Study details rampant homosexual behavior in large Afghan ethnic group -- though they seem to be in denial...
Do the Pashtuns hold to the idea so common in the surrounding regions that only those at the receiving end are homosexual, the other party only doing what it is men do to any available recipient, be it sheep, camel, beautiful boys, or wife? edit: Read the article to find out.
It's not 'homosexual'- as we understand it in the West. It's still somewhat common in Greece (which makes sense geographically.) Near-Asian man on man 'sex' is hitting a different 'pleasure' center focused on dominance.
Two men in an equal partnership is considered a deep abomination punishable by death.
#9
Strict segregation of the sexes in fundamentalist Christian communities also bred homosexuality and lesbianism in years past. There are few schools/churches that still practice separation anymore, as they also consider homosexuality as a greater taboo than the minister's son impregnating a young girl in youth group--more "natural" desires and all, I guess. The good news is that once Pashtuns leave the country and attend public schools, they assimilate into American culture well. The girls like make-up and heels, dancing with boys who also like to be trendy and flirt.
TALIBAN insurgents would "definitely" be invited to peace talks announced by Afghan President Hamid Karzai at an international conference in London overnight, his deputy spokesman Hamid Elmi said.
"Definitely we will invite the Taliban," he said.
"We are using all kinds of possibilities - our neighboring countries, the international community, the king of Saudi - to encourage the Taliban to come."
Mr Karzai told the London conference of more than 70 countries and organizations supporting Afghanistan that he hoped that Saudi Arabian King Abdullah would help guide the process to end his country's grueling conflict.
#1
Danegeld, by Rudyard Kipling
IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
"We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."
And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That youÂ’ve only to pay Â’em the Dane-geld
And then youÂ’ll get rid of the Dane!
It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."
And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But weÂ’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.
It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:
"We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"
#4
Don't worry. The money will all be stolen long before it ever reaches any talibunnies.
Posted by: ed ||
01/28/2010 7:05 Comments ||
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#5
Lessee, what's the price of a black market Nuke?
100, million? (Or so)
They can them buy five (or more) to use against US.
By then O'moron will be out of office, so he doesn't give a shit.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2010 12:54 Comments ||
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#6
I don't know about this one. Other sources say that the "taliban" aren't monolithic. If this is aimed at splitting them it might be useful. It is a lot of money to stake on how well we know the personalities of Taliban leaders, though.
Posted by: James ||
01/28/2010 13:54 Comments ||
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#7
So basically they are saying that the Taliban are an extortion racket. And once the Taliban get $500 million, what is to stop them from starting up again and asking for another $500 million?
#9
The remarkable thing is, we, the west, aren't paying this protection money because we're militarily weak. Neither are we doing it because we're cowards who balk at having our troops injured or killed.
We cannot wage war on our enemies because somehow the political consensus has emerged that the worst outcome of any military operation is enemy casualties. We're shrugging off thousands massacred in the west, but recoil at the notion of strategic retaliation against those who are organizing attacks on us.
"These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate we will humbly pay jizha."
George W. Bush, Statement To Joint Session Of Congress September 20th 2001
Why should a rational but hostile actor in nuclear Iran fear the consequences of any act of war against the west after this travesty?
Posted by: Albert Ulomong4914 ||
01/28/2010 14:57 Comments ||
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#10
And once the Taliban get $500 million, what is to stop them from starting up again and asking for another $500 million?
The fact that they can ask for, and get, a billion.
#12
Sadly true, Play4keeps. Likewise at the other end of the spectrum, there are those who refuse to see any fault in the current resident of the White House. And there are those who, in all innocence, forgot or never knew how we financed and supported the Sons of Iraq, who subsequently defenestrated Al Qaeda in Iraq and the remnent Baathists who worked with them.
#13
Then you have WWI where the big cheeses would go back and forth between the Germans and UK requesting payment else they join the other side. Number of reasons, good wasteful or even backfire, for this money...but if we are going to be outta there in 2 years no matter what the situation, then why not just fort down, kill baddies when we can, and redirect that money into a new moon landing. So in that eerie silence after we leave, after the traditional slaughter the opposition and collaborators, if you listen close enough you can hear a veteran taliban soldier yell as he shakes his fist in the cold night air, "Yearrrgh! Get off my sacred moon object you devil Americans!"
