The Atheists of Central Pennsylvania decided to walk in the Mechanicsburg Halloween parade. There was a zombie Pope and a zombie Muhammed.
A Muslim man comes off the curb extremely offended at Muhammed being depicted in this way.
"He grabbed me, choked me from the back, and spun me around to try to get my sign off that was wrapped around my neck," said Ernie Perce, who donned the costume.
The Muslim man and Perce both called police to report a crime. Both kept walking, and a few blocks down found Sgt. Brian Curtis. He talked to both and came to this conclusion.
"Mr. Perce has the right to do what he did that evening, and the defendant in this case was wrong in confronting him," he said.
Talaag Elbayomy was charged with harassment, but District Judge Mark Martin threw it out after criticizing Perce, the victim, and even calling him a "doofus."
Martin, who has done several tours of duty in the Middle East, said Perce would be put to death in those societies for his crime, but Perce wonders why that's relevant in this country.
"He let a man who is Muslim, because of his preference of his culture and his way of life, walk free from an attack," Perce said.
R. Mark Thomas represented Elbayomy and applauds the judge.
"I think this was a good dressing down by the judge," he said. "The so-called victim was the antagonist and we introduced evidence that clearly showed his attitude toward Muslims. The judge didn't do anything I wouldn't have done if I was in that position."
Although Elbayomy denied touching Perce at trial, Curtis said he admitted grabbing Perce's sign and beard the night of the incident.
Talaag Elbayomy said he was at the parade with his wife and two kids and felt he just had to do something. In fact, he too called police because he thought it was a crime for someone to depict Muhammed in such a way. He has since learned otherwise.
#1
This is a Cumberland County local judge who just got elected last year. My guess is that this case will become ammo for whomever opposes him in 2015.
AoS at 1745 CT: moved to Home Front WoT as WoT operations.
PETA is a terrorist enabling group. The ALF is a terrorist organization. Mr. Lowell is a suspected terrorist alleged to have committed conspiracy for terrorism.
So we'll classify this one correctly as noted above. Thanks, AoS
#2
Wanted to go to jail to get out of the home she shared with parents and brothers who ate meat? At 27 she could simply have left. Instead she is willing to kill children. What a sick one.
#4
Wow, 830 to 850 bucks for a hit? Yeah, that extra 20 will probably be all you need to attract the real quality talent.
I know times are tough but c'mon, looney tunes. Ya gotta do better than that.
#6
"...she wanted to be on site when the slaying took place so she could distribute "papers" afterward..."
Hey, I just had that random 12 year old murdered because my mom cooked scrambled eggs this morning. Want a pamphlet? Oh, it was faux rabbit's fur. How embarrassing.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/22/2012 20:02
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#7
Wow, it turns out they're right, not all terrorists are moslems after all.
#2
And having clicked through to read the teaser available to non-subscribers... the decision to act as if the design work could be separated from the fabrication work is partly why AMD is getting Zilla-stomped by Intel right now.
#4
If you don't care if anyone without an Engineering or Business degree has a job I suppose Manufacturing is not needed. Of course if most of the population has no job it might cut down on the number of folks buying product. And might that affect how many college grads have a job?
#5
Not as long as we have Foxconn. I guess hostile foreign dictatorships can supply all the slave labor we need and it won't matter to the academics in their ivy towers if American workers go unemployed.
#9
Does America really need higher education? Without votec skills solid base education the question is moot, as there will be nobody to work the tools, drive the vehicles, or even answer the phone.
If the welds don't hold, if the worker can't read a ruler, if the person taking orders does not have a functional language ability, unless these types know how to roto. Even recycling is an industry, how is this even a question?
(pounds on desk)
No question, should be in defense of!
#10
Without manufacturing we're nothing -- we're stagnant, sitting in blissfully accumulating ignorance while the rest of the world advances, eventually leaving us so far behind we'll never catch up. We are becoming non-productive by definition.
I really worry that we've become a nation that sells things rather than a nation that makes things. If you're not making things then you're nothing but a consumer, an economic drone. There's creativity involved in marketing, I suppose, but if you're not pushing the boundaries of both creativity and productivity you're still (to coin a phrase) on the Road to Serfdom.
We've dumped the dirty business of industrialization in favor of clean air and no nasty smells and letting our children avoid the boredom of working on an assembly line. We've concentrated on selling each other information -- an economic closed loop -- and singing and dancing and making movies about people being heroic (even while as a society we condemn the people who actually do the things presented as heroic on the screen).
So while China and India and even, in their imaginations, the Medes and the Persians are on their way to the moon and from there to the stars we're singing and dancing for their entertainment. If we don't wake up then a hundred years from now we'll be tugging our forelocks at the approach of the Chinaman or the Hindoo.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2012 14:07
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#11
Harvard. Isn't that where kids who have never had a job go to become politicians/law makers, who will never know the meaning of work?
#14
America doesn't need domestic sources of manufacturing, just like it doesn't need electric power, food delivered to local groceries, water on tap, spare parts for all its gizmos, heat-A/C for its buildings, domestic transportation etc. etc.
#15
It makes absolutely no difference at all if students are taught a political vocation; exactly opposed to market conditions that allows them to participate in the economy.
#16
Um, guys???? If you actually read even just the free intro, you will see that the authors believe US businesses have mistaken short-term savings by outsourcing mfg with longer term business advantage.
The authors also provide executives with a way to strategize how to bring the high value mfg back home.
Knee jerk comments here suggest most people didn't bother to get past the headline. Or don't understand why an executive would need to measure the value of alternate approaches. Before you dismiss either Harvard or this article, you might want to at least sound like you understand it.
No of course not. We can sue each other & tax our way to prosperity. Just ask Obama or any other Dem.
Posted by: Cincinnatus Chili ||
02/22/2012 18:44
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#21
Low value, yes. Higher value, no.
It is not the responsibility of business leaders to make society work if taxes, regulations and unrealistic wage demands from unions or other employees make it uneconomical to manufacture here.
But it definitely is an executive's responsibility to make that analysis in as informed, farsighted way as s/he can. A lot of US companies are doing the kinds of evaluations this article calls for and in response are returning high value manufacturing back to the US.
By the time this sort of article hits the HBR, whatever they write about is already a trend that's picking up steam. This article gives other executives both a way to make that decision and cover in so doing, with their stockholders, their board etc.
#22
Depends what kind of manufacturing you're discussing.
We have few Americans who want to work all day assembling iPhones, making shoes, or assembling stupid plastic toys, just as we have few Americans who want to harvest lettuce and pick tomatoes.
We could pay Americans enough to do those jobs, but that will certainly add to the labor costs and thus to the costs of the products. In a country where even in a rural area you need $40K a year ($20 an hour) to live reasonably well and make work more attractive than (Obama-style) welfare, I don't see it happening.
What we need is more high-end, skilled manufacturing in which a $20 or $30 an hour job provides sufficient value to make it worthwhile. Those jobs also have been outsourced; losing those have hurt us long-term.
I'm happy to let overseas workers sew tennis shoes; the folks in Bangladesh, Honduras and Burma will do these jobs and be better off than they were before. Let's work on getting the highly paid jobs back here to home.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012 18:49
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#23
However, it's only fair to warn that just because mfg comes back doesn't mean it will look like the mfg of a decade ago, nor that workers who lost jobs when they went overseas will be automatically a good fit for the jobs that return.
The midWest is full of companies trying to find good skilled people who can e.g. program CNC machines. A lot of older machinists, for instance, just haven't got those skills. Some older workers are taking classes at community college to qualify, a few companies have the resources for on the job training of people who demonstrate sufficient math and logic ability to be trainable.
But the move to tech-based mfg will only accelerate over the next two decades. Robotics, intelligent software and on-demand manufacturing are all technologies that are rapidly advancing for practical use. 3-D printers and nanoassembly of materials are close behind. That is a reality we will all face one way or the other.
#24
We have few Americans who want to work all day assembling iPhones, making shoes, or assembling stupid plastic toys, just as we have few Americans who want to harvest lettuce and pick tomatoes.
I lost track of the link two or three dead computers ago, but a lot of the assembly lines moving to China are ones that are automated here but use manual labor there.
I think part of the problem is even with the automation, the management here has to sweat the details if they make the stuff here, but don't have to sweat the details if Foxconn does it.
I'm convinced that's part of the reason the Macbook Pro unibodys are cranked out on CNC mills instead of just forged from aluminum: it's what Foxconn knows what to do, it's "good enough" for both them and Apple, even if it's not the best or lowest cost process, and they don't have to worry about the real details.
#25
I don't know, of course, but I don't think we can based on what information is publically available. Which is to Apple another advantage of the process as it stands.
#26
Yet another reason why Newt is right on the US needing to unilater go back to the Moon circa 2020 or ASAP after - IMO DEEP SPACE is, at least initially, a mostly Govt-led venture. The Fed + our future OWG-NWO need to set up the beyond-Earth, basic space markets in order to finally make use of all those Failed-N-Failing "Green Techs"[Solar] + Flying Car + Spaceship, etc. designs they have thats just collecting dust, or else flying around again and again and again around the Midwest US + overseas.
WHATS THE USE OF BUILDING A DEEP-SPACE BATTLESTAR OR ROMULAN WARBIRD, ETC. IFF ITS JUST GOING TO FLY + STAY INSIDE THE PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE FOREVER-N-EVER?
We thought we had seen it all. It turns out we hadn't. The country that gave the world the alphabet, philosophy, and plates with funny sexually ambiguous drawings on them, has outdone itself again. Because beginning this month some Greeks will have to pay for the privilege of having a job. From the Press Project:
Salary cutbacks (called "unified payroll") for contract workers at the public sector set to be finalized today. Cuts to be valid retroactively since november 2011. Expected result: Up to 64.000 people will work without salary this month, or even be asked to return money. Amongst them 21.000 teachers, 13.000 municipal employees and 30.000 civil servants.
