April 09, 2007
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Monday that Iran was now capable of producing nuclear fuel on an "industrial scale" in an expansion of the uranium enrichment program that the United Nations has demanded it halt.The announcement suggests Iran has succeeded in operating a larger number of centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran.
Asked if Iran has begun injecting uranium gas into 3,000 centrifuges for enrichment, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani replied, “Yes.” He did not elaborate, but it was the first confirmation that Iran had installed the larger set of centrifuges after months of saying it intends to do so. Until now, Iran was only known to have 328 centrifuges operating.
When will the world act to stop him?
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April 03, 2007
Iran has more than tripled its ability to produce enriched uranium in the last three months, adding some 1,000 centrifuges which are used to separate radioactive particles from the raw material.The development means Iran could have enough material for a nuclear bomb by 2009, sources familiar with the dramatic upgrade tell ABC News.
The sources say the unexpected expansion is taking place at Iran's nuclear enrichment plant outside the city of Natanz, in a hardened facility 70 feet underground.
Libs, of course, are accusing the Bush Administration of faking information to justify “another unnecessary war” – a song they will sing until the Iranians detonate a bomb in downtown LA, at which point the will claim it is all Bush’s fault for not stopping Iran over the objection of the libs.
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March 31, 2007
Diplomatic: Britain has already suffered a setback at the UN with a fairly feeble rebuke of the Iranians. In the next few days, major players such as Russia and China, who are also friendly towards Teheran, might be persuaded to become more robust. But both have trade links with Iran and would be uncomfortable about major economic sanctions.Downing Street could order all diplomatic links to be severed, throwing out Iran's ambassador, but this would cut off the one line of communication with the regime, leaving the Navy ratings even more isolated.
Sanctions: This is probably the main area where Iran is vulnerable. While it is a huge exporter of oil it has a chronic shortage of refineries, making it necessary to import 40 per cent of refined products such as petrol and jet fuel.
Sanctions would certainly make the regime sit up but they are only likely to appear as part of the game to force Iran to give up its nuclear programme.
Whitehall might have more luck in persuading the European Union to bring in further sanctions and severing trade links. Britain and America are also hamstrung by the lack of political leverage in the Middle East as a result of the Iraq invasion - which has conversely strengthened Iran's position.
Blockade: The Strait of Hormuz is just 21 miles across, making it a highly strategic chokepoint - and consequently very heavily defended by Teheran. With Iran so reliant on the waterway for its fuel, arms imports and other goods it would be a key area to put pressure on the regime.
The Navy has prepared plans on how to enforce a blockade but it would require almost the entire Fleet at a time when it is facing cuts and many ships have been mothballed. A blockade would also substantially increase the threat of all-out war.
Military: Britain is not a strong enough power to go it alone in a land battle with Iran, especially with so many troops committed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
America is unlikely to back military action until diplomacy and possible sanctions have forced Iran to climb down over its nuclear programme. But the SAS will have already made contingency plans for a rescue mission. It would only be seriously considered if the hostages were considered to be under severe threat of death.
Looks to me like John Bull needs Viagra or Cialis.
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March 30, 2007
Two Arabs involved in the sale of a Hebron building to the Jewish community have been placed under arrest, one by the Palestinian Authority, the other by Jordon.The arrested Arabs now face capital punishment, as Palestinian Authority law dictates the death sentence for anyone found guilty of selling property to a Jew.
Orit Struk, political activist and member of the Hebron Jewish Committee, contends that the arrests "prove the sale was legal."The Beit HaShalom, Peace House, located amongst Arab buildings between the Jewish enclave in Hebron and the neighboring large Jewish neighborhood of Kiryat Arba, was purchased two weeks ago for the sum of $700,000.
Immediately following the announcement of the transaction, Israeli police launched an investigation into the legality of the sale, and the Defense Ministry under the auspices of left-leaning Labor Chairman Amir Peretz began searching for grounds to expel the new Jewish residents of the building.
The resulting police investigation could not find any evidence of wrongdoing in the sale, and many within the police and defense establishment are acknowledging the sale was legal, albeit off-the-record.
Jewish Community Spokesman David Wilder claimed he does not see the arrests as proof of the legitimate nature of the sale. “We don’t need any proof that this was done legally, we know that the transaction was completely legal and the resulting police investigation confirmed this.â€
So let’s get this straight – individuals of all races and religions can own property in Israel, but Terrorstinian law punishes the sale of property to Jews with death. Sounds rather like something out of Nazi Germany to me – but then again, since the Terrorstinians want to finish what Hitler began, I guess we should not be surprised.
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Two Arabs involved in the sale of a Hebron building to the Jewish community have been placed under arrest, one by the Palestinian Authority, the other by Jordon.The arrested Arabs now face capital punishment, as Palestinian Authority law dictates the death sentence for anyone found guilty of selling property to a Jew.
Orit Struk, political activist and member of the Hebron Jewish Committee, contends that the arrests "prove the sale was legal."The Beit HaShalom, Peace House, located amongst Arab buildings between the Jewish enclave in Hebron and the neighboring large Jewish neighborhood of Kiryat Arba, was purchased two weeks ago for the sum of $700,000.
Immediately following the announcement of the transaction, Israeli police launched an investigation into the legality of the sale, and the Defense Ministry under the auspices of left-leaning Labor Chairman Amir Peretz began searching for grounds to expel the new Jewish residents of the building.
The resulting police investigation could not find any evidence of wrongdoing in the sale, and many within the police and defense establishment are acknowledging the sale was legal, albeit off-the-record.
Jewish Community Spokesman David Wilder claimed he does not see the arrests as proof of the legitimate nature of the sale. “We don’t need any proof that this was done legally, we know that the transaction was completely legal and the resulting police investigation confirmed this.”
So let’s get this straight – individuals of all races and religions can own property in Israel, but Terrorstinian law punishes the sale of property to Jews with death. Sounds rather like something out of Nazi Germany to me – but then again, since the Terrorstinians want to finish what Hitler began, I guess we should not be surprised.
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March 26, 2007
President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that his government's sweeping reforms toward socialism will include the creation of "collective property."Vowing to undermine capitalism's continued influence in Venezuela during his television and radio program "Hello President," Chavez said state-financed cooperatives would operate under a new concept in which workers would share profits.
"It's property that belongs to everyone and it's going to benefit everyone," said Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro whom opponents accuse of leading Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism.
Chavez — a leftist former paratrooper popularly known as "El Comandante" — said his government fully respects private property, but pledged to replace capitalist ideals with socialist principles on cooperatives such as cattle ranches and farms.
