Her uncle is the world's most wanted man and a byword for zealotry.
Which makes this provocative pose by Osama Bin Laden's niece either very brave or extremely foolish.
Wafah Dufour, 26, is seen sprawled on a bed in lingerie, a feather boa and high heels.
She stretches out her long limbs and throws back her hair in an attitude seemingly calculated to outrage Islamic traditionalists.
The former law student, a would-be pop singer, is also seen with a guitar between her legs in a flowing dress and, perhaps most provocative of all, is seen pouting in a bubble bath.
New York-based Wafah, who adopted her mother's maiden name after the September 11 attacks directed by Bin Laden, is the daughter of his half-brother Yeslam.
She has already risked Osama's wrath by declaring her ambitions to launch a pop career. But that was nothing compared with her decision to appear in a photoshoot for the January edition of American GQ magazine.
Wafah estimates she has 200 cousins
Her father and Osama are two of 54 children fathered by Mohammed Bin Laden, a Saudi whose construction companies have changed the face of the Middle East.
She says she has never met Osama Bin Laden, who is currently believed to be holed up somewhere on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan with a £13million price on his head.
He has close ties to Afghanistan's Taliban, which compelled women to wear the head-to-toe burqa. Those not clothed according to the rules could be whipped and beaten.
At the time of September 11, 2001, Wafah was attending Columbia Law School in New York. But on the day of the terror attacks in New York and Washington DC, she was visiting her mother in Switzerland and recalls hearing the news.
She said: "They were starting to say Bin Laden did this, Bin Laden did that - and I was so numb because I couldn't even believe what was happening in New York. It was my home."
I'll have to disagree. Very hot-looking - not surprising, given that a wealthy family like the bin Ladens probably got to pick the best-looking women around to bear their children.
#13
Her mother is Carmen (Dufour): Iranian mother, Swiss father. Her story.
Posted by: ed ||
12/23/2005 17:58 Comments ||
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#14
I'm sure the family knew nothing of the attack since they were in Switzerland at the time, bullshit! Post the pictures on the internet, rub her in pig fat and sent the whole damn family back to Soddi! They knew it was going to happen and left to a neutral country until it was safe to go back. They could have save over 3,000 Americans with one phone call!
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/23/2005 18:45 Comments ||
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I hope she survives her next family get-together. Cute or not, taking advantage of her uncle's bad name or not, right or wrong, what she's doing takes guts.
The head of the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition force in Egypt's parliament, has echoed Iran's president in describing the Holocaust as a myth. "Western democracy has attacked everyone who does not share the vision of the sons of Zion as far as the myth of the Holocaust is concerned," Mohamed Akef said in a statement on Thursday. Akef cited as evidence of Western intolerance the cases of Roger Garoudy, the writer who was convicted in France in 1998 of questioning the Holocaust, and David Irving, a British historian who faces similar charges in Austria next month.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, caused an international uproar when he said in a speech on 14 December that the Holocaust was a myth. Last week Mohamed Habib, the deputy leader of the Brotherhood, asked about Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust, said reports of Nazi attempts to wipe out European Jews might have been exaggerated. "We don't have confirmed things to enable us to prove this matter or refute it," he said. "It needs documentation but what one can be sure of is that there were attacks on the Jews but not by means of gas chambers or perhaps not in these numbers or on this scale." But Habib said the debate was irrelevant to the situation of the Palestinians. "What the Jews propagate about there being a Holocaust has nothing to do with the way they treat the Palestinians on the land of Palestine," he said.
Akef, whose group won 88 of the Egyptian parliament's 454 seats in elections in November and December, made his comment in an attack on the assertion by the US that it is promoting democracy in the Middle East. He said the US campaign was a cover for promoting its own interests and those of the Zionist movement in the region. "American democracy ... steers the world into the American orbit delineated by the sons of Zion, so that everyone must wear the Stars and Stripes hat and keep away from the Zionist foster child," he wrote in his weekly statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2005 00:21 ||
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#1
I thought the Koran comming from God was a Myth. More of a Myth than the Holocaust could ever be.
#2
Now you ought to know that as far as Religion is concerned, the Truth is ignored.
Remember the very old saying
"Don't bother me with the facts, my mind is made up"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/23/2005 8:20 Comments ||
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#3
"It needs documentation but what one can be sure of is that there were attacks on the Jews but not by means of gas chambers or perhaps not in these numbers or on this scale."
He's definately got a problem with reading and world history. The Holocaust is one of the most documented events in the history of the world.
#6
I'll say it here, and I'll say anywhere else I see this vile sort of horsesh!t, until all of you here tell me not to.
Arab pursuit of genocide and denial of the Holocaust will bring about only one thing, namely, the Muslim holocaust. If Islam thinks that it will be able to rekindle the ovens and begin exterminating all the Jews, they will quickly find out that this world has had quite enough of such intolerable evil. Never again will the Jews go quietly and neither shall the infidels.
Islam does not seem to realize that the non-Muslim world vastly outnumbers them and, if pressed, will gleefully thrust every single last Muslim into any oven, gas chamber, kiln, incinerator, wood chipper or garbage disposal at hand if that is what it takes to, for once and all, end any talk of genocide.
This world has come too far to be plunged back into endless war. If Islam seeks an eternal battle over installation of universal sharia law, it is in for a surprise at just how brief that conflict will be.
#7
gleefully thrust every single last Muslim into any oven, gas chamber, kiln, incinerator, wood chipper or garbage disposal at hand if that is what it takes to, for once and all, end any talk of genocide.
:> I'm such an amateur.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/23/2005 17:29 Comments ||
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#8
...gleefully thrust every single last Muslim into any oven, gas chamber, kiln, incinerator, wood chipper or garbage disposal at hand if that is what it takes to, for once and all, end any talk of genocide.
Not so. If the world did that, it wouldn't be the civilized world. It would be the same kind of world that did it to the Jews, just doing it to somebody else.
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."
I'll do that, but I'll never become them.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2005 18:28 Comments ||
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#9
Ummmm... I thought Z was laying on a triple reverse, go for the head-shot snark, then again, maybe you are too.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/23/2005 19:33 Comments ||
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#10
I'll go for decapitating the Islamic monster however low we have to go - below the cleric to the wannnabes to the wishfuls to the just criminal (thin separation)
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/23/2005 19:56 Comments ||
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#11
Jihadis, Nazis -- same things in the craniums, just different cults. Ruthlessly wipe out the fanatics and their "foot soldiers" will melt away and the masses will adapt. We haven't crossed the tipping point yet, but Iran is about to change that. Iran with nukes is Hitler with nukes.
