Britney Spears's ex-boyfriend paparazzi photographer Adnan Ghalib could be forced to return to war-torn Afghanistan, which he left when he was five, or spend seven years in a U.S. prison if he is found guilty of three serious offences against a court official.
The 36-year-old, who was raised in Birmingham, U.K., and later relocated to the U.S. is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery and hit-and-run for allegedly using his car to mow down a man attempting to serve him a restraining order to stay away from Britney in Los Angeles.
"The country of citizenship listed on the legal files is where someone convicted of a serious crime will be deported to whether they hold a green card or not. There is some confusion on his court documents over where he comes from. Some list the country as Afghanistan, but another states his nationality as British," a Los Angeles police source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Has it really been over two years since your intrepid re-reporter rushed back breathlessly to Rantburg to announce that: Britney's New Look Is Bald?
The Afghan government was asked on Thursday night to explain why it released a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who has gone on to mastermind attacks on British troops in Helmand, The Times reported on Saturday.
Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, who operates under the nom de guerre Mullah Abdullah Zakir, has been in charge of Taliban attacks in the province since early last year when he was released from prison in Kabul. The report quoted Patrick Mercer, Conservative chairman of the Commons counter-terrorism subcommittee, as saying that it was extraordinary that a man of his record could be freed to go back to his old ways.
Rasoul had been transferred there from Guantanamo in December 2007 after a US review board deemed him no longer a threat. Taliban sources have since told The Times that he was a senior commander at the time of his capture in 2001 and that the Afghan authorities should have known that. Mr Mercer said: "The Americans presumably let him go from Guantanamo Bay in order for him to be kept in custody in Afghanistan. We need to know why the Afghan authorities released him."
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "We talk to the Afghan authorities about security matters but we can't give any details because it's quite sensitive." The circumstances of Mr Rasoul's release remain unclear. On his release from Guantanamo he was sent to Block D in Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, a maximum-security wing renovated by the Americans largely to hold the most dangerous Guantanamo detainees.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
after a US review board deemed him no longer a threat
well, it appears the Afghans aren't the only f*ckups here, huh? These same geniuses still making determinations?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 6:45 Comments ||
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President Obama is expected to announce his strategy for Afghanistan before the end of the month, after a fairly secretive, two-month review by senior civilian and military officials, and consultation with allies. But elements of the strategy have begun to emerge in comments by officials involved in, or familiar with, the process. The strategy is expected to lead international efforts in Afghanistan for years to come.
And surprise, it has a lot of similarities to the Bush plan ...
Senior U.S. officials have been avoiding questions about the new Afghanistan strategy for weeks. But in doing so, they have revealed some of its elements, as Defense Secretary Robert Gates did on National Public Radio on March 10. "I would say that at a minimum, the mission is to prevent the Taliban from retaking power against a democratically elected government in Afghanistan and thus turning Afghanistan, potentially again, into a haven for al Qaida and other extremist groups," he said.
Secretary Gates spoke of identifying short-to-medium-term goals for Afghanistan - things that can be achieved in three to five years. "We need to have goals, at least in the near to mid-term, that are achievable," he said. "And where there are some benchmarks where we can measure whether we're actually making progress in getting to a better place in Afghanistan, in terms of security, in terms of the credibility of the government and so on."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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i am suspecting it starts with
1) drop pants
2) grab ankles
Posted by: abu do you love ||
03/14/2009 1:28 Comments ||
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The taliban no longer need Afghanistan - they have the Tribal Agencies. They only reason to continue to fight in Afghanistan is to kill "kuffers" - the US and NATO troops stationed there.
No program for peace in South Asia can succeed until it includes the dismemberment of pakistan and the elimination of the division of the Pashtun tribes. Obambi isn't that smart, and from what I've seen, neither are the people working for him. Obama's beginning to make Jimmy Carter look good...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/14/2009 14:33 Comments ||
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(AKI - The kidnappers of three workers from the international aid group Doctors without Borders (MSF) abducted in Sudan's Darfur region have demanded the international arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir be withdrawn in exchange for the hostages' release, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reports, citing unnamed local sources.
The MSF workers' kidnappers have also asked for a ransom and belong to an armed Arab tribe, according to al-Hayat.
The kidnappers made their their demands by phone via Sudanese mediators who are negotiating for the hostages' release. The mediators include tribal leaders in Darfur, according to al-Hayat. An Italian doctor, a Canadian nurse and a French co-ordinator with MSF were kidnapped in the area of Serif Umra, located in North Darfur late Wednesday.
"As a result of the abductions, all sections of MSF are withdrawing almost all international staff from projects in Darfur. Only an essential skeleton team will remain to follow the case of the abducted MSF colleagues. A number of Sudanese staff will also be relocated for now," the aid group said in a statement on Thursday.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court last week issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur (photo), sparking outrage in Sudan and the Arab world. Al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the court, faces five counts of crimes against humanity, including responsibility for murder, rape and torture, and two counts of war crimes.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
were the kidnappers perhaps wearing uniforms?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 6:46 Comments ||
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Announce he's been released, but hold him at the door, when/if they release the hostages clap him back in the pen.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/14/2009 12:16 Comments ||
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The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed an application Friday to appeal the absence of genocide charges on an arrest warrant issued against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, as the three aid workers held hostages in Darfur were set free.
