Saudi Arabia has stopped its supply of 50,000 barrels of oil per day to Bahrain since July, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies said yesterday. Speaker Khalifa Al Dhahrani was informing the deputies about the decrease in Bahrain's resources and warning them against relying on a surplus of income following the record surge in oil prices. Al Dhahrani said that deputies should not jubilate over the unexpected surplus from the oil prices. "We do not have any resources. After the oil has dried up here, we have nothing to leave for the future generations," he said. "We all have to recall the 'absent' truth: If it were not for the close family ties between the Ruling Family and the ruling families in Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait, there would be no welfare coming into Bahrain," he said. The Minister of Finance and National Economy, Abdullah Saif, last night said that "the government in Bahrain was conducting brotherly consultations with the government of Saudi Arabia on bilateral oil arrangements." The minister hoped that "the consultations would result in positive results for the sake of the two countries and peoples."
Now why would the Saudis stop sending oil to their brothers in Bahrain? Perhaps they want them to rethink having all those filthy infidels and their military bases there. Wonder if the Bahrainian royal family would like to add "Defenders of the Two Holy Places" to their titles?
Posted by: Steve ||
10/27/2004 10:30:50 AM ||
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I think the $55 price tag may have something to do with it.... relatives are good.... but holy moley it's $55 simoleons a barrel! Sell to the infidel!
#2
...the government in Bahrain was conducting brotherly consultations with the government of Saudi Arabia on bilateral oil arrangements....
What a scream, brotherly consultations. The Saudis do not like the Bahraini's style. Bahrain needs to develop itself out of having to have SA be its sugar daddy. They are smart, they are survivors. SA is a dead end until they boot out the Royals and the Fundos.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/27/2004 17:13 Comments ||
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Dozens of Islamic scholars have gathered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to defend their religion against accusations of fostering terrorism and to denounce groups of co-religionist fanatics distorting the image of Islam. The six-day conference, hosted by the emirate of Abu Dhabi under the theme of "prophetic guidance in missionary work", attracted an audience exceeding 500 people, with women accounting for more than a third. The head of the organizing committee spoke of the "deviant group", a term used to refer to Islamist militants, saying "it distorted the image of Islam ... (as it) persisted in destroying and killing.
"It became a must that Islamic scholars should come forward to make clear that Islam has nothing to do with that (killing)," UAE Assistant Undersecretary of Islamic Affairs Hamdan Al-Mazruwei told the opening session Monday night. In the presence of two Christian clerics, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohammed Sayed Tantawi said "we are required, as Muslims, to shake hands with whomever extends a hand to us in peace ... regardless of whether this person is a Muslim or not." "There is no coercion in religion," Tantawi said, citing the Qur'an. "Forcing people into belief does not bring (new) honest Muslims, but rather hypocritical liars," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2004 10:34:40 PM ||
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âIt became a must that Islamic scholars should come forward to make clear that Islam has nothing to do with that (killing),â
#2
what do they have to say about the fact that virtually all terrorism is perpetrated by muslims, and virtually all global inter-factional fighting involves muslims as one or both parties involved? And, virtually all of this is in the name of islam.
What do they have to say about the massive numbers of muslims -- perhaps even the majority -- who support this violence?
Islamist militants -- the deviant group?
Perhaps not.
Perhaps it is these islamic scholars who have misconstrued what islam is.
Islam=violent religion. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck . . .
A coalition of small leftist political groups has sued President Bush and other U.S. government officials for the abuses against prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The lawsuit was filed the Communist Party, the Humanist Party and Leftist Revolutionary Movement at the Santiago Court of Appeals, which did not immediately decide whether it will hear the case. The action was widely considered symbolic. Supporters described it as an "act of dignity" that "represents millions of Chileans who reject the violence and terrorism represented by the figure of Bush." Also mentioned in the law suit were Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former Iraq Administrator Paul Bremer.
Yawn, if we didn't knuckle under to the might of the Belgium courts, why do you think we'll even notice Chile?
"We want Bush to be questioned when he comes here," in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation council summit, said lawyer Juan Enrique Prieto.
"And, I'd like a pony."
The Abu Ghraib scandal sparked outrage worldwide in April with the publication of photos and video that showed U.S. soldiers abusing naked Iraqis in the prison on the western outskirts of Baghdad.
And just how many Chiliens were abused at Abu Ghraib? None? Then, butt out.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/27/2004 9:05:29 AM ||
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Where the hell is Pinochet when we really need him?
Posted by: Charlie Brooker ||
10/27/2004 9:39 Comments ||
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#4
I have to agree that the Spanish had no legal jurisdiction over Pinochet but the old bastard should of been extridited back to Chile so the Chilieans could have a shot at him. No regime has a legitimate excuse for "disapearing" any of its citizens
#5
A coalition of small leftist political groups has sued President Bush and other U.S. government officials for the abuses against prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
#8
Cheaderhead, Pinochet stepped down as dictator (one of the very few dictators to ever do so) with the agreement that he would not be prosecuted. The people of Chile felt the deal was a good one and they've had democracy since then.
I think if you make a deal like that you really should keep it, and the international community should support it so that other dictators don't hold onto power for fear of people backsliding on deals.
#9
RJ, I was unaware of the agreement regarding Pinochet's stepping down from power (either I forgot or had not heard it, just goes to show I don't know everything) but what I said about no regime having a lgitimate excuse to eliminate its opponents is something I will stand by. As distasteful as some of the moonbats we have here in this country are I will stand by their rights to make complete asses out of themselves. But If anyome promotes politically inspired violence ala Seatle then in my oinion they should be tried and jailed for a long time
#10
Are they also suing Castro? How many of Fidel's jailers have, themselves, been prosecuted and thrown in prison?
Does anyone seriously believe that these lefty bastards care about human rights?
#11
To throw a little petrol into the bonfire, what is the difference between hanging Julius Streicher and summarily shooting a similar mass murdering liar of a commie propagandist? Due process? Ok, the commies, like Streicher, can face a Tribunal organized by their enemies. The result should be the same. How many of Pinochet's "victims" had it coming?
#12
The notion that a given government can't "eliminate its opponents" is ridiculous.
Al Qaeda is the opponent of the US government and I sure hope as many as possible are eliminated.
Chile was infested by marxist-revolutionaries. I don't know about each individual case that died or "disappeared" under Pinochet, but I have absolutely no sympathy for marxist-revolutionaries, anywhere. Just as I have no sympathy for the Nazis and the Aztecs.
#13
Kalle I have no problem with the US going after any body in Al Quackda at all. Nor do I have a problem with the Brits sicing the SAS on the PIRA and I say that as a 1/2 Irish-American Catholic. But I do have a problem wiith governments getting rid of the inconvienent political oppenents without due process of law. It doesn't matter whether they are commie or fascist governments. I also hope the Cubans get their chance at Castro not to mention any number of African/Central American/South American countries too. The day of the dictator is over. The web has made it impossible for any country with a modicum of technological infrastructure to maintain one its just that word has not gotten out yet. As ususal society will be 10 to 20 years behind the curve
In Chechnya, two members of illegal armed groups from Rappani Khalilov's gang have surrendered voluntarily, the representative of the regional operative headquarters for counterterrorist operations in the North Caucasus, Ilya Shabalkin, said today. He said that during the investigative process of registering the surrender, the rebels said the main motive for them quitting Khalilov's ranks was a wish not to take part in carrying out terrorist acts. They also said the rebels are planning a terrorist act similar to September's in Beslan.
[Shabalkin] Law-enforcement bodies have information about how a large terrorist act is being planned on the orders of [Chechen rebel leaders, Aslan] Maskhadov and [Shamil] Basayev. We are not ruling out that it will be similar to what the rebels carried out in Beslan on 1 September this year. This became known to us from the statements of two rebels from Rappani Khalilov's gang who have given themselves up. As we know, this band is permanently moving around the territory of Nozhay-Yurtovskiy District.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/27/2004 9:22:08 AM ||
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The United States, Japan and South Korea are closely monitoring a missile base in North Korea after military intelligence indicated that the communist nation might be preparing to test missiles, a South Korean newspaper reported. The move would be the latest provocation from North Korea, which has denounced this week's multi-nation naval exercise in Japanese waters as a US-led "ultimate war action" against the isolated country.
The base in Jeongju, 90 kilometres north of Pyongyang, is home to Scud-type missiles that have a range of 300-500km and Nodong missiles with a 1,300km range. Most of Japan's four main islands fall within Nodong's range. Beginning two or three days ago, "North Koreans began making moves at the Jeongju base, such as moving mobile missile launch stations," the mass-circulation daily Chosun Ilbo said, citing a senior South Korean government official. "We are monitoring the movements to see whether this was part of their training or they actually intend to launch a missile."
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 4:06:52 AM ||
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Shoot the damn thing down with our anti-missile technology we put out there recently, and let the bastards squawk.
The war in Iraq gave the al-Qaeda terrorist network recruitment opportunities and may have inspired new followers in Australia of its leader Osama bin Laden, Australia's intelligence chief Dennis Richardson said. ``Iraq has provided al-Qaeda with propaganda and recruitment opportunities,'' Richardson, director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, said yesterday in Sydney, according to a faxed transcript. ``It is possible that some new followers in Australia have been motivated primarily by Iraq.''
Australia sent 2,200 troops to Iraq and some 850 of them are still there. Prime Minister John Howard won an election Oct. 9 with a pledge to keep the troops there ``until the job is done.'' Opposition Labor Party leader Mark Latham vowed to pull the troops out by Christmas if the party won power. Australia was not a "priority target" before the Sept. 11th, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, Richardson said in a speech to the Sydney Institute, a privately funded current affairs forum. Australians have been targeted since then in terrorist attacks including the October 2002 Bali bombings that killed at least 202 people, 88 of them Australian nationals. ``Before Sept. 11th 2001, any attack within Australia would most likely be directed against the United States and/or Israeli interests,'' Richardson said, according to the transcript. ``So far, Iraq has not had a significant impact on the security environment here in Australia.''
