Hi there, !
Today Sat 09/19/2015 Fri 09/18/2015 Thu 09/17/2015 Wed 09/16/2015 Tue 09/15/2015 Mon 09/14/2015 Sun 09/13/2015 Archives
Rantburg
533833 articles and 1862338 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 69 articles and 190 comments as of 11:36.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Kuwait Sentences Seven to Death over Imam Sadeq (AS) Mosque Suicide Attack
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 23:56 JosephMendiola [6] 
1 23:12 Elmerert Hupens2660 [7] 
17 23:58 JosephMendiola [2] 
1 01:34 newc [7] 
3 17:12 Bright Pebbles [2] 
9 15:26 SteveS [2] 
3 13:25 CrazyFool [2] 
0 [2] 
4 21:24 trailing wife [4] 
2 17:02 ryuge [6] 
1 07:54 ed in texas [3] 
6 21:36 charger [10] 
1 02:27 g(r)omgoru [3] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
0 [6]
0 [3]
0 [4]
0 [4]
0 [2]
0 [2]
0 [2]
4 16:23 Rambler in Virginia [4]
0 [4]
0 [2]
1 10:01 OldSpook [4]
7 22:28 Zenobia Floger6220 [4]
0 [2]
0 [8]
0 [8]
0 [8]
0 [7]
0 [7]
0 [2]
0 [9]
Page 2: WoT Background
4 23:52 JosephMendiola [5]
6 22:02 JosephMendiola [1]
0 [4]
0 [1]
6 14:00 Shipman [3]
12 22:08 JosephMendiola [3]
0 [3]
0 []
1 13:05 g(r)omgoru [2]
0 [3]
0 [2]
0 [3]
0 []
2 21:55 trailing wife [5]
0 [10]
5 23:46 JosephMendiola [8]
6 12:27 Dar [3]
0 [9]
2 20:25 Thrusonter Noodleman1508 [5]
3 19:56 Thrusonter Noodleman1508 [4]
0 [2]
0 []
1 01:55 g(r)omgoru [4]
1 02:32 g(r)omgoru [8]
0 [3]
3 07:46 JohnQC [1]
Page 4: Opinion
5 23:09 Elmerert Hupens2660 [3]
8 23:57 Helmuth, Speaking for Big Foot4718 [4]
1 12:08 Ebbang Uluque6305 [3]
1 13:23 OldSpook [5]
11 22:18 JosephMendiola [11]
0 [10]
1 22:23 JosephMendiola [9]
Page 6: Politix
10 21:02 Frank G [5]
30 18:51 Warthog []
8 20:59 Frank G [6]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Gang threat increases thanks to Champ's lax immigration policies.
[Investors.com] Donald Trump got a standing ovation from some 20,000 supporters Monday after vowing to kick illegal alien gangsters out of the country. An alarming new Texas study on the MS-13 threat shows why.
All we desire is an opportunity to integrate, learn the language, find a good job, raise a family, and become productive members of society.
Conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the study reveals that the nation's most violent street gang -- MS-13 -- has been energized by the flood of illegal immigrant minors entering the U.S. through Mexico, after President Obama rolled out the welcome mat for them.

El Salvador-based MS-13 has now emerged as a "top-tier" threat in Texas, responsible for a rash of gruesome machete murders in Houston and other Texas cities.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shouldn't be hard to identify them. Aim for the center of mass--don't be distracted by the ink.
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/16/2015 7:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Next thing you know they'll be getting jobs with the IRS.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 09/16/2015 12:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Next thing you know they'll be getting jobs with the IRS.

It'll likely be an improvement over Lerner and the gang...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 09/16/2015 13:25 Comments || Top||


Malawi teacher arrested over trying to sell albino girl
[Iran Press TV] The Malawian police have locked away
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
a teacher on charges of trying to sell an albino schoolgirl for thousands of dollars.

On Tuesday, Phillip Ngulube was detained in Mzuzu, the capital city of Malwai's Northern Region, while trying to sell an albino high school student to a Tanzanian man.

Ngulube was "caught by police on his way to selling the girl to an alleged Tanzanian businessman for six million Kwacha (USD 10,000)," said Malawian police front man Maurice Chapola.

Chapola added that the girl would have most probably get killed for her body organs if the police had not intercepted the suspect.

Ngulube, who has been accused of abduction with intent to murder, denies the allegations, saying the albino teenager is his girlfriend.

