Australian military officials on Friday appointed a former schoolteacher turned pilot to lead the country's troops in Iraq. Air Commodore Greg Evans - who left teaching to join the air force 22 years ago - will replace Brig. Peter Hutchison, who has led the Australian contingent since May this year. Defense Minister Robert Hill said Evans would lead troops helping coalition forces stabilize Iraq in preparation for Jan. 30 elections. "Air Commodore Evans assumes command at a critical stage of the rebuilding of Iraq, particularly as it prepares for the first democratically held elections in decades, an event that will stand as a pivotal moment in Iraq's history," Senator Hill said in a statement.ÂÂ
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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France has detained more than 1,000 radical Muslims and expelled 14 of them this year in a stepped-up campaign against fundamentalism, said Dominique de Villepin, the French interior minister who is alleged to be a man, on Thursday. New police teams dedicated to combating 'radical' Islam have also inspected all mosques and Muslim institutions in the greater Paris area, reducing the number of fundamentalist meeting places from 32 to 20, he told the Le Figaro newspaper in an interview.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2004 4:50:35 PM ||
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Germany's highest court overturned an extradition order against a suspected senior Al-Qaeda member, Mamoun Darkazanli, which would have seen him sent to Spain for trial. The constitutional court accepted a last-minute appeal by Darkazanli's lawyers after a lower court in Hamburg, northern Germany had ruled earlier that he could be handed over to Spain. Spanish anti-terrorist magistrate Baltasar Garzon indicted him in September last year along with some three dozen other suspects for their alleged connections to Al-Qaeda, and has requested his extradition under a new Europe-wide arrest warrant.
#1
The article is not very clear, but I think the extradition is being only delayed for another hearing (it hasn't been overturned).
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/26/2004 9:04 Comments ||
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#2
Mike---I hope that this is the case. The problem is that the lawyers will just delay delay delay this thing to death. On one hand we have the judicial process and hopefully justice, on the other hand, we have the safety of the public. The terrorists will us the judicial system against us. The strength of the West in the system of law can be our weakness (perceived and manipulated by them).
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/26/2004 13:26 Comments ||
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AFP
US-led forces on Friday seized control of the lawless town of Latifiyah south of Baghdad, in the latest effort to restore order in war-torn Iraq ahead of January polls. But violence raged elsewhere, as a British security firm announced four of its employees had been killed a day earlier in attack on Baghdad's "Green Zone" and 12 more bodies were discovered by US troops fighting insurgents in the north. An AFP correspondent in Latifiyah said US troops had entered the town Friday and reclaimed control of the roads, posting snipers on roofs as their offensive was met by little or no resistance. Latifiyah is a Sunni majority town which lies only 25 miles south of Baghdad, commands access from the capital to key cities in the south, and is considered a rear base for extremist insurgents based in the Fallujah area. "We're starting to suffocate them, and they're not liking it. We have a large target list, and we're going to continue to stay after them," a marine spokesman told AFP.
US marines, backed by British forces brought in from Basra and Iraqi troops, kicked off "Operation Plymouth Rock" on November 23, in a bid to root out the insurgency in the so-called "death triangle". The vast sweep of the lawless badlands south of Baghdad was launched quick on the heels of an onslaught on the insurgent capital of Fallujah. Marines were thought to be wrapping up their offensive in the radical Sunni bastion, but the city's main insurgent organisation announced in a statement Friday that it had managed to regroup and was resuming its attacks. An AFP reporter embedded with the US military in Fallujah said gunfire and explosions appeared significantly more intense than in the previous days.
Thousands of US and Iraqi troops were also deployed in the northern city of Mosul last week after rebels launched devastating attacks against police stations. On Friday, US soldiers found 12 unidentified bodies in the restive city, bringing to 40 the number of corpses discovered over the past week there. Most of those which have been identified appear to belong to members of the Iraqi security services, in what US military officials described as an intimidation campaign against Iraqi securitymen and civilians waged by the rebels.
Violence was also rife in the capital, as a British company with one of the largest contingent of private security guards in Iraq announced that four of its employees were killed in an attack the so-called "Green Zone" on Thursday. Their nationalities were not immediately known, but a spokesman for Global Risks Strategies said that more of the firm's staffers were also wounded in the attack. The Green Zone is the most strategic site in Iraq, a heavily-fortified compound which houses all the nation's key institutions as well as the US and British embassies.
