via DhimmiWatch
Two US missionaries detained in Dubai on suspicion of distributing Christian compact discs and Bibles in the Muslim Gulf emirate have returned to the United States, a local newspaper said. A US embassy official confirmed the report but declined to give details, citing the US privacy act. The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, forbids proselytising by non-Muslims.
The daily quoted a Dubai Justice Department official as saying the case against the two women had been dismissed but that the public prosecution department kept the 26 CDs and 19 Bibles confiscated when the women were arrested last month. The women, on a missionary trip with the Tom Cox Evangelistic Association, were detained in February and then freed on bail but had not been charged. Tom Cox Evangelistic Association said on its Web site that the two women, identified as Marie Bush and Vivian Gilmer, returned home on March 4 and were in "excellent" spirits.
In 1993 a UAE court sentenced a British man to six months in prison for handing out Christian literature to Iranians. Dubai, unlike other places in the Gulf which follow Islamic law to the letter, tries to cater to differing cultures and religions and has both churches and mosques.
Posted by: ed ||
03/22/2005 6:51:14 PM ||
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"Prayers don't work when they're led by a babe. Everybody knows that!"
"This act is contradictory to the rules of sharia (Islamic law), which forbids having women and men praying side by side," the statement said.
"Allan don't listen to them both at the same time!"
"Friday prayer is a religious duty for men only, while women can only attend if they wish to but not as a duty ... Prayers are totally not valid if they are led by a woman," the statement said.
"Nope. Sorry. You wasted the whole Friday. Might as well have gone bowling."
I'm sure the National Organization for Women will denounce these sexist islamic males any minute now.......
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2005 1:16:45 PM ||
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#1
That feminist organization may not, Steve, but this feminist will.
It goes deeper than Islam, however, I am afraid. Some Christian churches also refuse to allow women positions of authority.
#2
Jules, difference is that within 'Some Christian churches', a woman won't get death threats. It may be very sublime difference in your view, but I think it is rather a substantial one.
#3
I don't disagree with you, Sobiesky. Of course it is a substantial difference. Christianity is light years ahead of Islam as far as the lives of women go. But some sects of Christianity could stand a little bit of growth in the direction of being EOE for women leaders, don't you think?
#4
Orthodox Jews also only let women lead prayers in all female groups (and some dont even hold with that) but like Sobie says, they dont threaten to kill people about it, and thats the key difference. (my own branch of Judaism, Conservative J, does allow them lead to prayers, though there are SOME residual gender inequalities in C Jewish law - Reform J holds with full equality in all matters)
#6
actually Orthodox Judaism, especially modern orthodox Judaism, is more complex than that
in many, maybe most, Orthodox congregations, a woman may lead the after meal benedictions even with men present if there are 3 or more women and less than 3 men; in a few Orthodox congregations, a woman may lead as long as there are more than 3 woman, even if there are 3 men
the injunction against woman and men praying together only exists with the 18/19 benedictions; not with the kaddish, nor with the preliminary prayers
a woman can lead in a stand alone recital of the psalms also in most orthodox congregations
there are, however, many haradi orthodox congregations where non of the above noted leniencies exist
#7
well its been awhile since ive davened at and MO shul, so take what i say with salt:
Most of the leniencies mhw mentions i dont recall seeing. OTOH many of the MO congregations ive been in have been fairly large established ones, and usually just on shabbat or yom tov, and it may not have come up. I would guess these leniencies are more utilized by smaller cutting edge MO shuls, or in special services, etc?
Still im aware of lots of ferment in MO, so i dont suppose any of these should surprise me.
#8
Friday prayer is a religious duty for men only, while women can only attend if they wish to but not as a duty ... Prayers are totally not valid if they are led by a woman,
injunction against woman and men praying together only exists with the 18/19 benedictions
but its the shmoneh esreh, along with the shma, thats the halachacilly REQUIRED prayer, tehillim (psalms) etc are NOT. So the parallellism still holds, I think - though i wonder if the muslim daily prayers included optional portions as well as required ones, or if they have a parallel to the distinction between required by law (halacha) and custom (minhag)
#10
One of the MSM organs had a piece on this, and one of the individuals interviewed (surrounded by co-religionists on a happenin' street in NYC) was an Angry Young Muslim Man. "This is blasphemy!" he shouted into the camera. "And the penalty for blasphemy is DEATH!"
March 22, 2005: Saudi Arabia has always had problems with its military leadership. This is because promotions depend more on family connections, especially if one of the candidates is from the royal family. Because the man who founded the kingdom, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, had over forty sons, and those sons were nearly as prolific, there are thousands of male descendents of Abdul Aziz who have passed through the military over the last half century. In addition, there are thousands more from families nearly as illustrious (those that were close allies of the Sauds back in the day). The Saudis are aware of the problem, but like any dictatorship (that's what a traditional monarchy is), loyalty if often more important than competence. Until the 1990s, American and British military trainers were used a lot to train officers, NCOs and troops. This paid off, although there were still incidents were well connected fighter pilots panicked, and bailed out of perfectly good, and very expensive, jet fighters. This past December, the new, French built, Saudi frigate, HSMS Makkah, ran aground on its maiden voyage. At the helm was a Saudi officer apparently selected more because of impeccable family connections, rather than his ability to handle a ship. It took two months to get the ship off the reef, and damage, if any, has not been reported. The skipper, meanwhile, has been promoted upstairs.
Since the 1990s, the Saudis have been increasingly using foreign Moslems, rather than Americans or Brits, to help train the troops. For example, Pakistan has taken over, from the U.S. Marine Corps, the task of training the Saudi Marine Corps. This 3,000 man force was once considered somewhat elite. The troops are still pretty good, but the quality of the officers has gone down. As one recent visitor, a U.S. Marine Corps officer, noted, he had more confidence in a USMC corporal, than a Saudi Marine Corps lieutenant. The older Saudi marine officers and NCOs, who were trained under the stricter Americans, are not only more capable than the younger ones, but also more pro-American. The Pakistani trainers are more likely to be Islamic conservatives with an anti-American attitude, and less stringent training standards.
The lax attitudes, and reliance on leadership that is well connected, and poorly trained, extends to the police force as well. In Jidda, the Red Sea Saudi port, the police, and local government officials, have a reputation for extreme ineptness, even by Saudi standards. This has given Islamic radicals the opportunity to establish a base of operations. The situation is getting worse because of how badly the local officials have handled the case of several hundred stranded Nigerian religious pilgrims. The tour operator for the Nigerians went out of business, and stranded the Nigerians before they could go home. Jidda is the main port for pilgrims entering the country for the annual Hadj. The stranded pilgrims were left to fend for themselves, and many had to beg, or steal, to eat. The Islamic radicals used the situation to gather more support against the well connected, but corrupt, local officials. These officials, including the provincial governor, now have to fear assassination, as well as unrest in the streets. The local police may not be trustworthy enough to deal with an uprising. The kingdom does have a small number of very sharp royals, and a few police and army units that are well trained, and led, but these "troubleshooters" are currently tied down dealing with the outbreak of al Qaeda violence. This appears to be under control. But the rot in the rest of the armed forces remains.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2005 10:55:50 AM ||
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#1
419 scammers getting theirs on a "holy voyage"? Allahu akbar!
British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon arrived here yesterday for talks with Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation and other top officials. He was greeted at the airport by Prince Khaled ibn Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, Chief of Staff Gen. Saleh Al-Mahya, and other high-ranking officers, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
The sooner this rainy weather stops, the sooner I'll be able to resume the I-ride-a-motorcycle-so-I'm-not-affected-much attitude toward these oil-trader-induced high gasoline prices.
#2
oil prices are up because demand is up and supply is politically controlled. Traders are just making an efficient market. Without traders and an efficient market you would have physical shortages.
#3
But Phil! All the profits are going to Bushitler Haliburton and your so-called market is killing little babies from Iraq to Ireland to Alaska and causing global warming to boot! I say F**k the market. Let the government decide that fuel should be cheap and plentiful for people like me. The rest of you baby killers can walk.
#6
..fear of supply disruption is part of any market.
The difference here is that oil, for better or worse, is a driving (and seemingly somewhat volatile) force behind our economy, and as such, it seems rather irresponsible to drive up prices on fears that may or may not materialize. If and when supply is disrupted in a tangible manner, then an actual problem exists and then that's the time to start worrying.
#8
The traders in general are not the source of the fear, they are merely profiting by taking on the risk of other peoples fear. It works like this. A consumer of oil is concerned about the cost of their future supply. The consumer goes to the trader and says will you gaurantee to supply me with an amount of oil at a future date. The trader then agrees at a price that factors in his perception of the risk of oil not being available at a certain price (effectively the current price). The premium the trader asks for must be less than the consumer's perception of the risk (and cost) otherwise the trade will not take place. So not only do traders take on other peoples fears they also reduce the overall fear in the market because those who anticipate lower risks outbid those who anticipate higher risks.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/22/2005 18:46 Comments ||
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#10
/Daniel Drew.
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to argue with you or be hostile in general. It's pretty frustrating watching prices spiral ever-higher for no apparent reason, and combine that with the already high prices that we are forced to pay here in CA due to state-mandated gas requirements, and quite frankly, it's driving me crazy. The only thing that keeps me sane is my motorcycle, but I can't ride the damned thing because it's been raining for most of the past week, and the outlook for next week is unsettled!
Qataris in traditional flowing robes and foreigners in jeans and business suits rallied Monday in a state-organized show of indignation and unity against terrorism near the site of a suicide bombing that killed a British teacher and wounded 12 other people. Many demonstrators said they wanted everyone to know foreigners are welcome in the Persian Gulf state and terrorists are not. Banners at the demonstration read: "Western Expatriates We Love You. Your Security is Our Concern."
"We love all Westerners and we don't want this to happen again in our country," said Khalifa al-Tamimi, an employee of state-owned Qatar Petroleum. "Whoever did this is illiterate and uncivilized. Surely this is not the work of Qatari people."
He's right. It mightn't be a Qatari. Might've been a Soddy, or a Jordanian, or a Yemeni. But it prolly wasn't a Iraqi...they're too busy being sensible right now...
The explosion occurred outside the Doha Players Theater production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." It killed Jonathan Adams, a British teacher who directed the show and was watching it with his family. Adams had heard a revving car and went outside to check when the explosion occurred, so he caught the full force of the blast, according to an Australian protester, Pauline Furlong, who said she knew Adams. A previously unknown militant group, Jund al-Sham, posted a statement on an Islamic Web site claiming it carried out the attack to start a campaign against those who "desecrate the soil of the land of Islam."
Allan (PTUI) be praised.
Authorities have blamed the attack on Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali, an Egyptian computer programmer who seethed worked in Qatar for five years. In Cairo, relatives dressed in black arrived at the home of his family to offer condolences. "I do not believe he did it," Ali's mother, Kawthar el-Sayyed, said. "Whoever did the attack might have stolen his car or stolen his name." She said her son never spoke about holy war or suicide and she could not believe he would abandon his children. "He prays and fasts and explodes just like any regular Muslim," she said with tears in her eyes. El-Sayyed said she hoped her son's name had come up by mistake. She said four Egyptian police officers searched her apartment Sunday but did not take anything.
The Internet claim of responsibility, which could not be verified, called the attack a "historic" operation and criticized Arab leaders for allowing Western military bases and churches on their territories. The claim made no mention of the al-Qaida terror network, but denied any links with militants in the Palestinian territories or Lebanon. A small Islamic group of the same name emerged in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon last year.