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 3:46:15 AM ||
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An accurate/truthful headline would read - Australiaâs Spy Chief Says Iraq War Has no Effect on Australian Security.
#2
Bin Laden and the Islamo-fascists have targeted Australia, because Australia liberated Christian East Timor from occupation by Muslim Indonesia. The idea that if Australia did not stand with the US after 9/11, it would have been left alone, is foolish. Once land is occupied by Muslims, it is always considered to be Muslim. Bin Laden has lamented the tragedy of Andulusia, where Moslems were forced out of Spain in 1492.
#3
And WW2 boosted the German and Japanese armies. Why they were many times larger in 1944 than in 1940. Goes to show what a mistake it was in attacking the Germans and Japanese back in 1942.
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2004 10:19 Comments ||
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EFL But RTWT Ineffingcredible Iraq Conference to Go Ahead With French Support
France's attempts at creating a coalition of anyoneIraqis opposed to the the U. S. interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi collapsed yesterday as Paris announced even the Germans aren't that stupid it had abandoned its opposition to an international conference to be held on the future of the newly-liberated country. "We are no longer asking that non-governmental groups be invited," French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said. "We have agreed with anyone except the U. S. Egypt that this should be an intergovernmental affair." Initially, Washington had asked for the conference to be held in October. France opposed that surprise
and proposed a November date to deny President George W. Bush any chance of using the conference in his re-election bid. I didn't even have to add that, they said it!
With help from its second best ally Syria, France started looking for Iraqi figures that could be invited as "resistance" leaders and opponents of the interim government in Baghdad. Among the Iraqi figures contacted were Muhammad Al-Durri, a former diplomatic aide to Saddam Hussein who had served as ambassador to the United Nations and everyone else who had been featured in the Deck of Cards and was still at large except for those who have taken up poermanent residence in Paris and Marsaliies. Also canvassed were Abdul-Razzaq Al-Hashemi, a former minister of science under Saddam Hussein, Francisco Franco, a former French ally and Mahdi Salehi, a former Baathist minister of commerce with ties to the French establishment.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 4:17:11 PM ||
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Make sure that we have the exact coordinates of the meeting.
#3
I think France would rather be nuked than have Team America sent in Cyber Sarge.
Posted by: Charles ||
10/27/2004 17:14 Comments ||
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#4
Anybody who spouts off about how we lost the respect of our allies needs to have this article stuffed in their craw. Resistance leaders=killers of our military. Let's not avoid seeing this for what it is-France's policy promoting the death of our soldiers.
#7
France has never been, and still isn't, an ally of the USA.
What Lafayette did in support of the American Revolution was in his own name and with his own money. Bless him. It's not for nothing that he had American soil brought back to France so he could be buried in it.
France is an ally of our enemies. It's as simple as that.
#8
It seems to me that the French are trying to make Bush look bad, thus attempting to give Kerry a boost. What they don't understand is that when they scheme so transparently, Americans blame them for things going pear shaped, not Bush -- if anyone on this side of the globe notices at all.
#9
TW, I think you give the French far too much credit. If Kerry were to be President, they would undermine him every bit as much. They would just be more surreptitious about it. America is their enemy, Bush is just a means to attack her.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 20:42 Comments ||
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#10
When will Americans in power acknowledge that the French are our enemies. When will we engage them in diplomatic, economic, and psychological war?
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2004 23:24 Comments ||
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Two Russian navy ships will join NATO's anti-terrorist patrols in the Mediterranean later this week, but that doesn't make the defensive alliance an ally, Russia's defense minister said on Tuesday. Sergei Ivanov said the two ships from Russia's Black Sea Fleet would be taking part in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor until early next year. Operation Active Endeavor has monitored shipping in the eastern Mediterranean and Straits of Gibraltar since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. In March, the alliance extended the operation to the whole of the Mediterranean. Russia pledged earlier this year to contribute its ships to the effort. Allied officials claim the mission has deterred terrorists from carrying out attacks on shipping or using Mediterranean sea routes to transport material. About two dozen NATO ships are taking part in the operation.
Russia signed a partnership agreement with NATO in 2002, outlining cooperation in counterterrorism, nonproliferation, peacekeeping and other fields. Moscow's relations with the United States and NATO have improved due in part to President Vladimir Putin's support for Washington after the Sept. 11 attacks, but Russia has continued to voice concern about the alliance's eastward expansion. "Any NATO country is of course neither an ally nor an enemy to us," Ivanov told the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2004 1:11:32 AM ||
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neither an ally nor an enemy
Right back at ya, Ivan.
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/27/2004 1:32 Comments ||
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The leader of the Dutch-Belgian Arab European League (AEL) has come out in support of killing Dutch troops serving in Iraq. "I consider every death of an American, British or Dutch soldier as a victory," Dyab Abou Jahjah said in an interview with Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws on Monday. There are currently 1,376 Dutch soldiers serving on peacekeeping duties in southern Iraq and two have been killed since the mission started in the summer of 2003. The troops are scheduled to return home in March 2005. Despite his praise for the deaths of coalition troops, Abou Jahjah said he was opposed to the beheadings of hostages in Iraq. "Beheading is ethically and religiously wrong. Muslims don't even butcher a sheep in this way," he said.
The outspoken Lebanese-born immigrant Abou Jahjah has made fewer headlines in recent times since his political aspirations met with little success in Belgium elections. He founded the AEL in 2001 in Antwerp, Belgium. The organisation which also has a branch in the Netherlands claims to support integration, but not assimilation of Muslim and Arab immigrants into European society. When the foundation of the Dutch branch of the organisation was announced in 2003, several Dutch politicians from mainstream parties called for it to be outlawed. The Justice Ministry had to concede there were no grounds for doing so. In April, the AEL "saluted" on its website the armed resistance to the US-led coalition being mounted by "the Iraqi population" in Fallujah.
Meanwhile, Abou Jahjah also spoke out strongly against racism in Flanders on Monday, claiming that the Belgium region had many more racists than the 1 million people who voted for the extreme right-wing group Vlaams Blok. "Flanders is a right-wing bulwark in Europe," said Abou Jahjah, who recently moved from Antwerp to the Brussels' municipality Schaarbeek. "God was not generous for Flemish people when he handed out intellect."
Posted by: tipper ||
10/27/2004 1:09:57 AM ||
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"God was not generous for Flemish people when he handed out intellect."
Whereas He endowed you with infinite zeal for killing people.
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/27/2004 1:28 Comments ||
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This person wants to enter the Dutch Municipal elections in 2006 as he thinks he will be able to be the voice of the 1000 000 muslims in the Netherlands....will Amsterdam become Amstelamabad?
#5
"I consider every death of an American, British or Dutch soldier as a victory," Dyab Abou Jahjah said in an interview with Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws on Monday.
Police are investigating whether comments by the president of the Canadian Islamic Congress constitute a hate crime. Mohamed Elmasry said that all Israelis over 18 are fair targets for suicide bombers. He later recanted this view, saying he was trying to express a widely held Palestinian position, not his own.
His remarks and apology continue to cause outrage among Jewish and Muslim groups, which are calling for his resignation. The comments have sparked a probe by Halton Regional Police and by the University of Waterloo, where Mr. Elmasry is a professor of computer engineering. "We have been made aware of this interview and the circumstances and comments made, and will determine whether there are any criminal offences here and go from there," said Sergeant Jeff Corey of the Halton Regional Police.
Mr. Elmasry initially made the remarks on Oct. 12 on The Michael Coren Show, an Ontario weekday current-affairs program on Crossroads Television System in Burlington, Ont. He reiterated them in an interview with The Globe and Mail on Friday, which were published on Saturday. "Israel has a people's army and a draft, and therefore they should be considered legitimate targets. They are part of the occupying power, and Palestinians consider them targets for suicide bombers, as well as other means," Mr. Elmasry told The Globe.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 3:35:57 AM ||
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Don't expect anything to happen. If he was a jew or wasp stating the same thing they already would have taken him in for questioning.
From the UN website, excerpted from the Daily Press Briefing on September 24, 2004, conducted by Fred Eckhard, spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Question: Can you comment on the Wall Street Journal's story on the Kojo Annan, Cotecna connection?
Spokesman: The only new information in that article was that Kojo Annan was on a retainer for Cotecna through 1999. And, we understand, this is not unusual for a competitive company to put a departing employee on such a retainer with the pledge not to compete with the company. Kojo Annan was, at that time, setting up his own company. It does not change our assessment that in awarding the contract, the United Nations contract to Cotecna in 1998, there was no knowledge, even on the United Nations Committee on Contracts or the Procurement Officer handling that contract, that Kojo Annan had any link to Cotecna. And that was a finding of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, Joseph Connor, in early '99, when this link became a subject of a press account.
Question: Wasn't the United Nations only recently saying that the relationship ended with the official real beginning of the Oil-for-Food Programme? And also, the article says that it wasn't just an agreement, but that he was receiving money.
Spokesman: His last contract with Cotecna ended in the end of 1998. This retainer agreement then continued through '99, but the contract, which went to Cotecna in late '98, I repeat, was done without knowledge of Kojo's relation to that company, which, at the time, involved responsibilities in West Africa.
Question: Was Kofi Annan aware, though, of this particular continuing connection?