"It cannot be production to generate profits for one person or a small group of people that become rich exploiting peons who end up becoming slaves, living in poverty and misery their entire lives," he said.
And we all know how successful “collective farms†were in the Soviet Union, don’t we?
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President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that his government's sweeping reforms toward socialism will include the creation of "collective property."Vowing to undermine capitalism's continued influence in Venezuela during his television and radio program "Hello President," Chavez said state-financed cooperatives would operate under a new concept in which workers would share profits.
"It's property that belongs to everyone and it's going to benefit everyone," said Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro whom opponents accuse of leading Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism.
Chavez — a leftist former paratrooper popularly known as "El Comandante" — said his government fully respects private property, but pledged to replace capitalist ideals with socialist principles on cooperatives such as cattle ranches and farms.
"It cannot be production to generate profits for one person or a small group of people that become rich exploiting peons who end up becoming slaves, living in poverty and misery their entire lives," he said.
And we all know how successful “collective farms” were in the Soviet Union, don’t we?
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The leaders of Northern IrelandÂ’s dominant political and religious parties, Sinn FeinÂ’s Gerry Adams and the Protestant leader Rev. Ian Paisley, held face-to-face negotiations today and agreed to work towards a resumption of the provinceÂ’s power-sharing authority by May 8.The agreement, announced by the two men sitting close together at a diamond-shaped table in the Stormont Parliament building, meant that the province will not meet a March 26 deadline set by Britain and Ireland to end a four-year suspension of the local government and assembly.
But it was welcomed in London as a “moment that we will remember,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said, speaking in return for customary anonymity.
“Let us be clear — if there’s a consensus about the way forward, the British government isn’t going to stand in the way of that consensus,” the spokesman said.
After reading statements in front of a live television camera, Mr. Adams and Mr. Paisley shuffled their papers but did not shake hands. Nonetheless, the notion of the two men, who have been bitter rivals and adversaries over the long period of Northern IrelandÂ’s sectarian strife, sitting almost side by side was seen by many analysts as historic.
Hey, if these two terrorist leaders can set aside their differences and negotiate a true peace and a modus viviendi for their peoples, then maybe there is hope for other regions of the world.
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March 25, 2007
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is rejecting new United Nations sanctions as illegal, according to IRNA, the state-run Iranian news agency.Ahmadinejad, in an interview with France's Channel 2 TV network, warned nations "seeking to impose sanctions against Iran will suffer a greater damage themselves," IRNA reported.
The 15-member Security Council unanimously passed a resolution Saturday imposing new sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to suspend its uranium-enrichment program.
I t5hink the time has come for us to impose "greater damage" upon the Iranian president and his country.
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March 18, 2007
The leader of Germany's governing Social Democrats criticized U.S. plans to locate a missile defense system in eastern Europe, insisting in an interview published Monday that ''we need no new missiles in Europe.''The U.S. plan to place a radar base in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of its proposed missile defense shield has infuriated Russia and prompted some unease elsewhere in Europe.
''We need no new missiles in Europe,'' Kurt Beck, the chairman of the center-left Social Democrats, was quoted as saying in an interview with the mass-circulation Bild daily. The Social Democrats make up half of conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition.
Beck said his party ''does not want a new arms race between the USA and Russia on European soil.''
''Europe must speak with one voice here,'' he added, according to the report. ''There are enough problems worldwide that we need to master; I would name poverty, climate change and terrorism -- new missiles and weapons systems won't help here.''
If the Germans -- and other Europeans -- are not interested in being protected from iranian nukes, then I feel no need to offer them such protection against their will.
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February 28, 2007
President Hugo Chavez ordered by decree on Monday the takeover of oil projects run by foreign oil companies in Venezuela's Orinoco River region.Chavez had previously announced the government's intention to take a majority stake by May 1 in four heavy oil-upgrading projects run by British Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA and Statoil ASA.
He said Monday that has decreed a law to proceed with the nationalizations that will see state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, taking at least a 60 percent stake in the projects.
"The privatization of oil in Venezuela has come to an end," he said on his weekday radio show, "Hello, President." "This marks the true nationalization of oil in Venezuela."
By May 1, "we will occupy these fields" and have the national flag flying on them, he said.
The law is expected to be published shortly in the government's official gazette, and the companies will have four months from then to negotiate terms and conditions with PDVSA to decide whether they will take part in new joint ventures as minority partners, Chavez said.
Chavez did not detail how the government will pay for its increased share in the projects in which the companies are estimated to have invested some $17 billion.
Leave the bastard with nothing but wreckage – sort of like he has made of the rest of the Venezuelan economy.
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February 17, 2007
Faced with an accelerating inflation rate and shortages of basic foods like beef, chicken and milk, President Hugo Chávez has threatened to jail grocery store owners and nationalize their businesses if they violate the country’s expanding price controls.Food producers and economists say the measures announced late Thursday night, which include removing three zeroes from the denomination of Venezuela’s currency, are likely to backfire and generate even more acute shortages and higher prices for consumers. Inflation climbed to an annual rate of 18.4 percent a year in January, the highest in Latin America and far above the official target of 10 to 12 percent.
Mr. Chávez, whose leftist populism remains highly popular among Venezuela’s poor and working classes, seemed unfazed by criticism of his policies. Appearing live on national television, he called for the creation of “committees of social control,” essentially groups of his political supporters whose purpose would be to report on farmers, ranchers, supermarket owners and street vendors who circumvent the state’s effort to control food prices.
In other words, Chavez wants to ensure that the productive segments of society are not rewarded for their productivity, but are instead punished for trying to get a fair return on their efforts. Indeed, Chavez has already taken initiatives to prevent "hoarding" (refusing to sell product at absurdly low prices set by the government), so this is simply one more step towards economic chaos.
One thing that I find telling in here is that the Venezuelan government has set a planned rate of inflation at 10-12% -- a rate that would be unacceptably high in this country and count the administration in place as a failure. Frighteninly, the Chavez government cannot even meet that unreasonably high target, and instead finds itself with a 18.5% rate of inflation.
The place is going to implode -- hopefully ending this experiment in socialism before it does too much damage tot he once-thriving nation.
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February 12, 2007
North Korea agreed Tuesday after arduous talks to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually dismantle its atomic weapons program, just four months after the communist state shocked the world by testing a nuclear bomb.The deal marks the first concrete plan for disarmament in more than three years of six-nation negotiations, and could potentially herald a new era of cooperation in the region with the North's longtime foes -- the United States and Japan -- also agreeing to discuss normalizing relations with Pyongyang.
