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Today: 67 articles and 178 comments as of 5:12.
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Militias stream into Libyan capital, Tripoli
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
1 21:12 trailing wife [6] 
2 04:15 Besoeker [5] 
6 19:18 AlanC [12] 
6 10:39 Mullah Richard [4] 
16 23:57 Zenobia Floger6220 [11] 
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5 16:08 Bobby [3] 
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5 22:08 Zenobia Floger6220 [14] 
3 13:13 Pappy [3] 
1 02:17 Frank G [4] 
21 18:53 Shipman [4] 
5 12:29 Ebbang Uluque6305 [4] 
6 21:59 Hupusort Panda5850 [10] 
4 08:41 Besoeker [5] 
9 18:51 Shipman [4] 
1 19:01 ed in texas [11] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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1 11:09 Squinty [4]
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3 13:02 Pappy [4]
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3 18:05 lord garth [6]
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Page 4: Opinion
2 09:27 Besoeker [3]
8 20:34 JosephMendiola [8]
6 15:01 Redneck Jim [2]
2 20:44 trailing wife [9]
1 08:36 Besoeker [1]
7 15:30 Pappy [2]
Page 6: Politix
3 16:06 Ebbang Uluque6305 [2]
2 19:14 ed in texas [6]
6 22:49 Squinty [6]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Jewel Thief Leaves Cellphone in Shop after Robbery
[An Nahar] British police say they have a pretty good idea who stole two diamond rings and a wedding band from a Kingston shop on Sunday -- the suspected thief left his cellphone behind, with a photo of himself as the screensaver.

Police said Wednesday the 27-year-old suspect, Germain Ibrahim Fofana of La Belle France, is also believed to be responsible for other jewel heists in the London area.

They said Fofana and a woman entered the shop with a child in a baby buggy and looked at engagement rings. The suspect returned alone 30 minutes later and looked at the rings again, before he ran off with them, leaving his phone behind.

The rings were valued at 18,000 pounds ($30,000).
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Pak immigrant beat his wife to death because she made him the wrong dinner
[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] A Pak immigrant allegedly beat his wife to death with a stick for making him the wrong dinner, a court heard.

Noor Hussein, 75, believed he had the right to discipline 66-year-old Nazar at their apartment in Brooklyn, New York, his defense said.

But prosecutors claim he murdered her because she had made the mistake of cooking him a vegetarian meal made of lentils instead of goat meat.

Defense attorney Julie Clark said Hussein admitted beating his wife but said that in his home country, beating your wife is customary.
But even in the Land of the Pure leaving your wife a soulless lump of cooling flesh in the corner of the room is frowned upon unless someone's honour is involved. And while Esau sold his for a bowl of lentils, some say, that left no bodies lying about.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The revenge of Pak man
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 05/23/2014 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Defense attorney Julie Clark said Hussein admitted beating his wife but said that in his home country, beating your wife is customary.

And drawing and quartering used to be customary in medieval times, too. But I'll bet somehow you managed to figure out that this doesn't apply to where/when you live today.
Posted by: gorb || 05/23/2014 1:29 Comments || Top||

#3  No. He should be acquitted.After all, its his culture, and who are we to judge?
/sarcasm
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 05/23/2014 9:25 Comments || Top||

#4  for making him the wrong dinner

When that happens I assume that my wife wants to go out and eat....
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 12:17 Comments || Top||

#5  or making him the wrong dinner

When that happens I assume that my wife wants to go out and eat....

Same here. The only thing my wife makes is reservations.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 05/23/2014 21:18 Comments || Top||

#6  Barbarian.
Posted by: Hupusort Panda5850 || 05/23/2014 21:59 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Russian Circus Crocodile Hurt by Falling Accountant
[An Nahar] A crocodile was injured in Russia when an accountant weighing 120 kilograms (260 pounds) fell on him during a bus trip through the arctic north, local media reported.

Two-metre-long Fedya was injured on Tuesday when the accountant for the circus to which he belonged tumbled from her seat as the mini-bus took a sharp turn.

The Soviet Circus, based in the region of Murmansk, feared for the reptile's life when the shock left him vomiting for three hours, Russian media outlet Ria Novosti reported.

The accountant escaped with only minor injuries, but has been reprimanded for not wearing her seatbelt.

