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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion    Local News    Politix   
America Votes. B.O. wins.
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 6: Politix
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Newsweek: foreign political intelligence operation hacked both candidates' computer systems
In case anyone's forgotten that the world's not a nice place . . .

The computer systems of both the Obama and McCain campaigns were victims of a sophisticated cyberattack by an unknown "foreign entity," prompting a federal investigation, NEWSWEEK reports today.

At the Obama headquarters in midsummer, technology experts detected what they initially thought was a computer virus—a case of "phishing," a form of hacking often employed to steal passwords or credit-card numbers. But by the next day, both the FBI and the Secret Service came to the campaign with an ominous warning: "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," an agent told Obama's team. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system." The following day, Obama campaign chief David Plouffe heard from White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, to the same effect: "You have a real problem ... and you have to deal with it." The Feds told Obama's aides in late August that the McCain campaign's computer system had been similarly compromised. A top McCain official confirmed to NEWSWEEK that the campaign's computer system had been hacked and that the FBI had become involved.

Officials at the FBI and the White House told the Obama campaign that they believed a foreign entity or organization sought to gather information on the evolution of both camps' policy positions—information that might be useful in negotiations with a future administration. The Feds assured the Obama team that it had not been hacked by its political opponents. (Obama technical experts later speculated that the hackers were Russian or Chinese.) A security firm retained by the Obama campaign took steps to secure its computer system and end the intrusion. White House and FBI officials had no comment earlier this week.
Posted by: Mike || 11/05/2008 12:56 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Geez, I thought the world loved Barry. I'm sooooo disappointed...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/05/2008 13:16 Comments || Top||

#2  information that might be useful in negotiations with a future administration

"Negotiations" or..... B L A C K M A I L !
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/05/2008 13:49 Comments || Top||

#3  ...both the FBI and the Secret Service came to the campaign with an ominous warning: "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," an agent told Obama's team. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system.


My name is Barrister David Obligo. I came in here with a total sum of $4,500,000.00 with all the money I've gotten from my Dad's business and sales of some properties. Because the African guy told me of an idea to investment in oil firms here. When I got here, he made all possible means to get the money from me and get away with my money. Then when I noticed this, I took the money and my traveling boxes and deposited it with a Security/Insurance Company here in Africa in order to safe myself and my assets. I told them that the two boxes are my traveling luggage, which I want to send forth to U.S.A or your country because I’m returning home, then I paid them up their custody and security fee, but I did not tell them that the boxes contain money in order to make everything secure and safe.__Thereafter I left the guy's apartment to a hotel where I am in right now and from which I am communicating with you now. Now, I'm in need of your help, have gotten the enough money to run myself when I get to the States or your country.

I have your files. I will return your files if you deposit a small amount in my account so I can return home...
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/05/2008 16:34 Comments || Top||

#4  ...both the FBI and the Secret Service came to the campaign with an ominous warning: "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," an agent told Obama's team. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system.


My name is Barrister David Obligo. I came in here with a total sum of $4,500,000.00 with all the money I've gotten from my Dad's business and sales of some properties. Because the African guy told me of an idea to investment in oil firms here. When I got here, he made all possible means to get the money from me and get away with my money. Then when I noticed this, I took the money and my traveling boxes and deposited it with a Security/Insurance Company here in Africa in order to safe myself and my assets. I told them that the two boxes are my traveling luggage, which I want to send forth to U.S.A or your country because I’m returning home, then I paid them up their custody and security fee, but I did not tell them that the boxes contain money in order to make everything secure and safe.__Thereafter I left the guy's apartment to a hotel where I am in right now and from which I am communicating with you now. Now, I'm in need of your help, have gotten the enough money to run myself when I get to the States or your country.

I have your files. I will return your files if you deposit a small amount in my account so I can return home...
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/05/2008 17:08 Comments || Top||

#5  (Obama technical experts later speculated that the hackers were Russian or Chinese.)

