TIRUPATI July 15. Wonders seem to be happening in Chittoor district. Last week it came to light that a calf in Pullaiahgaripalle, 18 km from Tirupati, had been yielding two litres of milk daily since its ninth month and it is now a full-grown 13-month-old `cow-calfâ. After this rare veterinary phenomenon, it is now a detection of a `breathing tombâ at Karvetnagar, 45 km from Tirupati. Indeed - will the wonders ever cease?
According to local Muslims, they have been hearing the `breathingâ and a hissing noise off and on from the tomb (darga) of Hajarat Sabdar Aulia Baba, a Muslim cleric who lived in the village in the early 20th century and was entombed by his followers after his demise. Or possibley before it
The members of the Darga Committee, D.Hameed Basha, Munna and Hameed Khan in a press release claimed that they started noticing the unusual feature from the evening of July 4. They insisted that they were seeing even slight movement under the thick clothing draped over the tomb as though somebody were inhaling and exhaling. They said that suspecting that there might be a snake or a rodent underneath they even removed the drape and searched but found nothing. The Darga is now attracting devotees from all over the district and from Tamil Nadu too. "*gasp* Kill *wheeze* the infidel!" Baba was reported as saying
If this isn't a sign the Americans are involved, I don't know what is. Now you know where your Area 51 money is going: scaring innocent Karvetnagaris. You wacky Americans :)
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/16/2003 14:48 Comments ||
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Scientists hoping to clone prehistoric woolly mammoths are preparing their first frozen DNA samples in a bid to revive the species. Researchers at the Gifu Science and Technology Centre and Kinki University want to use the genetic material in the cells to clone a woolly mammoth, according to Akira Irytani, a scientist at Kinki University in western Japan. They must not have watched "Jurassic Park".
First they must determine whether the five specimens airlifted from Russia are really from mammoths. If so, they must decide whether the DNA locked inside is well enough preserved to self-replicate. After that, it could take several years to actually produce an animal. "There are many different problems to overcome," the Gifu Centreâs Hideyoshi Ichibashi said. "I think we can move ahead only one step at a time." And we all know what happens when a Japanese Mad Scientist begins experimenting with prehistoric beasts, donât we? Somebody put the JSDF on alert and find out where Godzilla and Mothra are.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 12:32:07 PM ||
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#1
It wasn't Kinky university,was it?
Posted by: El Id ||
07/16/2003 13:08 Comments ||
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#2
MST2003....Push the button Frank.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/16/2003 13:31 Comments ||
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#3
"Mammothra". Time to open up another cave on Monster Island?
If "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Johnny Deppâs kids want to smoke pot when theyâre older, they can count on dad to get it. Not that he wants them to. He doesnât. But as somebody with plenty of drugs in his past, he thinks that if his kids are going to try pot, they might as well try it at home, where the stuff has been quality tested and isnât laced with other drugs, such as PCP. A âNormalâ American Home setting.
"Out on the street, you never know what youâre getting," Depp told GQ. "Suddenly two days later youâre beating yourself in the head with a tennis racquet, quoting (Edgar Allan) Poe. You donât want that for your kid." Depp calls pal River Phoenixâs fatal drug overdose, which he witnessed, "a nightmare you never recover from" and says his new family helped him jettison his former "dumb-ass, self-centered (bleep) persona."
... and replace it with his current dumb-ass, self-centered persona...
Depp now plans to make Paris his permanent home because the United States "mortifies" him with its "childish freedom fries and freedom toast."
And its childish freedom...
Any chance on some of the other Hollywood Idiots moving with you?
Striking French film workers who shut down a film shoot starring Jack Nicholson got sympathy from an unexpected quarter: the star. Told that artistsâ rights were threatened, the actor voiced his support. "The struggle continues!" he said in broken French, wearing his trademark dark sunglasses. Ok folks, donât let me down....
Posted by: Cyber Sarge ||
07/16/2003 11:53:50 AM ||
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#1
These dimwits live in a totally different world than 99% of the human race, so its not really that hard to understand why they have a skewed vision of reality. Imagine if your job went something like this: wake up in the morning with one of America's 100 most beautiful women. Get served your 5 star breakfast by your butler. Drive to work in 200,000 Italian sports car. Spend the day getting told what a goddam great guy you are.... a genius! Recieve paycheck of one million for memorizing some lines and pretending to be a tough guy. Repeat each day.
Wonder why these cats don't see things the same way we do? It's no wonder at all!
#2
Why, this is sounding like Class Warfare! Substitute business executive for actor, throw in some accounting shenanigans,add a torrent of political contributions to the right party--and I'd bet you'd have no problem with that lifestyle! It worked for Ken Lay
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
07/16/2003 12:46 Comments ||
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#4
Ahhhh - my old enemy Not Mike Moore! Well, as a blue-collar "business executive" (I own a business) in California, I have this to say: people who actually run businesses generally have a very good grasp of reality. If they don't, they end up not running a business for very long. It's as simple as that.
Can you say the same thing for Depp or Nicholson? I think probably not.
I've got no problem with the idea having the life style of a Hollywood star as far as wealth goes because, believe me buddy, if I ever get it I will have earned it. Like any good American I already contribute to political causes.... generally about $20 at a time. Which is how a good number of them get 99% of their funding.
You know, the problem with you leftists is that you don't really want to make the poor rich - I don't think you care very damn much about that. Wha you want is to make the rich poor, to bring them down to your level.
Just one problem, though; it's too low for most of us to stoop.
#5
Perhaps Depp will be in the vanguard of a new "Lost Generation" of American expatriates fleeing "Bush's America" for the freedoms offered by Paris? Imagine Michael Moore, Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, Babs, et. al. spewing their invective from the Left Bank. We can only hope.
#10
Regarding Johnny's broken French, how hard is it to say, "La lutte continue!"? Pause. Of course! He had to say it off the top of his head rather than read it from a script! Adieu, Johnny, mon vieux et bonne chance. And don't worry about your language skills. Les intellectuels will still receive you in their salons as long as you spout the right stuff.
Posted by: Michael ||
07/16/2003 17:07 Comments ||
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#11
I like Depp as an actor. Also, as a person he is fairly well-read and literate.
Being in France, surrounded by the French and also partaking of the supposedly tres cool 'hate america' attitude that is so rife in pop culture, it is not surprising he would be 'too sophisticated and adult' to understand the cameraderie behind the simple act of asking for Freedom Fries.
Unfortunately Depp has too much money to see first-hand the impact of France's domestic/international policies. He will never be resident in an algerian ghetto block where the joys of socialist-style social engineering meet the Muslim anti-west mindset.
He will partake of the champagne socialism tipping a supportive nod to the striking workers: he is the modern day aristocracy.
The attitudes he and others of his social class foster, impact severely on the poor and oppressed: the very people he would like to identify as being sensitive to. They are the ones who have to live with the ruined lives that come out of a defeatist blame-america, blame-the-rich mindset and an appeasement of dictators.
You are right about the "childish freedom" comment, Fred.
Most people who complain complain complain and blame society for their problems do not want to be free.
Freedom implies freedom to fail. Freedom to be poor. Freedom to face the consequences of our conscious actions.
Most people in the socialist left despise freedom. They want only to be looked after, wrapped in cotton wool.
Free to do whatever they want but not to face the consequences.
If I steal a car, it's because society made me do it, not because I wanted to: therefore society must pay for me to be rehabilitated with plenty of counselling. That is not freedom.
America: you are the last bastion of Freedom in the western world and that is what makes you the greatest and strongest nation on earth. Do not lose it for a second.
Posted by: Ned ||
07/17/2003 0:31 Comments ||
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#13
The French can have Depp. I've run into fools like him before who think it's a great idea for Dad to be there when they do their drugs. That's a father being a "friend" instead of a parent and it's a very good formula for a destroyed kid...but hey, Depp wants to be that way and live in France? C-Ya!
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
07/17/2003 4:24 Comments ||
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EFL
Western Europeans and Americans are returning to this city of 3.3 million as U.N. employees, nongovernmental organization workers, journalists, and employees attached to the various embassies that have reopened since the fall of the Taliban 18 months ago. When they do venture out in the evening, they are mostly likely found at Lai Thai. Lai Thai, as the name implies, is a Thai restaurant. It serves every Thai dish one might find on a menu in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, complemented with wine flown in from Australia and prawns (shrimp) shipped weekly from Dubai. The Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul, where the restaurant is located, is a desirable area of town with large homes. Itâs believed to have been the neighborhood of choice for members of al Qaeda when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. Holy men deserve the best.
Lalita Thongngamkam is the owner and founder of Lai Thai and it is not her first restaurant. In fact, it is not her first restaurant in a region where major combat operations have been completed. When asked if running a restaurant in a former war zone is risky business, she responds curtly, "Hardly, itâs no big deal." Compared to the locations of her previous restaurants, itâs not hard to believe her. Ten years ago she opened her first restaurant in Cambodia and since then she has opened eateries in Somalia, Rwanda, East Timor and Kosovo. Hellholes RâUs.
She has a basic business model: Follow U.N. and NGO workers who are trying to rebuild areas decimated by war and supply them with quality Thai cuisine as an alternative to the local fare. It helps to be the only game in town. Despite Thongngamkamâs refusal to divulge any financial details relating to Lai Thai, itâs obvious her business is thriving. And she is not shy about sharing the secret of her success: "In stable places there is a lot of competition. In crazy places Iâm the only Thai restaurant in town." Iâm thinking she has to pay a whole lot of protection money. Either that or free meals.
Business is so good that Thongngamkam has no plans to pack up her Thai restaurant caravan and move it to Baghdad anytime soon. While the U.N. role remains undefined in postwar Iraq, she will certainly not venture there. She believes it would not be a good business decision. "The U.N. pays more than the military, and they actually go out to eat. The military does not go out to eat," she says. The UN has much better prediem rates.
Perhaps Liberia? "Perhaps, but business is very good here now," she says. Will she ever settle down and open a business in a "safe location"? "No way," she says, "in a safe place there is too much competition."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 10:36:29 AM ||
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I just responded to someone in an email re: the M.E. and for the 1000th time quoted some song lyrics to make my point. After thinking about it for, oh, maybe 10 seconds, I thought Iâd pass them along to you Rantburgers. So, here are the lyrics of my all-time favorite Dylan song. I find they accurately describe 90% (or more) of the behaviors and motives I see. They have become, more or less, a personal anthem.
The words are Dylanâs. The flawed punctuation is mine - dating from about 1970 - Iâve never seen an official printed copy so I had to make do after listening to it about a thousand times.
Enjoy, and pass them along to the situationally-challenged.
Posted by: PD ||
07/16/2003 12:33:27 AM ||
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#5
Definition of situationaly challenged, After thinking about it for, oh, maybe 10 seconds
Posted by: Mr. Oni ||
07/16/2003 10:41 Comments ||
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#6
PD, once again, provides the kind of vital information that keeps me coming back to Rantburg. Now I won't be able to sleep until I find out what his favorite color is.
#7
Ms Omi - Deep. As in over your head, apparently. BTW, it's situationally. 2 l's. Thanx for your input.
Anonymous - It's a joy to have the brave troll Anon with us, again. Don't worry, the link wasn't meant for your edification. Your posts bring to mind a statement from The Deteriorata, also a piece too far, in your case. To wit: "Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet." That's you, *dude* - to borrow one of Aris' idioms.
#8
PD whoever the hell you are...
Thanks phor the correction. My misspellings aren't cutting and sophisticated like yours.
Your comments on anonymity are rather amusing, but I guess you "Don't think twice..."
If you want to continue a flame war you can respond to the e-mail address at my site and stop wasting the Rantburgers time. I apologize for doing the same and won't repeat the mistake... set up a hotmail account PD.
Posted by: Mr. Oni ||
07/16/2003 11:54 Comments ||
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Flame war? Wha? The point of the post is that the lyrics are spot-on regards human behavior - almost 40 years on. It was posted in the Short Attention Span Theater (i.e. of momentary interest, semi-frivolous). It was a mere public service. You stepped on your dick. I was kind. Your skin is far too thin.
Tsk, tsk to you and Anonymous for your inability to appreciate Mr Dylan's efforts (the donut) and, instead, pretend to be Blog Studs (the hole) posting about me. There's only ONE Blog Stud in Rantburg, boys, and that's Aris Sheriff Fred.
