[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, increasingly excluded from mainstream politics, says it will not risk open confrontation with the state by taking to the streets in large-scale protests only to be crushed by security forces. Mohammad Habib, deputy leader of Egypt's most powerful opposition group, said the Brotherhood would not risk that path without more substantial popular support and clear objectives.
Smaller opposition groups have often decried the apparent unwillingness of the Brotherhood, which seeks an Islamic state through democratic means, to use its resources to agitate more aggressively for change in the most populous Arab state. "For the Brotherhood to go out alone and be crushed by the security apparatus or the army, no," Habib told Reuters in an interview this week. "You're talking about anarchy ... and that is something no one accepts, in addition to the fact that it can be exploited by the mob to damage public and private property."
Habib, whose group played a seminal role in the development of Islamist ideology and political groups around the Muslim world, said he saw promise in a burgeoning social protest movement working on issues of poverty and social justice.
The Brotherhood won roughly a fifth of the seats in the lower house of Parliament in 2005, but authorities have since obstructed its efforts to further its electoral gains in more recent votes for municipal councils or parliament's upper house.
They prevent potential Brotherhood candidates from filing nomination papers, block members from voting, harass and detain organizers and supporters, and detain rank and file members and leaders without charge.
The government has also pushed through a constitutional amendment banning political activity based on religion.
The Brotherhood has eschewed violence for decades and has generally refrained from using civil disobedience to confront the state, with one exception being the group's involvement in protests demanding a more independent judiciary in 2006. "The conviction must be born among the people that the issue of reform and change is dependent on them, more than it is dependent on political and national forces," Habib said.
Such conservatism may reflect the bitter experience of purges under the nationalist government of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, when thousands of Brotherhood members were tortured in detention camps.
Habib said emerging social protest movements had the potential to snowball, fueled by tensions caused by the massive rift between wealthy businessmen allied with the state and the vast majority of Egyptians who live in poverty.
"Social protest movements are strong and growing, and are full of simmering anger," he said of the movements, which focus on specific issues like rising prices or poor health services rather than on supporting openly political organizations.
"If we can achieve some sort of coordination among the social protest movements ... we will have laid our feet on the beginning of the path." The Brotherhood has said it prefers to focus on its extensive social service networks and spreading their values rather than holding demonstrations of limited value.
Habib said the emergence of protest movements was among factors that left him less certain that President Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal will succeed his father to the presidency, as many in Egypt speculate he is being groomed to do. Both father and son deny Gamal has presidential ambitions.
Habib said the Brotherhood would not oppose Gamal's running for office if his nomination came with reforms including ending emergency law, restoring civil liberties, and free and fair polls - conditions Habib said Egypt was unlikely to meet.
The size of the Brotherhood's following in Egypt is unknown, but analysts point to the 1.7 million votes secured by its candidates in 2005 legislative polls.
Habib said the Brotherhood would not be able to retain anywhere near the number of parliamentary seats it currently holds in light of recent government clampdowns, but was determined to fight on at the ballot box. "We are required to try. We are not obliged to succeed," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
It seems they ARE learning, slowly.
Don't "Confront" you just get dead.
Self-Preservation peeks it's head up (Finally).
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/26/2009 14:15 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The number of active militant organisations in the country might be much higher than 12, which was earlier mentioned in a home ministry report, home ministry sources said.
Sources in the ministry said intelligence officials have already gathered information on the active militant organisations following directives from the ministry. "The agencies are now analysing the information they gathered," State Minister for Home Affairs Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj told The Daily Star yesterday. He said the list would be updated.
Sources in Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) say that there are at least 33 organisations still conducting militant activities in the country. A top law enforcer involved in preparing the report said the number of militant organisations active in the country might be much higher than 12 as mentioned in the home ministry's earlier report which was placed before the cabinet meeting on March 16.
The cabinet had rejected the report saying it was incomplete and asked the ministry to submit a fresh report mentioning how the militants are funded, information about their networks, process of recruitment, their patrons and local and international links. The report was prepared during the caretaker government's rule.