#14
I bow to no one in my contempt for Obambi, but this actually the heart of counter-tribal/counter-insurgency warfare : split off those of the warring factions that are NOT ideologically pure and give them incentives to fight for you. It worked dozens of times in the US during the Indian Wars, in the US before there was a United States during the Colonial Period, in Malaysia during the Emergency, in Greece during the Communist-led civil war, and in other places worldwide including Iraq. It is a dangerous policy because there is always the danger that those coming over can turn on you, but it is a very successful approach if you are careful about screening who is brought in.
#15
There is a reason that the US Army never got rid of the Kit Carson Scouts after the end of the Indian Wars in the US, and this is it : institutional memory of how to organize and direct this form of counter-insurgency warfare.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that Tehran will not attend the Afghanistan conference in London. Who invited them?
Ramin Mehman-Parast cited several reasons behind Iran's absence in the conference.
He told Fars news agency that the conference was in line with western policies, which Iran says will not succeed. The conference would be focusing on more military action rather than exploring the real roots of the problem.
"Given the fact that the approach of the conference is in line with increasing military action, following double standards on [fighting] terrorism, overlooking the roots of problems and not using regional potentialities in solving the problems in Afghanistan," Iran believes that the conference would not yield fruitful results, Mehman-Parast said.
The foreign ministry spokesman added that to solve the problem, the infrastructures of the Afghan economy needed to be rebuilt, and extremism and drug trafficking had to be eradicated.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had earlier said that Iran would take part in the conference only if its viewpoints are fully taken into consideration.
The Afghanistan conference will be co-hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and co-chaired by the UK and Afghan foreign ministers and the UN.
The situation in Afghanistan has become a global crisis as the military presence of foreign troops since the 2001 invasion continues to fuel violence in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Sahel-Saharan member states must work together to quell the alliance between al-Qaeda and drug traffickers, CEN-SAD Secretary-General Mohamed al-Madani al-Azhari told the bloc's executive session meeting in Libya on Tuesday (January 26th). "Traffic is increasing in our region, particularly drug trafficking from South America. There is close co-operation between drug traffickers and terrorists," Al-Jazeera quoted al-Azhari as saying. An upcoming regional meeting will reportedly address a collective counter-terrorism strategy.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somalia's Islamist insurgents on Thursday banned video games, one of the last forms of entertainment left for local youth, arguing they were destroying the country's social fabric. How can one destroy tatters. Tatters are already a destroyed fabric.
The Hezb al-Islam group, currently engaged in a deadly insurgency against the internationally-backed federal government, made the announcement in a statement circulated in the areas it controls.
"Starting two days after this statement's date of issue, all video game playing centres in the areas under Hezb al-Islam control should be closed and playing video games will be prohibited," it said.
"Video games are designed in such a way that they destroy our social traditions and for that reason, anybody found ignoring this order will be punished and equipment will be confiscated," it said. traditions such as ignorance, abuse, submission and terror. Video games can meet your love of violence. Take a couple of FPS games and give 'em a whirl.
It was signed by Sheikh Mohamed Omar, head of propaganda for Hezb al-Islam, an insurgent group headed by influential cleric Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and which controls densely-populated areas in and around Mogadishu. Head of propoganda? That's really his title? He says that with a straight face?
Video games became particularly popular in areas on the outskirts of Mogadishu housing tens of thousands of families who fled the fighting in the capital since watching films on DVDs was also banned.
Children and teenagers would gather after school in small centres like cybercafes where PlayStations were wired up and a 30-minute game cost 5,000 Somali shillings (around 15 US cents).
"Hezb al-Islam officials ordered us to close our video game centres so today we're closed. We don't have a choice," said Ali Hidig, a game centre owner in Elashabiyaha, a village hosting refugees on the outskirts of Mogadishu.
"Young boys used to like coming here for entertainment after school but it looks like this is now a thing of the past," he told AFP.
The disappointment was deep among teenage boys in the area, where movies and sports are also banned. Roots of terrorism. Exhibit A...
"We used to watch movies. They were banned. Now the PlayStations we had fun with are also banned. This country is not for young people like me," said Abdirahman Hirsi, a 19-year-old from Lafole town.
"They have basically banned everything that is fun, so we feel increasingly bored," said another boy.
Abdi Moge, an older resident in the village, argued that there were few alternatives to occupy young people other than joining an armed group.
"Who knows what else the children are going to do now. It's not as if there was proper education for them. The more they are prevented from playing, the more likely they are to join the fighting," he said.
