Hi there, !
Today Mon 10/23/2006 Sun 10/22/2006 Sat 10/21/2006 Fri 10/20/2006 Thu 10/19/2006 Wed 10/18/2006 Tue 10/17/2006 Archives
Rantburg
533655 articles and 1861879 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 100 articles and 505 comments as of 14:34.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion       
Shiite militia takes over Iraqi city
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
4 00:00 mrp [5] 
0 [2] 
6 00:00 Hupailing Ebbuns2352 [3] 
10 00:00 Mork [6] 
5 00:00 FOTSGreg [] 
3 00:00 trailing wife [2] 
9 00:00 Shipman [] 
2 00:00 twobyfour [6] 
2 00:00 Shipman [] 
8 00:00 3dc [7] 
4 00:00 facta non verba [1] 
5 00:00 tu3031 [] 
10 00:00 bigjim-ky [1] 
4 00:00 Bobby [] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
12 00:00 JosephMendiola [5]
0 [2]
3 00:00 Bobby [1]
26 00:00 JohnQC [7]
27 00:00 3dc [22]
20 00:00 JosephMendiola [9]
8 00:00 NoBeards [6]
20 00:00 Davey Jones Locker, LLC, Archimedes Division [2]
12 00:00 Shipman [1]
9 00:00 Old Patriot [3]
4 00:00 Cheregum Crelet7867 []
2 00:00 RWV [1]
4 00:00 Gen. G. S. Patton (Ret) [6]
4 00:00 Alex []
1 00:00 Shipman []
33 00:00 3dc [3]
0 [2]
0 [1]
1 00:00 trailing wife [2]
4 00:00 Shipman [2]
2 00:00 trailing wife [3]
0 [1]
Page 2: WoT Background
0 [2]
0 [1]
4 00:00 Bobby [1]
0 []
1 00:00 Perry White []
1 00:00 tu3031 [5]
4 00:00 Bobby [2]
7 00:00 eLarson [4]
3 00:00 Jackal []
5 00:00 Bright Pebbles in Blairistan [1]
10 00:00 Zenster [2]
14 00:00 Zenster [4]
7 00:00 anonymous2u [2]
5 00:00 Dunno [2]
1 00:00 Pappy [3]
2 00:00 .com [6]
0 [1]
0 [1]
7 00:00 mac [2]
0 [6]
6 00:00 CrazyFool [7]
0 [1]
1 00:00 Thromong Whort2348 [7]
0 [2]
3 00:00 The Un Security Council [3]
3 00:00 Nimble Spemble [2]
0 []
0 [7]
0 [3]
3 00:00 johnnycanuck [2]
6 00:00 bigjim-ky [2]
13 00:00 RWV [2]
Page 3: Non-WoT
0 [3]
2 00:00 Kalle (kafir forever) [6]
0 [1]
8 00:00 Chinter Flarong [8]
5 00:00 Anonymoose [5]
2 00:00 trailing wife [2]
5 00:00 bigjim-ky [2]
27 00:00 RD [6]
4 00:00 Frank G [3]
0 [2]
8 00:00 SwissTex [2]
2 00:00 Old Patriot [4]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [1]
4 00:00 Old Patriot [7]
0 [6]
0 [2]
0 [1]
3 00:00 Shipman [1]
Page 4: Opinion
1 00:00 no mo uro [3]
6 00:00 H Kissingbug [4]
5 00:00 Anguper Hupomosing9418 []
4 00:00 Old Patriot [3]
2 00:00 mrp [2]
8 00:00 no mo uro [2]
3 00:00 3dc [6]
1 00:00 SpecOp35 [2]
5 00:00 Zenster [7]
3 00:00 Cyber Sarge []
1 00:00 Anguper Hupomosing9418 []
1 00:00 3dc [4]
12 00:00 Zenster [1]
11 00:00 Anguper Hupomosing9418 []
-Lurid Crime Tales-
D.A. Won't Alienate Man Over Close Encounters
In the YJCMTSU department. Even the title is a joke.
Witness who reports visits by otherworldly creatures will testify in environmental lawsuit.
It starts right here.
Some attorneys might shy away from using a witness who says he has been abducted by bizarre creatures that repeatedly return at night to poke tiny holes in his chest.
Well, old mo' had Gabriel slit his torso open, wash his organs with zam-zam water, and put them all back... so, that makes him the new Prophet(Tm), I guess.
But a Santa Barbara County prosecutor said Wednesday that he intends to present testimony from just such a witness next week in a civil case against the owner of the county's largest land-based oil and gas producer. The man's credibility in the county's lawsuit against Greka Energy is "a valid issue to be litigated," said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jerry Lulejian, adding that videos of the strange visitations may be shown to the judge "as a further test of his believability."
Oh yes, they're very believable.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 05:45 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Should be either non-WOT, or local, my bad.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 6:02 Comments || Top||

