#1
Maybe because there won't be a Fed after a massive EMP hit?
Everything will become local real quick. Too many things for central management to even come close to coordinating, controlling. There is not enough resources to bring it all back anytime soon enough to 'impose' order. Order will be rebuilt from the local up. The tribes the Donks have been basing power upon for generations will find themselves sorely lacking in the basics of food, energy, clean water, etc. With the largest armed body in the world being the American public and particularly not heavily Donk, the ability to maraude and loot for their constituencies is going to be cut rather short quickly. They will simply wither on the vine. They don't want to even think about it.
However, there are some smart things we could do to mitigate the damage and allow for some faster recovery (months instead of years, years instead of decades). Government officials who were actually looking after the country (not just out for themselves and their pals) could do a fair bit of good for not a lot of spending.
Oh heck what's the fun of THAT?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/08/2013 9:00 Comments ||
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#3
Plane crash fallacy: everybody (who matters) is going to die anyway, so why bother?
Also-- less opportunity for kickbacks and graft, so less interest. Which just shows a total lack of imagination W.R.T. kickbacks and graft.
#5
Since an EMP can happen from the sun it is inexcusable that the government didn't put regulations on the power and communications industry to harden against it long ago. Also a hardened facility that had the chips and tubes as well as the equipment to rapidly make new chips and tubes and whatever would have been fairly common sense.
I'm pretty libertarian about spending but this falls well within what should be expected of the Federal Government in my opinion. I do not think history will look kindly on the current batch of politicial leaders.
#6
...too many jobs for burly men in such a program. Not the right tribe.
We'll discover the serious 'transformer gap' (and not the movie types). You can get the generators back up in a relative short time, but to reconnect the lines out through the country is going to take years of production.
#8
Is the 'Burg prepared? I'm thinking a snail-mail newsletter once a week...
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/08/2013 11:32 Comments ||
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#9
Since an EMP can happen from the sun it is inexcusable that the government didn't put regulations forbidding solar storms. No different than requiring gasoline companies use x% of non-existent cellulosic ethanol in their blends.
#16
I'm in the process of going solar, no worries for me (And NO rebates, that'd give them a "Hold" Over MY solar.
nonoyerbizness.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/08/2013 18:46 Comments ||
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#17
EMP protection is a really good excuse to buy a 1968 or older any muscle car; no computers or electronic ignition. just points, plugs, condenser. and nothing is cooler than a hood full of (insert make here) big-block.
#19
Essentially the making of an EMP pulse is so Insignifigant, you need a nuke, and the EMP is a very small portion, it's not worth serious consideration. (Except for Science Fiction)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/08/2013 19:37 Comments ||
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#20
One of those special high-voltage transformers that the US is unable to manufacture can probably be taken out with a 50-cal slug from a muzzle loader at the right spot. That gets no serious consideration either.
#21
I have an old 72 beetle that has absolutely no electronics in it - condenser, point, plugs are all sold school. Plus you can fix almost anything with duct tape, JBWeld, a soup can and a coat hanger. Of course you can see the road thru parts of the floorboard, but thats if you pull up the snow shovel blade that's in there as a floorboard substitute. Its actually back at my brothers place in the barn - probably full of mice. I think I may have just gotten myself a project to do... I also have 2 HP48+ calculators, in a lined box, which will do more than most pre-1980 computers. Figure if it does come down to that, it would come in handy, and I still ahve a ton of programs for them, as well as all the manuals, etc (also at my desk, my relic - a HP15c, probably the best calculator I have ever owned).
Plus it would be part of my evil plan to rebuild the world where RPN was the standard way to operate a calculator. Muahahah!
[An Nahar] By Giza's Great Pyramids, souvenir vendors wait restlessly in the shade, watching for the handful of tourists who still make their way down the empty street to the once-bustling landmark.
The 2011 revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... dealt a severe blow to the country's tourist industry, once a mainstay of Egypt's economy.
And things have gone from bad to worse since June, when violent protests broke out against president Mohamed Morsi. On July 3, the army ousted the Islamist leader, leading to further deadly violence and an ongoing standoff between the two sides.
The tour buses that lined the streets around the pyramids have disappeared.
"We hope to the Lord that he will bring back those busy days, because all of us rely on tourism alone," said Gameel Hassan, who has run a shop near the pyramids selling papyrus prints for nearly 20 years.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... says security threats will never lead the US to retreat from the world. He says Americans don't get terrorized.
Obama was responding Wednesday to new threats from al-Qaeda that led the US to close 19 diplomatic outposts and evacuate the US Embassy in Yemen.
Obama said it's a complicated time for the US military. He said there have been big changes, especially in the Middle East and in North Africa.
