#2
My mother was always proud to have shared a semi-private room with Audrey Meadows when I was born. Mom had a couple of Christmas cards from her in the late 1940's. Don't know what happened to them when Mom sold the house and moved into a nursing home.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/08/2010 14:43 Comments ||
Top||
We've had a few problems lately with civil discourse here on the Burg. Nothing we can't handle, but allow this post to serve as a gentle reminder of the bright lines we mods draw on comments:
Racist and racially provocative language on the Burg is banned. Regulars who engage in this will be redacted as a warning. Further offenses lead to banning. For visitors, banning is the first step.
Many different people read the Burg. Some are in governance or the military. Some are outside the US. The Burg punches above its weight. We are read by people who matter. No one wants to read racist garbage. So don't do it.
Likewise, frank misogynist language and images are banned. We at the Burg enjoy our cheesecake images (beefcake for the women regulars also is fine), but there's a difference and any reasonable person knows what that limit is. Don't cross it.
Anti-religious bigotry gets you into trouble real quick. It's okay to be against Islamicists; those folks are thugs and a threat. It's okay to be against Christian Identity types who want most all of us dead or in chains. But don't confuse such groups with the larger groups of decent, civil people with religious belief -- or no religious belief. Our beef is with the terrorists and their sympathizers.
Threats against American citizens and law-abiding, civil Westerners are banned. Regulars who engage in this will be redacted as a warning. Further offenses lead to banning. For visitors, banning is the first step.
Threats made against Americans, and civil Westerners in general, are one of the things that can get the Burg into trouble. That creates problems for Fred. Don't do it. This rule does not extend to jihadis, thugs and general miscreants around the world -- if you want to double-tap Osama, I'll spot for you.
Abusive language towards others on the Burg will be redacted. Sometimes tempers flare, and we mods have an understanding and tolerance for the occasional dust-up. There are limits. The Auto Bartender will bring out the clue bat when needed.
As always, we thank you for reading the Burg. It's our pleasure and privilege to make it available.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And if you don't get it after all that, we'll take Dave D off his meds and let him chew thru the straps.
#3
seems to me the comments form yesterday were more of the 'poor taste' than 'malicious intent'. that is not however the issue. people come to the 'burg to read insightful and educational discussion that cannot be redily found other places. the decor of the place and overall quality needs to be maintained, and i thank the mods for the work they do. gonna hit the tip jar on payday as this is one of the very few places i have on my 'must read' list. i have crossed over to the dark side once, and been gently reminded of the boundaries and appreciated the guidance.
thanks for keeping the burg a place worth coming to.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
02/08/2010 1:48 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Were going to check if I were evah sinktrapped, but the thing is stuck on the current date. Maybe I nevah were... easy to assume now! ;-)
Posted by: Oscar ||
02/08/2010 6:49 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Well said, Steve White. And you might have added something like, "It is fine to take issue with the foreign or domestic policies of the United States of America or with the wisdom of our president in making these decisions, but not to make unsupported snarks about his loyalty to the nation. That is disrespectful to the office and to those who do not share your political opinions but are as concerned as you are about national security."
Well no, I won't go that far. Most readers respect the Office of the Presidency. Those that don't are welcome to their beliefs. Those that think that the current President is somehow disloyal to the country can defend their statements -- they'll have to be good at it or suffer the humiliation that comes with saying something that one can't support.
An American politician, any office, either party, is fair game for what they say, do, and don't do. Ditto for non-American western politicians. Snark as you like. Just don't threaten their lives.
#11
Bright Pebbles, we use the term 'redact' because what we do with comments is indeed to 'edit/revise' them rather than simply remove them.
2x4 and others - this is how you know if a comment of yours was redacted. Instead of what you wrote you will see the following text (or something close to it):
Redacted by moderator. Comments may be redacted for trolling, violation of standards of good manners, or plain stupidity. Please correct the condition that applies and try again. Contents may be viewed in the sinktrap. Further violations may result in banning.
