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Syria raids Hamas offices months after group's leaders leave
Today's Headlines
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Africa Subsaharan
Man Arrested in Mali En Route to Combat Zone
French authorities are trying to figure out whether a man tossed in the clink
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
in the West African nation of Mali who was en route to Islamist combatants is the same man charged in Gay Paree with a terror-related offense, a judicial official said Thursday.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is one of three orc groups who have taken control of the northern half of Mali. The group is made up mainly of imported muscle. The radical Islamists moved into northern Mali -- an area the size of La Belle France -- after a military coup in March overthrew Mali's democratically elected president.

Western and African leaders are now worried that northern Mali will destabilize Africa's entire Sahel region
... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas...
Mali authorities notified La Belle France this week of the arrest. French judicial officials are now trying to verify whether the man, who was traveling under an assumed name, is a French-Malian charged in 2010 in another case but released from jail last June, the official said.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly.

The suspected jihadist is being held in Bamako while French officials determine via fingerprints whether he is Ibrahim Aziz Ouattara. He told Mali officials he was trying to get near the ancient city of Timbuktu, where Death Eaters have pillaged tombs of saints, the French official said.

Ouattara has a long history of trips to regions where Islamist Death Eaters are active, including countries like Yemen and Somalia. French authorities also linked him to a plot to kill the head of the Gay Paree mosque, according to the official.

La Belle France, Mali's former colonial ruler, is pressing hard for an African military intervention against the Islamists that it and other allies promise to back with logistical support.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 17:35 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336079 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Feds rest case against NC man in terror case
RALEIGH -- Jurors in a murder-for-hire trial against Hysen Sherifi saw gruesome pictures of a victim in a shallow grave and another with his head cut off Wednesday.

However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach...
the pictures were fakes which FBI agents created after one of the men convicted in the Triangle Terror case allegedly approached an informant.

The pictures were apparently real enough to convince Hysen Sherifi that the "hit" had gone down as planned.

Wednesday afternoon he sat in a federal courtroom and listened as his brother testified against him.

Shkumbin Sherifi told jurors he, at first, didn't want any part of a murder for hire plot. He said his brother convinced him that three men who helped convict Hysen of terrorism should be killed to save their family's honor.

Shkumbin Sherifi has pleaded guilty to conspiracy along with Nevine Aly Elshiekh, who was then a teacher at a private school in Cary.

She also testified Wednesday afternoon. Her attorney said she was seduced and conned by Hysen Sherifi.

Sherifi is serving 45 years in prison after he was convicted last year in a terror plot that aimed to kill U.S. troops.
This article starring:
Hysen Sherifi
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 16:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336090 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
The Saudi Showdown With Pakistan
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 15:51 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336075 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Love the single comment at the link, which neatly encapsulates all that is wrong with the land of the pure:

PUREDE51 Not Fair KSA 11/8/2012 2:12:16 PM
Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan like elder brother in thick & thin.
Pakistanis respect & love Saudia like no other country on earth.
We understand political shifts but it does not mean Pakistan side Saudi enemies & Saudia sides Pakistan enemies.
India is our enemy no1 so if you favour them you will hurt our feelings badly.
If you really want that then go ahead we can't stop you but you will gain nothing from KAFIRS.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 16:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Get me some chili, I desire to feel properly.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 17:54 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Pelosi Hosted Muslim Radicals at Fundraiser
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the main Democrat celebrity at a party fundraiser featuring top officials of front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist Hamas organization.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) reported last week that Pelosi “headlined” the fundraiser in May. One of the guests was Nihad Awad, a founder of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, a group that ostensibly fights for the rights of Muslims, but which federal prosecutors have said is connected to the financing of terrorists.

Pelosi’s message? Muslims should be Democrats because Republicans are Islamophobes.

The Fundraiser

According to IPT, Pelosi and the Democrats assembled with the suspect Muslims at an invitation-only fundraiser on May 16.

“In attendance were about 20 members of a Syrian dissident group and 10 officials representing Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas front groups,” IPT reported. It continued,

Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Executive Director Nihad Awad was perhaps the most prominent attendee and played a key role in organizing the event.

CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007-2008 Holy Land Foundation Hamas money-laundering trials, was described in FBI testimony as having been created by Hamas. In a 2007 federal court filing, prosecutors described CAIR as conspiring with other branches of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists.

The FBI officially severed relations with CAIR in 2008 because of its ties to Hamas.

IPT reported that Awad is an open and vociferous supporter of Hamas, a major terrorist organization in the Middle East.

Another of the more notable Muslim guests, IPT reported, was “Jamal Barzinji, a founding father of the Muslim Brotherhood in America and co-founder of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), an incubator for Islamic radicalism in North America. MSA was the forerunner of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).”
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 15:40 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Absolutely lame brained.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 15:52 Comments || Top||


The persistent prejudice you've never heard of
Anti-Christianism, to coin a term.
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 15:28 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336077 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh.
I thought you meant the comedic bashing of middle aged white men.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/08/2012 23:45 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Finita La Commedia
h/t Instapundit
I'm not normally given to hyperbole, but it's all over for the Republican party as we know it and hence all over for the United States of America as we know it. The Reagan period now looks like a blip. Only once has a Republican presidential candidate won the popular vote in 24 years.

We've lost when we were the incumbent party and the economy was perceived to be doing badly; we've lost when we were the challenger party when the economy was doing even worse.

In future, our elections will be like those in Britain or New York. We will be presented with a choice between a statist liberal and an out-there uber-liberal. And with the uber-liberal enjoying the full backing of the media and Hollywood, it'll by no means be an easy win for the ordinary Mike Bloomberg or David Cameron-style liberal, who will be portrayed as a heartless plutocrat if he happens to come from money, or as a hopeless rube if he happens to come from nowhere.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/08/2012 14:31 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336078 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm not so certain. While nothing has changed at the federal level, still, despite all that was spent, the Democrats were fought to a standstill, only managing to hold on to the status quo. Meanwhile, at the state level the Republicans strengthened their hold on legislatures and governorships. This means budgets will be balanced, staffing and projects will be downsized, and public workers' unions will be broken in the red states. Megan McCardle had a very interesting piece yesterday on the meaning of Tuesday's election going forward, and wrote more on the subject today. Yesterday she concluded:

But I am highly skeptical that last night means they've [the Republicans] gone into some sort of permanent decline. It was a close election in which Obama lost states that he carried in 2012. The Democratic bench is very weak--the current leading candidates to succeed Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, will be 69 and 74 in 2016. And Obama is going to have to preside over some very, very tough choices. We can't borrow a trillion dollars a year for another four years. Nor can we get all the money from Republican constituencies; they just don't have enough of the stuff. Whoever's ox Obama chooses to gore will probably be a considerably less enthusiastic coalition member come 2016.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 17:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Two more years of this leftist liberal out-there uber crap and people in this country will either be shaken into sanity and bring about change or be trying to escape a Detroit-like national mess.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 17:09 Comments || Top||

#3  The problem is that the Republicans lost where they should have won. Like VA, OH. Nevada is crumbling in this economy and they still went with Obama.

The Democrats have promised salvation in exchange for such small things as servitude and the mass of Americans are willing to sell.
Posted by: Jame Retief || 11/08/2012 17:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Iff Net allegations are correct that VPOTUS Biden is indeed suffering from adult/senior citizen dementia, he will have to be politely retired or otherwise removed from presidential-level politics for the safety of the country, espec as per the NatComAuth = Nuclear Football - THAT EFFEC MEANS ONLY HILLARY IS LEFT.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 21:19 Comments || Top||

#5  I think that the pubs are finished. We need independents that come together for issues. I am sick of the country republican leadership. We do not need them, in fact they are a reliability. A grass roots base is what we already have. We let the commie dems define the debate. That is idiotic. Sun Tzu and John Boyd are spinning in their graves.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/08/2012 22:00 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
BREAKING: Pentagon Confirms Iran Fired on US Drone
Will update as more info comes available
Iran fired on an unarmed U.S. drone last week as it was hovering in international airspace, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
Note date of incident and we are just now learning of the situation
Spokesman George Little said the incident occurred Nov. 1 at 4:50 a.m. ET. He said the unarmed, unmanned drone was conducting "routine surveillance" over the Persian Gulf when it was "intercepted" by Iran. He said the MQ1 Predator drone, which was not hit, was not in Iranian airspace.

Little said the U.S. government has protested to the Iranians.

Asked about how the U.S. could respond, he said: "We have a wide range of options from diplomatic to military."

Little stressed that the drone was flying 16 nautical miles off the coast of Kuwait in international waters, and never entered the 12-mile limit that would constitute Iranian territory.

Update 1:40 CST:
More from CNN
Two Iranian Su-25 fighter jets fired on an unarmed U.S. Air Force Predator drone in the Persian Gulf last week, CNN has learned.

The incident raises fresh concerns within the Obama administration about Iranian military aggression in crucial Gulf oil shipping lanes.

The drone was in international airspace east of Kuwait, U.S. officials said, adding it was engaged in routine maritime surveillance.

Although the drone was not hit, the Pentagon is concerned.

Two U.S. officials explained the jets were part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps force, which has been more confrontational than regular Iranian military forces.

The Obama administration did not disclose the incident, which occurred just days before the presidential election on November 1, but three senior officials confirmed the details to CNN.

The officials declined to be identified because of sensitive intelligence matters surrounding the matter.

The drone's still and video cameras captured the incident showing two SU-25s approaching the Predator and firing its onboard guns.

The Iranian pilots continued to fire shots that went beneath the Predator but were never successful in hitting it, according to the officials.

U.S. military intelligence analysts are still not sure if the Iranian pilots simply were unable to hit the drone due to lack of combat skill, or whether they deliberately were missing and had no intention of bringing down the drone. But as one of the officials said, "it doesn't matter, they fired on us."

The official confirmed the United States protested the incident but has not heard back from Iran.

Iran has, at times, been confrontational in the region. In January, the U.S. military and coast guard had close encounters with Iranian Navy vessels which approached at high speeds and exhibited provocative behavior.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 13:15 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336086 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Of course they did, why not? What's Panetta or Obie gonna do?
Posted by: mojo || 11/08/2012 14:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Iran is not scared of Bambi.

They only respond to force not chat.
Posted by: Fester Clunter7205 || 11/08/2012 14:52 Comments || Top||

#3  so .. apparently there are no Top Guns in the Revolutionary Guard. HAHAHA!!!
Posted by: Raider || 11/08/2012 15:18 Comments || Top||

#4  If it wasn't important last week, why is it important now?
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/08/2012 15:34 Comments || Top||

#5  So it happened on Nov. 1 and we are just hearing about it?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 15:45 Comments || Top||

#6  O Apology is in the mail.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/08/2012 18:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Note the article says "hovering" not "orbiting".
Wonder what the target of interest was?
A mining vessel, or one of the new submarines taking on water?
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/08/2012 23:44 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Where did 7 million missing white voters go?
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/08/2012 13:04 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Where did they go? If most of them went into the bit bucket, we would never know. Electronic voting and voting machines are computerized fraud. US should go back to paper ballots and a chain of evidence for ballot boxes.
There will be similar discussions in 2016.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/08/2012 18:00 Comments || Top||

#2  There are some serious problems with the numbers. I'm hoping to see some stories on this issue in the next few days.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 18:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Who votes doesn't matter - what matters is who counts the votes.
-- Don't remember who said that. Stalin?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/08/2012 18:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Oh hush, they didn't turn out.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 18:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Shipman:

Yes, that's part of it. Doesn't explain all the counties with 100% turnout for example.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 18:15 Comments || Top||

#6  I would love to see numbers cross-indexed by which ones have electric voting machines or not.
Posted by: Rjschwarz || 11/08/2012 18:20 Comments || Top||

#7  Also by the party of tbe election commissioner. Probably nothing suspicious but if so that would be the easiest way to spot oddities large enough to have effected the numbers.
Posted by: Rjschwarz || 11/08/2012 18:22 Comments || Top||

#8  Romney is only about 2M short of McCain as of a few hours ago.

The author of the article doesn't seem to realize that many precincts count late because of various issues.
Posted by: lord garth || 11/08/2012 18:32 Comments || Top||

#9  Romney's GOTV sucked. Of course, GOTV really ought to be the party's responsibility. Spending-wise, the all-out sprint near the end of the primaries leaves no cash for GOTV.

Besides, GOTV is the cousin of constituent service. The Dems have had paid professionals in place around the country since Obama was elected. What was the RNC doing? Obama was a community organizer, which is a pretty name for ward heeler. He had people canvassing for votes from day one of his administration. The GOP's GOTV operation was asleep at the wheel, counting its cash while the DNC drained its coffers by paying professionals to keep in regular touch with its voter base, perhaps providing constituent service or whatever. On election day, that attention to detail paid off.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 11/08/2012 19:46 Comments || Top||

#10  Here's the thing. If Romney had gotten an additional 500K votes, he would have won the election. The GOP has no ground game. What a crushing disappointment.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 11/08/2012 19:47 Comments || Top||

#11  If your constituency is poor it's cheap to entice them to get to the polls; Romney's constituency was largely middle class, had jobs and responsibilities, and the enticements it would take to affect their routine would be beyond the means of political operatives as well as being illegal (and obviously so.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 21:41 Comments || Top||

#12  Look, folks. The difference is down in the noise and corruption level. You have to beat the opponent by 5% or more to be sure that you get a decisive win. How can you prove voting irregularities? If you had people of good will, then everyone is approaching the voting with honesty. But many are not, and it is difficult or impossible to prove fraud.

We are a house divided and all the lawyers in the world will not make this thing clean. That is the reality as I see it.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/08/2012 21:56 Comments || Top||

#13  See also YAHOO NEWS > LATINO GROUPS TO OBAMA: YOU OWE LATINOS THE ELECTION, NOW PASS IMMIGRATION REFORM.

IIUC, the majority of America's minority voters picked the Bammer, AFAIK to include women + the majority of Jewish-American voters which was surprising.

OTOH FOX NEWS ALL-STAR PANEL > KRAUTHAMMER = opined that the Bammer does NOT have any conclusive or overwhelming mandate from the Voters, + that Obama's second term is starting off wid America in deep trouble.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 21:56 Comments || Top||

#14  VarCandidate = "Mitt Romney"
I = 1
If I <> 3 And VarCandidate = "Mitt Romney then
VarCandidate = "Mitt Romney"
I = I + 1
Else
VarCandidate = "Barack Obama"
I = 1
EndIf

Just wrote as an example 8 simple lines of software code that if embedded in the voting system will give every third vote cast for Mitt Romney to Barack Obama.
Posted by: wr || 11/08/2012 22:25 Comments || Top||

#15  Never, ever trust a computer system used in an election. Use only paper ballots. Period. Computers are too easy to program to favor the odds you want favored.
Posted by: wr || 11/08/2012 22:40 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Karma strikes Pelosi
Well, she's been looting our resources, so I guess turn around is fair play.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/08/2012 12:37 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder what her net worth is. If th very wealthy were taxed on assets rather than income I bet she would howl to high heaven.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/08/2012 19:02 Comments || Top||

#2  almost all of calif has a personal property tax and a real estate tax and soon the tax goes up to 12% for the Pelosi family's marginal income

of course this tax can be an itemizable expenditure on sched A but that's another discussion
Posted by: lord garth || 11/08/2012 19:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Estimated about 58 million on the low side, 124 on the high side.
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/08/2012 22:39 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
And so it begins: UN Announcement, Gun Control Meeting Set
Hours after U.S. President Barack Obama was re-elected, the United States backed a U.N. committee's call on Wednesday to renew debate over a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade.

U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney if his administration was seen as supporting the pact, a charge Washington denies.

The month-long talks at U.N. headquarters broke off after the United States - along with Russia and other major arms producers - said it had problems with the draft treaty and asked for more time.