Under the deal, the North will receive initial aid equal to 50,000 tons heavy fuel oil within 60 days for shutting down and sealing its main nuclear reactor and related facilities at Yongbyon, north of the capital, to be confirmed by international inspectors.
For irreversibly disabling the reactor and declaring all nuclear programs, the North will eventually receive another 950,000 tons in aid.
Of course there are problems with the deal, starting with the fact that North Korea has cheated in the past. In addition, as pointed out by former UN Ambassador John Bolton, the message this may send is that holding out and stonewalling may get a country aid, thereby encouraging more rogue states to seek nukes.
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January 28, 2007
Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved the first Arab Muslim minister of the Jewish state, a milestone marked here mostly by bitter criticism of what many lawmakers viewed as a politically motivated selection.Raleb Majadele, a Labor Party legislator, was approved by a wide margin as minister without portfolio in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet. Only Avigdor Lieberman, minister of strategic affairs from the Israel Is Our Home party, voted against the nomination.
Majadele's appointment is "a significant, historic step toward equality and peace in the region," said Amir Peretz, the Labor leader, who chose Majadele for a cabinet post several weeks ago during an ongoing fight for the party leadership.
An Israeli Druze, Saleh Tarif, was appointed minister without portfolio in 2001. But many of Israel's roughly 100,000 Druze, members of a sect that broke with Islam centuries ago, do not identify themselves as Arabs and serve in Israel's army.
The move is controversial among Arabs, with some seeing it as a betrayal. Still, it is significant to note that Israeli Arabs have significantly better living conditions and more freedom than Arabs living in most of Arab countries -- and certainly better than the small numbers of Jews in those countries.
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January 25, 2007
RAN is on the verge of launching a satellite into space that could herald a new dimension in Tehran's strategic capabilities, Aviation Week and Space Technology says on its website.The recently assembled, 30-tonne ballistic missile-turned space launcher could also be used for testing longer-range missile strike technologies, the magazine said in a report for its January 29 issue.
The Iranian space launcher "will lift off soon'' with an Iranian satellite, said Alaoddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, according to the weekly.
It is decidedly not in the interest of either Israel of the United States to have "Big Mullah" watching over us. And since the test could also be a pretext for testing long-range ballistic missiles, it seems to me that it would be best if it suffered a horrible accident, courtesy of the IAF.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have pledged to forge a peace between their countries, calling the vision of two states, side by side, the only path.With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas watching, Livni told the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum that a Palestinian state is "not an illusion. It's there, it's achievable".
Livni urged the international community to support moderates in the Middle East.
She told Abbas that "compromising with extremists will not promote anything" - a clear reference to Hamas and other militant groups.
Abbas listened intently, nodding his head, and afterwards greeted her warmly with a long handshake.
He reiterated that if he cannot form a unity government with Hamas officials, he will move to call early elections, but gave no specific timetable.
Abbas was addressing a large crowd of political leaders, corporate bosses and others at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.
He said that such an agreement would help strengthen the hands of moderates in the region and fight extremism of all types.
But will Hamas, Hezbollah, and the other extremists in the region allow such a deal to happen. After all, the entire origin of the conflict was the refusal of Arabs to live with a two-state solution that Israel embraced from its inception. Can the Palestinians quit murdering Jews long enough to achieve what could have been theirs six decades ago?
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January 24, 2007
Israel and the United States will soon be destroyed, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday during a meeting with Syria's foreign minister, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said in a report.
"Iranian President Mahmoud AhmadinejadÂ… assured that the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel will soon come to the end of their lives," the Iranian president was quoted as saying.
"Sparking discord among Muslims, especially between the Shiites and Sunnis, is a plot hatched by the Zionists and the US for dominating regional nations and looting their resources," Ahmadinejad added, according to the report.
Is it time to start the bombing yet, Democrats be damned? Or do we let this genocidal maniac get nukes and carry out his plan to make Israel Juden frei -- and radioactive for at least the next 25,000 years?
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January 15, 2007
Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection, a Spanish newspaper said Tuesday.The newspaper El Pais cited two unnamed sources from the Gregorio Maranon hospital in the Spanish capital of Madrid. The facility employs surgeon Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, who flew to Cuba in December to treat the 80-year-old Castro.
In a report published on its Web site, El Pais said: "A grave infection in the large intestine, at least three failed operations and various complications have left the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, laid up with a very grave prognosis."
I look forward to hearing soon that Castro is in "in the grave" condition.
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January 14, 2007
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, pledging deeper engagement in the Middle East peace process, met Sunday with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, who rejected suggestions for establishing a temporary state within provisional borders and pledged that any American money to bolster his security forces would not be misused.“I have heard loud and clear the call for deeper American engagement in these processes,” Ms. Rice said after two and a half hours of talks with Mr. Abbas.
* * * Although no formal proposal has been presented, some Israeli officials have floated the idea that the peace process could be accelerated by establishing a provisional Palestinian state within temporary borders to be subsequently set.
But Mr. Abbas said the idea would never work, fearing that the Palestinians might be locked into an inferior map.
“We have also noted to Minister Rice our decision to end any temporary or transitional solutions including a state with temporary borders because we do not believe it to be a realistic choice that can be built upon,” Mr. Abbas said during a joint news conference with the secretary of state.
Then again, if the Palestinians get their own state, they might be expected to quit killing Jews in Israel -- an outcome that too many of Israel's Arab neighbors find unacceptable.
Don't believe me? Consider this little bit of information buried in the final paragraph of the article.
Despite a cease-fire in Gaza that came into effect on Nov. 26, Palestinian militants have continued to fire rockets into southern Israel on an almost daily basis. The rockets are inaccurate and rarely cause serious damage or casualties, but the Israeli government says it will not tolerate the attacks indefinitely.
Israel, on the other hand, is expected to exercise restraint.
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January 13, 2007
China and Russia on Friday jointly vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution criticizing Burma's human rights record, striking a blow to the Bush administration's year-long campaign to use the U.N. Security Council to spotlight the repressive rule of Burma's military junta.Friday's vote was part of a broader diplomatic effort by Beijing and Moscow to prevent the United States and its Western allies from using the 15-nation council to censure some of the countries particularly known for rights abuses, including governments in Belarus, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
They were joined by one of the council's most influential Third World countries, South Africa. It also opposed the U.S. resolution on the grounds that the Security Council has no mandate to scold or sanction Burma, also known as Myanmar, for abuses on its own soil.
