Two men were killed and 13 other people, including a 15-year-old boy, were wounded since Friday in separate shootings on the city's Far South and West sides, said police.
Around 7:03 p.m., a 28-year-old man was fatally shot while he sat in a vehicle on the 1300 block of North Springfield Avenue in the North Lawndale Avenue, said Police News Affairs Officer Thomas Sweeney.
The man was in the vehicle with a female child when someone came up to the vehicle and began shooting, Sweeney said.
According to WGN TV, the man had a 3-year-old girl who was possibly his daughter on his lap at the time.
[IsraelTimes] Located on the shores of the Arabian Peninsula, the United Arab Emirates is well known as a desert nation awash in oil, gas, foreign currency, and, above all, sand.
According to a report published Friday by the Daily Mail, however, Dubai ordered 1,500 cubic meters (16,146 cubic feet) of sand from a German company for its world-class horse racing track.
The local sand is considered too coarse for local horses, many of whom are among the world?s most elite thoroughbreds, and not stable enough to race on compared to central European sand, the report said.
While the news may seem strange to those unfamiliar with horse racing, this wasn?t the first time the Arabian principality reached out to the Europeans for sand: the Crown Prince of Dubai ordered 3,000 tons of sand in 2003 from Lancashire, England in order to provide his horses with a top-quality track, the Telegraph reported.
?Local sand is large-grained and rough. It is very bad for horses and is unstable to ride on,? said Udo Ellekotten, the owner of Equiterra, the company tasked with providing the sand to Dubai.
Sand was also imported to the Magic Kingdom for use in sandbags during Desert Storm. In that case, the sand was too fine and worked its way out of the sandbag's fabric.
Ellekotten did however admit that he was caught off-guard when first approached by business contacts from the Gulf state and originally thought he was being duped. ?When we got the first phone call we thought it was a practical joke about selling sand to Dubai,? Ellekotten told the Daily Mail.
?We quickly realized, however, that it wasn?t, and we?re very proud that such a distinguished client chose us,? the German business owner added.
The German sand is far more absorbent than Arabian sand and subsequently has less damaging qualities for the multi-million dollar horses racing upon it.
[AnNahar] The Ukrainian army on Saturday reported 11 attacks against its positions in the east where a ceasefire is tentatively holding and said a drone was spotted over Mariupol, the last major eastern town under its control.
"The surveillance activities of the enemy have intensified around Mariupol where a drone was identified," the military said in a statement.
Ukraine has been worried for months that the Russia-backed separatists will launch an offensive on Mariupol in a bid to build a corridor between the Russian border and the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in March.
The ceasefire introduced on Tuesday was violated 11 times in the past 24 hours, the statement said, with artillery and mortar fire reported at several flashpoints along the line.
Around the airport in Donetsk -- site of some of the fiercest fighting between government and separatist forces in recent months -- "the night was rough", a voluntary soldier, Maxim, with the right-wing Pravy Sektor group told AFP.
"Snipers fired on us and kabooms were coming from the airport. But everything is calm this morning," he said.
Volodymyr Tiurin, an official in a town in the neighboring Lugansk province, said all was calm.
"People slept soundly for the fourth night in a row," he said.
The ceasefire -- the fourth since the conflict broke out in April -- aims to bring an end to fighting that has claimed more than 4,300 lives and displaced nearly a million people.
At least five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since it began, but festivities have greatly reduced.
The government has been pushing for a fresh round of peace talks, but the rebels have apparently been reluctant to take part.
For a map, click here. You can enlarge the map, if you open it separately.
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Peace talks on the civil war in southeastern Ukraine have been delayed for the third time as both sides in the conflict continue to fight, according to Russian language news accounts.
Talks were originally scheduled to begin December 9th, then December 12th, and December 15th, but have been delayed once again and, if they begin, the earliest talks will be held December 19th.
According to a news report posted on korrespondent.net, the head of the Donetsk negotiating team, Denis Pushilin said that negotiations, the latest round of which were scheduled to begin December 15th must begin before the end of the year.
Two of the four points in the original ceasefire agreement have continued from the very start: prisoner exchanges and the ceasefire. Friday, a total of 800 prisoners are expected to be exchanged over the next few days. Several prisoner exchanges have been conducted between the rebels and the Ukrainian military since September 5th.
One of the sticking points on negotiations between the Ukrainian government and the independent republics of Donetsk and Lugansk is the "economic blockade" imposed by the Ukrainians last month, one element of which is the cutoff of all pensioners in Donetsk, forcing the new government in Donetsk to cover those payments. In an interview with a German television station last month, Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed astonishment the Ukrainians would consider such a measure, pointing out that during the second Chechen war his government continued to cover pension payments.