"Killings, as a matter of law and as a matter of fact, are not the only way to commit genocide," the prosecution argued in documents filed with the court, referring to the judges' decision not to include genocide on the warrant.
The ICC issued a warrant for Bashir's arrest last Wednesday on five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes committed in Darfur -- its first-ever warrant for a sitting head of state.
It failed to include three genocide charges as had been requested by prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
"The majority decision (of the judges who issued the warrant) has misunderstood the prosecution's arguments pertaining to the test to be applied (for genocide)," states the application, published on the ICC website. "The decision contains fundamental errors."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday began to take statements of witnesses to the carnage at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters. On the first day eight witnesses gave their statements to the CID.
The CID also showed 12 more persons arrested, including six BDR members and six family members of some BDR personnel. With this the number of total arrest rose to 248.
Meanwhile, at least 20 more BDR personnel met their family members and kith and kin while several hundred families were seen waiting eagerly at the entrance of the BDR headquarters to meet their near and dear ones.
Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of CID Abdul Kahar Akand who leads the investigation told The Daily Star, "We started taking statements of witnesses and have so far taken statements of eight victims.
"We will also take statements of those who were not victims," he added.
Sources said all senior officials of the 60-member CID team engaged in the investigation held an hour-long meeting at its headquarters in the morning.
Talking to The Daily Star, ASP Akand said they discussed how they would carry out their investigation. When asked he said the arrestees are also being interrogated.
Meanwhile, a CID team yesterday recovered around 200 more bullets from the BDR headquarters premises abandoned by the mutineers, CID sources said. Members and relatives of a total of 57 BDR personnel have so far been able to visit them.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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CID? LOL.. Clowns... they're likely ISI controlled clones. Maybe rogue CIA, but I've said too much.
Rajshahi University (RU) was closed for an indefinite period yesterday following sporadic clashes between Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) that left university unit ICS general secretary Sharifuzzaman Nomani killed and at least 100 people injured.
The RU authorities at an emergency meeting held at 1:00 pm also asked the male students to vacate their dormitories by 5:00 pm yesterday while the female students by 10:00 am today.
Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) and Rajshahi Government College were also closed sine die following the RU clash.
Sources said, the RMC authorities at an emergency meeting also asked its students to vacate their hostels by 5:00 pm yesterday. The male students of Rajshahi government college were also asked to vacate their dorms by 5:00pm yesterday while the female students by 10:00 am today.
RU sources said the clash ensued on RU campus yesterday following Wednesday's attack by ICS men on the BCL activists.
Besides the BCL and ICS men, some general students, journalists, police, local businessmen, local Awami League (AL) activists were also injured in the yesterday's violent clashes while around 100 rooms of BCL were ransacked.
Seriously injured 60 persons, mostly BCL men, were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) while the rest were given first aid at RU Medical Centre and private clinics.
Additional police were deployed on the campus where a tense situation was prevailing.
POLICE RAIDS AND SHIBIR ATTACK
Earlier on Thursday night, BCL RU unit president Ibrahim Hossain Moon filed a case against 500 Shibir men in connection with Wednesday's incident that left at least 20 BCL men injured.
Following the case, police started raiding in all the 11 male dormitories at about 3:00am and detained about 68 Shibir men.
After the raid, Shibir cadres locked entrances of all the dormitories and attacked BCL men who were asleep at about 4:30 am and took control of the halls.
Over 30 students were injured, 15 of them seriously, in the attack at Suhrawardy and Shamsozoha halls.
BCL activists with the help of police rescued their fellows from the two halls at about 7:30 am.
In the meantime, BCL men locked the entrances to all the male halls from outside, confining Shibir men inside of the halls.
SHIBIR CLASHES WITH LOCAL BUSINESSMEN
The Shibir activists who reside in Binodpur area near the university also attacked BCL activists and local Awami League (AL) workers protesting the confinement of their fellow students at the halls.
Later, an hour-long clash ensued at about 10:00 am between Shibir activists and local businessmen and AL activists on Dhaka-Rajshahi highway that left 12 people injured.
Shibir cadres also ransacked local business establishments, AL activists houses and BCL men controlled messes during the clash.
Hearing the rumour of the death of Rajshahi City unit Swechchhasevak League member Robiul Islam Robi, several hundred local people blocked the highway.
However, the condition of Robi, also a local businessman, was stated to be critical.
ANOTHER SHIBIR ATTACK AND FIERCE CLASH
At about 12:00 noon again clash erupted between BCL and ICS while ICS men tried to enter into the Sher-e-Bangla hall to rescue their fellows.
