EFL. It just goes to show you, once a guy like Mahathir starts wearing the kufrâs clothes, shaving with the kufrâs razor, and travelling to the kufrâs countries, you just canât trust him to uphold the good old fashioned sharia anymore!
An Islamic court in the country declared last week that a Muslim man had legally ended his marriage by sending his wife a mobile telephone text message. That ruling had been endorsed by the prime ministerâs religious affairs adviser. Now, however, the government says it will consider increasing the fines and jail sentences for men who pronounce the talak - or declaration of divorce - by electronic means, such as e-mail, fax or text message. Men who declare divorce outside a court already face up to three years in jail. I wonder how often that law gets enforced...
But just over half of Malaysians are also Muslims and bound by Islamic sharia law, rooted in scriptures 1,400 years old. Even the countryâs Prime Minister, Doctor Mahathir Mohamad, accepts that this can occasionally cause problems. Last week, a sharia court declared that a text message sent by a man to his wife reading "if you donât leave your parents house, youâll be divorced", had legal force. While it may be correct from other angles, it is not the way to get a divorce, Doctor Mahathir told reporters. Last weekâs court ruling was condemned by womenâs groups and Malaysiaâs minister for women, who accused a small minority of Muslim men of damaging the reputation of Islam. You ever notice how they can never leave the frame of reference of Islam? Why not just say itâs moronic and primitive? I guess the threat of being boomed by some wild-eyed shahid makes them hold their tongues.
Sharia law requires a man to tell his wife three times that he divorces her. At least one declaration must be before a religious official. Women wishing to end their marriages are subject to a far more arduous procedure under Islamic law.
#2
"You ever notice how they can never leave the frame of reference of Islam? Why not just say itâs moronic and primitive?"
Oh, yeah, the good *that* would do to their cause... And again it's not just about Islam - somehow I doubt that calling the bible moronic and primitive would help convince the people that want to constitutionally ban gay marriages to change their ways either...
#3
I doubt that calling the bible moronic and primitive would help convince the people that want to constitutionally ban gay marriages to change their ways either
Does Greece have gay marriage? I know sodomy among men is an ancient Greek tradition, but is gay marriage actually permitted, with all the attendant welfare and other benefits from the state?
#4
Xenophobia has Greek roots: Shocked planespotters fly home after prison terms are suspended
By Sean O'Neill in Kalamata, Nicola Woolcock and David Sapsted
(Filed: 27/04/2002)
TWELVE British planespotters were convicted of spying by a Greek court yesterday amid scenes of confusion. Six were jailed for three years while the others were given suspended 12-month terms.
#5
that's right aris: christians and muslims are equally primitive because some christians don't want to legally grant homosexual marriages, while muslims can divorce a woman by saying : 'i divorce you' three times.
DId you notice you just compared apples to oranges?
If you are going to compare how primitive they are, compare both on the issue of divorce and BOTH on the issue of homosexuals.
Now let's see where Islam stands on the issue of Homosexuals....
According to the Islamofascist troglodytes in Trafalgar Square last year, who represent majority thought in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and elsewhere in the Arab world, homosexuals are PERVERTS WHO WILL BE STONED TO DEATH UNDER SHARIA LAW.
That is not: tolerate them but protest the legal entity of marriage, but stone them to death.
Recently, a well-known Saudi cleric issued a religious edict (Fatwa) granting legal legitimacy to the use of weapons of mass destruction against the US and Britain and against their citizens. Sheik Nasser bin Hamd al-Fahad is recognized as one of the senior Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia and is associated with Bin Ladenâs al-Qaida organization. I wonder if we should put this in Senator Grahamâs reading file.
Sheikh al-Fahadâs edict, was published on one of the websites identified with al-Qaida and the global Jihad, in reply to a question regarding the Islamic religious basis underlying al-Qaidaâs intention to use weapons of mass destruction against the US. Any questions, boys, on where these guys are going with this?
I think rational person would recognize that we cannot ever risk letting a lunatic fringe sociopath terrorist group get within a time zone of anything vaguely resembling gas, bugs or nukes.
#1
Sounds to me like he has ordered a nuclear attack against the US. It also sounds like he's a de-facto member of the government of Saudi Arabia.
In the very least, we should state that if his fatwa is carried out, we will treat it as an act by Saudi Arabia.
Edited for brevity. Looks like fun, so I had to post!
A 34-year-old Austrian mechanic became the first person ever to fly across the English Channel without the benefit of an aircraft, gliding from England to France wearing only a specially-designed suit. Skydiver Felix Baumgartner started his unusual journey from a point some 9,000 metres (30,000 feet) over the English port of Dover at 6:09 am (0409 GMT), and ended it 1,000 metres above Cape Blanc-Nez, near the French port of Calais, where he opened a parachute and landed at 6:23 am. To launch him on his high-speed glide, he was taken up from Calais in a Skyvan aircraft, from which he jumped from high above Dover.
Baumgartner, who reached a speed of some 200 kilometres (120 miles) an hour during his glide was wearing an aerodynamic suit fitted with a 1.80 metre (six-foot) long carbon-fibre wing for the 35 kilometre (20 mile) glide. He also had special breathing apparatus for the high-altitude start of the flight, and was protected from the extreme cold at such heights by his special suit.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 11:32:05 AM ||
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20 mile standoff range, huh? Wonder how long before some turbanhead gets the idea this could be used as a human guided bomb? Or at least tells their interegator in Gitmo they are.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 11:55 Comments ||
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I was thinking the suits could be applicable to HALO jumps as well, as you still need a conventional means to get to altitude.
Judging from the photo, apparently to get the full 20-mile range you must ingest copious amounts of chili the night before.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 12:03 Comments ||
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#3
Now what would happen if we stuck a small turbofan on it, say about 50lbs of thrust and the fuel for around 30 minutes of operation?
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
07/31/2003 12:39 Comments ||
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#4
Someone....----I can think of cheaper ways to kill myself, heh, heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/31/2003 13:28 Comments ||
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#5
Now what would happen if we stuck a small turbofan on it, say about 50lbs of thrust and the fuel for around 30 minutes of operation?
We already have those. It's called an ultralight.
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/31/2003 13:58 Comments ||
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#6
He could use a cluster balloon to get the required altitude:
http://www.clusterballoon.org/cluster1.htm
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/31/2003 15:32 Comments ||
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#7
What's really scary (in a "I'm laughing so hard I could barf" sort of way) is that this thing he's wearing looks almost EXACTLY like an old COBRA weapons system from the "G.I. Joe!" cartoon series, the Cobra CLAW (Covert Light Aerial Weapon).
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
07/31/2003 17:09 Comments ||
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#8
Yeah? Well how about giving these things to a trained US military group(SEALs or Rangers or such) and do a HALO drop...Soldiers can be dropped from extreme high altitude and distance on covert ops.
#9
Put some more facet angles on the fuselage and empennages of this chap and you have a STEALTH glider. We could put the whole thing in the bomb bay of an F-117 and we could have a mission with a story that would require a couple bottles of Paddy to tell, heh heh. Stealth^2
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/31/2003 19:44 Comments ||
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#10
I say we do up some guy like Allah or Mo or whatever the hell his name is, rig him up with this thing and fly him into Mecca to land on the Kabba in the middle of one of those big hajs. See how that freaks the bastards out.
Taliban guerrillas have shot dead a Muslim cleric from a pro-government council that declared an end to holy war, the third such attack in weeks, a security official said on Thursday. "It ainât over till our holy men say itâs over!" Mawlavi Jenab, a member of the Ulema Shura, or clericsâ council, in the southern province of Kandahar, was attacked outside a mosque in Panjwaye district on Wednesday evening by gunmen on a motorcycle. Jenab died immediately, Kandahar security chief General Mohammad Salim told Reuters. Salim said it was the third bloody attack on members of the council since it announced earlier this year that Afghanistanâs "jihad," or holy war, was over and that Muslims should support the U.S.-backed government that replaced the Taliban in 2001. A Taliban commander, who asked not to be identified, confirmed that Taliban guerrillas were responsible. "Taliban riding on a motorcycle fired on him when he was on his way home after offering his dusk prayers," he said. "We dunit, and weâre proud of it!"
In late June, the head of the council, Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz, was wounded along with nine others in a bomb attack on his mosque in Kandahar. Another member, Adbul Hai, had been killed in an earlier shooting attack. Another Taliban commander, Mullah Rahmat Ullah, told Reuters three council members, including Fayaz, had been targeted for assassination, but he said he did not know Jenab was one of them. He did not name the other two. Abdus Samad, a former Taliban intelligence official, said council members were being targeted because they were supporters of President Hamid Karzai. Iâd get them some bodyguards, if I was you.
In Afghanistan, if you're losing an argument, you can always kill them...
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 11:03:37 AM ||
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Turnabout's fair play.
I hereby declare that any member of any civilized nation in the world can use any and all means available to counter an Islamic fatwa, including forcing the individual to be incarcerated downwind of a Texas Chili cookoff for up to 30 days.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/31/2003 22:42 Comments ||
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U.S. forces killed at least three suspected insurgents spotted near an American base in volatile eastern Afghanistan, a U.S. military spokesman said Thursday. Lt. Col. Douglas Lefforge said the three were part of a 10-man "enemy element" observed Wednesday night near the U.S. base in Asadabad, capital of eastern Kunar province near the Pakistan border. "The firebase fired 120mm mortar illumination rounds as a warning, then fired high explosive rounds, killing the estimated three personnel," Lefforge said in an e-mailed statement from Bagram Air Base, headquarters of U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. (pop) "Hey, who turned on the light?" (KABOOM!)
The rest of the suspected insurgents fled the area and a coalition ground patrol was dispatched to investigate further, Lefforge said. No coalition casualties were reported.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 10:27:55 AM ||
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Yemeni security forces arrested five alleged militants linked to al-Qaida who are suspected of involvement in an attack on a military convoy, an official said Thursday. Theyâve stuck to it hunting this bunch.
The detainees allegedly belong to the outlawed Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, a group formed by Arab and Yemeni fighters who fought to oust the Soviet Union from Afghanistan in 1989.
Minor correction: Yemenis are Arabs...
Authorities blame the group for the June 21 attack on the convoy in the countryâs south. The attack wounded seven Yemeni soldiers.