As it continued to back US troops in a crackdown on rebel Sunni areas across the country, the Iraqi government was nevertheless trying to woo moderate Sunni Muslims into taking part in the elections. Faced with a threatened boycott by Sunni Arab parties of the landmark elections, which they say are premature and jeopardised by relentless nationwide violence, the government has made two gestures towards the former ruling minority. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced Thursday that his cabinet would engage in contacts with members of the opposition who were excluded from an international conference on Iraq held earlier this week in Egypt. "The government will initiate contacts in Amman in the near future with representatives of the Iraqi opposition to encourage them to take part in the polls," he told reporters. Zebari said that among those who would be consulted over the January 30 elections would be members of the former Baathist regime, many of whom were booted out of top jobs after the 2003 US-led invasion to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
World leaders gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday had urged all parties to take part in the vote, the first free and multi-party elections in Iraq in half a century. The Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, which pulled out of the governing coalition during the recent onslaught on Fallujah, threatened to boycott the vote if the date was not postponed. Other leading Sunni figures on Iraq's political scene have hinted they could follow suit. The Iraqi electoral commission has extended the deadlines for registering parties and presenting full electoral lists in Sunni Provinces.
In further unrest Friday, a policeman was killed and three wounded in a gun attack on a checkpoint near the northern city of Kirkuk. A member of a political party accused by rebels of having links with the US military was also gunned down in Samarra, police said. Samarra is a Sunni Muslim city north of Baghdad which saw one of the first operations aimed at reconquering insurgent enclaves across the country in September.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2004 8:01:41 PM ||
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#1
Latifiyah - the "Queen" City of the Sunni dead triangle.
Roll em up! No rest for rebels! Die today to get your steenking raisins, a-holes!
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 20:16 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 20:44 Comments ||
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#6
Well, it was solo - which suits me 95% of the time, so yeah it was OK. I assuaged any negatives by ordering a new honkin 'puter. Helping out the economy, uh huh, heh. Got a 20" Flat Panel PnP / TV monitor. I'll put Brit Hume on-screen while I harangue the wankers, lol!
#7
I've got a flatscreen 19" HP monitor - I'd rather watch DVD's on that than my Sony and Sharp TVs. Glad you had a good one, even solo.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 21:01 Comments ||
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#8
Cool - I got the dbl-layer DVD burner so I can burn moster backups and save the damned disk from getting clogged up with, uh, um, debris, heh. I want to go wireless, but the decent solution 802.11a routers (I don't want the 2.4GHz band) all have devastating reviews (D-Link, NetGear, and LinkSys/Cisco - all of 'em) - you haven't heard such a racket from pissed off buyers since the original IBM AT 30MB drives died - remember those kluged non-voice coil disasters they made an artifical reef with just off Boca Raton? Lol! Just hop in the Way-Back machine...
#9
we (I and my boyz) use the Linksys 802.11b for their computer (mostly gaming) in their rms and the PS2 net access in the living rm - no problems - almost 2 yrs now
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 21:40 Comments ||
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#10
No grief with portable phones, etc. in the 2.4 band? I have zero first-hand - this shit wasn't permitted in the Magic Kingdom so I had to stop my early-adopter habits while there. But, I read quite a few review threads which indicated the G band was unable to reach the amazing high-speed adverts in 2.4 GHZ - prolly due to interference. Y'know, the FCC seems to be pretty screwed up, if you ask me. Oh well. I have B on my laptop, but I would add an A adapter if there was one that anybody liked, lol! B maxes out at 11MBS on paper - what's the real world throughput? I have a 5MB connection and I want it all - costs me enough!
#11
no, and I live in a condo complex. The "b" is fast enough that all three of us can be online with 2 (or 3 heh heh) gaming, with no lag. No experience with "g"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 22:03 Comments ||
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The Iraqi Red Crescent Society has delivered aid for the first time directly to families stranded by fighting in Falluja. A Red Crescent team delivered food and water to five families in a battered northern Falluja neighbourhood on Thursday after US marines patrolling the area found them hiding in their homes. The organisation estimates that only 150 to 175 families stayed in Falluja after the start of the US-led offensive on 8 November, and civilians living in the ruined city have become desperate for water and blankets.
Prob'ly shoulda thought about that when they were harboring the terrs and hollering "Allan akbar!"
