'cause otherwise every one would think they made up the quote.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
06/26/2005 08:08 ||
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#1
decision by an Italian judge to order the arrest of 13 people linked to the Central Intelligence Agency
#2
Italian investigators said they had told the Americans they had strong evidence that he was trying to build a terror recruitment network, possibly aimed for Iraq if the United States went forward with plans to topple Saddam Hussein.
On Feb. 17, 2003, Mr. Nasr disappeared.
They seem to think that making one of the "boss" bad guys go away was a bad thing.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/26/2005 9:00 Comments ||
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#3
according to the NYT, everything dramatizes a growing rift between America and everyone else in the world. Tell me NYT, why should I get excited over this, when the fact that America is reponsible for McDonalds and the Olive Garden food chain is probably faarr more offensive to the Average Italian than this event?
I wonder if that's how they talk around the NYT office.
"Yo, embattled senior reporter! A junior reporter has been quoted as saying that you grabbed her ass in the elevator. Executives in the human resources department allege that you're going to be in a quagmire amid mounting doo-doo if that's true."
Posted by: Matt ||
06/26/2005 11:54 Comments ||
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#5
Lol, Matt! What - no convenient chicken little quotes from unnamed sources? You're too kind, bro, lol!
#6
Yawn, some leftist/commie Italian Judge did this on his own, this isn'ty the italian government, the people of italy or anything else. It's just a fellow traveler of the NYT neo-communists acting on his own.
#7
Sorry folks but after reading the report in the Washington Post and Corriere de la Sera I must say that these CIA guys acted like bloody fools and deserve to be arrested.
I won't comment on the practice of "extraordinary rendition" as such but if it's necessary and done, you don't leave a paper trail behind like this to embarrass your host country that (probably) looked away deliberately.
A lavish life in luxury hotels, stupid cellphone use and leaving passport copies at car rentals: Excuse me but what the hell do they teach at the farm?
#8
The farm, like most of the CIA is a joke nowadays. They don't teach real undercover agent work. It is a big obstacle course. whee...
Look the to NSA for actual fieldwork.
The Arab TV news network criticized by the new Iraqi government and others for its anti-American bias and willingness to carry the messages of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, is headed for the U.S.-Mexico border to document how easy it is to enter America illegally.
Al-Jazeera has contacted Minuteman Civil Defense Corps leader Chris Simcox to try to arrange interviews. Simcox, who rejected the request for cooperation with the TV network, says al-Jazeera, seen by millions throughout the Arab world and elsewhere, is producing an hour-long documentary news special on lack of security at the U.S. southern border.
Al-Jazeera reporter Naisser Hssaini mentioned the increase in apprehensions of illegal aliens known as OTMs â other than Mexicans. These foreigners increasingly include Arabs, Muslims and others from the Middle East. The reporter also mentioned his familiarity with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement police of catching and releasing OTMS â particularly those not specifically known to be on any terrorist watch list.
"The group has been denied requests for interviews by Minuteman Civil Defense Corps organizers but they still insist on filming the groupsâ activities along with the rest of the media during a July 4th weekend mission near Arivaca, Arizona," said Simcox.
Simcox has contacted the offices of Arizona's two Republican U.S. senators â John McCain and Jon Kyl â to invite them to do interviews with al Jazeera, "so perhaps they can explain to the viewers of this news outlet just how secure America's borders really are."
"The offices of the Arizona members of the United States House of Representatives will also be contacted to alert them to the presence and the intent by the al-Jazeera news crew to film the lack of security along the U.S. border with Mexico," said Simcox. "The office of the Department of Homeland Security will also be notified. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps also wonders just what DHS would tell al-Jazeera about the condition of our border security."
Simcox also mentioned the U.S. Border Patrol has already been notified.
"Would we allow Japanese or German television to film the unsecured border during World War II?" asked Minuteman spokeswoman Connie Hair. "These people broadcast to the enemies of America. It's not a news story, it's recon."
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is the citizen border patrol that virtually stopped illegal crossings from Mexico in a highly trafficked area of Arizona. It is now making plans for similar actions in other areas, other states and along the Canadian border.
#2
If I were the minute men - I'd be sure and spread all kinds of disinformation to these spies. Get your "unwilling", "unknowing" and "willing" experts" ready and give them so much garbage information that they have no idea what they are looking at.
#3
"Of course the *best* way to sneak into the US is to cross the Mexican "Tortured Desert", then to take "Hell's Trail" through the Barry M. Goldwater Firing Range. It is best to travel light. The weak Americans stay out of there, but a strong Arab or African man would have no problem on foot. Once you are north of the border, then seek out the Apache Indians who hunt there. They have long been oppressed by the white man, and so they will help you on your way. From there, it's just a day or two to Detroit."
#4
nice that Simcox didn't play ball. He also put McCain (who's a limpwrist at enforcing the border) on the spot. Kyl's a good man
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2005 10:38 Comments ||
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#5
Simcox has contacted the offices of Arizona's two Republican U.S. senators â John McCain and Jon Kyl â to invite them to do interviews with al Jazeera,
#7
With your past repporting of al-Qaida recruiting in South America this will be their "how to" video. Hats off to Simcox for bringing this out. Lets hope McCain does the interview and our boys follow these ass holes back and kill them and their friends.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
06/26/2005 14:15 Comments ||
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#8
FYI, the "Tortured Desert" is appropriately named, with mountains of grey volcanic rock that look like modeling clay torn apart then shot with buckshot. There are almost no lifeforms there, no water, and not even any indians. It continues North as the BMG Firing Range, and just to drive Hell's Trail you are required by the military to take 2 4WD vehicles and medium-range radio transmitter, and rifles, when they aren't actively shelling the place. Unexploded ordnance litters the nasty terrain. It is patrolled by a team of full-blood Apache Indians who "hunt" drug smugglers, are paid by the feds, and don't carry handcuffs. All-in-all, you're looking at about a 300 mile hoof through the nastiest mountainous rocky desert in North America. I wouldn't send Saddam there when he is hung it is so nasty.
#9
Maybe we can offer a free pass and amnesty to the Mexican who rats out an "Other Than Mexican" person trying to cross. Maybe we already have?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/26/2005 17:46 Comments ||
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#10
Again, I advocate paying a bounty to any Mexican national who rats out a non-Mexican crossing the border. Paying them anywhere from $100 - $50,000 would have the same effect as offering a $10M bounty on the north side of the border. The important thing is to not combine it with any other anti-illegal alien plan. It must be done *solely* to keep terrorists out of the US.
#11
The Arab TV news network criticized by the new Iraqi government and others for its anti-American bias and willingness to carry the messages of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, is headed for the U.S.-Mexico border to document how easy it is to enter America illegally.
