Okay, Rantburgers, hereâs a chance to participate in one of those Blog Polls. The categories are better than most Iâve seen, else I wouldnât post it. Itâs on a site Iâve never visited, before. Hat Tip goes to Ritaâs Res Ipsa Loquitor (http://res-ipsa.the-blinding-white-light.com/) site.
Letâs make sure Rantburg gets a good showing! Just follow the link and be a Rantburg Patriot!
For the long run, however, Fred, Frank G, Steve, Steve White, et al - want to design the "perfect" Blog Poll and make Rantburg itâs home for an Annual event? All of them Iâve seen, thus far, are often weak and not well-designed. Youze Guyz can do better, methinks. Mebbe we have submissions to Short Attn Span Theatre for awhile, accumulate the better ideas, questions, categories, etc, and then yall take over, apply the polish, and make it real... Whadday say?
Hmmm... I think we've got those two categories wrapped up. Maybe we should add a "Rantburg Classics" page.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2003 21:12 Comments ||
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#2
Great links - some predate my discovery of Rantburg - I'll be checking them out! Thx!
I think you're right. Rantburg is unique and creates opportunities for #18 that others don't where that's the normal genre of posted article (e.g. IndyMedia). Re: #17 - I haven't laughed any harder, ever, than I have at some of the comments by the sharpies in Rantburg - else I would've already had that heart attack.
A "classics" page sounds good, too - as if Fred doesn't already have enough on his plate... ;-)
#3
To add more grief for Fred, I'd like to see a real Poll app, too - not some silly-assed email thing. A simple table that records IP address, item #, choice or input - last vote is the one that stands (overwrite choice or input if IP match hit found) - would make this pretty easy and maintain anonymity. I had to write polls for Aramco and it reached the point where everything was in the DB and going thru the setup was the whole show. I don't have a copy of the code anymore, damnit, but there are tons of apps (in source script) available, such as here:
http://www.planetsourcecode.com/
to relieve the strain on Fred.
Anyway, why not? Nobody has this sewn up, so why not Rantburg? Might be the easiest route to Universal Acclaim & Blog Stardom for Fred! I know, from:
http://www.technorati.com/
that Rantburg is in the big leagues, but it can always get bigger!
A Chesterfield man was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a mare in Macoupin County, even as prosecutors in Greene County filed new charges against him of aggravated cruelty to animals. "Wilbur! What the heck are you doing? "
Horse owners from the two counties attended Wednesdayâs preliminary hearing in Greene County Circuit Court for Kevin Eugene McAfee, whose 43rd birthday also was Wednesday. A number of horse owners say they believe McAfee has been sexually abusing their mares oversome 20 years. Wonder if any of them foaled.
Macoupin County Stateâs Attorney Vince Moreth charged McAfee with one count of sexual conduct with an animal, as well as criminal trespass to property and criminal damage to property. McAfee allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with a mare belonging to Cory Suttles of rural Chesterfield on March 30 of this year. The charges also allege McAfee, on the same date, damaged a padlocked door of a freezer at Suttlesâ residence in Chesterfield, with damages not exceeding $300, and criminally trespassed on Suttlesâ land. A freezer? Oh, this is getting worse.
Glen Suttles is the father of Cory Suttles, and their property is adjacent to each other. The elder Suttles said Wednesday that he and his wife, Nina, and the rest of the concerned horse owners in the area were elated that McAfee finally has been charged with sexual misconduct with an animal. "I am glad not only for us but also for all the peopleâs sakes that have been putting up with things for 15 to 20 years that we could never fully explain," Glenn Suttles said. And what exactly was there to explain?
Suttles said he had been hearing such rumors for years but that until the death of Steve Barnesâ mare last month in Greene County and McAfeeâs arrest for criminal damage to property in the death of the mare, horse owners had never gotten together to compare experiences. "I had heard rumors for years, but you always hear stories, so I never wanted to say anything without something that could be proven," Suttles said. Suttles said his son telephoned him March 30 and told him he had found a bale of hay on his property on fire and smoldering. Glenn Suttles went to help his son, and while they were putting out the fire in the bale of hay, they found a cigarette butt and then found the freezer broken into. "We called Chesterfield Police Chief Bob Berrey, and he came out and investigated thoroughly, took fingerprints," Suttles said. "We knew he and the Sheriffâs Department were seeking charges against (McAfee), but we were not to say anything until the investigation was complete. We were told that McAfee confessed to having sexual contact with the mare, and the charges were filed." McAfee has remained in the Greene County Jail in Carrollton in lieu of $75,000 bail since his arrest July 9 in the death of the mare belonging to Barnes, of Rockbridge. McAfee appeared Wednesday in Greene County Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing, which was continued until 10 a.m. Aug. 18 to allow his newly court-appointed attorney, Charles Theivagt, time to prepare. The first two court-appointed attorneys cited conflicts of interest in representing the defendant. Wouldnât be a conflict of interest for a jackass lawyer to screw a horse, would it?
Besides the charge of criminal damage to property in the death of Barnesâ mare, Dolly, Greene County Stateâs Attorney Elliott Turpinâs motion to add the additional charge of aggravated cruelty to animals was accepted by Circuit Judge James Day. The charges allege that McAfee tied the mare to a fence with a strap in such a manner that it caused the horse to choke to death and that he intentionally caused the death of a companion animal. Barnes and horse owners throughout the rural Rockbridge and Chesterfield communities recently began getting together to share their concerns and suspicions about McAfee. While some were not willing to comment on the record for fear of retaliation by McAfee after he gets out of jail, others spoke their minds. "...after he gets out of jail"??
"People are tired of putting up with McAfee," Bollini said. "We have had unexplained things happening to our horses for years, and as one guy said, any of us who had mares have to figure this guyâs been on our property and at our mares. What scares me is that he has been doing things for so long and is suspected of doing even more than he has been charged with, that he may only get a few years and be out on the street." Several of the horse owners admitted they were very slow to put two and two together about the incidents, because "your mind doesnât really want to go there," they said. No kidding!
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 1:05:03 AM ||
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When asked if his molestation included buggering male horses, the accused turned visibly red and said, "Listen copper, I am not gay, OK?"
#3
A Chesterfield man was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a mare in Macoupin County.
Chesterfield!? Isn't that stevey robinson's neeeeiiigghhhborhood?
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
08/09/2003 5:05 Comments ||
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"The charges allege that McAfee tied the mare to a fence with a strap in such a manner that it caused the horse to choke to death"
I can see his defense - the horse was into autoerotic-ashyxiation and accidently caused its own death ;-)
Couple of years ago we had a guy in Lakeside - a nearby horse/ranch community in San Diego - who also caused several mares damage/death doing similar "things"... WTF is up with these guys?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 10:40 Comments ||
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BTW? Seabisquit? LOL
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 10:41 Comments ||
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McAfee could've claimed it was all a silly misunderstanding. Yeah, that's the ticket. He could, uh, he could swear that he carries certain anitbodies, yeah, and uh and and he was merely vaccinating the horses against viruses. So simplisme`.
#7
Er, actually, I'm primarily interested in the picture. My favorite professor in grad school used to have that postcard hanging up in his office. I might even have a copy in storage somewhere. Where'd you find the image?
The linked article has comments. My favorite was the one from the guy who said that the horses were asking for it, the way they went around almost nude, swishing their tales like that (yes, he was kidding).
#8
How can we discriminate against this guy on the basis of his sexual orientation? After all, sodomy is legal. Who cares what goes on in the privacy of his own barn? I'm proposing that we legalize cross-species marriage. After all, a man can have a loving, long term relationship with his livestock. Why shouldn't they have the same benefits as the rest of us? It's discriminatory, I tell ya'. [end sarcasm mode]
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 18:57 Comments ||
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That phocking peeedeee keeps popping up. Bet he's a total prick - kinda like NMM. Speaking of NMM, wanna know the definition of onanism? It's posting a batch of comments in the last half hour or so before Rantburg rolls over to a new day - i.e. no one will ever read them except when going back to pick off a link you missed - as happened to me yesterday. You can't help but notice with the new Browse Mode features Fred put in place. Geez, man, that's self-absorbed incarnate. Kinda sad, y'know? ;->
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 19:36 Comments ||
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*com-
It was a bit obtuse, but now that you pointed out the Mcafee, I think it is brilliant.
Posted by: Last Laffer ||
08/09/2003 20:14 Comments ||
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*com- It was a bit obtuse, but now that you pointed out the Mcafee, I think it is brilliant.
Careful, PD - this guy wants to sell you something!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 22:10 Comments ||
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Of the mare did foal--and we got our new Senator--Elizabeth Dole
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 22:38 Comments ||
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PS .com I didn't realize you had imposed a deadline on posting--get your head outta DeLay's ass long enough to talk about this OK?
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 22:40 Comments ||
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"get your head outta DeLay's ass"
NMM - that's typical of you - lost in your own tiny little Pubs & Dems world.
If you paid any attention, you'd know that I seldom post anything about domestic issues except the occasional little half-assed thoughts that occur to me - kinda like all of your posts. So your reference to DeLay is truly stupid and revealing of your own limits.
I post at-length only on articles of which I actually have knowledge - first hand knowledge. I actually try to contribute - the large majority of the time. Can you say the same?
Currently I have no respect for you. None. You're a troll and a myopic demogogue simply parroting someone else's predigested dogma. Nothing original, therefore not worth listening to.
So, talk, if what you said is true,and not just another of your schoolground brain-farts. I've got all day and will check this article for awhile to see if you aren't just a troll.
#21
.com I respect your knowledge and to a point come here to learn an opposing point of view, you descend into Jack-O-Matic and words like that and provoke an equally childish response from me--I personally don't see the point of personal attacks if we're discussing an issue--but you make it personal for some reason, as does Raptor
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 23:17 Comments ||
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#22
NMM - You imply here your posts are discussion. Obviously, I do not agree. Most of what you post is pointless trolling - simple disingenuous baiting. If you start paying attention, you'll note that I "descend" when you become an egregious asshole. When you attempt to contribute, I don't say squat to you. Between the two, it depends on the sum.
Take a look at what you've posted today. Go ahead, review it. Discussion? Contributing anything? Not a chance, just the usual jacking-off online.
What I said about your posts defining onanism is accurate. Almost NOBODY sees your posts, of late. I happen to see the last minute posts sometimes because that's about now - 10:45 AM here in Thailand and I may hit Rantburg to pass someone an email link to an article. Most of the European and American Rantburgers are fast asleep. So how would you characterize someone who comes along after the discussion is closed by the reality of time, yet they assiduously add some trite twit-wit to almost every article, knowing virtually no one will see it?
You're a troll. And, not to put too fine a point on it, you're not very good. Childish placard-weight stuff. I don't owe you respect or relief, and you can expect none from me as long as you can't bring your average post quality and value up - a lot.
Get a clue. It's obvious that honesty is wasted on you - and this is the last time I'll do so, other than to call a spade a spade if I feel you've reverted to form.
Here's a rock-solid guarantee from a man: I will give credit where due - always. If you contribute, I'll treat you with respect - no shit, son. If not, and you play the troll, I'll treat you with the contempt you deserve.