Sources said the intelligence officials are now working to prepare the report and they have identified five NGOs, which are either funding militancy or are active in militancy. The source, however, did not disclose the names of the NGOs.
Sohel Taj said it might take a couple of weeks more to table the report before the cabinet. The report will have complete information about the patrons of militants, their funding, present activities, their organogram, their operations, recruitment system, international connections and training.
Even though JMB launched its vigilante operation in Rajshahi regions with the name JMJB, the report enlisted the JMJB as a separate active militant outfit.
The home ministry has formed a 17-member committee headed by Sohel Taj to tackle militancy. Representatives from different ministries concerned are in the committee. The main objective of the committee would be to mobilise public opinion against militancy and create awareness so that there could be a social resistance against militant activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Goodness! Do tell how many are sponsored and run out of Pakistan. No wonder Pakistan set off that ultimately unsuccessful attack on the Army compound. I wonder what they'll try next to distract Bangladesh from pursuing these inquiries.
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea, which said Saturday it has begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods, may be able to produce plutonium for about one and a half nuclear bombs in less than six months, a leading nuclear weapons expert said. Siegfried Hecker, a professor at Stanford University, also said in a telephone interview with Kyodo News that Pyongyang could make some key facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear complex operational in six months by reversing disablement steps.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Pakistan is committed to eliminating extremism and militancy, but requires tremendous international support and assistance to fight terrorism and extremism, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday. And he's looking at a ten percent rakeoff...
Zardari was talking to French special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pierre Lellouche, who called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadar. The two leaders discussed the security situation in the region, bilateral ties, and the relationship between Islamabad and Kabul.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
He should be glad for the Predators roaming his countries skies, then.
#2
Its in Paks interest to have active terrorist so they contine to collect their pay cqs from the west.Allowing Taliban to within 100km of Islamabad was a prime example of this!!!
Swat Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah said on Saturday the Taliban would only accept "Islam's writ" in the valley. In a speech on his illegal FM radio channel,
... that's impervious to radio direction finding...
he said the Taliban were "ready to offer more sacrifices" if sharia law was not implemented in Malakand division. He said the Taliban were honouring the deal between the NWFP government and Sufi Muhammad. Also on Saturday, the Taliban released two policemen they had abducted from Mingora.
This article starring:
Mullah Fazlullah
TTP
Sufi Muhammad
TNSM
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] General David Petraeus, chief of the U.S. Central Command, warned the House Appropriations Committee that Afghanistan and Pakistan are home to the "most pressing transnational extremist threat in the world."
Lawmakers were generally open to the testimony, although some expressed the desire for public benchmarks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Gen. Petraeus stressed the need of not only military assistance but also civilian aid for eradication of terrorism from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Gen. Petraeus' testimony was designed to justify his request for funds in the budget. He told lawmakers that their support "continues to be critical for our long term success." However, he stressed that the military would hold up its end of the deal, noting that in Afghanistan as in Iraq "additional forces will only be a value if they are employed properly."
Gen. Petraeus urged the House to "fully fund" the efforts to restore order and build a lasting peace in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. "Afghanistan and Pakistan comprise a single theater," he said. "Achieving objectives in Afghanistan requires a comprehensive approach."
Specifically, he called for the collaboration of U.S. and NATO forces with Afghan elements. "The increase in our forces in Afghanistan has created new infrastructure requirements," Petraeus said, noting, "The situation in Pakistan is of course closely linked to that of Afghanistan."
"First we will expand our partnership...we will also expand our exchange program," he pledged.
Looking ahead, Petraeus warned that there would be "nothing easy" about the way ahead in Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding, "Much hard work lies ahead of us."
Rep. Chet Edwards, D-TX, questioned Petraeus about the possibility of public benchmarks to mark progress in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Petraeus responded by stating that there is an "ongoing" process to develop such benchmarks, stressing "visibility and involvement."
Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif, asked Petraeus his opinion on the best way to "effectively move communities from conflict to stability."
