Hi there, !
Today Sat 02/23/2013 Fri 02/22/2013 Thu 02/21/2013 Wed 02/20/2013 Tue 02/19/2013 Mon 02/18/2013 Sun 02/17/2013 Archives
Rantburg
531199 articles and 1854399 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 65 articles and 150 comments as of 1:48.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion       
French nationals kidnapped in northern Cameroon
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 6: Politix
15 23:48 JosephMendiola [336090] 
8 23:05 JosephMendiola [336126] 
2 12:22 Bright Pebbles [336085] 
2 16:46 Skidmark [336091] 
5 11:25 Procopius2k [336068] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
12 16:31 Procopius2k [336102]
13 12:16 Deacon Blues [336077]
3 10:06 Bill Clinton [336089]
2 13:00 tipper [336119]
0 [336079]
2 16:31 Raider [336076]
0 [336073]
0 [336085]
0 [336068]
0 [336086]
0 [336076]
0 [336064]
0 [336071]
1 03:45 g(r)omgoru [336066]
0 [336073]
0 [336074]
0 [336071]
Page 2: WoT Background
2 23:59 JosephMendiola [336105]
0 [336071]
0 [336073]
1 15:30 Shipman [336070]
0 [336068]
0 [336072]
0 [336071]
1 04:45 Skidmark [336066]
1 07:53 Alanc [336074]
1 10:40 Pappy [336071]
0 [336067]
0 [336072]
0 [336071]
2 20:28 Rambler in Virginia [336103]
0 [336072]
0 [336071]
0 [336072]
0 [336073]
0 [336069]
13 19:38 rammer [336107]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 17:16 flash91 [336089]
5 23:14 trailing wife [336103]
1 18:45 Thing From Snowy Mountain [336105]
5 19:30 JosephMendiola [336108]
11 19:19 JosephMendiola [336103]
7 18:46 swksvolFF [336087]
5 21:20 Bill Clinton [336108]
1 10:37 Redneck Jim [336075]
5 16:16 Dopey Sinatra9196 [336070]
1 12:31 SteveS [336074]
0 [336073]
1 15:27 Redneck Jim [336078]
0 [336075]
0 [336075]
0 [336071]
0 [336067]
0 [336073]
4 15:08 Muggsy Mussolini1226 [336074]
3 15:42 Redneck Jim [336078]
3 20:33 Secret Asian Man [336088]
4 14:54 Frank G [336080]
Page 4: Opinion
1 15:07 Redneck Jim [336086]
4 15:10 Muggsy Mussolini1226 [336090]
Economy
Universal Studios resort to cancel health insurance for part-time employees
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/20/2013 11:51 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'll give you 3 guesses why, and the first two don't count.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/20/2013 11:52 Comments || Top||

#2  ZeroCare?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/20/2013 12:22 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Obama: Top U.S. General to Retire, Declines NATO Job
[An Nahar] President Barack Obama
On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today...
said Tuesday that General John Allen will retire instead of accepting the top job at NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
, as he seeks to take care of his family after a 19-month tour in Afghanistan.

Speculation had been rife for weeks that Allen, who led the war effort in Afghanistan for 19 months, would not take up Obama's offer to serve as the alliance's supreme commander, even after he was cleared of wrongdoing in a drama over emails to a Florida socialite.

"Today, I met with General John Allen and accepted his request to retire from the military so that he can address health issues within his family," Obama said in a written statement.

Allen recently returned from his post as the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan and had asked for more time to think over his future.

Obama praised the Marine Corps general for presiding over "significant growth" in Afghanistan's security forces and a "further degradation" of al-Qaeda.

"Above all, he cares deeply for the men and women in uniform who serve our nation -- as well as their families -- and I am grateful for the sacrifices made by his family in supporting him during his service,"Obama said.

Allen told the Washington Post in an interview published Tuesday that he wanted to focus on helping his wife, Kathy, who has chronic health problems that include autoimmune disorder.

"Right now, I've just got to get her well," Allen said. "It's time to take care of my family."
Posted by: Fred || 02/20/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hell no, I won't take the job Obama.