Red Crescent officials met on Thursday with US marine Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Montgomery to discuss cooperative aid efforts. Aid convoys were able to enter Falluja on Wednesday and Monday, but only toured the town, and were unable to move freely and find any of the civilians who needed assistance. Red Crescent efforts to assist civilians still in Falluja have been frustrated by ongoing military operations, and the agency's coordinator for Falluja, Jotiar Nafaa, said getting out into the town to assess how many people need help is the main priority. "It should start going better," Montgomery said after Thursday's meeting. "We weren't getting the information we needed from them so they weren't getting what they needed from us and were getting frustrated."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2004 7:54:57 PM ||
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#1
let the RC pick up any "dead" muj's. Might put that Marine's actions in perspective
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 20:21 Comments ||
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#3
War is War , time eternal doesnt change that , be grateful an army is willing to help , feed , provide medical treatment , and assist in any way possible , in the past major slaughter has happened along with salting the land . My feelings are 'read it and weep , be thankful that the shit didnt truely hit the fan ladies and gentlemen'
Afghan police on Thursday arrested two Pakistanis for entering Afghanistan illegally, the Khost police chief said. Meanwhile, Afghan authorities claimed to have arrested Taliban commander Mullah Qadir in the Zabul province.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2004 4:57:34 PM ||
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Separatist rebels in India's insurgency-racked northeast blew up an oil pipeline and injured at least five soldiers Thursday in a string of explosions, police said. The attacks in Assam came on the heels of a burst of deadly rebel violence in the state last month and followed a visit earlier this week by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The rebels blew up a crude oil pipeline belonging to India's state-owned Oil India Ltd in the Lankachi area in eastern Assam state. In another attack, rebels injured five soldiers when they hurled a grenade at an army vehicle in Dibrugarh city, 500 kilometres east of Assam's main city of Guwahati. "Five soldiers were wounded, the condition of some of them is critical," Assam Inspector General of Police Khagen Sharma said, adding authorities were braced for more violence. No group claimed responsibility but Sharma blamed the attacks on the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2004 4:52:36 PM ||
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An Al Qaeda terrorist was killed, two were arrested and three anti-terrorist personnel were injured in a shootout at Bhatti Colony in Kot Lakhpat on Thursday evening. The dead terrorist was identified as Muhabat Khan and was believed to be an Afghan national and an active Al Qaeda member.
If he was a native Afghan he was probably just muscle...
"He escaped from South Waziristan Agency along with an accomplice and hid in his friend's house in Kot Lakhpat. An anti-terrorist team raided the house and a gunbattle ensued, with the terrorists using an assault rifle, pistols and grenades. They fired more than 200 bullets at the anti-terrorist personnel," intelligence officials told Daily Times. An intelligence team arrested Muhammad Imran alias Bobby, a resident of Bhatti Colony, from Peshawar after his conversation with Muhabat Khan via a wireless set was intercepted.
What the hell kind of terr is named "Bobby", fergawdsake?
Investigators kept his cell phone and wireless set on and forced him to receive every phone call, which proved that he was linked to Al Qaeda members. During interrogation, Imran said he had given shelter to Muhabat Khan in Lahore. Following this information, a team raided his house where Muhabat Khan, his accomplice and three of Imran's brothers engaged the anti-terrorist team. "Two of the four grenades they threw at us exploded, injuring an intelligence official, Assistant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Ashraf and Elite Force Constable Muhammad Mansha," intelligence officials added. After Muhabat Khan was killed, two of Imran's brothers surrendered while one brother and Muhabat Khan's accomplice managed to escape.
"We quit!"
"Curly-toed slippers, don't fail me now!"
People living in the area said Imran was the son of Professor Mehboob who was a retired schoolteacher and was an old resident of Bhatti Colony. They said Mr Mehboob had three more sons, Zulfiqar alias Bhutto, Shahid alias Mithu and Sohail alias Papu who lived in two houses. They said that a few weeks ago Imran came with two unidentified people — Muhabat Khan and his accomplice — and put them up in a house a few yards from his.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2004 4:18:01 PM ||
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One person was killed and 16 others were injured, two of them critically, when a remote-controlled bomb fixed to a bicycle exploded near a paramilitary vehicle in Khuzdar on Thursday. The bomb exploded at 11:30am on Mashki Road. The dead person was identified as Rustam Khan, a resident of Nowshera city. "None of the dead or injured were from para military forces," a security official said. Some witnesses said that 22 people were injured out of which seven were discharged from hospital after treatment. Many shops and vehicles were damaged as a result of the explosion.