Hezb al-Islam and their insurgency comrades from the Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab group are implementing a very strict form of Sharia (Islamic law) in the areas they control.
The Hezb al-Islam statement did not make clear what forms of punishment would be reserved for diehard gamers caught flouting the ban.
However, in recent months across Somalia, people found dancing to traditional songs have been flogged, men guilty of trimming their beards arrested and youth playing football in shorts reprimanded by religious police units.
Satellite television is also banned in many areas and there are no cinemas left in central and southern Somalia, which are under Islamist control.
Rights groups have accused all sides involved of recruiting children in the fighting that has rocked the country since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre. such a happy religion.
One wonders how many young people are secretly apostate as a result of this kind of thing.
Venezuelan Vice President and Defense Minister Ramon Carrizalez resigned Monday, citing personal reasons, as police and protesters clashed in several cities after a major opposition TV station was taken off the air. Carrizalez, a retired colonel, said in an e-mailed statement from the vice president's office that he was leaving for personal reasons and not because of any disagreement with government policies, according to Bloomberg.
His resignation over alleged differences with President Hugo Chavez had been rumored since Saturday, AFP noted.
Chavez accepted the resignation and thanked Carrizalez for his work, Information Minister Blanca Eckhout said in a brief statement.A replacement was not announced.
The close Chavez confidant, who is a former army officer like the president, was seen as one of Chavez's more capable administrators.
"The sudden resignation of the vice president after 10 years of working for Chavez may be related to the recent widespread electricity crisis, since Carrizalez was in charge of coordinating the plan to save electricity in Caracas. And the plan did not really work out," Xu Shideng, a researcher at the Institute of Latin America Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
State-backed news network Telesur reported that Carrizalez's wife, Environment Minister Yuviri Ortega, also resigned.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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In anticipation of Thursday's Carabobo oil field auction, outspoken Marxist president Hugo Chavez quietly pleaded for foreign investment.
""Investment and experience from foreign oil firms is necessary in Venezuela. We need it," Chavez said, according to Dow Jones.
The statement is a serious turnaround for a government that has nationalized dozens of foreign oil companies in recent years. But they 'need' foreign investment because mismanagement is turning the country into just another failed petro-state.
This is also the second instance of Chavez backtracking today. Chavez reversed a six-year ban on the sale of U.S. dollars by Venezuela's central bank, in an effort to control the vast amount of money that was leaving the country through unregulated exchange, according to Bloomberg.
He had previously threatened to "burn the hands" of speculators who speculated against the bolivar.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
What you need, Hugo, is *more* socialism. Go nationalize something. Nothing like nationalizing industry to reassure foreign investors.
#3
I'm treating with scepticism the IEA projection that world oil consumption peaked for good a couple of years ago, but if true, it will have some interesting consequences.
#6
The statement is a serious turnaround for a government that has nationalized dozens of foreign oil companies in recent years.
This isn't backtracking. Backtracking would involve returning nationalized assets to their original owners. Chavez isn't backtracking - he's merely asking foreign investors to add to the list of assets he can steal in the future.
Seoul and Washington on Tuesday agreed to conduct a feasibility study of pyroprocessing, a new technology for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods, before they begin talks to revise the Korea-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement. Seoul argues it has long proved itself trustworthy enough to reprocess its own fuel rods, which are by now filling secure storage facilities to capacity due to a ban on reprocessing in the original deal.
Second Vice Foreign Minister Chun Young-woo, who is on a visit to Washington, said he exchanged views on the revision of the agreement with senior officials from the White House, and the departments of State and Energy since Monday. In those discussions, "I agreed with U.S. officials about the need for experts to conduct a technological and economic feasibility study of pyroprocessing before the two countries begin full-fledged talks on this," he told reporters.
Chun explained that unlike conventional technologies, pyroprocessing is a safe method that does not lead to the separate extraction of plutonium which could be used to make nuclear weapons.
But U.S. officials like Ellen Tauscher, the under secretary of State for arms control who is in charge of the revision and nuclear nonproliferation issues, are still reportedly skeptical. It appears that the U.S. is ready to listen to experts' views, although it has doubts whether pyroprocessing is entirely safe.
Scott Snyder, the director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy of The Asia Foundation, advised South Korea to focus more on "nuclear responsibility" and less on its rights as a sovereign state to maintain its "international competitiveness in this newly emerging sector."