If this has the effect of forcing the government to actually do something substantial about border security, then I'm all for it. And maybe it should be shown on U.S. TV with subtitles, if necessary.
#12
Document? they're looking to see where the best place to cross is. Compared to the weather and terrain over there, our southern border is like a walk in the proverbial park. I like the idea of having the Mexicans turn them in and getting rewarded for it. That actually just might work.
Posted by: Jan ||
06/27/2005 0:03 Comments ||
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Senior U.S. and Saudi officials as well as a senior member of the diplomatic community in Riyadh told NBC News that Prince Bandar bin Sultan tendered his resignation as ambassador to the U.S. to Crown Prince Abdullah in recent days. The resignation appears to be the result of continuing health problems for the 56-year-old envoy. âYou can feel comfortable reporting that,â said the western diplomat confirming what several Saudi and U.S. officials had told NBC News about the Prince's resignation. Bandar is the dean of the Washington diplomatic community. He has been a powerful figure in the U.S. since being named envoy in September 1983.
Posted by: ed ||
06/26/2005 18:42 ||
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#1
Bandar is the dean of the Washington diplomatic community.
Do thank MSNBC for that last blowjob before you leave, 'Prince'.
#4
Lol, mhw - you're kidding, right? 'Twas a figure of speech - and stupendously accurate, too. He holds the DC record for fawning sycophants - a.k.a. State Dept employees.
During a tour of the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists on Saturday, House Republicans and Democrats, including one who has advocated closing the facility, said the United States has made progress in improving conditions and protecting detainees' rights. The U.S. lawmakers witnessed interrogations, toured cellblocks and ate the same lunch given to detainees on the first congressional visit to the prison for suspected terrorists since criticism of it intensified in the spring. A Senate delegation also was visiting this weekend. "The Guantanamo we saw today is not the Guantanamo we heard about a few years ago," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif.
There wasn't a Camp X-Ray or Camp Delta a few years ago. And even when first built the camps were better, and tried the inmates better, than your average federal pen ...
Still, lawmakers from both parties agree more still must be done to ensure an adequate legal process is in place to handle detainee cases. In the meantime, said Rep. Joe Schwarz, R-Mich., "I think they're doing the best they can to define due process here." Republicans and Democrats alike fear the prison at the U.S. Navy base in eastern Cuba is hurting the United States' image because of claims that interrogators have abused and tortured inmates. The White House and Pentagon say conditions are humane and detainees are well-treated. Lawmakers wanted to see for themselves.
After getting a classified briefing from base commanders, the House delegation ate lunch with troops â the same meal of chicken with orange sauce, rice and okra that detainees were served. They then toured several of the barbed-wire camps where detainees are housed, viewing small cells, dusty recreation yards and common areas. From behind one-way mirrors, lawmakers watched interrogators grilling three individual terror suspects. None of the interrogators touched detainees. In one session, they questioned a man who defense officials said was a Saudi national and admitted al-Qaida member who was picked up in Afghanistan and knew nine of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers. In another, a female interrogator took an unusual approach to wear down a detainee, reading a Harry Potter book aloud for hours. He turned his back and put his hands over his ears.
Harry Potter? They're reading pretty quality infidel literature to these guys. They could learn English with Harry Potter.
At a communal camp for those given privileges because of good behavior, bearded detainees in white frocks, flip-flops and skull caps quietly lingered near lawmakers, although from behind fences. Later, the detainees played soccer. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, is one of many Democrats who have called for an independent commission to investigate abuse allegations and have said the facility should close. She said she stood by that position, but acknowledged, "What we've seen here is evidence that we've made progress." The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., questioned the criteria for determining when a detainee can be released. "Perhaps the standard's been too liberal," he said, noting that some of those released have returned to the battlefield.
Sheila Lee must have had cramps the whole trip, not being able to believe what she was seeing with her own eyes ...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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In another, a female interrogator took an unusual approach to wear down a detainee, reading a Harry Potter book aloud for hours. He turned his back and put his hands over his ears.
He probabally started gettin into the story line and realized he was enjoying it...VERY VERY Halaal, bad hadji..very bad hadji!
Posted by: Red Dog aka th4463 ||
06/26/2005 1:42 Comments ||
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#3
Torture, indeed. Just think, a chance to catch up on the backlog of reading material we all accumulate. I'm jealous. Our interrogators will be the most erudite, scholarly, versant and urbane thumb-twisters anywhere. Of course, they already are...
#4
Lesson to Tauscher and Jackson Lee: Know what the hell your talking about before opening your pie hole. What a couple of jerk offs (in a figurative sense).
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/26/2005 2:28 Comments ||
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#5
sigh. Not to flog a very dead horse, but the title of this article really ticks me off.
Talk about democrats getting the opportunity to make lemonaide from lemons. First. the title of the article simply accepts the premise that Guantanamo was in need of improvement, without question.
And second, what really ticks me, is that this allows these Dems a fine out from the very deserved fallout they were facing for trumpeting that Guantanamo was a "gulag".
So what we are left with from this article is that Guantanmo used to be sooooo bad, but now it is better. The Dems can quietly exit stage left on this issue without being held responsible for their outrageous remarks.
#8
And here's the answer, guys, right in the article - "'The Guantanamo we saw today is not the Guantanamo we heard about a few years ago,' said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif."
We heard about. Close it becasue of what we heard about. So this is like the Koran-flushing article - we heard about it and reacted as if it were fact. Morons.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/26/2005 9:01 Comments ||
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#10
Jackson Lee is the one who wants us to return on a manned trip to Mars. Stupid b*tch. Tauscher is no better. Intellectual dimbulbs on a Pelosi-like level
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2005 10:07 Comments ||
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#11
I think we should begin trips to Mars and send every Dem that wants to go!
#13
I think they sent the telephone cleaning people and accounts first to set things up? Why not send the Democrats and LLL first and let them start on that utopia they are always talking about.
When Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visited Iraq last year to tour the Abu Ghraib prison camp, military officials did not rely on a government-issued Humvee to transport him safely on the ground. Instead, they turned to Halliburton, the oil services contractor, which lent the Pentagon a rolling fortress of steel called the Rhino Runner.
State Department officials traveling in Iraq use armored vehicles that are built with V-shaped hulls to better deflect bullets and bombs. Members of Congress favor another model, called the M1117, which can endure 12-pound explosives and .50-caliber armor-piercing rounds.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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The Humvee wasn't originally designed for or procured for the present mission environment in Iraq.
The Humvee did quite well taking down Saddam G 2 and in Gulf War 1, missions that they were designed for. etc. etc.
