Voice from the Commonwealth

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34441792011-04-21T17:39:17.959-04:00Voice from the CommonwealthCommentary, World Views and Occasional Rants from a small 'l' libertarian in Massachussetts <br><br>"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comBlogger27391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1061573275307459992003-08-22T13:27:00.000-04:002003-08-22T16:47:18.066-04:00

I haven't posted in a long time, I know. But this was too tempting to pass up. What a bunch of self-important, slogan chanting empty headed ignoramuses. Along with Hanks, pot-loving actor Woody Harrelson is set to join the fight against Schwarzenegger. "Woody is diametrically opposed to Arnold Schwarzenegger's political positions," a spokesman for Harrelson told PAGE SIX. "He does not support

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1059488058518688482003-07-29T10:14:00.000-04:002003-07-29T10:14:18.593-04:00

Welly Welly Well. Last week was full of fun and fly fishing in Vermont and Maine and this week I have returned but have begun in a new position here at work. I can't say when blogging will commence again but I will try sometime this week.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058550862736832822003-07-18T13:54:00.000-04:002003-07-18T13:54:39.390-04:00

Off to Vermont for the weekend. Posting should resume on Tuesday.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058471025106604112003-07-17T15:43:00.000-04:002003-07-17T15:43:58.683-04:00

Nort Korea again threatens DOOM AND ANNIHILATION. But it was in response to some pretty idiotic statements. North Korea has warned Japan that it is headed for "final ruin" while criticising a senior Japanese politician's comments that downplayed Japan's war history and insulted other Asian nations. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency was sharply critical of the comments of senior

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058469824384079572003-07-17T15:23:00.000-04:002003-07-17T15:23:44.450-04:00

Another Palestinian protest against the armed killers in their midst. About 500 people rallied in downtown Nablus, demanding an end to the virtual immunity from prosecution or punishment for crimes ranging from robbery to murder. The violence came to a head on Wednesday. Three gunmen went into a pharmacy to abduct another man. On the way out, witnesses said, one of the gunmen fired randomly on

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058468790042020212003-07-17T15:06:00.000-04:002003-07-17T15:06:30.103-04:00

Hey Jacques has a great innovative idea to fight AIDS. C'mon. I'm sure you can guess what it is.....RAISE TAXES. French President Jacques Chirac has suggested countries impose new taxes to help increase the coffers of the agency set up to head the charge against the AIDS pandemic. Mr Chirac has made the call to help the "Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria" in a speech at

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058466755056056772003-07-17T14:32:00.000-04:002003-07-17T14:32:47.243-04:00

A column by Oswaldo Paya the head of the Varela project in Cuba. Cuba finds itself in a grave crisis. In the past few years, thousands of its citizens have participated in what's known as the Varela Project, overcoming a culture of fear and calling for a national referendum on civil rights, the peaceful evolution of freedom and reconciliation. But now a cloud of terror hangs over that quest for

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058465955586460642003-07-17T14:19:00.000-04:002003-07-17T14:19:15.620-04:00

Well, that's somewhat good news. The New Zealander in charge of the NZDF mission in Afghanistan is very experienced in this sort of thing. Colonel Neville Reilly, aged 54, received a gallantry award in the 2000 Queen's Birthday honours list for his actions in East Timor between June and September 1999. He was responsible for the security of the United Nations mission and was "inspirational"

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058463799266965192003-07-17T13:43:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:43:28.870-04:00

Teddy and Kerry and Krugman and Kristof and all the rest must be right Saddam agrees with them. What will the liars Bush and Blair tell their people and mankind, what will the chorus of liars that backed them say, and what will they tell the world after they wove a scenario of lies against Iraq and its leadership? "What will they do after it became clear that what they said were lies and that

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058463534560621392003-07-17T13:38:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:38:54.593-04:00

And in case you somehow forgot. Saddam murdered a lot of Iraqis. U.S. military in Iraq say its troops have uncovered a mass grave near the northern city of Mosul where as many as 400 people, probably Kurds, may be buried. A military statement said about 25 human remains -- all women and children with bullet holes through the skull -- were uncovered in a valley at al-Hatra town, some 300 km (170

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058463229047146362003-07-17T13:33:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:33:49.076-04:00

The head of Bechtel's operation in Iraq talks about the job ahead. Saboteurs continue to target the nation’s infrastructure, with the power sector a primary target of looters. Mumm says 13 towers of a 400-kv transmission line extending from Baghdad to the north were down when Bechtel crews first surveyed the line. Earlier this month, the number jumped to 65. Looters are "harvesting the copper"

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058463005871823302003-07-17T13:30:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:30:05.916-04:00

Whoops. Mrs. R.D. Hawkins' utility payment took a long route - to Iraq and back. The Gautier woman's bill arrived at the Pascagoula city clerk's office in an envelope decorated with a hand-drawn stamp - and a message from Iraq apologizing for the late delivery. Hawkins had mailed her $49.36 natural gas bill to neighboring Pascagoula in April. It arrived at the city clerk's office on Wednesday.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058461986838768162003-07-17T13:13:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:13:06.870-04:00

