On September 20, witnessed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chadian President Idriss Deby, China National Petroleum Corporations (CNPC, Beijing, China) General Manager Jiang Jiemin and Chads Oil Minister Mahamat Hassan Nasser signed the joint venture agreement on building a refinery between CNPC Services & Engineering and the government of Chad.
CNPC Services and Engineering will be responsible for building the oil refinery north of Chads capital NDjamena. Chinese design guidelines, manufacturing standards and machinery will be used in this refinery project. Neither group disclosed the investment value.
Chad began producing in 2003. So far, 13 oil fields have been discovered in Chad; however, the country does not have an oil refinery. All the refined oil has been imported into Chad. In May 2007, CNPC Services and Engineering and Chads Oil Ministry signed the cooperation agreement on refinery in Beijing.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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A Venezuelan politician's violent attack on a local television news personality has grabbed headlines in the South American country and is being watched around the globe. Iris Varela, a member of Venezuela's National Assembly who is said to be a close ally of President Hugo Chavez, stormed onto the set of a Tachira Regional Television morning show Tuesday and repeatedly slapped journalist Gustavo Azocar across the face.
All the while, the lawmaker shouted, saying Azocar offended her and her family by writing about her personal life specifically about the death of her infant son more than a decade ago in a book published last July. The station's security personnel were reportedly held back by Varela's bodyguards. Varela also grabbed a microphone out of Azocar's hands and used it to strike him on the head. The incident occurred just as the television program was set to air and station employees turned the cameras on to capture the confrontation, with the resulting video eventually making its way to other television networks and onto internet sites around the globe.
The episode has sparked debate within Venezuela and among expatriates for a variety of reasons, most prominently because Azocar is known to be an outspoken critic of Chavez and his government. Earlier this month, the Venezuelan parliament approved a series of controversial constitutional reforms that expand the president's powers, including the ability to suspend the rights of the media during a state of emergency. A referendum on the reform plan is expected to take place in December.
Varela has said that politics had nothing to do with Tuesday's incident, which she claims was solely in response to the journalist's intrusion into her private life. In the meantime, Azocar has said that he will hold Varela, the governor of the city of Tachira Romel Blanco Lacruz, and the president responsible for any negative consequences that may befall him or his family following the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2007 10:22 ||
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#1
saw the video on Fox - this loudmouthed Puta needed a real smackdown the first time she slapped him. It's obvious the host was afraid of responding to one of Hugo's thug/whores
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/22/2007 10:46 Comments ||
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#2
Vid here; it's not a violent assault, but this clearly shows varela to be a thug with no respect at all for free speech, what should be the democratic open exchange of ideas,... IE the way civilized people should act in an open society.
A loudmouth and a bully (when her bodyguards are around); perfect match for hugo.
President Vladimir Putin, using Cold War rhetoric, accused foreign governments on Wednesday of sponsoring his opponents in next month's election to weaken Russia and carry out "dirty tricks" against it.
Putin warned that victory for his United Russia party in the December 2 parliamentary election was the only guarantee that the chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s would not return. "Unfortunately there are still those people in our country who still slink through foreign embassies ... who count on the support of foreign funds and governments but not the support of their own people," Putin told thousands of cheering supporters at a raucous pro-Kremlin rally.
These political enemies, he added, wanted to divide Russia. "They need a weak and feeble state. They need a disorganized and disoriented society, a split society, so that they can carry out their dirty tricks behind its back."
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Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, Vlad, all that is now missing is you becoming Czar Pooty I and re-establishing Okhranka.
#2
King Pooty I, twobyfour! Why not, it doesn't matter. The quicker the US gets back to Reagan's "Trust But Verify" doctrine, the clearer the relationship will be, albeit the deep Bush soul searching!
#3
The Soviets Russians didn't have too much of an issue sponsoring opposition groups around the world, or even in the US. Payback. Glad to oblige, because you've been so helpful.