Spokesman: I'm not sure the Secretary-General knew that detail. As I said, the bidding process here went on with no knowledge that that was the case. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/27/2004 11:40:29 PM ||
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The United States has manifestly failed to uphold obligations to reject torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading behavior in the "war on terror" launched after Sept. 11, 2001, Amnesty International said in a report to be released today. The human rights group condemned the US administration's response to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington as one which had resulted in its own "iconography of torture, cruelty and degradation." "The war mentality the government has adopted has not been matched with a commitment to the laws of war and it has discarded fundamental human rights principles along the way," it said in a report. Amnesty's report — "Human dignity denied: Torture and accountability in the 'war on terror'" — accused Washington of stepping onto a "well-trodden path of violating basic rights in the name of national security or 'military necessity'." At best, Washington was guilty of setting conditions for torture and cruel treatment by lowering safeguards and failing to respond adequately to allegations of abuse, it said.
I thought I was beyond having my breath taken away by this sort of mind-boggling hypocrisy, but I guess I'm not as cynical as I thought I was. It comes on the day the enemy has kidnapped a Japanese man and threatens to cut his head off, two days after the enemy cold-bloodedly massacred 50 rookie policemen. It's less than a week after the enemy fired an antitank missile at an Israeli school bus, and three weeks after the enemy boomed a hotel in Sinai. I'd ask what's wrong with these people, but I already know. And it's damned discouraging.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2004 10:36:28 PM ||
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A prisoner in one photo was directed to stand on a box with his head hooded, and wires attached to his hands, and was told that if he fell off the box he would be electrocuted.
Amnesty said the US and the rest of the world would be âhaunted by these and other images for years to comeâ...
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is a video worth? Seems Amnesty hasn't seen the beheadings. Or they have and just don't care.
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/27/2004 1:09 Comments ||
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#2
I'd ask what's wrong with these people, but I already know. And it's damned discouraging.
#3
AI has the usual lefty NGO flaw of condemning only those who might possibly give a damn about their opinion. What about the endemic torture in the Arab monarchies, oligharchies and dictatorships, guys? China? Russia? No?
The torture and ill-treatment of Iraqi detainees by US agents in Abu Ghraib prison was â due to a failure of human rights leadership at the highest levels of government â sadly predictable.
...In the mix was an elusive, ill-defined and demonized enemy...and an apocalyptic picture painted by government of a stark moral choice between "good and evil" faced by society and wider "civilization".
Hey badanov, I think you're right. "demonized enemy"???
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/27/2004 1:20 Comments ||
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#5
Amnestry says nothing about the beheading because they are allies of the beheaders. What other reason could there be. Torture is bad. It's not the policy of the US government or Military. As I recall a guy just got 8 years for his part. Amnesty is full of crap.
#8
I'll be generous and ascribe part of the problem to searching under the streetlight laziness. But the real problem is that AI has entered the 'red giant' phase of its existence. What was once a bright, clear, focused and energetic star has become a ruddy bloated gasbag; nebulous and ineffectual, and ready to die. Overtaken by partisan Lefties who as is their tendency, once in a position of power pack the organisation with like-minded cronies who between them burn up its reserves of credibility before the whole thing either explodes spectacularly, or shrinks, to die a forgotten and unlamented death.
#11
Another attempt by furners to influence the election. Did Soros do the coordination of foreigners so it would be under the SMERSH umbrella instead of the DNC?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 8:36 Comments ||
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#12
This is an attempt by AI to soddimize that prisoner abuse dead horse yet again in order to swing the election.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 9:42 Comments ||
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#15
As I recall, AI used to complain about innocents being deprived of their liberty or life under various dictatorships. I thought it was interesting, albeit ineffectual.
I'd rather see tyrants killed or captured than have a bunch of AI groupies writing 10,000 letters of complaint to said tyrants.
And now the hippies are aiming their complaints at the people who actually topple blood-thirsty tyrants.
Osama Bin Laden fled Afghanistan following the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. He briefly retreated into the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir in January 2002. By June 2002, bin Laden had reportedly moved south into Baluchistan, a mountainous, autonomous tribal region in western Pakistan. It was a sensible place for him to hide. The Baluch are a nation without a country; their ancestral homeland straddles Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. It is likely that his confederates have family and friends among the Baluch. A number of high-ranking al Qaeda operatives are ethnic Baluch, including Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Yousef's uncle, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the operational planner of the September 11 attacks.
The Baluch have a long history of harboring terrorists. Saddam Hussein financed Baluch terrorists against Pakistan as far back as 1969, Iraq expert Laurie Mylroie told me. In July 2002, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf announced that he was sending commandos into the tribal areas of Pakistan to flush out bin Laden. If Pakistani troops were quick and thorough, bin Laden would find himself surrounded—and perhaps even betrayed for the $25 million price on his head. Relying on the goodwill of Baluch cutthroats, he must have known, was not a viable long-term strategy.
Seemingly desperate, bin Laden recorded an extraordinary audiotape and sent it via courier to Ali Khomenei, the grand ayatollah of Iran's Supreme Council. On that tape, according to a former Iranian intelligence officer I interviewed in Europe, bin Laden asked for Iran's help. In exchange for safe harbor and funding, he pledged to put al Qaeda at the service of Iran to combat American forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, where al Qaeda leaders believed American intervention was inevitable. Bin Laden reportedly pledged, "If I die, my followers will be told to follow you [Khomenei]."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/27/2004 9:30:43 AM ||
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This seems to be based on the work of an Iranian intel turncoat who could be a plant.
I have no doubt Iran and Qaeda are allies of convenience. But the reason Iran won't let Binny make any more videos is...
I suspect every one would prefer Binny to be alive, but where's the pic? Dan has assembled the circumstantial evidence, in his usual and incredible comprehensive fashion, that he is with us still. But I can't imagine that he has really been cured of his video addiction.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 9:56 Comments ||
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#2
But ... but ... but they couldn't be allied. OBL was a Wahabi Sunni and the Iranian regime is Shiite. They would no more ally themselves than they would with a secular state like Saddam's Iraq.
#3
This fits in with what I have been hearing from my Jordanian grocer who has lots of interesting things to say about Zarqawi as well.
I would rate it a distinct possibility.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/27/2004 21:20 Comments ||
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#4
I read Miniter's book Losing Bin Laden, and I thought it was excellent. It's well worth reading.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/27/2004 22:33 Comments ||
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#5
Miniter is an excellent writer, but I believe he as well as this author are wrong about Binny's status.
Binny is wormdirt in a collapsed cave in Tora Bora. No TV since then and Binny woulda shoved even Joe Biden away from the cam to show his all-powerful, caliph-like face. Bought the farm. Bloomin' daisies.
No real and identified proof of his existence. No tape to "show-up" W before the election. No other rational reason for Binny to hide.
Ayman tells everyone he is in touch wtih Binny on the sly and they all believe, cause, you know, we're talkin' BINNY here. Caliph-to-be, the Potential Potentate, the ayatollah of rock-and-rolla! They can't admit his death-by-JDAM. Sheesh.
French, British and German officials are due to meet Iranian negotiators on Wednesday to discuss a European proposal that Teheran scrap its uranium enrichment programme in exchange for nuclear technology. The two sides met to discuss the offer last week, but that meeting ended only with an agreement to continue talks.
And they'll talk, and talk, and talk, and ...
If Iran rejects the European Union offer, diplomats say most European nations except for the French, of course will back US demands that Teheran be reported to the UN Security Council for possible economic sanctions when the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) governing board meets in November. Iran's top security official, Hassan Rohani, indicated on Monday that Teheran might agree to the first part of the EU trio's deal - an indefinite freeze on uranium enrichment activities. Once that suspension is in place, the EU trio has pledged to negotiate a full solution, which could include help with Iran's civilian nuclear technology and a trade deal in return for scrapping nuclear fuel cycle activities for good.
Yasss, the Kerry-Edwards plan!
But Hossein Mousavian, one of Iran's top nuclear negotiators, said on Tuesday: "We will not have any new offer at Wednesday's meeting but ... we will discuss the European proposal's ambiguities." One European diplomat said there was concern Iran may agree to freeze enrichment and then drag out talks to buy time and ease political pressure as it did in a similar 2003 deal.
And it worked so well last time, too.
Iran last year agreed to temporarily halt all activities linked to uranium enrichment, a process that can produce bomb-grade material, and signed up to snap inspections of its nuclear facilities in a bid to counter US-led charges that it has a covert nuclear arms programme. Teheran's suspension of enrichment itself has remained in place but it has resumed making and assembling centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium. It has also said it plans to convert 37 tonnes of raw uranium into the feed material for centrifuges. The IAEA, at its last board meeting in September, called on Iran to halt all such activities.
You guys, c'mon now, please?
Hardline Iranian lawmakers, who control a majority in Iran's parliament, on Tuesday introduced a bill that would oblige the government to resume enrichment and halt snap inspections. Government officials have said they would have no choice but to obey such a bill if enacted but diplomats said Iran was using it as a bargaining tool ahead of Wednesday's talks.
"Sorry Jacques, Tony, Gerhard, but they forced my hand!"
Meanwhile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) -- the political wing of the exiled group known as the People's Mujahideen Organisation (MKO) -- was angered by a section of the document outlining the EU trio's offer which said the EU would "continue to regard the MKO as a terrorist organisation" if Iran complied with the terms of the offer. The NCRI said the issue of whether or not the MKO was a terrorist organisation had nothing to do with Iran's willingness to accept the offer and should be left out of the deal. An NCRI spokesman said the group was planning a protest demonstration in Vienna on Wednesday.
Unless the Euro police stop them, of course.