But the U.N. General Assembly's disarmament committee moved quickly after Obama's win to approve a resolution calling for a new round of talks March 18-28. It passed with 157 votes in favor, none against and 18 abstentions.

U.N. diplomats said the vote had been expected before Tuesday's U.S. presidential election but was delayed due to Superstorm Sandy, which caused a three-day closure of the United Nations last week.
An official at the U.S. mission said Washington's objectives have not changed.

"We seek a treaty that contributes to international security by fighting illicit arms trafficking and proliferation, protects the sovereign right of states to conduct legitimate arms trade, and meets the concerns that we have been articulating throughout," the official said.

"We will not accept any treaty that infringes on the constitutional rights of our citizens to bear arms," he said.
U.S. officials have acknowledged privately that the treaty under discussion would have no effect on domestic gun sales and ownership because it would apply only to exports.

The main reason the arms trade talks are taking place at all is that the United States - the world's biggest arms trader accounting for more than 40 percent of global conventional arms transfers - reversed U.S. policy on the issue after Obama was first elected and decided in 2009 to support a treaty.

'MONTHS AWAY' FROM DEAL?

Countries that abstained included Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Belarus, Cuba and Iran. China, a major arms producer that has traditionally abstained, voted in favor.

Among the top six arms-exporting nations, Russia cast the only abstention. Britain, France and Germany joined China and the United States in support of the resolution.

The measure now goes to the 193-nation General Assembly for a formal vote. It is expected to pass.

The resolution said countries are "determined to build on the progress made to date towards the adoption of a strong, balanced and effective Arms Trade Treaty."

Jeff Abramson, director of Control Arms, a coalition of advocacy groups, urged states to agree on stringent provisions.

"In Syria, we have seen the death toll rise well over 30,000, with weapons and ammunition pouring in the country for months now," he said. "We need a treaty that will set tough rules to control the arms trade, that will save lives and truly make the world a better place."
Brian Wood of Amnesty International said: "After today's resounding vote, if the larger arms trading countries show real political will in the negotiations, we're only months away from securing a new global deal that has the potential to stop weapons reaching those who seriously abuse human rights."
Can we get a definition of this term "human rights?" Like the Human Rights being practiced in Syria?
The treaty would require states to make respecting human rights a criterion for allowing arms exports.

Britain's U.N. mission said on its Twitter feed it hoped that the March negotiations would yield the final text of a treaty. Such a pact would then need to be ratified by the individual signatories before it could enter into force.

The National Rifle Association, the powerful U.S. interest group, strongly opposes the arms treaty and had endorsed Romney.
The United States has denied it sought to delay negotiations for political reasons, saying it had genuine problems with the draft as written.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 11:47 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336069 views] Top|| File under:

#1  From Instapundit, my question is answered.

UPDATE: Reader Daniel Wachs writes:
Remember, in the parlance of the UN, Human Rights means “anti-Israel”. Is this the start of Obama’s method to stop arms support to the Jewish State?
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 14:45 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Anti-Islam Filmmaker Sentenced To One Year In Prison
As promised by Hillary...

The filmmaker behind an anti-Islam YouTube video that was initially blamed for sparking deadly protests in the Muslim world admitted today violating his probation and was sentenced to a year in federal prison.

Mark Basseley Youssef, 55, who previously used the name Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, admitted four allegations of using false identities, including having a California driver's license with a fake name. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped four other allegations.

He had faced a possible sentence of two years behind bars for the eight probation violations.

Youssef pleaded no contest in 2010 to bank fraud charges for using phony Social Security numbers to open bank and credit card accounts, according to court documents. He was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use computers or the Internet for five years without prior authorization.

He was also prohibited from using fictitious names during his supervised release.

In court today, U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder said Youssef must spend 12 months behind bars, followed by four years of supervised release. Youssef has already been in custody for about five weeks.

As part of his plea deal, Youssef agreed to a proffer in which he would discuss with prosecutors his finances in detail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Dugdale said.

While denying the 14-minute video clip "Innocence of Muslims" -- also known as "Desert Warrior" -- had anything to do with the probation matter, Dugdale said Youssef had "betrayed" the actors who appeared in the film by not telling them he was a "recently released convicted felon."

Also, before uploading the film -- which portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a womanizer and child abuser -- Youssef had dubbed inflammatory dialogue in place of words actually spoken by the actors, Dugdale said.

"He made that choice for other people," the prosecutor said.

Such behavior illustrated Youssef's "long-standing pattern of deception," Dugdale said.

According to papers filed in a separate case, Youssef, an Egyptian-born Coptic Christian, wrote and produced the trailer, uploading the English-language version on YouTube on July 2, followed by a version dubbed in Arabic on Sept. 11.

"His deception actually caused real harm to people," Dugdale told the court, adding that at least one actress from the film feared for her life.

Others, he said, "believe their careers are ruined" as a result of their involvement in the video.

Defense attorney Steve Seiden, however, argued that as the prime mover behind the film, Youssef had the right to change dialogue, titles and other facets of the production.

"The actors signed releases," he said.

Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 10:21 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336081 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
Obama Won So I Fired 22 Employees
[Las Vegas.CBS Local] A Las Vegas business owner with 114 employees fired 22 workers today, apparently as a direct result of President Obama's re-election.

"David" (he asked to remain anonymous for obvious reasons) told Host Kevin Wall on 100.5 KXNT that "elections have consequences" and that "at the end of the day, I need to survive."
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 09:12 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336080 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Boeing did the same thing on a larger scale but they seemed less spiteful and more than a bit corrupt in the way they handled it.
Posted by: Rjschwarz || 11/08/2012 9:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Remember, Boeing IS based in Chicago.
Posted by: tipover || 11/08/2012 10:44 Comments || Top||

#3  If he closes his business because it become unprofitable due to costs to operate it wouldn't have been 22, but 114 plus himself.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/08/2012 11:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Boeing moved to Chicago because the business climate in Washington state was less than optimal, to say the least!
Posted by: 746 || 11/08/2012 11:46 Comments || Top||

#5  I think Boeing moved their HQ to Chicago to put some distance between them and the union. I figure eventually they will move their manufacturing elsewhere.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/08/2012 11:50 Comments || Top||

#6  They tried Carolina but the NLRB Obama union appointees said no they couldn't move. Another nail in the coffin of the former land of freedom. Papers, papers, we want to see your papers [except at the polling station].
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/08/2012 12:31 Comments || Top||

#7  That guy better be prepared for an IRS audit next year.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 11/08/2012 14:38 Comments || Top||

#8  Just an excuse.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/08/2012 16:14 Comments || Top||

#9  I always wished Colin Powell was your first Black President. Maybe now there would be less hysteria over Obamas skin colour if Powell had.

I'm sorry but I can't help seeing an ostridge when I see obama.
Posted by: Cretinous Humongous || 11/08/2012 18:17 Comments || Top||

#10  am I wrong?
Posted by: Cretinous Humongous || 11/08/2012 18:19 Comments || Top||

#11  ostridge do you mean Ostrich?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/08/2012 18:20 Comments || Top||

#12  The expression is right, Cretinous Humungous. Separately, Colin Powell would never have lowered himself to stump for votes from the common folk. He is not a natural politician, though as a general he had to do high level politics. Sadly, Condoleeza Rice is even less inclined to politics. But as neither were able to control the State Department staff, it didn't bode well for their ability to control the rest of the executive bureaucracy, should they have somehow managed to have gotten elected.

Yes, he does, Redneck Jim.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 18:50 Comments || Top||

#13  TW, in response to your question the other night - the guys I was with were Marines and some Sailors. It's been an interesting week at work...
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/08/2012 23:58 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Mid-air scare: Man turns violent on Mumbai-Delhi flight, raises Islamic slogans
Sudden Jihad Syndrome.
NEW DELHI: In what was described by a frequent flyer as the "scariest flight of his life", a passenger on board a Mumbai-Delhi IndiGo flight suddenly turned violent mid-air on Wednesday and started raising Islamic slogans while threatening to harm the aircraft. The situation turned so alarming that the cabin crew and passengers pinned down the flyer, Mursalim Sheikh, 41, and blocked the aisle with a food trolley to prevent him from making a dash for the cockpit.

The IndiGo flight 6E 196 made a quick descent in Delhi after seeking priority landing, where Sheikh, a used car dealer from Babu Tansen Chawl in Virar, was handed over to security agencies.

The drama began about an hour after the plane had taken off from Mumbai at 3.45pm and was flying over Jaipur. Sheikh, bearded and dressed in a pathani suit, was seated on seat 28 A. "He suddenly turned around on the seat to face an aged woman on 29A and started muttering menacingly to her," a flyer said. An airhostess reportedly asked Sheikh to sit properly, but he kept gazing at her before suddenly slapping her, turning very aggressive.

Recalling the hijack scare on a Delhi-Mumbai flight, a co-passenger said, "Sheikh was waving a cellphone and threatening 'sabko dekh loonga' (I will teach everyone a lesson)." Male passengers and the crew together pinned Sheikh down. Then women and kiddies seated in the rear were sent to the front and a food trolley was placed in the aisle to prevent Sheikh from going towards the cockpit.

Confirming the incident, IndiGo said, "This unruly passenger started screaming and also physically assaulted a crew member. The passenger also got violent with co-passengers, and tried to access the forward of the aircraft. IndiGo crew made appropriate announcements and deployed security measures to block access to the front of the aircraft and the front galley."

Said a passenger, "We landed soon after the man had been overpowered." The flight commander had requested for security personnel on arrival. The passenger was taken out at 6.13pm and handed over to the CISF. IndiGo said it was in the process of lodging an FIR. "An untoward conduct of this nature is of serious concern to us. We will take all necessary action to address this violation," IndiGo said.

While passengers said the landing in Delhi came as a huge relief, the drama did not end there. For, the airline and airport personnel did not handle the situation as professionally as the crew had done in the air. "Once the aircraft door opened, we expected security personnel to rush in and arrest the flyer. But the airline's own security team came into the aircraft. We were first asked to alight and then a second announcement was made asking us to stay seated. We were wondering why security agencies did not just whisk the guy away?" said a passenger.

The IGI domestic airport police have tossed in the clink
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
Sheikh and started the paperwork but haven't done much else for criminal intimidation, assault and threatening the crew. The Intelligence Bureau is quizzing him.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 06:23 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336093 views] Top|| File under:

#1  the airline and airport personnel did not handle the situation as professionally as the crew had done in the air

Indian bureaucracy at its most typical.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/08/2012 11:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Once they got down to 10,000' they should have depressurized and pushed him out the door.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 11:54 Comments || Top||

#3  blocked the aisle with a food trolley to prevent him from making a dash for the cockpit.

So not everybody went the secure cabin door route...
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/08/2012 14:07 Comments || Top||

#4  My thoughts exact, looks like the strategy of every attack the perp got thru tho.

Wait for the He wuz lynched on an AirPlane and got no Mirando.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 17:45 Comments || Top||

#5  The situation turned so alarming that the cabin crew and passengers pinned down the flyer, Mursalim Sheikh

Even the Indians have decided to be a pack, not a herd. Good for them.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 19:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Great timing. I will be on a Bangalore to chennia flight tomorrow. May have to request an ailse seat.
Posted by: airandee || 11/08/2012 19:49 Comments || Top||

#7  Good idea, airandee. (Just on general principles - makes it easier to get to the bathroom. ;-p)

Have a safe flight.
Posted by: Barbara || 11/08/2012 20:22 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran says Obama should not expect talks
Head of Iranian judiciary Larijani condemns "unprecedented" US sanctions; indicates newly re-elected President Barack Obama should not expect Iran to come to negotiating table, says relations "not possible overnight."

Iran reacted coolly to Barack Obama's re-election on Wednesday, as the head of its judiciary condemned the "crimes" of US sanctions and indicated the president should not expect rapid new negotiations with Tehran.

"After all this pressure and crimes against the people of Iran, relations with America cannot be possible overnight and Americans should not think they can hold our nation to ransom by coming to the negotiating table," Sadeq Larijani was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 06:18 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336065 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thank you Iran. Adding to the "problems" our newly elected president will inherit. It's yours, Mr. Obama.. you now own it. "I won."
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 10:42 Comments || Top||

#2  An invitation for President Obama to bribe them to come to the table, to be followed by another bribe to stay at the table... In the meantime work on the nuclear bombs proceeds apace.

(Why yes, I am feeling a tad cynical today -- does it show?)
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 13:58 Comments || Top||

#3  The Mad Mullahs are trying to take advantage of O's 'increased flexibility' in his second term.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/08/2012 18:57 Comments || Top||


Economy
Boeing Announces Big Layoffs in Defense Division
Boeing announced a major restructuring of its defense division on Wednesday that will cut 30 percent of management jobs from 2010 levels, close facilities in California and consolidate several business units to cut costs.

The company told employees about the changes on Wednesday, in a memo obtained by Reuters and confirmed by Boeing.

Boeing, the Pentagon's second-largest supplier, said the changes were the latest step in an affordability drive that has already reduced the company's costs by $2.2 billion since 2010, according to the memo.

The measures come as U.S. weapons makers are under pressure to cut costs and preserve profit margins amid dwindling defense spending in the U.S.

In a message to employees, Dennis Muilenburg, chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said the company aimed to cut costs by an additional $1.6 billion from 2013 through 2015.

"We are raising the bar higher because our market challenges and opportunities require it, and our customers' needs demand it," Muilenburg said.

He said the total savings would reach $4 billion, making the company healthier and better able to deal with a tougher marketplace.

He said Boeing would cut the number of executive jobs an additional 10 percent by the end of 2012, bringing overall cuts in its executive team to 30 percent for the past two years, a move that would result in a 10 percent cut in management costs.

Boeing said the changes were not a response to the threat of additional, across-the-board U.S. budget cuts due to take effect on Jan. 2, or the outcome of U.S. elections, but represented another step in its continuing drive to "be more competitive while investing in technologies and people."

Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 06:12 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336065 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Interesting timing; want to bet some threats were made advice was given in regard to their standing on future contract bids if they had announced this earlier?
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 11:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Is this one of those layoffs where the employees were not given advance notice (in violation of federal law)?
Posted by: SteveS || 11/08/2012 12:03 Comments || Top||

#3  I expect this to be the first of many announcements as corporations hunker down to last thru the next four years.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/08/2012 12:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Technically yes, SteveS, but evidence is on the net that the Administration said they'd cover or waive the fines. One set of rules for me, another set of rules for thee.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/08/2012 12:34 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian Opposition Considers Unity Plan
Syrian opposition members are holding talks Thursday in Qatar on a plan to create a broader, more unified council of rebels and political figures pushing to oust Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
The proposed group would later choose a temporary government for Syria and coordinate with the revolt's military wing. The plan would give about a third of the seats to members of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group in exile.

Ahead of the Thursday meeting, the SNC elected its own 40-person leadership body, but officials said more members would likely be added because no women were selected.

The United States has said it expects an organized Syrian opposition to include the SNC, but also other groups. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as The Liberatress of Libya and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Daniel Webster ...
said last week that the SNC can no longer be considered the visible leader of the opposition.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 05:56 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336064 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
Deadly Day in Afghanistan
Eighteen people have been killed in seperate attacks in Afghanistan.

Officials say 10 civilians were killed Thursday in Helmand province as they traveled to a wedding.

In eastern Laghman province, a government spokesman said five Afghan soldiers died when their convoy hit a land mine.

Another official announced that three policemen were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar.

There were no claims of responsibility, but similar attacks have been claimed by Taliban insurgents.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 05:54 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336074 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Note to self: Don't go to a Muslim wedding. some body almost always dies.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/08/2012 11:58 Comments || Top||


Two bombs kill at least eight Afghan police and soldiers
Two bomb explosions targeting Afghan security forces in different parts of the country killed at least eight personnel this morning.