Gen. Petraeus responded that he is "very strongly committed to this."
Specifically, the Army is working on training soldiers in language skills, along with the context and culture of Afghanistan and Pakistan. "We need to expand the basic knowledge of Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said "We were able to do this in Iraq," and soldiers "developed the kind of nuanced and granular understanding," of the area, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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The English in this is kind of fractured, but we get the general drift.
While the Talibs represent a threat to both the U.S. and Pakistain, there are differences in the level of the threat represented. If we lose access to Afghanistan because Pakistan falls to the Talibs we receive a strategic setback. We've either got to drop the whole idea, which B.O. will, or work deals with either Iran or Russia, which B.O. will also do, only not to continue Afghanistan operations.
The world really doesn't "yearn" to see Pakistain a failed state, but our yearnings have nothing to do with it. They stand or fail on their own. Right now it looks pretty much like they're failing, and we can send all the money they want and they're still headed for the Somalia category. The fact that they're not a secular state guarantees their failure. Period.
Pakistain hasn't accepted, and in my opinion won't accept, the reality that the Talibs are their enemy, answerable not to their former masters in ISI, but to Binny and Ayman and all the other al-Qaeda big turbans. It's not an organizational thing, it's the side they're on. The government has the choice of being on one side or the other and they don't want to make the choice because from where they sit it looks like they're going to lose either way: the fundos will eat them if they go to war against the Taliban, and the U.S. and probably China will cut off the flow of milk and honey if they change sides. Ten percent of nothing is zip.
The hyperconcern for Aafia Siddiqui and the Guantanmo boyz is symptomatic of their fence straddling. Aafia's a Qaeda bitch through and through, along with being something of a nut case. The Guantanamo crew is loyal not to Pakistain but to their Arab masters. But still they're turning themselves blue in the face to try and get them all back.
The final graph has to do with their power grid, which is so ineptly run that they've got eight hours of power outages a day scheduled for major urban areas.
Bangla, with their new government, is at least attempting to break out of the Islamic doldrums, getting a handle on the corruption, incompetence, and basic lunacy that comes with being an Islamic state. Most people aren't following this story, but I'm finding it half humorous, half inspiring, and the inspiring part's starting to outweigh the humor.
Pakistain hasn't reached Bangla's stage, and in my opinion they won't. I don't expect the present government to last, and I don't expect they'll have much of a future except for rule by generals or by turbans.
[Geo News] The Pakistani Ambassador to US Husain Haqqani has said that Taliban are posing serious threats to Pakistan and United States. World does not yearn to see Pakistan a failed state but a successful state.
Stating in a Geo news program "Meray Mutabiq" Haqqani said Pakistanis should prove to the world that they are a responsible nation. He said some elements hailing from civil society in US are turning emotional against Pakistan while we have been witnessing world criticizing Pakistan but these are the trivial matters and our nation must concentrate major issues as such tackling rising Talibanization in Pakistan.
"We must retaliate to criticism, it is incumbent upon us", he urged adding, "Government is in serious talks with US officials for early release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui besides other five Pakistani detainees from Gitmo detention."
Husain said the resolution of the problems of Pakistan lies in the hands of people of Pakistan including power shortfall which has been lasting for 10 years.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I dunno. I kinda like PakiWaki land as a failed state as long as they have no nukes or missles or any post Mo-ham-head weaponry.
I used up my sympathy for dark age death cultists a long time ago. If this is what they want AND they keep it to themselves..............
#2
The final graph has to do with their power grid, which is so ineptly run that they've got eight hours of power outages a day scheduled for major urban areas.
I'm impressed they still have the organizational ability to schedule outages.
And yes, we all would like to see Pakistan a successful state, mainly so we can go back to not giving a poot about the wretched place.
[Geo News] The President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Raja Zulqarnain Khan has said the Taliban militants cannot take hold of Azad Jammu and Kashmir or any area of Pakistan.
Zulqarnain said that KashmirŽŽs annexation to Pakistan would soon take place.