Needless to say the BLS is salivating at the prospect of US workers paying for a job, as this will immediately allow them to double count said person's role in the employed part of the labor force (which incidentally has shrunk by 1% in the time it took to write this), as the money said "worker" pays can be used in the BLS hedonic models to theoretically hire many more people courtesy of fractional reserve lending. Now if only everyone would agree to pay for the joy of playing Solitaire 9 to 5, then all the world's problems would be solved.
#5
Glenmore, many hair dressers rent a chair in the shop where they work. A lot of cabbies rent the cabs they drive, the rental fee includes the dispatch service.
It's an old and still prevalent services model, but rather .... unusual .... for white collar workers.
#7
WORLD POLITICAL, MILITARY HISTOIRE' suggests that not even the Superpower or Hyperpower USA is Immune from doing such a thing, espec as per its US$15.3TRILYUHN DEBT-N-RISING = RISING CHINA.
Which in turn belies the potency of 1960's GUAM TAOTAMONAS [+ decades later HUGO CHAVEZ] where the Ghosts claim the US will develop ISLAND/LAND-SINKING "EARTHQUAKE/TECTONIC BOMBS" TO DENY USE OF STRATEGIC ISLANDS TO ITS ENEMIES.
D *** NG IT, SILLY MORIARITY THOUGHT THE ISLAND SANK BECAUSE OF AN MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE - WELL, THE ANSWER IS YES-N-NO!?
The US military removed Korans from a US-run prison in Afghanistan because inmates were suspected of using the sacred book to pass messages to each other, American officials said Tuesday.
The Korans and other religious material were later burned at the Bagram airfield, causing outrage in Afghanistan and triggering a protest Monday with petrol bombs hurled outside the sprawling US base, which includes a large prison.
"The material was removed because there was a concern that the detainees were communicating with each other," one US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/22/2012 15:49
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Imams in Germany have long tended to be older men who preach primarily in Turkish or Arabic. Now, though, officials are worried about a new breed of cleric: young, dynamic and followers of a radical brand of Islam. Their adherents are growing in number.
None of his words are arbitrary. It is a show he has performed many times before. Sheikh Abdul Adhim knows which verses of the Koran appeal to his listeners, and which subjects they want to hear about. "Satan will tempt you with money and drugs" he tells the faithful at Berlin's Al-Nur Mosque. "Only faith in Allah can protect you." The members of the congregation nod. "No one preaches as beautifully as Abdul Adhim," they say.
The 34-year-old Berliner is the most prominent figure in a community of young, radical imams who are gaining importance among German Muslims. They appear in mosques and civic centers, they live in cities like Frankfurt, Bonn and Mönchengladbach, and the Internet is their most important platform. Web-based videos have meant a rapid increase in both popularity and influence in the community. Hundreds of followers regularly make the pilgrimage to Adhim's live rallies, or to those held by 33-year-old Pierre Vogel, from the town of Frechen near Cologne.
Supporters of these young imams say that they are reaching youth who would otherwise be lost to the streets. Critics, however, see men like Adhim and Vogel as foes of democracy, because of the strictly conservative form of Islam they preach. Many are Salafists, adherents of a fundamentalist movement that strictly follows the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Salafists reject innovation, frown on interactions with infidels and believe that the only legitimate laws come from God.
#6
Time to find the family members, friends and compatriots of the Syrian Army and Intelligence agents indiscriminately killing Syrians. Iranians and Hezbollah killers should be fair game
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2012 23:03
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#1
Interpol lost of huge amount of credibility when it narked out that Mohammed Twitterer. Since it is just a voluntary organization, nations have zero obligation to extradite based on its requests.
HOUSTON--Charges may be filed against a man accused of causing a disturbance on a Continental Airlines
...who give Air Ukraine a run for their money...
flight bound for Houston on Tuesday.
That's it, mess with a bunch of folks headed for Texas...
Passengers said the man was a hassle from the beginning
"Zip it bub, I'm trying to watch the safety video!"
and once the flight took off, he tried to light an electronic cigarette.
'Light' an electronic cigarette? Doesn't it have an 'on' button?
Flight attendants asked the passenger to turn off the cigarette, but he refused.
"Just hit the 'OFF' button, wouldya buddy?"
"Leave me alone, infidel! I must steady my nerves for what comes next!"
"Oh? What exactly comes next?"
Other fed up passengers
"Criminy! I'm sitting in steerage class and I have to put up with this moron?"
helped subdue the unruly man
[THUMP] [WHACK] [THUMPITY-THUMPITY-THUMP]
"Here you go, ma'am, we think he's under control now."
"Why thank you boys, I'll let our pilot know."
[groan] "owwwwwwwww" [mumble]
while the pilot turned the plane around and headed back to Portland.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be returning to Portland just long enough to unload some trash. Thank you for your understanding."
The passenger was taken into custody when the plane landed.
"Here you are, officers."
"Thank you ma'am. Say, who trussed him?"
"You can thank 7F, 12E, 14A, 15B, 22C and 31D."
According to one of the passengers, the unruly passenger kept repeating, "Allah is great."
But he's repeating it through a busted lip and loose teeth...
The flight resumed and departed Portland around 2:05 p.m. The passengers finally arrived to Houston Tuesday night.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
10:32 ||
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#1
When they say, "turn off all electronic devices," they really mean it!
A U.S. and a French journalist were killed by shelling in Homs today. The deaths of American Marie Colvin and Frechman Remi Ochlik were confirmed by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. They come less than a week after New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid died in northern Syria from an apparent asthma attack and a day after well-known Syrian opposition Rami al-Sayed journalist died in Homs.
Colvin wrote for the British Sunday Times. Like Shadid, she was considered one of the best foreign correspondents in the world. Ochlik was a freelance photographer who recently won a 2012 World Press Photo prize for a photo from the Libyan revolution.
John Witherow, the editor of the Sunday Times, called Colvin an "extraordinary figure."
He said, "She believed profoundly that reporting could curtail the excesses of brutal regimes and make the international community take notice. Above all, as we saw in her powerful report last weekend, her thoughts were with the victims of violence."
Colvin and Ochlik were in a house in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, the district hardest hit by almost three weeks of relentless shelling that has left hundreds dead. Video posted to YouTube purported to show their bodies in a house destroyed by tank shelling.
#1
She believed profoundly that reporting could curtail the excesses of brutal regimes
Naive, optimistic or dumb? This isn't Uncle softy in Viet Nam.
I'm afraid that journalists have this weird feeling that brutal dictators fear them. Is this the equivalent of leaving the airplane before checking you chute?
Tunisia's court of cassation on Wednesday threw out a ruling banning pornographic websites, a judicial source and a press freedom watchdog said.
"The court quashed the first instance and appeals ruling that ordered the censorship of pornographic websites," the judicial source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The source added the case would go back to an appeals court.
"This is rather good news," said Olivia Gre, whose organization Reporters Without Borders had warned against returning to the censorship that prevailed in pre-revolution Tunisia, under the ousted regime of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
"I respect the court's decision but I think the judiciary has shirked the issue. We will use the same arguments to win this case in the appeals court," lawyer Monaem Turki, one of the plaintiffs, said.
He had said earlier this month that pornographic websites offended Muslim values and should be accessible from Tunisia.
"In France, Hitler apologist websites are censored. Likewise, in Tunisia, there should also be prohibitions and pornographic sites are not tolerable," Turki said.
A 29-year-old Moroccan man accused of trying to bomb the U.S. Capitol building is scheduled to appear at a court hearing Wednesday in Virginia.
Amine El Khalifi was nabbed last week after allegedly trying to attempt the suicide attack, the Justice Department said. On Friday, the suspect went to a parking garage near the Capitol building and received what he believed was a vest with explosives and a firearm. He was arrested before exiting the garage and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against government property.
Suspected Nigerian terrorists Islamists have opened fire and set off bombs at a market in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, killing at least 30 people, according to witnesses.
Terrorists Gunmen believed to be members of Boko Haram stormed the Baga market and opened fire indiscriminately. Reports indicate that women and children were among the dead.
One trader named Mairami said a terrorist gunman shouted angrily that traders had "teamed up with soldiers" to help arrest terrorists members of Boko Harum. Mairami said the gunman had declared, "'We have henceforth waged war against you'," before spraying bullets on the crowd.
The military confirmed the attack on the market but denied any civilian deaths, saying security forces had killed eight terrorists attackers and had safely detonated bombs planted by the terrorists attackers.
Posted by: Shimble Guelph5793 ||
02/22/2012
09:02 ||
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#1
"I am disturbed by people..... we don't know what is the cause of her death yet.....," said the governor during a briefing in northern New Jersey. "I just reject that on a human level."
The Repbulican VP Candidate governor is correct. Bathroom Solor Flares, rabies, and numerous natural causes have yet to be ruled out.
#6
Not to disparage a talent, but remove the celebrity and "Single African-American mother with history of drug abuse found dead in hotel bathtub" does not have the same impact.
But I didn't have much sympathy for Heath Ledger, MJ, etc. either. Apparently celebrity is a high-stress high-risk vocation and should probably be banned.
#7
Apparently celebrity is a high-stress high-risk vocation and should probably be banned.
There are many high-stress jobs that don't necessarily lead to drug abuse. Police, firemen, soldiers in combat, surgeons, teachers in some schools, and many other high-risk jobs.
#9
Have been for quite a while, CF. Jannis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix are just two.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/22/2012 12:15
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#10
JohnQC, I did debate a sarc tag, though the entertainment bloc not only advocates regulation of people to protect people from themselves, it also tends to make boucoup bucks from when its members rehab and/or die, invariably blamed upon the inheirant stress of the industry. I would wager heavy that the total amount of TV time devoted to simply explaining celebrity deaths over the last year would overshadow all other occupations combined.
