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Two Suicide Bombers Attack Restaurant in Somali Capital
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
What would happen if Israel bombed Iran's nuclear plants?
A war simulation by an Israeli thinktank last month set out to discover the answer, a new documentary reveals
Posted by: tipper || 11/04/2012 15:49 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [20 views] Top|| File under:

#1  IMO Iran's response is already clear-cut, as its dev of de facto NucWeaps and unleashing TerrOps + LRBMS agz the US-Israel + Allied will be all but absolutely justified.

Hezbollah's rivals or dedicated enemies widin various Regional, International Radical Islamist/Islamic MilTerr Groups will becom its allies in strikes across the ME + the West.

Iff Iran's Govt, Mullahs make good on their threats, an ISRAELI STRIKE AGZ IRAN'S NUCPROGS = US=LED GROUND INVASION OF IRAN WILL HAVE TO OCCUR IFF THE US LIKES IT OR NOT. Similar to former POTUS Dubya's dilemma vee Saddam Hussein + Iraq after 9-11.

The threat to the US-Allies will devol from Iran per se to PRO-IRAN, THIRD-PARTY/SURROGATE MILTERR NUKE-WMD TERROR WHERE IRAN PCORRECTLY KEEPS ITS SILENCE AS PER WHOM ORDERED WHAT-N-WHEN.

Iran has times said or inferred it - the above will be WW3 = Global War to the Death once the die is cast.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 18:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Israel would take a lot of hits from rockets ... with casualties in the hundreds or low thousands.

Iran would be knocked back to the stone age - since they are already in an economic crisis.

unknown - could Iran sink any US ships in the Persian Gulf? It only takes one success for them to count this as a victory. Can they block the Straits of Hormuz for a week ... for 2 weeks ... for a month?

unknown - what terrorist strikes can Iran execute around the globe?

unknown - does Iran already have a number of dirty bombs, or one untested nuke, ready to go right now?

unknown - does Israel have a workable plan to eliminate Irans top leadership in the run-up to a strike?

unknown - will Israel use its own nukes to accomplish this goal?
Posted by: Raider || 11/04/2012 21:48 Comments || Top||

#3  * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAN BUILDS UP MILITARY [naval base?] ON DISPUTED ISLANDS, SIGNALS INTENT TO [again]THREATEN CLOSURE OF STRAIT OF HORMUZ.

Putting its Subs + ASCM-armed Speedboats close to the entrance, while simul also continuing to isolate the Arabian Peninsula???

More evidencia/indicia as per my above Post.

* SAME > VIDEO: ROMNEY - SYRIA IS IRAN'S ALLY, AND IS ALSO IRAN'S ROUTE TO THE SEA.

WAPO is seemingly critiquing Mittens for northern Iraq being geographically in Iran's way.

Lest WAPO fergits, IRAQ = REPOR IS INCREASINGLY IRAN-DOMINATED???

versus

* TOPIX > ISRAEL ALMOST BOMBED IRAN NUCLEAR SITES IN 2010.

Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 23:09 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Military Endorsements For Obama And Romney
h/t Donald Sensing

...of all retired flag-rank officers (admirals and generals) of the US armed forces, exactly five have endorsed Obama for reelection while 359 have endorsed Romney.
list at the link
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/04/2012 15:34 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [21 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder how the breakout might be for rank and file "O" vs. Romney? I tend to think they might also favor Romney.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 17:10 Comments || Top||

#2  And there is this:

Report: 500 Generals, Admirals To Endorse Romney

Nearly 500 former military admirals and generals are poised to endorse Mitt Romney, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

The group will post a full page ad in the Washington Times on Monday. The advertisement will have the headline, “We, the undersigned, proudly support Governor Mitt Romney as our nation’s next President and Commander-in-Chief,” followed by the names of the former military commanders.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 17:31 Comments || Top||

#3  well, what to do they know? The most recent, appointed by our Osama-Killer-In-Cheif, are the "best and the brightest"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 18:53 Comments || Top||

#4  Colin Powell

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/01/obama-highlights-powell-endorsement-in-new-ad-2/
Posted by: Dale || 11/04/2012 21:08 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Protests in Tokyo against US Osprey aircraft
Thousands of people have rallied against American deployment of Osprey military aircraft on a southern Japanese island amid escalating anti-U.S. military sentiment following recent crimes.

Protesters gathered Sunday at a Tokyo park demanding removal of 12 MV-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft from Okinawa. Ospreys were deployed in October despite local opposition over safety concerns following two crashes elsewhere.

They chanted, "Ospreys out! Marine Corps out!"
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 12:46 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Okinawans, etc. may want the US to leave, but the Japanese Diet = Govt. prefers the US to remain until Japan can formally rearm + dev its own NucWeaps.

Many Chinese Politicos, Perts + Bloggers recognize the above, = desire for "post-US", future World #1 Rising China to attack-iff-not-destroy Japan before it devs NucWeaps = indogenous NucArsenal, or otherwise to finally permamently resolve the various sovereignty issues in the East + South China Seas before it does.
-----------------

VARIOUS ....

* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > KEY PHRASE [PCorrect/Polite-but-firm "War Warning"? = historic] USED IN PEOPLE'S DAILY EDITORIAL, of 10/17/2012 as used just prior to 1962 Sino-Indian War + 1979S Sino-Veitnam War.
> IS JAPAN HIDING UNDER THE US [Nuke, Military]UMBRELLA?
> [Xinhua] JAPANESE VESSELS EXPELLED FROM DIAOYU ISLANDS WATERS.
>[ Global Times] CHINA AVOIDS DIAOYU MEDIATION ATTEMPT BY US DELEGATION, arguing that the US has failed to demonstrate any sincerity [or neutrality] in supporting or defending China's side of the issue.
> [Global Times = 10/29/12] OP-ED:SHADOW OF WAR HAS NOT YET DISAPPEARED FROM EAST ASIA.

* TOPIX > CHINESE VESSELS TEST "AUTHORITY" NEAR SENKAKUS.
> WHY THE JAPAN-CHINA SENKAKUS ISSUE IS THE MOST EXPLOSIVE ISSUE IN ASIA.
> PM NODA SAYS JAPAN MUST IMPROVE ITS DEFENSES.
> THE DANGEROUS MATH OF THE JAPAN-CHINA ISLAND/HIGH SEAS DISPUTE.

China's long histoire' of doing the unexpected, i.e. doing what the West often refuses to believe, espec as per its utility of military force. THE US-WEST MAY ONCE AGAIN BE SERIOUSLY UNDERESTIMATING CHINA'S RESOLVE TO UNILATERALLY SETTLE ITS DISPUTE WID JAPAN USING BLUNT MILITARY FORCE, TO INCLUDE THE USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, + DESPITE JAPAN HAVING THE SUPERPOWER US AS ITS ALLY.

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > CHINA THREATENS JAPAN WID NUCLEAR ANNIHILATION, warning that recent Japanese wargame = war scenario where PLAN Fleets are destroyed fails to take into account the power of China's strategic and tactical LRBMS.

* TOPIX, WORLD NEWS > EX-TOKYO GOVERNOR WANTS TO START A MILITARIST, ANTI-CHINESE POLITICAL PARTY.

Shintaro Ishihara.

Again, as per Ishihara's call for Tokyo to permanently-n-forever settle the sovereignty issues in the East China Sea, + DESPITE CHINA'S CRITICISMS, he isn't doing what many Nationalists = Right-Wingers, etal. in Japan, China, + elsewhere in ASEAN = East Asia themselves would like to see. DITTO FOR REGIONAL LEFT-WINGERS OR LEFT-LEANERS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 19:37 Comments || Top||

#2  + dev its own NucWeaps.
Joe M - all they need to do is find a delivery vehicle for Fukushima.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 20:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Latest from around the Net...

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Ex-NatSec] SENIOR USA OFFICIALS REPORT TO [SecState Hillary]CLINTON: CHINA READY FOR WAR! | [Business Mirror]REPORT [confidential] WARNS CLINTON: THERE IS A MILITARY DANGER TO CHINA-JAPAN ISLANDS DISPUTE.

* SAME > CHINESE SHIPS IN DISPUTED WATERS FOR 14TH STRAIGHT DAY.

* TOPIX > CLINTON WARNED OF MILITARY DANGER IN CHINA-JAPAN DISPUTE.

* SAME > SECOND STEALTH JET PUTS CHINA ON PATH TO BE TOP REGIONAL POWER.

* SAME > US TO INCLUDE SOUTH KOREA IN GLOBAL MISSLE SHIELD: PANETTA, iff the ROK Govt. in Seoul so desires and agrees.

* WORLD NEWS > CHINESE INTRUDERS TELL [Japan = JCG]COAST GUARD TO GET OUT, of Chinese sovereign = territorial waters off disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands.

* TOPIX > WSJ OPED:MATH DOESN'T LOOK GOOD FOR SENKAKUS DISPUTE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 22:54 Comments || Top||

#4  Thx JM for the history/back-story you provide here.
Ain't 2012 life grand?
Posted by: canalzone || 11/04/2012 23:25 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Lights in lower Manhattan, misery in outer regions
Domingo Isasi, waiting in a gas line on Staten Island, minced no words about the divide he perceived between Manhattan and the outer boroughs.

"The priorities are showing, simply by the fact that Manhattan got their power back," he said, adding that Staten Islanders are used to being lower on the list. "We're the bastard kids who keep getting slapped in the head and told to shut up," he said.

Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 11:56 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under:


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Remains Of Pigeon Found Carrying WWII Message
Experts say the skeletal remains of a pigeon discovered in the chimney of a house in southern England carried a mysterious, long-forgotten message from World War II.

Historians at Britain's Second World War-era code breaking headquarters say the bird was almost certainly returning from Nazi-occupied France during the June 1944 D-Day invasion.

Bletchley Park says that a radio blackout imposed on Allied forces at the time meant that messages about the progress of the invasion were dispatched by pigeon across the Channel.

What the message says remains unknown. It was coded, an unusual measure generally reserved for the most sensitive secrets.

Bletchley Park said Thursday that one of its curators is now trying to unravel the message using World War II logbooks.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 11:41 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I told them at the time #19 wasn't well enough to fly!
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 12:38 Comments || Top||

#2  One of the interesting factoids about WWII is that carrier pidgeons were amazingly reliable form of communication.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/04/2012 13:07 Comments || Top||

#3  It reads:

DRINK MORE OVALTINE


Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/04/2012 14:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Stop that Pigeon, stop that Pigeon, stop that Pigeon NOW!

Oh wait ... ZOOOMG, THEY DID FINALLY STOP HIM!

Personally I'm blaming Dudley DoRight.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 19:43 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Benghazi: Laser Capability -- Gen Ham in DC on 911
Jennifer is still listening -- worry about her and her sources.
Sources who have debriefed the team that was at the CIA annex the night of the attack in Benghazi say that the CIA operators from the Global Response Staff, or GRS, were equipped with Mark 48 machine guns and had two types of laser capability. Each weapon had both a “passive” as well as a “visible” laser that could be used against the Libyan attackers.

The presence of laser capability on the roof of the CIA annex confirms what Fox News sources that night in Benghazi originally said, which is that they had laser capability and for 5 hours and 15 minutes were wondering where the usual overhead air support was, especially since, according to this source, they radioed from the annex beginning as early as midnight asking for it.

The presence of lasers raises more questions about why air support was not sent to Benghazi even protectively once it became clear that the fighting had followed the CIA rescue team back to the annex.

U.S. military officials say they "thought the fighting was over" after the team left the consulate and that there was a lull in the fighting.

Fox News has learned the guns were fitted with PEQ-15 lasers. The “passive” laser is not visible to the naked eye but can help team members identify hostile forces when the shooter is wearing NODS, or Night Observation Device attached to their helmet. The visible laser system places a red dot on the attacker and warns the attacker not to shoot, encouraging them to flee the scene. U.S. troops often use the visible laser to scare children or other civilians who find themselves in the middle of combat activity. When civilians see the laser they often back off in order not to be shot.

The GRS team that was present at the CIA annex provided security for the CIA station, as they do around the world. They are highly trained in countersurveillance, close target reconnaissance and in depth reconnaissance. Enemy fighters have learned in Afghanistan and Iraq to use their cell phones to follow or intercept these “passive” lasers without having night vision or NODS.

The Annex team also had Ground Laser Designators, or GLD. This kind of laser equipment emits code and signal when there is overhead air support, unmanned aerial surveillance, drones or Spectre gunships, for instance.

A source present the night of the attack says that the GRS team that was defending the annex asked where the air support was at midnight. Former SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed 5 hours and 15 minutes later.

The military is preparing a timeline from the night of the Benghazi attack and plans to outline what assets were available to commanders in the region, including AFRICOM commander General Carter Ham, who was visiting Washington, D.C., on September 11 and was in the Pentagon overseeing the operation that night.

Pentagon spokesman George Little says, “On the night of the attack on American personnel and facilities in Benghazi, there were no armed unmanned aerial vehicles over Libya, and there were no AC-130s anywhere close.”

On Thursday, the CIA excluded Fox News from a briefing for a small group of reporters in which they provided a timeline from the night of the attack in which they explain that at 5:15 a.m. (7 hrs and 28 minutes after the attack on the consulate began) five mortars are fired at the annex, three of them striking the roof and killing Woods and Doherty.

The CIA told the Washington Post’s David Ignatius that “the rooftop defenders never ‘laser the mortars’ as has been reported,” a reference to an earlier Fox News report. The CIA added the “defenders have focused their laser sights earlier on several Libyan attackers, as warnings not to fire.”

The U.S. military says that two unarmed Predators were overhead Benghazi that night and providing one stream of video back to Washington beginning at 11:11 p.m. (1 hr and 24 minutes) after the attack began.

U.S. military sources say that the second Predator was not armed even though it took off from Sigonella Air Base in Sicily after the attack began to provide back up to the first Predator which was at the end of its orbit and running low on fuel. US commanders say that in reference to the drones positioned at Sigonella: “Not all aircraft are armed. Ours are not.”

According to military sources, Libyan authorities have not given the U.S. military permission to fly armed drones over populated areas like Benghazi. However, for some time the unmanned aerial drones that have been watching Libya’s chemical weapons sites did have permission to be armed.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 11:34 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [22 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thanks Sherry! Great post.