Reports say several people are to stand trial in the African country over kidnapping, mutilating and murdering albinos whose body parts are superstitiously believed to be endowed with magical powers.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Zimbabwe's Homo Kafricanus President Mugabe delivers wrong speech, opposition questions his health
[Iran Press TV] Zim-bob-we's President Bob Muggsy Mugabe
Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case...
, the Africa's oldest leader, has read out a month-old speech at the opening of the country's parliament, an error that prompted the opposition to question his mental health.

"The mix-up happened in his secretarial office. Therefore the delivery in parliament should be set aside," said George Charamba, the press secretary in the president's office and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Rooters cited the online edition of the state-run Herald newspaper as reporting on Tuesday.

The 91-year-old Mugabe, who has been serving as the president of the Southern African country since 1987, delivered the same speech he read during his state-of-the-nation address on August 25 in parliament, in which he urged China to rebuild Zim-bob-we's troubled economy.

Charamba said that the president would read the correct speech at a later date.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bob "Ron Burgundy" Mugabe - he'll read whatever you put on the teleprompter
Posted by: Frank G || 09/16/2015 10:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Might be funny if somebody messed with the Champ's teleprompter.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 09/16/2015 12:16 Comments || Top||

#3  "It's time for a talk about race,"
Pled Bob, with a quizical face.
Read Barry, "O Chinee,
Please come save my hiney!"
The prompters resigned in disgrace.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 09/16/2015 15:06 Comments || Top||

#4  :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/16/2015 21:24 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Bin Laden firm to blame for 9/11 crane collapse on Grand mosque, executives barred from leaving Kingdom
Posted by: anon1 || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  a Iran rocket scientist was among the fatalities in the accident

Posted by: lord garth || 09/16/2015 0:35 Comments || Top||

#2  To quote Charles Barkley - 'That's turrible!'
Posted by: Raj || 09/16/2015 0:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Good luck with that "Will of Allan" defense.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 09/16/2015 10:08 Comments || Top||

#4  I wonder if there will be any customers for the head choppa?
Posted by: Herb Jegum6660 || 09/16/2015 13:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Bin Laden firm blamed for 911, U.S. Government rushes their executives out of US before shtf.

Posted by: KBK || 09/16/2015 15:26 Comments || Top||

#6  Irony is not dead.
Posted by: charger || 09/16/2015 21:36 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia accuses Venezuela of new airspace violation
Colombia accused Venezuela Monday of violating its airspace for the second time in two days amid a smoldering border crisis, saying a warplane had again flown well into its territory.

"A Venezuelan military plane penetrated Colombian airspace" Sunday night in the northeastern department of Vichada, Colombian air force commander Carlos Bueno told a news conference.
Why don't you just shoot them down? You have Kfir jets and a few Dragonflies. Use the Kfirs to wax the intruders. Then let the Venezuelans know that you could conceivably deal with the problem at the source.
The accusation came after Colombia said two Venezuelan warplanes crossed its northern border on Saturday -- a claim Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez dismissed as "an invention."

The two countries have been at odds since Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro closed part of the border on August 19, blaming Colombian paramilitaries for an attack on a Venezuelan anti-smuggling patrol. Maduro accused Colombia of waging an "attack on Venezuela's economy," a reference to the rampant smuggling of heavily subsidized goods and fuel out of the oil-rich but shortage-hit socialist country.

The two countries, which recalled their ambassadors on August 27, agreed Saturday to resume diplomatic contacts. But tensions have escalated again with the accusations of Venezuelan encroachments into Colombian air space.

In the latest incident, the plane flew 10 kilometers (six miles) into Colombian airspace, then did a sharp turn and returned to Venezuela, Bueno said. He did not specify what the aircraft was but said that "given the speed registered on the radar, it was a high-performance plane."

Bueno said Colombian air force officers had contacted their Venezuelan counterparts, who told them the plane had diverted from its course due to bad weather. But no authorization was requested, in violation of the terms of a bilateral agreement.

In Saturday's incident, Colombia says two Venezuelan warplanes crossed nearly three kilometers into Colombian airspace and flew over an army unit.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos later said he had ordered his foreign and defense ministries to lodge a formal complaint with the Venezuelan government.