New Zealand drifts further away from the ANZUS alliance:
An Australian SAS soldier charged with misconduct for allegedly kicking the corpse of an East Timorese militiaman was cleared by a military tribunal after the case against him collapsed. A defence force magistrate found the soldier not guilty of the charge after the prosecution was unable to proceed because Australian authorities could not guarantee anonymity for the soldierâs accusers from New Zealand Special Forces. The allegations centred on a gun battle on October 6, 1999, near Suai on East Timorâs border with West Timor, in which two militiamen were killed, nine wounded and more than 100 captured. Two SAS troops were also wounded in the firefight. The unidentified soldier was facing four charges of misconduct arising from complaints about his behaviour in the aftermath of the ambush. "The Defence Force magistrate decided that the identity of those New Zealand witnesses could not be protected to the extent required by New Zealand Defence Force," army spokesman Gerard Fogarty told ABC radio. "He could not do that without adversely impacting on the proper administration of justice."
Posted by: Zhang Fei ||
08/09/2003 11:46:57 AM ||
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NZ, prolly the World PC-Stupid Poster Child, may come to regret having filed and pursued such unbelievably pointless charges against their next door neighbor's SAS. Mebbe they should go measure sheep farts, or something equally as useful.
#2
You have to wonder about the training of New Zealand Defense Forces. I'm sure what happened was the Aussie SAS troup pushed the body over with his foot to make sure the soldier was dead, having both hands full with a loaded rifle. If he was in a hurry, he may have used more than normal force. If it was during, or immediately after, a firefight, the NZ twinkie needs to shed his uniform and go back to the family sheep ranch. Soldiering is work for men, not PC-approved twinkies.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 16:28 Comments ||
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They have horses in New Zealand, don't they?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 16:34 Comments ||
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Hell, I would've kicked the sorry bastard too if he had just shot at me. He may only have been playing dead to sucker me when I turned my back. These PC idiots just don't read their history books.
Also, let me get this straight...it's totally PC to pump six rounds into the guy, but give the corpse a kick/nudge with your foot and your Charles Manson?
Lastly, we're talking SAS. The elite of the military. Not a half ass trained 18 year old miltia puke. Another good example of don't believe everything you read.
Posted by: Paul ||
08/09/2003 16:42 Comments ||
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Embarrassing for NZ zealots, and vindication for our Aussie compatriots, who I wouldn't dare challenge on competence or professionalism. Way to go Oz
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 18:25 Comments ||
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Ah, the old anonymous accuser trick, always a favorite of totalitarians of whatever flavor.
Pissing off the Aussie SAS does seem...remarkably stupid?
The authorities in Serbia and Montenegro have carried out a sweeping purge of the senior military command. They have dismissed or retired 16 generals who served under the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. Those being replaced are the former military intelligence chief and several commanders in the wars against the independence movements in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo in the 1990s. The purge also extends to a large number of more junior officers.
"We're having a change of command. Pack your shit and get out."
"Now, lookee here...!"
"Ratko, shoot them!"
"We're goin'! We're goin'!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 16:22 ||
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"Uh Ratko? Hold on...Carla would like to meet you"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 18:28 Comments ||
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By Stephen Brown
A recently disclosed plot revealed al-Qaeda had selected an American target in Canada to announce its return to North American soil. A story in Canadaâs national newspaper, The National Post, said al-Qaeda terrorists were plotting to attack the American embassy in Ottawa before a tip from Syrian intelligence led to the terroristsâ arrest. Flynt Leverett, a former CIA analyst who served until recently on the National Security Council and is now a fellow at the Brookings Institute, confirmed the plotâs existence. Ironically, the revelation of the Ottawa embassy plot occurred during a disturbing development in Canadaâs War on Terror.
The matter concerns a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, an Ottawa engineer, who was arrested in New York last September and deported to Syria. Arar, a suspected terrorist, was returning to Canada from Tunisia when the arrest occurred. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had provided information to American authorities that led to the Syrian-Canadian's detention and deportation, a fact confirmed by both U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Paul Cellucci, America's ambassador to Canada. Powell said the RCMP had indicated Arar was connected to al-Qaeda, while Cellucci confirmed the deportee was the subject of a joint Canadian-American investigation before his arrest. Moreover, American authorities also claim the RCMP asked them to deport Arar because it didn't want him back in Canada.
But then...
However, anti-American forces in Canada's Liberal government are outraged that the United States deported a Canadian citizen, carrying a Canadian passport, to another country. And they are even angrier that the RCMP facilitated his removal from North America without first getting clearance from proper government channels. Wayne Easter, the Liberal cabinet minister responsible for the RCMP, even went so far as to call the Mounties who passed on the information "rogue elements." Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien was also furious with the deportation and has personally intervened in the matter. He sent a personal representative to Syria with a letter for President Bashar Assad asking that Arar be freed. Arar's wife, who denies her husband is a terrorist, also received a letter from Chretien.
What'd they expect her to say? "My husband? Oh, yes. He's very dangerous!"?
Amnesty claims the RCMP had Arar deported to a country with an abysmal human rights record where, according one human rights group, he has been tortured. CAIR wants the RCMP investigated for depriving a Canadian citizen of his civil rights. Read the rest — and marvel / curse...
Posted by: ·com ||
08/09/2003 10:55:50 AM ||
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Their are still adults in Canada. They just arn't in power.
#5
3 brigades? Two MP's and a jeep would be enough.
Posted by: john ||
08/09/2003 14:59 Comments ||
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I say let the terrorist bomb the American Embassy in Canada. Just let us switch building with the French Embassy first.
" No, no. Keep our American flags flying there. It will be a symbol of our friendship! And we'll just keep you French flags flying too, in a return of the gesture. "
And we would need three brigades. Although most are French, there are some British in Canada too. Canada also considers itself 'Loyal' to Englands Monarchy.
And those damn British can fight like us.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 16:03 Comments ||
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Although most are French, there are some British in Canada too. Canada also considers itself 'Loyal' to Englands Monarchy. And those damn British can fight like us.
But would they? I know quite a few Canadians, and they are fed up to the nines with their over-liberal, US-hating, French-fawning government. If given half a chance, half the provinces would break away and join the US, to our gain and Quebec's loss.
If you want to see what the US would be like if the Democrats ever regained power, look to Canada.
Now, if we could just get the Repuglycons to stop acting like dummycheats, we'd be in good shape.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 16:35 Comments ||
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I didn't know that about the Canadians.
And you're right about the Republicans, they need to stop being so nice and start gutting the Democrats. If Bush would just do that he would be in alot better shape in the polls.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 17:13 Comments ||
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When Mounties go rogue.
Chuck,
More likely, when Mounties do their job, do a first-rate job of it, and the Phucking Cretein (What a fitting name, drop the second "e") lets the scoundrel go free.
You know a society's in trouble when even the government bureaucrats can't stand it any longer.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 20:06 Comments ||
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Reading piece and the various comments, one thought keeps coming to the fore:
#12
ButI'd rather be a senior citizen without health insurance in their country than ours--but BTW people in Ontario don't like blow hard Texans all that much either--and they all speak English--better than we do
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 22:53 Comments ||
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RANCHI: Farmers fed up with harassment at the hands of left-wing insurgents killed nine Maoist guerrillas when rebels tried to storm a village in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. State police chief R.R. Prasad said after getting wind of an impeding attack by the Maoists, residents of Longo village armed themselves and then shot dead nine rebels and left two other insurgents critically injured. Prasad said the militants slain in the village in East Singbhoum district were members of eastern Indiaâs powerful Peoples War Group. Many villagers have armed themselves in Jharkhand, where Maoist guerrillas, claiming to fight on behalf of landless peasants, hold sway in 14 of the mineral-rich stateâs 18 districts.
Dead commies don't even get a 72-year-old virgin...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 00:13 ||
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Shades of Seven Samurai!
Call me old-fashioned, but dead commies still make me happier than dead anything else. I know, I'm a sentimental fool....
Wonder if Bollywood will pick this story line up? Where is Sam Peckinpahmunjab when you need him?
Posted by: Mark IV ||
08/09/2003 1:08 Comments ||
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Ah. The tried and true "that's all I can stands, I can't stands no more" attitude thing. Popeye would be proud. Guns don't kill people, accurate intelligence does. Reminds me of the James-Younger Gang's little foray into Minnesota. Ouch!
What part of "tried to storm" and "impending attack" makes you think that the Maoists were praticing peaceful agrarian berry-gathering when assailed by these villagers?
What part of "hold sway in 14 of the mineral-rich stateâs 18 districts" makes you think that peaceful nonviolent resistance is a more successful tactic?
Is the name, "People's War Group" any indication that they might already be somewhat vexed?
A Maoist who is NOT pissed off, is some kind of revisionist, and will be killed by all the real Maoists at the first inkling of contentedness.
#8
This is why we don't have all these 'freedom' groups in America roaming around and terrorizing people. Because we would just take out our semi-auto's and shoot them full of lead.
God bless the NRA.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 16:14 Comments ||
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Mark IV, the clue was in Lucky's use of "Maoist" in the singular.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 16:40 Comments ||
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Well, that's what I get for posting after mowing the lawn.
Though it was a troll, and I was actually admiring my uncharacteristic restraint.
The sun... everywhere, beating down... driving me mad... must... find... gin and tonic....
Posted by: Mark IV ||
08/09/2003 19:38 Comments ||
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Mark IV - LOL... I bet you mowed the shit outta that lawn, too! Passion is GOOD, man! I liked your Maoist link, too. Just shows to go ya that anger management is a growth industry (snicker)... Now given your source for the link, should we be worried about your sanity? This is like Fred spending all that time reading the PakiTimes - scary - and I'm sure it's just not good for you guys to be browsing such shit too much! Go read some LGF, FrontPage, and NRO - for balance! Grins, bro.
#12
"Maoists" is a dead giveaway - not even Mao knew what it meant on two consecutives days. The creme de la creme of stupid commie dinosaurs - or just bandits, there's not much difference (if any).
#13
I LIKE that phrase: "God bless the NRA." If we didn't have the NRA, then we'd be disarmed completely, and probably have "liberators" like those maoist fools tring the same thing here.
Indian troops gunned down a senior guerilla commander said to be from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, in Held Kashmir on Friday, spokesman for the Border Security Force (BSF) Tirath Acharya told Daily Times.
Nice shootin', Mukkerjee!
He said top guerilla Manzoor Zahid Chaudhry, reportedly from Lahore, coordinated operations in India. The commander was killed in a fierce gunbattle on the outskirts of Srinagar, he added.
I hate desultory gun battles...
A laptop computer and a satellite telephone were found from the scene of the encounter. âA date fed in the computer suggested that the guerrilla might have been part of the group that planned an attack on Gujaratâs Akshardham temple last year,â Acharya said. The BSF spokesman said the Lashkar commanderâs killing was a big achievement for the Indian agencies, which had been finding it difficult to check the militant groupsâ guerrilla activities. The killed guerrilla, he added, had several secret names like Abu Murshad, Abu Nadeem, Abu Jishan, Munna and Abu Zarrar.
"Also Bob, Albert, Guillibaldo and Sven. In fact, there were days when he couldn't remember who the hell he was..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 00:13 ||
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Big mistake in killing MZ Chaudhry, AKA Abu. Now they've pissed off the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Cycle of violence people!