#3
Let's see... Hainan fiasco, submarine dare, satellite killing boast, and that refusal of the Chicoms to let US brass observe their military command and control operations after like kind, I'd say they're wanting a royal f*** O** of the US, except for the contaminated food sources and toys they export. The US won't p*** the Chicoms off by going to Taiwan, so the US will reap what it deserves, kowtowing will only get you turkey dinner on the high seas!!
#4
This is going to backfire bigtime on the Chinese. It is one thing to do little things to annoy our government but this is going to be seen as plain old mean-spirited by a lot of families. Particularly any lower enlisted that spent some of their hard earned for a spouse to fly to Hong Kong.
This has pissed a lot of American families off at China.
#8
G: They must have heard you, Sea! Looks like they've backed off.
From Reuters, courtesy of WaPo:
But it was too late to save the holiday visit. A U.S. official said the trip has since been scrapped and the ships continued steaming to their Japanese base.
Yet another self-inflicted public relations disaster by the Chinese.
#9
This has to get more publicity in the drive-by media. This was a calculated insult, and it needs to be seen for the impact it has on the families of the sailors and Marines who went to their folks for the holiday. The Chinese are not our friends and see themselves as our enemy in the latter part of this century. We need to make sure people see them for what they are...
#10
This has to get more publicity in the drive-by media.
Good luck on that one. The mainland Chinese are Communists, so the MSM will give them a free pass in the end.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
11/22/2007 12:22 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Yeah, this is *exactly* the way the Chinese do business. This was a calculated insult on a holiday that is otherwise meaningless to anyone who's not American. And then the quick backpedaling with the "humanitarian", which offers the choice of accepting a humiliating position.
Our response to this should be interesting. Their next calculated insult will be bigger.
#14
We make friends with the ChiComs bbecause of their immmense population. Does pop. size make them any less evil? Nixon's big mistake in "opening up" China. Why do we buy billions in schlock from this evil entity?
#15
Why do we buy billions in schlock from this evil entity?
Campaign contributors to both sides of the aisle make so much money from outsourcing our jobs their production to China that offending them is a financial third rail for any incumbent or aspiring politician. Just look into the donations by Wal-Mart (alone about 10% of the entire Chinese trade deficit), Circuit City, The Good Guys and everyone else who slurps at Uncle Mao's all-you-can-suck cheap labor tit.
#16
I am so sick of the Chicoms snubbing or denying like kind responses in the US-Sino 'relations'! The trump card behind all of this is the trade deficit that the Red Army holds over the US, thus cementing the 'take it or leave it' or 'it is or else' mentality by China. King smn recommends to the US government the following points they should immediately inact: 1)Tit for Tat that last Chicom move by canceling all non import vessels to all US ports. 2)cancel the joint search and rescue operation exercises, 3)Reaffirm port calls and visits to Taiwan.
The US must prepare for that other Red shoe to drop in the future, when China backs away from the US dollar (such as what the Iranians are doing now), that would hedge their society by doing so. Prepare offensive "killer" satellite 'Sentrys' to guard near space surveillance and reconnaissance assets. My hunch as usual, will have the US Admiral sitting on a non starter, as "W" become more focused on the Iranian issue; trying to keep the Chicoms 'calm'. The American people will lead the way for "W"'s embarrassment when the slumping Christmas sales from the defacto 'boycott' of Chinese toys slap the face of the US toy companies next month!
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has unexpectedly denied the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships entry to Hong Kong port for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. "At present, it appears the USS Kitty Hawk strike group will not be making a port call in Hong Kong as previously planned as a result of a last minute denial by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs," State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said.
China gave no reason was for the denial, Thompson said. The United States is pressing Chinese authorities for an explanation and to reconsider its decision, she added.
The Financial Times newspaper said the Kitty Hawk group and its crew of 8,000 U.S. airmen and sailors had been expected in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but now would spend the holiday on the South China Sea.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Only the beginning! The Chicoms in the near future will flex their Red muscles further by throwing a virtual 'siege like umbrella' around Taiwan, after the next Democratic President takes office. Watch for numerous submarine surfacing in and around that theater along with circumnavigated 'patrols' by their air force not unlike what the Ruskies are doing now. That Chicom leaked white paper on that 'Blue Blitzkrieg' for Taiwan is not buried too deep in the bureaucracy!!
