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Bus bomb kills eight, injures 56 in Russia
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
4 00:00 Nimble Spemble [4] 
9 00:00 Whiskey Mike [6] 
3 00:00 john frum [4] 
3 00:00 Icerigger [4] 
4 00:00 trailing wife [8] 
7 00:00 GK [4] 
2 00:00 Icerigger [4] 
3 00:00 mojo [4] 
27 00:00 Icerigger [4] 
2 00:00 Ebbang Uluque6305 [4] 
6 00:00 Alistaire Spains7209 [5] 
4 00:00 Icerigger [7] 
0 [4] 
0 [8] 
1 00:00 Old Patriot [10] 
4 00:00 Seafarious [10] 
Page 2: WoT Background
1 00:00 Icerigger [4]
1 00:00 Alaska Paul [6]
3 00:00 Raj [5]
6 00:00 Scooter McGruder [4]
7 00:00 Dave D. [3]
8 00:00 Old Patriot [5]
13 00:00 McZoid [3]
8 00:00 Icerigger [3]
15 00:00 Red Dawg [6]
25 00:00 Zenster [5]
1 00:00 Zenster [4]
0 [3]
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1 00:00 Jack is Back! [4]
2 00:00 trailing wife [3]
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2 00:00 Icerigger [3]
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1 00:00 JohnQC [7]
1 00:00 eLarson [3]
2 00:00 sinse [3]
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1 00:00 mojo [3]
2 00:00 Redneck Jim [7]
2 00:00 mhw [9]
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1 00:00 Glenmore [9]
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11 00:00 Abdominal Snowman [3]
16 00:00 DarthVader [5]
1 00:00 mrp [3]
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 00:00 Icerigger [4]
2 00:00 trailing wife [5]
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4 00:00 SteveS [6]
19 00:00 JAB [5]
3 00:00 Phinater Thraviger [3]
2 00:00 Capsu78 [3]
3 00:00 ed [3]
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6 00:00 lotp [3]
7 00:00 Procopius2k [7]
2 00:00 Icerigger [3]
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1 00:00 Zenster [3]
Page 4: Opinion
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1 00:00 Natural Law [4]
1 00:00 trailing wife [3]
2 00:00 lotp [4]
15 00:00 trailing wife [6]
8 00:00 Thromotle Hapsburg8103 [5]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
1 00:00 Icerigger [6]
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4 00:00 eLarson [3]
4 00:00 trailing wife [4]
3 00:00 Jan [7]
1 00:00 RWV [3]
6 00:00 whitecollar redneck [3]
3 00:00 Abdominal Snowman [3]
5 00:00 Icerigger [3]
6 00:00 ed [3]
3 00:00 Raj [3]
7 00:00 Icerigger [7]
2 00:00 swksvolFF [3]
4 00:00 wxjames [3]
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7 00:00 Glenmore [3]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Paleos: IDF is Using Elite Female Stripper Death Squads
The Palestinian Authority newspaper Weekly World News Al-Hayat Al-Jadida carried a story this past week about IDF tactics that surpassed all previous accusations of supposed Israeli deviousness - poisoned candies, hormone-laced gum, poisoned wells, magnetized belts - in its bizarreness.

According to an Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front page report, the IDF has turned to using armed, female strippers in its war on upstanding Palestinian boys.
Ooooooh, yeahhhhh, torture me !!!!!!! .....
The newspaper reports that when the Arab rock-throwing begins, IDF soldiers run for cover. Then, the story continues, after some time of hiding, an Israeli woman stands up on top of a barricade and begins to perform an alluring strip tease. Innocent Arab teenage boys, distracted from the business of rioting, are enticed to approach, when, according to the newspaper, the woman - an IDF soldier - shoots them with a pistol she had hidden in her underwear.
This sounds like something I'd find on Cinemax late-night on demand ....
Posted by: Ulealing Whaque4116 || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  According to an Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front page report, the IDF has turned to using armed, female strippers in its war on upstanding Palestinian boys. The newspaper reports that when the Arab rock-throwing begins, IDF soldiers run for cover. Then, the story continues, after some time of hiding, an Israeli woman stands up on top of a barricade and begins to perform an alluring strip tease. Innocent Arab teenage boys, distracted from the business of rioting, are enticed to approach, when, according to the newspaper, the woman ? an IDF soldier ? shoots them with a pistol she had hidden in her underwear.

Is that a pistol in your....

Sorry, had to be said....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/01/2007 0:08 Comments || Top||

#2  the IDF has turned to using armed, female strippers in its war on upstanding Palestinian boys.