Ansar al-Islam used the same alias when it started out. And there's another bunch in Pakistan that uses the same handle. I think it's a generic boom boy thing, until they hit the big time.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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INTERNATIONAL terrorists are training to launch cyber-terror attacks on Britain which could cripple vital economic, medical and transport networks, the government's counter-terrorism co-ordinator said yesterday. Sir David Omand said surveillance of suspected al-Qaeda affiliates suggests they are working to use the internet and other electronic communications systems to cause harm. Sir David, a former head of GCHQ and one of the most senior members of the British intelligence community, yesterday appeared at a conference of security experts and business leaders at Chatham House in London to discuss Britain's defences.
To illustrate the point that even entirely civilian industries and networks can be vital to national security, the conference was reminded of an MI5 assessment that "Britain is four meals away from anarchy." British security officials are normally extremely reluctant to discuss potential threats even semi-publicly, but the need for increased action from the private sector is driving a newfound openness. Intelligence officials say that no matter how much the state does to prepare for cyber-terrorism, a great deal will rest on the willingness of businesses to "harden" their systems against attack Sir David confessed to his audience that he had doubts about commenting publicly on security threats, not least for fear of sparking undue panic. He insisted that his remarks constituted an attempt to "inform" or to "alert", but stopped short of being a "warning".
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 12:12:23 AM ||
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#1
A story on Slashdot last week detailed a 'reverse shell' attack launched by a plain jane user could bring some Linux servers to a grinding halt.
The fix was simple, but the writer who published the original article pointed out that many, many distributions of Linux were vulnerable to this simple attack.
When I was hosting a mirror for Haganah, some jihadis were discussing various means of DOS and DDOS atacks on Haganah, using some ancient ( and Windows-based ) tools. I have no doubt Islamists are planning a cyber attack at some point, but you have to wonder how effective they could be.
A top Mexican official Monday denied the possibility that terrorists groups had used Mexico to enter the United States, El Universal reported. Mexican Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha said authorities always are attentive to the issue and the antiterrorism department has been directed to be alert for any evidence of such actions. De la Concha said Mexico and the United States work "as equals" to combat crime and drug trafficking along the border. He said the Mexican Justice Department will participate in a Wednesday Texas meeting of presidents Vicente Fox and George W. Bush, during which border issues and terrorism will be discussed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#5
Nope. Just drug dealers, illegals, gang members, and other assorted criminals. Nothing scary like terrorists. Nothing to worry about from down here. Sleep well, gringos...
Russia faces renewed attacks from Chechen rebels after its security forces killed moderate leader Aslan Maskhadov, guerrilla warlord Shamil Basayev warned in an interview published by Swedish TT news agency today. Basayev, blamed by Moscow for a series of bloody strikes against civilian targets including last September's Beslan school massacre, said he was no longer bound by a commitment to peace he had given former Chechen leader Maskhadov. Russian security forces killed Maskhadov on March 8. ''Nobody can prevent me from responding to violence with violence,'' TT quoted Basayev as saying in written replies to questions the agency said it had submitted by e-mail.
Moscow has promised a $10 million reward for Basayev, who says he would like to meet al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The warlord said he spent 12 days with Maskhadov in November and told him he would not derail negotiations to end the war, adding that Moscow had secretly offered talks. ''Maskhadov was killed as a result of the Russians' deviousness, because of his exaggerated peace efforts and I am now released from my commitments,'' he added. ''We fight only against Russia and so far only on its territory. You can expect acts of sabotage, not acts of terror, only in Russia and Qatar,'' he said, referring to the Gulf Arab state where exiled Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was killed last year. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks about bin Laden being Basayev's commander had made him want to meet the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. ''I know one thing, he cannot be a bad man because in all the pictures I have seen of him his face radiates a strong light,'' said Basayev, a Muslim.
"I find his lips fascinating..."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 12:15:15 AM ||
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Faced with rising unrest and calls for his resignation, the president of Kyrgyzstan on Monday ordered election officials to investigate allegations of fraud in the Central Asian republic's recent parliamentary elections. Demonstrations held almost daily after the Feb. 27 election and March 13 runoff intensified over the weekend as protesters burned down a police headquarters in the southern city of Jalal-Abad. Protesters also have overrun several police and government buildings in the southern part of the former Soviet republic. Though the rallies appear to be confined to the country's southern provinces, they have grown larger in recent days and show no signs of abating. Calling for the ouster of President Askar Akayev and his government, demonstrators have burned billboards with Akayev's image and pelted Kyrgyz riot police with stones in Jalal-Abad and Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city, Osh.
Thousands of protesters, some armed with clubs and Molotov cocktails, overran Osh on Monday, forcing police to flee, The Associated Press reported. The opposition occupied government buildings in five cities and towns across southern Kyrgyzstan, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Nurdin Jangarayev. In Jalal-Abad, protesters dumped rocks on the runway of the city airport to stymie government attempts to bring in more police. The AP reported that demonstrators in Osh seized control of the airport Monday. The army did not intervene despite the chaos. No casualties were reported. Akayev, 60, has led Kyrgyzstan for 15 years. His government has been regarded as more reform-oriented than Central Asia's other former Soviet republics. Akayev is constitutionally barred from running for a third term in presidential elections in October, but opposition leaders worry he may use the parliamentary majority he has to amend the constitution and seek another term. Akayev has denied wanting another term.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Busted! Lol! Definitely a throwback to the old Soviet School of Public Relations, heh. Sorry, but the train left the station yesterday - you did the deed, got caught by election observers, and this posturing is wasted. Dunno if you'll do a Ceausescu or not, but you're off the page. Fade away gracefully - while you can.
Kyrgyzstan's government and opposition must exercise restraint after violent protests in southern towns over the results of this month's parliamentary elections, said United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. ``The secretary general is opposed to the use of violence and intimidation to resolve electoral and political disputes,'' the UN said in a statement on its Web site. Annan ``calls on all parties to apply restraint.'' President Askar Akayev yesterday offered to hold talks with the opposition, a move welcomed by Annan, the UN said. Protesters took over government buildings and blocked the airports in Osh and Jalal-Abad in the past two days, Agence France-Presse reported, citing witnesses in the towns.
The opposition charges fraud in the March 13 run-off election won by parties supporting Akayev, who has ruled the central Asian nation of 5 million people since 1991. Kyrgyzstan's economy depends on agricultural production with cotton and tobacco its main exports. About 50 percent of people lived below the poverty line in 2003, according to U.S. government data. Akayev last week warned of a possible civil war and has said that popular protests such as those that resulted in leadership changes in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine last year and in Georgia in 2003 won't be tolerated in Kyrgyzstan, AFP reported. Akayev has said he won't stand in presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 30.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
"We won't do anything, either way, but they shoved this microphone in my face and, well, the rest is history pointless posturing."
China appealed to the European Union on Tuesday to go ahead with plans to lift a 15-year-old arms embargo, reacting angrily to reports that action might be delayed because of Beijing's passage of a law authorizing a military attack on Taiwan. "Linking these two issues is unreasonable," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. "The passage of the anti-secession law is an effort to ease tensions across the Taiwan Straits. ... The key to ease tensions is to check Taiwan's secessionary forces and to stop all secessionist activities."
You will sell us weapons to use against Taiwan and you will do it now! Now I see where the Norks got their charming approach to diplomacy.
Posted by: AzCat ||
03/22/2005 6:10:19 AM ||
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Article: The passage of the anti-secession law is an effort to ease tensions across the Taiwan Straits. ... The key to ease tensions is to check Taiwanâs secessionary forces and to stop all secessionist activities.
Pre-war Germany's annexation of Czechoslovakia certainly eased international tensions with that country. No nation, ergo no international tensions.
#8
MD: Brilliant diplomacy. Send 'em to Dale Carnegie.
The point of diplomacy is to let other people have it your way. Will the Euros not lift the embargo simply because of the Taiwan announcement? I doubt it - there will be a flurry of activity to indicate reconsideration, but the embargo will be lifted. No doubt about it - if France will sell to Iraq, it will sell to China.
Note that the point of the Taiwan pronouncement was multi-faceted - (1) to cow the Taiwanese into surrendering without a shot, (2) to warn what China considers outside interlopers that war is coming and (3) to prepare the Chinese public for future confrontation. Note that diplomatic sticks can be brandished for years and years without any cost to China. If one tack doesn't work, they can always try another. Winning without war is the name of the game - and they are pushing it as far as they can with a mix of bluff and bluster. Any invasion would cost the lives of tens of thousands of Chinese troops. I can't really blame them for trying - if I were in their position, I'd do the exact same thing - as Churchill once said, if you can afford to (i.e. you're not actually under attack), jaw-jaw is generally less costly than war-war.
North Korea's government said it won't ``beg'' for talks with the U.S. as U.S. government officials said the deadlock must end over resuming six-nation discussions on North Korea's nuclear program. ``The army and the people of the DPRK (North Korea) do not wish to see the deteriorating relations with the U.S. or any military standoff with it,'' the official Korean Central News Agency said late yesterday. North Korea will ``never beg for dialogue or peace.''
The U.S. may consider ``other options'' if North Korea remains unwilling to return to the six-nation forum, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday at the end of a visit to China. The issue ``could not drag on forever,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at a briefing yesterday. North Korea has rejected holding a fourth round of six- nation talks, citing U.S. hostile policy. Rice, making her first visit to Asia last week as secretary of state, traveled to China, South Korea and Japan to discuss the North Korea issue. Rice, in her news conference yesterday in Beijing, didn't elaborate on what options the U.S. may be considering. She called on China, North Korea's closest ally, to help bring North Korea back to the talks that have been interrupted since June. The U.S. doesn't intend to attack North Korea, Rice said. U.S. military exercise taking place with South Korea are increasing the danger of war, the Korean Central News Agency said yesterday, citing a commentary by the Rodong Sinmun newspaper. ``The prevailing situation is so dangerous and tense that any accidental case may spark an all-out war,'' the report said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#4
Raptor, I love the part where the U.S. is painted as the root of all that ails them. I have noticed a lack of South Korean Stundents running up to the border lately to meet with their Nork counterparts. Or maybe they are taking a low-profile since the Norks got nuclear and destroyed their image of a peaceful regime.
About 100 people are attending a public meeting in Melbourne where organisers are calling for charges against accused terrorist supporter Jack Thomas to be dropped. Thomas, 31, is accused of accepting money from Al Qaeda to return to Australia as a sleeper for the organisation. Commonwealth authorities today lost their bid to revoke his bail ahead of next week's committal hearing. His lawyer, Rob Stary, says the case against his client relies only on an interview undertaken without a lawyer present, after 100 hours of interrogation. Mr Stary says Thomas made a complaint to Australian consular officials that he had been subjected to torture by an unknown intelligence agent. "Now that's completely consistent with many other claims of the released detainees that they had been subjected to pretty rigorous and vigorous interrogation," he said.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
03/22/2005 3:11:02 AM ||
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Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock does not believe there is an urgent need for a new court to deal exclusively with suspected terrorists. It follows reports senior police and anti-terrorism experts are lobbying for a system in which "terror" cases are decided through judicial interrogation rather than trials. Mr Ruddock has agreed to listen to more details about the proposal but he says it is probably unnecessary. "We have had I think six terrorism offences in three different states," he said. "We've had one conviction, you know the establishment of a separate court to deal with terrorism offences when you have five matters that you are presently having to deal with seems to me to be a little overboard," he said.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
03/22/2005 3:10:02 AM ||
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They're going to defend it to Bob Mugabe next week. And then the week after they've got Muammar Qaddhafi penciled in...