While I am neither technical nor an expert that was my initial speculation as well.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/05/2008 19:22 Comments || Top||

#6  But if it was the Russians or Chinese, did they need to hack? All they had to do was ask.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/05/2008 19:23 Comments || Top||

#7  They need leverage in case the new pres gets cold feet.
Posted by: Hellfish || 11/05/2008 20:16 Comments || Top||

#8  Should be treated as just short of an act of war. Perhaps the countries responsible should be delinked from the internet name servers for a couple of days in response.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/05/2008 20:37 Comments || Top||

#9  What's the worry, when your own supporters think nothing of hacking into private accounts? Those outside think just the same way as those on the inside, its all rationalized as being for the advantage good in the long run.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/05/2008 21:38 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Gen. Petraeus arrives in Kabul
KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus made his first visit Tuesday to Afghanistan as head of Central Command. Petraeus arrived in Kabul after a two-day visit to Pakistan, KUNA, the Kuwait News Agency, reported.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Canadians return to Afghan base after heavy fighting in nearby province
A small group of Canadian soldiers has finally returned to their base in Afghanistan after playing key roles in some of the heaviest fighting this fall. Details are now starting to emerge about the part about 30 Canadians played in the battle for Lashkar Gah, the capital of nearby Helmand province that was threatened by the Taliban late last month.

"(The fighting) was quite intense," said Maj. Steve Nolan, who commanded one of the mentorship teams working with a kandak, or battalion, of Afghan National Army soldiers.

Taliban fighters began to mass around Lashkar Gah around Oct. 12.

Afghan Gen. Sher Muhammad Zazai has said hundreds of Taliban fighters were involved, attacking the city on three sides. Nolan's team and their kandak, normally based in Kandahar province, were mobilized and arrived in the embattled city the next day as insurgents were attacking police outposts around the city. "We pulled into Lashkar Gah in the dark and it turned into a combat mission right away," said Nolan. "As we were moving in, there was tracer fire moving over our convoy."

On Oct. 17, the Canadian-mentored kandak was ordered to clear a swath of territory five kilometres wide and 10 kilometres long into the nearby village of Aynak - a maze of eight-metre deep canals, three- metre high cornfields, vineyards and narrow lanes lined by tall mud walls.

"There is no more complex terrain anywhere in the world," Nolan said.

Backed up by attack helicopters, the Canadian and Afghan soldiers advanced into repeated ambushes, coming under machine-gun and rocket- propelled grenade fire. Shots would be exchanged, then the Taliban would fall back to their next position.

"It's an all-day affair. There was always fire, or you always knew (every) 50 metres, that's where the next little contact would be."

There were no Canadian or Afghan casualties. Helmand's governor estimated 63 Taliban were killed.

After sweeping the corridor into Aynak free of Taliban, the kandak and the Canadians took part in a massive assault involving more than 1,400 Afghans, as well as mentor teams from Britain and the U.S. That assault, on Oct. 21, cleared a similar corridor into another nearby village called Nawa.

On Oct. 22, Gen. Zazai declared the Taliban had been successfully driven back from Lashkar Gah. The Canadians finally returned to their base on Sunday.

Insurgents rarely attempt frontal assaults on major cities.

The threat of such an attack on Kandahar in 2006 produced Operation Medusa, several weeks of fighting that summer by Canadian soldiers in the nearby Panjwaii district that pacified the area - at least temporarily.

Those attacks, however, were led by Canadians. This one was led by the Afghan National Army.

Nolan said the success of the operation proved the ANA has made substantial progress in planning and executing its own operations. "It made me feel very proud to be part of it because it showed that there has been a lot of progress made."
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Thank you, Canada. Well done, Afghan Army!
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/05/2008 13:06 Comments || Top||


Kabul axes Herat security officials
Afghanistan's new Interior Minister has dismissed eight top security officials amid growing insecurity in the western province of Herat.

Regional police spokesman Abdol Raoof Ahmadi said the officials were dismissed due to negligence, but denied reports that they were involved in the ongoing insecurity in the province, Press TV correspondent in Kabul reported. He added that the Interior Ministry had dismissed the officials in order to replace them with those who would better handle the situation. Abdol Raoof Ahmadi also said that more changes in the higher ranks were likely to happen. The deputies of the dismissed officials will reportedly carry out the duties for the time being. The officials were informed of the decision on Monday and were due in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday.

The sudden decision came after Herat's representatives in the Afghan parliament along with several other groups went on strike over the deteriorating security situation in Herat province. Pro-Taliban militants recently kidnapped five Afghan guards after attacking their station in Selma Dam in the province of Herat. In his vote of confidence session, the Interior Minister Haneef Atmar had vowed to stop instability in the region at any cost.
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Dang, the headline made me think about beheadings. The Taliban has been axing Afghan officials and civilians for many years now.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/05/2008 14:35 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia army chief resigns amid scandal
The commander of Colombia's army resigned abruptly Tuesday in a widening scandal over the killing of scores of civilians, allegedly spurred by promotion-seeking officers to inflate rebel body counts. Gen. Mario Montoya, who won wide acclaim for the bloodless hostage rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors on July 2, did not mention the scandal as a factor in his retirement after 39 years of service. He did, however, ask his countrymen not prejudge soldiers who have been implicated in the scandal, to afford them "the right to defend themselves."