Obama said the US will remain, in his words, "the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known." He said the military is an integral part of that mission. But he said the US must also lead with its ideals and values.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
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#7
TSA Sswat teams? That is kind of a keystone cops visual. I think they would be a bigger danger to themselves than anyone else. Okay, I am for it - let there be more TSA Swat teams.
[Al Ahram] Tunisia's ruling Islamist Ennahda party said Wednesday it accepted the suspension of the North African country's National Constituent Assembly and urged talks with its rivals on a national unity government.
"Despite our formal and legal reservations about this initiative, we hope it will serve as a catalyst for political adversaries to sit down at the negotiating table," a party statement said.
Ennahda said it hoped the assembly's suspension would lead to "the formation of a government of national unity".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egypt's Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi announced on Wednesday that the decision to disperse sit-ins held by supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi is final, calling on protesters to leave the sit-ins as quickly as possible during an Egypt cabinet presser.
El-Beblawi added that the government will provide free transportation for those leaving the two pro-Morsi sit-ins at Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque and Gazoo's Nahda square.
He also stated that the sit-ins had not been dispersed earlier out of respect for the holy month of Ramadan, which ends Wednesday.
El-Beblawi warned Morsi supporters against the use of violence towards security forces, saying such actions will be immediately met with force.
He also emphasised that only those who have committed crimes will be nabbed Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! The Egyptian government, with the help of foreign mediators, has been engaged in reconciliation talks with the Moslem Brüderbund. However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... they have failed to reach a solution to the current political deadlock.
The Moslem Brüderbund and its allies have insisted on Morsi's reinstatement since he was deposed by the army on 3 July following mass protests against him.
Egypt's presidency has described the pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza as "non-peaceful" and said they will be dispersed if negotiation attempts fail.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Yemen said Wednesday it had foiled an al Qaeda plot to storm a Western-run oil terminal and seize a lovely provincial capital, as a terror alert kept US Middle East missions closed.
The jihadist network's feared Yemeni affiliate planned to assault the Canadian-run Mina al-Dhaba oil terminal on the Arabian Sea coast and take staff hostage, including Western expatriates, government front man Rajeh Badi told AFP.
A nearby export facility for oil derivatives was targeted too, Badi said.
The terrorist organization also plotted to seize the nearby Hadramawt lovely provincial capital Al-Mukalla, a port city of some 100,000 people, and the Ghayl Bawazeer area to its north, where they briefly declared an Islamic emirate earlier this year, Badi said.
"If they were to fail in seizing control of the facilities, the plan was to take foreign experts away as hostages," he said.
The attack was planned for Monday, which coincided with the 27th day of the Musselmen fasting month of Ramadan and was the second day of a mass closure of US missions across the Middle East and North Africa.
The plot was foiled around two days before it was due to be launched, Badi said.
Both Washington and London pulled diplomatic personnel out of Sanaa on Tuesday citing intelligence reports of an imminent attack by the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The United States took the unusual step of closing some 25 diplomatic missions in the Musselmen world on Sunday, and then extending the closure for a week at 19 of them, in response to what it said was a credible and imminent threat of a major al Qaeda attack.
An intercepted conference call between al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... and top operatives was the trigger for the closures, online journal The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday, citing US intelligence sources.
It said more than 20 al Qaeda operatives from across the globe were on the call, including representatives of Nigeria's Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , the Pak Taliban and al Qaeda in Iraq as well as AQAP.
In the call, Zawahiri reportedly named AQAP chief Nasser al-Wuhayshi, as the operational controller of the group's affiliates throughout the Musselmen world.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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Al Qaeda forces of Evil could try to bring down planes using an undetectable explosive soaked into their clothes, officials fear. The organization's bomb-makers are reportedly developing an 'ingenious' system whereby shirts and trousers drenched in the explosive could be ignited when dry.
It would be undetectable under current security measures and remove the need for forces of Evil to mix liquid explosives on board, security sources told the American TV network ABC News.
The latest threat to air passengers is one of the reasons behind the current global terror alert, according to two senior US government officials.
Possibly it's time to revive the idea of flying naked...
British bomb expert Sidney Alford confirmed that the new method was possible using easily available chemicals, but pulling it off would be tricky as the soaking process would dilute the explosive.
He said: 'The clothes act as a diluent and reduce the power of the explosives.'
However, ars longa, vita brevis... igniting treated clothes could be done simply with a match. Passengers are allowed to carry a single box of safety matches or a cigarette lighter on flights.
Why? Haven't all airlines forbidden smoking on airplanes, or is that an American thin?
The new explosive has reportedly been developed by the notorious bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who made the device used by convicted 'underwear bomber' Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in his attempt to blow up a plane on Christmas Day in 2009.