Fotos of the weapons system
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 12:08 Comments || Top||

#2  I like this summary from Jerry Molen of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell MT:

Americans died, their families cried, the mainstream media sighed and the government denied.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 13:06 Comments || Top||

#3  From CNSNews Woods and Doherty Killed in Benghazi 7 Hrs After WH Told of Attack; Commercial Airliner Can Fly From London to Libya and Back in That Time

According to the CIA timeline provided to the Washington Post and other news organizations, Woods and Doherty were killed by mortar fire while on the roof of a CIA facility in Benghazi between 11:15 p.m. and 11:26 p.m. Washington time—or between 5:15 a.m. and 5:26 a.m. Sept. 12 Benghazi time.

Between 4:05 p.m. Washington time, when the State Department emailed the White House that the U.S diplomatic mission in Benghazi was under attack, and 11:15 p.m., when Wood and Doherty were killed, more than seven hours passed.

On Expedia.com, British Airways is currently advertizing a non-stop flight from London to Libya on Nov. 15--via an Airbus A320--that is expected to have a duration of 3 hours and 30 minutes. That means that in the seven hours that elapsed between when the State Department informed the White House that the U.S. mission in Benghazi was under attack and when Woods and Doherty were killed, a common commercial airliner—not a military jet--could have flown from England to Libya and back.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 14:27 Comments || Top||

#4  As per #3, Yeeuuuppp.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 19:48 Comments || Top||

#5  TOPIX > [RadicalIslamist.org] DID TURKEY [Ambassador] PLAY A ROLE IN BENGHAZI ATTACK?

Turkish Ambassador left a pre-scheduled meeting a wid US Amb. Stevens during the time Armed Militants, etal. were massing in nearby streets in Ansar al-Sharia logoed vehicles for their attack that evening on the Consulate - the Turkish Ambassador allegedly would have had to pass through the gathering, but weirdly-n-mysteriously failed to relay any kind of warning to Amb. Stevens per the coming attack via his cell phone???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 23:40 Comments || Top||


-Election 2012
The Sixth of November
The Sixth of November

by Winslow
a commenter at PJ Media's Zombie


Remember, remember, this sixth of November,
The radicals' treasonous plot.
I know of no reason the radicals' treason
Should e'er be forgiv'n or forgot.

The Sixties were waning, and Leftists were claiming
That radical changes were due.
Their Marxist solution was armed revolution:
The Weathermen made their debut.

The radicals raged on the national stage, and
Horrific explosions ensued.
Their bombs were dramatic, but also erratic;
They sometimes killed radicals, too.

The Leftists grew older, the underground, colder,
And so they came in from the cold.
"Subvert from within -- in the long run, we'll win," said
The Leftists, determined and bold.

And thus it began -- this nefarious plan -- and
The radicals slowly took charge:
Complete infiltration of all education;
The long institutional march.

The journalist schools would produce useful fools, for
The Left would need media shills.
And Hollywood, too, would assist in the coup, with
Its slick propagandizing skills.

"Community action" would build a new faction;
'Twould organize proles on the street.
A smooth politician would front for the mission,
And run for the president's seat.

The radicals' goal, which they proudly extol, is
A communist U.S. of A.
Collectivist schemes lead to brutal regimes, and
For this do the radicals pray.

But Jefferson's aim, with the charters he framed, was
To guard individual rights.
And "redistribution" was not a solution,
But one of the evils to fight.

So let us remember, this sixth of November,
Just what is at stake on this date.
Will Jefferson's dream, or the radicals' scheme, now
Determine America's fate?
Posted by: Steve White || 11/04/2012 10:11 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [14 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Outstanding.......
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 11:54 Comments || Top||

#2  A poem with a purpose. Nice work doc.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 13:39 Comments || Top||

#3  It's a re-working of the British rhyme about the Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot on November the 5th.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/04/2012 18:18 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Khan, Taliban and the Crackpot Science
Warning: Graphic images
As readers might have guessed correctly, yes, its Imran Khan, the ‘playboy cricketer’-turned-politician who once threatened to abduct the greatest Pakistani humanitarian, Abdul Sattar Edhi and whose supporters are anxiously awaiting his triumph in upcoming polls.

The demoralised and despondent youth that forms the major chunk of Pakistani population explosion feels abandoned by their government and seeks Khan as the solution to their insurmountable issues.

Thanks to the gullibility of these overseas and domestic followers, Khan has earned the status of a Messiah who is expected to transform Pakistan to the ‘Norway of Europe’ in a short span of time by rooting out corruption in 19 days, containing and eradicating terrorism in 90 days and becoming the Saudi Arabia of coal in, again 9-something days. These ludicrous claims of Khan and his party PTI have mammoth selling price at home but in reality they seem idealistic, incredulous and mostly fallacious in nature.

Take for instance, his stance on the issue of terrorism: he holds the ongoing War on Terror (started on 7th October 2001) responsible for not only the mounting polarization, extremism and terrorism in Pakistani society but also for the inception of Pakistani Taliban (TTP).

Recently his comments of Taliban fighting a jihad in Afghanistan faced severe criticism from not only the Afghan government but also from the Afghan public who protested against his comments.

Of course Khan and his brigade of trolls branded all criticism as ‘International Conspiracy’ and Khan further defended his comments by proposing myths that Bin Laden and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar were trained and indoctrinated by the CIA in 1980s.
Posted by: Large Darling of the Antelope3345 || 11/04/2012 09:46 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  *** cough *** cough ****cough ****...

* ION WAFF, DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS >[PTI Chief] IMRAN KHAN PROMISES TO CONSTITUTIONALLY BAN MILITARY OPERATIONS INSIDE PAKISTAN, to include Taliban central North Waziristan.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 23:18 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
The Threat Doctrine that Cries 'Blasphemy'
Posted by: tipper || 11/04/2012 07:59 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under:


-Election 2012
Revenge of the loins.
Title line updated from yesterday. My leg has now begun to tingle.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 07:51 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Try to avoid the smegma. It's way too late for the LSM.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/04/2012 9:58 Comments || Top||

#2  All through the ages men have gotten themselves into trouble thinking with their loins.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/04/2012 10:54 Comments || Top||

#3  it sounded half-girded
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 11:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Stardard size girding Frank. As Joe said "he's got a very big stick".
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 11:38 Comments || Top||

#5  Appropriate time for a pic of Lena Dunham with background music; maybe Roberta Fluke Flack and "The First Time Ever."
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 14:31 Comments || Top||

#6  I shall now take up my Platformate and Gird muh Loins and face the Tuesdays of this world.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 15:15 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraq Attacks Kill Three
[An Nahar] Attacks north of Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
killed at least three people on Saturday, including two soldiers bumped off at a checkpoint, officials said.

The two soldiers were killed and three others maimed when gunnies opened fire on their checkpoint in the town of Taji, just north of the capital, early Saturday, security and medical officials said.

Another man was killed in a kaboom on his car near the main northern city of djinn-infested Mosul, officials said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


India-Pakistan
Lahore 'blasphemy' headmaster remanded; court rejects bail
[Dawn] A Pak court on Saturday refused bail to the headmaster of a school caught in a blasphemy row over a piece of homework allegedly containing derogatory references to the Holy Prophet ((PTUI!)).

Asim Farooqi, 77, was remanded in jug for 14 days on charges of blasphemy – which can attract the death penalty in Pakistain – despite arguing he had no direct part in the case.

One of his teachers, Arfa Iftikhar, went into hiding after a furious mob stormed Farooqi Girls’ High School in the eastern city of Lahore over a piece of homework she set.

Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistain, where allegations of insulting Islam or the Holy Prophet ((PTUI!)) can prompt violent outbursts of public anger.

“The bail petition is dismissed,” Judge Anjum Raza announced after hearing arguments from Farooqi’s lawyer.

The lawyer, Jawad Ashraf, had asked for bail on the grounds the headmaster had no role in the incident.

“The principal of the school can only be held responsible for negligence and has no direct role in the blasphemy incident, he should be released,” he told the court.

About 10 holy mans from local mosques gathered at the court to oppose the headmaster’s release.

But at the same time around 2,000 students, parents and teachers gathered at the school to demand its reopening, carrying placards and chanting slogans which included: “Release our principal.”

The school management on Friday took out front page adverts in two leading newspapers to deny any knowledge of the supposed insults, saying Iftikhar distributed the work just 10 minutes before the school closed for the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Activists say Pakistain’s blasphemy laws are often abused to settle personal scores, and Ashraf said the possibility of a conspiracy against the school could not be ruled out.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistain, where allegations of insulting Islam or the Holy Prophet ((PTUI!)) just about anything can prompt violent outbursts of public anger.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 9:42 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Goa Orders 'No Vulgarity' at Indian Playboy Club
[An Nahar] Indian tourist officials in Goa warned Friday that they would shut down a Playboy club set to open next month if there was any evidence of "obscenity, vulgarity or nudity".
I'm trying to think of what's more vulgar than a Playboy Club. Anybody come up with anything?
Playboy's local franchisee PB Lifestyle has announced plans for more than 100 outlets in India, starting with a beachside club in the holiday state, but their "bunny" waitresses will sport a new look to suit conservative Indian values.

"They may brand the club as Playboy but if they indulge in obscenity, vulgarity or nudity, then we will withdraw their permission immediately," Goa's director of tourism Nikhil Desai, told Agence France Presse.

He said he was unaware of any formal application for a license.

PB Lifestyle, which has the rights to develop Playboy outlets in India, plans to open clubs, hotels, fashion cafes and shops across the country in the next 10 years, investing at least two billion rupees ($37 million).
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No private showing of India's favorite?
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 10:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Code Pink?
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 11/04/2012 10:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Probably has to do with kickbacks ... easiest way to put pressure on the club manager is to shut them down for "vulgarity". Local police looking for under the table payments??
Posted by: Raider || 11/04/2012 10:53 Comments || Top||

#4  Local police looking for under the table payments?

Anyway they can get them. Bribery is a way of life there.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 11/04/2012 16:47 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
9 die in Reynosa shootouts
For a map, click here. For a map of Tamaulipas state, click here.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of nine unidentified shooters were killed, and three armed suspects were detained in a series of shootouts between rival drug gangs and Mexican security forces early Saturday morning in the northern Mexican city of Reynosa, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news item posted on the website of Excelsior news daily, the initial gunfight took place between drug gangs on the Reynosa-Monterrey highway at the southern entrance to the city at about 0600 hrs Saturday morning. Four drug gang shooters were killed in that gunfight.

A subsequent confrontation took place in the Villa Florida colony with no one reported hurt.

Subsequently still, gunfights took place in the barrios Unidad Obrera, Granjas, Cumbres, Vista Hermosa, as well as Zona Centro of Reynosa. A total of five shooters were reportedly killed in that series of gunfights.

Later, drug gang members blocked several major thoroughfares in the city, using hijacked heavy vehicles.

According to an account published on the website of El Universal news daily, among the streets affected by the roadblocking campaign included Bulevar Hidalgo, the highway to Monterrey and streets in Balcones and Villas del Roble colonies.

An undisclosed number of weapons and munitions were seized by Mexican security forces.

A video of the aftermath was posted on Youtube.com by Excelsior:



Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Posted by: badanov || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Murder of ex-AG: Investigators receive threatening calls
[Dawn] Police officers investigating the murder of a former advocate general of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
in the capital city about two years back are receiving threats, sources told Dawn on Friday.

Mohammad Sardar Khan was bumped off in Islamabad in March 2010.

Roohullah, the alleged killer of Mr Khan, was enjugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
in Masqat in May 2011 and brought to the capital. However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
in July 2012 he dramatically beat feet from District Headquarters Hospital Rawalpindi, where he had been brought for 'treatment' from the Adiala Jail.

Sources said those who had played a vital role in arresting the suspect along with the members of the joint investigation team now trying to trace him were receiving threatening calls from Afghanistan. The accused and his accomplices are said to be hiding in the neighbouring country.

The police said the accused threatened the coppers that assassins had been hired who would target them if they did not withdraw from the investigation.

The Industrial Area police started the paperwork but haven't done much else against Roohullah in response to a complaint lodged by Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) head constable Iftikhar Ahmed.

The police said the complainant had produced evidence against Roohullah along with his phone number. He said the threatening calls had been received from different numbers in Afghanistan.

A police officer said despite knowing the location of the alleged killer in Afghanistan, he could not be enjugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
as there was no extradition treaty between Islamabad and Kabul. However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
the capital police have approached Interpol seeking help in the arrest of the accused.

According to a police inquiry, Roohullah beat feet from the hospital after paying millions of rupees to the officials of the capital police, Adiala Jail and the hospital.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Home Front: Culture Wars
Massachusetts Mayor Bans the Word 'Illegal' for Illegal Immigrants
[CNS News]
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Fine with me. Where I live, you very seldom hear anyone use the word Massachsetts.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 4:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe he would prefer Río Bravo del Norte frogmen?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:10 Comments || Top||

#3  This dickhead's simply repeating the notion of our august Attorney General (!), Martha Coakley (lost to Scott Brown in the 2010 special election) -

'Technically, it's not illegal to be illegal in Massachusetts" (i.e., because she won't enforce those laws).
Posted by: Raj || 11/04/2012 10:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe he would prefer Río Bravo del Norte frogmen?
i c wut u did thar
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 15:28 Comments || Top||

#5  “It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/04/2012 15:50 Comments || Top||

#6  Mayor and Alderman Joe Curtatone announced the new policy at a local board meeting last week, according to the Somerville Journal

really? You f'n MAsshole punk? You think you have diktat over what I say? ILLEGAL.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 16:02 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Roadside bomb blast kills Afghan district police chief
[Dawn] Officials said that a roadside kabooming in southern Afghanistan has killed a district police chief, as the gunnies increasingly target Afghan cops amid the drawdown of foreign troops.

Ahmadulah Nazik, administrator of Dand district in Kandahar province, said Rahmatullah Khan died on Saturday while trying to reach a police outpost under Taliban attack.

The killing comes a day after four coppers were rubbed out in southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province by their own colleagues.