Is Iran holding Abu Gaith? Kuwait is saying yes. Kuwait has acknowledged for the first time that al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a former Kuwaiti citizen, is in Iranian custody, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday on its Web site. There had been earlier unconfirmed reports that Iran was holding Abu Ghaith, but on Thursday, Kuwait's official news agency, Kuna, confirmed to

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058461179890451842003-07-17T12:59:00.000-04:002003-07-17T12:59:39.933-04:00

New technology that was used in the war. Not a lot has been written about new products from Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works during the last couple of years, but aerospace officials say the advanced projects company has produced prototypes of a classified, unmanned aerial vehicle--built strictly as an intelligence-gathering aircraft--that "has been used" operationally over Iraq. The aircraft is

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058455254286135042003-07-17T11:20:00.000-04:002003-07-17T11:20:54.303-04:00

Very nifty story about some lost Rubber Duckies. A floating flock of the bathtub toys — along with beavers, turtles and frogs — is believed to be washing ashore somewhere along the New England coast, bleached and battered from a trans-Arctic journey. Oceanographers say the trip has taught them valuable lessons about the ocean's currents. The toys have been adrift since 29,000 of them fell from

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058379982662784512003-07-16T14:26:00.000-04:002003-07-16T14:26:22.643-04:00

There is something deeply troubling about this. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), spies from the Australian Secret service and the intelligence department of Singapore are helping Indonesian authorities crack down on madrassah’s (religious schools), refugee camps and remote areas of the country allegedly in search for "fundamental Muslims", a source close to the Indonesian Mujahidin

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058376860596980462003-07-16T13:34:00.000-04:002003-07-16T13:34:21.990-04:00

I repeat, there is no anti-Semitism in France. The phone message is one of 10 waiting for Sylvain Zenouda at the local office of the Jewish Community Council of greater Paris: A gang of 15 North African teenagers, some of them wielding broom handles, had invaded the grounds of a Jewish day school on Avenue de Flandre in northeast Paris the previous evening. They punched and kicked teachers and

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058376408523544002003-07-16T13:26:00.000-04:002003-07-16T16:20:36.460-04:00

I assume the outrage that comes from media sources around the world will be deafening. A top Iranian government official admitted that an Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist who died after her arrest here last month had suffered a "brain haemorrhage caused by a beating". Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a reformist, also made the dramatic claim that the death of 54-year-old Zahra Kazemi was

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058368069804915342003-07-16T11:07:00.000-04:002003-07-16T16:15:29.210-04:00

Was Saddam testing bio and chem weapons on prisoners? What haunts the former Iraqi intelligence officer most about the men he helped kill in 1987 wasn't their numbed silence or their defeated gazes. It was the strange cloud that seemed to come from nowhere, the cloud that killed them. It was misty white, he said, and it blossomed above the gulch near the Iranian border where he and his security

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058315915800688432003-07-15T20:38:00.000-04:002003-07-15T20:38:35.750-04:00

I’ve not made any comments on gay marriage yet. Mostly because it is not something that affects me. But, also, because as a conservative leaning Constitutionalist I thought it should be pretty straight forward. I haven’t read the FMA, it is not the details that I want to get into. I really don’t need to because it is the idea of such a thing is completely abhorrent to me. It is a complete

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058301832526729292003-07-15T16:43:00.000-04:002003-07-15T16:46:42.316-04:00

It is time for the reformist politicians in Iran to do something more than write open letters. They have totally discredited themselves in the eyes of true reformists by constantly crying wolf. Every few months they threaten a walkout if there are not changes in the government. While they talk and write letters, students are arrested and beaten, independent newpapers are shut down, independent

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058301304682214052003-07-15T16:35:00.000-04:002003-07-15T16:35:04.676-04:00

wonder why Iran wouldn't want to talk to the Special Rapporteur with the UN Commission on Human Rights? The United Nations expert on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression today postponed his mission to Iran at the request of that country's government. Ambeyi Ligabo, a Special Rapporteur with the UN Commission on Human Rights, had been scheduled to travel

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058300062915414412003-07-15T16:14:00.000-04:002003-07-15T16:18:44.060-04:00

The Massachusetts Legislature spit in the faces of voters yesterday. And of course the 68% that voted for an end to bilingual education will turn around in the next election and put these same arrogant bastards back in office. And this is not the first time they have done it (clean elections, which I disagree with), nor will it be the last. We voted for Mitt as our Governor so he could fix the

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058295450760362532003-07-15T14:57:00.000-04:002003-07-15T14:57:30.653-04:00

Hey, something nice to say about France. - Irritated by a Cuban crackdown on opposition groups, France loaded its Embassy's National Day guest list with dissidents this year. Cuban officials stayed away en masse. The July 14 celebration is usually a notable date on Havana's social calendar, a place for officials — sometimes even President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) — to hobnob with

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058287607562569112003-07-15T12:46:00.000-04:002003-07-15T12:46:47.480-04:00