The Federal Government says it is not dragging its heels on human rights. The comments come in response to a "please explain" request from a United Nations Committee assessing Australia's progress on racial discrimination. In Geneva earlier this month, Australia was questioned about the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), the Native Title Act and changes to the Human Rights Commission. The UN Committee on Racial Discrimination has given the Australian Government a year to explain parts of its Geneva response. A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs - the key agency co-ordinating Australia's report - says Australia has not breached the UN convention regarding racial discrimination. In a written statement, the spokesman says ATSIC was not a effective voice for Aboriginal people, as shown by its poor voter turnout. He also says the Government remains committed to reconciliation.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
03/22/2005 3:12:06 AM ||
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Chest Thumping from Old Europe, Act CXVII, Via Drudge...
The European Union wants an opportunity to hear US nominee for World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz to quiz him on his views of how he would run the key development institution, EU ministers said. And this is your perogative in what way?
EU finance ministers discussed Wolfowitz's controversial nomination by US President George W. Bush over dinner at the start of a summit of the 25-member bloc's leaders Brussels. Over dinner? Five-star restaurant, maybe? Where's Kofi's invitation?
Austria's Karl-Heinz Grasser, asked if Wolfowitz could present his views to the next meeting of EU finance ministers scheduled for April 11-12, said that would be too late. It's too late, baby now, it's too late...
"We need to hear from him on a European level before then. A European level? Puhleeeze, you pompous windbag...
We need to know his basic position on the (UN) millennium development goals, and his view of how he would lead the World Bank," he said after the dinner. Damn! Missed the dinner. Guess there's no need to go now!
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel -- whose boss Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has already given the thumbs-up to the deputy US defense secretary -- said that nevertheless more talks were needed. Talking's what you knobs know best, isn't it?
"He's a high level candidate, but there needs to be more discussions before" his election, said Eichel. Talk & discuss all you want. Wolfie's actually going to accomplish things.
Wolfowitz's nomination to head the key global development-funding institution has prompted a cool reaction in some quarters in Brussels, while aid groups have voiced dismay and some puzzlement. Translation - the spigot's about to be turned off.
Belgian Didier Reynders told AFP that the EU has no single view on Wolfowitz, but indicated it could work towards a position once he had presented his plans. How about your plans first? This is why these guys are completely worthless; they're lining up Wolfie for endless criticism.
"It will be from that that we will take a position, but there is no definitive position at all," he said. I've got a position for you...
A reckoning / reshaping of the US to Tranzi World "relationship" is approaching fast. There will be several "battles" and there will be big surprises in store for the Tranzis. What is not in doubt, however, is whether the US will, ever again, treat with the Tranzis as equals and peers. They have marginalized themselves - all by themselves; distanced themselves - all by themselves; fucked themselves - all by themselves. They have consciously chosen the path of confrontation, ankle-biting, and submission to their intelligentsia / chattering class. They are now at odds with and in oppostition to the few who are determined to progress and destabilize the entrenched barbarians. They can come along peaceably, if they choose, but they'd better stand clear if they don't join. The world has become too small, the weapons too deadly, and the threats too obvious for the Olde Methodes.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/22/2005 21:16 Comments ||
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#9
He already is answering Euro questions, Ars. Karl-Heinz Grasser is just being a Euroweenie about it. And your Euros only make up 30% of the board.
http://washingtontimes.com/business/20050318-102951-3228r.htm
Posted by: Tom ||
03/22/2005 21:16 Comments ||
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#10
Aris, you've tried insulting me as a parent and you've backed clueless Euroweenie Karl-Heinz Grasser in calling for information that is already being provided where it counts. Why don't you just call it a day and go do something to improve the Greek reproduction and child mortality statistics or contemplate the future of gay marriage under the coming Euro-Sharia Law. Nite, nite.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/22/2005 21:40 Comments ||
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#11
Tom, you might want to note that the European share of the World Bank is actually larger than that of the U.S. (by a few percent), and its directors are elected, not appointed.
An agreement, that goes back to Bretton Woods 1944 states that the boss of the World Bank should be an American, and for balance, the boss of the IMF should be an European. This is an unwritten agreement that has always been honored. In 1999 the U.S. (Clinton administration) did challenge the agreement by flatly refusing the German candidate, Caio Koch-Weser, as the new boss of the IMF, dismissing him as a "lightweight". Back then, Schroeder, with the European support, pushed Koch Weser a little too hard and failed. The Germans found a replacement with Horst Köhler, now President of Germany (whose competence was not put in doubt).
It is unlikely that Wolfowitz will go anywhere if the Europeans refuse him. They would not break the agreement, that only states that the president of the bank should be American, not that the US can demand to have ANY US candidate elected.
So it wouldn't be such a bad idea if Wolfie explained why he is the best candidate. He is a candidate after all. He can't be "appointed" by Bush.
Schroeder clearly doesn't want a new conflict with the U.S. over this issue and the Europeans are likely to "swallow" Wolfowitz. Just don't make them choke on purpose. To push through reforms at the World Bank, Wolfie needs cooperation of all share owners of the World Bank or he'll be a lame duck.
#12
And a little info on "Euroweenie" Grasser. He is actually the youngest (36 yo) and probably the most successful finance minister in the EU, a major champion of tax cuts. Companies only pay a maximum of 25% taxes which enabled them to compete much better with Eastern European companies which benefit from even lower taxes in their countries (Slovakia has a flat tax of 19%). With Grasser (maverick member of the questionable right wing FPOe, who fell out with its right wing leader Haider) Austria managed a much better growth than Germany, a balanced budget and an unemployment rate much lower than in Germany. The Austrian socialists hate him with a passion.
And don't whine about insults you received in threads where I came only because you intentionally and repeatedly trolled for me. Kinda wimpy on your behalf not to accept the quite predictable repercussions of your actions.
As for your clueless mention of "Euro-sharia", Western Europe's the part of the world that's furthest away from Sharia in ideology, even as yours approaches it much more. Hmm... justifications for torture as interrogation, underage death penalty (yeah I know it's been recently outlawed but you people here objected!), the worship of machismo, the face-saving obsessiveness of Arabia, the gun-culture, the religious nuttishness (is the battle against the theory of evolution still raging in America?)...
#14
Aris, Darwin's evolution theory isn't the final wisdom of mankind, nor is "intelligent design". A "theory" is an attempt to explain things. We'll be wiser in 50 years.
#16
TGA, Darwin's specific ideas about evolution aren't the final wisdom of mankind, but the fact that evolution occurs and that we've evolved from ape-like ancestors (and that the universe is much older than 6010 years old) in as much an indisputable fact as anything can be.
I have no problem with the idea of theistic (aka "divinely guided") evolution, as long as they keep it out of the science classes, and leave it in religion and philosophy class where it belongs.
#17
cool - soon as they expain the source of all our creation: i.e. - where did all this come from? It's really rather simple - where did all the raw materials come from? - at its' origin? I'd be happy to hear your evidence
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/22/2005 22:37 Comments ||
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#18
Wolfowitz has already said he will sit down with individuals to discuss his views and qualifications and alleviate any concerns. What he doesn't need is to be subjected to a hostile crowd frothing at the mouth while taking their turns trying to embarrass and belittle him. This is what I envision as the âEuropean levelâ stated in the article.
#19
Aris, I don't think that "intelligent design" theories believe in an universe 6010 years old. It's a lost more complicated than that and while it might have a much larger element of religion and philosophy in it than Darwin's evolution theory, it should not be dismissed as "unscientific" per se.
After all if there is an allmighty Creator it should be easy for him to have a little fun with scientists by littering the world with dinosaur bones :-)
#20
cool - soon as they expain the source of all our creation: i.e. - where did all this come from?
Beware of the "God of the gaps", Frank. Google for it if you've not heard the expression before: The point is that such a God shrinks in power and believability with every new explanation that science offers.
Science hasn't discovered yet the source of all creation. That's a gap in human knowledge but trying to stuff your God inside it will fail to convince all people who know how many previous gaps have been filled as well.
Anyway that's besides the issue, since Big Bang and Theory of Evolution are two quite distinct issues.
#26
Not to change the subject, but the original source of the article is AFP...so I refuse to pay attention. Do you suppose AFP means the Aris-Free Press?
Oops... Somebody else trademark that!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2005 23:34 Comments ||
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#27
Darwin's theory was not about God or the origin of the universe. It was simply about where all these damn species come from.
#28
The point is that such a God shrinks in power and believability with every new explanation that science offers.
Not true. It will still not be true if scientists discover the answer to everything. Physics does not exclude the possibility that God exists. Just because we can't prove He exists, doesn't mean He doesn't :-)
A suspect in the Madrid train bombings may have helped one of Spain's most wanted fugitives flee the country, a judge said on Tuesday. High Court Judge Juan del Olmo, leading the probe into the attacks a year ago that killed 191 people, said the suspect, Syrian-born Mouhannad Almallah Dabas, recruited Islamist holy warriors and was an expert at forging identity papers. "Documentation from the accused ... could have been used to help the Moroccan Amer El Azizi, a presumed important member of al Qaeda, escape from Spain," the judge wrote in a six-page order that remanded Almallah in custody.
Another judge in 2003 charged Azizi with belonging to al Qaeda, and his name has come up in the investigation into the Madrid bombings, in which 10 bombs exploded aboard four commuter trains three days before a general election.
More than 40 people, mostly of North African origin, are in jail or under court supervision in the case. Investigators say Azizi attended al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion, and he was one of 35 people charged together with belonging to al Qaeda, among them Osama bin Laden. Almallah was arrested in Madrid on Friday for the second time in the train bombings investigation, one day before his brother was arrested in London in the same probe.
Almallah's defence lawyer said the accused may have chosen to associate with the wrong people but did not know of any criminal activity and that if he were guilty he would have tried to evade police, the court order said. Almallah was arrested two weeks after the Madrid attacks but let go for lack of evidence. Police later considered him to have established suspicious contacts in North Africa and the Middle East, the court order said. Almallah also created a political stir in Spain because after he got out of jail last year he joined the ruling Socialist party, which won a general election held three days after the bombings of March 11, 2004.
This article starring:
AMER EL AZIZI
al-Qaeda in Europe
High Court Judge Juan del Olmo
MUHANNAD ALMALLAH DABAS
al-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 3:06:22 PM ||
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This happen a week ago, but saw no references to it. A preview of New Francistan.
Thousands of French high-school students who demonstrated against the government in central Paris Tuesday were protected by an extensive security detail after violence and muggings that marred a similar march a week ago.
Unions provided an escort of several hundred stewards and police controlled access to the route between Republique and Nation squares. The march passed off peacefully with only a handful of arrests.
Hundreds of young rioters from poor Paris suburbs disrupted the demonstration on March 8, beating teenagers to the ground and stealing mobile telephones and cameras.
Student leaders said that many pupils who would have demonstrated again against the
government's education policies had been scared away by last week's violence. Police said 6,000 took part Tuesday compared to 9,000 on March 8.
Le Monde newspaper carried disturbing interviews with attackers and victims in last week's trouble - both sides agreeing that the violence was exclusively carried out on white boys and girls by black and Arab teenagers.
"If I went, it was not to demonstrate but to take telephones and beat people up. There were groups of people running about stirring things up, and in the middle these idiots - these little French people just asking for it," an 18-year-old of Tunisian origin called Heikel said.
