We are going to invoke the 48 hour rule on this story. Laredo press says there's no invasion, inasmuch as the Cypress Times and the fella at Digger Realms say otherwise and have not backed down on the story.
Moving this to opinion as well...
The bloodbath continues along our southern border and now word is coming in that Los Zetas, the highly trained killers formerly with the Gulf Cartel, have crossed into the United States and taken over at least two ranches in the Laredo, Texas area. I am receiving word that the owners of the ranches have evacuated without being harmed. As of this hour I cannot confirm 100% on the situation (I am at around 90%) - though the source is law enforcement in the area.
The ranches are said to be "near Mines Rd. and Minerales Rd. about 10 miles NW of I-35".
Whether it is lone members or squads is not certain.
Anonymous sources in law enforcement in the Laredo area tonight have passed on word that US law enforcement agencies are in the area and are weighing their options regarding the ranches. The media has been silent on this incident and some law enforcement in the area says that they are furious that the media is not reporting the whole story of the continued violence along the border. Their frustrations are understandable because keeping the truth suppressed continues to hamper law enforcement from receiving the true support they need along the border.
The ranch assaults come on the heals of attacks in Nuevo Laredo that shut the city down as a gun-battle raged in the streets. Los Zetas blocked off intersections with vehicles and used fragmentation grenades to attack Mexican law enforcement. In the end 12 were killed and 21 injured in the assaults. Citizens in the area were told to stay in their homes and bullets whizzed all around.
#1
Zero has been sitting on the "immigration" issue for some time. Waiting for the crisis to build to the point that people felt that only new legislature could fix it, no matter how amnesty-riddledstupid what it contained.
There ya go, Barry. People are going to be so happy that thugs like these are forcing our agenda and getting amnesty.
#2
send in some hellfires, although Dear Leader has no backbone maybe this will show the cartels that our military does.
Posted by: chris ||
07/24/2010 16:22 Comments ||
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#3
Border patrol can't be sure they are Mexicans because they aren't allowed to "check their papers". I imagine so far it is just a "trespassing" complaint.
#4
If these are typical Los Zetas, it is anyone's guess how they are armed. M60 MG, M16 and M203 rifles, with 40mm grenades, frag grenades, sniper rifles, RPGs, protective vests and helmets. Some of them also have SWAT training from the US Army.
#6
Link no longer works. But I saw the pics. About a dozen rough looking guys with enough equipment to cover the floor of a garage. And it looked like useful equipment, too.
#7
We linked to your post and will be keeping up with the details. All I can say is they will get their butts kicked if we can get at'em before Big Zero comes along to mess up the picture.
#8
Another bull shit "news" from the cocksucker in chief 'Editor of this shitty blog Fred the senile fagott patriot of the irrelevant reds necks southern toohless litle shit that want play soldiersÂ…
Fuck you readers of this shitty blog if you want play soldiers joint the Army or are you all a bunch of old irrelevant Southern trash like your dear leaders all talk and no autions
CALLED THIS NUMBER 956-795-2800
WAS TOLD TO ASK FOR JOE BAEZALL was told he was a field agent, turns out he is their Public Relations liason.
I GOT A HOLD OF SARGENT PEREZ (FEMALE) SHE SAID THAT THIS LOCATION, THE SUPPOSED LOCATION FOR THE INCIDENT, WAS OUTSIDE OF THEIR JURISDICTION AND THAT EVERYTHING IN LAREDO PROPER WAS NORMAL.
SHE GAVE ME THIS NUMBER:
956-523-4408, THIS IS TO THE WEBB COUNTY SHERIFF'S DISPATCH OFFICE, I SPOKE TO A DEPUTY TIJERA (FEMALE ALSO) * ahem just making the note so if anyone calls they will not ask for a mister *
DEPUTY TIJERA SAID NOTHING WAS ABNORMAL AND THAT THIS REPORT OF THE LOS ZETAS WAS INTERNET RUMOR AND THAT THEIR PATROLS WERE NOT CONDUCTING ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
SHE SAID SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE STORY STARTED BUT AFFIRMED AGAIN THAT IT WAS ONLY RUMOR.