#2  so he had to travel to Thousand Oaks to find a PODIATRIST that would help solve tis mystery...jeebus. The DA needs to think long and hard about his next reelection and whether this prosecutor should be fired or disbarred
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 7:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Winter Alien Soldier?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 10/20/2006 8:21 Comments || Top||

#4  His co-counsel, Santa Monica attorney Jeffrey Valle

Oh, oh, I missed that one! Cue in Jacques Vallée!

Damn, this whole thing is either a journalistical prank, or a serie of acausal jungian synchronicities!
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 9:55 Comments || Top||

#5  I don't think they'll have any trouble getting a Santa Barbara jury to believe him.
Posted by: DoDo || 10/20/2006 11:07 Comments || Top||

#6  It could all be swamp gas.
Posted by: wxjames || 10/20/2006 12:18 Comments || Top||

#7  John Keel lives in NYC, I think. He had some heart problems but is reportedly doing better.

(I suspect he's in NYC because it's pretty far from Santa Barbara, and the goa'uld who occasionally makes his habitation there.)
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman || 10/20/2006 13:19 Comments || Top||

#8  Snowman! Kree!
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 10/20/2006 13:55 Comments || Top||

#9  I have renounced the one-gloved one and his music. He is a false god.
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman || 10/20/2006 14:24 Comments || Top||

#10  "footprints on a sheet of aluminum foil that he had laid out in hopes of securing clues"
That is soooo 1978. We levitate now; he should have saved the foil for a hat.
Posted by: Mork || 10/20/2006 20:26 Comments || Top||


Woman's Head Found In Pot, Limbs In Oven
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 05:19 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Semi-celeb Katrina holdouts.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/20/2006 15:09 Comments || Top||

#2  The body was found in the second-floor apartment that Bowen and his girlfriend, Adriane Hall, had shared on the edge of the Quarter above a voodoo shop

Seems like a bad mojo.
Posted by: twobyfour || 10/20/2006 23:26 Comments || Top||


Whacked out nekkid babe arrested in NY after running people down
A speeding, out-of-control car driven by a naked woman hit and killed a pedestrian and collided with another vehicle before flying over a fence and landing in a shopping center parking lot, authorities said Thursday.
“She was awaiting arraignment at Staten Island Criminal Court on charges of second-degree manslaughter and driving while impaired by drugs.”
The driver, Taliyah Taylor, 24, of Staten Island, was pulled out of the car by police following the 10:50 p.m. Wednesday incident, said William Smith Jr., a spokesman for the Staten Island district attorney's office.

She was awaiting arraignment Thursday at Staten Island Criminal Court on charges of second-degree manslaughter and driving while impaired by drugs. The court was trying to find her a lawyer, Smith said. Taylor's Nissan Maxima struck Larry Simon, as he was crossing the street to meet his brothers at the Chic-n-Bones bar, said Smith.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Damn, how come exciting stuff like dis here doesn't happen in my hometown ? (Of course, not too exciting to the deceased. My apologies to his family)
Posted by: SpecOp35 || 10/20/2006 1:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Crime scene photos, we need some crime scene photos!
Posted by: Zenster || 10/20/2006 1:31 Comments || Top||

#3  I thought Diane Sawyer was interviewing a Nork general at the time.

(WARNING: NUDITY AT LINK, but nothing to get excited about unless you're seriously hard up)
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 10/20/2006 3:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah, but was she good-looking, at least? If she is some kind of hag, then that poor man's death would be even more pointless.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 5:36 Comments || Top||

#5  Myspace is good. Here you go.