Terrs? Sectarian violence? Crooks? Pakland is a land of so many possibilities...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2004 4:05:29 PM ||
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Sunni insurgents backing Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi have expressed alarm at the prospect of a defeat by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. They twist the tiger's tail...and the tiger kicks your everloving A**...and now your crying?? Yup...sympathy meter is not registering here. Sorry.
An audio tape said to be from Al Zarqawi charged Muslim clerics with letting down the insurgency "because of your silence." Maybe they don't want some group of foreign fools playing "One-eyed Omar, the Taliban dicator" in their Crib. Yah think?
On Wednesday, Al Zarqawi, with a $25 million bounty on his head, was the target of a major manhunt in the Sunni Triangle, Middle East Newsline reported. Iraqi military sources said Al Zarqawi was said to have been seen in an area south of Fallujah. Your time is coming Z-man. Your is A** is grass and the 1st MEF has the matches.
Islamic sources said that for the first time in more than a year the Tawhid and Jihad group led by Al Zarqawi appears to have lost control over many of its insurgents in the Sunni Triangle. It's amazing what death, destruction, and the prospect of total annihilation does to your attitude. Them there 72 virgins don't look so appealing, do they Z-man?
The sources said Iraqi and U.S. assaults on major insurgency strongholds in such cities as Baghdad, Fallujah, Mosul, Ramadi and Samara have resulted in heavy insurgency casualties and a break in the command and control structure. Kick the living S*** out of everyone of those cockroaches and anyone who helps them. That's one less islamofascist to kill Marines and soldiers.
Over the last few days, Al Zarqawi supporters have appealed for help from Al Qaida and related groups. The sources said Al Qaida's allies, including the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call, have sought to increase recruitment of Muslim volunteers to fight the coalition. Abdul...Go to Iraq and help our brothers fight the infidels. Hokay?
But, Mullah, my father. Will you join me in my quest for jihad, glory and martyrdom?
Abdul...My son, you ask too many questions. Mo-ham-head has revealed to me that I am needed more here in Riyadh. Go my son.
The Internet has also reflected the growing concern that Islamic insurgents would be routed in Iraq. A message posted on an Islamic website appealed for help from Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority. HELP WANTED: Volunteers needed immediately in Iraq to be cannon fodder for the coalition killing machine kill the infidel. Experience not necessary as we will provide 72 virgins at no expense all the training on the job and you will end up a rotting corpse on the streets of an Iraqi city. One way ticket provided.
The message, posted by a purported insurgency supporter who used the name Abu Ahmed Al Baghdadi, acknowledged that the Sunni insurgency has been harmed by the U.S.-led offensive in Fallujah. Al Baghdadi said insurgents have lost their haven in Fallujah, but asserted that Al Zarqawi has acquired a broader base for operations and recruitment. The Z-man is looking for more fools to get their young a** greased by a JDAM, Spooky, or a M-16.
For his part, Al Zarqawi has also expressed concern over the U.S. military operation against Fallujah, Mosul and other insurgency strongholds. Death sux, huh?
On Wednesday, an audio tape posted on an Islamic website and purportedly from Al Zarqawi accused Muslim clerics of failing to support the insurgency in Iraq. Yup. it's the clerics fault. They are finally get a revelation allan, and it's called assasination.
"You have let us down in the darkest circumstances and handed us over to the enemy," the message said. "You have stopped supporting the holy warriors. Hundreds of thousands of the nation's sons are being slaughtered at the hands of the infidels because of your silence." Tap. Tap. Tap. Sympathy meter still reading zero, Z-man.
In early November, Al Baghdadi posted a plan for the Tawhid group to take over Iraq. Islamic sources said Al Baghdadi was believed to be pseudonym used by a major Islamic operative. Al Zarqawi accused unnamed clerics and scholars of preventing Muslims from joining the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. He said Muslim clerics abandoned the insurgents to the United States. I repeat, Z-man. You idiots crapped in the Crib. You can't kill, maim, and rape the populace and then expect them to pull your a** out of the fire, fool.
"Are your hearts not shaken by the scenes of your brothers being surrounded and hurt by your enemy?" Al Zarqawi asked. Friggin crybaby.