Taliban front man Qari Jusuf Ahmedi said the killers fled and joined the guerrillas.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


-Election 2012
Keep Calm and Finish Him
Posted by: Steve White || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under:

#1  God bless and God speed!
May you have the wind at your back, Mr. Romney
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 11/04/2012 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Finishing him -- if you haven't seen it -- it's worth the look -- From Saturday night in Colorado -- Romney's closing speech --- it lets you know, "I started out voting against Obama.... now? I'm voting for Romney.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 3:39 Comments || Top||

#3  "Vote for love of country; not revenge against fellow Americans!"
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:07 Comments || Top||

#4  We need you. We want you. We are with you!!! God Speed!!
Posted by: warthogswife || 11/04/2012 23:21 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Government tells public to stay away from free gas until after first responders fuel up
The order was put out as long lines formed Saturday after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the Defense Department was opening mobile fuel stations in New York City and on Long Island

The government says the public should stay away from free New York fuel stations until emergency responders get their gas.

National Guard Col. Richard Goldenberg said Saturday afternoon that people who were already at the distribution sites would not be turned away.

But he says the priority would be giving gas to law enforcement agents, firefighters, EMTs and other emergency responders. That included gas for their personal vehicles, if necessary, so they could get to work.

Long lines of vehicles and pedestrians formed after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the U.S. Department of Defense was opening the mobile fuel stations in New York City and on suburban Long Island.

The state Division of Military and Naval Affairs then asked the public to stay away until more fuel is released.

Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That gas originated from wells in "right to work" states. I really wouldn't touch it if I were you.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 4:08 Comments || Top||

#2  other emergency responders. That included gas for their personal vehicles, if necessary, so they could get to work.

What do you want to bet that "emergency responders" includes every pissant politician and they're extended families?

Oh, yeah, what are they doing for "work"?
Posted by: AlanC || 11/04/2012 8:41 Comments || Top||

#3  It would seem the military has a good track record of moving fuel into war zones and up into forward operating bases to fuel generators, etc. It's not like the first time we have done this sort of thing. Does bureaucracy forget what its learned after each crisis?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Follow-up to the story:

Chaos reigns at free gas fiasco

ALL OVER A FEW GALLONS: Police bring a disorderly man under control yesterday at a Crown Heights, Brooklyn, free-fuel station where first responders got priority, angering some civilian motorists.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 11:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Order, order, we must have order! At once please, mobilize the......

COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS!
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 11:58 Comments || Top||

#6  Someobne can tallmwhat i the hell is an whwta use i for a comunity organizer? Telling people what slogans to cahant? Nobody is going topay thema cent for it so what they do for aliving? (OK,one of them has got a wellpaid job but what what about the others?.

Also about _that_ commuisty organizer, amI the only one to find fishjy that he can spend twenty million dollars in a house? Neither the salry of a junior senator noir the one of the POTUS allos to make so much money.Where does it come from?
Posted by: JFM || 11/04/2012 12:40 Comments || Top||

#7  It's an American thing JFM. A weak brew of Commie Simps teaching, angry unionist flavored with a little bit of SCREAMING GLBAMALAIEA lifestyle angst.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 15:32 Comments || Top||

#8  When gas rationing occured in the late 70's due to an oil embargo, the public was warned first responders would get priority if things got serious enough, however, it never was implemented. It was considered a last resort, rather than this decision.
Posted by: Bugs Uleger6376 || 11/04/2012 17:17 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
'Militia Attack' Kills 13 in Sudan's Darfur
[An Nahar] Militia in Sudan's North Darfur state attacked a village and killed 13 people, a local source said on Saturday, adding to an upsurge of deadly violence in the area.

The attack on Friday targeted Sigili village, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) southeast of the state capital El Fasher, said the source, who cannot be further identified for security reasons.

"Basically it was a tribal clash between local militia and Zaghawa," the source said, adding that five people were also reported missing.

Since July, civilians have been increasingly at risk from inter-communal fighting, harassment by militia groups, and sporadic festivities between rebel and government troops, particularly in North Darfur, U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
said in a three-monthly report issued on October 16.

Disputes between farmers and pastoralists over land use triggered most of the inter-communal violence, he said.

Tensions escalated when tribal militia aligned to the government became involved, along with anti-regime rebels.

"At the same time, local sources have cited mounting frustration among communities from which the militias are drawn... over unfulfilled commitments by the government that have led to the militia challenging authorities and engaging government security forces," Ban said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Africa Subsaharan
14 kidnappers killed in Nigeria
[Bangla Daily Star] Nigerian security forces stormed the hideout of the kidnappers of a Turkish national in oil-rich Rivers State and killed 14 of them in a shootout, police said yesterday.

"The hoodlums were rubbed out during a shootout with the security agents in their camp in Kaani community in Ogoni land," state police front man Ben Ugwuegbulam told AFP of the incident on Friday.

He said members of the gang who kidnapped a Turkish construction worker last month had opened fire upon seeing the security agents in their camp.

"The security operatives returned with a superior firepower and in the process rubbed out six of the kidnappers instantly, while eight others with gunshot wounds died on the way to the hospital," the police front man said.

He added that two other suspects were assisting the police in their investigation.

Ugwuegbulam said the Turkish national had earlier been released unhurt by his captors after they collected ransom money.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Weapons Found in Biscuit Boxes in Yemen
[An Nahar] A cargo of weapons originating in Turkey was seized by Yemeni authorities on Saturday in the southern port of Aden, the defense ministry Internet website26sep.net reported.

Citing security sources, the report said the arms had been found in boxes used for biscuits, in a container dispatched from Turkey.

An investigation has been opened into the discovery of weapons "destined to harm the security and stability" of Yemen, the ministry said, without identifying either the sender or intended recipient of the cargo.

The impoverished southern Arabian Peninsula nation is already awash with weapons.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia

#1  the 15 lb box of "biscuits" seemed suspicious
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 11:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Violin shaped viscuit tins. Who knew?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 11:27 Comments || Top||

#3  weapons originating in Turkey


My, my, more Muzzie on Muzzie?
Posted by: AlanC || 11/04/2012 11:48 Comments || Top||

#4  All I ever got was a whistle and a decoder ring.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/04/2012 16:18 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Buddhists point at police super
[Bangla Daily Star] Buddhist leaders yesterday demanded removal of the Cox's Bazar superintendent of police and immediate action against him for his alleged inaction during the recent atrocities on the minority community in Ramu.

They made the demand at a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi in Ramu. The SP, Selim Mohammad Jahanagir, was present.

The leaders handed over the adviser a seven-point charter of demands to bring back communal harmony in the upazila.

Incensed apparently by a Facebook posting of a photo derogatory to the holy Koran, religious bigots in Ramu destroyed 12 pagodas and more than 50 houses on the night of September 29.

The charter held inaction of the police responsible for the atrocities on the Buddhists. “Had the police played its due role, the situation would not have been so grave.”

The demands include immediate identification of the culprits, their arrest and meting out exemplary punishment to them, formation of a special tribunal for a fair and neutral probe into the atrocities, engagement of senior and experienced Sherlocks in the probe, appointments of competent OC at Ramu Police Station and SP in Cox's Bazar, better treatment for top monk Satyapriya Mohathero and financial support to the family of Swapan Barua, who died of heart attack after seeing the destroyed monasteries.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
SC orders action against Taliban, armed groups in Karachi
[Dawn] The Supreme Court has ordered the Sindh government to take immediate action against all gangs in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, including the Taliban, DawnNews reported.

In an interim order issued Saturday, the Supreme Court’s bench five-member hearing a case for the implementation of the apex court’s earlier order in a suo motu
...a legal term, from the Latin. Roughly translated it means I saw what you did, you bastard...
case related to the law and order situation in Bloody Karachi directed the provincial government to arrest all prisoners released on parole and present them before it.

The bench was headed by Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali with Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Khilji Arif Hussain, Gulzar Ahmed and Amir Hani Mohammedan as members.

The order, which constitutes eight pages, says that the provincial government should take the issue of the presence of the Taliban in Bloody Karachi seriously.

In an earlier hearing on the same case, Justice Jamali had said there were reports of between 6,000 and 7,000 Taliban activists having made their way into the city. The court had then directed Sindh police chief Fayyaz Leghari to submit a detailed report in this regard.

During the previous hearing, Inspector-General of Prisons Zafar Abbas Bukhari has presented to the court a list of 193 convicts and 35 under-trial prisoners who were released on parole since 2003.

Commenting on the report, Justice Jamali has remarked: “This is a very serious issue. It seems a parallel judicial system is being run by the home department and convicts are being released even after their convictions are upheld.”

The bench, in its short order on Saturday, ordered that the 35 under-trial prisoners released on parole be tossed in the clink
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
on immediately. It further stated that the police and other law enforcement agencies had failed in providing security to the citizens.

The court also directed the Sindh government to take immediate steps to protect the citizens against assassinations. Moreover, the court also ordered that all firearm licenses should be computerised within three months and all previous non-computerised licenses be cancelled.

The interim verdict also ordered authorities to take action against illegal unregistered vehicles in the city, directing the government to implement its all of its directives within three months’ time.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > MUM ON DRONES, US UP ON BALOCHISTAN, ee growing instability in same.

and

* TOPIX > PAKISTAN ORDERS CRACKDOWN TO PREEMPT KARACHI STRONGHOLD, vee the Taliban.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 23:26 Comments || Top||


Hand over wanted men: Bara tribe given ultimatum
[Dawn] The government on Friday gave three days ultimatum to Bar Qambarkhel tribe of Bara tehsil to hand over wanted krazed killers, expel Afghan holy men from their area and close down all torture cells or vacate the region for a possible military operation.

Notices to this effect were served on Bar Qambarkhel elders during a jirga at Shah Kas Fort in Jamrud where Mehsud Scouts commandant Colonel Jawad Zia and local political agent Mutahir Zeb were also in attendance.

MNA Hamidullah Jan Afridi led the tribal elders, while Senator Haji Khan, ANP leader Imran Afridi, former senator Nasir Khan and notables Malik Zahir Shah, Malik Shamsher, Haji Shaukat and Haji Wajid Ali accompanied him.

Sources said Colonel Jawad made it clear to Bar Qambarkhel elders that they had failed to honour all their written and verbal commitments regarding the handing over of wanted krazed killers, the closure of private jails or torture cells, and expulsion of anti-Pakistain Afghan holy mans serving in Bar Qambarkhel mosques.

They said of late, security officials declined meetings with Bar Qambarkhel elders over the possible military operation.

According to sources, four months ago, the Khyber Agency political administration had suspended all official privileges of Bar Qambarkhel elders to force them to hand over some people whose names were given to them by security officials a few months ago.Security officials had also accused some local rustics of harbouring krazed killers.

The meeting is the first ever high-level contact between tribal elders of Bara and senior military and government officials after the start of a military operation in Bara on Sept 1, 2009.

Sources said the Bar Qambarkhel rustics were told that all entry and exit routes to their area would remain closed, while curfew would be imposed until November 5 to prevent escape of wanted Islamic fascisti from the area.

“The Bar Qambarkhel elders were told in clear terms to pack up and leave the area if we are not able to honour their commitment and collective territorial responsibilities because this time the government wants to establish its writ in Bara at all costs,” a source said.

Sources said the Bar Qambarkhel rustics were told that they would be responsible for all actions and activities of Amr Bil Marof Wa Nahi Anil Munkir, a banned outfit operating in their area.

MNA Hamidullah Jan Afridi later told Dawn that the tribal elders would consult other members of the tribe on the ultimatum.

“I believe we all will give dialogue a serious chance to resolve the matter for good,” he said.

The MNA said the jirga members would try to begin their conciliatory task from Bar Qambarkhel and if they succeeded, the process would then be extended to entire Bara and possibly to the whole of Fata.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Iraq Police Hold Governor after Qaida Jailbreak
[An Nahar] Iraqi police on Saturday tossed in the slammer
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
the head of a jail from which dozens of al-Qaeda Islamic fascisti escaped weeks ago, hours after he left hospital after being treated for wounds suffered in the incident.

Brigadier General Laith al-Salmani is now being investigated in connection with the September 27 jailbreak, when more than 100 inmates beat feet from the prison in Tikrit, although several were killed or recaptured in the following days and weeks.

Al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq has since said it was behind an assault on the facility that led to the mass escape.

"Police today tossed in the slammer
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
the director of the prison of Tikrit, Brigadier General Laith al-Salmani," said a police officer in Salaheddin, the province of which Tikrit is the capital.

"He was accused of failure to do his job. Salmani left hospital today after he was treated."

Salmani had been discharged from the hospital in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil and had been on his way to Kirkuk when he was incarcerated
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
for investigation, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...

Dismissed provincial police chief Major General Abdul Karim al-Khazraji and Iraq's deputy interior minister have in recent weeks traded barbs over who was to blame for the jailbreak.

Khazraji was dismissed in the wake of the jailbreak, in which 16 security force personnel were killed.

The assault on the prison was claimed by al-Qaeda's front group the Islamic State of Iraq on October 12, after ISI announced in July a campaign to regain territory, target judges and prosecutors and free prisoners.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


-Election 2012
Toledo Union Members Caught with a Truckload of Stolen Romney Signs
The only thing that surprises me about this one is that they were arrested.
Four men caught in a Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) truck full of Romney/Ryan signs were issued summons for receiving stolen property early Friday morning in Perrysburg. Local police responded after residents reported seeing men stealing Romney signs in the middle of the night.

A Perrysburg Police incident report published by the Ohio Liberty Coalition listed four adult males: Corey Beaubien, Christopher Monaghan, Sean Bresler, and John Russell. The police report indicated the vehicle in question was registered to SMWIA Local 33 of Parma.

John Russell and Chris Monaghan are listed as Business Agents for the union's Toledo district on the SMWIA Local 33 website.

Additionally, Facebook accounts appearing to belong to Beaubien, Monaghan, and Russell identify the three as employees of SMWIA Local 33.

Monaghan, age 41, uses as his profile picture a ¡°Yes on 2¡å logo supporting the ballot issue from union front Voters First Ohio. He lists The Ed Show on MSNBC as his favorite TV show, and ¡°Likes¡± union front We Are Ohio as well as a page titled ¡°I will vote for Barack Obama in 2012.¡±

Russell, age 39, ¡°Likes¡± Obama for America ¨C Ohio.

Beaubien, age 37, ¡°Likes¡± Barack Obama, Obama for America ¨C Ohio, and Sherrod Brown.