"We came to demonstrate against inequalities and we got beaten up. It's as if they thought that we - the "white Parisians " - had plenty of money, that we could buy a new mobile phone tomorrow," said Tristan Goldbronn, 16, who was badly hurt.
Rest of article at link. I won't paste the whole article since it is from AFP. Therefore I will give them an acknowledgement by farting in their general direction.
Posted by: ed ||
03/22/2005 12:57:44 AM ||
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"....these little French people just asking for it...." "We came to demonstrate against inequalities and we got beaten up.
O Sweet, sweet irony: welcome to the jungle Tristan. Maybe you can lecture the lions and tigers on social justice issues while you're there. Sure you can.
#5
But, but, but the Euros HATE us! How can they let that Neocon, warmonger, hitlerite, hegmonists Wolfowitz lead the WORLD BANK? Man this has got to have the Dems rolling their eyes and scratching their head (not at the same time). I am still waiting for Ann Coulter to be nominated as Ambassador to Phrance. But I think sending Bolton to the un was a good choice too.
Last week we learned that a relatively high rank socialist was friend (he paid for his dental care) with an islamist in contact with the bombers. And that he owned a mining company (hint: mining involves explosives) Now it appears that this guy was member of the secret services since 1992 ie when the socialist government was involved in targetted assassinations against ETA.
You can also have a general review of the Spanish press
#2
AzCat - Good point on the moonbattery, this is definately something that deserves some serious wait time and proof, but if true, holy cow, what a freakish mess Spain is about to go through.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
03/22/2005 9:31 Comments ||
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No it isn't moonbattery, howver governement controls both the state TV and the PRISA press/radio/TV group.
Here is the state of the troubling facts:
1) A medium-high rank socialist who is friend with a perticularly blood-thirsty islamist (he impressed the ETA people with his determination to kill as many as possible)
2) That islamist has frequent contacts with the leader of the bombing group
3) In the afternoon of the bombings a high rnak socialist (he is or has been minister) goes to Toledo (at over 60 miles from Madrid) in order to visit the former director of the Guardia Civil in his cell since he is serving a sentence for corruption and involvement in the "dirty war" (assassinations) against ETA. So in the second to last day of the electoral campaign (when all socialist big whigs were supposed to be on high alert) and in those very peculair circumstances this guy leaves Madrid for several hours just to pay a visit to this very special friend involved in dirty jobs.
4) Just after the explosions an expert in explosives arrive on the place. He smells of Goma-2 (an explosive ETA no longer uses) , then he phones to his superiors and tells: "Titadyne" (an explossive ETA is using because it stole eight tons of it). I have been told the two smells are too different to be confounded. And while I can think the expert could have decided,to misguide the government (the accusation of having lied in the investigation had major role in its fall) I find his quickness of mind realy disturbing.
5) The first clue pointing to the islamists was a white van with islamic casstees and explosives. But that white van had alreay been searched by the municpal police and nothing had been found. The cassettes and explosives were not particularly hidden (under the driver's seat)
6) During all the investigation the PRISA press group received information well before the governemnt thus making it look like being caught lying. The policemen leading the investigation were a bunch close to the Socialist Party and who had had minor involvement in the dirty wart.
Of course nothing of this is a proof. We could think in consciparcy theories and black helicopters even if the source is not some gooffy but "El Mundo" an important paper who is not particuilarly partisan. But it looks like every month ot two there is a new troubling coincidence.
An interesting new publication to hit the web gives insight into the thinking of an al-Qaeda strategist on the next stages of the struggle. Posted on the al-Ikhlas jihadi forum [http://ekhlas.com/forum] the work is entitled Idarat al-Tawahhush, "The Management of Barbarism," further defined as "the phase of transition to the Islamic state." Due to the strategic importance of the document, Terrorism Focus has undertaken an in-depth examination of the Arabic text.
Published by the Center of Islamic Studies and Research (an al-Qaeda affiliate), the 113-page work 'Management of Barbarism' aims to map out the progressive stages of establishing an Islamic state, from early beginnings in defined areas in the Arabian Peninsula, or Nigeria, Jordan, the Maghreb, Pakistan or Yemen, and its subsequent global expansion. The author is Abu Bakr Naji, a name familiar from his contributions to the Sawt al-Jihad online magazine (which are republished at the end of this book).
By "Management of Barbarism" the author refers to the period just after the collapse of a superpower, the period of "savage chaos". It appears pointedly to be a method of not repeating the experience of Afghanistan prior to the rule of the Taliban, and of improving controls over the periods experienced, for instance, in Somalia after the fall of Siad Barre.
Contents
After ample prolegomena on Middle East history and the causes of the rise and fall of superpowers, the book substantially falls into five broad themes:
1) Definition of 'Management of Barbarism'
2) The Path of Empowerment
3) The Most Important Principles and Policies
4) The Most Pressing Difficulties and Obstacles
5) Conclusion demonstrating jihad as the ideal solution
Jihadi strategy
The 'Path of Empowerment' theme constitutes the strategy of the mujahideen. In this the author further sub-divides into three distinct phases:
1) The Disruption and Exhaustion phase
2) The Management of Barbarism phase
3) The Empowerment phase
In the first "Disruption and Exhaustion" phase, the mujahideen are to a) exhaust the enemy's forces by stretching them through dispersal of targets and b) "attract the youth through exemplary targeting such as occurred at Bali, Al-Muhayya and Djerba."
At the "Management of Barbarism phase", the mujahideen are to "establish internal security, ensure food and medical supplies, defend the zone from external attack, establish Shari'ah justice, an armed force, an intelligence service, provide economic sufficiency, defend against [public] hypocrisy and deviant opinions and ensure obedience, and the establishment of alliances with neighboring elements that are yet to give total conformity to the Management, and improve management structures."
The "Empowerment" phase is an extension of the above. The policy is to continue Disruption and Exhaustion activities, at the same time establishing logistic links with the various Management zones. A conspicuous example of this phase is the series of events leading up to the September 11 attacks on the United States, which "destroyed the peoples' awe of America and of the lesser ranking Apostate armies." The fall of Afghanistan, the author explains, was either planned to happen, or was due to happen even without the September 11 events, and had as the result the multiplication of jihadi groups bent on revenge.
RTWT - this is a long review of the book, which is currently only available in Arabic. The sections on the manipulation of the international press and the exhaustion of Western popular resistance to the jihadis is important.
This article starring:
ABU BAKR NAJI
al-Qaeda
Posted by: too true ||
03/22/2005 1:18:35 PM ||
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This approach worked so well for them in Fallujah.
#2
Must be that time of year. In Chechnya, Basaev (great mujahid of Breslan planning fame)has got his own ebook on Jihad out titled something like "Book of a Muhjihadeen for Dummies."
http://www.kavkaz.org.uk/eng/
March 22, 2005: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially sought to identify all the vulnerabilities to terrorism in the United States. Month by month, the list grew longer. It quickly became apparent that there would never be sufficient resources to defend against all these potential threats. So, over the past few months, more effort has been devoted to figuring out how to use, most effectively, what is available, to deal with the most likely threats. To that end, it has been discovered that the biggest problem is not resources, but communication. In other words, the problem is not hardware, it's software. For example, a close examination of why there have been no more al Qaeda attacks in the United States during the past three years revealed that the main reason was the effective use of existing resources, especially local resources.
At airports, it wasn't seizing toenail clippers from passengers that was keeping terrorists off aircraft, but the sure knowledge that nearly everyone on the flight would immediately come after you if you tried to take over another aircraft. There have been several incidents where suspected terrorists were promptly smothered by other passengers, and one case where a real terrorist was stopped from setting off a bomb by spontaneous and energetic action by other passengers. On the ground, local police were quick to use existing informant networks to seek out terrorist suspects. New informant networks were developed in Arab-American communities. Within months after September 11, 2001, it became much more difficult for al Qaeda to operate in the United States.
All of this took place before DHS even existed. So the question now is, what can DHS do to capitalize on counter-terrorism efforts that work, and might be made to work better. The focus on technology as a solution has become an obvious blind alley. The real problems, the obstacles to providing effective homeland "protection" are essentially software issues. First responders are not well aligned with each other, federal agencies are not well aligned with state agencies, and the armed forces are not well aligned with anyone (and not all that enthusiastic about the mission). Many of these groups can do a good job by themselves, but if DHS wants to take protection to a new level, it needs to get everyone communicating with each other. This has proven very difficult to do. Many of these bureaucracies equate communication with subordination. No one wants to become part of someone else's empire. The FBI has long had those kind of problems with state and local law enforcement agencies. Communication is more than exchanging phone numbers. Details like who must do what for who when there is a terrorism problem, have to be carefully worked out in advance. This sort of thing has been very difficult to do in the past. Just ask the FBI. More futile and expensive efforts, to develop hardware tools that vanquish terrorists, no doubt appear an easier path to pursue than getting everyone to communicate and cooperate.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2005 10:52:08 AM ||
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Ironically, this is the same argument that can be used against gun control. Americans grasp the concept that a policeman is not available in every situation, and so, every adult person must expect that at some point, they must perform some type of law enforcement activity on their own. Be it the somewhat old-fashioned idea of "deputization" into a posse, or the modern expectation that if a crime is in progress or another citizen needs help, that people are morally, socially, and in some cases, legally required to render aid, assistance, and support. This is not extraordinary, any more than there is an expectation that, in a fire, every person that can, contributes to an ad hoc "bucket brigade". So, combined with geographical distance and oceanic separation and a low tolerance for misbehavior, this willingness to assume the role of government makes America far safer than Europe or the rest of the world can ever hope for.
Campaigning groups in Malaysia are asking their government to put a stop to what they are calling "state snooping" into people's private lives. A statement by some 50 human rights, labour and women's groups calls for private lives to be just that. The move follows attempts by a leading government politician to encourage young people to spy on Muslim couples. Dozens of people have been arrested recently for visiting night clubs or even holding hands.
Horrors!
The protesters say the issue has been brought to a head by recent events. In one incident in January, dozens of young Muslim women were allegedly sexually harassed by Islamic Department officers after being detained during a raid on a fashionable nightclub.
Welcome to Saudi Arabia - Far East Division
The chief minister of Malacca, who is the vice-president in the prime minister's party, has angered liberals by encouraging members of a local youth movement to spy. The protesters also want laws abolished that infringe citizens' rights to privacy, freedom of speech and expression. However, there are plenty of groups here who will oppose any attempt to limit the state's power to regulate the private lives of citizens. Many Malaysian Muslims believe that all followers of Islam should be strictly subject to religious law.
and that everyone should be a follower of Islam, or else
They are backed by the conservative Islamic opposition party (PAS), and by sections of the government. However, the issue is further complicated by fears that Malaysia's growing moral conservatism may be imposed on non-Muslims. That could threaten the delicate balance between the country's races and religious groups that has kept the peace here for more than 30 years.
Yeah, but what's a little peace when people are thinking impure thoughts and holding hands with the opposite sex?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2005 9:59:42 AM ||
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The captain and two crewmembers of a Japanese tugboat abducted by pirates and later released said the group was composed of five well-trained men and that they were taken to a place they believe was in Indonesia.
Nobuo Inoue, 56, the captain of the 498-ton Idaten, chief engineer Shunji Kuroda, 50, and Filipino engineer Edgardo Sadang, 41, described in detail their seven-day ordeal at a news conference held in Penang.
Five pirates fired shots at Idaten when they attacked the vessel. Inoue and Kuroda told reporters that they were terrified at the time.