The first blast occurred in Kandahar province when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck a police station in Kandahar City, killing three policemen. In the second incident, five Afghan National Army soldiers in a convoy were killed when a bomb was remotely detonated in eastern Laghman province's Bad Pakh district.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/08/2012 05:14 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336078 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
New storm hits New York and New Jersey after Sandy
Ghia will not be mocked. To sooth her wraith the eternal virgins, Sarah Jessica Parker and Mikey Moore should step forward as human sacrifices.
Tens of thousands of residents in New York and New Jersey have again lost power as a winter storm hit areas still recovering from Sandy's devastating impact.

Some people were again forced to leave their homes and public transport was affected.

Winds gusted at up to 60mph (100km/h) bringing down trees and power lines.

New Jersey state governor Chris Christie said: "I am waiting for the locusts and pestilence next."
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 03:33 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336073 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I am waiting for the locusts and pestilence next."

Dunno about locusts, but there's plenty of pestilence in the area.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 11:57 Comments || Top||

#2  How can there be more storms? We re-elected Obama.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/08/2012 15:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Obama didn't build those storms. Blame Boosh.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/08/2012 18:01 Comments || Top||


Marc Faber's Asset Protection Plan: "Buy A Machine Gun", No Really, "You're Right, Buy A Tank"
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 02:16 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336076 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The only safe thing to do is dig your own grave & lie in it.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/08/2012 18:04 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Michigan highway shooter suspect arrested
It looks like insanity instead of Sudden Jihad Syndrome.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/08/2012 02:08 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336065 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
US anti-Islam filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula jailed
A US man behind an anti-Muslim film that led to mass protests in the Middle East has been sentenced to a year in jail for probation violations. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was sentenced by a judge in California after admitting four violations which stem from a 2010 conviction for fraud.

None of the charges was connected with the content of the controversial film, Innocence of Muslims.

Dozens of people died in the Middle East in protests over the film.

US District Judge Christina Snyder said Nakoula, 55, must spend 12 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Prosecutors had been seeking a two-year sentence.
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 01:55 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336082 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hillary Clinton keeps her promises.

Since the battlespace against 'nutty' Pastor Terry Jones has already been prepared it wouldn't surprise me if he were involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution in the foreseeable future. It worked for Brezhnev.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 11/08/2012 5:03 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
Next IPCC report will 'scare the wits out of everyone'
Former UN Official says climate report will shock nations into action
John Gardner writes in with an entry from the "worse than we thought" department:

The IPCC seems to be pre-empting the growing skeptical science by preparing to issue an 'its even worse than we thought' report in 2013, according to a report in the Australian newspaper.

"The Brisbane Times', which quotes Ivo De Boer, the UN climate chief during the 2009 Copenhagen talks. He is quoted "That report is going to scare the wits out of everyone,"
Only of those who believe junk science, so that's ok.
Mr De Boer said in the only scheduled interview of his visit to Australia.

"I'm confident those scientific findings will create new political momentum."

Read more:
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 01:43 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336094 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Tar and feather these scammers.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 7:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Picture from the Press interview.

Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/08/2012 11:08 Comments || Top||

#3  IPCC? Sometime I think we are living in a world as irrational as the ones in Jack Vance's Garan Reach novels, with their IPCC.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 11/08/2012 17:29 Comments || Top||

#4  Will the Singularity Save Us from Peak Oil? Global Climate Change? What's this about the ocean acidification? Is that worse than global climate change warming? Why is everything so damn bad all of a sudden? I blame Obama.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 18:00 Comments || Top||

#5  More likely to find it hilarious than frightening.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 20:39 Comments || Top||

#6  Its anticipated the Bammer Admin will prolly weaken US Foreign Policy during his second term -IIUC, it has to be ForPol because the US-World economy is already shot.

To paraph campaign-stumping BILL CLINTON > THERE IS NO ECON PLAN BECAUSE THE ECON CAN'T BE FIXED.

As for GWCC, as per VARIOUS > PERTS = the much-ballyhooed 2013 SOLAR MAXIMA is apparen starting off on a disappointing note.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 21:28 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria: The Endless And Eternal Cycle Of Violence
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 01:27 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336068 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Security Source: Europeans Signing Up with Mali Jihadists
[An Nahar] Dozens of Europeans including French citizens, and young Africans living abroad, have joined or are trying to join the ranks of armed Islamists occupying northern Mali, security sources told Agence La Belle France Presse Wednesday.

"Several dozen Europeans, including French or young Africans living in Europe, are increasingly tempted by jihad (holy war) in northern Mali," a Malian security source said.

Three French citizens were known to have joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
. A British citizen was in the occupied city of Timbuktu and has "adopted the jihadist cause", the source added.

And a security source from Niger said: "We are turning back numerous Africans as well as Europeans who are trying to reach northern Mali through Niger."

"Recently we turned back the holder of a French passport," he said, adding that the French authorities had been alerted.

A Malian security official said they had cooled for a few years
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
someone on Tuesday in the town of Mopti, 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Bamako, "who was trying to go to northern Mali to fight with the jihadists.

From his accent, he had certainly lived in Europe, probably in La Belle France, but was not however of French origin, he added.

Islamic Islamic fascisti with links to the north African al-Qaeda branch have occupied Mali's vast north for seven months, imposing strict sharia law on populations there, and have been accused of numerous rights abuses.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336067 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Dine

#1  delusional. i'd like to see their faces after they have arrived and spent a week in that place. let them go - just make sure they can't go back home.
Posted by: Raider || 11/08/2012 0:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Flypaper strategy redux?
Posted by: Pappy || 11/08/2012 11:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Job or jihad?
Posted by: Omerelet Spaique1766 || 11/08/2012 12:23 Comments || Top||

#4  How many of these "Europeans" have a first name of Pierre or John?
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/08/2012 12:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Job or jihad?

Both, Omerelet Spaique1766. That is to say, jihadis are generally on salary, often with included room and board -- if only so their movements can be controlled -- and sometimes with the promise of death benefits to their family afterward.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 17:12 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Stratfor's George Friedman on The Election
I think he's too sanguine on what Obama can do domestically, but in any case, here's the "realist" perspective.
Posted by: charger || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336068 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The President does not really LEAD the country so much as he reflects the country. Like it or not, Obama pretty accurately reflects today's United States of America. The population of younger and/or black and/or Hispanic Americans is growing and is overwhelmingly collectivist. The individualists (who arguably are responsible for making America great) are aging and dying off. That's just demographics.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 13:20 Comments || Top||

#2  And that's what scares me Glenmore. I do have some small faith, that in time it will work out because the Hispanics do love to have their own farm.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 18:11 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Imran Khan asks Obama to end US drone attacks
[Dawn] Pak cricketer turned politician Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer...
said Wednesday he hoped President Barack Obama
On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today...
would “give peace a chance” and stop US drone attacks now that he has been re-elected.

Khan, leader of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
party (PTI), has campaigned for an end to US drone strikes against suspected Taliban and al Qaeda cut-throats in Pakistain’s tribal areas, saying they result in civilian casualties.

“What Pakistain would be hoping for is a de-escalation of violence now in Afghanistan and the drone attacks in Pakistain’s tribal areas,” he told news hounds where he was attending the India World Economic Forum.

Khan said that Obama’s first term in office had been “very tough on Pakistain – an increase in drone attacks and a surge in Afghanistan and increased militancy in Pakistain as a result.”

“Now he (Obama) is no longer under the pressure to be re-elected we hope that he will give peace a chance which we so desperately need,” he said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336068 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  ION KHANNY, DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > WILL DECLARE JIHAD TO SAVE PAKISTAN:IMRAN KHAN.

IIUC, be it via "Jihad" or constitutionally ending domestic military offensives by the Pak Army widin Pakistan, either way the Talibunnies gain the advantage???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 0:35 Comments || Top||

#2  OOOOPPSIES, forgot INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > OBAMA RE-ELECTION SOLIDIFIES [US] DEFENSE POLICIES.

The Bammer desires to rduce the troop levels of the US Army + US Marine Corps in favor of Air Assets + Tech-intensive platforms, which IMO by definition infers that POST-2014 OBAMA WILL STILL WANT DRONES IN PAKISTAN TO OFFSET THE DROP IN US COMBAT GROUND TROOPS + MANNED CLOSE AIR, ARTY SUPPORT.

I expect that after 2014, any and all US Manned Assets will kept in strategic reserve by the Bammer Admin + USDOD.

Moreso after January 1st, 2013 iff
"sequestration" occurs.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 0:44 Comments || Top||

#3  I agree - stop wasting them on a bunch of pig-ignorant tribesmen and start pointing them at the real enemy - the Government of Pakistan. Start with ISI HQ.
Posted by: mojo || 11/08/2012 10:39 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
Ban Urges Obama to Act on Syria, Middle East Peace
[An Nahar] U.N. leader the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
urged President Barack Obama
On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today...
Wednesday to act quickly on ending the war in Syria and reviving the Middle East grinding of the peace processor as he congratulated the U.S. leader on his re-election.

The United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
"will continue to count on the active engagement of the United States" on key global issues "as it strives to meet the hopes and expectations of people around the world," Ban said through a front man.

Ban said: "Many challenges lie ahead -- from ending the bloodshed in Syria, to getting the Middle East grinding of the peace processor back on track, to promoting sustainable development and tackling the challenges posed by climate change. All will require strong multilateral cooperation."

The U.N. leader looks forward to working with Obama and his second term administration "in the spirit of the enduring partnership between the United States and the United Nations," the front man added.

Obama strived to improve the U.S. reputation at the United Nations and as a multilateral partner during his first term.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336070 views] Top|| File under:


Science & Technology
Long-abandoned bacterial fermentation process converts sugar directly to diesel
A long-abandoned fermentation process once used to turn starch into explosives can be used to produce renewable diesel fuel to replace the fossil fuels now used in transportation, University of California, Berkeley, scientists have discovered.

Campus chemists and chemical engineers teamed up to produce diesel fuel from the products of a bacterial fermentation discovered nearly 100 years ago by the first president of Israel, chemist Chaim Weizmann. The retooled process produces a mix of products that contain more energy per gallon than ethanol that is used today in transportation fuels and could be commercialized within 5-10 years. While the fuel's cost is still higher than diesel or gasoline made from fossil fuels, the scientists said the process would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, one of the major contributors to global climate change.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336063 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I like it, diesel out of my beer kit!
Wait...
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/08/2012 0:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Energy content vs. costs? Unintended consequences such as diversion of food to fuel? There is a twofer, you can get both fuel and cordite.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 8:57 Comments || Top||

#3  it will never work unless BIG OIL gets their cut
Posted by: 746 || 11/08/2012 11:47 Comments || Top||

#4  As a general rule I disfavor putting food into my gas tank because at the end of the day eating is more important than driving.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 12:03 Comments || Top||

#5  the scientists said the process would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation

Nice! Instead of oxidizing long chain hydrocarbons, a process that produces CO2, we can oxidize long chain hydrocarbons instead. Genius!
Posted by: SteveS || 11/08/2012 12:07 Comments || Top||

#6  If there's no conversion costs involved, no capital costs, 100% efficiency, 1 pound of sugar into one pound of diesel... it's about 2.69 per gallon.

That's with a lot of "make an ass out of u + me" assumptions.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/08/2012 12:09 Comments || Top||

#7  The wife worked for a company in South San Francisco that produced diesel and gas from E.Coli fermentation of sugars. She and 50% of her company got laid off 3 weeks ago. I say good riddance, there is no future in making automobile fuel out of food. She is currently interviewing in a much more sustainable market and I, for one, think it will be a good move for her. Cellulosic conversion will be the future of biofuels, not sugars.
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 11/08/2012 12:43 Comments || Top||

#8  Finally, something to do with the leftover Halloween candy......
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 11/08/2012 12:44 Comments || Top||

#9  A long-abandoned fermentation process once used to turn starch into explosives
The origin of the deadly Irish Potato Bomb.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 16:09 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Dumping of bodies in gunnysacks: Court allows police more time to trace killers
[Dawn] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
High Court on Tuesday allowed more time to the local police for tracing the culprits involved in dumping of dead bodies stuffed in gunnysacks in different areas with the direction to locate detention centres illegally maintained by the secret agencies within the city and its surroundings.

A two-member bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth was informed by a deputy inspector general of police investigation, Idrees Khan, that family members of only 26 of the dear departed persons had in their statements suspected involvement of secret agencies in the disappearance and killing of their relatives.

He said that family members of four of the dear departed persons did not record their statements whereas those of rest of the dear departed did not suspect anyone for the commission of the offence.

Peshawar police chief Imtiaz Altaf said that police had registered FIRs in all those cases. He claimed that after the court had taken cognisance of the issue no further incidents had taken place.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336066 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  LOL at the Pulp Illustration.

I wonder if Fred's Mom ever looked under his bed.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 17:51 Comments || Top||


Swat made citadel of peace: army
[Dawn] The army with the help and cooperation of local people made 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...
valley a citadel of peace and tranquility, claimed Col Zeeshan, the new front man of ISPR in the district, here on Tuesday.

During his maiden visit to Swat Press Club and meeting with journalists, he said that maintenance of peace in Swat was joint responsibility of security forces, media and people of the region as they had rendered great sacrifices for the purpose.

He said that people of Swat had passed through critical and difficult times when the writ of government was challenged by a handful of Death Eaters in the valley.

It was a critical situation but journalists played a pivotal role at the risk of their lives, Col Zeeshan said. He added that journalists and their families suffered as they were threatened to stop them from carrying out their professional responsibilities. But they continued to inform people about the facts, he added.

The ISPR front man said that credit for restoration of durable peace in Swat went to journalists, security forces and people of the valley. He said that armed forces would not leave any stone unturned to make Swat a peaceful place where tourists from the country as well as abroad would come.

Col Zeeshan said that Death Eaters would not dare to enter the valley for fulfilling their nefarious designs.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336066 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Africa Horn
Strong Blast Outside Somali Parliament, One Dead
[An Nahar] A strong blast rocked Somalia's parliament Wednesday, with at least one person killed, an Agence La Belle France Presse news hound at the scene said.

The blast, believed to be a car boom set off close to the parliament, is the latest in a string of attacks in the war-ravaged Somali capital.

A body of a Somali government security official dressed in military uniform could be seen following the kaboom.

No group immediately grabbed credit for the blast, but the al-Qaeda linked Shebab cut-throats have conducted a series of guerrilla style attacks in the capital since pulling out of fixed positions there last year.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336068 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Muslim Brotherhood: Obama Needs To ‘Accept The Will Of The Arab People’
Islamists in the Middle East are speaking out following President Barack Obama’s re-election Tuesday night.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood feels that the only foreign policy change Obama can bring is by “accepting the will of the Arab people.”

“We must rely on ourselves and on our resources and build our country,” Issam Al-Aryan, a top Muslim Brotherhood official, said, according to The Times of Israel. “In the absence of direct American influence, Egypt can affect and lead the process of building a democratic and constitutional regime that will become a dream for African and the southern hemisphere.”

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood wants to make Shariah Law the main source of the country’s new constitution.

Terror group Hamas is calling for Obama not to be “biased” toward Israeli interests during his second term.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336066 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He did long ago.
Posted by: Jacl Salami- || 11/08/2012 9:31 Comments || Top||

#2  You want that with one sala'am or two?
Posted by: Grolugum Phuth5542 || 11/08/2012 16:00 Comments || Top||

#3  We must rely on ourselves and on our resources and build our country

Oh pls, pls, pls.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 16:05 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Taliban Urge Obama to Pull Troops Out Now
[An Nahar] Taliban forces of Evil told re-elected President Barack Obama
On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today...
Wednesday to admit that the United States has lost the war in Afghanistan and pull its troops out now.