The Sheet Metal Workers' Local 33 Toledo page on Facebook is awash in liberal talking points promoting Obama and attacking Romney. An October 27 status update pleading with members to help distribute campaign literature closed with, "We have 10 days left lets not wake up on Wednesday with our heads hung low because we lost. Remember right to work for less will be the death of us all"
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They didn't steal them, they're just helping the Romney campaign pick them up - it would be trashy to leave them posted after the campaign, and they're just getting an early start.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 9:13 Comments || Top||

#2  prosecute them to the fullest. These cretins aren't just stealing, they are trying to affect an election. Rub their union's face in their stink
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 9:36 Comments || Top||

#3  ..a worthy project for a grand jury with the discovery process.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/04/2012 11:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Local 33 'Tin Knocker' Business Agents (BA); nice example for the membership. Confiscate truck, stiff fines, 10 days in jail and 12 months community service picking up roadway trash on week ends.

Or:

New (no cost) HVAC system for the County Courthouse and Jail.

The BA's and membership of Local 33 can decide.

Thanks for posting yourselves on Facecrook!
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 11:24 Comments || Top||

#5  Nothing to see really.... a long time ago... a real long time ago... I mean way the hell back. I took down a jellyroll Graham billboard on I-10 with muh trusty Poulan. So it all evens out.

RING A DING DING! RING A DING DING!
participatory democracy is fun.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 15:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Are business agents like road agents?
Posted by: SteveS || 11/04/2012 16:15 Comments || Top||

#7  less integrity and scruples
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 17:35 Comments || Top||


Black Activist: Blacks Lost Cause, Must Get Out White Vote!
I received a “Happy Birthday” email from a cousin. She signed it, “Love, The Obama kids.” My beloved cousin’s closing line means despite all the info and articles I have sent educating them to why black Christians should not vote for Obama, she and her four siblings are still voting for Obama.

Unfortunately, my black cousins are voting skin-color over principles. So that is a done deal. No amount of logic, information or truth will change their minds. My cousins are racists.

Ironically, while I can not seem to get through to fellow black Americans, I have been on the road for 6 weeks touring battleground states inspiring mostly white voters; firing them up to inspire others to vote for Romney/Ryan. The tour is Rebuild America – Defeat Obama.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Lloyd Marcus. Doing yeoman's work for conservatism regardless of race.
Posted by: tipover || 11/04/2012 0:59 Comments || Top||

#2  No worries Lloyd. Our Euro cousins thought he was the cat's meow as well. True socialism recognizes few racial boundries.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 5:22 Comments || Top||

#3  There are still the old guard who truly believed in real equality and integration, not the plantation game of being the favored children up in the manor house.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/04/2012 9:08 Comments || Top||

#4  True socialism recognizes few racial boundries blunders.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:57 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US-planned opposition overhaul taking shape
AMMAN: Details emerged yesterday of plans to reshape Syria’s opposition into a representative government-in-exile, on the eve of key talks between regime opponents. The talks starting today in Doha come amid US criticism of the main exiled opposition group, the Syrian National Council (SNC), which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this week was not representative.

Reports have emerged that Washington is pressing for an overhaul of the opposition, with long-time dissident Riad Seif touted as the potential head of a new government-in-exile dubbed the Syrian National Initiative.

Seif and about two dozen other leading opposition figures gathered in Jordan’s capital Amman this week and came up with proposals for a new body to represent the disparate groups opposing President Bashar Assad.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [23 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WTF could possibly go wrong?
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 10:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Let's go to the US-backed Freedom Fighter against the Soviet Union, Mullah Omar, and ask. Mullah, are you keeping an eye on this situation?
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/04/2012 10:06 Comments || Top||

#3  I nominate Bloomberg to head the new government.
Posted by: Perfesser || 11/04/2012 10:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Bloomberg's more puritanical than AlQ!
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/04/2012 19:29 Comments || Top||


Israel Complains to U.N. over Syrian Tanks in Golan
[An Nahar] Israel lodged a complaint with United Nations
...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country...
monitors on Saturday after three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized Golan Heights zone that separates the two countries, a military spokeswoman said.

"Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone near the central Golan heights and the Israel Defense Forces filed a violation complaint to the U.N.," a statement said.

The spokeswoman told Agence La Belle France Presse the incident occurred on Saturday morning, at some distance from Israeli positions on the strategic plateau.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Pro forma objections. Three tanks - that's like an afternoon snack for an Apache or its Israeli equivalent.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/04/2012 1:46 Comments || Top||


Syria rebels target key airbase before opposition talks
[Dawn] Syrian rebels said on Saturday that they had launched a major assault against a northern airbase used to deploy regime air power, on the eve of a crucial meeting to decide the future of the opposition.

The attack on the Taftanaz base, from where helicopter gunships raid opposition positions and rebel-held areas, comes after regime forces this week launched an unprecedented wave of air strikes in a bid to reverse rebel gains.

A video posted on the Internet said eight battalions were taking part in the attack, including the radical Islamist Al-Nusra Front, and showed a missile launcher mounted on the back of a pick-up truck firing on regime positions.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC), a network of activists on the ground, said an operation had begun “to liberate the Taftanaz airbase”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britannia-based watchdog, said “heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or desultory fighting...
” had broken out near the base, in Idlib province where rebels have made significant gains this week.

The rebels seized an air defence position at Duwila in Idlib earlier on Saturday, killing an army officer and maimed eight rebel fighters in the ensuing fighting, the Observatory said.

The rebels fled under attack from the air after seizing arms and ammunition from the post.

The rebels made other gains near Damascus
...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy...
by seizing a cop shoppe, a municipal building and a hospital in the town of Douma, northeast of the capital, after fighting that killed 21 soldiers, the Observatory said.

The fresh festivities came as Syria’s political opposition prepared for key talks starting Sunday in Qatar, where the United States (US) is expected to push for a new umbrella organization to unite the country’s fractured regime opponents.

Reports have emerged that Washington will press for an overhaul of the opposition and its main representative body, the Syrian National Council (SNC), with long-time dissident Riad Seif touted as the potential head of a new government-in-exile dubbed the Syrian National Initiative.

The SNC lashed out at US interference on Friday, accusing Washington of undermining the country’s revolt and “sowing the seeds of division” by seeking the overhaul.

Washington denied it was trying to interfere, insisting it was simply seeking to ensure that more voices were heard.

The rebels consolidated their hold on the area Friday by forcing regime troops out of their last position, taking control of a key crossroads where the roads to commercial hub Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
from Damascus and from the Mediterranean coast meet.

Nationwide, 181 people were killed in violence on Friday, according to the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists and medics in civilian and military hospitals for its figures.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Davisburg trucker turned away in NYC after hauling power transformers
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, it seems to be pretty clear that residents of New York City and the surrounding areas could use all the help they can get.

However, a Davisburg man said some people in the area are more interested in "protecting their turf" than in distributing those supplies to the masses.

Mike James, an independent trucker, said he and three other truckers were told to haul a load of transformers to the city to replace equipment anticipated to be lost in the storm.

James, two men from Holly and a Flint man arrived in the city Tuesday night and slept in their trucks before attempting to deliver the 144 transformers to emergency workers.

When they arrived Wednesday, they were turned away by Con Edison employees because they were not union workers.

"These transformers here, I don't know how many lines they would power or how many homes they would power, but just the fact that they were supposed to be going to help people, and these union guys care more about protecting their turf -- I got a very sour taste in my mouth about New York City people," James said.

The transformers weren't the only help to be turned away.

"Utility crews came up from Alabama," James said.

"They called them scabs and sent them home. They said those people from Alabama were taking food out of their families' mouths."
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The unions are a criminal pestilence upon the nation. RICO from the ground up. America needs to "clean house" in big way.
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 11/04/2012 1:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Link no work. Correct one is here.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 11/04/2012 1:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Distressing story, but is it true? It is just based on one guy's statement, with no verification. Several similar stories have come out, some false, some at least partly true.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 1:24 Comments || Top||

#4  Mod -- link fixed
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 3:44 Comments || Top||

#5  Face it James, there's just no transforming some folks.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 4:10 Comments || Top||

#6  The problem is they are too direct to live in an alternating universe.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/04/2012 8:57 Comments || Top||

#7  Glenmore, it would not surprise me that independent truckers and utility workers were turned away in NYC when I think of the union behavior in Wisconsin; those people were thugs. I doubt the people who needed help would turn down the help.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:23 Comments || Top||

#8  New Yorkers - apparently you don't need any help. Your Con Ed Union workers said so
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 9:39 Comments || Top||

#9  JohnQC, it would not surprise me if the story was true; it would not surprise me if it was 'embellished'; it does not surprise me that the media did not confirm it. At this point I trust no one, I just distrust some more than others.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 10:08 Comments || Top||

#10  At this point I trust no one, I just distrust some more than others.
Posted by Glenmore


Prediction: You will live a very long and fulfilling life. :-)
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 11:36 Comments || Top||

#11  In a two-page Oct. 29 contract, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) local 1049 demanded union dues, pay hikes and benefit contributions from Florida electric utilities before its workers would be permitted to help reconnect power to Long Island communities. The demand came as Hurricane Sandy was bearing down on the Northeastern United States, stranding tens of millions without electricity.

The “Letter of Assent,” which The Daily Caller obtained from the Florida Municipal Electric Association, demanded 11 separate financial commitments from municipal power companies and electrical cooperatives in the Sunshine State. The agreement, for any utility that decided to sign it, would have been in force from Oct. 29 to Nov. 29.

Barry Moline, the association’s executive director, told TheDC that by Nov. 1 the union, based in the central Long Island town of Hauppauge, had relented and stopped insisting that nonunion crews pay dues and other union fees.



they have a link to the document. f*ckers
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 11:48 Comments || Top||


-Election 2012
Romney: Vote for love of country, not revenge
[Hot Air]
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You want to watch this
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 4:12 Comments || Top||

#2  And watch the faces of the two women over Romney's shoulder. They hadn't heard the "revenge" line.... telling, it is.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 5:09 Comments || Top||

#3  "Revenge".... quite sharia, how very Islamic.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 5:16 Comments || Top||

#4  It's interesting that immediately after 9/11 'revenge/retribution/retaliation' against the enemy who could not be named was a notion that even the nominally hawkish Republican administration abhorred.

'Infinite Justice' implied punishment, so it was substituted by 'Enduring Freedom.'

Yet when it comes to electoral politics the nominally dovish Obama talks freely about 'revenge' and 'punishing enemies.' Obama's 'enemy' isn't nameless either. The enemy is Romney and the Republicans.

Imagine the outcry if Romney had promised a policy of revenge and punishment for the Taliban and all Afghans who support them.
Posted by: Elmerert White9731 || 11/04/2012 6:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Revenge? That is what he is really about. If Romney had said that, it would lose the election for him. Why the election is even close baffles me. "O" is an empty suit; a fraud selling bupkes.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 8:59 Comments || Top||

#6  Did show much of O's audience but when the camera went over Romney's audience it was large and enthusiastic.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/04/2012 10:52 Comments || Top||

#7  Did NOT show much of O's audience
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/04/2012 10:55 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Suicide blast kills anti-Taliban lashkar chief; TTP claims responsibility
[Dawn] At least six people were killed and three others injured Saturday when a Pak Taliban jacket wallah targeted a local anti-Taliban militia chief in district Buner of northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
province.

Fateh Khan, a local leader affiliated with the Awami National Party (ANP), was killed with three of his guards when a suicide bomber targeted his vehicle in Dagar area of Buner. The incident happened near Fateh Khan petrol pump, owned by the leader from Sultanwas village.

“The suicide bomber blown himself up in front of Fateh Khan’s vehicle. Three guards boarding the vehicle were also killed in the attack,” district police chief Jehanzeb Khan said.

Khan was one of the key local politicians and businessmen who had played a major role in setting up a Lashkar (militia) to stop the Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
Taliban from entering Buner before the thug cut-thoat group briefly seized power of the district in 2009. The cut-throats were eventually ousted from the district soon after a peace pact between the government and the Swat Taliban fell apart.

A local police official confirmed that six people had been killed in the blast.

“So far, we can confirm reports of six people being killed in the suicide kaboom. The bomber, who was riding a cycle of violence, targeted the vehicle of Fateh Khan,” said cop shoppe officer Noor Habib.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) front man Ehsanullah Ehsan, speaking to Dawn.com from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location, grabbed credit of the attack, saying they had targeted Fateh Khan for leading armed resistance against the thug cut-thoat group.

However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
the front man claimed the suicide bomber was sent on foot, contradicting police reports that the bomb exploded by a man on a cycle of violence.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Muttahida, MQM-H activists shot dead
[Dawn] Two political activists and five others were killed across the city on Friday, police and party sources said.

An activist of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement was bumped off in Baldia Town on Friday night hours after a Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
worker was killed in a drive-by shooting in Malir.

The police said that Saeed aka Mara along with his son was passing through the Jaffar-e-Tayyar Society in Malir on a cycle of violence
when armed motorcyclists wearing helmets fired at him and sped away. Saeed sustained gunshot wounds and died before he could be rushed to hospital. The body was later shifted the body to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities, the police added.

The officials said that Saeed was an associate of the Amir Khan faction of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement and became a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement after his leader joined the party.

Following the shooting, tension gripped the locality and traders pulled down shutters.

Later in the night, an activist of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement was bumped off in Baldia Town, police said.

They added that Aslam, 40, son of Abdul Aziz, was riding a cycle of violence on the double road in Sector 19-B within the remit of the Saeedabad cop shoppe when he was rubbed out.

The police said that the body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
for medico-legal formalities. A front man for the Mohajir Qaumi Movement said that Aslam was member in charge of Orangi Town unit 125. For the past 10 years, he had been keeping a low profile, the front man said.

The victim was father of two and was a scrap dealer, he added.

Man bumped off

A young man, who had been kidnapped late Thursday night, was bumped off near Nazimabad Chowrangi early Friday morning, police said.

Mohammad Shahid, 30, a resident of C-1 Area Liaquatabad, was brought in a car near Nazimabad Chowrangi and made to stand by the side of a road before being shot at and maimed, said an official at the Gulbahar cop shoppe.

The car sped away following the shooting, he added.

He was later rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he died during treatment, the official said.

The victim used to work as an electric fitter in wedding parties, but he was out of work for some time. Quoting family sources, the police said that the victim had lately joined the company of some criminal elements.