"We were ordered to change boats about seven times and taken to a location that we believe was in Indonesia," one of them said. "We were moved from one place to another every day. We were even marched through the jungle in the middle of the night."
They told the news conference that the pirates were as well trained as military personnel, but never attempted to abuse them.
"They appeared to be well trained soldiers, and described themselves as Papua New Guineans. Their activities were well organized and they never threatened to abuse us," Inoue said. "When I asked the pirates to give me a cigarette, they sometimes complied."
"The younger abductors in particular took care of us," Kuroda said.
The three told reporters that they were given the same kind of food as the pirates ate -- comprising rice and fish -- in the jungle.
At around 6 p.m., last Friday, they were taken to a beach where they believe they first landed after being abducted, and boarded a ship. They then changed to four other ships.
They said they were released and ordered to ride the last boat at a small fishing port in Thailand. The three added that they had told the pirates that they wanted to go to Malaysia, but the abductors did not understand.
Probably pretended not to understand - serves 'em right. I've had Japanese people pretend not to understand me even though I'm speaking clearly and nobody else seems to have a problem.
They were rescued by Thai police Sunday evening while drifting at sea.
Kuroda expressed anger at the security situation. "How is it possible for pirates to still be active."
Posted by: gromky ||
03/22/2005 5:44:26 AM ||
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umm yeah, Yes sure, let's bunch em all together! Serves'em right?
PARIS : Iran reaffirmed that it will pursue a full-scale nuclear program, a day ahead of talks in Paris at which the European Union will urge Tehran to abandon crucial fuel activities in order to show it is not secretly developing atomic weapons. Mohammad Saeidi, vice president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told a conference on nuclear power Tuesday in Paris that Iran was committed however to enriching uranium for what can be nuclear fuel. But highly enriched uranium can also be the explosive core of nuclear bombs. The Iranian program aims for "self-sufficiency in all aspects of the peaceful use of nuclear energy including the provision of nuclear fuel," Saeidi said. "Iran has to put into place a system for mining and processing uranium ores and also for its conversion and enrichment," he said.
Saeidi did not refer to the Iran-EU talks. "The people and government of Iran are determined to open their way through the tortuous path of peaceful use of nuclear technology despite all imposed restrictions and difficulties," Saeidi said, referring to US sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The United States charges that Iran is using its civilian nuclear energy program as a cover for secretly developing nuclear weapons. The EU has since December been meeting with Iran to get it to abandon uranium enrichment in return for trade, technology and security rewards. The two sides are to meet in Paris Wednesday in order to review progress so far in the talks.
Saeidi said that Iran, one of the world's major oil producers, still needed nuclear energy "to reverse the trend of unrestrained use of fossil resources." "In the long term, fossil fuel cannot be considered as a sustainable source of energy," Saeidi said, adding that this "made Iran's reliance on only fossil fuel's energy unreasonable and unaffordable and... also made using new technologies such as the nuclear technology more competitive." He restated Iran's goal to eventually produce 7,000 megawatts of nuclear electricity, including the 1000-megawatt Bushehr power plant, a light-water reactor, already being built. In addition, Iran is building a heavy-water reactor, which uses natural uranium rather than enriched uranium, Saeidi said. The heavy-water reactor, which is being built at Arak, produces plutonium, from which atom bombs can also be built. Saeidi said the Arak reactor was intended to made medical isotopes.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2005 11:54:38 AM ||
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Glad to see that the talks are going so well----for Iran, heh. The EUniks look like fools. The MMs are convening meetings just to have fun rubbing the EU noses in the dirt. I am sure that their Arak reactor is being made, at a cost of hundreds of millions, for some medical isotopes that can be obtained with much less cost elsewhere. Well, Bushehr will be loaded in a matter of months, and we cannot let them load it, so the clock is ticking.......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/22/2005 15:02 Comments ||
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Saeidi said that Iran, one of the world's major oil producers, still needed nuclear energy "to reverse the trend of unrestrained use of fossil resources." "In the long term, fossil fuel cannot be considered as a sustainable source of energy," Saeidi said, adding that this "made Iran's reliance on only fossil fuel's energy unreasonable and unaffordable and... also made using new technologies such as the nuclear technology more competitive."
Now, this reasoning is very very accurate.
So where is the greenpeace protest against Iran? Why exactly do they protest nuclear power in the United states more vigorously than in Iran?
Lebanon's multi-sectarian opposition told Arab leaders meeting in Algiers Tuesday Syria is responsible for the current crisis in Lebanon. The opposition issued a statement saying: "The Lebanese authority, which has been reeling for years under Syrian tutelage, takes big responsibility for the crime that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri." They called on Arab leaders to support opposition demands for the total withdrawal of Syrian forces and intelligence personnel from Lebanon before general elections in May. "Syria's wrong policies in Lebanon resulted in the ongoing crisis between the two countries and the only way to settle the matter is be ensuring the total Syrian withdrawal before May," the statement said. They also demanded the immediate resignation of Lebanese security and intelligence chiefs and demanded the formation of a neutral transitional government to oversee the conduct of free and honest elections.
Since Hariri was a good friend of the Saudi royals and they blame Syria, I'll wager the Arab summit will follow their lead.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2005 10:39:13 AM ||
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I love it when people take control of their country! The pro-syria faction and Hizbullah will be in denial even after they are exiled to Damascus.
Iran's supreme leader said Monday he would put on military fatigues and fight to the death if his country were attacked - unlike U.S. ``warmongers'' who he said cower in the rear far from the front lines.
President Bush has said The United States is not preparing to attack Iran, but no option is ruled out if Tehran does not abandon what Washington views as efforts to build a nuclear bomb. Iran insists its nuclear program is only to generate electricity.
In an apparent bid to boost morale in the face of U.S. pressure over the nuclear program, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mocked Washington in a TV speech, saying its leaders keep to the rear in any confrontation.
``We are not warmongers like U.S. leaders. They are warmongers. They are after war, but we are men of sacrifice,'' Khamenei told a crowd of several thousand in the northeast city of Mashhad.
``The U.S. leaders - the president, vice president and other key leaders - were hiding up to three days after the Sept. 11 attacks,'' Khamenei said. ``We are not like that. If a bitter experience occurs for this nation, God forbid, or if it is tested, we will wear military uniforms at the front of the nation and prepare for sacrifice.''
His speech was interrupted by crowd chants of ``Death to America!'' and ``Oh, our leader, we are ready for sacrifice!''
Iran denies it seeks nuclear weapons and is currently negotiating with three European powers who have demanded that Iran give up its enrichment of uranium. Low levels of enriched uranium can be used for nuclear reactors, but high levels can be used for bombs.
The United States has said that unless Iran abandons enrichment, it should be referred to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 12:29:20 AM ||
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don't worry khameini i'm sure you would be one of the top targets and would see [plenty of action. Kinda like U day Qusay
#7
If it comes to that, death will surely come to him and perhaps alot quicker than expected so why bother with fatigues? Did he put on the fatigues and try to "fight to the death" in the Iran-Iraq slugfest? I wonder.
Iran is not seeking to enter a war over its controversial nuclear program but would be "fully ready" for military conflict if it was forced, the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday. "We are not like the United States," said Khamenei in a televised speech to mark the first day of the Persian new year. "We are not seeking to enter any war, but if we have to, then we would be fully ready."
Khamenei was referring to recent remarks by US officials including President George W. Bush, who said they "did not rule out" the possibility of military action if Iran refused to comply with international demands regarding its nuclear program. "In case of a military strike, all Iranian leaders and officials would be in the front line of the defense," Khamenei said. Khamenei called Washington's claims that Iran is developing nuclear weapons a "fairytale" and said the US was trying to hinder Iran's progress in the nuclear technology field. Khamenei urged officials to press on with nuclear work and take no heed of US allegations Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapon. "I advise the officials not to pay attention to the enemies' threats and to go their own way, doing their job," Khamenei said. "Americans know well producing an atomic bomb in Iran is a myth and there is absolutely no truth to that," he said. "We are not seeking atomic bombs as Islam does not allow us to confront even our enemies like that."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Taqiyya allows for Khomeini, Rafsanjani, et al to contradict each other, utterly and completely, within mere weeks. That is one handy-dandy Foreign Policy Tool. One size fits all situations and feeds billions. Spiffy.
#2
Weeks hell. They can speak out of both sides their mouth in the same sentence without the slighest pang of conscience. All is permitted to advance islam.
Posted by: ed ||
03/22/2005 0:13 Comments ||
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#9
The Mullahs Iran may go to war but I wonder if the people of Iran will follow. It would be a good ploy if W could get the military to mobilize for war then and convince them the smart thing would be to turn on the Mullahs.
Walid Jumblatt, Lebanon's most prominent opposition leader, said yesterday the fate of the country's Syrian-backed president should be decided after parliamentary elections in May. Jumblatt and other Lebanese opposition figures had called for Emile Lahoud to step down after last month's assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, an attack they blamed on Syria. Damascus has denied any role. But the opposition, which is made up of several groupings, has sent mixed signals about when it wanted Lahoud to go.
That's because they haven't been sure when they wanted him to go. If he'd stepped down when Karami did, that would have been fine. He didn't, so an even better course is to use him as a piñata until the elections, then kick him out along with his parliamentary faction. That's if the opposition can win the election, of course, and the country's going to be swarming with hard boyz amd boomers, courtesy of the ayatollahs, to see that doesn't happen.
Asked if and when he thought Lahoud should resign, Jumblatt told reporters in Cairo: "It's not a priority now. The priority is elections, (and) a clear timetable for the withdrawal of the Syrians from Lebanon before the elections."
Had the Syrians not pulled back, Lahoud would have been an even better symbolic target...
"Then, after the result of the elections, we will see what will happen (about) the future for President Lahoud," he said. Key allies Hariri and Jumblatt fell out with Syria after it insisted last September that Lebanon's Parliament, where a majority of deputies are pro-Syrian, renew Lahoud's term for another three years. Lebanese officials say Lahoud is not considering stepping down. Lahoud called on Saturday for dialogue between loyalists and the opposition, a call which the opposition has dismissed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Lebanon's Shiite community, which stretches from the Southern tip of Lebanon to Beirut, has resoundingly rejected international and internal calls for Hizbullah's disarmament. Calls for the disarmament have multiplied since Syria bowed to international demands for a full troop withdrawal from its smaller neighbor. Moreover, increasing international pressure, manifested by UN Security Council Resolution 1559, on the Lebanese government to disarm what is known as "the resistance," has split Lebanese public opinion.
Last Friday, following meetings with both U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York, influential Christian leader Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir joined in the calls on the resistance to lay down its arms. Meanwhile, key opposition leader Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt and other opposition figures have pledged to protect the resistance. Despite the legitimacy widely attributed Hizbullah in Lebanon as a resistance group, the international community defines the organization as a militia that should be disarmed. The U.S. in particular, has always viewed Hizbullah as a terrorist organization that must be disarmed.
Earlier last week, the U.S. stand regarding Hizbullah seemed to have softened when Bush expressed openness to the idea of Hizbullah as a Lebanese political party, as long as it discarded its military wing and laid down its arms. But, Hizbullah has repeatedly ruled out laying down its weapons, placing the organization in direct defiance of Resolution 1559, adopted last year, which also calls on the Lebanese government to extend its control to all parts of the country - namely Hizbullah's stronghold along the southern borders with Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Does the IDF know the locations of where Hezbollah's "leadership" call home in Lebanon? Keeping a list of certain GPS coordinates in an initial target list might be a good plan. ;)
Syria expects Arab leaders meeting in Algiers to urge Washington to hold talks with Syrian leaders and to offer formal support against "American pressures" and sanctions, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Monday. Following an announcement that Syrian President Bashar Assad would attend the Algiers meet, Moallem said in an interview that he expects the Arab League summit opening Tuesday to endorse a draft resolution backing his country.