This replacement text is highlighted by the color of the mod who took the redaction action.
#14
but not to make unsupported snarks about his loyalty to the nation.
....to the "loyalty" suggested amendment, might we add as "off-limits" his lofty chin, condescending lectures, telepromptitis, narcissism, strange friends, and veracity.
I just think if you remove all the content of a post then the word "remove" is more apt than "redact". They're not really synonyms, and it's nice to try and prevent word-meanings from sliding.
I'm just a programmer so one-token (word) should do one thing in my book.
#17
Pebbles, in this case, the post is preserved, though in the sinktrap area. There are posts that are removed for real, usually signified with a state patrol officer stating the reason. ;-)
#18
but not to make unsupported snarks about his loyalty to the nation.
I was not aware that such comments were out of bounds. The 'Burg is certainly not a conspiracy site (nor should it be) but our chief executives associations with people who are self-identified anti-Americans and communists are a matter of the public record.
Such comments may not be especially helpful, however, and I do try to stay relevant and on topic, FWIW.
#19
I'm just a programmer so one-token (word) should do one thing in my book.
My own research includes computational linguistics/natural language processing and all I can say is, good luck with that! ;-) The fancy word is 'polysemy' ... and that doesn't get near the issues associated with irony, metaphor and snark .....
The Chomsky hierarchy is a poor fit for natural language, which is pretty clearly not context-free. FWIW ;-)
#20
There are enough people in Washington that deserve to be introduced to a rope and lamp post that any such comments could well take over the Burg and turn it into a semi-conservative Puffington Host. That would be a great loss to all of us who visit here regularly. I know I press the line quite often, but if I ever slip OVER it, I expect to be sink-trapped, and deservedly so.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/08/2010 14:45 Comments ||
Top||
A district administrator in northwestern Afghanistan has been accused of militant links and corruption charges, officials said Monday, the second senior Afghan official to be arrested in the past week.
The allegations come amid fears of infiltration and pressure on President Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption in the ranks.
The chief administrator in Bala Murghab, a heavily Taliban influenced area, was detained late Thursday but officials did not disclose the news until after his interrogation.
Aminullah, who like many Afghans only goes by one name, was accused of passing sensitive military and intelligence information to militants through a man who worked in his office, according to the chief prosecutor assigned to the case.
He also faced corruption charges for allegedly selling government property and cooking oil meant for poor people for personal gain, prosecutor Mohammad Nahim Naziry said.
Posted by: Grotch the Scantily Clad7546 ||
02/08/2010 08:12 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
[Quqnoos] A roadside bomb struck a police vehicle in Kandahar city on Sunday, killing four policemen. The "very big bomb" was placed under a bridge and exploded as the police vehicle was passing, a senior local police official, Col Abdul Ahmad, told AFP.
"Four policemen who were bringing food to their post were killed" in the blast," Col Abdul Ahmad added.
The Afghan officials blamed Taliban militants for the "cruel" attack.
No groups, including the Taliban, have made immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.
Kandahar city is the capital of southern Kandahar province, which along with neighbouring Helmand is the centre of the insurgency.
As foreign and Afghan troops prepare a major military offensive in Taliban's last strongholds around Marjah, in the central Helmand, top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, says that IEDs will be their biggest threat.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[Quqnoos] An Afghan police commander has been arrested as part of a ring that planted roadside bombs, NATO-led forces said on Sunday. International troops and Afghan security forces arrested the police commander in Mahmud Raqi, the capital of Kapisa province, north of Kabul, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
"A known IED facilitator, he has been involved in the storage, distribution and installation of IEDs on the roads surrounding Mahmud Raqi," ISAF said in a statement.
"He is also involved in bribery and corruption related to road refurbishment. He has been clearly linked to criminal activities including a murder during the summer of 2009," the statement noted.