Here's another pic of her.
Posted by: Thoth || 10/20/2006 10:31 Comments || Top||

#6  One of my colleagues was telling me that the guy who was hit by the car was hit so hard he was cut in half, his legs stayed there and his torso was sent flying 100 yards down the street. This woman ought to be facing some hard time, it sounds terrible.
Posted by: WhitecollarRedneck || 10/20/2006 11:49 Comments || Top||

#7  Hood rat.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 10/20/2006 13:40 Comments || Top||

#8  Forget all that. How about a "driving while ugly" charge?
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 10/20/2006 13:57 Comments || Top||

#9  WCR,

Not quite. The victim's body was propelled into utility cables with such velocity that his legs were severed. It's a small mercy that the impact with the car killed him instantly.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 10/20/2006 14:25 Comments || Top||

#10  So it sucks ass for that poor dude at any rate.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 10/20/2006 16:05 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Trabis Enjoy Cult Status in Former East Germany
Posted by: mrp || 10/20/2006 15:44 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In Czech, it was called "Revenge for Sudeten", perhaps because it was like a pestilence, one could find its smelly exhaust final product everywhere.
Posted by: twobyfour || 10/20/2006 20:05 Comments || Top||

#2  If memory serves, the principal fuel source was used vegetable oil. Members of the nomenklatura , I suppose, pulled up to the pump and ordered the attendent to "fill 'er up! Mit Wesson!".
Posted by: mrp || 10/20/2006 20:35 Comments || Top||

#3  mrp, you're making it up! ;-)

1) Members of nomenclatura wouldn't fit in trabant.
2) Trabis ran on gas. You could use vegetable oil in some diesel engines, but no matter how yummy the oil is, trabant would not move an inch if you poured it down its tank.
Posted by: twobyfour || 10/20/2006 21:16 Comments || Top||

#4  1) Members of nomenclatura wouldn't fit in trabant.

LOL!

2) Trabis ran on gas. You could use vegetable oil in some diesel engines, but no matter how yummy the oil is, trabant would not move an inch if you poured it down its tank.

Durn memory :)
Posted by: mrp || 10/20/2006 23:10 Comments || Top||


Pimp My Tortoise
Tina the tortoise has been given a lift after being fitted with a suspension system and a pneumatic tyre to help her cope with muddy terrain. The three-legged reptile can now go 'off-road' after the 4x4-style system was attached to her shell.

Tina was fitted with a plastic wheel four years ago to replace her rear right leg.

But our increasingly warmer autumns mean Tina hibernates later in the year, leaving her battling to cope with muddy grass and slopes and dead leaves. So the rudimentary wheel has now been replaced with an air-filled tyre and a spring suspension system with shock absorber.

Speedy Tina can now explore areas of her enclosure at Longleat Safari Park, Wiltshire, which have been out of bounds to her in the past.

The spur thigh tortoise was donated to Longleat in 2002 when she seemed to be depressed because of her lack of manoeuvrability. She rapidly recovered when the plastic wheel was fitted but it wore out and buckled over time as she tried to access rougher parts of her enclosure.

The new wheel and suspension system were made for Tina by model maker Simon England, from Frome, Somerset. The large rubber wheel and adapted axle were stuck on to Tina's shell with an animal friendly adhesive.
Made from cows.
Darren Beasley, the animal's carer at Longleat, said: 'The new system is incredible and allows Tina to go all over the place. She is one of the oldest tortoises we have here at Longleat but you would never know it. She is now among the fastest and certainly making the most of the warm weather prior to hibernating. And she can cope with any terrain – it's amazing.'
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 05:20 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Reminds me of a story. A turtle calls 9-1-1 and says he's been mugged by a gang of snails. The cops get there, and they have him going through a book of mugshots, but he can't identify the bad guys. "I'm sorry, officers," the turtle laments, "but I didn't get a good look at them. It all happened so fast."
Posted by: Mike || 10/20/2006 7:12 Comments || Top||

#2  "our increasingly warmer autumns mean Tina hibernates later ..."

So the poor tortoise only needs the new wheel because of global warming.

Can somebody spring for one of those flashy spinning wheel covers?
Posted by: Glenmore || 10/20/2006 7:16 Comments || Top||

#3  lol Mike
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 8:18 Comments || Top||

#4  an animal friendly adhesive.