Drafted by... ummm... Syria?
Arab diplomats, he said, were circulating the draft ahead of the meeting. The draft "expresses the solidarity of Arab countries with Syria in the face of American pressures as well as their rejection of the so-called Syria Accountability Act," Moallem said, referring to U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria last year. It "also calls on the United States to engage in a constructive dialogue with Syria," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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--Syria expects Arab leaders meeting in Algiers to urge Washington to hold talks with Syrian leaders and to offer formal support against "American pressures" and sanctions...--
Better you than us, Baby. Trust us, we're right behind you.
Wonder if they're gift-wrapping this sacrificial lamb?
Investigations conducted by the military judiciary have failed to reveal any new information regarding the identity of those responsible for planting the car bomb that exploded over the weekend in New Jdeideh.
"Nope. Nope. Didn't find a thing. We asked around and everything!"
A car bomb exploded in New Jdeideh just after midnight on Friday, wounding 11 people and causing extensive damage to surrounding homes and shops in the area. Preliminary investigations showed that 25 kilograms of the explosive TNT, equipped with a timed detonator, had been planted beside a parked car in the neighborhood. Military Tribunal Public Prosecutor Jean Fahd held a meeting at his offices Monday with Military Investigating Magistrate Samih Hajj and security officers charged with conducting the investigation. Fahd gave strict instructions to intensify efforts in order to expose the perpetrators. Judicial sources said one man had been detained but was soon released after investigations showed that he had no connection with the incident. Meanwhile, investigations are almost at a standstill in the case of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Sources said investigators here are awaiting the report of the United Nations fact-finding team, which is due to be announced in New York Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Sources said investigators here are awaiting the report of the United Nations fact-finding team, which is due to be announced in New York Thursday.
My bet. Inconclusive. But they'll announce it at a damn fine catered affair.
The newest version of the Air Force's Predator unpiloted aircraft will perform primarily "hunter-killer" missions, according to newly available Pentagon documents.
The current Predator's primary mission has been to supply real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for other forces. The new Predator B will perform that as a secondary role, according to the documents sent to Congress last month and now published on a Pentagon Web site.
The current Predator, which CIA operators originally armed with just two Hellfire missiles in late 2001, has since proven itself in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Predator B will be armed with as many as 3,000 pounds of precision-guided bombs or missiles and carry sensors that will allow it to automatically find, track and hit moving targets on the ground.
The new aircraft would be intended to fulfill broader tasks outlined in the National Defense Strategy signed March 1 by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The strategy calls for denying sanctuary to enemies such as terrorist groups in ungoverned territories within otherwise sovereign countries anywhere in the world.
"A key goal," the Rumsfeld strategy program says, "is developing the capability to surge military forces rapidly from strategic distances to deny adversaries sanctuary." To do this, the strategy paper calls for "a number of capabilities, including persistent surveillance and precision strikes."
According to unclassified budget material, "The aircraft is being designed primarily to prosecute critical emerging time-sensitive targets as a radar-based attack asset with on-board hard-kill capability." The Predator B will fly at 50,000 feet, twice the altitude capable by its predecessor, and will carry seven times the munitions load. It will be able to stay aloft for more than 30 hours, covering targets hundreds of miles from its land base.
The current Predator already carries a targeting system built into a sensor turret that has both electro-optical and infrared imagery, a laser target marker and infrared illuminator. Together, they transmit "real-time motion imagery throughout the operational theater," according to the documents.
Powered by a new turboprop engine, the Predator B has started undergoing tests using advanced sensors and weapons payloads, controlled by pilots on the ground operating instruments that "function as the aircraft cockpit," one document says. From ground control stations at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas or new mobile ground stations that can be deployed abroad, Predator Bs can be manually or automatically run on missions almost anywhere in the world, using a combination of satellite- and ground-based communications.
At a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing March 9, Glenn Lamartin, director of defense systems for Rumsfeld, told members, "Two weeks ago . . . I saw [at Nellis ] Air Force Predator pilots and sensor operators working missions over 5,000 miles away under combat conditions. They operated from the safety of home."
At that same hearing, the price next year for each Predator was put at $12.5 million by Rep. Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii), the ranking Democrat on the panel. Over the next five years, Pentagon documents project purchases of 35 Predators to replace those that crash or are shot down and 24 Predator Bs, with the first 20 to be used for testing.
The price does not include the costs of developing the Joint Direct Attack Missile or Small Diameter Bomb that the Predator B will eventually carry. Those munitions will also be carried eventually on the B-1 and B-2 bombers and fighter-bombers.
Even before the Predator B is available for combat, the Air Force projects its annual spending to operate Predators will more than double. The additional costs, most of which will augment intelligence gathering and distribution, are to grow by $78 million this year, by $164 million next year and by $175 million the following year. No other element in the category of combat enhancement of air operations shows anywhere near that growth. I would not be surprised if a Predator C is similar to an updated version of an A-10 Warthog. If so, several hundred of those aircraft could utterly annihilate entire enemy armies.
#3
All they need to do is get the interface simplified and recruit a couple seasoned gamers to operate these things in round the clock teams over trouble spots. Give them $250 for every verified kill and the rest would take care of itself!
#4
They really have to get away from thinking in terms of making expensive and hence valuable and therefore needing to make hard to kill UAVs, and think in terms of lots of cheap disposable UAVs.
#6
Phil B - have you seen the ones about the size of a model airplane? It's hand-launched, so it certainly should be smaller and cheaper. Bad news - no Hellfire missles!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2005 23:36 Comments ||
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The Religion of Peace at work....
Hat Tip - lgf...
Students are beaten to death for playing music as Shia militiamen run amok
THE students had begun to lay out their picnic in the spring sunshine when the men attacked.
"There were dozens of them, armed with guns, and they poured into the park," Ali al-Azawi, 21, the engineering student who had organised the gathering in Basra, said.
"They started shouting at us that we were immoral, that we were meeting boys and girls together and playing music and that this was against Islam. Stop that senseless merriment and mirth!
"They began shooting in the air and people screamed. Then, with one order, they began beating us with their sticks and rifle butts." Two students were said to have been killed.
Standing over them as the blows rained down was the man who gave the order, dressed in dark clerical garb and wearing a black turban. Ali recognised him immediately as a follower of Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia cleric. Ali realised then that the armed men were members of Hojatoleslam al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, a private militia that fought American forces last year and is now enforcing its own firebrand version of Islam.
The picnic had run foul of the Islamist powers that increasingly hold sway in the fly-blown southern city, where religious militias rule the streets, forcing women to don the veil and closing down shops that sell alcohol or music.
In the election in January, the battle between secular and religious forces in Basra came down to the ballot box. The main Shia alliance triumphed with 70 per cent of the province's vote, most of the rest going to a secular rival.
That victory has brought to a head the issue of whether Iraq's new constitution will adopt Islamic law — or Sharia — as most religious Shia leaders desire.
In Basra, however, Islamic militias already are beginning to apply their own version of that law, without authority from above or any challenge from the police.
Students say that there was nothing spontaneous about the attack. Police were guarding the picnic in the park, as is customary at any large public gathering, but allowed the armed men in without any resistance.
One brought a video camera to record the sinful spectacle of the picnic, footage of which was later released to the public as a warning to others.
It showed images of one girl struggling as a gunman ripped her blouse off, leaving her half-naked. "We will send these pictures to your parents so they can see how you were dancing naked with men," a gunman told her. Two students who went to her aid were shot — one in the leg, the other twice in the stomach. The latter was said to have died of his injuries. Fellow students say that the girl later committed suicide. Another girl who was severely beaten around the head lost her sight.
Far from disavowing the attack, senior al-Sadr loyalists said that they had a duty to stop the students' "dancing, sexy dress and corruption".
"We beat them because we are authorised by Allah to do so and that is our duty," Sheik Ahmed al-Basri said after the attack. "It is we who should deal with such disobedience and not the police."
After escaping with two students, Ali reached a police station and asked for help. "What do you expect me to do about it?" a uniformed officer asked.
#1
Weren't there reports that the majority of Iraqis didn't want an Iranian-style theocratic government? If so, who's going to look into this atrocity, and what's going to be done about it???
Time for Iraqis to step up to the plate and deal with this Sadrite bullshit, 'cause their future is on the line.
A terror suspect held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was a commander for Osama bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and helped the al-Qaeda leader escape his mountain hideout at Tora Bora in 2001, according to a U.S. government document.
The document, provided to The Associated Press in response to a Freedom of Information request, says the unidentified detainee "assisted in the escape of Osama bin Laden from Tora Bora."
The detainee is not identified by name or nationality. He is described as being "associated with" al-Qaeda and having called for a jihad, or holy war, against the United States.
In an indication that he might be a higher-level operative, the document says he "had bodyguards" and collaborated with regional al-Qaeda leadership. "The detainee was one of Osama bin Laden's commanders during the Soviet jihad," it says, referring to the holy war against Soviet occupiers.
Cheney said last Oct. 26 that Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, had "stated repeatedly it was not at all certain that bin Laden was in Tora Bora. He might have been there or in Pakistan or even Kashmir," the Indian-controlled Himalayan region.
Franks, now retired, wrote in an opinion column in The New York Times last Oct. 19, "We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001." He added that intelligence assessments of his location varied, but bin Laden was "never within our grasp."
The newly revealed statement is contained in a document the Pentagon calls a "summary of evidence" against one of 558 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. It was provided to the AP this week.
The evidence was summarized last December 14 for a Guantanamo Bay hearing to determine whether the prisoner was correctly held as an "enemy combatant."
The assertion about his efforts and bin Laden's escape is made as a statement of fact; it does not indicate how the information was obtained.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Daryl Borgquist, a spokesman for the Combatant Status Review Board for which the document was prepared, said Tuesday he could not elaborate on the Tora Bora statement, or its sources, because the statement was derived from classified information.
Bin Laden, whose al-Qaeda terrorist organization was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, had operated from Afghanistan until the U.S. invasion in October 2001.
He remains at large. For many months, officials have said they believe bin Laden probably is hiding in the Afghan-Pakistan border region, although last week Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to endorse that view, saying bin Laden's whereabouts were unknown.
In mid-December 2001, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, told reporters there had been "indicators" of bin Laden's presence at Tora Bora in early December.
"And now indicators are not there," Stufflebeem said. "So maybe he still is there, maybe he was killed, or maybe he's left."
Among documents stating the U.S. government's evidence against other detainees at Guantanamo Bay is a September 2004 assertion that an unidentified detainee, described as a member of al-Qaeda, had traveled from the United States to Afghanistan in November 2001 — two months after the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The document does not elaborate on the detainee's U.S. connection, but says he arrived in Afghanistan via Bahrain and Iran. He was "present at Tora Bora," crossed the Afghan border into Pakistan in December 2001, and surrendered to Pakistani authorities, the document says.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 6:50:19 PM ||
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Confrontation between Pakistani tribal militants and security forces could erupt into a major crisis unless a political solution can be found quickly, a government commander said on Tuesday. Hundreds of ethnic minority militants have surrounded a security post in the remote southwestern town of Dera Bugti, in Baluchistan province, after a bloody clash last week. "The situation needs to be controlled, as soon as possible, so that a massive crisis is averted," Brigadier Salim Nawaz, commander of the paramilitary Frontier Corps troops in the area, told reporters in Sui town.