"How long will you continue to abandon the nation to the tyrants of the east and of the west, who are inflicting the worst suffering, cutting the throats of the holy warriors, the best children of the nation, and taking its riches?" Clue-time, Z-man. You are a loser. It would be safer to be a Hamas operative in Gaza than to take orders from you. We are going to find you, kill you, and hang you and your buddies from a bridge in Falluja. You pissed off the wrong group, pal. And you will pay the ultimate price. Semper FI!!!
#1
You got yer eye-rolling and allan-chanting, yer beheadings and bombings, but now you know what a truly professional, efficient, highly motivated killing machine looks like. I almost feel sorry for these bastards. Almost.
#2
This is just temporary. They will reorganize and return to strength shortly, unless a knockout blow is delivered, or a political solution is devised.
#3
I nfeel no remorse for these Iraqi jihadists. They are done anyway, stick a fork in 'em.
But those poor American and Eurostani liberals. Iraq is not Viet Nam. A military victory for the foces of liberty and capitalism. This must be horrible for them.
#5
Another poem from Russ Vaughn is up at the Kim DuToit website. Excerpt:
You media pansies may squeal and may squirm,
But a fightin’ man knows that the way to confirm,
That some jihadist bastard truly is dead,
Is a brain-tappin’ round fired into his head.
To hell with some wienie with his journalist degree
Safe away from the combat, tryin’ to tell me,
I should check him for breathin,’ examine his eyes.
Nope, I’m punchin’ his ticket to Muj paradise.
Posted by: Matt ||
11/26/2004 19:07 Comments ||
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#6
May a goat piss on your balls, Z.
I have a new frig, car, internet and AC.
Things are looking up.
----
As to return to strength, hopefully we'll finally watch where all those arms are coming from.
Present leader of the South Waziristan Jihad, and another Binori alumni. Journalist Tanvir Qaiser Shahid wrote in daily Pakistan that the man who kidnapped two Chinese engineers at the Gomal Zam Dam on 11 October 2004 in South Waziristan, was an old Banuri Masjid [mosque] warrior, Abdullah Mehsud. After all negotiations failed, the kidnappers were stormed, which resulted in the death of one Chinese engineer. Abdullah was helped by five kidnappers, two of them from South Waziristan and three from Afghanistan. Mehsud, who was released from Guantanamo Bay by the Americans in March 2004 after two and a half years, demanded the release of five of his friends from jail in Pakistan as ransom.
Abdullah was born in South Waziristan, was educated to FA but could not obtain commission in the army like his cousin who retired as major and is now trading in Wana. After failing to join the army, Abdullah went to Karachi and lived among the Afghan refugees and also arose to the leadership of the Pushtun transport mafia. He was taken into Deobandi seminary of Banuri Masjid by its chief, Mufti Shamzai. He stayed there for three years and came under the influence of Mufti Jameel who taught there. Mufti Jameel was a close adviser of Mufti Shamzai and the two were representatives of the Taliban interest in Pakistan. When in 2001 ISI chief General Mehmood took a delegation to persuade Mullah Umar to desist from terrorism Mufti Jameel was also in the delegation. Fifty-two-year old Mufti Jameel was at that time information secretary of the JUI and was a member of its Shura. He ran 150 Iqra religious schools where 50,000 took instruction. Abdullah Mehsud, after coming close to Mufti Jameel, was given the job of Mullah Umar's personal bodyguard.
Abdullah was already a veteran of the war against the Northern Alliance. In October 2001 when America attacked Afghanistan he was once again at the battlefront, from where he was captured and sent to Guantanamo Bay. The Americans failed to link him to Al Qaeda and released him in March 2004. Upon reaching Pakistan he went straight to Banuri Masjid in Karachi and paid his respects to Mufti Jameel. Wana Operation was on then. Mufti Shamzai of Banuri Masjid had been murdered. While Abdullah lay low in South Waziristan, another incident took place. Someone killed Mufti Jameel on 9 October 2004 along with Khatm-e-Nabuwwat cleric Maulana Taunsavi. Abdullah struck two days later and kidnapped the Chinese engineers from the Dam. Abdullah Mehsud got to know Uzbek warrior Tahir Yuldashev and Ahmadzai Wazir Nek Muhammad intimately during his training in the Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/26/2004 2:11:34 AM ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 10:29 Comments ||
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#3
"In October 2001 when America attacked Afghanistan he was once again at the battlefront, from where he was captured and sent to Guantanamo Bay. The Americans failed to link him to Al Qaeda and released him in March 2004. Upon reaching Pakistan he went straight to Banuri Masjid in Karachi and paid his respects to Mufti Jameel." - hummph. Methinks we're being too nice on those Jihadis at Gitmo.