If it's good enough for Anna Nichole ...
Posted by: Zenster || 11/01/2007 0:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Hey, if it worked for the sirens, it ought to work for the IDF babes as well! ;-)
Posted by: gorb || 11/01/2007 0:41 Comments || Top||

#4  The only factual information that we can extract from this article is that Paleo sex-ed is horrendous. Any male, anywhere else in the world, upon seeing a stripper with something the size of a pistol in her underwear.....
Posted by: Mike N. || 11/01/2007 1:11 Comments || Top||

#5  Innocent Arab teenage boys, distracted from the business of rioting, are enticed to approach, when, according to the newspaper, the woman - an IDF soldier - shoots them with a pistol she had hidden in her underwear

I hope Generals Sanchez and Taguba don't learn of this. There will be hell to pay!
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/01/2007 1:21 Comments || Top||

#6  the old killer stripper roving death squad trick, eh?
Posted by: mojo || 11/01/2007 1:37 Comments || Top||

#7  The fundamental issue of this case begs the question:

Is the President really serious about giving the Palestinian Authority $400 million of our hard-earned money???? With nut cases like these??? The world is going insane.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/01/2007 1:37 Comments || Top||

#8  This is an old paleo rumor/fantasy, I read about it at least a couple of years ago, if not more, this was supposed to be a rumor among the stone throwers. Seems like the journalos/propagandists have picked it up, and are reporting it as fact.

Apparently, the paleos have "issues" regarding the (obviously) female IDF servicewimmen, and this triggers all kind of sex & violence fantasies in their sexual repressed society. This is interesting, because it is a glimpse of the contact points between a western society, and an (arabo-)muslim one. Remember the problem with the US servicewimmen searching afghan wimmen, since the local rustics simply couldn't believe a soldier could be a female, and so these were feminine-looking men sniffing up their cattle? (And the solution that was supposedly found? Perhpas too good to be true?)
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/01/2007 5:57 Comments || Top||

#9  IDF Fembots?
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/01/2007 7:10 Comments || Top||

#10  I'm not buying it until I see some pictures...
Posted by: Raj || 11/01/2007 7:51 Comments || Top||

#11  I'm not buying it until I see some pictures...

Hear, Hear, Raj!
Posted by: ptah || 11/01/2007 7:55 Comments || Top||

#12  Pictures? I want an in-person demonstration. No pistol, though.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 11/01/2007 8:32 Comments || Top||

#13  Pictures, you lazy sods.

Maxim magazine

IDF women, by a former IDF photojournalist/current depressed artiste. Via Dr. Helen's blog. Her comment thread is worth perusing, I think.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/01/2007 8:46 Comments || Top||

#14  She's gotta shoot them? I figured their pious Muzzie heads would just explode...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/01/2007 9:15 Comments || Top||

#15  Maybe it was this chickie...

Soldier flees interrogation by exposing breasts

Officer loses concentration after soldier takes her shirt off in front of him

An IDF soldier fled an interrogation room by exposing her breasts to a stunned officer.

The soldier was interrogated at the Biranit army base on the northern border after she refused to undergo a drugs test. A short while after her questioning began the soldier was seen walking out of the interrogation room and heading toward the main gate.

An officer at the base told her she was under arrest and demanded that she return to the interrogation room, at which point the soldier took her shirt off and told the officer: "Let's see if you can arrest me."

The soldier took advantage of the officer's momentary lack of concentration and quickly left the base. She was caught a short while later.

During a hearing at the military court in Jaffa the prosecutor demanded that the soldier, who was discharged from the army due to psychological disorders, receive jail time for her actions, but the judges ordered her to pay a NIS 1,000 ($250) fine.
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/01/2007 9:50 Comments || Top||

#16  This is great. I got this e-mail yesterday, to give this much more credibility!!!
You may already know, it is a sin for Muslim males
> to see any woman, other than his wife, naked and
> that he must commit suicide if he does. So next
> Saturday at 4 PM. Eastern Time all American women
> are asked to walk out of their house completely
> naked to help weed out any Neighborhood terrorists.
> Circling your block for one hour is recommended for
> this anti terrorist effort.
>
> All men are to position themselves in lawn chairs in
> front of their House to prove they are not Muslims,
> and to demonstrate they think it's okay to see nude
> women, other than their wife and to show support for
> All American women.
>
> Since Islam also does not approve of alcohol, a cold
> 6 pack at your side is further proof of your anti
> Muslim sentiment.
>
> The government of the United States of America
> greatly appreciates your efforts to root out
> terrorists and applauds your participation in this
> anti terrorist activity.
>
Posted by: plainslow || 11/01/2007 9:51 Comments || Top||

#17  I really miss reading the Weekly World News. It was a great thing to do when standing in line to pay for groceries.
Posted by: mhw || 11/01/2007 11:07 Comments || Top||

#18  Hunter-Killer-Stripper Reapers?