Talking to journalists here on Saturday, Zulqarnain said that KashmirŽŽs annexation to Pakistan would soon take place. He said no one would be allowed to spread terror anywhere in Azad Kashmir or Pakistan. He said that the UAE government was assisting the AJK government in setting up of a university while Saudi Arabia was collaborating in the establishement of a modern hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Durable peace can return to Swat only if the Taliban lay down their weapons, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Athar Abbas said on Saturday. "The ball is now in the Taliban's court," he said. "Burble burble rhubarb..." Buner: The DG said the army would not allow the Taliban to take over the Buner district, adding that the military was exercising maximum restraint. I think they're paralyzed with fear. They believe all those blood-curdling threats coming from the turbans. Note that the Afghan army is perfectly capable of handling Talibs in ground operations.
Talking to a private TV channel, Abbas said the army was closely monitoring the security situation in Malakand division. "Oh, yasss. We're right on top of it!"
He said the military was fully supporting the government's reconciliatory efforts, adding that the Taliban had so far not honoured their commitments. Nor will they.
He said Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi chief Sufi Muhammad should fulfil the promises he had made to the government. But he won't. Initiative: He said the troops' morale was high, adding that the military had the will to undertake an operation against the Taliban but "the decision to launch any fresh offensive rests with the political leadership". They're paralyzed with fear, too. Toilet paper consumption is through the roof.
Talking to another news channel, the military spokesman called the speculations of the Taliban taking over Islamabad baseless. "I mean, look around! How many Talibs do you see in Islamabad?"
He said the Pakistan Army was ready to defend the country against any threat. "We've never won a war to date, but you betcha we're a force to be reckoned with!"
He said 1,500 soldiers had laid down their lives and around 300 were wounded in the ongoing war on terror. The Paks keep bragging that up as a demonstration of their commitment. Casualties on the other side of the border are much lighter, which would seem to imply the Paks aren't very good at what they purport to be doing.
"If the capacity building of the armed forces is increased consequently, they will have more influence on these areas," the ISPR DG maintained. "Burble burble rhubarb."
To another question, he stressed upon the need of effective intelligence and information sharing between Pakistan and Afghanistan to tackle terrorism and stop the infiltration of militants. But that won't happen because nobody trusts the Paks -- in fact we're assuming that intel passed to them will be analyzed to see where it's coming from so the holes can be closed.
To a question about the Swat peace deal, Abbas said the government and military were committed to maintaining peace in Swat and Malakand Division. And I'm committed to my program of diet and exercise.
This article starring:
Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi
Sufi Muhammad
Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"Burble burble rhubarb."
I'm rolling! Not meaning to be snarky (no, really!), but who is the Pakistan army capable of going up against with any expection of success?
[Al Arabiya Latest] United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay on Friday pronounced this week's controversial conference against racism a success and denounced a "propaganda machine" for trying to paint it as a failure.
As the five-day Durban Review Conference closed here, Pillay stressed that the final declaration of the conference was adopted on Tuesday with the help of concessions made by all regional groups of U.N. member states.
"But already the propaganda machine is starting to wind up to term this conference a failure, a hate fest and all the rest of it," the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
"This is extraordinary. Yet no one has really written up the true story of this Conference -- a strange rough and tumble affair full of smoke and mirrors, I must admit, yet very definitely a success story, with plenty of goodwill as well as plenty of bad will," she told journalists.
The declaration was adopted a day after Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday attacked Israel in his speech for its systematic racisist policies and actions against Palestinians.
His speech sparked a temporary walkout by delegates of 23 European states while security guards bundled three protestors out of the hall, and completely overshadowed the core issue of rising racism, discrimination and xenophobia.
Nine governments, including the United States, Canada, Israel and Germany, boycotted the meeting altogether because of fears of anti-Semitism, while the Czech Republic joined them on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
"This is extraordinary. Yet no one has really written up the true story of this Conference -- a strange rough and tumble affair full of smoke and mirrors, I must admit, yet very definitely a success story, with plenty of goodwill as well as plenty of bad will"
"It was a dark and stormy night in Durban - the best of times, the worst of times.
