The Holiday of Tusentuk (1000 Thanks)

[Rocky]

Zahar: Israel must withdraw to pre-1967 borders

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- A leader of Hamas, the militant group that last week became the controlling force in Palestinian politics, laid out a series of conditions Sunday that he said could lead to years of co-existence alongside Israel.

The conditions included Israel's retreating to its pre-1967 borders and releasing Palestinian prisoners...


Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz issued a warning to Hamas, saying if the organization resorted to terror attacks, it would be the subject of an "unprecedented attack."

 

[Rocky]

Two Bomb Attacks Foiled

Two Bomb Attacks Foiled in Afghanistan

By DANIEL COONEY

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Security forces defused two roadside bombs near the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy and arrested a suspected suicide attacker driving a minibus packed with explosives and gas canisters close to a U.S. base, officials said.

The thwarted attacks came as international donors gathered in London to discuss Afghanistan's future. Authorities fear militants opposed to the country's U.S.-backed government may time high-profile attacks to coincide with the meeting.

The two roadside bombs were discovered in a ditch about 300 yards from the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Kabul, said Ehbrar Ahmad, a senior official with a police commando squad.

The road where the bombs were found leads from the embassy, which is surrounded by rows of bomb barriers and is tightly guarded, to Kabul's airport. It is frequently used by embassy personnel and foreign security forces.

The minibus bombing was foiled about a half-mile from the Kandahar Airfield, the main U.S. base in southern Afghanistan, Afghan army commander Gen. Rahmatullah Raufi said.

The vehicle was packed with more than 130 pounds of explosives, drums of gasoline, as well as the gas canisters.

``This is a massive bomb. It could have killed dozens of people,'' said Mohammed Fazel, an Afghan army officer.

Soldiers, acting on a tip, surrounded the minibus and pulled the driver, a suspected member of the Taliban, from the cab before he could detonate the explosives, he said.

The intended target was not immediately clear, but officials suspected it may have been U.S.-led coalition forces or government officials.

 

[Rocky]

EU tells Hamas to disarm, recognize Israel

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- European Union foreign ministers called on Hamas on Monday to recognize the state of Israel, renounce violence and disarm.

While EU officials are barred from contact with the Islamic militant group, which the 25-nation bloc considers a terrorist organization, the statement made clear the EU would keep diplomatic channels open with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is not a member of Hamas.

"The onus is now on Hamas to renounce violence, to accept that the fundamental democratic principle is that matters are pursued by arguments and peacefully and not by violence," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.

 

[Rocky]

Pakistani train crash 'deliberate'

DOMELI, Pakistan (AP) -- Sabotage to a rail track caused part of a packed express train to derail and crash into a ravine in eastern Pakistan, killing at least three people and injuring more than 40, officials said Monday.

The Islamabad Express, with up to 600 people on board, derailed about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday near the village of Domeli. Several cars toppled off the track and one tumbled 100 meters (yards) to the bottom of a gorge.

Ishaq Khakwani, minister for state for railways, said that a section of track had "deliberately been damaged" by unknown men -- before the train passed on its run from Rawalpindi to Lahore.

Tools apparently used for the job were left at the scene. A senior security official told The Associated Press that plates which connect the rail lines to planks beneath had been removed.

"Whoever did it, he did it to kill people," the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to comment to media.

 

[Rocky]

Cartoons spark violent protests

GAZA CITY (AP) -- Masked gunmen on Monday briefly took over a European Union office to protest a Danish newspaper's publication of cartoons deemed insulting to Islam's Prophet Muhammad, the latest in a wave of violent denunciations of the caricatures across the Islamic world.

The gunmen demanded an apology from Denmark and Norway and said citizens of the two countries would be prevented from entering the Gaza Strip.

"We are calling on the citizens of the two countries to take this threat seriously because our cells are ready to implement this all over Gaza," one militant said.

The 12 drawings -- published in September by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and republished in a Norwegian paper this month -- included an image of the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse.

I can understand why Islam is upset about their prophet being targeted in cartoons in this manner, this is what he is known for.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

The Holy Prophet (PUBH) used to invoke and pray to the Almighty Allah to grant him good manners and good treatment with the people and to adorn him with good character and conduct. He used to say in his invocation:

"O Allah, make my constitution and conduct good. He used to pray: O Allah, save me from bad character and conduct.