A provincial official told Quqnoos that foreign forces have arrested Col Abdullah Wahab, the second top police official in the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[Quqnoos] Thousands of people are leaving their homes ahead of a major military operation in southern Afghanistan. A huge force of US Marines leading NATO and Afghan soldiers is expected to launch a massive operation in Helmand's central district of Marjah -- a main Taliban stronghold -- in the coming days.
"The government of Afghanistan will reclaim Marjah as one of its own," said the British commander of the operation, General Nick Carter.
The assault is known as Operation Mushtarak -- Dari for "together", as Afghan troops will also play a pivotal role -- and has been flagged by military officials for months to either repel or draw in the enemy.
Taliban leaders say they are massing fighters around Marjah in preparation for a bloody battle. "We are in control and ready to fight," said purported Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Mushtarak echoes assaults last year -- the British Operation Panther's Claw and the Marines' Operation Dagger -- seen as successfully eradicating militants who had controlled other poppy-growing regions in Helmand province.
Preparatory operations around Marjah, south of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, have been going on for weeks, with leaflets dropped on the area from NATO helicopters warning residents of the assault to come.
Habibullah, 48, said he and his family left Marjah for Lashkar Gah two months ago to escape the violence.
"There are a lot of Taliban there. They are violent towards us, accusing us of spying for the foreign forces, demanding food all the time," he told AFP.
"There are still people living there and the Taliban are still in control, but there has been a lot of fighting, with gunfire and bombings, and lots of soldiers have been coming in to fight the Taliban and then leave," he said.
Operation Mushtarak comes after US President Barack Obama announced in December his plan for a troop surge. The US and NATO are deploying an extra 40,000 troops, on top of the 113,000 already in Afghanistan, as part of the surge, with most heading to the southern battleground.
Gen Stanley McChrystal, the commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan told a global security conference in Istanbul last week the situation in Afghanistan is serious but no longer deteriorating because "we have made significant progress... and we'll make new progress in 2010".
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Sounds pretty much like the Fallujah model to me. We told them we were coming which gave the civilians time to flee. The next thing we will be hearing about are short little in-out operations.
#2
I just hope we do not destroy too many baby milk factories, and shoot up too many weddings.
Posted by: Dave UK ||
02/08/2010 3:49 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Taliban leaders say they are massing fighters around Marjah in preparation for a bloody battle. "We are in control and ready to fight," said purported Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location...
...in Pakistan. Don't worry guys, he's there in spirit with you, but has really really important business elsewhere.
An exchange of mortar shells between Somali government forces and rebels killed at least nine civilians and injured 14 others, a human rights group said on Monday. The clashes started late Sunday and continued Monday morning, the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization said.
"These casualties are from the overnight shelling. We are still monitoring Monday's casualties. The shelling was terrible," said Ali Yasin Gedi, Elman's vice chairman.
Residents said government shells targeted houses occupied by Islamist al Shabaab rebels in the north of Mogadishu. Washington says the group is al Qaeda's proxy in the region.
"We saw al Shabaab carrying their dead and injured in a minibus. But we do not know the exact figure of the deaths," Hassan Nur, a resident, told Reuters. "The government shells almost leveled houses that housed local and foreign al Shabaab people."
A government official who wanted to remain anonymous told Reuters the pro-government Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca militia was meeting a government delegation in neighboring Addis Ababa. "Currently the talks are continuing. We're discussing with Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca on how best we can accommodate them both politically and militarily. If it goes well at this first stage, then we will focus on uniting forces to face on war," he said.
The No. 2 leader of Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood and two other top figures have been arrested by police in a dawn sweep that also grabbed 10 senior members across five provinces, police and members of the group said.
Police arrested the newly elected deputy leader, Mahmoud Ezzat, and two other members of the top level Guidance Council, Essam el-Erian and Abdul-Rahman el-Bir.
The arrests are the latest move in a wide-ranging crackdown on the group ahead of parliamentary elections this year and appear designed to cripple the organization's leadership.
The group, the country's largest and best organized opposition, had just elected a new supreme guide and deputy.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media, said they were arrested for engaging in banned political activity—a standard government charge used against the group.
