Egyptian police detained at least 36 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, EgyptÂ’s most powerful opposition movement, in dawn raids on Thursday, Brotherhood and security sources said. A Brotherhood source gave the number detained as 42. Police took the men from their homes in Fayoum province southwest of Cairo and in the Nile Delta provinces of Menoufia and Sharkia, the sources added. The men were being held on suspicion of membership of an illegal organisation and holding organisational meetings, the sources added, charges Egyptian authorities usually use to justify detaining Brotherhood activists. One security source said the detentions were part of a planned crackdown on the movement during preparations for municipal elections expected to take place in April. The government calls the Brotherhood an outlawed group but members hold a fifth of the seats in parliament. The organisation operates openly within limits, although security forces often detain members without formal charges. Including ThursdayÂ’s detentions, around 390 members of the group are in detention, the Brotherhood said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
hmmm...call me a dreamer but I thought Cindy Sheehan was gonna put a stop to all this shit.
Arab governments have adopted new rules meant to rein in satellite television talk shows that have become forums for rollicking criticisms of Arab regimes and discussions of taboo topics.
The "Charter of Principles" approved this week by Arab information ministers is being viewed by the region's media circles as a concerted move to muzzle stations.
The charter prohibits criticism of Arab leaders and religious figures, warning in vague terms of the harm to social peace, national unity and public morals. It demands "adherence to objectivity, sincerity and respect to the dignity of the countries, nations and their national sovereignty."
The new rules allow countries to suspend, terminate or refuse to renew the licenses of TV network offices that violate them. Qatar, whose government funds the popular station Al-Jazeera, was the only nation of the 21 Arab states not to sign the charter.
...
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2008 20:26 ||
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Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.
Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.
Prince Bandar, the head of the Saudi national security council, and son of the crown prince, was alleged in court to be the man behind the threats to hold back information about suicide bombers and terrorists. He faces accusations that he himself took more than £1bn in secret payments from the arms company BAE.
He was accused in yesterday's high court hearings of flying to London in December 2006 and uttering threats which made the prime minister, Tony Blair, force an end to the Serious Fraud Office investigation into bribery allegations involving Bandar and his family.
The threats halted the fraud inquiry, but triggered an international outcry, with allegations that Britain had broken international anti-bribery treaties.
Lord Justice Moses, hearing the civil case with Mr Justice Sullivan, said the government appeared to have "rolled over" after the threats. He said one possible view was that it was "just as if a gun had been held to the head" of the government.
The SFO investigation began in 2004, when Robert Wardle, its director, studied evidence unearthed by the Guardian. This revealed that massive secret payments were going from BAE to Saudi Arabian princes, to promote arms deals.
Yesterday, anti-corruption campaigners began a legal action to overturn the decision to halt the case. They want the original investigation restarted, arguing the government had caved into blackmail.
The judge said he was surprised the government had not tried to persuade the Saudis to withdraw their threats. He said: "If that happened in our jurisdiction [the UK], they would have been guilty of a criminal offence". Counsel for the claimants said it would amount to perverting the course of justice.
Wardle told the court in a witness statement: "The idea of discontinuing the investigation went against my every instinct as a prosecutor. I wanted to see where the evidence led."
But a paper trail set out in court showed that days after Bandar flew to London to lobby the government, Blair had written to the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, and the SFO was pressed to halt its investigation.
The case officer on the inquiry, Matthew Cowie, was described by the judge as "a complete hero" for standing up to pressure from BAE's lawyers, who went behind his back and tried to secretly lobby the attorney general to step in at an early stage and halt the investigations.
The campaigners argued yesterday that when BAE failed at its first attempt to stop the case, it changed tactics. Having argued it should not be investigated in order to promote arms sales, it then recruited ministers and their Saudi associates to make the case that "national security" demanded the case be covered up.
Moses said that after BAE's commercial arguments failed, "Lo and behold, the next thing there is a threat to national security!" Dinah Rose, counsel for the Corner House and the Campaign against the Arms Trade, said: "Yes, they start to think of a different way of putting it." Moses responded: "That's very unkind!"
Documents seen yesterday also show the SFO warned the attorney general that if he dropped the case, it was likely it would be taken up by the Swiss and the US. These predictions proved accurate.
Bandar's payments were published in the Guardian and Switzerland subsequently launched a money-laundering inquiry into the Saudi arms deal. The US department of justice has launched its own investigation under the foreign corrupt practices act into the British money received in the US by Bandar while he was ambassador to Washington.
Prince Bandar yesterday did not contest a US court order preventing him from taking the proceeds of property sales out of the country. The order will stay in place until a lawsuit brought by a group of BAE shareholders is decided. The group alleges that BAE made £1bn of "illegal bribe payments" to Bandar while claiming to be a "highly ethical, law-abiding corporation".
#6
Ice,
Be nice. This is the very fellow known affectionately as "Bandar Bush". He's so close to Pappa Bush that he just opens the door at Kennebunkport and lets himself in. This is the fellow sent down to Crawford after G.W.'s win to counsel him in matters of foreign affairs in Muzz ME. Somehow GW must have missed the pertinent points, or Bandar Bush pissed him off so bad he was ready to bite a spike, and went off like a firecracker after 9/11.
Britain is becoming a soft touch and a "fragmenting, post-Christian society" with a "misplaced deference to multiculturalism" undermining the fight against extremists, a security thinktank says.
The warning is published today by the Royal United Services Institute, Rusi, a think tank at the heart of Britain's defence and security establishment.
"Some may believe that we are already at war; but all may agree that generally a peacetime mentality prevails," it says. In "our social fragmentation, the sense of premonition and the divisions about what our stance should be, there are uneasy similarities with the years just before the first world war", it adds.
It continues: "The country's lack of self-confidence is in stark contrast to the implacability of its Islamist terrorist enemy."
Although written by Gwyn Prins, professor at the London School of Economics, and Lord Salisbury, scion of a leading Tory family and a former cabinet minister, Rusi says the paper reflects a consensus that emerged from a series of private seminars involving a group of former senior military and intelligence officers.
Our military and security services are fighting against "active forces" at home and abroad, the paper, published in the Rusi Journal, says. It adds: "Islamist terrorism is where people tend to begin. The United Kingdom presents itself as a target, as a fragmenting, post-Christian society, increasingly divided about interpretations of its history, about its national aims, its values and in its political identity."
The problem, it argues, "is worsened by the lack of leadership from the majority which in misplaced deference to 'multiculturalism' failed to lay down the line to immigrant communities, thus undercutting those within trying to fight extremism. The country's lack of self-confidence is in stark contrast to the implacability of its Islamist terrorist enemy, within and without."
"Fractured institutional integrity" means that when the unexpected occurs, the response is likely to be "incoherent and ad hoc, short-termist and uncertain", says the Rusi paper. Uncertainty "incubates the embryonic threats these risks represent. We look like a soft touch. We are indeed a soft touch, from within and without."
The paper says the July 2005 London bombings "exposed the weakness of the 'multicultural' approach towards Islamists". It proposes the setting up of two new bodies - a cabinet committee of ministers and officials, and a joint committee of MPs and peers - to counter what it calls "flabby and bogus strategic thinking" which it describes as "a fundamental source of damage to Britain's security". The problem is compounded, it says, by the "wider muddling of political responsibilities between Westminster and Brussels". The UN, Nato, and the EU have all lost their way, it adds.
The paper refers to the fierce criticism of the government by five former defence chiefs in the Lords last November. Their pleas for more military spending "suggests an atmosphere of chronic disrepair".