Fedya has since recovered and is now waiting in Moscow to become the star of a Russian television program, said circus director Vassili Kolos.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That's gotta be Headline Of The Day.
Posted by: SteveS || 05/23/2014 0:32 Comments || Top||

#2  I can honestly say I did not expect to see this.
Posted by: gorb || 05/23/2014 1:26 Comments || Top||

#3  A real man bites lizard story.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/23/2014 5:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Why were the crocodile and the the accountant together in the first place?
Posted by: Grunter || 05/23/2014 10:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Lawyers and Sharks, Accountants and Crocodiles.
A natural pairing, Grunter.
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/23/2014 10:39 Comments || Top||

#6  In Soviet Circus, you belt crocodile? Who am I kidding? I got nada. You'd think "crocodile" would be easy...
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 05/23/2014 12:54 Comments || Top||

#7  "Okay, so what have we got?"
"This sick little croc that we bought."
"A couple of thousand."
"An obese accountant."
"Call the press?" "Sure, let's give it a shot!"

At Cannes one year, Lina Wertmuller
And Fellini had drunk half a cooler
Of beer. Feeling groovy,
They plotted a movie,
But this story is weirder and crueller.

Not my day.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 05/23/2014 13:13 Comments || Top||

#8  As the circus rolled on, mile by mile,
The bookkeeper started to smile.
Circus life can be rough
And if you drink enough
You may find yourself crossing the aisle.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 05/23/2014 13:24 Comments || Top||

#9  Try using poetic license:
Gator, gata. See meaning #5 here.
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 13:29 Comments || Top||

#10  Hard to improve on good, Squinty
Posted by: badanov || 05/23/2014 13:53 Comments || Top||

#11  In Soviet Circus, you belt crocodile?
I c wut u did thar.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/23/2014 18:50 Comments || Top||

#12  Uh, uh, DEATH BY BABUSHKA???

gut nuthin.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/23/2014 19:36 Comments || Top||

#13  Hmm...

In America, crocodile luggage fall on you. In Russia, you fall on crocodile luggage!

How's that?
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 05/23/2014 20:19 Comments || Top||

#14  I gotta ask: what the hell kind of circus has crocodiles in it?
Posted by: SteveS || 05/23/2014 22:50 Comments || Top||

#15  Hard to improve on good, Squinty

I was responding to post #7 and didn't see post #8 in time.
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 22:58 Comments || Top||

#16  How's that?

Works for me. Babushka, too.

The old crocodilian regiment
Is not very partial to sentiment.
Given bags on retiring,
Instead of admiring,
The Colonel snapped, "Just an impediment!"

#9 Try using poetic license:
Gator, gata. See meaning #5 here.


Cool. That's nicely done.

On Bourbon, a morphodite gator
On break from a burlesque theater:
"When I'm not dancing gogo,
I like to read Pogo
In that new fountain up on Decatur."

I know this crap is mostly stilted and old-timey, but I doubt it'll change much in the next little while. For now, I'm too tired (and world-weary, meme-weary, maybe even -- please don't report me -- urban-weary). Too lazy. And there's an ancient ancestor who'll never read Rantburg but likes the limericks. But you (collectively) are right, of course. I've been a blunt badger for a good many months now.


Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 05/23/2014 23:57 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Paul Ehrlich Predicts Need to 'Eat the Bodies of Your Dead'
[NEWSBUSTERS.ORG] The zombie apocalypse is nigh! The zombie apocalypse is nigh!

Well, no it isn't. In fact, it's probably as likely to occur as the rest of Paul Ehrlich's predictions.
His name means honest. Perhaps it's ironic.
Ehrlich, a Stanford University
...contributed $595,716 to the 2008 Obama campaign. Is there a reason universities are among the top financiers of political campaigns?
biologist famous for his widely debunked book "The Population Bomb," doubled down on his climate change and overpopulation fear-mongering with HuffPost Live on May 21. Ehrlich warned host Josh Zepps that the dangers of overpopulation are growing, blaming Republicans and the media for failing to take action. While hawking a new book called "Hope On Earth," Ehrlich's co-author Michael Tobias praised Ehrlich's older, outrageously wrong predictions and said they underestimated the problem.

Ehrlich, after falsely predicting human "oblivion" 46 years ago, told Zepps humans must soon begin contemplating "eat[ing] the bodies of your dead" after resources are depleted (fava beans and a nice Chianti optional, apparently).