Sheesh. And I thought the art you've put on your website was pretty good stuff, too...
#11
please note - i dont peshawar stuff like this.
Folks, you are witnessing the evolution of the English language right smack dab before your eyes. Think about going up to someone and saying "peshawar" while they are rambling on about nothing.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/16/2003 18:38 Comments ||
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Source: The Economist
"THE province of Bamiyan is a rare good-news story for Afghanistan. Few villages on this 2,500 metre (8,000 feet) -high plateau in central Afghanistan have turned to poppy production. Security is not a big issue here. American special forces have disarmed meddlesome villagers. Tensions between the newly arrived Afghan National Army and the local Hezb-e-Wahdat militia have amounted to little more than name calling, fist fights, and a few smashed windows. The majority HazarasâShias believed to be descended from the armies of Genghis Khanâare loyal to Kabul. For the first time in their history they have a voice in the national political process. Their hero, Karim Khalili, is vice-president.
The Tajik minority driven out by the Hazaras in the 1990s is slowly returning under the UNâs auspices. Disputes between Tajiks and Hazaras over trees and water rights are now being settled amicably, despite the warnings of Tajik commanders who told their kin not to go back home. Village elders from both communities say everyone feels safer since the Afghan National Army and a small but visible American military reconstruction team moved into Bamiyan town.
Foreign aid workers find the work ethic of the locals refreshing. âYou give a little and they build a lot,â says one admiringly. And indeed, in village after village, the traditional adobe homes razed by the retreating Taliban have been rebuilt, land is coming back under the hoe, and new schools are attended, in some places, by girls as well as boys."
Key points
1. This is west of metro Kabul, and represents an expansion of central authority to a large area adjacent to, but outside of the provinces around Kabul that Karzai has controlled for months.
2. Afghan National Forces taking the lead role in establishing central authority, not Americans or Tajik militias. This is the model - build up authority in a small area, use revenues from their to build the army, then use the army to extend the area of central authority, and get the warlords to be more cooperative with the central govt. If it worked for Philip Augustus in 13th c France, why shouldnt it work for Karzai?
3. This area flanks Dostum's turf on the south. Begins to geographically isolate warlords.
Posted by: liberalhawk ||
07/16/2003 11:08:34 AM ||
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liberal hawk,
ummm... the hazara case is a special one. They think very differently than just about everyone else in afghanistan. I spent some time in bamian and I have nothing but the utmost respect for those people. They are persistant, dedicated, loyal, and most importantly they show a willingness to learn and adapt. That more than anything else is what sets them apart from their sunni counterparts in the east. I could go on at length about the differences in Hazara thinking versus tajik, uzbek, or pashtun, but that would not do any good here. I can say that from the day that karzai was named, the hazara were behind him, not because they were represented in the government by khalili, but because as the most oppressed minority in the country, they are willing to follow anyone who is moving forward.
I met some ANA back from kabul on leave (yes, we gave them leave) and they were immensly (sp) proud about being soldiers for the national army. It reminded me a lot of how I felt when I was done with basic training. That might be the source of the friction, egos.
as for Dostums turf... well dostum is a business man more than a warlord, but for him being a genereal was just a means to an end. Pay more attention to Atta as far as causing trouble is concerned. The issue of where Hazarajat borders is null since bamian and the surrounding area is smack in the middle of the hindu kush mountains. and although it's not a far distance to travel when you look at the map. I can personally attest that it's all straight up. That's one of the reasons the Hazara managed to survive so long. Once you occupy bamian, you have the advantage of being able to launch ambushes at will throughout the mountains. the place is just one big kill zone.
KANDAHAR, SPA -- Twelve suspected Taliban fighters have been captured by Afghan security forces scouring mountains and searching homes for attackers who killed five officers in a raid on a police headquarters in Kandahar. The operation was launched Tuesday in Ghorak district, the day after the raid, said Gen. Mohammed Salim Khan, deputy chief of police in Kandahar. "Maybe these people provided help in the attack or took part in it," Khan said. "I cannot give details. An investigation is going on." Small arms, mainly AK-47 rifles, have been seized, he added.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 10:53 ||
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More than 400 Afghan soldiers and police fanned out across a remote southern district Wednesday, searching house to house for Taliban fighters who killed five policemen this week.
Twelve villagers had been picked up on suspicion of helping the Taliban, but none of the gunmen who launched the bloody Monday night raid in Ghorak district had been caught, said provincial military officer Mohammad Salim. Headed back to Pakland, most likely.
The chief of police in the sparsely populated district, which is northwest of Kandahar city, was among those killed in the attack. It was the latest in a series of shootings and bombings blamed on the former ruling militia force, ousted from power by a U.S.-led offensive in late 2001. The attacks have raised fears of a resurgent Taliban regrouping in remote southern mountains and deserts but both the government and U.S-led forces hunting the rebels and their al Qaeda allies play down that possibility. But they say the militants are capable of launching hit-and-run strikes and bomb attacks. Doesnât take much of a organization to do that.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 10:07:46 AM ||
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Sharon forwards me this, from Bloomberg...
An Afghan warlord accused of murder, abduction and torture in his homeland has been arrested in London by Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism police, the U.K.'s Independent newspaper said today. A police spokeswoman, when asked in a telephone interview about the case of Zardad Khan, said only that ``the anti-terrorism branch rearrested a 40-year-old man'' on Monday, suspecting him of ``serious crimes.'' The man had previously been arrested on May 10, 2002, by the anti-terrorism branch, also on allegations of ``serious crimes,'' and released on bail pending a court appearance next month. Khan is being held at a London police station while officials decide whether to charge him under a law based on an international convention banning torture. Khan's latest arrest followed the return of detectives who traveled to Afghanistan to gather evidence against him. People traveled hundreds of miles to speak to the detectives about Khan while they were in Afghanistan, the Independent said. Khan, who runs a London pizza parlor, has been living in the U.K. for three years and has applied for asylum. In his asylum application, he denies being a commander of Afghan fighters and says the ousted Taliban regime has tried to kill him.
But that's not political. It's just because nobody likes him. One of his henchmen got Afghanistan's first death sentence (official death sentence, since the Taliban were thrown out, anyway) last September, for bumping off three of his wives and five of his kids. And Zardan was the cruel one...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 17:54 ||
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For those who think there is just a tad of bias in BBCâs reporting, hereâs a site to check out - with links to other sites - on both sides of the fence.
Posted by: PD ||
07/16/2003 5:42:16 AM ||
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FIGHTING THE BBC: The beginnings of a protest movement against the BBC seems to be in the air. This week, the BBC released their own annual report. It was full of the usual self-serving pabulum and ignored the massive criticism that the BBC has endured for its pro-Saddam coverage of the Iraq war.
It was widely savaged, and the critics included an influential Labor MP: Committee chairman Gerald Kaufman MP accused the governors of being "utterly gushing" in their assessment of the last year. He questioned how long the BBC could go on arguing that it should be funded by "a tax" as it "goes on shrinking, as it is shrinking and will shrink".
The corporation has also been under political scrutiny following its public row with 10 Downing Street over a BBC story that claimed the prime minister's office "sexed up" a dossier on Iraqi weapons. Mr Kaufman said the BBC should sack Andrew Gilligan, the reporter who prompted the Iraq weapons row. He added that Mr Gilligan and other journalists should be sacked for writing what he called "contentious" articles for the newspapers.
Meanwhile another Brit has gone to court to resist having to pay the BBC tax.
The Federal Government has confirmed troops from the Australian Army's Ready Deployment Force based in Townsville will be deployed to Solomon Islands by next Thursday. North Queensland Liberal MP Peter Lindsay says the Townsville contingent will provide security for a multi-national intervention force yet to be determined by federal Cabinet. He says Townsville's Lavarack Barracks and RAAF base Garbutt will be used as a staging base. "It's expected that several hundred troops will leave Townsville late next week about Thursday," he said. "But at this stage the national security council of Cabinet has still got to sign off and that sign-off is expected on Tuesday." Mr Lindsay says the Solomon Islands operation will not be on the same scale as Australia's role in East Timor. "There are some similarities but this is a specific situation where law and order has just broken down," he said. Australian troops will provide support in establishing lines of communications, clean water outside major centres and other logistical roles, as well as offering armed protection for Australia Federal Police. "The second battalion will have a very important role in providing that protection for the police force so that the police force can get on with the job of establishing law and order," Mr Lindsay said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 17:21 ||
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Stalinist-style neighbourhood informants could return to Moscow under a plan to create a city-wide network of spies to help thwart terrorists. A bill before the city assembly proposes a network of informers in all 600 districts, with councils of residents set up to spy on neighbours and newcomers. The head of each group will be paid 3200 roubles ($160) a month. The Russian version of "Neighborhood Watch".
Officials say the scheme should make it harder for terrorists to plot attacks in the capital. "We would like to raise public conscientiousness to such a level that people will not just step over a suspicious package left near their homes or ignore someone who clearly resembles a suicide bomber," said Inna Svyatenko, the assembly member who proposed the bill. "We didnât have any suicide bombers uder Stalin."
But the potential for abuse has led many to fear a return to the witchhunts of the Stalinist era. The good old days in the USSR werenât, unless you are a liberal professor at a U.S. university.
Police have welcomed the idea, saying phone tip-offs have trebled since two suicide bombers attacked a rock concert at Tushino aerodrome on July 5, killing 15. The Mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, has backed the bill, which could become law by the northern autumn. Moscowâs street and building cleaners have already been signed up as informers. They see everything and nobody notices them.
Many fear the new system will hit impoverished illegal workers the hardest. Vassili, 42, an illegal worker from Ukraine, said: "This will only increase the bribes I have to pay . . . I will now probably have to pay 1500 roubles to the council of residents to avoid the police taking an interest in me." Which is another reason the council of residents will back this bill. Theyâll get a paycheck from the government for being an informer and take bribes from the people they are supposed to inform on. Itâs a Russian tradition.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 12:05:13 PM ||
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#1
I sure as Hell hope Fatherland Homeland Security doesn't see this article
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
07/16/2003 13:01 Comments ||
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#2
Ahh, Rodina's continued appetite for repression and totalitarianism.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
07/16/2003 13:19 Comments ||
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A judge refused to grant bail Tuesday to a Moroccan man labeled a national security threat for allegedly having ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network. Adil Charkaoui, 30, was arrested nearly two months ago. He denies any links to Osama bin Laden and says Canada is harassing him to show the United States that it is tough on terrorism. Justice Simon Noel ruled the government provided sufficient reasons to keep Charkaoui in custody until his next hearing on whether he will be deported, scheduled for September. The government alleged Charkaoui, a Canadian resident since 1995, "has the profile of a sleeper agent that can be activated at any time." Court documents show he is suspected of having known several members of a Montreal al-Qaida cell, including Ahmed Ressam, who was convicted of planning to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations. The government also says Charkaoui visited Pakistan in 1998, at the same time that Ressam was training in an al-Qaida camp in nearby Afghanistan. Iâm beginning to think anyone who has visited Pakistan should be assumed guilty till proven innocent.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 9:50:51 AM ||
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You mean a Canadian Judge actually denied a suspect bail? Wow, I wonder how long it will be before the Liberal Party has Judge Simon Noel impeached.
ISLAMABAD, SPA -- Three small Muslim groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir have merged into a new organization threatening to step up attacks aimed at winning independence, a spokesman for the group said Wednesday. The new organization called Kashmir Freedom Force plans to launch "coordinated attacks on Indian forces to oust them from Kashmir," Meraj Din told The Associated Press by cellular phone from an undisclosed location. Din said the new organization comprises Islamic Front, Al-Barq (lightning) and Tehrik ul-Jihad.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 10:49 ||
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A videotape and letter have been handed to the BBC in which Pakistanâs banned Sunni militant organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims it killed 50 Shia Muslims in a mosque in the city of Quetta 11 days ago. The letter said a series of attacks against Shia Muslims sent a message of protest against the Pakistanâs Shia minority and the government. Pakistani Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat has said the investigation is advancing into the killings.
The videotape handed to BBC reporters in Quetta showed three men who claimed to belong to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Only one talks to a still camera - the youngest, who is described as a 17-year-old suicide attacker. He delivers a 10-minute anti-Shia diatribe. Only 10 minutes? Amateur.