Maybe this is being used as an incentive to get more young men showing up at the stone-throwing parties ... they just might get to see a nekid female. Even if it's the last thing they see ...
Posted by: ExtremeModerate || 11/01/2007 11:18 Comments || Top||

#19  Innocent Arab teenage boys, distracted from the business of rioting, are enticed to approach...

Talk about cognative dissonance, how can "Arab teenage boys" be both "innocent" and "distracted from the business of rioting"? Frankly, I think the Israelis should consider anyone who is rioting, especially those throwing rocks and molatov coctails, to be engaged in "war by other means", and shoot to kill. Do NOT, however, kill Arab "journalists" - we NEED the laughs.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/01/2007 11:58 Comments || Top||

#20  Maybe they have some writers on loan from Pravda.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 11/01/2007 12:16 Comments || Top||

#21  Its getting close to the annual IDF "Titties for Tots" drive. Maybe that's what it is all about.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 11/01/2007 12:36 Comments || Top||

#22  ...the woman - an IDF soldier - shoots them with a pistol she had hidden in her underwear.

Um.... if I saw a half naked woman with a bulge like that in her underwear, I would run like hell the other way. Nothing worse that tits and a "gun" in the panties.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/01/2007 14:38 Comments || Top||

#23  The people that are going to believe this crude moronic islamic propaganda are other islamic morons.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/01/2007 14:58 Comments || Top||

#24  Talk about cognative dissonance, how can "Arab teenage boys" be both "innocent" and "distracted from the business of rioting"?

Could it be journo-snark? Not familiar with the news source linked.
Posted by: eLarson || 11/01/2007 15:43 Comments || Top||

#25  The people that are going to believe this crude moronic islamic propaganda are other islamic morons

And tenured faculty of most American university Humanities Departments.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/01/2007 15:45 Comments || Top||

#26  P2K you repeat yourself.
Posted by: GORT || 11/01/2007 17:07 Comments || Top||

#27  Muhammad, your wound smells lemony fresh
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 19:40 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Taliban in retreat after Afghan offensive
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban rebels were retreating on Thursday after Afghan and Canadian troops halted their effort to take a district guarding the approaches to the main southern city of Kandahar, Canada's military said.

Insurgents have massed in unusually large numbers to attack three district centers in the west and south in the last week and a Taliban leader threatened to extend the offensive northward and maintain its intensity through the harsh Afghan winter.
Posted by: Canukistan || 11/01/2007 15:34 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ..."the harsh brutal Afghan winter.

Fixed it. Mark Steyn would approve.
Posted by: Mark Z || 11/01/2007 17:54 Comments || Top||

#2  large groups, sounds like bombing run time
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 18:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Insurgents have massed in unusually large numbers behind women and children to attack three district centers

one small phase was left out of the story
Posted by: airandee || 11/01/2007 18:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Is this the fall offensive or the winter?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/01/2007 20:24 Comments || Top||


Afghan forces kill two Taliban near Pak-Afghan border
LANDI KOTAL: Two suspected Taliban militants were killed in a clash with Afghan security forces on Wednesday at the Pak-Afghan border near Loy Shelman Khula, official sources said. Some Taliban crossed the River Kabul from Mohmand Agency at Bela Side of Renao Perchao earlier on Wednesday and attacked the Daud post near Shelman Khula.

The two militants were killed in the ensuing clash with the security forces. Gul Wali, a driver from Lalpora in Afghanistan, was also injured. The sources said Gul Wali was smuggling goods at the time of the clash. He was admitted to and later discharged from agency’s headquarters hospital after given first aid, the sources added. Afghan security forces took into custody the bodies of the two militants. The remaining militants fled to Mohmand Agency, another source said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Bus bomb kills eight, injures 56 in Russia
At least eight people were killed and 56 were injured on Wednesday in an explosion on a bus in the Russian city of Togliatti and authorities said they were treating the suspected bombing as a terrorist act.

The early morning explosion on the bus, which came as people travelled to work in the rush hour, was probably caused by about 1 kg of explosives, local police sources were quoted by local news agencies as saying. Interfax said eight people were killed and 56 others injured in the incident, including passengers and bystanders. Some of those injured were in a critical condition, Interfax said. “A criminal case under the clause for terrorism has been opened,” Vladimir Artyakov, the governor of the local Samara region, where Togliatti is situated, was quoted as saying by RIA news agency. He said prosecutors had also opened criminal cases for murder and the illegal storage of explosives. “There is reason to believe that the explosive was planted either underneath or on the floor of the bus,” the police source was quoted as saying.