Montoya's resignation follows stinging criticism of an army policy he allegedly encouraged of promoting officers whose units kill the most leftist rebels. Human rights groups say that policy encouraged soldiers in recent years to kill scores--perhaps hundreds--of civilians who were presented as guerrillas slain in combat. Prosecutors say they are investigating more than 90 army officers in such cases.

The government now says it rejects that policy and President Alvaro Uribe last week fired 20 army officers, including three generals, for negligence in failing to prevent or investigate such killings, which he blamed on "criminals conspiring with members of the military."

On Saturday, the United Nation's top human rights official told reporters after a weeklong fact-finding mission that she considered the extrajudicial killings "widespread and systematic." In the most publicized case, the bodies of 11 men who disappeared from the poor Bogota suburb of Soacha early this year were later found in common graves in a conflict zone hundreds of miles away. "If he resigned, it's because he sinned," said Luz Palacio, the mother of one of the slain Soacha men.

Since Montoya took command of the army in April 2006, the nation's military has scored historic gains against the Western Hemisphere's last major remaining rebel army, the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Montoya, 59, also was a chief architect of the July 2 hostage rescue, in which military intelligence agents helicoptered 15 hostages to safety by tricking rebels into believing they were an international humanitarian group transferring the hostages to another rebel camp.

His critics acknowledge that kidnappings and street crime in major cities are down but say Montoya's policies have made Colombia's countryside more dangerous. A former far-right warlord has accused Montoya of providing illegal militias with weapons and a CIA memo leaked to the Los Angeles Times says Montoya carried out joint operations with the so-called paramilitaries as a brigade commander in Medellin prior to his promotion.

Navi Pillay, the U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights, said that the killings of civilians were crimes against humanity and that if Colombia's criminal justice system didn't deal with them adequately, they could fall under jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Last month, Amnesty International called on the United States, the top foreign backer of Colombia's armed forces, to halt military aid until stricter measures were taken to halt the killings.

Montoya's resignation was greeted enthusiastically by human rights activists. "Gen. Mario Montoya has been named in multiple human rights reports as having committed violations back to the 1970s," said Ivan Cepeda, director of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes.
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Was Joe Biden Talking About Russia in Seattle?
We didn't have to wait long, did we? Obama will FOLD!
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/05/2008 10:45 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'll have to cut Biden some slack on this one. He clearly said six months, not six hours. It's still pretty troubling in any account, though.
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie || 11/05/2008 16:18 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm still thinking the upcoming Israel-Iran confrontation. Something wicked this way comes.
Posted by: WilliamMarcyTweed || 11/05/2008 16:41 Comments || Top||

#3  The "GREAT GAME OF GEOPOLITICS" = SUBSTITUTION OF NATIONS/POWER, etc. isn't going to end becuz of the 2008 POTUS Elex, no matter whom won.
In reality, Barack will have to work harder than before to show that a AFRICAN-AMER = ETHNIC MINORITY IS JUST AS GOOD OR COMPETENT A LEADER FOR AMER, OR BETTER, THAN NON-BLACK/MINORITY PERSONAGES. and inclusive of ANY PUBLIC-PRIVATE CONTROVERSY(S) WHICH MAY MANIFEST.

THERE WILL BE THOSE ELEMENTS, FOREIGN STATES + PERSONAGES, WHOM WILL EXPLOIT AND USE OBAMA'S RACE + HISTORICAL RACIAL/ETHNIC STEREOTYPES AGZ HIM + USA, AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVE IT OR NOT.

Lest we fergit, POLITICAL SAYING > "WHAT DOES TRUTH/HONESTY HAVE TO DO WITH POLITICS OR POWER", correct!?

The true test for any Leader is notsomuch formally becoming a Leader, but when serious chaos-probs erupts + His Vision for the good/beenfit of Everyone = the Nation.