DHAKA - The United States on Thursday warned its citizens to take âextra careâ in Bangladesh, following a wave of suicide attacks by militants. âThose residing in or traveling to Bangladesh are urged to use extra care and precaution while in the country,â the US Embassy in Dhaka said in a public announcement.
The original embassy warning was, "What in the world are you doing here! Are you nuts?! Get on the next plane and don't talk to anyone until you do! Now go! Git!"
The embassy said militant Islamic group Jamayetul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) had âtaken responsibility for the bombings and suicide attacks since Augustâ. âJMBâs introduction of suicide bombers in November represented a significant escalation in its campaign of violence,â the embassy said, adding that the group had adapted its methods and targets to defeat police counter-measures.
They couldn't be getting ahead of the RAB, could they?
The US embassy said newspapers and Bangladeshi charities, including âseveral which receive funding from the United States Government, have received threats purportedly from JMBâ.
âJMB leaflets ... justify the use of indiscriminate suicide attacks, and condemn Western social and political concepts as un-Islamic,â it said. âThey also identify the governments of the US and the UK as enemies of Islam.â
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2005 00:02 ||
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Bangladesh
US warns its citizens to take âextra careâ in Bangladesh
Damn, that vacation spot is out...guess we'll have to settle for a base camp in Wasilla then.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
12/23/2005 0:34 Comments ||
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#2
The US embassy said newspapers and Bangladeshi charities, including âseveral which receive funding from the United States Government, have received threats purportedly from JMBâ.
Why do we continue to poor money down rat holes? They have no appreciation for it, nor does the American taxpayer.
They work in the dark, always after midnight. They wear dark clothes and move very quietly, using the age-old techniques of the cat burglar rather than the more violent methods of other gangs on the Costa del Sol. They are presumed members of the so-called Jihadi Salaphist terrorist group, and the recent capture of the cell by the Guardia Civil has thrown some light on their modus operandi and on their links with Al Qaeda.
There were many similarities between the various robberies perpetrated on the Costa del Sol and in the province of Cadiz, the police believe. Only objects of value that could be easily transported were stolen, these being mainly money, watches, jewels, cameras and the like. Even the most expensive television sets, music equipment and paintings were left behind, although in some cases, they stole luxury cars as well.
The Guardia Civil investigations reveal that the group operated as a unit in specific areas, concentrating on a single area, or in many cases, a single street, arriving and leaving on foot. They entered the houses in pairs, dressed in dark clothes, and the few times they were surprised by the owners, they communicated to each other in Arabic.
The recently issued imprisonment order links the three men with two robberies committed on the Costa del Sol this year. They both took place at the beginning of January, in two houses in Mijas. In the first robbery, in which the target was a large house in the Valtocado residential development, the gang got away with 100,000, while in the other, in which a house in the Rancho de la Luz residential development was robbed, they stole only 250 pounds sterling.
The thieves themselves sold the items stolen, and at the time of their arrest, they were carrying just enough money for living on from day to day, the rest, presumably, going to the Jihadi Salaphist terrorist group. This supports the theory that the gang was working for a larger terrorist organisation.
The Spanish police believe that the Emir Abdelmalek Droukdel, known as Abou Moussab Abdelouadoud, is the leader of the Jihadi Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, which has direct links to Al Qaeda.
The police tell us that the group has a large financial network abroad, based on criminal activities such as drug trafficking, robbery and credit card swindling. These crimes are committed by support cells all over Europe, and most of the money finds its way back to Algeria, as was the case of the Costa del Sol robbers.
The identities of the three Algerians detained by the police last week have been given to the press by the police as F. A., alias âEl PakistanÃâ; F. M., âMohâ and A. Y., âKaderâ. According to the judge in charge of the case, evidence exists to suggest that they could be members of one of these terrorist support cells, while their involvement in the house robbers earlier this year is fairly certain.
Those arrested, all staying in the Marbella, Estepona, Torremolinos, Malaga and Benalmádena areas, deny that they have anything to do with the Jihadi Saphist Group, and claim they have no idea where the jewels and money found in their possession came from.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/23/2005 07:30 ||
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An Islamic network which recruited extremists at mosques and prayer meetings was broken up by the Intelligence Service of the National Police in a number of provinces in Spain in the early hours of Monday morning. The gang converted these radicals into mujaheddin, fundamentalist guerrillas or suicide bombers, and sent them to Iraq to fight in the âHoly Warâ. Operation La Union, as it was called, ended with the arrest of 16 alleged activists, among them the leader of the group and three imams. Two more gave themselves up in Malaga and Seville the following day, bringing the total to 18.
The activists were taken to the Provincial Police Station and then to Madrid to be brought before the judge in the National Court. Among those arrested in Nerja was the alleged leader of the network, a 25-year-old Iraqi called Hiyag M., better known by his alias of âAbu Sufianâ. According to the police, he was in âvery close contactâ with the Al Qaeda network in Iraq, which is led by the second most wanted terrorist in the USA, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. The police detected numerous Internet communications between âAbu Sufianâ and the group surrounding Al Zarqawi.
The existence of this network was first detected by the police last January. They were aware that a radical group was based in Malaga and that this group distributed âreligious sermonsâ with a âSalafist Combatâ content. In a matter of weeks they discovered that, as well as preaching, this network also forged documents - the man arrested in Granada was an Algerian who had this task - for guerrilla fighters prepared to take part in the âHoly Warâ or jihad.
It was later revealed that one of those arrested in Malaga, Mohammed G., who was born in Accra, may have been an important link between Spain and the September 11th bombings in the USA as he was in close contact with the Al Kuds mosque in Hamburg where they were planned.
In Malaga & province
Hiyag M., alias âAbu Sufianâ (Iraqi, aged 25): Considered the leader of the gang, he was in contact via Internet with people close to the Al Qaeda leader in Iraq. Surrounded by tight security, he personally controlled the mujaheddin.
Bahbah El H. (Moroccan): He lived in the country with the above two and had been the imam at the Ceuta mosque.
Oussama A. (Moroccan, 22): Considered one of the main members of the gang. As an extremist he was prepared to commit suicide in Iraq.
Mohammed G. (Ghanian, 36): The present imam of Calle La Union mosque in Malaga. He was reputedly in charge of vetting âAbu Sufianâsâ contacts. He was in close contact with Hamburg mosque, where he allegedly sent false documents.
Mohamed S.N. (French, 25): He returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia with extremely radical ideas and showed interest in the transfer of members of the Tabligh Al Dawa Al Islam group, which he belongs to, to the Al Qaeda terrorist network.