"We believe that the situation in this country does not pose any threat to international or regional peace; this opinion is shared by a large number of states, including most importantly those neighboring Myanmar," Russia's ambassador, Vitaly I. Churkin, told the council. "We find that attempts aimed at using the Security Council to discuss issues outside its purview are unacceptable."
Is it time for us to abandon this corrupt organization, a haven for dictators and murderers, to the dustbin of history? Is it time to start an international organization – composed only of democracies that guarantee human rights – to serve as a moral beacon to the world?
And is it time to expel the UN from American soil and to demolish the building at Turtle Bay?
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January 10, 2007
Torture in Egypt [Michael Rubin]
In a November 15, 2006 Corner post, I linked to a video posted on an Egyptian website showing the Egyptian police sodomizing a dissident with a stick while he screamed in agony. The Egyptian Courts have now ruled on the case… and have thrown the dissident in prison for “resisting authority.” Because the White House remains silent, all Egyptians are left with are images like this and this.I guess Arabs torturing Arabs is not nearly so troubling to the Arab street and world sensitivities as the less serious incidents at Abu Ghraib -- acts that America punished rather than condoned.
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Post contains 120 words, total size 2 kb.January 02, 2007
Aide To Iranian Prez: Hitler Was A Jew And Conspired To Found Israel Just when you think Iran's government couldn't sink any deeper into the abyss of anti-Semitism, one of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's top aides has come out with a real whopper.
Just when you thought the Iranian leadership could stoop no further: A top advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed in an interview with Iranian website Baztab that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's parents were both Jewish and that Hitler himself was one of the founders of the State of Israel.n the interview, translated by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) Mohammad-Ali Ramin, a chief aide to Ahmadinejad, told Baztab that Hitler's paternal grandmother was a Jewish prostitute and his father even kept his Jewish name until finally changing it to Hitler when he was 40.
Ramin also claimed that the reason Hitler developed such an aversion to Judaism was because his Jewish mother was a promiscuous woman. Hitler therefore, says Ramin, tried to escape his religion.
Ramin cites a 1974 book by Hennecke Kardel titled 'Adolf Hitler: Founder of Israel', which alleges that Hitler strived to create a Jewish state as a result of being influenced by his Jewish relatives and his cooperation with Britain – which also wanted to drive the Jews out of Europe.I'm speechless.
American Thinker Blog has additional coverage and quotes.
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Post contains 243 words, total size 2 kb.An Interesting Piece By Ted Kennedy (BUMPED & UPDATED) And one I have to agree with him in most respects -- we need to do more to assist refugees in Iraq, especially those who have assisted the Coalition and the new Iraqi government.
There is an overwhelming need for temporary relief and permanent resettlement. Last year, however, America accepted only 202 Iraqi refugees, and next year we plan to accept approximately the same number. We and other nations of the world need to do far better.Thousands of these refugees are fleeing because they have been affiliated in some way with the United States. Cooks, drivers and translators have been called traitors for cooperating with the United States. They know all too well that the fate of those who work with U.S. civilians or military forces can be sudden death. Yet, beyond a congressionally mandated program that accepts 50 Iraqi translators from Iraq and Afghanistan each year, the administration has done nothing to resettle brave Iraqis who provided assistance in some way to our military. This lack of conscience is fundamentally unfair. We need to do much more to help Iraqi refugees, especially those who have helped our troops.
As a humanitarian issue, there is no question that Kennedy is right. More humanitarian aid will help to stablize the region and stem the humanitarian crisis that exists. But there is one other consideration as well -- one that the policy proposals we hear from too many Democrats make a real issue.
The biggest disgrace of America's betrayal of South Vietnam was the number of Vietnamese left behind who had relied on US assurances that their assistance to the United States and involvement with the South Vietnamese government would assure them a seat out when the Communists violated the Paris Peace Accords. As some Democrats prepare to force a second great military cut-and-run from success, we need to ensure that there are not many Iraqis who assisted America trying to break through the embassy gates as the last American helicopter leaves the Green Zone
UPDATE -- 1/2/2007: How serious is that refugee crisis?
With thousands of Iraqis desperately fleeing this country every day, advocates for refugees, and even some American officials, say there is an urgent need to allow more Iraqi refugees into the United States.Until recently the Bush administration had planned to resettle just 500 Iraqis this year, a mere fraction of the tens of thousands of Iraqis who are now believed to be fleeing their country each month. State Department officials say they are open to admitting larger numbers, but are limited by a cumbersome and poorly financed United Nations referral system.
“We’re not even meeting our basic obligation to the Iraqis who’ve been imperiled because they worked for the U.S. government,” said Kirk W. Johnson, who worked for the United States Agency for International Development in Falluja in 2005. “We could not have functioned without their hard work, and it’s shameful that we’ve nothing to offer them in their bleakest hour.”
* * * The State Department has made it clear that it is deeply concerned about the fate of IraqÂ’s religious minorities, including Christians. Officials at the department say that any refugee program must also be geared to those vulnerable groups.
As many as 100,000 exiled Iraqi Christians have relatives in the United States and would want to resettle there if given the chance, said Joseph T. Kassab, the executive director of the Chaldean Federation of America, a Michigan-based umbrella group that represents Iraqi Christians. Mr. Kassab said his groupÂ’s estimates were based on questionnaires devised by University of Michigan professors and filled out by several thousand Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon in recent months.
Yes, we need to care for the religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq -- but what of those in peril because of their service to the United States? Do we not have an obligation to them? Or is it April 30, 1975 all over again.
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Post contains 676 words, total size 5 kb.December 30, 2006
Sic Semper Tyrannis! (BUMPED)
Justice Accomplished!At long last, Saddam is dead, hanged for his crimes against the Iraqi people.
Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator who spent his last years in captivity after his ruthless Baathist regime was toppled from power by the U.S.-led coalition in 2003, was hanged Saturday for crimes committed in a brutal crackdown during his reign, a witness said."Saddam's body is in front me," said an official in the prime minister's office when CNN telephoned. "It's over."
In the background, Shiite chanting could be heard. When asked about the chanting, the official said, "These are employees of the prime minister's office and government chanting in celebration."
A witness to the execution reported that celebrations broke out after Hussein was dead, and that there was "dancing around the body."
Not only was there dancing around the body, but also in Iraqi-American communities.
And celebrations broke out in Iraq as well.
I'll post more pictures/video of the big event when they becomes available.
