July 17, 2006: The Taliban Summer offensive continues to fail in spectacular fashion. While the Taliban war parties still roam southern Afghanistan, terrorizing tribesmen, closing schools and driving out government officials, Afghan and Coalition troops continue to catch up with the Taliban and kill them. The results have been disastrous for the Taliban, who have lost over a third of their gunmen in the last few months.
The word is getting around that, if you join the Taliban fighters, you eventually get blown up, or shot, by the foreign troops. This is causing desertions, and more difficulty for Taliban recruiters. It's the Afghan custom, to desert a faction that appears to be losing.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/17/2006 09:22 ||
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#1
It's the Afghan custom, to desert a faction that appears to be losing.
Not just Afghan, in that part of the world. Strong horse/weak horse? I can live with that.
#5
Of course, gromky, but it isn't nearly as fun if one dies ineffectively, eg all of us dead but the infidels only got a little splinter, or we're running around the countryside all hot and hungry, while they camp on the hillsides above and shoot us down... and the world media doesn't even notice.
The Fearless supreme leader of Somalia's increasingly powerful Islamist movement has warned world powers against backing peacekeepers for the lawless nation where his forces are now dominant. Speaking as the international contact group on Somalia were to meet to discuss options for restoring stability in the Horn of Africa country, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said such a force was unnecessary and would be resisted.
He also rejected charges that the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) wants to replace the weak Somali transitional government as the main authority in the country but urged it to drop its refusal to meet with his group. "I am appealing to the countries meeting not to ignore the political realities in Somalia," he said on Monday, as the contact group members prepared to meet in Brussels amid growing signs the international community may back peacekeepers. "They should not concentrate on sending peacekeepers who are not needed here," he told AFP from his home region of Galgadud in central Somalia. "Mogadishu ... is peaceful: it was pacified without any intervention from the international community," Aweys said, referring to the ouster of warlords in June after months of bloody fighting by Islamist militia.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 14:52 ||
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Islamist militant groups Al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect were today named by the Home Secretary as the first to be banned under new legislation outlawing the glorification of terrorism.
John Reid laid an order in Parliament which will make it a criminal offence for a person to belong to or encourage support for the two groups, to arrange meetings in their support, or to wear clothes or carry articles in public indicating support or membership.
The two UK-based groups are both believed to be offshoots of Al-Muhajiroun, the militant organisation founded by Omar Bakri Mohammed, the controversial cleric who fled to Lebanon last year. They were involved in protests earlier this year against the publication of cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper.
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The US president, in St Petersburg for the G8 summit, has insisted Israel is defending itself against terror and Hezbollah is the root of the crisis. George W Bush added that the Israelis had to be mindful of the consequences of their actions, as fresh air strikes and rocket attacks were reported.
French President Jacques Chirac spoke out in defence of Lebanon.
The leaders of the world's eight top economic powers have begun working meetings focusing on energy supplies. With global energy use likely to increase by 50% in the next 25 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to convince other G8 members his country can be relied on as a supplier.
But Russia's G8 agenda has already been overtaken by events in the Middle East, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg reports. With eight of the world's most powerful leaders meeting for talks, he says, they are under pressure to find a way to end the hostilities.
"As a sovereign nation, Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorist activity," Mr Bush said after bilateral talks with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday. "Our message to Israel is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences."
The root cause of the conflict, he added, was Hezbollah and its ties with Syria and Iran. Hezbollah, he said, "was the start of this".
Speaking before the first summit working meeting of the day, France's president said that forces "who jeopardise the security, stability and sovereignty of Lebanon must be stopped". He urged "the protection of civilians, moderation and a durable ceasefire" in both Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Our correspondent notes that working out a common G8 position on the crisis will not be easy with a clear division emerging between the US on one hand, and France and Russia on the other.
President Putin has suggested Israel has ulterior motives in Lebanon rather than simply the return of abducted soldiers. "We condemn any terrorist act including hostage-taking but we have the impression that besides the return of its abducted soldiers, Israel is pursuing other, wider goals," he said on Saturday.
#2
If Bush would publicly say to Israel, "Do want you need to, and don't worry about Europe or Russia. I'll take care of them." I would send him one of my girlfriends for a weekend. I would even let him choose which one.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
07/17/2006 10:01 Comments ||
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Good lord, Mike N., how many girlfriends have you got? And does your wife know? ;-)
#6
Shitrack and Phrawnce need to be told to sit in the corner until they can grow up. The problem is Iran pulling strings in Syria, Lebanon, and with Hamas and Hezbollah. The current president of Lebanon, emile lahoud, needs to be hung from the radar mount of an Israeli Saar-5 class boat, cruising up and down the coast of Lebanon for all to see. Vlad Putin needs to meet Vlad the Impaler in a dark alley somewhere in Moscow. Both France, with an almost negative GDP growth, and Russia, a failed state, need to be dropped from the G-8, possibly along with a few others. Israel needs to crush Hezbollah and hit the offices of Hamas and the PLO in Damascus, possibly also the Presidential Palace and a few dozen offices - especially Ba'ath party headquarters. I'd use a medium-sized nuke for that last one, if Buffs aren't available. The Israelis need something that will rattle the rats in the sewer from 10 miles away, like an ARCLIGHT strike, and use it on downtown Damascus. There are enough rats there that need to be "disturbed".
What I would LOVE to see is a combined US/UK/Israel strike on Damascus, Qom, and Tehran, plus all the oil infrastructure in Iran. Let the world know that we will no longer tolerate "this shit", as the President so aptly said.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/17/2006 17:29 Comments ||
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#7
What I would LOVE to see is a combined US/UK/Israel strike on Damascus, Qom, and Tehran, plus all the oil infrastructure in Iran.
You may just get your wish Patriot. You might even see some other straphangers besides the UK.
SEOUL: South Korea's army will develop a new military command centre later this year to combat missile and artillery threats from North Korea, Yonhap news agency said Sunday. "In line with a military overhaul plan, the command will be established between September and October," an unnamed government source told Yonhap. "It will be based in the central part of the country and is expected to boost South Korea's anti-artillery capabilities sharply," the source added. The new command centre will have all of the army's artillery and missiles, presently run by individual military units, under its control.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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I think the South Koreans realise they won't have a security blanket any more.
#4
North Korea = Iran > Most = All of any Nukes andor other WMDS used in "self-defense" or asymmetric "people's war/resistance" against alleged US-Allied invasion forces will be detonated on their own soil, against their own families, people, and .........pet camels/dogs. Someone tell Seoul to boost their WMD treatment skills and centres.
America warned North Korea yesterday to resume talks on its nuclear weapons programme or face further international sanctions. Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, issued the threat hours after the United Nations Security Council passed a unanimous resolution condemning Pyongyang's test-firing of ballistic missiles. "If they do not want to face some of the additional pressures that can be brought to bear on them, they will eventually realise that they have to come back to the talks," Miss Rice said. "That is really the only game in town."
But the Security Council resolution, which has the force of international law, was immediately rejected by the Stalinist state. Indulging in its familiar high-octane rhetoric, it described the international community's position as "gangster-like" and a prelude to war. North Korea said it would "bolster its war deterrent for self-defence", shorthand for the nuclear weapons programme thought to have produced six to eight devices.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
Whatever happens in East Asia vv the Norkies will have to be done by the Norkies or Chicoms ala ISRAEL vs. HEZBOLLAH-HAMAS in the ME - Dubya & Co. have gotta know that NK's missles may be NK's only chance = hedge to break free from Beijing's control. The USA wants trading partners, while the Norkies = Russo-Chin Commies = Muslims > want modernity, etal. which they are NOT going to get [short of destroying the USA] without anti-Commie, anti-Socialist/Govt'ist, anti-Mullocracy deregul + liberalizations. Ironically, Dubya and USA have a valid stake in seeing NK keep its missles for a while yet. NK is presently controlled by China, and the last thing China wants is to see its ambitions-designs for Chinese-and Communist-centric Asian-Pacific hegemony threatened by anti-comradely fellow Commie missles. Dubya should continue to milpol strengthen America's capabilities and Allies in the PacRim while waiting for the Norks andor China to make the first blow. Its a "Chicoms wanna exterminate 200Milyuhn Americans + control 1/2 of USA" thingy.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday pledged there would be "major decisions" on a crackdown on Kurdish separatists after they killed eight security forces earlier in the day. Members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) killed seven Turkish soldiers and a village guard when they attacked security forces near the town of Eruh in southeast Turkey on Sunday, the semi-official Anatolian news agency said. "This PKK terror organisation has continued its attacks ruthlessly," Erdogan told his Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials in televised comments during a visit in eastern Turkey. "We have so far tried to be patient and solve the issue in a democratic manner. But yet again they killed eight children of ours. This is no longer bearable," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder if these PKK, would like some of the AK47 & explossives that IDF took of Paleos?
#3
We have so far tried to be patient and solve the issue in a democratic manner.
That's a big lie. There is NO democracy in Turkey proper, but the situation is even worse in Kurdistan.
The pashas never should have said that Kurdish women and children were fair targets for TSK, but since they did, it makes one wonder exactly what NATO armies are all about.
Posted by: Azad ||
07/17/2006 12:02 Comments ||
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#4
You might want to reconsider that, Tayyip. The Peshmurga might start eating Syria any day now. I don't think you will want to attract attention if they do.