Posted by: Grotch the Scantily Clad7546 ||
02/08/2010 08:07 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
#1
"...they were arrested for engaging in banned political activity..."
Membership in the Muslim Brotherhood should be "banned political activity."
Posted by: American Delight ||
02/08/2010 21:06 Comments ||
Top||
[Maghrebia] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb issued a statement on a jihadist website threatening to execute French hostage Pierre Camatte on February 20th and Italian hostage Sergio Cicala on March 1st, international press reported on Friday (February 5th). According to terrorist website monitoring group SITE, AQIM again demanded the release of several jailed al-Qaeda members in exchange for the hostages. The statement did not mention the four other kidnapped foreigners believed held in Mali by al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
[Asharq al-Aswat] Yemen has arrested a man suspected of threatening to bomb foreign embassies in the capital Sanaa and to assassinate Yemeni political and military leaders, state media reported on Sunday.
In early January, the United States, Britain and France temporarily closed their Yemen embassies to the public due to concern over possible militant attacks.
The 42-year-old man, who was detained in Sanaa, had in his possession a mobile phone containing speeches and songs of Yemen's northern Shi'ite rebels, the interior ministry said on its website.
Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, is battling a rebellion to its north from rebels belonging to the minority Shi'ite Zaidi sect who complain of marginalization but is also in the throes of a crackdown on al Qaeda.
The Yemen-based regional wing of the global militant group claimed a failed bomb attack on a U.S.-bound plane in December.
The West and Saudi Arabia fear al Qaeda will take advantage of Yemen's instability to spread its operations to the neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, and beyond. Yemen itself produces a small amount of oil.
On Saturday, Yemen said it had handed over a timetable to the northern rebels to implement the government's ceasefire terms.
The country is also struggling to contain simmering unrest from a southern secessionist movement.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
DAILY TIMES.PK > AL QAEDA IN YEMEN CALLS FOR JIHAD. AQIY/AQAP complaining about ZIONIST US
"ESPIONAGE PLANES" = ARMED UAV DRONES KILLING INNOCENT CIVILIANS, hence need for local Yemeni Muslims to engage in Armed-Viol Jihad for self-defense.
[Bangla Daily Star] Md Hafizur Rahman, the prime accused in Chittagong Arms case, in a confessional statement here Saturday night hinted at involvement of the same high officials of intelligence agencies and leaders of United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), as mentioned in his previous confessional statement.
He made the statement under section-164 in the arms smuggling case filed under the section-25/B of Special Powers Act, one of the two cases filed in connection with the seizure of the deadly consignment.
Hafiz took eight hours since 5:00pm to make the confessional statement before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahabubur Rahman, who recorded the confession in 43 pages, said the sources.
Hafiz made his previous confessional statement under section-164 in arms haul case filed under the section-19 (ka) of Arms Act in March 2 last year that made a remarkable development in the investigation.
Contacted, Investigation Officer (IO) of the case Md Muniruzzaman Chowdhury, a senior ASP of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Chittagong zone, refused to disclose any information regarding the confessional statement.
However, sources said Hafiz made almost the same confession as he did in the arms haul case and hinted at involvement of the same persons in the case filed in connection with the ten truckloads of firearms and ammunition hauled at Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Company Limited (CUFL) jetty in the early hours of April 2, 2004.
In the previous confessional statement Hafiz implicated involvement of high officials of National Security Intelligence (NSI), Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the CUFL.
Investigation following the statement helped CID arrest two former NSI director generals (DGs) Major General (retd) Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury and Brigadier Gen (retd) M Abdur Rahim, former director (security) Wing Commander (retd) Sahab Uddin, former deputy director (technical) Maj (retd) Liakat Hossain, NSI Field Officer Akbar Hossain, former CUFL managing director Mohsin Talukder and General Manager (Admin) Enamul Haq.