French towns worried about fuel prices, pollution and striking transport workers need look no further than the horse. Horses are a possible alternative for vehicles such as school buses and refuse trucks, say groups eager to pick up on global concerns about eco-friendly transport.
"It's all about sustainable development and bringing some humanity back to today's monotonous, machine-driven jobs," said Stephane de Veyrac, from the French National Stud Organisation.
"It's all about sustainable development and bringing some humanity back to today's monotonous, machine-driven jobs," Stephane de Veyrac, from the French National Stud Organisation, said at this week's annual conference of French mayors.
De Veyrac's group says it is the first in France to offer consulting on a wide range of horse-powered vehicles that could also haul bottles and aid street sweeping. "It is a serious alternative -- horses are already in use in over 70 towns as replacements for gasoline- and diesel-powered service vehicles," said de Veyrac, pointing to the 'Hippoville' prototype parked in the exhibition hall. With prices starting at 11,562 euros ($17,090), this revamped horse-drawn carriage with disc brakes, signal lamps and removable seating, goes for around the same price as 170 barrels of crude oil.
De Veyrac's group was founded by Louis XIV's Finance Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert to supply war horses for military campaigns. Today the group advises French towns interested in horses for city services. One project in northern France involves a pick-up route for glass bottles in the seaside resort of Trouville.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
"In other related news, buggy whip futures hit a new high on the Paris Bourse today as investors scrambled to get in on the ground floor of this exciting new development..."
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/22/2007 6:22 Comments ||
Top||
#5
French towns worried about fuel prices, pollution and striking transport workers need look no further than the horse.
The enviro assholes forget what comes from the back of l'cheval. The old black and white photos and early movies don't convey the smell and the contamination by mother nature's alternative. Someone has got to clean up the waste. Multiple that by the hundreds and you're dumping a lot of crap in the immediate living conditions of people. It's winter now, but wait till it gets warm. It'll not be just the smell but the cloud of flies, vectors/agents of disease. It will have ever have a great effect on the demand for veterinarians. Let's see, the price of an auto mechanic versus a college trained and certified vet.
#7
Yes, a horse is bio-degradable. Can't wait for the hybrid owners get the bill for new or recycling of their batteries full of toxic waste. I'm sure they'll expect someone else to 'eat it'.
#10
The Germans lost. If horses come back, the French will long for the days of untreated diesel exhaust.
Yeah, Pro, but you can't eat a Prius :)
But can the French stay warm by the light of a burning horse.
Posted by: ed ||
11/22/2007 10:54 Comments ||
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#11
I saw a row of "Smart" cars on the way to work this morning. Looked like they were going for less than 5000. With gas in Europe at over $7.00 a gallon, not surprising horses are making a comeback.
#12
Beginning the slide towards becoming a 3rd World nation. That's a really slippery slope once you get on it and the French have been on it for a number of decades now.
#14
Horses pitched as alternative transport for France
OK, just what "Emissions Controls" are there, I envision huge diapers? Or huge grates for "Waste Disposal (Curb your Horse here, 500 franks fine for spillage)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/22/2007 18:06 Comments ||
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Saboteurs staged a coordinated attack on France's high-speed rail network on Wednesday, causing nationwide delays to services already hit by an eight-day transport strike, the SNCF state railways said. The pre-dawn attack on signaling connections targeted the four main TGV train services out of Paris before government, management and unions resumed negotiations on ending the dispute over pension reform.
Unionists said later some progress had been made in the talks but cautioned each local committee would decide on whether to continue the strike in their daily vote as usual on Thursday. "There have been a number of advances, of announcements," said Didier Le Reste, head of the CGT union's rail division. "I trust railway workers to take decisions that are appropriate."
Only a minority of railway workers remained on strike on Wednesday, with the SNCF reporting that 77.2 percent of its staff had turned up to work against 73 percent on Tuesday. But trains, Paris underground services and buses were still hit by widespread disruption alongside the signaling problems. The SNCF said it hoped to run two out of three high-speed TGV trains on Thursday, an increase on past days.