Al-Asiri, 31, is the one who recruited his own brother Abdullah al-Asiri as a suicide bomber in a failed 2009 attempt to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of the Interior.
Other reports have suggested that Al-Asiri is developing bombs that could be sewn under the skin of terrorists.
Dozens of Al Qaeda operatives are said to have streamed into Sana'a in the past few days, forcing the country's military to use 'extraordinary and unprecedented' security measures to protect official buildings.
At the same time, at least four suspected forces of Evil have been killed in an American drone strike in the eastern Marib region of Yemen.
The drone fired a missile at a car carrying the four men, setting it on fire and killing all of them, the officials said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, the officials said they believe one of the dead is Saleh Jouti, a senior Al Qaeda member.
It's the fourth drone attack in the past week to hit a car believed to be carrying Al Qaeda members.
The BBC reports that Yemeni intelligence services discovered al-Qaeda members had arrived in the Yemeni capital Sanaa over the past few days ready to implement a large plot.
It is said that that plot would include kabooms and suicide kabooms aimed at Western ambassadors and embassies.
Yemen's interior ministry has sent armoured military vehicles to surround the presidential palace, and other important buildings. Western embassies in the capital of Sanaa are also being protected.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia
#1
D *** NG IT, this sounds like a Childhood Dream/Vision of mine, + possibly Madonna's, but where???
#2
We did that in college inorganic chem lab with a nitrogen triiodide (and ammonia) compound (polyhalides are fun due to bond angles and "crowding" of the bonds, making them highly unstable out of solution, and exothermic).
Put it on window sills, scared the crap out of the pigeons. Painted the underside of a toilet seat in the "redneck" frat (Kappa Sigma) and the "pressure points" set it off after drying and someone sat on it - I understand that it Left a nice purple stain on the skin in a "ring" shape.
Lets just say back in those days, social probation was worth it. Especially since I only made the stuff (its one of the ways I learned plausible deniability), and someones else did the "painting" - except the windowsill. THe pigeons were an accident and there was no long term damage to them. More than we can say for my attempts (successful) at thermite [magnesium is a great ignition source). There was some rather unfortunate damage from that.
Fulminate of mercury too - fun stuff. ANFO of course (but we knew that because its what people used to use to blow up tree stumps when I was a kid). ANd of course chunks of sodium in the fountain - and even better was the potassium I managed to get hold of. Potassium metal is some seriously energetic stuff in a larger body of water.
I think any college sophomores doing what we did would get locked up for suspicion of terrorism these days.
#5
think any college sophomores doing what we did would get locked up for suspicion of terrorism these days.
Yes, they would. Things are different nowadays, and a certain not at all innocent innocence has been thrown away. As seen above, real terrorists aren't at all nice.
#6
The organization's bomb-makers are reportedly developing an 'ingenious' system whereby shirts and trousers drenched in the explosive could be ignited when dry.
Back in '91 part of my newhire safety briefing was to lightly dampen a sample Tshirt in a clear solution then let it dry on a rack as the instructor went thru his pitch. At the end of the briefing, the guy bent down, picked up a stone and tossed it at the Tshirt. WHUMP! the thing went up in flames.
#8
Idiot jihadis can get inside this injit's OODA loop. Not hard when you are standing still and always on the defensive (a stretch).
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/08/2013 11:10 Comments ||
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#9
We painted the hinges on the door to the physics lab that remained open during the day, all day. That evening when the janitor slammed the door shut . . .
#4
Yemen should have been a target after the Cole bombing. Hotbed of crazies and better situated to act as flypaper than Iraq. Of course I'm talking pre-911 when the smart folks thought all that Islamic threat stuff was all about trying to create a new Soviet threat out of nothing to justify defense spending. Gotta love the smart folk who are never really taken to task when they blow it big time.
[Ynet] A US-based institute tracking North Korea's nuclear weapons program says recent satellite photos show the country is doubling the size of its uranium enrichment plant.
The Institute for Science and International Security says the photos show construction under way to "effectively double" the size of the enrichment hall, which would allow North Korea to double the number of centrifuges now enriching uranium.
#1
IMO this an indirect but clear sign of Beijing's escalating control over the DPRK, as it is actually China + PLA whom controls the DPRK Army + Missle, NucProgs.
* FYI see also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [AFP Seoul]NORTH KOREA SAYS JAPAN HAS CROSSED MILITARY
"DANGER LINE", espec wid its launching of its new "IZUMO" class "flat-top destroyer" = aircraft carrier.
* SAME > [Daily Mail Online] JAPAN'S WAR THREAT TO NORTH KOREA, iff the DPRK e-v-a-r! embarks on its own indigenous Nuke Weapons Program.