And had absolutely no point, other than to see blood...
The security official said the five men were detained during the past four days, bringing to 37 the number of militants arrested since Yemeni troops stormed the groupâs mountain hideout on June 25 near Hatat, 280 miles south of the capital, Sanâa. The groupâs leader and eight other members were killed in the raid and subsequent clashes with government soldiers. Letâs see, 37 plus 9, thatâs 46 baddies accounted for. Just lock the door of the prison this time, OK?
Yemeni authorities also believe members of the group may have participated in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in which 17 American sailors died. That attack was blamed on al-Qaida.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 1:51:54 PM ||
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KUWAIT CITY : National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi Tuesday slammed the United States for holding 12 Kuwaitis in Camp "X-ray" in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He said their continuous detention without trial is against all values of human rights.
"Yeah. Shoulda just shot 'em when they were collected... No, wait. Would that have been worse?"
"The US should take a clear position regarding the prisoners in Guantanamo," said Al-Khorafi. He added the prisoners should either go to trial or be released if they were innocent.
Or be interned until the WOT's over...
Al-Khorafi also said keeping the prisoners without taking a clear decision on them was against human rights. "The Parliament was studying the possibility of inviting other parliaments in countries, which have prisoners in Guantanamo, for a meeting to exchange views on the issue," said Al-Khorafi.
Chat and be damned.
He added the meeting is aimed at adopting a "group view" in the way these states demand the legal, international and human rights of the prisoners in Guantanamo. "We are against terrorism and any kind of aggression against others, but this does not mean we should accept the US continuous detention of those prisoners without taking them to trial," he added. Al-Khorafi called on the US to end this "tragedy" through legal procedures to put the prisoners on trial or to release them if there were no charges against them. Earlier reports indicated eight of the twelve Kuwaitis held at the camp will be released through an agreement between Kuwait and the US.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:40 ||
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#1
See? You ask nicely, we can be reasonable. You go loudly public with your wild accusations of terrible, inhuman conditions and we'll get bureaucratic on ya.
#5
Ok, let's do this: any person determined to be a member of any terrorist organization shall be de facto determined to be guilty of at a minimum, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to destroy personal property, and conspiracy to commit a crime against humanity. They will be incarcerated just as we would do with criminal elements of a foreign army taked prisoner, but NOT given any of the rights of prisoners of war. Trials will begin the day after the War on Terrorism is declared over. This establishes a legal precedent, and makes any idiotarian like the one above a part of the problem, and therefore a target.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/31/2003 22:53 Comments ||
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#6
Hey you stupid jerks. Al khorafi are one of the most powerful families in the middle east. And america bailed us out for money. Oil and oil only. If we were somalia i bet bush will not put 1 finger on us. So F)*& U
#7
Well I'm certainly chastised. Thank you oh so much for your input. BTW, we don't get a "deal" on oil from Kuwait, you simpleton, OPEC fucks everyone equally. We should've let you remain the 19th province. That would have made the Iraq operation even sweeter. So FOAD, suckyboy. Remember with fondness this day - the way your moron brethren are going, soon you will be a radioactive memory.
A man shot dead eight worshippers and wounded two at a mosque in southern Yemen on Wednesday, security officials said. The motive behind the attack were not immediately clear. The officials said five men died on the spot and three died of their wounds later. The attack took place in Lahaj province, about 190 miles south of the capital Sanaa. Security sources said the gunman, who was arrested, could be a Muslim extremist with a grudge against moderate Muslims.
I'm not surprised they'd have something like Takfir wal-Hijra in Yemen, too...
Militants have been involved in shootings and attacks on Westerners in Yemen, a hotbed for Islamists and the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Clashes between tribes and groups are also frequent in the poor Arab country where unlicensed weapons are widespread after years of civil war.
Followup, from Bahrain Tribune...
The gunman burst into the Koranic school of the mosque in the village of Yahar, before mowing down worshippers with machine-gun fire. Security officials said they remained unclear about the motives of the attack, although preliminary investigations suggested the gunman had suffered psychological problems since being stripped of his position as an army colonel after Yemenâs 1994 civil war.
Not a Takfiri, just a garden variety nut, or maybe Dire Revengeâ¢...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:16 ||
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or maybe Dire Revenge
Naahh. I heard there is a shortage of qat on the peninsula. It's like going without coffee from starbucks for a whole week.. leaves you jittery.
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/31/2003 0:29 Comments ||
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Edited for brevity.
The U.N. war crimes tribunal for Yugoslavia imposed its harshest punishment to date Thursday, sentencing a Bosnian Serb politician to life in prison for exterminating or deporting thousands of Muslims and Croats in 1992. Though acquitted of genocide, Milomir Stakic was convicted of being a leading figure in a racist campaign of persecution "to achieve the vision of a pure Serbian state," according to a summary of the verdict read in court. Stakic, a 41-year-old doctor, was convicted of directly planning and coordinating war crimes and was held responsible for subordinates who killed 1,500 people and forced at least 20,000 non-Serb civilians from their homes in the northwestern Bosnian municipality of Prijedor, where he was mayor.
It was the third acquittal on genocide charges by the Yugoslav tribunal, and was another signal that the court is demanding rock-hard proof of an intent to destroy a group of people because of their race, religion or ethnicity. The Hague court has only convicted one defendant - Bosnian Serb Gen. Radislav Krstic - of genocide. Until Thursday, Krsticâs 46-year sentence was the harshest on record for the tribunal. He is appealing.
Stakic was convicted on five counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, specifically extermination, murder and persecution. He was acquitted on three counts of genocide, complicity in commit genocide and inhumane acts. Stakic will be eligible for release after 20 years in prison and will receive credit for the two years and eight months he has been in custody.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 4:03:34 PM ||
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It's a case of "Stakic Shock! (tm, pat. pend.)"
Mwahahahaha!
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
07/31/2003 17:16 Comments ||
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#2
This sucks! This bozo should have been turned over to the Croats or Bosnian for trial. 20 years for killing 1500 people? What the slide-rule calcualtion for that?
#5
Hmmmmm. Can they send him to an Indonesian jail? Once he's finished his sentence, they can give him a half-inflated beach toy, a cheap compass, and directions for reaching a friendly port - in Tierra del Fuego.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/31/2003 22:59 Comments ||
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#6
How many people did he blind with the glare off of that forehead? Is that considered a crime against humanity?
The U.S. is building "a solid case" that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction programs, said a leader of the search team in Iraq. "We are getting the active cooperation of Iraqis who were involved in that program" and "solid evidence is being produced," said David Kay, a former United Nations inspector whom the Central Intelligence Agency tapped to be its representative on the Iraq Survey Group. Kay said the team wouldnât release "partial information" on its search, even as he confirmed that no weapons of mass destruction have been found. The search has been underway less than two months. No release of info in dribs and drabs, going to have one massive show and tell when heâs done.
The Bush administration is under pressure to show evidence of what was its primary rationale for war. Democrats, including some who are vying to oppose President George W. Bush in the 2004 election, say the threat from weapons of mass destruction may have been exaggerated or based on flawed intelligence. Weaving their own rope, putting it around their necks and getting up on the chair. The only question now is when does George kick the chair out from under them.
Kay spoke with reporters in the U.S. Capitol in Washington after giving a three-hour private briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee. "America and the world must exercise patience," Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia, the panelâs chairman, said. The search team is committed to producing "sound facts and information" and wonât make "any dramatic public announcements at this time," he said. "Weâre looking to see if we can get time during the Democratic convention."
Kayâs briefing to Congress was his first since joining the Iraq Survey Group. He was accompanied by the groupâs director, Army Major General Keith Dayton. Dayton echoed Kayâs positive assessment. "Every week, it is phenomenal what we are finding," he said. "I am much more optimistic and confident that we are going to come to a good resolution of this in good time." Itâs not like weâre hiding the fact that we expect to find a WMD program, but the Donks just keep marching toward the cliff.
Administration officials insist these weapons existed and evidence of them will be found. Warner and Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts, a armed servicesâ panel member whoâs also chairman of the Intelligence Committee, urged patience. "This is a step-by-step process," Roberts said. Hussein spent "20 years and 10,000 Iraqis and millions of dollars on a program of denial and deception. Weâve had six weeks." Kay said the team "will not come forward with evidence until we have three criteria:" multiple sources from Iraqis, documents and physical proof. Kay labeled "completely inaccurate" a Washington Post report today that Iraqi scientists who have been questioned by U.S. officials continue to deny that Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. So they are talking, bet theyâll open up even more when we set Sammyâs head on the table in front of them.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 3:59:52 PM ||
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God Damn this is gonna be sweet payback for every quagmire whining asshole sniveling since November 2000. I've got a bottle chilling.
#2
I hate to sound political (LOL) but I suspect that Bush WILL sit on this until sometime next year. By that time every sniveling French-loving demoncrat will have spewed out all they could about 'phantom weapons'. Then Bush shows his royal flush and wins the game. Plausible? I think so. Can you imagine what Dean would do then? Daschele would have a nervous breakdown on the Senate floor.
#3
I hope this is right. But if there is one lesson for news junkies from the Iraq war, it's don't jump at the first news reports. That goes for good news and bad and it has been ignored to varying degrees by both camps.
It seems pretty plausible that there will be WMDF evidence found at some point. It also seems clear that the programs were not as extensive as previously believed. The politicization of all news reports is becoming absurd, although I do hope it has been useful in making people think harder about the deeper issues.
I hope we do find something for a little vindication but we must remain realistic and leave the raving to the anti-Bush folk.
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
07/31/2003 22:21 Comments ||
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#4
State of the Union speech, January, 2004:
GW: "Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests;
I have with me tonight five people who will present information more important than I might say.
They will detail Iraq's program of developing and using weapons of mass destruction.
They will detail Iraq's links with terror groups.
They will reveal how members of the ruling houses throughout the Middle East have tried to manipulate the US economy to pitch it into a recession, and how they funded and supported terrorist activities against the United States.
They will detail how members of the opposition party stonewall, ambush, ennervate, and undercut every major homeland security issue, from increasing patrols along our physical borders to denying judicial appointments to assisting in the filing of frivilous lawsuits to undermine American justice.