In an article for the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, Snyder said the two countries need a creative solution to avoid damage to their relations. The U.S. is motivated by its overarching goal of preventing nuclear proliferation, he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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In an article for the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, Snyder said the two countries need a creative solution to avoid damage to their relations.
Oh, I wasn't aware of this rosy state of affairs, (Bullshit) pull his credenials, he obviously cheated to get them.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2010 13:01 Comments ||
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A moving day
In an historic speech in the German Parliament on Wednesday, President Shimon Peres read Kaddish and spoke in Hebrew about the personal loss of his grandfather and the special relationship between Israel and Germany that was established in the wake of the holocaust.
With the flags of the Bundenstag lowered to half-mast, Germany's political leaders paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the Nazis in a special parliament session in honor of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The entire building rose to its feet as the Israeli President read Kaddish for the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War. And here comes the WOT related part Peres also spoke about the present threat to peace and stability and hinted at the threat the Israel currently faces from nuclear ambitious neighbors.
The threats to annihilate a people and a nation are voiced in the shadow of weapons of mass-destruction, which are held by irresponsible hands, by irrational thinking and in an untruthful language."
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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Thank you Fred. I already thought the post had gone missing.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/28/2010 0:29 Comments ||
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#2
Peres isn't very religious. The kaddish (I presume it was the mourner's kaddish) should only be said aloud when there are 10 men (or men+women for conservative jews) and needs to be proceeded by something.
The correct prayer for this event would have been El Molai Rachamin (God of Mercy) which may be said by any individual out loud - a form of this prayer is used several times a year to remember victims of the holocaust.
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/28/2010 11:25 Comments ||
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#3
What he said was this:
"Exalted and hallowed be His great Name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingship, bring forth His redemption and hasten the coming of His Messiah in your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon, and say, Amen."
And the prayer ends with the words which became a symbol in the State of Israel, a dream in the Jewish world:
"He, who makes peace in His Heights, may He, in his compassion, make peace upon us, and upon all Israel. And they responded: Amen."
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/28/2010 18:50 Comments ||
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Toronto 18 bomb plotter Shareef Abdelhaleem testified in a Brampton court Wednesday that he was originally opposed to the explosives plot because he was against terrorism, but that an undercover police agent “was very excited' about the prospect and of making money from such an attack. The 34-year-old, who is arguing he was entrapped by friend turned informant Shaher Elsohemy, said that when details of the bomb plot were laid out for them by Zakaria Amara, he was opposed to it.
“I reiterated basically why I think Zak was wrong and everything else, this and that. That was my part. Elsohemy seemed to be for it. He was very excited,' recalled Abdelhaleem about a discussion the trio had in early April 2006. “He was excited in two ways: doing something meaningful, I guess, doing something for God, and the prospect that he wouldn't have to drive a s---ty car anymore. ... We were talking about making money off the stock market, he was very excited about that.'
Abdelhaleem, who took the stand for the first time in open court, said he raised the issue of making money from a terrorist attack, pointing out to Elsohemy that some people made money after 9/11 but that the discussion “was quickly dismissed.' He also admitted that he sought advice about how to play the stock market and hide money in an offshore account, but the idea “died out.'
Abdelhaleem told the court that he had talked about going for jihad in Afghanistan and wanted to receive in training in Pakistan. But he dismissed it as idle chatter and as something that many Muslims talk about. He went on to explain that there is a distinction between jihad and terrorism. “A jihadist has a certain rules of engagement with whoever he's performing jihad against. Terrorism is a guy who is blind to all these rules, a guy who is pissed off and wiling to do anything. It's not right.'
To this day, Abdelhaleem maintains he is against acts of terrorism, and said although prosecutors will have a “hard time' believing him, “you can't do that, you just can't do that.' Throughout his testimony, the Mississauga man appeared restless, often touching his face and rubbing his beard. At points his voice grew louder and at other points he trailed off into inaudible mumbles.
Last week, Abdelhaleem was found guilty of participating in a 2006 explosives plot to bomb targets such as the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Toronto offices of Canada's spy agency and a military base off Highway 401. The verdict came days after Amara was sentenced to life for his role in the plot, which included building a remote controlled detonator and purchasing three tonnes of ammonium nitrate destined for truck bombs.
