Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Bobcat SOLD to South Korea...
Bobcat Co. has its roots in the state, and has been acquired twice since its local inception 60 years ago: The company, known for its skid-steer loaders, was owned by the Melroe family in Bismarck, who sold it to Clark Equipment in 1969. In 1995, Ingersoll-Rand bought it from Clark...
In fact, Kemmitz said the labor contract was set to expire when Ingersoll-Rand, based in Bermuda, had first purchased the company in 1995. But Ingersoll-Rand made few changes, Kemmitz said.
"There's a lot of things going for everybody for it to stay,"Kemmitz said. "The work force is well-trained and very efficient. The wages are not out of line with anything in North Dakota, and are especially competitive globally."
See the comments below once you get to the link. I posted under the pseudonym, "Aaron." Also: do you guys think it's chickenshit that we post on a blog under pseudonym ourselves? Just a question.
Dakota Attempted Murder...
Read the article, and below here's the personal encounter my friends and I had with the attempted murderer, Ernest Coppage.
Last fall a friend of mine -- aka, "Two Katt" -- and fellow archaeologist lived in a basement apartment situated just down the stair-hallway of Ernest Coppage (the guy who attempted the murder). Coppage went by the name "E" and was wound a little -- at least the couple times that I met him.
Two Katt, my friend (he since returned to his home in the Twin Cities), was out in Colorado on assignment when "E" tried murdering his girlfriend. About a month before it all went down, Two Katt told E's girlfriend to "Get rid of this guy. Just go. E is bad news." E's girlfriend stuck around, though.
It was one of those cases where the girl, for some reason, felt she needed to stick with this sonofabitch. E originally hails from Chicago (he's lived in Bismarck for about 5 years). I think he's going to be in Dakota a bit longer than he initially anticipated.
Last fall a friend of mine -- aka, "Two Katt" -- and fellow archaeologist lived in a basement apartment situated just down the stair-hallway of Ernest Coppage (the guy who attempted the murder). Coppage went by the name "E" and was wound a little -- at least the couple times that I met him.
Two Katt, my friend (he since returned to his home in the Twin Cities), was out in Colorado on assignment when "E" tried murdering his girlfriend. About a month before it all went down, Two Katt told E's girlfriend to "Get rid of this guy. Just go. E is bad news." E's girlfriend stuck around, though.
It was one of those cases where the girl, for some reason, felt she needed to stick with this sonofabitch. E originally hails from Chicago (he's lived in Bismarck for about 5 years). I think he's going to be in Dakota a bit longer than he initially anticipated.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Big Easy blues
Tammy White said her husband was planning to get out of the construction management business and the couple was going to open a photography studio.
Hmmm.... Why would anyone do that? At any rate, IT'S ALL BUSH'S FAULT!!!! Yes, Pepe?
Hmmm.... Why would anyone do that? At any rate, IT'S ALL BUSH'S FAULT!!!! Yes, Pepe?
Fear Is No Four Letter Word on Planet Pepe
Today is a Good Day for Hitch. He must have had his coffee,THEN wrote this, THEN hit his Pinot Noir.
The article is in the comments section, but here's a part where he takes the measure of the Lord of PP and his "Moore the Motherer" blown by the bag of winds pensee.
"As one who has occasionally challenged Islamic propaganda in public and been told that I have thereby "insulted 1.5 billion Muslims," I can say what I suspect—which is that there is an unmistakable note of menace behind that claim. No, I do not think for a moment that Mohammed took a "night journey" to Jerusalem on a winged horse. And I do not care if 10 billion people intone the contrary. Nor should I have to. But the plain fact is that the believable threat of violence undergirds the Muslim demand for "respect." "
But the Lord of PP so much does care about being on the side with most dicks.
The article is in the comments section, but here's a part where he takes the measure of the Lord of PP and his "Moore the Motherer" blown by the bag of winds pensee.
"As one who has occasionally challenged Islamic propaganda in public and been told that I have thereby "insulted 1.5 billion Muslims," I can say what I suspect—which is that there is an unmistakable note of menace behind that claim. No, I do not think for a moment that Mohammed took a "night journey" to Jerusalem on a winged horse. And I do not care if 10 billion people intone the contrary. Nor should I have to. But the plain fact is that the believable threat of violence undergirds the Muslim demand for "respect." "
But the Lord of PP so much does care about being on the side with most dicks.
...Roosevelt (effort #3,441)
When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Roosevelt, who was serving as the assistant secretary of the Navy, resigned his post, gathered up a scruffy company of volunteers from around the nation, and then worked with all of his might to get himself to the front in Cuba in time to be in a serious battle. His biggest fear in the late spring of 1898 was that the war would end before he could get his Rough Riders into some bloody action.
Think about that.
Another mft effort to get FCP'ers more acquainted with Theodore Roosevelt. BULLY!
Oscar the Death Cat: any ideas, fellahs?
"Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar the Cat has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents on the third floor of Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone. For his work, he is highly regarded by the physicians and staff at Steere House and by the families of the residents whom he serves."
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Perkins, North Bismarck, Sunday morning: the horror
Perkins, north Bismarck, late-morning, on a Sunday, gets jammed with Christiandom followers who for some reason willingly wait 20-to-40 minutes to eat calories and fuel (Americans are suspicious of calling it "food"). I found my Infidel self wondering why were we all here, with our Machiavelli smiles toward one-another, forcing someone else to cook our food on the supposedly sanctified Sabbath?
We can rule the taste of the calories out right away. Any Perkins manager, off the record, would ascent to this. It costs around 11-to-12 Almighty Dollars to get an average breakfast spread of two eggs, toast, hash browns, bacon, coffee and orange juice. Ergo, the price is not what's bringing the crowd in either.
Perhaps Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation convinced themselves that this is what they and their families ought to do after attending sermon or mass on Sunday? I'm certain there's a better explanation. Still, I'm bewildered by it all.
Per my loving father's request (per my wonderful Swedish grandmother's request), I attended this breakfast meeting. Before leaving for Perkins, I woke up my brother and asked him to come along. I drove us up, we parked, and then entered the lobby.
We politely shoved our way through to where our other relatives waited, and while doing this received smiling stares and glances from the other waiting patrons. I overheard one waiting patron remark on the state of the crowd, saying, "My GOD!" under his breath.
We stood. It felt like all of north Bismarck was there. Awkward. Trying to face the right way. Trying not to stare too long. Three-hundred sixty degrees of smiling faces. For everyone. Excruciating. I understood why people went outside to smoke. At least they could stare at the nearby intersection in the blasting sun.
Finally, the family name was blurted out. I felt partially grateful that we would now be seated, at the very least to get away from the smiling and understandable resentment of my fellow Western Civilizationers. The hostess led us through the restaurant. We followed her through the narrow isles, dodging a bus-boy here, and a waiter and waitress there.
The hostess brought us to an empty table and said, "Would this be all right?" At least internally, it's extremely easy to interpret this pseudo-deference in a sarcastic and cynical light. While externally smiling, I internally thought, "What the hell choice would we have if this wasn't alright? Should I say, 'no, this won't do. Tell your minstrels we need a table and setting that's much more regal!'" Absurdity abounds. We agreed to the table. We sat. We pushed on.
Our beverage orders gave way to our breakfast orders, and during the interlude, I decided to assist my Aunt and Uncle. Their young granddaughter — my second cousin — was being what some might call a "pill." At fourteen months, she did not want to sit in the high-chair (or any chair), and she did not want to wait for the meal. She wanted to color on the table with crayons, she wanted to make incomprehensible noise and even cry a bit, and she wanted out of there.
My own atavistic impulse suggested something similar: deface the establishment, disturb the sensibilities of the patrons, and leave. Sometimes we stray from the comforts of cultural politeness. I have the decency not to act on these urges, although I know plenty others think of them just as much as I do. Sometimes I'm jealous when I see a child who gets to act that way.
Still waiting for our calories to arrive, I announced that I was going to take the little one for a walk. This was an outstanding move on all fronts: first, it naturally made me look like a Saint, not only to my family, but to all others around. "MFT for Mayor!" Second, it relieved my Aunt and Uncle from their duties, if just for a bit. Little ones have amazing four-hour bursts of energy before they need to recharge. Adult energy levels are much more paced. Two worldviews collided. I took action, and finally the little one and I got to get out of Perkins for a solid ten minutes.
After again pushing past the lobby jammed full of waiting patrons, we made our way out the door and found a nice spot of shade, and lush Kentucky Bluegrass on the west side of the building. I pointed to the grass and began to impress a cultural noun on her by repeating the word "GRASS." I sat. She wandered a little bit, now placid, even smiley.