And up yours.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 02/20/2013 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Being legally cleared of military wrong-doing is not the same as being cleared of spousal fury for being humiliated.
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 02/20/2013 0:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Yes LR, but the charges had their intended effect anyway. We are watching a slow speed purge of the military leadership, presumably to more agreeable cohorts.
Talking to cute girls may not be a punishable crime in the Army, but it can sure get you in dutch at home.
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 02/20/2013 8:52 Comments || Top||

#4  The purge continues.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/20/2013 10:42 Comments || Top||

#5  Talking to cute girls may not be a punishable crime in the Army, but it can sure get you in dutch at home.

Kay Summersby to the white courtesy phone.

The purge continues.

Remember these brilliant people still haven't figured out how the economy real works. Other than issuing decrees, they also don't understand how the whole government system operates in a republic. Thus the gross failures in their social programs. Don't expect them to understand how the American military operates either. You can appoint all the boot lickers you want to the head masters positions, but that doesn't mean the ranks will follow when the time comes. And those ranks who get out rather than put up with crap for pure promotion purposes, will provide the strength for any opposition when the mask comes off the tyrant's facade.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/20/2013 11:25 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Al Gore’s $500 Million Trojan Horse
Finally there is good news on the jobs front for the Obama administration. Al Jazeera, or “Terrorism TV,” as it used to be known for celebrating the three thousand Americans killed on 9/11 and other exploits by Osama bin Laden, announced plans to create some 200 jobs in the United States over the next six months — in its headquarters at the UN in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in bureaus in Detroit, New Orleans, San Francisco, and other cities.

“Imagine six or seven years ago, trying to find real estate for Al Jazeera in Washington,” gushed Rob Wheelock, the former ABC executive who is in charge of establishing Al Jazeera in the United States. “We’re going to have signage just like CBS, ABC, CNN, CBN, just like everyone else. We’re psyched.”

Perhaps the signage will include skull-and-crossbones, or some other fitting image of human slaughter.

Yes, as Mr. Wheelock said, it is hard to believe the cable network enterprise that did so many fawning interviews with the late terrorist leader — and others chanting “Death to America” — would have stood any chance of putting up its own news rooms in New York, Washington, D.C., or any other American city during the George W. Bush administration.

And that is another sign of how far our nation has regressed over the past four years.

Even now, with the beginning of the second Obama term, Sheik Hamad bin khalifa Al Thani, the ruler of Qatar, must be rubbing his goatee in disbelief at how easy it is to open a large propaganda network in the United States of America (which, at the outset, will include seven “investigative reporters” in the D.C. office for the presumed purpose of vilifying legislators who oppose Islamic extremism or support Israel).

He spent $500 million to acquire the money-losing and low-rated Current TV — owned by Al Gore and friends — which is still a great catch because it has the potential to reach 41 million homes in the U.S. on cable channels.

Half a billion dollars may sound like a lot of money, but it was no more than a scrap from the oil sheik’s table. Still, it was more than enough to compensate Gore for abandoning his green friends and his green principles — in striking a deal with one of the princes of Big Oil. His portion of the proceeds was one-fifth, or $100 million. Pobre hombre, even though he tried his hardest, he didn’t act fast enough to protect his share of the loot from the higher U.S. taxes that took effect at the beginning of 2013.
Posted by: tipper || 02/20/2013 08:22 || Comments || Link || [336091 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...with the beginning of the second Obama term, Sheik Hamad bin khalifa Al Thani, the ruler of Qatar, must be rubbing his goatee in disbelief at how easy it is to open a large propaganda network in the United States of America

"rubbing his goatee in disbelief?" I doubt that. He probably just watched NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, or read some of the left-wing rags such as the NYTs and concluded "no problemo, piece of cake."
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/20/2013 10:39 Comments || Top||

#2  ...headquarters at the UN in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in bureaus in Detroit, New Orleans, San Francisco, and other cities
Domestic targets?
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/20/2013 16:46 Comments || Top||


Government
Pentagon informs Congress of plans to furlough 800K civilians
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/20/2013 13:00 || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That will help the economy....
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/20/2013 13:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, first start with all political appointees, who've made this decision. Last in - First out.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/20/2013 13:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Bye bye. So long. Hasta la whatyamacallit!