Gorilla Glue?
Posted by: SteveS || 10/20/2006 10:45 Comments || Top||

#5  "Carer"?

That's a word?
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 11:46 Comments || Top||

#6  pimp my turtle tortoise indeed.

lol, anonymous5089 methinks Tina wud like it!
Posted by: RD || 10/20/2006 11:48 Comments || Top||

#7  #5 "Carer"?

That's a word?


lol,

[barf werd]

Who is a carer?

A carer is someone, who, without payment, provides help and support to a partner, child, relative, friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability.

ahh no $$$ 'splains why a carer cain't afford the 'taker' bit.

A young carer is a child or young person under the age of 18 carrying out significant caring tasks and assuming a level of responsibility for another person, which would normally be taken by an adult.

how juvenile

Anyone can become a carer; carers come from all walks of life, all cultures and can be of any age.

even RBers?

Many carers do not consider themselves to be a carer, they are just looking after their mother, son, or best friend, just getting on with it and doing what anyone else would in the same situation.

how precious

Why do carers need support?

Taking on a caring role can mean facing a life of poverty, isolation, frustration, ill health and depression. Many carers give up an income, future employment prospects and pension rights to become a carer. Many carers also work outside the home and are trying to juggle jobs with their caring responsibilities. The majority of carers struggle on alone and do not know that there is help available to them. Carers say that access to information; financial support and breaks in caring are vital in helping them manage the impact of caring on their lives.

carers are doomed

[/barf werd]
Posted by: RD || 10/20/2006 12:04 Comments || Top||

#8  But our increasingly warmer autumns mean Tina hibernates later in the year


Ooooooooo I missed the obligatory Global Warming™ reference
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 13:04 Comments || Top||

#9  LOL Glenmore.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/20/2006 15:11 Comments || Top||


When Idiots Collide (keep scrolling)
Posted by: anonymous2u || 10/20/2006 00:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wuzzadem is very funny, and quite unique.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 9:40 Comments || Top||

#2  ROFLMAO! Crazy funny.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/20/2006 11:26 Comments || Top||


Herd of wild elephants tramples 5 Banglas
CHITTAGONG: A herd of wild elephants rampaged through a village in southern Bangladesh on Thursday, killing five members of a family, police and witnesses said.

Two children were among those trampled to death by the herd of about 10 elephants in Jangalgunagari village, 350 km (220 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka, a witness said. The elephants also destroyed five bamboo huts and damaged crops before they were chased away by police firing blank shots. Villagers also torched bushes and lit firecrackers to scare the animals away.
Posted by: Fred || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Elephant - Sting Ray anti-US alliance???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 1:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Joe, Banglas are muzzies. Elephants are on our side. If it were donkeys, I'd be in doubt, of course.
Posted by: twobyfour || 10/20/2006 9:57 Comments || Top||

#3  Insensitive, I know, but when I read this I can't help but remember that joke from elementary school: "What's the brown gooey stuff between elephants' toes?" (Slow natives.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 10/20/2006 10:54 Comments || Top||

#4  I wonder if the elephants were drunk - seriously.
Posted by: xbalanke || 10/20/2006 17:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Were the victims all local leaders of the Purba Bangla Communist Party? Any shutter gun or rounds of bullet laying around?
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/20/2006 17:07 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Principal acts after students hire stripper
THE principal of one of Perth's most exclusive schools has summoned parents to a meeting "of critical importance" following reports of booze-fuelled public sex romps, weekend drug binges and boys employing a stripper whose act involves the use of vegetables.

"Recent events have prompted a number of parents to approach me about initiating a discussion among parents due to the seriousness of some of the activities that have occurred," Scotch College headmaster Reverend Andrew Syme wrote in a letter sent this week to the parents of each Year 11 boy.

"Unfortunately, this year I have heard stories of boys lying to parents about the social events that are occurring; of parents' houses being trashed; alcohol and drugs being accessed; of gangs (from beyond the school) attacking boys; and of sexual behaviour that would be of concern to all parents."

Although better would have been expected from boys whose parents face annual day-pupil fees of about $13,000, "money never has and never will equate to wisdom," Mr Syme said.

And in a move reflecting social issues such as alcohol abuse, drug-taking and sexual promiscuity, he also plans to convene a meeting of fellow principals to discuss what measures could be taken to rein in students whose actions reflected badly on schools.