Rusi, Britain's oldest military thinktank, said it was an "independent institution [providing] a forum to debate the full spectrum of defence and security issues". It added: "Rusi's tradition for nearly two centuries has been to promote forward thinking, free discussion and reflection on defence and security matters."
Prins told the Guardian: "We are simply saying we are in a hell of a mess. Our view is that the problem fundamentally is how risks turn into threats."
The concerns aired in the paper expressed a consensus of a number of influential people who met over the course of 18 months, Rusi said. Participants in the private seminars which led to today's paper included Sir Mark Allen and Lady Park, both former senior MI6 officers, Field Marshal Lord Inge, a former chief of defence staff, General Sir Rupert Smith, a former commander of UN forces in Bosnia and Nato deputy supreme commander, and Hew Strachan, Chichele professor of the history of war at Oxford University.
Majority opinion in Whitehall would probably say the Rusi paper exaggerates the threat to Britain's security and social cohesion posed by Islamist extremism. However, the paper does reflect concern in military circles about pressure placed on Britain's armed forces and a belief that the government does not appreciate the importance of the values it stands for and is supposed to defend.
Separately, a report by the centre-right Centre for Policy Studies called on the government to take up the example of the Troops to Teachers programme in the US where it had proved an "outstanding success". Former soldiers should be encouraged to retrain as teachers, bringing a taste of military discipline to tough inner-city schools, its says today.
The proposal was strongly supported by the former chief of defence staff, Lord Guthrie, who says in a forward to the report that it could offer an antidote to some of the problems of youth knife crime, drugs and violence. "This will not, of course, solve all the problems of the inner city. But it will help," he said.
#1
Britain is becoming a soft touch and a "fragmenting, post-Christian society" with a "misplaced deference to multiculturalism" undermining the fight against extremists, a security thinktank says.
I resemble that remark.
Posted by: Dr. Rowan William, Archbishop of Canterbury ||
02/15/2008 11:42 Comments ||
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#3
it will be interesting to see if the British will begin responding to the threat. It is easy for people to think that those in the government are doing their jobs. But at some point, the people realize it is not so. Much like our own immigration problem. I feel worried for the British. So, I can imagine how the British feel. I suspect that we will begin to see some pushback. At least I hope so.
A lotta this going around today...
Police and ambulances are attending the scene of a large blast in Mexico City, where at least one person is reported to have been killed and another hurt.
The blast occurred at about 1430 (2030 GMT) near the tourist area known as the Zona Rosa (Pink Zone), and the city's police headquarters.
Police officers in riot gear swarmed about and cordoned off the area. The cause of the explosion was unclear, though a senior police officer said it may have been an explosive device.
The bombs may be the work of drug traffickers or a small rebel group known as the EPR, said Jorge Chabat, a political science professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico City. ... EPR bombed oil pipelines last year as part of an anti-government campaign.
Joel Ortega, head of Mexico City's security secretariat, said the man killed in the blast may have been carrying an explosive device when it detonated. (Oops) ... Ortega said that one of the bombs was homemade and probably detonated by a mobile phone, El Universal newspaper reported on its Web site.
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2008 20:35 Comments ||
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The reader must read the entire article before the religious background of the "yoots" becomes apparent. It might be a hot summer in Yooroop this year.
Last weekend's disturbances in the Nørrebro district have sparked off nation-wide riots and the justice minister is now calling for a zero tolerance approach.
Lene Espersen, the justice minister, called the latest wave of riots in several Danish cities 'completely unacceptable'.
She warned that harsher penalties would be in store for trouble-makers and urged parents of the youths to take action. However, the authorities had a role to play in preventive measures as well, she admitted.
'It is shocking and worrying that this kind of thing is happening,' she told public broadcaster, DR.
'We must have a zero tolerance approach to young offenders. They must realise that their actions have serious consequences,' she continued.
Per Larsen, Copenhagen police operations chief, called the recent riots a 'vicious circle'.
'At the moment, nothing seems to point in the direction of organised rioting, but it seems that we are in a situation where there is risk of this spreading like a wildfire,' he said.
He also denied any allegation that the police may have provoked the situation referring to commentators stating that increased police presence and new search zones in Nørrebro had allegedly sparked off the first of the rioting last weekend.
'That is an absurd theory. Why would we want to do that? I think we're talking about marginalised young people who are showing solidarity with other youngsters in different parts of the country,' Larsen said.
There are mixed reactions and theories to the riots that have raged across the country.
A police spokesperson in Ă…rhus said it could be due to boredom during the half-term. Many of the youths are between the ages of 13 and 19.
Other sources point towards the reprinted Mohammed cartoons as a possible cause. Although the rioting in Nørrebro started due to an alleged argument between police and an elderly man, the continued rioting is considered by some to be in response to the drawings being reprinted in 17 of the nation's newspapers.
Cities affected so far include Copenhagen, Århus, Brabrand, Gellerup, Ballerup and Bagsværd.
Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende does not think the Netherlands’ stance on the security of former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali is damaging the country’s reputation abroad, reports in Friday’s Volkskrant. According to the paper, Balkenende is obviously irritated by the question and his reply is a short ‘no’. Earlier several political leaders said that the Netherlands’ refusal to pay for Hirsi Ali’s protection in the US is damaging its image.
The paper also reports that Hirsi Ali’s felt ‘some shame’ in appealing to the European parliament for the financing of her security.
One hundred MEPs have already signed a proposal for the EU to pay for her protection, and she reportedly only needs 300 more. However, Conservative Dutch MEP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert says in NRC.Next that she does not believe the European Parliament has the authority to actually carry out the proposal. "All of this is just token politics."
INDIANAPOLIS -- A convert to Islam stands an election victory away from becoming the second Muslim elected to Congress and a role model for a faith community seeking to make its mark in national politics.
Political newcomer Andre Carson is the Democratic nominee in a March 11 special election to succeed his late grandmother, Julia, who represented Indiana's 7th District. Even Democrats in this area were glad to see his grandmother go
If Andre Carson wins the Democratic-leaning Indianapolis district over a freshman Republican legislator and a long shot Libertarian candidate, he would join Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., as the only Muslims elected to Congress.
"For me, the religion peace, it informs me. You need to respect people" (Lying sack of shit -ed.)
Carson's grandmother raised him in a Baptist church and enrolled him at an inner-city Catholic school, As he grew older, he became interested in Islam
He converted to Islam more than a decade ago and began attending prayers at Nur-Allah Islamic Center.
Page Two
Farrakhan was invited to Rep. Julia Carson's funeral and spoke there, allegedly at the bidding of Andre Carson, whom Farrakhan also endorsed. With friends like this, who needs enemies?
Election:Carson and Ellison spoke by telephone recently, and the Minnesota congressman who took office 13 months ago said he advised Carson to emphasize broad concerns such as the economy, the war in Iraq and global warning.
Meaning don't point out you are the enemy
CAIR endorsed: Muslims will join African Americans like Ellison and Carson on the national political scene. Sons and daughters of Muslims who arrived in the U.S. from Asia and Africa are energized politically and working on campaigns. Dhimmicrat fifth column all the way
Answering a question on how he would refocus U.S. troops out of Iraq to better fight terrorism, he said, “We’ve to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we’re not just air- raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there.” Just a reminder
#3
I think the Obama lovefest will end mid-summer when everyone realizes that despite charisma he has no chance of capturing the blue-collar white male indendent voter because he's basically a marxist and his foriegn policy ideas are wafer thin.
#4
The only differences between B.O. since this time last year and now is that he stopped saying anything concrete and raised his teleprompter up about 6 inches so it looks like he is 'looking up to the future' instead of the 'down at the crowd' setting for Clinton.
