General Smut

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/09/14/D8K4TJPO0.html Al-Qaida has for the first time announced a union with an Algerian insurgent group that has designated France as an enemy, saying they will act together against French and American interests. Current and former French officials specializing in terrorism said Thursday that an al-Qaida alliance with the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, known by its French initials GSPC, was cause for concern. "We take these threats very seriously," Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said, adding in an interview on France-2 television that the threat to France was "high" and "permanent," and that "absolute vigilance" was required. Al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, announced the "blessed union" in a video posted this week on the Internet to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. France's leader have repeatedly warned that the decision not to join the U.S.-led war in Iraq would not shield the country from Islamic terrorism. French participation in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon could give extremists another reason to strike. The national police had no immediate comment on the announced alliance, but officials have long regarded the GSPC as one of the main terror threats facing France. French experts agreed, but also noted the group has been severely weakened by internal divisions, security crackdowns and defections in Algeria, a former French territory still working to put down an Islamic insurgency that reached its most murderous heights in the 1990s. "The GSPC is losing speed and has suffered very significant losses in recent months," said Louis Caprioli, former assistant director of France's DST counterterrorism and counterintelligence agency. Some GSPC fighters took advantage of a recent Algerian amnesty for Islamic insurgents and others have been killed, said Caprioli, who works for Geos, a risk management firm. Of the 800 combatants that GSPC was estimated to have had last year, probably no more than 500 remain, and the group has had no operational cells in France since the late 1990s, he said. But Caprioli and others also said an alliance of GSPC and al-Qaida could increase the terror risk for France _ not least because al- Zawahri's designation of the country as a worthy target could inspire extremists to take action. In his video, Al-Zawahri hailed "the joining up" of the GSPC with al- Qaida as "good news." "All the praise is due to Allah for the blessed union which we ask Allah to be as a bone in the throats of the Americans and French Crusaders and their allies, and inspire distress, concern and dejection in the hearts of the traitorous, apostate sons of France," he said. "We ask him (Allah) to guide our brothers in the Salafist Group for Call and Combat to crush the pillars of the Crusader alliance, especially their elderly immoral leader, America." Although GSPC leaders had previously sworn allegiance to al-Qaida, al- Zawahri's video marked the first al-Qaida recognition of a union between the two, French terror experts said. "From now on, the links are official, legitimate, and they are taking part in the same combat," said Anne Giudicelli, a former French diplomat specializing in the Middle East who runs the Paris-based consultancy Terrorisc. Sarkozy said it was "not by chance" that al-Qaida used the emblematic Sept. 11 date to announce the insurgency movement's alliance with al- Qaida. "But there is nothing new," he added, noting that the GSPC had done the same three years ago. The GSPC, in its own statement on a Web site used by militants, confirmed the alliance and urged other militant groups to also join al-Qaida. Giudicelli said the alliance could act as a green light for al-Qaida and GSPC militants to operate together and thus raises the risk for France. "The Americans have become harder to target domestically, so they are trying to widen the field of action and strike their allies," she said. Oh the Irony, France one of Americas most vocal opponents, is now under threat from Al-Qaida. (sorry French people for the headline joke - couldnt resist)

I like how you compare Mrs Clinton to Mr Hitler. Why not compare Arnie to Hitler? Oh wait hes a republican...

Happy Birthday!

Count down from 150,000,000? 149,999,957 cuppas, brewing on a wall 149,999,957 cuppas, brewing on a wall But if one sole cuppa, did accidentally fall There'd be 149,999,956 cuppas, brewing on the wall

If America could do a deal with Venezula for oil, why not for Iraq? Oh and last time America went into Africa in Somaila, it was bit of a disaster.

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/features/gallery/hollywood-makeovers.html