Finally, they will provide specific details of our programs, both our successes and our failures, to overcome these problems, and keep America - and Americans - safe."
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2003 0:19 Comments ||
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Edited for brevity.
An adviser to the CIA hinted Thursday that U.S. and coalition personnel were close to a breakthrough in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. David Kay, the agencyâs special adviser for the weapons search, said "solid progress" was being made and that Iraqi scientists involved in the weapons programs are "collaborating and cooperating." He also said searchers were using documents from Saddam Husseinâs regime in the search. Kay, a former chief weapons inspector for the United Nations, said new evidence has been uncovered about how the Iraqis misled U.N. inspectors. "The active deception program is truly amazing once you get inside it," he said. "We have people who participated in deceiving U.N. inspectors now telling us how they did it."
He said details about the search wonât be released until three criteria are met: "multiple Iraqis" who are willing to talk about the weapons program, several documents are uncovered about the weapons and physical evidence of the program is obtained. "We do not want to go forward with partial information that we have to retract afterward," he said. "Weâre building a solid case that will stand, and we welcome international scrutiny of that case after we have the evidence assembled."
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 3:43:41 PM ||
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Edited for brevity.
The U.S.-led authority in Iraq said Thursday it was working on burial arrangements for Saddam Husseinâs two sons more than a week after they were killed by U.S. troops in the northern city of Mosul. "Uday and Qusay are still being looked after by the coalition authority," a spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority told reporters. "We are holding very wide consultations with religious leaders, tribal leaders and members of the Governing Council who have given us advice on how to proceed and we have contacted the relevant authorities and are finalizing plans for their burial." Feed them to pigs. They could finally contribute something positive to the world.
Muslim traditions stipulate that the dead must be buried as soon as possible, but the U.S. authorities have said they would hold onto the bodies of Saddamâs sons until their relatives came to claim them.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 2:47:14 PM ||
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Actually, there are a few more things they could do with the bodies.
Let the $30 million tipster get them stuffed as trophies
Crash test dummies
Transvestite clothing store window mannequins
Lawn ornaments for Halloween
Figureheads for the USS Ronald Reagan
Navigation buoys
Pinatas
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 15:10 Comments ||
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#3
I liked the idea that FrankJ came up with inone of his "In My World" posts. (See the archive at imao.us if you want to die laughing.) His "President Bush" tried to sell NBC a "Punch and Judy" style puppet show. (NBC okayed it for 13 episodes if he could get daddy, too.)
EFL
Around 10,000 young men have come forward to join an "Islamic army" in the holy city of Najaf, according to Muqtada al-Sadr, the fiery cleric who is trying to become the unchallengeable leader of Shia opposition. Mr Sadr has denounced the countryâs US-appointed governing council as a puppet. Opposition to the Americans in the Shia south remains largely peaceful, although volatile, but hints of potential trouble are growing. (gleefully writes the al-Guardian)
Few cities welcomed the fall of Saddam Hussein more enthusiastically than Najaf, and few of its powerful clerical dynasties were more delighted than the Sadrs - Saddam had killed two of their ayatollahs. It is in this devout environment that the 30-year-old Muqtada al-Sadr is taking advantage of the reputation of his father, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, who was killed in 1999 along with one of Mr Sadrâs older brothers. Riding his dadâs coat tails.
Mr Sadr has been putting pressure on the Americans using the Shia tradition of mass demonstrations, of the kind which helped to bring down the Shah of Iran in 1979. In a recent sermon, held in the nearby mosque of Kufa, he urged volunteers to come forward and join an Islamic army. He called it the "army of al-Mahdi", the so-called "hidden imam" who disappeared in AD874 and is expected to return one day, like a messiah, to save the world. So does that mean itâs a "hidden" army?
In the following weekâs sermon, according to Mr Sadrâs spokesman, Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji, the cleric was able to thank the 10,000 volunteers who had come forward. So did they all show up at once, or did they sign up one at a time? Anybody seen them? Oh, I forgot, itâs a "hidden" army.
Exactly what kind of force Mr Sadr has in mind remains obscure, since he is wary of courting arrest by US forces. "I canât say what weapons the army will have," Mr Khafaji said. "It will not fight with sticks, and it is not just a large crowd of protesters. It is an army." "Trust me, Iâm a cleric."
As a crowd of young men, many in Shia turbans, milled about in an anteroom, the spokesman added: "Muqtada wants them to get out of the cities, but not out of Iraq now. Having troops in the cities frightens people. For the time being Muqtada is not considering calling for jihad against the US occupation. We want to prove we are peaceful if they are peaceful." Weâre very peaceful. Youâre still breathing, arenât you?
At the US marine base on the edge of Najaf, Colonel Christopher Conlin said Mr Sadr was "an immature kid, manipulated by others". He pointed out that there have been no fatal attacks on US troops in Najaf or any cities in the Shia south. He is also happy that the protests which racked Najaf last week have died down. Nearly two weeks ago, several thousand people gathered in the city in response to a call from Mr Sadr on local TV claiming the Americans had surrounded his house and were about to arrest him. Col Conlin said there had been more US troops on the streets only because of an unannounced visit by the US deputy secretary of state for defence, Paul Wolfowitz. He subsequently sacked the TV director for incitement and broadcasting untruths.
"There were no protests this weekend," the colonel added. "It was because the cityâs respected citizens and the town council told people not to do it. The last thing the other clerics want is having people create trouble." Col Conlin said many people who attended protests last week were from the poor and largely Shia areas of Baghdad where Mr Sadrâs father set up extensive mosque-based welfare systems in the 1990s, as Iraq was suffering from sanctions. They also included Sunnis bussed in from Falluja, Mosul and Tikrit. Bussing in protestors from out of town, huh. Wonder where they learned that?
Mr Sadrâs murky relationship with Iran is also causing the US concern. He was given a high-level welcome in Tehran three weeks ago, although the Iranian authorities say they are trying to restrain him. Sure you are.
In the streets around the Imam Ali shrine, opinions of Mr Sadr are divided. Some deplore the splits in the Shia community.
"Most demonstrators are not from here," said Thu-al-fiqar Mohammed, who runs a mobile phone shop. "They see we have stability and order and are just trying to sow confusion." Canât have stability and order without holy men in turbans running things, it sez so in the book.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 2:14:54 PM ||
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#1
Okay, let's now take bets on the following:
1) The actual number of "volunteers" (remember, according to the Muslim mindset, we are still bogged down in fierce fighting somewhere south of Basra).
2) The number of the volunteers who are actually Iraqui.
3) The number of these ferocious Muslim warriors who would actually face an American soldier in combat, as opposed to those throwing away their weapon and running in another direction while rapidly stripping off uniform items at the sound of a round being chambered in an M-16.
#2
Man, for jihadis, those are some tough requirements. Since Sadr's an Arab, 10,000 is a joke, and he won't even miss a beat if later it turns out it was 100. S'okay, He's a Muslim - better yet, a Holy Man. The "truth" is just a tool.
I wanna say the answers are zip, zilch, and nada, but there are many many stupid people - and a disproportionate number are Iraqi - which are predominately Shi'a... Just for fun...
"I'll take Sucker Bets for 1,000, Alex!"
(Alexadenon reads the 3-part answer, "1- The actual number of...")
"What are 1000, 100, and zero?"
#5
Sadr is not a threAT TO American soldiers . Our trooops are well trained. But Sadr is 22-32 years old and is in Iraq for the long run.His followers are the new young generation. Sistani is very old and will not be around for long. American soldiers will eventually leave Iraq no matter what ( boys gotta come back home).After that we will have a Sadr who will after 'studies' be a fully fledged Ayatollahs with weighty Fatwas. And there will be no one to stop him, no America,no Saddam, no Baathists no nothing. It will just be Ayatollah Sadr and his fanatic numerous followers and a weak puppet regime in Iraq that is linked together by a strong rope of sand. Folks brace yourselves for Gulf War three...the next republican presi will sell us a war telling us Sadr is a clear and imminent danger to us ahahahahaa....time will tell
#6
Stevey....you are so delusional. 1 JDAM at his next big Nurenburgshia rally, and his long run is over. And what are the Shiitaki gonna do about it...demonstrate some "Rage of the Arab Street" that has us shakin' in our boots?
#8
Please, please let them organize their little "army". Let them all gather together in one place, in their nice new uniforms. Let them have their parades, their medals, their little game.
One step out of line, though, and three AC-130's will run figure-8's across their formation. Those that are left will be allowed to leave, and tell their bretheren exactly what happens when you kick a tiger in the teeth one time too many.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2003 0:28 Comments ||
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A delegation of Japanese lawmakers left for Iraq on Thursday to assess whether it is safe enough for Japanese forces to aid in Iraqâs reconstruction and support peacekeepers. The legislators are going to determine if itâs safe enough for their military? Isnât that supposed to be the other way around?
The delegation, led by former Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, will travel to Jordan before arriving in Baghdad on Saturday, a parliamentary official said. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said Japanâs Self-Defense Forces would help with humanitarian assistance and reconstruction, but only if conditions in Iraq were deemed safe. Koizumi had to overcome Japanâs post-World War II aversion to militarism to win parliamentary support for the troop deployment. It would be the first dispatch of Japanese forces to a combat area since the 1940s. Polls show the Japanese public is concerned about the missionâs danger. The American public is concerned, too, but that didnât stop us (thank goodness).
Kyodo News reported that the group of lawmakers will meet L. Paul Bremer, the chief U.S. administrator for Iraq, to discuss the Japanese soldiersâ mission. The delegation also plans to visit the Baghdad airport and hospitals. Japan could send up to 1,000 soldiers to Iraq as soon as October, local media have reported. Komuraâs delegation will return to Tokyo on Wednesday after stopping in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/31/2003 12:02:56 PM ||
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#1
It depends, I guess, on the role they have agreed to... seems a little unclear, now, exactly what they've offered the coalition.
#2
dutch troops have arrived in Iraq, and will be taking control of one province, in the relatively quiet south. The Dutch troops will be under British command.