B.O. has a whole slew glue stew of sketchy quotes which, along with his noted lack of anything new of substance, does make him beatable in the PR world. President is not an entry level position.
Possible dupe; it was two days ago.
In a speech today (Feb. 13)at the General Motors assembly plant in Janesville, Wis., Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama will call for the creation of a "National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank" that would invest $60 billion over 10 years in highways, technology and other projects. It would be an effort, Obama will say, to "rebuild America" and create 2 million jobs in the process. $60 billion divided by 2 million jobs is $30,000 each.
Obama will say he would pay for the bank by "ending this war in Iraq. It's time to stop spending billions of dollars a week trying to put Iraq back together and start spending the money on putting America back together instead."
Text of remarks, from Obama's campaign, in .pdf format, here
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/15/2008 13:54 ||
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#1
$60 billion divided by 2 million jobs is $30,000 each ...Over the course of 10 years... or $3000 per year. That's some good jobs. Are those workers going to get health insurance with that, O?
Oh, and that leaves $0 for the acquisition of materials. Unless of course they are going to be rebuilding the infrastructure using nothing but pristine, environmentally sound unicorn farts.
#3
See. The solutions to complex problems are simple. If we leave Iraq, it'll just "go away". If we throw lots of money at anything, it'll either "go away" or "get better".
Oh, shit. I sound like one of his supporters...
#4
So then we will sacrifice our military and readiness, just like Slick Willie did, and then build some of our infrastructure and feel-good projects with catchy names. When they are built, some angry Muzzy terrorists will take them down again. And we will all wring our hands and wonder why they hate us.....etc etc
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/15/2008 14:37 Comments ||
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#5
The key is in order to get the highway funds each state must _____________ .
This was the trick that Republicans used to standardize the speed limits and drinking ages during Reagan. I doubt Obama would do things any differently. I'm not sure what he'd want/demand for the funds.
Most of the funds will go for materials, equipment and right of way; probably no more than 15% for labor. That's $300M/yr for labor. Because of Davis-Bacon, the wages will have to be union level 9even in right to work states). That means typically $20/hour for the least skilled work; $50/hour for the average. That's 6,000,000 hours of compensation. Figuring 1500 hours per person per year, that works to 4000 jobs per year.
#12
As per other 2008 POTUS candidates + pols, OBAMA has PC talked or implied about "ending the war" in Iraq BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE US LEAVING OR PULLING OUT OF THE ME [downsizing].
IOW, presuming that OBAMA does de facto win agz HILLARY in 2008 and becomes POTUS in Jan 2009, RADICAL ISLAM STILL HAS NO SUBSTANTIVE GUARANTEE = OPTIMISM THAT HIS OR ANY NEW DEM ADMIN-CONGRESS WILL CHANGE THINGS AS PER US ME ENTRENCHMENT, ANDOR AS PER UNILATER, COMPLETE US-SPECIFIC REGIONAL PULLOUT AS DESIRED BY RADICAL ISLAM.
The Radical Islamist agenda is GLOBAL in scope, anti-Secularist, and UNCOMPROMISING AGZ ANY OTHER -ISM, MAKING IT BY DEFINITION INCOMPATIBLE WID EITHER WESTERN DEMOCRATIC CAPITALISM includ DEMOSOCIALISM, AS WELL AS AGZ SECULARIST LEFTIST/MARXIST-SOCIALISM. Again, the longer the US = US-West/Allies stay and entrench in the ME and elsewhere, the harder it will be for Radical Islam to milpol defeat them [Regionally or Globally], certainly vv force of arms.
YEAR 2008 -2010 > GIVEN US ENTRENCHMENT, AND AS DEPENDNET OF PROPER LEADERSHIP AND LOGISTICS, ETC,, THIS IS LIKELY THE LAST "BEST" WINDOW HWREUPON RADICLA ISLAM CAN UNILATER DEFEAT THE USA BY ITS OWN ISLAMIST FORCE OF ARMS WIDOUT NEED OF THE US INVADING IRAN, OR RESORT TO ANTI-US "GREAT POWER(S)"FOREIGN INTERVENTION, AND WID = WIDOUT ANY AMER HIROSHIMAS.
AFter Year 2010, RADICAL ISLAM > GREAT POWER CONFRONTATION + MUTUAL DESTRUCTION OPTIONS will be more important than any "Amer Hiroshima".
#13
As per other 2008 POTUS candidates + pols, OBAMA has PC talked or implied about "ending the war" in Iraq BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE US LEAVING OR PULLING OUT OF THE ME [downsizing].
IOW, presuming that OBAMA does de facto win agz HILLARY in 2008 and becomes POTUS in Jan 2009, RADICAL ISLAM STILL HAS NO SUBSTANTIVE GUARANTEE = OPTIMISM THAT HIS OR ANY NEW DEM ADMIN-CONGRESS WILL CHANGE THINGS AS PER US ME ENTRENCHMENT, ANDOR AS PER UNILATER, COMPLETE US-SPECIFIC REGIONAL PULLOUT AS DESIRED BY RADICAL ISLAM.
The Radical Islamist agenda is GLOBAL in scope, anti-Secularist, and UNCOMPROMISING AGZ ANY OTHER -ISM, MAKING IT BY DEFINITION INCOMPATIBLE WID EITHER WESTERN DEMOCRATIC CAPITALISM includ DEMOSOCIALISM, AS WELL AS AGZ SECULARIST LEFTIST/MARXIST-SOCIALISM. Again, the longer the US = US-West/Allies stay and entrench in the ME and elsewhere, the harder it will be for Radical Islam to milpol defeat them [Regionally or Globally], certainly vv force of arms.
YEAR 2008 -2010 > GIVEN US ENTRENCHMENT, AND AS DEPENDNET OF PROPER LEADERSHIP AND LOGISTICS, ETC,, THIS IS LIKELY THE LAST "BEST" WINDOW HWREUPON RADICLA ISLAM CAN UNILATER DEFEAT THE USA BY ITS OWN ISLAMIST FORCE OF ARMS WIDOUT NEED OF THE US INVADING IRAN, OR RESORT TO ANTI-US "GREAT POWER(S)"FOREIGN INTERVENTION, AND WID = WIDOUT ANY AMER HIROSHIMAS.
AFter Year 2010, RADICAL ISLAM > GREAT POWER CONFRONTATION + MUTUAL DESTRUCTION OPTIONS will be more important than any "Amer Hiroshima".
#14
So then we will sacrifice our military and readiness, just like Slick Willie did
Gonna be even worse than that if Obie is elected. We're already losing nearly all our more senior aerospace engineers, many of our most experienced intel analysts (the capable ones) etc. as the boomers begin to retire. In some areas we're just not recruiting enough capable people to replace them, in part due to uncertainty about the long term job market.
Watch a whole bunch of military of all ranks retire if Obie gets the nod, too.
#15
Bah. Obama is a piker. Vote for me. I'll freeze prices - except for gas which goes back to 1.29 per gallon. I'll quadruple the minimum wage. Oh, yeah and FREE healthcare for all.
VOTE FOR ME - I'LL SET YOU FREE
LONDON -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said in a radio interview broadcast Tuesday that interrogators can inflict pain to obtain critical information, such as the location of a bomb about to explode or the plans or whereabouts of a terrorist group. "It seems to me you have to say, as unlikely as that is, it would be absurd to say you couldn't, I don't know, stick something under the fingernail, smack him in the face. It would be absurd to say you couldn't do that," Scalia told the BBC's "Law in Action" program.