#1
Yeah. I was born in 82. It wasnt that long ago in the context of things. Do you think you would be more open to it now?
Kohl: Open to what?
A missile defense program. Kohl: Oh, for us you mean?
#2
So many of these Democrats seem totally out of touch with reality. Only the ones on the security and foriegn relations commities even know what is on the news headlines. But that doesn' stop the rest of them from commenting.
Sen. Evan Bayh, weighing a run for president in 2008, challenged the Democratic Party to establish an agenda aimed at middle-class voters, a critical constituency that he said the party has let slip away.
"We may consider ourselves the party of the middle class, but too many middle-class Americans no longer consider us their party," the Indiana Democrat said Monday. "They have left the Democratic Party in droves - costing us the last two presidential elections and the last six congressional elections. If we don't learn some lessons, we'll lose in 2006 and 2008 as well, and we must not let that happen."
In his speech, Bayh said the party has focused most of its attention on the needs of lower-income Americans, but it also must address issues that matter to people on the next rung up the economic ladder.
"Without an agenda that speaks directly to the middle class and all who aspire to it, we will no longer be the party of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Clinton. And we will not be a majority party," Bayh said, invoking the names of former Democratic presidents.
Moreover, Bayh said: "The country's not going to fulfill it's potential."
The two-term senator and former Indiana governor delivered what his advisers called a "major address" in Washington and then in Iowa, the first caucus state in the presidential primary process.
Bayh has been a frequent visitor to Iowa as he decides whether to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in what already is considered a crowded field. A recent state poll showed him trailing far behind other potential Democratic contenders.
Bayh dismissed the results, saying polls change over time, and acknowledged that he's considering running for president. He said that should he decide to run, creating opportunities for the middle class will be a focus of his campaign.
"I'm going to make it the centerpiece, not the afterthought," Bayh said as he laid out proposals for making college more affordable, curtailing rising health care costs, strengthening retirement accounts and conserving energy - a full 18 months before the Iowa caucuses.
More like the party of the work ethic challenged willful poor, job-security-at-any-cost-to-society union members, and ultra-rich transnational socialists.
His laundry list in the last sentence does nothing to indicate to me that he is serious about changing, either. Note to Sen. Bayh: Americans don't want to be Europeans. If they did, they'd have already moved there.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/17/2006 20:45 Comments ||
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#2
we don't need your steenkin' programs for the benefit of the middle class, Donks. What we need is for you to get out of our way as we move up the economic ladder
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/17/2006 21:27 Comments ||
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#3
we will no longer be the party of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Clinton.
#4
I feel your pain bro. However, the leftists and wackos have hijacked your party and turned it into a freak show. They are defeatist and anti-American, but hey, good luck with your senate run.
Vermont's Democratic Party is maneuvering to keep the Democratic candidates for the state's open US Senate seat off the November ballot, as party leaders seek to clear the way for independent Representative Bernard Sanders in his bid for the Senate...
#4
I don't see a problem. All they're doing is admitting what we all know.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/17/2006 20:01 Comments ||
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#5
Bernard Sanders is an overt, card carrying socialist.
The Democrats are doing everything possible to get him elected.
Conclusion: the Dems actively desire to promote socialism as an outcome.
Out of the closet, now and forever. The next time a Dem claims that they aren't a de facto socialist party, this bit needs to be shoved into their face.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/17/2006 20:50 Comments ||
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Former US President Bill Clinton who many Arab thoughts was more even-handed on the Palestine question than his predecessors shocked many when he asserted in Toronto last week that had Israel been attacked by Iraq or Iran during his presidency, he would have been ready to grab a rifle, get in a ditch and fight and die.
The Israelis know that if the Iraqi or the Iranian army came across the Jordan River, I would personally grab a rifle, get in a ditch, and fight and die, Clinton told the crowd at a fund-raising event for a Toronto Jewish charity Monday
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/17/2006 11:16 ||
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#1
Right -- and now, Demo are calling that Bubba himself be sent to the Middle East as a "special envoy."
#2
Remember for the left, its not about reality, its about how they feel. Feelings trump doing something tangable and lasting, particularly if it means getting your hands bloody to make it happen.
#5
This is laughable.You weren't at all willing to grab a rifle for the US and take your ass to the front in Viet territoty. In fact, you went thru all sorts of machinations to get out of any type service at all. Really convincing Bubba.
#6
"...he would have been ready to grab a rifle, get in a ditch and fight and die.
This reminds of a Cindy Shitbag Sheehan essay in which she stated that if America was directly attacked, she would grab a hair pin and fight the terrs.
#7
Clinton taqqiya. Next week before a muslim audience ...
Posted by: ed ||
07/17/2006 11:57 Comments ||
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Has Mr. Clinton ever actually shot a bullet-propeller of any sort? I haven't, and were I presented with such a situation, we'd all be better served if I loaded for someone actually likely to hit what he/she aimed at. Or brought out the tea cart to keep up their strength... ;-)
#16
Anyone could grab a rifle, crawl into a ditch, and die.
What would that do?
Would Bill Clinton be willing to do something _useful_ like actually send the country to war against a terrorist sponsoring state? Bush has done it twice so far, and all he's gotten from Bill Clinton's party as a result has been a load of shit.
(And as usual, don't get me started about ANWR).
Posted by: Phil ||
07/17/2006 14:01 Comments ||
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If Bill Clinton, or Jimmah Cahtah for that matter, would crawl into a ditch and die, the state of the world would be improved appreciably.
#18
Not that I disagree with all the above statements, but note that this article is back from 2002. But, carry on...I love all the imagery being brought to the surface about "dear old bill" (PTUI).
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2006 14:30 Comments ||
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#19
Nice quote from Bill but as we all know he double speaks everything. I have to note he never really says just "who" he would be fighting for. He certainly did not say fight and die for the defence of Israel.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/17/2006 14:36 Comments ||
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#20
This lying sack of shit plumbs new depths yet again.
Wonder what it costs to keep all those backhoes on retainer?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/17/2006 14:44 Comments ||
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#21
Now, now, now, don't be so hard on the poor man; he just may be telling the truth. After all, Monica Lewinsky is Jewish (IIRC), just like the Israelis, and she was near and dear to his, er, heart.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/17/2006 14:45 Comments ||
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#22
Bill would probably also die for a handjob and a Big Mac...
#23
Excuse me. Lil' Billy didn't say he would actually "grab a rifle and fight" he said he would be ready to. When listening to this guy you have to know what the meaning of "IS" is.
#28
The Israelis know that if the Iraqi or the Iranian army came across the Jordan River, I would personally grab a rifle, get in a ditch, and fight and die,
Talk has never been cheaper.
#33
Firstly, he is clearly saying what the listeners wanted to hear. Nothing new there. My gripe is that this is a perfect example of what he thinks about the infantry, and probably by extension the military in general. The visual; die in a ditch with a rifle in hand.
Jeez Bill!! No, no, no, no, no! You make the OTHER SOB die in a ditch, damn it! Get it right!
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
07/17/2006 20:55 Comments ||
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#34
He might have learned that, had he not dodged the draft.
Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. pressed President George W. Bush to involve the U.S. more directly in trying to negotiate a halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. ``Condi Rice ought to be going to the area immediately,'' Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said of the U.S. secretary of State today on ``Fox News Sunday.'' ``This is a situation that could spin out of control.''
The knuckle-draggers at the leftist Washington Monthly were saying the same thing, so I assume the talking points got out there okay.
The U.S. is continuing to rely on the efforts of a United Nations mission and those of governments in the region to begin negotiations, and Rice said she is ready to make a trip to the region to prod along negotiations ``when I believe that I can make a difference.''
Which we can't right now since we have no influence over one side in the fight: Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas and (especially) Iran aren't waiting to see what we think before deciding their next move. As it stands, we're going to see whether the Israelis will create some new 'facts on the ground' before doing something.
``Simply going in and shuttling back and forth, if you don't know where you're trying to go, is not going to help,'' she said in a separate interview on the Fox program. Republican and Democratic lawmakers agreed that Israel is justified in striking at Hezbollah militants, who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid and have fired missiles into Israeli towns. In response to the abductions, Israel has conducted dozens of air strikes in Lebanon. ``Any country, particularly Israel, has the right to defend itself and to protect its citizens as we do,'' Republican Senator George Allen of Virginia said in the Fox interview.
The lefties are upset that Bush and Condie aren't 'doing something' -- what they mean is, aren't doing something to restrain the Israelis.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Any question why Americans don't trust the donks on national security.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/17/2006 0:30 Comments ||
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I've got it! Put the Donks in charge of this! Form a high level delegation, limited to only a few dozen of the "most elite Democrats" America has to offer (they can argue amongst themselves to decide who that might be, since they enjoy arguing so much). For security reasons, sneak them into Lebanon and send them as a group to tour the devastation at night, surrounded by Hezb'allah fighters for protection . . . .
#4
Diane Fienstien wants a buffer between Israel and the Hezbollah blood thirsty scum. I guess the buffer will have to be as wide as the range of the rockets the Hezzies are firing. About 90 miles ?
Senator Fienstien, you are a moron.