Togliatti, an industrial city on the banks of the Volga river, is more than 1,000 km southwest of Moscow and home to the country’s biggest carmaker, AvtoVaz, and is sometimes called Russia’s Detroit.
Posted by: Fred || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

#1  Pootie, your enemies are the same as our enemies. Quit screwing with us and lets work together to kill them.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/01/2007 7:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Putin, next will be an Iranian nuke.
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 13:47 Comments || Top||

#3  If Beslan didn't do it for Putin then this ain't gonna mean jack shit.
Posted by: Zenster || 11/01/2007 19:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Boy is that sadly true.
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 19:41 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Japan ends naval fueling operation that supported WoT.
Posted by: 3dc || 11/01/2007 12:08 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Global Jihad

#1  Japan's defense minister ended his country's naval operation in support of U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan on Thursday after a showdown in Parliament between the government and opposition lawmakers who are against the mission.

Hum
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 13:54 Comments || Top||

#2  I believe those SM-3 equipped cruisers in the Sea of Japan are needed elsewhere.
Posted by: ed || 11/01/2007 14:46 Comments || Top||

#3  A lot of that Japanese fuel was used to refuel Pakistani navy ships.
Hardly a wise use of resources.

Posted by: john frum || 11/01/2007 16:04 Comments || Top||


Europe
Suspects get 40,000 years for Madrid train bombings.
Doesn't matter, they won't serve more than ten years each ...
(AKI) - Three out of eight top suspects in the 2004 Madrid train bombings were on Wednesday given maximum jail terms of thousands of years in prison for their role in the coordinated attacks on the Madrid commuter trains that killed 191 people and injured nearly 2,000.

A total of 21 out of 28 people on trial were found guilty of involvement in the 11 March 2004 bombings. "Today, justice has been done," said Spain's prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, commenting the sentences.

Seven of the 28 defendants were acquitted, including the main suspect and alleged bombing mastermind Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, also known as "Mohammed the Egyptian". Ahmed was extradited to Spain from Italy in 2004 and has been sentenced by an Italian court to eight years in jail for links to Muslim militant groups in Europe.

Jamal Zougam, one of the leaders of the Islamist cell who was accused of planting the bombs, was sentenced to 30 years for each of the 191 victims and 20 years for each of the injured, and 12 years for belonging to a terrorist cell. Under Spanish law, he can only serve a maximum of 40 years in prison.

Spaniard Emilio Suarez Trashorras, who was found guilty of supplying the bombers with dynamite, also received a sentence of over 35,000 years in jail.

Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez ruled out the Basque separatist group ETA's involvement in the deadly bombings. The attacks caused a political earthquake in Spanish politics as voters resoundingly rejected a conservative Spanish government in parliamentary polls that took place three days after the bombings.

Shortly after its election to office, Zapatero's new Socialist government pulled out Spain's troops from Iraq. The ruling centre-right Partido Popular (PP) had wrongly blamed the Islamist attack on ETA, despite mounting evidence that Islamists were responsible.

Rafa Zouhier, a Moroccan national was sentenced to 10 years in jail for putting the bombers in touch with Trashorras to obtain the explosives used in the attack. Another Moroccan national, Otman el-Ganoui, also convicted of playing a role in obtaining explosives for the attack, was sentenced to 30 years for each of the 191 victims and 20 years for each of the injured. He also got a 12 year sentence for belonging to a terrorist cell.

Spaniards Carmen Toro, Antonio Toro, Emilio Llano, Javier Gonzalez Diaz, Ivan Granados and the Moussaten brothers were acquitted of all charges. Of the nine Spanish suspects, one woman was charged and convicted with supplying stolen dynamite used in the attacks.

The judge announced compensation for victims of the attacks ranging from 30 thousand euros per victim to 1.5 million euros.The victims were divided by 'groups' depending on the severity of their injuries. The jury reached their verdicts with "total unanimity," Bermudez said. All the suspects pleaded innocent and those found guilty are expected to appeal against their sentences. The verdict had been scheduled for 11:00 am, but was delayed due to protests by victims of the bombings, who wanted to be present in the courtroom. A total 25 journalists were removed from the public gallery in order to fit in 25 victims of the attacks in the courtroom.
Posted by: Fred || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Europe

#1  So, how many weeks is that in "Euro Time"?
Posted by: Zenster || 11/01/2007 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  How about letting them die in prison and then throwing their bodies to the pigs if the pigs will have them.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/01/2007 10:25 Comments || Top||

#3  You're right Zen. Being Euro it will be done intellectually and multiculturally by using 'algebra' and quadratic equations.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/01/2007 11:11 Comments || Top||