Besides, the then home secretary Omar Faruk, former chairman of Bangladesh Chemicals and Industries Corporation (BCIC) Brig Gen (retd) Imamuzzaman and a number of government high officials were quizzed in connection with the case.
No new name came in Saturday night's confession, sources added.
Meanwhile, CID investigators on Thursday made a 7-day remand prayer against former NSI DG Maj Gen (retd) Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury in the arms haul case.
The remand prayer was placed before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chittagong.
Hearing of the remand prayer would be held today in the afternoon, said the sources.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] An American missionary who strode illegally into North Korea on Christmas Day and was detained by the communist regime for 43 days was welcomed back to the United States on Saturday evening in an emotional reunion with family members at Los Angeles International Airport.
Robert Park was greeted by his parents and brother in a private location at the airport after arriving on a commercial flight from Beijing. Earlier Saturday, the 28-year-old Korean-American from Tucson, Arizona, flew to the Chinese capital from Pyongyang.
The family stopped briefly for reporters as they left the airport in their car. A thin and pale Park said nothing and kept his eyes downcast while his brother, Paul Park, told reporters that he's in good condition.
''Hugging him, there didn't seem to be anything broken,'' he said.
Robert Park crossed the frozen Tumen River from China into North Korea on Dec. 25, carrying letters calling on leader Kim Jong Il to close the country's notoriously brutal prison camps and step down from power, acts that could have risked execution in the hard-line communist country.
North Korea announced Friday that Park would be freed.
The family planned to feed Robert Park spaghetti for dinner, his favorite meal growing up. Paul Park added that his brother seemed to be in good health, although he appeared to have lost a little weight.
The family didn't have time during their brief airport reunion to ask Robert Park whether he had been mistreated by North Korean officials, Paul Park said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
#1
Idiot of the day ?
Posted by: Oscar ||
02/08/2010 8:16 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Well, let's hope he got that out of his system.
Authorities arrested six suspected Taliban militants with a suicide vest and hand grenades allegedly on their way Monday to attack a five-star hotel and kill Americans in Pakistan's cultural capital, said police.
The eastern city of Lahore has suffered a spate of bombings at markets and security installations in recent years as the Taliban have expanded attacks beyond their main sanctuary in the northwest. Militants have also targeted hotels and restaurants in other parts of Pakistan popular with Westerners.
The militants arrested Monday on the outskirts of Lahore included a 14-year-old boy and a prayer leader from Pakistan's Khyber tribal area near the Afghan border, said police official Zulfikar Hameed. The prayer leader was wearing a vest packed with explosives. They told police they were targeting Americans at the Pearl Continental hotel, he said.
Posted by: ed ||
02/08/2010 12:49 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] A passenger flight from Mumbai to Dubai was halted minutes before take-off on Sunday when airline staff received a telephone call claiming there were "terrorists" on board, authorities said.
The plane was grounded after the anonymous caller alleged that two passengers were members of the extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Mumbai International Airport spokesman said.
The Emirates aircraft, which had 356 people on board, was taken to an isolated bay where passengers disembarked and security personnel detained two people for questioning.
"The flight was on the taxi-way when the call came through which said that there were LeT suspects on board," the spokesman told AFP.
He said the rest of the passengers had re-boarded and the delayed flight would take off shortly.
Last month, India increased airport security and warned its domestic airlines about a possible hijack attempt after a tip-off from Western intelligence services.
The alert warned that flights could be targeted by groups aligned to Al-Qaeda or Lashkar-e-Taiba.
New Delhi blames Lashkar-e-Taiba for plotting and carrying out the November 2008 Mumbai siege in which 10 gunmen targeted multiple locations in India's financial and entertainment capital, killing 166 people.