Our spot of shade also happened to be on the same side as the kitchen. An employee came out for a quick five minute
smoke. I thought it would be difficult for him to enjoy it, knowing that each drag brought him closer to going back to his duty. Yet the cigarette also provided his neurosis and body with a little bit of escape, and a bit of re-invigoration.
I said to him, "Man, these people just keep coming." Cars, vans, and mostly large trucks continued pouring into the parking lot. His expression remained the same, and he said, "Yeah." He gazed across the lot. He threw his butt away, pivoted, reached for the handle, opened the door, and went back to doing whatever it is he did in the kitchen at Perkins north.
By the time the little one and I got back, my family table was about 3/4 finished with their food. I ate my breakfast, drank my coffee, and seeing that everyone else was finished, gave the "Well, what do you think?" This phrase is used to suggest that everyone depart from the finished meal. There are other variations: "Well, I suppose..." and the brief, "Alright!"
We all agreed to leave, and got out of there. Damaged, yes. But successfully. To be succinct: never go to Perkins on a Sunday morning. If you have to, though, make sure there's an accompanying toddler.
[addendum: upon reconsideration of the above Universal, MFT has decided to alter it simply say, "NEVER GO TO PERKINS."]
We can rule the taste of the calories out right away. Any Perkins manager, off the record, would ascent to this. It costs around 11-to-12 Almighty Dollars to get an average breakfast spread of two eggs, toast, hash browns, bacon, coffee and orange juice. Ergo, the price is not what's bringing the crowd in either.
Perhaps Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation convinced themselves that this is what they and their families ought to do after attending sermon or mass on Sunday? I'm certain there's a better explanation. Still, I'm bewildered by it all.
Per my loving father's request (per my wonderful Swedish grandmother's request), I attended this breakfast meeting. Before leaving for Perkins, I woke up my brother and asked him to come along. I drove us up, we parked, and then entered the lobby.
We politely shoved our way through to where our other relatives waited, and while doing this received smiling stares and glances from the other waiting patrons. I overheard one waiting patron remark on the state of the crowd, saying, "My GOD!" under his breath.
We stood. It felt like all of north Bismarck was there. Awkward. Trying to face the right way. Trying not to stare too long. Three-hundred sixty degrees of smiling faces. For everyone. Excruciating. I understood why people went outside to smoke. At least they could stare at the nearby intersection in the blasting sun.
Finally, the family name was blurted out. I felt partially grateful that we would now be seated, at the very least to get away from the smiling and understandable resentment of my fellow Western Civilizationers. The hostess led us through the restaurant. We followed her through the narrow isles, dodging a bus-boy here, and a waiter and waitress there.
The hostess brought us to an empty table and said, "Would this be all right?" At least internally, it's extremely easy to interpret this pseudo-deference in a sarcastic and cynical light. While externally smiling, I internally thought, "What the hell choice would we have if this wasn't alright? Should I say, 'no, this won't do. Tell your minstrels we need a table and setting that's much more regal!'" Absurdity abounds. We agreed to the table. We sat. We pushed on.
Our beverage orders gave way to our breakfast orders, and during the interlude, I decided to assist my Aunt and Uncle. Their young granddaughter — my second cousin — was being what some might call a "pill." At fourteen months, she did not want to sit in the high-chair (or any chair), and she did not want to wait for the meal. She wanted to color on the table with crayons, she wanted to make incomprehensible noise and even cry a bit, and she wanted out of there.
My own atavistic impulse suggested something similar: deface the establishment, disturb the sensibilities of the patrons, and leave. Sometimes we stray from the comforts of cultural politeness. I have the decency not to act on these urges, although I know plenty others think of them just as much as I do. Sometimes I'm jealous when I see a child who gets to act that way.
Still waiting for our calories to arrive, I announced that I was going to take the little one for a walk. This was an outstanding move on all fronts: first, it naturally made me look like a Saint, not only to my family, but to all others around. "MFT for Mayor!" Second, it relieved my Aunt and Uncle from their duties, if just for a bit. Little ones have amazing four-hour bursts of energy before they need to recharge. Adult energy levels are much more paced. Two worldviews collided. I took action, and finally the little one and I got to get out of Perkins for a solid ten minutes.
After again pushing past the lobby jammed full of waiting patrons, we made our way out the door and found a nice spot of shade, and lush Kentucky Bluegrass on the west side of the building. I pointed to the grass and began to impress a cultural noun on her by repeating the word "GRASS." I sat. She wandered a little bit, now placid, even smiley.
Our spot of shade also happened to be on the same side as the kitchen. An employee came out for a quick five minute
smoke. I thought it would be difficult for him to enjoy it, knowing that each drag brought him closer to going back to his duty. Yet the cigarette also provided his neurosis and body with a little bit of escape, and a bit of re-invigoration.
I said to him, "Man, these people just keep coming." Cars, vans, and mostly large trucks continued pouring into the parking lot. His expression remained the same, and he said, "Yeah." He gazed across the lot. He threw his butt away, pivoted, reached for the handle, opened the door, and went back to doing whatever it is he did in the kitchen at Perkins north.
By the time the little one and I got back, my family table was about 3/4 finished with their food. I ate my breakfast, drank my coffee, and seeing that everyone else was finished, gave the "Well, what do you think?" This phrase is used to suggest that everyone depart from the finished meal. There are other variations: "Well, I suppose..." and the brief, "Alright!"
We all agreed to leave, and got out of there. Damaged, yes. But successfully. To be succinct: never go to Perkins on a Sunday morning. If you have to, though, make sure there's an accompanying toddler.
[addendum: upon reconsideration of the above Universal, MFT has decided to alter it simply say, "NEVER GO TO PERKINS."]
Pentagon briefing
SEC. GATES: And can you be a little bit more specific about the numbers?
GEN. PACE: Yeah, I can tell you the numbers that are in my head. Last March, I think I said there were -- I did say and there were 10 battalions that were operating independently, and I think at the time I said there were another 88 operating in the lead. Today, the numbers I saw were six battalions operating independently and another almost 100 that are operating in the lead.
And so the question becomes, okay, how do you go from 10 to six, and why those changes? And the answer is, quite simply, that as units operate in the field, they have casualties. They consume vehicles and equipment, and need to come out of the line and be resupplied, just like our own units. So the fact that a number may be changing within a very narrow band shouldn't be of over -- overly of concern.
From ten to six but everything is still going according to plan.
GEN. PACE: Yeah, I can tell you the numbers that are in my head. Last March, I think I said there were -- I did say and there were 10 battalions that were operating independently, and I think at the time I said there were another 88 operating in the lead. Today, the numbers I saw were six battalions operating independently and another almost 100 that are operating in the lead.
And so the question becomes, okay, how do you go from 10 to six, and why those changes? And the answer is, quite simply, that as units operate in the field, they have casualties. They consume vehicles and equipment, and need to come out of the line and be resupplied, just like our own units. So the fact that a number may be changing within a very narrow band shouldn't be of over -- overly of concern.
From ten to six but everything is still going according to plan.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Syrian Exports Are Exploding
Iraq: 200 explosive belts found in Syrian truck
Submitted by admin on Thu, 2007-07-12 09:57. World News
12 July 2007: Iraqi security forces have seized 200 explosive belts in a truck that crossed into Iraq from Syria on Wednesday, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said. The incident occurred at the Waleed border crossing point, Khalaf said.
"When the truck was searched, 200 explosives belts were found in it," the general said. He added that the driver was detained and is being questioned. Khalaf did not give the driver's nationality.
The Iraqi government and US authorities have accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq, a claim that Syria denies saying it is impossible to control the long desert border.
Submitted by admin on Thu, 2007-07-12 09:57. World News
12 July 2007: Iraqi security forces have seized 200 explosive belts in a truck that crossed into Iraq from Syria on Wednesday, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said. The incident occurred at the Waleed border crossing point, Khalaf said.
"When the truck was searched, 200 explosives belts were found in it," the general said. He added that the driver was detained and is being questioned. Khalaf did not give the driver's nationality.
The Iraqi government and US authorities have accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq, a claim that Syria denies saying it is impossible to control the long desert border.
Practice, Practice, Practice
27 July 2007: Ten people were treated for exposure to an unknown chemical substance after the as-yet unidentified substance was released in the Ann Arbor Public Library in the Westgate Shopping Plaza, and an adjacent grocery store Wednesday evening. According to a law enforcement source speaking to the Northeast Intelligence Network asking that his name not be used, "a person or persons unknown deliberately released a chemical into the air in two locations, one being the Ann Arbor Public Library and the second location being the Kroger Food Market." According to this law enforcement source, the chemical appeared to be caustic as it caused breathing problems for patrons of the library and at the food store. The substance was initially released from the restroom of the library, possibly at the entrance to the restroom where a ventilation duct is located. This source declined to identify the manner in which the dispersal was made, adding that tests are being performed to identify the chemical.