I think its high-time they self-regulate their industry, and also cut energy usage by 50% (no outsourcing!), within the next 5 years, then come back and tell us plebes whats what. It is an industry which sells a culture of decadence and false-imagry whose prominant members make millions. It is unfortunate that genuine talent gets ground up and instead are sold barely legal coke heads who dry hump the camera until they gain 15lbs.
#12
industry which sells a culture of decadence and false-imagry whose prominant members make millions. This applies to other parts of American culture outside of the entertainment industry. The housing bubble got its impetus from the same mechanism.
Four paramilitary rangers were wounded when suspected terrorists insurgents detonated a bomb near a railway line in Narathiwat province Wednesday.
The homemade bomb exploded around 9 a.m. as a six-man squad from ranger unit on a pickup truck passed a local bridge. Terrorists Insurgents hidden in a roadside rubber plantation detonated the device.
Security officers inspecting the blast scene managed to disarm another bomb buried in a 20 kg fire extinguisher cylinder. They believe the terrorists insurgents meant to attack officials arriving to investigate the first explosion.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has granted the Justice Department's request to dismiss charges against nearly all two dozen defense contractor employees charged with bribery, who had been caught in an undercover sting operation.
The defendants were military contractors arrested at a 2010 trade show in Las Vegas where they anticipated picking up checks for sales to outfit Gabon's presidential guard. It was the first time a sting operation had been used since the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was created in 1977.
Ten defendants had gone through two lengthy and expensive trials but none were convicted by juries, and 16 more were awaiting trial.
Two of seven defendants trials ended with a hung jury and were facing a second trial. Three others were acquitted, with nine additional defendants awaiting an initial trial. Three other defendants had plead guilty in the case, and are awaiting sentencing. Ironically, though these last three plead guilty to avoid the threat of harsh sentences, they have almost no chance of prevailing if they appeal those sentences, though the case has collapsed.
#1
This was the case where the FBI agents and the chief undercover informant were sending ribald and unprofessional text messages to each other, not realizing that the discovery process would uncover them. The juries were impressed enough by them that they acquitted the defendants.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
02/22/2012 22:22
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The FBI has removed hundreds of counterterrorism training documents after a months-long review found inaccuracies and other problems in their description of Muslims.
The review was triggered after a September blog in Wired magazine So the FBI are taking their marching orders from... Wired? Someone at Media Matters got to Wired, apparently...
revealed training documents that reportedly called the Prophet Muhammad a "cult leader," claimed "devout" Muslims have been generally violent for hundreds of years and made other controversial statements. Ok so what was the reason for removing the documents?
The FBI did not get into details about which documents were taken out, but a law enforcement source confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that hundreds were removed because they were deemed "not consistent with the highest professional standards and the FBI's core values."
"As a result of that review, we found that the overwhelming majority of our counterterrorism training materials met the FBI's standards on Political Correctness and Enemy Ass Kissing," Allen said in a statement.
Allen also said the FBI has been communicating with advocacy groups since the beginning of the review process to explain what happened and what "corrective actions" would be taken. As opposed to telling them to take a FF at a rolling doughnut.
"The Muslim American community is an essential partner in our efforts not only to prevent terrorism, but to address other crime concerns that affect communities, including the protection of civil rights," Allen said. I take this to mean that CAIR and their masters the Muslim Brotherhood and Ham-Ass have veto-power over FBI training documents.
The Wired article detailed, among other materials, a presentation that included a graph that tracked followers of the Bible, Torah and Koran over hundreds of years. It showed "devout" followers of the Torah and the Bible becoming less violent over time, while "devout" followers of the Koran remaining as violent in 2010 as they were hundreds of years ago. In other words - an accurate graphic. Can't have that!
Al-Marayati, whose group attended the most recent meeting with Mueller, urged the bureau to seek more marching orders "feedback" in the future when developing its training guidelines on any group.
A strategic plan on homegrown terror released in December did not use the term radical Islam once, But I believe it mentioned 'Conservatives' and 'Christians' several times.
though it did discuss Al Qaeda and those groups inspired by it. A Defense Department letter in October also classified the Fort Hood massacre as "workplace violence."
This Political Correctness and Multiculturism BULLSHIT is going to be the death of us all.
#1
It showed "devout" followers of the Torah and the Bible becoming less violent over time, while "devout" followers of the Koran remaining as violent in 2010 as they were hundreds of years ago.
What's inaccurate about that statement? Political Correctness strikes again!
#3
Just one more blow to intellect and morals. This is right up there with the kerfuffle over the use of "chink in the armour".
As any literate person knows a chink is a fissure or crack which boat builders and log house builders know has to be filled in. The chink in the armour is where you stick the pointy weapon to kill the knight.
Another word profaned by the PC brigade along with gay and niggardly. This cult of he who gets offended first wins will be the death of us.
#4
I once used the word "titillate" in front of a college class some years ago and got reported to my boss by a student (It was a male by the way). He thought I was talking about female breasts. PC coupled with ignorance is a dangerous combination. I then realized that we were heading towards mass insanity.
#5
FBI agents are just as sneering towards this p.c.b.s. as are US military personnel when similar nonsense is pushed on them.
"We want to you stop the fighting by the hate filled, foreign supported combatants, but don't hurt anyone, and don't break anything, or you might make them mad at us!"
#6
Oh I agree moose. And much like the Border Patrol agents in the field (or the ones which haven't been imprisoned yet for not being PC enough...) and I'm sure the ICE field agents sneer at the asinine polices being forced upon them from on-high.
It's the 'policy makers' at the top who are forcing this crap down.
No real surprise here. The same thing happened in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a drop of £509 million compared with January 2011. Most other taxes produced higher revenues over the same period. Senior sources said that the first official figures indicated that there had been "manoeuvring" by well-off Britons to avoid the new higher rate. The figures will add to pressure on the Coalition to drop the levy amid fears it is forcing entrepreneurs to relocate abroad.
#1
Just like the millionaire surcharge taxes in a couple states have reduced revenue as people elected to be residents elsewhere. It's not about paying attention to normal human behavior its about feeding the unceasing appetite to 'legally' steal to feed the power and ego of government.
#3
That's why Leftists want to outlaw any and all off-shoring of wealth, even though it's legal. They think that that way, citizens will be forced to pay their highest domestic tax rate.
Posted by: American Delight ||
02/22/2012 12:31
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#4
Vodkapundit:
The Wall Street Journal has uncovered yet more madness in the Presidents tardy budget plan:
Mr. Obama is proposing to raise the dividend tax rate to the higher personal income tax rate of 39.6% that will kick in next year. Add in the planned phase-out of deductions and exemptions, and the rate hits 41%. Then add the 3.8% investment tax surcharge in ObamaCare, and the new dividend tax rate in 2013 would be 44.8%nearly three times todays 15% rate.
Keep in mind that dividends are paid to shareholders only after the corporation pays taxes on its profits. So assuming a maximum 35% corporate tax rate and a 44.8% dividend tax, the total tax on corporate earnings passed through as dividends would be 64.1%.
#2
Find the mullah's supporting this.. and wetworks.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/22/2012 13:08
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#3
Panetta's apology, which is mentioned in the article contains this interesting statement:
"We honor and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people, without exception."
So the US military officially 'honors' and 'respects' the death penalty for religious freedom in the form of apostasy from islam, among other practices?
Is murderous intolerance now a virtuous trait in the view of the US?
OTOH the US military officially 'condemns' the peaceful exercise of 1st Amendment rights by an American in the US as 'hateful, intolerant and extremely disrespectful.'
Would it be unreasonable to conclude that the enemy (who must not be named) won the 9/11 war?
#6
General rule of mobs:
The IQ of a mob can be determined by taking the average IQ of a single member of the mob and dividing by the number of individuals in the mob. This number rapidly approached zero as the crowd grows.
It's almost as if Obama, Holder and Napolitano want open borders...
WASHINGTON The Obama administration is starting to shut down a program that deputized local police officers to act as immigration agents.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have trained local officers around the country to act as their agencies' immigration officers. Working either in jails or in the field, the officers can check the immigration status of suspects and place immigration holds on them. The program, known as 287(g), reached its peak under President George W. Bush, when 60 local agencies signed contracts with ICE to implement it. But that trend slowed significantly under President Obama only eight agencies have signed up since he took office, and none has done so since August 2010.
Now, in their proposed budget for the upcoming year, Department of Homeland Security officials say they will not sign new contracts for 287(g) officers working in the field and will terminate the "least productive" of those agreements saving an estimated $17 million. All the contracts between ICE and local police agencies run for three years, so that portion of the program could be finished by November when the last contract for field officers expires.
In its budget request, DHS said officials instead will focus on expanding Secure Communities, a program that checks the fingerprints of all people booked into local jails against federal immigration databases. The followup work in those cases is done by ICE agents, not local police.
"The Secure Communities screening process is more consistent, efficient and cost-effective in identifying and removing criminal and other priority aliens," the department explained in its budget request.
The program had been criticized by Homeland Security inspector general reports, which found that local officers were not being properly trained and there was not enough oversight to ensure that local agencies weren't using the program to engage in racial profiling.
A study last year by the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank, found that immigrants developed "fear and mistrust of authorities" when they realized that local police could act as immigration agents. The main complaint Friday from groups that oppose 287(g) was that the program isn't being terminated immediately, and that its replacement Secure Communities is not much better.
"The 287(g) program has been repeatedly called into question by advocates as well as the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, and should be terminated rather than sustained with taxpayer money," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum. "The Secure Communities program is surrounded by grave concerns about the impact to public safety, community policing and civil rights abuses."
Defenders of the program, such as Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, say Homeland Security is "putting politics ahead of public safety" by cutting back the 287(g) program. She said Secure Communities is helpful but that local officers working in the field are better able to identify illegal immigrants who may not have their fingerprints in federal databases, making it harder to identify them.