Since the row began, Venezuela has deported some 1,500 Colombian nationals and more than 18,500 others have fled in fear, according to the United Nations.
Posted by: Pappy || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Provoking an international to draw attention away from how bad things are at home. A trick as old as the hills.
Posted by: Thraling Hupoluns2819 || 09/16/2015 3:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos later said he had ordered his foreign and defense ministries to lodge a formal complaint with the Venezuelan government a Surface to Air Missile
Posted by: Frank G || 09/16/2015 10:32 Comments || Top||

#3  If the west was smart they'd covertly put a laser near the border and the plane would "crash".
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/16/2015 17:12 Comments || Top||


Venezuelans Turn to Homemade Products as Shortages Drag On
From makeup to insect repellent, Venezuelans are looking to natural and homemade products in response to the chronic shortages resulting from a deepening economic crisis in the socialist-ruled country.

Falling oil prices and a collapsing state-led sector have left the OPEC nation struggling to keep shelves stocked.

Venezuelans with a knack for crafts and a flare for do-it-yourself projects are filling in the gaps with their own wares that they promote via the country's viral social networks. Popular homemade substitutes for scarce personal hygiene products now include cloves mixed with alcohol as insect repellent or a mixture of lemon and vinegar instead of acetone.

"This year I started production of cosmetics and have been making more and more as a result of the positive response," said Mimi Ossorio, who sells organic skin products made from raw materials including essential oils, honey, and cocoa under the brand "Beauty Mimi."

Economists believe Venezuelan inflation is in the triple digits and the economy in a steep recession, though the central bank this year stopped publishing that data. President Nicolas Maduro says the situation is the result of an "economic war" led by political adversaries.

Price controls on staple goods have spurred a lucrative contraband business in which smugglers buy subsidized corn flour, soap or toothpaste and resell the products for a profit on the domestic black market or across the border in Colombia.

Small start-up businesses can attract clients by offering an escape from supermarket lines, where fights and attempted looting are increasingly common.

"Clearly our sales have grown," said Carlos Gil whose online vegetable market delivers organic produce that he and his family harvest outside Caracas. "People don't like going to the supermarket. No one wants to be stuck in line."

But home businesses also struggle to overcome shortages.Ossorio says some beauty products require raw materials not available in Venezuela. She frequently asks family and friends who travel abroad to set aside space in their suitcases.

Gil, however, does not suffer from the increasing shortages of fertilizers and pesticides that plague the industrial farming sector. He does not use them.

"I think we're covering a niche. Maybe it was luck, call it that," he said. "But obviously the country's situation is not good for anyone."
Posted by: Pappy || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Here's an idea - depose or whack the prick with the huge 'stache and all of his butt sniffers, then you can start to fix things.
Posted by: Raj || 09/16/2015 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  The Hugo Chavez legacy--much like the Obama legacy.
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/16/2015 7:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Cause socialist central planning has got to work sometime, anytime? Someone at least wins the lotto, right? (do I need to put a /sarc there?)
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/16/2015 7:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Clearly Maduro needs to study the Zero's policies on regulations of food and medicine and anything else.

An armed EPA, FDA, BLM, et. al. can put these revanchists back where they belong.
Posted by: AlanC || 09/16/2015 8:23 Comments || Top||

#5  After you whack Nick the Mad, make sure to go get Hugo's daughter and the billion-plus dollars she's stashed away...
Posted by: Steve White || 09/16/2015 11:47 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, if you're not importing anything, where stuff supposed to come from?
They've just reduced their economy to a zero-sum equation.
Posted by: ed in texas || 09/16/2015 12:16 Comments || Top||

#7  Here's an idea - depose or whack the prick with the huge 'stache and all of his butt sniffers, then you can start to fix things.

Now... now... Lets leave Obama and the Congressional leadeshit out of this - besides the Secret Service don't like such talk.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 09/16/2015 13:17 Comments || Top||

#8  They have Sears catalogs down there?
Posted by: KBK || 09/16/2015 15:20 Comments || Top||

#9  if you're not importing anything, where stuff supposed to come from?

You go out in the woods and grub for it, just like we did back in the 18th century. Here, let's put some honey and spider webs on that open wound.
Posted by: SteveS || 09/16/2015 15:26 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukraine’s Antonov breaks ties with Russia
The Ukrainian state-owned aircraft design bureau Antonov is exiting from the joint Ukrainian-Russian enterprise UAC-Antonov, according to the resolution of the Ukrainian Government from September 8, 2015.