Scalia said that determining when physical coercion could come into play was a difficult question. "How close does the threat have to be? And how severe can the infliction of pain be? I don't think these are easy questions at all, in either direction," he said.
He's right, it's not easy, but watch the pomos go nuts.
Scalia, visiting London during a break in the court's calendar, referred generally to those methods as "so-called torture," and said practices prohibited by the Constitution in the context of the criminal justice system -- including indefinite detention -- are readily allowed in other situations, such as when a witness refuses to answer a question in court.
"I suppose it's the same thing about so-called torture," he said. "Is it really so easy to determine that smacking someone in the face to find out where he has hidden the bomb that is about to blow up Los Angeles is prohibited by the Constitution?
"Is it obvious, that what can't be done for punishment can't be done to exact information that is crucial to the society? I think it's not at all an easy question, to tell you the truth."
Scalia said Europeans had no business "smugly" decrying those techniques as torture. Europeans get really quite self-righteous, you know, [saying,] 'No civilized society uses it.' They used it themselves -- 30 years ago," he said, maintaining that a majority of Europeans probably supported capital punishment.
Scalia also took issue with his "tough guy" reputation, saying he would have had trouble navigating the Supreme Court nomination process as it exists today with his feelings intact. "I'm very tender," he said.
#1
tony scalia--maybe related to gaspipe casso--eyetyes know how to bust omerta--its in the dna--jeez the three stooges inflicted more pain on each other than russ feingold wants to bitch slap moozie rage boys
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
02/15/2008 0:13 Comments ||
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#2
"It seems to me you have to say, as unlikely as that is, it would be absurd to say you couldn't, I don't know, stick something under the fingernail, smack him in the face, deprive him of sleep, sunlight, food, Oprah, DNC party news, make him listen to the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN) - 700 Club, etc. It would be absurd to say you couldn't do that," Scalia told the BBC's "Law in Action" program.
#7
Aren't these that same guys that also practiced such civilized forms of punishment as dis-emboweling, drawing and quartering, imprisoned inside an iron cage. These guys and they say waterboarding is bad???
that's OK, they have to deal with food called Spotted Dick; over here we see a doctor instead of a waitress.
ISLAMABAD: The Bush Administration is trying to take the custody of the nuclear arsenals of Pakistan, caretaker Law Minister Afzal Haider has said.
"By putting fingers on the security of Pakistan's nuclear stockpile, US wants to destabilise the region that is replete with natural resources. America's aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq is part of the same strategy," he told a gathering on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Iranian revolution.
Haider said that the 1979 revolution of Iran had bestowed courage to that country to stand against the biggest "Satan (America) of the time."
Haider appealed to the Pakistanis to deeply analyse the Iranian revolution to learn a lesson from it, "as it could help us eradicating our woes."
Former Pakistani Foreign Secretary Akram Zakki said that the US had no guts to attack Iran.
"US attacked Iraq under pretext of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) despite the fact that it had got solid reports that the country has no such kinds of weapons while on the other hand it wants to resolve the nuclear issue with North Korea through talks," The Nation quoted Zakki, as saying.
He went on to say that the at last the US would have to negotiate with Iran to settle the issue.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/15/2008 15:26 ||
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#1
Well, whatever the reason, I support the US trying to capture nuclear assets (and a$$hats) in Pakistan. Take care of that problem and who cares what happens to that Islamic Paradise on Earth™.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/15/2008 15:57 Comments ||
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#2
"...US wants to destabilise the region that is replete with natural resources. America's aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq is part of the same strategy..."
LOL. Yeah, let's grab Pakistan's and Afghanistan's natural resources. We can use all that oil we've taken from Iraq to do it.
#5
A good thought experiment to judge the state of a country is to throw the doors open and observe whether people run in or run out. I don't think you'd be seeing people run into either Iran or Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's upcoming Parliamentary polls will be "massively rigged", according to a purported audio recording of Attorney General Malik Qayyum.
In the recording released by a leading US-based human rights group, Qayyum appeared to be advising an unidentified person on what political party the person should approach to become a candidate in the February 18 general election.
The Human Rights Watch claimed the recording was made during a phone interview with a media person on November 21 last year. Qayyum, while still on the phone interview, took a call on another telephone and his side of that conversation was recorded.
Qayyum, a retired judge who is a close aide of President Pervez Musharraf, is heard telling the unidentified person in Urdu and Punjabi to "leave" former premier Nawaz Sharif and seek a ticket from the party that "will massively rig to get their own people to win".
The recording was made the day after the Election Commission announced the schedule for polls. The polls were originally set for January 8 but were postponed after former premier Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.
"They will massively rig to get their own people to win. If you can get a ticket from these guys, take it," Qayyum purportedly said. It was not known which party he was referring to.
The Human Rights Watch said its repeated attempts to seek a response from Qayyum by phone were unsuccessful.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/15/2008 14:07 ||
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pledged Thursday that next week’s general elections will be free and fair, but warned that any opposition protests against the result would be crushed. Musharraf said the success of the ‘mother of all elections’ was crucial for international efforts to stabilise the militancy-hit, nuclear-armed nation, a key ally in the US-led ‘war on terror.’
His warning came as the widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto urged supporters to besiege polling stations to prevent rigging and threatened mass agitation if fraud denies his party victory. ‘Despite all the insinuation and apprehensions, the elections will be free, fair, transparent and peaceful. It is my pledge to the nation,’ Musharraf said at a special government conference shown live on state television.
‘No disruption or violence will be allowed. If people think they can come on streets after the elections, nothing of that sort will be allowed,’ added Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999.
That last sentence is just sublime.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Perv, STFU!
Perv, NOT a single persona upon this planet, accepts any syllable uttered from that pie-hole of yours as anything resembling truth.
In Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the Islamists are rallying the vote for another shot at power. At a campaign meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) Party in the city of Mardan, zealous seminary students and older men with beards and turbans fill the chairs. They wave the party's black and white striped flags and chant slogans with fervour.
Five years ago, Islamist parties rode to victory on a wave of opposition to America's invasion of Afghanistan. They swept the board in Mardan, capturing power in this province and sharing it in another. Now they're defending their record.
"They were saying that these clerics can't rule," says Shujaul Mulk, a JUI Member of Parliament from Mardan, "but we have shown how we can run the government. There was fiscal discipline, and we also did a lot to try and enforce Sharia."
Continued on Page 49
#1
fatigued--they should drink red camel with their tea--but the pashtun anp dudes have stones--imagine standing up to the local rage boys in that culture--they need the seven samurai to help them out
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
02/15/2008 1:02 Comments ||
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#2
"We are going towards a total fiasco, like what happened in Iraq," says Khwaja Muhammed Khan Hoti, an ANP candidate in Mardan.
In their dreams. They are moving towards a Taliban takeover, which is what I would call a fiasco. Maybe in Pakistan, that's called success.
PML-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has said he wants to negotiate with militants rather than using military force to tackle the extremist violence sweeping across the country. In an interview with AP, he accused President Pervez Musharraf of planning to rig the February 19 vote, “which can trigger uncontrollable unrest and tear the country apart”. The US support for Musharraf was deepening anti-American sentiment in the country, Nawaz said, adding that only democratic rule could end rising militancy.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
nawaz--an islamist in feudal clothing
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
02/15/2008 0:15 Comments ||
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#2
Let's make a deal. All Americans out of Pakistan for all Pakistanis out of America.