NYT, 'nuff said.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
06/26/2005 2:04 Comments ||
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#2
Heh, RD. Why, if we didn't already know better, we might be persuaded to believe the NYT actually cared about the troops. But, alas, they're about as subtle in their BDS dementia as the Rhino Runner would be in suburbia. We all already know it's the US body count that is their real unalloyed focus, their agenda wet dream, their anti-American perversion. This is just a small dig they're floating - to stay in practice. Fuck off, assholes.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Cute story. The subtext is that a stable Arab dictator on our side beats an unstable democracy any day.
The story fails to mention just how elastic oil prices/demand can be. At some point, i.e. a higher point, substitutes will come into play whatever oil is used for at that point.
This also "simulation" fails to take into account myriad economic factors that could occur. The story only addresses the politics of spiking oil prices.
Anyone remember 1982? I did. That year gas prices in Oklahoma spiked at 2.38 a gallon, that was more than 20 years ago. Only a few months later, prices were halved, a year later they were halved again.
When I see oil companies trying desperately to offload their oil and gas properties, I will worry.
#2
All of the shortfalls simulated will happen in the next 12 months without supply disruptions. Without a major recession demand over the next 12 months will increase by between 2 and 3 millions barrels. This is up to 5 times larger than the simulated disruptions. I am sure you figure the rest out for yourselves.
#4
Ship, you don't get it. We are at the limit of oil supply. Absent a major new source of energy, economic growth will slow to the point that oil demand doesn't rise further since there is no more supply, irrespective of the price. In practice this means economic growth will slow to the rate at which we become more energy efficent. Historically and from memory this about 1% perannum and remember this will be distributed across all economies. But then you have to factor in the sustainability babble which I don't have hard data for for but I am convinced is significantly slowing the increasing energy efficiency trend. China and other parts of Asia will continue to grow, and hence most of the world goes into prolonged recession. To me the logic seems unassailable.
#5
No I understand completely. It means those with the funds will be the ones buying the oil. I suspect the west will have funds for an indefinite time. I expect the pinch to hit India and China thereby cutting demand. But seriously, (I'm curious) does Australia tax fuel to the extent of the Eurozone?
#8
Okay, a question - we have heard for years that one reason we aren't pumping more of our own oil is that is wasn't 'economically feasible' at $25.00/bbl or even $30/$40 bbl. Well, here we are at almost $60/bbl, and I've heard nothing about reopening US production - just a lot about ANWR, which wont come on line for 5-6 years yet, IIRC. So at what point does it become 'economically feasible' for the capped US wells to reopen?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/26/2005 12:33 Comments ||
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#9
Don't believe everything you read, especially an article written by people with an alterior agenda.
The problem here is that they completely left out a major factor:
As oil prices rise, a lot of "unporfitable" sources become profitable enough to be used. Oil shales, old fields in the US that have been capped, lower yield fields in Texas, Oklahooma and PA, etc. Then add to that coal gassification and other technological fixes. Also coming into play are things like more drilling & production in areas set aside now. The US in particular has reserves in Alaska and off both coasts in the US, as well as in the western US (huge natural gas reserves, especially) that are currently "off limits" - and these certainly will be made available before such dire conseqeunces are reached - as long as the nutter enviros dont manage to block them.
People overlook these things in their rush to be the Malthus of Oil.
#10
OS, you also forget: we past the point a while back about much of the unprofitable sources being profitable. A lot depends on the estimated price of oil three or so years from now still being high.
I think we're there now, especially with the projected contraction in supply from a certain S. American country.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/26/2005 12:59 Comments ||
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#11
Don't forget, more recoverable hydrocarbons in Alberta than in Saudi Arabia. What keeps most of them in the ground is the threat/likelihood that oil prices will collapse again.
#12
Most of the "recoverable hydrocarbons" available in Alberta are from northern Alberta tar sands. Extracting them would produce large quantities of contaminated water.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/26/2005 14:55 Comments ||
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#13
More on processing Alberta tar sands:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.07/oil.html
Posted by: Tom ||
06/26/2005 15:00 Comments ||
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#14
Petrol prices vary by state in Australia. In WA, unleaded is around a dollar a litre, diesel - $1.20 and LPG a widely used fuel here, 45 cents/litre.
Actually the problem is significantly worse than what I have implied. For most oil producers we don't have good data, but for those we do, specifically UK, Australia and Norway, several years of pumping at the max has produced a sharp reduction in production. In all three oil production has declined by more than 10% over the last 12 to 24 months. I don't doubt that the same is happening with some other producers - Russia?
#15
[R]ecent improvements in mining and extraction techniques have cut heavy oil production costs nearly in half since the 1980s, to about $10 per barrel, with more innovation on the way.
If that's accurate this stuff is already commercially viable. Our cost to produce light crude on a small scale in the midwestern US has exceeded $10 for years.
#16
Alberta oilsand production is expanding as fast as infrastructure, equipment and expertise constraints allow. There is little that can be done to make it go faster. As well development leadtimes are several years, not much less than building nuclear power stations.
Ultra-conservative Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad swept to a surprise landslide victory in presidential elections on Saturday and urged the nation to rally together after a vote that exposed deep class divisions. Ahmadinejad, 48, won the backing of the religious poor to defeat veteran political heavyweight Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was supported by pro-reform parties and wealthy Iranians fearful of a hardline monopoly on power in the Islamic state. âToday is a day when we have to forget all our rivalries and turn them into friendships,â Ahmadinejad said in comments broadcast on state radio, his first since being declared winner of Fridayâs election. âWe are one nation and one big family. We should help each other to make a great society.â
In his victory speech, Ahmadinejad hinted at a shake up in the oil sector, saying oil deals needed to be clarified. But amid rumours that he will purge government ministries after many top officials backed his opponent, he stressed the need for unity in the nation of 67 million. âOur main goal today is to create an exemplary, advanced and powerful Islamic nation,â he said.
In a campaign where candidates advocated better ties with the United States, Ahmadinejad said relations with Washington were not a cure of Iranâs ills. âThis all but closes the door for a breakthrough in US-Iran relations,â said Karim Sadjadpour, Tehran-based analyst for the International Crisis Group. Ahmadinejad, who will be Iranâs first non-cleric president for 24 years when he takes office in August, has also used firm language over Iranâs controversial nuclear programme, saying it was the nationâs right to develop its nuclear technology. Analysts said Ahmadinejadâs election was unlikely to lead to any immediate change in nuclear policy, as the final word in that and other matters of state lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. âI think Ahmadinejad is less amenable to compromise on the nuclear issue, but it is unclear how much influence he will have on it,â said Sadjadpour.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Of course they will. Everything continues apace toward the obvious intersection of the interested and accelerating vectors. The faux election is just distraction for the faux press and tools who believe the idiot meme that the Mad Mullahs are rational and dealing with anyone in good faith. The only thing they can be counted on to do is guarantee the collision.