"[It is decided] To agree with the proposal of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, for the State Aircraft Manufacturing Concern "Antonov" to exit from a joint Russian-Ukrainian enterprise UAC-Antonov LLC,” reads Resolution No.920-r published on the Government website.

The joint venture was to deal with the coordination of Antonov and JSC United Aircraft Corporation on purchasing spare parts, production, marketing and sales, as well as servicing and joint creation of new modifications of Antonov aircraft.
Posted by: badanov || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Great. Even harder to parts for the birds going to Syria.
Posted by: ed in texas || 09/16/2015 7:54 Comments || Top||


Europe
'Migrants' Get Free Baths At The Hungarian Border
HORGOS, Serbia (AP) -- Hungarian police used tear gas and water cannons on hundreds of migrants who broke through a razor wire fence on the border with Serbia on Wednesday, while migrants prevented from moving through Hungary increasingly began taking a longer route into Western Europe through Croatia.

Frustrated migrants blocked on the Serbian side of the border threw plastic water bottles and rocks at helmeted riot police and chanted demands that the border be re-opened. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.

"We fled wars and violence and did not expect such brutality and inhumane treatment in Europe," said Amir Hassan, an Iraqi who was soaking wet from the water cannon and trying to wash tear gas from his eyes. "Shame on you, Hungarians," he shouted pointing in the direction of the shielded Hungarian policemen who were firing volleys of tear gas canisters directly into the crowd.
"Wahhh wahhh wahhh, Amir - here'a a towel, now GTFO of our country!
Posted by: Raj || 09/16/2015 17:53 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think the word for these people is 'invaders.'
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/16/2015 23:12 Comments || Top||


Refugee Influx May Collide With Oktoberfest In Munich
[Huffpoo] Six million people are expected to descend on Munich for the city's annual Oktoberfest celebrations, which begin this weekend. But the city is also busy dealing with a surge in refugee arrivals -- 60,000 people have gotten off trains at Munich's central station in the last week alone.

Some worry that security will be compromised at Oktoberfest if police are tasked with tending to refugees, but officials are assuring visitors that 500 police officers -- the same number as in past years -- will be on hand at the festival.

For two weeks every fall, tourists and locals gather to bask in tradition and consume about 7.5 million liters of beer. Many arrive dressed in traditional lederhosen or dirndls.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann spoke of a situation in which war-weary refugees could be colliding in the streets of Munich with drunken revelers.

"Refugees from Muslim countries may not be used to seeing extremely drunk people in public," Herrmann said. "It might seem a bit odd to some of them, if I may say so, but this is the reality."
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/16/2015 00:33 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See: Munich central railway station temporarily closed due to bomb alarm (September 13th 2015)
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/16/2015 1:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Oooops.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/16/2015 1:56 Comments || Top||

#3  The Germans need to serve up some pork barbecue along with the beer to keep the vampires away.
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/16/2015 7:34 Comments || Top||

#4  This may be the last straw. In Germany, you can insult the working class, demean them, call them Nazis, and they just laugh, and take another drink (and talk amongst themselves). You interfere with the beer flow, and you will have a problem.
Posted by: ed in texas || 09/16/2015 7:52 Comments || Top||

#5  I can't wait until some of the "refugees" start objecting to all the beer.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 09/16/2015 10:28 Comments || Top||

#6  If it is a question, it already has.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 09/16/2015 11:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Just wait a few generations Ed.

The Germans will be outnumbered by the newcomers and they won't have a choice about it unless they want their heads cut off.
Posted by: DarthVader || 09/16/2015 12:21 Comments || Top||

#8  Muslim Petition to Ban Oktoberfest
Posted by: KBK || 09/16/2015 12:53 Comments || Top||

#9  This is real, KBK (I mean not a parody)?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/16/2015 12:54 Comments || Top||

#10  Looks legit. Went to Change.org, searched for petition and found it. Excellent trollage another possibility but $ sez legit
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 09/16/2015 13:54 Comments || Top||

#11  You know, denying Germans bier might just awaken something the Muslims may not like. I'm not sure there's anything Germans care about more than bier.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 09/16/2015 14:26 Comments || Top||

#12  I'm not sure there's anything Germans care about more than bier.