He and his colleaguesâ appearance match those of three men who were identified by the police as the culprits in the mosque killing spree. Pictures of their bloodied faces were published in newspapers after the attack. The author of an accompanying letter, dated after the mosque attack, claims responsibility on behalf of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for it and a string of attacks, including one the previous month in which 12 Shia police cadets were killed in the back of their truck by drive-by attackers. The letter says all the attacks were a protest against the government, President Pervez Musharraf, the United States and Iran. What, no jews?
The letter says the mosque attackers sacrificed their lives to protect the honour of the Prophet Mohammed and his wife. The dispute over the heirs to Mohammed is what lies at the hear of the dispute between Sunnis and Shias 1,400 years ago. The feud will never end until one side wipes out the other.
The Iranian revolution, led by Shia clerics, exacerbated the enmity. It is not clear how much the admission of responsibility will affect the investigation. To date dozens of people have been detained. Some have been released. But between 30 and 35 suspects remain in custody under arrest. If they werenât involved in this, they most likely did something else worth jailing them for.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 9:34:16 AM ||
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#1
Ok, ok, I admit it. It was the Sunnis, not the Hindoos.
#2
why these two sects of islam are unnecessarily fighting with each other. cannt they sit toggether and compromise so that there is no further bloodshed in the name of religion.
The governor of Iraq's Haditha region, northwest of Baghdad, and his son were gunned down in their car Wednesday by unknown attackers. Mohammed Nael Assaf, 60, was returning to his house with his son by car and had stopped at a crossroads when they came under attack. The gunmen managed to flee. It was not known if the shooting was politically or personally motivated.
Probably doesn't even matter to the governor or his kid...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 17:23 ||
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U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow said in a statement issued yesterday that the US is ready to permit Russian companies to work in Iraq, but he stressed that the next Iraqi government will decide the fate of oil contracts finalized with Saddam Husseinâs regime. The Russian official news agency ( Inter-Fax) quoted the American ambassador as saying that Washington had approved "according to a UN resolution no. 1483 to extend the oil-for-food program for 6 months. A matter which permits the execution of most of the Russian contracts signed in the context of the program."
Concerning the oil sector, the American ambassador said "our position is clear, the Iraqi oil and oil resources are for the Iraqi people and the decision to develop them and production in future will be taken by the future Iraqi government." He added "therefore we have suspended the contracts signed by Russian companies with the former Iraqi regime, in another word, the contracts are not executed, nor violated." Bwahahahaha!
He said " decisions on these contracts will be taken by the next Iraqi government." The one that remembers all the help you gave Sammy.
The Russian foreign ministry said yesterday that the deputy foreign minister Anatoli Sovnov renewed demands to the American ambassador on the need that the American occupation forces to ensure the security of the Russian embassy in Baghdad. "OK, Iâll go tell the Marines to secure the Russian Embassy. Oops, I forgot that means something different to a Marine. I bad."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 4:39:02 PM ||
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What, the russkies can't even protect their own embassy now? Maybe they should just go home, huh?
FALLUJA - U.S. officials in Iraq are getting uneasy about increased activity by the Saudi government and by radical Wahhabi groups in Iraq. Some of this is welcomed, the rest is not. Saudi government activity seems limited to charitable work and to aiding the Iraqi people, but U.S. officials are concerned about activities of radical, Sunni Muslim Wahhabi groups. There is no tangible evidence linking any Saudi group to the Sunni Muslim groups who have long allied themselves with the former regime of Saddam Hussein, and are believed to be behind almost daily attacks on U.S. forces in areas north of Baghdad. But U.S. officials are following the issue closely. "We realize there is some Saudi activity and involvement, and we've basically told them 'cut it out'," a senior U.S. official in Baghdad speaking on condition of anonymity told IPS.
At which point the Soddies looked hurt and offended, no doubt...
Or at least you look like one and talk like one...
But while no connection has been found between the more traditional Wahhabi groups and Iraqi Sunni Muslim groups bent on expelling the coalition forces from Iraq, U.S. officials are keeping a close eye on worrying signs. Circumstantial indications are not evidence, but they have been enough to make the U.S. forces watchful. Last month, U.S. forces raided a house in the northern city Mosul, a traditional hotbed of Wahhabi activity in Iraq, and arrested 15 people, all of them Wahhabis. Large quantities of arms and ammunition, including AK-47 guns, hand grenades, and rocket-propelled grenades were seized. In Falluja, where many of the attacks against U.S. forces have occurred, the hardline leader of a local mosque, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Jenabi, denied to IPS that there is "any Wahhabi influence in Iraq." Four feet away outside the room, men in their early twenties were clearly dressed in traditional Wahhabi dress.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 10:43 ||
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Perhaps this is one way to help solve their demographics problem: export thousands of their jobless, but thoroughly indoctrinated, young men to every Islamic conflict they can find.
As for the Iraqi quoted, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Jenabi, his opinion can be dismissed out of hand as honesty in Islam is a matter of convenience.
It's definitely time to end the sham of "The Special Relationship" and get the Foggy Bottom apologists out of the way. The US needs a free hand to deal with the complicity and duplicity of the Saudis - official and otherwise.
#3
"500 military personnel protecting the facility"
Whose soldiers?
Why does it take a Battalon of troops to gaurd one hospital?
(Can't wrap my brain around the spelling.)
#4
Amen PD. I have been an unwavering supporter of Bush's muscular Middle East policy. If not each detail, certainly the broad, puissant concept. But the notion that he has a pet name for Bandar incenses me.
Posted by: af ||
07/16/2003 23:19 Comments ||
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AL-HADAR, Iraq: Dozens of bodies were exhumed Tuesday from a mass grave in the northern Iraqi region of Al-Hadar under the supervision of US experts. The remains of people who residents said were victims of the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein were dug up from a grave at Sahil Attaf, south of the northern capital of Mosul. The digs, which were undertaken by a team from the US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, with the help of American troops and members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), will continue over the coming days. The US team said it put the remains unearthed on Tuesday in around 40 bags each containing the remains of two to four people. Pieces of Kurdish women's clothing and colored headscarves were found in the grave. Several skulls appeared to have been pierced by bullets, indicating some victims had been shot in the head. According to residents, the exhumed bodies belong to Kurds from regions further north, including women and children, executed by Saddam's regime in 1988, the final year of an eight-year war between Iran and Iraq.
Women and children... The bodies are still being dug up, but it's all about oiiiilll...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 10:36 ||
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Note the civility and professionalism allowed - a real team of pathologists - because it's in the Kurdish zone. No howling moonbats, no AK-47 fire, no Izzoid outrage at those who had nothing to do with it. Perhaps, in this instance, some positive ID's will be made.
Nearly four months after bombing his compound and killing 43 of his armed followers, U.S. forces acknowledged Monday that they had arrested one of northern Iraq's most colourful and enigmatic Muslim leaders, a move likely to inflame tensions in a mountainous corridor along the Iranian border.
Hmmm... Those nails are pretty tough, ain't they?
Handcuffed and blindfolded, Ali Bapir and three members of his Komaly Islami party were whisked away in a U.S. helicopter. The arrest was part of a trap and occurred Thursday after Bapir and his men had accepted a U.S. invitation to a meeting at a nearby resort. American soldiers stopped Bapir's vehicle on the way to the hotel and took Bapir and his entourage into custody. Bapir is one of the most charismatic lunatic fringe leaders in northern Iraq. In many ways, he represents the challenge U.S. forces face in coaxing radical clerics away from militantism. Bapir has long said he desires a relationship with the West, but his suspected links to Ansar Al-Islam - a radical group with ties to Al Qaeda - often have made his overtures suspect.
When you sleep with pigs, don't complain about the stench...
Bapir and 3,000 to 5,000 of his followers lived in the village of Khurmal in northeastern Iraq. About 200 Ansar families lived in Khurmal, and many of Ansar's guerrillas would appear nightly in the village to take refuge from battles with the Washington-backed militia controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Bapir repeatedly denied that his band of armed men supported Ansar.
But they gave them shelter, which is support...
But the PUK — which gave Bapir hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in hopes that his group would abandon its radical tendencies — determined before the U.S. invasion that Komaly Islami was too closely aligned with Ansar.
I wish to hell somebody would try to bribe me to do something with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Maybe I oughta buy a turban?
U.S. forces widened the scope of its cruise-missile attacks to include several of Bapir's compounds in the foothills near Khurmal. Bapir surrendered, and days later he and his surviving followers were taken to the town of Ranya. Bapir said: "I don't know if the U.S. hit us because we are Islamic. If we have done anything wrong, the U.S. must tell us. ... If there is no reason, the U.S. must apologise."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 10:21 ||
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Suggested apology template:
Dear Abu (insert name here):
We apologize for blowing up your
(tents/camels/cave).
However, we respectfully suggest that if you wish to avoid the same in the future, stop (training terrorists/hijacking airliners/being lunatic Medieval weirdos).
Sincerely yours,
(The) United States of America
Posted by: Carl in NH ||
07/16/2003 17:29 Comments ||
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The US Senate has given final approval to legislation to impose sanctions on Burma's ruling military junta and will now send the bill to the President for signing. The Act authorizes the President to provide aid to Burma's democracy activists, impose trade restrictions, freeze the regime's financial assets in US banks and install a visa ban on regime members. The legislation was introduced to punish the junta for its recent crackdown on pro-democracy groups and its detention on May 30 of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"It's all about... ummm... rice."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 17:18 ||
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Don't forget about Teak.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/16/2003 22:48 Comments ||
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Fighting between New Peopleâs Army (NPA) rebels and joint police-military forces led to the deaths of five rebels and two soldiers in barangay Pagalanggang, Dinalupihan, Bataan, on Monday, belated reports said. Chief Supt. Vidal Querol, regional police director, said residents alerted police at Balanga Police Station of the rebelsâ presence after farmers refused to pay so-called revolutionary taxes to the communist underground. Good for them.
Querol identified the communist unit as the Lino Blas Command of the NPA under a certain Ka Turi. He added that the same NPA band fought the military three weeks ago in Zambales. Residents said the firefight started at 2 p.m. and lasted until 7p.m. as some NPA rebels tried to escape into nearby barangays. Querol said the fallen soldiers were members of the 24th Infantry Battalion stationed in Dinalupihan, Bataan. R.I.P.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 11:08:24 AM ||
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Director Eduardo Matillano, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief, admitted Wednesday that one police guard was asleep and a second was out shopping when convicted Jemaah Islamiyah bomber Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi broke out of his prison cell. "The guard who was supposed to be there 24 hours a day was sleeping in the other room," Matillano told reporters.
"The lead guard was absent; he was not at his post at the time. He said he had gone somewhere to buy something and saw nothing unusual when he came back."
Al-Ghozi was serving a 15-year prison sentence for procuring explosives after having confessed to his role in the December 2000 bombings that claimed 22 lives in Manila as well as the plot to bomb Western embassies in Singapore. The Indonesian national was being held in the prison housed in the national police headquarters awaiting the outcome of a government petition seeking to transfer him to another jail.
"There were some lapses on the part of security," Matillano said. Investigators found the jail cell was "intact and sustained no damage," with padlocks still in place, the police official said. Then how did he get out?
The escaped convicts walked along the main hallway, down the stairs to the ground floor and left through the main gate.
Al-Ghozi escaped with two of the three Filipino Abu Sayyaf guerrillas -- on trial for kidnapping -- who shared his four-person cell. The fourth inmate informed guards early Monday morning that there had been a prison break but they did not believe him as the padlock on the cell remained intact. "Guard, my cellmates broke out!"
"Shut up, Iâm trying to sleep."
It took five hours for the guards to discover the jailbreak, when the cell was physically inspected. "Hey, whereâd everybody go?"
The guards were also remiss in their duties to conduct an hourly headcount of inmates under their care. Rather than physically inspecting the cells and recording their findings in the prison logbook, they just signed the logbook without checking, a grim-faced Matillano said. Thatâs the first lesson I learned in the service, never, never sign for anything without checking to see if it was really there.
Roberto Principe, the sergeant of the guards, and guard detail Ronald Palmares have been restricted to quarters and charged with "infidelity in the custody of prisoners," Matillano said.