Uh-oh, don't let the food-nannies find out. Check your doubts about American plans for nation building in Iraq at the counter of the Burger King takeaway where 40 soldiers sizzle in the midday heat for a flame-broiled Whopper with lettuce, tomato and cheese. The odour of grease testifies to the Pentagon's belief that air conditioning, fast food, compact disc players and Coca Cola are essential

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058215625983340232003-07-14T16:47:00.000-04:002003-07-14T16:47:05.910-04:00

50 years after being captured a South Korean soldier returns home with some pretty horrifying stories. On Sept. 24, 2001, the South Korea army's ''Tiger'' Division gave Sgt. Kim an honor-guard ceremony, officially discharging him after counting him as killed in action for half a century. ''I couldn't tell whether it was a dream or not,'' says Kim, 75, a slight, wrinkled man with a shy smile.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058211499202092002003-07-14T15:38:00.000-04:002003-07-15T14:37:42.783-04:00

Big oil find in Iran. Iran has made a major new oil find containing estimated reserves of more than 38 billion barrels, making it one of the world’s biggest undeveloped fields, a senior oil official was quoted as saying Monday. But, they really need those nuclear reactors for 'peaceful' purposes.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058210986860615902003-07-14T15:29:00.000-04:002003-07-14T15:36:48.073-04:00

Interesting that in the Reporters sans frontieres report on the death, while in Iranian detention, of Zahra Kazemi doesn't make any mention of the claims that she was beaten by Iranian police while in custody. They have no fear of speaking out about America or even Castro, yet here they completely fail to include the all too possible scenario that Kazemi was in a coma as a result of abuse at the

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058209940449193262003-07-14T15:12:00.000-04:002003-07-14T15:12:20.520-04:00

Heh. I don't know. Something tickles the old irony bone when I see this. German general heads Bastille Day parade

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058208830148704642003-07-14T14:53:00.000-04:002003-07-14T14:57:31.570-04:00

Hey, you rule a country oppressed by tyrants? I love tyrants. You're looking to build a nuclear arsenal? We love selling nuclear capability, no questions asked. Hey you hate Israel and the Jews? Many of my people hate Israel and the Jews, too. And thus began a budding love affair. President Mohammad Khatami in a message to his French counterpart Jacques Chirac on Sunday congratulated him, his

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058208231824377222003-07-14T14:43:00.000-04:002003-07-14T14:43:51.866-04:00

Good pic of Lance nearly crashing into the fallen Beloki.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058207249537880002003-07-14T14:27:00.000-04:002003-07-14T14:27:29.593-04:00

New find in Egypt. Egyptian and German archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old priest settlement in southern Egypt, the Supreme Council for Egyptian Antiquities announced. Buried in the desert sand in Tuna el-Gebel, some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Cairo, the elaborate dwellings belonged to the priests who worshipped the god Thoth in the form of ibis and baboons. And apparently

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058204775557096092003-07-14T13:46:00.000-04:002003-07-14T13:46:15.600-04:00

Andy Garcia compares Castro and Nicolae Ceausescu. Cuban-born U.S. actor Andy Garcia, filming in Romania, said Saturday he was struck by the parallels between the regimes of late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and Cuban leader Fidel Castro. "Cuba is under the same kind of totalitarian dictatorship that Romania was," Garcia told The Associated Press in an interview. Garcia, 47, said he had talked

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058197156118789912003-07-14T11:39:00.000-04:002003-07-15T17:05:15.596-04:00

Another dot in the big picture of how so many ideologically different terrorist groups work together. Israel yesterday arrested a suspected bomb-maker said to be a former member of the Irish Republican Army in the West Bank and was questioning him on the extent of his contact with Palestinian militants, Israeli security sources said. British and Irish newspapers had reported earlier that a

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1058196663157837182003-07-14T11:31:00.000-04:002003-07-14T11:31:03.280-04:00

The media and Leftist establishments have been trying since last year to pooh-pooh claims that Saddam had no al-Qaeda ties. In the typical attempt to pretend that the past just doesn't exist (why do you think history is so unimportant to the Left? WHen it doesn't exist they can feed you made up history, leaving out the bits that don't support their claims). Here, in an AP report, is a good

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057954621830086262003-07-11T16:17:00.000-04:002003-07-11T16:17:01.890-04:00

Sorry about the complete lack of blogging. Trying to get my day over with quickly so the family and I can meet up with Roger, Sheryl and Madelein for dinner. And then I've got events all weekend so blogging will resume Monday.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057870333207022132003-07-10T16:52:00.000-04:002003-07-10T16:52:13.090-04:00

It may just be diversionary but another possible sign of progress. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called for renewed peace talks with Israel on the basis of UN land-for-peace resolutions in talks with a top UN official, the official SANA news agency said yesterday. “We must find a mechanism to relaunch talks” between Syria and Israel from where they left of in January 2000, Assad was quoted

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057869127455306022003-07-10T16:32:00.000-04:002003-07-10T16:32:24.426-04:00

I thought we were too busy plundering Iraq's oil. U.S. forces in Iraq have seized 5,000-year-old artifacts from a suspected smuggler and recovered 12 pieces stolen from a Baghdad museum, the U.S. military said Thursday. Two potential buyers were arrested following Monday's raid. An Iraqi archaeologist dated the pre-Sumerian artifacts -- miniature statues, a skull and a clay bowl -- to between