Although law enforcement sources are stating publicly that they do not believe this incident is "terrorist related," they deny knowing the motive of the incident...
When asked if the situation was similar, in any manner, to the incident that took place in February at the NorthTown Mall in Spokane, Washington, this source initially stated that he was unfamiliar with that event. After being provided with the specific details of that occurrence, he replied that "the two incidents have certain similarities," but declined to elaborate. An investigation into this incident is continuing,
Although law enforcement sources are stating publicly that they do not believe this incident is "terrorist related," they deny knowing the motive of the incident...
When asked if the situation was similar, in any manner, to the incident that took place in February at the NorthTown Mall in Spokane, Washington, this source initially stated that he was unfamiliar with that event. After being provided with the specific details of that occurrence, he replied that "the two incidents have certain similarities," but declined to elaborate. An investigation into this incident is continuing,
Friday, July 27, 2007
The Vanity of the Oppressed Vain
If any of you got dragged to seeing the second HP flick, the "Chamber of Secrets" one, you'll know what I mean when I say that John Edwards is absolutely, fo sho, the Gilderoy Lockhart of Yankee politics.
More Heavy Water...
Last evening (07.26.07) you could catch Heavy Water Radio, downtown Bismarck, Dakota Territory, belting out dobro delta and garage blues. Bismarck is a growing city, and we're merely trying to contribute to the collective cultural zeitgeist. Pics from the other night (compliments of Terry Wiklund). 
Bottled... from the Tap
Right off, let me say that I use bottled water pretty frequently when doing field work. It's quite a bit more handy then canteens, or those damned hippie Nalgene bottles (so stupid: why purchase an $8-$12 bottle with a super-huge drinking mouth?). I can also get 24 pints of water, ready to go, for about five bucks. If it's from a Yankee tap, that's fine by me.
I can tell you that you will want to scrutinize the origins of your Uzbek bottled water, though. My god that was a rough month for mft's gastro.
I can tell you that you will want to scrutinize the origins of your Uzbek bottled water, though. My god that was a rough month for mft's gastro.
Damn Papist Racist
Versaille always knew that if you scratch Il Papa you'll find a Neocon lurking.
"a certain naivety"??? These Papists are so fucking polite.
"a certain naivety"??? These Papists are so fucking polite.
Damn Ricain Armstrong
As Versailles spins the wheel, how long before LeMonde deduces the Neocon behind this?
Damn Papist Troglodyte
Guess Il Papa didn't get his copy of The Glossy Book from our dapper Turkish friend
The Secret in The Chamber of Secrets
"Iranian Daily: Harry Potter, Billion-Dollar Zionist Project
In an article, the Iranian daily Kayhan, which is identified with Iranian Supreme Leader 'Ali Khamenei, criticized Iran's Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry for approving the distribution of the new book in the "Harry Potter" series.
The paper said that "Harry Potter" was a Zionist project in which billions of dollars had been invested in order to disrupt the minds of young people.
Source: Kayhan, Iran, July 26, 2007"
In an article, the Iranian daily Kayhan, which is identified with Iranian Supreme Leader 'Ali Khamenei, criticized Iran's Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry for approving the distribution of the new book in the "Harry Potter" series.
The paper said that "Harry Potter" was a Zionist project in which billions of dollars had been invested in order to disrupt the minds of young people.
Source: Kayhan, Iran, July 26, 2007"
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Gonzi in deeper every day
Says Schumer "He tells the half-truth, the partial truth and anything but the truth".
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Vanity, Venality, Versailles
"Moral vanity [Mark Steyn]
Derb, you're right, in a realpolitik sense, that whether this or that US-allied prime minister gets killed and his corpse dragged through the street should not, in and of itself, determine whether long-term military resources are deployed to any particular part of the world (although I would argue that it's not in America's interest for it to become the received wisdom that any foreign politician in a turbulent nation who aligns himself with Washington is setting himself up for a Foggy Bottom sucker-punch and a violent end).
However, the fate of Sirik Matak and many others in south-east Asia ought, in a civilized society, to persuade moral poseurs still congratulating themselves on their stance of three or four decades to put a sock in it. Or did millions of faraway peasants die in order that pampered parochial narcissist buffoons could preen as heroes in their commencement addresses?
Whether or not America should have a moral war policy, self-absorbed boomers could at least stop deluding themselves that they have a moral peace policy "
Derb, you're right, in a realpolitik sense, that whether this or that US-allied prime minister gets killed and his corpse dragged through the street should not, in and of itself, determine whether long-term military resources are deployed to any particular part of the world (although I would argue that it's not in America's interest for it to become the received wisdom that any foreign politician in a turbulent nation who aligns himself with Washington is setting himself up for a Foggy Bottom sucker-punch and a violent end).
However, the fate of Sirik Matak and many others in south-east Asia ought, in a civilized society, to persuade moral poseurs still congratulating themselves on their stance of three or four decades to put a sock in it. Or did millions of faraway peasants die in order that pampered parochial narcissist buffoons could preen as heroes in their commencement addresses?
Whether or not America should have a moral war policy, self-absorbed boomers could at least stop deluding themselves that they have a moral peace policy "
Back to the Future on Planet Pepe
To be Vichy, To be a Communard. Oh the conundrum for Le Pew
[Not a problem. Behold Le Pew, the self made Commuvichy...]
[Not a problem. Behold Le Pew, the self made Commuvichy...]
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Genocide is Just Another Way of Saying Planet Pepe Rules
Bloodbaths are so much more enjoyable when one can nuance and sophisticate one'self into not being shocked at all
The Party Line From Inner Space
We all know Pravda dutifully follows the Party line, but who knew the Party was underneath our feet?
Mug O' The Mean Girl
Paris was in the Hoosegaw for too short a time....I think Lindsey can provide us with a much longer show.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Remembering Arsefat The Killer Clown
His "spirit of destruction" brought so many delicious moments to Versailles, but now the Lord of PP sits alone and bereaved. Even so, hey, Hamas will soon return to slaughtering neocons and again bring happiness to light Pepe's gloom.
" A TERRORIST AT TWILIGHT
As Yasser Arafat reviews his life from his Paris hospital bed, what do you think he thinks? Does he regard himself as a success or not?
In some senses, he must feel he has failed. He has been waging war on Israel for four decades, and yet Israel is still there, richer and stronger than ever. He has personified Palestinian Arab nationalism — and he has led the Palestinian Arabs from one disaster to another.
Yet the old murderer surely also has abundant cause to feel successful. Once a pariah, a killer, a terrorist, he is now a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a billionaire. His agents hijacked planes, massacred civilians, organized the murder of schoolchildren and Olympic athletes — and even the assassinations of American diplomats. Yet he forced the world to recognize him as a legitimate head of government, and hundreds of millions of people worldwide regard him as the leader of a righteous cause. President Bill Clinton met with Yasser Arafat 24 times in eight years, more often than with any other international political figure. And though recent months have gone badly for him, Arafat has good reason to feel confident that he and his movement will in time recover.
Consider just this one fact: the world media's astonishing lack of curiosity about the nature of the disease for which he has sought treatment in France. He has suffered a dramatic weight loss, memory loss and periods of disorientation, loss of muscle control and recurring nausea. His doctors tell us that his blood platelet count has dropped dramatically, but that he does not have leukemia. These symptoms sound remarkably AIDS-like, don't they? An AIDS diagnosis would certainly accord with what is widely known about Arafat's personal way of life. (Some of the lurid, homoerotic details can be found in the memoirs of Lt.-Gen. Ion Pacepa, former head of Romanian intelligence under Nicolae Ceausescu. See page 36.)
And yet, even as the international media reports on Arafat's condition with the kind of attention normally reserved for ailing popes, unwelcome possibilities like an AIDS diagnosis go unmentioned.
Thus Arafat's number one reason for confidence: his command of the world press. Israel may win battle after battle on the ground, but it is losing the battle for global public opinion outside the United States. From the silence concealing Arafat's own personal corruption to the suppression of unwanted images like those of Palestinians celebrating on 9/11, Arafat has cajoled and intimidated much of the world media into covering the Middle East as he wishes it covered.
Likewise, Arafat has enjoyed amazing success in persuading the world's governments to draw a distinction between al-Qaeda terrorism and his own supposedly more acceptable brand. After the 9/11 attacks, the United Nations adopted Resolution 1373 calling on all member states to suppress terrorism. Yet European governments have acquiesced in the demands of Islamic states to exempt terrorist acts carried out during an "armed struggle for liberation and self-determination."