Criminal charges are also being prepared against their superiors, he added. I still think somebody got paid off (how did he get out of a locked cell), but it could be just total incompatance.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 10:55:47 AM ||
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The suspected planner of the 2002 Bali bomb attacks has said the carnage was "justifiable" under Islamic teachings. Imam Samudra, a 33-year-old Afghan-trained militant and computer specialist, told a court on Wednesday that the attack "avenged the killings of Muslims by the United States and its allies". He admitted he was involved in the attacks on two nightspots on the island, which killed more than 200 people. He also expressed regret at the deaths of Muslims in the bombings. "If we unintentionally kill someone during jihad, God will forgive us. It was an operational error," he said. "Happens all the time."
Imam Samudra told the court he was in Bali before the attacks took place and met with others accused in the blasts. But he denied prosecution claims he planned the operation. "I was not the planner. But if youâre talking about involvement, then that is true," he said. He is charged by the court with plotting and organising terror crimes causing mass casualties. The crime carries the maximum penalty of death. His lawyers have said they expected Mr Samudra to be convicted. They hope to show he did not play a planning role and spare him the death penalty. That ainât gonna fly, Imam Samudra is gonna die.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 9:06:38 AM ||
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"If we unintentionally kill someone during jihad, God will forgive us. It was an operational error," he said.
Collateral damage is ok - if your ACME Murder Policy Bombing Fatwa contains the unintended victim clause was issued by an official ACME Agent Imam / Mullah / Barking Moonbat Izzoid.
#2
The suspected planner of the 2002 Bali bomb attacks has said the carnage was "justifiable" under Islamic teachings.
And them Muslims wonder why they're under such intense scrutiny.
Note: Keep an eye out for a condemnation of Samudra's statements by Muslim "moderates". Chances are it'll be a long time in coming, if it comes at all.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday awarded the government hundreds of millions of dollars from the Swiss bank deposits of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The Swiss accounts, valued at $658 million more than a year ago, make up the largest amount recovered from the billions of dollars the Marcoses allegedly amassed while in office.
The decision reversed an anti-graft courtâs earlier ruling that the money was in the name of several foundations, and that the government had not fully established that they belonged to the Marcos family. ``In the face of undeniable circumstances and the avalanche of documentary evidence against them, respondent Marcoses failed to justify the lawful nature of their acquisition of the said assets,ââ the court said in a 100-page ruling. ``Hence, the Swiss deposits should be considered ill-gotten wealth and forfeited in favor of the State.ââ
Marcos was president from 1966 until a popular revolt ousted him in February 1986. He and his family went into exile in Hawaii, where he died three years later without admitting wrongdoing.
A Swiss court transferred around $570 million in Marcos deposits in 1999 to the Philippine National Bank, which has been holding them in escrow pending a final resolution. The amount has grown with interest. The anti-graft court earlier determined that the combined salaries of Marcos and his wife - who served as metropolitan Manilaâs governor and minister of human settlements - were equivalent to only about $304,300 during Marcosâ 20-year rule. Time wounds all heals.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/16/2003 12:54:01 AM ||
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"But what the hell do we do with all these damn shoes?"
EFL. Youâll have to scroll down to the July 9th heading.
Many people in Liberia are begging us to intervene to stop their horrible civil war — by unspecified means. Even President-by-intimidation Taylor is asking for help. Liberiaâs neighbors would also undoubtedly love to see us clean up this infectious hell-hole. UN leaders are asking for a peacekeeping force as well. Do we have any duty to Liberians? If we have no duty to interfere, is it advisable on other grounds? Do we have any right to interfere? If we did interfere, what should we do?
Off the top of my head, I'd say we have a right to interfere, if only because some of the parties involved asked us. Whether we have an obligation or not is a different question entirely. The idea of Liberia as an American "colony" doesn't sit with me. It calls for redefining the word as it was used in the 19th and 20th centuries back to the way it was used in the 18th century. Ruling "the natives" from Paris or London or Brussels or Berlin is a different thing from sending your people to form settlements and prosper (or fall) on their own. Australia, the United States, and Canada were all colonies, and all were a different creature from the Congo or Indonesia or even Venezuela. Britain has no obligation to come and right any of our internal difficulties. The fact that the Liberians have screwed up their country imposes no obligation on us...
The formal answer to the first question has to be no. The first duty of our government is to our own people, and secondarily to those with whom we have agreements of alliance. Liberians fall into neither category. But the formal answer isnât the whole story, of course. Most Americans know nothing of Liberia and its history with the US; but it has been a friendly and cooperative partner, albeit a rather corrupt one, for its whole history. From allowing air bases during WWII to siting a huge VOA station during the Cold War it has worked as a minor military partner — not an ally, true; but a cooperative partner.
This was largely due to the near 30-year rule of President Tubman (1944 - 1971). His successor, President Tolbert, flirted a little more strongly with the Soviets, trying to play both sides against each other to his own advantage. Sgt. Doe, his successor, was a nut...
Arguments that we have a duty to help Liberians donât seem overwhelming, but theyâre not negligable either. It might be a hard sell to Americans who donât know much about our mutual history, but could be successfully argued. Unfortunately Liberiaâs troubles make that whole section of West Africa unstable and ungovernable; and we know what happens when a section of the world becomes ungovernable — especially a section of the world with a lot of Moslems in it. Contrary to statements Iâve seen elsewhere, Liberia does have a substantial Moslem population, and the Ivory Coast is becoming polarized a la Nigeria. Humanitarian issues aside, we have a strategic interest in making sure the region doesnât contain lawless pits where our terrorist enemies can form enclaves.
That's a true statement, and it also fits with what I think is Bush's vision of the post-WOT world. Leaving festing sores like Liberia spreads the infection to neighboring states — in this case, Guinea and Ivory Coast. We're not going to have a stable world until the day of the condotierre is over. Liberia by that measure is as much a threat as North Korea. But so is Burma, and, as of today, Sao Tome. Tin hats and bully boys don't make good governments, and bad governments bring out the worst in people. Ask any pygmy...
Quite a number of unrelated groups outside Liberia are also asking us to intervene on humanitarian ground, intimating that we can get back in their good graces by doing so. However, since these same people (Kofi et al) will wail about "imperialism" after the first Liberian casualty, we can safely discount any implied goodwill.
Getting back into Kofi's good graces should be the least of our worries. Again I ask the age-old question: "Why do we have to please them?"
The question of a right to interfere is a rather vexed question with a counterintuitive answer. When a nationâs survival is at stake (no matter what philosophers and theologians say), we accept it as given that that nation has the right to attack its active enemies, and even enemies that are not currently threatening them if this makes strategic sense. We invaded Iraq on these grounds, though the proximate cause was Iraqâs non-compliance with disarmament rules made to enforce the peace agreements. We invaded France as a step toward rolling up the Nazi empire, though France was not a grave threat to us. Life is more clear-cut when you limit wars to self-interest. Mugabe is a despicable villain who uses starvation as a political tool, but he does not threaten American interests, and so he knows he is safe from US attack. But if we allow "humanitarian reasons" as a trigger for war, he cannot think himself safe at all. You may think "Wonderful! The creep ought to worry." But think instead what an amazingly wide scope "humanitarian reasons" covers. Mugabe starves only a small fraction of Zimbabweâs population. You can trivially find terrible abuses in South Africa, or Libya, or Morocco, or France, or any prison anywhere in the world. Suppose a group of Gypsies in Hungary beg for relief from the abuse of their human rights from anybody willing to invade Hungary. Do you need a threshold for action that says peopleâs lives have to be in danger? Here in the US we have a population that the EU considers oppressed, and whose lives are at stake: death row inmates. Nobody is safe, anybody is a target.
That's why it's always polite to wait for somebody to invite you in. Had I been Bush (we can all be glad I wasn't) I'd probably have recognized the Iraqi National Congress as a government in exile and invaded to put them in charge.
You canât safely rely on appeals for outside intervention, either: who do you listen to, and who do you trust? You can find a Quisling in any country, to say that they need the German army to come restore order. Donât complaint about the grammar in that sentence, it means what it says.
That's where you balance national interest with available resources and what you damned well feel like doing. It'll be a sadder world when we're invading people for any reason at all...
The cold-blooded rule of self-interest turns out to restrict war more than the more tender-hearted defense of human rights. I have to class "humanitarian reasons" together with "our countryâs honor" and "our countryâs destiny" as invitations to unnecessary wars. And . . . it never hurts to remember that power corrupts. We are not holy angels. Even our intricate systems of accountability donât always work, as the Arthur Anderson and the brokerage scandals recently showed. This time the cries of "No blood for oil" were so much cow dung — the Iraq war worked against the oil industryâs interests. Next time it might be an honest indictment. Want to bet whoâll be president in 2009? Bush has been an honest man, as far as I can tell. But who comes after him? I donât see that the words "humanitarian relief" automatically give us the right to do what needs to be done. âŠ
So, letâs pretend we want to intervene. What options do we have?
We can toss in some US troops to serve with a UN/ECOMOG peacekeeping force. Weâd get a lot of respect and nominal cooperation at first, but if we go in with the usual UN rules of engagement that will evaporate pretty quickly. Liberia is afflicted with many free-lance bandit gangs, loosely associated with warring factions. Unless we have the authority to chase after them when they show up nearby, weâre pretty useless.
I'd rule out the "return fire only when fired upon" nonsense right off the bat, too...
If we go in with the understanding that our soldiers get to patrol wherever they want and shoot anybody who annoys them, the roadblock checkpoints will go away and the refugee problem will start to be solved. However, the same kleptocrats that are currently entrenched will still be there, and with somewhat less of an imperative to change. It does not matter much whether Taylor himself is still in the country or not. The people he surrounded himself with are of the same stripe as he.
One of the other things that's going to jump out to bite our national nether regions is the fact that Liberians are (dare I say it?) black. The intervention that's being pushed on us now will become "Mr. Bush's Racist War™" just about as soon as the domestic ankle-biters can get the signs printed...
We can do the above, and start importing guns and ammo and training village elders in their use. Of course Taylorâs people would go ape, but if we could get around that problem the scheme might actually work. The idea relies on the fact that the bandit groups are not trained, and rely on superior firepower to terrorize and make up for their poor marksmanship. If your bandit group discovers that villages can fight back, they can either try to change tactics or look for easier prey. Bear in mind that an attacked village doesnât have a lot to hope for as it is, so fighting back canât hurt. This scheme takes far too long, though: months at least to supply and train, and many more months for bandits to start getting scared.
It's also an approach we tried in Vietnam and Laos, with a certain amount of success, especially among the Hmong and allied tribes, but not enough success to avoid both countries having everyone running around calling each other "comrade."
We can intervene as part of a UN peacekeeping force, and then turn on the government. Iâve said before I think this a terrible option —probably the worst thing we could do.
Turn on the post-Taylor government? As a member of a UN force? Lousy idea...
We can try to get agreement beforehand that Liberia as a government and a country no longer exists. On the basis of our historic ties with the land we are in a better position than Britain, France, or the UN to try to chase out the bandits and rebuild the nation. This would be very scary to a lot of kleptocratic governments out there, but I think we might be able to define non-existence tightly enough to keep focussed on the real basket cases. Then we land Marines. Since that canât happen instantly, Taylor et al will have time to escape. And possibly go back to the bush and try for another revolution when weâre gone. So somebody needs to take out Taylor too.
Hmmm... Declaring that the country no longer exists seems pretty drastic. With 16 different ethnic groups, we could end up subsequently recognizing 16 separate countries that are now counties. Certainly, though, I'd withdraw all recognition of the Taylor government, to include the functionaries and the legislature. But there are other options, as well:
We could recognize LURD and/or MODEL as the legitimate government of Liberia and throw all our support behind them, at the same time requiring that they adhere to civilized rules of behavior;
We could recognize none of the contending groups and demand a return to the 1847 constitution, installing a civil administration similar to the one we have in Iraq while the machinery for elections, legislature, courts, etc., are established;
We could declare Liberia a failed state and import a head of state (Uganda's got a few minor kings lying around, f'rinstance, or Swaziland could probably kick in somebody royal) and rebuild the machinery of government with foreign functionaries. This sets up a government that's truly neutral among the competing parties in Liberia. Of course it also establishes a government with no local roots and will cause some local elements to complain about "them furriners," with its accompanying urge to use them for target practice. On the other hand, the original colonists represented something like the same approach, and five percent of the population controlled the country fairly well for 130 years.