"Obama must by now know that they have lost the war in Afghanistan," front man Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement posted on the Islamists' website.

"So, without further lying and delays, they should leave our sacred land and focus on their own country instead."

Accusing Americans of committing war crimes, he added: "The American administration should stop acting like police in the world and focus on solving their own people's problems, and don't make the world hate Americans even more."
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336071 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  One positive consequence of the election is that Obama will own the humiliating defeat to/in Afghanistan.

If the Republicans were smart they'd put the deadly ROE for Western forces on the agenda.
And they'd pressure Obama to dramatically accelerate withdrawal from Afghanistan both as a spending cut and to prevent unnecessary maiming and killing of Western troops.

The Afghanistan war is unpopular, expensive and arguably counterproductive so this would be good policy. They'd also repudiate one of Bush's mistakes that Obama continued and exacerbated.

Hopefully Afghanistan will descend into instability and chaos. Chaotic Afganistan in the early/mid 90s was a news footnote, stable Taliban run Afghanistan later was an existential threat.

Unfortunately the Republicans aren't know as the "Smart Party."
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 11/08/2012 8:44 Comments || Top||

#2  If the Repubs argued FOR accelerated withdrawal the Dems would have to resist and argue for staying longer - I think it's in the program code.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 13:02 Comments || Top||

#3  I agree wholeheartedly that the Repubs should immediately push for prompt withdrawal. There is nothing to be gained by staying and much to be lost.
Posted by: remoteman || 11/08/2012 14:35 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egyptian Salafist groups prepare for Friday Sharia protests
[Al Ahram] Salafist groups launched the Coalition for the Defense of Sharia (Islamic law) on Wednesday. The coalition plans to participate in Friday’s protests to demand the inclusion of Sharia law as the main source of legislation in Egypt’s new constitution.

“We are here to announce the beginning of our activities to uphold Islamic Sharia against the attack of secular and liberal forces trying to undermine the Constituent Assembly,” said Tarek El-Zomor, Al-Jama'a Islamiyya leader and Founder of its Building and Development Party.

El-Zomor addressed the issue of the Egyptian constitution-drafting process by the Constituent Assembly.

“Sharia is in danger; those against their demand are challenging any article in the constitution, which only gives way for the application of Sharia and not even requires its implementation,” he claimed.

Others want to bind the constitution with international agreements that allow what God has prohibited, he said.

“Activities defending Sharia must continue until a referendum on the constitution is held,” he continued.

At the presser, El-Zomor called on the Egyptian people to participate in Friday’s protests to reinstate the rule of Sharia. He asserted the law was removed by Western occupiers two centuries ago.

Leftist and liberal groups have criticised the assembly arguing that it is dominated by Islamists. Political forces against the drafting process of the constitution fear a constitution not agreed upon by all members of the Constituent Assembly. Critics are also concerned the draft will pass by a popular referendum before a Constitutional Court ruling on whether the Constituent Assembly will be dissolved or allowed is issued.

The Head of the Salafist Asala Party, Adel Abdel-Maqsoud, described anyone who is against the implementation of Sharia as an "apostate" and stressed that Article 2 of the constitution should state "Islamic Sharia is the source of legislation."

The current draft and the previous 1971 constitution stated the “principles of Islamic Sharia” as the source of legislation. The usage of the term “principles” of Islamic Sharia law in the draft is seen by many conservative and ultra-Orthodox Islamists as being too vague, which could simply translate into universal values of justice and equality, thus ignoring Islamic rules specific to social life in Islamic countries.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336065 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Yeah.
Suddenly I don't care.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/08/2012 14:08 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian rebels fire at, miss Assad's palace
[Al Ahram] Syrian rebels fired mortars at Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
's palace in Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
on Wednesday but missed, in an attack underlining the growing boldness of forces fighting to end his family's 42 years in power.
As violence flared in other parts of the country, Turkey said it was about to ask NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
to station Patriot missiles along its border with Syria to guard against violence spilling onto its territory.

Syria's war, which has already destabilised neighbouring Leb and raised the spectre of wider Middle East turbulence, poses one of the greatest foreign policy challenges for U.S. President Barack Obama
If you have a small business, you didn't build that...
as he starts his second term.

Damascus residents told Rooters heavy-calibre shells apparently aimed at the palace hit the nearby residential Mezze 86 district that is home to members of Assad's Alawite sect. State-run media said at least three people were killed and seven maimed in what it described as a terrorist attack.

"Ambulances are heading to the area and the shabbiha (pro-Assad militiamen) are firing automatic rifles madly in the air," said a housewife who asked not to be named.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336078 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Where be those 5000 Hezzie fighters that allegedly entered Syria to help Baby Assad - ditto per the Paleos?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 0:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Probably keeping them in the western and southern parts of Syria; close to Lebanon and far from Assad.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/08/2012 11:44 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Zawahiri says raids on diplomatic facilities were 'defeats' for US
In a new audio message addressed to Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Ayman al Zawahiri cites the raids on US diplomatic facilities in September as evidence of American weakness.

Shabaab has suffered setbacks in recent months, including the loss of its stronghold in the port city of Kismayo. But in what amounts to a pep talk, Zawahiri says Shabaab's spirits should be buoyed by the supposed losses suffered by America and its allies elsewhere.

"They were defeated in Iraq and they are withdrawing from Afghanistan, and their ambassador in Benghazi was killed and the flags of their embassies were lowered in Cairo and Sana'a, and in their places were raised the flags of tawhid [monotheism] and jihad," Zawahiri says, according to a translation provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"After their consecutive defeats, they are working from behind agents and traitors," Zawahiri continues. "Their awe is lost and their might is gone and they don't dare to carry out a new campaign like their past ones in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Al Qaeda-linked extremists have been tied to the three assaults on US diplomatic facilities Zawahiri mentions.

Press reports have identified several al Qaeda-affiliated parties as being responsible for the Sept. 11 assault on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Members of a local militia named Ansar al Sharia participated in the assault. As first reported by the Daily Beast, members of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) were in contact with some of the Ansar al Sharia assailants. CNN has reported that members of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) are suspected of taking part in the assault.

Still another al Qaeda-linked network reportedly provided fighters for the Benghazi assault. Terrorists trained in Libyan camps set up by an Egyptian named Muhammad Jamal were among the attackers. According to The Wall Street Journal, Jamal "petitioned" Ayman al Zawahiri to establish a new al Qaeda affiliate and has also received funding from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336070 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Sure Zawahiri - I'm saving a warm and cozy place for you bud ... in my sniper scope. :-)
Posted by: Raider || 11/08/2012 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Unfortunately he's right.

And since we don't want to win, get our soldiers out now.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 11/08/2012 0:36 Comments || Top||

#3  1st Presidential Mandate of second term:

Open season for terrorists on all US embassies and sovereign soil. To include a window of 7 hours without support, public denial of terrorist involvement, two weeks cover-up and misdirection (read lying) of the American people and no obligation to attack the US directly as the newly re-elected Administration itself will destroy the country from within.
Posted by: jefe101 || 11/08/2012 3:36 Comments || Top||

#4  And so it begins -- another "problem" our now new President has inherited. It's yours, so own it.
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 10:41 Comments || Top||

#5  But ... I thought the bad guyz were on the ropes after The One personally executed/assassinated/murdered OBL?

The One said so, did he not?
Posted by: Bobby || 11/08/2012 19:00 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
'Message Sent': Collective Bargaining Mandate Fails In Michigan
Preparing the battle space for changes at the state level. Governor Walker of Wisconsin showed the way, and others are following. Tuesday may yet prove to have been the last presidential election where the unions were a major force.
Michigan voters rejected a controversial measure to enshrine collective bargaining in the state Constitution.

The union-backed measure mustered only 42 percent support with most precincts reporting. Voter approval would have made Michigan the first state in the nation with such a constitutional guarantee of collective bargaining rights.

The proposed amendment known as Proposal 2 would have prohibited the Legislature from approving any new laws to restrict collective bargaining.

Unions called for the measure after Republicans who control the House, Senate and Governor's Office pushed through more than 30 bills restricting collective bargaining rights after taking office in January 2011. The retroactive measure also would keep Michigan from becoming a right-to-work state, where there would be a ban on requiring union membership to be employed.

Experts have said Proposal 2 was a referendum on unions. About 18 percent of Michigan's workforce is unionized, and slightly more than 12 percent of private-sector workers are in a union. Unions collected more than $21.5 million for the fight through late October, much of it coming from national unions including the National Education Association, United Auto Workers and International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Who now won't have that money to spend on other causes...
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336070 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Who now won't have that money to spend on other causes...
Sure, but they'll make up for it by collecting dues from the out-of-towners who came to help with Sandy recovery. Disgusting creatures.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/08/2012 6:00 Comments || Top||

#2  It's Michigan, Bobby. They're a bit far away to profit from hurricane Sandy.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 7:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Good move Michigan. These unions are criminal enterprises.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 7:34 Comments || Top||

#4  haha!! I voted absentee and said HELL NO on this nonsense! Good, at least one win for the good guys. They voted back in Stabenow (aka Stab-a-cow) and obviously Obummer. I've been trying hard for yrs to remove stabenow. Idiot state.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/08/2012 8:37 Comments || Top||

#5  The unions won in Caliphornia.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/08/2012 11:06 Comments || Top||

#6  Meanwhile, in Wisconsin...

Republicans retook control of the State Senate. So, after all the recalls, protests and other blather Walker and the Republicans are firmly back in control.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 12:50 Comments || Top||

#7  Two union-related proposals were smacked down in MI. The one mentioned in the article as well as another that would force-unionize home-based caregivers and allow the Service Employees International Union to collect money.

Another proposal to require utilities to generate 25% of their power from green source was also shot down. Power grabs and nonsense aside, stuff like this just does not belong in a state constitution.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/08/2012 13:27 Comments || Top||

#8  slightly more than 12 percent of private-sector workers are in a union

Does that 12% include Government Motors workers, or are they in the public unions category?
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 13:34 Comments || Top||

#9  SteveS, right. I saw that and voted against that as well. The gov't needs to stay out of putting numbers to how energy production will be done in a state referendum. And, anytime I am not sure on a proposal, all I ask myself is - will this initiative (if it passes) make a fellow citizen pay more in a tax? If so, I always vote no.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/08/2012 15:49 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
IDPs to seek politicians' help to end Bara operation
[Dawn] Expressing concern over the prolonged military operation and curfew in their area, the internally displaced persons of Bara have decided to meet leaders of different political parties to devise a plan for resolving the issue through negotiations.

Addressing a presser here on Tuesday, Tehrik-e-Mutasireen Bara chairman Suhbat Khan Afridi said that IDPs were unable to live in camps and with relatives any longer. He appealed to the government to end operation and lift curfew in the area.

Flanked by Sohail Ahmad Afridi, Ikhtiar Afridi and Umar Afridi, he said that a large number of people had been rendered jobless owing to closure of bazaars and markets in Bara.

Mr Afridi said that government should take effective steps for winding up the operation, restoration of peace and revival of business activities by announcing a comprehensive financial package for the IDPs.

He said that more than 500,000 people became IDPs in the wake of military operation while nearly 120,000 children were deprived of education. He said that 1,700 people including elderly persons, women and kiddies were killed in the area.

Mr Afridi said that use of force would bear no fruit. He said that the issue should be resolved through negotiations. He said that a number of houses were damaged owing to shelling and bombardment during the military action.

The representative of IDPs also expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
over arrest of innocent people during the operation. He demanded immediate release of the jugged
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
rustics and said that police should stop arresting people without any reason.

Mr Afridi blamed police for forcing IDPs to pay them bribe. He said that IDP families couldn't move freely without bribing police. "Those, who refuse to pay money to police, are implicated in fabricated cases," he said.

Mr Afridi said that authorities should take notice of the illegal practice. He alleged that some organizations were also minting money in the name of IDPs in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
He demanded reopening of roads and bazaars and lifting of curfew in the area. He urged government to announce special relief package for displaced people.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336064 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami


Africa North
Egypt Prosecutor Orders Internet Porn Ban
[An Nahar] Egypt's state prosecutor on Wednesday ordered a ban on Internet pornography, after a previous court order to do so was not implemented.

State prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud "ordered a block on pornography sites," his office said in a statement.

The official Al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website that the order was directed at the interior, telecommunications and information ministries to "take steps to block any pornographic pictures or scenes on the Internet."

An administrative court issued a similar order in 2009, ruling that Internet pornography "ruins moral values."

But Egypt, now under the rule of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, does not appear to have banned any websites, unlike several other countries in the region that have tried to restrict access to political or pornography websites.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336067 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Bangladesh
Bigots attack Ahmadiyya community in Rangpur
[Bangla Daily Star] Religious bigots allegedly with links to Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
yesterday launched an attack on Ahmadiyya community in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur, leaving 15 people injured.

They set fire to two houses and attacked a religious establishment of Ahmadiyya Moslem Jama'at at Kismat Mena Nagar village in the upazila, local sources said.

Mostafizer Rahman, officer-in-charge of Taraganj Police Station, told The Daily Star that a group of people attacked the houses of Ahmadiyyas over the construction of a mosque by the community.

Members of the Ahmadiyya community claimed that local Jamaat leaders Abul Kasem, Abdul Kader and Kazi Rafiqul Islam led the attack.

“Following an announcement on loudspeaker against Ahmadiyyas, several thousand people around 2:00pm equipped with sticks made the attack,” they added.

The mob set ablaze two houses of the community, the OC said, adding that police had tossed in the calaboose
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
11 people for their alleged involvement in the attack.

“But we are yet to identify their political affiliation,” he said.

Around 20 Ahmadiyya families live in Kismat Mena Nagar under Hariar Kuti union, and all male members of these families are hiding in fear of further attacks, sources said.

Witnesses said a chase and counter chase took place between the mob and the law enforcers when a police team led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer Syed Farhad Hossain went to the spot to quell the violence at 2:15pm.

Police fired several tear gas shells to disperse the mob.

The mob also snatched a camera and mobile phones from the daily Prothom Alo Taraganj correspondent Rahidul Islam and assaulted him physically as he was taking footage of the fire.

Rahidul was later admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

“Police at first retreated from the spot when the religious bigots attacked them. On receiving information, a large number of police members rushed to the area and brought the situation under control,” the OC told The Daily Star over the phone.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336067 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336079 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Virna Lisi [Filmography](age 76)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/08/2012 4:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Virna was offered the role of Barbarella, but she turned it down, so they offered it to Jane Fonda.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/08/2012 12:35 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian rebels kill 10 pro-Assad Palestinian militiamen
[Al Ahram] Syrian rebels killed 10 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), a faction loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
, on Wednesday in festivities near a Paleostinian camp in Damascus
...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat...
, opposition sources said.

Fighting between the two sides has escalated in the last few days in 'Street 30' and Hajar al-Aswad near Yarmouk, a camp inhabited by 150,000 Paleostinians and as many Syrians. Syrian army artillery and warplanes have bombarded rebel positions in the area, the opposition sources said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336073 views] Top|| File under: PFLP-GC

#1  Keep up the good work boys.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/08/2012 8:07 Comments || Top||

#2  total civilian fatalities (including deserters from Assad's army who have been killed before joining rebel forces) now exceed 40,000.

total fatalities (including military and police and Hezbollah and Persian special ops) will probably top 50,000 by the end of the week

Posted by: lord garth || 11/08/2012 9:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Those are some big numbers and a very rapid increase. Why is this such a big week? Those weapons from Benghazi finally arrive in theater?
Posted by: remoteman || 11/08/2012 14:32 Comments || Top||

#4  One of the Eid things is over and it's cooling off a bit, so folks can party more.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 17:46 Comments || Top||


Europe
Finland's Jews Advised Not To Wear Kippa
[Ynet] Helsinki Jewish community's security officer asks members not to walk around with skullcaps for fear of anti-Semitic attacks

The recommendation was revealed by the security officer of the Jewish community in Helsinki in an interview to Yle, Finland's national public service broadcasting company in the Swedish language.