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2008 0:18 Comments ||
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#3
c'mon ed--how i'm gonna get my newspaper or catch a cab
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
02/15/2008 0:31 Comments ||
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Lashkar-e-Islami chief Mangal Bagh on Thursday announced what he called a ban on the participation of women in Monday’s elections in two constituencies of Khyber Agency – NA-45 in Jamrud subdivision and NA-46 in Bara subdivision.
Addressing a public meeting at the residence of Ayub Afridi, Mangal Bagh warned the agency residents to stop their women from voting because it was “against the tribal traditions”. The LI chief said families and tribes would be punished in line with the tribal traditions if their women came out of their houses to vote. Bagh also said he would set up the LI’s headquarters at Bara tehsil after the elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[10 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Dozens of hardline Islamic students set a Danish flag on fire in Pakistan on Thursday to protest reproduction of Prophet Muhammad cartoons in Danish newspapers.
About 60 members of the student wing of the radical religious group Jamat-e-Islami staged a protest in the country's biggest city, Karachi, and demanded the death penalty for the cartoonist. They also condemned President Pervez Musharraf for not taking up the issue with the Danish government.
"There is only one treatment for the Jews ... waging jihad."
"A friend of Denmark is a traitor of the faith," the protesters shouted in chorus. "There is only one treatment for the Jews ... waging jihad (holy war)."
Leading Danish newspapers on Wednesday reprinted cartoons of the prophet in a gesture of solidarity after police in Denmark revealed a plot to kill the creator of the caricature that sparked deadly riots across the Muslim world in 2006, including Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
About 60 members of the student wing of the radical religious group Jamat-e-Islami staged a protest in the country's biggest city, Karachi, and demanded... CHANGE! CHANGE! CHANGE!
#4
"A friend of Denmark is a traitor of the faith," the protesters shouted in chorus. "There is only one treatment for the Jews ... waging jihad (holy war)."
Good thing they cleared up the term "jihad". I was under the impression it meant peaceful inner kampf.
#5
please dont protest against Denmark anymore. I find the Danish beers available locally a poor value. Counldnt you insulted muslims please protest and boycott Belgium instead?
#6
I guess these aren't the same ones who are suffering "mullah fatigue". But then "dozens" were all they were able to muster so maybe that is encouraging. Keep publishing more cartoons and even these idiots might get fatigued. They might get desensitized, if you will, which would be a good thing when they see the world isn't coming to an end just because somebody makes fun of the moon god.
The Security Council on Thursday failed to issue a French-drafted press statement on the third anniversary of Rafiq Hariri's assassination because some council members believed the draft focuses too much on the Special Tribunal and others said the situation in Lebanon is too tense and the council cannot afford to issue anything at this time.
The council would have reaffirmed its "strongest condemnation" of the terrorist bombings that killed Hariri and others in 2005, paid tribute to their memory and "reiterated their condemnation of all targeted assassinations of Lebanese leaders and officials, particularly since 2004." It would also welcome the "decisive landmarks, including towards meeting budgetary requirements, as well as the Secretary-General's belief in the irreversibility of the establishment of the Tribunal." It would further call for the holding "without delay" of a free and fair presidential election in conformity with Lebanese constitutional rules, "without any foreign interference or influence," and with full respect for democratic institutions.
A council member belonging to the Non-Aligned Movement told KUNA the situation in Lebanon "is tense enough. We don't need such a statement. What will it add?" Another diplomat said it focuses too much on the Special Tribunal to prosecute the suspects in Hariri's assassination.
Continued on Page 49
#1
I think this marks a significant milestone in the de-escalation of StronglyWordedMemos(tm)
during the period of detente with the USSR, we had the SALT I and SALT II treaties.
Ladies & Gentlemen, would anybody venture forth to second the motion that a round of "Strategic Strongly Worded Memo Limitation Talks" henceforthe to be known as SSWMLT I be herewith commenced with all due haste?
#3
"said the situation in Lebanon is too tense and the council cannot afford to issue anything at this time"
Heaven knows we don't need the Security Council to be doing anything as drastic as issuing a press release when a situation is tense.
I challenge anyone to detect so much as a molecule of testosterone in the U.N. not that John Bolton has departed.
BAGHDAD - When twin blasts ravaged crowded pet markets earlier this month, Iraqi authorities offered a chilling account: Mentally disabled women carried the hidden explosives perhaps as unwitting bombers for Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The US military on Wednesday brought another stunning twist to the plot — that the acting director of a psychiatric hospital could have betrayed his ethics and turned over patient details to insurgents blamed for the attack, which killed nearly 100 people.
The questioning of the hospital administrator fits into a wider campaign to confront insurgents’ changing tactics — such as using women as suicide bombers — as they seek to bypass stepped-up security measures and bounce back from losses in recent US-led offensives. But the joint US-Iraqi raids Sunday on the Al Rashad hospital seek to dig deeper into just one deadly day — the Feb. 1 bombings and whether a physician entrusted to care for the mentally disabled could have aided Al Qaeda.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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The leader of an Al Qaeda-linked Iraqi group has called on Muslims to form secret cells to help finance militants and provide aid for their families, mainly for Palestinians in their struggle with Israel.
“We propose that every money-earning Muslim should save $2 a month, of which half would be allotted to our folk in Palestine while the rest goes to other fronts,” Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, said in a recording posted on the Internet on Thursday. “Secret societies with limited sizes in every street should collect theses funds and preserve them or invest them until an opportunity emerges to deliver them to those who deserve them,” said the leader of the group believed by US and Iraqi officials to be a front for the main homegrown Al Qaeda network in Iraq.
Baghdadi said Israel was a “germ planted in the body of the (Muslim) nation and should be removed even if traitors sign thousands of peace treaties with it”.
The militant leader, whose group has claimed responsibility for kidnappings and attacks on US and government forces in Iraq, said the Islamic State was willing to offer Palestinian fighters training including on how to make bombs and rockets. He said Muslims in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt should fight alongside Palestinians and provide them with aid. “We admit shortcomings” in supporting Palestinian fighters, he said. Baghdadi said he saw Iraq as a “corner stone for the return of Jerusalem” to Muslim rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
The leader of an Al Qaeda-linked Iraqi group has called on Muslims to form MORE secret cells...
Gaza City - In the Gaza Strip, thousands of Hamas supporters have protested against the new publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The angry demonstrators called for an official apology to Muslims and the prosecution of the Danish cartoonist.
Earlier today, a Christian library in Gaza City was torched by masked men but it is unclear whether the attack is linked with the cartoon protest. Do Paleos really need a specific reason to attack anymore? How ‘bout we just call it “Spontaneous Seething”?
The original publication of the cartoons two years ago, led to fierce protests and rioting in the Islamic world. Seventeen Danish newspapers decided to republish the cartoons on Wednesday after a plot to murder the cartoonist was brought to light. In Denmark the renewed publication prompted some rioting by ethnic minority youths
A human rights group called for an investigation into the death Thursday of a mentally disabled Palestinian man who had been wounded by the Israelis during a West Bank arrest operation. How do you tell the difference between a "normal" Palestinian and a "mentally disabled" one? Is it that the mentally disabled are those that don't know they are carrying a bomb?
According to neighbors' accounts, Israeli troops entered the town of Qabatiya before dawn on Feb. 7 to arrest an Islamic Jihad militant. Well, any jihadi is obviously mentally disabled.
As the soldiers prepared an ambush, the mentally disabled man, 56-year-old Taysir Nazal, emerged from his home, the neighbors said. Soldiers fired three shots and hit Nazal in his legs, said relatives and a neighbor, Omar al-Sohu. Has it been confirmed that the guy was really mentally disabled? Or is this another of those "France 2" productions?