She said some agencies such as the Colorado Department of Public Safety have used their 287(g) officers to suppress drug and human smuggling, gang activity and identity theft and said many sheriffs and police chiefs prefer the program to Secure Communities.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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#1
In other news:
Presidential family ski vacations and golf outings....fully funded.
#2
I think the vacation costs chargable to the First Family are mostly picked up by doners, not the taxpayers (at least not until favors get called in), but that doesn't include the huge increase in taxpayer-funded overhead to provide security, etc. while 'on the road.' Nothing criminal, probably not even unethical, but does not seem like leadership to me. Unless what they are trying to lead us to do is spend lots of money - which may be the case, and is consistent with a lot of other actions as well.
#5
Many on the left favor "open borders." So how is that concept working for us? Maybe the administration's strategy is to weaken the U.S. economy so that it is worse than Mexico's and the flow of illegals reverses. Does this mean that the govmint's Fast and Furious program has stopped and the drug trade, and human slave trade are under control?
#7
Gosh. I really miss the olden days when my father talked of him and his fellow US Soldiers prior to WWII guarding the border with 50 caliber machine gun nests...
#8
"[Migration Policy Institute] grew out of the International Migration Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace." - MPI website
#9
Combining a comment from this thread & from a different one on the 'Burg today: -- Nothing criminal, probably not even unethical, but does not seem like leadership to me
-- a culture of decadence and false-imagry whose prominant members make millions.
National Immigration Forum has ties to AFL-CIO, the National Restaurant Association, the American Nursery and Landscape Association, and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Jeanette Biedermann (German) aka Chris Hopper in "Mein Song für Dich (Sing my Song)(TV 2010)" aka Lizzy 'Sabine' Leisner in "Call Girl Undercover (TV 2010)" aka Sonja in "Isenhart - Die Jagd nach dem Seelenfänger (Isenhart - The hunt after the Seelenfanger) (TV 2011)" aka Franziska Schrötter in "Die Treue-Testerin - Spezialauftrag Liebe (The Loyalty Tester - Special Order Love) (TV 2008)" (age 32)
Hugo Chavez confirmed Tuesday that he traveled to Cuba for medical tests, where doctors found a new lesion that will require surgery to remove.
He had his soul removed decades ago; this shouldn't be as hard...
"The test in Havana found a lesion in the same spot where the other tumor was removed one year ago," Chavez said on state television.
Ah, local recurrence. Gee, that's tough...
The left-wing Venezuelan president traveled to Cuba over the weekend without notifying the public, fueling speculation about his health. Chavez reappeared on Tuesday, when state television broadcast his visit to the Veneminsk tractor factory in the Venezuelan state of Barinas.
The rumors about Chavez's health began spreading when Nelson Bocaranda, a columnist at Venezuelan daily El Universal, posted an article to his blog and several tweets saying the president's health had deteriorated and he had traveled to Havana to assess whether he needed surgery. Bocaranda based the reporting on unnamed sources in Miami and Cuba.
The report contradicted official accounts of Chavez's health.
Of course it did; Hugo's fine, really, and you yammering peasants had better shut up if you know what's good for you...
The Venezuelan president has undergone four rounds of chemotherapy since his diagnosis in June and he has said since October that he is free of cancer.
Bocaranda added other colorful details. Chavez relies on steroids to maintain his strength and the appearance of good health as the campaign for the Venezuelan presidency against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles heats up, according to Bocaranda, who does not cite sources for the allegation.
Chavez has a team of nine doctors--three from Cuba, one from Venezuela, three from Brazil and two from Spain--who discuss his condition by videochat and could not decide whether to operate, Bocaranda writes.
The more people you involve, the more paralysis you have in what to do. It's as true in medicine as it is in every other endeavor in life.
Due to the allegedly poor state of his health and possibility of surgery, Bocaranda says Chavez's mother, children and siblings traveled to Cuba to be with him.
So as to be closer when Hugo takes his final dive...
Wonder how much money they've transfered out, too.
Venezuelan Minister of Communication Andrés Izarra denied the Bocaranda report on Monday on his Twitter account, calling the writings a "dirty war."
"Lies! All lies!"
Venezuelan state media had denied the rumor.
Before Tuesday, the Venezuelan president had last been seen on Feb. 17 in the state of Vargas, where he said he would use the coming days to prepare for his presidential reelection campaign, according to the Associated Press.
Going to be tough to campaign in Caracas when he's lying on his back in a Cuban hospital with a morphine drip and a foley catheter...
Bocaranda's blog post wasn't the only report of Chavez's supposed deteriorating health to appear over the weekend. Merval Pereira, a columnist with Brazil's O Globo, reported on Friday that Chavez's cancer had metastasized and doctors expected it to spread to his liver. Pereira based the report on unnamed Brazilian doctors who he said had reviewed Chavez's medical records.
Liver mets. Ouch. Those become quite painful when they become large enough to stretch the capsule of the liver.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff offered Chavez Brazilian medical assistance in July, but Chavez preferred to seek treatment in Cuba.
I'd bet on the best Brazilian medicine over the best Cuban medicine, but that's just me.
Pereira predicted that Chavez's condition would undermine his reelection campaign. "Since the election is in October, it's likely that toward the end it will be very difficult for him to keep up a competitive campaign against a unified opposition," Pereira writes.
Especially if he's dead by October...
Rumors regarding Chavez's health have swirled since he fell ill over the summer and had a cancerous tumor removed by Cuban doctors in Havana. The Venezuelan leader treats his disease as a state secret.
All dictators do...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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The cancer that 'comes back after chemo and radiation' is typically much more aggressive than the earlier cancers.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/22/2012 5:57
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...The crowning irony is that if he'd come here - Cleveland Clinic, for instance, which treats many heads of state - he'd probably be looking at a few more years at least.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/22/2012 6:11
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#3
His own DNA is trying to kill him, that should be a lesson to voters (but probably not vote-counters).
#7
Hugo is going to the same Cuba that couldn't sew up Fidel's bowels so that it didn't empty into his stomach cavity? So long Hugo, it wasn't nice knowing you. Have a really painful time.
#12
On a personal note, sorry about the new tumor Hugo - we made have had our differences as per Politics, etc. but I wouldn't want anyone to get cancer.
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said Pakistan and India have agreed to extend the validity of the Agreement on Reducing the Risk from Accidents Relating to Nuclear Weapons for another five years, with effect from February 21. The agreement was reached during the sixth round of Pakistan-India Expert level talks on Nuclear Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), which were held in Islamabad on December 27, 2011.
Last year, Pakistan and India held two-day talks on conventional and nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs) in Islamabad. Earlier, nuclear issues were discussed during the Pakistani foreign secretarys visit to India and followed by a trip of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
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02/22/2012
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Al Qaeda is rattled by the Taliban's decision to engage in peace talks with the US which is pressuring it to sever ties with other bad turban groups, AFP reported.
Times are tough for al-Qaeda because many of its members have been wiped out by drone strikes,
Well done, O Pilots of the Drones!
its finances are evaporating
How did that happen, pray tell?
and its leader, the late Osama bin Laden ... who can now be reached at RFD Boneyard... , was captured last year, AFP said.
All hail the unknown SEALS!
Al Qaeda now feels increasingly isolated, according to the news agency.
"Al Qaeda blames us. They tell us 'why are you letting us down, as we helped you when you were down?'" AFP cited one unidentified Afghan Taliban official as saying.
Possibly because jihadis are just criminals wrapped up in a psychopathic version of religion? Or perhaps because they are Pashtuns instead of Arabs, and so, lacking the inborn Arab nobility, should be abandoned to their own devices.
"We're not happy with the Doha process," another unidentified source familiar with al-Qaeda's situation told AFP. "We want the war to continue in Afghanistan and Pakistain."
"Bloody wogs -- can't even fight a simple guerilla war without being driven from behind!"
PESHAWAR: An explosive device planted in a motorcycle in the citys Mathani area went off on Tuesday. The motorcycle was destroyed in the explosion and no casualty has been reported.
According to police, a low-intensity bomb fitted on a motorcycle that was parked in the busy Mathani bazaar caused the explosion. Mathani is a restive area bordering the Frontier Region. Police have started their investigation into the incident.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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TEHRAN - Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency whose officials wound up a two-day visit to Tehran on Tuesday are to hold further negotiations, the countrys delegate to the UN watchdog said.
The second round of discussions between Iran and the IAEA on bilateral cooperation finished an hour ago in Tehran ... These negotiations will continue in the future, Ali Asghar Soltanieh said, quoted by ISNA news agency.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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Makes no sense to me - iff Iran won't let the IAEA visit the Nuke sites now, why allow 'em to do so in the future???
IIRC this is the IAEA's third attempt to inspect the sites, ending wid a "no go" like the previous times.
* GUARDIAN.UK > IRAN SUPREME LEADER [Ayatollah Khamenei] DENIES TEHRAN IS SEEKING NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
The future [Shia-led?] OWG CALIPHATE can defeat the wily dastardly Infidel Zionist Crusader Imperialists widout NucWeaps or the Death Star.
versus
* WAFF > [WaPo] ISRAELI FOREIGN MINSTER REJECTS US, RUSSIAN WARNINGS AGZ ATTACKING IRAN. Tel Aviv will make up its own mind in Isreal's interests.
* TOPIX > NETANYAHU: US [Bammer Admin] ADOPTING POLICIES WHICH SUPPORT ENEMIES, NOT ALLIES.
Ouchies.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > RUSSIA [again] WARNS ISRAEL: ATTACK ON IRAN WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC FOR MIDDLE EAST.