Riots broke out in the southern port of Basra on Saturday after clashes between residents and British troops controlling Iraq's second largest city left at least four civilians wounded. People hurled rocks and burned tyres all over the city's main streets as long-simmering tensions exploded in the blistering summer heat over the pace of the coalition force's reconstruction efforts. The rioting started minutes after witnesses said a grenade was hurled at a British military truck near a gasoline station, where fed-up Iraqis waited in a long line for fuel, angered by the fact they were queuing up for hours in a country with the world's second largest oil reserves.
Doesn't seem to have the world's second-largest stock of gasoline yet, though...
The British truck came under attack at 9:15am in front of a gas station where a man hurled a grenade and the vehicle was set on fire, said Ali Hussein, a taxi-driver who had been filling up his car at the time of the attack. Four British armoured vehicles and three jeeps came to seal off the area, while a crowd lobbed rocks at them. The soldiers fired in the air to ward off the crowd and then started to shoot rubber bullets, wounding at least four Iraqis, including a child, witnesses said.
Why do people bring kids to riots? To get them wounded or killed? Which kids do they use? Spares? The neighbors'?
The crowd, with some women in headscarves firing off Kalashnikovs in the air, grew to more than 2,000 and shouted in anger over the gasoline shortage in the city, they added. The mob poured down the street toward the British forces' headquarters. No soldiers were seen on the street at one point. "There is no fuel, and our situation is terrible," said Abdul Karim al-Mussawi, 45, a construction worker. Gas prices have soared from 150 dinars (US10 cents) for 20 litres (5.3 gallons) to 12,000 dinars ($US8).
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 17:44 ||
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Why do people bring kids to riots? To get them wounded or killed? Which kids do they use? Spares? The neighbors'?
There's a pretty good chance that Iranian agents put a minority of Shiite fanatics up to it. The news wire agencies will tend to exaggerate everything - the expats don't know what's going on and the locals are trying to put the worst face on things.
The kids are there as human shields. Muslim religious fanatics view their kids as disposable. When you have enough kids to form a football team, it's not like losing one is going to make much of a difference.
Breaking News on MSNBC this AM:
the former Iraqi Interior Minister (No. 29) has been bagged
Googled On Al Jazeehra: (July 9th??)
LONDON - US forces have captured former Iraqi President Saddam Husseinâs interior minister and another wanted top official surrendered, the US military said on Wednesday. The military said in a statement Mahmoud Diyab al-Ahmed, former interior minister, was captured by coalition forces on Tuesday. He was number 29 on the U.S. list of 55 most wanted.
Also on Tuesday, Mizban Khidr Hadi gave himself up to U.S. forces in Baghdad, the statement said. Hadi, a senior member of the Baath Party and the Revolutionary Command Council, was number 23 on the list.
This brings the number of people on the list known to have surrendered or been captured to 34.
Man, Iâm confused ...maybe AJâs date is wrong? Off by one month exactly?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 10:33:08 AM ||
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More late-breaking news from Al Jizzwadi:
Hitler on move - next stop Warsaw! AJ embedded Correspondent Ahmed Al Anachron reports Poles cheer him on as many Joooos are slaughtered! Film at 10:00!
Reg Reqâd...
This is a little late, but I just got the text of it via email today from a friend with a Times subscription. Iâve posted the entire text.
THE TIMES (U.K.), July 29, 2003 James Hider
Iraqis believe the fugitive is protected by the occult and a mystic stone, writes our correspondent from Baghdad. No wonder! He has a special pet rock mystic stone!
Despite the deaths of his sons, the $25 million (£15 million) reward on his head and a manhunt by American forces, many Iraqis doubt that Saddam Hussein will ever be caught. His secret, they believe, is a magic stone and years of dabbling in the occult. Itâs all the rage in Islam, yâknow... they specialize in pseudoscience - much like the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) loonies. "If itâs good, itâs gotta be bad! Get away from that fetuccini Alfredo! Instant death!"
âSaddam never takes any step unless he consults with his magician advisers â Iâm sure he has two or three with him now,â Qassem Ali, 33, a Baghdad electrician, said. Oh yes, at least 2 or 3... Even I have one I consult from time to time to make the little electricities come out. Sometimes I offend them and they sulk, you know. Very sensitive - and very small too. Most people canât see them. But I can - thatâs why I am electrician!
âHe brought them from China and Japan because he wanted specialists,â said Ali Mahdi, his colleague and one of a crowd of people who gathered in the street to discuss their former leaderâs supernatural abilities. âSaddam is indestructible because of these powers.â Being indestructable does, indeed. It is a known fact that it requires specialists - at least 2 or 3, anyway...
The former regime was obsessed with the dark arts, a preoccupation of Hitler in his final years, but many Iraqis also believe in the supernatural and regularly consult soothsayers to find stolen cars or tackle mental illness. I would bet this doesnât find any more stolen cars than logical deduction would - and adds that special something to the client with mental illness.
Most agree that Saddam wore a âmagicâ stone around his neck, protecting him from assassinsâ bullets, and many recalled an appeal on Uday Husseinâs television network for anyone with extraordinary powers to come forward and work for the ruling family. Shredder fodder...
"So, what special powers do you have?"
"I can predict the winners of the World Cup, the World Series, the Kentucky Derby, and..."
"Infidel lover! Take him to the shredder, Omar! I need to turn water into wine VX! Next!"
Some of the stories are absurd, but are delivered deadpan by Iraqis whose belief in the supernatural has grown during decades of brutal repression and isolation from the outside world. Peasants! How absurd. I am a sophisticated Subject of The Queen and famous Intâl Correspondent of The Times! You expect me to believe your silly superstitions? Pshaw! Uh oh, itâs Friday the 13th - Iâd better cancel my appointments!
âItâs all true about the magic stone,â Mokhaled Muhammad, a car dealer and Saddam supporter, said. âFirst of all, he put it on a chicken and tried to shoot it. Then he put it on a cow, and the bullets went around it. Of course it is! The chicken and cow lived! Proof! Then we drank another case each and went hunting snipes.
âWhen they pulled down Saddamâs statue, lots of men were jumping on it like monkeys. Then a child came up and kissed the head. Why? I think the child was an angel.â An angel! Even more proof! What a silly man you are, English! Everybody knows this.
In an inconspicuous house in the Shorta Rabba neighbourhood of Baghdad, Abu Ali, a tiny 45-year-old man with an elfish grin, earns his living by summoning up a djinn, or genie, for believers seeking stolen property or looking to lift curses. His success was such that many former leaders came to him, including Uday, Saddamâs eldest son, who was killed with his brother, Qusay, in a battle with American forces last week. Youâd have an elfish grin too, if youâd come that close to The Shredder! [Note that Islam tries to, uh, keep the genie in the bottle, so to speak, and this little gem isnât widely advertised in their translated articles--Ed]
âUday and his guards had an all-night party and fell asleep at dawn, dead drunk,â he said. âWhen they woke up they found that somebody had stolen all the money from their pockets. Uday sent someone to me to find the money. I discovered the thief, and they said Uday punished him, though I donât know exactly what happened to him.â The Shredder! And if I hadnât had someone I could toss to Uday, well, it wouldâve been curtains The Shredder for me, instead! As a client, he was very useful. I have no living enemies.
His method involves placing a child in front of a mirror and asking the genie â which appears as a man dressed in white â to point to stolen property. He also claims to have lifted a curse on a female relative of Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, Saddamâs cousin and close aide. Everybody know this. The curse was especially easy, all the female had to do was stand in front of the mirror and close her eyes. Suddenly the the dude in the ice cream suit appeared and, very slowly, he began taking off... She was greatly excited and swore that the curse had been lifted. She did ask if she could come back each week - just for insurance, you understand. I was happy to oblige. My son The genie offered no objections, either.
Saddam also feared the powers of his voodoo advisers. According to one story, he shot dead a fortune-teller who informed him before the war that he would be an outcast within months and prophesied that Iraqâs monarchy would be restored. We told Ahmed to keep that vision to himself, but he was very hard-headed, like a goat. He was our Unionâs Darwin Award Nominee for 1995.
Mr Ali recalled how, one day, Saddamâs security agents turned up on his doorstep and accused him of plotting to use his magic against the dictator. He says that he convinced them that he was doing no such thing, then put a curse on the neighbour who had informed on him to the police. She was paralysed after a blood vessel burst in her brain, he boasted. Bitch! But I kept my cool after Saddamâs men left. I went to see her and told her I could make her young and beautiful, again. I gave her a massive dose of Tamoxifen - the cow had a stroke within an hour.
Alharith Hassan, a psychologist at the Baghdad University Department of Parapsychology, has spent years trying to debunk such superstitions scientifically. His work cost his department dear in slashed funding under Saddamâs occultist regime. Everyone knew Hassan had a serious serotonin deficiency.
He said that the Iraqi people had become very susceptible to such myths in 35 years cut off from the outside world and suffering brutal oppression. The only outlet was provided by religion and sects, which Saddam openly endorsed. His peasant mother used to read the future with seashells. Didnât yours? Chicken bones, goat entrails, I Ching, - everyone knows these are inferior to seashells.
In a country where an estimated 20 per cent of people suffer some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, about two thirds of the patients coming to see Dr Hassan had already visited shamans, who try to exorcise genies with spells and often viciously beat their mentally ill clients. A "boom" market, no doubt. Imagine the anticipation of the American Psychiatric Association and the British Psychoanalytic Society - the skyâs the limit in Iraq, adn theyâll get first pick!
âItâs all a lot of gibberish,â said Dr Hassan, who was careful, nonetheless, not to dismiss the genie, a mythical creature mentioned in the Koran. All gibberish - except for the genie, of course! Yeah, the genieâs real, you bet. Says so in the Quâuran. Go genie go! (Are they gone yet?)
Indeed, Saddamâs legendary luck is also questioned by some occult practitioners. He never came to see me!
While putting a man seeking his stolen car into a trance, Mr Ali asked his genie if Saddam would be arrested. The manâs hand slowly twisted palm outward. And the answer is...
âSaddam will be caught,â he said. âI know he has a stone against bullets, but they will capture him.â Ta Da! You heard it here first, folks!
Posted by: ·com ||
08/09/2003 1:41:55 AM ||
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#1
Arrrggghhh. Forgot the article link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-760106,00.html
#2
Thanks 'com, that was worth the wait. Of course Saddam will be caught, Task force 20 now knows to look for Japanese and Chinese occultists and stop wasting time rounding up body guards.
#8
Fred - Green, huh? That must be a soothing, calming, peace stone, then, being green and all. Prolly from Venus. You could get a red one to go with it, kinda like a set. And it would prolly be from Mars and protect you in battle. I wonder what blue stones are all about? Maybe they don't have any special meaning, so they're frustrated or something.
#9
I think the blue ones have to do with Saturn and they protect the aged from... ummm... something. I'm gonna get one when I go into the old folks' home.
Next year.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2003 16:11 Comments ||
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A stone that protects you from bullets? The Secret Service is going to be interested in this.
As for Sadaam, we can't shoot him, but we can still beat him with truncheons, right?
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 16:45 Comments ||
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Makes you wonder if Uday, Qusay and a bunch o' others there had yellow stones. Small ones. Really small, and never got bigger no matter how often they were rubbed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 16:49 Comments ||
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Fred - I had me a pair of them blue stones when I was in Saudi. Moved here to Chiang Mai and they turned real pinkish and healthy-looking in just a few days. Like phreakin' magic. I've heard stories 'bout those Old Folks Homes - pretty wild stories. Coulda been "sexed-up" reporting, though, I dunno. Sounded like mebbe they're up there with Club Med Martinique - a singular highlight in my personal, uh, um, experience. Yeah, that's the word. After the first week, I needed to go back to The World to recover.