Apparently he played a role in the US embassy takeover. Former Revolutionary Guard thug as well.
Just the sort you want to run a country.
Posted by: john ||
06/26/2005 8:19 Comments ||
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#3
he's not an"ulta-conservative"--he an islamist fundamentalist religious fanatic--barry goldwater was an ultra conservative--this guy is savonarola on crank
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
06/26/2005 16:17 Comments ||
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#4
by the way--in the real world--a guy who looks like this should be shining shoes for rupies at the train station in new delhi
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
06/26/2005 16:23 Comments ||
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#5
According to an Aussie paper, he has a PhD in Civil Engineering?
Posted by: john ||
06/26/2005 21:12 Comments ||
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Though the Indian Navy trains its carrier pilots at INS Hansa at Goa and on-board its sole aircraft carrier Viraat, it needs help to train pilots using ââcatapultââ operations. This is because Navy will be shifting from vertical take-off and landing aircraft Sea Harrier, deployed on Viraat, to MiG-29 K that will use a steam powered catapult on-board Admiral Gorshkov or INS Vikramaditya. The new aircraft carrier is likely to join the Navy in 2007.
Posted by: john ||
06/26/2005 08:37 ||
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#1
We're making friends with the Indians to keep the ChiComs in line.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
06/26/2005 15:33 Comments ||
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I'd hope the Pakistanis are paying attention as well
Baghdad, 24 June (AKI) - Toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's former deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, aged 61, the highest-ranking former regime official still at large, got married and recently had a baby daughter after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported on Friday, quoting sources close to Iraq's insurgency.
The US has a 10 million dollar bounty on al-Douri, who is accused of being one of the key organisers of the insurgency around the Sunni strongholds of Samarra and Tikrit. Al-Douri, who is the current secretary general of Iraq's disbanded Baath party, is one of 55 on the United States' set of playing cards depicting the most wanted members. So far, 44 of these figures have been caught or killed.
The Iraqi Baath party's leadership, which is currently scattered inside and outside of Iraq, allegedly sent its congratulations to al-Douri on the birth of his eleventh daughter, named 'Tahir' which means liberation in Arabic, al-Hayat reported, quoting sources in London.
Al-Douri also allegedly visited his wife, who is believed to have given birth to Tahir in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul before fleeing to an undisclosed location, al-Hayat said, adding that aside from a a stomach complaint, al-Douri is reportedly in good health. He has contacts inside and outside Iraq who are giving economic and political support to armed insurgent groups, according to al-Hayat.
The former chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council and deputy chief of the armed forces, al-Douri is considered to have been Saddam Hussein's right-hand man. He was born in Tikrit, Saddam's home town, and was a key commander in the suppression of the failed Shia uprising in 1991. He is also alleged to have used excessive military force against the Marsh Arabs of the south. He escaped an assassination attempt in Karbala in 1998. War crimes charges have been issued against him in Austria.
(Ajd/Aki)
Students in the Shi'ite Muslim religious Iraqi city of Najaf said that police recently arrested and beat several of them for wearing jeans and having long hair.
"They arrested us because of our hair and because we were wearing jeans," said student Mohammed Jasim, adding that the arrests took place two weeks ago in the city, the spiritual heart of Iraq's newly dominant Shi'ite majority.
"They beat us in front of the people. Then they took us to their headquarters, beat us again, shaved our heads and tore our clothes.
"When we asked what we had done, they said that we had no honor," he told Reuters this week.
Police in Najaf, a conservative city that some residents say has grown more so since Saddam Hussein was overthrown two years ago and religious Shi'ites gained greater power in Iraq, disputed the students' version of events.
"We didn't oppress any freedoms. We detained them for a while and after we knew that they were students, we released them after they pledged they wouldn't do it again," Colonel Najah Yasir told Reuters.
Yasir commands the Tho Alfakar Brigade, a unit whose name refers to Imam Ali, son-in-law of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, whose shrine is the centerpiece of Najaf.
Yasir said the brigade had received complaints from locals in the old part of Najaf that young men were gathering in the streets and acting "improperly."
He declined to elaborate on their "improper acts."
Earlier this week, Najaf's Youth Association delivered a statement to political parties denouncing the arrests and calling them a violation of rights.
Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, is holy to Shi'ites and home to many religious scholars, some of whom have a growing political role as spiritual leaders of the community that was oppressed under Saddam.
Throughout the Shi'ite south of Iraq over the past two years, alcohol salesmen and others deemed to trade in goods that violate Islam have been harassed by militants...
#1
How about that? Religious nuts doing what religious nuts do. I bet it has kind of an Iranian Pakiwaki or Talabian flavor to it too. If I were those kids I would bail out of trhe "bible belt" and travel to a climate that has a bit less restrictive vibe.
One of the reasons that I personally think uber religious asstards bite. Stories like this are only the tip of the iceburg and they happen all over the world.
AT a summer villa near Balad in the hills 40 miles north of Baghdad, a group of Iraqis and their American visitors recently sat down to tea. It looked like a pleasant social encounter far removed from the stresses of war, but the heavy US military presence around the isolated property signalled that an unusual meeting was taking place.
After weeks of delicate negotiation involving a former Iraqi minister and senior tribal leaders, a small group of insurgent commanders apparently came face to face with four American officials seeking to establish a dialogue with the men they regard as their enemies.
The talks on June 3 were followed by a second encounter 10 days later, according to an Iraqi who said that he had attended both meetings. Details provided to The Sunday Times by two Iraqi sources whose groups were involved indicate that further talks are planned in the hope of negotiating an eventual breakthrough that might reduce the violence in Iraq.
Despite months of American military assaults on supposed insurgent bases, General John Abizaid, the regional US commander, admitted to Congress last week that opposition strength was âabout the sameâ as six months ago and that âthereâs a lot of work to be done against the insurgencyâ.
That work now includes secret negotiations with rebel leaders, according to the Iraqi sources.
Washington seems to be gingerly probing for ways of defusing home-grown Iraqi opposition and of isolating the foreign Islamic militants who have flooded into Iraq to wage holy war against America under the command of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The talks appear to represent the first serious effort by Americans and Iraqi insurgents to find common ground since violence intensified in the spring. Earlier informal contacts were reported but produced no perceptible progress.
Zarqawiâs group, which has been blamed for many suicide bombings and beheadings, has not taken part.
According to both Iraqi sources, preparations for this monthâs meetings were supervised by Ayham al-Samurai, a Sunni Muslim and former exile who lived in America for 20 years. He returned to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein to become electricity minister in the interim government.
One of his main challenges was to persuade both sides that they could meet without being ambushed. Both eventually provided pledges that no hostile acts would be attempted.
The American contingent is said to have arrived in a convoy of four armoured Humvee vehicles and at least two armoured personnel carriers. The military escort remained outside the compound while the four US negotiators were greeted by tribal sheikhs who had agreed to host the meeting.
