Low Earth Orbit

Multi-cultural cooperation

In response to "this story":http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_26-8-2003_pg1_5

Afghan troops backed by US-led forces killed up to 50 suspected Taliban on Monday in ground and air raids in southeastern Afghanistan

Steve D says

Like many former Navy Surface Warfare Officers, I was concerned that the loss of the bombing ranges in Vieques would impair our readiness. Leave it to Taliban to provide us with a way to keep the skills of our pilots in top-notch condition.

Let me also hand out a big "thank you" to those helpful Taliban provided targets. You guys just keep bringing it on.

Well, they do have a motive…

[source, source]

Beirut, Aug. 22 (SANA) Lebanese Foreign Minister, Jan Obaid has held Israel responsible for the bombardment of the United Nations' headquarter in Baghdad. In a statement today, Obaid stressed Israeli interest in weakening the United Nations and replacing it, asserting Israel rejection to implement the international organizations' resolutions. He added that the Israeli history is full of killing stories starting with Cont Bernadotte to Himershold.

That didn't take long.

CMB NOW

[source] NOW(National Organization of Women) "has endorsed Carol Mosley Braun":http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=118-08262003 for President of the United States. I have to agree, CMB and NOW deserve each other.

The seedy underside of Britian

[source]

there is a contraband war going on in this country [UK]. It is a war which has spawned a clandestine ring of illicit and secretive dealers and buyers operating their own black economy and doing their best to steer clear of the agents of the state. And just what are these shadowy merchants trading in? Is it narcotics? Is it guns? Is it prostitution? Gambling dens? No, it's "tomato seeds":http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/food_and_drink/features/story.jsp?story=435062 p(qq). The dealer wishes to remain anonymous. Not that he's ashamed of his seeds: on the contrary, he's doubts you'll find better in England. Once you've tried their crop, he believes, you'll be hooked. But if he told you how to buy them, he could be prosecuted - and a small businessman like him can ill-afford a £5,000 fine. p(qq). The crop in question goes by the exotic name of 'White Princess'. But it is not, as you might suspect, a variety of cannabis. Rather, it is a tomato - a "meltingly, sumptuously tasty" variety, according to the pusher, but a mere tomato none the less. And if that strikes you as surprising, you'll be even more surprised to discover that 'White Princess' are just the tip of the iceberg. p(qq). […] anyone wanting to sell the seeds of a fruit or vegetable must first register the variety on a National List. Before registration, it must be tested to ensure it is "distinct, uniform and stable", and a fee must be paid. Sadly for amateur growers, these fees add up to nearly £1,000, in the case of tomatoes, plus an annual renewal fee of £185. There are no exceptions, no grants for amateur growers, and it is illegal for anyone to sell the seeds of unregistered fruit or, by implication, the fruit itself.

French Unilateralism

[source, source]

France is about to break another of the cardinal rules of the euro stability pact - allowing its accumulated national debt to exceed the limit of 60 per cent of GNP imposed on euroland members. Since France and Germany are already breaching the ceiling on annual deficits (3 per cent of GNP), the euro stability pact risks looking like a fiscal dead letter by the end of this year.

Grant me matyrdom soon, but not right now

[source, source]

"We love martyrdom and we seek martyrdom," Rantissi said. "Our leaders and followers will continue to fight until we achieve martyrdom."

But it's a little different when Israel is laying down some Hellfire missile type smackie:

Top leaders of Hamas were nowhere to be found Monday amid the Green Hamas flags and gunmen marching in black baklavas to commemorate the funeral of the group's military wing leader Ahmed Aishtawi. Hamas leaders including Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Mahmud Al Zahar, and Ismail Hania were not however ducking the Palestinian Authority's much-anticipated crackdown on terrorist organizations, but the far more terrifying hellfire missiles of Israel's Apache helicopters.

But never fear, the Palestinian Authority is not on the job:

Despite declarations to the contrary, PA security chiefs in Gaza on Monday said they had no orders to arrest, subdue or fight Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders who threaten the PA's own authority. In an effort to deflect criticism that the PA is doing nothing to clamp down on groups like Hamas, one officer in the Preventive Security Apparatus recounted that his forces have worked lately to arrest "several drug dealers, who harm the Palestinian economy."

Plus whacking some "collaborators" but that's probably so standard as to not be worth mentioning.