Charles - Too True - truncheons, zaps, brass knucks, "telephone calls" hooked up to his shrunken li'l stones, lions, The Shredderâ¢. Lotsa options available for the dedicated - oh, uh, that's his guys we're describing - so, uh, nevermind! Just say "Gitmoâ¢!" and all he knows will be yours. :->
SW - Prolly like, uh, raisin-sized, ya think? And yellow - good call, methinks, spot-on!
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2003 17:37 Comments ||
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Yeah, but be careful who you buy your stones from. I bought some a couple years back and after telling a friend about them he asked to see them. I dropped me trousers and pulled the string.
DOH! I guess I bought the wrong ones. Beads, stones same difference, right?
Posted by: Paul ||
08/09/2003 18:21 Comments ||
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There was an old lady back in Louisiana, where I grew up in the late 1950's, early '60's, that was just a bit TOO spot-on! Weird woman! Learned a lot from her about voodoo and witchcraft. For some reason, she liked me, and talked to me a LOT! You have to remember - she told me she was over a hundred, and I believe she was. She talked about being a slave before the Civil War, and knew far too much for just show. Couldn't read or write, but could recite the entire Gospel of John from memory, and never missed a word. Lived off what she could forage, and a few fish and small game I brought her from time to time. Scared me sh$$less a couple of times. Seven of the eleven things she told me would happen have, so I'm not willing to say she didn't have some skill at fortelling the future.
In Sadsack's case, it's probably a mixture of popycock, fantasy, and wishful thinking. Makes for good propaganda, though - "I know what you're thinking, and it's not good..." Personally, I believe it's only a matter of time before one of his "own" betrays him, just because they get tired of the tension of having him around.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 19:11 Comments ||
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OP - Okay, man, tell me you're not into Santeria, Rastafarianism, or Voodoo/Vudun - puhleeze! If you don't see a reasonable explanation, sans the ooga-booga stuff, I'm gonna be very disillusioned with you! ;->
#17
Sounds like when Reagan was in the neverlands and Nancy and the astrologer were runnng the country and we ended up with Bush I after Reagan went to the Multimillion Dollar Rest Home paid for by rich people with an agenda
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 23:26 Comments ||
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#18
PD - Yadae was something else, I tell you! She was funny at times! She told me one time (I remember, because it was a really unusual day - snow!), that most of what she did was encourage people to think what she wanted them to think, and let it go from there. Today, we call it psychological warfare, but at 16, I wasn't terribly aware of that phrase. She was, in effect, admitting to me she was at least partly a phoney, but because the people she did things for didn't know that, they treated every word from her as gospel! She did have an uncanny knowledge of herbal cures, and as far as I know, no one she ever treated got worse, and most got better. I have no explanation for some of the things I learned from her, and may never fully understand it, but be careful - I DO know how to put a curse on you that will make ALL your hair fall out, and I mean ALL - even the hair in your ears! 8^)
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 23:42 Comments ||
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#19
OP - I'm one of the lucky ones - I have a full head of hair and always will. The ears bit is a rude surprise!
Some people are just plain savvy and can size up another in a heartbeat. Many become successful con-men, I guess, and others do well at poker, eh? Some can see the writing on the wall - some hereabouts have shown that talent! In combination, which is what Yadae sounds like, I guess it takes on a spooky quality. I just wanted to be sure you hadn't "tipped" on me / us!
Now as for that curse, fire away! It's dirt cheap to get a haircut here - but even cheaper if I don't need one at all! Focus on the ears, m'kay?
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the United States are ready to support a new United Nations resolution on the reconstruction of Iraq, a senior British government minister said in an interview published on Saturday. "Weâre currently looking at the possibilities for another resolution and what that might mean, which issues it would cover," International Development Secretary Baroness Valerie Amos told the Daily Telegraph.
The United States, stung by the spiraling cost of policing Iraq, in terms of both money and lives -- is now beginning to see the benefits of a resolution too, she said. "The Americans are doing exactly the same thing (drawing up proposals for a new resolution)," Amos said.
The Guardian newspaper said on Saturday that Britain was considering using its chairmanship of the Security Council next month to introduce a resolution as a political basis for more troops to join the security operation in Iraq. Russia and France have called for a new U.N. resolution on past-war Iraq, saying such a move would help secure greater international support for efforts to rebuild the country.
Amos said the British government wanted to make it easier for countries including India, Pakistan and Turkey to join a U.N.-backed multilateral peace-keeping force. A resolution would give them the domestic cover they needed to contribute. Raise your hand if you think having Indians and Pakis patrolling in Iraq is a good idea.
"There are some countries which would like to contribute to the peacekeeping effort but couldnât do that if there werenât another resolution," she told the Daily Telegraph.
The Guardian said British officials were also looking at ways in which the U.N. mandate could be strengthened in respect of issues such as preparation for next yearâs election and advice on the structure of Iraqi security forces.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 12:55:31 AM ||
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#1
A resolution would give them the domestic cover they needed to contribute.
This is true - when their guys start coming home in body bags, it helps if they're contributing under the UN banner rather than as American allies. This gives you a sense of how anti-American their publics are. Do we really want these countries participating if their people are so opposed to it - especially when we have to bribe them with goodies anyway? I think not.
Raise your hand if you think having Indians and Pakis patrolling in Iraq is a good idea.
I don't think foreign troops under UN auspices have ever participated in a peacekeeping effort where terrorists were being financed by all of the subject country's oil-rich neighbors. Judging by their lousy performances in dealing with their own under-financed terrorists, I'm not sure they're ready for the big game. With these guys in town, the security situation would deteriorate rather than improve.
#3
Yes but if it deteriorates and we hand them the Sunni triangle, who cares? It's not like they'll field an army against us. It means sporadic sniping for the Paks...a shame, really. Also, there is the possibility of military to military ties if you station the Indian and Pakistani divisions near by.
Posted by: Brian ||
08/09/2003 12:45 Comments ||
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Yes but if it deteriorates and we hand them the Sunni triangle, who cares?
The problem is if the Sunni area becomes a state within a state - essentially an area controlled by Saddam, where he can collect taxes, etc. with the acquiescence of UN troops.* UN troops will pretend he doesn't exist and Saddam will avoid attacking UN troops because he figures they're only there for as long the US stays in Iraq anyway, since UN troops have never done any serious fighting (except in Korea and that was one-time and mostly us and our allies) and are really lousy at it**. A haven in UN-administered territory would give Saddam the ability to reconstitute his forces and prepare for high-volume attacks against US forces.
* This is why Mogadishu happened - UN troops were sitting on their rear ends at their base camps while we were trying to wipe out the bandits who were preying on refugees. The UN attitude is see no evil, hear no evil. Given their posture as mannequins with guns, why do we need them in Iraq?
** India, Turkey and Pakistan can't even suppress guerrillas/rampant disorder on their own territory after decades of conflict.
#5
Brian - you be a troll, boy. Methinks you haven't posted anything straight, yet. All of 'em are scattered and fuzzy and lead nowhere. Sharpen your point.
#6
Zhang Fei, you are absolutely right. Villagers along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border all claim that Taliban leaders are handing out weapons in broad daylight. Inciting resistance, encourging Jihad, and cordinating attacks against allied forces in Afghanistan.
And we can't do a damn thing because Pakistan won't allow us to cross the border. I read in a articles a week ago that 11 rebel fighters were killed ON the border, fleeing after a attack.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 16:52 Comments ||
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Also, there is the possibility of military to military ties if you station the Indian and Pakistani divisions near by.
This is a good idea. We put them side by side in the Sunni Triangle and then start whispering to them how much the others have it. Tell the Paks that the Hindoos are converting people or something, and tell the Indians that the Paks have found Saddam's lucky stone. Then step back and watch the fun begin.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 16:53 Comments ||
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SW - man, that's wicked man. You should drop by your friendly local CIA office and have a chat with 'em. Frank Church is DEAD (Yeah!) and we sorely need some of that outside the box stuff! Putting them together in The Triangle⢠- purrfekt.
EFL
No one knows how many there are, or who they are, or where they are living their quiet, ordinary lives. Or where they will strike next. The best estimates say there may be 300, mostly men in their 30s and 40s, living in scores of towns right across Indonesia, unsuspected by friends and family, ready to act when called on. And if, as suspected, they were the people who blasted Jakartaâs luxurious Marriott Hotel on Tuesday, they clearly remember what they learned in Afghanistan.
Thatâs where they went in the 1980s and 1990s, fighting and learning from al-Qaeda members in remote mountain camps. Their studies were mostly about bomb-making. Indonesian intelligence officials reckon that on their return home they called themselves Group 272, or G272, because thatâs how many of them made the trips that transformed their lives and now threaten to destroy so many others. In the years since, some have been arrested, some have died, but most have resumed apparently unremarkable existences in communities that donât suspect young men who disappear abroad for years. Because millions of Indonesians work abroad for years, itâs been easy for the Afghanistan veterans to come home, lie low, and keep contact with a handful of others, to be sleeper cells that might awake at any time to fight the jihad, and to bring down the Government of Indonesia.
Of some 300 JI members Jones believes are mainly in Indonesia, there are still six or seven leaders whose arrests she used to think would seriously weaken the organisation. Now sheâs not so sure JI can so easily be contained. "We are beginning to get information thereâs a back-up system so if one of the top guys gets caught, there are others to put in his place."
Indonesiaâs Government barely reacted to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and for almost a year rejected declarations from neighbouring Singapore and Malaysian governments that Indonesia was harbouring terrorists, especially the alleged spiritual leader of JI, Abu Bakar Bashir. The Bali bombings changed that overnight. The Indonesian Government and the police moved decisively, co-operating with Australia and other foreign countries, and over nine months arrested more than 30 suspects in connection with the Bali attacks alone.
These latest raids, and Tuesdayâs massive car bomb, have added to the growing pile of evidence that in Asia at least, Indonesia remains the safest place for terrorists to hide and to operate. "Itâs harder now, but still if I choose to be a terrorist I donât think the police can get me. Once you have a close community, like a religious community, you are safe enough. Everywhere there are places like that," said Sulistyo.
"The Government has largely ceded the public space to the radicals," one long-term observer said. "Megawati is just not interested in a dialogue with her people."
That environment has allowed some of the countryâs Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren, to continue advocating support for the radical actions of people like Amrozi.
"Some of the stuff that is coming out of the pesantrens is very worrying," one Western diplomat said.
With no serious Government attempt to influence what happens in these pesantren, they can remain part of what one analyst called "an enormous replenishment pipeline" for any JI members who are arrested or killed on their missions.
Under Soehartoâs authoritarian regime, members of any religious or political groupings considered a threat were immediately targeted, often jailed or executed without any fair trial. Muslim radicals like Abu Bakar Bashir fled this brutal but effective regime to the more friendly climes of Malaysia. But after the fall of Soeharto, Bashir returned to a freewheeling Indonesia to continue his campaign for an Islamic state. Now itâs the authoritarian Malaysian and Singapore governments that have the intelligence networks that know what is going on in their mosques and Islamic schools. Theyâve shown a capacity to find out and stop what terrorists are planning. Itâs a capacity that has long since gone in Indonesia. Regaining that capacity while preserving democracy appears a daunting task indeed.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/09/2003 7:27:57 PM ||
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"And another one bites the dust..."