Just had a thought re: the recent reports about the USAF looking at antimatter bombs;
"One millionth of a gram of positrons contain as much energy as 37.8 kilograms (83 pounds) of TNT, according to Edwards' March speech. A simple calculation, then, shows that about 50-millionths of a gram could generate a blast equal to the explosion (roughly 4,000 pounds of TNT, according to the FBI) at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995."
Now, just implant a 50 ug slug under their skin and send 'em back to play. Then make 'em go pop as and when needed ;)
He also looks like a white guy!? - mum liked to play around I suppose...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
11/26/2004 10:48 Comments ||
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#4
He also looks like a white guy!? - mum liked to play around I suppose...
I think u'll find our ancestors liked to screw around up that neck of the woods , and then us Brits had a pop too , hence you will find a number of folk up there who look western .
** side note , I find women from this corner of the globe quite attractive when they aint had acid thrown in their faces for not wearing a bhurka :0
#9
My wife (Polish background) started working with a Russian woman who recently came to the U.S. One day the Russian woman commented that one of the interns had beautiful eyebrows. My wife was amused to see that they were big, thick eyebrows -- just like hers and the Russian woman's.
That aside, the whole area is a big "melting pot" of history, even before the Brits arrived.
Posted by: Tom ||
11/26/2004 12:00 Comments ||
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HT LGF
Israeli troops forced a Palestinian man to play his violin in order to pass through a roadblock near the West Bank city of Nablus, human rats rights activists said Thursday. An officer made the Palestinian man take out his violin and play for about two minutes as hundreds of other Palestinians waited behind him for their turn to pass, said Horit Herman-Peled, a volunteer for the Israeli rights group Machsom Watch, which monitors soldiers' conduct at the roadblocks. The army said the soldiers made him open the case and play the instrument to show there were no explosives hidden inside, but noted the incident was "insensitively dealt with by the soldiers at the roadblock who are faced with a difficult and dangerous reality." As, say "Dance, you varmint, dance!"?
Did he play "Fiddler on the Roof"?
It said an investigation was conducted, and that the soldiers had been reprimanded. The incident occurred Nov. 9 at Beit Iba, a large and often crowded roadblock north of Nablus, and was captured on film by Herman-Peled. Video images show the man standing and playing his violin behind a concrete barrier as a soldier inspects his documents. "It was a crowded day, there was lots of pressure," said Herman-Peled. "I was standing, trying to monitor, suddenly I saw a Palestinian playing his violin." Herman-Peled said the officer and the soldiers laughed as the Palestinian played the violin. "He just wanted to get through the roadblock and satisfy the soldiers. So he played," she said. Negative audience reaction to a performance is now a war crime? Won't the Dixie Chicks and Linda the Hutt Ronstandt be delighted.
During the past four years of fighting, the army has set up dozens of checkpoints throughout the West Bank, saying they are needed to prevent Palestinian militants from reaching Israeli targets. The roadblocks have created constant friction between harried young army recruits and large crowds of frustrated and angry Palestinians, who are often held up for hours. The Palestinians say the roadblocks are a form of collective punishment, meant to crush their spirits..... which must be sustained by regular bus-bombings
Not one clue yet about cause-and-effect, not one ...
The army has made efforts in recent months to improve the situations at roadblocks, staffing them with specially trained soldiers and installing facilities for the Palestinians. The army said its training emphasizes the need to "carry out their important mission ... with compassion and thought." This kind of thing is SOP at American airports. If you have a camera, they look through it to make sure it is a functional camera and not a disguised bomb. Same for radios, laptops, and musical instruments. It is an obvious red flag if an instrument will not play or if the possessor does not know how to play it.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
11/26/2004 1:37:15 AM ||
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#1
"the army has set up dozens of checkpoints throughout the West Bank, saying they are needed to prevent Palestinian militants from reaching Israeli targets."
Gee, an actual news service with non-cretinous editors would have reworked this to "the army has set up dozens of checkpoints throughout the West Bank to prevent Palestinian terror attacks, which have killed hundreds of Israelis on buses and in public places." But that would mean just actually reporting the situation in a way that conformed to the facts, and made sense.