"We are getting into territory that is not strictly the province of schools, but we know it does wash back on us," he said.

Mr Syme, the father of two adult sons, acknowledged as ambitious his vision of reforming the culture in which privileged teenagers get their kicks.

But he said it was time for him and other private school principals to examine why bouncers had become essential at teen parties in Perth's leafy western suburbs.

Action was also needed to prevent students from gorging on drugs and alcohol and engaging in inappropriate sexual behaviour, he said.

Mr Syme was prompted to take action following reports of out-of-control weekend parties and a student rugby wind-up involving a vegetable-wielding stripper.

Text massaging was largely to blame for attracting swarms of teens to grand homes in some of Perth's most expensive suburbs for under-age parties, where students from a number of schools took illicit drugs and engaged in "inappropriate sexual behaviour in parks and other public places", he said.

While some principals might prefer not to know what their students got up to after hours, Mr Syme used informants to identify the 17-year-olds who organised the stripper for an informal rugby wind-up last term.

"I was pretty angry," he said yesterday. "What is most upsetting is actually not the stripper, it is that things are going on without the knowledge of the parents.

"I said to the boys: 'I know why you didn't tell anyone but if you have to sneak around the place and do things behind people's backs that is a symbol of a lack of integrity and of dishonesty'."

Mr Syme said that he had become "increasingly troubled" by the behaviour of some of the students at Scotch, a school whose old boys include Australia's ambassador to China at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre, David Sadlier, judge Geoffrey Kennedy, golfer Terry Gale and former AFL star and Brownlow medallist Ross Glendinning.
Posted by: tipper || 10/20/2006 12:56 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...boys employing a stripper whose act involves the use of vegetables.

Vegetables?!! Is nothing sacred??

Action was also needed to prevent students from gorging on drugs and alcohol and engaging in inappropriate sexual behaviour, he said.

Maybe if they had parents...
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 10/20/2006 13:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, man - that "Text massaging" is bad stuff. Oughta be banned, if you ask me.
Posted by: mojo || 10/20/2006 13:06 Comments || Top||

#3  "I said to the boys: 'I know why you didn't tell anyone but if you have to sneak around the place and do things behind people's backs that is a symbol of a lack of integrity and of dishonesty'."

Sounds like just another day at the NYT, WaPo, LAT, CNN....
Posted by: Ulanter Jeger7605 || 10/20/2006 14:47 Comments || Top||

#4  That was one lucky rutabaga...
Posted by: Dar || 10/20/2006 15:58 Comments || Top||

#5  Sounds like the Rev means well.
Too bad he doesn't stand a chance...
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/20/2006 16:45 Comments || Top||

#6  School principals. Why do they hate us?
Posted by: Hupailing Ebbuns2352 || 10/20/2006 17:22 Comments || Top||


The hooded prisoners
SERIAL spitters in Queensland watchhouses are having hoods tied over their heads in an Australian-first trial which civil libertarians have compared to measures used in the notorious Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons.

Queensland police are carrying out a 10-week trial of the spit hoods in 11 watchhouses around the state in a bid to protect its officers and other visitors from diseases such as hepatitis and HIV. Two types of the overseas-made hoods, made from soft fabric and mesh, have been used nine times since the trial began in August.

The police Ethical Standards Command is already investigating several complaints about the use of the hoods.

Acting deputy police commissioner Kathy Rynders said today the hoods were a necessary measure to protect officers from prisoners who spit and bite. She said spitting was an increasing problem, with up to 30 per cent of all calls to a police help hotline coming from officers who had been spat at. "Certainly the masks don't look the best, however we need to remember that we are dealing with an issue of safety, for not only our officers but also for unsworn members of the organisations who work in watchhouses,'' she said.