UPDATE 1 -- 7:30 AM CST: Pictures added.
UPDATE 2 -- 8:00 AM CST: At least one local Dem blogger and party activist (connected enough to be admitted to our incoming Congressman's hospital room) appears troubled that it was Saddam swinging and not members of the Bush administration.
According to Raw Story, Saddam Hussein will die tonight. After 3 years of war, almost 3000 American soldiers killed, 20,000+ wounded, our reputation around the world badly damaged, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed, and after spending almost $500 Billion of our tax dollars, we finally got Saddam hanging from a rope.We should be so proud.
Tonight Saddam will be swinging from a rope and struggling for his last breath of air, while the ghouls across the country are waiting for the video to hit YouTube.
And yet the undeniable fact will remain that the only person who didn't lie about weapons of mass destruction will be hanging from the end of the rope.
And those that did will not.
UPDATE 3 -- 2:00 PM CST: Hot Air has video from FoxNews.
MORE AT Michelle Malkin, Captain's Quarters, Tammy Bruce, Liberty Papers, Sensible Mom, Ed Driscoll, bRight & Early, A Blog For All, PoliBlog, Anchoress, Patterico, Gay Patriot, Hot Air, TelChai Nation, Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool, Jawa Report
Posted by: Greg at 06:00 AM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
Post contains 387 words, total size 5 kb.December 29, 2006
Where's Jimmy To Condemn This Wall? In light of his new book, one would think Carter would have something to say about this wall.Or is it only the Israeli security fence that offends his sensibilities?
A country has chosen to build a wall to stop the flow of militants from crossing its border and creating terror and havoc in two countries. Some critics say that the real problem is the tolerance of militants by a government that claims to be fighting them. Sound familiar?Has Jimmy Carter been heard from to condemn this human rights atrocity? So far, no. After all this would be a wall built by Pakistan on its long border with Afghanistan.
I guess when Muslims build a wall to keep out Muslim terrorists, it is a good thing -- it's only when Jews defend themselves from Muslim terrorists that such barriers become a problem.
Posted by: Greg at 05:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 155 words, total size 1 kb.Silencing Dissent In Venezuela An independent voice in Venezuela is about to be silenced by the government for its active opposition to the government of strongman Hugo Chavez.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he will not renew the licence for the country's second largest TV channel which he says expires in March 2007.In an address to troops, Mr Chavez said he would not tolerate media outlets working towards a coup against him.
Radio Caracas Television, which is aligned with the opposition, supported a strike against Mr Chavez in 2003.
But the TV's head said there must be some mistake as its licence was not up for renewal in the near future.
Marcel Granier also vowed to fight against the president's plans in Venezuela's courts and on the international stage.
The BBC's Greg Morsbach in Caracas says Mr Chavez has repeatedly threatened to take the TV off the air but has never given a date.
The move could help silence some of his critics in the media who have been a thorn in his side for several years, he says.
Mr Chavez, who was returned to power by a wide margin on 3 December, said Mr Granier was mistaken in believing "that concession is eternal".
"It runs out in March. So it's better that you go and prepare your suitcase and look around for what you're going to do in March," he said during a televised speech to soldiers at a military academy in Caracas.
"There will be no new operating licence for this coupist TV channel called RCTV. The operating licence is over... So go and turn off the equipment," Mr Chavez said.
So opposition to the government is now grounds for lifting broadcast licenses in Venezuela -- and there is no appeal from the heir-apparent to Fidel among Latin American human rights violators.
But Chavez isn't a dictator -- just ask America's leftists!
Posted by: Greg at 05:10 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 320 words, total size 2 kb.December 25, 2006
War & Rumors Of War This Christmas day finds yet another front against the forces ofthe Anti-Christjihadi terror -- this one involving Somali Islamists fighting against the legitimate Somali government and neighboring Ethiopia
Ethiopian fighter jets bombed Somalia's main airport Monday, the first direct attack on the city that serves as the headquarters of an Islamic movement attempting to wrest power from the internationally recognized government. Another airport also was hit nearby.Russian-made jets swept low over the capital at midmorning, dropping two bombs on Somalia's main airport, which recently reopened after the Islamic takeover of Mogadishu. An Associated Press reporter who arrived shortly after the strike saw one wounded woman taken away. The runway and one building used by the Islamic forces were damaged.
Shortly afterward, Baledogle Airport, about 60 miles outside Mogadishu, was hit, an Islamic soldier said. There were no reliable casualty reports available for either attack.
"The Ethiopian government is bombing non-civilian targets in Somalia in order to disable and prevent the delivery of arms and supplies to the Islamic courts," said Bereket Simon, an adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Ethiopia and the Somali government have long accused the Islamic council of recruiting foreign fighters into its ranks.
The Ethiopian attacks have the support of the legitimate Somali government, which has long accused the Islamists of being reinforced by foreign jihadis, and the bombings were intended to keep the Islamist forces from being re-supplied.
For their part, the Islamists have had the following to say about the attack.
The Somalia Islamic Courts Council's (SICC) Web site hailed "mujahideen" troops who, it said, chanted passages from the Koran as they went into battle against militarily superior Ethiopian "crusaders".So let there be no question about who and what the SICC is, and why they seek to destroy the legitimate Somali government (which is secular) and Christian Ethiopia.
MORE AT Tammy Bruce & Liberty Papers
Posted by: Greg at 06:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 326 words, total size 3 kb.December 20, 2006
Thus Spake Ahmadinejad The Madman of Teheran now prophesies for his false god.
"The oppressive powers will disappear while the Iranian people will stay. Any power that is close to God will survive while the powers who are far from God will disappear like the pharaohs," he said Wednesday, according to Iranian news agencies."Today, it is the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime which are doomed to disappear as they have moved far away from the teachings of God," he said in a speech in the western town of Javanroud.
"It is a divine promise."
The time is now at hand to act against this maniac, before he has a chance to bring his nuclear plans to fruition -- if he hasn't already.
Posted by: Greg at 08:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 128 words, total size 1 kb.Kurdish Plea -- Don't Sell Us Out Again James Baker was part of one sell-out of the Kurds after the Gulf War. Now his Iraq Surrender Group has proposed another sell-out by seeking to appease those who fight America at the expense of those who cooperate with America. Kurdish leader Masrour Barzani urges the United States to reject such a solution.