[Al Arabiya Latest] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday urged Iraqis to overcome their divisions as a spate of suicide bombings revived fears of a renewed sectarian war when U.S. troops withdraw. Doh! Why didn't I think of that?
Making a brief visit to Baghdad, her first since becoming secretary of state, Clinton sought to reassure Iraqis of U.S. support as Washington prepares to withdraw all its troops by the end of 2011. "Y'got nuttin' to worry about. Trust me."
The top U.S. diplomat arrived on a military transport plane a day after two female suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Baghdad, killing 60 people in the deadliest single incident in Iraq in more than 10 months. The bad guyz have a new Mastermind running things, and he's got a campaign under way. We should track him down and kill him, otherwise they might get on a roll again.
It was the third major attack in two days, bringing the death toll since Thursday to at least 150 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I actually heard NPR criticise her for walking out on an Iraqi reporter who's question she apparently didn't want to answer. NPR didn't, however, reveal the question.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/26/2009 9:05 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iraqi militias have been using a particularly brutal form of torture against homosexual men that involves gluing the buttocks together and feeding them laxatives, an Iraqi human rights activist revealed last week.
"An anti-gay group uses a very strong form of glue that if applied, sticks to the skin so tight that it can only be removed surgically" Yenar Mohamed told AlArabiya.net.
"After the buttocks have been glued together, the victim is given a laxative," Mohamed added. Because they are not able to defecate, the diarrhea eventually leads to death.
The painful torture process was filmed on mobile phones and distributed all over Iraq. The campaign on gays, Mohamed said, was launched three weeks ago after fatwas, religious decrees, calling for their killing, were issued by clerics.
Mohamed attributed the rise of homosexuality in Iraq to the growing conservatism in society which makes mingling between sexes increasingly difficult.
He pointed out that gays were targeted by both Sunni and Shiite militias and that the fatwas calling for their killing have been broadcast on satellite channels for thousands to hear.
According to earlier press reports, a group called Ahl al-Haq (The Righteous) is targeting gays in the Bagdad slum of Sadr City and has managed to kill several people. The group allegedly published a list with the names of 10 gay men and wrote: "We will kill you, sinners." Bodies of three homosexual men were found in the area shortly after.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Yet Obama and his supporters can't wait to abandon the Iraqis to these animals. To paraphrase the old joke headline about the end of the world:
#3
I wonder if Barney Frank's friends in Congress still consider what the Bush people did as torture and the Bush people as the moral equivalent of these sub-human? (Answer is probably yes.)
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] French businessman Jean-Marie Zimmermann came to Baghdad with a modest proposal: to replace the city's vast network of concrete blast walls with terrorist-proof trees and bushes. "What we are suggesting combines safety and environmental conservation. We want to replace these walls that have disfigured the city with natural hedges that provide insurmountable security," he says.
Zimmermann is the export manager for Sinnoveg, a 420-hectare nursery in eastern France that specializes in "natural defensive weaved hedges" - walls made from tightly bound thorny plants.
At the height of Iraq's sectarian fighting US and Iraqi forces erected a vast network of concrete walls, checkpoints and concertina wire that choked off dozens of Baghdad streets and isolated entire neighborhoods.
As security has improved over the past two years, however, the government has started removing the barriers, and Baghdad's security spokesman said last week that all the capital's streets are to be reopened by the end of the year.
But the walls around government buildings and embassies - most of which are concentrated in the so-called Green Zone in the heart of the city - will remain.
And that is where Zimmermann comes in. Why not, he suggests, make the Green Zone green?
"This is the kind of place where we can provide protection. We can remake Baghdad as a city focused on nature, ecology and the environment, with a new concept of security," he says.
The principle is simple: plant a row of thorny trees and bushes 80 centimeters apart and weave the branches together. As the plants grow they form a dense and razor-sharp hedge that within three years can reach a height of 6 meters.