It looks as if Indonesia will be the place where we find out if a powerful secular govt can survive the internal subversion of Islam - Asian-style, anyway. I once thought it would be Turkey - and had high hopes - but the military folded instantly and Turkey became a nest of asshats.
This piece provides an excellent view of the battlefield and the Order of Arms in Indonesia. We shall see. I only have a very few bones to pick (treating Malaysia as something other than a nest of viperous Izzoids, mainly) with the info.
A man whose severed head was found at the site of this week's Marriott bombing had been recruited by a Southeast Asian terror group linked to al-Qaida to carry out the attack, police said Friday.
"Mahmoud, is that your head?"
"Nope. I got mine. How 'bout you?"
"Uhhhh... Nope. I got mine. Must be his."
U.S. officials warned that the attackers might target Americans next. Two jailed members of Jemaah Islamiyah identified a photo of the head and admitted recruiting the man, said Indonesian chief of detectives Erwin Mappaseng. The man drove the explosive-packed van that detonated outside the Marriott on Tuesday, killing 10 people and wounding nearly 150. The identification, if confirmed, would provide the clearest link between the hotel attack and Jemaah Islamiyah. The two Jemaah members identified the man as Asmar Latin Sani, a 28-year-old from the island of Sumatra, "based on a scar on his left temple," Mappaseng told reporters.
Not as noticeable as the one where his neck used to be...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 15:58 ||
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This may be the same incident of mental drift addressed below today...
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has accused rich nations of fuelling terrorism by selling their weapons to poor countries and waging war at the slightest excuse.
"Yeah. Just give 'em an excuse an' there they are, shootin' up us po' folks..."
He was addressing a peace conference in Kuala Lumpur, as the BBC reports. Many delegates at the Kuala Lumpur world peace conference honed in on what they say as the causes of conflict — inequality, injustice and exploitation. In his opening speech, Dr Mahathir Mohamad suggested rich countries be taxed to help poorer ones.
Come and collect...
That may not be met with cheers in the west but is likely to cause less anger in Washington than his comments about the September 11 attacks on America. The Malaysian Prime Minister described the hijackers as frustrated and angry young people and said that America's response had been no less brutal than the attacks themselves.
Yeah. Ain't it grand? If our response had been less "brutal" than the attacks themselves I'd still be jumping up and down and making faces against our gummint.
Y'see, those brutal "frustrated and angray young people" declared war on us. They want to kill us and make our children wear turbans and burkas and bow down to Mecca five times a day. Any American government that does less than take the perpetrators apart, along with anny government that supports them, isn't doing its duty to the country and would need to be thrown out.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 15:53 ||
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The Malaysian Prime Minister described the hijackers as frustrated and angry young people and said that America's response had been no less brutal than the attacks themselves.
He's just angry that Malaysia no longer gets the revenues from hosting terror conferences. Significant amounts of the planning for 9/11 were done in Malaysia. One of the hijackers was Malaysian. These days, he's too worried about American retaliation to actively cooperate with al Qaeda.
#2
One can hold out hope that, before he retires to the loot he's plundered in his dictatorship, Malaysia will have one or more of their home-grown Izzoids take a dump or two on the dining table, ala Indonesia. That would be sweetly apropos.
I have no doubt that the fact that it hasn't happened yet on the same scale means his "government" is complicit and working closely with their asshats. It's not as if their Izzoid terrorists are any smarter than Indonesia's and know better than to shit where they eat - pfeh - same, same. As for Mahathir, if he's any smarter than the other Motherfucking Izzoid-Loving Dictators⢠in the world, it may lie in the fact that he keeps everything low-key and off the radar screen. So far, anyway. But Complicit? Cooperative? A Sponsor? A Facilitator? An Apologist? No doubts at all on any of these - and more.
The shit will come home to roost - sooner or later. Sooner, I hope. This loony's meandering Izzoid-apologist / West-bashing drivel has lost its humorous novelty, methinks.
#3
his "government" is complicit and working closely with their asshats.
It's widely thought that Malaysia was supporting Muslim terrorists in both Thailand and the Philippines for decades. The recent hostage deal to get Western hostages released from Abu Sayyaf's clutches came with a $1m "ransom" financed by Gaddafi. They call it ransom - I call it sponsorship. Given Malaysia's long record of supporting Muslim terrorists - branching out to covertly helping al Qaeda would have been no big stretch.
Malaysia's version of Islam is extreme compared to the relaxed Indonesian version. Local Muslims are subject to Islamic laws on certain things (such as divorce, among other things)*, which is not true in thoroughly secular Indonesia. Muslims in Indonesia drink beer, eat pork, etc. without fear of being arrested - in Malaysia, they would end up in the clink.
* If you recall, there was a flap about Muslim men in Malaysia being able to divorce their wives via text messages. Not possible in Indonesia, which requires the usual secular formalities.
#4
ZF - 100% agreement on every point - excellent and informative post - as per your standards! I read that the text message divorce was approved as being valid, too. Islam: Breakfast of Gutless Turds. Too chickenshit to tell her to her face - when she has no more standing in society than a pet dog - that defines gutless.
I am of two minds about whether or not it is a good thing for countries with the popular inclination to formally become "Islamic States" to do so. That does make our job of identifying the most complicit assholes that much easier. OTOH, we lose any cooperation from those who aren't total idiotarians in the govt in question - losing valuable intelligence.
Indonesia will not hold out long, if the Paul Maloney article is on target - Milliwati and her secular govt will fall fast if they aren't willing to take fight to the asshats and go all the way. The situation in Asia must be (or should be, anyway) extremely worrying and unsettling to Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia / Kampuchea, et al. It's hard to tell in Thailand as they appear to be in denial - calling their Southern Izzoids infiltrating up from Malaysia "bandits." Cute, huh?
I have pondered the productivity costs to have so many people and so much treasure dedicated to destruction - as opposed to being gainfully employed. Since they throw away half of their potential brainpower at birth (their wymyn) they are already severly handicapped. I have reached the conclusion that 2 things are key to the Islamic menace and it would utterly collapse without them:
1) the West continuing to progress - and selling the tools, services, and components to them (this includes a huge number of things, from electronic banking to machine tools to arms to air travel)
-and-
2) the oil dollars from the GCC states, Iran, and the occasional outlier source (Brunei, Libya, etc) to fill in the funding gap
I am certain we can address both of these, and will - eventually. Item #2 will come first: we will soon be forced to face the facts about the Saudis, the UAE and other lesser GCC loonies, and the Iranians. Cut off the money and you severly hamper the menace - we've seen this clearly and, to the apparent surprise of the press types, many of these "redicals" or "militants" are merely merc assholes who would disappear if they weren't being paid to do this shit.
We should crush all of the funding countries. That means exactly what it says, IMHO. We should have just stayed in Saudi after Gulf War I and sent the asshats back to the desert. Think how different things would be today if we'd just followed this little bit of Patton logic - 75% (???) of the funding disappearing overnight and forever? And I AM talking about the OIL this time. We just fucking take it as the payment for the fact that we were required to do this in self-defense. Fuck everyone who doesn't like it - they haven't read anough history to even engage in the conversation.
As for item #1, we may never have to cut off the flow of goodies - which enable them - to stem their activities if we take item #2 seriously enough. If we do, this will do the trick, though it will be massively painful economically. Someday, however, if the PC mentality wins out and #2 isn't pursued to its logical conclusion, we will be forced to do #1. Imagine how long air travel will continue after we cut off parts, training, etc. - as an example. There are thousands of things they need in order to do their terrorist gig - that we provide them. That can be controlled or stopped as the situation demands.
In their patented idiotic one-sentence-per-paragraph style, AFP covers master Malaysian Moonbat Mohamad Mahathir as he suddenly realizes itâs legacy time for him - and searches for something relevant to say.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad pressed for democratic reforms in the United Nations (UN) so that the world would not always live in fear of war. Iâm glad AFP felt the need to clarify that UN = United Nations.
Mahathir, a moderate Muslim leader who opposed the US-led Iraq war, said the "risk of being invaded and occupied is real" because no one dared to criticise powerful countries. "Except me, of course. Iâm 77 and retiring, so..."
He said it was unfortunate that countries had to invest heavily in defence because "warlike predators" remained in the world. No clue is given, anywhere in the article, exactly to whom he refers. This is his style. He is Dr VagueInnuendo. It is entertaining, a game, guessing who he is working so hard, yet eloquently in diplo-speak, to smear. He is so very clever. Note that some say the answer is always the same country.
"Peace is possible if we make exceptions for no one in terms of submission to the only international authority that we have, the United Nations," he said when opening a two-day peace conference here. "And after I reform it, we will ALL be Superpowers!"
"It is presently not a democratic organisation, prevented from being so by the very people who preach democracy but it is still the only international authority that we have." Read the rest - and donât miss his last sentence. A sure-fire comment generator.
Posted by: ·com ||
08/09/2003 11:45:34 AM ||
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#1
How about two UNs. One for countries with Popular dictators, strongmen, religiuos authorities and one for corrupt representative republics with volunter militaries and open societies.
#2
It's the same old tired world-owes-them-a-living argument applied to geopolitics. You can bet that if the tables were turned, they'd be singing a different tune.
#3
ZF - that's the frequency that rattles my cage the most. Anyone - any other country in the world - that had the current relative power of the US would be using it to build an empire. All of 'em - especially those who deny it first, most often, and loudest. Tis very phunny to hear the insignificant Mahathir and realize the depths of his envy and jealousy. Hell, when we simply promote our form of government as the reason for our success and offer it as a model, we are excoriated and blasted for being arrogant. We just can't win. Well, fuck 'em, it works. And someday, if it gets to be too shrill and too costly to sit there and take it, well, maybe we'll decide that if we're gonna be blamed for empire-building anyway, we might as well get the bennies.
#4
Anyone - any other country in the world - that had the current relative power of the US would be using it to build an empire.
Malaysia's Mahathir, in particular, is always complaining about the deal we have with Singapore at Changi Naval Base, which was upgraded at Singaporean expense to accommodate US Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. Recently, Malaysia attempted a land grab with respect to an island right next to Singapore. Mahathir ended up doing nothing - I've got to believe that the US base in Singapore was a deterrent. He's also taken to buying Russian equipment, probably so that he can initiate military action without a potential American embargo affecting him. If his intentions were purely defensive, why would he worry about American sanctions?
#5
He wouldn't. It's obvious that he's just letting off steam about how he can't 'aquire' more land because of the Naval Base at Singapore.
On top of that, he's being from the Russians because they are the only one's who ever truly challenged our nation in the last 50 years. Too bad he doesn't realize that we've moved far beyond the Cold War era technology that he's buying. I just wish our military wasn't cut by 2/3's in the 90's. We would have already taken out Iran ( not that we couldn't now, considering the Mulahs are on the threshold of losing power) and Syria. Not to mention we would have so much more man-power to look for Sadaam.
I for one am glad that Bush brought back the 'Reagan Doctrine'.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 17:04 Comments ||
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Myanmar is expected to free the jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi within the next two weeks, a senior Thai army general said. Lieutenant-General Picharnmet Muangmanee, commanding troops near the Thai-Myanmar border, was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying that their Myanmar counterparts told them the Yangon military junta was ready to free Suu Kyi. Myanmarâs military, which has ruled since a 1962 coup, has so far ignored Western sanctions and an unprecedented public rebuke from its southeast Asian neighbours for holding Suu Kyi.