* TOPIX > [WaPo] NEW JAPANESE HELICOPTER CARRIER DRAWS CHINA WARNING TO ASIA.
Beijing again urges Regional + International vigilance over China-alleged Japan's militarist ambitions to return to being a major world power.
----------------
More ...
* BIG NEWS NETWORK > [Global Times] JAPAN TO BUILD ANOTHER ["IZUMO"-class] CARRIER.
* Also from GLOBAL TIMES > JAPAN SHOULD NEVER FORGET THE FATE OF PREVIOUS "IZUMO" IN WAR OF [East Asia] AGGRESSION, i.e. fate that befell Militarist Japan after its war-obsessed Govt. adopted policies which built the aggressive + powerful Imperial Japanese Navy only to see it destroyed during WW2, + resulted in Japan suffering two atomic bombings + incurring the long-lasting hatred + mistrust of those Asian nations it attacked or conquered.
* SAME > JAPAN BECOMING TOO AMBITIOUS FOR ITS GOALS.
* BIG NEWS NETWORK > SON OF CHINESE TYCOON PLACES DIAOYU AD IN NEW YORK TIMES, affirming + proclaiming Chinese history + sovereignty over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands using the same public relations method before America that his father did a couple of years before.
* SAME > [Asia News Network] PHILIPPINES REJECTS ANEW CHINA'S "INDISPUTABLE" CLAIMS OVER SEAS [South China Seas = Spratlys].
RELATED DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS = PHILIPPINES IGNORES CHINA'S "THREE-WAY" PROPOSAL TO ADDRESS SEA DISPUTE.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > MNLF CHAIRMAN NUR MISUARI THREATENS TO DECLARE MORO INDEPENDENCE - PHILIPPI | [PHIL Star] NUR SAYS GOVT. ACTIONS PUSHING MNLF TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE.
The PHIL may lose Mindanao + other one day, which in turn may get the Commie NPA riled up as well as other types of local insurgent groups.
* SAME > KIRAM: [Sulu] SULTANATE NOT PART OF [MILF-led] BANGSAMORO - MANILA STANDARD.
Beijing would like to take this opportunity to once again KINDLY/POLITELY remind Japan, ROK, Taiwan, PHIL, Vietnam, ASEAN, + even Radical Islam that IT HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS, + THEY DON'T.
[Ynet] La Belle France supports the resumption of international talks with Iran if Iran puts into motion some "concrete gestures" to allay international concerns regarding its nuclear program, KUNA news agency reported, quoting official French sources Wednesday.
"That'll do it. Can I offer you some tea?"
The French Foreign Ministry said that La Belle France's Chief Diplomat Laurent Fabius "noted the affirmation of willingness for dialogue on the part of President (Hassan) Rohani." But noted that "It is up to Iran to show its seriousness (by) concrete gestures of a kind that will answer international concerns about its nuclear program."
Playing at being important, like they were in the old days.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Speaking of NOT-NORTH-KOREA + EXPANDED URANIUM ENRICHMENT FACILITIES ...
* TOPIX, WORLD NEWS > [Telegraph = Various] IRAN TEST LAUNCH SITE "LIKELY" FOR TESTING BALLISTIC MISSLES, ANALYSTS SAY.
"Its long been known that Hollywood stars only give access to those media outlets that report favorably about them, with the result that there is no honest reporting coming out of Hollywood. It turns out that President Barack Obama has learned a thing or two from his Hollywood buddies and is working hard to stifle a press that already is in the bag for him."
#1
So you are getting fed pablum now anyway, so everyone ask questions about Benghazi and all get thrown out. Be a man or be a woman, as the case may be. Just quit being eunuchs. Grow a spine. There are a million high protein stories out there.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/08/2013 1:03 Comments ||
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#4
AP - make "getting kicked out for asking questions about Benghazi" the story. Thats what an honest press would do. Invoke the "Striesand effect", and have each other's backs. Too concerned with having Obama's back is the problem, harming the nation by giving this thug and his Tammany crew free rides.
#5
He's the American Putin. Little wonder Vlad and Champ no longer get along, they're too much alike! This spiteful little prick attempts to leave nearly everyone in fear for some aspect of their lives.
I was perplexed yesterday at his statements regarding Fannie and Freddie. This morning I see he's empowering HUD to investigate the integration of neighborhoods and sees same house renting-back as a solution for foreclosures. No mystery meat in where this is going.
This isn't about Obama, it's about Hillary. The other scandals all harm the person who isn't running in 2016, Benghazi husrts the one who is.
The woman who will continue the poltics that 95% of the reporters want. The woman that the education industry and the NPR-listening pseudointellectual class want so that their crappy little narrative can remain intact. The one who will continue the gravy train for welfare recipients, public employees, grant recipients, and rent seekers.