#4  I would prefer their sentence to be three minutes, only. That should be served being the "fuse" in an 185,000-volt, 260-amp "circuit". Recidivism rate is zero, housing and maintenance costs are a minimum, and you can flush the charred remains down the drain with a short hose-down.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/01/2007 12:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Good. But it's still more time than ANY member CAIR in the USA.
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 12:59 Comments || Top||

#6  Read an article the other day. 40 years is the max anyone can serve in Spain. So (40years*365 days per year + 10 (leap years)) / 191 victims = 76.49 days per victim. The 2000 wounded are a freebie.

ps_ the nic is pure chance
Posted by: Alistaire Spains7209 || 11/01/2007 20:39 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Bomber hits bus carrying Pakistan Air Force workers, killing five
Posted by: Oztralian || 11/01/2007 03:28 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Pak nuclear weapons are stored at this base
Posted by: john frum || 11/01/2007 6:19 Comments || Top||

#2  This ought to tighten up security just a little bit.
Posted by: Zenster || 11/01/2007 9:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Is it just me, or does it seem that the action in the war against islamofascist extremists has shifted from Iraq and Afghanistan to pakiwakiland and paleostain? Have conditions "deteriorated" that badly for al-Q and the tallibunnies? Hopefully the answer is "yes", and we're going to keep it up...
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/01/2007 12:06 Comments || Top||

#4  That's what I think I'm seeing too, Old Patriot. The Taliban are trying to take over the untamed parts of Pakistan even as Al Qaeda is begging the ummah to send fighters to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/01/2007 16:54 Comments || Top||


Motorcyclists open fire at police patrol in Rawalpindi
RAWALPINDI: Two motorcyclists opened fire on a police patrolling squad in the Iqbal Town area here late Tuesday night, leaving a constable injured. Sources said the Sadiqabad police station patrolling squad, led by Assistant Sub Inspector Muhammad Yaqoob, flagged down a motorbike at around 11.30pm. Instead of stopping, the two men opened fire on the squad and fled. Constable Tahir Imran was shot in the incident, and was taken to hospital.
Posted by: Fred || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


4 civilians killed in Miranshah clash
MIRANSHAH: Militants and security forces traded fire on Tuesday in Miranshah city, killing four civilians and destroying four shops.Two shells hit a local hotel, killing Faqir Zaman, Masood Rehman, Hareef Shah and Walayat Khan and massively damaging the hotel. At least four others were injured, AP reported. A local security official said it was unclear whose weapon hit the hotel. Meanwhile, militants blew up a security post in front of the Government High School for Boys and fired three missiles at an army camp here. The security forces returned fire and the crossfire lasted from 10pm till 2am. The attacks did not cause any loss of life. Also on Tuesday, a roadside bombing near Mir Ali wounded four troops, reported AFP.
Posted by: Fred || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  The security forces returned fire and the crossfire lasted from 10pm till 2am. The attacks did not cause any loss of life.

Apparently that "not killing fellow muslims" includes an injunction to the military to spew ammunition in all directions, and pray you DON'T hit anything. That's also why when they attack ISAF bases, they get totally waxed - no fire discipline, no accuracy, just screaming and yelling, hoping to frighten off the "foreign devils". It's a disaster when the "foreign devils" fire back, because they have no such low expectations.

During WWII, "experts" stated that it took 1000 bullets being fired to kill one soldier. If they had been Arab armies, it would have probably taken 1,000,000 bullets to kill one soldier. Either estimate is a waste of good ammunition. That's why I like napalm - if you don't kill, maim, or mangle your enemies, you at least take away his treasure and give him a darned good scare - with little waste.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/01/2007 12:18 Comments || Top||


Swat truce collapses
* 15 insurgents including Fazlullah’s aide killed in clashes
* Blast near Saidu Sharif Police Lines, no casualties
* Jirga making efforts for peace deal between govt, cleric

MINGORA: Gunship helicopters pounded suspected militant positions in Swat district hours after a temporary ceasefire between security forces and insurgents loyal to Maulana Fazlullah collapsed on Wednesday. At least 15 to 18 insurgents were killed in the clashes. “Fresh clashes resumed after the militants attacked security forces late on Tuesday night. The security personnel retaliated and gunship helicopters were used to hit the militants’ positions,” a senior administration official told Daily Times.

Administration sources said that a paramilitary camp in Kanju and an army base in Kabal were attacked, but there were no casualties. According to AFP, the militants fired at an army chopper hovering over Matta, prompting the gunship to attack three rebel positions, officials said. NWFP Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir told Daily Times that at least 15 to 18 militants including Tariq, a close aide of Fazlullah, were killed in the clashes. The security forces suffered no casualties, he added. Wazir said that the militants had also set up barricades at various roads and were harassing commuters.