The NCRI sparked the investigation of Iran's nuclear programme when it said in August 2002 that Iran was hiding a massive underground uranium enrichment site at Natanz and a heavy-water production plant at Arak.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2004 12:54:26 AM ||
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It's kind of interesting to watch a negotiation in which one side knows the other side's bottom-line position, which here is that the EU collectively won't fight no matter what.
"Hossein, see if you can get them to stand on one leg."
"Ho, that's a good one. That, plus they all have to sing the Tehran U fight song."
Posted by: Matt ||
10/27/2004 16:32 Comments ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2004 10:27:45 PM ||
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Britain, France and Germany have offered Iran a trade deal and peaceful nuclear technology...
Diplomats called the package a "last chance" offer to Iran ahead of a key Nov. 25 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which could result in Tehran's defiance being reported to the U.N. Security Council, which has the authority to impose punishing sanctions.
Punishing like the ones imposed on Iraq. And we saw how that turned out. Some people never learn.
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/27/2004 0:57 Comments ||
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GERTZ // THURSDAY // WASH TIMES: Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned. John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad.
#1
I think there's a connection here to Mohammed El-Baredai speaking before the U.N. on Monday. I think there's some linkage between him and the Kerry campaign, given that we know 1) the original "scandal" came from the IAEA and 2) it was fed to the NY Times and CBS. I think the release of this information by a low-level government official is an effort to discredit him before he gets up to speak (and I hope it works)!
#2
I seem to recall a story in the aftermath of the fall of Baghdad wherein a Russian "diplomatic" convoy was shot up by US troops. Speculation here at Rantburg at the time was that they were taking out papers from the Iraqi Intelligence services (if I remember right).
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
10/27/2004 23:07 Comments ||
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This doesn't make sense unless there were hundreds of truck loads taken to Syria. There were higher priority cargo to hide such as money, incriminating documents, and NBC stocks and equipment. The simpler argument is probably correct. Some time between Jan and late March, the Iraqis hid the explosives.
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2004 23:14 Comments ||
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#4
Ed ..read the whole article...it is full of details.
#5
I haven't been able to get into the Wash Times article. Seems to be a problem at the site. Will read it when I am able and maybe comment later.
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2004 23:28 Comments ||
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#6
Site just slammed by Drudge. It's there.
I presume this leak of more details on the Russia/Iraq/Syria WMD stories that had been floating around is intended to counter the October Surprise(tm) IAEA media spin that's clearly intended to influence the election.
It'll be dismissed by the rest of the media as it's in the Washtimes and does not fit the prevailing story line.
#8
I'm not a big conspiracy theorist, but it seems like this could have been the Bush team's plan.
Feed them a story.
Then Dubya can just say "I'm glad you brought up those explosives, let me tell you about them"
#10
I read the Wash Times article. We already know the Russians helped Saddam moved stuff to Syria. Saddam couldn't afford to be caught with chem or bio warfare material. But the explosives were already documented are inexpensive and easy to make. So I don't see where it is worth it for Saddam and the Russians to risk shipping it to Syria. I guess we will just have to wait and see if that 26 page captured document lists what was taken to Syria. Let's wait for tomorrows to see what new details emerge. Goodnight.
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2004 1:57 Comments ||
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#11
Russian "troops"? How many Russian troops were in Baghdad just before Mar 03? Doesn't make much sense to me. Then again, if it increases FUD among the MSM, 's allright with me.
Sunday, April 6, 2003 Posted: 9:23 PM EDT (0123 GMT)
FALLUJAH, Iraq (CNN) -- A convoy of vehicles carrying Russian diplomats and journalists came under fire Sunday as it headed out of Baghdad, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/28/2004 12:06 Comments ||
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US government sources have confirmed that anti-terror forces, including the FBI and CIA, are attempting to confirm the authenticity of a new videotape, featuring a spokesman who claims to be an al Qaeda operative, that claims the US is about to be attacked. As first reported by internet shock columnist Matt Drudge earlier today, the hour-long videotape was obtained by America's ABC News in Pakistan over the weekend and was passed along to anti-terror groups in the US after being viewed by network exectutives. ABC News vice president Jeffrey Schneider told Reuters that the network had been "working around the clock" to determine whether or not the tape was authentic. He denied allegations that the network planned to release the tape as a news story on election eve, saying any delay in airing the contents was down to concerns about authenticity. "Obviously, it would be beyond irresponsible to broadcast this tape without first authenticating it," he told Reuters.
The Administration confirmed that US intelligence officials were examining the tape. "The intelligence community is analyzing it, working to verify its authenticity," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. According to Matt Drudge, "The terrorist claims on tape the next attack will dwarf 9/11. 'The streets will run with blood,' and 'America will mourn in silence' because they will be unable to count the number of the dead. Further claims: America has brought this on itself for electing George Bush who has made war on Islam by destroying the Taliban and making war on Al Qaeda. "
Matt Drudge said US intelligence officials believe the man on tape may be Adam Gadhan - aka Adam Pearlman, a California native who was highlighted by the FBI in May as an individual most likely to be involved in or have knowledge of the next al Qaeda attacks. According to Reuters, sources said linguistic experts who have examined the tape believe the man, who identifies himself only as "Azzam the American," learned English at a very young age but is not a native speaker of the language. According to MSNBC, however, intelligence officials have indicated that they are unable to authenticate the tape and will probably let that be their last word on the matter.
The MSNBC story quotes anonymous officials as saying analysts' concerns about the tape's warnings were "low" because it was not clear that the tape was recorded recently and because the man on the tape, who spoke in what appeared to be an American accent, mentioned no details. ABC News has not said what it will do with the tape absent a confirmation of authenticity.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/27/2004 9:01:56 PM ||
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An hour long -- what a rant!
Posted by: Tom ||
10/27/2004 21:18 Comments ||
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#2
Blah blah blah streets run red with blood blah blah blah America bad blah blah blah Osama organic paste on cave wall blah blah blah
#3
When I first read it on Drudge, Tom, I wondered just what in hell can you rant about for an hour. Then I thought of Fidel Castro, and his marathon speeches, and I wondered just what did HE talk about.
I think that this should be reported, with a summary of blather contained therein, but it should not be shown on the telly, as doing so would just create a forum for every nutcase to get their video on the air.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/27/2004 21:31 Comments ||
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They are learning the powerful language of JUCHE.
#6
Here's a transcript of the tape: "Dirka dirka dirka Jihad dirka Allah dirka dirka camel dirka America dirka dirka Osama dirka burkha AK-47 dirka Mohammed dirka Kim Sung Il dirka dirka dirka vote for John Kerry dirka dirka Jihad dirka".
Posted by: A Jackson ||
10/27/2004 22:54 Comments ||
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America.....*&^% YEAH!
Ha, ha, A. Jackson. I keep laughing every time I think of that scene where he gives "the signal" from the back of the jeep. If that was any funnier, they'd have to sell Depends(TM) at the concession stands!
#8
...and what makes it even funnier is the mere concept of a Mooselimb terrorist named Pearlman!! Jeebus, doesn't it just sound like something written for an SNL skit??!!
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
10/28/2004 0:42 Comments ||
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And so it will go on, until the Shi'ites of Pakistan and Afghanistan have smoked out bin Laden, al-Zawahiri and Mullah Mohammad Omar, the amir of the Taliban, and dispatched them to their maker or, worse still, to the Americans at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
by Eric Schmitt EFL; LRR; hat tip to guest blogger Michael Totten at Instapundit
A military offensive by American and Iraqi forces to reclaim rebel-held Falluja is probably inevitable and would be the largest and potentially the riskiest since the end of major combat in May 2003, senior American officers say. It would also involve major operations to seize control of Ramadi, another contested Sunni Muslim city 30 miles away, and to shut Syrian border crossings to prevent foreign fighters from streaming into Iraq, Marine commanders here say. . . . The timing and decision to carry out any attacks or close any border crossings is up to the prime minister, Ayad Allawi, senior Marine officers say. But as peace negotiations with representatives of Falluja have broken down, senior officers say it could be just weeks before air and ground attacks begin, in a battle that officers estimate could last from several days to two weeks.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/27/2004 6:37:22 PM ||
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Just after they found all those dead Iraqis at the border? Sounds like the shia are looking for some payback and big time! Go to it boys.
I wonder how much press this is getting in the arab media?
Or the fact that muslims attend and learn at Tel Aviv U.
Heck...I wonder what percentage of arabs even know that muslims live and worship inside Israel! Or that they have elected members of the Israeli Parliament!
are those crickets I hear?
A Muslim house of worship was inaugurated on the Tel Aviv University campus on Wednesday evening, in a festive ceremony. Some 1,200 Arab students study at Tel Aviv University, most of the Muslims. The mosque is located in one of the halls in the student dormitories on Einstein Street in the North Tel Aviv neighborhood of Ramat Aviv. The establishment of the mosque was initiated by the Ikra movement, a national movement that aids Arab students in institutes of higher education. Muslim students held an Aftar feast (a festive meal ending a fast day during the holy month of Ramadan) at 5:30 P.M. Afterwards a ceremony was held in the house of worship. Some 80 individuals will be able to take part in prayers at the mosque. Ufa Abu-Namr, an Ikra representative at Tel Aviv University, said Wednesday that the establishment of the house of worship was coordinated with university authorities and was given necessary authorization.
#1
I wonder how much press this is getting in the arab media?
The likely answer? N-o-n-e.
And if there were any press, very few readers/listeners would be capable of grasping the implications of this development. If anything, the presence of a mosque on the campus of a Jewish university would likely be viewed by the majority of Arab masses as a Muslim safehouse in the midst of enemy territory.