Arafat's diplomatic success has had important and — for him — positive political consequences. Thirty years of Palestinian terrorism have dulled the world's moral outrage. At Nuremberg, the victorious Allies hanged German generals for atrocities against civilian populations. But atrocities against civilians are the only kind of war Arafat knows. Arafat's forces have rarely if ever taken the field against the Israeli military. They have instead waged a war of kidnappings and random murder, very similar to that practiced by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq. Yet this record has not isolated Arafat. To the contrary, the world has accepted Arafat's terrorism — an acceptance symbolized by the fact that Arafat was allowed to wear a gun on to the rostrum of the United Nations in 1974, the only world leader ever to do so or try to do so.
So will he die content? That depends on how he defines success. To the extent that he was ever concerned about the plight of the Palestinians, ever wished to build institutions to help them, ever cared about their prosperity and freedom — then no, he must be regarded as one of history's pre-eminent losers.
But if one sees him as a man motivated by the spirit of destruction — as someone who hated his enemies without ever much loving his own people — who measured his success in the grief he inflicted on others without much caring what his supporters suffered in return: In that case, Arafat scored success after success.
In the words of his fairest and best informed biographers, Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin: "This was the ultimate irony of his life: Arafat, the man who did more than anyone else to champion and advance the Palestinian cause, also inflicted years of unnecessary suffering on his people, delaying any beneficial redress of their grievances or solutions to their problems."
For those people — for us all — the world will be a better place if he had never lived and will be a cleaner place after he is gone.
-National Post, Nov. 2, 2004. "
" A TERRORIST AT TWILIGHT
As Yasser Arafat reviews his life from his Paris hospital bed, what do you think he thinks? Does he regard himself as a success or not?
In some senses, he must feel he has failed. He has been waging war on Israel for four decades, and yet Israel is still there, richer and stronger than ever. He has personified Palestinian Arab nationalism — and he has led the Palestinian Arabs from one disaster to another.
Yet the old murderer surely also has abundant cause to feel successful. Once a pariah, a killer, a terrorist, he is now a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a billionaire. His agents hijacked planes, massacred civilians, organized the murder of schoolchildren and Olympic athletes — and even the assassinations of American diplomats. Yet he forced the world to recognize him as a legitimate head of government, and hundreds of millions of people worldwide regard him as the leader of a righteous cause. President Bill Clinton met with Yasser Arafat 24 times in eight years, more often than with any other international political figure. And though recent months have gone badly for him, Arafat has good reason to feel confident that he and his movement will in time recover.
Consider just this one fact: the world media's astonishing lack of curiosity about the nature of the disease for which he has sought treatment in France. He has suffered a dramatic weight loss, memory loss and periods of disorientation, loss of muscle control and recurring nausea. His doctors tell us that his blood platelet count has dropped dramatically, but that he does not have leukemia. These symptoms sound remarkably AIDS-like, don't they? An AIDS diagnosis would certainly accord with what is widely known about Arafat's personal way of life. (Some of the lurid, homoerotic details can be found in the memoirs of Lt.-Gen. Ion Pacepa, former head of Romanian intelligence under Nicolae Ceausescu. See page 36.)
And yet, even as the international media reports on Arafat's condition with the kind of attention normally reserved for ailing popes, unwelcome possibilities like an AIDS diagnosis go unmentioned.
Thus Arafat's number one reason for confidence: his command of the world press. Israel may win battle after battle on the ground, but it is losing the battle for global public opinion outside the United States. From the silence concealing Arafat's own personal corruption to the suppression of unwanted images like those of Palestinians celebrating on 9/11, Arafat has cajoled and intimidated much of the world media into covering the Middle East as he wishes it covered.
Likewise, Arafat has enjoyed amazing success in persuading the world's governments to draw a distinction between al-Qaeda terrorism and his own supposedly more acceptable brand. After the 9/11 attacks, the United Nations adopted Resolution 1373 calling on all member states to suppress terrorism. Yet European governments have acquiesced in the demands of Islamic states to exempt terrorist acts carried out during an "armed struggle for liberation and self-determination."
Arafat's diplomatic success has had important and — for him — positive political consequences. Thirty years of Palestinian terrorism have dulled the world's moral outrage. At Nuremberg, the victorious Allies hanged German generals for atrocities against civilian populations. But atrocities against civilians are the only kind of war Arafat knows. Arafat's forces have rarely if ever taken the field against the Israeli military. They have instead waged a war of kidnappings and random murder, very similar to that practiced by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq. Yet this record has not isolated Arafat. To the contrary, the world has accepted Arafat's terrorism — an acceptance symbolized by the fact that Arafat was allowed to wear a gun on to the rostrum of the United Nations in 1974, the only world leader ever to do so or try to do so.
So will he die content? That depends on how he defines success. To the extent that he was ever concerned about the plight of the Palestinians, ever wished to build institutions to help them, ever cared about their prosperity and freedom — then no, he must be regarded as one of history's pre-eminent losers.
But if one sees him as a man motivated by the spirit of destruction — as someone who hated his enemies without ever much loving his own people — who measured his success in the grief he inflicted on others without much caring what his supporters suffered in return: In that case, Arafat scored success after success.
In the words of his fairest and best informed biographers, Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin: "This was the ultimate irony of his life: Arafat, the man who did more than anyone else to champion and advance the Palestinian cause, also inflicted years of unnecessary suffering on his people, delaying any beneficial redress of their grievances or solutions to their problems."
For those people — for us all — the world will be a better place if he had never lived and will be a cleaner place after he is gone.
-National Post, Nov. 2, 2004. "
PPs Attack Biatch Craps Where She Eats
Live by Rabies, die by Rabies
"Cindy Sheehan Speaks Truth to Power
Saint Cindy Sheehan writes:
The Democrats are the party of slavery and were the party that started every war in the 20th century, except the other Bush debacle. The Federal Reserve, permanent federal income taxes, not one but two World Wars, Japanese concentration camps, and not one but two atom bombs dropped on the innocent citizens of Japan -- all brought to us via the Democrats. [source]
Hat tip: Claire, who, like me, is just sitting back and enjoying the show......
Read More "Cindy Sheehan Speaks Truth to Power"
PS: More of Saint Cindy Sheehan speaking, er, 'truth' to something something:
Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full-well that my son, my family, this nation, and this world were betrayed by a George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agenda after 9/11.....
It was the unstated threat. Iraq wasn't going to attack America or nuke America. But Iraq was a threat -- to Israel. That was the real threat and had been for fifteen years. But for the US government this was the threat that couldn't speak its name. Europe doesn't care much about that threat. And the US government didn't think they should lean too much on it, because going to war to protect Israel wouldn't be popular....
If we get killed out here, know that the Secret Service killed us
And who can forget:
This country is not worth dying for...
We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now... "
"Cindy Sheehan Speaks Truth to Power
Saint Cindy Sheehan writes:
The Democrats are the party of slavery and were the party that started every war in the 20th century, except the other Bush debacle. The Federal Reserve, permanent federal income taxes, not one but two World Wars, Japanese concentration camps, and not one but two atom bombs dropped on the innocent citizens of Japan -- all brought to us via the Democrats. [source]
Hat tip: Claire, who, like me, is just sitting back and enjoying the show......
Read More "Cindy Sheehan Speaks Truth to Power"
PS: More of Saint Cindy Sheehan speaking, er, 'truth' to something something:
Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full-well that my son, my family, this nation, and this world were betrayed by a George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agenda after 9/11.....
It was the unstated threat. Iraq wasn't going to attack America or nuke America. But Iraq was a threat -- to Israel. That was the real threat and had been for fifteen years. But for the US government this was the threat that couldn't speak its name. Europe doesn't care much about that threat. And the US government didn't think they should lean too much on it, because going to war to protect Israel wouldn't be popular....
If we get killed out here, know that the Secret Service killed us
And who can forget:
This country is not worth dying for...
We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now... "
Behind Pepe's Bad News
"Why didn't those secularists, all these years, for the past half-century, work and work and work like madmen to change the minds of men, to continue the work of Ataturk, to substitute not a crude cult of "the Turk" and the "Sun People" and Ataturk as the Great Man, but to steadily create a class of Western men, encouraging skepticism and a spirit of criticism and self-criticism, that could exist with a reasonable patriotism?"
...........................................
" Why not, in other words, blame Islam-maddened Turks and Kurds, and not "Turks and Kurds"? That is, why not blame Islam for what happened, since it is clearly to blame?"
..................................
" And why did secular Turks not look closely at the example of Iran, where secular, leftist Iranians were snookered into helping overthrow the Shah by Khomeini and the True Believers, and then destroyed? (Yes, the Shah was corrupt and vainglorious, but compared to what followed, he and his court, those hoveydas and tabatabais, look better every day.) It will always be that way. The Muslims will use, as they are now using some among the secularists, to deplore the army, to deplore the laws that the threat of Islam makes necessary. And those secularists, not having studied carefully the example of Iran, fall for it "
Perhaps because Versaille is ruled by complete idiots.