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057865989531849942003-07-10T15:39:00.000-04:002003-07-10T15:58:55.943-04:00

What perverse timing to be a blatant shill for the Ayatollahs. Actually, the first story doesn't live up to the title, really. But it seems the author wants to discount all of the oppression brought by the Ayatollahs. See they shut down all free expression, bring economic ruin and will never willingly leave power but som,ehow life goes on and the US should just keep it to themselves. Yep. life

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057865039269524122003-07-10T15:23:00.000-04:002003-07-10T15:36:47.553-04:00

Here's a report on the Iranian students protesting in Palo Alto. More than 250 Bay Area Iranians waved flags and shouted chants in downtown Palo Alto this week against Tehran's Islamic regime, joining a worldwide rally to support Iranian student protesters. ``The government is attacking our young people,'' said Manooch Golkar, 65, of Santa Clara. ``We want our country without mullahs and

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057862853789311912003-07-10T14:47:00.000-04:002003-07-10T14:47:45.946-04:00

Ariel Sharon went the the Temple mount so we decided we were going to murder Jews in Germany. Suspected Jordanian terrorist Shadi Mohammad Mustafa Abdullah told the Duesseldorf court that Al Tawhid was hoping the attacks would make the group as notorious as Osama Ben Laden's Al Qaeda network. “Sharon's visit to Al Aqsa Mosque provoked all Muslims,” Abdullah said, referring to the September

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057862328032566182003-07-10T14:38:00.000-04:002003-07-10T14:38:47.986-04:00

Lord Shawcross, Britain's chief Nuremberg war crimes prosecutor, dead at 101 Lord Shawcross, who was Britain's chief prosecutor at the Nazi war crimes trials in Nuremberg and a representative at the United Nations through the late 1940s, died Thursday, his secretary said. He was 101. Hartley William Shawcross was involved in a number of high-profile cases throughout his career, prosecuting a

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057861815440346832003-07-10T14:30:00.000-04:002003-07-15T09:46:34.430-04:00

Did the French offer protection to Serb war criminals? French President Jacques Chirac allegedly guaranteed that Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic would not be transferred to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in exchange for the release of two French hostages in 1995, according to evidence presented at Slobodan Milosevic's trial Wednesday. Chirac's office issued a firm denial of any negotiations to

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057861630386095482003-07-10T14:27:00.000-04:002003-07-10T14:27:10.426-04:00

No spite here. France has taken a French lesson from its Quebec cousins, announcing electronic mail will be known as a "courriel" - a term coined by a Montreal professor. La Commission generale de terminologie et de neologie, overseer of the French language in France, has adopted the term seven years after it was first used by University of Montreal literature professor Jean-Claude Guedon. The

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057860360804510942003-07-10T14:06:00.000-04:002003-07-10T14:06:08.110-04:00

Oh my. This and this will give the anti-globos hives. US convenience store operator 7-Eleven has said it is nearing a deal with the Beijing government to open stores in the Chinese capital. The company has a strong presence in Asia, and has opened 100 stores in Japan so far this year. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and China are also "major markets of growth" for 7-Eleven. The company

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057856214614069742003-07-10T12:56:00.000-04:002003-07-10T13:11:16.790-04:00

Charles Taylor. Not only ties to Jesse Jackson and Pat Robertson...but in the middle of a typical Ridgeway anti-America screed out pops this little nugget. During the '70s, a Liberian named Charles Taylor attended Bentley College in Massachusetts, and became active in a Liberian-American association. After college, he returned home and took a job in Doe's government. In that capacity he

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057846128164787072003-07-10T10:08:00.000-04:002003-07-10T10:08:48.170-04:00

Heh. Gum is legal, sort of in Singapore. Singapore has agreed to relax its decade-long ban on chewing gum. The pristine city-state, which did not like gum sticking to its pavements, has been under pressure to lift the ban as part of a trade deal with the US. But Singapore's gum-chewers are not salivating yet - the government says chewing gum will only be available to people with a medical

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057772638029890192003-07-09T13:43:00.000-04:002003-07-09T13:43:57.940-04:00

Seems to me that the leaders of the Yoruba relgion don't recognize the irony of this statement. "We realize the pre-eminent position of Cuba in this religion," said congress president Wande Abimbola, a Nigerian professor at Boston University. "From this island, the religion has been transported to so many diverse places in the world," he said, referring to the Cuban emigration that helped

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057772374116090852003-07-09T13:39:00.001-04:002003-07-09T13:39:34.023-04:00

El Jefe's daughter is calling on the Eu to get tought with the Stalinist regime. Alina Fernandez, the exiled daughter of Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, has urged the European Union to take a harder line against her father. Speaking in Rome on Monday, (7 July) during a European tour she said that "the EU's policy toward Cuba is hardly acceptable because they're dealing with a regime that doesn't

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057772374083460302003-07-09T13:39:00.000-04:002003-07-09T13:39:33.993-04:00