Zimmermann said traditional barbed wire, tire spikes, sensors and even metal barriers can be placed within the hedges - an invisible back-up layer of security sure to surprise any potential suicide bomber.
"A tank can go through but not a truck," he says. "The terrorist will think it is a row of plants but then he will be blocked."
Since introducing the concept five years ago Sinnoveg has built vegetation barriers around a nuclear research center outside Paris, a juvenile detention center, train stations and airports. Zimmermann says his firm has discussed future projects with civilian security providers in the US and a Middle Eastern country which he declined to name is testing his product.
Natural barriers for homes and gardens have long been marketed by nurseries, but Zimmermann says Sinnoveg holds an international patent for its brand of weaved fences and is the first company to propose their use on this scale.
Earlier this month he was on hand for the opening of an international flower festival in Baghdad, a mostly symbolic affair meant to highlight the improving security situation. Showing off a model fence of thorny stems bent into a row of arches, Zimmermann extolled the advantages of his product. "The last jail we did in France is surrounded only by this," he says, referring to the juvenile detention facility.
"No one tries to escape for two reasons. The first is that they are not surrounded by a wall so they feel better, and the second is that they know they cannot cross."
Zimmermann later said that while in Baghdad he had meetings with representatives from the Baghdad municipality and from other Iraqi localities.
Hakim Abdel-Zahra, the spokesman for the municipality, said the city was studying the concept of plant barriers "which was brought to us by a French investor."
"The idea of establishing security barriers made of plants has many benefits, both from the psychological side and for the beauty and attractiveness of the city."
Zimmermann says Iraq's arid climate poses no problems, since he has plants that can survive temperatures as low as minus 28 degrees Celsius and higher than 42 degrees. "At that point they grow slower, but they can take it."
Zimmermann admits that attackers could try to cut their way through, but he says they would be caught before they made it too far. "When you have five or six rows of thorny trees it will take at least an hour to cross, and that is more than enough time to capture the guy," he says. "Nothing is insurmountable, not even a concrete wall, but you slow down the infiltration. That's the principle."
Zimmermann dreams big, and as he expounds on the product he starts to look beyond Baghdad and its government buildings to Iraq's long and porous borders with its sometimes antagonistic neighbors. "A vegetation barrier on certain parts of the border would be perfectly compatible with sensors," he says, and unlike the minefields that criss-cross the Middle East it would not leave future generations with missing limbs.
And if infiltrators try to burn their way in? "It would take more than a blowtorch," he laughs. "These are living plants."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
make sure you augment the trees with unicorns and pixie dust....
Posted by: abu do you love ||
04/26/2009 1:07 Comments ||
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#2
Don't laugh. The hedgerows of Normandy were very effective and got an awful lot of our guys killed.
Muslim clerics slammed the Palestinian Authority this weekend over a festival held in the West Bank city of Ramallah as part of the events for Jerusalem -- the 2009 capital of Arab intrigue culture.
Eighteen dance companies from the territories and around the world took part in the Ramallah performance, which was attended by thousands of people. The show was also viewed by senior PA officials, including Dr. Rafiq al-Husseini, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' chief of staff who was in charge of the Palestinian committee tasked with producing the celebrations. The bands drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd, but the Muslim clerics were less enthused, saying that "Jerusalem will not be returned through dancing." "What do we care whether the citizenry liked it or not? Who cares what they want?"
One of the clerics added sneeringly cynically, "The PA must have discovered that dancing is the most efficient way to restore the Palestinians' right over occupied Jerusalem." "You're never going to liberate the Holy Land by having fun!"
Sheikh Abdullah al-Shami, an Islamic Jihad leader, said sanctimoniously cynically, "There is no doubt this is the most appropriate event as far as the PA is concerned in order to respond to the Zionists' policy of Judaizing Jerusalem. We must dance in the shadow of the situation Jerusalem is in." Well, certainly having a bunch of Arabs dancing isn't going to assert any kind of Arab presence in Jerusalem. You could barely hear the festivities over the unceasing strains of "Hava Negila" emanating from almost every corner of the place.