...........................................
" Why not, in other words, blame Islam-maddened Turks and Kurds, and not "Turks and Kurds"? That is, why not blame Islam for what happened, since it is clearly to blame?"
..................................
" And why did secular Turks not look closely at the example of Iran, where secular, leftist Iranians were snookered into helping overthrow the Shah by Khomeini and the True Believers, and then destroyed? (Yes, the Shah was corrupt and vainglorious, but compared to what followed, he and his court, those hoveydas and tabatabais, look better every day.) It will always be that way. The Muslims will use, as they are now using some among the secularists, to deplore the army, to deplore the laws that the threat of Islam makes necessary. And those secularists, not having studied carefully the example of Iran, fall for it "
Perhaps because Versaille is ruled by complete idiots.
Allah Is Nothing But Consistent
" UK: Muslim beats man to death as "Allah was telling him how to bring about world peace"
Unfortunately he is not the first to get the idea that peace will come through the killing of the kuffar. From CourtNewsUK (thanks to a tea-loving snail):
BENOMOR:CRAZED IMMIGRANT BEAT MAN TO DEATH WITH HIS BARE HANDS HARLINGTON, MIDDSX. A Tunisian immigrant beat a man to death with his bare hands and feet believing Allah was telling him how to bring about world peace, a court heard. Bearded Laidi Benomor, 30, attacked six people as he went on the rampage in the Harlington High Street near the Holiday Inn at Heathrow. "
Unfortunately he is not the first to get the idea that peace will come through the killing of the kuffar. From CourtNewsUK (thanks to a tea-loving snail):
BENOMOR:CRAZED IMMIGRANT BEAT MAN TO DEATH WITH HIS BARE HANDS HARLINGTON, MIDDSX. A Tunisian immigrant beat a man to death with his bare hands and feet believing Allah was telling him how to bring about world peace, a court heard. Bearded Laidi Benomor, 30, attacked six people as he went on the rampage in the Harlington High Street near the Holiday Inn at Heathrow. "
Versaillian "Reason" in Word and Action
Uh huh. So the author "Mitchell" in the previous post is just another Nola Darkroom in Pepe's chamber of secrets?
“The piece was completely misinterpreted by the readers,” he says. “I don’t know if that’s because I did a bad job writing it? ... My piece was pro-soldier all the way.”
We asked Mitchell if he thinks military service causes people to commit atrocities in civilian life.
“It can be a fraction of the whole painting of that person,” he says, adding: “I don’t think flat-out 100% if a person goes into the military they’re going to come out as a serial killer or mass murderer. I do think that everything in a killer’s life determines who they become.”
“The piece was completely misinterpreted by the readers,” he says. “I don’t know if that’s because I did a bad job writing it? ... My piece was pro-soldier all the way.”
We asked Mitchell if he thinks military service causes people to commit atrocities in civilian life.
“It can be a fraction of the whole painting of that person,” he says, adding: “I don’t think flat-out 100% if a person goes into the military they’re going to come out as a serial killer or mass murderer. I do think that everything in a killer’s life determines who they become.”
Planet Pepeteers warn the Lord of PP: "Be Very Afraid of Ricain Soldiers"
It's not quite 100% of us who will be serial killers or mass murderers, but then Pepe said he was not "Wholeheartedly" shilling for Osama's brethren, just enough to want them to WIN. So rest happy in your "safe" haven of Nawlins, Pepe, because by your fellow travelers own dicta Ricain soldiers just want to KILL.
UN Follies Dazzle Versailles
While the tumbrels gather outside
The commander of the United Nations “peacekeeping” force in Lebanon recently predicted a “summer of peace” in South Lebanon.
“I think that for the people of the south, this summer will be a summer of peace. And we will be taking care of the problem of terrorist attacks,” Graziano told An-Nahar.
“I am sure we are strong enough and that we are in control of the Blue Line,” the UN-demarcated border between Israel and Lebanon, he said. “At the moment, I don’t see any intention” between the two sides for renewed fighting.
But the leader of the Hizballah terror gang seems to disagree. Hezbollah: Rockets can reach all Israel.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Monday his group possesses an arsenal of rockets that can reach all of Israel, including Tel Aviv.
“We could absolutely reach any corner and any point in occupied Palestine,” Nasrallah said in excerpts of an interview with Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera. The interview is to be shown in full later Monday.
Nasrallah said last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah did not succeed in diminishing his group’s military capabilities. Repeating earlier claims, the Hezbollah leader said his group could already have fired at Tel Aviv last summer during the conflict, but had avoided doing so.
“In July and August 2006, there wasn’t a place in occupied Palestine that the rockets of the resistance could not reach, be it Tel Aviv or other cities,” he said, describing Israel and the Hezbollah guerrillas in terms usually used by the group. “We could absolutely do that now,” he added.
Nasrallah has previously said his group increased its stock of missiles since the war ended, despite attempts to keep arms from being smuggled into southern Lebanon. In a speech in October, he said the guerrillas had 33,000 rockets — up from the 22,000 he said they had on Sept. 22.
“We in the resistance have weapons, and we openly declare that we have weapons, that we are completing our preparedness for a greater and more dangerous stage,” Nasrallah said at the time. "
The commander of the United Nations “peacekeeping” force in Lebanon recently predicted a “summer of peace” in South Lebanon.
“I think that for the people of the south, this summer will be a summer of peace. And we will be taking care of the problem of terrorist attacks,” Graziano told An-Nahar.
“I am sure we are strong enough and that we are in control of the Blue Line,” the UN-demarcated border between Israel and Lebanon, he said. “At the moment, I don’t see any intention” between the two sides for renewed fighting.
But the leader of the Hizballah terror gang seems to disagree. Hezbollah: Rockets can reach all Israel.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Monday his group possesses an arsenal of rockets that can reach all of Israel, including Tel Aviv.
“We could absolutely reach any corner and any point in occupied Palestine,” Nasrallah said in excerpts of an interview with Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera. The interview is to be shown in full later Monday.
Nasrallah said last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah did not succeed in diminishing his group’s military capabilities. Repeating earlier claims, the Hezbollah leader said his group could already have fired at Tel Aviv last summer during the conflict, but had avoided doing so.
“In July and August 2006, there wasn’t a place in occupied Palestine that the rockets of the resistance could not reach, be it Tel Aviv or other cities,” he said, describing Israel and the Hezbollah guerrillas in terms usually used by the group. “We could absolutely do that now,” he added.
Nasrallah has previously said his group increased its stock of missiles since the war ended, despite attempts to keep arms from being smuggled into southern Lebanon. In a speech in October, he said the guerrillas had 33,000 rockets — up from the 22,000 he said they had on Sept. 22.
“We in the resistance have weapons, and we openly declare that we have weapons, that we are completing our preparedness for a greater and more dangerous stage,” Nasrallah said at the time. "
The Imams "Regret" and The Canuckian Suckers
No shit. In Islam Militant, as the Madrassahs teach, "You have nothing to regret but Regret itself"......is that what Vichy finds so charming about 'em?
IM Let's Pepe Smell His Fleurs du Mal
It is one thing for Versailles to amuse itself with dead Neocons and Ricains. Another when the Devils it embraces [in order to have that amusement]bring the feast of terror to their own table. Vichy makes his choices, and let him dance in the blood.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Corpses of three tortured women found in Gaza
GAZA CITY: The bodies of three women bearing signs of torture have been found in a street in the central Gaza Strip, medics said on Sunday.
The corpses were discovered in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp late on Saturday and taken to the nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital.
Medics there said that the bodies had stab wounds, traces that wire had been placed around their necks and other signs of torture. Neither the identities of the women nor the circumstances surrounding their deaths were immediately known.
Hamas was recently accused by rights groups of torturing members of the pro-Abbas Fatah party who have been detained in Gaza. Hamas denies the charges.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Corpses of three tortured women found in Gaza
GAZA CITY: The bodies of three women bearing signs of torture have been found in a street in the central Gaza Strip, medics said on Sunday.
The corpses were discovered in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp late on Saturday and taken to the nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital.
Medics there said that the bodies had stab wounds, traces that wire had been placed around their necks and other signs of torture. Neither the identities of the women nor the circumstances surrounding their deaths were immediately known.
Hamas was recently accused by rights groups of torturing members of the pro-Abbas Fatah party who have been detained in Gaza. Hamas denies the charges.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Out of the Mouths of Kinder KIllers
A reminder of what Vichyism gave homage to in its first incarnation. From Grand Mufti Lovers to Shills for Islam Militant, the joys of Neocon Kaputing.
"Yet these unguarded, seemingly-private conversations do not protect the honour of the German officer corps, since it is obvious that almost all of them knew of the Holocaust, right to the top of the High Command."