The security officer added that the community faced six to 10 anti-Semitic incidents a month.

Yaron Nadbornik, president of Helsinki's Jewish community, said in response that the advice was not issued by the community leaders but rather given by the security officer to several individuals in private conversations.

"The situation for Jews in Finland is vastly better than in other Nordic countries and has historically been very good. I personally walk to synagogue with a kippa regularly and have not felt or heard any kind of harassment," Nadbornik added.

Only 1,500 Jews live in Finland today, many of them descendants of the Jewish soldiers who served in the Russian army in Finland in the mid-19th century, when Finland was an autonomous grand duchy of the czarist empire.

The soldiers eventually gained the right to settle in the Nordic country and created basis for the Jewish community, establishing a synagogue in Helsinki in 1906. When Finland became independent in 1917, Jews were given full civil rights.

During World War II, Jews served along with Finns in the national army, fighting aggressions from both the Soviet Union and, later, Nazi Germany. Despite repeated pleas from one-time ally Germany, the Finnish government refused to take action against Jews or deprive their civil rights during the war.

Besides the Helsinki house of worship complete with Jewish school, there is also a synagogue in the western city of Turku, where some 200 Jews live.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336079 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Once during the battle of Leningrad, a group of Jewish Finnish soldiers held a service, (or perhaps a Passover seder) next to a German unit. The Germans were ticked. The Finns ignored their complaints.

I think the world is suffering from devolution.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 11/08/2012 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  for fear of anti-Semitic attacks

Not by ethnic Finns, I bet, but by the co-religionists (RoP) of the people causing so much crime in the rest of Scandanavia.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 10:25 Comments || Top||

#3  This is the way the "civilized" Scandinavians are protecting the innocent.
They deny them the basic religious rights.
Posted by: Ana || 11/08/2012 15:10 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Sudan's Bashir Leaves Saudi Hospital
[An Nahar] Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir
Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
has been discharged from hospital in Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
and is recovering, his press secretary said on Wednesday, after a second minor operation in less than four months.

"President Bashir left the hospital today at 8:00 am local time," and is now recovering in the Saudi kingdom before continuing with his schedule there, Emad Sayed Ahmed told Agence La Belle France Presse.

Although Bashir's visit is private, he is also to meet with senior Saudi officials, the official SUNA news agency reported.

Bashir, 68, underwent a "successful small surgery" after traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a normal medical check connected to an infection in his vocal cords, SUNA said on Tuesday.

Bashir is "in good health and is carrying out all his presidential activities normally," SUNA said.

Ahmed in late October denied rumors that Bashir was sick and said he underwent minor surgery during the holy Moslem fasting month of Ramadan, which was observed from mid-July to mid-August.

The president, known for his fiery
...a single two-syllable word carrying connotations of both incoherence and viciousness. A fiery delivery implies an audience of rubes and yokels, preferably forming up into a mob...
public speeches, has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, making his fewer orations more restrained.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336064 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  relatively quiet in recent weeks, making his fewer orations more restrained

An Israeli attack on one of his missile factories left him glancing over his shoulder?
Posted by: Water Modem || 11/08/2012 17:26 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Two dead after twin blasts in Nigeria's restive northeast
[Al Ahram] Two kabooms targeting soldiers rocked northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
on Wednesday, killing at least two civilians in a region hit hard by Islamist bad turbans, the military said.
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 have carried out scores of similar attacks in the area, repeatedly targeting the military as part of an insurgency that has killed hundreds since 2009.

Residents said children were hurt in the blast at Kashuwar Sanu (cattle market) in the town of Mubi, which went off as a convoy of military vans drove through.

"There was an kaboom that targeted a military patrol team, but the kaboom missed the target as none of the patrol vans were affected but two non-combatants were killed," said Brigadier General John Nwaogu, the top military commander in the area.

A resident said a young girl was among those hurt and reported seeing "a young boy with both legs blown off."

After the blast, soldiers left their vehicles, fired their weapons and made several arrests, according to two witnesses who requested anonymity.

"I was in my shop when I heard an kaboom which was followed by shootings and I saw people running," said one shop owner near the market.

"I was told there were arrests after the blast," he added.

The military blamed Boko Haram for a separate blast in the nearby city of Maiduguri, which is considered Islamist group's base.

"A remote-controlled improvised bomb went off as a military patrol vehicle was passing along Bama road around 8:35 am (0735 gmt) today without causing any casualty," Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa told AFP.

Mubi was the site of gruesome massacre at a university student housing building last month where at least 40 people were killed, including many who had their throats slit. It is not clear who carried out that attack.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336074 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


India-Pakistan
Army's concerns
[Dawn] AS the country digests the army chief’s latest foray into, strictly speaking, non-military matters, it appears that Gen Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
’s comments on Monday were directed at his prin-cipal constituency: the armed forces itself. The discomfort within the rank and file and the leadership too in recent weeks is not very difficult to fathom. Mehrangate, the NLC scam, inquiries into a luxury resort in Lahore, and myriad other questions about the army’s political role and management of security affairs have all combined to probably create a sense of siege. For an institution as proud and domestically predominant as the army has been over the decades, it may well be bewildering to be subjected to the kind of scrutiny and commentary that non-uniformed leaders have long been used to. So Gen Kayani’s words — targeted as they appear to have been against the judiciary and sections of the media, and not really the civilian politicianship — were probably intended to allay concerns within the armed forces that somewhat legitimate criticism of narrow problems, from the army’s perspective, were growing into wanton and gratuitous criticism of the entire institution.

Questionable as the army’s concerns may be — those never subjected to intense scrutiny will always resist a changing order — it is perhaps a sign of the times, and a good one at that, that the army chief chose tough words instead of strong action. In eras past, a discreet phone call or a public swipe would have been enough to tamp down criticism and make unwanted investigations disappear. So perhaps in time, even the dubious use of the ISPR to put out such controversial statements will be a practice curbed.

For the long road to civilian control of the state to be travelled, however, one of the key elements is the question of who determines the ‘national interest’. Gen Kayani was correct in saying that “no individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or wrong in defining the national interest” and that it should emerge through a “consensus”. But in truth, it must go much further than that in a truly democratic polity. While other institutions do have some role to play, the central pivot has to be the civilian leadership that represents the will of the people through parliament. It cannot and must not be forgotten that the internal and external instability the country faces today is largely rooted in policies pursued by the army itself in the name of the national interest. But if a few court cases and investigations so unsettle the armed forces, can they really be willing to cede control of the ‘national interest’?
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336066 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


-Lurid Crime Tales-
OH: Misdemeanor assault charge after polling place incident
A Summit County man has been charged with tossing a cup of coffee in another man’s face during an argument over political signs outside a voting location.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office says John Pegley, 58, of Coventry Township, was arrested Tuesday on a misdemeanor assault charge.

He allegedly shouted obscenities from his car over political signs held outside a polling place. The other man said he was beyond the limit where politicking is banned.

The sheriff’s office says Pegley continued to shout and threw coffee in the man’s face. The victim didn’t require treatment at the scene.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336066 views] Top|| File under:

#1  From cleveland.com: The sheriff's office said the victim was putting up a Mitt Romney political sign near the Summit County polling spot at 725 Portage Lakes Drive in Coventry Township when Pegley pulled up in his car and shouted obscenities at him from inside his vehicle.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/08/2012 2:03 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Religion and politics
[Dawn] RELIGIOUS extremism has come under discussion in numerous forums as incidents of violence and terrorism have increased in recent years reflecting negatively on what many claim to be Pakistain's Islamic identity. This has left people confused because whatever is done is in the name of religion. Yet the situation is getting worse.

Has it to be so? Created as a homeland for the Moslems of the subcontinent as a result of a political struggle spearheaded by secular leaders, Pakistain was soon after its birth hijacked by elements who have used Islam as a lever to gain control over society and the state. These were parties that had vociferously opposed the creation of Pakistain.

Weak and lacking in confidence, the politicianship, that constantly denied its support for a theocratic state, went on the defensive. Without the vision to anticipate what its weak stance would lead to, the Moslem League went all out to champion the cause of Islam in public life. The Objectives Resolution adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949 was the first demonstration of this weakness. This in due course succeeded in creating rifts between the Moslem majority and those who follow other faiths.

In 1974, Z.A. Bhutto, a supposedly liberal and secular leader, finding himself on a weak political wicket didn't hesitate to play the religion card. He declared the Ahmadis non-Moslem, thus arrogating to the state the privilege of deciding who is or is not a Moslem. Yet he could not save his political career or his life.

This is not how it was supposed to be. When the Pakistain resolution of 1940, that conceptualised 'independent states' as a homeland for the Moslems, was adopted it was clearly stated: "Adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in these units and in these regions [where the Moslems are in a majority] for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them...."

In his Aug 11, 1947 inaugural speech to the Constituent Assembly, the Quaid-e-Azam said, "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistain. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed -- that has nothing to do with the business of the state... We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state...."
That was then; the past is a different country.
Then what went wrong? Why do non-Moslems feel so insecure in a state whose founding fathers had promised them full protection? They suffer discrimination in jobs and education, have spurious charges of blasphemy levelled against them, their young daughters are kidnapped and forcibly converted, many are targeted and as a result those who can are fleeing this country.

Even though the vast majority disapproves of these ways it lacks the strength and courage to speak out because the state provides no security to its citizens be they of any faith. As a result many non-Moslems live in fear. The report of the National Commission on Peace and Justice documenting the contents of our school textbooks establishes how the authorities actively promote hatred against other faiths. This religion-bashing has vitiated the socioeconomic atmosphere for the minorities and reinforced the mullah elements' drive to gain control over society.

It is time we addressed this issue before it is too late and the irrational faceless myrmidons take total control of state policies. In a consultation organised by the Pakistain Institute of Labour Education and Research recently, members of non-Moslem communities objected to their being referred to as 'minorities'. They felt it symbolised a discriminatory and exclusivist approach that separated them from the mainstream and thus negated the equal status that Article 25 of the constitution grants them. Although the basic law spells out many safeguards for the rights of non-Moslems, the Pakistain Penal Code has provisions which militate against these safeguards.

In the present situation, the religious parties have plenty of space to promote their agendas of exclusivity. A section of the electronic media has played a disgusting role in the whole affair. They have fanned the fires of hatred against minorities by giving undue publicity to the hate-mongers in the name of promoting Islam. Has anyone pondered the real motives?

Asghar Ali Engineer, an Indian social activist, who has investigated scores of communal riots in India, once told me that without fail he has found an economic motive behind every act of violence in the name of religion. Sometimes, title to land was at stake. At other times business rivalry or employment was the causative factor. In our case political power is also the coveted goal.

In this context the move by former senator Iqbal Haider to form a democratic and non-party platform to promote secularism is a significant one. In its inaugural declaration the forum spoke of creating public awareness about secularism and the need to remove distortions in laws by approaching politicians, state functionaries, the media and trade unions to facilitate a new narrative of Pak nationhood based on social justice for all.

This is not an easy task but the former senator has committed supporters. So far the going has been slow. Until the forum is broadened into a mass movement it will not make any impact. The absence of this awareness has allowed the obscurantists to take centre stage.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336066 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Violence erupts after two killed in 'sectarian' attack
[Dawn] A prominent Shia leader and his colleague were killed in a targeted attack in the city centre on Tuesday morning, making a mockery of heightened security measures taken for the international defence exhibition that opens at the Expo Centre on Wednesday.

Two more persons were killed and another suffered injuries when Rangers personnel opened fire in the direction of the funeral procession of the slain Shia leader after the security personnel came under fire from unidentified attackers riding cycle of violences ahead of the procession near Dak Khana, according to police.

A Rangers personnel was maimed in the firing.

At least four buses, one in the morning at the Numaish traffic intersection and three at night in Liaquatabad, were set on fire by angry protesters.

A five-kilo improvised bomb (IED) was also found just a few yards away from the protesters.

It was defused by personnel of a bomb disposal unit.

A senior police officer of the area told Dawn that some people riding a cycle of violence ahead of the procession opened fire on Rangers personnel near Dak Khana in the Liaquatabad area, leaving a Ranger’s sepoy maimed.

The procession was passing through the area and was on its way to the Wadi-e-Hussain graveyard after funeral prayers held at the Numaish traffic intersection.

“The incident triggered firing from the Rangers (in the direction of the procession) in which three participants in the procession were maimed,” he said.

The maimed identified as Ali Hassan, Wasim Ali and Faraz Haider were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where Ali Hassan and Wasim shuffled off the mortal coil.

No front man for the Rangers was available for comment.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, deputy secretary general of Majlis Wahadat-e-Moslemeen (MWM) Allama Aftab Haider Jafri and his colleague Shahid Ali Mirza were bumped off by cycle of violence-riding attackers near Preedy Street Parking Plaza in Saddar within the jurisdiction of the Brigade cop shoppe.

“Allama Jafri was said to be heading for work along with his colleague in a car when unidentified suspects riding cycle of violences ambushed them near the parking plaza,” said Jamshad Town SP Asad Raza. He added that the killing was carried out on sectarian grounds.Eyewitnesses’ account indicted the attackers were four in number and rode two cycle of violences as they fired at the car, he said.

Allama Jafri suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was struck down in his prime while his colleague was rushed 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...
where he succumbed to wounds, police said.

Both men were employees of a private bank and were heading to work at around 8:30am when they were targeted, police said.

Police said that several bullet casings of 9mm and 30 bore pistols were found at the scene of the crime.

Allama Jafri lived in Jacob Lines area and his colleague used to take him to work, police said.

Sources close to the slain religious leader said that about two days ago, Allama Jafri had told some of his close friends that he had a feeling that he was being followed by someone on his way to and from office.

The slain holy man was elected deputy secretary general of MWM just a few days ago. He was earlier associated with Jaffria Alliance.

The bodies were brought back to Mehfil Shah-e- Khurasan in a procession as a large number of protesters set ablaze a bus at the Numaish intersection.

As the protest was in progress at the Numaish intersection, police were informed about a suspicious article lying near gate No. 2 of Mazar-e-Quaid just yards away from the protesters. It later turned out to be an improvised bomb.

“The suspects might have dumped the IED there and fled on seeing heavy contingents of police and Rangers deployed at Shahrah-e-Quaideen near the Mazar-e-Quaid,” said SP Asad Raza.

“Apparently, they had intended to keep the IED very close to protesters,” he said. Police evacuated the area and immediately called the bomb disposal (BDU) unit who deactivated the device.

“The IED weighed around five kilos and it had explosives laced with ball bearings and nuts and was fitted with a timer device,” said an official of the BDU.

It was the third IED found in the city over a week.

An IED was found near New Rizvia Society last week. Earlier, a similar device was found in North Nazimabad.

In the wake of assassination and ensuing violent protest, tension spilled over into Solider Bazaar and adjoining areas where all commercial activities came to a sudden halt. The MWM and other Shia organizations have called for three days of mourning over the killing of Allama Jafri.

In their separate statements, the organizations strongly condemned the killing and called for immediate arrest of the culprits involved in the Allama’s murder.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336074 views] Top|| File under: Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel On The Roulette Table
[Ynet] Obama created tense relations with Netanyahu by choosing Cairo over Jerusalem

Secretly, Netanyahu would have like to see Romney in the White House. People, like countries, have a tendency to connect to those who smile at them. Netanyahu would have loved to help Romney get elected and get rid of Obama's bitterness and the tense relations. But the Israeli prime minister never went public with these wishes.

Despite what his opponents claim, Netanyahu did not bet on Romney. The PM is not the gambling type (even though Sheldon Adelson, one of his biggest donors, is a gaming tycoon). You cannot accuse Netanyahu of being hesitant and unable to make decisions and at the same time allege that he is a wild gambler who takes risks.