"What we have tried to do is balance our duty of care with having something that effectively controls people who are serial spitters.'' The hoods are tied in such a way that they cannot be taken off by a prisoner and they do not impede vision or breathing.
A crack in the chops with a nightstick would also control the problem very effectively...
But Australian Council for Civil Liberties vice president Terry O'Gorman said the hoods were humiliating and degrading. "It invokes images of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and frankly we say it's a totally unacceptable practice which should be stopped until the (police) minister (Judy Spence) can demonstrate by evidence ... that there's a need for it,'' he said.
The people are spitting -- isn't that evidence enough?
He said the trial had begun without public consultation. "It started off with capsicum spray, it's currently going on with the trialling of the Taser gun, now this, where huge changes in police procedures are occurring without any vote by parliament or external oversight or proper evidence that it's needed,'' he said.
He then collapsed in a fit of the vapors.
A Queensland Police Union spokesman welcomed the move and said the union would lobby the state government to introduce the hoods permanently. "It's been a concern of ours we've had a long time about people spitting on police officers,'' the spokesman said.

Premier Peter Beattie said no decision had been made on whether to make the hoods a permanent fixture in watchhouses. "Of course we want to make sure that people are protected but for too long our police have been bitten, scratched, kicked, spat on,'' he said. "I don't want to see a police officer get HIV/AIDS or any of the various hepatitis.''
Posted by: Oztralian || 10/20/2006 05:45 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought this was already in use in US prisons, I don't see what's controversial about it, except the "oooohhh-it's-looks-like-Gitmo-the-gulag-of-our-times" brainfart. Common sense in action, that's all, what's the alternative, bash their head in until they understand spitting is detrimental to everyone?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/20/2006 6:28 Comments || Top||

#2  "what's the alternative, bash their head in until they understand spitting is detrimental to everyone?"

I'd prefer that.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 10/20/2006 8:15 Comments || Top||

#3  two words: Ball Gag
Posted by: The Gimp || 10/20/2006 8:17 Comments || Top||

#4  I guess Abu Gharib and Gitmo have now replaced Auschwitz and the Nazi's, eh? Geez, some uppity folks need to realize we may very well have to get a LOT more down and dirty with these goons before it's all over.
Posted by: BA || 10/20/2006 8:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Lemme' see if I get this straight - pepper spray and tazers are legal weapons in California and can be bought darned near over the counter in most cases - but pepper spray and tazers (nor a good crack in the mouth with a police baton) should not be used by duly authorized and appointed police officers?

Yeah, that's gonna' work...

Posted by: FOTSGreg || 10/20/2006 17:42 Comments || Top||


Man charged over fake Pakistani passports
A MELBOURNE man was remanded in custody today after arriving in Australia with two fake Pakistani passports allegedly in his luggage. The 28-year-old Preston man, who was charged with possessing false travel documents, appeared in the Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court after Australian customs officers allegedly found the two counterfeits.

Customs referred the find to the Australian Federal Police, whose officers later found another false passport and documents at a Docklands address.

A Pakistani national whose name has not been released, the man was refused bail and remanded in custody to appear in the same court on November 16. Police have alleged he purchased the fake passports in Pakistan before arriving in Australia.
Posted by: Oztralian || 10/20/2006 05:42 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Aren't pretty much all Paki passports fake?
Posted by: mojo || 10/20/2006 10:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Only the well-made ones.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/20/2006 12:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Doesn't everyone bring bake fake passports as souveniers of Pakistan, along with samples of the other traditional handicrafts?
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 15:12 Comments || Top||


Europe
German states agree phone Internet licence fee
Posted by: anonymous2u || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Germany's 16 states agreed on Thursday to introduce from January 1 a licence fee of 5.52 euros (3.70 pounds) a month on computers and mobile phones that can access television and radio programmes via the Internet.

The Internet will kill government mandated licensed reception of TV and radio (thank god). There is no way they can collect this.
Posted by: phil_b || 10/20/2006 2:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Phil_b - There is a way they can collect the fee, and it's not pretty. Force ALL internet access through government controlled portals. Monitor ALL traffic - if there's more traffic than can be handled, just block it. Or rather, just block that which you don't want reaching the people. How hard would it be for China to collect a fee? In fact in Germany it may be the fee is more like justification for future 'traffic control' than for financial 'compensation.'
Posted by: Glenmore || 10/20/2006 7:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Glenmore, gotta disagree. TV and radio license fees are legally mandated and enforced subscriptions. A print media analogy would be everyone who reads being forced to subscribe to the NYT or Time.