"They didn't call on him to stop, and after he was hit, they left him for a half hour," al-Sohu said. "Then two soldiers came and started to talk to him in Arabic." I wonder what Hamas gunmen would have done had the roles been reversed.
The Israeli military said it was checking the circumstances of the incident and did not immediately comment. Three Islamic Jihad militants were arrested in the raid. Proving that it's obvious that the IDF was just itching to kill someone.
Nazal was hit several times in the legs. Doctors operated several times and amputated part of one leg, but he died on Thursday, doctors said. Sepsis? Lack of equipment/medical supplies? I'm no doctor, but it would seem that if they stopped the bleeding and gave him a transfusion that he should live. They can take care of the leg at their leisure. I assume it was a Gazan hospital.
The Israeli rights group B'Tselem called for a military investigation. "From our research we see a pattern, a sort of norm ... that is expressed in shooting when a door is opened or the soldiers think someone is trying to flee, when in fact the soldiers are not acting in self-defense," B'Tselem spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli said. Hey, I thought we were only talking about mentally disabled Palestinians, not retarded Israeli human rights groups. In any case, I'd surely love to see their "research" documentation, site studies, the military/psychology/scientific experience of the scientists involved in the "research", and transcripts/footage of interviews with soldiers/hospitals/victims/military. Or is that "pattern/sort of norm" thingy basically all we're going to get?
Several mentally disabled Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in recent years. That's because jihadis do things that only mentally disabled people do, so it's hard to tell the difference. When you're in a shoot-or-maybe-get-shot situation, it's better to shoot first.
Israel conducts arrest operations against Palestinian militants in West Bank towns almost nightly. So they probably have a good idea of when to shoot and when not to.
#2
the blame lies with Hamas and other Paleo terrorists who hide among the civilian population. When a door is opened, you'd be stoopid to assume it's an "innocent" just looking to see whutsup
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/15/2008 9:27 Comments ||
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#3
Didn't work for Sean Taylor either.
Yeah, but I was hoping to understand how a leg shot could kill someone.
A top Hamas delegation crossed into Egypt Thursday to meet up with Egyptian officials wanting to make clear that no further breaches of its border with the Gaza Strip will be tolerated, a security official said.
The Hamas delegation, led by Mahmoud Zahar, came at the Egyptian request, after they received reports that the Islamist organization was planning to forcibly reopen the borders again at the end of the month, the official said speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "The Egyptians will tell Hamas bluntly that the old self-restraint manner is over and that Egyptian security guards have been given orders to open fire on any Palestinians trying to cross the border," the official said.
A Hamas official in the Gaza Strip confirmed that a meeting with the Egyptians was imminent in part of the resumption of dialogue between Hamas and Egypt "over the future mechanisms for operating the border crossing to allow goods and passengers to travel between Gaza and Egypt freely without restrictions."
Hamas wants a role in controlling the border crossing with Egypt, while the international community has affirmed its support for a 2005 agreement involving European and Israeli monitors and not the Islamist organization.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Hmmmm... Egyptians upgraded from legs-breaking. Maybe Gazooks thought they would still be able to crawl across.
#2
Shooting violators is certainly good, but pursuing violators back into Gaza and destroying their nesting areas while encouraging oophagy among survivors should be the preferred method.
#2
The text to the right of the video mentions "Tannerite". From the Wiki:
Tannerite consists of two components, a sensitizer and a bulk material. The bulk material is a mixture of ammonium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate, while the sensitizer is a mixture of dark flake aluminium powder and a small amount of zirconium hydride.
On January 14th 2008 (one month ago), a man in Red Wing, Minnesota was accused of detonating 100lbs. of tannerite inside the bed of a dump truck by shooting it with a .50 caliber rifle from 300 yards away.
The ensuing blast could be felt at Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant, and officials from the FBI, BATF, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, US Postal Service, and the US Coast Guard have become involved, along with local law enforcement agencies. The man, Brian Wesley Childs, was arrested for gross disregard for human life and destruction of property with an explosive or incendiary.
#6
Tannerite looks like great stuff for sport bombers, amazing it could be ordered over the internet by anyone at all. Just as well it went off in Red Wing rather than in Manhattan or DC. Too bad this wasn't posted on Rantburg as an article on its own, with a headline like: Discovery of 45 kg of Explosives in Goodhue County Meanwhile ballpoint pens are bringing down the US economy.
#7
ION SCIENCE/TECH > WND > The USA is proposing to shoot down its wayward SPYSAT wid a missle, which in turn may illustrate = test US MISSLE DEFENSE CAPABILITIES [GMD].
Figured that out years ago.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, NEWSCIENTIST > SPYSAT SHOOTDOWN MAY ENDANGER SPACE STATION.
Goes to Year 2020, + COMET APOPHIS versus MOON, I.E. ABILITY OF FUTURE OWG TECHS TO DETERMINATIVELY DEFLECT OR DESTROY ANY DANGEROUS POTENTIAL NEO's WIDOUT BLOWING UP TERRA FIRMA ANDOR THE MOON, OR ANYTHING VITAL FOR THAT MATTER.
Following heavy criticism about a plan to establish a special administrative zone in the jihad insurgency-torn far South, Thailand's new interior minister said Friday he had decided to scrap the plan, citing the need to avoid possible conflict over differing views on the plan.
Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung explained that he called off the plan to hold a public hearing on the issue in the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat to avert any conflict or controversy. Welfare and benefits to local government officials will be one of key elements in the government approach to tackle the continuing terrorism insurgency in the troubled region, said the minister.
Mr. Chalerm made the about-turn decision only two days after he floated the idea to hold public hearings in the Muslim-predominant region for local residents to determine whether some form of autonomy should be given to the area. However, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej poured cold water on the idea, warning that it was a "delicate issue" and that his government would adopt its policy to tackling the continuing violence in the region only after first discussing the matter with military leaders.
#5
What could possibly be wrong with giving part of your country to a band of murderous thug? I'm sure they would be satisfied with just a little piece.
Syria has said it will soon present "irrefutable" proof of who was behind the killing of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in the capital, Damascus. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem would not discuss the ongoing investigation, but insisted the world would "soon hear the results of this mighty effort".
"I know who the killer was! It was -- "
[BANG!]
[THUD!]
"Nobody leave this room!"
Meanwhile, Iranian TV has broadcast a video reportedly of Tuesday's bombing. On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the blast and warned it was ready for "open war". Israel has rejected the claims, but nonetheless has put its embassies around the world on high alert and boosted troop deployments on the Lebanese border.
'Secret investigation'
Speaking after meeting his Iranian counterpart in Damascus, Mr Moualem said the Syrian security services had devoted huge resources to their investigation into "this despicable crime" and would soon unmask the killer. "As a state, we will irrefutably prove the party involved in this crime and who stands behind it. An investigation is ongoing," he told reporters on Thursday. "We hope that you will soon hear the results of this mighty effort."
Mr Moualem declined to say whether the security forces had detained anyone in connection with the attack or name the chief suspects. "I cannot comment to preserve the secrecy of the investigation," he said. "The fighter Imad Mughniyeh was the target of lots of intelligence agencies. He was a backbone of the Islamic Resistance™."
Nevertheless, Mr Moualem asserted Mughniyeh's death had "assassinated all efforts for peace" between Syria and Israel. The two countries remain technically at war and tensions between them have risen in recent months, with Israeli jets violating Syrian airspace and the government demanding Damascus abandon its support for Hezbollah.
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, was, however, adamant that Israel lay behind Tuesday's bombing. "The Zionist™ entity will not harvest the fruit," he warned.