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057765656522443672003-07-09T11:47:00.000-04:002003-07-09T11:48:01.073-04:00

Four more Kuwaitis missing since 1990 have been identified. The spokesman for the search team for "misssing Kuwaitis and prisoners in Iraq" Fayez al-Oneizi said yesterday that the remains of four Kuwaiti missing were found in a mass grave in al-Samawa area to the south of Iraq. There are still hundreds unaccounted for. Something that doesn't seem to bother those who still think we were wrong

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057765334889229892003-07-09T11:42:00.000-04:002003-07-09T11:42:14.803-04:00

Ten Thousand Terrorists In Canada? Police intelligence officers believe as many as 10,000 former Tamil guerrillas now live in Canada, just one example of how the country has become a haven for terrorists and others involved in wars around the globe, according to a new study by a Toronto-based think-tank. Some of the Tamil guerrillas have joined street gangs in Toronto, says the report by the

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057709286421636622003-07-08T20:08:00.000-04:002003-07-15T09:48:22.693-04:00

Is Hillary really thinking about '04? Hmmm. Let's put some pieces of the puzzle into place before passing judgment here. Why now? What is happening politically in the Democrat party and in the GOP? And what does she (or her party or allies) stand to gain from this? Let's put this 'announcement of consideration' into its proper provenience. First. On the Republican side. George Bush is on the

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057692876346863242003-07-08T15:34:00.000-04:002003-07-08T15:34:36.306-04:00

Hamid Karzai's government is beginning to "make money". Afghanistan has collected $56 million in revenue from provincial governors and warlords since the end of March, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said yesterday. "Since the process of collecting national revenues has started we have so far collected $56m," Jawed Ludin told reporters following a cabinet meeting. "It's very promising, it

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057687100722507882003-07-08T13:58:00.000-04:002003-07-08T13:58:20.560-04:00

I would like to see every city council that "supports the troops" while opposing the war do this to prove how much they support the men and women in the field. Marine Lance Cpl. Clayton Colman could well become one of the most popular men in his unit, thanks to the folks in his hometown of Medicine Bow. Town officials in April formally "adopted" Colman's unit - Charlie Company, 1st Battalion,

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057686554934651162003-07-08T13:49:00.000-04:002003-07-08T13:49:14.866-04:00

Good thing we are stealing Iraq's oil. Otherwise rebuilding Iraq would be even more expensive for us. Commitments to improve Iraq’s water, electrical, public health and telecommunications systems were listed as spending priorities for the next six months’ national budget, according to Paul Bremer, the administrator for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, on July 7, 2003. Budgetary

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057685842026616202003-07-08T13:37:00.000-04:002003-07-08T13:37:21.993-04:00

Strange goings on at the Iraqi Embassy in Beijing Diplomatic sources told Reuters last week that Ambassador Muwafak al-Ani was resisting a recall order and had asked Chinese police for protection, insisting embassy staff were armed and intimidating him. But the embassy's number two, who has been in charge since June, said on Tuesday al-Ani and his wife were the ones who were armed, refusing to

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057685172226107252003-07-08T13:26:00.000-04:002003-07-08T13:26:12.203-04:00

We Americans are an odd lot, aren't we? Four skinny puppies and their sad-eyed mother have been delivered from Iraq to a Camarillo woman. Marcy Christmas says she felt compelled to push for a rescue after spotting the dogs sitting forlornly in the desert behind a T-V news reporter. Christmas beamed as the four-month-old puppies tumbled out of Air France cargo carriers into a warehouse hangar

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057683652387661452003-07-08T13:00:00.000-04:002003-07-08T13:00:52.233-04:00

Turmoil in the Palestinian Authority? The Palestinian Authority appears to be in turmoil after Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas cancelled talks with his counterpart Ariel Sharon, saying his government was suffering an "internal crisis". Palestinian officials said the crisis involved opposition within Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah political movement, of which Mr Abbas is a senior

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057608405018519672003-07-07T16:06:00.000-04:002003-07-07T16:06:45.076-04:00

The crushing of dissent continues. An Iranian press court jailed two editors on Sunday after their newspaper published a photograph of an exiled Iranian opposition leader, the ISNA students news agency reported. Iraq Jamshidi, editor-in-chief of the Asia daily newspaper, and his wife, managing editor Saghi Bagherinia, were imprisoned after failing to post a combined bail of 2.5 billion rials (

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057606539141906942003-07-07T15:35:00.000-04:002003-07-07T15:36:04.420-04:00

I really don't know if I would want my willy to smell like durian? Indonesian activists have sold durian-flavored condoms as part of a campaign to fight HIV/AIDS, a report said Friday. DKT Indonesia, an anti-AIDS organization, said it sold 150,000 condoms with the exotic flavor when the product was first launched last month, the Jakarta Post reported. "Probably only the new Harry Potter book

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057605658019513962003-07-07T15:20:00.000-04:002003-07-07T15:20:58.076-04:00

Are we, the people, punishing Germany, too? German exports to the United States fell in May by 11.5 percent to euro5.1 billion ($5.9 billion) according to figures released Monday, a decline the country's wholesalers association blamed on tension between the two countries over the war in Iraq. Others, however, blamed the drop on the slow U.S. economy and the sharp increase in the strength of the

