Staff Sgt. Christopher Fessenden is on duty in Afghanistan now after tours with the Army in Iraq. He has traveled with standard-issue equipment -- weapons, helmet, uniform, boots and so forth -- plus a radio-controlled model truck his brother sent.
The truck is not a toy to him. He says it just saved six soldiers' lives. It had been used by the troops to run ahead of them on patrols and look for roadside bombs. Last week it was being used on a patrol, got tangled in a trip wire connected to what Fessenden guesses could have been 500 lbs. of explosives. The bomb went off. The six soldiers controlling the truck from their Humvee were unhurt.
Acosta Hernandez said the move was intended to eliminate rival police forces sympathetic to the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Acosta Hernandez who was arrested last Friday by a special team of Policia Federeal agents in a raid at a Chihuahua, Chihuahua residence, admitted planning the July 16hth car bomb attack which killed four including a Mexican Federal agent in Juarez. To read the Rantburg report on the July 16th, 2010 car bomb attack in Juarez, click here and here
Acosta Hernandez is currently in Mexico City and has been ordered to preventative detention for 40 days. Preventative detention, colloquially known as rooting, is a formal legal request to hold a person without bail for charge and trial until an investigation is included. Rooting can be for anywhere from 30 to 180 days and is used against individuals charged with serious crimes.
According to Mexican news sources, Acosta Hernandez has claimed responsibility for 1,500 murders in Chihuahua state since 2007, when he went to work for the Juarez cartel after serving in he Chihuahua state attorney general's office.
Acosta Hernandez also said he ordered the execution of the 15 young people in Salvarcar Villas colony in Juarez on January 10th, 2010 because he suspected members of rival cartel Sinaloa may be at the same location.
The confession was released in two videos by the Policia Federal Wednesday. In the background the viewer can hear the disguised voice of an interviewer ask Acosta Hernandez about several specific crimes, including last year's car bomb.
Acosta Hernandez also said a car bomb placed in Juarez September 12th failed to detonate. A corpse was placed in the car to lure federal agents to the location, but a nearby member of La Linea observing the approach of police could not detonate the bomb. The bomb used the same explosives used in the earlier bomb, Tovex, which is a commercial dynamite in common use in Mexico by mining companies and by PEMEX, the state run petroleum enterprise. To read the Rantburg report on the attempted car bomb attack last September, 2010, click here
At the Blog del Narco several commenters remarked that details of the car bomb were redacted from the video, although no reason was given as to why and what information was redacted.
#1
According to Mexican news sources, Acosta Hernandez has claimed responsibility for 1,500 murders in Chihuahua state since 2007, when he went to work for the Juarez cartel after serving in he Chihuahua state attorney general's office.
#2
At the Blog del Narco several commenters remarked that details of the car bomb were redacted from the video, although no reason was given as to why and what information was redacted.
An "Operation Fast and Furious" OPSEC requirement no doubt.
#3
There's lots of redacting going on these days with everything involving govmints. Nearly all or all the pages in some documents provided to Issa were redacted.
To read the Rantburg report on the Mexican Government Commission endorsement of the new national security law, click here The Mexican left takes one hard up the six. Schadenfreude can be a beautiful thing!
Calling it a "schizophrenic act" and a "betrayal", Mexican leftist and leader of the Movement for Peace, Justice and Dignity Javier Sicilia condemned Tuesday's endorsement of the national security law by Mexican deputies.
Sicilia's condemnation comes just six days after an informal meeting of federal deputies and senators with Sicilia ended the promises by legislators to move reforms including comprehensive care for victims of crime, a reparations fund, creating a truth commission and audits of police and public security systems.
Sicilia who is a poet and a writer for leftist publications has led no fewer than three high profile peace marches demanding an end to violence. He also promised to lead more marches to protest the national security law.
Sicilia has opposed the new national security law since his peace movment began last March, advocating instead legalization of drugs in Mexico, returning Mexican military forces to bases and a cessation of their use in fighting organized crime and a committment to non-violence by ordinary citizens. Sicilia has also met the President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa twice in private meetings to discuss his views, all of which have been bluntly rejected by Calderon.
Thursday's meeting was held at Castillo de Chapultepec in Mexico City, and reportedly ended on a positive aura of goodd feeling, which included apologies by some legislators for violence.