Given enough time, there are lots of different approaches that are available for dealing with Liberia, and Bush & Co. are probably going over quite a few of them now. It may very well turn out that we end up doing the same thing we did for Ivory Coast, when they were begging for U.S. intervention, lo, these many months (six of them) ago.
The leaders of a military coup in Sao Tome and Principe have announced the dissolution of all state bodies and set up a "junta of national salvation", Portuguese television reported, citing state television in the west African island nation. "All the sovereign organs of the country are dissolved," the new junta said in a communique read by a journalist surrounded by soldiers. "Their former title-holders are under the tutelage of the junta and their full physical integrity is assured. "The military junta of national salvation will announce in the coming hours the organs and entities that will lead the destiny of the country during the transition period," the statement said.
"We're gonna be just like Burma, just you wait and see!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 17:25 ||
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"...their full physical integrity is assured."
They're going to hang 'em instead of cutting their heads off and eating their livers.
#2
We should send in the Navy RIGHT NOW and return the legitimate government to power. Sao Tome is the nation that holds the key to the economic rejuvination of sub saharan Africa. It has a geo-strategic importance far beyond it's size. It is located over one of the largest oil fields in the world, and if developed, could give us enormous leverage over the OPEC nations, and we don't need to negotiate the narrow waters of the Persian Gulf to extract the oil.
#3
Tough one. We have been negotiating for a base in this country to watch this increasingly important region. Don't know if the thugs doing the overthrowing are any worse than those overthrown... must read more. Those Marines going to Liberia may yet get a job more closely related to our security (as opposed to our empathy)
Edward I. Koch Wednesday, July 16, 2003 EFL
The Democratic candidates for president — and many in the media — are trying to make President Bush seem like a liar. In so doing, they are making an unforgivable mistake.
In his State of the Union Address to Congress on Jan. 28, 2003, President Bush said, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Britainâs Prime Minister Tony Blair ... said last week that the representation was true and comes from a different source than the one that was recently discredited by the CIA. For me, it comes down to this: If Bush actually did lie to the American public — intentionally stating as the truth that which he knew to be false — then he should be impeached and removed as president. However, if Bush did not lie, and I do not believe that he did, then Americans of all political persuasions should defend our countryâs reputation for fair play by displaying their indignation at those who bear false witness.
Although I am a Democrat, I am no ideologue. In some local and state elections, I have proudly crossed party lines for candidates I thought were appreciably better. I believe that the most important issue facing the world is international terrorism, and it is my current intention to vote for George W. Bush for re-election. I do not agree with him on many domestic issues, ranging from privatizing Social Security to tax reductions favoring the wealthy. However, because of his leadership and successes in the war against international terrorism, he is my current choice in 2004.
Whether intelligence reports about Iraq were accurate or not, the president had a right to rely on information from Blair, Americaâs most steadfast ally, and his government. If either Bush or Blair knew the reports were false and either is now engaging in a cover-up, that individual should be removed from office. I believe Democrats and their media allies will fail to bring Bush down, because taking on Saddam Hussein was the right course of action for America.
National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice, on "Face the Nation" over the weekend, cleaned the clocks of her two media interrogators and critics, CBSâ Bob Schieffer and Los Angeles Times Washington Bureau Chief Doyle McManus, with her brilliant responses to their questions. The president took the nation to war to depose a bloody tyrant who had defied the world for 12 years, who was building a weapons of mass destruction program and had weapons of mass destruction, which he had used in the past, who was a threat to American interest in the Middle East and who, now that he is removed, is giving us an opportunity for [the] Middle East that might finally be at peace and that will not create an atmosphere in which you have ideologies of hatred spawning people who slam airplanes into the World Trade Center. So we do have to put this in perspective. The presidentâs State of the Union said something that was accurate: This is what the British government said in its reporting. The British, I might note, still stand by that statement. It was not based, they say, on a single source, but on other sources.
The lines have been drawn. Letâs find out the truth. Congress should hold public hearings on this issue. I also am in favor of public hearings conducted by an independent commission on the performance of the FBI, CIA and all other national security agencies pre- and post-9/11. Let the chips fall where they may, and hold accountable those who were negligent in failing to prevent the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
#1
And Rummy cleaned the clocks of George and Tim big-time, as well.
Posted by: Michael ||
07/16/2003 17:15 Comments ||
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#2
Whether or not the Democrats are making a big mistake, as Koch alleges, depends on what they're trying to accomplish. It's REALLY difficult for me to believe any of the Dem intelligentsia (either in the DNC or in the media) actually think this story will be around for another 16 days, much less the 16 months remaining until the 2004 elections.
More likely, I think, is that they intend to create a constant drumbeat of criticism, by raising one overhyped "issue" after another, to wear down Bush's popularity so there's a chance of beating him. That, and to keep up a steady flow of "red meat" for their followers who hunger for even the slightest scrap of hope that all is not lost. Who knows whether it'll work, but it seems to be having at least some effect.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/16/2003 20:20 Comments ||
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#3
actually a lot of the hype in the Dems is done to raise campaign funds
if you don't have campaign funds, you don't have a long term. Koch isn't running so he can afford to be rational. If Dean starts being polite and rational, the flow of money to his campaign ends.
#4
This type of attack-campaign damages US allies, too.
In Australia, Howard is currently under pressure from the media and the Labor party Opposition who claim:
'we went to war based on a lie'
Palpably false in so many ways: even if the documents WERE forged, this statement would still be false.
But the dumb public will swallow a headline repeated often enough and the ALP know it. They learned the Goebbels lesson well: personal attacks and repetition of the simple.
I'm sure Blaire has to deal with the Clare Shorts of the world taking up the chant over there too: Bulldog?
Blair's embattled and fighting. The Clare Shorts and Robin Cooks are on his back trying to bring him down. It may sound ungrateful, but I'm not bothered about Tony's fate as the damage he's inflicting on Britain outweighs his admirable stance concerning Iraq. A Blair overthrow would substantially reduce Labour's chances at the next election, and that's got to be a good thing.
There appears to be a growing groundswell of opinion in the UK, a backlash against further EU integration and against previously inviolate organisations like the BBC and the NHS. Things are looking up; the Blairite "Third Way" is on the way out.
President Bush has chosen Sea Island, a posh resort community on the Georgia coast, to host next yearâs meeting of leaders from the worldâs major industrial countries. The meeting will be June 8-10, according to a news release from the Sea Island Co. Perdue said the island -- 60 miles south of Savannah and about a two-hour drive from Hilton Head Island -- was a great venue for security because of its proximity to several major military bases and a federal law enforcement training center. Gonna get some first hand crowd control training.
Anti-globalization protesters have had a growing presence at the annual summits, where leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States meet to discuss economic and political issues. During the summit last month in Evian, France, protesters generally were kept to neighboring Switzerland, where leaders were left wondering who would pay the bill for cleaning up after the vandalism and looting. I doubt the folks in Georgia will put up with this kind of stuff from the puppet crowd.
A Homeland Security official in Washington said security at the summit is expected to be federalized. As a "national special security event," the summit would be protected by Homeland Security personnel, including those from the Secret Service, Coast Guard, and other agencies. Sea Island is a private, 5-mile-long resort island about halfway between Savannah and Jacksonville, Fla. Damm, I think I had picked Fairbanks, Alaska in the pool.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 4:26:45 PM ||
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#1
I'm still pushing for Max, North Dakota in mid-winter. And yes, I do plan on running the hand-warmer concession, as well as the frostbite clinic...
#2
I agree with Mojo. Have it in North Dakota in winter. That will keep the fair-weather protestors down in Berkely, Boulder and warmer climes. Mojo's comment reminds me of a Dave Barry incident a couple of years ago where the good citizens of Grand Forks named a sewage pumping station for him and he went up for the commemoration in the middle of February. Here's an excerpt:
I arrived at Grand Forks International Airport on a subzero Tuesday night. I have never been so cold in my life. And that was inside the terminal. Outside it was much worse. I'm pretty sure wolves were stalking me as I staggered across the wind-whipped parking lot, wondering if there could be a colder place on the planet.
#4
Steve---Don't pick Fairbanks, unless you want them to have sleepless nights. Pretty much 24hr daylight at that time. Better venue would be Adak, Alaska. It is quite the ex-navy base out on the aleutians. Owned by the area native corp. now. It's a long way by air and a long way by sea. A couple of SSN's would keep Greenpeace at bay. Heh heh heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/16/2003 18:46 Comments ||
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Anybody know if Georgia is a shall-issue state? Even if not, plenty of Georgians have hunting rifles and shotguns; should be fun when the protestors (who won't get near Sea Island) start attaching businesses. The business owners may well attack back - that would be a shock to the professional whiners' systems. :-)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/16/2003 20:07 Comments ||
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#6
That should be attacking businesses
Too bad I can't type!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/16/2003 20:44 Comments ||
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#7
What kind of gun laws does Georgia have? As liberal as Louisiana?
#8
NOOOOOO!!!!! That's a TWO HOUR DRIVE FROM MY HOUSE!
SH*T! SH*T! SH*T! SH*T! SH*T!
Ah well. To answer everyone's questions, it's not concealed carry around here, but the only way to get any money around here for a charity from a raffle is to raffle off some big-ass hunting gun of one kind or another. This is Huntin' country down here: Bow hunting too. People make ends meet around here shootin' and eatin' their meat.
Alaska Paul, King's Bay is down a piece, along I-95. They base the Atlantic Trident fleet there. They'll chip in those SSNs you think would be so helpful.
THIS is no-nonsense country. The Atlanta Journal and Constitution will have a hissyfit when the local cops start busting heads, naturally, but they're 5.5 hours away and in a whole different world.
Did you mean the Hotlanta Urinal and Constipation? :-)
Maybe the wackos can be headed off at the pass - after all, to get anywhere on the East Coast, you've got to change planes in Atlanta. Start busting heads there and avoid the rush!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/16/2003 22:25 Comments ||
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Ptah---I hope King's Bay has some SSN attack subs. Heaven forbid that we need SSBN's! The island would be a Roentgen lagoon after they got done. From the discussions above, sounds like Bush picked a dandy place to have a G-8 soire. My condolences to Sea Island.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/16/2003 22:36 Comments ||
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#11
Barbara: Yeah, THAT brand of birdcage liner. Unfortunately, they can drive down from the East Coast via I-95 and be here in 18 hours.
Actually, securing the Island itself will be very simple: There's only one bridge over the intercoastal waterway. There is, of course, access by water, but the waterways are broad and easily patrolled.
They'll probably be staying at the Cloisters: I've stayed there, and it's depiction as a Mediterranean style hotel is spot-on. Classy, genteel surroundings. The surrounding private homes are beautiful. There's even one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright!
If it wasn't for the attendant wackos, I'd be rather proud of how Georgia bagged this one. We've got a lot of experience from the Olympics to apply to this one...
Last month, the United Nations agency whose mandate is to help Palestinian refugees, appealed for millions of dollars in aid. But the response has been so poor that the agency, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, is now warning it will have to cut humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza.
The head of UNRWA, Peter Hansen, spoke to correspondents before the opening of a two-day seminar in Geneva called to examine the economic plight of the Palestinian people.
Mr. Hansen says in June his agency appealed for more than $100 million in emergency aid that was to last until the end of the year. As of now, he says, the agency has received nothing.
Although Mr. Hansen said the agency has received pledges indicating donors eventually will give $35-$40 million, he says that is far less than what is needed. As a consequence, he says many important programs for the Palestinians will be reduced or come to an end. Tap..nope
He says half of the 1.3 million Palestinians UNRWA helps will no longer receive food. He says nearly 2,000 shelters that were completely destroyed in the West Bank and Gaza will not be rebuilt. He also says emergency employment programs will have to be drastically reduced. "We will maybe have to cut out some 5,500 jobs," said Mr. Hansen. "That translates into 600,000 job days that a person is employed and there will be some 33,000-35,000 people affected, mainly and usually head of family losing the job." In addition, Mr. Hansen said the U.N. will have to cut down drastically on the number of people it gives emergency assistance to from 13,000 to 900.
The United Nations says the Palestinian economy is in a devastating state. Conservative estimates put unemployment at 60 percent. It says about 70 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. The head of UNRWA said that now, when the Middle East peace process appears to be getting off the ground, is a particularly bad time to be making drastic cuts.