The Pentagon had no immediate comment to make on the Iraqi claims despite repeated requests for confirmation.
The Iraqi sources, who have proved reliable in the past, said the American team included senior military and intelligence officers, a civilian staffer from Congress and a representative of the US embassy in Baghdad.
On the rebel side were representatives of insurgent groups including Ansar al-Sunna, which has carried out numerous suicide bombings and killed 22 people in the dining hall of an American base at Mosul last Christmas. Continued at the link.
And why is clear, as well - the success of a bona-fide democracy in Iraq (or Afghanistan, for that matter) is truly the death knell for the traditional Arab dictatorship (with or without Kingy Thingys) / Islamic theocracy regimes. And there are a bunch of them willing to donate whatever they can to defeat the emerging Iraqi Republic.
There are multiple ways to deal with the situation - and removing the Sunni support piece would be the masterstroke to undermine the terrs: no cover, no caches, no place to run when confronted head-on, etc. Border control would certainly help, too - but it would never be nearly as perfect as some seem to think. Pure and simple, it's the damned Sunnis who allow the terrorism to continue. One by one their illusions (read: reasons for providing support) fall. Saddam's return. A Ba'athist resurgence to power. Gone. Dead. Now they hope to delay or end the new Iraq by fomenting civil war / endless sectarian strife. Gaining what in the process? Hard to say - except maybe partition / Federation? Obviously, an Iraqi Republic could not allow this to continue forever. Is there any option left, after this? That's a tough one. They're Arabs.
They only seem to have one mode: violence. Just like the Paleos, they've wasted every opportunity offered to participate in the peaceful process - and have relied upon violence. They seem to be a one trick pony.
The tribal leaders are the key to the Sunnis. It's been talked about here at length several times. The reporter should have stopped by here, oh a year or more ago, and listened in. What they're serving up here is old news to most RBers. So sure, meet with them, yet again, explain the situation. It's been going on, at different levels, for 2 solid years, Mr Reporter. But it wears thin. Simply put, if you can't get their cooperation by asking nicely and offering them a place in the peaceful process, then they must be treated exactly as a bunch of Mafia "dons" who've declared war on society, for that is what they are.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
06/26/2005 12:51 Comments ||
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#6
After weeks of delicate negotiation involving a former Iraqi minister and senior tribal leaders, a small group of insurgent commanders apparently came face to face with four American officials seeking to establish a dialogue with the men they regard as their enemies.
"..a small group of insurgent commanders apparently came face to face with.."
I would hazard a guess that these turds [insurgent commanders] were tracked after the face to face, just like the jehadis were tracked last month after the first border fights to Ramadi and Mosel.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
06/26/2005 13:32 Comments ||
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#7
I hope that we meet with these leaders and tell them exactly what will happen to them if they fail to cooperate. These guys make deals. They lie, they cheat, they have no honor. So you tell them to cooperate or they will be hunted down and killed like stray dogs.
Look what happened in the so called negotiations between allied forces and Saddam's forces in Operation Desert Storm. Promise anything and do not deliver. If you approach the problem that these guys are all a bunch of lying POS, then the answer presents itself right away.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/26/2005 14:09 Comments ||
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#8
given the arab psyche--just the fact that the fre wanted to meet is a victory of sorts--'rabs don't pow wow when they perceive any chance of victory[following mr. mo]--its a cultural sign of weakness and a small not to mention needle dick--they are also having red on red problems with their jihadi brothers--this "enemy of my enemy" shit is getting tired--and the collateral damage to ordinary civilians is grating--these meetings are a good thing nyt--idjits
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
06/26/2005 15:57 Comments ||
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Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti on Saturday said he did not attach any importance to the Balochistan sub-committee's report and that the real committee was about the constitution, which had yet to present its report on provincial autonomy. Talking to Daily Times on the phone after Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain called on him to condole with him on the death of his brother Nawaz Bugti, the Jamhoori Watan Party chief said that Mushahid insisted on explaining to him the details of the committee's report but he did not consider it important. Bugti said that the government could not satisfy people by giving a small sum to provinces. He said disaffected elements wanted a permanent solution which rested on provincial autonomy.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:05 ||
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Forty Jewish settler families said Saturday they expect to move out of their Gaza Strip homes next month, becoming the first to announce definite plans to leave ahead of the Israeli withdrawal from the coastal area. The families from northern Gaza make up only a small fraction of the 1,600 families slated for evacuation this summer. But Saturday's announcement was the latest sign that Jewish settlers are coming to terms with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to evacuate the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements. At least 500 families already have reached agreement with the government on compensation and relocation, but none has officially announced a moving date.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Iraq said sub-committees drawing up the country's new constitution have completed 80 percent of the draft and would meet its August deadline. The head of the constitution drafting commission, Hammam Hammoudi, said an arbitration committee was formed to bring together differing views on what he said were "complicated issues." Among the disputed issues is whether to use the word "federation," or to return to the old "Iraqi Republic" before the former Saddam Hussein regime changed it to the "Republic of Iraq" in the mid-90s.
Hamman said the new constitution was being written according to the "basis of consensus among the Iraqi sectors," adding he expected the final draft to be finalized by August 15 for a national referendum vote. The commission is made up of 55 members dominated by Shiites and Kurds, while 15 of them are Arab Sunnis.
#1
Without reading what they have written, it's impossible to say more than I'm hopeful they left the BS out and stuck to principles of freedom, equality, and individualism. Here's hoping.
#2
If the other hotly disputed issues are as meaningful as arguing over the use of the word federation or Iraqi Republic - that woulc be a very hopeful sign.
#4
I doubt this will be a paean to the individual but more a power sharing arrangement among the Kurds, Sunnis and Shias. We lost the individual thing when an oil trust fund like Alaska's was not set up to distribute the proceeds to individual Iraqi's.
My greatest fear for Iraq is the experience of every other country whose economy is dominated by oil extraction. Think Venezuela, Mexico, Arabia, Iran, Indonesia. Thuggocracies all. The only exceptions are countries that were previously civilized, Norway.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
06/26/2005 8:33 Comments ||
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#5
better than debating whether to have the caliph go out and meet hulegu khan--they've come a long way baby
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
06/26/2005 16:02 Comments ||
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Afghanistan on Saturday launched a month-long voter registration drive for the countryâs first post-conflict parliamentary polls as the UN voiced concerns about escalating violence in the countryâs south.
Trust the UN to find the negative and the MSM to report it.