I have met and spoke with Muhammad, and he still acts with the same purity.

But he is horrified how parts of Islam has turned towards violence in Allah's name.


For all of you pursuing this path, ask yourself if you are truly in the footsteps Muhammad left for you to follow...

 

[Rocky]

hmmm do you think that since Jordan, Syria, Lebannon and Palestine have shut down Al Queda's attempts to bomb Israel...

that Zawahiri was planning an attack through Egypt, his home country?

what if an auto loaded with explosives was being shipped to Egypt and it didn't survive the fire in the auto bay...

Mubarak: Those responsible won't escape punishment

Awad said Mubarak told the Cabinet the catastrophe had shaken him and all Egyptians and that the investigation of the tragedy would uncover its true cause.

"Those who are responsible will not escape without punishment," Awad quoted Mubarak as saying. "There is no one in Egypt who is above law or questioning, and as an Egyptian, I am angry and sad for what happened."

 

[Rocky]

well President Bush is in Afghanistan today on his way to Pakistan...

40 al Queda were just killed in Pakistan...

 

[Rocky]

Pakistan bomb kills US diplomat

A bomb disposal expert said it was one of the most powerful explosions the city had seen. It left a crater 2m (six feet) deep.

There has been no indication yet who is behind the attack.

If it was directed at the US consulate, it could have been carried out by Islamists opposed to Mr Bush's trip, the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says.

be careful...

#2 is also looking at Libya for an attack targeting oil...

Keep an eye on the gophers in South Somalia digging for something special...

 

[Rocky]

Bush arrives in Pakistan

The protesters burned U.S. flags and chanted, "Pakistani nation wants head of Bush!"

hey Coffee isn't that you in the picture? :waitasec:

 

[Rocky]

Iran's comments that it can inflict "harm and pain" on Washington

"The United States may have the power to cause harm and pain but it is also susceptible to harm and pain," Vaeedi said. "So if the United States wishes to choose that path let the ball roll."

Since Iran has the ability to launch short range missles from their ships, should we be buying lead paint to start protecting our electronics from EMP weapons?

Iran plans to knock out

WASHINGTON -- Iran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America's technical infrastructure, effectively neutralizing the world's lone superpower, say U.S. intelligence sources, top scientists and western missile industry experts.

The radical Shiite regime has conducted successful tests to determine if its Shahab-3 ballistic missiles, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, can be detonated by a remote-control device while still in high-altitude flight.

Scientists, including President Reagan's top science adviser, William R. Graham, say there is no other explanation for such tests than preparation for the deployment of electromagnetic pulse weapons – even one of which could knock out America's critical electrical and technological infrastructure, effectively sending the continental U.S. back to the 19th century with a recovery time of months or years.

Iran will have that capability – at least theoretically – as soon as it has one nuclear bomb ready to arm such a missile. North Korea, a strategic ally of Iran, already boasts such capability...


Iran has surprised intelligence analysts by describing the mid-flight detonations of missiles fired from ships on the Caspian Sea as "successful" tests. Even primitive Scud missiles could be used for this purpose. And top U.S. intelligence officials reminded members of Congress that there is a glut of these missiles on the world market. They are currently being bought and sold for about $100,000 apiece.

"A terrorist organization might have trouble putting a nuclear warhead 'on target' with a Scud, but it would be much easier to simply launch and detonate in the atmosphere," wrote Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., in the Washington Post a week ago. "No need for the risk and difficulty of trying to smuggle a nuclear weapon over the border or hit a particular city. Just launch a cheap missile from a freighter in international waters – al-Qaida is believed to own about 80 such vessels – and make sure to get it a few miles in the air."

The Iranian missile tests were more sophisticated and capable of detonation at higher elevations – making them more dangerous.

Detonated at a height of 60 to 500 kilometers above the continental U.S., one nuclear warhead could cripple the country – knocking out electrical power and circuit boards and rendering the U.S. domestic communications impotent...


"An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the American homeland, said one of the distinguished scientists who testified at the hearing, is one of only a few ways that the United States could be defeated by its enemies – terrorist or otherwise," wrote Kyl "And it is probably the easiest. A single Scud missile, carrying a single nuclear weapon, detonated at the appropriate altitude, would interact with the Earth's atmosphere, producing an electromagnetic pulse radiating down to the surface at the speed of light. Depending on the location and size of the blast, the effect would be to knock out already stressed power grids and other electrical systems across much or even all of the continental United States, for months if not years." ...