POTUS OBAMA ADMIN >
* NUCLEAR IRAN + ISLAMISM
* ISLAMIST-LED DESTABILZ = BREAKUP? OF ASIA MAP [Year 2015-2020]; PROTO-NUCLEAR ISLAMIST ASIA???
* PAN-ASIA TOLERANCE OF US-WESTERN MIL PRESENCE VEE WOT AGZ ABOVE.
* RUSSIA RESURGENT
* CHINA ASCENDING > Chin scholars are advising Beijing that, to best protect the CHINA SEAS, Chin must stop being ISOLATIONIST + EXPAND ITS MIL + GEOPOL REACH AMAP AFAP [Chin-centric power projection beyond East Asia and littorals]
* GLOBAL ECONOMIC TROUBLES, NOT MERELY NATIONAL OR REGIONAL.

* JIMMY CARTER > became POTUS as the ANTI-NIXON, the "NEW HOPE FOR AMERICA" after WATERGATE + VIETNAM WAR = FALL OF SAIGON. Instead, Amer got the Iranian Hostage Crisis + Soviet-Commie, etc. expansion all over SE Asia + Americas at the expense of Amer national + geopol credibility. POTUS CARTER's BIGGEST PROTAGONISTS AGZ HIS ADMIN + AMERICA PROVED TO BE HIS OWN FELLOW DEMOCRATS + INTERNATIONAL LEFTS.

Hopefully for Barack, "I AM BLACK, I AM WOMAN, I AM A BRAIN, AND I WILL ROAR" SUPER-LEFTY MICHELLE as First Lady-elect will know how to unsheath her lecture finger where it counts.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/05/2008 20:14 Comments || Top||


Sweden tightens asylum rules
Aswat al-Iraq: Sweden, which has welcomed far more Iraqi refugees than the U.S. or the rest of Europe, stepped up restrictions against Iraqi asylum seekers, and began deporting hundreds who came through Greece in spite of protests voiced by Human Rights organizations in the Scandinavian country.

While the new rules would threaten the lives of Iraqi's seeking refuge who fear returning home, Swedish Migration Minister Tobias Billstrom announced "there is no hope for any Iraqi denied refugee status in Sweden."

Sweden, a country of just nine million people that is not involved in the Iraqi conflict, took in more Iraqi refugees than any other European country.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "My brother has lost hope and is in terrible psychological condition after his claim was rejected and he lost the money paid to smugglers who took him across the Swedish borders," he pointed out.

In Canada, he could take this to a Human Rights Commission and the tax-payer would foot the bill.
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/05/2008 6:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Now, asylum candidates will have to prove they plan to kill infidels, not just claim that they have plans to do so...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/05/2008 9:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Six Algerian Guantanamo inmates to challenge imprisonment
Six Algerians detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for the last seven years are to become on Thursday the first prisoners to challenge their continued imprisonment in a US federal court. The prison at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, where some 800 men classified as "enemy combatants" have been held without trial, is a central piece of outgoing US President George W. Bush's "war on terror." After years of legal wrangling, the US Supreme Court in June granted Guantanamo detainees access to the civil court system and the right to file Habeas Corpus cases challenging their detention. The case of the Algerians is the first of a series of such cases.

The vast majority of detainees, whom the US has described as "the worst of the worst," have been quietly released without charge.

"It is not a trial over these men being guilty or innocent, it is only a trial about whether the president can say legally that based on these facts and this law, 'I have a basis for holding these men,'" defense lawyer Robert Kirsch told AFP.

Some 250 prisoners remain in the military base, and all of them have started Habeas Corpus challenges. The prisoners have each passed before Combatant Status Review Tribunals where they were classified as enemy combatants, a ruling that justifies their continued detention under Bush administration guidelines.

Of the 250, only 20 have been charged and must stand trial in front of a military tribunal for "war crimes."

In October, a federal judge ordered a group of 17 Chinese Muslim Uighurs to be released in the United States after they were no longer considered enemy combatants. The decision is being appealed.

The Algerians, who also hold Bosnian nationality, were arrested in Bosnia following a request from the US Embassy in Sarajevo, according to their attorneys. "Bosnia is terrified" of the United States, according to Stephen Oleskey, a lawyer for the Algerians, who noted that US officials had command of UN forces in Bosnia at the time. "In a speech President Bush gave in January 2002, he said that the Americans had broken a terrorist cell that was going to attack the American Embassy," added Kirsch.

