All this while blogging, and I've always thought of Kathy as cute. Now she has her picture up, and my opinion's confirmed. The Blog of the Century of the Week has a poll for the cutest bloggerette. Go vote for Kathy. Or Emily, or Moira, or Andrea...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 11:30 am ||
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Cute? Cute!?! I am NOT cute! Sheesh. I sincerely hope I got past cute about 20 years ago. 10 year olds are cute. Even a few 20-ish types might qualify. I am too old to be cute.
Just because I'm 5' tall I'm going to be thought cute till I'm 80. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Sexy; though, I hope that applies till I die of extreme old age at 200+! ;-)
Posted by: Kat ||
06/04/2002 12:13 Comments ||
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Cute, hell!
With those glasses she's sexy as all git-out. And that's a good thing..
Posted by: Jason Rubenstein ||
06/04/2002 15:59 Comments ||
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U.S. troops swept onto a mountain ridge near the Pakistani border, ready to face perhaps dozens of al-Qaida or Taliban fighters. But they found only caves and buildings that had not been lived in for weeks. The search left soldiers who returned Monday to Bagram air base wondering if there is anyone left to fight in the field in eastern Afghanistan. "We were at least hoping to find, if not people there, at least information about people or some of their equipment," Cpl. Sam Watkins said. "Something to show that we did something." Some 170 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division searched about nine caves Sunday on a ridge three miles from the border, outside the eastern city of Jalalabad. All they found were some documents, whose intelligence value was being evaluated, and a small pile of ammunition, but no signs that anyone was there recently. They blew up the entrances of four caves to seal them off.
Farther south along the Pakistan border, hundreds of British marines have searched the plains around the town of Khost for the past week. They patrol roads to stop any fighters slipping in from Afghanistan and, in a more complicated task, try to locate any Taliban among the area's villagers. So far, they have found nothing, though they say they have succeeded in another key part of their mission: building bridges with residents. "We're here to conduct war fighting and kill al-Qaida. That is fantastic if only any would come out," said British Maj. Rich Stephens, who is commanding one of the companies deployed around Khost. "They're all away in Pakistan, it would appear to me." Doesn'tthatcomeas asurprise?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 07:31 am ||
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Given that the border is so porous, could we blame any coalition forces that, er, got "lost" for a bit, strayed into Pak-land and nailed a few jihadis? American forces can't do it, because they all have personal GPS systems and a string tied around them leading all the way back to Tampa, but say some Brits or Australians? "Border? I didn't see any border spray-painted on that hill! Blimey, wotta mistake! Sorry 'bout all that gunfire and wot, mate."
Regards,
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/04/2002 16:47 Comments ||
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Fugitive Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar was spotted recently in Afghanistan' south-western Helmand province, where British troops have been seeking him, Iran's official IRNA news agency said. IRNA's not the most reliable source, but it's better than AIP...
IRNA quoted provincial governor Shir-mohammad Akhundzadeh as confirming that Omar "was seen in the province with a number of aides". The Taliban leader fled his stronghold of Kandahar six months ago following the defeat of his forces by the US-backed Northern Alliance. Akhundzadeh said British special forces based in the provincial capital of Lashgargah had been making helicopter searches for him. Maybe they should put a shadow on some of the Peshawar tough guys.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 10:17 am ||
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I wish they'd put a shadow (or a nice little tracer bug) on the journalists who get 'exclusives' with some of these boomie backers.
Posted by: Kat ||
06/04/2002 12:20 Comments ||
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Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, one of the world's most wanted men, is alive and spending much of his time outside Afghanistan, the interior minister of the interim Afghan government said Monday. "Mullah Omar still exists. He is out of Afghanistan most of the time," Yunis Qanuni told reporters. That's why you can't find him when you're searching in Afghanistan. There's a completely different reason he can't be found in Pakistan.
It was the first time an Afghan minister has confirmed the one-eyed Taliban chief and protector of Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was still alive. "He comes and goes to his hideouts in mountainous areas along the border," said Qanuni, referring to the southern areas of Afghanistan on the border with Pakistani. "Unfortunately, those areas are out of our access," Qanuni replied, when asked why the Afghan government and coalition forces led by the United States have failed to arrest him. If they were in Afghanistan they could be bombed, but they're not, so they can't...