#2
WORLD NEWS > RUSIA WARNS AGZ "HASTY CONCLUSIONS" OVER IRAN [rebuffs of IAEA Inspectors].
and
* SAME > {NewsVine] EXPERTS DENY THAT IRAN HAS NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES, BUT AIPAC WANTS WAR BETWEEN US + IRAN.
* SAME > IRAN TO NOT STOP NAVAL DEVELOPMENT: MINISTER [Vahidi].
* SAME > US MAY ATTACK IRAN FROM KYRGYZ BASE [Manas AB].
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > FORMER CIA BOSS [James Woolsey = WABC Radio, NYC] SAYS IRAN WILL [may] ATTACK [+ destroy]THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, espec vee Terror Proxies.
Among other high-profile US targets in response to any Israeli or US attack on its Nucprogs.
BAGHDAD - Iraq will approve the nomination of a non-resident Saudi ambassador, the Iraqi foreign minister said Tuesday, terming it a positive sign for the normalisation of ties between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia has not had an ambassador to Iraq since 1990, the year now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
We will accept and we certainly welcome the presentation of the Saudi ambassador in Ammans credentials as non-resident ambassador to Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP. It is a very positive sign ... for the normalisation of relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, he said.
Iraqs response accepting this request will be quick, Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis spokesman Ali Mussawi told AFP.
The Iraqi government welcomes this step, and we consider it a first step, and we are waiting for more steps, such as the appointment of a resident ambassador in the country, he said.
A Saudi official told AFP on Monday that the kingdom had nominated its ambassador in Jordan as the non-resident ambassador in Iraq. We presented today the nomination of the ambassador of the Kingdom for Jordan as the non-resident ambassador in Iraq, the official told AFP.
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At a court hearing on Monday in the port city of Mombasa, a young British man in a black T-shirt stood in front of a judge and heard prosecutors claim he was a member of a terrorist group, planning attacks against targets in Kenya. As far as the police in Nairobi are concerned, Jermaine Grant, 29, is involved with al-Shabaab, which has been responsible for numerous bombings in Mogadishu and northern Somalia, and is seemingly determined to export its violence further afield.
"You're a foreigner? You look like a foreigner."
"Yessir, Yer Honour. I'm British. Allahu Akhbar!"
"Bloody British, always sending their defectives over here to get shot and blown up, and the suckers think they're Lions of bloody Islam, no less! As if our girls would ever look on such losers with favour. Hey, you there! Clerk! Can we put him up against the wall and shoot him for being an armed illegal alien with nefarious plans against the citizenry, or do we have to give him a trial beforehand?"
Grant, whose family comes from Newham, east London, may come to represent something slightly different to western intelligence agencies.
Over the last six years, they have monitored a number of Britons and Americans flying to the horn of Africa, seeking al-Shabaab training camps in the vast ungoverned spaces of Somalia, in much the same way as their counterparts did on trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 1990s.
The agencies believe about 200 foreigners, perhaps Grant included, have helped al-Shabaab wage an insurgency in Somalia, and plot attacks on other western targets in neighbouring countries. But what they haven't seen -- yet -- is these people returning home, and bringing terror with them. The experience of Iraq and Afghanistan suggests it may only be a matter of time before another circle of this kind is complete.
The problems posed by al-Shabaab to the security of Somalia, and the knock-on effects for the west, will be part of the discussions at this week's London conference, but there are no easy solutions, and lots of potential pitfalls.
Al-Shabaab, which means "the youth" in Arabic, is not Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida. It evolved into a clan-based Islamic insurgency that became prominent in southern Somalia in 2006, rebelling against the country's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its Ethiopian and western supporters. It is estimated to have only a few hundred core members, but has recruited up to 6,000 soldiers, sometimes forcibly.
Experts say the group is nominally led by Sheikh Mohamed Mukhtar Abdirahman -- "Abu Zubeyr" -- but most analysts insist it is a disparate coalition with divisions at all levels. Some of the deepest fissures are ideological: between those whose aims are essentially domestic, and those who have adopted broader ambitions for jihad, similar to those of al-Qaida.
Recently, the 10,000-strong African-Union-backed military mission (Amisom) has been pushing back against the group, which has also been squeezed from the south by 2,000 Kenyan troops invading the country last October. There is talk of increasing the cohort of Amisom troops to 20,000. Some say a force like that might crush al-Shabaab -- others that it would galvanise and reinvigorate its followers to greater feats of resistance against what is seen as the west's proxy army.
Galvinize and reinvigorate, leading to greater crushing? Sounds like a plan to me.
Some say this, others say that. With this kind of hand-wringing I'm amazed anything is getting done...
The US and British intelligence agencies are increasingly concerned about al-Shabaab developing links with other al-Qaida affiliates, particularly Aqap (al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula), and spreading Islamist-inspired extremism to west Africa, including Nigeria, where some militants have declared links with al-Qaida.
Andre Le Sage, a leading authority on al-Shabaab at the National Defence University in Washington, recently told the New York Times: "What I'd be most concerned about is whether Aqap could transfer to Shabaab its knowledge of building IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and sophisticated plots and Shabaab could make available to Aqap recruits with western passports."
There is some evidence of links between al-Shabaab and Somali pirates, who sometimes launch their attacks from areas run by the group. They have developed working business arrangements -- the pirates pay a stipend to be left in peace.
The number of foreigners known to have gone to camps in Somalia is still small. They include at least 40 from the US, and a similar number from the UK. Grant is facing trial on charges that he denies. Another British woman, travelling under the name of Natalie Faye Webb, 26, is on a Kenyan wanted list.
Though the al-Shabaab camps are not on the scale of those seen a decade ago, the National Security Council has been warned that it only takes one extremist to return home unnoticed to create potential havoc.
With this in mind, David Cameron has ramped up the rhetoric in recent months, calling Somalia "a failed state that directly threatens British interests".
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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#1
There are plenty of unemployed Jihadis in UK to choose from.
#2
It would be a great British intelligence coup to fund their travel on condition that each agrees to have a special stamp on their passport to prevent their return.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/22/2012 20:26
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From a MEMRI recording of an interview on Egyptian TV
The person being interviewed is Tawfiq Okasha who is a television talk show personality. He is a proponent of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and sometimes a denier of the holocaust (although sometimes he says the holocaust happened and Hitler should be praised and sometimes he says the holocaust partiallly happened but Hitler didn't go far enough).
below are some typical quotes from the interview
" Israel, and the European Union are planning to destroy three institutions in Egypt with exceptional malice: the Egyptian general intelligence agency, the Egyptian armed forces, and the Egyptian military intelligence"
"This is a fierce and bitter battle, which began without any shooting, but will end with shooting. I say this here and now. The Egyptian army will open fire on the armies of the enemies. While you are talking to me right now, the battle with tanks, cannons, and airplanes is near."
Unfortunately for his enthusiasm, history demonstrates that battles between these two combatants always end quickly in a rout, with the southern party leaving everything behind down to their sandals in an attempt to reach the apparent safety of Cairo more quickly. And it is quite possible this time Egypt will lose the Sinai permanently, along with the American billions for breaking the peace treaty.
There is a dam at Aswan...
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/22/2012
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We're at war now. Too bad some Israelis, and most Americans, don't understand this.
#2
My personal prediction is that the kinetics when they come, will be quite short and very calamatous. Too much riding on this one to risk a prolonged engagement or defeat. We'll kikely see the term "downwind drift" used rather frequently in the news.
#5
Blowhards like this are always in favor of other people putting their rear ends on the line for "the cause". Such scoundrels always think of the military as cannon fodder.
He has no idea that the Egyptian military trained with the US military for years, and would gleefully slaughter *his* kind long before they would entertain any notions about getting pulverized by the US. Which we firmly conditioned them to be aware of.
#6
If you read some of the history of the 1973 war it seems that the outcome was in doubt as the Egyptians and Syrians fought much harder than anyone expected. It was Nixon's decision to resupply the Israelis that saved the day. Of course, the Soviets were resupplying the Egyptians and Syrians as well. With Syria in disarray it would seem the Egyptians would be on their own in a new conflict and who would resupply them this time? But then, with Obama in office, who would resupply the Israelis? If they don't have enough conventional weapons stockpiled Cairo could end up getting glassed over.
#10
China in exchange for US tech that Israel knows about.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/22/2012 15:54
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You see quite a few Egyptians denouncing, but never in English. Within several months you will see other Egyptians on television announcing that their country is open for tourist visits again - in English. I can't imagine that there will be many takers. Then there will be outrage and CAIR will call us all bigots. Finally we will send them a bunch of aid.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/22/2012 20:20
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TRIPOLI - Fierce clashes between two tribes in Libyas remote southeastern desert have killed more than 100 people over the past 10 days, tribal sources said on Tuesday. mAt least 113 people from the Toubu tribe and another 20 from the Zwai tribe have been killed in the desert town of Kufra since the fighting erupted between them on February 12, the sources said.
We are under siege since a week. Since the start of the clashes, 113 people (from our side) have been killed, including six children, Toubu chief Issa Abdelmajid told AFP by telephone.
He said another 241 members of his tribe have been wounded in the raging battles with members of the Zwai tribe.
Abdelmajid, a former opponent of Moamer Kadhafi who fought the slain dictators forces in last years conflict, was previously tasked by the ruling National Transitional Council with monitoring Libyas southeastern border.
At least 20 people from the Zwai tribe have also been killed and another 40 wounded in the clashes, said Yunus Zwai, spokesman for the Kufra local council.
People from Toubu tribe are being helped by foreign elements from Chad and Sudan. We have arrested several Chadian and Sudanese fighters, he said.
Both groups were using light arms when the fighting erupted, but the violence intensified, with the two sides firing rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns, local sources said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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I'm sure Samantha Powers is working on a plan with Obama to implement the Soros Doctrine plan(R2P)
It worked so well the last time, why wouldn't they?