"Yet these unguarded, seemingly-private conversations do not protect the honour of the German officer corps, since it is obvious that almost all of them knew of the Holocaust, right to the top of the High Command."
Groucho Marx and the 113 Year War
So was Groucho from Hanau? Let the Game of Three Centuries finally be resolved.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
A strange fetish
It seems the only way to get an american president to relinquish his powers is to rummage in his anus. Gringos maricones.
Paki deliverance
Five teenagers — jeans-clad, attractive, mostly hip — cut classes, then lose their way en route to a rock concert. As they stumble deeper into the countryside, they come across a psychotic family, zombies and a cannibalistic killer dressed in a burqa
So, does Pepe make a cameo appearance here?
So, does Pepe make a cameo appearance here?
Ending it
It is Mr. Bush who has denied the military what it needs, first by shortchanging the Pentagon on troops and armor and then by stranding American forces in a civil war with no achievable military goal and evaporating political support. Mr. Bush denied Americans a serious debate about starting this war. It’s far past time for a serious and honest debate about how to end it.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Shopping cart rage
Is that JJ? He does that all the time, when the line at Stop & Shop doesn't move.
Rage Boy Won't Die Laughing
but don't worry, the Brilliant Green Future will always have that un-ironic sidesplitter on "Pepe, Father of Rats"
Romney not for President of Planet Pepe!
Oh, mon Dieu! Getting tough with the head-hackers? Pepe is gonna have the vapours.
Obama for President of Planet Pepe!
After all, what's a mere Genocide when weighed against the greater glory of seeing the Great Satan defeated? "Oooh Wheee, Kampuchea Deux is gonna be such fuuuuun"
Money of Oil Makes for Glossy Stupidity
The poor christers have to do with pamphlets written on Yellow Chief tablets. But Pepe's bungbuckos get that Versaille parchment sheen
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Venus of Arsefat on Planet Pepe
"In years to come, the world’s late 20th-century Arafatuation should make an interesting case study on the ease with which western illusions and Arab opportunism can combine in entirely disastrous ways."
Article is on comments section. Not to elaborate on the ironic point, but it is most perfectly apt that Arsefats uncle was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Yup, the guy who signed a concordat with Hitler, ordered his men to "kill the Jews wherever you find them", sponsored the first mosque built in the Third Reich [and only religious structure Adolf ever allowed to be built], and just general Hero to Vichyists everywhere. [Pic added -- AI]
The Caligula IM Convergence
Planet Pepe's proud of its playing Commodus [until the AIDS moon rose], and proud of its "just this wee bit short of wholehearted" embrace of the vicious ideology of Islam Militant. So it must be doubly proud at seeing such Honourable fruit born of that embrace. [This requires a pic -- AI]
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
The price of surrender
"If everyone knows we're leaving, it will put the fear of God into them," Voinovich declares.
Pepean "logic" in all its glory. Surrender=victory. Yeah, sure. May as well fart in their general direction.
Hey, Melanie, Did You Steal Our Riff?
A Planet Pepe by any other name is still as rank. [Add a pic -- AI]
Friedman's column
It's just fine for the gringos, but not quite comfy enough for the iraqi parliament it seems.
Pupa Pugilistica
To the extent the article can be taken at face value, my vote is for Lovitz over the Dick
In Our Own Backyard...
We seem to be living in a world where positive male role models are becoming increasingly scarce (at least as of late). I'm gonna go eat some breakfast and get away from this shitstorm of news for a while.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Pepe's kind of town
On July 6, a 68-year-old man showed up naked downtown, walking the streets during Gallery Walk... "Naked people don't impress me," said Corsano, 60. "But to be walking down the street like that. I just looked straight at him, and he looked down. He was trying to get me to look down there, but I wouldn't."
Could it be? Could it be?
Meanwhile, Back in the Line of Fire
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Pakistani forces backed by US special units are closing in on al Qaeda’s No. 2 Ayman Zawahiri and possibly also Osama bin Laden
July 15, 2007, 10:47 PM (GMT+02:00)
Undated clip of Osama bin Laden appearing Saturday
Our counter-terror sources report exclusively that a frantic effort by al Qaeda and Taliban to head off the pursuit set afoot the bloody battle in Islamabad’s Red Mosque, the attempts to shoot down President Pervez Musharraf’s plane and the suicide attacks on Pakistani military convoys, which cost 68 lives Saturday and Sunday, July 14-15.
Until the middle of last week, Zuwahiri sheltered with the local Pashtun tribes in Bannu, a town in the northwest Pakistan tribal federation of North Waziristan. The approach of Pakistani and US intelligence and special forces caused him to switch hiding places and move to Tank or Tang, a town 120 km south of Bannu.
On Saturday, two soldiers were injured by a bomb explosion in that town, having just missed their quarry.
Musharraf meanwhile decided last week to storm the Red Mosque on a tip-off from his own Inter-Service Intelligence that two of Zawahiri’s closest lieutenants, Majid Hassan al-Tawil and Mohammad Othman, were inside.
They were reported to be preparing a mega-attack in Islamabad and other important Pakistani towns to disrupt the combined Pakistani-US operation to capture their master.
At that point, Pakistani intelligence turned up a lead to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden himself.
The Pakistani army imposed a blackout on the identities of the victims of the Red Mosque battle, estimated at around 100 dead, and the detainees captured there. Even the names of the women and children claimed to have been held hostage were not disclosed. DEBKAfile’s sources report that Pakistan intelligence, which had hoped to capture the two al Qaeda operatives alive, has not found them. They are still trying to establish if they were among the dead or managed to escape.
An oblique reference to the operation came from the US president’s national security adviser Stephen Hadley Sunday night, July 15, when he spoke on ABC television about the US fully backing a Pakistani military crackdown on hotbeds of al Qaeda and Taliban activity. ”It has not worked the way he wanted. It has not worked the way we wanted it,” he said.
According to our sources, the intense pursuit continues despite the setbacks which Hadley suggested.
The Pakistan military death toll climbed Sunday when pro-Taliban Islamists killed at least 31 in two attacks in North Waziristan. Two suicide bombers and a roadside device hit a 40-vehicle police-army convoy near the Afghan border killing 14 soldiers. In another incident, 17 police officers and new recruits died when a bomber detonated explosives at a police HQ in the town of Dera Ismail Khan.
DEBKAfile’s sources disclose that the US Senate’s decision to double the bounty for bin Laden’s capture, killing or information leading to his death or capture to $50 million, was recommended by President George W. Bush after he received an urgent message from Musharraf. The Pakistani president reported his people had picked up the trail of bin Laden’s trail in their pursuit of his deputy, but the tribal chiefs with knowledge of where the elusive al Qaeda leader was hiding were holding out for an exorbitant sum for their collaboration.
He said that Pakistani intelligence had also laid out a large sum for the information about Zawahiri’s two aides’ arrival in the Red Mosque.
His former sanctuary of Bannu is situated 150 km as the crow flies from the South Afghan town of Gardiz which is a hub of al Qaeda-Taliban activity. The connection between the two towns is a twisting road of 400 km through Parachinar in Pashtun tribal land. According to DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources, al Qaeda and Taliban leaders do not travel from place to place by road or vehicle but on horseback by night piloted by local guides.
July 15, 2007, 10:47 PM (GMT+02:00)
Undated clip of Osama bin Laden appearing Saturday
Our counter-terror sources report exclusively that a frantic effort by al Qaeda and Taliban to head off the pursuit set afoot the bloody battle in Islamabad’s Red Mosque, the attempts to shoot down President Pervez Musharraf’s plane and the suicide attacks on Pakistani military convoys, which cost 68 lives Saturday and Sunday, July 14-15.
Until the middle of last week, Zuwahiri sheltered with the local Pashtun tribes in Bannu, a town in the northwest Pakistan tribal federation of North Waziristan. The approach of Pakistani and US intelligence and special forces caused him to switch hiding places and move to Tank or Tang, a town 120 km south of Bannu.
On Saturday, two soldiers were injured by a bomb explosion in that town, having just missed their quarry.
Musharraf meanwhile decided last week to storm the Red Mosque on a tip-off from his own Inter-Service Intelligence that two of Zawahiri’s closest lieutenants, Majid Hassan al-Tawil and Mohammad Othman, were inside.
They were reported to be preparing a mega-attack in Islamabad and other important Pakistani towns to disrupt the combined Pakistani-US operation to capture their master.
At that point, Pakistani intelligence turned up a lead to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden himself.
The Pakistani army imposed a blackout on the identities of the victims of the Red Mosque battle, estimated at around 100 dead, and the detainees captured there. Even the names of the women and children claimed to have been held hostage were not disclosed. DEBKAfile’s sources report that Pakistan intelligence, which had hoped to capture the two al Qaeda operatives alive, has not found them. They are still trying to establish if they were among the dead or managed to escape.