THANK YOU AND THATS ALL FOLKS.
Sources sighted, numbers given for reference. If you feel the need to verify these statements then do so but nothing is going on in Laredo.
If you examine the examiner report it is cut from the digger report and other information is added. These reports are being given out to cause reaction and give their authors names and give them a sense of credibility.
Internet rumor and lies is what it is as they try to fire up patriots into doing something stupid.
Please verify and confirm if you need to as again the source are provided.
Thank you and GOD Bless.
#9
It was reported as "unconfirmed". Gee, just what does that mean there hunter killer? Go away you fuckwad and back to the POS life you lead. Exactly what does this hunter killer name mean anyway? Must be that your some web hero wanna be. Other wise you would have been more than happy to dispell the report, which I am glad is not true. We would have thanked you and deleated the post. But instead you throw insults. Have you med Fred, Me, or anyone else on this site??? I'm certain the answer is no, so to jump up and say what you did reveals your bigoted self centered attitude. We here at the Burg welcome all. While you would rather see this site shut down. Go back to your hate filled world and leave us alone. GFY
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/24/2010 19:48 Comments ||
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#10
The guy at Digger Realm stands by the story, saying it may be because of a "top down" news blackout.
The Texas investigator Joe Baeza has come up on Rantburg news reports, from the bust of a truck carrying a large number of in-the-box AK-47s in Laredo, Texas last month.
We didn't hear much about that event either as far as charges are concerned, so it seems to be the "news blackout" charge has some validity, at the moment.
#15
There's prolly not an invasion, but keep this in mind about "credibility" Confederate Yankee is talking about.
The shootout in Nuevo Laredo didn't happen Thursday; it's been ongoing since Monday and the only news anyone had about it was through Twitter and Facebook and that was the local government only telling local to stay indoors. Not even the Texas newspapers had this news until the battle was basically over Thursday night.
No one knows what is really going on in that area because the Mexican newspapers in Nuevo Laredo are less than worthless in reporting gang and drug news. The news outlet on the US side are really not much better.
The only news we got in that four day period was local law enforcement telling reporters they were hearing shots from across the border.
Thanks for the 411, fellas.
I agree were this an invasion Los Zetas would have by now punctuated their arrival with a few dead bodies, but having said that, there is a of of misinformation flowing about both on and off the internet about this area.
#1
See also WMF > RUSSIA CONTINUES TO LIE + SELL HIGH-PRICED DEFECTIVE MILITARY WARES AND TECHNOLOGY TO CHINA.
BUT-T-T, versus
To wit,
* WMF > RUSSIAN STARTEGIC CULTURE FOUNDATION REPORT: US DESIRES TO FORM "NATO OF ASIA/EAST" TO COUNTER CHINA.
and
* TOPIX > NYT: US CHALLENGES CHINA ON [First] ISLAND CHAIN.
* WMF >WAR WILL BREAK OUT: THE "BOTTOM LINE" OF CHINA'S PATIENCE + DEFENCE WILL FINALLY BREAK AGZ THE USA IN THE YELLOW SEA. THE MALICIOUS HIDDEN HAND OF THE US IN HISTORICAL WARS E.G. 1898 SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, VIETNAM + GULF OF TONKIN, MIDDLE EAST. + NOW XINJIANG SEPARATISM + ISLMAIST MILITANT THREAT TO WHOLE OF ASIA.
* WMF > BEIJING HAS TOLD THE USA: CHINA IS THE MASTER OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA, THE PENINSULA'S KOREAN PEOPLES ARE PART OF THE CHINESE NATION.
* NEWS KERALA > PETRAEUS: US IS WOEFULLY UNPREPARED FOR ANY KIND OF NUCLEAR ATTACK [due to post-Cold War atrophy].