Another is the withdrawal by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada legislature of legislation conferring on both breakaway republics a special status similar to autonomy. Donetsk officials now want to negotiate those items before they will return to the peace talks. The original law was passed just after the September 5th ceasefire, but it was to last only three years, and officials in both Donetsk and Lugansk claimed they were not consulted when the original agreement was signed.
Meanwhile, in rebel held territories the ceasefire held for a day and a half before some limited artillery and small arms fire were exchanged.
At the Donetsk airport, Ukrainian and rebel commanders agreed to a local ceasefire so food supplies and unarmed fillers/replacements can be sent to the Ukrainian special forces defending the terminal. The Donetsk region was the last to experience a "day of silence" as part of the ceasefire requirement imposed on both sides, but it was short lived.
For example, several units belonging to the rebels' "Somalia" and "Motorola" battalions were seen on a road march last Thursday, headed towards positions east of the Sea of Azov port city of Mariupol. It is unclear in rebel reports just how large a force had been gathered, but it comprised rebel armor, antiaircraft and armored infantry units, and more importantly, it got the attention of Ukrainian media.
The last time such a force was deployed that far south was only days before the Minsk September 5th ceasefire, when rebel forces were being redeployed after the successful conclusion of the Ilovaisk battle which destroyed, according to rebel accounts, almost 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Activity in the Mariupol region has spiked in the past week, with Ukrainian military units pushing their lines further east of Mariupol and local militia groups firing mortars on Ukrainian units attempting to dig in near rebel positions.
The "motive" for the redeployment -- as Russian military blogger Boris Rozhin characterized it -- is unclear, except that back in September, Mariupol was used by the Ukrainian military as a marshaling and rest and refit center for their forces burned out in combat further east.
The redeployment also strips the main focus of fighting in Donetsk since the September 5th ceasefire away from the airport, which the Ukrainians continue to hold. A reported large number of rebel effectives have been killed by artillery fire and in repeated assaults attempting to take the new terminal, the last stronghold held by the Ukrainians.
Before last Thursday, fighting erupted between rebel forces holding Gorlovka, northeast of Donetsk city and Ukrainian forces deployed to the north and west. The main issue was a rebel attempt to open up a road covered by artillery fire, and the Ukrainian response.
Thursday, it was reported that both sides stopped all but scattered exchanges of small arms fire. The rebels claim the Ukrainians are using BM-27 rocket artillery systems, 240mm rockets which are capable of firing submunitions. So far no firm video or pictorial evidence has emerged of those charges.
In Donetsk city itself, small arms fire exchanges have taken place between rebel forces and Ukrainian forces in the Leninsky district and in the Ukrainian held suburb of Peski.
Lugansk
Lugansk forces have made much of their activity in recent days as rebel forces withdrew their heavy artillery from the front line.
According to the pro Russian Voice of Sevastopol, fighting along the Northern Donetsk River centered around Schastye erupted on the morning of December 12th as rebel and Ukrainian forces exchanged gunfire. According to the rebels' report, Ukrainian forces attempted to redeploy towed 122mm artillery and a 122mm rocket artillery unit back into Schastye in violation of the ceasefire, three guns/launchers of which were destroyed by rebel SPG fire.
Like the Ukrainians, rebels have figured out how to mount a 73mm recoilless rifle to an artillery mount and use it for artillery fire, which is perfectly legal under the terms of the ceasefire.
Fighting was also recorded on highway 1303 as rebel forces fired on Ukrainian checkpoints along the road.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
Politicians in the Russian Duma are now considering a vote that will allow Russian president Vladimir Putin to send combat formations into Ukraine.
It also threatens fresh sanctions against Russia, whose economy is crumbling under previous rounds of Western sanctions and a collapse in oil prices.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Rome on Monday amid the toughening American response.
Russia`s foreign ministry said the new US legislation put a "powerful bomb" under US-Russia bilateral ties.
"The openly confrontational nature of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act approved by both houses of the US Congress without debate and proper voting cannot cause anything but deep regret," said ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.
I'd like to say ... = "Iran Question" but since the US-Allies/West are SSSHHHH ...PCCCCCC helping Iran to nuclearize, methinks the OWG Globalists + aligned question have already answered the question.
* PRAVDA [report = old]> IS GERMANY PREPARING TO ATTACK RUSSIA AGAIN?