Before his arrest, there had also been efforts to arrange a marriage between Abdelhaleem and one of the daughters of the infamous Khadr clan, known as Canada's Al Qaeda family. “I called it off right away. ... I just wanted to stay out of trouble,' said Abdelhaleem, adding, “They're very nice people from what I hear.'
These dudes are SO marked that they won't even be stirring up mud, much less trouble for the next 20 - 30 years.
The Toronto Muslim "community" doesn't know anymore who is, or is not, a government paid spy. Nor do they know who from own numbers is plotting to make money by ratting them out with truths, rumors or just plain wild-assed lies of plans for violence.
I love it. Meanwhile, the backlash in Canuckistan continues to grow.
Since the day I took office, we have renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation. We have made substantial investments in our homeland security and disrupted plots that threatened to take American lives. We are filling unacceptable gaps revealed by the failed Christmas attack, with better airline security, and swifter action on our intelligence. We have prohibited torture and strengthened partnerships from the Pacific to South Asia to the Arabian Peninsula. And in the last year, hundreds of Al Qaeda's fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed - far more than in 2008.
We had a strong focus on national security from 9/11 to 1/20/09, Barack. It seems that your administration let its eye drift, and that's one reason why we had the almost-successful Undie-Bomber.
To be fair, George Bush didn't come to Washington with a strong anti-terrorist program. But on 9/11 he learned what it meant not to be paying attention to those who mean to kill Americans. Can you learn that as well, Barack? It doesn't seem to be the case so far, since this one line about the 'failed Christmas attack' is all you say about terrorists coming to the US.
Will your administration treat captured terrorists as terrorists, and if not, why not? Why is it better to try KSM in a courtroom in New York? What's going to happen to the remaining terrorists in Guantanamo? We're all for better intelligence -- will you re-erect the walls that kept the CIA and FBI from cooperating? And are you collecting any heads over the Christmas attack? Nothing gets a bureaucracy's attention like firing a few folks at the top. Do you have the courage to do that?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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ION WMF > GERMAN MEDIA: [China-India]SUPERPOWER "CHINDIA" RISING?: CHINA AND INDIA MAY BECOME THE WORLD'S TWO LARGEST ECONOMIES IN NEAR FUTURE, AND BECOM A MILPOL CATALYST TO PRODUCE A TRUE "ASIAN/PACIFIC CENTURY".
ARTIC > CHINDIA's potential rise will undoubtedly be painful as per current CHINA, INDIA RELATIONS, BUT PROVE TO BE WORTH IT IN THE END???
Even as we prosecute two wars, we are also confronting perhaps the greatest danger to the American people - the threat of nuclear weapons. I have embraced the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan through a strategy that reverses the spread of these weapons, and seeks a world without them. To reduce our stockpiles and launchers, while ensuring our deterrent, the United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades. And at April's Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring forty-four nations together behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years, so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists.
These diplomatic efforts have also strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of these weapons. That is why North Korea now faces increased isolation, and stronger sanctions - sanctions that are being vigorously enforced. That is why the international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated. And as Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: they, too, will face growing consequences.
Does Barack Obama really think that Russian and American strategic nuclear weapons are a threat to world peace? It's like he's living in 1974. Our nuclear weapons are not the problem; it's the ones in North Korea, Pakistan and Iran that have the greatest chance of being used in the near future.
What of the 'threat' he made to Iran? Does that mean anything? He's not specific in the least. Why should Short Round and the Mad Mullahs™ be concerned? Obama hasn't followed through on anything else, why should the Mullahs think that he'll follow through on whatever the 'consequences' are?
Does anyone, anyone at all think that the sanctions against North Korea have done any good? No one thought the Clinton or Bush sanctions worked, and Obama is no more serious. If he wanted to go after North Korea, he could have singled them out specifically and told the suffering North Korean people that we stood with them. That would have gotten a reaction in Pyongyang, and it would have done that part of the world considerable good.
Finally, why wait four years to secure vulnerable nuclear weapons?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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The mullahs are having a hearty laugh at this. Consequences? We don't fear no stinkin' consequences, har!
"As we take the fight to al Qaeda, we are responsibly leaving Iraq to its people. As a candidate, I promised that I would end this war, and that is what I am doing as President. We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August. We will support the Iraqi government as they hold elections, and continue to partner with the Iraqi people to promote regional peace and prosperity. But make no mistake: this war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home."