Body found

A partially decomposed body wrapped in a plastic sheet was found in Pak Colony along the Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
River, police said.

They added that the victim was in the mid-20s and had long hairs.

The police suspected that the victim had been killed a couple of days ago and his body was dumped on Friday. The body was shifted to the Edhi morgue for want of identification after medico-legal formalities at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Labourer killed

A labourer was bumped off in Khwaja Ajmair Nagri on Friday, police said.

They added that Mohammad Jameel, 35, was rubbed out in a drive-by shooting near a CNG station in Sector 5A-2 of Khwaja Ajmair Nagri.

Ajmair Nagri SHO Chaudhry Afzal said that the victim was a labourer. About a year ago, he had divorced his wife and used to sleep in streets since then.

The body was shifted to the Edhi morgue after medico-legal formalities at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Man found rubbed out

A young man was found rubbed out in the old city area of Dhobi Ghath, Usmanabad, police said.

They added that the body stuffed in a gunny bag was spotted near Kashti Chowk within the remit of the Kalakot cop shoppe.

The victim, later identified as Mohammad Shahid, 34, had been tortured and rubbed out, the police said. They shifted the body to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi for medico-legal formalities.

The police said that the victim left his Usmanabad residence to visit his in-laws in Korangi but was kidnapped on his way.

Earlier on July 26, his brother Sohail was killed in a similar manner, according to the police. They said the victim hailed from Haripur district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...


'Criminal' killed

A young man described by police as a criminal booked in several cases of murder and attempted murder was killed in Patel Para on Friday, officials said.

The police said that Faisal alias Langra was rubbed out after he had an altercation with some persons in Ghausia Colony area of Patel Para within the remit of the Jamshed Quarters cop shoppe.

DSP Qaiser Ali Shah said that Faisal was booked in cases of murder and attempt to murder registered at the Soldier Bazaar cop shoppe.

The police later shifted his body to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi for medico-legal formalities.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [14 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Assad Must Step down before Dialogue, Say Opposition Figures
[An Nahar] A group of key Syrian political opposition figures including former Premier Riad Hijab and long-time dissident Riad Seif have ruled out any dialogue with Damascus
...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat...
before Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
steps down.

The consensus was reached at a meeting in Amman attended by 25 opposition figures ahead of a key meeting of the Syrian National Council in the Qatari capital to decide the future of the exiled opposition bloc, Hijab's office said in a statement received on Saturday.

"Assad and his entourage leaving power is a non-negotiable precondition for any dialogue aimed at finding a non-military solution, if that is still possible," they agreed.

Among others who attended the Amman meeting on Thursday were Ali Sadreddin Bayanuni of the Moslem Brüderbund, Wael Mirza of the SNC, veteran Walid Bunni and Michel Kilo as well as Kurdish and tribal representatives.

Reports have emerged that Washington wants an overhaul of the opposition, amid concerns that the SNC is not representative enough, with Seif touted as the potential head of a new government-in-exile.

The United States is expected to press in Doha on Sunday for a new umbrella organization to unite the country's fractured regime opponents.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Hmmm, sounds exactly like "You gotta pass it to read it'.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/04/2012 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Typical Arab/Muzzie/Democrat tactic.

You have to give us everything we want and then we'll talk about it. True Democrat/Obama bipartisanship.

For more information ask Israel.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/04/2012 10:39 Comments || Top||

#3  "Step down" > Methinks they refer to Iran's Ahmadinejad, not Baby Assad???

lol.

* WAFF > [Debka] NEW US-RUSSIAN SYRIA DEAL WOULD LEAVE ASSAD IN POWER, + no need of Buffer Zones or NFZS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/04/2012 22:58 Comments || Top||


-Election 2012
Americans Must Learn How to Win Again
Think of Tuesday as America's next turn at bat in the ball game, after the seventh inning stretch.

As firebrand patriot JB Williams points out: "We need to load our bases and wait for the pinch hitter to send it right 'outta the park." It's a metaphor, but a good metaphor...

Just like baseball fans have done down through the ages, voters need to file into the biggest ballpark of all, the one called the voting poll. It's the final game in the World Series for freedom and liberty.

Surfing the net and glued to television on Tuesday, we'll still be waiting to hear that sound that gets the crowd jumping to its feet: the sweet sound of the bat hitting the ball.

Cr--aack and the runner's off, running for dear life, for freedom, for liberty.

In 2012, winning back the American Dream begins with ridding the nation of Obama & Co. Until these people are removed from power and held accountable for their actions, America is lost. Most Americans know this, yet they seem to have forgotten how to win.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Obama opens strategic oil reserve to alleviate Hurricane Sandy shortage
[Washington Examiner] President B.O.'s Energy Department is tapping the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, a component of Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to alleviate the diesel fuel shortage brought on by Hurricane Sandy hitting the northeastern part of the country.

"Today's announcement is part of the broader federal effort to respond to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement on the decision to loan diesel fuel to the Defense Department, which is engaged in a variety of disaster response efforts pertaining to the hurricane.

DOD will pull 2 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel out of the reserve, "which will be distributed to state, local and federal responders in the New York/New Jersey area, will be used to provide additional supplies to ensure continued response and recovery efforts. This includes fuel for emergency equipment and buildings, including electrical generators, water pumps, GSA buildings, trucks and other vehicles," according to DOE.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [27 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As long as that fuel is delivered by Teamsters, it will be ok, of course. /sarcasm
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 11/04/2012 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm confused; tapping the Home Heating Oil Reserve will alleviate diesel fuel shortage? But heating oil won't run diesels and having ultra-low sulfur diesel for heating oil is incredibly wasteful. But I forgot - it's a gov't program, so of course it's wasteful.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 1:27 Comments || Top||

#3  I paid $3.14 at Fort Benning yesterday. (which is the local free-market average) The irony is, there's plenty of oil right now. With so many gas stations closed due to electrical shortages and people staying home from work and travel, demand has actually dropped.

Declining demand results in an oil surplus and lower prices. An infusion of oil (bought by the US Gov't at a premium) will only cock-up the market process. That oil, when purchased and replaced once again, will be bought at (yes) at a premium price.

Proving once again our Champ knows little of economics, but a great deal about media impacts on the simple minded.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 4:54 Comments || Top||

#4  Glenmore, as I read the article this fuel isn't intended to heat buildings but rather to power generators, trucks etc. for the National Guard and other DOD responders.
Posted by: lotp || 11/04/2012 5:39 Comments || Top||

#5  My understanding is that the SPR is unrefined oil and the problem is power to pump at the station and delivery to the station. Sounds like pre-election eyewash.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/04/2012 7:00 Comments || Top||

#6  Obama opens strategic oil reserve to alleviate Hurricane Sandy Polling Number shortage.

FIFY!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/04/2012 7:44 Comments || Top||

#7  Is this the same Steven Chu who previously said “Somehow,” Chu said, “we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.”
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:32 Comments || Top||

#8  The NYC people in the clobbered areas need: Food, water, shelter, medicines/medical help, police protection, adequate clothing as a survival basic. Next they need to get the power back on and things cleaned up. If Bloomberg or the Feds can't do that, then they ought to get the hell out of the way and let someone else do it.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:37 Comments || Top||

#9  Restoration of power should go on in parallel with providing survival basics to people. Cleanup may have to go on in parallel also to open roads so that these other functions can go on.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:41 Comments || Top||

#10  "Chu said, "we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."

That's easy. Just tax it to death.

Gas price in Germany: 1 gallon would amount to $7.75
Posted by: European Conservative || 11/04/2012 9:55 Comments || Top||

#11  There are various components to oil 'Reserves' - originally they were oil fields which had been discovered but not placed on production (Teapot Dome scandal involved such, IIRC), the 'Strategic Petrolum Reserve', which involved underground storage caverns into which oil purchased by the government is pumped, and this thing called Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, which I had not heard of. By its title one would be led to believe it held heating oil to be fed into the local market if there was a critical short-term shortage (or if a politician needed some votes), but apparently it must include millions of gallons of prime diesel fuel (which one would/should not use for home heating - though in a pinch we did use a can of kerosene to get through a frigid night.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 10:14 Comments || Top||

#12  That's exactly what it is Glemore. A frankly I think the feds have jumped on the opportunity to dump it. Gas is taking over even the last hold outs in the NE.
It was indeed a strategic assets, but it's time has gone.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 15:27 Comments || Top||

#13  It's harder to store natural gas though.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/04/2012 19:22 Comments || Top||

#14  Don't know about the home heating title of that reserve, but DOD uses a *lot* of diesel, FWIW.
Posted by: lotp || 11/04/2012 19:30 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Report: Mali Islamists Ready to Cut Qaida Ties
[An Nahar] Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine has said it is prepared to distance itself from al-Qaeda's North Africa branch, a newspaper said on Saturday, a day after sending a delegation to Algiers for peace talks.

Ansar Dine's leader Iyad Ag Ghaly "would be ready to officially distance himself from AQIM (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and play the 'democracy' game," El-Watan reported, citing an Algerian official.

A statement from Ghaly could be expected in "the next few days," the "credible" source added, saying that the Islamist leader would cut ties with AQIM and instead support international dialogue on the Mali issue.

Ansar Dine is one of the radical Islamist groups controlling northern Mali, having hijacked a separatist rebellion by the secular Tuareg that caused a coup earlier this year.

The group destroyed ancient shrines in Timbuktu and has applied brutal interpretations of Islamic law in the areas under its control.

A source close to the cut-throats said on Friday Ansar Dine had sent a delegation to Algiers and another to Ouagadougou.

"We are in favor of peace, and dialogue is necessary for peace. That is why we have sent these delegations," he said. The envoys may also make a stop in Nigeria, another source within Ansar Dine told Agence La Belle France Presse.

The U.N. Security Council on October 12 approved a resolution urging a joint African union military force to speed up preparations for a force of more than 3,000 troops that would attempt to help recapture the occupied Malian north.

Algeria is seen as a key player in dealing with Islamic extremism, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as America's Blond Eminence and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Bainbridge Colby ...
visited the regional heavyweight on Monday to press for support in the Mali crisis.

The latest talks come as international experts meet in Bamako to firm up plans for the armed intervention.

The Ansar Dine delegation to Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and may be in the process of being chased out now...
arrived on Friday, but Algiers on Saturday had still not officially confirmed the arrival of the second.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Dine

#1  So they will cut ties w AlQ but will continue to:

kill people,
destroy historic shrines,
music,
poison dogs,
oppress women, etc.

Why is this an improvement?
Posted by: lord garth || 11/04/2012 15:58 Comments || Top||


-Election 2012
Trumka Promises More than 2,000 Union 'Poll Monitors' in Battleground States
[CNS News]
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Do something useful. Go to NYC and help clean up that mess.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 9:05 Comments || Top||

#2  Tree, rope, Union Leader - some assembly required.
Posted by: Hellfish || 11/04/2012 18:33 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Peacekeepers Say Sudanese Army Stopping Probe of Alleged Attack in Darfur
Peacekeepers in Sudan say the army is stopping them from investigating an alleged attack on civilians in Darfur.

At least 10 people were reportedly killed when when a local militia opened fire Friday in the village of Sigili. U.N. and African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
peacekeepers say residents brought 10 bodies to their headquarters Saturday. But they say Sudanese forces are keeping them from going to the site of the alleged attack.

The United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
says nearly a decade of fighting in Sudan's Darfur region between government-backed Arab militias and rebels has killed more than 300,000 people. Close to 2 million civilians have been forced from their homes, creating a humanitarian disaster. The Sudanese government says about 10,000 people have died.

The fighting has eased in recent years, but attacks on peacekeepers and civilians still flare up.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Videos Show Syria Soldiers 'Kill Prisoners, Mutilate Bodies'
[An Nahar] A Syrian rights group on Saturday released videos of pro-regime fighters apparently killing prisoners and cutting ears from bodies, after a video showing rebels executing soldiers raised international concerns.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based watchdog, said it had received the videos after the images of rebels appearing to beat and kill captured troops sparked an international uproar.

"These videos were provided by activists following the broadcast the day before yesterday of a video showing atrocities committed by the rebels," the Observatory's director, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.

"The regime has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity since the first day of the revolution, but these crimes cannot in any way justify crimes by the other side," he said.

One video, which Abdel Rahman said was filmed in July in the northwestern Latakia region, shows a man in military fatigues brandishing a severed ear and a knife, laughing at the camera.

"Here is the ear of a dog -- we will teach them a lesson," the man says, referring to the rebels battling against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
's regime.

The video later shows seven mutilated corpses on the ground. Emerging from a group of fighters in military clothing, a man approaches one of the bodies and cuts off an ear, another man shouting: "Give his ear to the dogs!"

Another video, filmed in February in the southern Daraa province, shows fighters, some in civilian clothes and some in military uniforms, firing with automatic weapons at a group of men lying on the ground who they say are rebels.

"Here are the gunnies, the dogs, the unclean!" one man shouts in the video.

Rebel forces faced widespread criticism after a video was released that appeared to show them beating and executing soldiers after attacks on Thursday on checkpoints near the northwestern town of Saraqeb.

The video, also released by the Observatory, showed about 10 soldiers being beaten, then lined up on the ground and executed with automatic rifle fire.

The U.N. human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
body said the video appeared to show a war crime and warned that "accountability will follow" for those who commit atrocities, while London, Gay Paree and Washington raised concerns.

"If we want a new democratic Syria that respects human rights, we cannot be silent about any crime, no matter who the perpetrator," Abdel Rahman said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Sunday Morning Coffeepot: A Benghazi Sequence
by Pappy

The following is not exactly a timeline. Rather, it is more of a sequence of events and presentations, with a sideline of other, possibly related events.
Benghazi, a very dangerous port city controlled by militias, and located in the eastern part of Libya (a hotbed of Islamic activity) has "approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps" known to operate within Benghazi.

On April 5th, 2011, a small Department of State team headed by Chris Stevens arrives by chartered boat in Benghazi. They set up shop in a hotel. A few weeks later in June, a bomb explodes in the parking lot in front of the hotel. The group in Benghazi makes a decision to move to a new location a former residence. By August 2011 they settle on a large compound.