The Iraq Study Group's recommendations will accomplish nothing in Iraq. Its expressions of "gratitude" to those of us Iraqis who fought on the battlefield for freedom and liberty ring hollow. The report ignores our accomplishments, dreams and sacrifices in favor of a concern for those whose ultimate goal is the destruction of democracy.Our federal constitution, which the majority of the Iraqi people voted for, is treated flippantly, as though it were a negotiable document rather than the hard-fought result of lengthy negotiation among those willing to participate in the new Iraq. Further, the study group's approach is driven by the concerns of the countries in this region rather than by the concerns of the Iraqi people.
Many Iraqis, especially the Kurds, are justifiably concerned about this. No one from the study group visited Iraqi Kurdistan, which the group admits is safe and pro-American, and where there has not been a single U.S. casualty since the war. Kurds not only fought alongside Americans but lost some of our best men to American friendly-fire incidents. Yet we staunchly support the work of the coalition and are eternally grateful for the sacrifices the American people have made for our future.
The report is right to acknowledge that part of the problem in Iraq is America's inability to distinguish friend from foe. Unfortunately, Baker-Hamilton fares even worse in this regard. This comes as little surprise, since it was partly written by those who orchestrated the saving of Saddam Hussein in 1991.
Remember -- the Kurds have steadfastly supported US efforts to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. They have paid a terrible price for those efforts, as the United States has abandoned them in the past.
Once again Kurds are about to be sold out. Should the U.S. administration adopt the recommendations of Baker-Hamilton, the Kurds will be sacrificed to protect the interests of Iraq's neighbors. We were massacred in 1975 and 1991 by Saddam Hussein because we thought that our commitment to democracy and tolerance made us natural U.S. allies. We responded then, as we did four years ago, to American calls for the introduction of a new era in the region. Like Americans, we dream of a better future for our children, one in which they can grow up without deformities caused by chemical attacks on our villages.Baker, Hamilton, and the Iraq Surrender Group have a different vision -- negotiate with America's enemies even if that means that America's friends once again pay the price of our failure to stay the course, honor our commitments, and support our allies.
Iraq's constitution should be treasured. Iraq's neighbors should not be allowed to violate our sovereignty. Democracy and federalism are the popularly chosen basis of the new Iraq. Never again should Kurdish wealth be stolen to finance genocide against the Kurdish people.While Kurds welcome American troops into their homes, Baker-Hamilton proposes that the United States revise its policies to meet the demands of those firing at its soldiers. According to the study group, we are all part of "a problem" that needs fixing, and we are equally unworthy of America's protection.
Don't sell us out to our authoritarian neighbors and those who are terrorizing our communities. We agreed democratically to participate in this project because we were guaranteed the rights needed to protect our people. We Kurds are asking President Bush and America to remember the sacrifices we have made to keep your loved ones safe in Iraq. We are asking you to keep a promise where those before you have failed.
We must stand by the Kurdish people, and all the peace and freedom loving Iraqis. We must finish what we started, resolute in the assurance that our course is correct and our goals are proper. If we do not, we show the world one clear truth -- the United States is not to be trusted, and American promises and commitments will not be honored when the going gets tough. In short, the decision that faces America is stark -- will we continue to be a great nation which stands with our allies, or will we simply be an impotent joke with which others ally themselves at their own peril?
* * * Interestingly enough, the top leader of Iraqi Shiites has come out in support of US efforts to work with a coalition of Iraqi forces to isolate extremists, rather than negotiate with those who bankroll those who seek to bring down the US-backed government.
Posted by: Greg at 04:45 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 815 words, total size 5 kb.December 17, 2006
Iran To Share Nukes So -- do we have the will to stop their nuke program NOW?
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday his country was ready to transfer nuclear technology to neighboring countries, nearly a week after Arab states on the Persian Gulf announced plans to consider a joint nuclear program.Ahmadinejad told a top Kuwaiti envoy he welcomed the decision by the Islamic republic's Arab Gulf neighbors to pursue peaceful nuclear technology, state-run television said.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared to transfer to regional states its valuable experience and achievements in the field of peaceful nuclear technology as a clean energy source and as a replacement for oil," state media quoted Ahmadinejad as telling Mohammed Zefollah Shirar, a top adviser to the Kuwaiti emir.
Unfortunately, we know that the Iranian program is not peaceful -- and that the Iranian leader has implicitly threatened to use nukes to wipe Israel off the map. Do we act -- or do we allow the situation to continue on, permitting Ahmadinejad to complete the work that he denies Hitler began?
Posted by: Greg at 03:18 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 183 words, total size 1 kb.December 15, 2006
Castro Death Imimnent? Will the Tyrant of Havana soon be residing in Hell? According to US intelligence sources, Satan's minions are probably preparing a particularly warm spot for Fidel as you read these words.
Cuban President Fidel Castro is very ill and close to death, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte said yesterday."Everything we see indicates it will not be much longer . . . months, not years," Negroponte told a meeting of Washington Post editors and reporters.
Castro relinquished power for the first time in 47 years after surgery July 31 for an undisclosed intestinal disorder.
So start chilling that champagne -- and get the necessary supplies ready to celebrate Cuba libre with Cuba Libre.
Posted by: Greg at 01:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 121 words, total size 1 kb.December 12, 2006
Saudis To Back Iraqi Sunnis? One more consideration for the Iraq Surrender Group supporters and other cut-n-runners.
Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against IraqÂ’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia conveyed that message to Vice President Dick Cheney two weeks ago during Mr. CheneyÂ’s whirlwind visit to Riyadh, the officials said. During the visit, King Abdullah also expressed strong opposition to diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran, and pushed for Washington to encourage the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Bush administration officials said.
The Saudi warning reflects fears among AmericaÂ’s Sunni Arab allies about IranÂ’s rising influence in Iraq, coupled with TehranÂ’s nuclear ambitions. King Abdullah II of Jordan has also expressed concern about rising Shiite influence, and about the prospect that the Shiite-dominated government would use Iraqi troops against the Sunni population.
A senior Bush administration official said Tuesday that part of the administrationÂ’s review of Iraq policy involved the question of how to harness a coalition of moderate Iraqi Sunnis with centrist Shiites to back the Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.
So, "realists", what is your solution to this one? Personally, I support partition, with the US and coalition forces playing peace-keeper between three states -- Sunni, Shi'a and Kurd.
Posted by: Greg at 11:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 248 words, total size 2 kb.December 11, 2006
Human Rights In Cuba I think this says all that needs to be said about the status of human rights in Cuba.