Frauleins?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/16/2015 15:21 Comments || Top||

#13  Yeah, and they don't want their frauleins in burqas either.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 09/16/2015 16:20 Comments || Top||

#14  Thee are also many, many foreigners that travel to Octoberfest too that might not take kindly to evangelical muslims being offended by beer drinking. I met Aussies, Brits, Scandinavians and any other assortment of fun loving people from functioning civilizations while I was there last year. The article says normal security will be in place but I am guessing the second line will be staffed as well.
Posted by: Capsu 78 || 09/16/2015 17:03 Comments || Top||

#15  You really don't want to piss off a German. It might take some effort to break through the Gemütlichkeit, but you really don't want to do that.

The only thing worse is to piss off a bunch of Americans.
Posted by: KBK || 09/16/2015 19:27 Comments || Top||

#16  Glad I've been able to enjoy this in the past. Wouldn't want to take the chance this year.
Posted by: Iblis || 09/16/2015 20:31 Comments || Top||

#17  Awwwww, #8, you beat me to it.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/16/2015 23:58 Comments || Top||


Estonian volunteers rush to join militia
Makes you wonder why the Estonians feel so threatened all of a sudden...
Estonia and the Baltic republics all have ties to Russia and history that dates back to the Rurik (pre Russian) dynasty back around 800 AD.
Members of Estonia's part-time militia crouch in a sandy trench on a hilltop as machine gun fire echoes through rain washed forest. Russia may be some way off but it is wariness of a vast neighbour that is swelling the force's ranks, drawing labourers and office workers alike to a gruelling exercise.

The Defence League of the Baltic State has grown 10 percent to almost 16,000 soldiers since Russian President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea last year and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine raised security fears in the small NATO nation.

"Young people today want to do their bit for the defence of their country," medic Riho Mannik, 35, said near a dug-in mortar position during the exercise of 700 volunteers, near the village of Pala 160 kms (100 miles) from the Russian border.

Mannik, who works as an ambulance team leader in his normal job, said young people can also learn skills from the military to help "their civilian life and their job prospects."
"BE! All that you can BE!..."
The Kremlin denies Western charges it fomented rebellion in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. But Tallinn fears the Kremlin could incite unrest among Estonia's own ethnic Russian, who account for some 25 percent of the population, concentrated in Tallinn and around Narva near the border.
To be fair, ethnic Russians in Ukraine have a legitimate beef against the Ukrainian government. Armed political groups in the wake of the 2013 coup attacked ethnic Russians, sparking a fear of an official program against Russian Ukrainians. See the Odessa Trades Union fire and what the Russians there call a massacre. See also, unfortunate statements made by US General Robert Scales who said on TV that the main goal of the Ukrainian government should be to kill Russians in southeastern Ukraine. You can understand their fears. Also, because a NATO friendly government was installed, Russians were afraid of losing their only warm water naval base in Crimea. The central figure in that, reserve FSB Colonel Igor Girkin has always said that he drove the program for the Russian invasion and takeover of Crimea. Girkin did much the same in fomenting a rebellion in Donetsk, even going as far as to accept aid directly from the Russian military. None of this has ever been denied by Girkin.
Its fears are shared by the other Baltic states ruled from Moscow from World War Two until 1991 - Lithuania and Latvia.
Latvia's population, as I recall, is about 45% ethnic Russian, thanks to Stalin's mass population moves just after WWII...
Weary after a night in early September camping out in the rain in teams of attackers and defenders, an assault on the hilltop starts with simulated 81 mm mortar rounds and bursts of machinegun and small arms fire - all blanks.

Soldiers in camouflage gear run around the forest's hills and gullies and eventually, exercise umpires with blue tags on their uniforms say the attackers have suffered heavy losses and been repulsed.

But they are expected to regroup and hit the dug-in positions again in the exercise, dubbed "Northern Frog".

Apart from worries about Ukraine, many Estonians were angered by the sentencing in Russia last month of an Estonian police officer, Eston Kohver, to 15 years in prison on charges of espionage. Tallinn say he was illegally abducted at gunpoint from a border crossing in September 2014 by Russians using radio jamming equipment and smoke grenades. Russia says Kohver was on Russian territory.

"The kidnapping ... made communication security and cyber defence even more important parts of our defence," Lieutenant Colonel Marek Laanisto, commander the Viru district of the Defence League, said as soldiers wearing headphones in a light truck tapped away on laptops.