Despite the fact that this "oblivion," never came about, he still pushed alarmist predictions. Ehrlich claimed that scarcity of resources will get so bad that humans will need to drastically change our eating habits and agriculture. Instead, we will soon begin asking "is it perfectly okay to eat the bodies of your dead because we're all so hungry?" He added that humanity is "moving in that direction with a ridiculous speed." And clearly, this man knows "ridiculous."
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Woody Allen said it better: “More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 05/23/2014 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Seems legit, iff only because the Pentagon repor has a WarPlan = OPLAN for fighting rampaging brain-sucking Zombies???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/23/2014 0:34 Comments || Top||

#3  "Soylent Green is People".
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/23/2014 1:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Obviously an avid Ehrlich following, the Champ is doing everything he can to fight overpopulation. "Hope On Earth" and "Hope and Change" are essentially synonymous. Devaluation of the dollar and creeping inflation are already impacting eating habits. The systematic harvesting of the elderly and veterans should go a long way to correct the current imbalance in social justices and carry capacity.

Posted by: Besoeker || 05/23/2014 2:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Obviously an avid Ehrlich following, the Champ is doing everything he can to fight overpopulation.

It appears along with the long line of sympathetic government bureaucrats, he's been OK with the VA to assist with that.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/23/2014 11:27 Comments || Top||

#6  Too bad putting someone in the stocks and throwing rotten vegetables is sooo outmoded.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/23/2014 13:12 Comments || Top||

#7  That and stoning false prophets which I suspect had a great effect in restraining fear mongering chicken littles.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/23/2014 14:20 Comments || Top||

#8  Hey, Bud - if the sky is falling, bring me a piece of sky!
Posted by: Bobby || 05/23/2014 15:49 Comments || Top||

#9  Well prophets used to live a lot longer. Now the end-of-the-world-as-we-know it is always lifespan + 20 years.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/23/2014 18:51 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Ecuadorians rally against US energy giant, Chevron
[Iran Press TV] A large number of activists in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, have taken to the streets against the US energy giant, Chevron.

The protest rally was held on the occasion of the International Anti-Chevron Day, which is marked across the five continents.

Activists accuse the corporation of a track record full of human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
violations and environmental damage in areas where it operates. They have urged all consumers to boycott Chevron's products.

Quito's gathering is held as tensions are rising between Ecuador's government and Chevron.

Quito says the US-based corporation should compensate some 30,000 people affected by its oil extractions in the Amazon rainforest between 1960 and 1990.

President Rafael Correa has also accused the oil company of deceiving Ecuador's justice system. Chevron denies any wrongdoing and says the accusations are baseless
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "give us money"
Posted by: Frank G || 05/23/2014 2:17 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia protests at Prince Charles' remarks about Putin
[Iran Press TV] Russia has expressed outrage at British Prince Charles for comparing President Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth 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...
to the Nazi German leader, Adolf Hitler
...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days as a politician somebody doesn't like...
.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow was demanding an official explanation about comments attributed to Prince Charles.

"If these words were really said, then undoubtedly they are not worthy of a future British monarch," Russian Foreign Ministry front man, Alexander Lukashevich, said in Moscow on Thursday.

British media reports say Charles likened the Russian president to the Nazi leader during his royal tour of Canada.

Charles, who is visiting Canada, made the comment during a meeting with World War Two veterans and their families at an immigration museum in Nova Scotia.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Allan told him.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/23/2014 1:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Prince Charles' remarks seem dead-on to me.
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 12:07 Comments || Top||

#3  I'd have gone with John Gotti myself, but that's being rather 'local'.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/23/2014 13:13 Comments || Top||


Prince Charles 'compared Russian actions to Nazis'
[BBC] A former Polish war refugee who met Prince Charles in Canada has said he likened some Nazi actions in Europe to those of Russia's Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth 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...
Marienne Ferguson was speaking after meeting Prince Charles at a Nova Scotia immigration museum where she works.