#5
I don't know Mr. James, if the buffer zone was all Leb territory - say some where past the Litani it might work. Matter of fact I think that what the IDF is trying to create - a Hez free zone.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean accused President Bush last night of being weak on national defense and absent in the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. In remarks at San Diego State University, Dean urged activists to fan across the nation including deep into the heart of Republican-rich red states to tell voters that Bush has failed as president including in national defense, which Republicans tout as their core strength. There are a lot of things we can say when we knock on the door (of voters), Dean told hundreds at San Diego State's Open Air Theatre. You know, people say the Republicans are tough on defense. How can you be tough on defense if five years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still at large, the Iranians are about to get nuclear weapons, North Korea's quadrupled their nuclear weapons stash. . . . Explain to me how it is that this president is tough on defense? I think this president is weak on defense and he's hurt America because he hasn't done the right thing, Dean said.
Dean was the keynote speaker on the second day of a three-day conference called DemocracyFest, billed as part conference, part festival for progressive activists. Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, dismissed Dean's attack on Bush's national security policies. Howard Dean is the chief spokesman of a party that has highlighted obstruction and hasn't provided real answers that matter to the American people, Bounds said. He's not going to be able to come into San Diego and disguise the fact that the Democratic Party doesn't have real answers for the issues that are important to the American people.
Introduced by comedian and radio host Al Franken, Dean touched on various high points of the Democratic Party's national agenda, including a higher minimum wage, environmental protection and voting initiatives. Dean was especially pointed in an area the Bush administration has long claimed as its home turf a muscular national defense. Dean said the Bush administration's decision to go to war against Iraq and its overall foreign policy have hurt America's standing in the world. This country is in the worst shape since Richard Nixon, and probably before that, Dean said. We've lost the high moral high ground everywhere in the world. We want to be respected around the world again. We want our moral authority to be restored, because part of defending America is not just well-armed troops; it's having the high moral ground.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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"Introduced by comedian and radio host Al Franken"
#2
Fordesque - they probably left "failed" out because it is still a work in progress(?)
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/17/2006 0:31 Comments ||
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#3
Words fail. These people live in an alternate reality where one can say anything if it somehow attacks George Bush. I suppose they are operating on the H. L. Mencken philosophy that no one ever lost money by underestimating the stupidity of the American voter.
#4
How can you be tough on defense if five years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still at large, the Iranians are about to get nuclear weapons, North Korea's quadrupled their nuclear weapons stash.
Solved easily enough, Howie. Nuke Wazoo, Nuke Iran, Nuke North Korea.
You up for that, Mr. Hard-Ass?
#8
This could be amusing, if the rank and file actually take Mr. Dean's suggestions seriously. My neighborhood is prime housecall territory, as it was down here that John Kerry lost Ohio -- and I've enjoyed lovely, long chats with the religious people who come by to convert me, at the end of which I generally assign homework (readings and questions to ask their religious leader, because thus far none have had the knowledge to counter my counterarguments). It could be very amusing, for me at least, to discuss the current world situation with someone who desires to convert me to his political position. ;-)
#9
I'd say shoot the idiot to put him out of his own misery, but he's the best friend the Republican party has right now. I'll go along with just about anything to keep the donks from winning one extra seat.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/17/2006 19:38 Comments ||
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#10
Someone oughta rap the Guv on the head just to bring him out of his stupor.
Those behind last week's bomb attacks on Indian commuter trains are enemies of joint Pakistan-India efforts to bury a history of hostile relations, CNN on Sunday quoted Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri as saying.
Kasuri, however, did not speculate on the identities or origins of any suspects in Tuesday's eight bomb blasts on commuter trains in Mumbai. The coordinated bombings killed 182 people and injured more than 800. "Well, one thing I know, that these people do not wish Pakistan and India's peace process well. They are the enemies of the peace process, and we condemn this unequivocally," Kasuri told CNN when asked who he thought was responsible for the attacks. In the interview, aired on Sunday night, Kasuri condemned the blasts as a "dastardly act." Some Indian officials have blamed the bombings on Islamic militants, which New Delhi alleges are aided by Pakistan, a charge Pakistan denies.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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Okay, so, can you like em kill them?
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/17/2006 0:32 Comments ||
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Armed tribesmen fighting the government in Dera Bugti have spurned official claims that tribal leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and his allies have deserted their positions and taken refuge elsewhere. "The Nawab is still there and bravely fighting against forces engaged in constant bombing and shelling," said Wadera Alam Khan, spokesman of the tribal fighters, while calling from an unknown place via satellite phone. He said the government was losing its war against the tribesmen and had thus been driven to "baseless propaganda". He said that not more than 35 people had surrendered before the government in an official ceremony at Bakad area. Khan said that helicopters had continued shelling and bombarding Paylawag and Kanza on Sunday. "They also destroyed some 40 empty houses belonging to local people," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Secretary General Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed condemned the Mumbai blasts as a crime against humanity and urged India not to derail the peace process between the two countries. In an interview with the New Delhi Television (NDTV) and talks with the media here, Senator Hussain said terrorism had no religion or boundaries and was a universal threat that could only be countered collectively. Whether it is terrorism in Mumbai or in Karachi, both India and Pakistan are victims of terrorism and can curb, contain and crush it only by joining hands against this enemy of mankind, he said.
"Don't shoot," he added. "To be more specific, don't shoot at *me*. Us Paks are really the injured party in this whole affair. Ask anybody!"
Referring to the allegations in the Indian media against Pakistan in the aftermath of Mumbais blasts, Hussain said that hawkish elements in the Indian establishment must avoid the temptation to use the Mumbai terrorist attacks for Pakistan-bashing. He said without any evidence or proof, the hawkish elements had started disturbing the bilateral peace process by cancelling the foreign secretaries talks and stopping Indian parliamentarians from attending a Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Pakistan. He said that such steps would be an unfortunate development, since the peace process and confidence building measures had been pursued by the leadership of both countries with the support of the public. The reversal of the peace process by India is disappointing and is contrary to the interest of peace, stability and security in South Asia, he said.
Somebody remind me exactly how India reversed the peace process by being bombed.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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Somebody remind me exactly how India reversed the peace process by being bombed.
India is supposed to continue talking while being attacked.
In tha Pak logic, India is to blame because it is not showing flexibility.
Flexibility is defined as giving concessions - "what is mine is mine but what is yours is negotiable". India must negotitate away its territory.
Even after all this, attacks will continue because, well, these are "revenge" attacks - for the Babri Masjid, for Gujarat, for the roadside shrine that the traffic police demolished, for the hindoo man that farted in from of a mosque last week etc muslims are full of anger and need for "revenge".
Posted by: john ||
07/17/2006 12:43 Comments ||
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#5
I'd LOVE to see India wipe out Karachi and Rawalpindi, along with just about every member of the ISI they can find, then invade with a few million soldiers to get the rest. It's about time "Pakistan" became India's x'th province - again. Take "Bangladesh" with them. I've got enough stamps from both "countries".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/17/2006 19:45 Comments ||
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QUETTA: The law enforcement agencies put two prominent members of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), which is headed by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, under house arrest on Sunday. Security forces have been deployed at the residences of Senator Agha Shahid Bugti, JWP secretary general, and Humayun Khan Marri, JWP provincial president. "I have been kept under house arrest since this morning," Senator Bugti told Daily Times via telephone. He said that Hamayun Khan Marri was also under house arrest. "Our house arrest comes only two days after the kidnapping of my brother Bilal Bugti and another JWP activist Murtaza Bugti in Karachi. This is an illegal and unconstitutional action which we strongly condemn," he added.
I agree fully with Senator Bugti. This illegal and clearly unconstitutional action must be met with Resistance®. It is most certainly his Legitimate Right. I urge him to begin his Resistance® immediately, while he has the element of surprise. If he waits for Bugti backup, the window of opportunity will close.
Law enforcement personnel deployed at the residences of the JWP members said they had orders to restrict the movement of the two Baloch leaders. "We will stay here until the checks clear we are ordered to leave," one guard said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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This is awful. Thrown into the bugalow by the coppers. We may need the drums.
A grand tribal jirga has been formed to discuss ways to establish peace in North Waziristan Agency and address the problems of the people of the agency. The jirga consists of 45 members representing all the tribal agencies and the Frontier Regions and will begin working from July 20, an official press release said. President General Pervez Musharraf announced the formation of a grand tribal jirga during his address at Governors House, Peshawar on April 26, said FATA Governors Secretariat Spokesman Shahzaman Khan. The people of FATA had appealed to the president to form a jirga that was inclusive of all tribes, the spokesman said.
He said that continuous violence in North Waziristan during the past three months and the change in NWFP governorship had delayed the formation of the jirga. NWFP Governor Jan Orakzais meetings with the leading maliks, clerics and other stakeholders in FATA and the ceasefire announced by militants in the agency had improved law and order in the area, he said. The situation was now conducive to the process of peace talks, which will hopefully restore peace in Waziristan, the spokesman said.
The jirga will first visit Miranshah and is expected to bring all the stakeholders on board to discuss measures necessary for peace in Waziristan, he said. The spokesman reiterated the governments resolve to develop Waziristan with special focus on unemployment and illiteracy in the agency. Poverty alleviation in FATA is a top priority for the NWFP governor, the spokesman said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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Maybe they'll whip up a fine Lashkar, been awhile since we've heard the drums.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan stands by the people of Lebanon, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told his Lebanese counterpart Fouad Siniora on Sunday. Pakistan "strongly condemns the violence being committed against Lebanon" and urges that the loss to life and property stop immediately, Aziz told Siniora in a phone call, an official statement said. "Pakistan strongly stands by the Lebanese people and fully respects their sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. "We appeal to the world community, the permanent members of the Security Council, the UN and other relevant bodies to intervene," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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"Well, maybe not fight exactly. But we will fire off useless inflamatory rhetoric on TV and swagger around as if we had some stake in this matter, or prominence in the world."