Dozens of government supporters broke up a silent march by a small group of dissidents marking International Human Rights Day on Sunday, roughing up participants and accusing them of being mercenaries of the U.S. government.The activists led by physician Darcy Ferrer tried to keep walking around the park, but they were eventually forced out of the park and they fled in taxis.
"Long live Fidel and Raul!" the government loyalists chanted, referring to ailing leaderFidel Castro and his brother. "Down with the worms!"
"They are mercenaries!" some of the loyalists shouted of the dissidents.
The government supporters were waiting for the activists at the park before the march started.So what we have here is an organized effort to prevent the exercise of human rights. And yet somehow our left-wing countrymen and women find it impossible to criticize the Castro regime for its human rights abuses.
* * * But hey, the left-wingers of the “cultural elite” see Cuba as such a wonderful place – despite the fact Cubans lack the freedom to criticize Cuba’s government that these American Mercedes Marxists use to undercut the United States.
Posted by: Greg at 01:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 215 words, total size 2 kb.December 08, 2006
Lebanon PM Marked For Death? The words of Hezbollah’s leader would seem to imply that, since that is how jihadis like Hezbollah deal with individuals seen as collaborators with Israel – and Saniora’s response seems likely to confirm the implicit sentence of death.
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora denounced Hezbollah and its leader on Friday in an unusually personal attack, a day after the guerrilla group's chief renewed his pledge to bring down the U.S.-backed government.The prime minister and Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah had traded barbs in the past, mostly through aides or supporters, but their recent remarks descended into direct attacks for the first time. The escalation of rhetoric marked a sharp turn in Lebanon's political crisis and further stoked the tensions between the two sides that threatens to tear the country apart.
"What we've seen yesterday was an unnecessary fit of anger and rudeness that we don't accept," Saniora told hundreds of supporters at his heavily fortified office complex where he has been holed up since the opposition launched street protests on Dec. 1 to bring down his government.
He accused Nasrallah of threatening a coup and said the protests will lead nowhere. Emboldened by international support for his U.S.-backed government, Saniora has repeatedly insisted he would not give in to the demonstrations.
In a rousing speech delivered Thursday night on huge screens in central Beirut, Nasrallah accused Saniora of conniving with Israel during its monthlong war with Hezbollah last summer. He claimed Saniora ordered the Lebanese army to confiscate Hezbollah's supplies of weapons - his sharpest attack on the prime minister since the August cease-fire that ended the fighting."Didn't the prime minister of Lebanon work to cut off the supply lines?" Nasrallah asked.
He said government officials had asked American envoys to persuade Israel to destroy Hezbollah: "Those are the ones responsible for the war, not the resistance."
We know that Hezbollah is nothing more than a Syrian and Iranian proxy, and that Syria has been killing Lebanese leaders for years in an effort to keep the country in turmoil. Let’s make it clear that any action against Saniora – and continued funding of Hezbollah – will be grounds for action against the Baathist government of Syria and Islamofascist government of Iran, which the “realists” of the Iraq Surrender Group see as partners for peace in the Middle East.
Posted by: Greg at 12:53 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
Post contains 399 words, total size 3 kb.But The “Realists†Insist On Negotiating With These People Why should we expect good-faith in future negotiations if one of the party rejects every past agreement?
Earlier Friday, Haniyeh vowed that the Hamas government would never recognize Israel and would continue to fight for the liberation of Jerusalem."The world's arrogance (US) and Zionists ... want us to recognize the usurpation of the Palestinian lands and stop jihad and resistance and accept the agreements reached with the Zionist enemies in the past," Haniyeh told thousands of Friday prayer worshippers at Teheran University.
The United States is pressing the Hamas-led Palestinian government to recognize Israel, renounce violence and form a national unity government with Fatah in a bid to revive the peace process with Israel.
"I'm insisting from this podium that these issues won't materialize. We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem," he said.
So we have one more element of the Iraq Surrender Group/Israel Sell-out Group plan collapsing before our very eyes. So much for “realismâ€!
Posted by: Greg at 07:07 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 178 words, total size 1 kb.But The “Realists” Insist On Negotiating With These People Why should we expect good-faith in future negotiations if one of the party rejects every past agreement?
Earlier Friday, Haniyeh vowed that the Hamas government would never recognize Israel and would continue to fight for the liberation of Jerusalem."The world's arrogance (US) and Zionists ... want us to recognize the usurpation of the Palestinian lands and stop jihad and resistance and accept the agreements reached with the Zionist enemies in the past," Haniyeh told thousands of Friday prayer worshippers at Teheran University.
The United States is pressing the Hamas-led Palestinian government to recognize Israel, renounce violence and form a national unity government with Fatah in a bid to revive the peace process with Israel.
"I'm insisting from this podium that these issues won't materialize. We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem," he said.
So we have one more element of the Iraq Surrender Group/Israel Sell-out Group plan collapsing before our very eyes. So much for “realism”!
Posted by: Greg at 07:07 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 187 words, total size 1 kb.December 06, 2006
Ahmadinejad To West: Convert Or Die! But so-called "realists" consider this Holocaust-denying loon an excellent partner for peace in the Middle East.
"These oppressive countries are angry with us ... a nation that on the other side of the globe has risen up and proved the shallowness of their power," Mr Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the northern town of Ramsar."They are angry with our nation. But we tell them 'so be it and die from this anger'. Rest assured that if you do not respond to the divine call, you will die soon and vanish from the face of the earth," he said.
Hey, Mahmoud -- Allahu F*ck You!
Posted by: Greg at 02:00 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 118 words, total size 1 kb.November 28, 2006
Castro Too Sick For 80th Birthday Bash But it seems the party will go on without him, attended by world leaders and celebrities untroubled by the dictator's absences -- and the murders and other human rights violations committed under Fidel's direction.
The ailing Fidel Castro was not well enough to attend the kickoff Tuesday of his 80th birthday celebrations, attended by hundreds of admirers who traveled here to fete him.A government worker at the gala launch of the five-day birthday bash read a message which he said came from the Cuban leader. It said Castro's doctors had told him he was not in condition to go to the party at Havana's Karl Marx Theater where about 5,000 well-wishers gathered.
God grant that this be the last time that Castro celebrates a birthday or his Communist revolution -- and he mark the next ones surrounded by the fire and brimstone that surely await him in the next life.
Posted by: Greg at 11:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 165 words, total size 1 kb.November 26, 2006
Gaza CeaseFire -- Terrorists Violate It, Israelis Abide By It How long did it take for the folks from the Terrorstinian Anarchy to violate the new ceasefire? Two hours. And the Israeli response? Do nothing, in the hopes that the ceasefire will hold.