The UN-backed Afghan electoral commission aims to register some two million voters by July 21 who were not old enough for Octoberâs presidential elections, have not previously registered, have lost their registration cards, or moved. âWe expect to register one or two million Afghans across the country,â for parliamentary and provincial council elections on September 18, Richard Atwood, chief of operations at the Joint Electoral Management Body told AFP. UN Secretary General Kofi Annanâs special envoy to Afghanistan, Jean Arnault, said Saturday there had been a ânegative evolutionâ of the nationâs security over the last three months. âThe country is confronted with an escalation of both the number and gravity of incidents that affect several provinces,â he said, citing several attacks and targeted killings in the last few weeks. âThe situation is especially worrying in the southern provinces ... and in Pashtun regions bordering with Pakistan,â he added.
And that's changed, ... how?
Atwood said that despite security concerns in the south polling was going ahead and violence would not undermine the election for the countryâs first post-conflict legislature. âSecurity is a concern but it will not stop registration, and it will not stop polling, he added. A number of registration sites in southern Zabul province which was the scene of this weekâs lethal battle have not yet opened and one site in the southeastern Taleban hotbed of Paktika has yet to open, Atwood said. However, the rest of the countryâs 485 voter registration centers have thrown open their doors, he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
How difficult can it be? Detroit has hundreds of murders every year, yet can achieve 105% voter registration.
Israel has decided to comply with all of Washington's demands in a bid to end the crisis with the United States over arms exports.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz last week agreed to comply with the Americans' demands regarding the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) deal with China and changes in the supervision of Israel's arms exports. On Friday, Sharon instructed an Israeli delegation leaving Sunday for Washington to agree to American demands. The delegation is expected to draft a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on weapons exports with the United States.
Israel hopes this move will end the U.S. sanctions against it, which have been in place for half a year and have caused grave damage to Israel's defense industries and the work relations between the Defense Ministry and the Pentagon. Among other things, the Americans severed their work relations with Defense Ministry Director General Major General Amos Yaron. Yaron said he intends to retire within the next few months.
The decision to accept all of the U.S.'s demands means that once again Israel will have to violate an agreement to supply defense equipment to China, five years after it canceled the Falcon airplane deal. China is expected to demand compensation fees for Israel's breaking of the agreement, as it did after Israel revoked the Falcon deal. According to the present deal, Israel had undertaken to supply China over the years with spare parts for UAVs made by the Israel Aircraft Industries.
Israel has been holding on to the UAV parts in question at Washington's demand. Now these parts will not be returned to China. It also appears that the Chinese will avoid making large-scale agreements with Israel in the future.
The U.S. says this is not an isolated incident and that it reflects a pattern. They cite the Falcon airplane affair and before that, the sale of advanced Lavi airplane technology and air-to-air missiles to China. The Americans have demanded recently that the government deal directly with decisions on arms sales to China. Friends of Israel in Congress and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee have criticized its management of the crisis and urged it to avoid exacerbating the conflict.
One of the U.S.'s central demands, which Israel has accepted, is the introduction of fundamental amendments into the legislation dealing with arms sales, including regulations for dual civil-military use equipment. By so doing Israel will be implementing the international Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies of 1996. More than 30 states have adopted the arrangement.
Mofaz intends to advise Washington that he will appoint a senior defense official to coordinate the supervision issues and present new proposals. This official is Brigadier General (res.) Uzi Eilam, formerly the director of the Atomic Energy Committee and head of the directorate of defense research and development in the Defense Ministry.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
It should NOT be necessary. Careful, you greedy fools.
#2
Let me look into my cristal ball.
Within, a year at the most, it will be decided that solving the nork crisis is a most immediate US national interest. And that China's cooperation is essential. At this point, US firms who have an equipment of the kind that Israel is forbidden to sell, will be allowed to sell it to China, the deal subsidazed by USG---American equipment, though only slightly inferior to Israeli, is much more expensive.
#4
Y'know, there's just something fundamentally wrong with your post, grom. What - did I touch a nerve? Here, lemme stroke a few more with my favorite metal curry comb... Somebody else in the Big Chair and you might be right, grom, but Bush won't do it. You've got a pretty big chip on your shoulder, pun intended, too: piggyback technology is the easy shit, son. Show me the original designs and patents. And you need to do something about that bile condition: your "cristal" ball is pitted. Cynicism is not a hallmark of superiority, it's just another fatal condition of closed-minded flawed people. The leadership of Israel is foolish to fuck with our trust. A $4BN budget diet should go a ways to cure the high triglyceride count that leads to irrational displays of macho bullshit. Here's the sweetheart deal you seem to want: you sell your "superior" arms to whomever you want. We walk away, put sanctions on American firms buying any of your shit, and summarily shoot anyone caught spying for Israel. That would be fair, right? Strut baby, strut.
wrong answer. Look into your magic 8ball again grom...
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2005 10:33 Comments ||
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Dittos. To be friends by definition you should trust. Every spy-op uncovered or uderstanding broken puts a blemish and strain on our friendship.
For the sake of our own national interest gromgorru, should we place more effort on trust or verification of that trust?
Posted by: Red Dog ||
06/26/2005 14:00 Comments ||
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#7
"Friends of Israel in Congress and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee have criticized its management of the crisis and urged it to avoid exacerbating the conflict."
AIPAC critical? This is a bit of a departure from usual. Allow me to look into the future. #1. Larry Franklin- acquitted of Title 18, Section 793(d) of the Espionage Act. Convicted of possession of classified documents - Sentencing, ala Sandy Berger. #2. AIPAC unscathed, Rosen and Weissman fade away without much mention. #3. Douglas Feith and General Amos Yaron retire as already announced only to surface another day. #4. Espionage investigation stops at Israel Embassy door insulating Naor Gilon. #5. AIPAC case will never be prosecuted like the other six sealed indictments for espionage in the last 2 decades on Israelâs behalf. #6. US will continue "Special Relationship" with Israel.
After all as Michael Rubin, author of the passed memo, points out. The matter really is nothing but an âincreasing anti-Semitic witch hunt.â
#8
Dittos. To be friends by definition you should trust. Every spy-op uncovered or uderstanding broken puts a blemish and strain on our friendship.
Yes, yes. Israel constantly steals american tech: that's why IBM, Microsoft, Intel, and a dozen others have research centers in Israel --- to make it easier for us to steal your tech.
As to trust, Israel trusted USA. Dumb jews never learn.
#9
This story is remarkably similar to one a few months back where European firms were transferring technology supplied by the USA to China as part of Arms/technology deals. I remarked at the time the USA needs to make it crystal clear that the choice is between sharing tech and trading with those the US perceives to be threats. Its binary, chose one or the other. Hopefully, the Israelis (and Europeans) now understand this.
#10
As to trust, Israel trusted USA. Dumb jews never learn.
hyperbole aside gromgoru, please explain "As to trust, Israel trusted USA." for real.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
06/26/2005 17:47 Comments ||
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WTF? Research Centers? You're full of shit. Again.