The new national security law has languished in the legislative process since last April as the Mexican senate failed to pass the law. Presumably the reluctance was because of the peace marches and media coverage going on at the time.
The law was then tabled because of procedural reasons including a Supreme Court decision and possible consideration in a special session to pass the law.
The Mexican Supreme Court endorsed the law last May as it applied to military justice. The final decision to include the law in a special session will be reached by August 12th.
Tuesday's endorsement was approved by a commission of deputies including all but one deputy. The endorsement allows the law to go to conference on passage by the Mexican senate in a regular session. The endorsement could possibly force the decision to a regular session, delaying consideration until September.
As matters stand, every section of the law has been placed in reserve, which means the entire law is subject to amendment from its original form when it reaches conference.
Sicilia's condemnation was in turn condemned by a number of high profile politicians, at least two in consideration for candidacy for president. Politicians include Beatriz Paredes Rangel, former leader of the Partido Revolucionaio Institucional (PRI), Josefina Mota Vazquez, a Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) deputy said to be a top choice as a presidential candidate for PAN in 2012.
Senator Manilo Fabio Beltrones (PRI) protested Tuesday's endorsement of the new law to be part of the legislative process,not intended to betray anyone.
#2
Sounds like a paid lobbyist for organized crime IYAM.
Off topic: Spent the last week with Dell and McAfee trying to get rid of a really nasty virus that showed up last Thursday. Had to totally rebuild the OS from scratch and am now readding all my files, addresses, sites, etc. Sometimes computers really suck.
South Korea's Red Cross has offered to send emergency relief to North Korea's flood-stricken areas in southern Hwanghae and Gangwon provinces. South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed that the proposal was delivered to the North on Wednesday afternoon.
It added that the decision to transport US$4.7 million (US$1=W1,061) worth of daily necessities and medical supplies via land routes was made solely on the basis of humanitarian concerns. Food, including rice and flour, are not under consideration.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
how much is actually being paid by the US
Posted by: chris ||
08/04/2011 23:11 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Over 70 organizations including the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... and major U.S. defense groups have been targets of a global cyber spying effort, according to security firm McAfee, with analysts pointing to China as the culprit, the Washington Post said Wednesday.
Targets for the intrusions -- identified from logs tracked to a single server -- included computer networks of the United Nations secretariat, a U.S. Energy Department lab, and some dozen U.S. defense firms, said the McAfee report to be released Wednesday, according to the Post.
The snooping appeared to have been ongoing for several years.
The report identified 72 compromised organizations in all, 49 of which were located in the United States, said the Post.
Intruders, according to the McAfee report, sought sensitive data on U.S. military systems and satellite communications, among other prizes.
Cybersecurity experts told the Post that China was the most likely culprit, as much of the intruders' targets listed by McAfee put emphasis on organizations linked to Taiwan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in months leading up to the 2008 Beijing games.
However McAfee, a leader in the cyber security industry, tracking network intrusions around the world, did not openly blame Beijing.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
CHINA + ISLAMIST CYBER/E-JIHAD
versus
* DAILY MAIL.UK > NEW US TECH TO TRACK TERRORISTS THROUGH COMPUTERS THAT CAN IDENTIFY PHOTOGRAPH'S LOCATION, just by the background.
#3
However McAfee, a leader in the cyber security industry, tracking network intrusions around the world, did not openly blame Beijing.
Toned down way of saying Beijing is doing it. Next thing you know China will be hacking into the computers that control our money and diverting it into their coffers. Wait a minute, they don't have to do that--we surrendered our economy to them long ago and it continues with the debt limit New Raw Deal.
#4
And yet most of the computers we buy these days are from China. As a matter of fact, it's difficult to find one that isn't made in China. I wonder if the Chicoms might think twice about their little cyber war if our government slapped a 100% tariff on computers imported from China.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/04/2011 17:07 Comments ||
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#5
"New Raw Deal"That was good. I'll have to remember that. They don't have to do anything the Demo's will take care of them. I don't know why the fuss. Bill Clinton gave away so much. They need money to pay the Media and run for election. China knows how to work em.
#2
What we also need are armed and automated ground vehicles.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
08/04/2011 11:18 Comments ||
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#3
Lots of work on autonomous ground vehicles, but the differential correction to ensure accurate navigation across uneven terrain is harder than in the air. It's coming.