#5
stevey needs to get drafted...into the triangle
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/31/2003 14:05 Comments ||
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#6
me ,in the triangle ahahah ..i might aid them against us. I always tend to side with the oppressed against their oppressors.You it is the American way ( remember Kennedy's speech).But human life is precious and i have a way of ending GI deaths in Iraq.Hire Phil Jackson to lead the Army. Jackson, as we all know, mastered the triangle offence with Chicago bull and LA Lakers ahahahah. His triangle offence knowledge could bail us out in Iraq. ahahahahaahahaahahahahah
#7
"Komuraâs delegation will return to Tokyo on Wednesday after stopping in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates."
???
Dubai..Dubai..ah, yes. Lotsa gambling casinos there, IIRC. Now it makes sense, sort of like Macao-on-the-Gulf.
Posted by: Carl in NH ||
07/31/2003 15:28 Comments ||
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#8
Steve (if that IS your real name), might I take this moment to point out that the Japanese have even MORE reason to loath Islam that America does?
Japan is a Shinto/Buddist nation that still venerates the Bushido code. Shinto itself is an animist religion. That makes the Japanese PAGANS in the eyes of Islam. Which means that a devout follower of Islam must either convert them or kill them. And the fact that the Emperor is still worshiped to some degree as the living decendant of the Sun Goddess Amateratsu means that a devout Muslim must kill him because he's a "false god".
Needless to say, this would REALLY hack Japan off something fierce.
Nope, Stevie boy, Japan isn't the nice-nice people you seem to think they are. They're polite only because they live cheek to cheek in an incredibly crowded country. Living that way AND being warriors, politeness is the only way to keep from killing each other.
Read a little history, Stevie.. Japan is one of the most xenophobic yet accepting countries in the world, and damn good fighters. Ask any Marine who served in WW2. The JSDF can kick ass with the best of them, and if some idiot makes the mistake of attacking them, said idiot will get his head handed to him on a plate.
(Barring, of course, the obvious danger of some idiot politician taking their guns away and telling them "no, no, naughty boys, mustn't hurt the nice muslims...")
Ed Becerra
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
07/31/2003 17:46 Comments ||
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#9
ahahaa Phil Jackson storm troopers have been dropped into the Sunni Triangle to teach American soldiers since he has patented the triangle offence with the Lakers
#10
Sevey scored some smoke.
Tell you what Stevey,since you seem to have plenty of time,and party/travel money.
Why don't you hop on a plane,fly on down here to Roosevelt,Az. and have a little quality time with this one-legged,46 year-old vet.
#11
Ya know...I find it fun having Stevie around. It's amusing to watch someone with mental imparement and disorganized cognitive functions trying to expess himself. That creepy incessant "ahahahahaha" shtick is kinda...creepy, in it's own unique, deranged way...
Oh please please please do that. You know what, if you decide to go, I'll pay for your transportation. How about it stevey?
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/31/2003 19:09 Comments ||
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#13
"Stevey of The Triangle".Get your ass over there,
boy. Maybe the uprising needs somebody to work the help desk. But bring plenty of Twinkies. They're hard to find over there.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "a piece of trash waiting to be collected" but has declined to say how long it may take US forces to find him. "Saddam Hussein is no longer bad news. Heâs a piece of trash waiting to be collected," Powell said in an interview today. "The noose is tightening but I canât speculate on how close one might be to actually capturing Saddam Hussein." Colin seems to have picked up some of Rummyâs style.
Several nations, notably India and France, have said they would need a broader United Nations mandate to send their forces to take part in the occupation of Iraq following the US-led campaign that toppled Saddam from power this spring. India might take a basic UN resolution approving US action, France wants the UN to have total control.
Powell said he was considering whether and how a new UN resolution might be crafted but had not made a recommendation to US President George W Bush. He also said he did not believe the United States would need to cede the authorities granted to it under UN Security Council resolution 1483, which confirmed the United States and Britain as occupying powers in Iraq.
"At the moment I donât see a need to cede any of the authorities granted to us under 1483 or other international conventions that guide our actions in Iraq," Powell said, a stance at odds with that of countries like France which want to see a central UN role in Iraq. "So go piss off, Iâm busy."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 11:47:28 AM ||
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#1
If you really believe we're screwed in Iraq, we INSIST that the UN take total control; but without our money and troops.
#2
Powell is a fish out of water, I believe. He should be a military guy, not a striped-pants guy. IMHO, he has been largely wasted and compromised by his State role, which he's played as he thought he was supposed to play it. SNAFU.
#3
"Several nations, notably India and France, have said they would need a broader United Nations mandate to send their forces to take part in the occupation "
So? Like we might care? How many countries now have troops in-country? Or is the new definition of unilateral taken as "any endeavor without active Frawnch participation"?
Piece of trash? I think Powell's forgotten he supposed to be the good cop. I bet he envies Rumsfeld for getting the bad cop role, and being able to say what's on his mind. Powell may be getting tired of sucking up to the UN and pretending he really gives a damn about them. Maybe Rumsfeld should go to State and Powell should go to Defense just to keep our "allies" and enemies on their toes.
#5
I think State is actually being consistent on the Husseins. Powell said this on the same day Boucher annouced a lump-sum payment of $30M for the boys... and pointing out that there's still $25M on pops.
Put these together, and we have State saying, "Here in my hand is the $25M we'll pay for help collecting this piece of trash."
BAGHDAD: Iraqâs interim Governing Council named yesterday Ibrahim Jafari of the Shiite Dawa party as the US-approved bodyâs first president, a Kurdish official announced. Jafari, the Dawa spokesman, was chosen to be the councilâs president based on his name being the first alphabetically among the nine council members who will share the rotating presidency, Barham Saleh of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said. âThere was a consensus on the alphabetical order. It was the best solution,â said Saleh of the presidency, which will change monthly. Jafari will be followed as president by two fellow Shiites, who count a 60 per cent majority in Iraq: the Pentagon-backed Ahmed Chalabi and Iyad Allawi, a former Baathist and longtime member of the exiled opposition. The line-up of rotating presidents includes five Shiites, two Sunnis and two Kurdish members of the 25-strong council, reflecting Iraqâs ethnic diversity. Saleh said US overseer Paul Bremer and the top British official in Iraq, John Sawers, attended the session of the council. The council, which is tasked with skippering Iraq until democratic elections no earlier than 2004, had to avoid aggravating the countryâs ethnic and religious fault lines in making the delicate decision.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:33 ||
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#1
Ummm... the title of President rotates, not the office or the person. I hope it sounds better in Arabic.
On the other hand, a rotating presidency could account for dizziness in certain people.
That's it! Monica was just an anchor tie, preventing rotation from occuring. "Hang on, Mr. President! Things are starting to whirl!"
The United States Marine colonel supervising the reconstruction of Najaf's government indefinitely postponed the swearing in of its first-ever female judge today after her appointment provoked a wave of resentment, including fatwas from senior Islamic clerics and heated protests by the city's lawyers. The sudden firestorm was emblematic of the tension between the American desire to leave an imprint on the levers of government in Iraq versus a conservative religious establishment determined to fight what its sees as a military invasion dragging Western cultural norms in behind the tanks. Some of the Iraqis protesting the appointment were women, leaving the Americans even more surprised and confounded. "There is a woman on the Governing Council and nobody batted an eye," said Lt. Col. Christopher C. Conlin, the senior commanding officer here. "Sometimes you just don't know until you hit a point of sensitivity."
Either that, or the opposition picks its battles...
The swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for today for Nidal Nasser Hussein, a 45-year-old lawyer with a history of breaking precedent in Najaf. She was the first female lawyer to begin working here when she started 16 years ago. There are now 50. A huge white cake decorated with multicolored flowers surrounded by dozens of cans of chilled Pepsi sat at one end of the chief judge's somewhat battered chambers when Colonel Conlin arrived for the ceremony. Outside, a group of about 30 male and female lawyers were chanting in English: "No No Women" and "Out Out Roe," referring to Specialist Rachel Roe, a Wisconsin lawyer serving as the adviser to the court system in Najaf. A lone Marine gunnery sergeant prevented them from storming the chambers. "We refuse the appointment of a woman judge, because it contradicts Islamic law," said Rajiha al-Amidi, one of the women in the group protesting the appointment. "This is what the Americans wanted to achieve in the first place with their invasion, to undermine Islam."
"We prefer to live in our present state of bliss!"
A woman cannot be a judge, she explained, because "women are always ruled by their emotions."
... waving her hands and shrieking emotionally, as a woman named Ginsberg wearing a becoming black robe led her away.
Colonel Conlin huddled with Najaf's chief justice, who showed him at least three fatwas â religious fiats by senior clergy. One was dated June 5, well before the current controversy, but it carried extra weight because it was issued by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered Shiite cleric in Iraq. A follower had asked the grand ayatollah two written questions â whether perfume was permissible to wear, given its alcohol content, and whether women could be judges. Although Islam forbids drinking alcohol, wearing perfume is fine, the grand ayatollah ruled, and as for judges, they had to be mature, sane and masculine.
Women, of course, are none of those, except possibly for antique, heavily zolofted lesbians...
Another fatwa was issued by Sheik Moqtada al-Sadr, whose decisions carry virtually no theocratic weight because he is a 30-year-old seminary student.
So why waste any time on what Junior sez? And he lies about his age. He's 22...
But he commands a mass popular following because of love for his late father, an ayatollah who opposed Saddam Hussein and was assassinated.
So maybe somebody should find a fatwa from Pop, instead. Children should be seen and not heard...
The young sheik wrote that filing a case before the female judge was forbidden.
"'Cuz it's ucky."
"This will cause big, big problems in all governorates, in all cities," said Iltifad Abdul Sadeh, one of the female lawyers opposed to the idea. "It will lead to confrontations."
It's your country. Screw it up any way you want.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:08 ||
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Nice that he threw that "sane" requirement in there. Sanity is in short supply in that part of the world.
#3
So, how do the rest of you like your Fatwas? There's a little diner near my office that serves them with a cayeinne and cream sauce that I think is the best I've ever eaten! I swear, you haven't LIVED until you've had one of their piping hot Fatwas with an ice cold beer to wash it down!
#4
"It will lead to confrontation."
Damned right it will, These people are not ready for this type of change. Hell I'm not all that comfortable with a woman driving a car that I'm in. It's culturally uncool so back off. They'll modernise in their own good time.