The commission said hardening key infrastructure systems and procuring vital backup equipment such as transformers is both feasible and – compared with the threat – relatively inexpensive.

"But it will take leadership by the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department, and other federal agencies, along with support from Congress, all of which have yet to materialize," wrote Kyl, so far the only elected official blowing the whistle this alarming development.

Kyl concluded in his report: "The Sept. 11 commission report stated that our biggest failure was one of 'imagination.' No one imagined that terrorists would do what they did on Sept. 11. Today few Americans can conceive of the possibility that terrorists could bring our society to its knees by destroying everything we rely on that runs on electricity. But this time we've been warned, and we'd better be prepared to respond."

how thick does lead need to be to stop the electron attack?

 

[Rocky]

well I'm almost done with the story...

I have a thread started down in the private forum for discussion...


Literary Agents

Link thread

 

[Rocky]

well I'm almost done with the story...

I have a thread started down in the private forum for discussion...


Literary Agents

Link thread

I put the first 6 Chapters out on Lulu to see if I can catch someone interested in moving it forward to a book or movie...

 

[Rocky]

hmmmm...

patience is running out, Iran's countdown has started...

sounds like WWIII will be starting just in time for Easter...

 

[Rocky]

suspend uranium enrichment

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council has unanimously called on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities within 30 days and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Iran's U.N. ambassador, Javad Zarif, said in response that Iran had an "inalienable right" to pursue nuclear energy and told reporters, "we are allergic to pressure and intimidation."

Earthquakes Devastate Iranian Villages

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Three strong earthquakes and several aftershocks reduced villages to rubble in western Iran early Friday, killing at least 66 people and injuring about 1,200 others, officials said. At least 13 tremors jolted the mountainous region throughout the night, Tehran University's Geophysics Institute said.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 5.7-magnitude quake shortly before 5 a.m., followed by a 4.7-magnitude aftershock about 15 minutes later.

The quakes were centered near Boroujerd and Doroud, two industrial centers about 210 miles southwest of Tehran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The regional head of emergency response, Ali Barani, said about 200 villages were damaged, some flattened. Barani said hospitals in Doroud and Boroujerd were filled to capacity.

Did you know Muhammad's Birthday is the 11th?

The Big Guy wants Iran to accept the offer...

Rice: Iran can have nuclear energy, not arms

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that Iran does not need to give up on nuclear energy, just uranium enrichment that could lead to nuclear weapons.

The question is,

Deal or no Deal...

 

[Rocky]

did I just hear Iran whisper deal? I'm sorry, you need to speak a little louder, my heads a little stuffed up from allergies...

Nuclear inspectors returning

United Nations nuclear inspectors will arrive in Iran on Friday to visit sites including the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, a top Iranian official has said.
Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Aliasghar Soltanieh, said the inspectors would mainly be looking at the Natanz site.

The UN Security Council last week gave Iran 30 days to suspend uranium enrichment or face isolation.

those earthquakes didn't hit too far away...

Map of Iran's sites


Arab nations are in a secret meeting right now trying to decide on what to do with Iran's interferance in Iraq...

are they about to realize they don't have any friends?

Zarqawi was fired by al-Queda yesterday for not carrying out more Mosque attacks...

 

[Rocky]

Campaign against the Kurds

Using documents obtained after the first Gulf War, when Kurdish forces took control of former Anfal areas, Human Rights Watch estimated up to 100,000 people perished in a systematic ethnic cleansing programme.

Following Mr Majid's appointment in 1987, the government - portraying it as a counterinsurgency against Kurdish guerrillas - declared specific areas "prohibited zones".

Those Kurdish residents who did not flee to rebel-held territory in the mountains suffered various fates.

Some were shipped off to miserable new settlements further south, with few provisions or opportunities to make a living, and forbidden, under threat of death, to return to their homes.

Many starved within a year or only survived through clandestine help from nearby townspeople.

Other non-combatants were imprisoned, where huge numbers died from appalling neglect. And many men of militant age were simply executed and buried in mass graves.

Nerve gas

In the context of the campaign, Iraq became the first government to use chemical weapons against its own people.

