Target Centermass

Day: May 10, 2005

  • Paks, Afghans Outraged Over Alleged Koran Desecration

    I have little interest personally in this story of alleged insulting treatment of the Koran at Guantanamo other than to say, if true, well, that’s pretty freakin’ stupid and needs to be corrected. Fast.

    Unfortunately but not surprisingly, the story has some in a state of near-apoplexy.

    Pakistan, a key Muslim ally in the U.S.-led war on terror, has voiced deep concern to Washington over a magazine report that U.S. interrogators in Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Koran.

    Newsweek magazine, in its latest edition, quoted sources as saying that investigators probing abuses at the military prison had found that interrogators “had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet.”

    The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Pakistan conveyed its deep concern to Washington over the reported desecration of the Muslim holy book, which sparked a student protest in Afghanistan and outraged Pakistani lawmakers.

    “U.S. officials have stated that the alleged perpetrators of the reported desecration would be held accountable after the matter had been appropriately investigated and responsibility is established,” the statement said.

    There has been growing public outrage in Pakistan over the report. The National Assembly, parliament’s lower house, on Monday passed a resolution denouncing the reported desecration and Imran Khan, a Pakistani cricketer turned politician, last week demanded an apology from the United States.

    In Jalalabad, Afghanistan, about 2,000 students chanting “Death to America” protested over the reported desecration, some of them holding up an effigy of President Bush and shouting “Death to Bush.”

    […]

    State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the United States took the allegations seriously.

    “Obviously, the destruction of any kind of holy book, whether it’s a Bible or a Koran or any other document like that, is something that’s reprehensible and not in keeping with U.S. policies and practices,” he said.

    Quite counter-productive to our overall efforts. Such tales certainly endanger some of our successes to date if not dealt with properly. Oh yeah, did I already say stupid?

    On the bright side, there is this, the wrath of a particular Pak pol.

    Cricket hero-turned politician Imran Khan joined Pakistan’s parliament in denouncing the alleged desecration of Islam’s holy book, the Koran, by US soldiers at Guantanamo Bay.

    Khan also condemned a US newspaper for publishing what politicians say is a humiliating cartoon about Pakistan’s hunt for Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

    “If the United States does not apologise on these incidents, then they must be asked to wrap up and vacate our bases under their use,” Khan was quoted as saying.

    Khan!!!

    Man, I love any excuse to use that link.

  • Grenade!

    Was this an assassination attempt, and was President Bush the intended target?

    U.S. officials are investigating a report that an apparent hand grenade landed about 100 feet from where President Bush was speaking Tuesday in Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, a Secret Service spokesman said.

    The Secret Service has not yet confirmed whether the object was a real grenade and if so, whether the pin had been pulled, said spokesman Jim Mackin.

    “We have not seen the reported device,” he said.

    No explosion was reported.

    Mackin said Georgian officials alerted their U.S. counterparts about the incident several hours after Bush departed the former Soviet republic, where he received an enthusiastic welcome in a public square in the capital.

    I reckon it’s a safe bet we’ll hear more about this unfinished tale.

  • Voter Fraud Found in Milwaukee

    When there are more votes than registered voters, I feel quite free to remove the hedging “Possible” from the WaPo’s headline.

    About 4,500 more ballots than registered voters were cast in the election last November in Milwaukee, investigators said Tuesday.

    Also, more than 200 felons voted improperly in Milwaukee, and more than 100 instances of suspected double-voting were found.

    No charges have been filed. Investigators found no widespread conspiracy, just isolated incidents, U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic said.

    “I don’t think there’s an election in this municipality or this state that would have been decided differently even with those numbers,” said Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat.

    Democrat John Kerry received more than 71 percent of the 277,000 ballots cast in Milwaukee in the presidential race, and he took the state of Wisconsin by about 11,000 votes.

    The investigation was launched by local and federal authorities after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found, among other things, that more than 1,200 people voted from invalid addresses. The head of the city’s election commission has since resigned.

    Wisconsin allows same-day registration, and those who are already registered can simply show up at the polls without ID.

    Those lax election laws must certainly seem rather inviting to any wishing to steal an election or pad a few extra votes for insurance of a close victory.

    Boots and Sabers‘ Owen, a Wisconsin resident living near Milwaukee, has followed the story diligently for some time now and has today’s news covered here, here and here.