The comments follow reports that Taliban sympathizers operating on both sides of the southern Afghan border are pasting up stickers warning the United States of a Taliban comeback. I hate that. You know, the guys in turbans, hanging around street corners, making faces at people...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 10:31 am ||
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U.N. weapons inspectors are preparing for a possible return to Iraq: studying satellite photos, looking at possible sites to visit, and working on a list of disarmament issues that Baghdad still must answer, the U.N. inspection agency said in a report Monday. The quarterly report to the U.N. Security Council by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix indicated that the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission is gearing up for business ahead of a new round of U.N.-Iraq talks next month aimed at returning the inspectors. When the last round of talks ended on May 3, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported progress but no breakthrough and said he hoped that in the next round of talks, Iraq would have "some positive news." That meeting has now been scheduled for July 4-5 in Vienna. "Mahmud, where'd you hide the nuclear triggers?"
"Behind the couch, next to the tank of bubonic plague."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 07:31 am ||
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Law enforcement officials nationwide, already strained by added security work since Sept. 11, say the FBI's sweeping reorganization could hamper their ability to fight drug traffickers and white-collar criminals. Some authorities have urged the government to increase funding to local agencies. Others say they're prepared to take on the FBI's responsibilities in investigations into drug and gang activity, bank robberies and fraud. "All the sheriffs in the country are making an extra effort and we'll continue to do that," said Monroe County, Ga., Sheriff John Cary Bittick, president of the National Sheriffs' Association. "I think it can be done, and I think we're obligated to make it happen." FBI Director Robert Mueller has proposed shifting hundreds of agents, mostly from drug and white-collar crime investigations, to focus on terrorism. A new assistant director, Louis F. Quijas, also is slated to coordinate better relationships with state and local police. Doing a really, really good job at killing the terror network could have the pleasant side effect of also killing the main international drug producers.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 07:31 am ||
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SO, ending the drug war altogether would both free up law enforcement to work very heavily on terrorism, AND deny drug profits to lesser terrorists bent on becoming full-fledged ones. It would in effect cut terrorism off at its knees - and stop the ridiculous idea of fighting two "wars" at the same time. Why such an obvious and brilliant tactic remains politically unviable is beyond me...
The US Central Intelligence Agency has created a new super secret paramilitary unit to target known terrorists and their leaders abroad, a US government official disclosed late on Monday. The CIA already has several paramilitary units that conduct covert operations, according to the official. But the new hit team will operate directly under the command of the agency's counter terrorism centre, the brain trust of the US-led war on terror that seeks to eradicate terrorist cells around the world. "It will really be a more counter-terrorist paramilitary force that will focus on terrorists," the official said. The number of people in the team, its weaponry and the location of its home base remain highly classified. As well it should be, just as its existence should have remained. Mutt-wits.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 10:02 am ||
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Welcome to OpCenter. At least they kept that quiet. Jeeze.
Posted by: Mary Wehmeier ||
06/04/2002 23:38 Comments ||
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Pakistan-based jehadi groups are a divided lot after coming under intense pressure to end cross-border terrorism, but they may call a conditional truce in Jammu and Kashmir soon. Like Afghanistan's Taliban militia earlier, some of the mujahideen groups are already accusing Islamabad of letting them down while others are trying to overcome a crisis of sorts by preparing to announce a temporary peace in Kashmir. If the jihad collapses this quickly with the crossing closed, that pretty well puts the lie to any statement that Kashmir's an indigenous problem...
The influential proprietor-editor of the newspaper, Zahid Malik, said in a column that the "dramatic and stunning" truce would change the course of history in the subcontinent once and for all. "We are aware that it has now become almost impossible for Pakistan to resist the world pressure and therefore we would like to postpone our Jihad against the Indian Army for some other opportune and favourable time," an unnamed guerrilla commander was quoted as saying. "We are grateful to Pakistan for the moral and diplomatic support it has extending to us," the commander added. Save your jihadi money, boys, 'cuz the mujaheddin's gonna rise again!
However, two other commanders outlined different views. One of them said: "We are under tremendous pressure," while the other was quoted as saying: "We have been betrayed." "Rat bastards won't let us blow anything up. We might have to get jobs! And they gave us crummy grenades..."
The report said Pakistan had sealed all possible points along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan and which are used by guerrillas to cross into Jammu and Kashmir. The Hizbul Mujahideen, the dominant Kashmiri separatist group in Jammu and Kashmir, had declared a conditional ceasefire July 22, 2000. But the ceasefire collapsed in August. The usual Islamic good faith. Truces and cease-fires are for bringing up more ammunition...