As sectarian violence soars, many Sunni Arab political and religious leaders once staunchly opposed to the American presence here are now saying they need American troops to protect them from the rampages of Shiite militias and Shiite-run government forces.
The pleas from the Sunni Arab leaders have been growing in intensity since an eruption of sectarian bloodletting in February, but they have reached a new pitch in recent days as Shiite militiamen have brazenly shot dead groups of Sunni civilians in broad daylight in Baghdad and other mixed areas of central Iraq.
The Sunnis also view the Americans as a bulwark against Iranian actions here, a senior American diplomat said. Sunni politicians have made their viewpoints known to the Americans through informal discussions in recent weeks.
The Sunni Arab leaders say they have no newfound love for the Americans. Many say they still sympathize with the insurgency and despise the Bush administration and the fact that the invasion has helped strengthen the power of neighboring Iran, which backs the ruling Shiite parties.
But the Sunni leaders have dropped demands for a quick withdrawal of American troops. Many now ask for little more than a timetable. A few Sunni leaders even say they want more American soldiers on the ground to help contain the widening chaos.
The new stance is one of the most significant shifts in attitude since the war began. It could influence White House plans for a reduction of the 134,000 troops here and help the Americans expand dialogue with elements of the insurgency. But the budding accommodation is already stirring a reaction among the Shiites, who make up about 60 percent of the population but were brutally ruled for decades by the Sunnis.
In Adhamiya, a neighborhood in north Baghdad, Sunni insurgents once fought street to street with American troops. Now, mortars fired by Shiite militias rain down several times a week, and armed watch groups have set up barricades to stop drive-by attacks by black-clad Shiite fighters. So when an American convoy rolled in recently, a remarkable message rang out from the loudspeakers of the Abu Hanifa Mosque, where Saddam Hussein made his last public appearance before the fall of Baghdad in 2003.
The American Army is coming with the Iraqi Army do not shoot, the voice said, echoing through streets still filled with supporters of Mr. Hussein. They are here to help you.
Sheik Abdul Wahab al-Adhami, an imam at the mosque, said later in an interview: Look at what the militias are doing even while we have the American forces here. Imagine what would happen if they left.
Even in Sunni-dominated Anbar Province, where insurgents are carrying out a vicious guerrilla war against foreign troops, a handful of leaders are asking American commanders to rein in Iraqi paramilitary units. Sheiks in Falluja often complain to American officers there of harassment, raids or indiscriminate shooting by Iraqi forces.
A year ago, the party of Tariq al-Hashemi, a hard-line Sunni Arab who is one of Iraqs two vice presidents, was calling for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops.
The situation is different now, Mr. Hashemi said. I dont want the Americans to say bye-bye. Tomorrow, if they were to leave the country, there would be a security vacuum, and that would lead inevitably to civil war.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador to Iraq, has been at the forefront of American efforts to bring Sunni Arabs into the political process. Part of that strategy is to crack down on Shiite militias and push for amnesty for some guerrillas.
This month the American military has stepped up operations against the Mahdi Army, a volatile Shiite militia, and the top American commander, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., said last Wednesday that the Americans would hunt down death squads that are a driving force behind the rising bloodshed.
Some Shiite leaders deride the American policy toward Sunnis as appeasement. This strategy will destroy their goal of establishing democracy in Iraq, said Abbas al-Bayati, a prominent Shiite legislator. Compromising with the insurgency will encourage the insurgents to do more and more violence in the region.
#5
Sympathy meter really gorb, and anchored on zero.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/17/2006 15:36 Comments ||
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#6
This is a good thing. We need the Sunnis and the Sunnis need us. The Sunnis, like former Nazis in post-WWII Germany will be key to rebuilding the country. And strong Sunni and Kurdish representation in the gorvenment will keep idiots like Sadr and the Iranians at bay. A million plus Sunnis have already fled Iraq, and that's a bad thing.
BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein spent a ninth day without food on Sunday, the U.S. military said, continuing a hunger strike to demand better protection for defence lawyers after a third advocate was killed in Baghdad last month. Theres no change, said Lieutenant Colonel Keir-Kevin Curry, a spokesman for U.S. military detention operations in Iraq. Despite their refusal to eat, theyre still deemed to be in good health.
The 69-year-old former president and three co-defendants, whose trial for crimes against humanity resumes in a week, have been refusing food since eating dinner on the evening of July 7, the military says. Saddam has been drinking sweet coffee and other liquids, Curry said.
Ah, the Cindy Sheehan 'fast'.
The military has not identified the three other hunger strikers. Three senior Baath party followers are on trial with Saddam, along with four minor party officials.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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Poor Sammy. I sure hope his mustache survives this ordeal.
"Olmert told the Knesset 'Israel will not agree to live with rockets fired on its citizens, he added. "Only a nation that can protect its freedom deserves it.'" Olmert channeling Ben Franklin? (Paraphrase: 'Those who seek security above freedom will not have or deserve either.')
WASHINGTON - Israel has no plans at this present moment to attack Iran and Syria, the countrys chief spokesman told US television on Sunday, although he charged both countries with playing a key role in recent kidnappings of its soldiers. There is full responsibility on the shoulders of Iran and Syria, spokesman Isaac Herzog told ABC televisions This Week program, without ruling out future attacks against the two countries.
The responsibility lies on them, and we know it and we will remember it, Herzog said. Nonetheless at this present moment we are focused on Lebanon.
"Tomorrow, who knows?" he added.
Israel has correctly blamed Iran and Syria of having deep influence over the Hezbollah militants who captured two Israeli soldiers in an attack that sparked Israeli military retaliation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Isaac Herzog: Israel has no present" plans to attack Syria, Iran
#3
DEFENSETECH.org has a good article on Israel's strategy which I agree with, which can be summed up as Israel may not, for the moment, desire to invade Lebanon but neither will it allow Syrian andor Iranian main units easy access into central and southern southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, FREEREPUBLIC. com has an article from FREE-LEBANON.com which allegedly claims two of the captured Israelis are being held in the Iranian embassy in Beruit!? Both Islamist terrorist and Syrian-Iranian conventional soldier will be hard-pressed to escape Israeli detection, or destruction, iff Israel's anti-logistics/
reinforcement strategies against Lebanon's coasts and roadways, etc. succeeds. DAN GILLERMAN, Israel's ambassador to the UNO, made it clear on O'Reilly that despite Israel proclaiming its current lack of intent to invade or occupy southern Lebanon, Israel is keeping all options open for future action, and that Israel will do what it is needed to survive and protect her existence.
#5
Israel has no plans at this present moment to attack Iran and Syria, the countrys chief spokesman told US television on Sunday...
while sitting in front of a pile of folders, maps and photographs.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
07/17/2006 9:22 Comments ||
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They should. Fox News showed evidence of Syrian missles crashing into Isreal. The evidence? the loaded buckshot that the Syrian-made missle covered the street with. I think Assad needs a section of his palace flattened.
Posted by: Charles ||
07/17/2006 9:52 Comments ||
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"Oh, these old things? They've been lying around forever...."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg that his country was in contact with a number of groups in an effort to secure the release of the three kidnapped IDF soldiers. Putin added that he had reason to believe that the efforts were not in vain, Army Radio reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
And the eight soldiers ambushed? Good luck with that, Putty
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/17/2006 0:37 Comments ||
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He wants to be a contendah, and here's his chance. His success is, a priori, a mixed blessing.
A series of bomb attacks in Thailand's Muslim south were launched by militants to coincide with a meeting of Islamic leaders in Central Asia next week, a top Thai security official said on Saturday.
Militants in the Thai southernmost region, annexed by largely Buddhist Bangkok a century ago, were trying by all means to have their struggle for a Muslim sultanate recognised by the Muslim community, said National Intelligence Agency chief Jumpol Manmai.
"They exploit all occasions, diplomatically or violently, to have their struggle recognised, especially by the OIC," Jumpol told Reuters, referring to the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
A three-day meeting of OIC foreign ministers is due to start on Monday in Azerbaijan, where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Cyprus will top the agenda, the OIC said in a statement.
Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon, whose country has observer status, will attend, his spokesman said.
At least 60 small bomb attacks took place on Thursday and Friday in the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, killing at least two and wounding more than 30 people.
Security officials said they expected more explosions as more than 200 small bombs like those used in the past week had been smuggled from Malaysia into the region of 1.8 million people, most of them ethnic Malays who feel more connected to Malaysia than Thailand.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar urged Bangkok not to make Kuala Lumpur a scapegoat or a bogeyman for the unrest in the south, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported.
"Pointing an accusing finger to this party and that party will not help in restoring peace and security but in fact will further worsen the situation," Syed Hamid told reporters in the southern Malaysian state of Johor on Friday.
Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur have exchanged verbal attacks since the separatist insurgency re-emerged in the Thai Muslim south in January 2004. More than 1,300 troops, civilians and militants have been killed.
#5
Bush is doing great. By this point in our last prez's career the comments were about sex with that woman and his aids falling dead all over DC. I hope the far left choke on it.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/17/2006 14:44 Comments ||
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#6
It is neither cursing nor swearing. It is vulgarity. Dammit!