Sources said, both groups exchanged 100 rounds of bullet during the clash, leaving two Shibir activists wounded.
Jahangir Hossain, assistant commissioner of police, Motiher zone, said police used tear gas shells and rubber bullets to control the situation.
At one stage, BCL men swooped on the hall that left 30 people injured, including the RU unit ICS general secretary.
The injured were admitted to RMCH where Nomani died after admission.
After the clash, ICS men physically assaulted RU proctor, assistant proctor and students adviser in Bangabandhu hall as they had gone there to rescue the BCL men.
RU Vice Chancellor Prof Abdus Sobhan told The Daily Star that university authorities took the decision of closing it to deal with the situation.
BCL RU unit president Ibrahim Hossain Moon alleged that Shibir attacked on his men in a preplanned way.
Shibir president Delwar Hossain Sayeedi blamed BCL for the attack and demanded exemplary punishment of those who killed its secretary.
Among others injured are BCL RU unit president Ibrahim Hossain Moon, assistant secretary Apu, cultural secretary Joy, BCL activists Niaz, Suvro, Alamgir, Ismail, Sawpon, Anwar, Himu, Rashel, Dip, Roni, Ranju, Juwel, Arif, Komol, Hanif, Kawser, Mustofa, Obaidur, Tuhin and Mamun.
Shibir organising secretary Farhad Alam and its activists Razzak, Raihan, Zinna, Asraful, Aziz, local Salim, Shafiqul and Hanif.
Local businessmen Khalek and Solaiman, Prothom Alo's photojournalist Azhar Uddin, daily Independent RU Correspondent Mamun, police constables Mohibul and Anwar, City Ward No. 30 AL general secretary Shahidul Islam, AL activists Shamim, Babu and passersby Shamim, Islam and Ruhul Amin.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Fred - what the hell is going on in Bangladesh?
#5
Sounds like the Islamists think they've got a large enough part of the population to impose Sharia, and those that oppose them are being "taught to bow down to their betters". Pakistan is behind it, of course, hoping that the Indians will be forced to become involved, and will turn away from Pakistan's activities on India's western border. Pakistan is about due for another one of their bi-decadal thumpings from India, and the pakistanis are trying to delay it for as long as possible.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/14/2009 15:06 Comments ||
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testing our young O-president to see just how empty that suit is
A Russian Air Force chief said Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered an island as a temporary base for strategic Russian bombers, the Interfax news agency reported.
The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, also said Cuba could be used to base the aircraft, Interfax reported.
The Kremlin, however, said the situation was hypothetical. of course it is - a trial balloon
"The military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all," Alexei Pavlov, a Kremlin official, told the Associated Press. "If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," he said.
Zhikharev said Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers," the agency reported. "If there is a corresponding political decision, then the use of the island ... by the Russian Air Force is possible." bring your own fuel
Interfax reported he said earlier that Cuba has air bases with four or five runways long enough for the huge bombers and could be used to host the long-range planes.
Two Russian bombers landed in Venezuela last year in what experts said was the first Western Hemisphere touchdown of Russian military craft since the end of the Cold War. what would we do with "experts"?
Cuba has never permanently hosted Russian or Soviet strategic aircraft. But Soviet short-range bombers often made stopovers there during the Cold War.
Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus.
Independent military analyst Alexander Golts said from a strategic point of view there was nothing for Russia to gain from basing long-range craft within relatively short range of U.S. shores. "It has no military sense. The bombers don't need any base. This is just a retaliatory gesture," Golts said, saying Russia wanted to hit back after U.S. ships patrolled Black Sea waters.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 07:07 ||
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er..."without". PIMF
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 7:10 Comments ||
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Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/14/2009 16:08 Comments ||
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#11
exactly so
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 16:09 Comments ||
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#12
"If they did, I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America," said General Norton Schwartz said on July 23.
Gee...another red line that will generate hand-wringing, maybe a U.N. intervention and, ultimately, Team PrezBO spinning a new whopper reaffirming his May 19 2008 statement reprising how Iran, Venezuela and Cuba are not real threats because they are "tiny countries." http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=12224#comment-415457
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso warned in a strongly worded message to North Korea on Friday that its planned rocket launch must be called off even if it is intended for a satellite program as Pyongyang says. ''No matter what the claim is, be it a manmade satellite, it will be a blatant breach of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718,'' Aso told reporters. ''Japan must lodge a stern protest through the United Nations and resolutely demand it be called off.''
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Well, if all this talking doesn't work I don't know what will.
Posted by: Scott R ||
03/14/2009 0:36 Comments ||
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Talking isn't going to work, except to confirm to Kimmie that he has a real attention-getter,
look for threats next and the (False) Claim "There's a nuke warhead".
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/14/2009 12:06 Comments ||
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Should O hand out some DVDs to Kim? Don't look for any deeper thought by O to handle this crisis.
DUBAI - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to formally open his country's first Gulf-based military base in Abu Dhabi in May.