* DAILY TIMES.PK > SERBIA VOWS IT WILL FIGHT FOR KOSOVO [Serbia refuses to accept 2008 UN ICC Ruling legitimizing Muslim Kosovar breakaway, sovereignty from Serbia].
#2
At a purely organizational level, China needs some breakthrough ideas, though in what order is anyone's guess.
The first idea is the low level, gradual introduction of voting at the local level. This will demonstrate far greater efficiency than a local leader guessing what would be the best course of action. This is spontaneously happening right now, because even an uneducated peasant can see how it produces far better and more satisfying results.
The second is to split the communist party into two political parties, with the idea of *intellectual* competitiveness to produce the best result. By limiting it to two political parties, to a great extent radicalism is pushed to being a marginal problem, and the government is continually working to find better ways to perform its functions.
The third idea is to recognize that while China is a country, it is also a confederation of provinces, each of which have their own prerogatives, and far too often, these prerogatives are inimical to those of the central government.
Right now, the provincial governments often just refuse to enforce the central governments laws. And this has become a severe irritant to the people. To a great extent they support the central government, and want it to force the provinces to respect the law.
When David Cameron, Britain's new conservative prime minister, met with Barack Obama this week, the president was also encountering his worst political nightmare. If Cameron succeeds, he will do more than save his island from the economic fate of Greece - he will provide a model for Republican victory in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.
In his passion for fiscal austerity, Cameron resembles the new breed of Republican governors for whom the art of governing begins with the discipline of accounting. He is a taller Mitch Daniels, a svelter Chris Christie. During the past fiscal year, Britain's deficit was larger as a percentage of its economy than Greece's. Cameron's June 22 emergency budget proposed the deepest, most sustained reductions in British spending since World War II. Health programs and foreign assistance are fenced off from cuts. But other government departments will see an average of 25 percent reductions over the next five years.
Bond investors and credit raters have responded positively to Cameron's austerity budget. When the cuts kick in, other responses could include strikes, demonstrations and riots.
Cameron's austerity has the virtue of economic responsibility. It is easy to close a budget deficit with massive new taxes - but it is also massively destructive to economic growth. So Cameron has proposed about four pounds in spending reductions for every pound in tax increases. A recent study of 44 major fiscal adjustments in developed nations since 1975 found that a one-percentage-point increase in taxes as a portion of gross domestic product cuts annual economic growth by an average of 0.9 percentage points. Reducing government expenditures by one percentage point, in contrast, increases average annual growth by 0.6 percentage points. Didn't Reagan show that? I mean, without numbers.
If Cameron's approach works - dramatically cutting deficits without stalling economic growth - it will be an obvious, powerful example for America and other nations. But Cameron's progress offers two other lessons that some Republicans may be less willing to acknowledge.
First, Cameron's austerity measures have succeeded (so far) in the context of a coalition government with Liberal Democrats - Britain's centrist third party. But large, politically risky spending reductions will require spreading the responsibility and the blame beyond a single party. Some type of center-right alliance of fiscally conservative Democrats and Republicans - a coalition of the complicit - will be needed to act boldly and marginalize partisan extremes.
Second, Cameron makes clear that austerity alone is not a sufficient message for a political party. Cameron has paired his emergency budget with a series of measures designed to encourage volunteerism, empower local communities, create charter schools, reform welfare and fund the work of private charities. The problem with centralized, government-oriented policies, he argues, is not only their expense. They have "turned able, capable individuals into passive recipients of state help." The alternative is a "thoughtful re-imagination of the role, as well as the size of the state."
Cameron envisions a radical kind of devolution, not only to local governments but also to communities and individuals. Government, in his view, has an important role in building the Big Society, but it is mainly catalytic - providing resources and authority to community institutions.