"Ain't nobody tells us what to do..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 00:13 ||
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The government has intercepted several recent attempts by Zacarias Moussaoui and Richard Reid to communicate with each other, a judge said Friday. The government revealed last month that Reid...wrote a letter to Moussaoui. The contents of that letter were not revealed, but a source familiar with the case said it was an offer of marriage to testify during Moussaouiâs trial. Moussaoui has complained that his mail is inspected, a procedure routinely applied to convicted terrorists and jailed terrorism suspects.
The judge said Moussaoui "disputes an apparent determination by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that a recent letter from Mr. Moussaoui to Mr. Reid may contain sexually explicit language embedded or âcodedâ messages, and requests a copy of the report supporting the FBIâs finding." Moussaoui, the judge said, also argued that because he is acting as his own lawyer, he is entitled to send love letters "privileged" communications with Reid. Brinkema said in her order that the special measures involving his communication mean he is "only entitled to have unmonitored communications" with the lawyers helping him.
An Air France co-pilot has been arrested at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport after joking that he had a bomb in his shoe.
'Tain't funny, Jean-Pierre...
American authorities say the pilot refused to pass through a metal detector at a checkpoint, and also declined to remove his shoes when asked to do so. After making his comment he was arrested and taken to the airport detention facility. He will appear in court later this weekend charged with falsely reporting an incident â charges that carry a cumulative sentence of up to 11 years in prison. The incident forced the cancellation of a flight to Paris with 350 passengers on board.
For up to 11 years... Might as well step out and take in a show...
Air France says his remarks were misinterpreted.
"Non, non! I said I had a 'poo bum'!"
"That's just nonsense syllables, Jean-Pierre. It don't mean nothin'."
"Up to 11 years does..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 16:18 ||
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Oh this is amazingly phunny / stoopid. Of all the people to pull a dumb stunt like that - and then to refuse the absofuckinglutely minimal standard checks. Burn him. If Air Phrawnce wants access to US airports, they will figure this out ASAP. Just wait, folks, one of their disaffected little Arab immigrant dipshits will bomb the Louvre or something equally symbolically Phrench and THEN the asshats like this twinkie will get it. You day is coming Phroggies, don't doubt it. Be afraid, be very very afraid - of your own.
#2
French aviators appear to be a world apart. ATC at CDG only speak French to French aircraft, at the insistence of the French crews. This has contributed in no small part to one accident and one death already.
#3
Anonymous - I'm gonna break a rule and respond to a generic anonymous comment. Your posted comment is worthy of attention, please pick a name to avoid being ignored - the norm in the better Blog Neighborhoods!
I can only guess at the myriad number of complications that might ensue from using anything other than English in ATC comms. I was trained as a Tower Operator in the US Army, so I know a little - and that's all I'll say about that. The US invented modern commerial air traffic control systems, and to avoid just such stupidity, the World standardized on English. It's impossible to pre-anticipate all of the possible instances where using mixed-language in information exchanges could lead to errors - and aviation errors are frequently fatal, so it's actually motherfucking important to get it absolutely right.
That, of course, pales in comparison to the obvious Phrench NEED for maintaining their Phrench Identityâ¢. Uh, huh. Arrogant Phrench Assholes. They can shove their Ministry of Imaginary Kulture⢠up their well-used Phrench asses - it'll fit, I'm sure.
As if I needed it, this is yet another reason to choose pan-pacific routes over the Euro / Atlantic routes, which has been my habit for the last 12 years. It just got promoted to absolute rule.
#4
"...and THEN the asshats like this twinkie will get it."
How should he now when the people in charge still think that France is only "en troisième ligne des cibles potentielles du terrorisme, derrière les Etats-Unis, Israël et la Grande-Bretagne en premier lieu, puis l'Allemagne en deuxième ligne." (Le Monde)
Give him four years and then let him swim back to France.
#5
TGA - Sheesh! You mean I gotta go get my monitor dirty translating that? (snicker) I do like your closer:
"Give him four years and then let him swim back to France."
LOL - that's just so perfect it's an instant classic! And besides - who, besides Air Phrawnce would let him aboard? Shit, I'm still laughing... Cool, TGA!
#6
Does anyone here remember the St Michel metro bombings and nascent Islamo terrorism in France in 95-96? The French put a big stop to that! Remember the plan to crash an Air France jet into the Eiffel Tower? They stopped that in Marseilles! Now Condi is shocked that they would do such a thing in NY & Washintgon--HAHA Bullshit! The French could have taught us a lesson--but y'all don't wanna hear that because they speak "Phwrench" Small minded morons
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 23:01 Comments ||
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This lesson, NMM? (Damn lenient sentences mandated by German law unfortunately, only successful murder gets life. We'll have to work on that.)
"Mar 10, 2003 11:33 am US/Eastern, FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Four Algerians, , three of whom admitted training in Afghan terror camps, were convicted Monday of plotting to bomb a French Christmas market and sentenced to prison terms of between 10 and 12 years.
The four were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiring to plant a bomb and of weapons violations, capping a trial that opened under intense scrutiny last year but never exposed the inner workings of al-Qaida in Europe as prosecutors had hoped.
Prosecutors claimed the defendants were part of a network of predominantly North African extremists called the Nonaligned Mujahideen, with ties to al-Qaida. But the government dropped charges of belonging to a terrorist organization in January to speed up the trial.
Salim Boukari received the longest sentence, 12 years, followed by Fouhad Sabour, 111/2 years. Both had denied intent to kill, insisting they targeted an empty synagogue in Strasbourg, France.
The five judges of the Frankfurt state court called that argument "absurd" and said the four plotted to detonate a bomb in the market near the cathedral in Strasbourg on New Year's Eve 2000, when it was packed with holiday revelers.
The defendants had planned "a horrific bloodbath at a peaceful Christmas market that could have hit anyone, including unsuspecting, defenseless people," Presiding Judge Karlheinz Zeiher said in reading the verdict." (CBS)
Terror has no borders, NMM. If the French think they are "in third line only as terror targets" (I'm sure you figured that out without dictionary, *com), they will indeed have a cruel wake up call. Did you know that they have places in the outskirts of Paris where French police doesn't dare to venture at night? What is brewing in the "banlieue" WILL explode in their faces sooner or later.
Ummm now what exactly is the lesson the French could tell us?
I'm glad that Schroeder seems to wake up earlier than Chirac. And that Bush noticed it.
#8
Good post,TGA.
NMM(Rantburg's resident Francophile)screw France.
What are they going to teach the U.S.,Proper Discourse and Protocals for Terrorist and Dictator Appessment.
Official sources in Washington and Jordan attribute Jordanian embassy bombing in Baghdad to top al Qaeda operative Abu Musab al Zarqawi known to be in Iran. Hmmm, why does this not surprise me?
Zarqawi set up strike through reconstituted Ansar al Islam cell in Iraq with full knowledge of Iranian intelligence. Hands behind embassy and resurgence of Hizballah aggression against northern Israel lead alike to Tehran. Seems to me the mullahs should spend more time with their families given the way the kids at the University are misbehaving. Go play catch with Mustaffah quit messing with this terrorist thing.
#1
My old Chinese friend would definitely NOT APPROVE. "Never kick a tiger in the teeth", he used to tell me. Spoke bad English, but was death (literally) to the NVA. I'm sure the Japanese could also tell Hez and Al Qaeda a few things about "waking sleeping giants", but those groups are so into shouting, they don't hear.
Something like a 3-ship arclight strike on their main camp will probably wake them up. Too bad we don't have any of the old "D" models left - they were reconfigured to carry maximum numbers of 'dumb' iron bombs. Those bombs may be considered 'dumb', but Hez is fast proving it's "dumber". Would that make Assad "dumbest"?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 19:21 Comments ||
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Pentagon hardliners pressing for regime change in Iran have held secret and unauthorized meetings in Paris with a controversial arms dealer who was a major figure in the Iran-contra scandal. Pentagon officials said at least two people working for Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith have held "several" meetings with Manucher Ghorbanifar, the Iranian middleman in U.S. arms-for-hostage shipments to Iran in the mid-1980s. Whereâs Ollie?
The administration officials who disclosed the secret meetings to Newsday said the talks with Ghorbanifar were not authorized by the White House and appeared to be aimed at undercutting current sensitive back channel negotiations with the Iranian regime. Who in this administration still thinks there are moderates in Iran that we should negotiate with?
"They [the Pentagon officials] were talking to him [Ghorbanifar] about stuff which they werenât officially authorized to do," said a senior administration official. "It was only accidentally that certain parts of our government learned about it." Accidental intelligence. Great.
The official would not identify those "parts" of the government, but a former intelligence official confirmed they are the State Department, the CIA and the White House, itself. Finger-pointinâ time. Ghorbanifar, the Pentagonâs next choice for Ayatolla? Maybe Ollie can arrange for the Iranian officials involved to take another tour of White House. Or Poindexter, after he is done shredding his incriminating docs over at at DARPA.
Posted by: fullwood ||
08/09/2003 11:58:20 AM ||
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#1
Why do they always put amatuers in charge of teh Iran desk??
Gawd, the way things are simmering over there, all that is needed is some money, some bullets and some patience. Iran is a house of cards waiting to fall.
We originally got into our troubles in Iran by interfering prematurely back in 1953. If the "brains" of this operation would just take a careful view of the Iranian political landscape, he would realize that Iran's mullahs are set for a fall and internal social forces will do the work and we will have a more open and sympathetic government in Iran. The vast majority of the Iranians are very familiar with "islamic republics" that are all the vogue in the middle east. The unraveling of Iran and the fall of the mullahs is an inevitability. That fall would lead to a lot of bad press for the fundementalists. AND if we keep our mitts off and our help to the insurgents, low profile, the bad press for the wacko islamofascists can not be twisted by our buddies on AJ into "American Propoganda".
The Carter administration screwed this one up and it seems like they have dusted off the after action report on that fiasco and are doing what they should have done 25 years ago. Now however, less assertion by the US will get us exactly what we want in Iran, discredited mullahs, a western friendly government and a secular government.
#2
Maybe Ollie can arrange for the Iranian officials involved to take another tour of White House. Or Poindexter, after he is done shredding his incriminating docs over at at DARPA.
I guess this means fullwood is a Sandinista supporter. Check out his website at the bottom of the article for a better idea as to what he's all about. There are items about how the war on terror is costing us a bundle, how we should spend the whole defense budget on veteran's benefits and why military recruitment in high schools and on college campuses should be banned.
Accidental intelligence. Great.
We get a lot of "accidental intelligence" because we're too politically-correct to actively recruit the kinds of evil slimebags we need to penetrate our enemies' organizations. We rely way too much on walk-ins who provide one-time slugs of information for our human intelligence. After 9/11 every country in the Middle East volunteered information to avoid being targeted by a vengeful Uncle Sam. As it became clear we would not nuke our enemies, this cooperation tapered off.
Besides, I don't really see why meeting with Ghorbanifar is a problem, considering we're waging a war on genocidal enemies. If we could deal with Stalin and Mao, both of which are mass murderers, we can deal with Ghorbanifar. Actually, if we can deal with the murderous Sandinistas, we can deal with Ghorbanifar.