Most all of us want the combat troops home from Iraq. But who do we leave behind? All 'combat' troops are out but we leave 20K, or 50K troops to train, overwatch, etc? Some details would be helpful.
What do we do if Iranian meddling in Iraq gets worse? And what do we do if al-Qaeda tries to get back into Iraq? If Iraq again becomes unstable are you going to re-commit to making it work, or will you just blame it all on Bush?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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What do we do if Iranian meddling in Iraq gets worse? And what do we do if al-Qaeda tries to get back into Iraq?
Why the same thing we did back after we pulled out of South Vietnam. Wasn't that a winning stratagy?
I can hear Pelosi and M-F Murtha right now objecting to us going back in when Al-Qaeda comes back in force. Then it'll be a bloodbath and the're still blame Bush.
White House officials have told the Justice Department to consider other venues for the 9/11 terror trial that was to be held in lower Manhattan, the Daily News has learned.
The decision came after Mayor Bloomberg and other politicians across the state railed against President Obama's plan to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan Federal Court.
Attorney General Eric Holder now has to think of other places where the trial could take place, officials said.
It was not immediately clear if the reassessment means the trial will definitely be moved out of the city.
The men, aged between 20 and 50 years old, were attending a religious meeting in Kuala Lumpur when they were detained by police.
Malaysia's interior minister said police were tipped off by international intelligence agencies that the meeting was being held by an Islamic religious group. The government-linked New Straits Times newspaper claims that US intelligence had alerted Malaysian authorities to the meeting, and that the 10 men are linked to Abdulmutallab.
The 10 suspects are from Malaysia, Syria, Nigeria, Jordan and Yemen.
Abdulmutallab -- who studied mechanical engineering at University College, London from 2005 -- 2008 -- was arrested after he attempted to detonate explosives sewn into his underwear on-board Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit.
"They posed a serious security threat and have been detained under the ISA (Internal Security Act)," said Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. "I can confirm that they were linked to an international terrorist organisation but I cannot share any further information as this would jeopardise ongoing investigations." "I can say no more!"
The ISA allows indefinite detention without trial in Malaysia, and has been attacked by human rights groups for giving the government too much power. It was introduced during the British colonial era for use against communist insurgents. It has been used in recent years to detain opponents of the government and the regional Islamic terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Islamist Hamas movement said Wednesday it has investigated allegations in a U.N. report into last winter's Gaza war and absolved Palestinian armed groups of any atrocities.
The U.N. Human Rights Council report authored by the respected former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and Palestinian groups of war crimes during the devastating 22-day conflict.
Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the Israeli offensive aimed at halting rocket attacks from the territory ruled by the Islamist group.
Hamas, which along with other armed groups has launched thousands of makeshift rockets into southern Israel in recent years, said a committee it appointed to follow up on the report found no intention to harm civilians.
But Hamas, which along with other armed groups has launched thousands of makeshift rockets into southern Israel in recent years, said a committee it appointed to follow up on the report found no intention to harm civilians.
"The committee worked around the clock to uncover the facts, despite the certainty that there were no violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law that amount to war crimes," said the committee head, Hamas justice minister Mohammed Faraj al-Ghul.
"The Palestinian government has on more than one occasion called on armed Palestinian groups to avoid targeting civilians," said the report by Hamas, which has claimed scores of deadly suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.
"(The armed groups) struck military targets and avoided civilian targets, and any accusations related to this concern errant fire."
The Goldstone report said the firing of the hard-to-aim rockets at southern Israel deliberately targeted civilians and could constitute a crime against humanity.
The Goldstone report recommended its findings be referred to the International Criminal Court in the Hague if Israel and Hamas failed to carry out credible, independent investigations.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"The Palestinian government has on more than one occasion called on armed Palestinian groups to avoid targeting civilians," said the report by Hamas, which has claimed scores of deadly suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.
I doubt he makes any better sense in Arabic. Hamas joyously claims responsibility for suicide attacks that target civilians and annoying rocket attacks on Israel. They report this to any media that will listen. They revel in the deaths of israeli civilians. How disingenuous. Palestinians, such a stupid people. Mass psychosis.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
01/28/2010 21:18 Comments ||
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#3
The Islamist Hamas movement said Wednesday it has investigated allegations in a U.N. report into last winter's Gaza war and absolved Palestinian armed groups of any atrocities.
Just like ACORN, only with rockets, boom-belts and RPGs.