Unions condemned the sabotage attacks and said there was no proof any of their members had been involved. A senior SNCF executive blamed militant strikers for the damage and President Nicolas Sarkozy called for crack police teams to be dispatched to hunt down the culprits.
Interesting, almost predictable wording on that denial. They didn't say it wasn't union members. They didn't say it wasn't any union member they were aware of. They said there was no proof, which implies that either the witnesses are all dead or there's a possibility some could be found eventually.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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77.2 percent of its staff had turned up to work
So the rank and file have returned to work, but some jerks out there inconvenienced millions and still didn't get what they want, so now it's time to be giant assholes. It was railway workers in France that coined the term "sabotage", too.
#2
Interesting sidebar: "Sabotage" derives from the word "sabot", which refers to a wooden shoe. An ill intentioned worker would jam his clog into the factory machinery and, rather conventiently, several other co-workers would also happen to lose a shoe in the process to conceal the true culprit.
A Swedish prospecting company has applied for permission from the government to drill for oil in the Baltic sea bed. The head of Oljeprospektering AB (Opab) believes that the company may be able to extract up to 300 million barrels of oil from an area south of Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea.
The company must await a reply from the trade ministry before it can begin drilling for oil on the outer edge of the Swedish economic zone, 120 kilometres east of the Blekinge region, close to the borders of Lithuania and Latvia. "If possible, we hope to begin late in the summer of 2008," Opab's CEO Torgny Berglund told the TT news agency.
Sweden's Baltic neighbour Poland already extracts oil from a source just 65 kilometres away from the proposed site, pumping between 15,000 and 20,000 barrels a day from its economic zone. But Opab believes that it could extract around 50,000 barrels of oil from the Swedish zone. "There could be a maximum of up to 300 million barrels. Because Opab is a Swedish company, this would provide the state with substantial tax revenues," said Torgny Berglund.
Continued on Page 49
A European Arrest Warrant has been issued by the District Military Court in Warsaw for Helena Brus-Wolinska, a Stalinist era military prosecutor.
For years Polish authorities have been demanding the surrender of Wolinska, who is resident in London since 1968. She is charged with compliance in the death of general August Fieldorf, one of the commanders of the underground Home Army during World War Two. He was arrested in 1950 by the Communists. The orders were signed by Wolinska. After a one day mock trial general Fieldorf had been sentenced to death.
In democratic Poland Wolinska has been considered a perpetrator of Communist crimes. Hence, her deeds do not fall into the category of legal prosecution expiration. In August 2006 the UK had officially refused to extradite Helena Brus-Wolinska at the request of a Polish court, quoting health and humanitarian reasons.
If she's healthy enough to breathe she's healthy enough to stand trial.
The European Arrest Warrant, which replaces and speeds up extradition procedures between EU member states, has been motioned in Wolinskas case by the Prosecution Department of the National Remembrance Institute in Warsaw.
The 2008 Democratic presidential race has tightened, with Barack Obama gaining on front-runner Hillary Clinton six weeks before the first contest, according to a national Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.
Among Republicans, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani expanded his national lead over second-place rival Fred Thompson, the former senator and Hollywood actor, as voters begin to focus on the race for the White House.
"This race is just beginning, let alone all over," pollster John Zogby said.
Clinton led Obama 38 percent to 27 percent in the new poll, a 10-point fall from her 46 percent to 25 percent lead last month. The drop followed a month of attacks on the New York senator from her rivals and a heavily criticized performance in a late-October debate. Former Sen. John "Breck Boy" Edwards of North Carolina remained in third place, climbing four points to 13 percent. All other Democratic contenders scored in low single digits, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at 4 percent. About 14 percent of Democratic voters nationwide are still uncertain of their choice as the first contest approaches in Iowa, which kicks off the state-by-state battle to pick candidates for the November 4, 2008, presidential election.
The poll was similar to several other national and state surveys showing Obama, a first-term Illinois senator, gaining on Clinton, the senator from New York who has led most polls all year. "Clinton had a bad couple of weeks and as a front-runner she's a target for everyone, she's treated almost as the incumbent," Zogby said.