Last August an Indian businessman running behind schedule triggered a bomb scare at Delhi airport in a desperate attempt to catch his flight.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
[Dawn] Police arrested seven militants, including an important militant commander, during raids in Nowshera, DawnNews reported. The key militant commander known as Tahir, alias Ibne Qasim, was arrested from Hakeemabad. One of the arrested men was identified as Maulana Rashid Ahmed of Swat for his alleged links to the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
[Al Arabiya Latest] A woman planning to stand in Iraq's March 7 general election was gunned down on Sunday in the restive northern city of Mosul, police said, just days before campaigning is officially due to start.
Suha Abdul Jarallah, a candidate on the list of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, was shot dead as she left a house in the Ras al-Jadda neighborhood in central Mosul, 350 kilometers (218 miles) north of Baghdad.
"She was getting out of a relatives' home when she was shot dead by an unidentified gunman who then fled in a car carrying two other men," police said in a statement.
Intissar Allawi, a relative of Allawi, said Jarallah's killing was politically motivated.
"Obviously it was," she told AFP. "These are independent and national people who are targeted to prevent them from standing in the general election."
Campaigning for the delayed poll, the second parliamentary vote since the U.S.-led ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein, is set to begin on February 12.
The past week has been dominated by a row over a judicial panel's decision to allow around 500 candidates accused of having links to Saddam's outlawed Baath party to stand after all, having previously been banned from the ballot.
Iraqi MPs plan to meet on Monday to debate the matter after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who branded the ruling "illegal," recalled parliament.
Allawi, a secular Shiite and a former Baathist, was provisionally appointed premier by Washington in June 2004 and held the post for just under a year.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
[Ma'an] A security guard at the Egyptian construction site of the subterranean wall was left in critical condition when unknown assailants opened fire on Saturday, security sources said.
The security guard sustained a gun shot wound to his back when a group of men in a car fired live bullets on a commercial street in the As-Safa neighborhood of the Egyptian part of Rafah city, the sources said.
The assailants fled the scene before the arrival of Egyptian security forces, they said, adding that "security forces are working on identifying the perpetrators."
The injured was transferred to the Al-Arish Hospital and was described as being in a critical condition, the sources concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#2
Go with what you know, PB.
Look at the foot path on the right, is that two feet or three wide?
Look at the crossover in the distance, the dirt is high enough to walk over the buried piers, but not so high that the loose soil would require masses more. What's the texture of the dirt there?
Look at the ridges in the dirt in the foreground on the right, are those parallel scores from a tracked vehicle? Maybe the pile driver? what's the width of a track plate?
Look at the shadow falling from left to right and how the high wall on the left doesn't block it. How is your geometry, what's that angle? What latitude is the wall location? What's the highest the sun could be at this time of year? The lowest?
I would guess the trench is 5-8 ft deep, the steel piers pushed into the ground come in 6-8 foot sections and the plan is to top the buried ones with another set then cement the trench because there is no huge pile of dirt running the length of it.
[Dawn] Three Iranians have been arrested attempting to smuggle drugs worth nearly four million dollars into Malaysia, where trafficking carries a mandatory death sentence, a customs official said Sunday.
Customs deputy director Mohamad Subri Awang said the two women and one man were arrested on Friday with 13.6 million ringgit (4.0 million dollars) worth of methamphetamines.
A customs official found 54.54 kilograms (116 pounds) of the drugs in two bags, he said.
Mohamad Subri said the Iranians had arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Dubai.
"Since the collapse of the Dubai economy, we are seeing an increase in drug smugglers coming to Malaysia. The market here is lucrative and the demand is high," he told AFP.
Mohamad Subri said since January, a total of 10 Iranians had been detained for alleged drug trafficking compared to seven for the whole of last year.
"I like to warn drug traffickers that the punishment in Malaysia for drug trafficking is death and it includes for women also," he said.
Mohamad Subri said enforcement has been beefed-up at airports in the country especially to monitor in-bound passengers from India, Dubai and Amsterdam.
A Japanese woman appeared in a Malaysian court in late January on charges of trafficking 3.5 kilograms of methamphetamines last October which will see her executed if convicted.