"If the international community wants to send a message: âTrust us. We are working on your behalf. We will eventually have peace.â That is not very likely that such trust will in fact be created," said the U.N. official. No, Mr. U.N. official, the message is that we are tired of throwing money down a festering rathole.
Mr. Hansen said that the Palestinian people are becoming frustrated and angry and may soon lose hope that the outside world will ever be willing to give them the kind of aid they need. Good, then maybe theyâll realize that the only way their life is going to improve is when they stop counting on handouts and start working for change on their own.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 3:41:37 PM ||
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Hey, here's a thought - maybe they could stop spending all that money on bomb components and guns...
#2
The market has voted with their purses. Even the Arabs are not backing morons, losers, boomers, and spittle generators. When the Arabs do not contribute to the Enemies of Israel⢠you know that it is a real mutt of an investment. So Paleos, prove to us that you are not Paleos and maybe someone will look over your business plan again.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/16/2003 22:44 Comments ||
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EFL
Four hundred pounds of an ammonium nitrate-based explosive â enough to blast apart a three-story building â disappeared this weekend from a concrete company in northwest Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs police reported. The ammonium nitrate and fuel oil stolen from a locked storage unit at Castle Concrete Co. at the Pike View Quarry have no other purpose than as an explosive, Colorado Springs Police Sgt. Michael Spitzmiller said. âWe are concerned this is missing. Weâre concerned because this is a blasting agent. What would someone use this for other than as a blasting agent?â he said. Nothing I can think of.
He and Rich Marianos, special agent-in-charge for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said authorities have not received any information suggesting a terrorist group is responsible for the theft. Memo to BATF, they donât send a letter till after the bomb goes off.
âWe donât want to drive panic into citizens,â Marianos said. Knowing youâre on the case is enough to do that.
He said the ATF has not heard of similar thefts elsewhere in the country. The theft seems to be the first of its kind in this area, authorities said. It only takes one.
Workers at the concrete company realized the lock on a storage unit was broken and eight 50-pound bags were missing around 6:30 a.m. Monday. They last checked the storage unit on Saturday, Castle Concrete vice president Jerry Hermans said. The area is protected by a gate, but itâs still possible for an intruder to get onto the grounds, authorities said, adding the company had taken the necessary precautions. Ammonium nitrate and fuel oil alone canât be detonated without several other components, which police declined to list. That would be a booster of some kind, a stick of dynamite will do, and a blasting cap. All you need to do is watch Discovery Channel.
Ammonium nitrate is also used as fertilizer, but Colorado Springs Police Lt. Skip Arms said the missing material isnât suitable for that use. It already has the fuel oil added.
Police said the explosive is relatively safe to transport. Thatâs true enough, itâs a very safe explosive.
âWhat we donât know is have they done anything to change the molecular structure?â Spitzmiller said. Why would they, itâs ready to use right now.
Marianos asked residents to be on the lookout for the stolen bags or their contents, which resemble tiny, white balls. The nitrate becomes more volatile as itâs crushed into a finer powder, he said. Residents should take note of the smell of diesel fuel in a place where they didnât smell it before, Marianos said. âThe smell is distinct,â he said. Anyone with information about this theft is asked to call Colorado Springs police at 444-7000 or 911 or Crime Stoppers at 634-STOP. Crime Stoppers callers may remain anonymous and are eligible for a $1,000 reward if their tip leads to an arrest in the case.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 3:14:51 PM ||
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enough to blast apart a three-story building
Well doesn't that depend on the area covered by the three story building ? or is he using reporter math ?
Well, now this is a suprise.
Cuba is deliberately jamming satellite television news programs beamed from the United States to Iran, according to the US government-affiliated Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
The jamming, the source of which has been located near Havana, prevents Iranians with satellite TV from receiving US broadcasts about their country at a time of growing anti-regime protests, said the BBG. "Cubaâs jamming of satellite transmissions is illegal and ... represents a major threat to satellite communication and must be stopped," BBG chairman Kenneth Tomlinson said. This is illegal under international law, for you international law junkies out there.
Calling the jamming "deliberate and malicious," the BBG urged the US Government to "lodge an appropriate formal protest" against Cuba. Write it on the side of a JDAM.
The BBG has also asked the international community to "censure states that have caused the interference." The nine-member board, which oversees all US-funded non-military international broadcasting, also urged providers such as Intelsat and Eutelsat to stop giving service to countries that jam satellite transmissions to Iran.
The jamming was first detected on July 6, three days after the Voice of America (VOA) began broadcasting a daily 30-minute program called News and Views to Iran, it said. The BBG has allocated $US500,000 to the program which airs nightly between 9:30 and 10:00 pm Iran time. It is scheduled to run to at least September 30. Two other Persian-language VOA television programs, Next Chapter and Roundtable with You, are also being jammed, the BBG said. Television broadcasts to Iran from US-based Iranian dissidents have also been jammed by Cuba, according to Loral Skynet, the company that owns the Telstar 12 satellite beaming the broadcasts. Note that this is not a broadcast being sent into Cuba, but being transmitted into Iran from the US.
"It just shows you how the Cuban government is working with the Islamic regime," said Kourosh Abbassi, spokesman for Azadi Television, one of several California-based stations broadcasting to Iran. Very interesting, I wonder how much money and/or oil is being sent to Fidel for this service.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 12:48:17 PM ||
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More info, I must have missed this story: Late Friday, however, three sources associated with the broadcast services confirmed that Loral Skynet, the operator of the Telstar-12 satellite used by the broadcasters, had determined the jamming was probably emanating from âthe vicinity of Havana, Cuba.â One of the sources said that Loral, working with transmitter location expert TLS Inc. of Chantilly, Va., had further fixed the location as â20 miles outside of Havana.â Cubaâs main electronic eavesdropping base, at Bejucal, is about 20 miles outside of the Cuban capital. The base, built for Cuba by the Russians in the early 1990âs, monitors and intercepts satellite communications. Iran and Cuba have had increasingly close relations over the past several years with Iran supplying Cuba with oil. Cuba has extensive jamming experience, regularly interfering with the signal of the U.S. government-financed TV Marti. The Farsi language broadcasts, by the Los Angeles-based ParsTV, Azadi Television and Appadana TV, are uplinked in the US via Telstar-5, which is over the United States. They are then turned around at the Washington International Teleport in Alexandria, Va., where they are joined by the VOA broadcast and uplinked again to Telstar-12 over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is the Telstar-12 uplink that is being jammed, say investigators for companies working with the broadcasters, cutting off broadcasts not only in Iran but in Europe and the rest of the Middle East as well. The jamming could emanate from anywhere within the satelliteâs uplink footprint, which covers all the Eastern United States, the Caribbean and South America, say investigators. In the past, the Iranian government, using high-power transmitters on towers in cities such as Tehran have been able to jam it locally. The fact that TV viewers elsewhere canât see it was the first hint that the jamming was happening on this side of the Atlantic.Loral, which operates the satellite, declined comment on what it is doing in response. But in a letter that Loral Skynetâs Peggy Courter sent to Atlanta DTH, which manages the satellite services for Azadi, was quite clear in laying out its findings. The interference, it reported, had begun at 5:35 p.m. EDT on July 5, which was just after midnight in Tehran and shortly after the VOA began its broadcasts.
After running a series of tests, wrote Courter, âSkynet concluded the interference was caused by a third partyâ and asked TLS to investigate. TLS was able to find the âprobable source of the interferenceâ on Friday afternoon, identifying it as Havana. âThe jamming appears to be linked to the anniversary of the student uprisings,â said one investigator for a company working with the broadcasters who preferred to remain anonymous. âItâs malicious, not a prank. For us, it began yesterday, continues today. Not only are the Iranian signals jammed, but those of other nearby broadcasters are as well. âThere are ways of determining the location of the interference,â he added. âIt is complex and time-consuming. Basically, you look at minimal interference other nearby satellites are experiencing and then you triangulate.â
As for the actual jamming, its simply a matter of aiming a strong signal at the uplink transponder on the satellite and overwhelming the Farsi language broadcastersâ signals. Said the investigator: âYou need a dish, some power, not too much. You put up a test pattern ... and do a sweep and find the transponder on the satellite you want to jam. It could even be smaller than the standard 6-meter dish. It could be a small dish with a lot of power.â BBCâs Media Monitoring Service, which provides capsules of various foreign TV broadcasts for subscribers, described the jamming as âa mysterious, interfering signal, rendering the broadcasts unwatchable.â
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 13:00 Comments ||
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#2
So jam the jammer. Up the signal power of the legit broadcast until you break the jammer's lock on the transponder.
#3
Not that easy. Transponders are only designed to receive a certain signal level. More than that overwelms them. If you read the story you see that the jamming signal is already high enough to affect other transponders. More power could shut down the entire bird. The satellite companies all work together closely, I think they will get together and tell Castro to stop the jamming or they shut off all service into Cuba.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 14:07 Comments ||
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#4
Cuban jammer needs an EMP to scramble its innards.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/16/2003 14:13 Comments ||
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#5
What ever happened to those E-bombs we were going to use in Iraq? This would be the perfect place to use one.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 14:31 Comments ||
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Wouldn't a H.A.R.M.track the signal back to it's source?
#7
H.A.R.M. would be perfect, the sat jammer is radiating just like a radar antenna. You'd just have to tune the seeker to the frequency and let her rip.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 15:57 Comments ||
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#8
The satellite companies making a "Come to Jesus" memo to Comrade Fidel would be a good start. If he does not get the hint, then go to DOD (NOT State.....Gawd, not State) and ask for some electromagnetic or pyrotechnic help in resolving the matter.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/16/2003 16:39 Comments ||
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Defence minister of Russia Sergei Ivanov has ruled out the possibility that Aslan Maskhadov, leader of the Chechen separatists, will fall under amnesty and run in the presidential elections in Chechnya. He made this statement Wednesday, speaking to reporters in Khankala after a meeting with the command of the forces of the North Caucasian Military District and the Joint Group of Forces in the North Caucasus. Ivanov also ruled out the possibility of talks with Maskhadov. "I always tell those who recommend entering negotiations with Aslan Maskhadov to start talks with Mullah Omar," the minister said.
Good comeback, Sergei. Maskhadov's too comfortably snuggled in bed with the Islamists, to include Bashayev and al-Walid (aka al-Ghamdi), to forgive and forget.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 11:58 ||
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Turkmenistan's ambassador to Armenia has been sacked, an official at the mission in Yerevan said on Wednesday, but an opposition Web site said he had become the fourth high profile ambassador to defect. The official gave no reason for the dismissal of Toily Kurbanov, 32, but opposition Web site www.gundogar.org said he had refused to return to Ashgabat when summoned by the foreign ministry, and his whereabouts were unknown. The foreign ministry in Ashgabat would not comment to Reuters on Monday. A number of diplomats have fled recently rather than return to Turkmenistan, where President Saparmurat Niyazov, who styles himself Turkmenbashi the Great â "father of the Turkmen" â is President-for-Life, Prime Minister, Commander in Chief and five times Hero of Turkmenistan.
And, lest we forget, a nut...
Turkmenistan's ambassador to Britain, Chary Babayev, defected earlier this year, the Web site reported, also after being summoned back to Ashgabat. Last year the Turkmen ambassador to Turkey fled when recalled, and in late 2000 Boris Shikhmuradov, a former foreign minister who later became ambassador to Beijing, fled to Moscow when recalled and announced that he was joining the opposition. He was later arrested in Ashgabat and found guilty of plotting a coup against Niyazov last November, and is now serving a 25-year jail sentence for his involvement. A high ranking diplomat in the Turkmen embassy in Washington has also recently defected.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 11:51 ||
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The leader of an Islamic militant group who was critically wounded in an assassination attempt about two months ago died of his wounds Wednesday.
Hurrah!
Abdullah Shreidi, 31, died at dawn at his home in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, where he was still being treated for severe injuries sustained in the May 19 attempt on his life. "He is hopelessly struggling for his life. He is in a coma. His condition is desperate," one doctor said after the assassination attempt. "He might get better, or not."