Awad A.G. (Saudi, 29): The ideological specialist of the group.
Mohamed M. (Moroccan, 50): Former imam at a Malaga mosque, he allegedly took false documents to Hamburg.
Raghib E.H. (Moroccan): In close contact with the La Union imam.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/23/2005 07:27 ||
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#1
Over 100 police officers from the Intelligence Service, the Special Operations Group, the Police Operational Group, the Explosive Specialists Squad and the Scientific Police were involved in the operation.
"YOU IN THE LAB COAT! PUT DOWN THE MASS SPECTROMETER AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!"
As members of Congress seek more information about the eavesdropping program authorized by President Bush, their requests are being complicated by the fact that Congressional leaders in both parties acquiesced in the operation.
Only the Senate Judiciary Committee, under Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, has pledged to hold hearings on the program, which was first publicly disclosed a week ago. Democrats are urging that the House and Senate Intelligence Committees conduct inquiries, but the Republicans who control those panels have not agreed to do so.
Some Republicans are suggesting that it is disingenuous to complain now about the eavesdropping effort.
"The record is clear; Congressional leaders at a minimum tacitly supported the program," Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the chairman of House Intelligence Committee, said this week. Mr. Hoekstra said Democrats should "attempt to understand why their leaders did not feel the same sense of outrage about the program" that some in the party are now expressing.
Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said only that he is "currently in discussions with Senate leadership to determine what form additional oversight should take."
Senator John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the committee, released a letter this week that he sent to Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003 expressing concern about the program.
But Senator Roberts issued a statement on Tuesday saying that he had "no recollection of Senator Rockefeller objecting to the program at the many briefings he and I attended together," and that "on many occasions Senator Rockefeller expressed to the vice president his vocal support for the program; his most recent expression of support was only two weeks ago."
At least seven Democratic lawmakers are known to have been briefed about the program since its inception in 2001, and only two, Mr. Rockefeller and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, are known to have expressed written concern about it. A third, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, the former Senate Democratic leader, said in an e-mail message on Thursday that he too had expressed "grave concern for this practice" of eavesdropping on American citizens inside the United States.
Among the others, Representative Jane Harman of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, acknowledged in a statement this week that she had been briefed about the program since 2003 and regarded it as "essential to U.S. national security." Ms. Harman also said, however, that she was "deeply concerned by reports that this program in fact goes far beyond the measures to target Al Qaeda about which I was briefed."
Congressional aides from both parties said Thursday that their leaders were weighing a number of options for further inquiries into the matter. In the Senate, Mr. Specter and Mr. Roberts were said to be talking with Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican leader, about a possible division of labor between their committees. But they said it was unlikely that any hearings would be held until Congress convenes again in late January.
The program, authorized by President Bush, involves eavesdropping without warrants on international communications involving American citizens in the United States. Critics, including Mr. Specter, have expressed doubts about whether the program was legal under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a question he says should be explored by the Judiciary Committee, even if there is a separate review by the Congressional intelligence panels.
Among the options being weighed are parallel inquiries, in which the Judiciary Committee in the Senate would hold open hearings, beginning with testimony by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, while the Senate Intelligence Committee would hold closed hearings to explore the classified details of the intelligence-gathering operation. Another course proposed by some lawmakers would consolidate any inquiry so that it would be conducted jointly by the judiciary and intelligence panels.
Members of Congress who were not previously briefed about the program have been far more vociferous in expressing opposition to it. One of them, Representative Rush D. Holt of New Jersey, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration had shown "absolute contempt for Congressional oversight by concealing, for years after the fact and from all but a tiny handful of House and Senate leaders, its use of the National Security Agency to spy on Americans."
The White House has said the dozen or so briefings about the program it provided to a small group of Congressional leaders were intended to provide notification, not to seek the lawmakers' consent. None among the seven Republicans known to have been briefed have expressed any opposition to the program. The three Democratic members of Congress who have said publicly this week that they had objected to the program have said there was no indication that their objections were heeded.
Ms. Pelosi, a former top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee who is now the House Democratic leader, has said that she, like Mr. Rockefeller, expressed her concerns in a letter to the administration. But Ms. Pelosi has said that she cannot make the letter public until the administration agrees to declassify it.
Mr. Daschle, in his e-mail message, said he had "expressed my concern during the briefing," rather than in written form, and declined to discuss the timing of his action.
In addition to Ms. Harman, the Democrats who have said they did not express objections when they were briefed on the program include Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, and Bob Graham, the former Democratic senator from Florida who served as Intelligence Committee chairman. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, the former Democratic leader in the House, has not responded to telephone messages requesting comment.
Ms. Harman, Mr. Reid and Mr. Graham have all suggested in recent days that they were not provided with a complete accounting of the program, and that they might have raised objections if they had understood its scope.
The administration has said the surveillance program was limited to communications between the United States and points overseas, but Ms. Harman has expressed particular concern about "domestic-to-domestic surveillance" that technical experts say would almost certainly have occurred, in the form of telephone conversations or e-mail messages intercepted inadvertently.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/23/2005 07:25 ||
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Only the Senate Judiciary Committee, under Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, has pledged to hold hearings on the program..
Fact:
Since 1980, Arlen Specter has never wasted missed even one opportunity to expose his thinking and face in the media.
#3
Even if you buy into the traditional Democrat load, how can anyone with good conscience still trust the Democratic Leadership? The "Bush Eavesdropping" story had been held more than a year only to be conveniently leaked at just the right moment â with the 'USA Patriot Act' reauthorization looming. Wow!...what a coincidence! What are the odds?
BUT...BUT...BUT...
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
said that she had been briefed but:
considered the briefings to be "notification - not a request for approval."
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
said that he had been briefed but: "The president can't pass the buck on this one."
#4
I want to repeat my remarks on this subject of yesterday. I firmly believe the President has legal authority to direct these intercepts IAW Article 2 of the Constitution. If for some reason there is some ambiguity then Congress needs to make it clearly legal to act in this manner. I really donât care if it is a Democrat or a Republican in the office they need this ability to safeguard the U.S. and itâs interests. Also I DARE Nancy Pelosi to draw up articles of impeachment or any kind of censure. I think that would make a dandy political commercial next year: âThe Democrats think that we should search for terrorists while blindfolded and with ear plugs, do you?â
I've always thought it was legally okay for us to listen to our enemies' communications. In fact, I've always thought it was a really good idea. Indeed, if we weren't doing it, I'd want the responsible people fired or court-martialed.