Obama has every reason to fear the emergence of Cameron-style Republicanism. But American conservatives who respect Cameron's budget-cutting courage should also pay attention to his political insights. A successful austerity agenda depends on the assembly of an ideological coalition - and it requires a domestic agenda more inspiring than responsible accounting. So far, the Pubs best argument is that they're not Dems.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/24/2010 12:52 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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#1
So far, the Pubs best argument is that they're not Dems.
#2
The UK has the example of next door and even more indebted Ireland. They slashed government spending and after a big drop in GDP, growth returned strongly in the private sector.
Iran has suffered a series of technical setbacks to its nuclear programme in the past 12 months, triggering suggestions that western intelligence agencies are sabotaging its likely ambition to build an atomic weapon.
As Iran continues to defy international sanctions, western security analysts say the country is making progress towards the ability to test a nuclear bomb in the next few years.
But a series of recent reverses, notably affecting Iran's ability to enrich uranium, is prompting debate over whether the programme is being undermined by sabotage, sanctions, or the incompetence of the regime's scientists.
In the past year, a dramatic reduction has taken place in the number of centrifuges enriching uranium at the regime's nuclear plant in Natanz.
"Nothing we know can rule out sabotage and clearly something fishy is going on. But just because there is sabotage does not rule out the possibility that the Iranians are also grossly incompetent."
In May 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency said there were 4,920 operational centrifuges. Twelve months later the IAEA stated that Iran was running only 3,936, a reduction of 20 per cent.
Iran also appears to be having difficulties on other fronts. Ivan Oelrich, of the Federation of American Scientists, said the centrifuges were only working at 20 per cent efficiency. The latest IAEA report says that 4,592 centrifuges are installed at Natanz -- but are sitting idle and doing nothing at all.
Some security analysts see this as evidence of covert sabotage by western intelligence agencies. "There are signs that there has been a concerted intelligence operation which is able to debilitate and set back the Iranian programme," says one academic, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It is not foolproof. But a large number of Iranian centrifuges have crashed and up to half have had to be replaced in recent times. This success didn't happen entirely accidentally."
Others are less willing to give western intelligence total credit. "Nothing we know can rule out sabotage and clearly something fishy is going on," says Mr Oelrich. "But just because there is sabotage does not rule out the possibility that the Iranians are also grossly incompetent."
Leading analysts believe western agencies have been trying to sabotage the programme for some time. "The UK, the US, the Israelis all want to get companies to help them put bogus equipment into the programme," said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security.
Faulty parts
Perhaps the best-known of the alleged attempts to sabotage Iran's nuclear programme came in 2006, when power supplies at the enrichment facility in Natanz blew up, writes James Blitz.
The blast destroyed no fewer than 50 centrifuges. Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, then head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, said later that the equipment had been "manipulated".
There have been other examples. A Swiss company that provided Iran with spare parts for its enrichment programme is reported to have been persuaded by the CIA to introduce defective elements. In 2004, the New York Times reported that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency stumbled upon vacuum pumps at Natanz that had been cleverly damaged so they did not work properly.
In June 2008, an Iranian businessman was sentenced to death for allegedly supplying defective equipment to the nuclear programme. No details were given of what the equipment was. But an Iranian counter-intelligence official said the incident did irreversible damage.
Mr Albright said Iran was vulnerable to this kind of sabotage because it needed to import equipment from abroad, often through shady middlemen who help the regime defy international sanctions. "The Iranians really don't make that much; they don't make vacuum pumps, they don't make valves, they don't reverse engineer that well," he said. "So western suppliers are critical."
Michael Adler, an expert on Iran's nuclear programme at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, said intelligence agencies actively exploited this reliance on imports. "[They] trace the procurement patterns, they find people shipping, say, a vacuum pump for a centrifuge. Then they put in a gremlin. The thing about centrifuges is that they operate in cascades. So when one goes down, you get a domino effect."