In 2008, France signed an agreement with the UAE to set up its first permanent military base in Abu Dhabi
"It will be the first such French base in the Gulf and it will face the Strait of Hormuz," a French presidential source said in January 2008.The strategic Strait of Hormuz, which separates the UAE's neighbors, Iran and Oman, is a vital conduit through which an estimated 40 percent of the world's crude oil passes.
French officials said last year that the base will eventually host 400 to 500 French army, navy and air force personnel.
Italy's constitutional court Wednesday dealt a heavy blow to a case against U.S. and Italian intelligence agents accused of kidnapping an Egyptian terror suspect, saying the probe violated state secrets.
The trial, which was suspended pending the court's ruling, is the first in Europe into the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program involving the secret transfers of terrorism suspects to third countries known to practice torture.
Twenty-six American defendants -- 25 CIA agents and a U.S. air force colonel -- are being tried in absentia along with seven Italians including the former head of Italian military intelligence, Nicolo Pollari, who was forced to resign over the affair.
The court ruled that wiretap surveillance of the Italian secret services contravened state secrecy laws, but a lawyer for the prosecution, Alessandro Pace, said the decision did not doom their case.
"The trial still holds, and only part of the evidence, and not all of the wiretap transcripts, are covered by the state secrecy laws," Pace said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Twenty-six American defendants -- 25 CIA agents and a U.S. air force colonel
I hope Barry won't try to hand them over, but I'm sure the thought has crossed Holder's mind.
A group with links to the Real IRA, a splinter group that killed two British soldiers in Northern Ireland, has said there will be no end to violence in the province while it is under British control.
"If the conflict in Ireland is to end once and for all, so too must the illegal British claim to sovereignty over the six counties," The 32 County Sovereignty Movement said in an emailed statement seen by Reuters on Friday. "We seek peace, but we recognise clearly that this can only be achieved if true parity is brought to a negotiations' process," said the statement from the small group widely believed to be a political ally of the Real IRA.
The Real IRA shot dead two soldiers last weekend in the deadliest act of violence in Northern Ireland in over a decade. Their attack was followed two days later by the killing of a policeman by another splinter group, the Continuity IRA. The shootings shattered the relative peace in the province since a 1998 peace deal ended an armed campaign by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to reunite the six counties of Northern Ireland with the 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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You have a "Fake" IRA?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/14/2009 12:13 Comments ||
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Fake IRA would be the guys who finally had sense enough to quit.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/14/2009 13:30 Comments ||
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'Real' as opposed to the Provos off of which they split. 'Real' as in 'I'm badder than even you guys'.
#4
Without getting involved in a pissing contest with any Anglophiles, don't the Brits have enough bullshit going on in and on their own little island to finally realize that they have always been interlopers on the Emerald Isle. Maybe, just maybe, they should give up their 19th century dreams of empire and walk away from Ireland in general and Northern Ireland in particular. Just sayin', ya' know.
Via Jihadwatch.org
On March 9, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on one of Barack Obama's latest nominees. This time it was to assess the suitability of Tony West, Obama's nominee for the assistant attorney general in charge of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Division. Things went "smoothly" according to the San Jose Mercury News, also publishing a nice bio of West. The Washington Post merely mentioned the hearing was "notable." Similarly the East Bay Express simply makes mention of the hearing having occurred. Apparently there was nothing of interest in WestÂ’s nomination.
Curiously enough, though, not one of these brief reports mention that Tony West was "American Taliban" terrorist John Walker Lindh's defense lawyer. Another key bit of info left out of these announcements was that Tony West raised $65 million for Obama's presidential campaign. Money well spent if it gets a cushy government job, I suppose. Rest at link
Posted by: ed ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Named one of Northern California’s “Super Lawyers” every year since 2006, Tony West is a litigation partner whose trial practice includes representing both individuals and companies in civil and criminal matters. A former federal prosecutor and California special assistant attorney general, Mr. West has been counsel in several high-profile litigation matters in both federal and state court. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Mr. West served in both the U.S. Department of Justice and the California Department of Justice.
Mr. West has served as lead trial counsel in a variety of jury trials. As an Assistant United States Attorney, he led a team of FBI and U.S. Customs agents in the investigation and successful prosecution of one of the nation’s largest Internet child pr0n0graphy/molestation crime rings. In 2006, Lawdragon chose Mr. West as one of its “New Stars” and The Daily Journal named him one of California’s “Top 20 Lawyers Under 40” in 2004.
A frequent public speaker and legal commentator, Mr. West has often appeared as a legal analyst for CNN-Headline News, ESPN, CBS-5, and other media networks on a variety of legal, political, and constitutional issues.
He seems to be a good Attorney. It's just possible he took the Lindh job in order to head off any accusations of Mr. Lindh being railroaded and not being accorded competant council.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/14/2009 9:50 Comments ||
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I'll give Mr. West the benefit of the doubt.