Embassy of Estonia:
Mr. JÃŒri Luik, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
1730 M Street, Suite 503, NW, Washington DC 20036
Telephone: (202) 588-0101
Fax: (202) 588-0108
E-mail: info@estemb.org
URL: http://www.estemb.org/
Consulate General of the Republic of Estonia in New York:
Consul General, Mr. Peeter Restsinski
Consul, Ms. Signe Matteus
600 Third Avenue, 26th floor
New York, NY 10016-2001 USA
Telephone: 1 (212) 883 0636 Consular Section
Fax: 1 (212) 883 0648
#1
I just faxed the following letter to both fax numbers:
To the Government and people of Estonia:
I would like to extend my personal condolences and those of the American people to the nation and people of Estonia for the death of an Estonian soldier this week while engaged in the Liberation of Iraq. We very much appreciate the contributions that Estonia has made to the Coalition. We are truly saddened by the deaths and injuries that the brave soldiers of Estonia have incurred in that endeavor.
Please be assured that our prayers are with the family of this brave man, and we hope that his family finds some comfort that he died for the cause of freedom. Our thoughts and prayers are also with those wounded soldiers. We hope they have a speedy recovery and a safe return to their loved ones.
Please convey to your government our profound gratitude and thanks for your nationâs assistance in Iraq. Many in America realize that we could have no truer friends in world politics than the formerly captive nations of the Baltic.
#2
"Many in America realize that we could have no truer friends in world politics than the formerly captive nations of the Baltic."
Better also add an addendum that whenever people attack those evil cowardly appeassing Europeans collectively, they really don't *mean* to insult Estonians as well, they are only insulting them because they are too stupid to know any better.
#3
Better also add an addendum that whenever people attack those evil cowardly appeassing Europeans collectively, they really don't *mean* to insult Estonians as well
I believe that's why the words "we could have no truer friends in world politics than the formerly captive nations of the Baltic." were used.
#4
Aris, Not all Europeans think the same. It seems the East is now the side who thinks rationally about the future. Most of the West is lost. I include in that list: Spain, Belgium, Phrance, Germany, Greece. In my opinion, the only Europeans who have some clue about the current fight are: Britain, Italy under Berlusconi, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Norway and the rest have other agendas. Oh, and I must now include Estonia inder the "getsit" list.
Aris, your country will become the backwater it deserves when it become Dhimmi as will several other European countries.
Y'all don't have the cajones to fight for yourself and will be enslaved by others. It is a battle the Amis won't do again.
#5
Echoing what Brett had to say. When we deride "Europe" we are referring to the parts who claim to speak for the whole continent and claim exclusive rights to class and culture, i.e. France, Belgium, Greece and those who think like them. We are referring to the parts of Europe that have not shown honor, integrity and bravery for many generations. Aris, this was a good opportunity for you to keep quiet.
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2004 23:31 Comments ||
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ed> When we deride "Europe" we are referring to the parts who claim to speak for the whole continent
The sad thing is that you are not seeing the inherent irony of that sentence. You are labelling "Europe" those parts that *supposedly* claim to speak for the entire continent? By your very actions you are indicating your belief they are *right* when they (supposedly) claim to be speaking for the entire continent.
We are referring to the parts of Europe that have not shown honor, integrity and bravery for many generations.
Yeah, when you are talking about "Europe" you are only using it to describe the bits of Europe you don't actually like -- that's what I'm saying. So hatred of Europe is not just automatic for you, it's a matter of definitions. You've reached the stage of the good fanatic where they don't need to think any more, they've redefined language to do their thinking for them. "Duckspeaking" that was called in 1984, I believe.
How else, afterall, could someone *possibly* become an adherent of fascism if they didn't condition themselves to imbue an automatically negative meaning in groupings of people? If "Jew" wasn't felt like a slur by Nazis they wouldn't be Nazis -- if "European" wasn't turned into an automatic insult by you and your likeminded, ed, you wouldn't be yourself either.
"This was a good opportunity to keep quiet" you say? Am afraid that no matter what you claim about the meaning of "European", all Estonians know that they *are* indeed Europeans. I doubt any black person with dignity would feel better if he were told by a random racist "Oh, when I say that black people are contemptible criminals, I don't mean *you*. You and your family happen to be nice fellows, I mean those *other* black people".
But go right ahead -- keep on insulting Europeans as a whole and see how many friends you'll have kept in a couple decades in any part of the continent, east or west. Perhaps you'll find they'll not be so easily assured that your contempt for the Euros doesn't extend to them as well.
Brett> Don't tell *me* that not all Europeans think the same. Tell those people who've turned "Euro" into an insult in this forum, insulting the whole of the continent, and then suddenly remember to praise the Polish or the Bulgarians or the Estonians or the Italians or whoever, and the don't even see the inherent crystal-clear contradictions between these thoughts. That was what "doublethink" was all about in 1984.
#7
Aris, you've obviously just read a little Orwell, so I'm not quite going to piss on you for it. Just read some more, OK?
On the Euros---sure, know liberal leftists in Italy, who talk about how America is going to get "another big surprise," and who can't believe that I associate with "black n***ers" in my musical group.
I have friends in Hungary who stand very closely in solidarity with America in these trying times.
But I don't know anyone in Europe who views so few, so many, so much, or ALL of America as negatively as you.
Oh, you feel kindly toward those "other" Americans?
That's exactly my case in point.
#8
Aris,
How long have Greeks, French (the "Euros" if you like) been practicing hatred againt Americans? How many hundreds of years have the oh-so-cultured-and-prejudiced among you stereotyped Americans as dimwitted, greedy, animalistic. Why even the American air itself caused atavism. Interchange Jew and American and you can't even tell the difference in propaganda.
How long during the cold war, while Americans worked hard and spent vast sums to keep western Europe from being overrun, did many Europeans (esp. French) demonize and blame America for the millions of Soviet troops and thousands of nuclear warheads on western Europe's border. The cold war was Ameica's fault, not the Soviet Union imposing dictatorships in eastern Europe. If only those wild-eyed American went away, there would be peace and flowers in Europe. How long after the fall of the Soviet Union fell that the opinion leaders in Europe (but not all Europe, just the part you support) cynically, and vastly trumped up hatred for American to unite the different members, even to explicitly call for being the opposing power in the post cold war. How long has your government, media and opinion leaders generated the worst stereotypes and propaganda against Americans to unite and elevate your yourselves.
You, like a typical socialist Euro (see I don't have to lump all people in Europe together), keep talking about facsist Americans, but it has been Europe who has embraced fascism and it has been fascist Europeans who have exported it (can you say Baath Party). What's the saying? Europe always talks about America falling under fascism, but fascism always manages to land in Europe. The New Europeans are probably keeping a wary on you, because history says it's you who are the fascists. Just as fascists and communists needed Jews as enemies, French-led, Greek-followed Europe needs a new enemy, preferably one that is tolerant and loathe to bite back. Well the Jews are almost exterminated, so let's demonize the Americans. They have been so forgiving of the crap tossed at them all these years, and best of all, far away. But you didn't expect those stupid Americans to take notice of your cynical and shameful ploy. But we did notice and we are angry. So get used to our hatred for you and your like minded boys. We have many years left to return the favor.
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2004 1:47 Comments ||
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#9
What most of you are forgetting, is that East Europeans or not, they are still Europeans first. For some of them, helping out in Iraq and Afghanistan was a big thank-you for letting them in to NATO. Now watch for a gradual shift away from being America-friendly. They are now part of the EU, afterall.
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/28/2004 2:07 Comments ||
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#10
On the Euros---sure, know liberal leftists in Italy, who talk about how America is going to get "another big surprise," and who can't believe that I associate with "black n***ers" in my musical group
Your point? That there exist evil bigoted asses in both continents? Ofcourse.
Something more relevant next time, please. For example I'm only concerned about the bigoted asses of this forum.
But I don't know anyone in Europe who views so few, so many, so much, or ALL of America as negatively as you.
That's because you are illiterate and you couldn't read my actual statements about America if you tried. You still have your own little version of my words echoing around your skull, not anything I've actually said.
Oh, you feel kindly toward those "other" Americans?
When have I ever insulted Americans as a whole? Answer that or be damned, Asedwich. Unlike many of you, I'm not a bigot.
My contempt is always directed personally.
How long have Greeks, French (the "Euros" if you like)
NO, ed, I won't submit to your politically twisted usage of language. Any definition of Europe that includes Greece and France and leaves out Italy and Estonia, is a definition that is utterly WRONG.
Brits may be able to twist your evident contempt for Europe by inserting the word "continental" before any reference to European and believing, or pretending to believe that your contempt towards Europe refers to continental Europe alone.
But the mental gymnastics that Estonians would require to use in order to redefine your insulting use of "Europe" in a way that wouldn't include them personally -- do you see that as something that any people with dignity would do? I don't. In the end they'll either despise you for the contempt you are giving them, or dismiss you as hopelessly ignorant and stupid.
I wouldn't be so upset about that if I didn't feel that America and Europe need to be allied if Western civilisation is to survive as a whole.
been practicing hatred againt Americans? How many hundreds of years have the oh-so-cultured-and-prejudiced among you stereotyped Americans as dimwitted, greedy, animalistic.
Who gives a shit? I'm talking about actual people here present in this forum, you are talking about abstract examples concerning "cultured and oh-so-prejudiced" people looking down on Americans that supposedly date centuries back.
Very well, those specific prejudiced Europeans are stupid morons too. And so are you who is so determined to outprejudice them as well. Does that make you feel better? That your own personal brain (no need to stereotype Americans here, it's YOU and your like-minded people here I'm concerned with) is as miniscule and your attitude as insufferable as the worst stereotypes of the continent you despise?
You are responsible for your own bigotry, ed. You are not responsible for what other Americans have done and I am not responsible for what other Europeans have done. I don't have contempt for you as an American, I have contempt for you for what you have personally stated and believed.