#7
It's sad that this sort of stuff is now newsworthy.
Not the G-8 summit, not the wars in Afghanastan, Iraq,Lebanon, Palestine, not the Iranian nuclear crisis, but bush saying a naughty word. Wow!
#9
If the president says a few more swear words, we can win this war, damn it!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/17/2006 16:52 Comments ||
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#10
He's just following my. Hey Bashar you worthless cockroach, go fuc* yourself! There, I said it..... again!
Posted by: Dick Cheney ||
07/17/2006 18:16 Comments ||
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#11
There was a commentator on NECN this evening who was complaining that not only was Bush crude, etc. etc. but he talks with his mouth full. He had more to say about the lowlife but I'm afraid I switched channels....
#12
George and Tony were talkin more than enough "bidnezz" to qualify for writing todays off as a business lunch.
Hey Cindy, figured out a way to "write off" your business "fast" today?
#13
So maybe he talks with food in his mouth, but he hasn't puked on anyones lap yet as his old man did. Does he have any more dinners with Puti before he departs Russia ?
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A microphone picked up an unaware President Bush saying on Monday Syria should press Hezbollah to "stop doing this shit" and that his secretary of state may go to the Middle East soon. Bush was talking privately to British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a lunch at the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg about an upsurge of violence in the Middle East, not realizing a microphone was recording what he said.
"I think Condi (Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) is going to go pretty soon," Bush said.
Blair replied: "Right, that's all that matters, it will take some time to get that together."
"You know how long it takes a woman to pack for a trip"
The two leaders also referred to an offer by Blair to help. Blair said Rice has "got to succeed" if she goes out to the region.
Bush replied: "What they need to do it to get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit."
.....before I really get f*&king pissed off and f&%kin bomb their f@$king asses back to the bleeping stone age."
Shortly afterwards Blair noticed the microphone and hastily switched it off, but not before the recording had reached news media.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/17/2006 09:07 ||
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Sounds like Bush is in a real hurry to get that UN peacekeeping force going.
#2
I am starting to wonder about of dear friend Blair. He is a Leftist and this mic was discovered on by him of course after the slip of tongue. Also remember back the leaked memos about Aljazera, about planning on invading Iraq before openly admitted, about many other instances.
Maybe our mole and leaker is a little closer than thought.
#3
I kind of like this - what I heard on the inadvertant open mike is exactly what I would have expected. Same points, same words, same inflection. None of the typical politician's BS double-speak, one thing to the public, and something totally different in private (think Clinton, or muslim 'leader').
#9
Hence Iran is the primary source of the problem while Syria is more of a bit player / hanger-on. If this conversation was really intended to be private I'd expect Bush would have addressed the statement to either Iran, as the main source of the problem, or Iran and Syria, as the joint source of the problem. To me the fact that he singled out the weak sister of the pair for a comment that should send Baby Assad running for the nearest bomb shelter lends a bit of support to the above comments that this might not have been an accident.
Or maybe I just want to believe that Karl Rove really is this good. ;)
Needs a snarky comment but I am overwhelmed by the potential. French PM travelling to Beirut to express solidarity France is today sending Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to Beirut to express support for Lebanon, President Jacques Chiracs office said. The prime minister was to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to express support and solidarity from the French to the Lebanese, Chiracs office said in a statement made in St Petersburg, Russia, on the side of the G8 Summit.
#9
Does anyone know his exact iteneray and locations ? Is he visiting his Hezb friends or have they all cleared out ? Is he near an airfield or radar location ? Just asking.
#14
A while back, commenters said that Matignon (PM residence) insiders leaked that dominique galouzeau "de villepin" had two hopes so he could get back on its feet (he's been a dead fish floating belly up since the CPE crisis) :
- that France would win the world cup.
Close, but no cigar (boy, I'm sure that match with Togo cost taxpayers a lot of unmarked bills from Matignon's secret funds!).
- and that there would be a severe crisis in the ME (probably thinking about iran), so he could show the french they need a Real Stateman(Tm) like you-knwo-who to lead them in these perilous times. Basically, he wished for the un iraq sideshow redux, so he could get standing ovations from the "pacifist crowd" and from african and muslim delegates again.
This may be it.
#15
Dumb question, but how does de Villepin plan on getting to Beirut? Haven't all the runways been destroyed? Is he going to fly to Israel and take a chopper or something? I suppose it's not a major detail, but I was just wondering since it seems like it could be risky.
#17
"Ahmed, that cute little Frenchman in coming here!"
"Ah, Mahmoud. Do you think he will hold me?"
"Of course, Ahmed. He is French after all, and reportedly - a man's kind of man, if you get my meaning."
"Oh, Mahmoud. That kind of talk gets me so excited. Hold me."
Did'nt I say something the other day about how a bunch of stuffed shirts and do-gooders are going to try to get the Israeli's to back off and get a ceasefire declared?
President Bush cursed Hezbollah's attacks against Israel in private conversations with foreign leaders Monday that were picked up by a microphone. Bush expressed his frustration with the United Nations and his disgust with the militant Islamic group and its backers in Syria as he talked to British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the closing lunch at the Group of Eight summit.
"See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this (expletive) and it's over," Bush told Blair as he chewed on a buttered roll. He told Blair he felt like telling U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who visited the gathered leaders "to get on the phone with (Syrian President Bashar) Assad, make something happen."
The unscripted comments came during a photo opportunity at the lunch. Bush and Blair clearly did not realize that a live microphone was picking up their discussion.
Posted by: ed ||
07/17/2006 07:36 ||
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Bush at his finest. Stop the group hugs and continue to talk sense.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/17/2006 7:47 Comments ||
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Hezbollah denied Sunday Israeli reports that its leader Hassan Nasrallah had been wounded in a Beirut air raid. "We deny categorically that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been injured," a Hezbollah official said following the Israeli media reports. "This is mere Israel propaganda."
Israel's privately run Channel Two television had reported that Nasrallah had been wounded in the latest raid. Israeli government ministers have made no bones about their desire to see the Hezbollah leader eliminated. "He can benefit from no immunity. We will wipe him out at the first opportunity. That's why he had better pray to Allah," Zeev Boim, minister for immigration and an ally of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Saturday.
General Gadi Eisenkraut, operations chief at Israel's central command, told army radio the military was checking the reports that Nasrallah had been hurt. "According to our evaluations, he was in a bunker several dozen metres underground in the Dahiya neighbourhood," the general said. Army radio reported that analyses of Nasrallah's voice in recent telephone conversations suggested "very high tension" and "psychological distress". The radio charged that he had not been seen in public since last Wednesday. Questioned on public radio, another Israeli general, Yonantan Locker, confirmed the air force had the capability to "destroy bunkers". "We have already done it and we will continue to do it," he said, declining to comment on Nasrallah's health or whereabouts.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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Memories of bouncing rubble over Saddam's bunkers in attempts to find and kill him. Didn't work, for whatever reason (wrong bunker, too much rubble.) Guess eventually the Israelis will drag Nasrallah, dazed, dirty and lousy, out of a hole somewhere.
Either Amr Moussa or Jerry Lewis, I'm not sure which. I'm sure it's not Dean Martin or Ethel Merman, though...
CAIRO: The spiraling Middle East crisis has exposed deep divisions within the Arab world and forced its leaders into a frank admission of helplessness. After an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers on Saturday, the 22-member bloc admitted it was impotent in the face of Israel's deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. "Don't ask me what to do," the League's secretary general, Amr Moussa, told reporters after the meeting.
Without Jerry's Amr's decisive leadership the Arab world would be in sad shape, by golly...
Analysts said the huge rift between Western allies such as Egypt and Jordan and radical states like Syria had proved impossible for diplomats to bridge. "The main structure of the Arab League is the idea of consensus, so meetings always come up with the lowest common denominator," said Nadim Shehadi, a Middle East specialist with the London-based Royal Institute of International Affairs.
An apt description. "How low can you go?"
Saturday's meeting "was a bit more revealing," he said. "There are real divisions at this time especially to do with relations with Iran on the one hand and with the United States and Israel on the other." Western allies, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have all tempered condemnation of the scale of the Israeli reprisals with criticism of the "adventurism" of Hizbullah in seizing two Israeli soldiers last Wednesday. Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned on Friday of the risk of "the region being dragged into adventurism that does not serve Arab interests." Saudi official media have also used similar language.
Not as surprising as it appears on the surface, since many Arabs lump Jews and Persians in the same category...
But for states like Yemen, the crisis should force countries like Egypt and Jordan to cut all ties with the Jewish state. "We must take swift steps with sincere intentions to solve the Arab-Arab differences which create an obstacle to reaching a unified Arab position," Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi said, calling on all Arab states to "end any cooperation with Israel." At the post-meeting news conference, Moussa pronounced the Middle East process "dead" and called on the UN Security Council to take back responsibility from the so-called quartet of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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NEW YORK (AP) - Iran's most prominent dissident said Sunday that the war in Iraq has hurt his country's reform movement by giving its regime an excuse to stifle dissent.
Journalist Akbar Ganji said in an interview that the West can best promote change in Iran by lending moral support to the country's democratic movement. ``We do not want the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, this is our problem. Any intervention by any foreign power would bring charges of conspiracy against us,'' he said. ``What has happened in Iraq did not support our movement in any significant way.''