He expressed his surprise over the fact that "while the PA talks about an economic crisis and cannot pay workers' salaries, it spends huge amounts of money on male and female dancers." We can well understand why dervishes and dancing girls would tighten the holy turban.
In his remarks, al-Shami sent a particularly peevish poignant message to the PA leadership: "We thank you, and God bless you and your dances. God willing, you will bring about the liberation of Jerusalem through dancing." "Better to rely on bombs and bullets, which have worked so well so far, and get the dancing boys and houris after pegging out on a pushcart with a colostomy bag and no face."
Sheikh Hassan al-Jouju, head of Gaza's Sharia courts, The very utterance of his name is bad jouju!
said that the Palestinians reject with disgust the use of Jerusalem's name as part of "this lawless festival". "Except for the handful of degenerates who managed to get tickets!"
"Jerusalem is sacred and pure, and its status is derived from what Allah has given to it, and it does not need this nonsense. It needs courageous national standings which will thwart the Judaization schemes and the digging under the al-Aqsa Mosque." "You guyz are gonna be really sorry when they start playing Hava Negila from our beloved mosque loudspeakers!"
He went on to ask, "Why didn't we hear the bleat voice of the mufti and the head of the Sharia courts in the West Bank in light of these actions?" He had good seats? They fixed him up with one of the dancing boys?
Al-Jouju added that "those who approved this event, who let these groups dance on the wounds of our people, on our suffering and the cries of pain of the al-Aqsa Mosque, those who approved this event are not Palestinians." I'm sure this quote sounds much better in the original Satanic. "They're... ummm... something else. Athabaskans, maybe."
Senior Hamas member Hamed Bitawi, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that "this festival contradicts Islamic law. "There's no place in the Koran where such things are required, therefore they're forbidden! Got that?"
"The Palestinian nation is a nation of jihad and resistance, "Blood on the streets! Guts on the Zionist windshields! For the greater glory of Allen!"
and this festival damages its image and the memory of the martyrs and their blood. Shame will follow those who approved these cheap festivals." Translation: Culture and art? Bah! We prefer explosions and death!
#1
They get so upset about the "Judaizing" (I'm sure that is not a literal translation of the word used) of East Jerusalem, but completely fail to ever mention the de-Judaizing in 1948.
#2
Considering what a bang-up job the last N years of intifada, jihad, murder and misc. violence have done towards bring peace and prosperity to the Palestininan people, maybe it is time for something new. Dancing is a good change. I also recommend lute playing and reciting Renaissance poetry.
#3
I've come up with the perfect solution to the "Palestinian" problem. We talk Canada into giving them the northern half of Baffin Island. We'll move out the Esquimoux (both families), and let the Palis have the place. I'm sure they can't make it any WORSE, but you never know...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/26/2009 16:30 Comments ||
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#4
1980's MTV Song > "Hip, Hip, Hip, Hip ....
....HIPPY CHICKS"???
WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday that she had sent two diplomats to Syria and was heartened by improved relations between that country and Lebanon. I sent two of our diplomats to Syria about six weeks ago. Weve had members of Congress going to Syria, Clinton told Alhurra television. We are heartened by the exchange of ambassadors between Lebanon and Syria.
Dhimmicrats are always heartened by talks with thugs ...
But she said no decision had been made about naming a new ambassador to Damascus. We hope that Syria will play a constructive role in supporting democracy in Lebanon, but we havent made any further decisions, the secretary noted.
A US congressional delegation made up of Stephen Lynch, a Democrat, and Republican Bob Inglis met with Syrias President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month. The lawmakers voiced optimism that the two countries could work together to advance their common interests in the region.
Several high-profile US envoys have visited Damascus this year as the Obama administration pursues a policy of engaging with all countries in the region, even long-time foes.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"'I sent two of our diplomats to Syria about six weeks ago. We've had members of Congress going to Syria,' Clinton told Alhurra television."
"But unfortunately we couldn't make Syria keep any of them," she continued.