On the internet you can only tax the medium not the message. So Germany could try to tax every internet connection and good luck to them. I can't imagine an issue that will mobilize the technerati more than this and generate ways around it. But taxing the device (computer or MPhone) is silly. More SFB cluelessness from bureaucrats. You can't lug a TV around with you but computers and MPhones are designed to be mobile.

The forced subscription scam is dead and this is an attempt to milk it one more time = another tax on ignorance.
Posted by: phil_b || 10/20/2006 8:53 Comments || Top||

#4  I look forward to making a killing selling germans mobile phones from outside the coutry to avoid the extortion.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 10/20/2006 10:33 Comments || Top||

#5  No, they'll just charge the fee to anyone who buys such a phone or has a computer, regardless whether they are used to access tv/radio shows. The same way that residents of Germany have to pay an annual tax for every radio and television they own, whether or not it's ever turned on. It's self-reported, but there are trucks with antennae wandering the landscape to see if someone has lied.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/20/2006 15:17 Comments || Top||

#6  but there are trucks with antennae wandering the landscape to see if someone has lied.

they can pick that up with an antenna??? holy shit!!!
Posted by: facta non verba || 10/20/2006 16:21 Comments || Top||

#7  Yeah, it's not too difficult. Basically, since radios and TVs are superhets and have a near-standard first IF, you know where the local oscillator will be tuned, so you can sniff for that. If you find it, pull out your MP41s and search the house.

A TRF radio, or regenerative, would be undetectable. And I wonder if the SA would break down the door to force a child to license his crystal set, if they somehow knew?

Now, a TRF television would be an interesting project. I can't see it happening, except perhaps for just a couple VHF channels (or whatever they use over there).
Posted by: Jackal || 10/20/2006 22:20 Comments || Top||

#8  There has been direct demuxing of HD video with an AMD64 processor in an open source project. Its do-able. Also direct synthesis from DSPs. No IF to spot.
Posted by: 3dc || 10/20/2006 23:52 Comments || Top||


Polish customs fire 'warning shot' at German booze boat
A passenger ship in Polish waters fled back to Germany this week, ignoring a "warning shot" from a signalling pistol, Poland's legal affairs officer in Berlin confirmed Thursday. Both Germany and Poland were at pains Thursday to avoid recriminations about the incident. Germany's Foreign Office said it and German interior officials were trying to settle the matter quickly "in the spirit of good-neighbourly relations."

Three Polish customs officers who were investigating possible smuggling on the Adler Dania, a floating shop, were taken to Germany against their will, Marek Wieruszewski, consul for legal affairs at the Polish embassy in Berlin, said. They returned home by land. This could be described as a "mini-kidnapping," but the Tuesday incident had "in no way" caused international tension, he said.

The Adler Dania is operated by a German ferry company. It was taking 45 passengers on an "international" voyage to buy cigarettes and alcohol at cheaper prices. Since the incident, just before it docked in Swinoujscie, it has been declared undesirable in Poland.
Posted by: lotp || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  SPACEWAR.com > RUSIAN GENERAL warns that any imposition of US-led BMD's "NEAR RUSSIA'S BORDERS" [POLAND?] will be considered by Russia a a legitimate threat to Russia and Russia's deterrent forces-capabilities. MIL BOG > RUSSIA intercepts TURKISH ships bound for Georgia. Seems that China-SCO has the Asian side of Mackinder's World Island of EURASIA, whilst Russia has the EURO-side??? GEORGIA = NORTH KOREA???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 2:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Jesus Joe,
what the hell are you talking about!
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 10/20/2006 16:07 Comments || Top||

#3  I have long wondered. Is JosephMendiola some sort of webbot?
Posted by: JAB || 10/20/2006 17:51 Comments || Top||

#4  If you can't understand Joe, you're simply not worthy.
Posted by: facta non verba || 10/20/2006 20:53 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
GOP to Air Ad Warning of Terror Attacks
The Republican Party will begin airing a hard-hitting ad this weekend that warns of more cataclysmic terror attacks against the U.S. homeland. The ad portrays Osama bin Laden and quotes his threats against America dating to February 1998. "These are the stakes," the ad concludes. "Vote November 7."

Brian Jones, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said the ad would run on national cable beginning Sunday, but he declined to discuss specifics of the buy. The ad displays an array of quotes from bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, that include bin Laden's Dec. 26, 2001 vow that "what is yet to come will be even greater." The ad also cites al-Zawahri's claim to have obtained "some suitcase bombs," followed by a scene that appears to show a nuclear explosion.