In the first half of this year, the number of soldiers in the Defence League, under the command of the Estonian Ministry of Defence and military HQ, rose by 504 to 15,577. Numbers surged by 935 in 2014, almost all after Russia's annexation of Crimea in March. By contrast, just 324 people joined in all of 2013.
The numbers are small, but if Russia goes about this in the semi-stealth way they've dealt with Ukraine, the numbers might be enough for a holding action.
The Russian armed rebels in Ukraine totaled 60,000 effectives at their highest mark in December, 2014 with Russian commanders, Russian cadre and about 40 percent Russian soldiers who went to Ukraine to "help out". The rest were locals and international volunteers. The Ukrainians fielded, including private military units about 120,000. So, neither side had sufficient numbers to force a decision, but both sides had sufficient armaments to continue the war.
Then 20,000 militia won't be enough to continue anything if the Russian "volunteers" show up like they did in the Ukraine...
With an ageing, declining population of just 1.3 million, the regular Estonian defence forces have around 3,200 professional personnel. Estonia is one of few NATO nations to spend a NATO goal of two percent of gross domestic product on defence.

The smallest of the three Baltic countries, Estonia has maintained conscription for men over 18 since independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, so it has a reserve of 60,000 who have completed basic military training.

Many in the Defence League - aged from 18 with no upper limit although all have to pass a fitness test - volunteer their weekends and week nights for training and attending yearly exercises like Northern Frog. An emergency force, it can also be used to help in civil emergencies such as floods.
I wouldn't cling too hard to the Russian contention that the Russian Army could overrun the Baltic republics in a day. I suspect it would take them about a week to do so, and the Estonians, having long time ties to Russians, would take a good sized chunk out of the Russian Army before they could reach the Baltic Sea.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  (a) There is a wiki article on Estonia. It was an independent country---specializing in piracy. Then Danish possession---Danes got tired of pirate raids. Than Teutonic Order possession. Then Swedish possession. Then, since 18th century, Russian possession.
(b) If Russia want them, Russia will take them. However, Russian current policy toward "near-abroad" is Finlandization not occupation.
(c) To me it seems obvious that Tranzis using Russia as a bugbear to distract the, small, part of Western populations still capable of opposing them.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/16/2015 2:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Tom Brady Hearts The Donald
Not so bold prediction - Boston Globe sportswriters will start to turn sour on Tom Terrific. Forget about Shank Shaughnessy - he's been sour on Bradyfor months now. So ahead of the curve you are, Danny Boy!
By: Nate Scott | September 16, 2015 1:04 pm

Tom Brady is friendly with presidential candidate Donald Trump, and was spotted with a Trump "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" hat in his locker a few weeks back.

On Wednesday, reporters asked Brady about Trump again, and he responded perfectly. It's like he's channeling Trump with his answer.

Anything to do with how Trump would be as a leader? Nope. Any thoughts on whether or not the international community would respect our nation if Trump were our president? Not a thing.
Let me guess who you voted for in 2008 and 2012, Nate...
But Brady knows one thing, and that is that there'd be a putting green on the White House lawn. He may not know much, but he knows that.
Posted by: Raj || 09/16/2015 18:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Mods - can you do me a favor and fix the URL in the link above? Thanks in advance!
Posted by: Raj || 09/16/2015 18:14 Comments || Top||

#2  But can Brady deflate the Trump's hair?
Posted by: DarthVader || 09/16/2015 18:32 Comments || Top||

#3  MIKE HUCKABEE politely proclaimed the GOP as America's "A-Team", wid "DA/THE DONUUULD" TRUMP as the GOP "A-Team's" own "MR. T" whose not afraid to tell Republicans when they are being stupid.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/16/2015 23:56 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
NAB arrests four senior educationists in KP over 'misuse of authority'
[DAWN] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
division of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday tossed in the slammer
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
the vice-chancellor of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Dr. Ihsan Ali, and three other high-level educationists in the province over charges of misuse of authority.

According to a blurb issued by the accountability watchdog, the other three apprehended accused were former vice-chancellor of Hazara University, Professor Dr. Syed Sakhawat Shah; the chairman of NIMS College of Medicine Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
, Dr. Muhammad Aziz Khan and former chairman of Higher Education Regulatory Authority (HERA), Professor Hamayun Zia.