So if a nasty boy is talking with someone in the US, I want to know about it. If the someone in the US is a 'US person', I still want to know it. I might not decide to prosecute him or fling rotten grapefruit at him, but I still want to know with whom among our enemies he's having conversations.
It's like the Dems have taken a collective stoopid pill on this one. GWB just needs to keep explaining it -- "we're listening in on our enemies so we can catch them before they kill more Americans. And I have the right to do that."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2005 16:01 Comments ||
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#6
Powerlineblog is all over this NSA intercept story. Lots of good stuff, just keep scrolling. National Review Online also has a DoJ letter (in .pdf form) written to Congress regarding the legality of the intercepts. Bottom line appears to be there's nothing illegal about them.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/23/2005 16:13 Comments ||
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#7
Democrat talking points:
1) We were for it before we were against it.
2) We were for it only because we were too dumb to understand it.
3) We were for it cause that stupid idiot Bush tricked us again.
#8
Ms. Pelosi, a former top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee who is now the House Democratic leader, has said that she, like Mr. Rockefeller, expressed her concerns in a letter to the administration. But Ms. Pelosi has said that she cannot make the letter public until the administration agrees to declassify it.
Nancy, take a long walk on a short pier go jump off the GG bridge.
Posted by: Harry S. Truman ||
12/23/2005 21:09 Comments ||
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#9
EEEeeeewwwwwwuuuuu!
Posted by: bad plastic surgery ||
12/23/2005 21:12 Comments ||
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Congress on Thursday approved a one-month extension of the Patriot Act and sent it to President Bush in a pre-Christmas scramble to prevent many of its anti-terrorism provisions from expiring Dec. 31. The Senate, with only Sen. John Warner, R-Va., present, approved the Feb. 3 expiration date four hours after the House, with a nearly empty chamber, bowed to Rep. James Sensenbrenner's refusal to agree to a six-month extension. Congress can pass legislation with only a few lawmakers present as long as no member of the House or Senate objects. The Senate session lasted four minutes.
Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the shorter extension would force swifter Senate action and had the support of the White House and Speaker Dennis Hastert, D-Ill. The Senate reconvenes Jan. 18 and the House Jan. 26.
"A six-month extension, in my opinion, would have simply allowed the Senate to duck the issue until the last week in June," the Wisconson Republican told reporters. Most Senate Democrats and a few libertarian-leaning Republicans united against a House-Senate compromise that would have renewed several expiring provisions permanently while extending some other for another four years. Democrats were pleased with a short-term extension, whether for six months or just a few weeks.
House passage marked the latest step in a stalemate that first pitted Republicans against Democrats in the Senate, then turned into an intramural GOP dispute. Without action by Congress, several provisions enacted in the days following the 2001 terror attacks would have expired. Bush has repeatedly urged Congress not to let that happen.
The Senate voted Wednesday night to extend the provisions by six months, a turnabout for GOP leaders who had long insisted they would accept nothing less than a permanent renewal of the law. The House approved the measure earlier this month, but a Democratic-led filibuster blocked passage in the Senate, with critics arguing the bill would shortchange the civil liberties of innocent Americans.
Most of the Patriot Act - which expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and financiers - was made permanent when Congress overwhelmingly passed it after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington. Making permanent the rest of the Patriot Act powers, like the roving wiretaps that allow investigators to listen in on any telephone and tap any computer they think a target might use, has been a priority of the administration and Republican lawmakers.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he had no choice but to accept a six-month extension in the face of a successful filibuster and the Patriot Act's Dec. 31 expiration date. "I'm not going to let the Patriot Act die," Frist said.
Bush indicated that he would sign the extension. "The work of Congress on the Patriot Act is not finished," Bush said. "The act will expire next summer, but the terrorist threat to America will not expire on that schedule. I look forward to continuing to work with Congress to reauthorize the Patriot Act."
#1
The Dems and MSM once again prove their opposition = support of Dubya by supporting = criticizing him - their victory in 2006, and espec 2008 and the WH is guranteed now. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA............
Department of Homeland Security
Homeland Security Accomplishments for 2005
By U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Dec 22, 2005, 06:53
Select Homeland Security Accomplishments for 2005
For Immediate Release
Off ice of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
December 20, 2005
Under new leadership, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced a comprehensive, risk-based agenda in 2005 to change the departmentâs practices, operations, and organizational structure. Many changes under this review have been implemented, including the creation of a department-wide policy office, a strengthened role in the intelligence community, the ability to conduct joint operations across the department, and a renewed focus on planning and preparedness. The following are select accomplishments over past the year:
Secretary Chertoff made it a top priority to strengthen border security, interior enforcement and reform the immigration process. DHS has improved existing border operations, established international partnerships, and developed new approaches to control our borders.
* Secure Border Initiative Drastically Reduces Detention Times. Under this comprehensive strategy for controlling the border and enforcing immigration laws, Secretary Chertoff expanded Expedited Removal throughout the border as well as the number of countries whose nationals qualify, which cut their detention time in half; initiated a âCatch and Returnâ policy; authorized the completion of a fence near San Diego that languished in litigation for a decade; expanded the use of military-proven technologies like the UAV, Stryker and sensors; and increased the frequency of deportation flights. This strategy is further supported by the Presidentâs budget, which includes funding for 1,000 additional U.S. Border Patrol agents and 2,000 new detention beds.
* Arizona Border Control Initiative Bolsters Resources in Tucson Corridor. The second phase of this successful initiative included an additional 534 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents permanently assigned to the Arizona border, a 25 percent increase. These agents were supplemented by 200 agents and 23 aircraft temporarily assigned to the Tucson sector. The initiative coupled with Operation ICE Storm, a human smuggling initiative, has resulted in more than 350 smugglers prosecuted in total, millions in illicit profits seized and a significant decrease in homicides according to local authorities.
* Security and Prosperity Partnership Creates Common Security Approach. The United States, Canada and Mexico entered into this trilateral partnership to establish common approaches to emergency response, improving aviation, maritime, and border security, enhancing intelligence sharing, and facilitating the legitimate flow of people and cargo at our shared borders.
* Operation Community Shield Nets 1600 Gang Members. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) introduced this unprecedented partnership with law enforcement at all levels around the country to combat dangerous criminal gangs like MS-13. In less than a year, ICE agents have arrested more than 1,600 illegal immigrant gang members, who now face criminal prosecutions or are in removal proceedings.
* Immigration Backlog Cut by 2.8 million. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services refined processes and automated their services to reduce the backlog of applications for immigration services and benefits from 3.8 million cases in January 2004 to approximately one million in October 2005.