The compound is roughly 300 yards long with four buildings in it. Over the next few months, physical security at the compound is strengthened. The outer wall is upgraded, its height is increased to nine feet and is topped by three feet of barbed wire and concertina wire. all around the huge property. External lighting is increased. Concretey barriers are installed outside and inside the gate. Steel drop bars are added at the gates to control vehicle access and to provide some anti-ram protection. The buildings on the compound itself were strengthened.

The consulate was only supposed to be in operation until late 2013.

Nearby (one mile away) is a CIA installation (the 'annex'). There are also two warehouses. Post-attack reports claim that of the entire consulate staff, only seven were State Department personnel.

By September 11, 2012, Benghazi has already seen attacks against Non-Government Organizations like the Red Cross, the British consulate, and the US consulate. The NGOs and the Brits have essentially pulled out or reduced operations by 9/11/2012. The US consulate is essentially a lone target.

A CIA contract team, with a former SEAL on its staff, is in Benghazi, ostensibly to acquire Qadaffi-owned-now-militia-held weapons such as MANPADS, in order to take them out of circulation. The warehouses are reportedly used to store reclaimed weapons, particularly the MANPADS.

A relatively unknown low-bid contractor from Wales wins a relatively miserly contract fee to provide security. The company, who never had done embassy/consulate security, hires an on-scene manager whose experience is in the 'personal security (bodyguard)industry'. Other, more experienced security companies were rebuffed.

The consulate security consists of 4-7 unarmed guards per shift, with backup from the February 17 Brigade, a local, supposedly pro Libyan government militia and on-call support from the same militia. No word if there were background checks conducted; As of the week of 29 OOctober 2012, there are reports that some militia members assisting with consulate security were aligned with Al Qaeda.

There were motion detectors sent to the consulate, but not installed.

Requests for additional security are rebuffed, but no one knows who said "no". The number of diplomatic security officers temporarily assigned to the consulate fluctuates, but the total number at the consulate never goes into double-digits.

A military security unit on temporary assignment to the consulate requests its stay be extended. The request is denied, and the military unit is pulled.

On August 15th, the U.S. mission in Benghazi at an "emergency meeting", drafts a contingency plan to suspend operations as security deteriorated, The U.S. mission recommends that consulate operations be moved to the CIA annex about a mile away for the near-term.

An obscure anti-Mohammed video on YouTube, starring porn actors, and clumsily re-dubbed in Arabic, is blamed for inciting a mob attack on the US embassy in Egypt. A similar but smaller attack against a US embassy in Tunisia is also reported.

The week prior to the Benghazi attack, Canada closes embassies and withdraws their staffs from some Middle Eastern countries. Intelligence data suggests there is an imminent planned attack of some sort.

The consulate security contractor, citing a dispute with the Libyan National Transition Government, pulls its on scene manager cum bodyguard and flies him out of the country, just prior to the attack.

On 10 September 2012, the Ambassador arrives in Benghazi on the 10th of September. He does meetings both on the compound and off the compound on that day and spends the night.

About 7:30 in the evening, he has his last meeting. It is with a Turkish diplomat

Early morning of September 11 2012, the consulate staff believes they are under surveillance. Contract security and other consulate personnel report a member of the Benghazi police force on the second floor of the opposite building, taking pictures of the consulate grounds.

Due to it being 11 September, the ambassador has all his meetings in the consulate compound. He receives a succession of visitors during the day. The US ambassador meets with Benghazi 'civic leaders' who tell him that security in Benghazi is good and demand that US businesses invest in the city.

The ambassador openly meets with a Turkish diplomat a few hours before the attack, about 1930 local. At 2030 local the ambassador escorts the Turkish diplomat to the main gate The atmosphere is described as 'quiet'. The State Department briefing describes it as "nothing unusual during the day at all outside".

Several hours before the attack, multiple roadblocks are set up by fighters believed to be with Ansar al-Sharia.

0700-0840, the Blue Mountain Security manager in charge of the local force hired to guard the consulate perimeter, makes calls on both two-way radios and cell phones to colleagues in Benghazi warning of problems. The Blue Mountain Security chief seemed "distraught" and said "the situation here is very serious, we have a problem."

0700-0940: The local guard force protecting the consulate perimeter is in a state of panic, not knowing what to do as the attackers take up positions. Sources say other guards simply "walked away".

About 2100 local, the Ambassador retires to his room.

2100-2140 local time, a 'mob' attacks the US consulate in Benghazi. Consulate security sees the attackers enter the site and triggers an alarm.

At the consulate are four unarmed security guards, a couple of militia members, and a diplomatic security officer. Nearby is the former SEAL-turned-contractor.

The attack is reported as 'disorganized', but also appears to target specific areas. At least one of the Libyan guards is wounded. Walid Shoebat notes a translation of an Al Jazeera video taken during the Benghazi attack, where the attacker says, "Don't shoot, Mursi sent us".

An intelligence source on the ground reports "17 Brigade was nowhere to be found".

One special agent immediately retrieves the Ambassador from his bedroom and collects the information management officer. The three of them enter the safe room located inside the building.

The alert that reported the embassy being under attack is described by both the press and former State Department personnel during interviews as an 'email'. Supposedly it gets lost in the flood of normal traffic.

Twenty-five minutes into the attack commences, the State Department sends and email to multiple recipients, including the White House and the Pentagon.

Twenty-five minutes into the attack, CIA teams (six members plus militia from the 17 Brigade) dispatch from the annex toward the consulate to engage attackers and evacuate consulate personnel.

Fifty-five minutes after the attack commences, the President meets with the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense at the White House in a scheduled meeting. The DoD confirms the meeting, unrelated to the events in Benghazi, is confirmed by the Department of Defense.

President Obama is informed about the attack at 5 p.m. Washington time by his national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon, at the start of the meeting.

The White House Situation Room is among the list receiving "emails from the field" describing the ongoing attack.

The consulate is set ablaze by the attackers. The ambassador, the agent and the information management officer decide to escape from the safe room after it fills with smoke and fumes.
The trio are separated during the attempt.

Two agents recover the body of the information management officer. They and the remaining remaining staff evacuates to a 'safe house' under heavy fire, escorted by elements of the supposed pro government militia February 17 Brigade.

Looters enter the consulate grounds.

The ambassador is separated from the other consulate personnel during the confusion, reportedly found unconscious by looters, is taken to a hospital and succumbs to smoke inhalation. Video and photos of the ambassador are taken and published on the internet. A later statement by private contract security personnel working elsewhere in Benghazi and familiar with the consulate layout says the consulate safe room was not properly set up and lacked "fire suppression and ventilation".

Hospital staff find a cell phone in the ambassador's pocket. They start calling numbers on the cell phone that had received calls. The State Department somehow gets news that the ambassador is there.

The annex comes under attack. Agents take firing positions on the roof and in other places.

The CIA station chief dispatches a quick-reaction force of eight personnel (six CIA, two military) that night from Tripoli. The force has trouble reaching the compound; they are delayed by Libyan officials at the Benghazi airport for more than three hours.

The CIA quick-reaction force attempts to make its way to the hospital where Ambassador Stevens had been taken and was thought to be still alive. The attempt is called of due to the "uncertain security situation" at the hospital.

One of the force members, also a former SEAL, Glen Doherty, dies along with contractor Woods in the mortar attack.

The CIA reportedly takes operational control of a military Predator. The Predator is diverted to cover the assault, reportedly to map potential egress routes. Video feed is broadcast back to Washington to the situation room at the State Department (confirmed during a Congressional hearing), possibly to situation rooms at the White House, and the Pentagon, possibly to Langley, and may or may not have been sent to other government facilities. Situation reports may or may not have been presented to countless other government officials.

AFRICOM, although established in 2008, has no quick response force, although there is one in training. Quick response forces appear to be standard for all other regional commands. AFRICOM borrows a quick response force belonging to the European Command, because its own force is still in training. AFRICOM also had no AC-130 gunships or armed drones of its own readily available.

There was a Marine air unit for SpecOps at Sigonella(?) but it was reportedly in the process of turning over to a replacement unit.

JSOC is either present or not present at Sigonella.

Three hours into the attack, the Pentagon issues an urgent call for an array of quick-reaction forces, including an elite Special Forces team that was on a training mission in Croatia. The team prepares to move to the Sigonella naval air station in Sicily.

Two platoons of Marines in Rota, Spain are alerted

The Pentagon scrambles Delta Force commandos, with their own helicopters and ground vehicles, from their base at Fort Bragg, N.C., to Sicily.

Armed drones that monitor Libyan chemical weapon sites in the area, some a short flight from Benghazi, were either "on call" or not available.

There are no armed drones within range of Libya. According to the Pentagon, "The closest fly out of Djibouti and were not in range of Benghazi"

The former SEALs continue to engage attackers at the safe house. The 'safe house' is taken under precision fire by mortars about 0400 local time, killing both former SEALS. The mortar crew's proficiency is attributed to 'experience' gained during the rebels' fight against Qadaffi's government.

Reportedly a laser is used by one of the former SEALS to paint the mortar team. A Specter C-130 gunship either exists and is present, or does not and is not, and (according to an administration source) the nearest gunship is in Afghanistan.

The annex is secured and evacuated. A convoy of the survivors makes its way to the Benghazi airport.

The Special Forces unit arives at Signonella. However, the surviving Americans at the Benghazi mission have already evacuated to Tripoli.

The Delta Force also arrives too late.

Requests for assistance were either "not denied", placed on hold, not acted upon due to a lack of intelligence on the ground, or lost in the shuffle. The President either was engaged, or ordered the Pentagon to begin "mobilizing all available military assets" (according to a spokesman for the National Security Council,) or gave "gave three very clear directives" and left it to subordinates, or went to bed.

There were also protests at the United States' embassies in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.

The President flies to Las Vegas for a fundraiser.

The attack on the consulate and the other facilities lasts four, five, seven, eight, or nine hours, or two relatively short, intense assaults separated by a gap of four hours.

Both State and the White House blame the obscure anti-Mohammed video on YouTube, starring porn actors, and clumsily re-dubbed in Arabic.

The video director/producer, who has a criminal record, is hauled in for questioning by L.A. County sherrifs late at night with media in attendance, then later arrested for violating probation. There are intimations that the video maker is also a "known Palestinian con-man".

The President appears "cold and detached" while present for the arrival of the remains. The Vice President attempts 'blue-collar' familiarity with the father of one of the slain former SEALs.

An FBI investigation team flies to Tripoli, where they remain at a hotel for three weeks, either awaiting permission from the National Transition Council, or because the security situation in Benghazi was not good (even though reporters were there and combing through the consulate debris), or because there were disputes between State and the Department of Justice/FBI, or a combination of all three reasons.

The story in Washington changes several times. The Secretary of State's comments on 12 September reflected a knowledge that it was not the video but a deliberate attack. The remarks suggest she hoped it was Libyan renegades.

Demonstrators in Benghazi attack several militia facilities and force out its members, including the Islamic militia accused of the attack and the pro-government February 17 Brigade.

The intelligence community is blamed by State and the White House for providing a faulty product; the intelligence community responds through back channels.

On October 26 2012, Fox News reports that CIA officers in Benghazi had been told to "stand down" when they wanted to deploy from the annex. Fox also reports that the CIA officers requested military support when the annex came under fire later that night; their request was denied. In an e-mailed statement, CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood says "no one at any level in the CIA" told operatives at the CIA annex not to help.

The Secretary of Defense and the military commands either were waiting for orders from National Command Authority, or advised a no-go due to the paucity of intelligence about the situation of the ground and the size and makeup of the attacking force.

The Congressional Oversight Committee holds hearings, which degenerate into partisan warfare. Democrats accuse Republicans of "compromising" the CIA facility near the consulate. The Republican controlled Congress is blamed by their democratic counterparts for cutting funds intended for embassy security. Meanwhile, a significant amount of money is spent 'greening' the US embassy in Austria.

A State Department official, Charlene Lamb, testifies to the Oversight Committee that video feed from an overhead Predator was being sent to the situation room at the State Department, where she and others watched the attack in "almost real time".

In early October, news reports surface about small teams of spec-op forces that arrived at US embassies throughout North Africa "months before" the Benghazi attack. The mission was to establish up a network that could quickly strike a terrorist target or rescue hostages.

President Obama, on October 27 2012, vows to hold his administration "accountable" for September's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, saying he took ultimate responsibility for any security lapses.

On November 1 2012, "senior intelligence officials" provide a detailed account to news organizations, reportedly the most detailed chronology presented so far of the attack. Senior intelligence officials also said that the CIA was the real commanding agency at the Benghazi consulate, and not the State Department.

On the night of November 1 2012, officials in the Obama administration leak a series of damaging remarks about the CIA's handling of Benghazi to The Wall Street Journal along with a list of grievances directed at the CIA Director, former General David Petraeus.

On 02 November 2012, a Pentagon spokesman provides new details of U.S. military movements made the night of the attack in case they were needed, stating that the Secretary of Defense "ordered forces to move."

On 04 November 2011, the New York Times prints an article at appears to compile reports and information from both the Pentagon and the administration, plus a restatement of earlier information. It is not particularly complimentary to both the Pentagon, or the intelligence community.

Sidelines:

A Libyan ship owned by a Libyan charity is reported to be running weapons from Libya for use by Syrian 'rebels'.

The US government reports there were plenty of warnings and threats but "nothing specific" regarding an attack.

Other contract personnel within Benghazi and familiar with the consulate state that the security attitude at the consulate was "complacent" and that "normal" American security procedures were not followed.

The Pentagon announces General Ham of AFRICOM has been relieved in what is described as a routine change of command. General Ham is also to retire.

A message posted by Navy SEALs that claimed President Obama denied them backup in Benghazi was taken down twice by Facebook.

On October 29 2012, news reports state that Rear Admiral Charles Gaouette, commander of the USS Stennis Strike Group, only ten days into area of operations in the Middle East, was sent back to the Stennis' homeport in Washington state "following an investigation into undisclosed allegations of inappropriate judgment". The Navy said RADM Gaouette is not "formally relieved of command".

Long War Journal reports a video featured on an Egyptian media site, showing Muhammad Jamal al Kashef (a.k.a. Abu Ahmed) who is "suspected of training some of the terrorists responsible for the consulate assault, giving an interview boasting of his ties to al-Qaeda. Jamal says he "always came to this place [the training camp] inside a State Security vehicle, and this is the first time" he did not.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [20 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Excellent compilation, Pappy - thanks. I'd clarify only who was present in the consulate compound when the attack began.