Civilians wounded: Hospital sources in Matta told Daily Times that several wounded civilians were brought in for treatment. There were reports that some injured militants were also brought to the hospital.

Saidu Sharif blast: Early on Wednesday, a powerful bomb exploded near the Saidu Sharif Police Lines, but no casualty was reported. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to broker a peace deal between the government and the militants.

Peace efforts: An all-parties jirga has formed a group to talk to Maulana Fazlullah and the government to find a peaceful solution to the issue. “We are waiting for a green signal from NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai and Maulana Fazlullah for a meeting to discuss ways for peace in the district,” Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl NWFP chief Senator Gul Naseeb told Daily Times. Naseeb said the governor sought time to discuss the idea with the federal government before agreeing to meet the jirga while Maulana Fazlullah had yet to be contacted to seek his approval for a possible peace deal.

Appeals for peace also echoed in the streets of Mingora in a rally organised by the Kanju Islahi Committee. The rally participants urged Maulana Fazlullah and the government to resolve the issue peacefully. Separately, a supporter of Fazlullah known as Mullah Nidar warned in a speech over the radio that the militants may use suicide attackers if the government launched any major operation in Swat, AFP reported
Posted by: Fred || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: TNSM

#1  “…at least 15 to 18 militants including Tariq, a close aide of Fazlullah, were killed in the clashes.”

Early last week Fazlullah essentially warned that the Security Forces’ blood would flow like a river. Then after a good thumpin he pledged to fight on…’cept this time he added the caveat… “There’s still time for reconciliation”. More of his mooks found themselves shopping for virgins and lo and behold…ceasefire. Now early this week a “close aid” and his boyz are toes up.

Moral of the story: If you’re a “close aid” (you know…#2’s and the like), and if the Big Cheese talks about “reconciliation” that means it’s time to kiss your wife (or goat) on the forehead one extra time before work.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 11/01/2007 10:32 Comments || Top||

#2  And just what is this fight over?
Posted by: High Brow || 11/01/2007 12:28 Comments || Top||

#3  An all-parties jirga has formed a group to talk to Maulana Fazlullah and the government to find a peaceful solution to the issue.

Sure. 50 or 60th time's the charm.
Make sure to bring the Big Drum this time so they knows ya mean business...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/01/2007 12:32 Comments || Top||

#4  And just what is this fight over?

It's over who will be paying the mustache wax bill...
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/01/2007 12:55 Comments || Top||


Iraq
"The Longest Morning": The story of Heroism, Courage, and Loss
This article is the cover story of The American Spectator's new, November 2007 issue.

Six weeks ago in the Iraqi city of Samarra, four paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division became the object of a pre-planned, coordinated effort by dozens of al Qaeda to kidnap and slaughter American soldiers only days before General Petraeus's internationally televised testimony to the U.S. Congress on the state of the war in Iraq. Only two survived -- but, fighting like heroes, they succeeded in preserving the honor of their nation.

This is their story.

Please click and go read -- "The Longest Morning": A Tale of Heroism, Courage, and Loss in the Face of Impossible Odds.

Posted by: Sherry || 11/01/2007 12:45 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wow.

Just, -- wow.
Posted by: Mike || 11/01/2007 13:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Very impressive.

Btw, there are several mention of black Aq foreign fighters; I'm wondering : sudan (with the very dark-skinned sudanese), somalia, nigeria???
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/01/2007 14:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Surprise! How the AP reported it, 8/27/07...

US military bombs house in Samarra, officials: 7 civilians killed

The US military said it dropped a precision bomb on a house in Samarra after 12 men who fought US troops escaped into the structure. City police and hospital officials said seven civilians, including five children, were killed.

Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, spokesman for US forces north of Baghdad, said a gunfight broke out when the 12 men ran into a house where US troops were conducting surveillance. The 12 opened fire on the Americans, then escaped in a truck and were tracked by an unmanned drone above the city. They were seen darting into the house that was subsequently bombed. Officials in the Samarra Joint Coordination Center and the hospital there said Mohammed Abdul Wahab, his wife and five of their children - ages 4- to 8-years-old - were killed. The officials, who refused to be named fearing retribution, said five other people were wounded, including three children, ages 4 to 10. "We cannot confirm those numbers, but can confirm the 12 or so attackers went into this house following an attack on our soldiers, who were trying to bring about some level of peace to the people there," Donnelly said in an e-mail response to a question about the attack.
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/01/2007 14:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Reminds me a bit of yesterday's Mitchell Paige story http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=204542&D=2007-10-31&SO=&HC=4
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/01/2007 14:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Incredible. Just incredible. A good friend of mine has a son in the 505 of the 82nd. I know his outfit has taken some casualties. He is back stateside now at Ft. Bragg and out of harm's way. We were all praying for him.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/01/2007 14:49 Comments || Top||

#6  "...undeterred by the fact that now, due to a malfunction in his most precious piece of equipment, he had to charge the rifle's firing handle after every single shot,..."