"The cold war was Ameica's fault, not the Soviet Union imposing dictatorships in eastern Europe. If only those wild-eyed American went away, there would be peace and flowers in Europe. How long after the fall of the Soviet Union fell that the opinion leaders in Europe (but not all Europe, just the part you support) cynically, and vastly trumped up hatred for American to unite the different members, even to explicitly call for being the opposing power in the post cold war. How long has your government, media and opinion leaders generated the worst stereotypes and propaganda against Americans to unite and elevate your yourselves"
You babble and babble and babble some more, and nothing that I *actually* said, is even included here. What does that tell about your argument against me, when you are forced to not describe my own opinion, but describe other Europeans' opinion and then blame me for them?
You, like a typical socialist Euro (see I don't have to lump all people in Europe together), keep talking about facsist Americans
I'm talking about a fascist YOU (and you, and you and you). If you think that your being an American is central to your fascism, that's your own problem, not mine.
The New Europeans are probably keeping a wary on you
Oh, *another* nice little word construction. "New Europeans".
And the remainder of your post remains ignorant non-sequitur babble, irrelevant and unconnected to anything I actually said.
A top Iraqi science official says it is impossible that 350 tonnes of high explosives could have been smuggled out of a military site south of Baghdad before the regime fell last year.
Well, if they were moved by Saddam's regime before it fell, it wouldn't be smuggling now, would it?
The UN nuclear watchdog this week said the explosives went missing from a weapons dump some time after Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled in April 2003.
Not that they were anywhere near Iraq at the time.
But as the issue of the missing explosives took centre stage in the US presidential campaign, some US officials have suggested they had gone before the US-led forces moved on Baghdad.
"It is impossible that these materials could have been taken from this site before the regime's fall," Mohammed al-Sharaa, who heads the Science Ministry's site monitoring department, said. "The officials that were inside this facility (Al-Qaqaa) beforehand confirm that not even a shred of paper left it before the fall. "I spoke to them about it and they even issued certified statements to this effect which the US-led coalition was aware of."
NOTE: "The officials that were inside this facility beforehand" Which means they were part of Saddam's regime, as I expect Mohammed al-Sharaa was as well. Of course, they don't have any reason to lie. Right?
Mr Sharaa also warns that other nearby sites with similar materials could have also been plundered. -- AFP
Posted by: Steve ||
10/27/2004 9:36:18 AM ||
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Lets see...380 tons. Hmm. That would take a hundred men and 40 dump trucks, 10, 12hr days to move right in front of the US military.
Anyhew, didnt we already see NBC's 2003 video yesterday?
#2
How hard is it to prove they were or werent there anyways? Are we gonna hear a solid rebuke of these accusations besides Cheneys remarks that say He is not sure that the 380 tons was even there when the US arrived? Ok back to the video....http://www.dailyrecycler.com/blog/2004/10/nytrogate.html
#3
It would take 40 dump trucks--possibly more than that depending on the capacity of Iraqi trucks-- but how many white Toyota pick-up trucks would it take?
The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that several hundred tons of conventional explosives have gone missing from an Iraqi military facility. But NBC reported that when U.S. forces arrived at the Al Qaqaa base on April 10, 2003, the explosives were already missing. The IAEA said it was informed by the Iraqi government that 342 tons of high explosive material have disappeared since 2003. The agency said the material was taken by looters who exploited the lack of security at government facilities, Middle East Newsline reported. "The Iraqis told the agency the materials had been stolen and looted because of a lack of security at governmental installations," an IAEA statement said. "We do not know what happened to the explosives or when they were looted."
Later, agency officials said the explosives were taken from the former Iraqi military base at Al Qaqaa, about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad. They said the explosives included HMX and RDX, employed for building demolition, production of missile warheads and detonation of nuclear weaponry. HMX and RDX have been also termed key components in such plastic explosives as C4 and Semtex. Iraqi insurgents, particularly those loyal to Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, have used plastic explosives in scores of car bombings in Iraq over the last 16 months. "The explosives in question are given as: HMW [195 tons], which had been under IAEA seal; and RDX [141 tons] and PETN [six tons], both subject to regular monitoring of stock levels," an letter from IAEA director-general Mohammed El Baradei to the Security Council said. "The presence of these amounts was verified by the IAEA in January 2003."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 9:52:00 AM ||
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#1
This story at Al Qaqaa is so much ka ka spun by Kerry, the Kerryistas, and the liberal media trying to find any issue (even if not true) to smear the President. Hope the American people don't fall for this ka ka.
#2
"The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that several hundred tons of conventional explosives have gone missing from an Iraqi military facility."
The UN is trying to change the outcome of the US presidential election. The US out of any involvement with the weak will and misled IAEA and the UN.
#3
On Nov 3, after he has won, President Bush should announce an inquiry into NYTroGate. And don't stop until ElBaradei's nefarious role is firmly established.
I know we're supposed to be civilized and a role model for the rest of the world, but sometimes I wish we could simply have our enemies assassinated without further ado. I'm sure it would change a lot of the dynamics.
"EXCLUSIVE: At least 100 V-2 rockets are missing from the Mittelwerke plant where they were manufactured by slave labor during the nazi era.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited the Mittelwerke during the past week and report that the site is not under guard by US troops and that all V-2s have been removed.
The discovery of the missing rockets comes despite repeated denials from Bush Administration officials that any V-2s have fallen into the hands of terrorists."
#5
This is such a big giant WHO CARES! If this is the best that the Dem's can do for an Oct surprise, they better get busy tearing up those military ballots and handing out crack.
OPEC wants the United States to dip further into its strategic petroleum reserve to help reduce world oil prices. "We have asked them (the United States) to use their oil reserves to help cool down the prices," OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro, who is also Indonesia's mines and energy minister, told reporters. He said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would discuss the issue further with the United States, but did not elaborate. He didn't say whether the United States had responded to the request. The United States has just under 300 million barrels of crude in its emergency stockpile, and Washington's move early this month to loan out 4.2 million barrels of it had no noticeable impact on prices.
Purnomo also has asked OPEC members to increase production "to give a signal to the market that we aren't short of supply." Light, sweet crude for December delivery hit a record high of US$55.67 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange on supply concerns ahead of winter in the U.S. and continued healthy oil demand from China. Unrest in key oil producing countries has also fuelled the rise in crude prices in recent months, which is underlined by limited excess capacity. It hovers about 1 per cent above the world's daily consumption of 82.4 million barrels per day, leaving little wiggle room if there is a production outage.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 4:03:40 AM ||
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#1
The reserve should be measured in days, not barrels, and it's not a lot of days. And it's ours. And we're not even an OPEC member. Tell OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro to go @#$% himself.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/27/2004 8:36 Comments ||
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#2
"to give a signal to the market that we arenât short of supply."
No supply shortage, just irrational exuberance.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 8:46 Comments ||
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Tom, the next time I see him I shall pass that on ...word for word.. @#$%....and throw in a few ##^*%! for good measure. :)
Mrs, I would say depending on the type/grade of refined products, in some geographic areas there are 'tight' supplies, but no real global shortages ....at this time. If it's an extra cold winter, demand could rise considerably, causing further spikes in price for the entire energy complex.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 9:25 Comments ||
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So why has the price of oil risen?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 9:38 Comments ||
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Only certain grades of crude oil are in short supply such as Brent, Saudi Light and certain Gulf Coast crudes. There is plenty of the heavy high sulfur crudes. The crux of the matter is that you can push more of the light grades through the refineries achieving high output of light distillate fuels such as gasoline and diesel. The heavy grades are refined at a lower through-put rate with lower percentages of light distillate produced. To use the heavy crudes effiencly, the refinery must be built to order, ie larger desulfurization units, cat crackers and reformers. Sorry for geek speak, just not room to fully explain.
Posted by: Old Fogey ||
10/27/2004 10:22 Comments ||
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In the last year there are a number of reasons. This is the short list, not in any particular order of events.
Hurricanes effecting oil offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
China's massive energy appitite.
The world-wide lack of 'light sweet crude oil' Civil strife in Nigeria, Venezuwla.
Terrorism in leading OPEC exporters such as Saudi Arabia & Iraq.
Energy market 'fear factor' & greatly incresed trader speculation.
A big reason is mandated federal EPA 'reformulated gasoline' (RFG)which is specially processed & blended to reduce the emission of pollutants such as hydrocarbons, toxics, and nitrogen oxides. RFG is not cheap process to make considering the various blends for numerous major cities across the nation. The costs are passed on. California has it's very own Phase 2 Reformulated Gasoline.
The U.S. just doesnât have enough refining capacity to convert crude oil into RFG gasoline.
Taxes - taxes & more taxes. Check the pump for this information. Federal excise taxes are 18.4 cents per gallon, and state excise taxes average 19.96 cents per gallon.
I have to run ...I can add more if you like later on. Happy motoring :)
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 10:25 Comments ||
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#7
Just saw your posting 'Old Fogey'(love the name :) I would like to speak to you later on. Great posting! You are on the money!
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 10:27 Comments ||
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Lot's of words here, but they boil down to demand exceeds supply. Price rises. We need to get used to it. For all the other quibbles you have, they will be resolved by rising prices.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 10:32 Comments ||
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OPEC wants the United States to dip further into its strategic petroleum reserve to help reduce world oil prices.
#10
You mean like when the Marines have to go into eastern Arabia to restart the oil fields because the Sauds have lost control of their family inheritance?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 16:27 Comments ||
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We could only hope, Mrs. D. I think he means they will trip over themselves to help out the good ol' USA (sarcasm).