#2
Lol! AC certainly chose well as this AP stooge maintains the absurd Tilt! and bias, yet again, lol! Can an institution have an inner-ear condition? Apparenly so. To the author: Of course you make 'em play the instrument, turn on the computer / radio / whatever, etc. ya pathetic apologist - this isn't some phreakin' game, it's life and death. And if these guardians of a nation want a concert, the dude can play 'em a concert - his ass may be the one they save.
AP - Apologist / Anarchist / Accessory / Asshole Press.
AFP - well, you get it, lol!
#5
#1 "the army has set up dozens of checkpoints throughout the West Bank, saying they are needed to prevent Palestinian militants from reaching Israeli targets."
The AP, true to form, is fiddling with the truth. To them, appearing to agree with Israelis would be like selling their soul. That's why they are distancing themselves from the IDF's position. "What soul?" you might ask. Good question.
#6
OMG! He had to play for almost two minutes? The horror...the horror
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 8:31 Comments ||
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#7
I had assumed that the horror was inflicted upon those who were forced to listen.
Posted by: Scott R ||
11/26/2004 8:45 Comments ||
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#8
I've had to play my banjo in airports a couple of times. No big deal unless the people waiting don't like Blue Grass.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/26/2004 9:25 Comments ||
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#9
#7 - Yes, the Israeli soldiers were probably laughing to cover up their embarrassment at having to listen to those screeching sounds from his violin.
#10
"Horit Herman-Peled, a volunteer for the Israeli rights group Machsom Watch" - AKA 'useful idiot' , 'fish in a barrel', 'frog in a saucepan', 'turkey at thanksgiving/christmas', 'moron' or simply 'tool'.
.com is right on the button with this - if this Paleo couldn't play the instrument because it (a) wasn't his (so what's he doing with it then?) or (b) it's loaded with explosives, then how many lives would have been saved?
As for "insensitively dealt with by the soldiers at the roadblock who are faced with a difficult and dangerous reality" - wonder what the tool would say when confronted with the reality of a Paleo about to detonate in front of him? Again, what a tool...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
11/26/2004 9:50 Comments ||
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#12
Oddly enough, if they had just smashed it looking for explosives we wouldn't be reading about this now. It's the touchy-feely "humiliation" factor that the mouth-breathing Arabs get all heated up over. Next time just smash the instrument to matchsticks...
#15
One question: are these roadblocks at entrances to Israeli territory? If so, the IDF has every right to take whatever reasonable steps are necessary to insure that no bombers get through, and that includes a Paleo carrying a fiddle. The reprimand of the checkpoint personnel was unwarranted. So the soldiers laughed; big damn deal.
The roadblocks have created constant friction between harried young army recruits and large crowds of frustrated and angry Palestinians, who are often held up for hours. The Palestinians say the roadblocks are a form of collective punishment, meant to crush their spirits.
Sorry Paleos, but assuming that these roadblocks are at the entrance to Israeli territory, you have no "right" to enter Israel if, when, and how you want to. You enter at their approval, not at your whim.
#16
What the fuck? I've had to turn on my laptop many times at airports to show them it works and is not a bomb - come on, don't give this issue any importance.
Jordanian authorities have detained two close relatives of fugitive Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is near the top of Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists, Zarqawi's relatives said Thursday. Zarqawi's sister said her husband Saleh El Hami (nicknamed Abu Qudamah) and her nephew Mohammad Haraahsheh were detained two days ago from their houses in Zarqa. Government spokesperson Asma Khader said "no details were available as to the motives behind the detention."
"We will tell you no more!"
Abu Qudamah, an extremist cleric who met Zarqawi in Afghanistan in the early 1990's, has been detained many times over the past years. One of Zarqawi's nephews, Omar, 19, is now serving a three-year term for harbouring "provocative" ideas and plotting to carry out terrorist attacks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Don't know what good these detentions would do. Unlike the pussified governments of Spain and the Philippines, Zarqawi isn't likely to give himself up or reveal his whereabouts as a result of these developments.
#3
Is this the same relative they arrested a couple of weeks ago, or are they rounding up the whole family one by one.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2004 8:15 Comments ||
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#4
IIUC - same one - and yes DNA testing sounds logical
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2004 8:22 Comments ||
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#5
If I were King smn, my approach would be to take the King Soloman answer to Zarqawi...arrest his 'mama' and declare before the Islamic world that the next female prisoner's demise will be mirrored to her! Hey, even the LORD told Moses that Pharoah's next pronouncement would befall 'his own' firstborn!!