Been a while since I was in the Army, but is that like having to cock the thing by drawing the bolt back?

Thanks for the link, Sherry, it made me happy to read that they also got the one who told the neighbourhood.
Posted by: rhodesiafever || 11/01/2007 15:05 Comments || Top||

#7  RF, yes. Trying to think how this could happen. Blown gas tube (unlikely) or maybe a bad/broken/loose gas key on the bolt carrier. Gas not cycling bolt/bolt carrier is general failure.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 11/01/2007 16:23 Comments || Top||

#8  Thanks a load, WM, its all coming back to me now. I had a fixed firing pin on a low gas setting, belt fed, I had no problems till the ejector cover failed to open, then major problems for a simple thing. Wouldn't really want to cock that thing for every round.

I can only echo the words above, What Mike Said.
Posted by: rhodesiafever || 11/01/2007 18:01 Comments || Top||

#9  Roger that. What Mike said, indeed.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 11/01/2007 20:54 Comments || Top||


Tater's Boyz Use Up 3672 Virgins in one Week
US military kills 51 militants dissidents from Al-Sadr militia

US forces killed 51 dissidents from AL-Sadr militias during military operations on October 21-27th in Baghdad, a US military statement said on Wednesday. The statement said US forces were able to target "special locations" which were used by the militias in the area.

During the operations 14 militants were arrested and confessed to using these locations for military purposes, the statement said.

In a separate statement the US military said coalition forces captured a wanted individual and detained eleven others early Wednesday during an operation in support of ongoing efforts to stabilize the region. The captured suspect is a Special Groups' commander with close ties to several other criminal organizations, the statement said.

Intelligence further indicated that the suspect had conducted multiple criminal operations in the Khalis and Qasirin area.
The suspected criminal appears to be directly linked to providing lethal weapons used against Coalition and Iraqi security forces, and innocent civilians, the statement said.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/01/2007 11:41 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hah. This is hell not heaven. There are no virgins. It's all a sham--a con game.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/01/2007 15:01 Comments || Top||

#2  But have hope - when tater and usama and the king of saudi get to Hell, it may be that their sphincters are in virgin condition, and y'all can have a raffle...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/01/2007 15:41 Comments || Top||

#3  US forces killed 51 dissidents muslim terrorists from AL-Sadr militias
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 18:08 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israeli troops kill Islamist hard boy in Gazoo
JERUSALEM - Israeli troops killed an Islamist gunman and wounded four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a day after stepping up threats of a fullscale military operation to curb rocket attacks. Mahmud Al Haj, from radical group Islamic Jihad, was shot and fatally wounded in the central Gaza Strip, a medical official said.
Paradise isn't as fun as you'd heard, eh?
The hardline faction said Haj had been on a ‘combat mission’ near the border with Israel.

An army spokesman confirmed that during ‘routine activity against terror threats’ near the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, troops idenitified, shot and hit a gunman.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad

#1  Distracted by IDF strippers possibly?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/01/2007 1:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Only if they're Clydedales - isn't that how Islamists get to be 'hard' boys?
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/01/2007 7:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Just wait till they turn loose the crack First Russian Hooker Brigade on these poor fools...
Posted by: mojo || 11/01/2007 11:29 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Cyber jihad on November 11? Don't count on it.
Security experts are saying that a reported al-Qaeda cyber jihad attack planned against Western institutions should be treated with skepticism.

The attack was reported by DEBKAfile, an online military intelligence magazine. Citing anonymous "counter-terror sources," DEBKAfile said it had intercepted an Oct. 29 "Internet announcement," calling for a volunteer-run online attack against 15 targeted sites, set to begin Nov. 11. The operation is supposed to expand after its launch date until "hundreds of thousands of Islamist hackers are in action against untold numbers of anti-Muslim sites," the magazine reported.

Such an attack could be launched with a known software kit, called Electronic Jihad Version 2.0, said Paul Henry, vice president of technology evangelism with Secure Computing. This software, which has been in circulation for about three years, has recently become more easily configurable so that it could be more effective in a distributed denial of service attack, such as the one suggested by the DEBKAfile report. Attackers would download Jihad 2.0 to their own desktops and specify the amount of bandwidth they would like to consume, not unlike the SETI@home software package used to scan for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.

However, Henry said that his law enforcement contacts are treating the report with some skepticism. "I talked to a few people today who know of DEBKAfile, who feel they are dubious, but they can be credible," he said. "I'm not looking at Nov. 11 as being the day that the Internet goes down."