"Anything but Benghazi" is about getting the next defender of the dilapidated Blue State model and its clerisy and its legions of dependents into the White House in 2016. Obama isn't behind this, the Clintons and the rest of the big government/big business Blue model axis are.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
08/08/2013 5:19 Comments ||
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#7
My assessment as well no mo uro. I hope this Daily Beast article is posted today reader for comment.
She makes some good points, but I can't help thinking that despite her protestations about wanting a conservative to win, she's secretly wishing that someone with two X chromosomes gets in to represent her gender, in much the same way that legions of black conservatives went for Obama out of tribal loyalty.
If so, that colors her thoughts.
Wll the Repubs show the brains and stones to make Benghazi stick? Who knows. Recent history suggests not. The Repubs need a modern day Coolidge. Where is that person?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
08/08/2013 13:55 Comments ||
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#9
Draggin Ben Ghazi
Twenty-five or six to four.
Whence Hillary?
Kissing the floor.
Five unheard messages on the phone.
So alone. So alone.
Twenty-five or six to four.
Knocking, incessant knocking.
On her chamber door.
Huma, will you get that?
Got no time for their chit chat.
Twenty-five or six to four.
It was my turn, you damned.
Community organ eyesore.
The commercial, that shouda dunnit.
Now I done stepped in my own sh*t.
[BREITBART] The standby attorney for the soldier charged in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage accused Maj. Nidal Hasan on Wednesday of deliberately charting a course toward a conviction and death sentence, abruptly halting the trial after only one day.
Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, Hasan's lead court-appointed standby attorney, said he is willing to step in and be Hasan's defense lawyer. But he asked that his responsibilities as co-counsel be minimized if Hasan, who is representing himself at trial, continues to work toward being executed.
It is "clear his goal is to remove impediments or obstacles to the death penalty and is working toward a death penalty," Poppe told the judge overseeing the case at the Texas military base.
Hasan responded: "I object. That's a twist of the facts."
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, then cleared the courtroom.
Hasan has chosen to act as his own attorney during the military trial at Fort Hood, though he has defense attorneys on standby if he needs them.
On Tuesday, he told jurors during a less than 2-minute opening statement that the evidence would "clearly show" he was the shooter, but that it would "only show one side." He also questioned only two of the first dozen witnesses, who included one soldier who was shot seven times during the November 2009 attack on the sprawling Army post.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#3
Sometimes the guilt of the accused is clear as daylight. The rest of the clap trap is all ritual to satisfy the legal caste but does nothing but hinder the very reason of their existence - justice. Form over substance.
#4
This trial should be over. Guilty. Death sentence. The only issue that should be under discussion is the manner of death - hanging quickly, hanging slowly, lethal injection, transfusion of pig blood. (Not firing squad - too good for him.)
#5
Glenmore,
I think that this should be used as a history lesson. The 14th - 17th centuries (heck go BC) are replete with innovative, long lasting and painful ways to get rid of vermin like this.
I believe Vlad had one he was fond of using on Muslim invaders.
#6
Yes, the main column of an invading Turkish army
found their vanguard impaled on the fence posts bordering the main road, all 20,000 of them, mostly still alive...when they reached the last of them, the whole army turned to a man and returned to Istamboul! Thanks, Vlad Dracula!
When asked by the Russian ambassador where he had acquired his "peculiar" tastes, Vlad answered that in his youth, as a slave/hostage in Istambul, he saw a christian slave eviscerated in the street at every couple of feet...an impaled one every street corners..etc...
Posted by: Bob Snore6814 ||
08/08/2013 23:29 Comments ||
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Newspapers around the world are quoting this report. Here are the key paragraphs from the original.
[DailyBeast] It wasn't just any terrorist message that triggered U.S. terror alerts and embassy closures--but a conference call of more than 20 far-flung al Qaeda operatives, Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report.
Al Qaeda members included representatives or leaders from Nigeria's Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , the Pak Taliban, al Qaeda in Iraq, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and more obscure al Qaeda affiliates such as the Uzbekistan branch. Also on the call were representatives of aspiring al Qaeda affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, according to a U.S. intelligence official. The presence of aspiring al Qaeda affiliates operating in the Sinai was one reason the State Department closed the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, according to one U.S. intelligence official. "These guys already proved they could hit Eilat. It's not out of the range of possibilities that they could hit us in Tel Aviv," the official said.
"This was like a meeting of the Legion of Doom," one U.S. intelligence officer told The Daily Beast. The official said Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... announced to the broader organization during the meeting that Wuhayshi had been promoted to "Ma'sul al-Amm," an Arabic term that roughly translates as "general manager." The promotion effectively gave the leader of al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen operational control of al Qaeda's many affiliates throughout the Mohammedan world, the official said. "All you need to do is look at that list of places we shut down to get a sense of who was on the phone call," the official said.