The Department of Homeland Security is committed to secure trade and travel. DHS is aggressively working with foreign partners to achieve our common security goals while finding new ways to facilitate the flow of legitimate international commerce and travel.
* US-VISIT to Complete Deployment of Biometric Entry System. By the end of this year, US-VISIT will have fully implemented the biometric entry portion of the US-VISIT system at 115 airports, 14 seaports and 154 land ports of entry. US-VISIT has processed more than 44 million foreign visitors and detected 950 individuals with a criminal history or immigration violations.
* Passport Requirements Strengthened. As part of a multi-layered approach to increasing the security of our citizens and visitors by helping to ensure the integrity of their travel documents, DHS imposed requirements establishing that all Visa Waiver Program travelers must have a machine-readable passport to enter the United States. Visa Waiver Program countries are now also required to produce new passports with digital photographs as of Oct. 26, 2005.
* Global Customs Security Standards Adopted. CBP led the World Customs Organization to unanimously adopt a framework of standards to secure and facilitate global trade. CBPâs Container Security Initiative (CSI), which identifies and screens high-risk maritime cargo containers before they are loaded on vessels to the U.S., is currently operational at 42 foreign ports worldwide. Approximately 75 percent of cargo containers headed to the U.S. originates in or are shipped from CSI ports.
* TSA Revises Prohibited Items List. TSA revised the âProhibited Itemsâ list so officers can spend more time checking for explosives and conducting targeted screenings, adding unpredictability to the screening process at airports and enhancing aviation security. TSA also developed several pilot programs to improve security at checkpoints at all modes of mass transportation. Following the bombings in London, TSA activated rail inspectors ahead of schedule in order to inspect 148 mass transit operations centers and facilities as well as police and emergency centers.
* Announced 10-Fingerscan Standard for Foreign Visitors. DHS announced the strengthening of the US-VISIT program by requiring 10-fingerscan collection with continued use of verification during later entries, to ensure the highest levels of accuracy in identifying people entering and exiting our country.
DHS has a unified strategic direction that establishes measurable priorities, targets, and a common approach to developing needed preparedness and incident communication capabilities. DHS has provided resources, training, and funding to support the job of those who stand on the frontlines of community protection â our first responders.
* Largest Terrorist Attack Drill in History Preformed. DHS conducted the third Top Officials (TOPOFF) exercise since the department was established. The week-long exercise, which included international participation from Canada and the United Kingdom, was the largest full scale terrorist simulated exercise in the nationâs history. Collectively the department, through its Office of State and Local Government Coordination, has conducted more than 400 exercises at the national, state, and local level.
* $2 Billion Awarded to State and Local Governments. DHS awarded more than $2 billion in grants to state and local governments to support various prevention, protection and response initiatives.
* Standard First Responder Training Developed. DHS established a National Incident Management System (NIMS) standard curriculum to ensure first responder training is widely available and consistent among all training providers. More than 725,000 first responders completed NIMS training nationwide.
* Counterterrorism Training. DHS provided counterterrorism training to more than 1.2 million emergency response personnel from across the country on a range of incident response issues, including incident management, unified command, and public works protection/response, and training on weapons of mass destruction.
* Secure Data Sharing Network Established. DHS deployed the first phase of the Homeland Secure Data Network (HSDN) to 56 governmental sites, providing a unified system and program that enables the sharing and protection of secret-level data between our federal partners.
* Sharing Intelligence Information. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis provided state and local governments and the private sector with more than 1,260 intelligence information products on threat information and protective measures that can be taken to remain vigilant.
* Secret Service Operation Taps Network to Arrest 28 Globally. U.S. Secret Service conducted âOperation Firewall,â in which the Secret Service became the first agency ever to execute a Title III wire tap on an entire computer network. This global operation resulted in 28 arrests in eight states and six foreign countries. These suspects stole nearly 1.7 million credit card numbers.
* Community and Individual Preparedness. The departmentâs Ready campaign, one the most successful campaigns in the Ad Council history, topped $465 million in cumulative donated media support and more than 1.9 billion web site hits. The departmentâs Citizen Corps program, which promotes grassroots community preparedness, expanded its service to more than 69 percent of the total population to ensure that citizens are prepared and capable of handling disasters or threats of all kinds.
One of the greatest challenges for the department in 2005 was in response to the extensive devastation brought about by the most active storm seasons on record. Support came from every component of the department.
* 33,000 Rescued by U.S. Coast Guard. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Coast Guard saved over 33,000 lives in search and rescue operations. Coast Guard men and women employed their Continuity of Operations Plans and demonstrated deep commitment to the missions of search and rescue, protection of natural resources, and providing a safe, efficient marine transportation system.
* 23,000 Victims Airlifted from New Orleans Airport. At Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport more than 700 transportation security officers and federal air marshals helped evacuate more than 23,000 victims.
* 273,000 Sheltered. Working through the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supported the nationâs largest-ever sheltering operation, with more than 273,000 evacuees cared for. In addition, Red Cross and FEMA funded housing for 85,000 families in emergency hotel housing.
* 653,000 Families Receive Rental Assistance. FEMA has provided rental assistance to more than 653,000 families who were displaced as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. FEMA and federal partners have removed more than 55 million cubic yards of debris in the Gulf States region; approved $392 million in Community Disaster Loan Assistance and $205 million in unemployment insurance; and provided roughly $5.2 billion in direct assistance to victims of Katrina and Rita.
For more information on DHS, please visit http://www.dhs.gov.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has urged lawyers, political parties and people to join hands to launch a movement to end the militaryâs role in politics, restore democracy and demand general elections under an independent election commission. Addressing a function in connection with the birthdays of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mian Nawaz Sharif at the Lahore High Court Bar Association on Thursday, PML-N leaders said the government was creating a 1971-like situation in the country by re-launching military operation in Balochistan and taking up Kalabagh Dam without a national consensus.
PML-N Secretary General Zafar Iqbal Jhagra said that military rulers had made the parliament a rubber stamp and were using it for their nefarious designs. He said the parliament had no constitutional value under a military ruler. SCBA President Justice (r) Qayyum Malik said a sincere leadership could help achieve the goal of democracy. He said the military was not made to rule the country, but to defend it. ANP leader Ehsan Wyne said that those who seized power at gunpoint had no regard for democratic norms. MNA Pervaiz Malik said the struggle against the military dictatorship would continue, adding that the Kalabagh Dam issue should be resolved through a national consensus.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2005 00:00 ||
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Thousands of Sunni secular Shiite and Kurdish protesters took to the streets of Iraq Friday, Dec. 23, over what they called âthe biggest election fraud in Middle East history.â Their umbrella group Maram alleges the UIAâs commanding lead in preliminary results of the Dec. 15 poll and was rigged and is calling for a new election.