And I believe that in our legal system, the most odious person is entitled to a proper defense at trial. That means good defense council, and if that is what Mr. West does, then good for him.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/14/2009 10:53 Comments ||
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#3
I want to know more about him before I make a judgment as to his suitability as an assistant AG. We need some in depth digging, something that the Congress cannot or will not do.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/14/2009 18:17 Comments ||
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#4
Do you really believe that Mr West, who worked for the commie Ron Dellums and also defended the AT&T whistle blower who blew the op that the NSA was monitoring foreign telephone calls to terrorist suspects, is really Mr Standup Guy and not a highly partisan extreme leftist and apologist for black racism in the mold of attorney general Eric Holder? You do realize Mr West will have jurisdiction over all noncriminal federal cases? Who to investigate and prosecute. What to sweep under the rug. There's going to a lot of favors to pay off the $65 million.
Keep your eye off the ball and we'll have more of the stuff like the Obama administration's MALDEF lawyer in the Justice Dept going after Sheriff Arpaio for handing over illegal aliens, as is the law and trained by Immigrations and Customs, for deportation.
Video:
Posted by: ed ||
03/14/2009 18:30 Comments ||
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#5
Media does NOT 'forget' they just refuse to print whatever shows their deception.
Sorta self preservation, sorta cover up old lies with new.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/14/2009 20:46 Comments ||
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The Obama administration dropped the term "enemy combatant" and incorporated international law on Friday as its basis for holding terrorism suspects at Guantanamo prison while it works to close the facility.
The U.S. Justice Department said it had filed court papers outlining its break from Bush administration detention standards, and said only those who provided "substantial" support to al-Qaeda or the Taliban would be considered detainable. We'll feed the rest of them to the sharks. Ha ha ha...nah, just kidding.
"As we work towards developing a new policy to govern detainees, it is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our national security, is consistent with our values, and is governed by law," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "The change we've made today meets each of those standards and will make our nation stronger." How do ya figure, Mistah Attorney General? Because you say so? And what happens if you're wrong?
Unlike under former President George W. Bush, who greatly sought to expand presidential powers during his term, the new detention policy does not rely on the president's powers as military commander in chief to hold terrorism suspects at Guantanamo.
That policy has been subject to numerous legal battles and Supreme Court rulings that rebuked the Bush administration.
Instead, the Justice Department said, "It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress."
"It provides that individuals who supported al-Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial. And it does not employ the phrase 'enemy combatant.'" So what are they considered now? Naughty boys? Islamic pixies?
It said it had told the court that the Obama administration was reviewing its entire detention policy — as part of its plan to close the prison at the U.S. naval base on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — and further refinements of the policies were possible. Sounds like everybody but the hardcore gets broomed and the problem "goes away".
Learn the lesson, boys. Take no prisoners.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
[Mike Sylwester has been pooplisted.]
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/14/2009 12:21 Comments ||
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#2
Mike Sylwester has been pooplisted.]
Posted by: Mike Sylvester ||
03/14/2009 12:21 Comments ||
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#3
Undocumented Protagonists
Undocumented Soldiers
Home Boys
Dudes
Innocent Wayward Goat Herders
Misunderstood Theologians
Theological Pyrotechnicians
AllahÂ’s Promise Keepers
Future ACORN Employees
9/11 Victims
Victims of the Great Jewish Conspiracy
Community Disorganizers
Friends of the Family
Citizens of the World
ObamaCorps Members
The Disenfranchized
Sea Kittens
Unlicensed Pilots
Homewreckers
Inevitable Recidivists
Unfinished Business
Civil Disobedience Advocates
Peace Negotiators
Unexpected Guests
Buffalo TV Station Executives
Jihad Joes
Misunderstood Youths
Our Guests
Community Activists
The Virgin-Bound
Innocent Victims
Dynamite People
Community Agitators
Targets of Opportunity
Lighthearted Strangers
Potential Friends
Inquisition Sufferers
Waterboard Rejects
Enemy Combat Ants
CAIR Bears
Friends of Obama
ObamaÂ’s Heros
Just Some Guys From the Neighborhood
Anti-Soviet Freedom Fighters
Building Demolition Assistants
Ordnance Development Technicians
Doctors of Cerebral Amputation
Madrassa Graduate Students
Defenders of Female Honor by Lapidation
Subjects of Enhanced Interrogation
Alleged Violators of Afghan Brady Bill
Muslim Victims of Neocon Imperialism
Sleep-Deprived Dreamers
World Court v. Bush Plaintiffs
QurÂ’an Desecration Witnesses
Friends of Fidel
1,001 Arabian Knights
QurÂ’an Parrots of the Caribbean
Evildoers
Talibunnies
Jihadis Without Borders
Moslem Mahatma Ghandis
Posted by: Just a Guy In the Neighborhood ||
03/14/2009 16:28 Comments ||
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#4
I thought it was Just Some Guys From the Neighborhood. Better luck next time, Mike.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday complained of "alienation" resulting from United States drone strikes on Pakistan, a day after a suspected US strike in Kurram Agency killed 24 people. "There is collateral damage that accompanies these attacks, and it leads to alienation," he said after meeting European Union officials in Prague. Leads to dead guys, too...