The Israeli government agreed late Saturday to cease military operations in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a pledge by Palestinian armed groups to stop firing rockets into southern Israel, a tentative deal that leaders on both sides said could end months of violence in and around the Palestinian enclave. The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, outlined the terms of a possible cease-fire in a telephone call to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, according to Olmert's aides. The proposal called for an end to the frequent Palestinian rocket fire that has killed two Israelis this month, suicide bombings inside Gaza against Israeli soldiers and the digging of tunnels used for smuggling money and weapons into the strip from neighboring Egypt.
Olmert's aides said the prime minister pledged in return to cease military operations in Gaza -- more than 250 Palestinians, most of them gunmen, have been killed since late June -- effective 6 a.m. Sunday. Israeli forces would begin withdrawing soon after from northern Gaza, where they have been operating for several weeks, if terms of the truce hold. [The Israeli military said early Sunday that it had withdrawn all of its forces from Gaza.]
Israeli and Palestinian officials warned that the next few days would determine the durability of the cease-fire, which does not extend to the West Bank. Similar agreements have been announced since Israel withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza 14 months ago, only to collapse within hours. [There were reports of at least one rocket falling inside Israel after the cease-fire took effect, without reports of injuries.]
"It holds the potential for stability and quiet for both sides," said Miri Eisin, an Olmert spokeswoman. "Israel in that sense is hopeful."
And yes the "reports" of at least one rocket falling were true.
Israel has ordered restraint after Palestinian militants fired a salvo of rockets at the Jewish state, violating a fledgling ceasefire less then two hours after it took affect in the Gaza Strip.The rocket strike threatened the ceasefire agreement that came into effect at dawn and in which militants promised to halt rocket attacks in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the impoverished coastal territory.
The Israeli army completed its withdrawal from Gaza shortly after dawn, a military spokeswoman said Sunday.
The armed wings of the ruling Islamist Hamas movement and the radical Islamic Jihad, both of which signed on to the ceasefire accord, each claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks which hit the Israeli town of Sderot shortly before 8:00 am (0600 GMT), causing no casualties.
The attacks, which were quickly condemned by both the Hamas-led government and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, marked an inauspicious start to the ceasefire which came into play at 6:00 am (0400 GMT).
But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, vowing restraint and patience in the coming days, said he had ordered the army not to respond to the attacks.
"We will show restraint and patience in order to give the ceasefire a chance," said Olmert, speaking at the inauguration of a school in the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel.
"I took into account the possibility that ceasefires do not materialize immediately to their fullest extent without any violations," he added. "There are violations of the ceasefire on the Palestinian side, but I instructed the security establishment not to respond."
So let's get this straight -- despite signing on to the agreement, both of the major Terrorstinian factions have claimed responsibility for a new attack on Israel. And prime Minister Ohlmert sits around pretending he is John Lennon, singing "Give Peace A Chance". Fortunately, now Israelis were killed in this attack, but I have to wonder how many dead Jews it will take for the Israeli government to recognize that one does not negotiate with terrorists, but instead must exterminate them like the vermin they are?
Posted by: Greg at 01:42 AM | Comments (266) | Add Comment
Post contains 662 words, total size 5 kb.November 24, 2006
US Dispatches Colorado AG To Offer Apology For Laws Against Rape, Slavery I almost glossed over this little snippet in a Washington Times column this morning.
Pandering, whether by bishops or government officials, invites contempt, not respect. Nevertheless, after a Saudi national was convicted in Colorado of keeping an Indonesian nanny as a family slave and sentenced to life in prison, the State Department dispatched the Colorado attorney general to Riyadh last week to apologize to King Abdullah for American justice and the 14th Amendment.Now one can argue that this is spin on the incident, but I don't think it is.
Let's look at why a state AG was dispatched to justify the trial and conviction of a Saudi citizen on serious charges
The door to the palace swung open and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers found himself being escorted through a room that seemed about 50 yards long.That room led to a second door and another room about 75 yards long.
At the far end, Suthers could see King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia stand up and begin walking toward him.
They met halfway. Photographers with the Saudi news media recorded the event.
Suthers had flown 19 hours from Denver to Riyadh to meet with the king, the Crown Prince and other Saudi officials at the request of the U.S. ambassador to explain how the U.S. justice system handled the case of Homaidan Al-Turki.
In June, an Arapahoe County jury convicted Al-Turki, son of a prominent Saudi family, on charges of sexually abusing an Indonesian nanny and holding her a virtual captive in his Aurora home. He has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, pending an appeal.
The case has become a major story in Saudi Arabia where the media, siding with Al-Turki, have portrayed him as the victim of a judicial system biased against Muslims.
For two days last week, Suthers tried to explain to Saudi leaders and Al-Turki's family how the system treated him fairly throughout his arrest, conviction and appeal.
Suthers feels that the trip did some good, but he encountered several cultural differences that were as vast as some of the palace rooms.
Two examples became apparent right away.
"Under (Saudi) law, to prove a rape case, you need four eyewitnesses," Suthers said during an interview at his office Monday. "And they considered it inconceivable that an Indonesian maid was considered a competent witness in our courts."
Another significant difference is how civil and criminal courts mesh under Saudi law, making it possible for a victim or a victim's family to come to a financial settlement when it involves a criminal matter.
"They didn't understand how that wasn't possible here," Suthers said.
Oh, yes -- the need for four witnesses to a rape. Four male witnesses. For male Muslim witnesses, to be precise. Otherwise the victim is a whore and stoned to death. Ah, the civilized Saudi justice system!
And let us not forget that the perp in this case, refused to express remorse because his actions constituted "traditional Muslim behaviors".
That the Bush Administration, in the form of the State Department, would find it necessary to bring in a state's top prosecutor to explain that rape is considered a crime and slavery is banned by our Constitution is sickening. King Abdullah should have been told that he could settle for an explanation by a low-level legal attache from the embassy -- and the al-Turki family should have been told to go pound sand.
Or maybe they could have taken the approach proposed in this column in the Denver Post.
Surely a brief e-mail could have done the trick and saved taxpayers thousands:"Guys, you simply can't keep slaves over here ... nope, not even sex slaves."
And while it was the Saudi government that picked up the tab for the trip, I'm still sickened. We don't need to make an apology -- in any sense of the word -- for our laws with regards to these two serious violations of human dignity. That the Saudis would insist upon one speaks volumes.
Posted by: Greg at 09:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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