DEBKAfileâs sources reveal that the announcement by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, head of the Iraqi List and a key American ally, that he and the Sunni bloc of 30 lists were boycotting the elections, brought US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld dashing over to Baghdad Thursday night.
Allawi alleges that convoys of trucks carrying sealed ballot boxes stuffed with forged voting slips and other documents went round polling stations on election-day and packed the ballot boxes with pro-Shiite votes. Between 10 and 15 of those trucks were intercepted by Iraqi security forces at the southern Iraqi towns of Qut, Al Amara and Basra. An investigation disclosed that they trucks were organized by Iranian intelligence agents to falsely boost the Iranian majority.
Rumsfeld will do his best to talk Allawi round in order to rescue one of the Bush administrationâs greatest feats from collapse. Meanwhile Iraqi and UN officials are examining Allawiâs allegations
Allawi is giving this charge credence, and I wonder, regardless of whether the charge is true or not, if they planned on protesting results as part of a wider plan. The Kurdish and Shiia participation do lend some legitimacy to the argument, as if it were just Sunni one would be much more suspicious of the claim. That being said, I have no doubt the Iranians interfered, but to what extent is my question.
EP
#2
There is an unwillingness to accept that Iraq is a majority Shia state.
The Sunni Baathists kept them down for decades but the US war liberated them.
Nothing in Iraq will ever be the same.
If they succeed in delegitimizing the elections, the Shia, led by Sistani, will take their ball and go home. They will carve out their own state, leaving the Sunni with nothing.
Of course this means that Iran's goose is cooked. The US cannot leave the Iranian regime in place with a majority shia, religious dominated Iraqi state weak and vulnerable next door. That would make Iran far too powerful.
Iran will be cut down to size next year.
Posted by: john ||
12/23/2005 13:15 Comments ||
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#3
The story about the truck full of election ballots being caught before the election could well have been a planted story in case the secular shiites and sunis didn't do well so they could point back to it a call fraud.
Then again it could be true. I do get the feeling that something fishy is going on... between the pre election polling being so off, baghdad going 60% towards the UIA and the general feeling that I had that the population wasn't satisified with the current gov't so why would they vote for them in even bigger numbers...
#4
Iran (Of course who else) is to blame for any fraud in the election. But don't worry, I am sure the U.S. media will continue to discuss this for days, implying it was the Bush administration's fault. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT IRAN ASAP.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/23/2005 14:05 Comments ||
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#6
How Mossad got those trucks from Iran, filled them with ballot papers and made sure they were spotted, I'll never know, but it's a great casus belli.
#7
This is a real problem guys I have been watching Iraq the Model a secularist Iraqi site and some other pieces of news and info and I am worried. Dont sound so much like a truck load of extra Iranian ballots asmuch as outright fraud by the UIA. Example quote"
Sheikh Raheem al-Saâidi was also running from Maysan and heâs a local sheikh of a big tribe that has many thousands of members in the south. This sheikh won 17 votes only!
A usual sheikh is married to at least 3 wives and has dozens of children, brothers and cousins and this one won 17 votes only!"
that dont sound good and alot more were that came from over at thier site go check it out this is a old post read then see the new stuff by refreshing.
Shia are the majority but they are in good Arab style cooking the books anyway to keep out the possibility of loss. This is a very delicate situation that if dont play out right (that right I am not sure is what) could go south in a big way real quick. The Sunni and the Secularist going hot or the Shia going hot either way will be a big time mess that to clean up will be horrific and even when cleaned up stabalized, putting it back together will be near impossible with the bad blood and no trust left to go around at all. This is very serious and the only good point about it so far is the LLL's are not making a big deal about it yet (either out of fear for being blamed for if it goes south or just distracted by their wire tap/FBI radiation sensor bushitler=Facism line).
Saddam Hussein is demanding to be shot by firing squad rather than hanged if he is found guilty of mass murder. In two long interviews with his lawyers, the former Iraqi dictator reportedly said: "I'm not afraid of death and facing a firing squad is the right way to execute a military man â a commander in chief."
He predicted that he is going to die and said it is only a matter of deciding how his execution is carried out. Saddam added: "I don't value life that much. Every human being has his time to go. Of course I'm not guilty, but I know they want me dead. Threatening me with death doesn't mean anything to me. If this Saddam dies, there will be other Saddams..."
Saddam's display of defiance came as he sat in a large armchair in the basement of the heavily fortified courthouse in Baghdad where his trial resumed on Wednesday. The building was the headquarters of his Ba'ath Party, where he signed the death warrants of thousands.
On Thursday, Saddam insisted that he had been beaten by his US captors, calling Washington's denials of abuse lies. Saddam claimed that the wounds he suffered from the alleged beatings had been documented by at least two American teams and that it took eight months for some of the wounds to heal.
#5
Nope! He deserves nothing but the best. Give him to the towns he terrorized and let them stone him, drag him through the streets, hang him from a bridge, and light fire to him. He always thought it was fun, why not.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/23/2005 7:54 Comments ||
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#6
Now just what the Hell makes him think he's got any choice in the matter.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/23/2005 8:23 Comments ||
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#7
On Thursday, Saddam insisted that he had been beaten by his US captors, and insisted if this is to continue that SPC Lindy England be recalled to active duty to take part.
#9
Call me a traditionalist, but I like the idea of him being slowly lowered into a vat of pig offal until his lower body rots off. When he dies, allow his entire body to be turned to sludge in the vat, then remove his bones, grind them, and return them to the vat. Then incinerate the pig offal.
#11
"I'm not afraid of death and facing a firing squad is the right way to execute a military man â a commander in chief."
Being plucked from a spider hole isn't exactly becoming of a military man either, so there is some precedent. I say cap him at close range with a pistol with none of the formality of a firing squad.
#18
Maybe put him back in the spiderhole and leave him there this time until he's ripe.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/23/2005 11:14 Comments ||
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#19
Put a blonde wig and an evening gown on him, then fly him to Washington and have him sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to W. Then send the tape to Al-Jazzera.
You won't have to kill him after that. He'll do it himself...
#21
No ceremony, round behind the ear at 02:00. Buried in unmarked grave.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/23/2005 12:07 Comments ||
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#22
Um, forget the grave, cremate.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/23/2005 12:08 Comments ||
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#23
If this Saddam dies, there will be other Saddams..." I cringe with the truth in this sentiment.