"As to trust, Israel trusted USA. Dumb jews never learn."
Lol! Yep, We've let You down. Not sure when, but you said it so it MUST be true.
In 45 years of paying taxes, I've never, not even once, bitched or moaned or regretted the support the US has provided, through thick and thin, to Israel's survival. Not even the '73 oil embargo - a direct result of saving Israel's ass in a war - swayed me. On RB, my negative words number less than 50, the positive beyond counting. Even Pollard didn't sway me. But today, you've managed to disparage my president - when you and yours are playing the whores, lie through your teeth regards American technical prowess, forget who bailed your asses out of the hole more than once, forget where your precious nukies came from, and smugly assume there is no penalty for selling arms to a future combat enemy or for the perfidy of doing so with purloined goods. Besides being an intolerable smug asshole, you're dead wrong. Emphasis on dead.
I'm the kind of guy that politicians pay attention to. I write them letters, in plain readable English and they pay attention. You know how I know? I enclose checks. I tell them exactly why they got the check, too. And I make sure there are sufficient zeros. And I get invitations to various free and fund-raising events. And personal replies, most of the time, signed by his electedness himself. If I think Israel has gone too far and is no longer worthy of US support - they'll listen, ticking off a mental box. And if enough of the people like me run into enough of the people like you, it will start to have an effect as those ticked boxes add up.
The short-term windfall to the US in the Arab world would boggle. Love fest. It would be PR to die for. On the other hand, Janet Jackson stole "What have you done for me lately?" from them, so I know it would be a passing thing, but then there's the $4BN - that'd up-scale a lot of US military salaries. I like it.
You know why Israel enjoys such wide support in the US? I do. Excluding those with family and religious ties, a definitely tiny-assed minority, there are 2 reasons. Only 2. First, Israel is a democracy. Second, Israel is an underdog. Politicos spout the first one all the time cuz they think it makes a nice sound byte. But, far and away, the second one is the big one - it appeals to a fundamental essence of what it means to be an American. If you know Americans, then you know I'm telling the truth. Now smugness, well lemme tell you, it just takes the shine right off that underdog thingy. No sir, smug folks don't get the benefit of the doubt. It'd be plum gone. *poof* Kil't deader 'n hell. Take that to the fucking bank.
Now fuck the fuck off. And congratulations, you've managed to do what even the fucking Arabs were never able to do.
Posted by: Spuque Spealing5363= Red dog ||
06/26/2005 18:14 Comments ||
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#14
Lol, RD! That tour through Cairo went south on ya, eh? Heh. I toured some in those parts, myself. I sat on a goddamned sun-baked concrete slab at the southern edge of the phreakin' Negev Desert for a whole fucking year writing sensor alarm code, tripwire stuff, to help secure their southern border. Felt like the right thing to do - back then. g is a major asstard - no make that a cunt - and I've soured on this bullshit. With friends like g and the assholes who were selling tech to the ChiComms, it's no wonder they're alone against the rest of the fucking world. I know you shouldn't shoot all the dogs cuz one of them has fleas, but g's assitude takes the cake. Sorry, RD, I won't be any fun to play with for the rest of the day, lol!
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on called on settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip not to create difficulties for security forces during the pullout, Israel Radio reported. Appealing to settlers while speaking in Tel Aviv, Mofaz said: "Do not make things more difficult for Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Do not make things more difficult for Israel Police officers. There is a 'day after' the disengagement and we want to continue to live together. We want to continue to preserve the unity of the State of Israel."
Mofaz also backed up similar earlier statements by defense officials and reiterated that if the Palestinians open fire during the pullout, the IDF will respond harshly. "This is a difficult process, a painful process. It needs to be carried out sensitively and with respect," Mofaz said. "But everyone who interferes with our operations - and I mean the Palestinian terrorists - we will not let it pass. As we have struck hard at Palestinian terror in the past, so we will do if the terror organizations attempt to interfere during the pullout process."
Mofaz accused the Palestinian Authority of not doing enough to restrain Islamic Jihad activities.
The defense minister said Israel wants to carry out the pullout in coordination with the PA, but said the disengagement will be implemented even if this coordination cannot be secured.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Mohammed al-Senousi calls himself a prince, although he has had no throne since his grandfather was ousted in a 1969 coup by Moammar Gadhafi. Al-Senousi, 42, joined hundreds of Libyan opposition members in London on Saturday to push for Gadhafi's ouster — their first conference in exile to tell the world, they said, there is an alternative to Gadhafi that is not Islamic extremism.
The organizers condemned the West, particularly the United States, for normalizing ties with Libya, charging Washington was practicing double standards when it came to human rights violations in the North African nation. "It forgot Libya and its bloody dictator regime" while urging reform in other Arab countries, a statement said. The United States last year decided to resume diplomatic relations with Libya after Gadhafi agreed to abandon his programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and promised to pay compensation to relatives of the 270 people killed in the attack over Lockerbie, Scotland. Washington previously had viewed Libya as a terrorist-sponsoring adversary.
To the strains of the national anthem that Gadhafi changed and flags that predate his taking power, some 300 Libyan opposition members opened their two-day conference outlining their ideas for a constitutional state. "The regime suggests that the only alternative to Gadhafi would be the Islamic extremists," Abdel Hafez Bin Herati of the Libyan National Movement told The Associated Press. "We are here to tell the world that there are many alternatives to Gadhafi, and none of them are extremists because we believe in democracy and we reject fanaticism."
Al-Senousi, the self-described exiled prince, recalled the day — Sept. 1, 1969 — when Gadhafi and young officers launched the military rebellion, storming the royal ranch on the outskirts of Tripoli. They smashed the doors and climbed the stairs to the second floor looking for his father, Crown Prince al-Hassan al-Reda, who was acting ruler while King al-Senousi — al-Senousi's grandfather — was undergoing medical treatment in Turkey. "Ahmed al-Hariri, a young officer, told my father: 'The monarchy is over and you are wanted for justice,'" al-Senousi said. "My father said nothing and left everything in God's hands."
King al-Senousi later sought more medical treatment in Greece. After the coup, he traveled to Egypt where he was given asylum and later died. Crown Prince al-Reda and his family remained under house arrest for seven years after the coup. He then spent two years in detention without trial where he was said to have been tortured. He suffered a brain tumor that paralyzed his body and traveled to Britain for treatment. He died six years later when the Libyan office in London suspended payment for the treatment.
While al-Senousi, 49, said he hoped to return to power one day, he would not force a monarchy on the Libyans. "I will call for elections. If people want me to be their prince again, I will be willing to," he said. Some of the opposition leaders at this gathering, including Islamists and liberals, also want Libya to return to a monarchy. "I myself want to see a return of monarchy, and we have the heir of throne already here, but that doesn't necessarily mean everybody wants it," Nouri el-Kakhya, an opposition member, said.