As they discussed Hitler's takeover of countries, the prince "said something to the effect of 'it's not unlike... what Putin is doing,'" she recalled.
He's probably referring to the Crimean Anschluss.
Clarence House said it would not comment on a private conversation.
Or was it the Sudenten Anschluss?
The prince and the Russian president are both due to attend a D-Day anniversary event in La Belle France next month.
Or the Polish... No. Wait. They didn't call that an Anschluss, did they?
Speaking from China, President Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told the BBC he was "not commenting right now" on the remarks.
I find it hilarious that people who could find echos of Naziism in Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes can't seem to find the log in their own eye.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As per BHARAT RAKSHAK + TOPIX, looks like Putin's aides are doing Vlad's talking for him, proclaiming Prince Charles as "unfit" to rule on the British throne.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/23/2014 0:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Queen ought to spank her baby boy.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/23/2014 2:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Sorry! Charly is a right Charly.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/23/2014 8:18 Comments || Top||

#4  "When President Obama tells the Russians he will ruin their economy, they had better listen. This guy knows how to ruin an economy."
~ Leno
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/23/2014 8:41 Comments || Top||


Economy
Sears Posts Worst Report Of a Bad Lot In Retailing
[NY Times] The slide continued on Thursday for the deeply troubled Sears Holdings, whose dismal earnings report not only lacked signs of improvement but also laid bare how few options the company had left.

Other retailers also reported mostly disappointing earnings, reflecting a poor year's start under prolonged inclement weather; the strains of stagnant incomes, especially among lower- and middle-income consumers; and a sagging consumer electronics market.

But Sears Holdings, owner of Sears and Kmart stores, was once again the bleakest of the lackluster reports. It announced that it would close at least 80 stores this year, a downsizing move it has made in previous years without significant results.

And, the company posted a loss of $402 million in its first fiscal quarter, significantly worse than its loss of $279 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 6.8 percent. "We are watching the slow liquidation of Sears Holdings," said Brian Sozzi, chief executive of Belus Capital Advisors.
Haven't shopped at a Sears or a Kmart in years...
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I suspect there are some folks over at Generally Recalled Motors that would argue w/ Sears about who is having the 'worst' time right about now.
Posted by: Big Boy 4014 || 05/23/2014 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  If your going to buy something over this memorial day weekend holiday, give Sears and/or JC Penny a shot at your business. It's good for America. And you probably will get a better than usual deal.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 05/23/2014 1:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Craftsman tools shopping only
Posted by: Frank G || 05/23/2014 2:18 Comments || Top||

#4  I fear it's too late Mikey. Sears, JC Penny, and GM are swirling the bowl. Foreign competition, labor costs, home shopping, a poor economy, and high taxes are taking their toll. Too many wolves at the door.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/23/2014 3:19 Comments || Top||

#5  What Frank G. said.
Posted by: Hupoque Snolurt8832 || 05/23/2014 8:43 Comments || Top||

#6  Sears needs to spin off Kenmore and Craftsman while they can.

J.C. Penney committed suicide when they brought in that dipstick from Apple, and then alienated their core customer base.
Posted by: Menhadden Jeatle4391 || 05/23/2014 8:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Hey, but its Recovery Summer. Or was that last summer? Or the summer before that?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/23/2014 9:11 Comments || Top||

#8  JCP has undone most of what that idiot CEO did. The biggest stupidity was getting rid of coupons that people liked to use. But it may be too late. Mrs Fool has worked there for a number of years so we had a ringside seat to the festivities.

Another thing killing the brick and mortar retail is the internet retail like amazon. Most of the B&M companies now have a internet site now but they are not perceived as a 'internet' company.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/23/2014 9:19 Comments || Top||

#9  ..cause unlike the 'A', they haven't convinced bloggers et al to put that little button on their pages with a micro-transaction payback for the referral. Of course having HQs or facilities in tax sucking state, you just know the state revenue department would start sending out tax notices to out state participants in any such program.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/23/2014 9:40 Comments || Top||

#10  Craftsman tools are now being sold in places I never expected, such as other brand hardware stores. I expect that brand will continue after Sears goes away.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 05/23/2014 11:34 Comments || Top||

#11  JCP could have done with some better quality merchandise.

Sears pissed me off years ago with stupid things like saying "Cash or Sears charge" when I wanted to pay with a credit card, or when I'd find the same stuff at other stores for much lower prices that would take my card. One of my hub caps flew off into a ditch, never to be found, after I had my tires changed in their garage. Their "Customer Convenience" counter was a nightmare. Can't remember what I was trying to do in that line but I had to stand there long enough that I decided never to shop there again. Just bad management.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/23/2014 11:57 Comments || Top||

#12  The problem with B&M vs. the "A" is the old bugaboo...TAX.

