#5
Ironic that the Chinese communist state run media is doing a better job covering Bammo than our putative "free press."
The Chinese Communist Press is more free than our Communist MSM? Who'd have thought? You'd almost think they had something like the First Amendment. We have one, it's just that not much attention is paid to it by the press. Meeting a deadline has been replaced by meeting an agenda.
[Maghrebia] Somalia is heading toward another confrontation on its soil following the African Union's decision to send an additional 4,000 troops to bolster the force of 6,000 already stationed there.
Makes me wonder if the smarter thing to do is to build a fence around lower Somalia, between it, Puntland to the north, Kenya to the south and Ethiopia to the west. Moats, crocodiles, sharks with frikin' lasers on their heads, etc., and let al-Shabab have their playpen.
The latest decision is likely to spark a confrontation with Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahidin, a militant group that declared loyalty to al-Qaeda and seeks to topple President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's transitional government.
The Somali government carries limited authority over a country that has been divided by competing political factions since 1991.
But what are the possible consequences of a confrontation between the African Union forces known as AMISOM and al-Shabab?
The more realistic possibility is that AU troops will enter as a direct party in the battle against the al-Shabab fighters, who control the majority of southern and central Somalia, in addition to areas in the capital city of Mogadishu.
Until now, the AU troops, deployed in Mogadishu since spring 2007, could only respond to attacks. Their mission consisted of providing support to the Somali transitional government forces in fighting off attacks against their positions in the capital.
Although the Kampala summit did not significantly alter the AMISOM mandate, it gave troops more freedom to launch pre-emptive strikes against the rebels before they launch their attacks.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
#1
If I were the Commander in Chief, I'd be "suggesting" that 200-300 former Rangers, Green Berets, Seals, and other SOF troops "volunteer" (at high pay) to go teach in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Chad, southern Sudan, and northern Somalia (Puntland, Somaliland), possibly in other places in central/southern Africa. Teach a little military discipline, small-unit tactics, basic skills, and self-defense. Maybe provide "village defense forces" training to Ugandans Kenyans, Tanzanians, and others that may face Somali-style terrorists. Train Somalis from the refugee camps, and send them back into Somalia to train and support others. Two can play this game, but we're not playing. If we don't want Al-Shabaab to win by default, we need to get our butts in gear.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/11/2010 13:19 Comments ||
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#2
Actually, the Ugandans are looking forward to an engagement with Al-Shabab; hopefully one that will involve extended combat with all of Al-S's troops. The Ugandans are looking for some payback for the terrorist bombing during the World Cup.
How's that false ideology working out for you, Obankrupt? You're a smart guy, is it time to pull the plug on all that crap you learned when you were younger, or is it still W's fault
With the disappointingly soft jobs report for July, and a faltering recovery overall, is Team Obama getting ready for some sort of new, liberal-left, Keynesian, big-bang stimulus package? Will they be desperate to "do something"? Oh, they will do something alright. I just want to know how much good money will be thrown after bad. Which constituency are you planning on propping up next? How do you plan on paying for all this debt when we have no room left in the GDP? An actual link input...
The only way to generate economic demand is to let people have and keep more of their money, so they will invest and spend it, and to get government out of the way and stop burdening the job creators with regulations and taxes like Obamacare.
#3
ION BHARAT RAKSHAK > JAPAN'S SOCIO-ECONOMIC ORDER IS COLLAPSING | JAPAN'S ECONOMIC STAGNATION IS CREATING A NATION OF LOST YOUTHS.
espec Age 20-34.
* Few jobs.
* Job = likley only PT or Contract Temporary.
* Tendency to quit after short time of few months.
* Earn roughly 1/3 of what their Fathers did in salary.
* DECADE(S)-LONG PERIOD OF NATIONAL ECON STAGNATION WHIHC IS NOT LIKLEY TO END ANYTIME SOON.
AH, OS, but that would entail, ultimately , a leftist admitting that they were wrong about something, and what are the odds of that happening?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
08/11/2010 5:48 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I fear we are on the brink of an economic calamity the likes of which none of us has ever seen.
We went over the brink about 3 years ago. We are now sliding down into the economic calamity. Smells like 1931-1932 all over again, from my reading of history & economics. The bailouts, stimulus and jive talk from financiers & politicians have slowed and obscured the slide downhill a little bit.
Give it another six months and the money markets cannot hold the excess dollars without a drop in exchange rates. The only thing saving us from hyperinflation is the fact the banks that received the TARP money are not putting it out in the money supply. They are reinvesting it overseas with zero risk.
#1
The current Consumer Price Index or CPI is a LIE. Take a look at food prices here at home and worldwide. Hyperinflation is just around the corner. The wheels are getting ready to come off.
#2
I spent my whole adult life hoarding ammo and waiting for the wheels to come off.
If y'all need me, I'm laid off, layin on the beach in Alameda awaiting instructions.
Yup, Civil Engineer, Commercial diver, pile driver, welder , deckhand, riverman, cappenter of 15 years, unemployed. Gumption busted-I'm out. See you in the soup line.