* SAME > EUROPE FALLS UNDER THE HEEL OF THE ISLAMISTS SPEEDILY.
No Royal Navy + Pro-Sharia/Separatist Muslims in Marseille = Darth Vlad in the Crimea, + entry into former Soviet Eastern Europe = ultimately RISE OF A NEO-GERMANY/PRUSSIA???
Lest we fergit, COLD WAR NATO ADAGE = US-NATO ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE IFF THE SOVIET OR ENEMY ARMY(S)EVAR! BROKE THROUGH THE GERMAN ARMY.
* GROONG > [ICH.com] RISE OF GERMAN IMPERIALISM + PHONY "RUSSIAN" THREAT.
D *** NG IT, AS A LOYAL MADONNA FAN FROM CHINA-, NUCLEAR ISLAM-DESIRED GUAM-WESTPAC I DEMAND THAT THE FUTURE SPACE BATTLESHIP "BISMARCK II /STAR BISMARCK" BE TOWED TO GUAM'S TALOFOFO BAY, like the former USN BB "USS Oregon" from POTUS "TR"s Great White Fleet.
NO? ex-USN BB USS New York to the Philippines???
VERSUS
* WAFF > [GlobalResearch] US CONGRESS "DECLARES WAR" ON RUSSIA WID RESOLUTION [H.R.] 758, CANADA OFFERS MILITARY AID.
I thought NOKOR was supposed to attack Russia???
VERSUS
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > CHINA SAYS NEW "SILK ROAD" IS TAKING SHAPE DESPITE INDIA'S RELUCTANCE TO JOIN - TIMES OF INDIA.
Yuuup, IMO ditto as per China's plans controlling for East Asia + 1/2 of the Pacific from the Anti-US US-led US by 2020, but close enuff for [Indian] Govt work = good tasty curry.
* DRUDGEREPORT > [Yahoo News] DENMARK CLAIMS NORTH POLE THROUGH UNDERWATER [Subsea] RIDGE LINKED FROM GREENLAND.
Ya see what happened, Moriarity, because we didn't send the US Marines + Army Airborne to conquer Greenland after 9-11!
Espec for our mighty future OWG NAU!
------------
* FYI TOPIX > SYRIAN MODERATE REBELS FACE EXTINCTION.
IMO ditto as per traditional US Nationalism, ,+ Western Democratic/Liberal Socialism in general.
IN THIS GWOT = WAR FOR OWG-NWO, + AGE OF GLOBALISM, WHERE SECULAR COMMIES GO, ISLAMISTS = HARD BOYZ FOLLOW + VICE-VERSA.
Sorry, but the New Republic had the best photo spread.
Lugansk minister of culture, Irina Filatova is suing Ukrainian writer Irena Karpa because of a cartoon she says damaged her reputation and caused her sleep problems.
Filatova took the post of Minister of Culture in Lugansk back in May, 2014 amidst controversy over revealing photos taken of her in a bikini swimsuit and partially topless, as well as some photos taken apparently when she was younger.
The cartoon in question was released last month, and can be found here. It's all in Ukrainian, but the relevant parts -- so to speak -- are in the last minute which show an unflattering portrayal of Filatova's photo sessions.
Western news outlets lambasted the then nascent republic over its full slate of governmental ministers, especially focusing on Filatova's portfolio.
[AnNahar] Australia's government warned of further job losses Saturday as media reports said around 175 government agencies working in areas as diverse as Antarctic science and drought will be scrapped.
Well I'll be damned. It can be done!
The conservative administration of Prime Minister Tony Abbott which came to power in September 2013 has consistently argued that government had become too big and wasteful under the previous Labor leadership.
It axed 76 agencies in the May budget, and has since sold off the nation's largest health insurer Medibank Private among other assets and is now planning a larger round of cuts.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the government's decision, expected to be formally announced on Monday as part of a mid-year economic outlook, would mean more jobs would go.
"If you reduce the number of government bodies, there will be an impact on jobs across the public service," he told Sky News on Saturday.
"What we will see is that as a result of our reform efforts so far, that the size of the public service will be back down to the same level as what it was in 2007, 2008. We think that's appropriate."
The Weekend Australian reported that 138 government agencies will be abolished, including the Vietnam Veterans Family Study Consultative Forum, the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee and a High-Level Group on Drought.
Fifteen more -- including the Australian Government Solicitor -- will be consolidated into government departments and a further 26 merged (resulting in the net reduction of 20 bodies), bringing the total loss to more than 170, the paper said.