This article starring:
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson
Fred Thompson
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards
John Zogby
Rudy Giuliani
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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REDDIT/TOPIX > Mrs. Kucinich - reports that hubby DENNIS and RON PAUL may be running mates for 2008???
NEW DELHI - China has indicated it will not stand in the way of a controversial Indian nuclear energy deal with the United States, the Indian government said on Wednesday, shedding its ambiguity over a pact which needs global approvals. Beijings stance had caused concern in New Delhi until now as the pact needs unanimous backing at the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) -- of which China is a member -- although analysts had expected it to eventually support the deal.
The Chinese comments came at talks between Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the 16-nation East Asia Summit in Singapore. The two prime ministers discussed opportunities that exist for furthering cooperation in regional and multilateral forums on global issues such as climate change and energy security, an Indian foreign ministry statement said. Premier Wen was forthcoming and supportive of international civil nuclear energy cooperation with India.
The deal aims to give India access to American nuclear fuel and reactors -- and eventually from other countries -- by lifting a ban imposed after New Delhi stayed out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and conducted a nuclear test in 1974. It has been hailed as a symbol of the new friendship between India and the United States, but Indian communists who have been traditionally opposed to Washington, say it hurts sovereignty and puts New Delhi under American influence. Last week, they softened their opposition and gave conditional approval to the government to hold talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conclude a safeguards agreement needed to clinch the deal.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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JODHPUR, India - India has tested an air defence missile at a site close to its tense border with Pakistan where it conducted a string of nuclear detonations in 1998, officials said on Wednesday. Military scientists tested the medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash, or Sky, from Pokhran, some 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Pakistans borders last week but gave details of the flight only on Wednesday.
The flight was carried out in near-secrecy from Pokhran, where nine years ago India tested a string of nuclear weapons including a thermo-nuclear device.
The test was a success and we hope Akash will be inducted very soon into the army, Samir Sinha, spokesman of Indias Defence Research and Development Organisation, told AFP in Jodhpur in Rajasthan state. Sinha did not say why the test was conducted in Rajasthans Thar desert and not at Indias National Missile Testing Range in the eastern state of Orissa, on the opposite side of the country where such tests are normally conducted.
Did he have to?
First tested in 1993, Akash can carry a 55-kilogram (121-pound) warhead and has a range of 25 kilometres (15.5 miles).
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Sinha did not say why the test was conducted in Rajasthans Thar desert and not at Indias National Missile Testing Range in the eastern state of Orissa
Because it is being conducted by the IAF and their firepower range is at Pokhran.
They bomb the hell out of the desert there. One of the ranges located there is used for nuclear testing.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/22/2007 14:57 Comments ||
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#2
Posted by: john frum ||
11/22/2007 14:58 Comments ||
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#3
The Indian Air Force's Firing range 2 at Pokhran.
This photo is from a bomb run (the target can be seen at center) and is often incorrectly attributed to the 1998 nuclear tests (which were underground).
Posted by: john frum ||
11/22/2007 15:00 Comments ||
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The BJP on Tuesday claimed that China has mobilised its troops along its border with India in Arunachal Pradesh and asked the UPA government to explain what is happening in the state. The party also alleged that Chinese troops were making incursions into the Indian territory regularly and accused the government of concealing the facts.
"Arunachal Pradesh is in deep, deep trouble. Government should come clean on what is happening there," BJP MP Arun Shourie said in New Delhi. India, he said, is now facing one of the gravest situations after the Chinese invasion of 1962 from an external source other than the Bangladeshi infiltration.
He also accused the government of outsourcing its foreign policy and concealment of facts and turning a blind eye towards the Chinese violations in Arunachal Pradesh. The government is silent on Pakistan, while it has outsourced the foreign policy to CPM as far as Nepal is concerned. On the LTTE problem "people are writing poems praising them," he added.
Indians aren't too focused on anything across the border, any border, in other words.
BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh Kiran Rijiju, who addressed the press conference along with Shourie, claimed Chinese troops even blew up a Buddha statue in Tawang sector of the state. While the government claims that there were no incursions, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police says there were at least 146 incursions in 2006, he added.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
If I never picked up another item in a shop or store labeled MADE IN CHINA it would be just grand!
#3
Its less than a gimmick. Try finding ammunition for it. Oh, that's right, it needs to be custom made. Try getting that through safety review. Then try getting someone to pony up the dough to put that very special ammo into production / general logistics train. All for what? The ability to mix and match loads (say 40mm, 7.62mm and non-lethal) or for the vaunted "wall-o-lead"? Caca, nothin but caca.
#4
This mortar seems to reload easy enough. If anything, it seems a bit safer in operation. I was Navy so my contact with weapons like this was zip but it looks like using all the barrels would plough up a football field sized area with one loading.
#5
This is different from the Metal Storm I saw debuted a while back, which would probably be much more appropriated for naval use.
It was a circular "platter" system, that expended vast numbers of ball bearings downrange as a steel curtain. It would continue firing until the ball bearing tank was empty, something like 1M a minute.
Much like a small rail gun turned sideways, the ship's generator produced the enormous current for it to work. But they asserted that it couldn't jam internally, and there was no wear, as the bearings never touched the inside of the weapon.
The only problem that might theoretically happen was if some object was inserted in its exit hole, or perhaps salt water corrosion of some kind.
But what kind of anything could penetrate a "rain" of ball bearings a few yards thick, a considerable distance from the ship?
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.
On September 20, witnessed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chadian President Idriss Deby, China National Petroleum Corporations (CNPC, Beijing, China) General Manager Jiang Jiemin and Chads Oil Minister Mahamat Hassan Nasser signed the joint venture agreement on building a refinery between CNPC Services & Engineering and the government of Chad.
A Venezuelan politician's violent attack on a local television news personality has grabbed headlines in the South American country and is being watched around the globe. Iris Varela, a member of Venezuela's National Assembly who is said to be a close ally of President Hugo Chavez, stormed onto the set of a Tachira Regional Television morning show Tuesday and repeatedly slapped journalist Gustavo Azocar across the face.
President Vladimir Putin, using Cold War rhetoric, accused foreign governments on Wednesday of sponsoring his opponents in next month's election to weaken Russia and carry out "dirty tricks" against it.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has unexpectedly denied the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships entry to Hong Kong port for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. "At present, it appears the USS Kitty Hawk strike group will not be making a port call in Hong Kong as previously planned as a result of a last minute denial by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs," State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said.
Saboteurs staged a coordinated attack on France's high-speed rail network on Wednesday, causing nationwide delays to services already hit by an eight-day transport strike, the SNCF state railways said. The pre-dawn attack on signaling connections targeted the four main TGV train services out of Paris before government, management and unions resumed negotiations on ending the dispute over pension reform.
A Swedish prospecting company has applied for permission from the government to drill for oil in the Baltic sea bed. The head of Oljeprospektering AB (Opab) believes that the company may be able to extract up to 300 million barrels of oil from an area south of Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea.
The 2008 Democratic presidential race has tightened, with 
NEW DELHI - China has indicated it will not stand in the way of a controversial Indian nuclear energy deal with the United States, the Indian government said on Wednesday, shedding its ambiguity over a pact which needs global approvals. Beijings stance had caused concern in New Delhi until now as the pact needs unanimous backing at the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) -- of which China is a member -- although analysts had expected it to eventually support the deal.
JODHPUR, India - India has tested an air defence missile at a site close to its tense border with Pakistan where it conducted a string of nuclear detonations in 1998, officials said on Wednesday. Military scientists tested the medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash, or Sky, from Pokhran, some 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Pakistans borders last week but gave details of the flight only on Wednesday.
The BJP on Tuesday claimed that China has mobilised its troops along its border with India in Arunachal Pradesh and asked the UPA government to explain what is happening in the state. The party also alleged that Chinese troops were making incursions into the Indian territory regularly and accused the government of concealing the facts.