"Though the ceasefire likely to be announced in June will certainly change the course of events in the region, it is to be seen whether it will be permanent," said the paper. The paper says this would probably be a temporary arrangement that will shift world pressure from Islamabad to New Delhi. Having seen the results of the similar actions Perv took against the jihadis in December and January, we can expect the closure to be temporary at best, a political measure designed to put the onus on India.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 08:29 am ||
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday informed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he has been given "certain serious and positive signals" to defuse the ongoing Indo-Pak stand-off by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. "Respected Mr Prime Minister in the course of our discussions, I will elaborate them to you," Putin said welcoming Vajpayee at Almaty guesthouse for bilateral talks.
Putin, who earlier met Musharraf, candidly told the Pakistani ruler that he has the authority of his western colleagues to convey their concerns about the prevailing situation in the Indian sub-continent. "We have had many meeting, particularly Russia-EU and Russia-NATO summits, concern was expressed at the situation. The colleagues (western leaders) had requested me to convey this concern to you," Putin told a tense looking Musharraf at the opening of their meeting televised by the Russian state TV. Perv must be feeling pretty stoopid right about now, having managed to cheese off not only India, the U.S., Russia, the E.U., and probably Samoa and Tonga. Perhaps he should take that as a hint he's doing something wrong. Sadly, his tactics to date have consisted of waiting until the dust settles a bit and then doing the same thing wrong again.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 10:37 am ||
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Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has named Abdel Razak Yehiyeh, 73, a former commander of the Palestinian Liberation Army - the name given to Palestinian forces in the years before peace talks with Israel - as head of the new security services. Yehiyeh also has several years of experience in negotiating with Israel. Arafat would retain overall control over security matters.
The appointment of Yehiyeh was seen as a snub of Mohammed Dahlan, head of the Preventive Security Service in Gaza, who had hoped to be given that post. Dahlan has close ties with US officials and is believed to have maintained a backchannel with Israel.
A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that as part of the reforms, only civil police would be permitted to arrest suspects. In the past, rival Palestinian security forces would frequently carry out arbitrary arrests, sometimes to settle personal scores. They also had overlapping mandates, creating friction between its leaders.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 07:31 am ||
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will urge President Bush this weekend to set a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state and for an end to Israel's hold on the West Bank and Gaza, a senior adviser says. How 'bout when they quit exploding and killing people?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 07:31 am ||
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to meet next Monday with President George W. Bush at the White House for a discussion of Middle East and bilateral issues, the White House announced last night, unexpectedly. "The visit of the Prime Minister comes in the context of ongoing consultations among senior U.S. and Israeli leaders aimed at promoting peace and security in the Middle East," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said in a statement. "Ariel? G.W. here. Howzit goin'? Say, why don't you pop over here next week and we'll see if we can't get this Middle East thing ironed out?"
The surprise meeting comes only one month after Sharon's last visit to Washington on May 7. Wonder what's going to blow up this time?
The Bush-Sharon meeting will follow consultations between Bush and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the president's Camp David retreat in Maryland this weekend. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara is also expected next week in Washington. It was unclear how the announcement of Sharon's trip would affect Shara's plans. It was also unclear whether the US would try to facilitate a meeting between Sharon and Mubarak. Kinda coincidental to have two major players there and then to ask Sharon to drop by...
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns and CIA Director George Tenet are in the Middle East trying to lay the groundwork for an overhaul of the Palestinian Authority and build momentum for a multilateral peace summit, possibly later this summer. They are expected back in Washington later this week before the Bush-Mubarak meeting Saturday. I love these diplomatese terms. "Build momentum." It sounds like we're going somewhere. If they were honest, they'd refer to it as "overcoming inertia," or "dealing with the obstreperous." I could never be a diplomat. (You read Rantburg, you probably guessed that.)
Bush's meetings with Mubarak and Sharon - following on the heels of meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and Jordan's King Abdullah -represent the president's deepest, personal engagement yet in the peace process. The unexpected announcement of the Bush-Sharon meeting caught some US and Israeli officials in Washington by surprise. So maybe there is something going on...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 01:41 pm ||
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"I could never be a diplomat. (You read Rantburg, you probably guessed that." Nah. Nebber would have guessed. ;-) However I'm no good at it either. I'm tempted to drag all of em in a room, take away all their toys (guns, bombs, other shit..) and use a baseball bat to wake em up to what Mamma Lu expects of these leaders to do and be well behaved.