Next: all you folks in the Dept. of Education? Clean out your desks.
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 02/20/2013 15:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Along with this buried at the end of the article:

BAE Systems notified 3,600 employees Tuesday that they could be laid off over a loss of work from the Navy, due primarily to the Pentagon facing a continuing resolution.

Bill Clifford, president of BAE Systems Ship Repair, told Ship Repair employees that the notifications under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act were going out to employees at BAE locations in Norfolk, Va., Mayport, Fla., San Diego, Calif., and Hawaii.

The WARN Act notices were a major political fight between Congress and the Obama administration during the 2012 campaign. After defense contractors threatened sending out mass notices before sequestration, the administration told contractors not to issue them 60 days before the cuts took effect — and also took the step of promising to cover layoff costs if contractors had to immediately fire workers. In this case, BAE appears to be issuing the notices with enough time that it will follow the WARN law and not incur extra costs.
Posted by: Pappy || 02/20/2013 15:13 Comments || Top||

#5  That's a start. Replace the GS5s thru GS7s with E1s and E2s doing work details and KP. It didn't hurt me when I was in the Corps.

You could also get rid of a lot of GS9S and up that are sitting around drinking coffee.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 02/20/2013 15:18 Comments || Top||

#6  There are 30,000 contractors in Afghan alone. As we peel the troops out, the contractors will dry up as well. Probably long over due in some areas, but the numbers will be very high for a long time. I also just heard the State dept is heading to a 4 day work week, not 4 tens either, or in simple terms, a 20% pay cut for all.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 02/20/2013 15:26 Comments || Top||

#7  I forecast that the world will not end with the sequestration. It is a painful but needed process and should be happening in every single department of the federal government.
Posted by: remoteman || 02/20/2013 16:25 Comments || Top||

#8  People can find more useful things to do.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/20/2013 16:40 Comments || Top||

#9  Replace the GS5s thru GS7s with E1s and E2s doing work details and KP

That's done by contractors now. Not GSs.

For what it's worth, I volunteered to be furloughed. I got a 'N.F.W'
Posted by: Pappy || 02/20/2013 16:59 Comments || Top||

#10  If I remember correctly, sequestration is about half the slicing that needs to be done.
Posted by: Bobby || 02/20/2013 18:20 Comments || Top||

#11  The alleged Anarchist-for-Globalism/Marxism Bammer may had just found his excuse not to intervene agz China or Iran until sometime next year - IIRC MSM-NET > under "Sequestration" there will suppos be few-to-no USN-USMC EBGS available for deployment in time of crisis after this summer 2013 thru most of 2014, until such time adequate funding for same is procured.

> By the time funding is procured, JAPAN COULD HAVE LOST ANY MIL CONFLICT AGZ CHINA OVER THE SENKAKUS.
> Even iff Japan does not per the above, ALL THOSE USDOD-NAVY MIL ASSETS/FORCES STANDING DOWN BACK IN CONUS MAKE TEMPTING TARGETS FOR CHINA'S SECOND ARTY = LR STRATEGIC ICBMS, SLBMS, + ALCMS.
China + PLA 2nd Arty don't even have to nuke all of the US Bases in full-scale attack - they only have to nuke those Milbases in "Limited First/Preemptive Strike" where the majority or bulk of USN CVNS, FBM Subs, + USAF Strategic Bombers are parked due to sequestration.

TO DEFEAT JAPAN, STILL MODERNIZING, TECH-INFERIOR RISING CHINA ONLY HAS TO "NOT LOSE" AGZ THE SUPERPOWER US.

Ditto in most part for IRAN, as it likely now has more time than ever to dev its NucTechs includ for NucWeaps or military purposes.

IOW, IFF ANTI-SEQUESTRATION EFFORTS FAIL IN THE US, THE LATTER'S "WINDOW" FOR ANY SORT OF EFFECTIVE MILACTION AGZ CHINA ANDOR IRAN, ETC. ENDS THIS SUMMER 2013 + MAY NOT APPEAR AGAIN UNTIL TOWARDS 2015.

WINNER - CHINA, IRAN, + HARD BOYZ, no matter what the MSM-Net says or argues to the contrary.