#3
Here's a telling passage from the Weekly Standard on how CIA incompetence led to all of the security services having to fish for information from various sources. The Pentagon is getting involved only because the CIA is falling down on the job. Meeting with Ghorbanifar was the CIA's job. It stands to reason that he would want to meet with Pentagon staffers rather than the bunglers at the CIA. From the Weekly Standard:
CIA MIA
When Congress released the unclassified version of its report on the terrorist attacks of September 11, the headline stories were all about "missed opportunities" and Saudi complicity. The only hero in the story, it seemed, was George Tenet, the CIA director, who, as early as 1998, had "declared war" on al Qaeda but whose efforts were frustrated by an administration and bureaucracy that didn't take the threat posed by bin Laden seriously. Or so we're told. Yet buried in the 858-page report are two notable findings that call into question just how serious Tenet himself was about waging that war.
On page 59 of the report, for example, the congressional investigators conclude that intelligence analysts assigned to work on the issue were "inexperienced, unqualified, under-trained, and without access to critical information." And then, on page 388, the report notes that CIA's counterterrorism officers told the Joint Inquiry that "before September 11 the CIA had no penetrations of al Qaeda's leadership, and the Agency never got actionable intelligence."
So, let's see--the analysts were second rate and our spymasters had not recruited a single important source within the ranks of the terrorists. What war was Tenet waging, anyway? Given those facts, it's easy to understand why the Pentagon wanted to set up an office to review and query what the CIA was feeding it.
#4
Hee, hee, hee--I love it when our government starts talking about "regime change"! I'm beginning to like this global hyperpower role... I don't much give a damn whether other countries like us or not. If they do, great. If they don't, then they can fear us.
"Heather, my love, there's a new sheriff in town."
Posted by: Dar ||
08/09/2003 16:25 Comments ||
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#5
We get a lot of "accidental intelligence" because we're too politically-correct to actively recruit the kinds of evil slimebags we need to penetrate our enemies' organizations
That's because in 1993, the Clinton Administration( Democrats also held the House and Senate ) signed a bill into law banning the CIA, Pentagon, FBI and Department of Defense from using 'unsavory' sources for intelligence.
Basically, Clinton banned us from using most of our old Intelligence contacts from the Cold War, and forbid us from finding new sources. ( AKA Traitors, spies, informants, ect. )
It's funny how the things done under that Administration seems to come back and bomb us in the ass.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 16:33 Comments ||
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#6
Yeah Charles--it's the VAST LEFT WING CONSPIRACY--and watch out for our Black Helicopters coming to take your GUNZ
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 23:10 Comments ||
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#7
I guess this means fullwood is a Sandinista supporter. Check out his website at the bottom of the article for a better idea as to what he's all about. There are items about how the war on terror is costing us a bundle, how we should spend the whole defense budget on veteran's benefits and why military recruitment in high schools and on college campuses should be banned.
The thing I value about my site is the wealth of access to info that can butress any argument. It's possible to draw the conclusions that Zhang Fei has about the defense budget and recruitment as represented on my page.
You might also conclude, as many others have, that I'm doing a small part to represent the soldiers as I feel is necessary. And I provide resources to connect them with the benefits that were promised when they joined.
Even considering whatever ideology you believe I expouse Zhang Fei, there is still value in a site where our soldiers can link to Health, Housing, resources for career enhancement, in and out of the military, and contact info for their elected representatives and govt. and private agencies and more. Without regard to any views I may have.
I've chosen to advocate for the soldiers and I regret an offense or hurt that my site might cause any soldier or their family. There is a cynicism towards the military and government leadership that is no doubt evident in the articles and info I provide.
But, hey. There's a link on each page for comments and response. Perhaps this is not the best forum to debate my site.
I must add that one dimensional representations of my views may serve to belittle, but do little to amplify your own views on a given issue.
I guess this means fullwood is a Sandinista supporter
Don't tell me that I have to salute the secret govt. enterprise that traitor North and that clown Poindexter set up with taxpayer monies to do what?: Set one worthless party against the other to, I guess, reduce the Soviet influence...blah, blah. Have the Russians gone?
Is there anything in that country that benefits America in the least? I'm not convinced. Spend our money here at home. Leave these two-bit crumbling empires to fall and keep our soldiers out of the way of these idiots who are bent on killing each other any way.
No apologies for wanting more money for veterans. Talk all you want. Just give our soldiers what they were promised. I'll shut the page down if that ever comes about.
In the meantime, I anxiously await your web efforts on their behalf.
The Army plans to start destroying Cold War-era chemical weapons Saturday at its incinerator near Anniston, Alabama, the first time the military has burned the deadly munitions near a populated area. The timetable to start destroying the chemical weapons came Friday after a judge in Washington rejected motions by opponents to delay it. The incinerator will begin operations Saturday morning unless weather or other factors cause a delay, incinerator spokesman Mike Abrams said. The Army plans only "limited burns" on weekends and between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays until certain schools and other community buildings near the incinerator are provided with safety pressurization this fall.
The usual suspects say the usual things...
Opponents say incineration raises too great a risk near homes and schools — about 35,000 people live in the "pink zone" within 9 miles of the Army site, which is about 50 miles east of Alabamaâs most populous city, Birmingham.
And took them to the usual place...
The Armyâs decision came only hours after U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jacksonâs ruling cleared the way for burning to begin.
And then they did the usual symbolic things, generating the usual hysteria...
After the judgeâs decision, Sharon McConathy took her granddaughter to pick up safety gear being provided to thousands of Anniston-area people — protective hoods that resemble gas masks and plastic sheeting to seal up a room in her mobile home in the event of an accident. "Itâs real scary," McConathy said. "I think theyâre putting everybody at risk."
That's the obligatory quote from a Concerned Local Resident™...
Environmentalists had asked Jackson first for a temporary restraining order and then a preliminary injunction blocking the startup, but he denied both. He said their arguments were "purely speculative" and they had not shown sufficiently that "harm will flow." "And you donât know what youâre talking about, either, so shut up!"
"But... But... The Army's never destroyed chemical weapons before so we don't know what'll happen! And every time they have, there's been a catastrophe! There's a woman in Idaho whose kids are all retarded. How'd that happen, I ask you?"
Craig Williams, executive director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, which filed for the restraining order, said it may take days to decide if the ruling will be appealed. "Itâs a sad day for those in Anniston and for this nation when our government is unwilling to prevent U.S. citizens from exposure to toxic chemicals," Williams said. Typical nut-case enviro. Thereâs no safe way, yada yada.
The Army had planned to begin destroy some 2,254 tons of nerve agents and mustard gas this past Wednesday, a project expected to take seven years. But the military agreed to a delay so the hearing before Jackson could be held. Sherri Sumners, president of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, said a few opponents have created hysteria among some in the community.
Oh, Sherri! Say it ain't so! That's never happened before...
"They have been told so much and heard so much," Sumners said. "Incineration is a lot better than letting it sit out there." She expects most community fears to subside after the incinerator has operated safety for a couple of months.
After they're all dead?
Betty Wall, who lives outside of the pink zone, went to pick up her safety gear after seeing news reports Friday that the incinerator was about to begin operating. "You just donât know whatâs going to happen," she said. "People just need to get right with the Lord."
"Hallelujah! Pass the snakes! I'm so-o-o-o-o frightened!"
David Ford, a spokesman with the county Emergency Management Agency, said about 3,300 people have picked up safety gear this week at an old military building where it is being given out free, but Friday was slow. "We donât know how many are left who want it," he said.
"Hey, y'all! Have a free gas mask!"
"It's 98 degrees outside, with 98 percent humidity. And you want me to wear a gas mask? For how long?"
"'Bout a week."
"Ummm... Yeah. I'll give y' a call."
Williamsâ group advocates another method of destruction called chemical neutralization, but the Army contends incineration is just as safe. About 7 percent of the nationâs stockpile of Cold War-era chemical weapons is in Anniston. You wonder if this fellow would be unhappy if he were hung with a new rope.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 1:13:44 AM ||
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Interesting. They want us to get rid of chemical weapons, but don't want us to get rid of them. What do you do with people for whom everything is a Catch 22?
Posted by: Ben ||
08/09/2003 4:59 Comments ||
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#2
Send the stuff to French Polynesia. They don't mind.
#3
Skip French Polynesia and just send the stuff to the EU Chambers.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 16:09 Comments ||
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#4
I bow, I bow to Master Fred :-)
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 16:38 Comments ||
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#5
Skip French Polynesia and just send the stuff to the EU Chambers.
Now Charles, is that any way to behave with such goooood allies as the French? Besides, there are BETTER ways of dealing with it.
1. Give it to PETA, as the new survival package when they're out trying to "save the earth".
2. Capture the members of the Earth/Animal Liberation Front, and have them test new chemical detection gear, new chemical warfare suits, and such. Hold the tests as far north of Prudhoe Bay as you can, to "save the whales".
3. Give some to Judge Pryor to wrap around the decalogue monument in the Alabama courthouse. NOW let's see the ACLU move that sucker!
4. Speaking of the ACLU, I think every single member should be given a new, French-made attache case - with about a pound and a half of persistent blister agent smeared liberally on the inside.
5. I also believe the Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and Greenpeace should be given a few choice pieces of US real estate - perhaps the bombing range at Vieques, some of the Mojave Desert, and perhaps some of that wonderful area in north-central Nevada, east of Eads. There, they can test the effects of chemical agents on the biosphere. I also think the US should provide them with surplus Iraqi chemical warfare suits, to "ensure their safety".
I'm sure there are several Rantburgers who can supply other uses for this wonderful stuff...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 16:48 Comments ||
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#6
I Like the ACLU idea, but I have to go with the PETA plan. I mean, they are just absolute idiots.
In mid-2002, they were faced with a dilema. The previous year, they had erected wind-powered plants ( you know, those huge fans. ). However, the National Wildlife and Protection Agency wanted to take the wind-plants down. Why? Because they were sucking in and shredding Eagles. That's right, Eagles.
Just thinking about this makes me smile.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 17:23 Comments ||
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#7
HAHA Love it that this is going on in the South! All them rednecks will soon be coughing and glowing in the dark
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
08/09/2003 23:04 Comments ||
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Police in the Azerbaijani capital dispersed a rally Friday by government opponents protesting the appointment of President Geidar Alievâs son to the prime minister post, participants said. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
"Dad? Can I run the country for awhile?"
"Okay. Here's the keys. But try not to hit nothin'."
The protests have become a daily event in the run-up to the Oct. 15 presidential elections in this former Soviet republic. Aliev is hospitalized with heart and kidney problems at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. His supporters insist he is improving and still plans to seek re-election. "Heâs not dead yet!"
Alievâs son, Ilham, was named prime minister Monday â making him the countryâs second-highest ranking leader and first in the line of presidential succession. Opposition officials claim that Ilham Aliev is maneuvering to take over leadership of the tiny, oil-rich Caucasus nation if his father dies. Opposition parties gathered outside the Constitutional Court on Friday to criticize Ilham Alievâs appointment and to call for clear information about Alievâs health. "Heâs get-ting better!"