Algerian police investigated the men for three months without finding any evidence before US officials asked that they be detained. Then in October 2008 the government "dropped the claims and suddenly another theory is coming out," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  The first of many challenges to the Obama presidency, and a good indicator of how he will act in the "War on Terror".
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/05/2008 13:42 Comments || Top||

#2  IF W were to load all these guys on a plane and land in the middle of the ME Nowheresville, and kick them out, on, say Jan 19, then it would be O's problem. or not.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 11/05/2008 14:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Release them all in Hyde Park, Chicago.
Posted by: ed || 11/05/2008 14:42 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
NWFP issues list of foreign Imams
Following a new strategy to tackle extremism, the NWFP government has prepared a list of 1,400 foreign imams (prayer leaders) serving in different mosques across the province. The lists were prepared jointly by the district security bureaus and peace committees on the directive of the federal government. Sources said 27 mosques in Risalpur district and 207 mosques in Nowshera district were being served by imams belonging to Afghanistan. The NWFP government has also directed the police station house officers (SHOs) to summon all such imams. The Risalpur SHO has summoned foreign imams on Thursday at 8:00am.
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Please stop posting if you will, those photos from yesterday's fiasco at Grant Park.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/05/2008 14:35 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Jordan Islamists cautiously optimistic over Obama's election
The Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, on Wednesday expressed guarded optimism over the election of Barak Obama as the next US president and said they considered his win an "apology" from the American people to the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. "We welcome Obama's election and believe that his win represents a clear message inside as well as outside America," IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Ershaid told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"Obama's victory is also tantamount to an apology from the American people for the crimes committed by the outgoing Republican administration in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere," he added.

Bani Ershaid said that his party, the political arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, was "cautiously optimistic" over the change promised by Obama and believed that the "starting- point for this change should find expression in a correction of the US foreign policy on Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan."

"A real change in the US policies cannot materialize without rectifying the erroneous attitude considering Israel an ally, withdrawing troops from Iraq," he said.
Posted by: tipper || 11/05/2008 11:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Projection is an interesting psychological phenomenon.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 11/05/2008 12:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Geez, everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/05/2008 13:11 Comments || Top||

#3  "A real change in the US policies cannot materialize without rectifying the erroneous attitude considering Israel an ally, withdrawing troops from Iraq," he said.

Both boxes soon to be checked.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/05/2008 13:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Zarkawi s Obama
Posted by: ed || 11/05/2008 13:15 Comments || Top||


Hamas ready for dialogue with new US president
The exiled political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said his Palestinian Islamist movement is ready to hold talks with any elected US president, in an interview published on Tuesday. "Hamas is ready for dialogue with any incoming US president ... Democrat [Barak] Obama or Republican [John] McCain," Meshaal told Jordan's Al-Arab al-Yawm daily.
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Remember, all the Muslims backed George Bush over Al Gore because they felt Bush would give them a fair shake.
Posted by: Penguin || 11/05/2008 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Under our new regime, I suspect a cabinet-level position awaits him.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/05/2008 7:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Gore? Or the head of hamas? Or both?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/05/2008 9:25 Comments || Top||

#4  I suspect that Hamas will tell BO that they will make nice if he gives them Isreal and sends the Isrealis to Ayres Rock
Posted by: James Carville || 11/05/2008 10:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Who said Bill Ayers would welcome the Israelis?

(I know where Ayers Rock is. It's a joke.)
Posted by: Mike || 11/05/2008 10:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Obama: "hang on , I'll be right there!"
Posted by: Hellfish || 11/05/2008 20:17 Comments || Top||


Hamas' Deif: We'll continue to attack Zionist enemies of God
Mohammed Deif, the former head of Hamas' military wing, on Tuesday declared that the Palestinian military group will continue to launch terror attacks against Israel. Speaking at a memorial ceremony for Hamas leader Fawzi Abu Al-Kara, Deif said his men will continue Jihad "until victory and martyrdom."

"We will pursue the Zionist enemies of God," the former Iz al-Din al-Qassam commander vowed.

Also Tuesday, Israel Radio reported that Hamas officials voiced skepticism that the United States presidential election would result in a change in U.S. policy in the Middle East and toward the group.
This article starring:
MOHAMED DEIFHamas
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Settlers preparing for war, says Shin Bet chief
A government decision to evacuate more territory may lead to a large-scale violent conflict with settlers, complete with live fire, Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin warned at yesterday's cabinet meeting. The meeting ended with the ministers voting to end all government support, both direct and indirect, for illegal outposts.
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Likud to US: We won't honor Syria deal
The Likud has issued a clear policy directive against Israeli talks with Syria to advisers of both presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, as well as to representatives of the US State Department.