Netanyahu did not create the tension with Obama. We should not confuse the victim with the rapist. It was Obama who chose to Cairo over Jerusalem; it was Obama who was photographed with his legs on the table while speaking with Netanyahu over the phone; and it was Obama who coerced Netanyahu into freezing construction in the settlements.

Obama's first term as president was problematic not only for Netanyahu, it was problematic for the entire State of Israel. The official support continues, but the fondness has vanished. Regardless of his relations with Netanyahu, Obama viewed Israel as a burden in the Middle East rather than a strategic asset.

On Wednesday Netanyahu will be accused of gambling on our future. If Romney would have won people would have talked about Netanyahu's luck, but since Obama won, Netanyahu will be accused of jeopardizing Israel's strategic ties with the US. The slogans are ready, as are the banners.

Perhaps a different prime minister would have been able to sustain a better relationship between Jerusalem and Washington, but the only gambler here was Obama, the president who put Israel on the roulette table four years ago and dreamt of winning the jackpot. The results, by the way, are not that great.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336069 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See also DAILY TIMES.PK > OBAMA VICTORY SPELLS TROUBLE FOR NETANYAHU.

Iran remains highly unlikely to close the Strait of Hormuz this second time around as like the first - iff the Bammer stays the course on Diplomacy + Hard Sanctions, IT WILL MEAN NO US-LED AIR STRIKES ANDOR GROUND WAR AGZ IRAN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. In Israel's = Netanyahu's mind, and rightly so, no US-led air strike or ground war means that IRAN WILL GET ITS NUKES.

Again, IRAN = THE BURDEN IS ON THE US + ISRAEL TO ATTACK IT FIRST, AND SEEMINGLY WIDOUT CAUSE AS IRAN DOES NOT [officially]INTEND TO BUILD ANY DE FACTO NUCLEAR WEAPONS [per the Japan/Egypt Model].
A unilateral Israeli attack means the start of a MAJOR REGIONAL OR TRANS-REGIONAL WAR [Global?] TO WHICH THE US CANNOT HOPE TO STAY NEUTRAL OR UN-INVOLVED. The US in LT may end up having to invade Iran in ground war whether it wants to or not.

Israel vee Iran in ME = Japan vee China in East China Sea, or PHIL vee China in South Sea.

* TOPIX > OBAMA'S SECOND TERM WILL WEAKEN US FOREIGN POLICY.

* DAILY TIMES.PK > OBAMA'S FULL PLATE [second POTUS term]: FISCAL CLIFF, IRAN, SYRIA, as well as Rising China + Uncertain Outcome(s) vee "Arab Spring" [Event + Govts.] + EuroZone/EUZ Crises.

* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > PLA ARMY NEWSPAPER: HOSTILE WESTERN FORCES, GOVTS. FEAR THE "ARMY OF MAO ZEDONG".

versus

* NEW YORK TIMES > THE PERMANENT MILITARIZATION OF AMERICA.

Goodbye America, hello Amerikka.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Obama's first term as president was problematic not only for Netanyahu, it was problematic for the entire State of Israel. Ditto for the USA. The 47% spoke.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 7:47 Comments || Top||

#3  I did say in an earlier comment - the very first thing I expected the Iranians to do after the Nov election was to go into another round of negotiations. And now what do we see - a proposed under-the-table plan for 3 months of talks between Tehran and Washington DC (according to Debka). Maybe Debka is wrong ... but it's typical of Tehran. I have to say - they've been the masters at the negotiating table so far.
Posted by: Raider || 11/08/2012 12:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Negotiation is a matter of convincing others you can and will do more than negotiate if you need to. Without credible threat it is pointless (see Viet Nam.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 13:47 Comments || Top||

#5  It was reported one day ago from several sources that Valerie Jarrett was in Iran taking part in secret talks. As I recall, she was born in Tehran.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 17:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Glenmore, you concept is correct, your example is wrong.... see Linebacker and Linebacker II

Pocket Money in particular gave the NV a real, solid reason to talk.

Your point is taken, but the example should have been with the final NVA offensive which the US Congress decided would only be allowed 1 billion bucks to defend against.

Then again.. I look at your comment and see you are completely correct. Never mind.



Posted by: Shipman || 11/08/2012 18:08 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
20 things that went right on Election Day
Excerpting the top 10:
1. Republicans retained control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

2. Voters in Alabama, Montana, and Wyoming all passed measures limiting Obamacare.

3. Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz, one of the conservative movement's brightest rising stars, overcame establishment GOP opposition to clinch a U.S. Senate victory in Texas.

4. Corruptocrat Beltway barnacle Rep. Pete Stark was finally kicked out of office in California.

5. Despite entrenched teachers' union opposition, a charter school initiative in Washington state triumphed.

6. Despite entrenched Big Labor support, a radical collective bargaining power grab in Michigan failed.

7. Oklahoma voters said no to government race-based preferences in college admissions, public contracting, and government hiring.

8. Montana voters said no to boundless benefits for illegal aliens.

9. Washington state approved taxpayer-empowering limitations on its state legislature's ability to raise taxes.

10. For the first time since Reconstruction, the GOP won control of the Arkansas state house.
Posted by: badanov || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336091 views] Top|| File under:

#1  11. 58,000,000 voted against the radical leftist agenda. :)
Posted by: wr || 11/08/2012 0:47 Comments || Top||

#2  11b. Unfortunately, that 58,000,000 is 2,000,000 fewer than voted for McCain in 2008. The trend is heading in the wrong direction!
Posted by: Chuck || 11/08/2012 1:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Obama got five million votes than in 2008, but despiterunning at a time Republicans was at an all time low MCain got 2 (other sources tell 3) million votes than Romney


Possible reasons:


1) People refusing to vote for a Mormon.

2) Ron Paul nutties. I was shocked when on elction day I saw in Fox news that Ron Paul ws telling that here was little difference between Obama and Romney. It is time you run a stack through the old fool: despite whta he seems tobeleive an isolationnist America would not lead islamofascists and ayatollahs to sing hKumbaya just as it would not hace waorked on Hitler and Tojo.

Posted by: JFM || 11/08/2012 2:30 Comments || Top||

#4  JFM: That Democrats and Republicans candidates are indistinguishable is the standard party line for Libertarians, at least from what I glean from reading their websites. Some seem almost gleeful that Romney lost.
Posted by: Glusoger Gruter1463 || 11/08/2012 6:16 Comments || Top||

#5  I should have read this article first. One should count their blessings.

I was glad to see Tennessee mentioned. Republicans do have control of the Governor's office and the Legislature. The Legislature has a supermajority. We also have a Right-to-Work law and are fiscally responsible. We don't spend more than we have.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 8:48 Comments || Top||

#6  I wish we could strengthen the 10th Amendment and weaken Washington's role in State's affairs. However, that is wishful thinking.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 8:51 Comments || Top||

#7  During the primaries Mitt was never popular among Republicans. He only won by carpet bombing the opposition until he was literally the last man standing. As a result of Mitt's carpet bombing, Republican turnout in primaries went down.

Mitt is a decent, moral man -- with very little daylight between his positions and Obama's. That, right there, is a central issue. We need to offer a real choice, not a watered down version of the same thing (or in Mitt's case on Climate Change and other major issues, exactly the same thing).

Since 2010 the GOP establishment has been at war with the Tea Party. People like Dick Luger, Boehner, Mitch McConnell, etc. would much rather be in the minority than kicked out of office by us unwashed masses. From their standpoint, Tuesday was a huge win (except Luger, may he rot in Hell).

They will try the same thing in 2014 and 2016. Between then and now, the Tea Party types need to take control of the party, even if it means losing seats. Otherwise we can look forward to losing again and again, and being blamed each time for it.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 14:47 Comments || Top||

#8  I'm generally a libertarian at the state level (I also look at their gun credentials, though most libertarians are pro-gun). Nat'l level - I vote (R) - I've never voted (D) for pres or senate and never will. That said, I can vouch that some of my friends who might have went Romney voted for Ron Johnson in MI & Ohio.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/08/2012 16:19 Comments || Top||

#9  Oh yeah, let me qualify something I did vote Perot way back when because I thought Bush Sr was weak and Dole was country club...and I hated clinton...(ah, youthful zeal & naievity on my part for voting indy those times)
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/08/2012 16:22 Comments || Top||

#10  Posted by: Iblis 2012-11-08 14:47
Mitt is a decent, moral man -- with very little daylight between his positions and Obama's.

Could you please go a little more deeper on the no differences, cause I saw and heard lots of difference with major issues, and I keep reading and hearing that -- little help would be welcomed.

For me, some difference and leaving out Obamacare 'cause they hung him on that one:
Romney
Pro life
Marriage between man and woman
Lower taxes
Reform the tax codes
Reform Medicare
School vouchers
Remove government regulations that are strangling businesses.
Keystone Pipeline
Drill, baby drill
Will be Israel's best friend.

Oh and I forget, he wants to kill Big Bird, put women in binders, and vote for love of country, not for revenge.

Enlighten me please.



Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 17:42 Comments || Top||

#11  Sherry:

You are looking at campaign promises. I am focussing on what Romney did in his 4 miserable years as governor vs Champ's 4 miserable years as president. The similarities are disturbing at best, right down to hiring the exact same advisors in some cases.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 18:05 Comments || Top||

#12  If the election of 2010 energized the TEA Party folks, the election of 2012 showed they would never be accepted by the deeply-entrenched Rethuglycons that control the party at the very top. Time to quit supporting them and go off on our own. No more money, no more support, and no more campaigning for anyone but TEA Party people. There isn't enough room between the upper-level Rethuglycons and Dummycheats (they all want more government, more control, more power for themselves, and screw the little people) for a single photon to get through. It's time for the TEA Party to start running candidates that are independent of both the other parties.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/08/2012 18:18 Comments || Top||

#13  Posted by: Iblis 2012-11-08 18:05
to Sherry --
That's good, but I haven't lived in MA -- so I still don't know any specifics. That's not helping me..... give me three things Romney did that is the same as Obama (Romneycare doesn't count)

And who are the people they both hired?

That's what I'm asking --- specifics, you gave me the same generalities as "campaign promises."
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 20:38 Comments || Top||

#14  Why does ObamaCare not count?

I'm on my mobile so the list won't be complete, but you can start with John Holdren, assault weapons ban and higher taxes. Mitt raised taxes in the form of fees, but it amounts to the same thing. He was also pro-choice and pro gay rights, though he denies it now.

I worked on his '94 Senate campaign. Do a search for my comments here over the summer. Mitt has always been nothing but heartbreak for conservatives.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 21:06 Comments || Top||

#15  Posted by: Iblis 2012-11-08 18:05

Thanks for your direction -- I'll do some looking -- but would like to continue the conversation....
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 21:43 Comments || Top||

#16  And Iblis the Romneycare isn't counted, cause Obama did a good job, convincingly, painting Romney as the grandfather of his plan...
Posted by: Sherry || 11/08/2012 21:45 Comments || Top||

#17  Sherry:

Fair enough. Some more names for you:

Jon Gruber, Jon Kingsdale, and John McDonough all worked on Romneycare and were consulted by Obama on Obamacare.

And a link to Romney's Planned Parenthood questionnaire.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/08/2012 23:06 Comments || Top||


Rep. Allen West Demands Recount
Florida Rep. Allen West on Wednesday demanded a recount as his bid for reelection remained too close to call, with the tea party Republican trailing his Democratic opponent by fewer than 3,000 votes.

West, who warned before the election of "nefarious actions" by Democrats, suggested a county election supervisor was trying to rig the election.

"Late last night Congressman West maintained a districtwide lead of nearly 2,000 votes until the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections 'recounted' thousands of early ballots," West's campaign said in a statement. "Following that 'recount' Congressman West trailed by 2,400 votes."

West also said there were "numerous other disturbing irregularities" in St. Lucie County.

"The St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections office clearly ignored proper rules and procedures, and the scene at the Supervisor's office last night could only be described as complete chaos," the campaign said. "Given the hostility and demonstrated incompetence of the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections, we believe it is critical that a full hand recount of the ballots take place in St. Lucie County. We will continue to fight to ensure every vote is counted properly and fairly, and accordingly we will pursue all legal means necessary."

Murphy declared victory shortly after 1 a.m., according to TCPalm.com. West had yet to concede. Murphy's 0.8 point lead is outside the 0.5 margin that would require a recount in the Sunshine State. If Murphy's lead remains bigger than 0.5 percentage points, a state elections front man told the Miami Herald that there is "no statutory mechanism for a candidate, group or anyone else to have a recount done."

The Palm Beach Post reports provisional and absentee ballots in Democratic-leaning Palm Beach County still need to be counted. Murphy's campaign manager told the newspaper the outstanding ballots weren't enough to overturn the results.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336087 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > DONALD TRUMP CALLS OBAMA WIN "DISGUSTING" AND CALLS FOR REVOLUTION | [Guardian.UK] DONALD TRUMP AND KARL ROVE LEAD CALLS FOR REVOLUTION. REPUBLICAN HAWKS PROVE LESS GRACIOUS THAN ROMNEY.

TRUMP = Obama won the election but NOt the popular vote.

ROVE = refuses to admit that Obama won Ohio, criticizes Fox News for premature? calling of Ohio for the Bammer.

BILL O'REILLY = Obama won because contemporary America is not traditional America anymore, WHITE ESTABLISHMENT IS NOW THE MINORITY.

* RELATED TELEGRAPH.CO.UK > [US]REPUBLICAN PARTY DESCENDS INTO CIVIL WAR AS TEA PARTY MOVEMENT VOWS TO DRIVE PARTY FURTHER TO THE RIGHT.

* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > TELEGRAPH.CO.UK > [Alt-Market.com = Brandon Smith] HOW THE WINNER WILL DESTROY AMERICA. Six Methods or Policies, be the POTUS winner in 2012 be a Democrat Obama or Republican Romney.

* RENSE > LATINO VOTE - THERE MAY NEVER AGAIN BE ANOTHER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT | [Fox News] GERALDO: PRSIDENT OBAMA EARNS RE-ELECTION APPROVAL FROM LATINO VOTERS.

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > BARACK OBAMA RE-ELECTION SIGNALS RISE OF [irreversible] NEW AMERICA.

A "New America" whose mainstream is ...
> Multi-Racial.
> Multi-Ethnic.
> "Global" in outlook.
> Looks beyond historical Racial, Sexual, Political, + Religious traditions.

GOP reduced to a "rump" parliament [IIUC - Old Gassy Whiney Fat Rich White Guys] of ARCHAIC CAUCASIAN TRADITIONALISM - I.E. WHITE, MARRIED, + RELIGIOUS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 1:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Whatcha 'fraid of, Murph?
Posted by: Bobby || 11/08/2012 6:08 Comments || Top||

#3  We had a guy who kept getting re-elected to office. Mysteriously, boxes of uncounted votes (always in his favor) always appeared at the last minute from out in the county. Finally, the voters realized the guy was corrupt and got rid of him. Rep. West, it would be wise to recount and check very carefully these votes--you may find that you actually won.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 7:25 Comments || Top||

#4  Probably too late - the recounter likely added 'real but fake' ballots for Murphy or removed and destroyed actual ballots for West. And of course military absentee ballots don't get to count at all.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 13:36 Comments || Top||

#5  "Good On'Ya", for jumpin' all over it, LTC West.
You will prevail.
Posted by: canalzone || 11/08/2012 21:54 Comments || Top||


Europe
Europe condemns Israel's OK for new settler homes
[Ynet] Germany, Britannia and La Belle France criticize Israel over its decision to okay construction of more than 1,200 new homes beyond Green Line

The three European powers warned that the move could jeopardize efforts to restart the Mideast grinding of the peace processor.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336065 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Kish mir in tuches.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/08/2012 8:09 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Military Court Refers Abdel Jalil to Investigation over General Murder
[An Nahar] A Libyan military court on Wednesday ordered prosecutors to interrogate former transitional leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil over the murder of a general who had commanded rebel forces last year.