THE BAMMER "KEPT US OUT OF [Nuclear] WAR" BUT LOST THE FREE WORLD + US SOVEREIGNTY IN DOING SO???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/20/2013 19:00 Comments || Top||

#12  the 2013 sequestration is going to be pretty ugly for several reasons,

- less than half the FY to reach the reductions
- less cross subcategory funding flexibility than in the out years

The message that should be taken from this ugliness is that there is a major need to reduce the entitlements. However, that message is bad politics.
Posted by: lord garth || 02/20/2013 21:22 Comments || Top||

#13  President Obama is getting what he asked for. And, while he and his admirers are already loudly blaming the Republicans, it will be remembered as his.

I wonder if history books will call him the president who started reducing the size of the federal government?
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/20/2013 23:07 Comments || Top||

#14  I wonder if Jimmy Carter will still be Worst President Ever when this is all over.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/20/2013 23:23 Comments || Top||

#15  See PACIFICNEWSCENTER [fka Guam K-57] > VIDEO: CONGRESSIONAL REPORT DETAILS "DIRE" CONSEQUENCES FOR GUAM + THE NATION IFF SEQUESTRATION HAPPENS NEXT FRIDAY [aka March 1st, 2013].

versus

* SIASAT DAILY > ONLY 27% OF AMERICANS "OK" WID WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN US: NEW GALLUP POLL FINDS.

ARTIC = 47% of registered Democrats happy, to only 9.0% of registered Republicans. CLEAR MAJORITIES IN BOTH ARE NOT HAPPY.

* DEFENCE.PK/FORMS > JAPAN EXPLORES WAR SCENARIOS WID CHINA.

Top 3 of 5 possible = "most realistic" War Scenarios involve Sino-Nippon combat over ...
- Senkakus/Diaoyus only.
- Besides above, PLA may also attempt to take Ishigaki + Miyago Islands off Taiwan.
- General CHINESE MIL INVASION OF TAIWAN in 2021.

The possibility also exists that China may choose a battlefield other than the Senkakaus or SSSSSHHHHHH OKINAWA to confront what China belivees will be INEVITABLE US intervention forces, i.e. TAIWAN DOWN TO THE SCS, AKA WHERE THE US + JSDFS ARE NOT. This scenario entails forcing the USDOD to give battle agz the PLA close to PLA - PLAAF + 2nd Arty - coastal + interior staging bases. China's Motherly Airborne attacks Taiwan [ROK?] as expected but also attacks the northern PHIL to engage any intervening US Army-Marines in jungle + high altitude warfare under the threat of PLAAF + 2nd PLA Arty CS. FROM THE NORTHERN PHIL CHINA CAN ALSO COVER NOT ONLY TAIWAN BUT ALSO DEEP INTO WESTPAC WID LR AIRPOWER + LRBMS.

Japan is left as a secondary front - good for China as it has long desired to have Japan on its side vee the US, + ESPEC GOOD FOR NOT CAUSING CHINA'S NORTHERN RIVAL MAMA RUSSIA TO GET ALL TWITCHY ABOUT CHINA'S REAL OR STRATEGIC INTENTIONS PER THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE. No major attack on Japan = Russia is happy.

Plus, for China there's ...

* CHINA DAILY FORUM > LUZON MAOISTS [aka New People's Army/NPA]: WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR, BEIJING?

Japan Red Army/Guard???

D *** NG IT, THEY DIDN'T SAY D *** NG IT!

lol.

* SAME > BEIJING MAY BE STOKING EXTREMISTS [territorial]CLAIM FOR LEVERAGE IN SENKAKUS DISPUTE.

Sino-Nippon claim, struggle for OKINAWA [Ryukyus] ARCHIPELAGO, NOT JUST OKINAWA PER SE.

ARTIC = CHINA [+ Japan] KNOW THAT CHINA CAN MAKE MORE OUTSTANDING TERRITORIAL CLAIMS AGZ JAPAN THAN IT HAS.

* TOPIX > [Jersulaem Post] WASHINGTON WATCH: IRAN [closely] WATCHING US RESPONSE TO NORTH KOREA NUKE TEST.