Also during the meeting, the various al Qaeda leaders discussed in vague terms plans for a pending attack and mentioned that a team or teams were already in place for such an attack.
#1
Interesting. So now we have a great example of how the NSA covert surveillance of every phone call has - actually - helped each and every one of us.
Very convenient for the gubbamint.
Scripted, almost.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/08/2013 6:29 Comments ||
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#2
This is why you should never let Lync update your calendar or something like that.
[Bangla Daily Star] India's government yesterday faced mounting pressure to put proposed peace talks with Pakistain back in the deep freeze after a deadly cross-border attack on its troops in disputed Kashmire.
The opposition accused the government of letting Pakistain off the hook over the killing of five soldiers in Kashmire, as the attack overnight Monday triggered uproar in parliament.
Defence Minister AK Antony told parliament Tuesday that "20 heavily armed bully boyz along with persons dressed in Pak Army uniforms" had staged the ambush.
India's army had initially blamed the attack on regular Pakistain troops but later withdrew the statement.
"Our defence minister has given a clean chit to Pakistain," Sushma Swaraj, lower house leader of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, told parliament.
The defence minister "has let the country down. He must apologise to the nation," she said as the uproar forced parliament's adjournment.
Analysts said the killings had jeopardised efforts to arrange a meeting between India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his new Pak counterpart Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... in New York in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani told politicians "this is no time for talks" between the nuclear-armed rivals as news channels ran footage of the arrival of the soldiers' flag-draped coffins in New Delhi.
With elections due by May 2014, analysts said the government cannot afford to look soft on Pakistain -- with which India has fought three wars, two over the Moslem-majority region of Kashmire.
The Congress-led government has been keen to engage with Pakistain.
Pakistain has denied involvement in the attack and Indian and Pak commanders spoke by hotline and discussed the incident yesterday, a Pak military source told AFP.
Singh called an all-party meeting for Wednesday night to seek the opposition's support for the meeting with Sharif, who made rapprochement a key theme of his election campaign.
Former Indian foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh said "a high-level dialogue between two prime ministers right now is unlikely to yield any breakthrough".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
TEL AVIV -- As tensions escalate along Israel's northern border, a senior military official warned that the next war with Hezbollah would be far more painful for Israeli citizens than any previous experience.
This is why Bibi and the Israeli armed forces will work hard to ensure that the civilians don't suffer.
"What we witnessed in 2006 is the very tip of the iceberg," said the official, referring to the 33-day war between Israel and the Lebanese-based Shiite militia Hezbollah. In that case, a third of the country was forced into bomb shelters for a month while rockets rained down on northern Israel.
In the 2006 Second Lebanon War, nearly 4,000 rockets were fired into Israel, killing more than 40 civilians and causing widespread devastation to property and the economy.
Hezbollah is now believed to have 60,000 to 100,000 rockets that boast longer ranges, improved accuracy and larger warheads.
"This will be a whole new ballgame," the official said.
Israeli officials fear that as many as 2,000 rockets a day could be released against all parts of Israel. Most of the launching sites are in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah militants use private homes and farms in about 100 villages.
Hezbollah's rocket capacity has turned Israeli civilians into the preferred front in the next conflict so public fear will put pressure on the Israeli military, the official said.
Though Israel does not have enough Iron Dome missile-interception systems to prevent a barrage of rockets from Hezbollah or others, it has focused on improving civilian defense through mock drills and emergency planning. Nevertheless, only 60% of Israelis have chemical-weapons protection kits, in part due an inter-governmental squabble over funding. Nearly one-third of Israelis don't have quick access to bomb shelters.
100K rockets at 2K a day: that's almost a couple months of continuous bombardment. Even if every Israeli has a gas mask and a shelter, the country grinds to a halt. We should instead expect a thorough and enthusiastic response by the Israeli armed forces to wipe out Hezbollah should a new war start. No Israeli leader can restrain the military if the only other option is to cower in the subway stations.
#1
Make sure it's the Lebanese Shia villagers that suffer rather than the Israeli civvies. The Shia are the sea that Hezbullies swim among commit war crimes by hiding among. You let them set up rocket launch pads in your village, you suffer the consequences
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/08/2013 20:16 Comments ||
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#2
Only nukes can defend from that...high time
these sewer rats be exterminated...Kill them all, let God sort the manure...
Posted by: Bob Snore6814 ||
08/08/2013 23:08 Comments ||
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#3
"Far more painful/... hit harder" > Obvious thingys are obvious.