#12
I think oil producers are starting to worry. A lot of countries are considering switching to using other sources of fuel for power plants, etc. Because of heavy capital costs, once the switch occurs, oil demand falls permanently. Coal gasification plants are now being looked at, now that the price of oil is in the stratosphere. Plants that convert coal into gasoline are also being examined. Ironically, the cure for oil dependency is high oil prices. Only when oil prices skyrocket and stay high for some period of time, does it make financial sense to plough the tens of billions of dollars in capital equipment investments needed to switch to other power sources. I, for one, welcome these higher oil prices. In time, they will help destroy the developed world's dependence on oil as an energy source, and with it, the oil producers' finances and ability to export their dysfunctional values.
#13
Today some major profit taking took place in the 'energies'. On the strategic energy reserves; even if Washington released some or most of our stored 'emergency' oil reserves, it still have to be refined & would only amount to a few days, a week's worth of lower prices, then the market would return to the real picture. As 'Bomb-a-rama' stated, "What happens when it needs to be filled up again" and I would add, what happens in a real national security emergency?
Another item, Opec speaks with forked tongue. This Opec schlub in the news item above says 'open America's reserves', while last night Bloomberg's British desk on TV reported another top Opec man, a Mr. Rahman, stated he foresees $80 a barrel oil in 2005. Right now Opec oil producing states & other non-Opec major producers such as Canada, Norway, etc, are getting almost double returns in relation to this time last year for each barrel of crude oil. In one year crude as risen some 84%.
The guys at the top of each Opec nation play the energy markets too, both sides, bullish or bearish they gain and so do their brokers. Saddam did the same for years. The Iranian mullahs have been earning money by the barrel fulls....to further global jihad. Mullahs have brokers/traders too.
Zhang, At the end of the war in Europe, America 'obtained' the Nazi's then secret coal gasification plans, soon after, in the very late 1940's & early 1950's Washington ordered the constructed of coal gasification plants in Western states. They remain there today, if required. Will the Left squawk about pollution on the coal issue....again? Today's cleaner burning methods are a far cry from the old days.
A global switch off oil can not be done overnight. The terrorist enemy is absolutely cognizant of Western economics and will keep up the pressure. Sabotaging Iraq's pipelines & other oil targets should serve as a preview to what these madmen would love to do to Saudi Arabia's oil lifeline, coupled with other Gulf oil sheikdoms exporting oil to the 'infidel' energy deficient nations of the world, such as Japan, Spain, Italy, let's not forget France among many others.
Mrs. D, I hope all the postings have shed further light on the general topic. Good point on the Saudis.
Look, I'm saving gas!
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 19:04 Comments ||
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#14
Zhang Fei, I second your comments. A project I interned on involved figuring out how to get bituminous coal into a gas turbine's burner cans. it boiled down to tacking on an additional 25-40% on the cost of a power plant
(N.B. mostly for the emissions controls!!!).
The funny part was that the cost differential in fuel alone would have made up the difference in approx 5 years, but Lord hve mercy on the people who try to get approval for the first one. NIMBY dosent even come close. Its almost as easy to get approval for a nuke plant.
And on a purely personal note, as someone who drives a smallcompact tiny honda civic, it would be nice to not have to so often dodge the [expletives deleted] who drive their oversized SUVs while yakking on their cell phones. Alone. Those ID10Ts would prolly not even notice running over someone unless the dragging noise got through to them.
Posted by: N Guard ||
10/27/2004 19:06 Comments ||
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#15
I'd like to know who is highly leveraged in the oil market derivatives, in the fashion of the market manipulation that Soros specialized in and where he made made his billions.
Soros has, after all, announced that he is willing to use his entire fortune to defeat Bush. Raising oil prices to slow down the world (and US) economy may have seemed like a good plan one year ago?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/27/2004 03:53 ||
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#1
2 words: design flaw. Not having full control authority at all points in the flight envelope is a design flaw in civilian aircraft. At least, that's what I'd tell a jury.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
10/27/2004 10:29 Comments ||
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I seem to remember reading somewhere that the tail of the A300 is a composite material. If composites can't take that kind of stress, then Boeing may have to either rethink the 7E7 (supposedly will employ extensive use of composites) or make sure that what they have on the boards wrt structure and strength will work in the most extreme situation.
#4
Five words: design flaw or fabrication flaw. This mechanical engineer is not buying for one second the notion that a co-pilot in the cockpit should be capable of tearing the tail apart.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/27/2004 19:51 Comments ||
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Standing before the rows of graves, Afghan men open their hands to the sky. Their lips move in silent prayer to honor the dead. These dead are fighters of the Taliban and al-Qaida, killed in 2001 when an American bomb crushed the mosque nearby where they had mustered outside the eastern Afghan city of Khost. Since then, U.S. officials have paid for the mosque to be rebuilt. It stands freshly painted, but empty, a few hundred yards down the road.
There has been building, too, at the fighters' grave site. Donations by visitors have paid for brick walls and decorative iron grates around the graves, and there are plans for a roof over the enclosure. Unlike the American-funded mosque, the shrine draws a steady stream of visitors from eastern Afghanistan and from neighboring Pakistan.
Three years after America's military defeat of the Taliban and al-Qaida, graves of their dead — here and elsewhere — have become shrines for the ethnic Pashtuns who live in much of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The shrines underscore a reality for the U.S. effort to encourage democracy in both countries — an effort that formally defines the Taliban as an enemy.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/27/2004 3:51:26 AM ||
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Not sure these are exactly Islamic traditions. More like pre-Islamic folk religion, which is at odds with puritanism.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
10/27/2004 8:40 Comments ||
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More like some kind of cell meeting. We need to imbed pressure sensitive weapons in the headstones to drop the co-terorists when they come to hero worship. That would give Amnesia International something to really complai8n about.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/27/2004 8:50 Comments ||
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Two local men, one of them mentally disabled, keep the shrine swept clean.
If you vote for the Taliban, and they win, you're still a fuckin' retard.
#6
these are completely opposite to taliban Islamic practice. Wahabis/Deobandis oppose graveyard practices and have used such theological opposition to justify attacks against other Sunnis and Sufi's as defense of the religion against heretics. Go figure
Here in a depressed industrial town on the dusty road from Amman, the capital, he is remembered as an ordinary, if somewhat wayward, young man called Ahmed Khalayleh, who later took his nom de guerre from his birthplace. The Khalayleh home is still here — a drab, white building with a large satellite dish on the roof. Outside, grubby-faced children swarm around at the rare sight of a foreigner. Two young boys are playing tag. "You're Abu Musab," cries Saddam Aoudi, 10. "No, you're Abu Musab," his friend shouts back.
Behind the myth of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the West's new boogeyman, is the soft-featured terrorist who started out here as a tattooed small-town thug. In the dimmed recesses of the American military operations rooms dotted across Iraq, they call him "the Z-man." Intelligence specialists dedicated to studying him are referred to reverentially as "Zarqeologists. Zarqawi seems to be everywhere and yet nowhere, plotting terrorist attacks in Britain, Spain and Jordan, while moving like a specter through Iraq's heart of darkness. Files labeled "Top Secret" bulge with details of his life, but much of the lore surrounding him is suspected to be rumor or misinformation. A U.S. Marine Corps profile noted that he has a "possible prosthetic leg," a "possible shoulder injury" and a "possible Jordanian accent." He likes to travel alone, it revealed, as an "unassuming businessman" in a red Pontiac, gold sedan, white van or "any vehicle."
But the rumors about his prosthetic leg have been revised. "He's understood to walk with a limp," said one source. Zarqawi also is thought to use a personal digital assistant and take Zantac tablets — a common indigestion remedy. No one knows for sure whether the Sunni fundamentalist is still hiding out in the Iraqi rebel stronghold of Fallujah. Many opponents of American policy view him as an invention — rather than a terrorist mastermind with cells all over Iraq, the Caucasus and Western Europe. Whatever the truth, coalition intelligence officers certainly accept his claims that he has organized the killings of hundreds in Iraq and personally beheaded Westerners — including British engineer Kenneth Bigley, killed Oct. 7 by his kidnappers after three weeks in captivity. A videotape of his beheading was delivered to an Arabic television channel the next day.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/27/2004 3:49:30 AM ||
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...just a wayward, misunderstood, impoverished boy who got in with the wrong crowd.
Hey, the guy's a sadistic killer. He is good at killing bound innocent people who can't defend themselves. He doesn't deserve to live in any society.
Has Iraq made America's fight against Islamic extremism more difficult? Has the war further radicalized the Muslim world, making it easier for Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda to find and train suicidal holy warriors? Al Qaeda may remain today, as the always-thoughtful Clinton administration counterterrorist officials Daniel Benjamin and Steve Simon have written, "a dynamic ideological movement, part of a growing global insurgency [of Islamic extremism]." But does that mean that the war in Iraq, whether or not it was begun for sound and compelling reasons, has accelerated the creation of jihadists who live to kill us? The constant anonymous background discussions and leaks from active-duty and former soldiers, intelligence officers, and diplomats, which has produced a wide variety of newspaper and magazine articles casting the war as counterproductive, certainly suggest that many experts see the war as jet-fuel for bin Ladenism.
Senator John Kerry certainly believes that the war in Iraq has made us less safe by augmenting the numbers of Islam's killer-extremists. Echoing the sentiments, and often the language, of the former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke, the senator sees us waging a war in Iraq that is "a profound diversion" from the war on terror and "the battle against our greatest enemy: Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network." According to the senator, "the president's failures in Iraq have made us weaker, not stronger, in the war on terrorism. That is the hard truth. The president refuses to acknowledge it. But terrorism experts around the world do." In Kerry's eyes, President Bush's ineptitude in Afghanistan and Iraq has allowed al Qaeda to spread, "with thousands of militants plotting and planning in 60 countries, forging new relationships with at least 20 extremist groups in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia."