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/09/15/earliest.writing.ap/index.html Adjust font size: Decrease fontDecrease font Enlarge fontEnlarge font WASHINGTON (AP) -- An ancient slab of green stone inscribed with insects, ears of corn, fish and other symbols is indecipherable so far, but one message is clear: It is the earliest known writing in the Western Hemisphere. The ancient Olmec civilization probably produced the faintly etched symbols around 900 B.C., or roughly three centuries before what previously had been proposed as the earliest examples of writing in the Americas. "We are dealing with the first, clear evidence of writing in the New World," said Stephen Houston, a Brown University anthropologist. Houston and his U.S. and Mexican colleagues detail the tablet's discovery and analysis in a study appearing this week in the journal Science. The pattern of symbols covering the face of the rectangular block also represents a previously unknown ancient writing system. The text contains 28 distinct glyphs or symbols, some of which are repeated three and four times. The writing system does not appear to be linked to any known later scripts and may represent a dead end, according to the study. Other experts not involved in the study agreed with Houston and his colleagues that the horizontally arranged inscription shows patterns that are the hallmarks of true writing, including syntax and language-specific word order. "That's full-blown, legitimate text -- written symbols taking the place of spoken words," said William Saturno, a University of New Hampshire anthropologist and expert in Mesoamerican writing. The text is roughly arranged in rows across the block's face, which is almost exactly the dimensions of a standard legal pad. At 5 inches thick and 26 pounds, the tablet is far more hefty, but still portable. The face is smooth and slightly concave, which suggests it may have been worn down in antiquity as it was inscribed and erased multiple times, Houston said. There is little hope of deciphering the meaning of the text. The small size of the block and the faintness of the inscription imply the text was not a public document, but instead was meant for intimate reading, Houston said. Some suggested it may have had a ritual use. Villagers in the Mexican state of Veracruz discovered the tablet sometime before 1999, while quarrying an ancient Olmec mound for road-building material. News of the discovery slowly trickled out, and the study's authors traveled to the site this year to examine and photograph the block. Based on other materials, including pottery shards, believed found with the slab, team concluded it is roughly 2,900 years old. Isolated signs similar to those inscribed on the block also appear on even older figurines found elsewhere in Mexico. In 2002, other experts claimed an Olmec cylindrical seal and chips from a stone plaque contained the oldest examples of writing in the Americas. Some have disputed their interpretation of those symbols, which date to roughly 650 B.C. "This is centuries before anything we've had. People have debated whether the Olmecs had any writing. This clears it up. This nails it for me," David Stuart, a University of Texas at Austin expert in Mesoamerican writing, said of the new find. Stuart was not connected with the discovery, but reviewed the study for Science. The find bolsters the early importance of the Olmecs, who flourished between about 1200 B.C. and 400 B.C., before other great Central American civilizations such as the Maya and Aztec. They are best known for the massive heads they carved from stone. The village where the block was found is close to a site called San Lorenzo, believed to be the center of the Olmec world. "To me, this find really does bring us back to this idea that at least writing and a lot of the things we associate with Mesoamerican culture really did have their origin in this region," Stuart said. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Btw, if that picture was taken 3 minutes before...why isnt he in a swimsuit? Something fishy, I smell a conspiracy....

Ive found an address on contacthollywood.com where you can send messages of condolence etc. If you'd wish to send a condolence card to Steve Irwin's family (he is survived by a wife and two children), you may do so at this address: The Steve Irwin Family Australia Zoo Glasshouse Mountains Tourist Rte Beerwah QLD 4519 AUSTRALIA

Diseased rat> Ronaldo Btw, theres only Williams left as a proper english team. Honda, Renault, Spyker, Red Bull, Mclaren, Super Aguri, they're based here but they're all foreign owned.

149,999,958 cuppas, brewing on a wall 149,999,958cuppas, brewing on a wall But if one sole cuppa, did accidentally fall There'd be 149,999,947 cuppas, brewing on the wall I need sleep. 16 hours wasnt enough.

Yes, its great! How much do you sleep at night/day?

What happened to Patrick? Is he still in the band? didnt he leave/get kicked out? Was it sorted out?

Sounds like a normal politian and a normal polictial party.

149,999,960 cuppas, brewing on a wall 149,999,960cuppas, brewing on a wall But if one sole cuppa, did accidentally fall There'd be 149,999,959cuppas, brewing on the wall Cant believe i spent 16 hours in bed

My neighbours did. They have like hundreds and they never bark during the day. Just at night.

Ban them both

I think Mark and Rick8 would draw. Ph one tic Its is spelt as it sounds.

This threads been around various forums for ages, someone would ask i live near the zoo(or wherever) ask me anything or i used to live George Bush Snr ask me anything. The M25 isnt the road to hell. Its a carpark.

So whats wrong with Kerry?

I would cook a meal and i would get alphabites (chip shaped letters) and arrange them so they say "Will you marry me" on their plate. Of course the likely hood of me getting anywhere close to asking anyone is about a million to one.

WTF? has he failed to notice that America has more gun crime then other western countries? How can people support the right to carry guns?

I was close!

12.53 GMT

Where has all the money gone? Look down the side of your sofa theres always loads there, and the rest of is passed around very quickly. At the moment all the money is in transit between Austria and the Czech Republic. If your in Prague this weekend, you may catch a glimpse. Look for the yellow vans - Neil's tip of the day.