The court in the eastern city of Benghazi ordered that the ex-chairman of the National Transitional Council, a political body representing rebels in the 2011 conflict, be questioned over the killing of General Abdel Fatah Younes.

Younes, the highest-ranking military personality to join the 2011 uprising against Muammar Qadaffy
...whose instability was an inspiration to dictators everywhere, but whose end couldn't possibly happen to them...
's regime, was killed in July 2011 in murky circumstances after being recalled from the front line for questioning.

Wednesday's hearing was adjourned until February 20, 2013 because the prosecutor general has yet to question some of those suspected of involvement in his death, the court noted.

After the hearing, members of the Al-Obeidi tribe to which the general belonged warned they would take justice into their own hands if Libya's new authorities continue to "neglect" the case.

The rustics believe the NTC played a role in the general's liquidation.

Abdel Jalil announced Younes' death on July 29, 2011, saying that he had been shot and killed by an gang as he was brought in to be questioned by a panel of judges over the military situation.

His burned and bullet-ridden body was found on the outskirts of Benghazi.

The liquidation fueled widespread rumors and unconfirmed reports on the identities and motives of the perpetrators. Another council member, Ali Tarhuni, blamed members of a shadowy Islamist brigade for the killing.

Thirteen people have been formally accused of involvement in the affair, including Judge Jumaa al-Jazwi who signed the order to arrest Younes. Jazwi was himself assassinated in June this year.

Also among the accused is Ahmed Bukatala, leader of the rebel brigade which was sent to bring Younes back from the front.

Younes played an instrumental role in the February 18-20 liberation of Benghazi, cradle of the revolution, where he brokered a ceasefire at a besieged military base in the center of city, permitting loyalists to flee.

But despite his early defection, many rebels put little faith in the general, who was part of the circle of officers that helped bring Qadaffy to power in a 1969 bloodless coup.

Some blamed him directly for lack of progress in the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
-backed rebel offensive against Qadaffy's regime. It took eight months of pitched battles across the country before the veteran strongman was finally toppled.

The NTC at the time set up a committee to investigate Younes' death. The case was later referred to a civil court which then passed it on to the military court.

Abdel Jalil, 60, was justice minister until his defection in February 2011. He led the opposition during the war and guided Libya through a turbulent transition that culminated in July with democratic elections.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336068 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Arabia
Hizbullah Hits Back at Bahrain over Bombings Accusations
[An Nahar] Hizbullah on Wednesday condemned accusations by Bahrain which has claimed that the party was behind Monday's bombings in Manama, noting that the Bahraini regime perpetrated the incident in order to “repress the peaceful opposition.”

“The Bahraini authorities continue their episodes of false allegations and claims by launching unjust accusations against Hizbullah, the last of which was accusing the party of being behind the latest bombings that shook Bahrain,” the party's media department said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Bahrain's state news agency quoted State Minister for Information Affairs Samira Ibrahim bin Rajab as saying that “the bombings were carried out by terrorist groups that received training outside the country and are based in foreign countries, including Leb

The bombings “bear the hallmark of the Lebanese group Hizbullah which is allied with Iran,” the minister claimed.

But Hizbullah deplored any attempt to link its name to such blasts, noting that “these bombings carry the fingerprints of the Bahraini regime's intelligence services which will use them as an excuse to repress the peaceful opposition and dodge the rightful demands.”

Bahraini police have cooled for a few years
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
four suspects in connection with bombings that killed two Asian expatriates in the capital Manama, the official BNA news agency reported on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336086 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  See also topix > BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT FACE GROWING INTERNAL UNREST AS SYRIAN OPPOSITION GATHERS IN QATAR.

Once again, Iran to NOT be happy wid the activities of US-Base-Too-Far Qatar.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 1:21 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Vengeance
An excerpt:
I quote the President in the broader Biblical context because BHO has claimed Christianity. It's one thing to screw up and be vengeful; that is sin. It's another to be caught up in a moment, and blurt something, as I'm sure apologists will contend.

It's quite another to actively encourage others to sin, for a Christian. I should hope that the good President would repent of his remark, and do so publicly.

Not holding my breath. Also, hoping nobody asks me for my opinion of the state of BHO's Christianity, as I'm not a qualified judge. Also escaping certainty; that the fuller context offered from Deuteronomy here relates at all to Obama's supporters. I'm just pointing out some dots; you're free to connect as desired.
Posted by: badanov || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336070 views] Top|| File under:

#1  First thingys must come first, as there is still the matter of alleged death threats and riot threats, etc. [e.g. Twitter-gate] made agz both the Bammer + Romney during the campaign.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/08/2012 0:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Here's a quote from James Cone who inspired Jeremiah Wright's Black Liberation Theology:
Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community … Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.

(Quoted in William R Jones, “Divine Racism: The Unacknowledged Threshold Issue for Black Theology”, in African-American Religious Thought: An Anthology, ed Cornel West and Eddie Glaube.)

Obama did disavow Wright when his political career demanded it. However his current pastor isn't much of an improvement. He just believes that all or most whites are condemned to hell.

Vengeance and punishment are not concepts alien to Obama's version of Christianity.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 11/08/2012 4:50 Comments || Top||

#3  F all of this crap. As a country, you chose poorly.
Posted by: newc || 11/08/2012 10:45 Comments || Top||


-Election 2012
Dead Candidate Completes GOP Clean Sweep in Alabama
Even a dead Republican beat a Democrat in the GOP's sweep of Alabama.

A Republican nominee who died almost month before Election Day beat the Democratic incumbent for a seat on the Bibb County Commission on Tuesday.

Probate Judge Jerry Pow says Republican nominee Charles Beasley defeated Democrat Walter Sansing despite having died on Oct. 12. Beasley carried about 52 percent of the votes.

Pow says some voters probably didn't know Beasley died before the election, but others did.

The 77-year-old Beasley previously served one term, but the Democratic Sansing won four years ago.

The ballots were printed before Beasley's death and couldn't be changed before the vote.

Pow says the Bibb County GOP will recommend a successor to Gov. Robert Bentley, who will appoint a new commissioner.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336065 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Learning to play the game. In the race for Missouri Senator back in 2000, the Donk died in a plane crash. Although the state constitution required 'living' in the state to be on the ballot, the state supremes ruled otherwise to allow his widow to take the seat as he received the majority vote in the election.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/08/2012 9:03 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Bahrain revokes nationality of 31 over 'national security'
[Al Ahram] The Bahraini government, facing protracted unrest by its Shi'ite Mohammedan majority, has revoked the nationality of 31 men for damaging national security, the state news agency BNA reported on Wednesday.
The men include London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of tossed in the slammer
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
opposition leader Hassan Mushaima, as well as holy men, human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
lawyers and activists, according to Mohammed al-Mascati, head of the Bahrain Youth Centre for Human Rights.

In April, Ali Mushaima scaled the roof of Bahrain's embassy in London to publicise opposition demands for democratic change.

Also on the list published by BNA were two former parliamentarians from the leading Shi'ite party Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz, who are of Shi'ite Iranian descent.

The ruling Al Khalifa family used martial law and help from Gulf neighbours to put down a Shi'ite-led uprising against alleged discrimination in March last year, but unrest has resumed. Shi'ite protesters and police clash almost daily.

Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based as a bulwark against Iran, accuses Tehran of encouraging the unrest and has promised a tough response as talks with the opposition have stalled. Iran has denied meddling in Bahrain's affairs.

Matar, a senior member of Wefaq, said the decision to revoke nationality was an escalation of the conflict in Bahrain and accused the government of having granted citizenship to Sunni foreigners to boost their numbers in the country.

Complex persecution

"They want to replace us as a pro-democracy movement via nationalisation of mercenaries and revoking our nationality," Matar said.

"This is a reflection of a complex persecution policy against race, sect and political orientation. It is against Bahrain's Persian minority, Shi'ites and the pro-democracy movement in general."

Amnesia Amnesty International said it appeared as though Bahrain had withdrawn the men's citizenship on the basis of their political views.

"Most worryingly, the authorities are making some in the group stateless. This, as well as any arbitrary deprivation of nationality, is prohibited under international law," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336082 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Gunmen Kill Anti-terrorism Police Commander in Sanaa
[An Nahar] Unknown gunnies rubbed out a police commander with counter-terrorism forces in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday, a security official said.

"Two gunnies on cycle of violences rubbed out the officer, Commander Mohammed Hussein al-Feel, before escaping," said the official.

Police and soldiers in Yemen frequently come under attack, often by gunnies on motorbikes, usually accused of links to the al-Qaeda network which is most active in the country's south and east.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336067 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Bangladesh
More arrests over Jamaat rampage
[Bangla Daily Star] Law enforcers placed in durance vile
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
143 more leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
and Islami Chhatra Shibir
... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh...
in drives overnight Tuesday in the capital and six other districts for violence and attacks on coppers.

Of them, 46 people were locked away
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
in the capital, 42 in Kushtia, 14 in Rajshahi, 11 in Chandpur, eight in Chittagong, 21 in Feni and one in Narayanganj district.

Earlier on Monday and Tuesday, a total of 327 Jamaat-Shibir men were picked up in different districts for the same offences.

The festivities broke out when the Jamaat-Shibir activists erupted into the streets as part of their nine-day programme demanding release of their nine top leaders now being tried for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

The brawls left at least 384 people, including 140 coppers, injured. Some activists of the Islamist party looted a rifle in Rajshahi and a shotgun in Noakhali from police and set afire many vehicles and shops and damaged dozens of others.

In the capital, 27 Jamaat-Shibir men were placed in durance vile
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
by the Rapid Action Battalion-3 (Rab) and 19 by Ramna police.

Court sources said 35 out of the 46 arrestees were yesterday placed on three-day remand each in connection with violence and vandalism at Malibagh on Tuesday. The rest were sent to jail.

Besides, 19 out of the 35 detainees were placed on four-day remand each on charges of attacking coppers and obstructing them in their duties.

Talking to The Daily Star, Lt Col MM Anisur Rahman, commanding officer of Rab-3, said they placed in durance vile
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
16 Jamaat-Shibir men at Meererbagh while they were in a meeting to devise plans for carrying out subversive activities.

The elite force also picked up 11 more Jamaat activists from different parts of the city.

Ramna police said they placed in durance vile
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
19 Jamaat-Shibir men from Malibagh and its adjacent areas for attacking police and creating anarchy on city streets on Monday and Tuesday.

In Kushtia, police placed in durance vile
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
42 Jamaat-Shibir men from different parts of the district, reports our correspondent.

Law enforcers said they made the arrests following the filing of two cases against 400 Jamaat-Shibir men over Sunday's attacks on police, said Zoynal Abedin, additional police superintendent in Kushtia.

Rajshahi police placed in durance vile
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
14 Jamaat men from different areas in the district for Monday's attacks on cops that left 30 coppers injured, adds our Rajshahi correspondent.

Jamaat-Shibir men attacked two coppers, snatched a rifle from them and hit them with the rifle in the city's Shaheb Bazar on Monday evening.

Police in Chittagong locked away
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
eight activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, an associated body of Jamaat, from different areas of the port city on charges of vandalism and attacks on police.

A court in Feni yesterday sent 13 Jamaat-Shibir men to jail after they surrendered before it in connection with a case filed for attacking coppers on Tuesday, reports our correspondent.

Police picked up 10 more Jamaat activists in the district.

A correspondent from Chandpur adds: Police placed in durance vile
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
Chandpur town Jamaat unit chief Shahjahan Mia and 10 others on charge of plotting subversive activities.

In Narayanganj, police locked away
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
Jamaat leader Nazrul Islam from Fatullah area in connection with attacking police on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336070 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Europe
Greek MPs Vote on Austerity as Protests Turn Violent
[An Nahar] A huge protest outside the Greek parliament turned violent Wednesday ahead of a late-night vote on a deeply unpopular new austerity bill, as demonstrators hurled petrol bombs and police fired tear gas to disperse them.

As a general strike called by the two main labor unions paralyzed the country for a second straight day, more than 70,000 people turned out to protest the new 18.5-billion-euro ($23.6-billion) belt-tightening package.

The measures are vital to unlock international aid and stave off imminent bankruptcy for the crisis-ravaged country.

The demonstration proceeded peacefully for nearly two hours as a heavy police cordon stood guard.

But when officers used tear gas to repel a group of nearly 300 people, protesters responded by throwing petrol bombs, according to a police source, who said 20 people had been cooled for a few years
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
The violence erupted as 300 politicians held a fierce and lengthy pre-vote session that was interrupted when Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras announced that salary cuts would also affect parliamentary employees -- who responded by threatening to go on strike immediately.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336064 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Update
The Troika ( European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund)are on a promise to Geitner to do everything to keep the EURO stable until at least the election, so as not to damage Obamas re-election chances, in return for which the bailout funds will be extended to Europe. You can sleep soundly at night from now on just listening to the printing presses purring away in overdrive.
Greece lawmakers back austerity cuts amid protests
Lawmakers in Greece have narrowly backed a fresh round of austerity measures, despite violent protests across the country.

The austerity package aimed at securing the next round of bailout funds was passed with 153 MPs in favour - a majority of just three.

The 13.5bn-euro ($17.3bn; £10.5bn) bill includes tax rises and pension cuts.

Earlier, riot police fired tear gas towards protesters when they were attacked with petrol bombs in Athens.
Posted by: tipper || 11/08/2012 1:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Greece is bankrupt.
They cannot pay.
Write off the debt.
Do not lend them more.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/08/2012 11:17 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Taliban suicide bomber kills 5 people in Peshawar
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's spokesman, Ihsanullah Ihsan, climed credit for today's suicide attack that targeted a police official in Peshawar. From Pajhwok Afghan News:

The suicide bombing occurred at 10am near a police checkpoint in the bustling Qissakhwani Bazaar, killing six people including Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP) Hilal Haidar, the city police chief, Asif Iqbal, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Haidar, his driver, guard and two civilians were killed and many others injured in the blast, another police officer, Javed Marwat, told reporters at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH).

Five dead bodies and 37 injured people were brought to LRH, confirmed a doctor on duty, Mukhtar Khan. Eight of the injured are in critical condition, he said.

The bomber on foot struck the ASP's vehicle on his way to the office, Iqbal said, adding up to seven kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.


Ihsan said that the police official was targeted because he was "torturing detained militants during interrogations."

The Taliban have been active in Peshawar since the end of September. On Sept. 2, the Taliban killed three people in an attack on a US Consulate vehicle in the city. On Oct. 15, the Taliban killed a Superintendent of Police and six policemen and Frontier Constabulary personnel. Four days later, the Taliban killed nine people in the provincial capital.

Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336067 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria raids Hamas offices months after group's leaders leave
[Al Ahram] Syrian security forces have raided and sealed the Damascus
...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat...
office of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, chief Khaled Meshaal, who left the city months ago along with other leaders of the Paleostinian Islamist group, Hamas said on Wednesday.
Relations between Hamas and long-time ally Syria have soured since Meshaal and other bigwigs quietly quit Damascus late last year after Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
stepped up a crackdown on anti-government protests.

Syria is home to at least 500,000 Paleostinians, according to the United Nations
...Parkinson's Law on an international scale...
. Syria's uprising has split loyalties, with many Paleostinians sympathetic to the 19-month-old uprising by their fellow Sunni Mohammedans, and others backing Assad, whose Alawite faith derives from Shi'ite Islam.

In recent weeks, dozens of Paleostinians have been killed by Syrian army shelling of rebel positions in and around the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, opposition campaigners said.