"If we want a success in this fight against extremism and terrorism, we have to carry the people along," Qureshi added. We also have to kill the bad guyz. Lots of them. Warning: Qureshi praised unmanned drones whose missiles destroyed a Taliban training camp in Kurram on Thursday as "superior technology" that can "take out high-value targets," but he also warned the US to weigh the pros and cons of its tactics. "The US government should weigh the advantages with the disadvantages. If these disadvantages outweigh the advantages, we feel there is a case to review the strategy," Qureshi said. I think we've reached the point where we don't really care about the fluffy bunnies and the cute little kittens, as long as there are Chechens and Uzbeks and Arabs to accompany them into the Great Beyond.
The US military as a rule does not confirm drone attacks but the armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region. But it coulda been Guatamalans... Or the Ruritanians. Did the drones have a lilac ostrich feather emblem?
More than 30 such strikes have killed over 330 people since August 2008, shortly before key Washington ally President Asif Ali Zardari was elected. The carnage among the fluffy bunnies was horrible...
Thursday's attack was the fifth missile strike blamed on unmanned US aircraft since US President Barack Obama came to power, dashing Pakistani hopes that the new administration would abandon the policy. Qureshi said in Prague that Pakistan would discuss this issue with the new US administration "perhaps next month," without elaborating.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Sounds like we need to add another target to our list. This idiot fairly shouts his need for killin'.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/14/2009 15:18 Comments ||
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The government, in collaboration with tribesmen, has successfully implemented its strategy to restore peace in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where life is limping towards normalcy, said NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani on Friday. "A new era of development and prosperity will soon dawn in FATA," he said while addressing a 26-member tribal jirga comprising elders of FR Lakki Marwat. This was the first ever-tribal jirga of FR Lakki Marwat that called on the governor.
Ghani said President Asif Zardari during his recent visit to Peshawar announced increase of Rs 3 billion in the FATA development budget. He said the development budget would be doubled in years to come.
The jirga elders, including Ishfaq Bhittani and Malik Qadir Khan Bhittani, said FR Lakki Marwat required attention of the authorities concerned, as it was lagging far behind with regard to development. They pointed out inadequate facilities in education, health and communication sectors and demanded that the government launch special development schemes to facilitate the tribesmen. Upon this, the governor directed the officials concerned to prepare a detailed report on development requirements of the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The NWFP is considering inducting the Taliban into the police or Levies forces as part of a rehabilitation policy, a senior official said on Monday.
"I have proposed the Taliban be adjusted in police or Levies force and have suggested this at several forums," Malakand Division Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed told Daily Times. The proposal follows a lacklustre response from policemen that deserted their posts to protect themselves from Taliban retaliation.
Over 600 police officers in Swat have deserted the force since the Taliban insurgency started two years ago. Official figures have revealed that 70 police jawans have been killed and 160 wounded since July 4, 2007. "The police jawans' confidence is shaken," Javed said, pointing to the Taliban's demoralising the police by kidnapping and beheading their colleagues. He said a new salary package was under consideration to attract people to the force.
The Taliban also kidnapped lady constable Aalya near Mingora around six months ago. Unconfirmed reports claim she was married to a Taliban commander against her will. Javed said he has heard similar reports but has no conclusive proof.
Two years: The commissioner said the government would re-establish the writ of state within two years. "We are slowly re-establishing the writ of state," he said. He also said the government had not reached a final decision on the fate of Swat Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah. Saying Fazlullah was a "good human being", Javed said only Fazlullah could explain why he had taken up arms against the state.
The commissioner said he was also working to maintain peace following claims by several tribesmen they would seek revenge on the Taliban for murdering their relatives. "We will hold a grand jirga at Malakand level to help people forgive following the return to peace," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Iraq must stop capital punishment, rights group Amnesty International said on Friday, amid fears that 128 more death row prisoners will be executed shortly. Does that mean the bad guys will stop killing people, too?... Didn't think so.
The London-based group urged the justice ministry to intervene, saying executions might start next week. The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council told Amnesty on Monday that the president and his two vice-presidents had ratified the 128 death sentences. "The authorities are said to be planning to carry out the executions in batches of 20 per week," Amnesty said. The heart bleeds. They were chopping heads off left and right for awhile there.
It argued that the restoration of capital punishment in 2004 had not curbed widespread violence in which thousands die annually. On the other hand, it curbs that activities of the particular bad guy getting his neck stretched...
"The reality ... is that violence has continued at extremely high levels and the death penalty has yet again been shown to be no deterrent," said Amnesty Middle East director Malcolm Smart. The reality is that violence has taken a relative nose dive.
"In fact, many attacks are perpetrated by suicide bombers who, clearly, are unlikely to be deterred by the threat of execution." But if you catch them before they go kaboom, why not grant them their wish?