"If we form the next government we won't be committed to any agreement, or partial agreement, that was achieved by Kadima during this election period between Israel and Syria," MK Yuval Steinitz told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz said Sunday he would not order the government to stop negotiating with Syria. On Monday MK Limor Livnat (Likud) filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against the decision.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Prudent move.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon || 11/05/2008 3:37 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka says war nearly complete
Sri Lanka's war against the LTTE is close to being completed, the island's army chief was quoted as saying on Tuesday as the military reported further gains in the rebel-held north.

Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said the military had killed thousands of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters in the past two-and-a-half years.

"More than 80% of the war against the LTTE has been completed after regaining 80% of the areas under them and killing more than 12 000 of their cadres," the state-run Daily News quoted Fonseka as saying.

Government forces are currently locked in a major offensive against the Tigers to capture the rebel political capital of Kilinochchi, 330km north of Colombo.

The Defence Ministry said its forces were overcoming sporadic resistance from the LTTE and were closing in on the strategically important town of Pooneryn.

It said they wanted to open a new land route to the northern peninsula of Jaffna, which has only been reachable by sea and air since it was taken from the rebels by government troops in 1995.

"The Task Force 1 is now on an accelerated march towards Pooneryn, crushing remaining terrorist footholds on the north-western coast," the ministry said in a statement.

Tens of thousands of people have died on both sides since 1972, when the LTTE launched its campaign to carve out an independent state in the Sinhalese-majority island of 20-million people.
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah: Large swaths of north Israel belong to Lebanon
A senior Hezbollah official on Monday said the Lebanese militant organization believes that large swaths of northern Israel belong to Lebanon, far beyond the line Israel pulled back to in 2000. "The Zionist terror organizations moved the border from that of 1920 to that of 1923, and Lebanon lost seven villages and twenty farms. One must be cautious before moving the border to the Blue Line, because then Lebanon will lose millions of square meters," said Nawaf Musawi, head of international relations for Hezbollah.

In referring to the Blue Line, Musawi was speaking of border demarcation the United Nations published in 2000 after the Israel Defense Forces withdrew from southern Lebanon.

Musawi, who is known as the group's "foreign minister," made the comments at the close of a meeting with the Norwegian ambassador to Lebanon. He branded Blue Line, which runs very close to the 1949 Israel-Lebanon border known as the Green Line, as merely a "withdrawal line."

The official's comments mean that Hezbollah has territorial demands beyond the disputed Shaba Farms in the Golan Heights and the divided northern village of Ghajar. While various Lebanese Shi'ite figures have made these demands in the past, Hezbollah has abstained from doing so in recent years.
This article starring:
NAWAF MUSAWIHezbollah
Posted by: Fred || 11/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  That was quick - votes are still in-counting for Barack.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/05/2008 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Just one of my many fears with the election results.

this will be Carter Redux times 10.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/05/2008 9:01 Comments || Top||

#3  are they gonna take it back?
Posted by: chris || 11/05/2008 10:11 Comments || Top||

#4  More than just Shaba Farms. Awesome....

Send Kuntar.
Posted by: DK70 the Scantily Clad7177 || 11/05/2008 10:25 Comments || Top||

#5  Many observers including myself were aware of the "7 Villages" scam immediately after Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon several years ago. Hizbullah's salami tactic for the dismemberment of the Jewish state. There will be no end to such provocations by the Islamicists...until death or evacuation via the Mediteranean (sic) Sea by the Jews...
Posted by: borgboy || 11/05/2008 13:48 Comments || Top||

#6  The weak or stupid will get taken advantage.
Posted by: ed || 11/05/2008 14:12 Comments || Top||

#7  They agreed to a border, then invented some farm to go nuts about. Now the farm has become a larger swath. Me thinks them Hezbollah guys simply want to fight.