I like 49 Pan's suggestion, mixed with a little of 'moose's suggestion thrown in for good measure.
Posted by: Jan ||
12/23/2005 12:14 Comments ||
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#24
a slow knowing painful death is best - my favorite is a 3/8" drill bit in a Craftsman cordless drill to the forehead....nice thing is Craftsman are guaranteed for life (heh heh ) so if it quits or breaks - they'll replace it at no charge and you can get back to it...
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/23/2005 13:16 Comments ||
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#25
Acctually, if the Shias name the Prime Minister, they might decide to use their brother Iranian's method of hanging by construction crane...
After all, make getting at the tasty meat easier for the vultures, buzzards, and crows.
I remember this pix. This guy was a child molestor-murderer. Good riddance, no matter what country you are in. We should do this to Westerfield...
#26
If this Saddam dies, there will be other Saddams..."
You know, there's something to this. Whatever happened to his doubles, I wonder. Should they be hanged too, just in case? Poor fellas...all those plastic surgeries for nothing.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/23/2005 16:15 Comments ||
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#27
General Andrew Jackson once caught a British officer inciting,the florida indians, to riot. Jackson caught him in the indians village, the officer asked to be shot as it is more dignified than hanging, Jackson appearantly agreed and the day of the execution came himself and hung the man...
I like the way that man thinks,
Saddam should be given no mercy, and it should be as painful as possible, just cut his vocal chords first.
The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, and 10 other factions have called on the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, not to delay January's elections.
Palestinian officials have said they might cancel the poll in response to Israel's decision to bar Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting. Israel said it was concerned that Hamas might gain power. Let them gain power, then you have a legitimate reason to destroy the entire state, as that will no doubt be their intentions for you. I mean that's their platform right, so it will only be fair then right? Even Steven as it were.
In a statement, the groups urged Mr Abbas to find a way to ensure that people in East Jerusalem could vote. They said Mr Abbas should try to win international support to put pressure on Israel, but if that failed he should try to find another solution. We can all blow ourselves up in protest! And to make it more effective, we should blow our own kids up too, and puppies too, yeah!
"We have to find a way, a mechanism, to press ahead with the election despite the Israeli decision," Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said. "Delaying the parliamentary election will create internal disruption and will spell the end of any Palestinian dialogue," he added.
PALESTINIAN ELECTIONS
Scheduled for 25 January; originally set for July 2005
132 members elected to Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)
Fatah and Hamas are main contenders
First time Hamas participates in parliamentary poll
Israel says Hamas cannot take part under a 1995 agreement
Last parliamentary elections held in 1996
Correspondents say Hamas wants the elections to go ahead as planned, to capitalise on its current surge in popularity. Before or after they blow themselves up in protest? Cause if they blow themselves up, they seem like more attractive candidates to me. Maybe they can blow their supporters up too, I mean there's enough virgins to go around right? Allan being merciful and all.
They say a delay would suit Mr Abbas's divided Fatah movement - which did not join Thursday's call - as it would give extra time to try to heal internal rifts.
"More glue! We need more glue! Oh, we'll never get Humpty-Dumpty back together at this rate!"
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the 25 January election would be sabotaged if Palestinians resident in East Jerusalem were prevented from voting.
Israeli officials have warned that the peace process will end if Hamas becomes the dominant Palestinian political party. Yeah political party, um huh, Hamas will be a political party now huh? What's next, the Al Qaeda party?
The election would be only the second since the Palestinian Authority was established in 1995.
Hamas' charter commits it to the destruction of Israel, and the group has been responsible for most of the suicide attacks inside Israel. Which makes their political intentions rather irrelevant right? Or am I missing something here. I've got an idea Mr. Abbas, take some freaking responsibility for the actions of your people and stop screwing around, or else Israel will have to take care of business for you.
Q: What do Abu Mudhen and a Christmas tree have in common?
A: Ornamental balls.
Let Hamas win big so Israel can face a sworn enemy and finally take the gloves off. The Palestinians need a taste of real-nasty-searing-flames-and-cratering-explosions style war to get a big clue as to just how foolish they are about wanting endless conflict with Israel. Donor fatigue is at an all time high. This is the perfect time for Israel to drive home just how many resources and opportunities the Palestinians have senselessly squandered.
A senior World Health Organisation official yesterday sought to calm fears that the drug the world is stockpiling may have limited usefulness in a flu pandemic. Evidence that some people with bird flu in Vietnam rapidly developed resistance against the drug Tamiflu and died was not necessarily a cause for alarm, said Keiji Fukuda, an expert at the WHO's global influenza programme. More research was needed, however, on the use of the drug.
I'm not alarmed, but I am concerned.
His comments follow publication of a report in the New England Journal of Medicine on eight people with bird flu in Vietnam who were treated with Tamiflu. Four of them died. In two cases, the patients were very sick and although Tamiflu temporarily improved their condition, they died.
The other two cases have sounded warning bells around the world. Both had the usual strain of bird flu when they were admitted to hospital, but after some days of treatment with Tamiflu, the virus in their bloodstream mutated and became resistant to the drug.
Figure 1 in the article shows a series of chest x-rays in one patient over a period of 6 days. In that time, a localized pneumonia progressed to involve most of one lung despite Tamiflu treatment. For me as a pulmonary doc, it's a scary sequence.
The scientists, from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, voiced concern that if a resistant strain of flu became easily transferable between humans - as bird flu is not at the moment - it could worsen any pandemic.
Yesterday, however, Dr Fukuda said that resistance was inevitable with any drug and Tamiflu was at the moment the best available treatment. "Whenever you use any kind of drugs, antivirals or antibiotics, you expect to see resistance develop in organs," he said. "Finding some resistance in and of itself is not surprising and is not necessarily alarming."
The study revealed the need for more information, he said. "What really is critical is understanding whether the way we are using the drugs contributes to that [resistance]," he said. Work needed to be done on the optimal dose of the drug against H5N1 (bird flu) and the length of the course of treatment.
The study's authors, Jeremy Farrar and colleagues, say that other antiviral drugs are needed alongside Tamiflu. The only other candidate, however, is Relenza, which has limited usefulness because it is administered as a nasal spray. It cannot be used by people who have trouble breathing, which occurs if it is severe flu. Its manufacturer, the British company GlaxoSmithKline, said it would be two years before they could produce an injectable form.
And we could end up with similar problems with resistance, though less likely with Relenza.