Instead, he said, it gave Iran's regime an excuse to crack down on dissidents, accusing them of colluding with the U.S. and promoting an invasion of the Islamic republic.
Ganji, 47, spoke with The Associated Press during a world tour to raise awareness of human rights violations in Iran. He joined protesters outside U.N. headquarters on a symbolic three-day hunger strike aimed at forcing the Iranian regime to release political prisoners.
Since his release, Ganji has toured Europe and collected the World Association of Newspapers' Gold Pen of Freedom award. On Monday, he will collect an award for his fearless writing from the National Press Club in Washington.
Ganji said he plans to return to Iran, and expects to be jailed again, but is not afraid. ``My goal during my world tour is to show the world that there is an alternative, there is another voice in the region,'' he said. ``That's the voice of peacefulness, liberty, human rights and a democratic Islam.''
Ganji said that, until oil revenues are wrested from state hands, there will be virtually no democratic nations in the Middle East. ``Oil is the greatest factor that prevents democracy to take root in the region. Petroleum states have no need for their people,'' he said. ``They do not depend on taxation and therefore there is no accountability to the people.''
Ganji, who was imprisoned in 2000 after writing a series of articles accusing Intelligence Ministry agents of killing dissidents, said he was tortured repeatedly during six years in prison.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
What was I thinking. We should just leave them to their own devices and they'll just go away.
#2
Take out all of the Iranian gasoline refineries and terminals and a few offshore oil platforms with a 100 TLAMs and SLCMs...let the black hats twist in thw wind.
#3
Sorry Mr Ganji, but you may have noticed that people's patience with Iran is just about up, and we're sick and tired of hearing everything blamed on 'the war' as though the ME was sorting itself out beforehand.
My advice; stay out of Iran for a while, the whole situation there is about to change, and you being in jail isn't going to help matters.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/17/2006 2:08 Comments ||
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#4
And typically, this is from the Al-Grauniad. The whole tableau of the ME is about to change, and those useful idiots are just re-iterating the same old story - it's our fault, we're not worthy, yadda^3
Nitwits.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/17/2006 2:11 Comments ||
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#5
Generally, Muslims are supporting Islamofascism, so any notion of democracy that can sell among them means: one vote for Mullah tyranny. Just because a "Roadmap to Middle East Peace" was devised, that doesn't mean that there are not current insurmountable obstacles in its path. In fact, the Road Map followed early Islamofascist success.
I'm with Gingrich and Ledeen, this is World War 3. Revive the Roadmap, after we prep the foundation.
#6
``My goal during my world tour is to show the world that there is an alternative, there is another voice in the region,'' he said. ``That's the voice of peacefulness, liberty, human rights and a democratic Islam.''
#7
No war? Ok I guess we should just pester them with resolutions and strongly worded statements at the UN until they get a nuke arsenal that can wipe Europe off the map. Then we'll be in a much better position to get annihilated negotiate.
#10
The only movement I await in the ME is the anti-Allan movement. No prayers 5 times a day. No mosques loud speakers. No bearded men, but the right to bare arms.
#11
lol, Mr. James...you aren't suggesting nekkid bare armed women-folk, are ya?
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2006 13:59 Comments ||
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#12
BTW, I have a big beef with this guy's assertion that we're not lending "moral support." Good grief the Prez stated it specifically in this year's SoTU Address, and subsequently in MANY other speeches. However, like others here, we have a long memory (thanks, Jimmuh), and the Mad Mullah's need a smack and hard. I'd love for the long-awaited "Tehran street overthrow" to work, but they need to move and move quickly, as nukes will NOT be allowed of the MM's.
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2006 14:02 Comments ||
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#13
BA, you're expecting this guy to think in a logical fashion, or accept that the US has done something right. Not going to happen mate.
You're absolutely right that time is running out for the 'moderates' in Iran to pull their finger out and dump the MMs.
I do agree with him on one point though;
``Oil is the greatest factor that prevents democracy to take root in the region. Petroleum states have no need for their people,'' he said. ``They do not depend on taxation and therefore there is no accountability to the people.''
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/17/2006 15:52 Comments ||
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#14
``They do not depend on taxation and therefore there is no accountability to the people.''
#15
Tony, you're right. I assumed that the anti-mullah movement in Iran would contain some thinkers who follow logic. However, it appears that logic is not a course taught anywhere where Islam is present. Much like the cause/effect thingy.
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2006 21:00 Comments ||
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SAINT PETERSBURG: Iran should respond directly to the negotiators involved in a six-nation nuclear energy offer if Tehran wants to discuss the proposal, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.
Tehran said earlier in the day that the package - drafted by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - was an "acceptable basis" for talks, and invited world powers for detailed negotiations over its disputed nuclear programme. The response comes four days after Tehran missed a July 12 deadline to respond to the offer, prompting the six powers that drafted the proposal to decide to refer Iran to the Security Council for possible punishment.
'Nother words, nobody's impressed...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Gee, da ya think the G-8 guys have caught on?
Mebbe the Mad Mullahs overplayed their hand, too?
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/17/2006 8:38 Comments ||
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Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah made his first appearance since the start of clashes with Israel, saying Sunday that his group had "complete strength and power" and would act without limits in future attacks. Hezbollah had "no choice" but to hit the northern Israeli city of Haifi with rockets Sunday after Israel struck civilians in Lebanon. "As long as the enemy acts without limitations, it is our right to act similarly," he said.
Speaking on the militant group's Al-Manar television station, Nasrallah denied an Israeli accusation that it was receiving help from Iran that included advanced missiles. Nasrallah said he taped the message at 1 p.m. Sunday, an apparent attempt to disprove Israeli media reports that he was wounded in the pre-dawn bombing of his Beirut headquarters by Israel. The message aired about 7 p.m. He urged global Muslim support for his guerrillas, who he said are "longing" to fight Israeli forces in any ground invasion. He promised "surprises."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#4
Meanwhile, the tough talking Hez leader hides in his bunker...
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/17/2006 7:49 Comments ||
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#5
I hope everyone realizes that if Israel weren't around, they'd be fighting each other. It's really a psycho-social historical cultural regional type of thing.
Interestingly, one of the translations I heard late last night used this term ("surprises") specifically in the context of hidden/surprising weaponry that Hezzbollah supposedly has. I pray its not what I think it is, but if so, we could see this get really nasty really quick. Of course, it won't last long, if they use chem/bio/nuclear. Israel will open a can so quick, the MM's won't even be able to blink. First, Beirut, then Damascus, then Tehran.
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2006 13:50 Comments ||
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#11
Yes BA, surprises is definitely not what we want to see at the moment.
Is Nasrallah crazy enough to do it? I hope not.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/17/2006 16:04 Comments ||
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#12
I'ma not holdin' my breath on this one, Tony. Sanity is not these guyz' strong point and neither is the cause/effect realization thingy.
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2006 20:48 Comments ||
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TEHRAN, Iran Iran said Sunday that Western incentives to halt its nuclear program were an "acceptable basis" for talks, and it is ready for detailed negotiations.
That was a pretty quick 180. They rejected them yesterday. They've already picked up on the fact that the Hezbies are going down?
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice responded that Iran should talk directly to negotiators if it wants to discuss the six-nation proposal. Frustrated world powers agreed Wednesday to send Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible punishment, saying Tehran had given no sign it would bargain in earnest over its nuclear ambitions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters in Tehran that, "We consider this package an appropriate basis, an acceptable basis (for talks). Now is an appropriate opportunity for Iran and Europe to enter detailed negotiations. Sending the dossier to the U.N. Security Council means blocking and rejecting talks." Asefi called on the eight major world powers meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, to choose dialogue with Iran. "We can achieve acceptable results in this path," Asefi said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
At worst, it's going to turn into a protracted gab session filled with all kinds of indecipherable twists, turns, rants, balks, backtracking, and hair-splitting. At best, it will be a short one. In any case, better not put up with it for longer than it takes the military to set up for a good thumping. It will be a waste of time, which is all they are looking for and desire right now. String enough of these together, and you have yourself a bomb or nuclear material fit for handoff to any qualified terrorist organization.
#3
Tehran getting nervous US is not acting like we did in the past and not stopping Israel. They are beginning wonder if they just fell into a trap. bwhaaaaaa
#5
Jaw jaw is over. Jaw jaw is better than war war but war war could even be replaced by Jew Jew. If Jew Jew is let loose on Iran, Iran will lose everything.
(KUNA) -- The Iranian Minister of Defense Brig. Mustafa Najar on Sunday denied claims suggesting Iran provided weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah party and that these weapons were used against Israel. Speaking during a meeting with his assistants here today, Najar said rumors on use of Iranian weapons by Hezbollah against Israel fell in line with the "psychiatric war to broaden the conflict in the region".
Israel claims that the missile that has recently struck an Israeli warship in the ongoing conflict was an Iranian weapon and with the participation of several Iranian soldiers.
Najar denounced the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, noting that the "Islamic world holds the United States of America responsible for the crimes committed by Israel against the Lebanese and Palestinian people". He lashed at the US for attempting to exercise its "full hegemony" on energy sources in the area and to guarantee the safety of Israel by enlarging the scene of war.