#6
Hte article said "... Outside, a group of about 30 male and female lawyers were chanting in English: "No No Women" and "Out Out Roe," referring to Specialist Rachel Roe,..."
Maybe they misunderstood the whole thing as Roe v. Wade and they were abortion protesters.
Indonesian judges have rejected a request to let terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir out of jail to attend the congress of a militant Islamic group which he leads. "You want us to do what? Get out of here!"
Chief Judge, Muhammad Saleh says Bashir can only address the congress of the Indonesian Mujahedin Council, which he has headed since 2000, through a written speech read out by someone else. The Judge has also banned Bashir from recording his voice to address the groupâs congress in two weekâs time in Central Java. "We may be dumb, but we ainât stupid."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 11:29:22 AM ||
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Why not? The Germans did something similar with some fool named Hitler after the Beer-Hall Putsch, and he never caused any further problems.
A suspected Muslim radical testified Thursday that the al-Qaida terror group financed Southeast Asian militant attacks in Indonesia, possibly including the Oct. 12 Bali blasts that killed 202 people. Wan Min Wan Matâs testimony, via videolink from a Malaysian prison, was the strongest indication yet of a financial link between al-Qaida and Jemaah Islamiyah, the regional terror group blamed for carrying out the bombings.
Wan Min was testifying at the trial of Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, an alleged senior operative of Jemaah Islamiyah. Ghufron is charged with carrying out the two nightclub bombings on Bali in October, 2002.
Wan Min, a prosecution witness who allegedly supplied weapons and arms training to Muslim militants in the Philippines, testified that earlier in 2002 he gave $35,500 in three installments to Ghufron, who was then in Thailand. The guys who hand out the money make the best witnesses.
"It was for terror attacks in Indonesia," Wan Min said. "I donât know whether it was used for Bali. From my conversations with (Ghufron), I heard that that the money came from outside sources," Wan Min said. When asked by prosecutors what he meant by outside sources, Wan Min replied slowly but clearly: "Al-Qaida."
Wan Min was arrested in Malaysia in September and is being held for allegedly maintaining ties to terrorist groups. His testimony was the clearest yet publicly naming al-Qaida as a possible financer of terror attacks organized by Jemaah Islamiyah - which is said to be seeking to set up an Islamic superstate in Southeast Asia. In the past, Indonesian police have said the Bali bombings were financed with robberies of a jewelry shop and by donations from radical Muslims in Indonesia. The big money comes from places with lots of sand.
In Thursdayâs testimony, Wan Min said Ghufron attended meetings in Thailand to plan terror attacks in Indonesia. But Ghufron denied that. "Nothing happened in Thailand," he said. "I was just running and trying to hide." I find this interesting. They admit to bombing, stealing and everything else, but swear up and down that nothing ever happened in Thailand. It makes me wonder what really is going on there.
Ghufron had earlier told a court that he was the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah and fought alongside Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Ghufronâs attorneys played down Wan Minâs testimony and criticized the Malaysian law allowing suspects to be held without charges being filed. Wan Min is among scores of alleged Islamic militants detained without trial in Malaysia and Singapore, and accused of involvement in Jemaah Islamiyah plots. "He is not free," defense lawyer Wirawan Adnan said. "The witness is clearly under duress at a detention in Malaysia and held under their Internal Security Act, which is widely known and condemned worldwide as it violates human rights."
Wan Min grinned to Ghufron several times and exchanged waves via the videolink. "Look at me, Iâm somebody."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 10:43:01 AM ||
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The Philippine army intelligence chief resigned yesterday following a failed mutiny by junior officers and soldiers demanding military reforms. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo accepted the resignation of Brigadier General Victor Corpus, who said he quit to ease restiveness among soldiers following Sunday's bloodless uprising. About 300 soldiers and officers who took over a ritzy commercial and shopping complex in Manila's financial district had demanded Corpus' resignation. They accused him of incompetence and involvement in a recent deadly bombing to justify more military aid from Washington. The mutineers, being detained and interrogated at military intelligence headquarters, also demanded Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and National Police chief General Hermogenes Ebdane resign. "The putschists are asking for my resignation. Although I can honestly say that their accusation that I had a hand in the Davao bombing is without basis, I think that it is best for all that I get out of the picture." The mutineers claimed Corpus was in the southern city of Davao when a bomb exploded in a crowded wharf, killing 16 people in April. They said Corpus was either involved or so incompetent he failed to detect and foil the attack. "In chess, when a queen is beleaguered, it is sometimes necessary to sacrifice a knight to save the game. I feel that the restiveness will not calm down with my continued presence," Corpus said. Corpus, a former communist guerrilla leader, became the first military official to step down following Sunday's drama.
Corpus actually sounds like a real officer. I'd give a lot to know what the true state of affairs is, though...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:08 ||
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"...former communist guerrilla leader..." ???!
Posted by: Pete Stanley ||
07/31/2003 1:50 Comments ||
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Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 11:34 Comments ||
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#3
"communist guerilla leader"
Mine is in the "Hobbies and Interests" section of my resume....
Posted by: Carl in NH ||
07/31/2003 11:44 Comments ||
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#4
He was indeed - he defected as a young lieutenant to join the Communist NPA. He surrendered in the 1980's and was forgiven as a gesture to pacify the rebels.
#5
I was a "communist guerilla leader" at one time. I took that job when I was 17 and tired of sacking groceries after school. But once I got my really CUSH job writing classified ads at the local newspaper, I realized that there was NO WAY that being a "communist guerilla leader" could compare with that!
Accused Bali bomber Amrozi said yesterday he was not afraid of dying and was looking forward to becoming a martyr.
Death is not a deterrent against people who think it is the entry ticket to an eternal party.
Two things would work:
lifelong imprisonment/humiliation (ie: lock in a cage and test cosmetics/bioweapons/medical research on them) or collective responsibility (punish their family and associates). The second is grossly unfair and violates several central tenets of western morality. We would find it impossible to stomach - but it would be the most effective method of ensuring these twerps didnât continue to surface.
Despite almost certainly facing a death sentence next week for his part in the Kuta nightclub attacks, he joked, laughed and sang songs about future terrorist acts. I really hate this guy. As an aside, SBS reported (i think i only caught it in passing) that someone with a name resembling Sheikh Yassin is supposed to be visiting Australia next month. I donât know if it is THE Sheikh Yassin: i googled and found no info. Apparently "Muslim Productions" is bringing him out. I googled them: no info. Keysar Trad and the Mufti of Australia want to keep this person and other Islamofascists out (to their credit). SBS of course tried to spin it as though the Islamofascists were no threat and Keysar Trad and the Mufti donât speak for all muslims.
"Even though I will soon be dead, our mission will be continued by our children and grandchildren," he told Australian journalists from his cell, waving his arms around in apparent delight at the attention.
collective responsibility is the antidote to this
"It will never stop. There will be a million more like me who will follow . . . Their name will not be the same as mine, but they will behave the same as me. And the smile, that too will probably be different from mine." he just loves what heâs done. collective responsibility and the cage
Not once did he show remorse, laughing aloud when asked if he wanted to pass on a message to the families of victims killed in the October 12 attacks.
Sporting a new green and white Muslim hat, knitted by his wife for judgement day, he strolled barefooted into the prison yard on the outskirts of Denpasar, his arms gripped tightly by police guards. Handcuffed, wearing shorts and a garish T-shirt, Amrozi, 40, the most famous of the bombing suspects, said he had dreamed since childhood of dying as a martyr for Allah.
hence itâs no punishment just to kill him. The CAGE the CAGE
Asked if he had anything to say to Australian victims, he replied: "They are already dead . . . so how can I possibly say anything to them?" smartarse
When asked if he had a message for your his wife, he replied: "Just to be patient. And ask her to pray or me so that I can get a martyrâs death. I still want a martyrâs death. i humbly pray that my husband can go and fuck 72 virgins in heaven. Amen, Allah is great.
"Even though I didnât get a martyrâs death in the Bali bombing, if I am released from jail, I will do jihad again."
THE CAGE TEST CHEMICALS ON HIM. TEST NEUROSURGERY ON HIM
And how about your children who will have no father, he was asked.
"Their future will be determined by Allah," he said, "not humans." collective responsibility
Halfway through the surreal banter, Amrozi burst into song, one of a number of tunes he has penned since being arrested last November. It called for ongoing terrorist acts and vengeance for the oppression of Muslims all over the world.
"This is us, the warriors of Allah," he sang.
"We are not shaken by the death penalty; Always continuing jihad, whatever happens."
It ended: "Get rid of cruel Zionists; Get rid of the Christian filth; Yell to Allah, Alluah Akbar; This is my song."
Itâs got a catchy beat. Might be able to dance to it: Iâd like to do the ball-grip dance followed by the twist-and-yank followed by the cage and testing-neurosurgery shuffle.
However, he had only harsh words for his youngest brother, Ali Imron.
Imron has given detailed confessions to police and willingly testified against Amrozi, and the eldest of the three brothers, Mukhlas, the operations boss of Jemaah Islamiah, the terrorist gang behind the blasts, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
thank goodness the brother sqwarked
"Of course, we are different. I cannot recognise him. He dresses more and more like a lawyer. The eggs that we came from are different, arenât they?" i dunno. Three bad eggs in a row. Still, you canât make an omelette without breaking some more eggs.
- How do you feel about receiving the death penalty?
"Yes, good. It will be a martyrâs death and that is what I am looking for. When you die as a martyr, you feel nothing . . .
"It is much different to other ways of dying, which can be very painful."
- Are you scared of dying?
"Iâm not scared at all."
- Are you still happy?
"I never feel unhappy."
THE CAGE THE CAGE GIVE HIM THE CHIMPS CAGE AND THE TESTING
The five-man panel of judges, who have listened to more than 40 witnesses since the hearing started on May 12, will deliver their verdict on Thursday. The prosecution has argued for a death penalty, with more than 10 of the 50 suspects captured since the blasts also facing a similar sentence.
#1
"Collective responsibility" would only make us terrorists ourselves. If western civilisation followed such measures, it would really not matter one iota whether the Islamists or us were victorious in the end.