The deputy director of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, who was a member of the study group, said they were still using Tamiflu. "We still recommend the use of Tamiflu for bird flu cases as soon as possible and at higher doses as there is no replacement yet," said Tran Tinh Hien. "More in-depth research is needed to determine the effectiveness of Tamiflu against the H5N1 virus."
An accompanying free article in the Journal describes how H5N1 becomes resistant, and the implications of mis-use of Tamiflu. Worth a look.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2005 00:14 ||
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#1
I have several problems with this article.
Firstly, the studies with 'normal' flu I have seen show Tamiflu be significantly less effective than people assume. In summary its highly effective, if taken before infection, Its moderately effective if taken around the time of infection and of limited effectiveness if taken after full symptom onset - when you are sick enough to go to a hospital. With H5N1 in mice it has only been show to be effective if administered prior to infection.
Secondly, the article presents no evidence that these 'resistance' mutations decrease the effectiveness of Tamiflu or by how much. The article assumes that Tamiflu's limited effectiveness results from the increasing prevalence of these mutations.
Further, the increasing incidence of certain mutations as a result of Tamiflu use doesn't necessarily mean these mutations confer complete or substantial resistance to Tamiflu. The mutations could result in only a slight decrease in effectiveness of the drug (as measured by the ability of the virus to replicate and perhaps no measurable cilinical difference). And I'd argue this is the likeliest scenario.
Finally, some people would argue that severe fatal flu such as found with H5N1 and in the 1918 pandemic results from a different mechanism (ARDS, Cytokine Storms) to the illness caused by 'normal' flu. The effectiveness of Tamiflu against this disease mechanism is unknown.
BEIRUT - Lebanonâs pro-Syrian Shia Muslim ministers will boycott the weekly cabinet meeting on Thursday, although they see relative progress in bids to save the fragile coalition government, a top MP said. âWe are not attending the weekly meeting,â Mohammed Raad, head of the parliamentary bloc of the militant Shia party Hezbollah, told AFP. âThere is relative progress, but the problem has not been yet resolved,â he said.
Prime Minister Fuad Sinioraâs government has been battling for survival since last weekâs boycott by five ministers from Hezbollah and the other main Shia group, Amal. The Amal-Hezbollah coalition had protested a December 12 government decision to ask for an international court to those charged with the February assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.
Hezbollah has to keep their Syrian overlords happy, you know.
The government also asked for the expansion of a UN probe into the Hariri murder to cover other attacks on anti-Syrian figures in the past year.
A source close to President Emile Lahoud told AFP on Thursday that the Damascus protege was continuing to refuse to preside over the weekly cabinet meeting as long as divisions persist. âThe president cannot preside a cabinet session when a principal party to the government is absent, or he would be consecrating divisions and taking sides,â said the source.
Reminds me of 1930s Japan; the Army and Navy had required seats in the Cabinet. If either failed to show, the government fell. Guess what happened after a while?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2005 00:00 ||
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Al-Qaeda's latest weapon in the ongoing media war over Iraq, in the form of an animation showing gunmen and suicide bombers attacking US troops and convoys, raises many questions over who they are trying to appeal to and why. The video game-style cartoon was posted on websites regularly used by senior al-Qaeda figures. London-based child psychologist Pat Spungin told Adnkronos International (AKI) she believes the animation is too boring and unsophisticated to interest most children, but "If it is intended for children I think it's disgusting," she said.
While it may look like a video game, the animation - which shows a battle between tanks and gunmen on the streets of a city, a mujahadeen-like figure shooting at an American soldier cautiously emerging from a tank and a car bomb driving into a convoy of vehicles - has no interactivity.
"This is deliberately "real". It is obviously set in a political context and it is obviously designed to mirror various kinds of conflict and suicide bombings and insurgent activities going on," said Spungin, who is also the founder of the website Raisingkids.co.uk. "It is just glorifying a particular kind of violence and there's enough glorifying of that kind of violence anyway, and I think children are very responsive to it."
However, she believes the quality of the animation is unlikely to sell it to children. "It looks like someone did it in their bedroom," says Spungin. "They probably did it for themselves. I can't see any kid telling their mates: 'Oh, I've seen this, you must go and view it'." However, if it is aimed at children, she says it raises the question of why its creator is trying to appeal to the younger age group.
Whether it has the desired effect though, depends on the environment the child is living in, she says. "I think it would very much depend on what they were picking up at home, on whether they see the Americans as liberators or occupiers," she told AKI. "I think children will respond to these things by taking their cues from the adults around them, so if the adults are bloodthirsty and violent and applaud that violence when they see it around them, they will pick up those values."
Leading Egyptian children's author Yaaqub al-Sharuni in an interview with AKI warned of the conseguences of the use of cartoons and animation to spread the mentality of violence or of terrorism among Arab and Muslim children.
"I am not surprised that terrorist groups use cartoons to try to influence children, as cartoons are an extremely important medium which can be used both for positive and negative aims" said al-Sharuni, one of the most famous children's writers in the Arab world.
"Cartoons often concentrate on the idea that violence is the solution to all problems" he noted, citing the classic Tom and Jerry as an example. "Their relationship between them is based on competition rather than cooperation" he added.
However he warned that it was the television medium rather than just cartoons themselves which were a concern in spreading a culture of violence. "More than 70 per cent of the audience are children and those tv programmes which are harmful for adults let along children, such as violent films".
"It is vital to remember that a child is more susceptible to images than words" he concluded.
Since first appearing on the 20 December, the animation - which is called 'Terrorist' and appears to be the first in a series - has been welcomed by fundamentalists in various Islamic Internet forums, who said its designer had done "an excellent job" and made "an admirable effort". Another said such a series "would be excellent for preparing the future generations for the Jihad [holy war]."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/23/2005 07:16 ||
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#1
Sigh, it's not a "cartoon" designed to influence children. It's an animated training video showing how to set up ambushes and attack American troops. They even say that's what they are for on the websites.
Disney produced the same kind of training films during WW2.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/23/2005 8:17 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.
Congress on Thursday approved a one-month extension of the Patriot Act and sent it to President Bush in a pre-Christmas scramble to prevent many of its anti-terrorism provisions from expiring Dec. 31. The Senate, with only Sen. John Warner, R-Va., present, approved the Feb. 3 expiration date four hours after the House, with a nearly empty chamber, bowed to Rep. James Sensenbrenner's refusal to agree to a six-month extension. Congress can pass legislation with only a few lawmakers present as long as no member of the House or Senate objects. The Senate session lasted four minutes.
The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, and 10 other factions have called on the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, not to delay January's elections.