On Friday morning, the Iranian Arabic-language TV channel, al-Alam, broadcast what it said was footage taken with a mobile phone of the bombing. The report claimed the video showed the explosion of a booby-trapped car parked next to Mughniyeh's vehicle. It said the bomb was detonated by remote control.
'Open war'
Mr Moualem's comments came hours after Sheikh Nasrallah blamed Israel for his death and said its war against the Jewish state was not over. "Zionists™, if you want this sort of open war, then let the whole world hear, so be it!" he told crowds of mourners at Mughniyeh's funeral in Beirut. Sheikh Nasrallah said that Israel thought that killing "would lead to the destruction of the Resistance™... but they are wrong".
"The blood of Imad Mughniyeh will make them [Israel] withdraw from existence," he insisted.
Mughniyeh, in his late 40s, had been variously described as special operations or intelligence chief of Hezbollah's secretive military wing, the Islamic Resistance. He was top of the US "most wanted" list until he was replaced by Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders following the 11 September 2001 attacks. Analysts say his death is a significant blow to Hezbollah, which battled Israel in the 2006 Lebanon war with help from its Iranian and Syrian backers.
Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by a group of Shia Muslim clerics after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It has emerged in recent years as a major political and military force in Lebanon, after military successes against Israel.
The Kuwaiti daily Awan reported, from a knowledgeable Arab source, that Imad Mughinyua was killed as he was preparing a car bomb.
The source said that Mughniya had prepared several car bombs for sending to Lebanon in order to prevent the March 14 Forces from holding a rally to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.
The U.S. has recently shared sensitive information with the International Atomic Energy Agency on key aspects of Iran's nuclear program that Washington says shows Tehran was directly engaged in trying to make an atomic weapon, diplomats told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The diplomats said Washington also gave the IAEA permission to confront Iran with at least some of the evidence in an attempt to pry details out of the Islamic republic on the activities, as part of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's attempts to investigate Iran's suspicious nuclear past.
The decision by the U.S. administration to declassify its intelligence and indirectly share it with Iran through the IAEA was a clear reflection of Washington's' drive to pressure Iran into admitting that it had focused part of its nuclear efforts toward developing a weapons program.
While the Americans have previously declassified and then forwarded intelligence to the IAEA to help its investigations, they do so on a selective basis.
Following Israel's bombing of a Syrian site late last year, and media reports citing unidentified U.S. officials as saying the target was a nuclear installation, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei turned, in vain to the U.S. in asking for details on what was struck, said a diplomat who—like others—asked for anonymity in exchange for divulging confidential information.
Shared in the past two weeks was material on a laptop computer reportedly smuggled out of Iran, said another diplomat, accredited to the IAEA. In 2005, U.S. intelligence assessed that information as indicating that Tehran had been working on details of nuclear weapons, including missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads.
He said that after declassification, U.S. intelligence also was forwarded on two other issues—the "Green Salt Project"—a plan the U.S. alleges links diverse components of a nuclear weapons program, including uranium enrichment, high explosives testing and a missile re-entry vehicle, and material in Iran's possession showing how to mold uranium metal into warhead form.
The material followed up on information on the projects shared by the Americans with key allies and the agency last year, said the diplomat
Iran is under two sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, which it started developing during nearly two decades of covert nuclear activity built on illicit purchases and revealed only five years ago.
Since then, IAEA experts have uncovered activities, experiments and blueprints and materials that point to possible efforts by Iran to create nuclear weapons, even though Tehran insists its nuclear project is peaceful and aimed only at creating a large-scale enrichment facility to make reactor fuel. Its leaders consistently dismiss allegations that they are interested in enrichment for its other use—creating fissile material suitable for arming warheads.
Instead of heeding Security Council demands to freeze enrichment, Iran has expanded its program. On Wednesday, diplomats told the AP that its new generation of advanced centrifuges have begun processing small quantities of the gas that can be used to make the fissile core of nuclear warheads.
Slain Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh was behind the hijacking of a Kuwait Airways flight in 1998 and the killing of two of its Kuwaiti passengers, the tiny Gulf state's interior minister said in remarks published Thursday.
The minister, Sheik Jaber Al Khaled Al Sabah, said in comments published in the Alrai daily that the Hizbullah militant's death made Kuwaitis happy but that "we are not gloating." "The killing of the criminal Imad Mughniyeh was divine vengeance for those who killed the sons of Kuwait and threw them from planes at Limasol Airport in Cyprus," the minister said.
On April 5, 1988, Shiite gunmen hijacked a Kuwaiti Airways jumbo jet en route from Thailand to Kuwait City. They diverted it to Iran, Cyprus and Algeria, demanding Kuwait free 17 pro-Iranian terrorists jailed for attacks in Kuwait. After a 16-day ordeal and the murder of two Kuwaiti passengers, hijackers freed the hostages and were allowed to leave Algiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[10 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
translation--the rifidi dog will roast in hell along with the twelfth iman
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
02/15/2008 0:18 Comments ||
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#2
...and Mughniyeh was a piece of shiite to boot!
#4
WAFF.com Poster thread > ISRAEL MAY BE ASKED TO PROTECT GULF STATES, + USA + [nuclear?]PAKISTAN?
Also, KOMMERSANT > SAUDI ARABIA INTENDS/DESIRES TO REPLACE IRAN.
The United States plans to double its funding of a U.N. tribunal on the killing three years ago of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.
Subject to congressional notification, Washington would raise its pledge to $14 million from $7 million to help fund the U.N. tribunal's one-year budget, Rice said in a statement issued to mark the anniversary of Hariri's murder on February 14, 2005. "Lebanon, on this day of remembrance for former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and all those killed, injured or persecuted in the service of the Lebanese nation, the United States shares your sorrow, but also your hope," Rice said. "Our commitment to you and your chosen government is unshakable. We and the international community will not rest until your calls for peace, justice and freedom have been answered," she added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
OMG, what bullshit. they aren't going too smoke out anyhting.2or 3 year later and they are still hand wringing not too upset syria . They know who killed him so IS THE us AS USUAL GONNA END UP PAYING FOR THIS?
#3
OMG, what bullshit. they aren't going too smoke out anyhting.2or 3 year later and they are still hand wringing not too upset syria . They know who killed him so IS THE us AS USUAL GONNA END UP PAYING FOR THIS?
#6
Danielle,
from what little I've gathered the folks doing the investigation have done due diligence and gathered quite a bit of evidence, time-lines, people: good and bad actors, confessions, the flow of $$$, so the whole crime can be laid out like a good book.[non-fiction]
#7
The problem is that this Hariri murder is not a crime, per se, but more like an act of war on the part of Syria. When the trail leads back to Syria, wacha gonna do? Are you going to have a decade-long tribunal and put political pressure on Syria?
It seems that we are dealing with acts of war, so a well placed device near the perps just might get the message across appropriately. It is like court cases for terrorists. You are dealing more with acts of war than with criminal activities.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/15/2008 15:04 Comments ||
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Syrians will sue the United States for providing Israel with weaponry that was used to kill Syrian citizens during the Second Lebanon War, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem threatened Thursday, a day after the US administration announced a new set of sanctions on the Assad regime. "We will punish the United States," Mouallem said during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki. "There are Syrians who were sacrificed during the Israeli was against Lebanon, and they will file a law suit against America, Which provided Israel with the weapons."
He also said that investigations are under way into who was behind the car bomb that killed Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus, adding that he expected the perpetrators to be found soon. "Syrian security forces are continuing investigations into this terrorist crime and we hope you will hear results soon," he said. "We as a state will show with full proof the party involved in this crime and who stands behind them."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[10 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Uncle Sam: "So sue me!"