You have to pay state sales taxes if there's a B&M regardless of your "online" activity.

People will avoid paying taxes anyway they can.

Government regulations, taxes, etc. drive much behavior that was never expected and ruins much of the economy. It won't change until the revolution if then.
Posted by: AlanC || 05/23/2014 12:00 Comments || Top||

#13  Try Snap-On or MAC, Frank.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 05/23/2014 12:49 Comments || Top||

#14  We dealt with Sears twice. Bought some winter underwear on line. It never arrived. Booked a guy to come and measure for something- I forget what, it was a substantial job. I guess he forgot, too.
Posted by: Grunter || 05/23/2014 13:33 Comments || Top||

#15  Alan, Amazon started collecting Florida sales tax May 6. They just opened a distribution center giving them a physical presence in the state. They are doing this in more and more states with an eye to same-day delivery in the future.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/23/2014 13:46 Comments || Top||

#16  And Amazon is at that stage in their development where they can afford to charge and collect sales taxes.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/23/2014 15:22 Comments || Top||

#17  And don't forget Sears bought and then drove into the ground Land's End. Even after selling it off, L.E. stuff is still sub-pre-Sears (ie crap)
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 05/23/2014 15:36 Comments || Top||

#18  So I sense there's not a lot of concern over Sears going down in flames?

According to Consumer Reports, some of the Kenmore stuff is still competitive. I almost bought a Kenmore refrigerator a few months ago.
Posted by: Bobby || 05/23/2014 15:46 Comments || Top||

#19  One thing the B&M have that A doesn't often is local presence. I don't know how often Mrs. Fool bought something from Costco on line, didn't like it and returned it to the retail store. Returning something to A means getting a Return Authorization, packing it up, taking it to UPS or wherever, etc...

And I think Kenmore is a pretty good brand. The refrigerator we bought about 10 years ago is still going strong - the icemaker even still works. (I think it is more of a whirlpool under the Kenmore badge).
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/23/2014 16:12 Comments || Top||

#20  We had a Kenmore chest freezer, sat in the garage through the heat of Summer and the cold of Winter, for 35 years. Never needed servicing. It died one evening in an electrical storm.

Its replacement is a Kenmore.

Snap-On wrenches suck! Too bloody thin.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 05/23/2014 17:18 Comments || Top||

#21  Indeed Kenmore and Craftsman are Gold.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/23/2014 18:53 Comments || Top||


Hewlett-Packard to cut up to 16,000 more jobs
[BBC] Technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced an 18% rise in profits to $1.3bn for the second quarter in statement that was accidently released before US stock markets closed.

But the firm said that despite rising profits, it plans to lay off an additional 11,000 to 16,000 workers. HP had previously announced it would cut 34,000 jobs as part of a restructuring announced in 2012.

Shares in HP fell after the early release of the news.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  but an increase in H1B hires
Posted by: Frank G || 05/23/2014 2:19 Comments || Top||

#2 

but an increase in H1B hires

"If a foreign government had imposed this system of education on the United States, we would rightfully consider it an act of war.

Glenn T. Seaborg, National Commission on Education, 1983"
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/23/2014 2:37 Comments || Top||

#3  HP is not alone in it's quest for foreign workers. The outsourcing of IT to China, India, and elsewhere is also on the increase. The economic deconstruction of the American economy continues.



Posted by: Besoeker || 05/23/2014 3:09 Comments || Top||

#4  HP tied itself to MicroBorg. MicroBorg has been ignoring the masses who wanted a OS that was user friendly and not designed for programmers and the corporate mantra to force it all through one portal. Then came tablets with the OS so many wanted. MicroBorg became just another Big Iron IBM. HP is stuck with it. It was a good ride while it lasted.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/23/2014 9:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Look at the back of any HP computer and you'll see that it's made in China. Call for support and you'll get to talk to somebody in India. So who needs American workers anyway? After all, it's a global economy, right? Who needs American workers and who needs America?

HP no longer has a sales force either. They use third party channel suppliers to sell the computers for them.