Posted by: Mary Wehmeier ||
06/04/2002 23:45 Comments ||
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Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat presented a plan for reforming the Palestinian security services to visiting CIA chief George Tenet today, with the Palestinian leader proposing to halve their number and tighten supervision. Hell, yeah! Shooting every other one would be a great idea!
The make-over is part of a broader reform package sought by the United States, which has called for greater democracy in the Palestinian Authority and a more effective fight against militants carrying out terror attacks on Israelis. We'd also like them to be better looking, smell better, and learn Swedish. Who's keeping count of the number we get?...
At Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, two dozen Palestinians protested against the Tenet mission, chanting "Tenet go home" as the convoy of the CIA chief drove into the compound. The protesters said they opposed US involvement in internal Palestinian affairs. Two dozen? That's the best they could do? Samoa could turn out more than two dozen! Iceland could turn out at least three. Did they make up for their poor numbers by exploding or something?
Tenet met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for nearly two hours last night, speaking of reform in the Palestinian Authority and the "ways and means to bring an end to incitement and terror," diplomatic sources said. The two men did not issue any statement after the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, which was characterized as a "security meeting" and an "intelligence exchange." Sharon was joined in the meeting by Avi Dichter, the head of the Shin Bet security agency, and IDF Chief of General Staff-designate Maj.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon. Pretty high-powered meeting...
Tenet, who met Defense Minster Binyamin Ben-Eliezer before meeting Sharon, is slated to travel to Ramallah today for a long-anticipated meeting with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. Don't get too close, George. I don't think he's had a shower yet...
Tenet is expected to ask Arafat to implement wide-ranging reforms in the Palestinian security apparatus, including streamlining the various organizations from 12 into three or four, under one unified command structure. In addition, Tenet is expected to discuss with Arafat the Palestinian High Court's decision yesterday to release Ahmed Saadat, leader of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, from jail in Jericho. Oh, you mean the latest instance of bad faith?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 01:40 pm ||
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The IDF arrested 120 Palestinians in Nablus yesterday, including a leader of Hamas in the West Bank, for questioning regarding their involvement in terrorist activities. The Hamas snuffy was identified as a Saed Basharat, 24, of nearby Tamoun village, believed to be directly responsible for a terrorist attack on Moshav Hamra on February 6 in which St.-Sgt. Maj. (res.) Moshe Meconen, 33, Miri Ohana, 45, and her daughter Yael, 11, were killed by a Palestinian infiltrator.
Arrests also continued elsewhere in the West Bank as forces continued to operate in Nablus, the adjacent Balata refugee camp, and in Kalkilya where the army imposed a curfew on the town. In Ein Beit Ilma, northwest of Nablus, scores of Palestinians were rounded up and taken for questioning at a nearby army base and security forces arrested four Palestinian fugitives. Three Palestinians were arrested by soldiers operating in El Bireh and one Palestinian was arrested in Kalkilya and four at the Oranit military roadblock, south of Kalkilya.
Meanwhile, the Hebron Jewish community called on the army to destroy the Palestinian buildings that overlook the ancient Jewish cemetery in the city after residents discovered that tombstones had been smashed, water faucets stolen, and a section of the fence destroyed. It's like living next door to the neighbors from Hell. They've got two cars up on blocks out front, a washing machine that's been sitting on the front porch for eight years, and the cops there every night. Pop's in jail, Maw makes her living hooking and rolling drunks, Sonny's a dope dealer and his enemies shoot up the neighborhood regularly looking for him. Sis is pregnant for the fifth time with no wedding ring in sight and none of her kids resemble each other. There are beer cans tossed in your front yard, and every time you leave home somebody breaks into your house, steals your spare change and all the paper plates, and leaves the cat pregnant.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 01:56 pm ||
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The Palestinian cabinet announced last night it would not approve the Palestinian High Court of Justice's decision yesterday to release Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Ahmed Saadat from prison in Jericho, where he has been held for the last month. The Palestinian cabinet's announcement expressed "respect for the High Court of Justice's decision" but said its ruling to release Saadat "cannot be implemented under these circumstances because of Israeli threats." "We respect your decision, but your judgment leaves a lot to be desired. Do you idiots want to see the entire West Bank paved?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/04/2002 02:01 pm ||
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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.