#2
Amrozi needs a life-long 3-hots, well, not so hot and a cot in very stark, but humane confinement; no stimulation, and no comm with the outside. It is as humane as we can be and not become our own enemy, and let his twisted mind turn inward as the years drag on. Take him out of circulation forever.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/01/2003 14:37 Comments ||
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Câmon, Rantburgers, donât fade on me yet (lazy eastcoasters)... help me hate this:
There they go again. In a July 31 speech in Seoul, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control & International Security John Bolton called North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il one of the worldâs "tyrannical rogue-state leaders" and mused publicly how Kim lives in luxury while his people starve. It reminds me of President Bushâs statement in March, 2001, that Kim couldnât be trusted. Infatuated with what they consider candor, the Bush folks too often substitute rhetoric and name-calling for policy. O.K., so Kim is a tyrant and lives in luxury while his people starve. Whatâs U.S. policy toward North Korea? ...But their language is undiplomatic and counterproductive. K, a fair and balanced look...
Such name-calling often generates fistfights on playgrounds. But on the world stage, comments like these merely raise the temperature on the volatile Korean Peninsula, enflaming Pyongyangâs paranoia about an imminent U.S. attack. And in the absence of a clear policy, such statements simply undermine Americaâs national-security interests. Indeed, what passes for North Korea policy in Washington already has been botched. shoulda let DOD handle it
In pressing for talks with North Korea aimed at defusing tensions, the Bush team first insisted that Kim dismantle his nuclear programs before talks begin, then demanded that discussions take place only with South Korea, China, and Japan present. That was a nonstarter. Indeed, the Bush team already is backing off its demands. It already has met with just the North and China instead of all the parties. And it did so before any dismantling had taken place. The problem was that the Bush team has already met with just the North and China instead of all the parties. And it did so before any dismantling had taken place. We are not supposed to solve world problems unilaterally... repeat... we must always solve world problems unilaterally
I'm sorry, but that string of statements is redundant and repeats itself and it's redundant. I'm not sure it makes any sense, either. Also. Too...
Further discussions will include the other players, an Administration official said on July 31, but they will take place before any North Korean nukes are taken apart. The purpose of the talks is to discuss ways to achieve a verifiable and irreversible destruction of North Koreaâs nuclear program, the Administration now says. Nothing wrong with that — the goal makes perfect sense. My question: Why couldnât this have happened long ago? I think divisions within the Administration are at least as much to blame for the delay as any intransigence from the Kim regime. The Bush Administration hasnât had a coherent policy from the get-go....
Who has? North Korea? Ranting and raving and threatening a sea of fire isn't a coherent policy. It's not even coherent. South Korea? "Give them what they want — maybe they won't hurt us" may be coherent, but it's not a policy. China? If they had any idea what to do with their insane stepchild they'd have done it.
...So what should the U.S. do now? U.S. Representative Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a shrewd foreign-policy expert, recently led a bipartisan congressional delegation to North Korea and came away with some reasonable proposals to break the logjam. To satisfy the Northâs security concerns, Weldon suggests a one-year nonaggression pact between Washington and Pyongyang. ...we have one, itâs called an "armistice"
Washington also would recognize Kimâs regime and open a mission in Pyongyang. In return, the North would renounce its nuclear-weapons program, permit inspections of its nuclear facilities, help develop a complete inventory of its weapons and materials, and rejoin the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And in the final part of the first phase, the U.S., both Koreas, Japan, Russia, and China would hammer out an economic and security arrangement for the Korean Peninsula, with funding of up to $5 billion a year in aid for a decade. So we meet with the NKORs privately and negotiate a deal that the rest of the world will just show up and sign... simplisme, no?
After all this happens, the nonaggression pact would become permanent. To stop the Northâs weapons proliferation, it would be required to sign the Missile Technology Control Regime. The Stalinist state also would have to lay out a timetable for improving human rights and assume observer status with the Helsinki Commission, a U.S. agency that monitors democratic, economic, and human-rights developments. And in one of Weldonâs pet projects, Congress would establish links with North Koreaâs parliament to develop programs on everything from agriculture to judicial systems to environmental cooperation. This scheme has much to recommend it. It should allay North Korean fears of a U.S. attack and defang Kimâs nukes. It would give the North Koreans the legitimacy they crave at little cost to the U.S. It also would demonstrate solidarity among North Koreaâs neighbors — something the Bush Administration has sought with mixed results so far. The success of the Weldon plan depends on key factors that are also still unknowns: Does Pyongyang intend to develop nukes regardless of what the U.S. does? Can Pyongyang be integrated into the world economic community in this timeframe? Finally, can any deal be verified and enforced? After all, U.S. intelligence knew nothing about the highly enriched uranium program for years. As things stand now, the North could destroy that operation and its Yongbyan facility, and we still wouldnât know of a third, fourth, or fifth site where nuclear work might be ongoing. Then again, we wonât know the answers until the U.S., North Korea, and its neighbors sit down, talk, draft a proposal, and sign it. The sooner, the better, for everyone. In the meantime, Bush and his aides would do well to stop the name-calling. AAAAGGGHHH!!! Please edit, with a bullet. On second thought dump the whole mag. Business Week???
Posted by: Mark IV ||
07/31/2003 10:23:56 PM ||
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#1
You develop them, we'll show you how they work. We'll use Big Kimmie's massive statue as an aiming point. That ought to calm Pyongyang. Permanently.
#2
Notice the assumption that the name-calling and it's effect on the Nork negotiations was not deliberate. Nope, that would mean that Administration wasn't just a bunch of simplistic, bumbling, bullies. Couldn't be that the administration is playing a game deeper than Business Week can grasp. Nah just a faux pas from a loose cannon, big-mouthed clumsy Bush team.
Would it be crass at this point to mention that the Norks, and everyone else, is free to talk trash all the time. You know: Imperialist aggressors, running amok, and all that...
Bolton's speech appears to have preceeded the recent announcements about possible 6-way talks. Does anyone know this? It would be interesting if it did. Even more interesting if it didn't.
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
07/31/2003 22:59 Comments ||
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#3
Mark IV: This is so bad and on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. History? Logic? Negotiating 101? I think instead we should leave it alone to stand as a monument to shortsightedness, appeasement, and pomposity. In those ways, it is truly a masterpiece.
#4
First of all, I am continually amazed that people here complain when we note that Pyongyang is a brutal dictatorship that starves its own people. We are "not helping matters" when we do that.
On the other hand, when North Korea routinely threatens to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire" that is just their quaint way of saying "let's talk."
More basically, I'm simply astounded that people argue that we can trust the psychopaths of Pyongyang. They are SO paranoid that even if we signed a perpetual non-aggression pact and pledged $5 billion a year in aid they'd STILL think the clever round-eyes were plotting to invade!
If they think we plan to invade with a 2-brigade 2nd Infantry Division--or that Seoul would join us--they cannot be convinced we aren't out to get them.
I'm not sure what the solution is but we won't be safe until the regime in Pyongyang is gone.
#5
Thanks, guys... sometimes, it gets late, and ya think you're the only one.
11-alpha, you're right, this really defies comment. You can zero in on "unknowns: Does Pyongyang intend to develop nukes regardless of what the U.S. does?"..."Then again, we wonât know the answers until the U.S., North Korea, and its neighbors sit down, talk, draft a proposal, and sign it," and marvel, but then you back up and go through it again, and a whole new world of Korean roulette opens.
Taro-sama nails it... dontcha think all diplospeak is calculated for effect? Even, in their crude and bizarre way, the NKOR's (give us money or we'll make a fuss)?
So maybe ours' means, "no and shut up" or maybe it means "5 bil is too high, let's talk 1.5 and a pretense at human rights". Or maybe it means, "check out Baghdad, and we weren't even pissed at them."
Their dice, their move. Dontcha guess wrong now, y'hear?
Posted by: Mark IV ||
08/01/2003 0:23 Comments ||
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Syria has at least 100 long-range ballistic nerve-gas missiles aimed at central Israel, Janeâs Foreign Affairs reported this week. A senior Israeli defense source told Foreign Affairs that the missiles are equipped with VX, the most lethal nerve gas, and that the Syrians have now achieved their aim of balancing Israelâs nuclear advantage. Now, where do you suppose they got VX, I mean itâs not like they could go borrow some from their neighbor. Oh, wait....
Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Syria today is incapable of stopping the activities of terror organizations operating in south Lebanon or the flow of money and military supplies from Iran to the area, Israel Radio reported Thursday morning. Incapable, or unwilling?
The same source said that the U.S. has detected that Syrian President Bashar Assad is experiencing difficulty in controlling the advisors of his late father, former president Hafez Assad. While these advisors had little influence when the elder Assad was alive, today they are setting Syrian government policy, the report said. The senior aides wield great influence today, and they are exploiting the younger Assadâs inexperience in order to maintain a tough line which is preventing any possibility of stopping the flow of weapons and money to terrorists in south Lebanon, as well as their operations. Evil advisors usurping power from the young prince, old arab tradition.
The source also said that Bashar Assad is unable to deliver on his promises to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that would get Syria removed from the U.S. list of states supporting terror. We noticed, so did Colin.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 12:33:10 PM ||
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#1
Be a real shame if some of those nasty missles had an accident before they could be launched, now, wouldn't it? I'd have to deplore the terrible loss of life in Syria.
#2
Is this why the Syrian Ministers are full of themselves and talking so tough, ya think? If they admit having them, but don't pull the trigger, the Pals and all their little buddies will scream bloody murder. Iran, for instance, has stated publicly, more than once, that as soon as they have a nuke they'll take Israel out. This story might actually put Syria in a bind - in a perverse way. Interesting. Time to put the hobnail boots on again, methinks - there's no MAD balance with an insane opponent.
#8
Anyone who thinks VX "balances" nukes needs to revisit physics. Or sadly, maybe needs to put it to the test... that would probably settle things once and for all.
VX is really overrated as a WMD. It kills people, not real efficiently, if the wind's just right, and then it goes away. If you know it's coming you can defend against it, and Israel is probably the best-equipped civilian population in the world for such a defense. Horrific? Yes. War-winner? Not hardly.
Contrast with nukes... Damascus isn't going to "get over it". Sure hope it doesn't come to that, but the whole ME seems to have misplaced its collective calculator when it comes to cost-benefit ratios.