Security expert Gadi Evron, who recently studied the cyber attacks in Estonia, expressed similar skepticism. "DEBKAfile gets a lot of news that no one else has, and fast," he said. "But it's a community driven tabloid. Treat it as a golden source to be taken with 5 grains of salt," he said via instant message.

Even if an attack is planned, it would likely be nothing new, Evron added. "Cyber jihad on the level of attacking Web sites happens every day for numerous causes by enthusiasts. The content of this warning is doubtful. There are not hundreds of thousands of infosec workers world-wide, not to mention working for al-Qaeda," he said.

He believes that some low-skilled hackers may be planning something, but that DEBKAfile has probably not uncovered plans of a major online attack.

This is not the first time that the West has been threatened with cyber jihad. In December 2006, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) warned U.S. banks and financial institutions of a possible al-Qaeda cyber attack. That operation, nicknamed "the Electronic Battle of Guantanamo," turned out to be a dud.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/01/2007 00:54 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  For some reason, the kooks are really focusing on this year's 11/11 for paranoid rumors. One that's been around for a while is that is when radiation bombs are going to be detonated in a few cities.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/01/2007 9:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Some of those 'duds' were defused rather than imaginary, but in any case ...

I would be more worried about a NORK hack attack against SCADA control systems (power grid etc.) on behalf of Iran.
Posted by: lotp || 11/01/2007 9:08 Comments || Top||

#3  I'll wear a sweater on the 11th, just in case. And please pass on our thanks to dud defusers, if you'd be so kind, lotp -- it sounds like it's an on-going headache.

Actually, I think some Rantburgers may be involved in protecting us against that stuff, so let me directly thank y'all -- you know who you are, even if I don't. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/01/2007 11:28 Comments || Top||

#4  I hereby volunteer to take the cyber-jihad to the enemy. Someone send me some software and a list of sites, and I'll begin bombarding them from my home computer. I'm sure we can bring ALL the jihadi websites to their knees with just the readers (and lurkers) of Rantburg. Either that, or someone set up some fake eBay sites to do the same thing, selling a dozen nude pics of some of Fred's young ladies. Cyber-war can be a two-edged sword. I'm betting there are more "swords" in in Wyoming than in any single Arab state.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/01/2007 12:25 Comments || Top||

#5  OP, most of the important jihadi sites are on a darknet. The visible sites on the Internet are in many cases the only window that the intel community has to latch onto and track activities down there. Shutting them down would be counter productive.
Posted by: lotp || 11/01/2007 13:34 Comments || Top||

#6  sorry, forgot to include the link re: darknets
Posted by: lotp || 11/01/2007 13:36 Comments || Top||

#7  #4. If OP is successful , will the Cyber Jihadi martyrs be rewarded with virtual virgins?
Posted by: GK || 11/01/2007 20:18 Comments || Top||


Robot Boats Hunt High-Tech Pirates on the High-Speed Seas
Posted by: 3dc || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Read Phil B's book. Very similar.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/01/2007 7:16 Comments || Top||

#2  cool
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/01/2007 13:52 Comments || Top||


Good morning..
Posted by: Fred || 11/01/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What I like about Joan is that her eyes smile as well as her mouth.
Posted by: Gladys || 11/01/2007 6:30 Comments || Top||

#2  There is most definitely something about her eyes.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 11/01/2007 12:13 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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2Govt of Pakistan
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1TNSM
1al-Qaeda in Europe
1Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
1Islamic Jihad
1Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami

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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.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
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3dc
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2007-11-01
  Bus bomb kills eight, injures 56 in Russia
Wed 2007-10-31
  Iraqi Special Forces Detains AQI Commander in Khadra
Tue 2007-10-30
  Crew of North Korean Pirated Vessel Regains Control
Mon 2007-10-29
  Baghdad: Gunmen kidnap 10 anti-al-Qaida tribal leaders
Sun 2007-10-28
  80 Talibs escorted from gene pool at Musa Qala
Sat 2007-10-27
  Pakistani forces launch offensive against militants in Swat valley
Fri 2007-10-26
  Mehsuds formally ask army to leave Tank compound
Thu 2007-10-25
  India jails 31 for life over 1998 blasts
Wed 2007-10-24
  Binny demands reinforcements for Iraq
Tue 2007-10-23
  PKK offers conditional ceasefire
Mon 2007-10-22
  Bobby Jindal governor of Louisiana
Sun 2007-10-21
  Four dozen Talibs banged in Musa Qala area
Sat 2007-10-20
  Waziristan to be pacified 'once and for all'
Fri 2007-10-19
  Binny's handler was incharge of Benazir's security
Thu 2007-10-18
  Benazir Bhutto survives bomb attack


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