Gunmen shot and killed two civilians in eastern Sri Lanka, officials said on Thursday. Tamil rebels accused the military of being linked to the murders, saying it was determined to deter people from taking part in an important insurgent celebration this weekend. The armed forces denied involvement. There has been a series of killings in Sri Lanka recently that have shaken an already fragile truce between the government and the rebels. The two civilians were shot dead by unidentified assailants late Wednesday north of the town of Batticaloa, 220 kilometers (136 miles) east of the capital Colombo, military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake said. The pro-rebel TamilNet Web site blamed anti-Tiger rebel groups colluding with Sri Lanka's military intelligence for the violence. Liberation Tigers say that the Sri Lankan armed forces are bent on sowing fear in the district to discourage people from observing martyrs' day this weekend," the Web site said. Velupillai Prabhakaran, the rebels' reclusive chief, turns 50 on Friday. The following day he is scheduled to deliver his annual "heroes' day" speech, which is expected to outline the groups' future course.
"More killing! More war! More fat of the land for me! I'm your leader and I deserve it!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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Troops in revolt-racked Indian Kashmir have killed two suspected rebels, seized a huge cache of explosives and defused two landmines, security officials said Thursday. Soldiers recovered 348 kilograms (766 pounds) of white plastic RDX explosive from a militant hideout in the southern district of Anantnag, the army said. "The raid on the hideout was conducted this morning on a tip-off," an army spokesman said. It was the second big explosives haul in Anantnag within a week after the army seized 300 kilograms of RDX from a shop. Anantnag was the first district from which India withdrew some of its soldiers this month. In Pulwama district, troops shot dead two militants from the region's dominant group Hizbul Mujahedin, a police spokesman said in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. Troops also defused two landmines planted to target army patrols in southern Khudwani village and northern Bandipora town, the spokesman said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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A bomb fixed to a bicycle killed one man and injured 15 people in southwestern Pakistan's restive desert province of Baluchistan on Thursday, police said.
Is there a part of Pak-land that isn't restive?
The attack at Khuzdar, 250 kilometres (155 miles) south of the provincial capital Quetta, was the second in 24 hours in the region, which is always in the throes of a low-level tribal uprising. Senior police official Ghulam Qadir Thabo said the blast, detonated by remote control, was probably aimed at a vehicle of the paramilitary Frontier Corps which was slightly damaged. A paramilitary soldier was among the injured, who were all taken to hospital with one of them in critical condition. The unrest in Baluchistan is fuelled by resentment that foreign investors and richer neighbouring provinces are creaming off profits from the region.
Nothing to do with the age-old disputes over religion, goats and wimmin, of course.
The sparsely populated province, which borders southern Afghanistan and Iran, is poverty-stricken yet rich in natural resources.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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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.
Germany's highest court overturned an extradition order against a suspected senior Al-Qaeda member, 
Afghan police on Thursday arrested two Pakistanis for entering Afghanistan illegally, the Khost police chief said. Meanwhile, Afghan authorities claimed to have arrested Taliban commander 
An Al Qaeda terrorist was killed, two were arrested and three anti-terrorist personnel were injured in a shootout at Bhatti Colony in Kot Lakhpat on Thursday evening. The dead terrorist was identified as 
Journalist Tanvir Qaiser Shahid wrote in daily Pakistan that the man who kidnapped two Chinese engineers at the Gomal Zam Dam on 11 October 2004 in South Waziristan, was an old Banuri Masjid [mosque] warrior, Abdullah Mehsud. After all negotiations failed, the kidnappers were stormed, which resulted in the death of one Chinese engineer. Abdullah was helped by five kidnappers, two of them from South Waziristan and three from Afghanistan. Mehsud, who was released from Guantanamo Bay by the Americans in March 2004 after two and a half years, demanded the release of five of his friends from jail in Pakistan as ransom.
Jordanian authorities have detained two close relatives of fugitive Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is near the top of Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists, Zarqawi's relatives said Thursday. Zarqawi's sister said her husband 
A bomb fixed to a bicycle killed one man and injured 15 people in southwestern Pakistan's restive desert province of Baluchistan on Thursday, police said.