Despite al-Zawahri's claim, portable nuclear devices are believed to be particularly difficult to produce, and elusive to rogue regimes and terror groups. "The degree of difficulty goes way up as the size of the device gets smaller," a senior U.S. official said this week, briefing reporters this week on condition of anonymity.
It makes the point -- there are all sorts of ways the terrs can hurt us. Do we want to take a chance?
The ad is also featured on the RNC's Web site. The party said the ad, called "The Stakes," will be e-mailed to millions of GOP supporters, activists and the state parties.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/20/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any nuclear power that in the 1950's-1970's can unilater dev man-portable battlefield nukes which can be fired from light Jeeps to APCs to Mortar tubes, etal can easily dev lightweight manportable MINI-NUKES CAPABLE OF BEING DETONATED FROM MINI-SUITCASES. "The degree of difficulty goes ... up as the size ... gets smaller" > WHATS OWG, ANTI-AMER AMERICAN SOCIALISM-GOVERNMENTISM, ANTI-SOVEREIGNTY, + MOTHERLY TOTALITARIANISM, ETC FOR??? THREE CO-EQUAL + PARALLEL BRANCHS OF US GOVT., i.e. Classic FEDERALISM, = WELL-MEANING BUT ERROR-PRONE FASCIST LIMITED CENTRALISM, don't ya know, not to be compared to Motherly COMMIE-SOCIE TOTALITARIAN CENTRALISM.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 2:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Its NOT Communism, Socialism, OWG, or Absolutism, etal. but NATIONAL + PERSONAL SECURITY, SAFETY, ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY, PROGRESSIVITY,
.........................................,etal@.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/20/2006 2:27 Comments || Top||

#3  did you ever hear Donkey's squeal like little piggies? LOL. Just wait....
Posted by: Frank G || 10/20/2006 7:14 Comments || Top||

#4  I can't wait!
Posted by: Bobby || 10/20/2006 10:20 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Roadside Iraq bomb injures man from Arkport
ARKPORT - The conflict in Iraq hit close to home this week with an Arkport native suffering serious injuries from a roadside blast.

U.S. Army Sgt. Chris Hurlbut, a 1992 graduate of Arkport Central School, was injured when an IUD (Improvised Explosive Device) exploded next to him.

According to reports from his family and friends, Hurlbut was at the front of a patrol in the outskirts of Baghdad when a roadside device was detonated less then 4 feet from him. He was thrown several feet away into a nearby canal and quickly sank up to his helmet.

According to his friends and family, two of Hurlbut's squadmates from the 10th Cavalry, C-Troop, jumped into the canal and rescued him. He was later treated for injuries to his legs, body and face. His condition is believed to be listed as serious and is awaiting transport to Germany for further medical treatment.
I had to post this because of the way he was injured. Hopefully the paper involved will correct its story.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 10/20/2006 14:17 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
100[untagged]

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2006-10-20
  Shiite militia takes over Iraqi city
Thu 2006-10-19
  British pull out of southern Afghan district
Wed 2006-10-18
  Hamas: Mastermind of Shalit's abduction among 4 killed in Gaza
Tue 2006-10-17
  Brother of Saddam Prosecutor Is Killed
Mon 2006-10-16
  Truck bomb kills 100+ in Sri Lanka
Sun 2006-10-15
  UN imposes stringent NKor sanctions
Sat 2006-10-14
  Pak foils coup plot
Fri 2006-10-13
  Suspect pleads guilty to terrorist plot in US, Britain
Thu 2006-10-12
  Gadahn indicted for treason
Wed 2006-10-11
  Two Muslims found guilty in Albany sting case
Tue 2006-10-10
  China cancels troop leave along North Korean border
Mon 2006-10-09
  China denounces "brazen" North Korea nuclear test
Sun 2006-10-08
  North Korea Tests Nuclear Weapon
Sat 2006-10-07
  Pakistan admits 'helping' Kashmir militancy
Fri 2006-10-06
  Islamists set up central Islamic court in Mogadishu


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.
3.146.255.127
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (22)    WoT Background (32)    Non-WoT (18)    Opinion (14)    (0)