Will the US Navy-DOD dock at Bahrain for a protractive period. i.e. thru most or all of 2014, a Nimitz-class CVN + battle group as due to "sequestration" despite any threat to same from just-across-the-Gulf Iran???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/20/2013 23:48 Comments || Top||


Colorado Dems vote to disarm women-tell the rapists you are menstruating
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/20/2013 11:54 || Comments || Link || [336126 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I kid you not.

They took down the horrible, horrible and sexist advice and said it was taken out of context. Uh-huh. You idiots tried to make women as much of a helpless victim as possible you stupid asshats.
I'm going to find the google cache image.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/20/2013 11:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Safety Dance!
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/20/2013 12:36 Comments || Top||

#3  That's a pretty good benchmark of the quality of polls CO has these days.
Posted by: Iblis || 02/20/2013 12:48 Comments || Top||

#4  In the 10th Circuit's ruling, a panel of three judges unanimously concluded that the university "had an official policy of showing high-school football recruits a 'good time' on their visits to the CU (University of Colorado) campus," and that the alleged assaults were caused by the university's lack of supervision over the (football) players who served as hosts. This lack of supervision, the court went on, was the result of "deliberate indifference."
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/20/2013 15:59 Comments || Top||

#5  And yet, after all that, Colorado football still sucks...
Posted by: badanov || 02/20/2013 21:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Usually comments like that are quickly followed by a conclave of women similar to that in the Handmaiden's Tale.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 02/20/2013 21:22 Comments || Top||

#7  bad, I was waiting for a rival to have a gameday shirt reading:

CU
in
the
pen

Joking aside, there were a number of alligations which did and did not get settled. The coach was eventually bought out, he stating something to the defense "I thought they were talking about a therapist?!" Bought out for $3million taxpayer state university dollars. So we had a state sponsered coverup of a rape for recruiting program. Now that state wants to scuttle our young women's best last defense.

You think fuknard sat his daughters down at age 12 and told her to piss herself for her own protection?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/20/2013 22:01 Comments || Top||

#8  CU must have a lot of $$$ from the State Govt. which in turn must have lot of $$$ from the Bammer + Congress in Washington DC. to hire Milyuhns + Silyuhns of Campus Police, Local Police, + other related Law Enforcement to prtect the Babes.

WE CAN THUS SAFELY PRESUME THAT BOULDER, ETC. WON'T ASK THE BAMMER ADMIN TO BAIL 'EM OUT LIKE CALIFORNIA + DETROIT + ... ...

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/20/2013 23:05 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
37[untagged]
9Arab Spring
3Govt of Pakistan
3Govt of Syria
3Salafists
2TTP
2Boko Haram
2al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Commies
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1Thai Insurgency
1Govt of Iran

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2013-02-20
  French nationals kidnapped in northern Cameroon
Tue 2013-02-19
  Mortars land near Syrian presidential palace
Mon 2013-02-18
  Five killed in attack at government office in Peshawar
Sun 2013-02-17
  Egyptian police publicly beat to death man suspected of killing officer
Sat 2013-02-16
  Bomb kills at least 20 in Pakistani city
Fri 2013-02-15
  Meteorite Hits Urals, Up to 500 Injured
Thu 2013-02-14
  Pakistan asks Taliban to announce 30-day cease-fire for talks
Wed 2013-02-13
  Syrian rebels say they captured military air base near Aleppo
Tue 2013-02-12
  KCNA confirms: Pudgy sets off a nuke
Mon 2013-02-11
  Seven killed, 11 injured in attacks across southern Thailand
Sun 2013-02-10
  Syrian troops, rebels clash over Damascus highway
Sat 2013-02-09
  India Executes Man Convicted in 2001 Attack on Parliament
Fri 2013-02-08
  Suicide bomber hits north Mali, troops clash in capital
Thu 2013-02-07
  Syrian Army Launches 'All-Out Attack' on Capital Region
Wed 2013-02-06
  Fat Lady Sings for Abd el Kader Mahmoud Mohamed el Sayed

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
52.205.218.160
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (17)    WoT Background (20)    Non-WoT (21)    Opinion (2)    (0)