It dropped mustard gas and sarin on rebel areas, with heavy loss of civilian life, as early as April 1987 - according to Human Rights Watch.

The worst incident - which did not technically come under the Anfal operations - was in Halabja, where 5,000 civilian inhabitants are thought to have died in an aerial bombardment of mustard gas and nerve agents (sarin, tabun and VX).

The military campaign proper began on 23 February 1988 - when the Iraqi army began its sweep through the "prohibited areas" - the first attack on (now Iraqi President) Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headquarters at Sergalou-Bergalou.

Hey Barzan, Justice is coming for the Kurds...


They haven't even started counting how many Kurds have died since from the poisons Saddam inflicted on them...

 

[Rocky]

Head of UN watchdog to visit Iran

A senior official at the watchdog, the IAEA, said Mr ElBaradei would meet senior Iranian officials for talks on confidence-building measures.

The official said the visit would provide Iran with an opportunity to come forward with information required by the IAEA "to fill in the gaps in the history of Iran's nuclear activities".

I'm making peppersteak next week, hope it isn't too much for my allergies

 

[Rocky]

Well, it’s time for me to share with all of you another part of the story what turned out to be a very important decision. In my message, that started at the beginning of this thread, I told all of you of my weekly dreams struggling through the sands, but what I didn’t tell you was what else happened in those dreams, one of them, was my Battle with Abaddon, it didn’t start like the others, this one started while I was still awake, I felt nervous and knew I was going to find what I was looking for before the new moon. Each moment, I felt the energy building suddenly I knew I had two powerful angels standing behind me they knew what I was about to attempt. I had watched an exorcism, and saw how an evil spirit was pulled into the Holy Man and given over to the light.

I knew my battle was coming knowing it was time for Abaddon to rise up, the final battle between good and evil and I was someone that could stop him once and for all, I saw the destruction it caused to earth and had an idea on how to prevent it. It was time, my one chance to find him before the battle…

Suddenly it happened, I found the person I was looking for under Abaddon’s Spell, I felt shivers up and down my spine just reading her words on the forum, she was the founder of a website, as I looked at the website, I saw how it was using missing children to stir racial hatred. I was shaking as I started talking with her, suddenly it happened the rage inside of her opened the channel to the Dark Lord, I reached in and grabbed him, the angels put their hands on my shoulders, as I drew him in I passed out and pulled him into the dimensions in my dreams, we appeared in a field as I released him, I was a mosquito in size compared to this monstrous beast, I could feel the evil radiating from this abomination, he was looking for me, but couldn’t see me I was so small, what had I gotten myself into.

I had stolen Abaddon’s army, and now brought him to where they were waiting for me to finish leading them to heaven, what had I done?

I closed my eyes as I drew my sword taking a deep breath, and when I opened them the sword was growing and I along with it. when I had grown to 2/3 it’s size, I stopped, he turned around seeing me behind him and he let out a roar as he raised his sword swinging it at me hard enough to crush me, but when his sword hit mine, there was an explosion of sparks and it absorbed the blow, the battle raged on for what seemed like hours, I didn’t know how to attack with a sword, all I was doing was defending myself against his blows, one time as I spun to defend myself, the sword slashed his shoulder, he disappeared, I looked around to see if this was a trick, but couldn’t see him, I looked down and saw the crowd had formed a small circle, and as I shrunk back into myself I was standing in the circle, the enormous beast, was struck down with one blow, all was left, was a wounded angel laying on the ground bleeding, I walked forward placing the point of the sword of light on his chest right over his heart, the crowd was screaming for me to finish him one flick of the wrist and it would all be over.

I looked in his eyes, and all I could feel was pity, I saw this once great angel, which had been judged by God and sent into the darkness, I saw how he ate dirt and worms to survive and keep his strength. I saw all the evil he had caused and in my mind, I heard the decision was mine; the crowd was screaming telling me to hurry while I had the chance. I couldn’t do it, I had been brought up to never judge others it is not up to me to judge this angel. I slowly moved the sword from his heart, to his neck, and across touching his wound and watched it heal.

I pulled the sword away and reached out offering him my hand, which he took and stood up smiling, by the time I saw the flash it was too late, his dagger plunged up into my ribs for a death blow. He laughed seeing the anguish in my eyes, I dropped to my knees and he turned around running for the doorway.