At some point they'll claim Lebanon extends to Sinai.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/05/2008 18:08 Comments || Top||

#8  All of Lebanon belongs to Israel.
Posted by: newc || 11/05/2008 18:41 Comments || Top||

#9  All your base belong to us.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/05/2008 20:38 Comments || Top||

#10  i HOPE Israel gives them the fight they want. And take the gloves off this time and seriously whoop their ass. I know the US isn't going too take any gloves off for at least 4 years but maybe the israelis will
Posted by: chris || 11/05/2008 22:00 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
MILF ¢Ÿs Obama
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/05/2008 12:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If they had any intentions of reciprocating friendship, we would have been friendly to them all along. I think they are jumping the gun here a little. Big O is going to be running for re-election from day one.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 11/05/2008 12:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Yup.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/05/2008 15:06 Comments || Top||

#3  “If I remember right, all American Republican presidents had in one way or another waged a war against another country.

You don't remember right. Linclon, Republican, waged war against his own country. Eisenhower ended the Korean War which started under Democrat Truman. Ford ended the Vietnam War, started under Democrat Kennedy. Democrats both started and ended American involvements in WWI and WWII. Republicans did not even exist for the War of 1812.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/05/2008 19:30 Comments || Top||

#4  While you have proposed a popularist theme, My reading and listening of the released Kennedy archives STRONGLY suggests that Eisenhower (as an advisor to Kennedy) both initiated containment efforts of the yellow menace in southeast asia AND introduced the reactive strategy which created the Cuban crisis that spineless Kennedy backed away from.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/05/2008 20:11 Comments || Top||


Indonesian jihadists ¢Ÿ Obama, praise Allah for his victory
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/05/2008 12:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION POTUS-ELECT OBAMA, WORLD MILITARY FORUM > CHINESE SCHOLAR: OBAMA ELECTION "CONDUCIVE" TO BETTER US-CHINA RELATIONS [Taiwan-Chin unity, Economy], espec as the US is now FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT on China [control of US FOREX], whilst China is TRADE DEPENDENT on the USA [goodies].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/05/2008 22:46 Comments || Top||

#2  OTOH, SAME > BARACK OBAMA WINS THE US PRESIDENCY: CONGRATULATIONS, AMERICA, PUTIN, AHMADINEJAD, CHAVEZ, ASSAD, AND OTHER US ENEMIES HAVE WON!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/05/2008 22:48 Comments || Top||


Muslim Brotherhood ¢Ÿs Obama: "We consider this an apology from the American people"
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/05/2008 12:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hum, the original JW "heart" symbol didn't get through, but I guess you all guessed what they thought of him already.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/05/2008 12:39 Comments || Top||

#2  American to Muslim Brotherhood, It's not.
Posted by: Hellfish || 11/05/2008 12:47 Comments || Top||

#3 
Posted by: ed || 11/05/2008 12:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Where's the pic of Obama giving us the finger?
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/05/2008 14:32 Comments || Top||

#5  "Obama's victory is also tantamount to an apology from the American people for the crimes committed by the outgoing Republican administration in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere,"
Once again proving that the Muslim Brotherhood is a bunch of deranged idiots.
Posted by: Darrell || 11/05/2008 15:24 Comments || Top||

#6  yeah we're up shit creek without a paddle
Posted by: chris || 11/05/2008 17:02 Comments || Top||

#7  Obama's father was a Muslim. So Obama was a Muslim. He renounced it. So he is apostate.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/05/2008 19:31 Comments || Top||

#8  he's still a muslim , we'll find that out very shortly when they take over everything except the 7-11's
Posted by: chris || 11/05/2008 21:56 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2008-11-05
  America Votes. B.O. wins.
Tue 2008-11-04
  IAF strike zaps four Gazooks
Mon 2008-11-03
  Sheikh Sharif returns to Somalia
Sun 2008-11-02
  Gilani will complain about drone strikes to US
Sat 2008-11-01
  U.S. strike killed Abu Jihad al-Masri deader than Tut
Fri 2008-10-31
  Dronezap kills 15 in Pakistain
Thu 2008-10-30
  Serial kabooms kill 68, injure 470 in Assam
Wed 2008-10-29
  Canadian al-Qaeda bomb-maker guilty in British fertiliser bomb plot
Tue 2008-10-28
  Haji Omar Khan is no more
Mon 2008-10-27
  US strike kills up to 20 in Pakistain
Sun 2008-10-26
  U.S. Troops in Syria Raid
Sat 2008-10-25
  Paks bang 35 hard boyz in Bajaur
Fri 2008-10-24
  Qaeda big turban Khalid Habib titzup in Pakistain
Thu 2008-10-23
  Pirates seize Indian vessel with 13 crew near Somalia
Wed 2008-10-22
  Report: Nasrallah poisoned; Iranian docs saved life

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