Shreidi was leader of the al-Noor faction, an Islamic militant group that broke away from the radical Usbat al-Ansar group, which is on the US list of terrorist organizations. The assassination attempt against Shreidi sparked fighting between his supporters and members of Fatah. Eight people were killed and some 30 others wounded in the clashes. Now that he has died, Dire Revenge(tm) will commence.
Shreidi had been blamed for several recent bombings and violent acts in Ein el-Hilweh, including the killing of Fatah policeman Nazih Shreidi, a distant cousin. Following that killing, Palestinian activists called for Abdullah Shreidi to be "liquidated," and he had been on the run since then. Abdullah decided to take part in his cousinâs funeral to show that he had nothing to do with his killing. Now heâll be the honored guest at his own funeral.
Abdullah Shreidi is the elder son of Sheikh Hisham Shreidi, the founder of Usbat Al Ansar who was assassinated at Ein El-Hilwehâs Al Noor mosque in 1991. Abu Mohjen, the nom de guerre of Palestinian militant Ahmed Abdul Karim Al Saadi, took over the groupâs leadership after Sheikh Shreidiâs death. Abu Mohjen vanished after he was sentenced death by a Beirut court for masterminding the 1994 assassination of Sheikh Nizar Halaby as he was climbing into his car in front of his house in the Lebanese capital. Vanished or liquidated?
Aye, 'tis a hard life, bein' a mastermind...
Upon Abu Mohjenâs disappearance, Abdullah Shreidi clashed in a power struggle with Abu Mohjenâs younger brother for the leadership of Usbat Al Ansar. When Abdullahâs bid for the groupâs leadership failed, he broke away to form Usbat Al Nur. After his death, many Palestinian affairs analysts argue the group of less than a hundred activists will disintegrate. They will either form a new group or join somebody elseâs.
But only after taking Dire Revenge™ — and hopefully getting a few more of their number bumped off...
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 11:27:39 AM ||
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If anybody needs me, I'll be outside ululating and firing off my AK into the air for the rest of the day.
I'm glad it was very painful.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2003 11:33 Comments ||
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You probably can't turn around in Hell without bumping into a "mastermind".
A Northern Irishman left an Israeli prison in a police car Wednesday after authorities failed to uncover evidence he was training Palestinian militants in bomb-making, witnesses said.
An Israeli security source said John Morgan was expected to be deported shortly. Witnesses said the police car carrying him took him straight to Tel Avivâs Ben-Gurion airport with its sirens wailing. Israel thought Morgan, whom they arrested at an army checkpoint in the West Bank Saturday, was a master bombmaker and questioned him about contacts with Palestinian militants. But friends of Morgan, known in Belfast as Sean O Muireagain, said he was a pro-Palestinian activist with no links to militants who launched an uprising against Israeli occupation in September 2000. How can you be a good pro-Palestinian activist without links to militants?
Kathleen Connell, secretary of the Belfast branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, identified Morgan as a member of the group and said he was in the Middle East to make contacts for a school-twinning project. Belfast and Palestinian schools have a lot of the same after school activities, throwing rocks at soldiers, weapons training and bomb making 101.
"No firm evidence was found that he had links to terrorists," an Israeli security source said earlier. "But weâre kicking him out of the country anyway, just to be on the safe side."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 10:17:36 AM ||
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I wonder if he's being deported to England, where the Special Branch might want to have a word with him.
Iran has custody of several high-ranking Al Qaeda members, including spokesman Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a senior reformist official close to Iran's president said over the weekend.
That's a rumor that's been knocking around for awhile. Anything new?
Diplomats in Tehran representing three countries also say that, based on their intelligence, Abu Ghaith is among those in custody. The senior Iranian official declined to say how or when Abu Ghaith and the others had been apprehended, or where they were being held. However, diplomats from another country indicated that Abu Ghaith, a native of Kuwait, has been in custody at least since June. Diplomats said they believed the detainees were in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province, a region in eastern Iran populated by people sympathetic to Al Qaeda.
Ah! A little detail!
What Iran intends to do with those in its custody is complicated by long-standing fractures among the Iranian government factions, including the Ministry of Intelligence, the Revolutionary Guards and the hard-line judiciary.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 10:15 ||
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Do we need to guess which of the factions has them on ice?
#2
The only reason that makes sense for Iranians holding the al Qaeda types would be Iranian fear of a Shi'ite/Sunni plot. Obviously it is something larger than their joint hatred for the west.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
07/16/2003 12:59 Comments ||
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EFL
For the first time since Cuba executed three men who tried to seize a ferry in April, the communist island reported hijacking attempts — one that failed when the gunmen apparently killed each other, and another that may have succeeded. On Monday, three men accompanied by a woman and her two sons tried to seize the fishing boat Ferrocemento No. 18 at the port of La Coloma, nearly 100 miles west of Havana, officials said Tuesday. "The objective of the delinquents was to travel to the United States," the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the hijackers, armed with a pistol and a knife, overpowered a guard and seized the boat. Unable to get it started, they grabbed a boat skipper to help, but he jumped overboard and escaped. Other fishermen and officials blocked the boatâs path and the three men threatened to kill the woman and her sons, age 17 and 10. About an hour later, witnesses heard shots and the 17-year-old fled the vessel carrying his injured 10-year-old brother, accompanied by the woman, the ministry said. All were taken to a nearby hospital. Officials who boarded the vessel an hour later found two men dead and a third who died soon afterward. The 17-year-old told police that the kidnappers first shot his brother and then tried to kill him, but the gun misfired. He told them that a shootout among the hijackers ensued, according to the ministry, which also said that the mother apparently had conspired with the kidnappers. The men, all in their 20s, had been jailed repeatedly on charges of cattle rustling; one was twice imprisoned for armed robbery, the government said. Uh huh, and we all know you can trust the Cuban government.
In the second incident, the ministry said border guards in Boca de Nuevitas, some 340 miles southeast of Havana, reported an unusual departure by a craft owned by Geocuba, a government company that does geological exploration and mapping. Bahamasâ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said later that it had been alerted that a Cuban government-owned pilot boat was headed for Bahamian waters with 10 to 15 people aboard. It said Bahamasâ Defense Force was investigating. Cuba said its officials notified the U.S. Coast Guard but were told the Americans would not follow the vessel. Cuba launched planes and patrol boats to chase the Geocuba craft, but they held back because "it is not the policy of the government of Cuba to attack hijacked vessels with people aboard on the high seas," the ministry said. Since when?
Shortly before noon, according to Cuba, the vessel entered Bahamian waters. Got away, good for them.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 9:59:57 AM ||
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"We welcome American troops, Ecowas troops as well as UN troops. All in line with peace." The words of Liberiaâs Information Minister, Reginald Goodridge, speaking on Tuesday. His boss, beleaguered Liberian President Charles Taylor, has said he will leave office, once a multinational peacekeeping force is in place in his country. At the just-ended African Union summit in Maputo, Mozambique, the current chairman of Ecowas, Ghanaâs President John Agyekum Kufuor, spoke to journalists about the progress being made towards ending the crisis in Liberia:
How soon do you envisage the departure of Charles Taylor from Liberia?
As soon as Ecowas puts in the initial force of 1,000-1,500 people. We hope that in a week or so we will be able to send this force.
What kind of transitional government will be formed after President Taylor stands aside?
I repeat that President Taylorâs government is constitutional and Ecowas would not underwrite a coup dâetat. All that is happening is that President Taylor is stepping out of his government and handing over to a successor within his government immediately.
But then, Ecowas â and I believe everybody concerned with Liberia â agrees that there will have to be a transitional government to prepare the country for the election which might take place, hopefully, by the end of next year, after the term of office of the government which may not include President Taylor.
Looks like Chuck has the idea of stepping out until the heat's off, then stepping back in...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/16/2003 09:51 ||
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#1
As I recall, a while back didn't 'ol Jessie Jackson take a very aggressively supportive stand on behalf of Pres. Charles Taylor, even going to the point of requesting that the US gov't provide serious foreign aid $$ and military assistance (arms, ammo). And Dr. Jackson did this knowing that Pres. Taylor was an escaped felon (from US jail).
So, the big question is: Where is the press on this issue? Haven't heard word one so far. Hmmmm.
#5
Curiously enough, both Rev. Jackson and Pat Robertson are fans of Chuck's. Robertson's got considerable $$ invested in Liberian gold, and sez Chuck's a good, Christian guy.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2003 16:58 Comments ||
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#6
Now Robertson is praying for the health of three SC justices to deteriorate to the point of their having to leave the bench. The guy's a jerk. Check out his Korean war service record and you'll see he's a snake. Now Liberia? Jesse and Pat are cut from the same cloth. Never thought I'd see it.
Posted by: Michael ||
07/16/2003 17:11 Comments ||
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#7
Since Michael didn't post the link to Robertson's Korean service record, I will.
Israeli special forces have freed a taxi driver, five days after he was kidnapped. Eliyahu Gorel, 61, disappeared on Friday and his taxi was found in an Arab district of Jerusalem. He was released early on Wednesday in an operation involving army, police and special forces in Beitunia, a suburb of Ramallah on the West Bank. Israel TV said the kidnappers were Palestinian criminals who were trying to win favour with militants — but no group agreed to take the captive. Want-a-beâs
The kidnappers had no affiliation with any Palestinian organisation, the report added. You have got to be pretty pathetic if the Paleothugs wonât let you join their group.
Haaretz newspaper quotes sources involved in the operation as saying the kidnappers had been making contradicting demands during various phone calls. At times they asked for money, then they demanding the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and at times demanded the release of only some of the prisoners. They seem to have missed the Israeli policy of no deals with kidnappers.
The army said the arrest of two members of the kidnappersâ gang on Tuesday evening had made the rescue possible. "Wack!" "Ouch, Iâll tell you where he is!"
A third was arrested while trying to escape during the rescue. "Stop, or Iâll...Damm, he stopped. Thatâs a first."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 9:16:36 AM ||
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"Israel TV said the kidnappers were Palestinian criminals who were trying to win favour with militants"
This is PA's version - the kidnappers are still investigated. However, the inaptitude of PA's six branches of internal security and the ten branches of police apparatus is striking.
Posted by: marek ||
07/16/2003 9:37 Comments ||
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EFL
Iran has acknowledged that a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist was beaten to death after her arrest outside a prison in Tehran. Vice President Ali Abtahi said Zahra Kazemi died "of a brain haemorrhage resulting from beatings". Thought she was too high a profile for them to cover up.
Ms Kazemi, 54, was detained on 23 June for taking pictures of Tehranâs Evin prison. She was later pronounced dead after falling into a coma. But officials in Tehran are still refusing to allow Canada to conduct its own investigation into the photographerâs death. "We are knowledgeable enough to examine the body and find out the cause of her death, so we will not allow foreign teams to investigate," Health Minister Massoud Pezeshkian told the AFP news agency. He agreed that Ms Kazemiâs cause of death was a brain haemorrhage, but said the investigation was ongoing. "I examined the body myself and there were no bruises or cuts of the face," Mr Pezeshkian said. Did you look at the back of her head?
"We are going to examine the corpse again and I will view the report, and I have appointed a medical team to look into this case." Stalling till they pick a fall guy.
Iranâs President Mohammad Khatami ordered four ministers to investigate the death of the freelance photographer. Relations between Tehran and Ottawa have become strained over the case.
Canadian deputy prime minister John Manley said on Monday that bilateral relations would be damaged if Ms Kazemiâs body was not returned. But Iranâs Interior Minister Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari said Ms Kazemiâs death had nothing to do with Canada "since she is an Iranian citizen." She is also a Canadian citizen which means it is Canadaâs business.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 9:01:16 AM ||
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#1
"Give 'em the Kid." he said in a Bogart-like voice.
"There's plenty more Basji where he came from."
#2
Sidney Greenstreet voice: "I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, its possible to get another. There's only one Islamic Republic of Iran."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 13:45 Comments ||
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Efforts are under way to hold talks with the leaders of the coup which toppled the government of the West African island state of Sao Tome and Principe on Wednesday. Itâs two small islands way off the coast I never heard of before. Has a multiparty democracy with elected government and freedom of the press. 160,000 people, major religion is christianity.
Rebel army officers in the tiny former Portuguese colony seized the prime minister and other cabinet members in the dawn coup which appears to have been largely bloodless. For Africa that means under 100 dead.