The death penalty is carried out by hanging in Malaysia.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran said on Sunday its Internet connections will remain slow this week due to technical problems, ahead of anticipated protests by opposition supporters. Connections have been slow since last week and some email accounts have been unavailable for several hours each day.
"The cause of the reduced Internet speed in recent days is that part of the fibre-optic network is damaged," Communications Minister Reza Taghipour told Iran's state broadcaster. "The breakage will be repaired by next week and the Internet speed will be back to normal," he added.
The Iranian week runs from Saturday to Friday.
Taghipour said the undersea optic fiber across the Gulf between the Iranian port of Jask and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates had been damaged due to shipping traffic and anchoring.
He also acknowledged that text messaging in Iran had been disrupted, blaming it on "changing software."
Iran's anti-government protesters have effectively used the Internet and SMS services to organize rallies and spread news and pictures of the demonstrations.
Opposition supporters have used every opportunity to take to the streets for protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose re-election in June they reject as fraudulent.
They have held demonstrations alongside state-sponsored events over the past months and plan to take to the streets again on the February 11 anniversary of the Islamic revolution when annual state-backed marches are held.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran has successfully tested the prototype of its first domestically-built stealth drone, a senior Air Force commander said Sunday.
"The drone, due to its physical attributes and the material used in its body, cannot be detected by any radar," Air Force Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, the force's coordination deputy, told reporters.
He said data from the test-flight had been favorable and the Air Force will move forward with its plans for the drone, called Sofreh Mahi, meaning Manta Ray in English, Fars News Agency reported.
Brig. Gen. Nasirzadeh, however, explained that the production process will not be rushed as such complex systems need thorough analysis and exhaustive testing.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
...cannot be detected by any radar
maybe because it only flies in certain comic books?
Posted by: abu do you love ||
02/08/2010 1:57 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Could be a paper aeroplane.
Posted by: Dave UK ||
02/08/2010 3:45 Comments ||
Top||
#3
the drone, called Sofreh Mahi Potemkin, meaning Manta Ray Bullshit in English
#4
Brig. Gen. Nasirzadeh, however, explained that the production process will not be rushed as such complex systems need thorough analysis and exhaustive testing.
Translation:
Precision guidance, chemical and nuclear warhead arming technologies have yet to be fully developed.
#6
Brig. Gen. Nasirzadeh, however, explained that the production process will not be rushed as such complex systems need thorough analysis and exhaustive testing.
Additioal translation:
We're hoping to actually invent something like this later.
#8
Brig. Gen. Nasirzadeh, however, explained that the production process will not be rushed as such complex systems need thorough analysis and exhaustive testing.
Just how long is the gestation period for a donkey? Inquiring minds want to know.
Iran said Saturday it arrested seven people, including two Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives, who planned to stoke unrest and violence on a march scheduled for February 11.
The rally on Thursday will commemorate the 31st victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Intelligence forces, according to Borna News Agency, arrested the men who had plans to leave the country for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and then head to the United States.
According to the report, some of those arrested work for the US-backed Radio Farda, a Persian language station based in Prague and Washington.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
To all readers,
[Quqnoos] Thousands of people are leaving their homes ahead of a major military operation in southern Afghanistan. A huge force of US Marines leading NATO and Afghan soldiers is expected to launch a massive operation in Helmand's central district of Marjah -- a main Taliban stronghold -- in the coming days. 
An exchange of mortar shells between Somali government forces and rebels killed at least nine civilians and injured 14 others, a human rights group said on Monday. The clashes started late Sunday and continued Monday morning, the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization said.
[Dawn] Police arrested seven militants, including an important militant commander, during raids in Nowshera, DawnNews reported. The key militant commander known as Tahir, alias Ibne Qasim, was arrested from Hakeemabad. One of the arrested men was identified as Maulana Rashid Ahmed of Swat for his alleged links to the Taliban.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A woman planning to stand in Iraq's March 7 general election was gunned down on Sunday in the restive northern city of Mosul, police said, just days before campaigning is officially due to start.