According to the Oct. 9 State Dept. briefing, there were 7 State Dept. employees present: Ambassador Stevens, IT officer Sean Smith, and 5 diplomatic security agents. Stevens had traveled to Benghazi from Tripoli with 5 DS agents as a precaution, rather than the usual 3.

During the attack, one DS agent with an M4 took Stevens and Smith to the safe room.

One DS agent stayed in the TOC building (undetected by the attackers), who triggered an alarm and was on the phone throughout (about 2 hours), calling basically everyone for help.

Three DS agents retreated to the cantina building for weapons and kit, then went back to the burning main house to extract Stevens, Smith, and DS agent #1.

According to Libyan security officers, eight of them were present inside the compound when the attack began. It seems they did what they could, but were quickly overwhelmed and feared for their lives.

So 15 total on site at the time the attack began, only two of whom (Stevens and Smith, both of whom were killed) were unarmed. All 5 DS agents suffered serious smoke inhalation and other injuries, in their unsuccessful attempt to find and retrieve Stevens, before bugging out in an armored vehicle with Smith's body.
Posted by: RandomJD || 11/04/2012 1:05 Comments || Top||

#2  Eksellent! Well done.

I particularly liked the "Blue Mountain" piece and the unstated, but quite obvious fact that the Brit(s) knew exactly when to pull out. Nothing from Whithall, telling that.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 4:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Besoeker, URL on Blue Mountain Security piece?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 10:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Another interesting aspect is that the Brits are stating that, though they still had assets in Benghazi, no attempt was made to contact them for assistance.

The Turks also had assets in the city; no contact was made with them either.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/04/2012 10:39 Comments || Top||

#5  A talking point for the Dems is that the Repubs in some bill that was passed, had reduced State Department funds for security. They made a big deal of that at the Issa's hearings. That's become their talking point.

A State Department official, Charlene Lamb -- at Issa's hearing, when asked stated "That funds for security was not a problem"
Posted by: Sherry || 11/04/2012 11:31 Comments || Top||

#6  I don't have the BM news bits John. Here is the BM website however. If you think this is just a small, start up, firm with no connections......

Interesting to also note, none of our European cousins are saying much.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 11:43 Comments || Top||

#7  Another interesting aspect is that the Brits are stating that, though they still had assets in Benghazi, no attempt was made to contact them for assistance.

The Turks also had assets in the city; no contact was made with them either.


I noted that too, Pappy. The DS agent in the TOC the whole time called everyone up the US chain - the CIA annex, Tripoli, Washington - and local Libyan police and security. But not anyone else. Perhaps that's because the whole US presence in Benghazi was a covert CIA something-or-other, and the hope/intent was to keep it that way?
Posted by: RandomJD || 11/04/2012 12:46 Comments || Top||

#8  In that part of the world, westerners and particular well fed westerners driving up-armored SUV's in and out of locked compounds are generally viewed as dirty, rotten spies. I don't care how many PT tests you've max'd or how many freefall's you've made, Official Cover and a black passport won't take you so far when the odious brown discharge hits the fan.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 13:25 Comments || Top||

#9  Sherry,
You said "the Repubs in some bill that was passed, had reduced State Department funds for security."

In fact, it was the Democrats who proposed and passed it. More Democrats voted for it than Republicans. Both parties split on the measure,
with 1/3 repubs for it along with 5/6 of the Dems. 2/3 of repubs and 1/6 of Dems voted no.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/04/2012 13:48 Comments || Top||

#10  Good summary of what is known and not known Pappy. How hard would that have been to put together by our govmint for the public. Maybe they could have even fleshed out a few more details.

There are intimations that the video maker is also a "known Palestinian con-man".--Or an Egyptian Coptic con man who was jugged and is still in the hoosegow so far as we know.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 14:15 Comments || Top||

#11  Roger that Besoeker, LOL. Do you mean to suggest, then, the Brits and Turks were already well aware that the US "consulate" Benghazi was in fact a CIA post - thus, what would have been the harm in calling upon them for assistance?
Posted by: RandomJD || 11/04/2012 16:46 Comments || Top||

#12  OK .. here's my dumb question for the day. If the Blue Mountain manager is having serious problems with the situation around 8-9 pm ... then why don't we see the DSS extracting the ambassador straight away??? Why do we read that the ambassador is retiring for the night at 11 pm?

It seems as though local communication, incl. between UK and US security staff, was a bit poor. To put it mildly. It still doesn't explain why the DSS staff were not recognizing the dangerous situation outside.

We're still missing a clear understanding of conditions inside the embassy on that night.
Posted by: Raider || 11/04/2012 18:14 Comments || Top||

#13  I kept thinking I saw this Benghazi story somewhere before; wife put on an old movie for a rainy afternoon and it became obvious. Tom Clancy wrote it, back in 1990 - 'Clear and Present Danger'.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 18:21 Comments || Top||

#14  Here is the BM website however. If you think this is just a small, start up, firm with no connections......

Blue Mountain had no experience in performing Embassy/consulate security. That may be a reason why they accepted a contarct worth $275K.

Other, more experienced, firms had submitted proposals that were ignored.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/04/2012 22:10 Comments || Top||


Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [21 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Trishelle Cannatella (age 33)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/04/2012 3:37 Comments || Top||

#2  But is she a Donk or Pub voter?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 8:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Some things are beyond politics.
Posted by: InsolentPuppy || 11/04/2012 9:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Her legs are too skinny.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/04/2012 9:54 Comments || Top||

#5  The lady in the flowers looks nothing like I expected an Elizabethan privateer to look.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 10:04 Comments || Top||

#6  GolfBravo usually tells us about the accomplishments of the young lass when he posts a pic. Given the utter lack of commentary, I wonder what Ms. Cannatella has ever done? Not that it matters, of course...
Posted by: Steve White || 11/04/2012 10:22 Comments || Top||

#7  What has she done? Well in that picture she is displaying some automotive aftermarket accessories: headlight grilles to be exact. That should count as an accomplishment...
Posted by: USN,ret. || 11/04/2012 10:28 Comments || Top||

#8  elbows are too sharp

do.not.like.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 11:07 Comments || Top||

#9  Panes me as well. But what would I do with all those windows to clean ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 11:30 Comments || Top||

#10 
Selected Trishelle Cannatella film and TV show credits:

Acting Credits Role

2010 Hollywood Royale - Trishelle
2010 Melvin Smarty - Freda
2008 33 Griffin Lane - Neighbor
2008 Ninja Cheerleaders - Courtney
2007 Dr. Steve-O = Nurse
2007 Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning - Ally Handy
2006 VIP Passport - Trishelle
2005 Criminal Minds - Jane
2005 The Scorned - Nichola
2004 The Hillz - Party Girl

First Name
Trishelle
Last Name
Cannatella
Full Name at Birth
Trishelle E. Cannatella
Age
33
Date of Birth
4 November, 1979
Birthplace
Cut Off, Louisiana
Height
5' 9" (175 cm)
Build
Slim
Eye Color
Blue
Hair Color
Brown - Light
Star Sign
Scorpio
Ethnicity
White
Nationality
American
University
The University of Southern Mississippi
Occupation
Actress, Model, Spokesperson
Occupation Category
Reality TV
Claim to Fame
Real World: Las Vegas, Surreal Life
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 11:39 Comments || Top||

#11  The lady in the flowers looks nothing like I expected an Elizabethan privateer to look.

Sometimes a manly explorer just likes to dress up and feel pretty. Doesn't mean anything.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 11/04/2012 18:54 Comments || Top||

#12  O to find a pretty girl without the pointy elbows...
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/04/2012 19:17 Comments || Top||


-Election 2012
Dumbest Washington Post Op-Ed Ever?
[Powerline Blog] I dunno. The Washington Post has carried a lot of dumbass op-eds, and some of the dumbest-ass have been by-lined Colbert I. King.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Tough competition.

In the WaPo

Jimmy Carter has written about a dozen op eds.
Al Gore has written a half dozen.
Hamas bigshots have written op eds.
Posted by: lord garth || 11/04/2012 0:08 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't know L.G: it's definately in the running.
Posted by: Secret Master || 11/04/2012 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Ironically, Johnson was a Dem, or what we might today call a "Blue Dog Democrat". More irony, he was hand picked by Lincoln and saw the danger in a Federal mandates from a large federal bureaucracy. The man was ahead of his time...? No, he was motivated by the desires and intent of the founders and the constitution! He was a military veteran and learned man. Would that we had more like him in Washington today.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 5:09 Comments || Top||

#4  King's piece might have been titled: "A Fable of the Civil War." Any resemblance to...
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 8:50 Comments || Top||


'Hitler' appears on Ohio voter registration form
[Fox News] Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys, including Quarterback Tony Romo, were names that ACORN workers attempted to register to vote during the 2008 presidential election.

The ensuing outrage sparked a voter registration fraud scandal that helped lead to the activist group's demise, and put new focus on the integrity of third-party voter registration efforts during Presidential elections.

Now, four years later, the name: John Adolf Hitler, was one of those turned in on a voter registration form collected by another group in Cincinnati, according to the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

"It's certainly not a joke. In Ohio, that kind of activity is a felony," says Alex Triantafilou, an Elections Board member who also serves as the Chairman of the county's Republican party.

"Any person who would engage in that kind of conduct with something as serious to our democracy as voting, is highly irresponsible and potentially criminal...We have someone doctoring registrations, and the next step would be a serious move toward fraudulent voting. We are worried about it."

The listing, "Adolf Hitler, John...666 Heltz...la," puts his supposed residence in Los Angeles.
"And the house number of the beast is six hundred sixty and six..."
It was part of a batch of roughly 200 voter registrations that election officials say were flagged as possibly fraudulent, forged, or duplicated by the group that collected them, FieldWorks, a private Washington, D.C. based firm.

FieldWorks, says it works largely with Democratic candidates, causes and progressive organizations collecting signatures for voter registration or ballot initiatives across the country.

"We have a zero tolerance for fraud," FieldWorks co-owner Chris Galloway told Fox News, defending his firm.

"Not only is the employee committing fraud, but he is stealing from us."

The case echoes multiple voter registration fraud allegations against the now defunct community-organizing group ACORN, and FieldWorks says it has fired two workers in Cincinnati whom they suspect may have been forging cards.

Galloway told Fox News that it was his firm that first brought the registration of " Hitler" to the attention of election authorities.

"I like to think that we do a lot of good work," Galloway told us. "A lot of people have gotten a black eye. We've seen the stories out of Florida, on ACORN...we want to make these operations, which in the past have not been great, to focus on quality control."

He says the firm scrutinizes every voter registration form that it turned in to election boards, and even gives canvassers GPS cell phones to ensure that they "are not at their home forging applications."

ACORN workers had admitted they did just that.

Gathering signatures was too difficult, said one ACORN worker in Seattle, so he went home and filled out the forms while he "smoked marijuana."

There are also allegations of forged FieldWorks forms in Cleveland.

Elections officials in Cuyahoga County tell Fox News that they have referred three FieldWorks canvassers to the local prosecutor, after finding signatures that they believe are fraudulent on petitions to get an initiative on the ballot.

"We had problems with FieldWorks," charges Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Deputy Chairman Pat McDonald.

"We found multiple individuals where it looked like it was the same signature from the circulator who was circulating the petitions...we want to make sure there is no potential fraud in any entity of elections administration."
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Donk zombies rise from the dead every four years.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/04/2012 8:51 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Robbery case: Court wants terrorism clauses included in FIR
[Dawn] An anti-terrorism court here on Friday took notice of the non-inclusion of sections of Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) in a case of robbery allegedly committed by an official of Intelligence Bureau and four coppers and directed the senior superintendent of police (investigation) and district public prosecutor to explain whether provisions of ATA and those of kidnapping were not applicable to this case.

The court presided over by Syed Asghar Shah summoned SSP (investigation) Sajid Mohmand and the public prosecutor and inquired from them why section 7 of the ATA and section 365-A of Pakistain Penal Code, related to kidnapping for ransom, were not included in the FIR of the case.

The officials claimed that these sections were not attracted in the instant case. However,
the man who has no enemies isn't anybody and has never done anything...
the presiding officer directed them to prepare the case and assist the court on Saturday (Nov 3) on the said point. The judge observed that when the accused officials had kidnapped the complainant and looted him, why the said sections of laws were not applicable to them.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Bangladesh
'Outlaw' killed in 'shootout'
[Bangla Daily Star] The ringleader of the outlawed New Biplobi Communist Party (NBCP)
We haven't had one of those for a while. I thought they'd finally gone extinct, but it looks like they are merely endangered.
was killed in a "shootout" between his accomplices and Rapid Action Battalion personnel in Dumuria upazila of Khulna early yesterday.
Hurrah! With the Rab on the case, we know the crossfire will be done right.
Deceased Shailendra Nath Biswas Shailan, 48,
A four-namer, though not one of them is Mohammed. Must've been rich.
was a listed criminal operating in the southwestern region of the country, said police. He had also been sentenced to life term imprisonment in a murder case.
Clearly an ambitious criminal type, though not up to the usual wanted on twelve planets standard. But read on, dear Reader, and perhaps more will be revealed.
On information that some outlaws were holding a clandestine meeting at Shalua Bazar in the upazila,
"Hist! Mahmoud the Weasel the 27th here! There's to be a secret meeting in the upazila!"
a Rab team raided the area around 3:30am, said Lt Commander Noor-e-Alam, operation officer of Rab-6, Khulna.

As soon as the team reached the spot,
...marked with an X, of course...
the outlaws opened fire on the Rab men, forcing them to fire back.
They would have preferred to negotiate a mutually agreeable outcome, but what can one do?
Well, they always do so well in that sort of thing, don't they?
That triggered a "shootout", the Rab official said -- a common version provided by the law enforcers after every such shootout when deaths take place.
Deaths do keep occurring around the Rab. It's because those miscreants will insist on opening fire the moment their Spidey Senses tingle.
After the criminals managed to flee the scene.
... as though they had never been...
the Rab team found a man lying on the ground with bullet injuries, he said.
One behind each ear. The Rab were both shocked and appalled, poor dears.
The newest corporal had the vapours and had to be led away until he calmed down.
Local people identified the man as Shailen.

He was then taken to Dumuria Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead.
He's dead, Jim!
The body was sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital morgue for an appointment with Dr. Quincy.