"The goal is to ensure that the government is as big as it needs to be but as small as it can be," Cormann told Sky News.
Treasurer Joe Hockey is expected to unveil a blowout in the federal deficit in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook Monday, with some estimates of a Aus$5 billion (U.S.$4.1 billion) increase to Aus$35 billion given sharp declines in commodity prices and weakening demand from China.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said the abolition of scores of agencies could further damage the economy and stifle confidence at a critical juncture.
"Australia's at a crossroads. We are narrowly reliant on our mineral sales globally to sustain Australia -- the price of our minerals is falling," he said.
"The last thing Australia needs now if we want to have growth in the future... is for Tony Abbott to be killing jobs and killing confidence."
#1
Of course, if you tried that here, the first thing to close is the national parks, and then they try to figure out if they can make everybody get off the interstate highways, and then...
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/14/2014 8:45 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Doesn't this deserve the 'smallest violin' graphic?
Long, long time ago there was an agency call HEW in which all the Beltway's work on health, education, and welfare fit into one agency, because the federal constitutional authority to engage in such areas was small to non-existent. That was before the pols discovered they could raid the income stream from Social Security to buy votes with and thus the cancer spread.
#5
Unless you kkkapitalist wall streeter 1%rs expect shareholder board meeting piiig$$ to spend their million$$ allowing the natural right to have a living wage while wearing Hawaiian shirts.
Braving snowy weather, Americans and Belgians gathered in the Ardennes on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of one of the biggest and bloodiest US battles of the second world war, the Battle of the Bulge.
In the town of Bastogne, where soldiers of the 101st Airborne held out despite being cut off and surrounded, shops and windows were decorated Saturday with American and Belgian flags. One local restaurant posted a drawing of an American flag and the message “thank you”.
Starting on 16 December 1944, and for nearly six weeks, more than 600,000 American soldiers, fighting in freezing conditions and often hungry and dog-tired, took part in desperate efforts to contain, then throw back, a surprise German counteroffensive masterminded by Adolf Hitler himself.
The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, hailed the ultimate result as “an ever-famous American victory”. But it came at a high cost: 80,987 US casualties, including 10,276 dead, 47,493 wounded and 23,218 missing, according to the US army’s official history. Total German casualties are estimated at 81,834, including 12,652 dead and 30,582 missing.
After the end of the battle, on 28 January 1945, Allied forces attacked Germany in unison, eventually leading to the Nazi surrender and the end of the war in Europe. From the Grauniad, no less (though it's a stock story from the Agency that Cannot Be Named.)
#1
The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, hailed the ultimate result as “an ever-famous American victory”.
Had to say that because Monty made a pubic statement to the effect that he pulled their American's bacon from the fire. Not good PR. Meanwhile Patton was busy actually linking up with the isolated airborne in Bastogne (unlike the other bloke who had left his lads, at the end of the line, wanting a few months earlier).
#4
Security guard/retired cop at my first job had been a motorcycle courier who got pressed into service in the Bulge while making a delivery. Didn't talk much about it except to say it'd been damn cold.
Main talks suspended as delegates from 190 countries admit there is 'no consensus', while frantic efforts have begun to reach some token agreement, but few are optimistic of a quick resolution, if any.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
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#1
Why would concocting a meaniness statement require special effort or emergency measures for UN staffer? I'm sure they have something on file they can dust off. I would think that inconsequential templates would be available within Microsoft Office Diplomat Edition.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/14/2014 0:26 Comments ||
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#2
The issue isn't drafting a statement. They dealing over which countries get paid and where the money comes from.
#7
Disgusting vermin; rank and file lock step greenshirts with desecrating a 2000 year old piece of human artistic achievement for a selfie. To Hell, to Hell with them all.
New York City's Finest want to put an end to the long-standing tradition of the mayor's appearance at the funerals of fallen police officers -- at least so long as Hizzoner happens to be uber-liberal Bill de Blassio.
This move came after repeated insults and attacks by the mayor and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, accusing the police of racism, according to the New York Post. The feeling is that for either official to appear at the funeral of an officer killed in the line of duty would amount to nothing short of hypocrisy.
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.
Two men were killed and 13 other people, including a 15-year-old boy, were wounded since Friday in separate shootings on the city's Far South and West sides, said police.
[IsraelTimes] Located on the shores of the Arabian Peninsula, the United Arab Emirates is well known as a desert nation awash in oil, gas, foreign currency, and, above all, sand.