He said the "green light was given to Israel to launch its attack on the innocent people", noting that Israel was "a source of tension in the region and a display of state terrorism'. He warned the ongoing Israeli aggression would give birth to "defeat and regret for the Zionist entity" of Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
"Islamic world holds the United States responsible" - yet more evidencia for Dubya & Admin to order those extra security personnel and measures. WHEN IT COMES TO POWER, DEMOLEFT > SAVING AMERICA = AMERIKKKA + WORLD FROM BUSH-GOP-CAUSED/BLAMED NEW 9-11's = WEIRDLY AND MYSTERIOUSLY, PC/PDENIABLY SURVIVING SAME. The DemoLeft's answer to the alleged National and geopol disasters and chaoses wrought by Male Brute GOP-Conservatism is anti-sovereign, pro-OWG, anti-Amer Amer Motherly Communism-Totalitarianism-Secularism. Utopianism is best achieved when no one knows why they are being gulagged or exterminated.
#4
Mustafa can rest assured that we will find a way to get even with the vipers of tehran.
We have a very long memory and an even longer invisible arm.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
07/17/2006 9:06 Comments ||
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#6
...noting that Israel was "a source of tension in the region and a display of state terrorism'.
They're dreadfully slow on the uptake aren't they. Point is Mustafa, people in the real world have had it with your rancid BS. Sort yourselves out, toot sweet, cut the psychotic Jew-bashing and start to get along with people 'in the region'. If not, one alternative you'll be looking at is a much smaller atlas of Iran...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/17/2006 19:01 Comments ||
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Minal Hasan was exploring careers - Teacher? Journalist? - when two planes sliced through the World Trade Center.
In the days and months that followed, friends and relatives exchanged tales of harassment, dubious arrests and assaults nationwide. Someone threw rocks at Hasan's car. Someone else spat at her.
The Fremont, Calif., woman then followed an increasing number of American Muslims, rocked by the fallout of Sept. 11: She applied to law school.
Continued on Page 49
#3
A close friend of mine from law school is now one of these screeching immigration attorneys. Her family fled Iran shortly before the fall of the shah. She was raised in San Fran, and engaged to an Irish Catholic -- but she got religion shortly before we graduated. Harangued me for an hour over lunch about the dirty Joooz, and told me how pleased she was with her fiance's reversion to Islam (Muslim women can't marry infidel dogs, y'know). Also took her 3-4 tries to pass the bar exam.
Of course, she was only the first of many friends who wound up fighting for the enemy. Sad. Reminds me of the Civil War.
#5
On a more general level, I think that 9/11 was very effective in its secondary goal : it forced everybody to take side.
And I personally know at least three muslims, not fundies or anything, real "Moderate Muslims" (complete with conspiracy theories about how terror in Israel is actually masterminded by the jooos for appearing as "victims", who got "more muslim" (stopped eating pork, for one of them) after 9/11.
They see the true victims of 9/11 as *muslims*. what perverse victimization ideology.
#6
SPoD, I see your mother never taught you any manners. Astonishingly, some of us are good guys. Who do you think sticks up for soldiers slapped with bogus, politically motivated charges. Who do you think encourages commanders to fight right up to the razor edge of the law. Who do you think prosecutes muzzie terror plotters and financiers. Who do you think fights CAIR's endless defamation lawsuits, and university administrations that punish students for "hate speech." Who do you think is on the other side of the aisle every time the ACLU, AI, HRW, etc. insists the Constitution requires us to commit collective suicide. And on and on. There are very many lawyers actively engaged in the good fight, and this nation would collapse far more quickly without us. We happen to emphatically agree with your characterization of the legions of Islamo-leftist scum engaged in lawfare against their own countrymen. So try not to trash us all, please.
Out in civil society Lawyers are job killing scum. Lawyers harm our society much more than they help it. There is no justice in the law and 99.9% of lawyers are totally devoid of any sense of justice all. All Lawyers care about is what is legal. Justice and right never enter into it. It is all about getting over on someone legally. We actually need about .01% of the current number of Lawyers we currently have.
Again thanks for doing your job in the military. Perhaps you can reconsider your civilian occupation.
#8
Muslims serve Muslims. Muslims are loyal only to Islamic states, and movements working to set up Islamic states. Muslims form a front-line for hostiles Islamic states. Muslims are a present danger, and can be nothing else than a future danger. If the Muslim presence in the Free World is not check, we will go from facing danger to: catastrophe.
No believer in Koran hate-murder incitement should live on free soil. Let's take Middle East oil, and let locals live as slaves to the moon-god, within confined areas.
#9
Of course we'd be better off with 0.1% of the lawyers we have now. But that's wishful thinking, not reality. The reality is, the US would be finished in short order without substantial numbers of right-thinking attorneys fighting off the Islamo-leftist onslaught. The alternative is simply allowing the enemy to hijack the courts and transform our system of government. The extent to which they're successful at this anyway underscores the need to oppose them at every opportunity. An army of lawyers parallel to their own, however distasteful that is, is necessary to accomplish that.
If there was a better solution, I would support it wholeheartedly. Until then, we'll do whatever we can to defend the country on the home front. All the while, getting shit on by Islamists, leftists, and the press, and "friendlies" like you too. I do hope you hate the jihadis just a hair more than you hate lawyers, cuz sometimes it's hard to tell.
#10
Fight the good fight, exJAG. I and many others here are not anti-lawyer. And yes, I've been on the receiving end of anger-making legal maneuvering too.
#11
I don't hate lawyers I just have no respect for them. Although I hate islamofascists I can assure no jihadi ever stole food off my table, money out of my familys bank account or killed off the chance of competeting for a living wage job for folk like me. Lawyers have done that though. So who should I fear more? At least you can walk around a rattle snake you don't dare take your eyes off of or turn your back on a lawyer.
#12
Thanks, lotp. Believe me, I'll be locked & loaded and first in line if/when the time comes. The spousal unit (also JAG) has dibs on journalists and broadcast towers, I have dibs on lawyers and professors. Not to sound extreme or anything, but litigation often impressed me with its suicidal pointlessness.
BTW, I'm a chemistry professor these days. Got tired of arguing with idiots. ;)
#14
I'd like to return to the focus of the thread, which is Muslims + law = bad juju. Another friend of mine from law school, a fluffy suburban girl, is Egyptian with a Muslim mother and a Coptic father. When she came of age, she was allowed to choose, and she chose Islam. But it was purely ornamental, mostly a declaration that she was multicultural and all that. She had an expensive-looking Qur'an sitting on her bookshelf that looked like it'd never been cracked open, right next to a closet full of miniskirts. For the hell of it, I'd fast with her during Ramadan -- then at dusk we'd stuff our faces with pepperoni pizza. Pepperoni. Heh.
So I e-mailed her after 9/11 -- first to make sure she was okay, as she worked in Manhattan -- but also to ask WTF, explain this Islam thing to me. I never heard from her again.
I know exactly one Muslim lawyer whose loyalty to the U.S. trumps their loyalty to the ummah. I hope it does, anyway, because she's a convert and an Army LTC. Have to admit it creeps me out.
#16
I've got stories to bash lawyers with the best, but it is amazing how prosperity and progress seem to follow the common law. Common lawyers are an expression of the wealth of a society. So I guess I want more. But I'd rather teach chemistry than argue with one.
#17
Lawfare. I wonder how many will pledge the supremacy of US law over sharia? Not that they can ever be trusted with taqiyya and kitman as formal doctines in islam.
Sort of on topic:
Lawyers in the US: 1 million
(70% worlds lawyers, 5% of population)
Doctors: 800,000
Police: 700,000
Something is really F'd in these numbers. Especially when there is a shortage of Americans in science, engineering, medicine and other technical (and productive) fields.
Posted by: ed ||
07/17/2006 8:49 Comments ||
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#18
Something is really F'd in these numbers. Especially when there is a shortage of Americans in science, engineering, medicine and other technical (and productive) fields.
Not really. There is a shortage of H1B visa holders otherwise known as SLAVES/INDENTURED SER. There are no shortages of over 40 engineers, docs etc who have been forced out for H1B slaves or OUTSOURCING by traitorous multi-nationals like my old (spit) "batwings" company.
#19
Maybe lawyer outsourcing is needed to destroy the profession.
Posted by: ed ||
07/17/2006 9:44 Comments ||
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#20
"Lawyers are just below pond scum IMNSHO."
Hey, easy there, SockPuppet. I'm married to one, and he works his conservative ass off defending everyday "joes" against insurance companies that love ripping people off. Kind of works like this: Mr. so-and-so gets hit on the head at work (example) and the entire left side of body is paralyzed as a result. Mr. so-and-so is "covered" by insurance and has been paying premiums (in addition to employer premiums paid) to "insure" against just such a situation for the last 20 years. But ACME insurance company dinks around and doesn't pay this guy for medical or rehab, and to make matters worse, now Mr. so-and-so can't work because all he ever knew how to do was to drive a delivery truck. Of course, no one wants to hire Mr. so-and-so either at this point, cuz he drools, and like I said, the left side of his body is no longer functional. He could gain some practical improvement with physical therapy and be re-employable in some capacity, but, like I said, ACME insurance company is too busy fucking around with his benefits and 2 years go by. He loses his house and his car. His marriage fails. And instead of being a productive member of society, he's on public assistance. He's demoralized and has lost faith in the system and in himself--and all thanks to ACME insurance company and their profit-sucking, "screw the little guy" mentality.