Gunshots and exploding rockets and grenades were heard around 0300 GMT and sporadic firing continued throughout the morning but there are no indications of casualties. The Portuguese ambassador is due to meet the coup leaders later on Wednesday to discuss their grievances and Sao Tomeâs foreign minister, speaking from Lisbon, said his government wished to open a dialogue. Portugal is calling for condemnation of the coup by its other ex-colonies and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has already appealed for a speedy return to "constitutional order". You might ask "Why would anyone want this shitty island?"
Sao Tome and Principe, one of the worldâs poorest states, has offshore oilfields which are due to begin producing within the next four years. Bingo, itâs all about the cash, er, oil.
Alex Vines from the Royal Institute for International Affairs told BBC World that he suspects that control of the oil money is behind the coup. Me too.
Last year, the United States was considering increasing military co-operation with the Sao Tome Government amid reports that the US was trying to buy more West African oil. The press will try to involve the US somehow.
The rebels appear to have exploited the absence of President Fradique de Menezes who is reported to be on a private visit to Nigeria. Page 24 of "African Coups for Dummies".
The rebels took control of government buildings, state TV and radio, the central bank and the airport. Page 27.
Their leader, named by the Portuguese news agency Lusa as Major Fernando "Cobo" Pereira, made a speech on national radio ordering all members of the government and parliament to report to police stations. Page 30.
Political analyst Antonio Agiar in Sao Tome told the BBCâs Network Africa programme that the capital was pretty calm by around 0700 GMT and the sound of shooting had stopped. "There are people on the streets but less than usual," he said. The Portuguese ambassador in Sao Tome, Mario de Jesus Santos, said there had been only sporadic shooting and that he was unaware of any "physical confrontations". Mr Santos was due to begin talks with the coup-leaders around midday, Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz said in Lisbon. His Sao Tome counterpart, Mateus Meira Rita, said his government also wanted to engage in talks aimed at the "immediate restoration of constitutional order". Mr Meira Rita said the coup had been led by a unit of soldiers who had received training in South Africa. Page 14.
The Portuguese news agency Lusa reports that Lisbon is set to urge condemnation of the coup at a meeting of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP). A Portuguese "official source" told the agency that an emergency meeting of the CPLP had been convened to discuss the "unacceptable violation of a democratic regime". Along with Prime Minister Maria das Neves, National Assembly President Dionisio Dias, Defence Minister Fernando Daqua and Natural Resources Minister Rafael Branco were also seized. Mr Branco is considered a key member of the government as he handles the oil portfolio. Nobody would have noticed if it hadnât been for the oil.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 8:50:14 AM ||
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#1
Just another coup by African dregs trying to scam some cash for their own. It's only happened in oh, ALMOST ALL OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA!!! Best to pull all of the Westerners out and quarantine 'em.
#3
This just in: Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, the head of the African Union, on Wednesday condemned the military coup in the west African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe. "The government of Mozambique and the African Union condemn the coup and we demand the constitutional order be restored as soon as possible." "The AU does not recognise any government taking power through a coup or undemocratic means."
Then his lips fell off.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/16/2003 11:42 Comments ||
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#4
It's all about O...I....L...
according to some posters on the Independent newspaper's forum.
As as American, I can feel the love there. And that's why they don't want us in Liberia. Because the grim reaper just takes and takes and takes.
I then suggested that we don't need to go to Africa, all we need to do is make Alberta an offer it can't refuse....
This survey covers several topics - with some surprising (?) results...
Topics / Polls
Strong Opposition to Media Cross-Ownership
Bush Treated Fairly, Most Say
Mixed View of Opinionated Hosts
Views of Media Unaffected by Times Flap
âLiberalâ Media Image Persists
Media Seen as Lacking in Empathy
Professionalism, Patriotism Rate High
Wary of Press Criticism of Military
Mediaâs Increasing Influence
Fox News Viewers Stand Out
Too Much Hillary
Positive Ratings for Specific Stories
Check it out...
Posted by: PD ||
07/16/2003 3:52:01 AM ||
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by Scott W. Johnson - Powerline
A year ago I wrote a column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune that was republished on RealClearPolitics as "Americaâs unsettled score with Yasser Arafat." The column in part briefly told the following story of Yasser Arafatâs responsibility for the assassination of two United States State Department officers in Khartoum, Sudan, based on information provided in David Kornâs Assassination in Khartoum, Neil Livingstone and David Halevyâs Inside the PLO, and news accounts of testimony provided by former National Security Agency analyst Jim Welsh.
In late February the NSA listening post in Cyprus had picked up radio traffic of a planned PLO operation in Khartoum. According to Welsh, who received the radio intercepts at the NSA in Washington, an urgent warning intended for the American Embassy in Khartoum was issued by the NSA to the State Department on February 28 but was inexplicably held up as a result of a bureaucratic snafu. See, for example, the WorldNetDaily report "Is U.S. hiding Arafat murders?"
On the evening of March 1, 1973, a gang of eight operatives of the Black September Orgaznization stormed a party at the Saudi Arabian Embassy to Sudan in Khartoum. The party was held in honor of the imminent departure of George Curtis Moore, the American charge dâaffaires at the United States Embassy in Khartoum.
The Black September gang took Moore and two others hostage -- Cleo Noel, Jr., the United States ambassador to Sudan, and Guy Eid, the Belgian embassyâs charge dâaffaires. Two other diplomats taken by the Black September operatives were released.
The Black September gang demanded the release of Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy, of a Black September leader held in Jordan, and of several members of the Baader-Meinhof gang held in Germany. On March 2, President Nixon and representatives of the other two governments announced that they would not negotiate with terrorists for the release of the diplomats.
The Black September operatives allowed Noel, Moore, and Eid to make out their wills but refused their request to allow them to call their wives. The order to kill the three hostages was delivered by shortwave radio to the Black September operatives in Khartoum by Yasser Arafat or his deputy Salah Khalaf from Beirut. Shortly thereafter that evening, on March 2, 1973, the operatives took Noel, Moore, and Eid to the basement of the embassy and murdered them by firing forty rounds from machine gun fire that raked the bodies of the three men with bullets from their feet to their head in order to inflict the maximum amount of suffering.
From beginning to end the operation leading to the assassination of Noel and dâaffaires Moore was an Arafat/Fatah operation. While working on the column last year, I sought out a State Department spokesman to tell me if the department was undertaking any efforts to bring Arafat to justice for the murder of Noel and Moore.
After many phone calls and an e-mail message with a draft of my column I received an e-mail response from the State Department Near Eastern Affairs deputy press officer Gregory Sullivan: "I canât say Iâm impressed with your research or argumentation. Youâre obviously writing a piece designed to elicit a certain reaction rather than one based on factual accounts or actual comments made by the U.S. government. I really donât have the time to do the research for you, but I do find myself compelled to point out...[e]vidence clearly points to the terrorist group Black September as having committed the assassinations of Amb. Noel and George Moore, and though Black September was a part of the Fatah movement, the linkage between Arafat and this group has never been established.
"If youâre interested in constructive discussion of Mr. Arafatâs role in the violence and terror that has plagued the region, Iâd be happy to discuss with you further, but from what Iâve seen of your work, and the low regard you have for the U.S. government, I suspect youâre not."
Given Sullivanâs response, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for State Department cables and reports on the assassination of Ambassador Noel. Today I received copies of 27 cables from the departmentâs Central Foreign Policy Records. Tomorrow I will summarize the contents that bear on the question of who did what to whom and ask why the State Department continues thirty years later to cover up for the chief assassin of two of its distinguished officers.
Posted by: PD ||
07/16/2003 1:03:58 AM ||
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though Black September was a part of the Fatah movement, the linkage between Arafat and this group has never been established
This must be the same cadre that doesn't see a link between Arafat and the present day Hamas homicide bombers. Let's put it this way, NOTHING happened in any Fatah related group unless Arafat okayed it. Those who cross Arafat (e.g. Abu Nidal) ended up on a black list.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
07/16/2003 7:12 Comments ||
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#2
Doug, Nidal ended up on the DRT (Dead Right There) list. As do all of Arafat's enemies.
I suspect that Arafat does not have 100% control over his organization, but he does, and always has had, the power to "correct" any mistakes made by his people.
ARAUCA, Colombia - Colombiaâs president transferred the seat of government to a rebel war zone Tuesday to show broadening federal control, while outlawed paramilitary fighters — avowed enemies of the rebels - agreed to talk peace with the government. You mean standing firm, doing what you said youâd do to confront terrorism and whacking a bunch of terrorists gets results? Wonder where Uribe got that idea?
The three-day move from the capital, Bogota, to an army base in violence-ridden Arauca on the border with Venezuela demonstrates ``the solidarity of the nationââ with its people, President Alvaro Uribe declared before leaving the capital. ``Peace in Arauca means peace in Colombia,ââ he said on Radio FM. The rebels are battling the government and right-wing paramilitary groups for control of the oil-rich savannas of Arauca state. Even as Uribe moved to one of the countryâs hottest war zones to demonstrate control, both his government and Colombiaâs primary outlawed paramilitary group agreed to formal peace talks, the presidentâs office said. The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, also promised to start demobilizing its 10,000-strong forces by the end of the year, according to a statement posted on the presidentâs office Web site and signed by paramilitary leaders and members of a government peace commission. ``The exploratory phase of the peace process has ended, to give way to a new stage of negotiation,ââ the statement said. "Weâre getting really tired of living in the jungle, eating monkey stew and getting shot at by a suddenly serious military. Please donât kill us and weâll quit!"
The AUC is an umbrella paramilitary group accused of some of the worst human rights abuses in Colombiaâs 39-year civil war. The group arose in the 1980s to counter extortion and kidnappings by leftist rebels in rural areas where government troops had little or no control. Splinter paramilitary groups did not sign on to the statement. Leaders of the AUC said they wanted to take the appropriate steps to help build the ``authentic peace that the Colombian nation waits for and deserves.ââ For its part, Uribeâs government promised to help the demobilized paramilitary fighters reintegrate into regular society. Gracious, and frees him up to whack the remaining rebels.
Civilians, in Arauca and elsewhere, have often been victimized in the violence among the rebels, paramilitaries and government forces. Last week, a suspected rebel gunmen killed a regional electoral official in Arauca and the army deactivated a ``house bombââ filled with explosives in Tame, another violent town in Arauca state. Two electrical towers were downed by suspected rebels in nearby Boyaca state, leaving most of Arauca without electricity last week. ``The presidentâs visit is an act of support for the 300,000 people of Arauca who have been victims of the violence, but who nonetheless have not lost their desire to live on this land,ââ said Arauca state Gov. Oscar Munoz. The last time Uribe traveled to the region, in October, a rebel car bomb exploded in front of a school in the state capital just hours before Uribe arrived. Two police officers were killed, and a dozen other people wounded. ``I hope this visit doesnât bring more conflict,ââ said Alejandro Rodriguez, 24, who works in a hardware store in Arauca city. Obligatory leftist journalism whine inserted words into this manâs mouth.
On Tuesday, residents stayed indoors, worried about the possible repercussions of Uribeâs latest visit. Some 5,000 police officers and soldiers worked around the clock to secure the city, setting up roadblocks and stopping vehicles to help prevent potential attacks. Hundreds of taxis, motorcycles and even bicycles were checked for bombs. Authorities prohibited the use of vehicles with dark windows and barred any two people from riding the same motorcycle — a technique often used by assassins in Colombia.
And Pakistan...
Men from urban anti-terrorist units patrolled the streets, wearing black sunglasses and carrying automatic weapons. Police officers conducted surprise searches on passers-by, leading to the detention of 17 suspected rebels over the last three days. Helicopters circled over Araucaâs heavily fortified army base, the site of the new, temporary government headquarters. Cooks, secretaries and presidential aides flown in from Bogota hurriedly prepared the base for Uribe. Before arriving in Arauca, Uribe visited the nearby Cano Limon oil field, which is run by Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum. Rebels have frequently bombed Cano Limonâs pipeline, which some 70 U.S. Special Forces are in Colombia to help protect. Later Tuesday, the president also met with his defense minister and the rest of the military brass at the Arauca army base to discuss security in the region. Other Cabinet members are scheduled to fly in to Arauca over the three-day period. Since taking office last August, Uribe has made taming Arauca state a priority. And itâs working.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/16/2003 12:50:55 AM ||
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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.