The Rab personnel recovered a 9mm pistol, a revolver and six rounds of bullets from the spot.
They will be cleaned until the sergeant can see his face in them by the newest corporal, then returned to their velvet-lined cases in the evidence room for next time.
Rab claims that a patrol car of Rab was also damaged during the "shootout".
Oh dear. Someone will have to do something about that. It is unlikely to be pleasant.
Shailen, son of Kalipodo Biswas of Sholua village in the upazila, was accused in 28 cases, including for extortion and murder filed with Dumuria Police Station, said its Officer-in-Charge Md Moshiur Rahman.
Ah hah! There's our wanted on twelve planets, and a Mohammed. It pays to continue reading.
The victim was the second-in-command of the NBCP until 2004. But after the killing of its ringleader Monoranjan Goshai Mrinal by his rivals at Bangaon in India's West Bengal, Shailen was made chief of the outlawed party, the OC added.

A few years back, Shailen fled to 24-Parganas in India where he was cooled for a few years
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
six months ago for his involvement in criminal activities. A local court incarcerated
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
him for two months, said Moshiur.
"Sixty days or sixty dollars!"
"Arrrr! I can do sixty days standin' on me head!"

After he returned from India last month, Shailen started to reorganise his party, the police official said, adding that Shailen was reportedly killed by his rivals in Paschimbanga on January 30 this year. But the report could not be independently confirmed at the time.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [17 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I love a good shootout.
Posted by: gromky || 11/04/2012 7:48 Comments || Top||

#2  I join President Obama in extended our heartfelt condolences to the Shailan family and the New Biplobi Communist Party (NBCP).
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 7:55 Comments || Top||

#3  I think these guys are ready for a prime-time TV show...

"The RAB!.. A Quinn Martin Production..."
Posted by: Mojo || 11/04/2012 22:39 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
FEMA may not have enough for flood damages
Sandy has flooded thousands of homes in its devastating path, and estimates are that damages will in the billions of dollars. FEMA, which runs the federal flood insurance program, has to pick up the tab.

But FEMA already owes $18 billion to the Treasury Department, thanks to Hurricane Katrina. Currently, insurance experts say FEMA's flood insurance program has access to funds totaling $3.8 billion, much of it in loans.

If flood claims exhaust the fund, Congress may have to step in with additional taxpayer money. That will add to the already bloated national deficit, and anger fiscally-conservative members of Congress.

Private insurers don't cover flooding. Sandy's storm surge pushed water from the Atlantic Ocean into basements and first floors in coastal Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, where subway tunnels remain flooded.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [20 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hopefully, taxpayer funding from "Right to Work" states will be turned away.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 4:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Like the Obamacare taxes, the FEMA taxes are being stealthily applied. They're having an 'outside' firm re-surveying flood plains without using basic considerations to include the record of water fall, just height with no reference to volume. They arbitrarily choose a 'hundred year' or 'thousand year' mark then follow the topographical features. Home owners get letters from their mortgage companies saying they're in flood plains and must purchase flood insurance. Areas that haven't seen waters since man has been on the continent are receiving such letters. It's all done magically with 'regulations'. Got to make up that 18 billion some how.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/04/2012 9:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Private insurers don't cover flooding, BECAUSE IT'S STUPID TO BUILD ON FLOOD PLAINS!

Why is the Government crating moral hazard with these tax-wasting subsidies for reckless land development?!?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/04/2012 18:20 Comments || Top||

#4  re: Flood-plain mapping. If you have a project that impacts the flood plain by more than 1' you are required to file a CLOMR (Conditional Letter of map revision) prior to regulatory approval, and a final LOMR (yeah). There should be no surprises..

Re: Quake insurance. I do not pay for it, Single family homes (wood/stucco) are the most forgiving structures in a quake. I also believe that if a quake is big enough to do widespread damage in a So Cal metropolis, I'll My grandchildren will be getting pennies on my claim when it's resolved
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 19:00 Comments || Top||

#5  Why is the Government crating moral hazard with these tax-wasting subsidies for reckless land development?!?
Because stupid people who build on flood plains count for more than the rest of the electorate, something like that.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/04/2012 19:00 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Iranian-Americans Hold Unique View of US Election
Some 1.5 million Iranian-Americans live in the United States and 85 percent of them are citizens.

Morad Ghorban directs policy at a nonpartisan Iranian-American interest group. He says polls show that Iranian-American support for President Obama is down 10 points from 2008, when he first ran, mostly because of his policies toward Iran.

"When you look at party identification and affiliation it seems like President Obama will still get the majority, if not the plurality, of Iranian-Americans in this election," he said. "Fewer Iranian-Americans today approve of Obama's handling of the Iran issue in his foreign policy than they did in 2009, but the majority, about 55 percent, say they intend to vote for him."

Less support for Obama does not translate into more backing for Mitt Romney. A 2012 poll by Zogby Research Services showed only 13 percent of Iranian-Americans are Republicans.

Behnam and Arian (who don't want their full names used) are younger U.S. citizens eligible to vote, just like the vast majority of Iranians in the United States. They say the tensions between Tehran and Washington, and the perceived threat of possible military action against Iran, have influenced their thoughts on the election.

"This issue has a major effect on their psyche. The question of whether or not there will be war on their native land where relatives still live, and [they] wonder if all the places their loved ones routinely gather around will continue to exist," said Behnam.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I gotta disagree. I live in an area that has a major Iranian population (San Fernando Valley) Almost to a person they are passionate in their support for Romney. Signs in shop windows. Bumper stickers...etc everywhere.
Unless they are totally faking it, I have to think their support for Romney is well over 80-90%.
Most are ex-pats who fled a totalitarian system being imposed in Iran and aren't eager to experience life under another such administration here in the US.
Very conservative people for the most part.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 11/04/2012 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Mikey, I think many of those Iranians in the Valley are also Jewish.
Posted by: Penguin || 11/04/2012 9:29 Comments || Top||

#3  I work with an ex-Iranian who fought against the Iraqis then got thrown in the slammer for punching out a revolutionary guard guy who wanted a customer in his restaurant to cover her face. After 30 days he was pardoned for his war efforts and they threw him out of prison. In the snow. Naked. He's Christian.

He's really excited about voting - his first time. He knows who to vote for the White House, but said he needs to study up on all the other choices he has to make. He knows more American History than most high school civics student.

Interesting - he says the Iranians do not recognize his US citizenship and would arrest him if he went back. But he has no interest in going back. Ever. Works his tail off and says he owes this Country "everything".

Vote for Obama? Notachance.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/04/2012 16:49 Comments || Top||


-Election 2012
Black Grassroots Activists Protest Obama Fundraiser, City Hall, ABC News in Chicago
Thursday evening in Chicago, black grassroots activists fed up with manipulation of their suffering by city leadership turned out to protest a fundraiser for President Obama held by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Speaker of the General Assembly Michael Madigan.

According to the protesters, Emanuel, Madigan, and Obama pretend to try to help their community but do nothing to curb the funneling of money and contracts to corrupt community organizations and union-controlled worksites that won't hire black labor.

The protest began in the lobby of the building where the fundraiser took place and proceeded with a march past City Hall, ending up in front of the ABC 7 News studio on State Street.

According to Mark Carter of the Broke Party, a newly formed group of black grassroots activists fed up with the destruction and blight brought on their community by the liberal agenda, the protest was "about bringing attention to the demolition of homes in Chicago's black communities on the west and south sides." These buildings, Carter says, "can still be saved, but the city is tearing them down," leaving property values and the community in the gutter.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Two Suicide Bombers Attack Restaurant in Somali Capital
[An Nahar] Two jacket wallahs attacked a restaurant in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday, wounding several people, police said, and killing one victim, according to a witness.

"There were two suicide bombers who attacked the Village restaurant. The two of them have died and other people who stayed in the place were maimed. We are still investigating the casualties," said Abdi Adan, a Somali police officer.

A witness to the attack, Ahmed Salad Ibrahim, said a security guard at the restaurant had been killed in the blast -- a report police said they could not immediately confirm.

"I was sitting inside the restaurant premises when gunfire started at the gate. We stood and rushed to find out what was happening and I saw the security guard at the gate holding the bomber before he detonated," Ibrahim said.

"As I was shocked with smoke and dust covering the whole area, another suicide bomber let 'er rip outside," he added.

"The guard and the two bombers died while many other civilians were maimed, but I cannot say exactly how many were maimed."

Another witness, Idle Husien, said there had been a "heavy exchange" of gunfire followed by large kabooms.

"I'm not far away from the place and I can see people injured and the severed dead bodies of the suicide bombers," Husien said.

The Village is owned by a restaurateur of Somali origin who recently relocated to Mogadishu from London, where he trained as a chef.

In September another of his restaurants, also named the Village and located in Mogadishu, was hit by a suicide kaboom that killed 18 people, including three journalists.

The restaurants have been mentioned several times recently in the international press as a symbol of a nascent return to normal life in Mogadishu after more than 20 years of civil war and violence.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab

#1  Somali food critics are tough.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 11/04/2012 6:47 Comments || Top||

#2  By destroying Somalia's best restaurant they hope to keep the UN officials away. It could work...
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/04/2012 10:41 Comments || Top||

#3  The Villages? What do they have against a bunch of retirees in Florida?


oh. Nevermind
Posted by: Frank G || 11/04/2012 11:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Assemble the 3rd Armoured Golf Kart Brigade.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/04/2012 15:10 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Gunmen Kill Three in Nigeria's Northeast
[An Nahar] Gunmen have killed three people including a fire service chief in Nigeria's restive northeastern state of Borno in the latest such attack blamed on the Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
Islamists, police and residents said Saturday.

The attack on the Damboa local government office, around 90 kilometers south of the volatile city of Maiduguri, happened late Friday, they said.

"A group of gunnies set fire to the Gamboa local government secretariat and a nearby 20-unit housing estate built by the state government," a police officer who did not want to be named, told Agence La Belle France Presse.

He said as the fire service mobilised to extinguish the fire gunnies appeared from nowhere and opened fire on them.

"The head of the fire service, Hassan Maina, was killed along with two security guards manning the secretariat," he said.

"It is not clear who was behind the attack. But from all indications, it was the handiwork of Boko Haram," he said.

Resident Tijjani Bulama said the gunnies came to the local government office in four unmarked vehicles, killing Maina and another official.

Nigerian security agents and government officials have been a regular target of attacks by Boko Haram myrmidons.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Africa North
Islamist militants kill three Egyptian policemen in Sinai
[Haaretz] Gunmen fire on the policemen's car in al-Arish in northern Sinai; Egypt police source: attackers likely militants police have been hunting since ambush killing of 16 border guards on August 5.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Salehi Says Israel 'Benefits' from Hasan Assassination
[An Nahar] Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that Israel is the “primary beneficiary” from the liquidation of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Wissam al-Hasan to distract the public opinion to other matters.

“What will Syria benefit from killing him?” Salehi wondered in an interview expected to be published in the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper and the Qatari al-Watan newspapers on Saturday.

Salehi pointed out that al-Hasan uncovered 30 Israeli spy networks in Leb, “which indicates that Israel is solely the number one beneficiary from his liquidation
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Home Front: WoT
US urged to seek open accords over drones
[Dawn] The US administration should seek open agreements with host countries before conducting drone strikes inside their territories, The Washington Post said on Friday.

In a lead editorial, the newspaper’s editorial board sought more political accountability for the unmanned strikes, more checks and balances and more collaboration with allies.

The Post also suggested that drone strikes should be carried out by military forces rather than by the CIA and as with other military activities, they should be publicly disclosed and subject to congressional review.

“The process and criteria for adding names to kill lists in non-battlefield zones should be disclosed and authorised by Congress — just like the rules for military detention and interrogation,” said the newspaper, which is published from the US capital and is popular among American politicians and officials.

“Before operations begin in a country, the administration should, as with other military operations, consult with Congress and, if possible, seek a vote of authorisation. It should seek open agreements with host countries and other allies,” the paper suggested.

The Post, however, noted that there might be cases where the president must act immediately against an imminent threat to the country, perhaps from an unexpected place.

“But to institutionalise a secret process of conducting covert drone strikes against Islamic fascisti across the world is contrary to US interests and ultimately unsustainable,” it warned.

The Post quoted its own report, saying that the US administration is working to institutionalise the system of creating “kill or capture” lists and is contemplating the use of drones in more countries where jihadist forces are active, including Libya and Mali.
Posted by: Fred || 11/04/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Apparently it was fine with the Washington Post for at least two years, though. I wonder what caused the change?
Posted by: Pappy || 11/04/2012 10:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Hoping for "more flexibility" going forward, perhaps?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/04/2012 10:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Bravo, MM; 3 Barryisms in 1 sentence!
Posted by: USN,ret. || 11/04/2012 10:33 Comments || Top||

#4  #1 Apparently it was fine with the Washington Post for at least two years, though. I wonder what caused the change?

Could it be an ongoing strategy that Willard will soon inherit ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/04/2012 12:14 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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1Arab Spring
1Boko Haram
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1al-Qaeda
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1al-Shabaab

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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
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2012-11-04
  Two Suicide Bombers Attack Restaurant in Somali Capital
Sat 2012-11-03
  30 people shot dead in Nigeria, rights group says
Fri 2012-11-02
  US withdraws its support for Syrian National Council
Thu 2012-11-01
  Armed Islamists on Tunis streets after clashes
Wed 2012-10-31
  18 militants killed in Khyber, Orakzai
Tue 2012-10-30
  Israel Hit by 18 Rockets as Hamas Seeks Revenge
Mon 2012-10-29
  52 Dead in Syria Clashes, Air Raids after Eid Truce Collapses
Sun 2012-10-28
  Almost 150 Killed on First Day of Syria Truce
Sat 2012-10-27
  Indonesia foils plot to attack US missions
Fri 2012-10-26
  Afghanistan mosque suicide bomb attack kills at least 41
Thu 2012-10-25
  Israel says 79 rockets fired at it from Gaza
Wed 2012-10-24
  Libya fighters seize Bani Walid
Tue 2012-10-23
  Foreign jihadists pour into northern Mali
Mon 2012-10-22
  Men 'planned mass suicide attack'
Sun 2012-10-21
  Nigeria military nabs Bokoboy at senator's home

Better than the average link...



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