Meshaal's office, which had also served as his residence and the group's main headquarters in Damascus, was raided on Monday, Hamas said in a statement.

It said government forces confiscated property and sealed the building, which had been guarded by Hamas members.

Syrian security services closed the Damascus office of Emad al-Alami, a senior Hamas political official, on Tuesday, the statement said. Alami is currently in the Gazoo Strip, an enclave Hamas has controlled since 2007. Meshaal's whereabouts are unknown.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336112 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria Warns Palestinians to 'Keep Away from Terrorist Gangs'
[An Nahar] Syria's foreign ministry warned Paleostinians against becoming embroiled in the country's uprising on Wednesday, telling them to stay well clear of armed opposition groups, state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.

"Syria will strongly oppose any attempt to bring the Paleostinians into what is happening in Syria," a ministry source said, urging them to direct their efforts at the Paleostinian cause, Syria TV reported.

"All Paleostinian factions must keep away from every effort of armed terrorist gangs," the source added, accusing the rebels of supporting Israel against the Paleostinians.

The statements came amid festivities in the Yarmouk Paleostinian refugee camp in southern Damascus,
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
which have been ongoing for several days.

Members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine-General Command (PFLP-GC), led by Damascus ally Ahmad Jibril, fought alongside regime troops while Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, fighters joined in on the rebel side, Syrian activists said.

Damascus has long supported Paleostinian Islamist group Hamas, offering it safe haven and facilities, but opposition activists say some Hamas fighters have recently joined forces with rebels fighting Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
regime.

Syrian members of the Moslem Brüderbund movement, from which Hamas sprung, were among the first to participate when protests erupted against Assad's rule in March last year.

As peaceful demonstrations turned into an armed rebellion, reports said Hamas had quietly moved its offices from Syria, evacuating most of its members, while publicly denying it had shifted its headquarters.

On Monday, the Syrian authorities officially closed the Hamas offices in Damascus.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336070 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


India-Pakistan
Blast in Kurram tribal area kills one, injures 14
[Dawn] A blast near Mir Ajab Chowk in Lower Kurram tribal region’s Sada bazaar area killed one person and injured fourteen others on Wednesday.

One Levies vehicle was destroyed in the attack.

Further details on the incident were not received until the filing of this report.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336076 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Policeman among four killed in Peshawar
[Dawn] Four people, including a police constable, were killed when two groups shot it out near a police checkpost on the outskirts of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
on Tuesday.

An official of Ormar cop shoppe said an old dispute led to the clash on main Baghbanan Road.

He said Mujeebur Rehman, Sardar Ali, police constable Asmatullah Khan and passerby Mir Salam Khan were critically injured in the clash and they all died at Lady Reading Hospital.

The official said police had cooled for a few years
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
three people from both the groups and seized their arms.

EXPLOSIVES DETONATED: Unidentified people detonated explosives weighing around two kilogrammes near a gas pipeline in Jabba Suhail area of Yakatut late on Monday.

However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
no damage to the pipeline or human life was reported.

ARMS AND AMMUNITION SEIZED: Also in the day, Yakatut police seized 30 hand grenades, four mortar shells, two artillery shells, 53 fuses and 53 empty cases of gun during a raid on a scrape warehouse near Hazarkhwani area along Ring Road.

A police official said the warehouse was owned by Qurbanullah, a resident of Sheikhabad-I Peshawar.

He, however, said the warehouse owner had yet to be cooled for a few years
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
The official said police had started the paperwork but haven't done much else against the warehouse owner and began investigation.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336073 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Country cannot afford clash of institutions, says Fazl
[Dawn] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
(Fazl) chairman and the chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Kashmire, Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
, said here on Wednesday that Pakistain could not afford a clash of institutions due to the critical conditions prevailing in the country, DawnNews reported.

Speaking to media representatives at the Quetta airport, he declared the recent statements issued by Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as promising.

He further said that the truth had been understood 65 years into the inception of the country, adding that, if work had been done with the same passion right after the creation of Pakistain, the conditions would have been different today.

He declared the parliament as supreme and said if every institution worked within its constitutional limits, no problems would arise.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336067 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami


-Election 2012
Detroiters Elect Ex-Con Brian Banks As State Rep
Among the new group of state politicians to emerge from Election Day on Tuesday is Brian Banks, who has been convicted eight times for felonies involving bad checks and credit card fraud.

Banks, a Democrat and lifelong Detroiter, won a seat in Lansing as a state representative for the 1st District, representing the east side of Detroit, Harper Woods, and the tony Grosse Pointes. He won 68 percent of the vote to Republican Dan Schulte's 32 percent.

Banks, 35, was convicted eight times between 1998 and 2004 of writing bad checks and credit card fraud.

His slogan was "You can Bank on Banks."
"...and you can take that to the bank. And, since you're going there, could you cash this for me?"
"It's time to elect a leader, with experience and passion, who will fight for you," he wrote on his website.
...until I go back to jail.
Posted by: Fred || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336071 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Detroitistan, Mogadishu North...a long time ago it was once even called the Paris of the Midwest, now it's the Zimbabwe of the Midwest...
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/08/2012 11:26 Comments || Top||

#2  clearly representative democracy
Posted by: Frank G || 11/08/2012 11:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Frank, you misspelled Democratcy.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/08/2012 11:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Our Gibbon will have a surfeit of material.
Posted by: Creresing Barnsmell5798 || 11/08/2012 12:11 Comments || Top||

#5  He sounds appropriately experienced for the job, or even promotion to national representative. After all, who floats more bad checks or commits more credit fraud than government?
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 13:40 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Courage for the Long War Ahead
On November 6, the people of the United States rejected President Barack Obama. And re-elected him to a second term in office.

Though Obama failed to win a majority in the popular vote--and may even have lost the popular vote outright--he won enough votes in the Electoral College to claim victory. The same constitutional peculiarity that brought George W. Bush into office in 2000 may have returned Obama to the White House.

The voters also re-affirmed the results of the historic Tea Party election of 2010, returning Republicans to power in the House of Representatives. And yet the voters also retained Democrats in control of the Senate, preserving the results of the anti-war wave election of 2006.

The U.S. Congress is now divided between two parties whose members were elected on platforms of protest, each determined to stop the other from pursuing its policies.

In the days that follow, great efforts will be spent on explaining the results as consequences of many factors, big and small.

Perhaps Obama would have lost if not for Hurricane Sandy. Perhaps Romney would have won if he had fought harder over Benghazi or pushed back against personal attacks. Perhaps the GOP is out of touch with the country's changing mores and demographics. Perhaps Democrats have not yet reckoned with fiscal reality.

Both sides lost. The American people, in effect, handed a vote of no confidence to Washington.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336096 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Perhaps the GOP is out of touch with the country's changing mores and demographics.

Yeah, been hearing that alot today. Tent too small, etc... Have (fleetingly) considered the idea that, maybe, resources should be provided to organizations providing antitheses to the more hard core left organizations (i.e. New Black Panther Party, etc.) rather than funding those inclined to becoming "Conservative Light" (Liberal)......
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 11/08/2012 12:39 Comments || Top||

#2  One problem the Republican Party faces in enlarging its tent to be more inclusive of its natural allies, the libertarians, is that by definition libertarians pretty much can't be organized. Just try rounding up a herd of 'em to haul off to the polls....
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/08/2012 13:31 Comments || Top||

#3  Another problem is that as far as libertarians who sat out last week are concerned, if they were on fire, I wouldn't be in too big a hurry to take my HZT losartan.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/08/2012 15:35 Comments || Top||

#4  You're going to have to find someone who doesn't give enough of a shit about the republic to be upset but who still gives a shit enough to reach out.

Maybe there's someone like that out there, but it ain't me.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/08/2012 15:37 Comments || Top||

#5  "Perhaps the GOP is out of touch with the country's changing mores and demographics."

-mixed bag. Mores, yes...demographics, no. Romney lost because his tactics were weak & the GOP cannot keep pace w/Dem propensity to promise handouts. Obama 2012 had approx 10-million less votes than 2008 but still won by abt 2.8 million in pop vote. Romney 2012 underperformed McCain 2008 by almost 3-million votes. My logic (though often faulty) leads me to believe it's about the entitlement, stupid. My advice to the GOP: Stop being Dem light. Don't try to be something your not. Tell the people you believe in the U.S. Const and why. Tell them why balanced budgets, lower taxes, less spending, less regulations means prosperity. If they then still want to vote in Libs - let them. Their entitlements will not be there. Mathematics. Sooner than later, the $$ runs out. And, it's okay to stop playing nice. I would've hit Bammer on Benghazi, Fast/Furious, sequestration -- hard as hell and over and over. Also, go ahead and go on all the t.v. shows - have your shit together & hit their hosts right in the proverbial face. I find condescending sarcasm usually works. "Right Mr. Matthews, because that worked so well in 1979...so what your saying is that we should be using the Bolshevik economic model as a long term strategy for success..."
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/08/2012 16:10 Comments || Top||

#6  And this from Drudge:

FIRST ON CNN: Iranian jets fire on U.S. drone
The Obama administration did not disclose the incident, which occurred just days before the presidential election on November 1, but three senior officials confirmed the details to CNN.

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/08/first-on-cnn-iranian-jets-fire-on-u-s-drone/?hpt=hp_t3

(Linky thingie no workie....)
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 11/08/2012 16:28 Comments || Top||

#7  Someone needs to make the point to libertarians that they should not field a presidential candidate until they have a few seats in the Senate. If they pushedcresiurces into capturing a few senate seats folks coukd vote for them without throwing away their presidential vote.

House seats would be even better.

If you cant capture a single district you have no business gumming up the presidential race.
Posted by: Rjschwarz || 11/08/2012 18:26 Comments || Top||

#8  Someone needs to make the point to libertarians that they should not field a presidential candidate until they have a few seats in the Senate

They need a grounding in reality first.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/08/2012 21:58 Comments || Top||

#9  Reality is a crutch for some.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/08/2012 22:01 Comments || Top||

#10  AceofSpadesHQ also has a post on how GOTV efforts from Romney completely fell apart because of flat-out incompetence.
Posted by: Charles || 11/08/2012 22:31 Comments || Top||


Putting Republicans In Their Place: Reid moves to limit GOP filibusters
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ...
said Wednesday that he will try to push through a change to Senate rules that would limit the GOP's ability to filibuster bills.

Speaking in the wake of Tuesday's election, which boosted Senate Democrats' numbers slightly, Mr. Reid said he won't end filibusters altogether but that the rules need to change so that the minority party cannot use the legislative blocking tool as often.

"I think that the rules have been abused and that we're going to work to change them," he told news hounds. "Were not going to do away with the filibuster but we're going to make the Senate a more meaningful place."

Republicans, who have 47 of the chamber's 100 seats in this current Congress, have repeatedly used that strong minority to block parts of President B.O.'s agenda on everything from added stimulus spending to his judicial picks.

A filibuster takes 60 senators to overcome it.

Leaders of both parties have been reluctant to change the rules because they value it as a tool when they are in the minority.

But Mr. Reid said things changed over the last few years when he repeatedly faced off against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, who had said his chief political goal was defeating Mr. Obama. Mr. Reid said that led the GOP to abuse the filibuster.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336076 views] Top|| File under:

#1  C'mon Nevada, you deserve better than Reid. You are better than this. Do it for yourself respect and do it for the country. He is a cranky old pouge obstructionist who needs to be put out to pasture the next election. He is part of the Washington problem. Nevada help fix Washington!
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 7:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Too much 'union' money in Vegas.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/08/2012 9:04 Comments || Top||

#3  By "union" do you mean "mob"?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 11/08/2012 13:28 Comments || Top||

#4  A distinction without a difference, #2 Rob. :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 11/08/2012 13:44 Comments || Top||

#5  bluster, if he does this the House will be deadlocked and nothing will happen on anything.
Posted by: Charles || 11/08/2012 22:27 Comments || Top||


Mrs.Malkin: Conservatives must stand tall
An excerpt:
We have so much to be proud of tonight:

*Diligent Tea Party activists grew the limited government movement and organized -- producing winning candidates across the country at the local, state, and national levels.

*A new generation of citizen activists online helped contribute to the vigilant policing of media bias and White House lies on everything from Fast and Furious to Solyndra to Benghazi.

*Conservative women pushed back more forcefully than ever against Democrat femme-a-gogues and Planned Parenthood promoters.

*Small business owners, Republican blue-collar workers, minority conservatives, young conservatives, religious liberty advocates, and growing numbers of Hollywood conservatives all stood up and made their voices heard.

Once again, we have our work cut out for us. We lost this election, but we still live in the greatest country on the planet and we still have many ways to fight for and defend it.

My counsel to you tonight: Please, do not be bitter. Do not fall prey to the Beltway blame game. Do not get mired in small things. Do not become vengeful creatures like our political opponents who voted out of spite instead of love of country.

We still have boundless blessings to count -- and to secure.

I remain a proud, unrepentant believer in the American Dream. And I know you do, too. Freedom will endure because we will keep fighting for it. We can't afford not to, friends.

Earlier this evening, when many conservatives on Twitter started despairing, I quoted from Psalm 46:10. Elections come and go. Faith endures:

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

Chins up. Stand tall. We'll fight again tomorrow.
Posted by: badanov || 11/08/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336067 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The pep talk by Malkin is good. A great many thanks to Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney for stepping up to the plate. Ryan and Romney were good men who fought the good fight despite the incessant attacks on their character. There is no doubt in my mind who the better candidates were morally. Is morality even a consideration in the selection of candidates? There seems to be a double standard.

Many of us are a little down still post-election. I suppose the thing to do after the post election blues is to organize, organize, and organize at the grass roots level for the next round of elections in 2014. It is necessary to find suitable candidates and reform leaders for local and national elections. Somehow, the demographics problems are going to have to be addressed at the Presidential level. Obama was not a great candidate the second term but somehow he appealed to the young voters 18-29 yrs old. He also appealed to young women. He got 71% of the Hispanic vote and 94% of the black vote. I don't know whether the Jewish vote shifted since 2008. I don't don't how the Muslim vote went but I suppose for Obama judging from their convention. The base of the Pubs doesn't seem very cohesive. I don't know where the Catholic vote was in this election. I would have thought that with the abortion issue and the assault on religion, the Catholics would have gone for Romney. Likewise the evangelical vote. That is a large group. Did they vote for Romney? Did they support Romney or stay home because he is Mormon? Who did Asians vote for--which Asians? Cubans? Who did the military vote for assuming their votes made it to the US. The demographics need to be sifted very carefully. Romney's ground game needs to be looked at to see if there were areas where and how it could have been more effective in getting out the vote. The Pubs need to see where their election strategies fell down.

I don't know what you do about a MSM that has become a bunch of partisan water bearers and cheerleaders for the far left. I don't know how you address their failure to address stories like Benghazi and Fast and Furious. I am surprised more attention has not been given to taking a look at George Soros and organizations around him and their buying of the American press and media.

I don't know how Pubs address the hateful, vitriolic destruction of their candidates by the left and the continual passes given to the left wing candidates.

We send our children to left leaning universities and it is no surprise what we get--left leaning democratic voters after four years of indoctrination. Same can be said for journalism schools--we get a left leaning media coming out of these schools. The large schools take money from the Federal government and it is no surprise that they are splinters of the Federal government.

I know I am ranting, but the questions posed will always loom in the background and influence elections for the Pubs. How does one deal with that?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/08/2012 8:40 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2012-11-08
  Syria raids Hamas offices months after group's leaders leave
Wed 2012-11-07
  Bombings, Clashes Kill 131 in Syria as Gunmen Assassinate Parliament Speaker's Brother
Tue 2012-11-06
  Suicide bomber kills at least 27 by army base near Baghdad
Mon 2012-11-05
  Grenade attack on Kenya church kills 1, wounds 14
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

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