Al-Senousi believes restoring the constitution that was drafted under the mandate of Britain and France is the only way to improve Libya's situation. According to a U.N. resolution, drafting the constitution was a prerequisite to Libya's 1952 independence. "The United Nations must move by all its weight to push for regime change, to save the constitution it supervised before independence," al-Senousi said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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First, I would say I do not favor US "support" for Khadaffy Duck. Second, normalizing relations is not a ringing endorsement for Khadaffy's dictatorship. Third, these Londoners, 1969 was a very long time ago, do not speak for anyone but themselves - and they have power-seeker written all over them. I'm sure they'd love to come back to Libya and assume positions of power - if only someone else will do the bleeding and dying. The world is full of such asstards, in fact. Their statements mean zip. This is a BS PC tempest in a tea-time tea cup.
I wonder if al Senousi would be as enthusiastic and loudmouthed if he knew, in advance, that he would get no throne or position or status for his troubles - that only the Libyans would benefit from the grandstanding of this little band of merry Londoners. Same for the "Libyans" who attended the "conference". I wonder if any of these wankers would fight for a free Libya. A tiny conference in London does not a revolution make, nor does an aspiring King or his sycophantic brood, having hidden their asses away in comfy exile for all this time, making nary a peep, have the standing to challenge what the US Admin's policy is or how it is implemented. Why aren't they complaining to France or anyone else? There are, what, 191 UN "member states", right? Why not go to them? Lol - we know why, don't we?
Total hand-wringing, ankle-biting, guilt-game, gutless turd wank-o-mania.
President Pervez Musharraf and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud met on Saturday and talked about regional and international issues including the Middle East situation, reforming and restructuring the OIC, India-Pakistan relations and counter terror and security matters. Musharraf said the just resolution of political disputes affecting the Muslim world would be helpful in establishment durable peace and stability. He also called for greater trade between OIC states as a means to reduce poverty. Both leaders agreed on strengthening relations in the political, economic, commercial, investment and counter terror and security areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Perv, when even your Islamic brothers need to talk to you about terrorism, it is a sign that you need to either (a) take off that beauty queen sash and relocate to the USA (b) actually fight the terrorists
Posted by: john ||
06/26/2005 8:29 Comments ||
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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.
Police in Riyadh continued their raids in several districts on Friday. According to a police report, the raids are part of a continuing crackdown on all types of illegal activities and those suspected of taking part in them. The areas in which the raids occurred were Al-Janadriya District, Al-Oud District and Al-Thulaim District near Al-Manfooha. The police report said that 30 suspects, all of them illegal residents, were apprehended in Janadriya. A stolen vehicle, originally rented by a Saudi from a car rental company, was also found during the raid. A rented house was raided in which an Indian was found to be running a gambling den. The police also shut down 21 unlicensed businesses specializing in international phone services and arrested six Bangladeshis for running the businesses.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Saturday US policy aimed at stopping Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, which, he said, was damaging his country's space industry. "The unilateral practice by the United States of sanctions in the field of control of exports in respect of Russian space enterprises, as well as certain provisions of the law on non-proliferation regarding Iran" were an obstacle to economic cooperation between Russia and the US, he told an audience of US investors.
President Roh Moo-hyun said Saturday that North Korea's nuclear ambitions were the biggest threat to regional peace, and he called for a prompt resumption of six-nation disarmament talks. The talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions "must resume soon, and we are making our best efforts for this," Roh said, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. "The North Korean nuclear issue will definitely be resolved peacefully." The participants in the talks are the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. "The North's nuclear issue is the biggest threat now to peace on the Korean peninsula," Roh told war veterans in Seoul, according to the news agency.
During a tour of the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists on Saturday, House Republicans and Democrats, including one who has advocated closing the facility, said the United States has made progress in improving conditions and protecting detainees' rights. The U.S. lawmakers witnessed interrogations, toured cellblocks and ate the same lunch given to detainees on the first congressional visit to the prison for suspected terrorists since criticism of it intensified in the spring. A Senate delegation also was visiting this weekend. "The Guantanamo we saw today is not the Guantanamo we heard about a few years ago," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif.
Ultra-conservative Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad swept to a surprise landslide victory in presidential elections on Saturday and urged the nation to rally together after a vote that exposed deep class divisions. Ahmadinejad, 48, won the backing of the religious poor to defeat veteran political heavyweight Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was supported by pro-reform parties and wealthy Iranians fearful of a hardline monopoly on power in the Islamic state. âToday is a day when we have to forget all our rivalries and turn them into friendships,â Ahmadinejad said in comments broadcast on state radio, his first since being declared winner of Fridayâs election. âWe are one nation and one big family. We should help each other to make a great society.â 
Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti on Saturday said he did not attach any importance to the Balochistan sub-committee's report and that the real committee was about the constitution, which had yet to present its report on provincial autonomy. Talking to Daily Times on the phone after Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain called on him to condole with him on the death of his brother Nawaz Bugti, the Jamhoori Watan Party chief said that Mushahid insisted on explaining to him the details of the committee's report but he did not consider it important. Bugti said that the government could not satisfy people by giving a small sum to provinces. He said disaffected elements wanted a permanent solution which rested on provincial autonomy.
Forty Jewish settler families said Saturday they expect to move out of their Gaza Strip homes next month, becoming the first to announce definite plans to leave ahead of the Israeli withdrawal from the coastal area. The families from northern Gaza make up only a small fraction of the 1,600 families slated for evacuation this summer. But Saturday's announcement was the latest sign that Jewish settlers are coming to terms with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to evacuate the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements. At least 500 families already have reached agreement with the government on compensation and relocation, but none has officially announced a moving date.
Iraq said sub-committees drawing up the country's new constitution have completed 80 percent of the draft and would meet its August deadline. The head of the constitution drafting commission, Hammam Hammoudi, said an arbitration committee was formed to bring together differing views on what he said were "complicated issues." Among the disputed issues is whether to use the word "federation," or to return to the old "Iraqi Republic" before the former Saddam Hussein regime changed it to the "Republic of Iraq" in the mid-90s. 
Afghanistan on Saturday launched a month-long voter registration drive for the countryâs first post-conflict parliamentary polls as the UN voiced concerns about escalating violence in the countryâs south. 
Mohammed al-Senousi calls himself a prince, although he has had no throne since his grandfather was ousted in a 1969 coup by Moammar Gadhafi. Al-Senousi, 42, joined hundreds of Libyan opposition members in London on Saturday to push for Gadhafi's ouster — their first conference in exile to tell the world, they said, there is an alternative to Gadhafi that is not Islamic extremism.