When former HP CEO Carly Fiorina ran for Senate in California against liberal firebrand Barbara Boxer I could not vote for her. I ended up voting for a third party candidate. I understand that Chinese and Indian workers are cheaper but I wanted to hear Fiorina at least say something about why we can't make computers in American anymore. When she never did I figured she's not looking for a solution, she's part of the problem.

And then there was Itanium, supposedly the successor to the RISC chip that was going to power the HP-UX server OS that was such a work horse all during the 80's, 90's and 2000's. But Itanium was a flop. Then Larry Ellison announced that his Oracle database software would no longer be ported to HP-UX. But all Ellison did was to see the writing on the wall. HP itself had given up on HP-UX in favor of Linux. All they're doing now is retailing Chinese built computers designed to run either Linux or Windows. Anybody can do that. So, for that matter, who needs HP?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/23/2014 12:29 Comments || Top||


Europe
11 Ukrainian Troops Dead, 33 Wounded By Rebels
[Ynet] Three days before Ukraine holds a presidential vote, pro-Russia forces of Evil attacked a military checkpoint Thursday in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 11 troops and wounding at least 33 others in the deadliest raid yet in weeks of fighting.

A rebel group who grabbed credit for the attack said one of their own was also killed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Spetznaz?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/23/2014 2:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Additional reporting and details here.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/23/2014 4:15 Comments || Top||


EU Bans Import of Israeli Settler Poultry Produce
[An Nahar] The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
has banned the import of poultry and eggs from Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, Israeli news website Walla reported on Thursday.

The 28-nation bloc informed the Israeli agriculture ministry that it recognized its veterinary supervision only within the Jewish state's pre-1967 borders and that settlement poultry produce therefore did not meet public health regulations for import, the website said.

An EU official in Tel Aviv confirmed the report and said the ruling was issued "in the spirit" of guidelines which came into force in January prohibiting dealings with settlement-based firms and bodies.

The settlements are illegal under international law
No they aren't, actually, but do enjoy your big lie.
and their continued expansion in the face of EU and U.S. criticism was a prime factor in the collapse of Israeli-Paleostinian peace talks.

"This issue, like many other trade issues that come up in the framework of trade relations between Israel and the European Union, will be addressed within the framework of the ongoing professional dialogue between the parties," Walla quoted an agriculture ministry spokesperson as saying.

The ministry declined to comment when contacted by Agence La Belle France Presse.

"It should be noted that poultry and poultry-related products from the settlements account for under five percent of all such products in Israel, so that the new European guideline will not have much practical impact from an economic standpoint," Walla reported.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  European chicks don't want to compete with Israeli chicks?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/23/2014 6:17 Comments || Top||

#2  But no problem with Russian gas and oil. Strange physically and politically annex the Crimea and you get a very different response.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/23/2014 9:13 Comments || Top||

#3  I dunno, P2K. There's something about burning chickens to keep warm in the winter that seems... inefficient.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/23/2014 15:24 Comments || Top||

#4  I wonder if the EU will import poultry products from Arabs in the "occupied" territories". Somehow I would expect that the health standards there would be lower than in the settler's farms.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 05/23/2014 15:31 Comments || Top||

#5  I wonder what happens when the supply is reduced?

Do prices go up or down? Or stay the same?
Posted by: Bobby || 05/23/2014 16:08 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
CII endorses underage marriage
[DAWN] Amid criticism from various quarters, including some of its own members, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), on Wednesday endorsed its earlier ruling that girls as young as nine years old were eligible to be married, "if the signs of puberty are visible".
If it's good enough for Mohammed...
The CII meeting, chaired by Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
-Fazl (JUI-F), also said that most of the clauses of the existing Moslem Marriage Law, 1961, were un-Islamic.

Talking to news hounds after the conclusion of a two-day CII meeting, Sheerani criticised the Sindh Assembly, the media and 'some other segments of society' for not taking the council's decisions seriously.

On March 31, the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution demanding dissolution of the CII and on April 28, the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2013, was enacted, which stipulates strict penalties for all parties that compel underage individuals to enter into marriage.

"The primary responsibility of the council is the 'Islamisation' of the country's laws and those opposing our decisions need to reconsider their position," Sheerani said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Islamic criteria for maturity,
Determined by men of great purity,
All boil down to this:
One may marry a miss
Between fifth grade and social security.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 05/23/2014 3:30 Comments || Top||

#2  I suppose the Council of Islamic Ideology also supports the practice of bacha bazi.
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 12:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Determined by men of great purity,

That's worrisome.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/23/2014 12:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Purity or piety?
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/23/2014 15:09 Comments || Top||

#5  #4 Purity or piety?