The accused were allegedly involved in the misuse of authority and have swindled students seeking admission in medical colleges by luring them into an "illegal and unregistered" medical institution, stripping them of more than Rs 550million.

During the course of inquiry, it surfaced that Prof. Dr Ihsan Ali and Prof. Dr Sakhawat Shah, both former vice chancellors of the Hazara University, granted affiliation to National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Abbottabad with "ulterior motives" and conducted illegal examinations, without having a medical faculty at the institute.

The illicit institution did not meet the mandated requirements as provided in the Khyber Medical University (KMU) Act 2006.

They not only leaching students and parents of their hard-earned money, but also played with the future of the innocent students, said the accountability body.

It was also discovered that the accused Chairman NIMS Dr Muhammad Aziz Khan admitted students who were ineligible for admission into the institute, purely for monetary gains.

The unlawful admissions were made prior to the institute's recognition as envisaged in the Pakistain Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) Ordinance 1962 and the Apex court's 2007 decision prohibiting the training of medical students by an unrecognised institution.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  [cookie reset attempt]
Posted by: ryuge || 09/16/2015 17:00 Comments || Top||

#2  [cookie reset attempt with Mozilla]
Posted by: ryuge || 09/16/2015 17:02 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IRGC Video: WaPo's Rezaian was part of "Extensive Spy Network"
A new short video released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards says Jason Rezaian, the jailed Washington Post correspondent, had an extensive network of spy contacts at the time of his arrest in July 2014. The propaganda clip — which is poorly produced and full of meandering non sequiturs — was circulated by the Guards and posted on YouTube. It attempts to make the case that Rezaian built up a list of contacts to help him carry out elaborate espionage operations, enabling him to pass classified information to American and European officials.

Contrary to statements made by Rezaian’s family, lawyer and colleagues, the film argues, albeit unconvincingly, that not only was the journalist acting illegally at the time of his arrest, but that he had been privy to plans for unrest following the 2009 disputed presidential election — dubbed “the Sedition” by the Guards and hardliners — and was part of a larger, US-led operation to undermine the Islamic Republic and turn the public against the regime.

Rezaian was arrested at his home in Tehran in July 2014, together with his wife Yeganeh Salehi, who was later released. He was held for months without being informed of the charges against him. Eventually, on April 20, 2015, he was formally charged with espionage, “acting against the holy Islamic Republic,” and “endangering national security.” His trial has taken place behind closed doors in three separate hearings.

The latest trial took place just hours before nuclear talks were due to wrap up in Vienna.
Posted by: Pappy || 09/16/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not good enough
Posted by: newc || 09/16/2015 1:34 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
31[untagged]
13Islamic State
5Govt of Syria
4Govt of Pakistan
4Taliban
3Muslim Brotherhood
3Arab Spring
1TTP
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis
1Govt of Iran
1Houthis
1Human Trafficking
1Jamaat-e-Islami

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

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

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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

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

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

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

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2015-09-16
  Kuwait Sentences Seven to Death over Imam Sadeq (AS) Mosque Suicide Attack
Tue 2015-09-15
  Taliban free 350 inmates and kill police in Afghan jail raid
Mon 2015-09-14
  Police nab 'hitman' involved in killing Nizamuddin Shamzai
Sun 2015-09-13
  Egypt sentenced 12 to death over affiliation with Islamic State
Sat 2015-09-12
  US drone strike kills 15 TTP militants in Afghanistan
Fri 2015-09-11
  Drone Kills Four Qaida Suspects in Yemen
Thu 2015-09-10
  British Air Force carried out 300 air strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria
Wed 2015-09-09
  Once Again Faryab Villages Collapse To The Taliban
Tue 2015-09-08
  IS takes Syrian state's last oilfield
Mon 2015-09-07
  ISIS governor killed in Tal Afar
Sun 2015-09-06
  Daesh blows up Palmyra towers
Sat 2015-09-05
  United Arab Emirates, Bahrain lose 45 troops on black day for Yemen coalition
Fri 2015-09-04
  Islamic State executes 40 of its militants as internal conflict intensifies
Thu 2015-09-03
  'At least 50 dead' in Shebab attack on AU base: Western sources
Wed 2015-09-02
  Egypt seizes 5 Muslim Brotherhood affiliated publishing houses


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.
18.119.172.146
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (20)    WoT Background (26)    Opinion (7)    (0)    Politix (3)