Expect the plan to be implemented in...well soon, don't rush these things. Obama has to have his vacation first, don't ya know.
#3
Toubus and the Zwais tidying up the gene pool again? Tribal warfare is one of the first forms of effective birth control. Perhaps this is why we're hearing so very little about Libya from the Obama administration and MSM.
#4
We're hearing little about this because 1) the oil flows 2) it's a bunch of brown-skinned natives killing each other so Pinchy doesn't care, and 3) hearing about it would remind voters that Obama led from behind and didn't finish what he started.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012 8:42
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UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council will on Wednesday vote to increase the African peacekeeping force in Somalia to up to 17,000 troops, diplomats said. A resolution to be passed by the 15-nation council will also seek a ban on trade in charcoal from Somalia which is used by Shebab militants to raise money and threatens an environmental crisis in the Horn of Africa state.
Wonder if this has anything to do with all the Somalis in Britain and France causing trouble. The Euros have always been good at looking after themselves first.
The Security Council's vote will come one day before an international conference in London on efforts to ramp up support for Somalia's transitional government and to combat Shebab and other militant groups.
The African Union force in Somalia, AMISOM, currently has a UN-mandated upper limit of 12,000 troops. The AU wants this increased to 17,731 troops and police to step up the battle against Shebab, which was last year forced out of most of Mogadishu and has also lost ground in other areas.
The council resolution, obtained by AFP, agrees to the increase and sets the African troops the task of moving into new areas of Somalia "to take all necessary measures" with Somali security forces "to reduce the threat posed by Shebaab and other armed opposition groups."
AMISOM is made up of troops from Burundi, Uganda and Djibouti but is to take in Kenyan soldiers now fighting in Somalia. The Security Council will appeal to other African countries to send troops.
Somalia's transitional administration has a mandate until August to set up a structure for a permanent government and parliament. But the weak administration has struggled to overcome divisions between rival groups to increase its authority.
Another provisional political deal was signed by rival leaders at the weekend and the United Nations last month reopened its office in Mogadishu. But western nations, which pay most of the cost of AMISOM, believe that the opportunity to make decisive gains against Shebab will close in August if a permanent government is not agreed.
The Security Council resolution stresses that Somalia government and AMISOM forces must move into south and central Somalia "on the basis of clear military objectives integrated into a political strategy."
The Security Council also orders the Somali government to take "necessary measures to prevent the export of charcoal" and for all UN members to halt trade in charcoal from Somalia.
The government already bans charcoal exports from areas it controls. But the trade is thriving in rebel areas and has become a valuable source of revenue for Shebab. Several ships each week are said to leave the Shebab-controlled port of Kismayo. Most head to Gulf states.
But charcoal burning has caused huge damage to the environment. Deforestation has badly hit livestock herding and increased the impact of devastating droughts.
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02/22/2012
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Pakistan will ask Interpol for help in arresting former president Pervez Musharraf for his failure to prevent the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the country's interior minister has said.
Rehman Malik said the government was seeking Musharraf's arrest because he allegedly failed to provide adequate security for Bhutto, who was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack in 2007. He made the comments in a televised address to lawmakers in Sindh province, Bhutto's political stronghold.
Interpol, based in Lyon, France, had no immediate comment.
Either they think the request silly, or the receptionist was out to lunch.
Musharraf, a one-time US ally, went into self-exile in Britain in 2008 after being forced out of the presidency he secured in a 1999 military coup. The current government is being run by Musharraf's political rivals, and the president is Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari.
A Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf last year over the allegations.
Musharraf, an ex-army general who wants to return to Pakistan to contest what will be bitterly contested elections likely this year, said the government was playing politics over the case. Musharraf has repeatedly denied any legal responsibility for the killing.
"This is all politics," he told ARY television station on Tuesday. "It's just point scoring and nothing else."
Legal expert Hashmat Habib said Interpol has the right to detain Musharraf and hand him over to Pakistan if it chooses to issue a warrant. But it is unclear how the international police organisation will respond, or indeed whether Malik will go ahead with his threat.
It was silly, then. Perhaps the receptionist had to take a call of nature.
The former prime minister was killed on 27 December 2007, shortly after returning to Pakistan to campaign in elections Musharraf agreed to allow after months of domestic and international pressure.
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Is Perv any different from Hamid Gul and General Beg?
LAHORE: Reacting to the interior ministers briefing in the Sindh Assembly on Benazir Bhutto case, former president Pervez Musharraf strongly denied his involvement in the assassination of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) former chairperson Benazir Bhutto, a private TV channel reported on Tuesday.
He would, of course...
Talking to the media, Musharraf said that he had informed BB about the threats to her life before the first attack.
I was not in contact with the slain PPP chairperson after October 18, he said, adding that it was not his duty to provide security to BB. The United Nations report on Benazirs killing is baseless, he said.
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He was no friend of BB just like many Generals who still look up to Zia like Hamid Gil and Beg.
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Suet Face Kim Jong-un visited a military unit, a state media outlet reported Tuesday, as it ratchets up propaganda against the South over this week's live-fire drills near the tense western sea border.
Pudgy Kim visited KPA Unit 842 to "acquaint himself with the combat preparations of the unit," the official (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported in English.
"The unit could grow to be a-match-for-a hundred combat unit capable of beating back the enemy's surprise attack at one blow," Fat Boy Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
"He clearly indicated important tasks for exerting efforts for combat preparation in the light of the enemy's scenarios for aggression, methods of combat actions and characteristics of arms equipment," the report said, adding Kim gave soldiers binoculars and an automatic rifle as gifts.
Sounds like his Dad could have written that...
Ah, but did he give them rounds of bullet to use in the rifle? Bashing the capitalist running dog aggressors over the head with the rifle stock is a slow and fraught process.
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02/22/2012
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I expect that he will do quite a bit of looking at stuff. The apple surely didn't fall far from the tree.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/22/2012 20:31
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MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday urged the United Nations to send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Russias Foreign Ministry said on Twitter Tuesday that its proposing that the UN Security Council ask the UN Secretary General to send the envoy.
That should keep Pencilneck in power for another month...
On Monday Russias UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the world body should help solve humanitarian issues in Syria, after Damascus allowed the Red Thingy Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions.
Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning President Bashar Assads crackdown on protests that killed 5,400 in 2011 alone, according to the UN Hundreds more have been killed since, activist groups say.
Syria is Russias last remaining ally in the Middle East. Moscow has maintained close ties with Damascus since the Cold War, when Syria was led by the current leaders father, Hafez Assad.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Tuesday that Moscow will not attend the planned friends of Syria meeting at the end of this week, because its organizers had failed to invite representatives of the Syrian government.
Of course not: the Syrian government is not a friend of Syria.
Lukashevich said the meeting in Tunisia wouldnt help a dialogue, saying that the global community should act as friends of the entire Syrian people, and not just one part.
It looks like an attempt to forge some kind of international coalition like it was with the setting-up of a contact group for Libya, Lukashevich said.
Russia has said it will block any UN resolution that could pave the way for a replay of what happened in Libya. In that case, Russia abstained from a vote, which cleared the way for months of NATO air force attacks that helped Libyans end Muammar Qaddafis regime.
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02/22/2012
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BEIJING/SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's top negotiator arrived in China on Tuesday for talks with his U.S. counterpart as part of diplomatic efforts to resume long-stalled negotiations on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan is expected to prepare for the high-level meeting with U.S. envoy on North Korea, Glyn Davies, scheduled for Thursday. Davies is expected to arrive in the Chinese capital on Wednesday.
The third round of bilateral meetings would mark the first contact between the two sides since the December death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It is expected to test whether Kim's youngest son and new leader Kim Jong-un will abandon his country's nuclear programs.
South Korea's deputy chief negotiator to the six-party talks, Cho Hyun-dong, will leave for Beijing on Thursday to coordinate pending issues with Davies, a foreign ministry official in Seoul said.
After the Beijing talks, Davies will also visit South Korea on Saturday to debrief on the outcome of the talks, the official said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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We could have sent Gary Busey had he not endorsed Gingrich.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/22/2012 20:33
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For a map, click here For a map of Zacatecas state, click here
By Chris Covert
Mexican Policia Federal (PF) units seized 37 weapons including machine guns and more than 25,000 rounds of ammunition as well as four C4 demolition charges following Monday morning's armed confrontation with criminal suspects in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, according to a post at the Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP) website Tuesday evening.
According to the news release, Policia Federal units originally caught suspects in two vehicles carrying heavy rifles, a Mexican police term for assault rifles, and began countermeasures, which led to the gunfights.
According to a news article at the website of El Sol de Zacatecas news daily, one of the suspects who died in the gunfight was identified as Armando Delgado Costilla, 22 of Fresnillo, Zacatecas.
One unidentified Policia Federal agent was wounded along with a two year old child. Both the agent and the young child are expected to survive their wounds.
Weapons and munitions seized following the firefight include: one rocket launcher, four blocks of M112 demolition charges, 10 AK-47 assault rifles, seven .223 caliber assault rifles, three 7.62x39mm assault rifles (similar to AK-47), two .30 caliber M-1 rifles, one .30 caliber M-2 carbin, one .223 caliber Bushmaster M17S assault rifle, one .223 caliber AR-15 assault rifle, one .223 caliber SGW brand XM15A1 rifle, one 7.62x39mm Tapco brand rifle (takes AK-47 rounds), one .308 caliber Cetmesporter brand rifle (Century Arms commercial G-3 copy), one .223 caliber M-16-A1 rifle, one .223 caliber Winchester brand rifle, seven 7.62 caliber machine guns, 25,674 rounds of ammunition, 160 weapons magazines.
Weapons accessories and tactical gear seized include one 7.62mm machine gun bipod, weapons furniture, military uniforms and shirts.