* IIRC DEFENCE.PK.FORUMS, TOPIX > NASRALLAH: GALILEE TO BE HIT BEFORE BEIRUT, iff military conflict breaks out again between Israel + Lebanon ala 2006, or iff Israel attacks Syria = Baby Assad.
[Ynet] Northern Command's chief artillery officer tells Ynet despite heavy losses in Syria, Lebanese terror group closely monitoring IDF activity along border 'in preparation for war'
"Hezbollah's involvement in the war in Syria has not disrupted its preparedness for a war with Israel -- the opposite is true," the chief artillery officer of the IDF's Northern Command said Wednesday.
Speaking to Ynet, Colonel Yaron Formosa said Hezbollah gunnies have become proficient in the use of advanced weapons due to the fighting in Syria. "They are continuing to prepare for a war against us, and an isolated incident on the border can lead to deterioration. We are prepared to go to war even tomorrow morning," said the officer.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio had his hands full of angry bleached blonde... the IDF is continuing to investigate the kaboom early Wednesday near an IDF force, which was reportedly operating some 400 meters (1,300 feet) within Lebanese territory, near Rosh Hanikra. Four IDF soldiers sustained light to moderate wounds in the blast.
Colonel Formosa stressed that despite Hezbollah's heavy losses in Syria, the Shiite group's lookouts are constantly monitoring IDF activity along the border. "We saw them marking the positions of our artillery guns so they can target them in a war. As a counter measure we are building embankments to protect the weapons and ammunition."
The chief artillery officer said most of the rocket-launching pads the IDF would attack in case a war breaks out have been moved from open areas to villages. "It is difficult to operate in an urban setting. For many Lebanese it will be intolerable. Hezbollah may purposely prevent the civilians from fleeing to the north," he said. "But Hezbollah has tens of thousands of rockets that are aimed at Israel, and we will not be able to operate against them only with artillery fire or the air force. We will need a ground maneuver as well."
Colonel (res.) Yaakov Zigdon, who served as chief artillery officer during Operation Accountability, said "Hezbollah will determine when the next war erupts. We fired 23,100 shells a week during Operation Accountability. They made the difference and gave the north two years of calm. We decided to damage villages after the residents left for Beirut due to our warnings, and they returned to destroyed homes.
"Israeli civilians from the north to the center may be 'held hostage,' and no government will agree to this," he added. "Every war is measured by the period of calm it provides until the next war breaks out."
#1
The chief artillery officer said most of the rocket-launching pads the IDF would attack in case a war breaks out have been moved from open areas to villages.
Excellent! They now have names and can easily be found on a map. Makes building targeting packages much easier.
[Ynet] The United States is providing $195 million more in food and humanitarian aid to Syria to mark the end of Ramadan for Mohammedans, President Barack Obama Why can't I just eat my waffle?... said on Wednesday. Washington has been slow to provide weapons for Syrian rebels struggling to toppled Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... , but has provided a sizeable amount of humanitarian aid.
A statement from Obama marking Eid al-Fitr, said the $195 million in additional aid would bring the US humanitarian contribution to more than $1 billion since the Syrian crisis began.
#3
Paying the jizya good and hard. Like the old saying about hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, it will feel so good when it stops...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/08/2013 7:21 Comments ||
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#4
fwiw, eid al fitr ends in a few hours
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/08/2013 8:29 Comments ||
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#5
Half time ends.......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/08/2013 11:11 Comments ||
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#6
Sequestration is hard on the little people - the workers. Can't let a little thing like that interfere with The One Grand Plan!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/08/2013 12:16 Comments ||
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#7
Humanitarian aid is a farce. Money is fungible. The $195m we give them for food just frees up money they would have spent on food for other purposes - like waging war.
Seriously, how much of the $195m has been directly earmarked by Syria to pay Russia for recent arms deliveries?
[An Nahar] President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... has said that the army-people-resistance formula can no longer be used for the new cabinet's policy statement over Hizbullah's involvement in the war in Syria, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The daily quoted Suleiman as telling a delegation from the Beirut National Gathering that the resistance took a unilateral decision to fight in Syria without consulting with the army and the people.
Such a decision took the resistance out of its commitments to the people-army-resistance formula, he reportedly said.
According to al-Liwaa, the president hinted that he would sign a decree for the formation of a neutral cabinet if Premier-designate Tammam Salam comes up with such a lineup over the failure of the political parties to limit their conditions.
Salam has so far been unable to form his government over conditions and counter-conditions set by the March 8 and March 14 alliances.
But an official close to Suleiman told As Safir daily that the president continues to insist on Hizbullah's participation in the cabinet despite calls by March 14 officials to put the party aside over its fighting alongside troops loyal to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... "There is no hostility between the president and Hizbullah ... nor between him and any other Lebanese party," the official said.