Posted by: Mark IV ||
07/31/2003 13:59 Comments ||
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(Continuing Douglas's list)
Fourth, Israel has the USA as a big brother, friend, and protector who will look on any VX deployment or use and be very, very unhappy. Who's Syria got? All those Arab neighbors, North Korea, and the UN sure came to Saddam's rescue, didn't they?
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 14:19 Comments ||
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#10
My goodness gracious, should we ask the UN to send in the clowns inspectors and nag them into complying.
Like Douglas said, only a completely naive and irrational person Democrat would not make the connection between the Ex-Iraqi Baath party and the Syrian Baath Party.
#12
me prove Israel has Vx how about you prove Syria has them fast....or i propose a major weapons search in all middle east countries. From Iran to Syria to egypt to yemen to Israel. But ofcourse Israel refused to the Idea.
#13
Hi Folks... been away for a bit (moved to a new place) and I'm curious. Is this Stevey schmuck really this dumb, or is he just spoofing? At least Murat gave you more than the latest D.U. talking points.
#15
20YO college dropout and DJ by the name of "MC PrimaL" and general waste of protoplasm, as evidenced on his home page. Hope that's antifreeze he's pounding.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/31/2003 15:29 Comments ||
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#16
All is saved! I heard that France and Germany have created a joint inspection team to serch for those pesky VWs. What? VX you say? Oh never mind we will let the EU handle it.
#17
Assad lite has not even figured who to appoint as his own advisers yet so he still uses his dad's advisers.
Also, no missiles have ever been designed with the idea of delivering VX. Yes, you can stuff the VX where the explosive stuff was supposed to go but all kinds of problems ensue.
#18
mass weapons search among all mid east countries is fine - part of regional disarmament pact - negotiated by ALL states in region - with ALL states in region recognizing each other and negotiating with each other - oh, wait, Syria and Iran dont recognize Israel - oh, well, so much for that idea.
#19
Just goes to show that Stevey couldn't grab his ass with both hands.
Don't know about"Janeâs Foreign Affairs",but if it is like Jane's Weapons and Defense guide you can pretty much figure they know what they are talking about.
#20
All of Jane's publications, Defense Weekly, Foreign Affairs Weekly, etc., are standard reading material by all of the Pentagon crowd. My office had three subscriptions to Jane's Defense Weekly so everyone could read it.
Great publication with some really interesting sources. They have been known to get their mitts on some very highly classified info on the Soviets and the PRC.
If Jane's says the Syrians have missiles with VX, take it to the bank.
#21
btw Steven Robinson. Don't be surprised if Commerce Bank has a few ideas about your employment, hobbies, and connection to their respected business name. They'll be contacting you shortly. Ass. Have a nice day
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/31/2003 20:01 Comments ||
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#22
Looks like Stevey will be heading for "The Triangle" sooner then he thinks.
MOSCOW (AP) - North Koreaâs ambassador to Russia said Thursday his country supported multilateral talks to ease tensions surrounding Pyongyangâs nuclear program, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "Heel, boy! Heel I say!"
North Korea has previously said it would be willing to participate in multilateral talks on the condition that it first has bilateral talks with the United States. Washington has insisted on talks involving a number of countries, including South Korea and Japan.
The ministry, in a statement, said that Pyongyang is ``making active effortsââ toward multilateral talks, suggesting no agreement on holding talks had been made yet. In the past, North Korea has rarely announced major policy shifts through low-ranking officials such as ambassadors. "Especially running-dog Russian ones!"
The Russian Foreign Ministry statement said Ambassador Pak Ui Chun, during a meeting with Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov, said his insane leadership had instructed him to express North Koreaâs support for multilateral talks with the participation of Russia. ``As instructed by his goof-brained leadership, the ambasassdor said that North Korea supports conducting six-sided talks with the participation of Russia on resolving the current complex situation on the Korean Peninsula and is making active efforts toward their realization,ââ the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry expressed ``satisfaction at this constructive decision of the moment by Pyongyang.ââ
Earlier Friday, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in Tokyo that North Korea had not agreed to a U.S. proposal for multilateral talks, which would include Japan, China, South Korea and Russia.
Russia, which has been on the sidelines in the nuclear standoff between the United States and North Korea, is eager to play a high-profile role on the Korean peninsula, a economically important region. Curb your dog, Vlad!
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/31/2003 12:08:01 PM ||
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1) The Russians (now) wanna play cuz they think there's hard currency to be had... Fathers of the NorK "country" and culpable for abandoning them when they were merely young thugs.
2) China is being coy and enjoys its little game of thinking the US "needs" them - serves their fantasy of being a global power... Mommy of the delinquent NorKs and culpable for staying drunk on imagined importance instead of teaching the little shit any manners.
3) The NorKs are pretending to be insane - rather convincingly - in order to get aid so they don't have to eat dirt and can pretend they're a "big" and "important" country / regime / asylum and sit at the big table with the adults. Not happening. Ever.
4) The SKors will do anything, kiss anything, suck anything you place in front of them if it allows them to reunite with their NorK comrades thus destroying their economy for 20-30 yrs and allowing the oldies to visit the graves of ancestors and bark at the moon...
5) The Japanese do NOT like having pissants like the NorKs shooting missiles over the Japanese islands and developing / possessing nukes. Unhappy enough to change their constitution and rebuild their armed forces.
6) The US is not happy about the nukes, but unwilling to appease / kowtow / pay blackmail. Not our mess and not our problem. Fools want us to replay the disasterous policies that led us here. Dubya is not that stupid. Time to withdraw US troops from shitforbrains SKOR and let THEM defend themselves - they're not poor.
Looks like there should be 4-way talks: Russkies, Chinese, NorKs and Skors. No place or need for US or Japan to get involved - unless it's to apply a terminal solution.
We should whisper in Japan's ear: "Hey, these clowns are all nuts, let's blow this joint and find a good kareoke bar... whaddya say?"
This is masterful: we ask the UN for permisson. Theyâll take weeks, weeks to decide. In the meantime we canât land the Marines -- why, that would be so unilateral of us. And that gives LURD the time to make sure Chuckles engages a lamppost via a piano wire.
The United States asked the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to authorize a multinational force to help implement a cease-fire in war-ravaged Liberia and then replace it with U.N. peacekeepers by October. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged west African nations to immediately announce the date for deployment of the troops they are assembling to be the vanguard of the multinational force. "Somebody decide something! You guys are making me look ineffectual!"
The draft resolution makes no mention of participation by U.S. troops, despite international calls for the U.S. military to take the lead in ending a conflict between troops loyal to President Charles Taylor and rebels trying to oust him. President Bush said Wednesday the conditions he set for a Liberian rescue mission still exist: ``Charles Taylor must go, cease-fire must be in place, and we will be there to helpââ the force being sent by the Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS. Logistics and support still seem to be the limit.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte introduced the resolution at a closed council meeting and made clear the United States wants the West Africans to lead the multinational force. ``At the moment what weâre talking about is providing support to ECOWAS and the United Nations in this effort to bring peace to Liberia and to enable us to deal with this desperate humanitarian situation,ââ he said. Annan expressed deep concern at the delay in the arrival of the 1,500-strong West African force and the worsening plight of the Liberian people. ``The Nigerians, or ECOWAS ... should indicate to us today what the D-day should be for the deployment of the forces,ââ Annan told a news conference. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said Tuesday after meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London that peacekeeping troops might arrive in ``a few days.ââ "Um, letâs see, Tuesday, Tuesday ... nope, Tuesdayâs out, gotta go cut a ribbon on a highway in Lagos. Um, Wednesday, Wednesday ..."
Annan envisions the regional force being expanded quickly to a multinational force, hopefully led by the United States, and then replaced in a short time by a U.N. peacekeeping force. The secretary-general said Bush indicated the United States ``will support the effortsââ and expressed hope that once U.S. and ECOWAS forces ``are on the ground, the two forces will cooperate and make a difference in the lives of the Liberians, who are in such dire straights at the moment.ââ The U.S. draft resolution would authorize the U.N. mission in Sierra Leone to provide logistical support to ECOWAS for a limited period as Annan requested, including transporting a Nigerian battalion to Liberia. Correct me if Iâm wrong, but a battalion is about 500 men, give or take. What in the world will 500 men do in Liberia? That size force couldnât even prevent the looting the womens clothing district of Monrovia.
It would establish a multinational force to support implementation of a cease-fire agreement, help establish security after Taylorâs departure and the installation of ``a successor authority,ââ and help ensure delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid. The Security Council would also be asked to declare its readiness to establish a follow-on U.N. peacekeeping force and be ready to deploy it ``no later than Oct. 1.ââ "Right after we deploy the replacement UN force for the Congo."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/31/2003 1:01:25 AM ||
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#1
Send in the inspectors first. We've got 10 years worth of games to play before boots hit the ground.
#3
West African leaders committed Thursday to deploy the first peace troops to warring Liberia by the start of next week, and said President Charles Taylor would go into exile three days later. The leaders, meeting in Ghana, agreed to send a vanguard of 1,500 peacekeepers, expected to be two battalions from Nigeria.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, executive secretary of the West African leaders' bloc, said the vanguard force would provide the ``appropriate conditions for the handover of power, and departure from Liberia, of President Charles Taylor.''
I'll believe Chucky is going to leave as soon as his body reaches room temperature.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2003 12:56 Comments ||
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#4
And will somebody PLEASE teach those newspaper hacks how to spell?
It's "dire straits", dammit...
Call it nitpicking if you want, but aren't journalists paid to write?
JERUSALEM: A truce by Palestinian militants is âpaper thinâ and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must be further isolated if a new peace effort is to succeed, US House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told Israeli lawmakers yesterday. DeLay, on a tour of the Middle East, repeated calls for Palestinians to disarm militant groups as required by the U.S.-backed road map plan for Middle East peace. Speaking at a Knesset reception hall, DeLay Dismissed the truce called by Palestinian resistance groups a month ago, and said, âMurderers who take 90-day vacations are still murderers.â
The man's on a roll. The Dems will be taking the gas pipe, of course...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:29 ||
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Here is a link to the NRO copy of his speech to the Knesset. Wonder how long it will take for the leftist media to denounce him in some snide way? A really good speech, by the way.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/31/2003 0:47 Comments ||
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#2
Wow! That really brings a tear to the eye. DeLay in 2008!