"The situation is very tense," Nawaz said of Dera Bugti, where well-armed militants have dug in around his troops. "We hope that political leaders tell these people to go back," he said alluding to prominent tribal chief, Nawab Akbar Bugti, a former chief minister of Baluchistan. Baluch militants have been waging a low-level insurgency in the province for decades for greater autonomy, but they have recently stepped up attacks on government targets, including natural gas and transport facilities. Security has been tight since an attack by the nationalist militants on the country's largest gas field in Sui on Jan. 11, in which at least 15 people were killed.
Last Thursday, eight soldiers were killed and 23 wounded in a battle with the militants on the outskirts of Dera Bugti. Dozens of other people were killed in the fighting, including 32 Hindu members of the tribe, women and children among them, said Ramesh Lal, a Hindu opposition politician. A delegation of politicians visiting the area on Tuesday was confronted by a crowd of about 500 people outside Sui chanting slogans against President Pervez Musharraf's government. "Stop military operations," the crowd shouted. "Down with the Musharraf government" and "Long live Nawab Bugti," they said.
Armed Bugti tribesmen could be seen on hilltops as the delegation traveled along a deserted road from Sui to Dera Bugti. Tribesmen cradling automatic rifles and rocket launchers peered from bunkers by the side of the road.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 3:07:40 PM ||
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Pak's got nukes, but no cluster bombs?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/22/2005 18:10 Comments ||
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From the Malaysian National News Agency...if it's from them, you KNOW it's true... Arafat Killed By High Tech Laser Attack - Envoy
By Feizal Samath COLOMBO, March 19 (Bernama) -- Attallah Quiba, the Palestinian ambassador in Sri Lanka, believes that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was killed by unnamed Israelis using advanced technology, the Island newspaper said. Responding to questions at a media conference in Colombo on Friday, Quiba claimed that two Israelis who met Arafat on the day he was taken sick "used a laser device to attack Arafat." "Hey!! Get that pointer outta my eye!! Hey!! Suha!! Gimme a hand here..."
"They tried to flee after using the device but were wrestled down by the Palestinian Authority security personnel. Both men were carrying Canadian passports." Aha - evil Canadian Jooos...the plot sickens thickens...
Quiba was quoted as saying the Palestinian Authority immediately informed the Israeli government of the "attempt on Arafat's life." Samples of Arafat's blood were tested in 16 countries and it was revealed that he had been poisoned by high technology, he said. Dat ole debbil high technology poisoning...
Asked about reports that Arafat's meals had been poisoned, Quiba said it was not possible since Arafat always shared the food served to him and was the last to partake of it. "He was especially careful with the falafel."
"There were four people in all with Arafat at the time he was taken sick. If food poisoning was the cause then the others should also have suffered the same fate," "F'r instance, like me - URGH - Rosebud.."-THUD
Quiba said he had met Arafat a few days before his death and did not see anything wrong with his health. "He was in good health and good spirits". "Hadn't seen Suha in weeks..."
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/22/2005 7:52:28 AM ||
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Maybe. But it could've been the AIDS too...
Posted by: The Mossad ||
03/22/2005 8:49 Comments ||
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#2
Dammit--Quiba saw something. He's next!
Posted by: Dar ||
03/22/2005 9:01 Comments ||
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#3
They just pushed the Popcorn button 12 times a day.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/22/2005 9:03 Comments ||
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#4
The quotes are too much! I'd be very worried if I was Quiba! He should take the information to the UN and seek asylum in sweden or France. That poor man - think of the great burden he must carry because of his special knowledge!
Right now I'm loafing on office broadband, but at home i'm a IE, Windoze98, dialup kinda gal. Thinking hard about getting a laptop and a WiFi card so i can tireblog, Bordersblog, caribou coffeblog like the big kids.
#18
my (1 wk old) Toshiba is all that and mo': 3.3. GHz, DVD burner, 512 MB RAM, ATI card, 15.4" bright screen, 100GB drive - $1599 at Office Depot and $200 rebate....yeow! Word to wise, it devours batteries on high screen image/DC/DVD watching...
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/22/2005 19:36 Comments ||
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Top designers, including Louis Vuitton and Burberry have warned that profits from cheap fakes sold on the High Streets, on the Internet and markets in many countries may be used to fund Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations.
The Interpol has backed the warning amid growing concerns about the number of counterfeit items imported into Britain. Seizure of designer fakes has trebled since 2001. About two-thirds of seizures in 2003 were clothing and accessories. Of those 18 per cent were fake Louis Vuitton goods, 11 per cent Burberry and 11 per cent Nike sportswear.
Intelligence agencies believe that terrorists and extremist organisations are increasingly using counterfeit goods to raise money for their terror activities. Louis Vuitton confirmed the evidence indicating links between counterfeiters and terrorists.
Interpol said a high proportion of the revenue raised for Al-Qaeda was believed to come from "zakat", a form of charitable donation to mosques, as part of religious obligation.
Such forms of payments are suspected in Pakistan, which reportedly has a thriving counterfeit trade. Earlier this year police raided two factories in Faislabad and Gujranwala and arrested the owners who were producing replicas of Boss and Lacoste clothes. The fake products were due to be exported to London.
Interpol said apart from donations at mosques, there was evidence of Al-Qaeda's direct link with the counterfeit trade. Three years ago, customs officers intercepted fake perfumes and other counterfeit goods en route from Dubai to Britain.
It was about that time that the police in London had come down heavily on sales of perfumes, watches and jewellery on Oxford Street by vendors carrying goods in trays and standing on pavements. Dior and Chanel perfumes used to be offered from £7 to £10.
John Newton, an Interpol officer has been quoted saying that raising money through counterfeit goods sales could become the most favoured way for al-Qaeda to fund its terror activities.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 12:07:07 AM ||
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#1
There are plenty of criminal organizations in the world, not all with ties to Al-Qaeda. Do Vuitton et al have some evidence linking terrorists to fakes of their stuff that's a bit more substantive, or are they just trying to get more attention and law enforcement efforts on their behalf?
Posted by: James ||
03/22/2005 13:37 Comments ||
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Al-Qaeda in Iraq offered its congratulations to the perpetrators of the Saturday, March 19th attack in Doha, Qatar. The message points out that Qatar will be a new focal point for terrorist operations: "Now, Qatar has become a focus for the evil bases established there to hit the Muslims in Afghanistan. Qatar is becoming a center for the crusaders' operations against the mujahideen in Iraq."
The attack targeted westerners in Doha attending a play and killed the play's director, a Briton and wounded twelve more.
The main Algerian rebel group warned Arab leaders that their peoples would wreak revenge on them for obeying US and Israeli orders. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat said in an internet statement on the eve of an Arab summit in Algiers that the Arab rulers were apostates, illegitimate and incapable of restoring the pride and dignity of the Arab nation. The group, known by the acronym GSPC, is the largest rebel movement still fighting the Algerian government in a waning civil war which began after the military cancelled elections in 1992. It rarely issues statements on international politics.
The statement, dated Sunday and signed by GSPC leader Abou Mossab Abdelouadoud, said: "The apostate rulers ... have proved at every catastrophe that they are the roots of affliction and the symbols of treachery. They are the seed of collaboration sown by the Ziono-Christian alliance in the body of the nation. The downtrodden nation ... is marching with firm steps to wreak revenge on you and avenge the blood of its sons whom you have offered as sacrificial victims to America. "
The statement did not make any specific threats against the summit but the Algerian authorities have deployed thousands of police and set up roadblocks in Algiers to secure the meeting. It hailed other militant Islamists around the world, including al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born insurgency leader in Iraq. Its authenticity could not be confirmed.
This article starring:
ABU MOSAB ABDELUADUD
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 12:17:07 AM ||
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Islam Karimov must be pleased. Instead of pursuing their proclaimed aim of toppling the Uzbek president's regime, the remnants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) are fighting for survival. And not in Uzbekistan, but in the rugged, autonomous tribal areas of Pakistan along the border with Afghanistan. And they have little chance of returning to Uzbekistan.
The IMU--or what was left of it--arrived in Pakistan after the government of the Afghan Taliban was toppled by the Americans. The relationship between the Taliban and IMU is as old as the IMU, and goes back a long way before the attacks of 9/11 that prompted the U.S.-led campaign against the Taliban. After the Taliban had captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, in September 1996, Juma Namangani and Tahir Yoldashev--long-time opponents of Karimov--held a press conference in the city to announce the formation of the IMU. Namangani, who had served as a Soviet paratrooper in Afghanistan in the 1980s, became the group's leader (or Ameer) and Yoldashev its military commander. Their aim was to topple Karimov and turn Uzbekistan, and ultimately the whole of Central Asia, into an Islamic state. The Taliban provided them with a place to shelter and train--and to plot against Karimov.
The Taliban were inclined to do this because Karimov was supporting one of their opponents in the north, the Uzbek-Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. Karimov hoped Dostum--a former communist--would serve as a secular buffer between Uzbekistan and the fundamentalist regime in Kabul. But it was not all power politics. The Taliban and the IMU--as well as other foreign militants in Afghanistan--shared the same ideas, believing in a world-wide Islamic state where nationality would be irrelevant. The IMU in Taliban Afghanistan was involved in policy-making. It "had real influence," says Behroz Khan, the bureau chief of the Pakistani daily The News in Peshawar.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Behroz Khan
Islam Karimov
JUMA NAMANGANI
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
TAHIR YOLDASHEV
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 4:04:06 AM ||
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Fundamentalist groups operating in Pakistan and parts of Southeast and Central Asia were among those, who pose a "significant threat" to America's security, CIA Director Peter Goss has said. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the intelligence agency's chief said Al-Qaeda was making efforts to circumvent security arrangements to strike and did not rule out use of chemical or biological weapons by the terror outfit. "Our reporting indicates Al-Qaeda is intent on finding ways to circumvent US security enhancements to strike Americans and the Homeland ... That Al-Qaeda or another group wants to use chemical, biological, radiological and/or nuclear weapons cannot be ignored," he said during the weekend. "The threat from a broader Sunni jihadist movement is broad. We have witnessed this in Madrid, Bali, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and many other places. It is worth noting that other groups in Pakistan, Southeast Asia, central Asia, East Africa and Europe also pose a significant threat to our security," he added.
The war on terrorism, Goss said, has presented the intelligence community with new challenges. "We are facing small groups of terrorists and extremists rather than standing armies. They operate out of homes and caves rather than military bases and Government entities... and only a few individuals may know the complete plan of a given terrorist plot," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/22/2005 12:14:07 AM ||
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The important thing here is that Kabul is acting so much like a normal government. Does my heart good...
Afghan authorities sent relief goods to the areas hit by devastating floods yesterday. US military helicopters airlifted stranded families to safety and aid agencies distributed vital food, officials said yesterday. Torrents of snowmelt and fierce rains caused rivers to burst their banks in many parts of the poverty-stricken country, washing away mosques and livestock and leaving thousands of people homeless. The helicopters also brought water, blankets, shovels and pick axes to a makeshift relief camp set up near the river. "After the supplies got on the ground, the US forces took a step back," Capt. John Williams said, adding that the district chief and the provincial governor had then taken charge.