An oblique reference to the operation came from the US president’s national security adviser Stephen Hadley Sunday night, July 15, when he spoke on ABC television about the US fully backing a Pakistani military crackdown on hotbeds of al Qaeda and Taliban activity. ”It has not worked the way he wanted. It has not worked the way we wanted it,” he said.
According to our sources, the intense pursuit continues despite the setbacks which Hadley suggested.
The Pakistan military death toll climbed Sunday when pro-Taliban Islamists killed at least 31 in two attacks in North Waziristan. Two suicide bombers and a roadside device hit a 40-vehicle police-army convoy near the Afghan border killing 14 soldiers. In another incident, 17 police officers and new recruits died when a bomber detonated explosives at a police HQ in the town of Dera Ismail Khan.
DEBKAfile’s sources disclose that the US Senate’s decision to double the bounty for bin Laden’s capture, killing or information leading to his death or capture to $50 million, was recommended by President George W. Bush after he received an urgent message from Musharraf. The Pakistani president reported his people had picked up the trail of bin Laden’s trail in their pursuit of his deputy, but the tribal chiefs with knowledge of where the elusive al Qaeda leader was hiding were holding out for an exorbitant sum for their collaboration.
He said that Pakistani intelligence had also laid out a large sum for the information about Zawahiri’s two aides’ arrival in the Red Mosque.
His former sanctuary of Bannu is situated 150 km as the crow flies from the South Afghan town of Gardiz which is a hub of al Qaeda-Taliban activity. The connection between the two towns is a twisting road of 400 km through Parachinar in Pashtun tribal land. According to DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources, al Qaeda and Taliban leaders do not travel from place to place by road or vehicle but on horseback by night piloted by local guides.
A Cri de Coeur from Widow Arafat
So when Pepe stole her Man, he helped create a Spam monster . Thank you PP
article in the comments section
article in the comments section
PLanet Pepe Tries the Apian Way
It seems Farfour met a Neocon and now is just another dead cousin of the Gerbil
The view from Planet Pepe
Bush=Hitler, 9/11=Reichstag fire, Americans=Little Eichmanns. Same old, same old.
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Sunday, July 15, 2007
Coanda to the rescue
It's called the Reaper. Sounds good to me. And, though it's a turboprop, it still has that Coanda air that I am fond of.
Perils of cell phones, CCCXXVIII
Come to think of it, I used several times JJ's cell phone. Oh, shit!
Perils of cell phones, CCCXXVII
JJ once tried to teach me how to use "text messaging", but I never figured it out -- looks like a devilish contraption to me. Anyone except idiot kids chit-chatting use it? (Besides JJ, that is -- when on the side of the pond where he gets connected.)
Grave concerns
Some parents had expressed fears that if boys and girls danced hand in hand they might fall in love and put their studies at risk.
Friday Night Specials on Planet Pepe
But be reassured, our own fave Vichyist informs us that his Planet's support for this sort of Radiant Future is not completely wholehearted. There, the evil babysitter [with probable Ricain lovin' secret thoughts] can now die happy
The Sneer of the Jackal
Carlos wholeheartedly pines for the Golden Day of Terrorism, and scoffs at his Planet Pepe wannabes with their halfhearted wimpery
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Bubble-headed socialists, pacifists, vegetarians, and other zanies
Does this describe Pepe's World, or what? BTW, is that Pepe marching?
Friday, July 13, 2007
With Google you can Tend to It Like Beckham
although personally I'd rather you take your money and Wend It to Me Like Beckham
Uh Oh, God, Now You've Gone Too Far
So, how soon before Morgan gets fatwaed? Or issues a statement "apologizing for any unintended insult or misunderstanding?"
Perhaps Pepe will deign to allow Morgan into Versailles for some heart to heart Vichyisms, and small lessons on the court etiquette of dhimmitude
Perhaps Pepe will deign to allow Morgan into Versailles for some heart to heart Vichyisms, and small lessons on the court etiquette of dhimmitude
Nobel Dreams of Blood
Why not? In the last 15 years or so you have a much higher chance of finding a murderer when you scratch a Nobel Peace Prize Winner than you do finding a murderer in a random sample of 20 taken from Angola [the one near Now Not So Big Sleazy ]
Spanish Futbol is a Sick Puppy
With fanaticos like these no wonder Beckham fled for the azure vistas of serene Bellaire
How often does the dream scenario play out?
All the time in Louisiana. Thank you David for contributing to expose the hypocrisy of the bible-thumpers, social conservatives and other finger-waggers who should really abandon their strange obsession with everyone else's bedrooms.
For those of you who aren't familiar with David, no one in Congress epitomizes the goody-two-shoes sunday-church family-value ideology more forcefully. This is a truly seminal (pun intended) moment as you really couldn't fry a bigger fish than that, outside of the executive, that is.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Automatic wiping
Americans typically use twice as much toilet paper as Europeans — as much as an arm's length each pull
Hmmm... We need a study to figure out why.
There's also an option for a "rescue roll" on one side of the machine just in case the old-fashioned way is preferred.
That's a relief!
Hmmm... We need a study to figure out why.
There's also an option for a "rescue roll" on one side of the machine just in case the old-fashioned way is preferred.
That's a relief!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Omar and Maude
The advising Imam behind the desk said "the very thought of your young and her aged flesh commingled makes me want to...to....vomit" ?
Everything seems fine about him except for that one nasty little five letter word..."pious"
Everything seems fine about him except for that one nasty little five letter word..."pious"
Monday, July 09, 2007
The Miserable House of Bush
crud......I really really really wish McCain had taken up Kerry on his offer in 2004. I wouldn't trust this administration to have the leadership to do the right thing if they were given as many chances as Methuselah had years
Sickos in Paradise
Here Planet Pepe strikes into that bouncy tune "Dr. Mengele's body lies moulderin' in the Grave, but his Soul goes Marching On! "
"Doctors & Jihad: "Terror Is Healing" [Andy McCarthy]
Two very interesting takes on this subject of understandable interest on the Corner in recent days. Dr. Andy Bostom at FPM and Stephen Schwartz at the UK's Spectator analyze the long and curious relationship between medicine and jihadist thought. I confess to being embarrassed not to have known that Osama bin Laden's mentor, Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, was a medical doctor. I knew that, like his friend and my former notorious defendant, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, Azzam had earned a doctorate in Islamic jurisprudence from al-Azhar University in Cairo in the early 70's. I did not realize he was also a physician.
Interestingly, Azzam was murdered in 1989, and there has been strong speculation — most recently in Larry Wright's heralded book, the Looming Tower — that Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 was complicit. As has been noted here, Zawahiri is also a physician."
"Doctors & Jihad: "Terror Is Healing" [Andy McCarthy]
Two very interesting takes on this subject of understandable interest on the Corner in recent days. Dr. Andy Bostom at FPM and Stephen Schwartz at the UK's Spectator analyze the long and curious relationship between medicine and jihadist thought. I confess to being embarrassed not to have known that Osama bin Laden's mentor, Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, was a medical doctor. I knew that, like his friend and my former notorious defendant, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, Azzam had earned a doctorate in Islamic jurisprudence from al-Azhar University in Cairo in the early 70's. I did not realize he was also a physician.
Interestingly, Azzam was murdered in 1989, and there has been strong speculation — most recently in Larry Wright's heralded book, the Looming Tower — that Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 was complicit. As has been noted here, Zawahiri is also a physician."
Pepe's Fleurs Du Mal Blossom Brightly
More on the similar:
"So Yon reports a revolting modern-day Thysestean feast:
The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11-years-old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man's words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, "What did he say?" Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.
What is striking about all this savagery—whether with the filmed beheadings of Westerners in Iraq to the recent flaming Johnny Storm human torch at Glasgow, screaming epithets as he sought to engulf bystanders and ignite his canisters — is the absolute silence of the West, either distracted by Paris and i-Phones or suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome and obsessed with Guantanamo.
It is hard to recall an enemy so savage and yet one so largely ignored by rich affluent and distracted elites as the radical jihadists, as we have to evoke everything from mythology to comic books to find analogies to their extra-human viciousness.
For a self-congratulatory culture issuing moral lectures on everything from global warming to the dangers of smoking, the silence of the West toward the primordial horror from Gaza to Anbar is, well, horrific in its own way. "
"So Yon reports a revolting modern-day Thysestean feast:
The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11-years-old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man's words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, "What did he say?" Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.
What is striking about all this savagery—whether with the filmed beheadings of Westerners in Iraq to the recent flaming Johnny Storm human torch at Glasgow, screaming epithets as he sought to engulf bystanders and ignite his canisters — is the absolute silence of the West, either distracted by Paris and i-Phones or suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome and obsessed with Guantanamo.