[Al Arabiya Latest] German industrial giant Siemens said Wednesday it would stop signing new business deals in Iran from mid-2010 as tensions grew between Berlin and Tehran, which said it had arrested two German diplomats.
"The board has decided not to conclude new contracts with commercial partners in Iran," company spokesman Alexander Becker told AFP, adding that a decision had already been taken to this effect within the company last October.
"There are clients that have offers on the table that expire by mid-2010 at the latest ... from this date onwards, there will be no new business," added the spokesman.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The Chinese or the Russians will pick up the slack. Anybody can built stainless steel tanks, centrifuges, gauges, and nuclear test instruments.
#2
Siemens is also the builder of telecommunications equipment. I am a Telephone system administrator in my `day job`. Siemens ROLM switches are high quality... That will have to get spare parts as after market, which thay can do but some of the high end stuff will be harder to replace...
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Wednesday that Arab states in the Gulf should not allow the United States to launch attacks on the Islamic republic from bases in the region.
"States in the region which house U.S. military bases should know that these bases must not be used against Iran. The region should not become a launch-pad for aggression against Iran," Larijani told a press conference in Kuwait.
Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, all members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, are home to major U.S. military bases. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
" States in the region which house U.S. military bases should know that these bases must not be used against Iran. The region should not become a launch-pad for aggression against Iran "
Iran parliament speaker Ali Larijani
Larijani assured the Gulf neighbors that Iran "does not want to inflict any harm on the GCC states." He also said Washington will not "dare launch an aggression on Iran."
Larijani is concluding a three-day official visit to Kuwait during which he met with Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, and other leaders.
Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said last week that Western warships stationed in the Gulf are "best targets" for the Islamic republic if its nuclear sites are attacked, Fars news agency reported.
Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to deliver a "crushing response" and hit U.S. targets, including its bases in the Gulf and neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan, if Iran's nuclear sites are attacked.
The United States and its regional ally Israel, which accuse Iran of seeking atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, have never ruled out a military option to thwart Tehran's nuclear drive.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
See also TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > ISRAEL MOVING CLOSER TO NATO.
#4
Well the first wave will probably be missiles and stealth bombers launched from the USA. Thegulf states will have time then to decide if enough damage was done to risk siding with Iran.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will declare the country's initiatives for solving the global economic crisis, the foreign ministry spokesman says. Lemme guess: they involve turbans, bonking our heads on the floor five times a day, and Jews meeting sea water...
Ramin Mehman-Parast said on Wednesday that Mottaki will present Iran's initiatives during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum that will be held in Davos on January 27-31. I have a mullet under my tongue. I'm waiting with baited breath.
He noted that Iran's top diplomat will leave Iran for Davos at the helm of a delegation on Thursday. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will declare its viewpoints to help find the roots of the crisis and the ways to solve it," IRNA quoted Mehman-Parast as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran should do the world a favor and Shut the Fuck UP.
Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar says the assassination of nuclear physics professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was a premeditated act carried out by the Israeli government.
"The Israelis are naive to think that through committing such crimes they can curtail the country's achievements in science and technology," Mohammad-Najjar said in an interview on Tuesday.
Dr. Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, a lecturer at the University of Tehran who taught particle physics, was killed in a remote-controlled bomb attack in the Iranian capital on January 12.
The professor was killed in front of his home in the Qeytariyeh neighborhood in northern Tehran.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry had earlier declared that Iran had discovered traces of US and Israeli involvement in the assassination of Ali-Mohammadi.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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Iran's Intelligence Ministry said Wednesday it has found evidence that German diplomats played a role in last month's "anti-revolution riots" in Tehran.
"Anti-Islamic Revolution agents, networks backed by Western intelligence services" and those who seek to promote sedition in the country had planned the Ashura riots in advance, the Iranian Students News Agency quoted a deputy intelligence minister as saying.
The anti-governemtn protests on December 27 coincided with Ashura mourning ceremonies. Public property was damaged during the riots and security forces clashed with protesters as they attempted to establish order.
The intelligence official also said an advisor to the defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi had also been arrested.
"Based on documents obtained from this person, he transferred confidential information to foreign countries through the ringleader of intelligence services of a European country," the official said.
The German Embassy in Tehran has not yet commented on the allegations.
Formerly part time daughter was there that day with her father, visiting relatives. They were visiting a nearby mosque, and almost got caught up in the festivities.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2010 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
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.