The Afghan Interior Ministry also reported widespread damage in northern Balkh, Jawzjan and Panjshir provinces, eastern Laghman and southern Nimroz. In western Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program have been shipping supplies from the main city of Herat out to the worst affected parts of Farah.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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King Abdallah has ordered the return of Jordan's top diplomat to Iraq, a government spokeswoman said in Amman yesterday. Both countries had recalled their envoys at the weekend over reports that a Jordanian was behind the deadliest suicide bombing in postwar Iraq. "An order was issued by the king because the recall of the charges d'affaires was seen as a withdrawal when the intention was only a recall for consultations," spokeswoman Asma Khader told Reuters. "We wanted to confirm that this was not a matter of withdrawal of envoys." Jordan had said earlier yesterday the Jordanian and Iraqi envoys would return to their posts soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
That's a fun title, Fred. Easily read as either coming or going, heh.
#3
I read in the NYT that a distant cousin of the king of Jordan (same family as pre-1958 Iraq monarchs) who heads the constitutional monarchy party in Iraq, is being considered for a VP position in the new govt - hes Sunni, and this would be considered an olive branch. A long way from a second crown for Hashemi dynasty, but a lot better than theyve been doing in years. I suspect they have a lot to diplomize about.
New Egyptian and Jordanian ambassadors to Israel Monday presented their credentials in Jerusalem, underscoring a renewed process of normalizing Israeli-Arab relations.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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The U.S. officials turned down an Indian request Monday and reaffirmed its decision to deny a visa to Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi. "The Ministry of External Affairs requested the Department of State to review the decision to revoke his tourist/business visa. Upon review, the State Department re-affirmed the original decision," U.S. Ambassador to India David C. Mulford said in a statement.
Friday, the United States not only denied Modi a diplomatic visa, but also revoked his six-year-old tourist/business visa under Sections 212 (a)(2)(g) of Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes any foreign government official who "was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom" ineligible for a visa to that country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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No big deal -- Chirac's not going to visit the ranch either.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/22/2005 19:52 Comments ||
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Nuclear investigators from the United States and other nations now believe that the black market network run by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan was selling not only technology for enriching nuclear fuel and blueprints for nuclear weapons, but also some of the darkest of the bomb makers' arts: the hard-to-master engineering secrets needed to fabricate nuclear warheads, reported New York Times. The paper said that the suspicion of nuclear investigators were initially raised by the discovery of step-by-step instructions, some of which appear to have come from China and Pakistan, among the documents recovered last year from Libya. More recently, investigators have found that the Khan network had offered similar materials to Iran.
"Hey! We're all Islamic nations! And we're all nutz!"
The secrets range from how to cast uranium metal into the form needed at the core of a bomb to how to build the explosive lenses that compress the core and start the detonation. The discoveries have set off a debate in the intelligence community about whether those technological skills made their way to North Korea and Iran. President Bush has vowed he will not tolerate either country's obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran was a customer of the Khan network, and while it appears to have turned down the offer of the engineering secrets in 1987, some intelligence officials are concerned that it picked up the technology elsewhere. North Korea, which is believed to have two separate bomb projects under way, also did business with the Khan network, although precisely what it obtained is not clear. The inability of intelligence officials to track down the whereabouts of the bomb-making instructions underscores the fact that more than a year since Mr Khan's arrest and pardon by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, there are still many mysteries about what exactly the Khan network was selling, and to whom. The first public hint that Dr Khan's network traded in bomb designs and engineering instruction emerged in 1995 after United Nations inspectors in Iraq found a set of documents describing an offer made to Baghdad before the Persian Gulf war of 1991.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Pakiwakiland: the Wal-Mart of nukes. Everything you need at low, low prices!
Rashid's statement invites protest by opposition The opposition parties strongly protested a statement by Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the federal information minister, calling Nawab Akbar Bugti a "warlord". The remarks sparked a strong protest that led to a token walkout by the opposition from the National Assembly on Monday evening.
On the other hand, they walk out so often, their colleagues aren't even sure what the front of them looks like...
Abdul Rauf Mengal of the Balochistan National Party and Hafiz Hussian Ahmed of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal threatened to boycott the proposed committee formed to visit the troubled Sui area if the minister did not take his words back. Speaking on points of order, they said the MMA and Baloch nationalist parties would not be part of the committee, rather they would visit the area on their own. They said even if the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) joined the committee, they would boycott it. Treasury member Riaz Pirzada also objected to the remarks and said the government must clarify if it was going to negotiate with a "warlord". Syed Khurshid Shah of the PPP-P said that the remarks would deteriorate the situation and might take the country into a 1971-like situation. He said such remarks from a minister would have a serious aeffect on the county's politics.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2005 00:00:00 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.
The 
British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon arrived here yesterday for talks with Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation and other top officials. He was greeted at the airport by Prince Khaled ibn Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, Chief of Staff Gen. Saleh Al-Mahya, and other high-ranking officers, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The explosion occurred outside the Doha Players Theater production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." It killed Jonathan Adams, a British teacher who directed the show and was watching it with his family. Adams had heard a revving car and went outside to check when the explosion occurred, so he caught the full force of the blast, according to an Australian protester, Pauline Furlong, who said she knew Adams. A previously unknown militant group, 
INTERNATIONAL terrorists are training to launch cyber-terror attacks on Britain which could cripple vital economic, medical and transport networks, the government's counter-terrorism co-ordinator said yesterday. Sir David Omand said surveillance of suspected al-Qaeda affiliates suggests they are working to use the internet and other electronic communications systems to cause harm. Sir David, a former head of GCHQ and one of the most senior members of the British intelligence community, yesterday appeared at a conference of security experts and business leaders at Chatham House in London to discuss Britain's defences.
Russia faces renewed attacks from Chechen rebels after its security forces killed moderate leader Aslan Maskhadov, guerrilla warlord Shamil Basayev warned in an interview published by Swedish TT news agency today. Basayev, blamed by Moscow for a series of bloody strikes against civilian targets including last September's Beslan school massacre, said he was no longer bound by a commitment to peace he had given former Chechen leader Maskhadov. Russian security forces killed Maskhadov on March 8. ''Nobody can prevent me from responding to violence with violence,'' TT quoted Basayev as saying in written replies to questions the agency said it had submitted by e-mail.
Faced with rising unrest and calls for his resignation, the president of Kyrgyzstan on Monday ordered election officials to investigate allegations of fraud in the Central Asian republic's recent parliamentary elections. Demonstrations held almost daily after the Feb. 27 election and March 13 runoff intensified over the weekend as protesters burned down a police headquarters in the southern city of Jalal-Abad. Protesters also have overrun several police and government buildings in the southern part of the former Soviet republic. Though the rallies appear to be confined to the country's southern provinces, they have grown larger in recent days and show no signs of abating. Calling for the ouster of President Askar Akayev and his government, demonstrators have burned billboards with Akayev's image and pelted Kyrgyz riot police with stones in Jalal-Abad and Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city, Osh.
Kyrgyzstan's government and opposition must exercise restraint after violent protests in southern towns over the results of this month's parliamentary elections, said United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. ``The secretary general is opposed to the use of violence and intimidation to resolve electoral and political disputes,'' the UN said in a statement on its Web site. Annan ``calls on all parties to apply restraint.'' President Askar Akayev yesterday offered to hold talks with the opposition, a move welcomed by Annan, the UN said. Protesters took over government buildings and blocked the airports in Osh and Jalal-Abad in the past two days, Agence France-Presse reported, citing witnesses in the towns. 
China appealed to the European Union on Tuesday to go ahead with plans to lift a 15-year-old arms embargo, reacting angrily to reports that action might be delayed because of Beijing's passage of a law authorizing a military attack on Taiwan. "Linking these two issues is unreasonable," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. "The passage of the anti-secession law is an effort to ease tensions across the Taiwan Straits. ... The key to ease tensions is to check Taiwan's secessionary forces and to stop all secessionist activities." 
North Korea's government said it won't ``beg'' for talks with the U.S. as U.S. government officials said the deadlock must end over resuming six-nation discussions on North Korea's nuclear program. ``The army and the people of the DPRK (North Korea) do not wish to see the deteriorating relations with the U.S. or any military standoff with it,'' the official Korean Central News Agency said late yesterday. North Korea will ``never beg for dialogue or peace.'' 
Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock does not believe there is an urgent need for a new court to deal exclusively with suspected terrorists. It follows reports senior police and anti-terrorism experts are lobbying for a system in which "terror" cases are decided through judicial interrogation rather than trials. Mr Ruddock has agreed to listen to more details about the proposal but he says it is probably unnecessary. "We have had I think six terrorism offences in three different states," he said. "We've had one conviction, you know the establishment of a separate court to deal with terrorism offences when you have five matters that you are presently having to deal with seems to me to be a little overboard," he said.
Iran is not seeking to enter a war over its controversial nuclear program but would be "fully ready" for military conflict if it was forced, the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday. "We are not like the United States," said Khamenei in a televised speech to mark the first day of the Persian new year. "We are not seeking to enter any war, but if we have to, then we would be fully ready."
Lebanon's Shiite community, which stretches from the Southern tip of Lebanon to Beirut, has resoundingly rejected international and internal calls for 
Syria expects Arab leaders meeting in Algiers to urge Washington to hold talks with Syrian leaders and to offer formal support against "American pressures" and sanctions, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Monday. Following an announcement that Syrian President Bashar Assad would attend the Algiers meet, Moallem said in an interview that he expects the Arab League summit opening Tuesday to endorse a draft resolution backing his country. 
Investigations conducted by the military judiciary have failed to reveal any new information regarding the identity of those responsible for planting the car bomb that exploded over the weekend in New Jdeideh.
COLOMBO, March 19 (Bernama) -- Attallah Quiba, the Palestinian ambassador in Sri Lanka, believes that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was killed by unnamed Israelis using advanced technology, the Island newspaper said. Responding to questions at a media conference in Colombo on Friday, Quiba claimed that two Israelis who met Arafat on the day he was taken sick "used a laser device to attack Arafat."
Fundamentalist groups operating in Pakistan and parts of Southeast and Central Asia were among those, who pose a "significant threat" to America's security, CIA Director Peter Goss has said. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the intelligence agency's chief said Al-Qaeda was making efforts to circumvent security arrangements to strike and did not rule out use of chemical or biological weapons by the terror outfit. "Our reporting indicates Al-Qaeda is intent on finding ways to circumvent US security enhancements to strike Americans and the Homeland ... That Al-Qaeda or another group wants to use chemical, biological, radiological and/or nuclear weapons cannot be ignored," he said during the weekend. "The threat from a broader Sunni jihadist movement is broad. We have witnessed this in Madrid, Bali, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and many other places. It is worth noting that other groups in Pakistan, Southeast Asia, central Asia, East Africa and Europe also pose a significant threat to our security," he added.
King Abdallah has ordered the return of Jordan's top diplomat to Iraq, a government spokeswoman said in Amman yesterday. Both countries had recalled their envoys at the weekend over reports that a Jordanian was behind the deadliest suicide bombing in postwar Iraq. "An order was issued by the king because the recall of the charges d'affaires was seen as a withdrawal when the intention was only a recall for consultations," spokeswoman Asma Khader told Reuters. "We wanted to confirm that this was not a matter of withdrawal of envoys." Jordan had said earlier yesterday the Jordanian and Iraqi envoys would return to their posts soon.
The U.S. officials turned down an Indian request Monday and reaffirmed its decision to deny a visa to Gujarat state Chief Minister 
The opposition parties strongly protested a statement by Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the federal information minister, calling Nawab 