However, these experts, offer a word of caution. They say that Iran faces other problems that would explain the setbacks. For example, its scientists are still using old centrifuges -- called P1s and P2s -- which were first employed decades ago. "It is hardly surprising these break down," said Mr Adler, "especially given the regime's ambitions for speedy success".
Others argue that the scope for sabotage has been much reduced because Iran has acquired computer systems that allow it to produce its own numerically generated parts for the enrichment programme. These systems, originally designed for car production lines, can also be used to build equipment for uranium enrichment.
Iran insists talk of sabotage is western propaganda. "I strongly deny Iran's nuclear programme is sabotaged. This is a media war to suggest the Islamic Republic is dependent on foreign help," says Kazem Jalali, a member of the Iranian parliament's foreign policy and national security committee. "Our nuclear programme is 100 per cent localised. We do not need to stretch our hands to the world markets."
#1
Boroditsky represents one - but not the only - interpretation re: how language, culture and cognition effect one another. But if even one WSJ reader gets the faint idea that maybe people don't all think the same way, and that maybe that is why the western approach to North Korea and Iran aren't working, then the article was worth publishing.
#2
This comment grabbed my eye:
Terrific assessment.
My Chinese teacher taught 'Function Words' as the Chinese 'form' of grammar. Years of Russian experience against the 'functional' Soviet Union could and should make everyone 'BLUE', especially since the errors/seeds of Marxist/Leninist Communism have been sowed and grow 'unchecked'[Read: Secular-Progessives] around the world! My formative years of Latin, Classical Greek and Spanish prepped me, with the assistance of the Jesuits, for a 'geopolitical' perspective beginning with the Spanish COMMUNIST Civil War and it's influence on current day Spain and Central and South America to which I was introduced at about age 10/11.
So in short, I suspect the issue boils down to, fundamentally, environment, time and circumstance. People/tribes when confronted with existentual change are first confronted with Communication/Control issues(i.e., Language). If they can not adjust to the basic understanding that the 'Language Tool' is the ultimate weapon affecting their survival, then they are subsumed or perish.
I believe that America and Western Judeo-Christian foundations have been under 'linguistic attack' since the Russian Revolution and the founding of the Comintern. The SOVIET Union and their Communist agents have and continue to attack our moral and ethical foundations by means of the 'Linguistic Weapon'. They have employed tactical/strategic' wordsmithing' from the beginning. For example, their agents were directed to identify recruits, specifically: PROGRESSIVES, for the Communist War. They tagged General Franco as a "Fascist", rather than the liberator/protector of 'Traditional and Catholic' Spain, when you can't get any more 'Fascist' than a Communist Dictator. Those of this mindset in our country have employed the counterproductive words: "Diversity, Equal Opportunity, Gay ?Marriage?, Civil Unions, and a host of other clever linguistic misdirections to confuse our people and extend their ?Socialist? agenda. Remember, Socialism without 'God" is Communism. So what is to understand that those using these "Politically Correct" linguistic attacks on our traditions and values now identify themselves as "Secular-Progressives" rather than "Democrats", as of the olde original Democrat Party that no longer exists. Our failure to understand the role of Language in our current fight for survival as a nation and people is our most serious shortcoming. Our linguistic shortcomings are a "Core" reason for our failure to protect against 9/11. It continues to be our "Achille's Heel"!
I suspect that our enemies/antagonists can muster more "English" speakers than we can speakers of their language(s). If you can accept my conclusion of a "Core" reason for 9/11, then you should worry that we are repeating the mistakes we made in the early 1950s when our linguistic shortcomings were being addressed by a major effort to train/acquire 'missing' languages. If we had been properly successful THEN, I believe 9/11 and a series of earlier deadly attacks on America could have been avoided.
So here we have 'Linguistics' in practice and still not understood.
In the current case it is the Management Environment and an Existential Internal/External threat we have yet to fully address!
The question is: Will we, Can we Survive?
Meanwhile, the Linguistic Shortcomings Groundhog Days continue and continue and c...
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.
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.