I can dream, can't I....?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/26/2009 0:09 Comments ||
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The state department's new Guided Treason program...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/26/2009 21:43 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] In protest of an eight-year jail sentence on charges of espionage, U.S.-Iranian reporter Roxana Saberi has gone on a hunger strike for the past five days, her father told AFP Saturday.
"She has started (a hunger strike) and today is the fifth day," Reza Saberi told media. "Her lawyer lodged an appeal over the sentence today," he said. "She's not eating anything ... I'm very worried."
Saberi, 31, was convicted by an Iranian revolutionary court in a closed-door trial last week of spying for the U.S., which along with Israel is Tehran's main foe. Saberi has been held since late January, when it was initially she was arrested for buying alcohol, an illegal act in the Islamic republic.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Idiot it won't work there, they'll let you starve to death without any newspapers ever hearing about it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/26/2009 19:36 Comments ||
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RJ - she's honorable in her aims in reporting in Iran, and not one to be disparaged by such as you when she'll likely die for her principles.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/26/2009 20:18 Comments ||
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Sad to say, but starving herself to death might be a better end than what the Iranians may otherwise arrange.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/26/2009 20:46 Comments ||
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Frank.
Backtrack a second and think.
The whole purpose of a "Hunger Strike" is to get public attention to their (Her) plight, then use it as a lever? Right?
But if the Captors don't give a shit, it backfires.
Now reality check, are her captors succeptable to emotional blackmail?
Hell no.
Are her captors interested in outside opinion? Again Hell no.
Do they give a shit if a "Spy" dies?
OK Frank answer that one.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/26/2009 21:59 Comments ||
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do you give a shit? Her captors are certainly susceptible to international pressure on this. She's a dual-citiz passport holder, and they are basically imprisoning and torturing an American. I don't agree with dual cit passports, but this is what we have. Are you that co-opted as to not to care?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/26/2009 22:50 Comments ||
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Spot on, RJ. There's a whole lot being left out of this story, but it will clear in the end.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman said he is using quiet diplomacy to try to resolve a dispute over allegations by officials in Egypt that Hizbullah plotted attacks there, a newspaper reported Saturday.
Egypt announced earlier this month that it had uncovered a plot by 49 men with links to Hizbullah to destabilize the country by carrying out attacks on Egyptian institutions and Israeli tourists.
In an interview with the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Saturday, Suleiman said he is using quiet diplomacy to try to keep the allegations from harming his country's relations with Egypt.
"Our policy on this issue is quiet and serious - to solve it so that this will not affect the cordial relations between Lebanon and Egypt," Suleiman was quoted as saying. "We shouldn't talk much about this issue," he said. "The state is doing its job and the president is trying to find a fair and quiet solution to all."
Egypt's allegations have raised concern about possible Hizbullah activity beyond Lebanon's borders at a time when terror group and political movement, together with its allies, stands a good chance of dominating the country's June 7 parliamentary elections.
The United States and its allies among Arab governments like Egypt's are also fearful that an electoral win by Hizbullah and its allies would increase the sway of the group's backers Iran and Syria.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned what he said was Hizbullah's interference in the affairs of another country.
"I am alarmed that Hizbullah publicly admitted to providing support to Gaza-based militants from Egyptian territory," Ban said Friday at the UN Security Council.
"Such activity indicates that Hizbullah operates outside Lebanese territory and beyond its stated national agenda. I condemn such unwarranted interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign member state," he said.
Ban renewed his call for Hizbullah to disarm and to transform into "a solely political party."
Hizbullah has rejected local and foreign calls to disarm, saying its arsenal of weapons and rockets is needed to defend Lebanon against any Israeli attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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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
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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.
[Al Arabiya Latest] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday urged Iraqis to overcome their divisions as a spate of suicide bombings revived fears of a renewed sectarian war when U.S. troops withdraw.
Muslim clerics slammed the Palestinian Authority this weekend over a festival held in the West Bank city of Ramallah as part of the events for Jerusalem -- the 2009 capital of Arab 