Now, leaving aside whether the war in Iraq is a distraction from the war on terror, are Kerry, Clarke, and it appears many, if not most, of the journalists on the terrorism beat and their official sources correct in their now-reflexive assumption that the war in Iraq has spurred a new generation of Islamic extremists to attack the United States? Probably not. One has to say "probably" since the answer is empirical: Not enough time has passed since March 2003 for scholars, journalists, and writers to travel among Islamic militants to get an accurate idea of what is actually happening in mosques and religious schools in the greater Middle East and Europe -- the two primary breeding grounds for the jihadism of 9/11.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/27/2004 3:35:27 AM ||
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I think a major catalyst for Al Qaeda was the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The AQ boyz attributed the victory over a superpower to Allah, and got the idea they could defeat the other superpower too.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
10/27/2004 9:03 Comments ||
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The Soviets were bloodied in Afghanistan, but not defeated. What forced them out was economics and President Reagan.
When the war started (Dec 79) President Carter's response was to withdraw from the Olympics and the Soviets were on a roll. Once Carter was defeated, the US joined with Pakistan to train the mujihadeen and the roll went in the other direction.
The Soviets didn't have the Rubles to maintain five divisions in Afghanistan, staunch the hemorrhage of radical Islam in the âstansâ and counter the threat of Star Wars at the same time.
And while the US and our coalition allies have the economic ability, it's a matter of do our citizens have the stomach to follow through. I sincerely hope so.
#5
I think V was referring to the Soviet withdrawl from Afghanistan, which was no victory for the commies, and the way it was meaningful to radical islamoids. And no doubt the islamoids gave credit to Allan, but of course they had some help from the outside. Very similar to the tough time we had in VietNam. Success in this in endeavor is no doubt related to who else is involved and how committed they are and how effectively we can deal with interlopers.
#7
"I think a major catalyst for Al Qaeda was the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The AQ boyz attributed the victory over a superpower to Allah, and got the idea they could defeat the other superpower too."
I always thought it had more to do with Oslo accords demonstrating that terrorism works.
To be fair, one reason is because it never occured to me that SU fell do to defeat in Afghanistan
It was the American intelligence agencies probing into the 9/11 terrorist attacks that first intercepted the rampant misuse of Indian banking channels for transferring huge chunks of money from one country to another. Top sources told this website's newspaper that the US investigators had zeroed in on a transaction amounting about Rs 600 crore that had been sent to the New York branch of the State Bank of India from the UAE in violation of laid down guidelines. Though there was no conclusive evidence to prove that this amount had reached the al Qaeda network, US agencies strongly believe that this amount was part of the terror funding funnelled into America by Laden men.
Following this, a huge fine was slapped on the SBI for not following strict norms that would possibly have prevented the transaction, sources said. The fine is estimated to be around US$ 100,000. An alert was also sent to India spurring intelligence agencies to launch a probe into the issue, which eventually led to the unearthing of transactions through five leading banks and several co-operative banks in North Kerala. The Reserve Bank of India, sources said, has already completed its investigation into the role played by banks in Kerala. ``They've definitely erred. Even basic norms were not followed while entertaining huge transactions. The RBI will have to issue more stringent norms to insulate the system from similar possible misuse,'' sources said. The RBI, while pulling up officials of all banks that figure in the Centre's list, has also penalised them with huge fines. ``All banks have paid the fine. They've also given an undertaking that henceforth RBI guidelines would be strictly adhered to,'' sources said. The RBI, meanwhile, has introduced an elaborate `know your customer' format with a view to preventing any more goof-up.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/27/2004 1:13:02 AM ||
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NEW DELHI — The new proposal floated by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to settle the much contentious Jammu and Kashmir issue is apparently in agreement with India's out-of-the-box suggestion to resolve the issue, as New Delhi has informally suggested the idea of having a soft border time and again. If India agrees to the proposal by any means, albeit with some changes, then both India and Pakistan would guarantee autonomy and not full independence to Jammu and Kashmir. Though India yesterday had a guarded response to the proposal, President Musharraf's offer to identify parts on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), demilitarise and grant them the independent status or administer under joint control or UN mandate is not far from reality. The latest offer has come at the time of the progressively moving Indo-Pak peace overtures that aims at finding an enduring solution to the Kashmir stalemate. Also it is at the time when both New Delhi and Islamabad are presently carrying out back-channel negotiations to find out a formula that can be agreed upon to both the nuclear rivals. It is believed that to both the countries it will not matter much even if there is a slight modification in the existing maps of Kashmir.
Considering the fact that neither of them would be ready to let Jammu and Kashmir slip out of hands, as it would have adverse political fallout in both the countries, top officials in the ministry of external affairs confirmed that India and Pakistan are in the process of finding a formula that can be a permanent answer to the longstanding dispute that made both countries battle out three hostilities. Pakistan National Security Council Secretary Tariq Aziz had held such consultations with National Security Advisor J. N. Dixit and one such meeting got leaked in a section of the Press recently. "First, we have to study the implications of making the LoC an international border. It is easier said than done as lot of changes would be mandatory," said officials.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2004 1:07:25 AM ||
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#1
Has Perv consulted the ISI about this? Good luck.
Multiple plots to attack American targets in Jordan have been broken up since April but the threat to US citizens and interests in the country remains high, the State Department said on Tuesday. The department, through the US embassy in Amman, said extremists affiliated with Iraq's most wanted man, Jordanian-born Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, and Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, "continue to call for violence against Americans." "The embassy has received credible reports that several plots to attack American interests in Jordan have been disrupted over the past six months," it said in a notice to US citizens issued on Monday. "Persons belonging to regional terrorist groups loyal to Abu Musab Al Zarqawi and Al Qaeda are believed to be present in Jordan, and intent on harming Americans," it said.
The embassy said the recent attacks in Egypt's eastern Sinai peninsula were a sign of the "seriousness of the continuing threat in the region" and noted that the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and violence in Iraq "continue to stoke regional tensions."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2004 1:03:28 AM ||
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KABUL - Hamid Karzai was set on Wednesday to become Afghanistan's first popularly elected leader, with vote-counting in the country's landmark election completed and the US-backed interim leader holding a comfortable majority. His victory and a fresh five-year term could take days to confirm, but Karzai already was under pressure to put the squeeze on the country's powerful warlords and tackle a narcotics industry threatening to overwhelm one of the world's poorest nations.
Sure. As if.
Officials declared the vote-count complete on Tuesday, giving some 1,500 weary staff at eight counting centers a well-earned rest in the middle of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Investigators were still examining about 100 suspect ballot boxes, but the election's chief technical officer said the count was effectively "over and done" with only "dribs and drabs" of ballots left to approve. "It's really nothing that can affect the outcome," David Avery told The Associated Press.
A talking animal on a Palestinian children's television show has advocated starting a massacre with AK-47 firearms. The violent suggestion came in response to a question from a child moderator on the program, which runs on official Palestinian TV, reported Palestinian Media Watch. The recently aired episode was dedicated to the importance of trees. The moderator asked "Tarabisho," a talking chick, what he would do if someone, specifically a "little boy," were to chop down his tree. In his squeaky little voice, Tarabisho answered that he would shoot the little boy with an AK-47 automatic rifle, create a massacre and make a riot.
#7
The US and the rest of the world desperately needs a MEMRI tv channel that translates and exposes the hatred and calls to murder spewing out of the Middle East.
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2004 0:05 Comments ||
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The Palestinian refugee believed to be the mastermind of bomb attacks on Israeli tourists in Egypt began dressing and talking like a Muslim fundamentalist more than a year ago, his neighbors and relatives said Tuesday. Ayad Said Saleh, who died in the worst of the bombings, was a religious fanatic who may have been linked to Islamic militants outside Egypt, but not necessarily Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida, investigators said.
"Coulda been somebody else. Y'never know..."
A day after the Ministry of Interior said it believed Saleh was behind the Oct. 7 blasts, neighbors and relatives said they can't believe he was a terrorist, but they did see a sharp change in his behavior. The 25-year-old taxi driver and school dropout grew his beard longer and exchanged T-shirts and slacks for the midcalf garb of fundamentalists. If a woman said hello, he wouldn't respond. He ignored neighbors whose observance fell short of his standards. In the street, the young taxi driver stared at the ground, avoiding the risk of inadvertent eye contact with a woman.
Yeah. That sounds pretty wahhabi...
Damned miserable Egyptian health care system, couldn't even refill this guy's perscription for mellaril.
Maybe he was plotting a terrorist attack, "but he never showed anything or told us anything," his 17-year-old sister, Falesteen told The Associated Press. "For me, he was just a normal guy. His only problem was that he wasn't giving us money" to help support the family. Authorities say Saleh plotted and executed three car-bomb blasts targeting Israeli tourists that killed at least 34 people and sheared the facade off a 10-story wing of the Taba Hilton hotel.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2004 10:21:47 PM ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
US government sources have confirmed that anti-terror forces, including the FBI and CIA, are attempting to confirm the authenticity of a new videotape, featuring a spokesman who claims to be an al Qaeda operative, that claims the US is about to be attacked. As first reported by internet shock columnist Matt Drudge earlier today, the hour-long videotape was obtained by America's ABC News in Pakistan over the weekend and was passed along to anti-terror groups in the US after being viewed by network exectutives. ABC News vice president Jeffrey Schneider told Reuters that the network had been "working around the clock" to determine whether or not the tape was authentic. He denied allegations that the network planned to release the tape as a news story on election eve, saying any delay in airing the contents was down to concerns about authenticity. "Obviously, it would be beyond irresponsible to broadcast this tape without first authenticating it," he told Reuters.