Police broke up the rally and arrested seven participants, all members of the opposition party Musavat. Aliev, a former KGB official and Soviet-era leader of Azerbaijan, was elected president in 1993, two years after the nation became independent. Meanwhile, another rally by the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan was broken up by police carrying truncheons. Authorities detained 10 participants as they attempted to march near the Central Election Commission to demand free and fair elections.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 12:48:34 AM ||
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Go figure - the Democratic Party in Azerbaijan is demanding free and fair elections, and gets beat with truncheons....
meanwhile the Democratic Party in Texas flees to adjacent states to avoid voting and gets to dine in buffets, live in air- conditioned splendor and get feted by their party at home as martyrs.....kinda ironic, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 10:54 Comments ||
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Wasn't Papa in Turkey last week getting treated?
Posted by: Michael ||
08/09/2003 12:08 Comments ||
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You bring up a good point, Frank. If we're ever actually going to establish world hegemony, the RNC and the (eewww!) DNC should probably be establishing international committees and opening branches in places like this. It'd be more comforting to the rest of the world to have them arguing with each other over whether gay marriage should be mandatory than having them go to war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Though I hate to think of the effect of hanging chads on Afghanistan...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2003 12:56 Comments ||
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" Todays top story is the debate in Afghanistan. Pro-taliban members argued that hanging chads ballots, most of which were made by crack-addicted radicalist, should be counted as legal votes. To furthur argue there point, machine gun fire and RPG's were fired inside the Kandahar Court House.
" In other news, the government has requested that family members come and claim the bodies from the rubble of the collapsed Kandahar Court House. The cause for the collapse is still unknown. "
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 15:54 Comments ||
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Fred? Feeling pretty good today, huh? I can tell...LOL
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2003 18:18 Comments ||
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Wasn't Papa in Turkey last week getting treated?
Yes, but they accidentally turned him into a newt...
#8
Yes, but they accidentally turned him into a newt...
I'm sure the democratically minded people of Azerbaijan would love to have their own Newt... 8^)
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 22:13 Comments ||
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Bangladesh and Namibia agreed to contribute more than 5,000 troops for a United Nations peacekeeping force for Liberia, U.N. officials and diplomats said Friday. The U.N. force will replace a West African force that has already begun deploying to Liberia. The U.N. Security Council ordered the U.N. force to replace the multinational contingent by Oct. 1, but the proposal given to potential troop-contributing nations at a closed-door meeting Thursday calls for U.N. peacekeepers to start deploying on Nov. 1. "Or December 1, depending how long it takes to gouge the US for the money."
Bangladeshâs U.N. Ambassador Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said Friday his government was prepared ``to send one full strength brigade, with headquarters and all ancillary support services - that would be roughly 3,500 troops.ââ The U.N. officials had said earlier that Bangladesh offered two brigades with 4,800 troops. Namibiaâs U.N. Ambassador Martin Andjaba said Friday his country offered two battalions, with about 1,600 soldiers because ``we were concerned about either the unwillingess or inability of the international community to deploy troops to Liberia to bring about peace and stability.ââ ``Our two battalions are ready at any time,ââ he said. Bangladesh will also consider sending an 800-strong engineering battalion, since the United Nations indicated it needs a strong engineering component, said Chowdhury.
Jacques Paul Klein, the new U.N. special envoy to Liberia, appealed to diplomats from dozens of countries on Thursday to join the U.N. mission. He called for a robust force of between 12,000 and 15,000 troops to help stabilize the country, demobilize combatants and provide security so democratic elections can be held for a new government. India, Pakistan, Ireland and South Africa may also provide troops for the U.N. force, they said. The U.N. Security Council has authorized a two-month deployment for the multinational force to help end fighting between forces loyal to President Charles Taylor and rebels trying to oust him - and to provide security once Taylor leaves. Chowdhury said developing countries like Bangladesh must promote development in Africa. And who better to teach about development than the Bengalideshis, I ask?
``To put development back on track as an international goal, ethnic conflicts must cease,ââ he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 12:44:40 AM ||
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The Bangaladeshi engineering battalion will instruct the Liberians in flood control. Jacques Paul Klein, the extremely confused Franco-German UN Special Envoy to Liberia muttered something about mobilizing this and demobilizing that and quickly slam-dunking some elections to make Liberia appear democratic and stable and civilized. He expects the mission to successfully restore Liberia to perfection in only a few short months because he is seeking a better posting to a country with better prostitutes and more 5-Star hotels and needs a quick win to get it.
#3
Perhaps it was a low blow, but it's also probably true. This whole Liberia thing is just stupid. Bush is right in letting the African nations handle this. Let them kill eachother off and stop bugging us for money. The only reason we're there is to make sure there isn't a mass slaughter of civilians. I just makes me sick.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 15:45 Comments ||
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Perhaps it was a low blow, but it's also probably true.
Actually, that's a kind of inside joke about Bangladesh, which encounters cyclones on a routine basis, but never seems to be prepared for the ensuing mayhem, including floods and landslides, which typically kill thousands or tens of thousands. Having Bangladeshis teach anyone about controlling floods is like having Saudis teach people about secularism.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor said Friday that she should remain in charge of the two tribunals dealing with Yugoslavia and Rwanda - warning that her removal from the Rwanda court could jeopardize its independence. Not to mention her sinecure.
But if the Security Council approves Secretary-General Kofi Annanâs recommendation to appoint a new prosecutor to handle cases stemming from the 1994 Rwanda genocide - as now appears likely - Carla Del Ponte said she would accept a new four-year contract to handle the Balkan wars prosecutions. Half a loaf ...
U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham told a closed council meeting after Del Ponteâs briefing that the United States will introduce a resolution early next week endorsing Annanâs recommendation to split the top prosecutorial job and renew Del Ponteâs contract for the Yugoslav tribunal, a U.S. official said. The U.S. draft resolution will also focus on the timetable for completing the work of both tribunals by 2010, the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 2010??? Something about justice delayed being justice denied comes to mind.
Syriaâs U.N. Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe, the current council president, said that ``more or lessââ all the council members support Annanâs proposal. He said he expects the council to take action on the U.S. resolution next week. More or less = diplospeak for them being all over the place.
While Del Ponte was giving her private briefing to the 15 council members, Rwandaâs Attorney General Gerald Gahima held a news conference to reiterate his governmentâs demand for a separate prosecutor for the Rwanda tribunal, based in Arusha, Tanzania. Rwanda argues that Del Ponte devotes most of her time and attention to the Yugoslav tribunal, based in The Hague, Netherlands. It also contends that the Rwandan tribunal is too slow, corrupt and mismanaged. Whatâs different than the usual for the U.N.?
Many argue the Rwandan tribunal has not made as much progress as the Yugoslav tribunal. Various reasons have been cited, from bureaucratic inefficiency to friction with the Rwandan government, staff shortages and insufficient attention from Del Ponteâs staff.
Del Ponteâs office has clashed with the Rwandan government, notably over the prosecutorâs efforts to investigate abuses by Tutsi-led rebels who stopped the genocide, took power and still control the government. The Rwandan government barred people sought for questioning from traveling to Arusha. "To heck with the killers with the machetes who killed the women and children, you must tell us about the deplorable sporting equipment in the prisons!"
In her council briefing, released Friday afternoon, Del Ponte asked whether splitting her job would ``result in underminingââ the tribunalâs investigations of members of the Rwandan armed forces and people associated with the countryâs leadership. Someone needs to remind her what her original mission was.
Mexicoâs U.N. Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, who asked for Del Ponteâs briefing, criticized the Rwandan government, saying ``no government, particularly the Rwanda government, should have any interference in the work of the tribunal and the independence of the prosecutor.ââ
Del Ponte told the council ``I strongly believe that the separation of the mandates, at this stage, would seriously undermine that very independence.ââ She said media campaigns regularly tried ``to destroy my credibility and sometimes my reputationââ and that ``undue pressures took place to push me to abandon certain investigations.ââ
Several diplomats who attended the briefing said Del Ponteâs message was that she was irreplaceable, though she didnât use the word. After the briefing Del Ponte said that she told Annan she was willing to continue as head of the Yugoslav tribunal. Using the initials for the Yugoslav tribunal, she said, ``if the Security Council decides to split, I hope to stay on in ICTY as prosecutor.ââ "Where I can investigate the abuses of the American forces -- thatâs whatâs really important!"
The Rwandan court has completed 15 cases and has 61 in progress; it holds 55 detainees, more than half of whom are awaiting trial. Those on trial in the Yugoslav tribunal include former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military chief Gen. Ratko Mladic, who were indicted in 1995 for genocide, remain at large. Attagirl, Del Ponte, go chase Ratko for a while.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2003 12:40:22 AM ||
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And this is why people think we're Imperialistic. They're too stupid to know what Democracy is.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/09/2003 16:22 Comments ||
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Charles - Do you (too) get the impression that Ms Del Ponte is so phull of herself that she's about to explode? Man, I've seen some self-aggrandizing / self-promotional BS (Larry Ellison just popped into my head, and now there's Scott Nealy, too - wow! - I wonder why?) before, but she's waay over the top. So, uh, when is she going to apply for Absolute World Ruler Kofi's job? She's definitely a natural where sheer arrogant audacity is a prime necessary trait so that amazingly absurd press statements can be made - with a straight face. She's got that covered, anyway - in spades. Since we've recently seen this same behavior in one of her countrymen, Blixie Boy, I'm thinkin' there must be something in the snow melt in Switzerland... Mebbe Sandoz Pharmaceuticals had one of their experiments go awry...
#3
PD - Scott Rirdan, Hans Blix, just to hit a couple of names off the top of my head. It seems to be something with the United Nations. I wonder if there's some kind of fungus in the building's air conditioning system that rots the brains of employees. Only thing I can see that would explain it...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2003 18:47 Comments ||
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OP - like Legionnaire's Disease, only multilaterally infuckting? Sorry - weird mood today!
Chinese and North Korean officials have expressed hope that upcoming six-party talks will help show the way for a peaceful solution to the Korean nuclear crisis. The two sides discussed the planned talks, expected soon in Beijing, during a visit to Pyongyang by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Xinhua news agency reported from the North Korean capital. âThe two sides expressed the hope that the forthcoming six-party nuclear talks to be held in Beijing would unveil prospects for a peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue through dialogue,â Xinhua said.
"We don't really want to see you nutbags disappear in a mushroom cloud. Some of it might drift over here..."
Wang, who is considered a candidate for Beijingâs chief delegate to the talks, arrived in North Korea Thursday for a three-day visit. He met Thursday with Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il, and First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju on Friday, engaging in âcomprehensive and in-depthâ discussions on the nuclear issue. The two countries also exchanged views on their âtraditional and friendlyâ relations. China, North Koreaâs only closest ally, has been an active mediator in the confrontation between Washington and Pyongyang. It arranged the first round of three-way talks in April involving the United States, Chinese and North Korean officials. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will visit Japan and South Korea next week.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/09/2003 00:10 ||
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...then the Chinese and North Korean officials paused, looked at each other, and burst out laughing.
Then the North Korean clapped his hands and barked "The Dear Leader has arrived, BRING ON THE HOOKERS!!!"
Posted by: Paul ||
08/09/2003 18:27 Comments ||
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And in celebration for the upcoming six-party talks Kim Yong anounced extra chicken fat for the workers broth. With much singing and dancing the workers rejoice. Cuba's ambassador to NK was heard on the radio imploring the workers to "save their money" for the great celebrations to come.
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.
A Chesterfield man was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a mare in Macoupin County, even as prosecutors in Greene County filed new charges against him of aggravated cruelty to animals.