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057605120522081372003-07-07T15:12:00.000-04:002003-07-07T15:12:00.573-04:00

A French Villiage that celebrates the 4th of July, following an incident in WWII. Leathery farm people here who were children in 1943 say they will never forget America's Independence Day that year because it was the day that a Missourian named David Butcher, tail gunner on a B-17 bomber, fell into a field just outside their village. It was around noon, and most people were in church. Without

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057265845766081752003-07-03T16:57:00.000-04:002003-07-03T16:57:25.670-04:00

For someone is free to be the President of South Africa because of international pressure and condemnation Thabo Mbeki comes across as quite the hypocrite. "It's incorrect really to be saying that we should stand outside the borders of Zimbabwe and decide what the Zimbabweans should do about their own country," Mbeki told reporters in the northern resort town of Ocho Rios. Asked whether he

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057264074947055332003-07-03T16:27:00.000-04:002003-07-03T16:27:54.960-04:00

What part of the thousands of students being beaten and jailed and every independent media source being closed down does this German boob not get? President of the German Parliament Wolfgang Thierse on Thursday voiced his rejection of ongoing American threats against Tehran while praising Iran's attempts to establish Islamic democracy.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057251132307865272003-07-03T12:52:00.000-04:002003-07-03T12:52:12.206-04:00

I will never understand how people can still stand up and not denounce Communism, there is always some excuse but in truth the daily horrors of life in places like Communist China re-affirm the horrific nature of the movement. The promise was forged with a hug and a handshake in the corner of Ross Allen's small apartment in China. "Will you please tell my story?" Yao Thiu asked Ross, speaking

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057249180371680102003-07-03T12:19:00.000-04:002003-07-03T12:19:40.393-04:00

Senator Pat Roberts, head of the Intelligence Committee has just returned from Iraq and says we have found evidence. Sen. Pat Roberts told reporters on a telephone conference call that he couldn't go into detail because the news is classified. "It's classified information now _ I am urging the administration and the intelligence community to make at least portions of that public," the Kansas

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057248063646491092003-07-03T12:01:00.000-04:002003-07-03T12:01:03.533-04:00

Ahhhh the wonders of bureaucracy. Saddam Hussein's diplomats are still in their U.N. offices, supported by Saddam holdovers working in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, The Washington Times reported in its Thursday editions. "They are civil servants, they serve Iraq, they can stay as long as they want, " said Akila Al Hashimi, acting deputy director-general of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry under the U.S

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057247331351923012003-07-03T11:48:00.000-04:002003-07-03T11:48:51.266-04:00

The Phlippines will contribute troops to Poland's security sector of Iraq. There is also a list of other nations that will send forces.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057246601736589962003-07-03T11:36:00.000-04:002003-07-03T11:36:41.683-04:00

Jane's is reporting on another CIA investigation. Al-Qaeda, and to a lesser extent other terrorist groups, are currently capable of conducting attacks with chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear weapons, according to an internal CIA intelligence directorate report published in May 2003. The CIA report, Terrorist CBRN: Materials and Effects, did not say where the Bush administration

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057246386333892582003-07-03T11:33:00.000-04:002003-07-03T11:33:06.290-04:00

Apparently the CIA has conducted an internal review of the reports leading up to the war. The CIA was justified in telling President Bush and top aides last fall that Saddam Hussein was still seeking weapons of mass destruction, but the agency often lacked precise, up-to-date information about the threat that those weapons posed, an internal CIA review has found. Former CIA deputy director

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057245607970460042003-07-03T11:20:00.000-04:002003-07-03T11:20:07.983-04:00

Iraqi women are speaking up for the first time in 30 years. I particularly like this woman's outlook. "Thank God, we survived the Saddam regime," said Saniya al-Raheem, a petite 56-year-old housewife. "Our living conditions remain very difficult, but I accept them because now is better than before. I can freely express my feelings and talk about my problems," al-Raheem said. "I can even say

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057244049117161812003-07-03T10:54:00.000-04:002003-07-03T10:58:00.483-04:00

Some of the wit and wisdom of Silvio Berlusconi. "I'm sorry for having said communists eat babies. But if you want, I can organise a conference in which I will prove communists have really eaten babies and done even worse things,'' Berlusconi told a liberal foundation conference. I like how CNN give this as an example of a gaffe without giving any background to the commment. "They missed a

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057243382643325362003-07-03T10:43:00.000-04:002003-07-03T10:43:11.333-04:00

Funny, I don't recall any worries about institutional crisis in the EC when members of European governments called or alluded to George Bush or Ariel Sharon as a Nazi. But, suddenly a conservative politician that has pro-America pro-Israel views comes along and makes a stupid Nazi remark and the whoe structure of Europe is about to collapse. The president of the European Parliament, Pat Cox,

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057242639742525962003-07-03T10:30:00.000-04:002003-07-03T10:30:39.780-04:00