Vehicles seized include one Dodge Ram pickup truck, one Chevrolet Equinox SUV, one Nissan Safari SUV, one Chevrolet Suburban SUV, one Ford Lobo Lariat (F-150), one unidentified sedan, one Hummer H3 SUV and one Nissan Titan pickup truck.
In another confrontation Monday evening in Zacatecas, Policia Federal units shot and killed unidentified man said to be a member of organized crime.
The confrontation took place in the village of Calera in Ramon Lopez Velarde municipality, where PF units on patrol came under small arms fire from armed suspects travelling aboard a vehicle. PF returned fire apparently hitting and killing the suspect.
Ramon Lopez Velarde is roughly 20 kilometers southeast of Fresnillo.
#2
Too late Besoeker, Frank G aced you on the truck...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012 8:46
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Most of the vehicles seized were stolen.
Dunno how a respective attorney general would go about restoring the vehicle to its rightful owner, but I am pretty certain it doesn't include selling it to the highest bidder
BEIRUT/GENEVA: Syrian government forces killed more than 60 people on Tuesday in assaults on villages and an artillery barrage in the restive city of Homs, activists said, and the Red Thingy Cross called for daily cease-fires to let in urgently needed aid.
Artillery barrage on Homs? Pencilneck is indeed acting like Daddy taught him...
Activists said at least 30 people died in the bombardment of the Baba Amro neighborhood of Homs city, and at least 33 were killed when forces trying to crush opposition to President Bashar Assad stormed villages in northern Idlib province.
In Damascus, security forces opened fire on demonstrators overnight, wounding at least four, activists said. Violence in has hit the capital over the past week, undermining Assads assertion that the 11-month-old uprising against his rule is limited to the provinces and the work of saboteurs.
The International Committee of the Red Thingy Cross said it had asked authorities and rebels to agree daily cease-fires so life-saving aid can reach civilians in hard-hit areas including Homs.
It should last at least two hours every day, so that ICRT C staff and Syrian Arab Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent volunteers have enough time to deliver aid and evacuate the wounded and the sick, ICRT C President Jakob Kellenberger said.
Activists said government forces launched the artillery attack on Homs after rebel fighters holding the opposition Baba Amro district blocked troops from entering.
Several shells are falling each minute, activist Nader Al-Husseini told Reuters from the district, adding that at least two children were among the victims.
Another activist in the city said: We have now at least 30 killed. One family is among them. A third said: Others are still buried. Today the shelling is very fierce.
The British-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces had stormed villages in Idlib province in the north of the country.
The army stormed the village of Abdita and chased people in Iblin and Balshoon. They killed 33 people. All are civilians, the group said.
Activists in Homs said government forces backed by armor have been closing in on Baba Amro neighborhood, since the offensive on the city began on Feb 3. Tanks are deployed in the Inshaat district next to Baba Amro, opposition sources said. The Observatory said a convoy of more than 50 armored vehicles was seen heading from Damascus toward Homs.
A city of one million people on the Damascus-Aleppo highway, Homs has been at the heart of the uprising against Assads 11-year rule. Residents say they are running short of medicine and food, and are massed together in crowded homes to seek shelter. International rights and aid organizations say hundreds of people have been killed in recent weeks in Homs.
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02/22/2012
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CAIRO: Two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal on Tuesday, a Suez Canal source said.
The ships entered the canal from the Mediterranean Sea early in the morning, heading south towards the Red Sea, and were expected to leave the canal on Tuesday afternoon, the source said.
The ships had docked at the Syrian port of Tartous, in a show of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a regional ally of Iran.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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picked up Saddam's uranium?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/22/2012 1:37
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Possibly, although probably on-loaded lots of Russian packaged Iraqi chemical-bio stuff too. The Russkis wouldn't want themselves directly involved with the transfer of this material, but will receive these little items (less a case or two for 'handling fees') from the Persians at some undisclosed 'friendly' location as payment for some former, current or future action(s) on Iran's behalf.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/22/2012 10:39
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In that case, expect more port calls in the near future. The Kharg supply ship is rather ideal for this sort of thing, and the destroyerfrigate corvette is the escort.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012 10:48
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Surface delivery vessels would had been picked up by US-NATO SATWAR overhead unless one or both of the Iranian ships' hulls were modified to covertly receive Submarines directly underneath, in this case prolly Mini-Subs.
* ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAN INTENDS TO [continue to] BOOST [Naval]PRESENCE IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS: DM VAHIDI.
D *** NG IT, VAHIDI = IRAN'S INTENT IS "UNSTOPPABLE"!
Insurgents in Kandahar and Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... on Monday laid down their weapons and agreed to support the Afghan government.
Ten beturbanned goons laid down their weapons and surrendered to authorities in southern Kandahar province, local officials said.
The men were active in the Panjwaye district of Kandahar and organised anti-government activities there, provincial front man Zulmai Ayoubi told TOLOnews.
Mr Ayoubi added that security will improve as more beturbanned goons renounce violence in the province.
Separately, in western Herat province 20 beturbanned goons including their commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani, surrendered to the government in the Gularan district of the province which lies about 640km from Kabul, provincial governor Daud Saba said.
The men fought against the government in the district, he said.
The commander and their men submitted their weapons to security troops, he added.
In the past eight months, 400 bad turban groups have joined the Afghan grinding of the peace processor in the province, officials said.
Dozens of beturbanned goons have recently joined the grinding of the peace processor in the provinces after Afghan and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... forces increased military operations to clear the country of bad turbans.
There has not been a single recorded new case of the disease since January last year, and if that remains the case for the rest of the year the disease will be officially eradicated.
This is what enlightened, advanced nations do...
It is an extraordinary achievement for a country where as recently as 1995 there were 32,000 polio cases and young victims can still be seen with misshapen limbs begging at traffic lights throughout the main cities. But officials believe this will soon be a symbol of India's past as rising wealth is reflected in better basic healthcare.
The campaign to eradicate polio in India was launched by its government in 1999 and has been supported by international health charities and groups like Rotary in whose volunteers, including many from Britain, have helped distribute the vaccines.
To achieve "polio-free" status by January next year officials and volunteers are staging "National Immunisation Days" around the country to immunize more than 170 million children under five - around 15 per cent of India's population.
"It was a gigantic task, where we had to reach out to millions and millions of children in last 10 years," said Dr RN Srivastava, of the Expert Advisory Group for Polio Eradication in India. There had been resistance to immunizations campaigns in some parts of the country, he said, but "tremendous public support" had won through.
It was now on course to eradicate the disease, alongside Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but India could not afford to be complacent. "We have to be on alert and not let our guard down," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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Meanwhile, Across the border in Pakistan, there were 198 cases in 2011, the most in the world.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/22/2012 11:17
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KARACHI: The second batch of two modified P3C aircraft was inducted into Pakistan Navy fleet in a ceremony at Naval Aviation Base. An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release issued on Tuesday said the aircraft modified with latest avionics and sensors are part of US assistance being provided to Pakistan Navy under the Foreign Military Funding (FMF) programme.
Pakistan Navy is to receive a total of six such aircraft from the US in batches of two each. The first batch was inducted into Pakistan Navy in 2010.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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It's just bandits and so non-WoT, but dang it sure reads like a 'crossfire'...
Bagerhat, Feb 19 (UNB) - The ringleader of a bandit outfit was killed in a gunfight with police at Pici Baroikhali village in Morelganj upazila on Sunday.
On the map, it must be. Special prize for the first one to find it.
The deceased was identified as Sohrab Howlader, 35, ringleader of forest bandit gang 'Sohrab Bahini' and son of Abdul Jabbar Howlader of the village.
The Bahini groups started out as Irregulars gone guerilla in the fight against Pakistan in 1971. After the Army of the Pure was driven out, some degenerated into banditry. It should be noted that many originally came from the left side of the aisle, which is perhaps why criminality came so naturally to them.
Police super Khandaker Rafiqul Islam said police received secret information
"Hey, Sarge, it's that Mahmoud the Weasel again! You have time to talk to him?"
"Give me that, you ignorant #%!@?! Mr Mahmoud, sir, what can we of the police do for you today?"
that 6/7 members of the gang, led by Sohrab, were preparing to commit robbery at the village.
"And then boys, we enter the village and rob it!"
"But boss, what if the police hear about our plan?"
"Relax Mahmoud, there's no chance of that happening!"
As a team of police raided the village, they opened fire on them prompting the law enforcers fire back at about 12:30pm.
Naturally. Even the village police have learnt of the etiquette of the crossfire.
Sohrab was caught in the line of fire
The line from the tip of the pistol to the point just behind his right ear...
and died on the spot
"See the X over there, lads. Shoot him once he reaches his mark."
during the hour-long fight.
Police recovered the body and sent it to a local hospital for autopsy.
"Another one for you, Dr, Quincy."
"Put him over there and mark him 'deceased by natural causes', Jim."
"But Dr. Quincy, you haven't even turned around to look!"
"Don't have to, Jim. There's no sound of breathing, the spreading pool of blood on the floor is bright red, indicating an arterial source, and general silence from the policemen who brought him here suggests there's no hurry to try to save him. Five'll get you ten this one will have a single bullet hole behind the right ear, because crossfires and encounters have a magic effect on the one bullet the miscreant was fated to meet."
One firearm and three bullets were also recovered from the spot.
To be returned after a thorough polishing by the newest recruit to their velvet cases in the evidence vault.
Sohrab was wanted in eight cases, said police.
A second tier miscreant, but a miscreant worthy of his fate, nonetheless. One ponders the empty future of all those go-getting policemen and RABs, once the olde Biplobi and Bahini bandits left over from the 1971 war have toddled --or bled out -- to their graves.
Three police constables-Abul Kalam, Robiul Islam and Hafizur Rahman-were injured slightly and later admitted to upazila health complex.
Bullet-hit feet. Someone needs range time, which is why the encounter took so long.
I'm reliably informed that one had a bruised ego...