Call lawyers scum if you want to and don't respect them, but I hope you get someone as noble and tenacious as my husband if you ever are injured in a work or automobile accident.
IMNSHO, the real scum are the multi-billion-dollar-a-year insurance companies who spend millions circulating false stories about trial lawyers "driving up insurance costs through nuisance cases."
As in any other profession, GOOD men make good lawyers, and BAD men make bad lawyers. (can substitute lawyers with teachers, engineers, journalists, doctors, restaurant owners, retailers, CEOs, etc.).
If you were hurt by a lawyer unfairly, then he or she WAS most likely an immoral jerk--but some of this is in the eye of the beholder: i.e., I'm quite certain that malpracticing doctors and dirtbag insurance companies and their scum lawyers aren't too fond of my husband.
ON TOPIC: Have to wonder how many of these Moslim lawyers will be involved in going after Islamic child molesting pedophile mullahs . . . oh, never mind. That's criminal law, and probably a confusing arena for Moslem lawyers. Sounds like being a lawyer is just another venue for pissing and moaning and playing the blame game. And, guess what--the money ain't that good. Like all other professions, except for the top 3 % most lawyers make median incomes. They'll find that out sooner rather than later. Ha! What is really irksome is that they Moslem lawyers seem only to be concerned about defending MOSLEMS regarding civil rights issues. They are certainly missing the bigger picture regarding the practice of law and the role of law in society. As usual, it's all about them.
#21
This is dangerous to the whole US legal system , just like ACLU, LaRazza, etc. These useless bastards are very effective at totally tying up the system with their myriad inane filings. If we just had judges with any shred of common sense , they would immediately dismiss these false claims and move on. Then the nonsense would stop.
#22
SPoD sits at home posting on Rantburg at all hours of the day and night, while jerkin' his Gerkin' whining about how he can't/won't/doesn't find/have a job.
He blames everyone but possibly himself. Hey SPoD, if there aren't any jobs where you're at, go to where the jobs are. And BTW, most Community Colleges have these things called classes that help make one more attractive to employers.
#23
Well said, ex-lib. (It's Mrs. Cingold if I recall correctly, yes? Our occasional expert on Malaysia?) SpoD, I understand your feelings because sadly you do have a solid basis in experience for them, but you were unnecessarily rude to some good people who are on the right side of the most important thing. Professor ExJAG, interesting juxtoposition of professions you chose -- clearly you enjoy endeavors that require lots of knowledge and very clear thinking. ;-) And based on your experience, it sounds to me like the Muslims in our midst are going to force us to force them to openly declare which side they're on, and respond accordingly -- leaving a few true apostates here and a lot of true believers sent back where their ancestors came from. Not before the next president is sworn in though, I suspect. (How? Lie detector tests would be a good start, I think. The latest CAT/PRT/MRI scan machines are amazing, and I believe we know which part of the brain is used for lying... and I don't see how anyone can claim torture for that.)
#24
So True, SPoD's taken classes -- in several different fields. But he lives in a small town, the kind where being in the right circles matters, and his wife loves her job, so leaving isn't really an option. SPoD is good people, he's just got this one issue.
#26
cingold is the resident "expert" (although I don't think he'd say that) on Indonesia (grew up there). He knows a ton of great lawyer jokes, but he's taking some stupid insurance nonsense to the court of appeals (not that they listen--bunch of lazy, pro-insurance twerps, IMO) today and is unreachable. If he gets back in I'll tell him to post a couple.
Hope you can be imaginative in your situation SPOD and find something you like to do. Think outside the box and try to get in touch with something you REALLY groove with. If you do, I know you'll find a way to make it happen. A "plan B" and "plan C" really help too, in difficult circumstances.
#28
I've had both experiences: one lawyer we "hired" to help us deal with the state with our disabled son totally screwed us over - to the tune of about $7000 in "charges". I wrote to the head of the company, documented exactly what we had contracted to do, and totally refused to pay the bill. Still haven't after 15 years. At the same time, I had a Social Security lawyer that helped me get disability benefits with one hearing. Good and bad. I see a problem with Islamic lawyers trying to practice in the United States. We have ONE law for all of us. We will not play Sharia games, and any Judge that falls for that ruse will be on my target list in a nanosecond.
BTW, SPoD, the fastest growing job in the US is medical transcriptionist. It's even quite possible to work from home, over the Internet. My brother and sil make about $70K a year doing it. It might be hard in a small town, but if there's a larger town nearby, you can telecommute. My oldest daughter is taking classes for it now. Of course, you have to be a relatively speedy and accurate typist, and you have to learn the lingo.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/17/2006 17:51 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The 
America warned North Korea yesterday to resume talks on its nuclear weapons programme or face further international sanctions. Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, issued the threat hours after the United Nations Security Council passed a unanimous resolution condemning Pyongyang's test-firing of ballistic missiles. "If they do not want to face some of the additional pressures that can be brought to bear on them, they will eventually realise that they have to come back to the talks," Miss Rice said. "That is really the only game in town."
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday pledged there would be "major decisions" on a crackdown on Kurdish separatists after they killed eight security forces earlier in the day. Members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) killed seven Turkish soldiers and a village guard when they attacked security forces near the town of Eruh in southeast Turkey on Sunday, the semi-official Anatolian news agency said. "This PKK terror organisation has continued its attacks ruthlessly," Erdogan told his Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials in televised comments during a visit in eastern Turkey. "We have so far tried to be patient and solve the issue in a democratic manner. But yet again they killed eight children of ours. This is no longer bearable," he said.
Former US President Bill Clinton who many Arab thoughts was more even-handed on the Palestine question than his predecessors shocked many when he asserted in Toronto last week that had Israel been attacked by Iraq or Iran during his presidency, he would have been ready to grab a rifle, get in a ditch and fight and die.
Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. pressed President George W. Bush to involve the U.S. more directly in trying to negotiate a halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. ``Condi Rice ought to be going to the area immediately,'' Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said of the U.S. secretary of State today on ``Fox News Sunday.'' ``This is a situation that could spin out of control.'' 
Democratic National Committee Chairman 
Those behind last week's bomb attacks on Indian commuter trains are enemies of joint Pakistan-India efforts to bury a history of hostile relations, CNN on Sunday quoted Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri as saying.
Armed tribesmen fighting the government in Dera Bugti have spurned official claims that tribal leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and his allies have deserted their positions and taken refuge elsewhere. "The Nawab is still there and bravely fighting against forces engaged in constant bombing and shelling," said Wadera Alam Khan, spokesman of the tribal fighters, while calling from an unknown place via satellite phone. He said the government was losing its war against the tribesmen and had thus been driven to "baseless propaganda". He said that not more than 35 people had surrendered before the government in an official ceremony at Bakad area. Khan said that helicopters had continued shelling and bombarding Paylawag and Kanza on Sunday. "They also destroyed some 40 empty houses belonging to local people," he said.
Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Secretary General Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed condemned the Mumbai blasts as a crime against humanity and urged India not to derail the peace process between the two countries. In an interview with the New Delhi Television (NDTV) and talks with the media here, Senator Hussain said terrorism had no religion or boundaries and was a universal threat that could only be countered collectively. Whether it is terrorism in Mumbai or in Karachi, both India and Pakistan are victims of terrorism and can curb, contain and crush it only by joining hands against this enemy of mankind, he said.
QUETTA: The law enforcement agencies put two prominent members of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), which is headed by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, under house arrest on Sunday. Security forces have been deployed at the residences of Senator Agha Shahid Bugti, JWP secretary general, and Humayun Khan Marri, JWP provincial president. "I have been kept under house arrest since this morning," Senator Bugti told Daily Times via telephone. He said that Hamayun Khan Marri was also under house arrest. "Our house arrest comes only two days after the kidnapping of my brother Bilal Bugti and another JWP activist Murtaza Bugti in Karachi. This is an illegal and unconstitutional action which we strongly condemn," he added. 
A grand tribal jirga has been formed to discuss ways to establish peace in 
BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein spent a ninth day without food on Sunday, the U.S. military said, continuing a hunger strike to demand better protection for defence lawyers after a third advocate was killed in Baghdad last month. Theres no change, said Lieutenant Colonel Keir-Kevin Curry, a spokesman for U.S. military detention operations in Iraq. Despite their refusal to eat, theyre still deemed to be in good health.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg that his country was in contact with a number of groups in an effort to secure the release of the three kidnapped IDF soldiers. Putin added that he had reason to believe that the efforts were not in vain, Army Radio reported.
French PM travelling to Beirut to express solidarity France is today sending Prime Minister 
Hezbollah denied Sunday Israeli reports that its leader Hassan Nasrallah had been wounded in a Beirut air raid. "We deny categorically that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been injured," a Hezbollah official said following the Israeli media reports. "This is mere Israel propaganda." 
TEHRAN, Iran Iran said Sunday that Western incentives to halt its nuclear program were an "acceptable basis" for talks, and it is ready for detailed negotiations. 
(KUNA) -- The Iranian Minister of Defense Brig. Mustafa Najar on Sunday denied claims suggesting Iran provided weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah party and that these weapons were used against Israel. Speaking during a meeting with his assistants here today, Najar said rumors on use of Iranian weapons by Hezbollah against Israel fell in line with the "psychiatric war to broaden the conflict in the region".
Minal Hasan was exploring careers - Teacher? Journalist? - when two planes sliced through the World Trade Center.