Abu Gaith's wife is speaking out. He's not a terrorists, you see. "He is with Islam and is not against Kuwait. He was an ideal husband who loved Kuwait and served it in the most difficult times, and if he made a mistake, only the Almighty doesn't," 'Umm Youssef' told Al-Rai Al-Aam in an interview published Wednesday. Abu Ghaith, reportedly detained in Iran along with top members of Osama bin

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057175992851112202003-07-02T15:59:00.001-04:002003-07-02T15:59:52.903-04:00

A professor at Berkeley has an idea for keeping planes out of no-fly zones. Since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, anti-aircraft missile batteries have been installed to protect buildings in Washington DC and other US cities. Less drastic solutions have also been suggested. Aerospace company Northrop Grumman, for instance, has proposed installing the electronics from its Global Hawk

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057175992346404042003-07-02T15:59:00.000-04:002003-07-02T15:59:52.420-04:00

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057175863299770322003-07-02T15:57:00.000-04:002003-07-02T15:57:43.350-04:00

Interesting story at Jane's looking at the resistance and terrorism Sharon may face from some groups of settlers. Israeli military clearance of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is now well underway as part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's commitment to the international 'road map' for an Arab-Israeli peace agreement. While clashes between troops and settlers have occurred on several of the

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057170763533764872003-07-02T14:32:00.000-04:002003-07-02T14:32:43.506-04:00

Heh. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Tuesday that his country would be "in paradise" if it weren't for the Socialists, a remark that triggered an angry demand that France's president disavow him. The center-right prime minister quickly sent his "regrets" for the quip, made during a speech in Strasbourg - a day before the French parliament votes on a censure motion filed Saturday

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057169236363756562003-07-02T14:07:00.000-04:002003-07-02T14:07:16.396-04:00

Columbia University has announced the winners of the Cabot Awards. Nice to see a group of Cuban independent journalists win a special citation. Of course, being an independent journalist in el Jefe's Socialist Paradise means that none of the members will be allowed to leave the Gulag to accept their prizes. La Sociedad de Periodistas Manuel Marquez Sterling, Cuba Cabot Special Citations are

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057158720997193402003-07-02T11:12:00.000-04:002003-07-02T11:12:01.030-04:00

The Afghan Women's Network wrote an open letter to the women of Iraq. We urge the women of Iraq to start now, as international attention is focused on the rebuilding of their country, to make sure they play a role. And we urge them to ensure that security measures are put in place throughout Iraq so they truly can enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that are promised to them. The promises are

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057158258202055282003-07-02T11:04:00.000-04:002003-07-02T11:04:18.133-04:00

Kuwait has only managed to find and identify three of the 605 still missing from the Iraqi invasion in 1991. Saleh Ali Saud al-Hayani’s remains were found in a mass grave in Samawa, 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Baghdad, the English-language Arab Times said, quoting a statement from Fayez al-Anzi, spokesman for a Kuwaiti team charged with searching for Kuwaiti prisoners in Iraq. “

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057087004103619842003-07-01T15:16:00.000-04:002003-07-01T15:16:44.143-04:00

So, why did France have to crakdown on MEK? "This is by no means a political movement, a democratic movement," de Bousquet [director of the Directorate for Territorial Surveillance, France's counterintelligence service] said. "It was not preparing the restoration of democracy in Iran. They are complete fanatics, a fanatical sect with a total absence of democracy, and a cult of personality." And

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057073362686402002003-07-01T11:29:00.000-04:002003-07-01T11:29:22.640-04:00

Not often you see a play celebrating America. For Jorge Marsal, the pastor of worship and fine arts at the Valley Christian Center and a first-generation Cuban immigrant, America has truly been a land of opportunity. This Fourth of July, he will be paying tribute to the country he loves. Marsal, 50, has put together "Celebrate America," a patriotic drama filled with music and dancing that will

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057073179512856892003-07-01T11:26:00.000-04:002003-07-01T11:26:19.486-04:00

How disappointing. Former Beatle Paul McCartney is considering holding a concert in Cuba next year, and is sending his agents to the island in July to work out the details, the Juventud Rebelde newspaper has reported. Cuban authorities, including Culture Minister Abel Prieto, have already approved the concert, the paper said, quoting writer Ernesto Juan Castellanos, who attended McCartney's

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057071899298134832003-07-01T11:04:00.000-04:002003-07-01T11:04:59.260-04:00

Former military intelligence chief for Saddam, who defected in 1994, is now back and hunting for his old boss. Saddam Hussein's former military intelligence chief has left for the desert around Samara north of Baghdad to track down Saddam Hussein, who he alleges is hiding out there. "We have various pieces of information saying he's present in the region, even if no one's seen him," Wafiq Al

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057068009686384032003-07-01T10:00:00.000-04:002003-07-01T10:00:09.523-04:00

The head of Saddam's tribe is dead. Attackers kille the head of Saddam Hussein's tribe, who recently disavowed the ousted president, while he rode in a car in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, the regional governor said Tuesday. Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khattab, who was leader of Saddam's Bani al-Nasiri tribe, was killed Sunday and his son was wounded, said the governor, Hussein al-Jubouri, according to