He defended Suleiman's Army Day speech, saying the president differentiated between the resistance and terrorism.
"The speech did not target Hizbullah. All arms used in the fighting in Syria are illegitimate and all weapons used locally are also illegal," the official said.
He stressed that only weapons targeted at Israel are considered legitimate as part of a national defense strategy.
Suleiman said in his Army Day speech last Thursday that "it has become urgent to approve a defense strategy after the resistance's arms went beyond Leb's borders."
"Out of our differentiation between the resistance and terrorism, it is time for the state and the army to be the sole decision-makers on the use of force," said Suleiman.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... noted on Wednesday the Syrian rebels' breakthrough in taking over the strategic Minnigh airport in Aleppo, saying that changes on the ground are beginning to take place in the conflict, reported Egypt's Asharq al-Awsat news agency.
He told the agency: "I advise Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... to withdraw from Syria because the countdown for the demise of the regime has begun."
"The countdown has started because it is impossible for the regime to continue on oppressing the Syrian people," he remarked.
On Tuesday, rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... captured Minnigh key air base in the northern province of Aleppo after a months-long battle.
They have been fighting loyalists for the air base for some eight months, as part of a battle in Aleppo province to stop the regime from using warplanes to strike areas in opposition hands.
Commenting on efforts to form a new government in Leb, Jumblat said: "I will study the available options, including a neutral de facto cabinet, should a neutral technocratic one be rejected."
"I do not want to take the risk in advocating a de facto government as I was among the first to demand the establishment of a national unity cabinet that Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam had described as one of national reconciliation," added the MP.
He also voiced his support for the establishment of a government that does not include party figures.
On disarming Hizbullah, he said: "Nasrallah could not lay down the party's weapons even if he wanted to because this decision is in the hands of Iran."
"The Lebanese people however want stability ... so let the national dialogue address disputes and let a technocratic cabinet resolve them," Jumblat declared.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Wally keeps his ear pretty close to the turf, I wonder what in the world he's hearing that makes him think there's been another change in the big Mo?
[Al Ahram] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... has offered Russia economic incentives including a major arms deal and a pledge not to challenge Russian gas sales if Moscow scales back support for Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... , Middle East sources and Western diplomats said on Wednesday.
The proposed deal between two of the leading power brokers in Syria's devastating civil war was set out by Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... in Moscow last week, they said.
Russia has supported Assad with arms and diplomatic cover throughout the war and any change in Moscow's stance would remove a major obstacle to action on Syria by the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Security Council.
Syrian opposition sources close to Saudi Arabia said Prince Bandar offered to buy up to $15 billion of Russian weapons as well as ensuring that Gulf gas would not threaten Russia's position as a main gas supplier to Europe.
In return, Saudi Arabia wanted Moscow to ease its strong support of Assad and agree not to block any future Security Council Resolution on Syria, they said.
A Gulf source familiar with the matter confirmed that Prince Bandar offered to buy large quantities of arms from Russia, but that no cash amount was specified in the talks.
One Lebanese politician close to Saudi Arabia said the meeting between Bandar and Putin lasted four hours. "The Saudis were elated about the outcome of the meeting," said the source, without elaborating.
Putin's front man, Dmitry Peskov, could not immediately be reached on Wednesday for comment about the meeting. A Saudi Foreign Ministry official was also not immediately available to respond.
Putin's initial response to Bandar's offer was inconclusive, diplomats say. One Western diplomat in the Middle East said the Russian leader was unlikely to trade Moscow's recent high profile in the region for an arms deal, however substantial.
He said Russian officials also appeared sceptical that Saudi Arabia had a clear plan for stability in Syria if Assad fell.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[10 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Aw, now there is the rub, "clear plan for stability" Obamaer would take that but Putin has his eyes on the future. Assad grows stronger every day now. Bandar thinks he can buy off Putin. Thats a fools bargain. Russia appears stronger in the world as we appear weaker. Any appearance of weakness will be avoided. O has played his hand poorly. O will offer reset number twelve perhaps. Just so he looks like he cares or is trying.
The music Ive been hearing lately from Washington says If this is truly an overriding Israeli security interest, and you think you want to strike, then the light hasnt changed to green, I think, but its definitely yellow.
Posted by: Uncle Phester ||
08/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
[An Nahar] By Giza's Great Pyramids, souvenir vendors wait restlessly in the shade, watching for the handful of tourists who still make their way down the empty street to the once-bustling landmark.
Zawahiri
North Korea
Nawaz Sharif
TEL AVIV -- As tensions escalate along Israel's northern border, a senior military official warned that the next war with Hezbollah would be far more painful for Israeli citizens than any previous experience.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