It is hard to recall an enemy so savage and yet one so largely ignored by rich affluent and distracted elites as the radical jihadists, as we have to evoke everything from mythology to comic books to find analogies to their extra-human viciousness.
For a self-congratulatory culture issuing moral lectures on everything from global warming to the dangers of smoking, the silence of the West toward the primordial horror from Gaza to Anbar is, well, horrific in its own way. "
Ledeen Fails to Get it Quite Correct
From Planet Pepe one can hear the hubbub of joy and praise at the brave acts of "Freedom Fighters". Silence, in comparison, would be sweeter.
"Further Crackdowns in Tehran [Michael Ledeen]
Our Iranian negotiating partners have struck against student organizations—official ones, duly approved by the regime, not underground revolutionary cells—on two university campuses and a park in Tehran. Further details will emerge within a couple of hours. I am told that no less than fourteen student leaders have been carted off to the torture chambers.
As Victor says so eloquently today, the silence of the Western world about the nature of our enemies is truly horrifying."
"Further Crackdowns in Tehran [Michael Ledeen]
Our Iranian negotiating partners have struck against student organizations—official ones, duly approved by the regime, not underground revolutionary cells—on two university campuses and a park in Tehran. Further details will emerge within a couple of hours. I am told that no less than fourteen student leaders have been carted off to the torture chambers.
As Victor says so eloquently today, the silence of the Western world about the nature of our enemies is truly horrifying."
Profiling the Binnie Boyz
It's not what Pepe would have guessed. Then again, does Pepe ever get it right, what with those pinko RayBans he wears all the time?
Sunday, July 08, 2007
A Frenchie Ward Churchill
But Ward is just a random prof out there, this is a goverment official peddling the Pepean ""9/11 was all a Mossad-Bush-Cheney-Halliburton plot" line. Aahhh, the unbearable lightness of Versaillist "thought"...
Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, circa 1860s...
I took these pics of Fort Rice this evening (July 7th, 2007). General Sibley used Ft. Rice as a place to resupply during his Indian War campaigns on the upper Missouri. To contextualize it in the national sense, the Civil War was still raging in the east. The footings you see in the photos were re-constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the make-work projects of the Great Depression. These photos were snapped in the evening. The link above will take you to the first newspaper printed in Dakota Territory at Fort Rice, 1865. Plenty of Irish and German immigrants in that particular army, at least back then. Interesting stuff all around. Enjoy.
July 4th, 2007: post-DON'T TREAD ON ME aftermath...
mft's band played a private July 4th party on the upper Plains, just north of Bismarck, right in the Cottonwoods along the Missouri River (note the Missouri to the right of the frame). Fun was had by all. Thank you Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Eating lead
Makes one feed lead to others? Switching to unleaded gas is what made it work for Rudy? Hmmm... We need more studies.
Young Paris, turbo charged
I say, 6 months with a road gang, breaking stones with a hammer. That should cool her off.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Garbage Barge of History Redux...
Note: I linked to this Hitchens piece through the Hitchens web-site. It suggests that Hitchens wrote this, but without a by-line, it's not 100% certain (there's mention at the end).
Also, this author claims to some extent still be a Marxist, but Hitchens has abandoned that Utopian Ideal (unless the once a Marxist, always a Marxist maxim holds, regardless of change in worldview).
In any case, it's a commentary on some recently published letters of that 19th-century Positivist, garbage historian (he was a Philosopher-Journalist, afterall), Karl Marx.
Also, this author claims to some extent still be a Marxist, but Hitchens has abandoned that Utopian Ideal (unless the once a Marxist, always a Marxist maxim holds, regardless of change in worldview).
In any case, it's a commentary on some recently published letters of that 19th-century Positivist, garbage historian (he was a Philosopher-Journalist, afterall), Karl Marx.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Smothering with love
Police say they have arrested the baby's grandfather, 52-year-old Abdul Rahman, after he confessed to trying to kill the newborn by burying her alive.
Par for the course -- just the thing to do in Pepeland.
Par for the course -- just the thing to do in Pepeland.
Zebrula...
It kind of looks like the zoo trainer washed the upper half of the horse with too course of a sponge.
Joys of socialized medicine
Hey, there is a silver lining in having Big Brother run health care, in true pinko fashion: nothing works, not even syringes. Hallelujah!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Dino bone soup
Coming to the local Chinese restaurant? Thanks but no thanks, I'll stay with the Wonton.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
your opine, fellahs:
At lunch today my girlfriend noticed two ladies walk into the diner, and one was dressed in casual clothes, and sporting two holstered pistols, one under each arm.
I called down to Bismarck's Finest after lunch, and asked the lady on the other end (we'll call her Officer Secretary) of the phone if she could clear a gun-lady scenario up. I offered the best description I could based on the limited amount of glancing I did (she had two guns, after all -- don't need to stare too hard).
Officer Secretary wondered if it might be a probation officer, because they sometimes carry. I said, "Do probation officers pack double heat?" She didn't know. She then said, "Did you ask the lady to show you her badge?" I said, "No, she had two guns..." Officer Secretary said, "Good point."
The paradox was profound: if someone has a number of holstered guns, and dons something that looks like a badge, does the public have a right to demand their credentials? Even more disturbing, does the public have a right to eat in a diner where pistols in horizontal holsters aren't pointing at everyone's head?
I then told Officer Secretary that with all the Dog Bounty Hunter shows on television today, one tends to wonder if this wasn't some variation on the theme. She said to call down to the Bismarck PD if anything of this sort was ever encountered again. "We'll send an officer up right away." ...and then I wondered: is it better to just leave someone with holstered weapons alone rather than bring a uniformed officer into the mix, especially in a crowded public dining room?
Strange lunch...
I called down to Bismarck's Finest after lunch, and asked the lady on the other end (we'll call her Officer Secretary) of the phone if she could clear a gun-lady scenario up. I offered the best description I could based on the limited amount of glancing I did (she had two guns, after all -- don't need to stare too hard).
Officer Secretary wondered if it might be a probation officer, because they sometimes carry. I said, "Do probation officers pack double heat?" She didn't know. She then said, "Did you ask the lady to show you her badge?" I said, "No, she had two guns..." Officer Secretary said, "Good point."
The paradox was profound: if someone has a number of holstered guns, and dons something that looks like a badge, does the public have a right to demand their credentials? Even more disturbing, does the public have a right to eat in a diner where pistols in horizontal holsters aren't pointing at everyone's head?
I then told Officer Secretary that with all the Dog Bounty Hunter shows on television today, one tends to wonder if this wasn't some variation on the theme. She said to call down to the Bismarck PD if anything of this sort was ever encountered again. "We'll send an officer up right away." ...and then I wondered: is it better to just leave someone with holstered weapons alone rather than bring a uniformed officer into the mix, especially in a crowded public dining room?
Strange lunch...
Slate.com drops the double-hammer on the London bombs
Two links to read (except for you, Pepe: don't read this stuff).
1.) Between London and Baghdad: Vigilant Traffic Wardens, Trusted Police Officers, and Women Who Complain," by Russian Historian and Journalist, Anne Applebaum. According to Applebaum, the Stiff Upper Lip and British Bulldog are alive and well.
2.) ...and, The Brit-turned-Yankee himself, Christopher Hitchens. Hitch is calling out the attempted London bombings as an attack directed at the ladies.
Hitch also psychoanalyzes Planet Pepe, and Pepe's support for the feudal system of Islamocracy: "Liberal reluctance to confront this sheer horror is the result, I think, of a deep reticence about some furtive concept of "race." It is subconsciously assumed that a critique of political Islam is an attack on people with brown skins."
1.) Between London and Baghdad: Vigilant Traffic Wardens, Trusted Police Officers, and Women Who Complain," by Russian Historian and Journalist, Anne Applebaum. According to Applebaum, the Stiff Upper Lip and British Bulldog are alive and well.
2.) ...and, The Brit-turned-Yankee himself, Christopher Hitchens. Hitch is calling out the attempted London bombings as an attack directed at the ladies.
Hitch also psychoanalyzes Planet Pepe, and Pepe's support for the feudal system of Islamocracy: "Liberal reluctance to confront this sheer horror is the result, I think, of a deep reticence about some furtive concept of "race." It is subconsciously assumed that a critique of political Islam is an attack on people with brown skins."
Monday, July 02, 2007
Hapsburg Heir: Bran Castle For Sale
Another 14th century attempt at checking the Jihad advance. Now a bastion of Vampire mythology (sans peacock).
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Red Ken explains things
He noted that terrorist acts had been carried out in London over the years by various groups including for example far-right groups.
Ah, yes. That's the real danger.
Ah, yes. That's the real danger.
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