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057066491831099302003-07-01T09:34:00.000-04:002003-07-01T09:36:49.323-04:00

What it takes to maintain the USAF in the field. Take 12 advanced F-16C fighters, fly them halfway around the world to a remote location, and then provide combat-capable aircraft with a minimum of personnel, equipment and facilities for an indefinite period of time. That is the challenge facing the maintenance personnel of the 181st Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard (ANG) unit based in Terre

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1057001608079573522003-06-30T15:33:00.000-04:002003-06-30T15:33:28.130-04:00

Apologies for the distinct lack of posting today. I just have not been able to get any blogging in. Not because I'm a lucky guy off on some vacation doing some diving. Just too otherwise pre-occupied.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056744159233711972003-06-27T16:02:00.000-04:002003-06-27T16:02:39.163-04:00

Where are the Human Rights Groups on the detentions? "In total, 4000 people were arrested across the country, and 40 per cent of those arrested were immediately freed," Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi was quoted as saying by the student news agency ISNA. "Currently there are 2,000 people who are still in prison, among whom there are not many students," he added.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056736940806972502003-06-27T14:02:00.000-04:002003-06-27T14:02:20.710-04:00

An interview with the Afghanistan's Vice President.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056736122805539442003-06-27T13:48:00.000-04:002003-06-27T13:49:53.093-04:00

One little problem there Dominique. Naming Africa's current "problem countries" as Zimbabwe, the Central African Republic and Liberia, De Villepin said: "We have to take into account that there are countries in Africa that are concerned enough to take time to be part of a process to help each of these countries." He lauded the role of the troika - South Africa, Nigeria and Australia - in

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056731251629703592003-06-27T12:27:00.000-04:002003-06-27T12:27:31.600-04:00

Good story about some of the SEAL operations in Iraq. Dodging a web of high-voltage power lines, Air Force special-operations helicopters hovered over the hydroelectric dam, 57 miles northeast of Baghdad, as crewmen kicked thick ropes out the doors. Under a moonless April night, dark figures quickly rappelled to the ground. Several dozen Navy SEALs and Polish Grom commandos split into small

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056730811680878732003-06-27T12:20:00.000-04:002003-06-27T12:20:11.690-04:00

This just in. The Arab Permanent Human Rights Commission was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn about the genocide in IRaq. The Arab Permanent Human Rights Commission has condemned the genocide discovered in Iraq and urged for taking legal action against their authors. Chairman of the commission, Khaled Naciri said on Wednesday at the end of the Commission's extraordinary session, that the

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056729304378968192003-06-27T11:55:00.000-04:002003-06-27T11:55:04.240-04:00

It seems that suddenly people on the Left are afraid that George Bush may be seen as influential by speaking well of a freedom movement in Iran. But this is getting to be laughable. Or it would be if these people weren't out there risking their lives. If I were an Iranian student demonstrating against my own government, about the last thing in the world I would want would be a public endorsement

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056661225566403702003-06-26T17:00:00.000-04:002003-06-26T17:00:25.636-04:00

Interesting interview with Maj. Gen. James Marks, who was the senior intelligence officer for the Coalition Forces Land Component Command and sat in the interrogations of three from the deck of 55. These guys have no redeeming qualities," he said. One of the guys was a woman, nicknamed Mrs. Anthrax. Of Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, the general said, "The woman was arrogant, very hard, very defiant

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056659883350289732003-06-26T16:38:00.000-04:002003-06-26T16:38:03.400-04:00

You can bitch and moan about the privations of Iraqis or you can do something about it. Just over six years ago, Peter was an engineering manager and troubleshooter with the Dupont group, while Ruth was a personnel manager. However, the lives of Salvation Army members Peter and Ruth were to change forever when they decided to commit themselves full-time to God and the organisation's

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056658929208589822003-06-26T16:22:00.000-04:002003-06-26T16:22:09.266-04:00

The wife of the first British soldier killed in action in Iraq talks about his sacrifice. Before the conflict she was strongly pro-war and remains so - defending Tony Blair, who is still heavily criticised for taking Britain to war. The pretty fitness instructor, added: "Nothing makes me more angry than when people ask me: `Do you think he died for nothing?' "I believe he was doing the right

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056657852089025932003-06-26T16:04:00.000-04:002003-06-26T16:04:12.133-04:00

US Treasury has already given back to the Iraqi people, half of the $1,700,000,000 that had been confiscated from Iraq's previous dictators. The U.S. confiscated the money in March from accounts that had been frozen. The accounts had belonged to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime, and the U.S. pledged to use the funds to help with reconstruction. "A mechanism for emergency payments was quickly

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3444179.post-1056657346821701922003-06-26T15:55:00.000-04:002003-06-26T15:55:46.883-04:00

This is drawing a fine line. The U.N.'s nuclear agency says unearthed items from Baghdad's original nuclear weapons program appear to back its assertion that the program was not reactivated. U.N. inspectors have said all along that their searches turned up no solid evidence supporting the Bush administration's claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and must be dealt with militarily.

Zacharyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01142143784436873855noreply@blogger.com