"There are Syrians who were sacrificed during the Israeli was against Lebanon, and they will file a law suit against America
Miracle! They were so peeved that they've risen from six feet under!
#4
Oh, and about those 'covert' ops supporting AQ in Iraq from Damascus? Not only can we sue back, we have a collection agency on your door step. And we can ask for volunteers to make that collection, but I don't think there's enough log tail to support them all. Make my day!
#11
Importantly, this is one of the biggest lies of the Middle East, that the US spends vast amounts of money just so Israel can exist. They truly believe that without continuous massive support from the US, that Israel would collapse overnight.
I talked with a Lebanese engineer years ago, and he assured me that over half the US defense budget goes to buy weapons for Israel. When I just laughed at his statement, he passionately defended it--because he had to.
The very idea that Israelis are so much *better* than Arabs and Muslims is just intolerable to them. They just refuse to accept even the possibility.
This may actually be the defining idea of most anti-Israeli feeling in the ME, and anti-US sentiment as well.
They are almost in tears begging the US to stop giving Israel the means to exist. If the US would just stop, then Israel would disappear. And it is only because the Jews control the US that all that money flows to Israel.
It is such a bizarre fantasy that it just makes you shake your head.
Just two days after the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus sent shockwaves through the Middle East and raised speculation of Israeli involvement in the attack, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told President Shimon Peres that Syria was ready to talk peace.
Amorim, who met Peres in Jerusalem on Thursday after concluding a visit to Damascus, said that from his perspective "Syrian President Bashar Assad was ready for dialogue with Israel." The Brazilian foreign minister met with Assad just hours before Mughniyeh's assassination on Tuesday.
Peres responded to the message by saying that Israel was always looking for peace, but that it was impossible to ignore the Assad's contradicting behavior. "It is not possible to extend one's hand to peace, while [extending the other] to the funding, hosting, and arming of terror organizations, [including] Hamas and Hizbullah," Peres said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
I'll take Peace Of The Grave for five hundred, Alex.
#2
Then Brazilians should make peace with Assad. How about a cultural exchange? Samba dancers for car bomb experts.
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2008 0:24 Comments ||
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#3
this lefty doofus fm praised syria's positive role in the me--background is important money contributions to the walking smegma's political party[lula's] by the wealthy syrian-lebanese brazilian community--its pap for the homies and a photo op
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
02/15/2008 0:45 Comments ||
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Slain Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh traveled from Teheran to Damascus 25 days ago to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip with Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Mashaal, Asharq Alawsat reported on Thursday morning.
Also according to the London-based newspaper, a short time before his assassination, Mughniyeh met with a senior security figure in Syria. An Iranian source quoted by the newspaper called the assassination a "tragedy for Hizbullah" and blamed Israel for the killing. "The assassination was carried out on Syrian soil; Syria would have had no interest in doing this," he said.
Meanwhile, another London-based newspaper, Al-Hayat, reported that a few hours before his death, Mughniyeh entered Syria under an assumed identity to hide his presence in the country from the Syrian authorities.
Didn't quite work now, did it.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Let's hope Khaled will be talking to him again. Soon.
Investigations are under way into who was behind the car bomb that killed Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Thursday, adding that he expected the perpetrators to be found soon. "Syrian security forces are continuing investigations into this terrorist crime and we hope you will hear results soon," he said at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki. "We as a state will show with full proof the party involved in this crime and who stands behind them."
Moallem described the killing of Mughniyeh, who has been implicated in a string of attacks against Americans, Israelis and Jews, among others, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as a blow to peace.
He said those who killed Mughniyeh "assassinated any attempt to revive the peace process," hinting for the first time that Israel might be involved.
For his part, Mottaki said that the matter of the assassination came up in his talks with Syrian president Bashar Assad and he said Israel was retaliating for its "losses" in the Second Lebanon War and "imagined it could exact a heavy price by assassinating one leader of the Lebanese resistance."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
And the Lord spake thus, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it." Amen.
And here you have it. Mughniyeh was no peacenick, but piecenick, being naughty in God's sight. That's all to it. Kuwaitis say so too.
#3
You'd think that never sleeping in the same place twice would be good enough.
Now the progressive terrorist isn't even safe from using a repeat customer card for a friggin oil change... Next time I'm staying with the car.
Oh wait, there will be no next time.
It's hard out here for a pimp.
#5
Moallem described the killing of Mughniyeh, who has been implicated in a string of attacks against Americans, Israelis and Jews, among others, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as a blow to peace.
That's like saying intercourse is a blow to pregnancy.
Syria ridiculed Thursday US president George Bush's decision to expand sanctions on Syrian officials saying that a country occupying the land of others has no right to hurl accusations.
On Wednesday President Bush ordered new sanctions to punish Syria for allegedly trying to undermine stability in Iraq and undercut Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy.
"The ones who steal the resources of other countries through occupation and corruption have no right to accuse others," said a high-ranking Syrian official to the Associated Press. "The Bush administration is not matched by any government in the world when it comes to corruption."
The official, who spoke on strict condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, was referring to reports of billions of dollars wasted by the US government on Iraq's reconstruction.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
One man's corruption is another man's... sumthin...
Would Suriyyans accept sanction from other administration than Bush's, that is the question.
#4
Syria can reject all it wants; truth of the matter is that the Dept of State has hardened its review of export licenses as well as enforcement actions very few companies are going to risk the potential of the new fines and or jail time for a few bucks. WWW.bis.doc.gov is a good site to start if you want more info on this topic ( good info, but dry reading)
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.
Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende does not think the Netherlands’ stance on the security of former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali is damaging the country’s reputation abroad, reports in Friday’s Volkskrant. According to the paper, Balkenende is obviously irritated by the question and his reply is a short ‘no’. Earlier several political leaders said that the Netherlands’ refusal to pay for Hirsi Ali’s protection in the US is damaging its image. 
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pledged Thursday that next week’s general elections will be free and fair, but warned that any opposition protests against the result would be crushed. Musharraf said the success of the ‘mother of all elections’ was crucial for international efforts to stabilise the militancy-hit, nuclear-armed nation, a key ally in the US-led ‘war on terror.’
PML-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has said he wants to negotiate with militants rather than using military force to tackle the extremist violence sweeping across the country. In an interview with AP, he accused President Pervez Musharraf of planning to rig the February 19 vote, “which can trigger uncontrollable unrest and tear the country apart”. The US support for Musharraf was deepening anti-American sentiment in the country, Nawaz said, adding that only democratic rule could end rising militancy.
Lashkar-e-Islami chief Mangal Bagh on Thursday announced what he called a ban on the participation of women in Monday’s elections in two constituencies of Khyber Agency – NA-45 in Jamrud subdivision and NA-46 in Bara subdivision. 
Dozens of hardline Islamic students set a Danish flag on fire in Pakistan on Thursday to protest reproduction of Prophet Muhammad cartoons in Danish newspapers. 
Gaza City - In the Gaza Strip, thousands of Hamas supporters have protested against the new publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The angry demonstrators called for an official apology to Muslims and the prosecution of the Danish cartoonist. 
Following heavy criticism about a plan to establish a special administrative zone in the 
Syria has said it will soon present "irrefutable" proof of who was behind the killing of Hezbollah commander 
Slain Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh was behind the hijacking of a Kuwait Airways flight in 1998 and the killing of two of its Kuwaiti passengers, the tiny Gulf state's interior minister said in remarks published Thursday. 