Surely both? But okay, scratch the purity.

One's debut into Muslim society
Must be managed with utmost propriety:
You must cover your curls
And be purchased as girls
By strange men of impeccable piety.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 05/23/2014 22:08 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel welcomes tech-hungry Chinese investors
China's purchase of a controlling stake in Israel's largest food maker reflects a broader surge in Chinese investment in an economy largely tethered to Western markets.

The deal, announced on Thursday, gives China access to Israel's high tech expertise, cachet among consumers made wary by domestic food production scandals and an alternative place to put their money amid trade obstacles from a wary United States.

In return, China offers a large market and source of funding at a time of growing calls, especially in Europe, for a boycott of Israel over its failure to make peace with the Palestinians.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/23/2014 15:58 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  cachet among consumers made wary by domestic food production scandals

Now we know who's going to buy the chickens and eggs the EU has chosen to abjure...
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/23/2014 21:12 Comments || Top||


Palestinian Refugees Pin Hopes On Pope's Visit
[Ymet] Residents of Dheisheh refugee camp, near Bethlehem, complaining of having 'no real life, no space, no jobs, no services, no economy', cast hopes that Pope's visit on Sunday will call attention to struggles.

Many feel increasingly neglected by the Paleostinian self-rule government and the United Nations agency responsible for their welfare.
Pope Francis will spend less than half an hour in this Paleostinian refugee camp during a jam-packed Holy Land tour this weekend, but residents hope even a brief visit will shine a light on what they say is their forgotten plight.

Some 190,000 of the West Bank's 2.4 million Paleostinians live in refugee camps and face tougher conditions -- including higher unemployment and overcrowding -- than their neighbors in towns and villages.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  what a crock...

The region of Palestine was under Turkish rule for over 700 years until WWI when the British Mandate took possession of it. After WWII the land was divided and Palestine became the Kingdom of Jordan. Except for a small sliver of land acknowledging the Jewish ancestors lived on all that land even before the Turks took it over. Yes, there were nomads that wandered back and forth across the land but what the modern day "Palestinian" wants is something that's not theirs and will never be. You cannot turn back the hands of time.
Stop throwing rocks and better yourself with the massive amounts of refugee monies that they have been given to you over the years.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 05/23/2014 1:56 Comments || Top||

#2  and better yourself with the massive amounts of refugee monies that they have been given to you over the years.

In other words, you're asking them to dig in to the 'Weapons and Rockets' set-aside derived from those funds.

Probably won't happen.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 05/23/2014 10:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Underlying the discontent is fear of open-ended limbo.

Wasn't this the PLO's plan?

"There no return to our homes and land, no real life, no space, no jobs, no services, no economy."

Maybe integrating into Jordan/Egypt is a better plan.
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 12:29 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe integrating into Jordan/Egypt is a better plan.

Jordanians and Egyptians know better than to let those people into their country.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/23/2014 12:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Maybe integrating into Jordan/Egypt is a better plan

For those that have forgotten 'history':

Black September 1970
Posted by: Pappy || 05/23/2014 15:27 Comments || Top||

#6  re: Black September...

Jordan didn't go far enough.
Posted by: AlanC || 05/23/2014 19:18 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
DARPA unveils hack-proof drone
The Pentagon's research arm unveiled a new drone built with secure software that prevents the control and navigation of the aircraft from being hacked.
About time.
The program, called High Assurance Cyber Military Systems, or HACMS, uses software designed to thwart cyber attacks. It has been underway with the Defense Advance Research Project Agency for several years after originating at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Washington, said Kathleen Fischer, HACMS program manager for DARPA.

"The software is designed to make sure a hacker cannot take over control of a UAS. The software is mathematically proven to be invulnerable to large classes of attack," Fisher said.
I wonder if I can get it for my PC? :-)
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Large classes of attack? What about SMALL classes of attack?