A case was filed.
A total of 26 forest bandits, including seven ringleaders, were killed in gunfight with law enforcers in the last one year till the current month.
Not quite RAB numbers, but respectable nonetheless. Three cheers for Bangladesh's law enforcement officers!
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02/22/2012
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Tension is growing between Seoul and Beijing over the impending repatriation from China of dozens of North Korean defectors. "We've urged China to send North Korean defectors to a third country of their choice from a humanitarian standpoint and are considering bringing the issue up at the UN Human Rights Council," Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae told reporters Tuesday.
"If they're sent back to the North against their will, the defectors will face danger of execution punishment, and all signatories to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment must observe principles prohibiting forced repatriation," Cho added.
This was the first public announcement of plans to raise the matter with the UNHRC.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei the same day brushed aside Seoul's request, saying the North Koreans crossed the border for "economic reasons."
He said they therefore do not qualify as refugees and the issue "does not deserve to be discussed within the UN system." He then repeated the customary formula saying China "is handling the issue in accordance with its domestic law, international law, and humanitarian principles."
Human rights groups are pushing the South Korean government to stop China from sending defectors back, saying there has been a spate of repatriations of refugees arrested in the border areas recently.
Beijing has ignored Seoul's request to confirm how many were arrested. South Korean Ambassador to China Lee Kyu-hyung on Monday said, "We've asked China to confirm facts about North Korean defectors, but it hasn't responded to the request yet."
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WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: Policemen on Monday arrested two al-Qaeda members during a raid in northern Wassit, the local police chief said.
Police forces arrested on Monday morning (Feb 20) an al-Qaeda leader during a raid in al-Mazraa district in al-Suwiera, north of Kut city, General Hussein Abdulhadi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The forces managed to detain another al-Qaeda element at a checkpoint in northern Kut, while he was attempting to enter the city with a fake ID, he added.
The two are wanted for their involvement in implementing armed operations against civilians and security forces in the province, he explained, pointing out that the two operations were based on intelligence information.
Kut, the capital of Wassit, is 180 km southeast of Baghdad.
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Khaleej Times gives a first-hand account of flight operations on board the USS Abraham Lincoln
Usual reporting, nice pics of Lawn Darts, positive press.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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The show of force goes on and is a deterrent to conflict in the region. In times like this, keeping the peace can be harder than going to war.
Don't nobody tell the CIC, 'K?
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2012 6:00
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Pragmatically, as Iran is not a match for the US Navy-DOD at this time, IMO the only real GEOPOL reason [among other] for its defiant bluster WOULD BE TO SCORE "OWG CALIPHATE" POINTS AGZ THE SAUDIS + SUNNI ISLAM.
Emphasis on the Saudis as DEFENDER OF [True]ISLAM, SWORD OF ALLAH + PROPHET, ETC. SOBRIQUETS.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAN "WINNING" ON WESTERN OIL SANCTIONS: VITROL. US-West-induced redux in the world supply of oil vee anti-Iran UN Sanctions all but "justifies/validates" Iran's retaliatory demand for HIGHER-N-HIGHER INTERNAT OIL PRICES???
* SAME > US, EU SANCTIONS HELP IRAN BOOST RELATIONS WID ITS NEIGHTBORS:ABDOLLAHI [Iran Consul-General].
ADEN - Four people including a child were killed in clashes in south Yemen between security forces and separatists, who seized half the polling stations in the city of Aden to prevent voting on Tuesday.
Gunmen from the Southern Movement, meanwhile, opened fire on a polling booth in Aden's Crater neighbourhood, as British House of Lords member Baroness Emma Nicholson was visiting, a security official said adding that she was not harmed. The attack came despite a heavy security detail accompanying Nicholson's every movement in the city, witnesses said.
One Yemeni soldier was wounded in the attack, said the official.
Activists from the Southern Movement, who say the election fails to meet their aspirations for autonomy or southern independence, have boycotted the referendum in which Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi is the sole consensus candidate. But some hardline factions have vowed to mark Tuesday's presidential vote as a day of "civil disobedience" to prevent voters from casting their ballots.
In Aden, the main southern city, a 10-year-old child was killed when separatist militants traded gunfire with police near the election commission headquarters in the Dar Saad neighbourhood, residents and medics said.
In Aden's Mansura neighbourhood, a stronghold of the Southern Movement, gunmen killed a policeman. Several other people were wounded in ongoing clashes between separatist militants and troops throughout the city.
In the southeastern town of Mukala, separatists attacked a polling station killing a soldier, a military official said.
In Lahij province, a protester was killed and two others were wounded in clashes between hardline southern militants and security forces, activists from the movement said.
"By mid-day Tuesday, separatists had seized half of Aden's polling stations.
"Half of the polling booths in Aden have been shut down after they were seized by gunmen from the Southern Movement," a local government official told AFP. He said 10 out of the city's 20 voting stations were closed due to the violence.
According to witnesses, militants stormed the booths and confiscated ballot boxes as security forces, which were deployed to guard the stations, withdrew from their posts. Militants also used rocks to block roads and set tyres on fire to disrupt the movement of people in Aden, where at least one polling station was set ablaze, witnesses said. No casualties were reported.
Officials said earlier that a total of 103,000 soldiers were deployed to guard polling stations.
That worked well...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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Carter will certify the process as relatively fair. He will then denounce the Republicans primaries.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/22/2012 20:28
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Chinese police have arrested far more North Korean defectors than was previously known, Liberty Forward Party lawmaker Park Sun-young claimed Tuesday. Park has been vocal in recent days warning that China will repatriate the defectors.
In a telephone interview with the Chosun Ilbo, Park said a total of 34 North Korean defectors were arrested in six groups since early February, and some of them face being sent back to the repressive country. She said the 19 were arrested on Feb. 8, five on Feb. 12, three on Feb. 13, four on Feb. 17, and three on Feb. 18. Intelligence reports say there are others, Park claimed, but she decided to delay disclosure because she had not confirmed the facts.
Asked where her information came from, Park cited "a reliable source who has access to Chinese police." She added, "Based on this information, I was able to confirm their arrests by checking with family members who are already in South Korea."
"I verified personal data of at least one member of each group of defectors who were arrested recently," she said. "I'm also trying to verify another piece of information I got on Monday that North Korean security forces raided the North Korean homes of the arrested defectors."
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Mounting concern about the twin threats posed by pirates and Islamic insurgents operating in Somalia has led Britain and other EU nations to consider the feasibility of air strikes against their logistical hubs and training camps, the Guardian has been told.
The issue has been rising up the agenda of David Cameron's National Security Council in recent months, reflecting anxiety in the west about piracy, but also the ambitions of some leaders within al-Shabaab, the clan-based movement that is fighting against Somalia's western-backed transitional government.
Though the "war games" remain on the drawing board for now, the disclosure that they have been under serious scrutiny shows the depth of unease about the situation within the British government, which is hosting an international conference on Somalia in London starting on Thursday.
According to sources, the international coalition that has been spearheading the fight against the pirates drew up contingency plans in the summer of 2010, and again last year, for what was termed "over the beach" air strikes against Somali camps. The UK has also considered plans for attacking targets in places where al-Shabaab and the pirates appear to co-exist, particularly in southern Somalia.
But though the military advice is that any attacks would be relatively straightforward, and may only involve small numbers of heavily-armed helicopters flown from warships, planners have also flagged the likelihood that civilians could be caught up in any fighting.
They usually are...
"We don't have the assets in place," said one senior official in Whitehall. "That does not mean we could not get them in the air quickly. You have got to think long and hard. You have got to be absolutely sure [about the targets]."
The official said that a short, sharp strike might "interdict" potential terrorists and pirates, but would not be a solution to either problem in the long term.
Another source added: "There was no political will on this to begin with, but that has been changing. We know where the camps are, where they set up and where they launch from."
Building up Somalia's own security forces and coast guard would be far preferable, but they are far too weak at the moment to be considered for such operations, the source said.
It is believed the British, Dutch, French and Americans would be the most likely to support military action, if the need arose.
The US is already taking great interest in Somalia and has begun missile strikes from unmanned drones against members of al-Shabaab, which is said to have growing links with al-Qaida affiliates in other countries, and is attempting to "export" violence to other countries in Africa.
With words that seemed to echo the reasons for invading Afghanistan, Cameron recently said that Somalia was a "failed state that directly threatens British interests". The head of the British military, General Sir David Richards, also appeared to hint at the potential for military action in a speech shortly before Christmas. "Treating the causes of instability and terrorism at source is better and cheaper than dealing with the consequences, as Somalia's piracy demonstrates," he said.
A new intelligence centre, based in the Seychelles, to help co-ordinate the fight against Somali pirates was announced on Tuesday by William Hague. The foreign secretary said it would "help the international community to target the kingpins of piracy and ensure piracy does not pay."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2012
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Why did UK take in thousands of Somalians as most are unemployed and breed like rats=UK debt.
The worst immigrants re integration are british born Pakis and Somalians.Both hate UK,are highly unemployed, drug dealers and wannabe gangsters!
#2
Piet Botha and the SADF could have prevented all of this, but they are long gone. Chickens of the West home to roost in my opinion. Welcome to tribal Africa.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Tunisia's court of cassation on Wednesday threw out a ruling banning pornographic websites, a judicial source and a press freedom watchdog said.
Hugo Chavez confirmed Tuesday that he traveled to Cuba for medical tests, where doctors found a new lesion that will require surgery to remove.
PESHAWAR: An explosive device planted in a motorcycle in the citys Mathani area went off on Tuesday. The motorcycle was destroyed in the explosion and no casualty has been reported. 
MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday urged the United Nations to send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Russias Foreign Ministry said on Twitter Tuesday that its proposing that the UN Security Council ask the UN Secretary General to send the envoy.
laid down their weapons