Smart said the death row inmates had not been named and their trials might well have not have been fair. "Most are likely to have been sentenced to death by the central criminal court of Iraq, whose proceedings consistently fall short of international standards for fair trial," he said. In what respect?
The statement noted that torture remained rife and that confessions were likely to have been extracted during pre-trial detention. "We fear that numerous people have gone to their death after unfair trials," said Smart.
The death penalty could be making the violence in Iraq worse, he added, calling on the government to "order an immediate halt to these executions and establish a moratorium on all further executions."
After the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003, the death penalty was suspended for a year. Since then, scores have been executed and hundreds sentenced to death.
Last year at least 285 people were sentenced to death, and at least 34 executed, Amnesty said. In 2007 at least 199 people were sentenced to death and 33 executed. At least 65 people were executed in 2006.
However, there are no official statistics for the number of prisoners facing execution and the true figures could be far higher, the group added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
perhaps AI could go protest the killings in FATA and NWFP and Swat? No? Didn't think so. How about southern Thai? no?
then STFU
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 6:50 Comments ||
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#2
well put Frank G, it's only a crime too kill a criminal in their eyes
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist leader Tzipi Livni have renewed contacts to explore the option of forging a joint government, Israeli media reports said on Friday.
Livni's Kadima party had called off talks for a possible coalition with Netanyahu earlier this month after Livni accused him of not being committed to pursuing a U.S.-sponsored vision of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Since Netanyahu isn't interested in having his country commit collective suicide ...
Israel Radio said emissaries for Netanyahu, head of the right-wing Likud party, and Kadima party head and outgoing Foreign Minister Livni had held secret contacts to explore the possibility of partnering in a government. Dina Libster, a spokeswoman for Netanyahu, said he and Livni had "exchanged messages through envoys" in recent days. She would not elaborate about these contacts or say whether the leaders themselves had also held any talks.
The Ynet news Web site said both Netanyahu and Livni were privy to behind-the-scenes contacts held by respective party members with the goal of exploring whether there was room to renew coalition talks.
The latest reports of contacts for a possible union came as Netanyahu was reported to be facing obstacles in his efforts to forge a coalition with far-right and religious parties some of whose representatives were making contradictory demands.
Netanyahu, who served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999, faces an April 3 deadline to form a government, after having been named by President Shimon Peres last month to build a coalition following a parliamentary election held on Feb. 10. Peres chose Netanyahu although Livni's Kadima party had outpolled Likud by one seat, 28 to 27, because he appeared to have the most potential political allies with whom to form a government.
But disputes over cabinet posts, demands by ultra-right parties for a tougher stance on peacemaking and by religious factions for larger budgets, have threatened to diminish Netanyahu's support from a promised 65 lawmakers to possibly just a threadbare majority in the 120-member parliament.
Netanyahu was also seen as interested in an alliance with Livni to avoid colliding with the Obama administration's goal of pursuing diplomacy and seeking Palestinian statehood. Netanyahu wants contacts with the Palestinians to focus on economic and security issues rather than territory, a concept Palestinian leaders reject.
The Paleos are pretty much going to reject everything that comes out of any new Israeli government, so you might as well put something together and not worry whether the Paleos think well of you. Netanyahu has the best chance of scaring the Paleos which is a good reason to make him PM.
He's best off not worrying about what Carter II: the Obamination thinks, as well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
if she's "Centrist", why wasn't she able to cobble together a majority? Uh huh
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 6:52 Comments ||
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#2
How long does this go on? And when does Kadima's term expire?
Rival Palestinian factions have so far failed to overcome obstacles in reconciliation talks which they hope will lead to a unified governing body for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, officials said on Friday.
President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement has insisted during Egyptian-hosted talks taking place in Cairo that rival Islamist group Hamas must "abide" by existing peace agreements signed with Israel but Hamas has refused to make such a commitment.
Hamas proposed using the word "respect" instead of "abide" but this falls short of satisfying the United States, Israel and the West, who want the Islamist group to endorse peaceful settlements with Israel.
The agreements and commitments with Israel were signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is currently headed by Abbas.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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In a recorded speech aired Friday evening in Beirut in honor of Prophet Muhammad's birthday, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah reportedly rejected a preliminary US condition for talks and stressed his group would not recognize Israel "even in 1,000 years."
"Today the United States comes and says to us: You are terrorists and we are willing to forgive you for what has been, under the condition that you recognize Israel," French news agency AFP quoted Nasrallah as saying.
The Jerusalem Post could not independently confirm the report.
Nasrallah stressed that the Lebanese people are "capable of defeating this entity (Israel) and can make it disappear," and therefore, Hizbullah will not recognize Israel "not today, not tomorrow, not even in 1,000 years."
According to the French agency, after harshly rejecting Obama administration conditions for dialogue, according to which the group must denounce terror and recognize the Jewish state, Nasrallah touched on Hizbullah's ties with the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip.