I wonder if the Chinese have hacked the developers sites yet?
Posted by: tipover || 05/23/2014 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Chips made in China no doubt....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/23/2014 0:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Hopefully it is not so delicately balanced that they can't afford to install a few ounces of C4 next to sensitive equipment that really doesn't need to fall into enemy hands.
Posted by: gorb || 05/23/2014 1:25 Comments || Top||

#4  Grant money, where would be without it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/23/2014 3:30 Comments || Top||

#5  install a few ounces of C4 next to sensitive equipment

Or thermite.

Satellite command & Control is encrypted so that only we can control them. After all, you don't want Iran commanding the GPS SV constellation.

Likewise, you don't want Iran commanding or receiving sensor feeds from drones. This really should have been done at the get go but then 9/11 happened.
Posted by: Squinty || 05/23/2014 9:33 Comments || Top||

#6  Never say something is 'Hack-Proof' unless you're fielding a honey-pot.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 05/23/2014 10:39 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Thai Army Says Will Block Social Media over Critical Content
[An Nahar] Thailand's new ruling junta on Friday warned it would block any social media platforms in the country found to carry content that incites violence or is critical of its military leaders.

In one of a series of bulletins on national television laying out new restrictions after declaring a military coup, the junta urged "cooperation from social media operators and all involved to stop such messages that incite violence, break the law or criticize the coup council."

"If we find any to be in violation, we will suspend the service immediately and will summon those responsible for prosecution," it added.

Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are hugely popular in the country.

Coup leaders had earlier ordered all television and radio stations to suspend their usual programs and show only the army's broadcasts in the wake of a coup.

The step was taken to ensure the release of "accurate news to the people," an army front man said in a televised announcement.

All television channels in the Southeast Asian kingdom including foreign broadcasters such as CNN, BBC, and CNBC ran a constant military feed featuring a succession of brief announcements related to the government takeover.

Between the bulletins, a static screen was shown depicting the emblems of the various branches of Thailand's armed forces, as patriotic Thai songs played.
Posted by: Fred || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Cannibis Crops Booming In Lebanon As Syrian Civil War Rages
[Ynet] Government efforts to destroy cannabis industry have been mostly abandoned as officials struggle to handle effects of Syria's civil war.
Handling it by toking up, I'd wager...
Driving around his Bekaa Valley farmland, Ali Nasri Shamas carries a revolver by his side and an automatic rifle in the back of his car, weapons he says he's ready to use if the army moves in to try to destroy his lucrative cannabis crop.

But he may not need them this year. With Syria's civil war raging 30 miles (50 km) away, Lebanese security forces have other priorities than their annual showdown with the Bekaa hashish growers.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/23/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You got to have your priorities straight.
Posted by: ed in texas || 05/23/2014 19:01 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
38[untagged]
6Arab Spring
5Govt of Pakistan
2Boko Haram
2al-Shabaab
2Govt of Syria
2Palestinian Authority
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1al-Qaeda
1Commies
1Abu Sayyaf
1TTP
1Hezbollah
1Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1MNLA
1Ansar al-Sharia

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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2014-05-23
  Militias stream into Libyan capital, Tripoli
Thu 2014-05-22
  Benghazi's Saiqa Special Forces join Hafter's 'Dignity Operation'
Wed 2014-05-21
  Syrian Army Missile Kills 23, Including 8 Kids
Tue 2014-05-20
  Maliki Emerges atop Iraq Poll in Bid to Remain PM
Mon 2014-05-19
  36 Dead, 30 Hostages in Mali Clashes, PM Says 'at War with Terrorists'
Sun 2014-05-18
  Belmokhtar loses another top deputy
Sat 2014-05-17
  24 Dead, 146 Hurt as Libya ex-Rebel Chief Battles Benghazi Islamists
Fri 2014-05-16
  Car Bomb Blast Kills 43 near Syria-Turkey Border
Thu 2014-05-15
  Syria Rebels Detonate Tunnel Bomb under Idlib Army Base
Wed 2014-05-14
  13 People Burned Alive in C. Africa at the Weekend
Tue 2014-05-13
  Belmokhtar aide killed in Mali
Mon 2014-05-12
  Militants kidnap, kill 20 Iraqi soldiers
Sun 2014-05-11
  Almost 90 %t vote for self-rule for east Ukraine region
Sat 2014-05-10
  11 Killed as Iraq Forces Launch Assault near Fallujah
Fri 2014-05-09
  Syrian Rebels Claim Massive Aleppo Hotel Bombing


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