#4
âMurderers who take 90-day vacations are still murderers.â
It hard to find a politician that can see sh** and tell you that is smells. Tom has my vote if he chooses to run.
#5
I'm wondering if we'll be in open war with "them" come 2008. His stands and statements now will serve him - and us - well then, as even the dimwits will start to get a clue about what's at stake - and what kind of leader is needed.
#6
open war? the first Paleo attack on america (ambassadors excepted given recent history?) should invoke a JDAM on Arafat and IMMEDIATE transfer of our embassy to the new capital of Israel: Jerusalem
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/31/2003 21:15 Comments ||
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#7
We need DeLay to help George make a speech in Washington - a private speech only to the heads of Arab nations. George's speech is easy to write:
"We've had enough. The first time any terrorist organization uses a weapon of mass destruction against the United States, the following 268 points will be struck, simultaneously, with one-megaton nuclear weapons. Either clean up the mess you've created, or we'll clean house to suit ourselves."
The list should include Mecca, Medina, any other "holy city" of Islam, every capital of any Islamic nation, the Aswan Dam, and anywhere else more than two-thirds of the population is Muslim. We can exempt those who decide to really DO something against these Wahabbist bozos, on a case-by-case basis.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/31/2003 23:05 Comments ||
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TEHRAN: Iranâs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told thousands of Islamist militants here yesterday that the United States was âa more ferocious wolf than Saddamâs regimeâ.
Yes. We are, just in a different way. Isn't it grand?
âThe United States, despite its pretence of saving the Iraqi people, is a more ferocious wolf than Saddamâs regime,â state television quoted Khamenei as saying. âHateful US action in different areas, particularly Iraq, can no longer deceive public opinion, as every day the worldâs hatred of the United States increases. Unacceptable pressure, installing a foreign ruler, demanding resources (from Iraq), anarchy ... have exposed the true brand of human rights and democracy offered by the United States to the people of the Middle East.â Denouncing what he called a US propaganda campaign against Iran, Khamenei said âthe United States, by way of propaganda and media complexes ... pretends their opposition to Islam stems from the call for holy war, terrorism and hate ... but itâs a big lie, because Islam is exonerated from all such accusations."
"'Cuz we said it is!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:27 ||
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pretends their opposition to Islam stems from the call for holy war, terrorism and hate
Looks like even the Ayatollahs are getting the message. Good!
#3
âthe United States, by way of propaganda and media complexes ... pretends their opposition to Islam stems from the call for holy war, terrorism and hate ... but itâs a big lie, because Islam is exonerated from all such accusations."
Funny how it always seems to work out that way for these loons, isn't it?
#6
it's kinda funny that for twenty or more years these aholes had a free ride with no fear of retribution from uncle sam. now that we are no longer going to take this bullshit we are the bad guys. iran in praticular helped create a culture in the middle east where it was ok to kill americans.. now we want retribution - too bad assholes. deal with it!
Posted by: Dan ||
07/31/2003 11:14 Comments ||
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#7
"...as every day the worldâs hatred of the United States increases."
And just how do you quantify this, Mullah Mullah?
That "more" people hate America, or the same number of people who hated America before, now hate America "more"?
"Everything I know about America, I learned watching Baywatch"TM
#12
I don't think their hatred has increased at all.
Nor has their rhetoric relating to hatred.
Only their fear has increased.
Paraphrasing Old Nick, if you're hated, you need to be feared as well.
Top U.S. arms negotiator John Bolton described North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Thursday as a tyrannical dictator who lived like royalty while jailing thousands and keeping many hungry in a "hellish nightmare."
Ummm... Yep. That about covers it.
In a tough speech guaranteed to provoke a blistering North Korean response, the undersecretary of state also said Kim was mistaken if he thought threats to develop and proliferate nuclear weapons would weaken international resolve to halt Pyongyang's atomic ambitions through multilateral talks.
Ahhh... The testes approach...
His comments come at a delicate time, with Japan's Kyodo news agency reporting the U.S. and North and South Korea were in the final stages of discussing a proposal to hold three-way talks in early September. "The last year has seen Kim Jong-il accelerate these programs, particularly on the nuclear front," he said in a speech to the East Asia Institute, referring to proliferation. "The days of (North Korean) blackmail are over," he said. "Kim Jong-il is dead wrong to think that developing nuclear weapons will improve his security. Indeed, the opposite is true." Bolton, widely seen as a Bush administration hawk on North Korea, spent large parts of his speech painting a bleak picture of life for the average North Korean with Kim at the helm. He mentioned Kim's name dozens of times, and described him as one of the world's "tyrannical rogue state leaders."
Kinda the poster boy for the whole clan, in fact...
"While he lives like royalty in Pyongyang, he keeps hundreds of thousands of his people locked in prison camps with millions more mired in abject poverty, scrounging the ground for food," he said. "For many in North Korea, life is a hellish nightmare." North Korea is edging toward talks but has recently repeated its demand Washington drop its "hostile policy."
There's your answer, Kim.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:21 ||
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guaranteed to provoke a blistering North Korean response
oooo I'm waiting with unbridled anticipation *rubs hands together*
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/31/2003 0:43 Comments ||
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#2
Wonder if this will cause the Norks to cancel the "three way talks." And whether it was Mr. Bolton's precise mission to cause same.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/31/2003 0:52 Comments ||
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#3
guaranteed to provoke a blistering North Korean response
Been so long since we got a good one that I misplaced my scoring cards....
Can anybody loan me some ?
Posted by: Carl in NH ||
07/31/2003 11:38 Comments ||
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#4
How come no post from KCNA today? They should be going ballistic on this guy.
President Bush, in his first full news conference since March, warned today that there was a "real threat" of a new terror attack, possibly with hijacked airliners, but said he felt confident that it would be thwarted. "The threat is a real threat," Mr. Bush said, when asked about a warning from the Transportation Security Administration of possible plans by Al Qaeda militants to hijack commercial airlines in Australia, Europe or the United States. "We have got some data that indicates that they would like to use flights, international flights for example," he said, adding that Al Qaeda tended to "use the methodologies that worked in the past."
Unless they can come up with new ones. But we do know they go for booms...
"I'm confident we will thwart the attempts," he said. Separately, however, law-enforcement officials said that they were still assessing the credibility of the latest threats, and did not increase the government's threat level.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:08 ||
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Hijackings, doubtful. Exploding shoes, maybe. But if they use methodologies that worked in the past, they'll try bombs in suitcases, with the added twist that their owner accompanies them. I still think this is the weakest part of airport security.
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/31/2003 0:34 Comments ||
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#2
I'd suggest airport employees, security guards, mechanics, ground crew, etc. Lots of people who are routinely in and out of secure areas all day long. The fact that the INS can raid any major airport in the country and round up illegal workers suggests this as a big weakness.
Calling himself "an Israeli at heart," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told Israeli legislators during a lecture on Wednesday that the burden for achieving peace in Israel rests with the Palestinians, who he said must eradicate terrorism. Speaking a day after President Bush met at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, DeLay said that Bush "made clear that the prospects of peace are the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority," which must "fight terror and dismantle terrorist capabilities." Bush also urged Sharon to ease restrictions on Palestinians and to restrain Israel's own actions. Yet DeLay, while declaring that Palestinians "have been oppressed and abused," said that the culprit was Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. "Israel is not the problem," he said. "Israel is the solution."
Now watch him catch the flak for that...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:08 ||
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Terrorism, like its tyrannical forebears, is borne of the idea that with enough guns, enough fear, and enough violence, human power can control the human spirit.
That through brute force, powerful men can erase the imprint of the Almighty etched into the souls of all His children.
That through domination of the weak, in the words of the serpent, "Ye shall be as gods."
Ladies and gentlemen, IT IS A LIE.
It was a lie at Auschwitz. It was a lie in the Gulag.
It was a lie behind the Iron Curtain. It was a lie in Kabul and Baghdad. And today, it remains a lie in Beijing, and Havana, and Tehran, and Pyongyang, and Damascus and Ramallah!
But history has taught us, The Lie's grip on civilization is only as tight as civilization permits.
After September 11, 2001, OUR tolerance for The Lie is no more.
#3
Too true. Historically, Americans have to be backed into a corner and have their jaw knocked askew before they'll take up a challenge to their existence. One can hope that's really changing - Dubya is certainly trying to effect that change. Lethality makes the stakes far too high to wait, as before.
#4
I think the problem with the Isrealis and the Palestinians can be summed up in one word: ARAFAT.
That little pig was an early leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLF)which trained the IRA, the Red Army Faction, Black September and other nutcases and fringe wackos too numerous to mention.
As long as there are hostilities between the Isrealis and the Palestinians, Arafat has a nice fat life with a zillion dollars in the bank and legions of left leaning, anti-semite European leaders kissing his butt. Once there is peace, someone and not necessariliy an Isreali will KILL him.
Terrorism has become a business. As long as there are problems in Isreal, these psychopaths can get large sums of money from naive people to fund their crimes. A lot of that money goes for fancy cars, fancy homes, drugs, girls, fine food, etc....If there is peace in the middle east, these clowns are out of business. So they self perpetuate themselves with other people's children and other people's money to guarantee themselves status and a cush existence.
An advance team of peacekeepers led by Nigeria has arrived in the civil war-hit Liberian capital, Monrovia. On Saturday, thousands of marines on board three warships are expected to arrive off the West African coast â but it is not clear if they will be sent ashore. More than one million people are trapped inside the capital â desperate for help. Food is running out and the fighting is continuing. Hundreds of civilians have been been killed in the city following fighting between government troops and rebels trying to topple President Charles Taylor over the past two weeks. Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said it was "too early" to say whether US marines would take part on the ground if requested by the peacekeeping force. President Bush has repeated demands that a ceasefire be in place and President Taylor gone before any US involvement.
Stick to it, G.W.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
07/31/2003 00:08 ||
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team of peacekeepers led by Nigeria
Yeah the last time Nigerians did this they had to borrow weapons from one of the fighting factions. Hope they come better prepared this time. Oh and... shopkeepers: barricade yourselves.
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/31/2003 0:24 Comments ||
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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.