He reportedly emphasized that while there was much good faith and support between the terror groups, "Hizbullah has no faction or organization in Gaza."
"Our status is that of a brother helping his brother, and we will help anything decided by the leadership of the Palestinian resistance," he concluded.
The new US administration's readiness to reach out to adversary regimes, such as Syria and Iran, has been a hallmark of its new foreign policy, but this has so far not extended to groups on its official terrorist registry, such as Hizbullah and Hamas. A senior US official on Thursday expressed strong disagreement with the British decision to begin contacts with Hizbullah, The Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Unless the surprise meter is not out of town for the week end, this might be an excellent opportunity.
#2
his group would not recognize Israel "even in 1,000 years."
of course not. In 1000 years Israel will look a lot more successful, prosperous, and civil. Her neighbors, on the other hand, will still be living in UNRWA-managed refugee camps, flinging rocks and feces with radiation-damaged misshapen claws, seething about the Juice
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 8:17 Comments ||
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#3
I t could be me but when you make speeches about tsomeone then you are pretty much recognizing them as a force too be reckoned with
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden called Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip a "holocaust" and lashed out at Arab governments that he said failed to stop the bloodshed in an audio recording broadcast Saturday.
Bin Laden, whose message was released in excerpts on Al-Jazeera TV, called Arab leaders hypocrites and accused them of sacrificing the Palestinians in Gaza and collaborating with Israel. The three-week offensive, which ended on Jan. 18, killed about 1,300 Palestinians, according to Palestinian human rights groups.
"It was clear that some of the Arab leaders have collaborated with the Crusader-Zionist alliance against our people, those whom America calls the moderate leaders," said bin Laden. "We must disown ourselves from all those" governments.
He did not mention any governments by name in the brief excerpts, but Egypt, in particular, drew criticism during the offensive for not opening its border with Gaza to more aid shipments and humanitarian cases.
Both Israel and Egypt have closed their borders with Gaza since the Islamic militant group Hamas violently seized control of the Palestinian territory in June 2007. The closure deepened economic hardship in the already impoverished strip, home to 1.4 million Palestinians.
It was bin Laden's second audio message on the Gaza offensive since January, when he urged Muslims to launch a jihad against Israel. It was not possible to verify the message's authenticity. A spokesman for Al-Jazeera refused to say how the network obtained the recording.
The terror leader again urged Muslims to fight Israel.
"The Gaza holocaust, amid this prolonged embargo, is an important historic event and a catastrophe that shows the necessity of distinguishing Muslims from hypocrites," he said. "It is not right that our situation after Gaza will be as it used to be before. There should be serious work and preparation for jihad to fulfill righteousness and defeat evil."
Bin Laden called on faithful Muslims to support militants in Iraq and said that country should be used as a departure point for attacks on Israel. He suggested fighters use a route from Iraq through Jordan and into the West Bank.
He said supporting fighters in Iraq was a "rare and precious chance" for ultimately taking control of Jerusalem. After taking control of Iraq, he said, fighters should then head to neighboring Jordan.
"Jordan ... is the best and widest front, and from Jordan the second launching will be toward the West Bank and the borders will be forcibly opened," he said.
#2
"See? This time the Jooos are the ones doing the holocausting, so clearly they deserve to lose the country they were given for being at the receiving end last time."
#4
So who ya gonna believe? Hamas, Binny, or Hamas?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/14/2009 17:52 Comments ||
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#5
Holocaust is a loaded word, as our terrorist enemies have learned. A good weapon in their propaganda weapons of war arsenal, especially against liberals.
The Israelis could indeed make a holocaust of the Gaza terrorist terrarium. It is their sense of humanity and self-restraint that they do not do it. But given the push by Iran and their nutcase proxies, Binny could get it right eventually.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/14/2009 18:12 Comments ||
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#6
it's the dementia thing. He meant: "clusterf*ck"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2009 18:19 Comments ||
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#7
Frank G. nails it perfectly. A genuine group groe.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
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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
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Britney Spears's ex-boyfriend paparazzi photographer Adnan Ghalib could be forced to return to war-torn Afghanistan, which he left when he was five, or spend seven years in a U.S. prison if he is found guilty of three serious offences against a court official.
President Obama is expected to announce his strategy for Afghanistan before the end of the month, after a fairly secretive, two-month review by senior civilian and military officials, and consultation with allies. But elements of the strategy have begun to emerge in comments by officials involved in, or familiar with, the process. The strategy is expected to lead international efforts in Afghanistan for years to come. 
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday complained of "alienation" resulting from United States drone strikes on Pakistan, a day after a suspected US strike in Kurram Agency killed 24 people. "There is collateral damage that accompanies these attacks, and it leads to alienation," he said after meeting European Union officials in Prague.
The NWFP is considering inducting the Taliban into the police or Levies forces as part of a rehabilitation policy, a senior official said on Monday.
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist leader Tzipi Livni have renewed contacts to explore the option of forging a joint government, Israeli media reports said on Friday.