#4
Other than removing the risk of loss of life in the UAV, another big plus is the increased manuverability an UAV has, without the weight of the pilot ( and aircrew) support systems or having to artifically limit G loads, the UAV can turn and bank much tighter/sharper than a manned aircraft.
[An Nahar] The March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday "the massacres against the Syrian people," while saluting their perseverance against "brutality".
It urged in a statement after its weekly meeting "the international community to take the necessary procedures to stop the bloodshed against Syrian civilians."
It called on the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... to hold an emergency meeting "to put an end to the Syrian people's tragedy."
It also warned on Wednesday against carrying on linking Leb to the Syrian regime "and its bloody and oppressive practices."
"Leb's position at the United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... Security Council must meet the Lebanese and Syrian people's aspirations for freedom and dignity given their sacrifices against the oppression," it said.
"The Lebanese and Syrians have a joint history, future, and cause, which is that of freedom and democracy in Syria and independence, freedom, and democracy in Leb," it added.
The statement noted that the two peoples are seeking to establish better ties in order to pave the way for a new Arab system that ensures the stability, development, and security of all Arabs.
Furthermore, the March 14 General Secretariat renewed its support for the Syrian people in its plight against the regime's crackdown against protestors.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The United States Wednesday said it had no interest in seeing Syria's President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... survive simply to preserve regional "stability," hardening its line on what it termed a "grotesque" crackdown on dissent.
Some analysts have speculated that Washington has been wary of directly calling for Assad to quit because of anxiety that security chaos, civil war and a Middle East power vacuum might follow the demise of his regime.
But White House front man Jay Carney said Wednesday that Washington did not view Assad as "indispensible," saying he was completely "incapable and unwilling" to respond to the grievances of his own people.
"The U.S. has nothing invested in Assad remaining in power. We do not want to see him to remain in Syria for stability's sake and rather we view him as the cause for instability in Syria," Carney said.
"Syria would be a better place without President Assad," he added.
With the White House under increasing pressure for tougher action against Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... from Syrian dissidents and on Capitol Hill, Carney said the administration was looking for new leverage against Assad.
"We are looking at ways to increase the pressure, the images coming out of Syria, of the Syrian government's brutality against its own people, have been grotesque and appalling and they demonstrate the true character of the regime."
Carney spoke as U.N. Security Council ambassadors agreed on a text to condemn the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on protests.
The criticism of Assad's deadly offensive against the opposition was to be adopted as a statement by the 15-nation council later Wednesday.
It will be the council's first pronouncement on Syria since protests started on March 15.
Past efforts by Britannia, La Belle France, Germany and Portugal to pass a resolution were held up by Russia, China and other countries. But the worsening violence led to major international pronouncement for the U.N.'s supreme body to take a stand.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
That depends on who succeeds him. But anyway, what are YOU going to do about it, Obumble? Face it, nobody fears you, so do you really think Baby Assad gives a flying f*ck what you say?
#2
Some would say the WH and the U.S. would be much a better place if "O'Bummer" got booted in 2012. We are already working for our Chinese masters but then these are the probably the mumblings of a racist or xenophobe. Everything O'Bummer does is getting kicked past 2012. Congressional Republicans did not dig in and say no to him other than for a handful. Everything he does is about re-election; not the country--even his frappin birthday party is about getting re-elected.
[An Nahar] Leb "disassociated" itself Wednesday from a statement condemning Syria's crackdown on opposition protests.
Leb's envoy told a council meeting that the statement would not "help" end the Syrian crisis.
"Today more than ever the Lebanese stand by Syria and its illusory sovereignty and the council's statement does not help improve the situation there, that's why Leb is dissociating itself from the statement," the envoy said.
A Security Council statement agreed after weeks of often-acrimonious talks said the body "condemns the widespread violations of human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities."
But it also urged "all sides to act with utmost restraint, and to refrain from reprisals, including attacks against state institutions."
"The Security Council calls on the Syrian authorities to fully respect human rights and to comply with their obligations under applicable international law. Those responsible for the violence should be held accountable," the text read.
The council also called on Syrian authorities to "cooperate fully" with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Of course they do. Some things are so predictable.
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.
President-for-Life Bashir 