I held my hand over the wound, feeling the blood pouring through my fingers, tears rolled down my cheeks from the pain, but not from my wound, this pain was much deeper, it was the pain of failure, I had the chance to destroy evil, I failed my kids, not just my kids, but all the children in the world.

Muhammad kneeled down in front of me looking into my eyes, I told him, I’m sorry, he covered his face with his hands and let out a cry that shook the heavens, this wasn’t David’s battle, he wasn’t even Muslim but he lead the spirits of Islam from the darkness into light. He tried to deliver Muhammad’s message to Islam, but they were taught not to listen, by him. I started feeling weak my head dropped down to my chest as my vision started blurring, this is the end, and I failed.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and warmth wrapped around me, I felt the blood stop pouring through my fingers and the wound was healing, as my strength returned I lifted my head and looked up to see who was healing me, and Jesus was standing there, he said stand up David and I slowly got to my feet and looked into his eyes, he smiled as a father would to his son that had tried his best and failed and said “I couldn’t do it when I had the chance either”

But then he showed me a vision of Abaddon running through the doorway into darkness and falling, he had entered in the wrong direction, and was still dropping into the endless pit. He waved his hand, and the doorway disappeared. God will never ask more of you than you can handle, look around at the hundreds of millions that have watched what you have done and the decision you made. You have done what was expected and shown you are worthy of being the councelor I promised to the world.

Then he showed me an image of what would have happened if I would have killed the dark lord, I saw an image of the earth being destroyed, earthquakes, tornados, Tsunamis the angels collecting all of God’s children for heaven, it would have been over. Just as there is a north and south pole, there is good and evil in the world and each time evil rises in strength, God sends one who can stop it. When you struck the beast, the sword absorbed its hatred that was making him so powerful over man.

Now you need to return to finish.

I looked over at Muhammad and he was smiling as I disappeared…

I woke lifting my head from my keyboard wondering how long I had been there and looked in the mirror seeing button marks on my forehead.

*

So much has happened in the world since that day; we just passed an important moment in history. Iran had the chance to stand up and make Muhammad’s birthday “the Will of God is Peace day.” But instead they stood defiant and announced they are enriching uranium and are expanding production.

Muhammad asked me what the response was by Islam, after the cartoon riots, he thought they would all stand up in protest over these rulers trying to bring destruction and chaos to the world in the name of him and Allah.

I told him no one said a word, no riots, no protests, they see Iran as heroes.

He looked at me in sadness and asked me to close the gateway to heaven.

I thought for a long while, this year, Muhammad’s birthday is 3 days before Jesus died, mine is 3 days before he was born. There are no coincidences…

I can see Iran still has a chance to agree to the offer, I don’t see the success they are claiming on enrichment, and think there is plenty of time for them to change their mind. If they don’t, and move forward God will crush Tehran into rubble. The two rulers in Iran do not speak for all of Islam, it has billions of followers, and most are good. Don’t forget, Jesus removed the doorway from darkness, as Radicals die they will now realize the paradise promised them is gone, they have entered the darkness and no one is going back in to save them, they will no longer drag the Muslims down.

The others were allowed to be saved because Abaddon had decieved them, but now the truth is out, so from this point forward you must seek the right path. If a Cleric walks into your village preaching violence and hatred, don't invite them into your homes, send them on their way.

Pray the leaders of Iran make the right decision, 14 million lives are depending on it.

I have faith they will

Israel, stay your hand, keep working on giving hope to your brothers and sisters the Palestinians :angel:

 

[Rocky]

so Eagle, I'm not sure if you are still out there, quietly following along, but what you said 3 years ago when you first read the Battle of Time was right...

I couldn't do it, I really like this world the way it is, sure we have a few problems but not enough to be looking forward to Armagedden, there are a lot of fish in the sea, and the captain is still loading up the boat...

 

[Eagle1]

Hi, April 14, 06.

I didn't know about this thread until email notification this morning, which doesn't really tell which forum it's in. I haven't been checking the Political Pavilion much lately, staying out of trouble, will check. Sorry, I don't remember what I may have said 3 yrs ago, good thing my siggy statement says JMHO of the Moment. I'm a little bit absent-minded, as you may have noticed, lifelong.

Seeya if I don't forget to take a look at the PP where I expect this is. Eagle