#3
Hyperinflation is bad, and deflation is bad. The zinger is that they are not mutually exclusive.
Even the last great sanctuary, municipal bonds, has been polluted by Variable Rate Demand Obligations (VRDOs) sometimes called Variable Rate Demand Notes (VRDNs), which are already a significant portion of the $1.9 trillion in municipal securities held by households and entities such as property-casualty companies.
A VRDN holder has the right to sell the security to the issuer at a predetermined price (generally par) on specified dates (generally daily or weekly).
In other words, the bond may technically mature in 20 years, but the interest rate resets weekly and the buyer can put it back to the issuer at any time.
"Regulations generally limit money market funds to high-rated securities, so one might think VRDNs are safe. But the ratings agencies are subject to the same pressures from originators as in the subprime glory days: if the rating isnt high enough to do the deal, the ratings agency doesnt get paid.
"The agencies typically dont re-rate securities for financial strength after origination unless they receive information on a change in condition. The result, as in the infamous Enron case, is that downgrades usually follow rather than lead the markets valuation, and troubled securities can retain high ratings until just before default.
"In rating individual securities at origination, the agencies gave little weight to liquidity risk: whether the VRDN market has the capacity to handle a wave of redemptions.
"Of the two major pre-bust municipal bond insurers, AMBAC is gradually liquidating under state supervision after functional insolvency, while MBIA is still in financial difficulty and is writing only limited new municipal bond insurance. Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp., a new entrant, was rapidly downgraded by the ratings agencies.
"VRDNs are often backstopped by bank letters of creditoften required in case the bond insurers are downgraded, and requiring municipal securities issuers to pay a high interest rate if drawn onbut this merely transfers the risk of nonpayment from municipal bondholders to the banking system."
On a personal note, I found out that USAA was carrying VRDNs on some percentage of its long term bonds, so I asked them what percentage?, a figure that should have been easy to obtain.
No response.
It is usually not a good thing when a broker does not return your calls.
#7
Bigjim Hello,
For what its worth yesterday I was told John Deere is having a hard time finding welders. It may have been OHIO. During the past depression many traveled to OHIO for work. Richmond Virginia is a stronger area than most right now. DC is strong with all the government work but they got the benefits.
This morning at DFW Airport, George and Laura Bush greeted 150 (very surprised) troops as they arrived home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their expressions were so priceless!
#1
"give us money, or we might get worse. We're nuts, you know?"
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/11/2010 12:18 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Give 'em money. Drop it in pennies from the bomb bay of US bombers over their major cities. Send 'em a billion or two. Drop another billion over the NWFP. Call the operation "pennies from heaven". They'll be so busy either trying to pry the pennies out of the ground or burying their dead and rebuilding their homes they won't have time or energy for jihad.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/11/2010 13:04 Comments ||
Top||
The news of Custer's foo-paw hit the East Coast just before the 7/4/1876 Centennial celebration. Pretty much mandated that the tribes would not get off lightly.
An eighteen-year old girl named Aisha escaped from her marital home, only for her husband to force her back, and for the Taliban to punish her by cutting off her nose and ears. This, in short, was what Time magazine reported in last week's issue, together with a picture of the beautiful girl, with her nose removed, spread across the entire cover. This is considered to be the most interesting cover photo this year, and has received over 500 comments posted by readers on the 'Time' website, whilst the 'Arabiya' satellite channel website has had a similar number of comments in Arabic.
Yet there is another woman who also had a genuine experience with the Taliban, no less interesting than that of the Afghan girl, whose nose was chopped off, though differing in events, details and coverage. The hero of the story is British hack journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was captured by Taliban. Contrary to what she expected, according to her account of events after being released, she was treated well by the Taliban, despite insulting them during interrogations, and even spitting in the face of one her captors. This British woman was imprisoned by the Taliban, yet after her release, her appreciation for the group and its honourable treatment remained, and she subsequently converted to Islam. But, she was less fortunate than the Afghan girl, as her image did not adorn the cover of any western magazine, despite the fact that her story could form the basis of an exciting Hollywood movie, and not just a magazine cover. She "more fortunate" than the Afghan girl because they didn't chop Yvonne's nose and ears off.
The selective media chooses [to print] only what suits its ideas, and conveys its message. This fault could apply to everyone on our planet without exception, but in the Western world it is even more dangerous, because the Western media, namely newspapers and established satellite channels, enjoy a great deal of credibility. In fact, there is nothing worse than packaging a bad idea to make it appear credible. In my own view, the photo of the miserable Afghani girl does not break from this tradition. This photo was not selected on innocent humanitarian grounds, as the cover page of 'Time' was accompanied with the following question: "What Will Happen if We Withdraw From Afghanistan?" If even Time realizes that the Talibs will go back to chopping people's appendage off there might still be hope.
The question reveals the lack of innocence. The cover image served as a means to shock American society, at a time when it was venting frustration and impatience due to a series of failures of the part of the US army and its ally troops on Afghan soil. These grievances come in addition to the rising injuries and death toll as a result of the guerrilla wars, where regular armies are struggling to achieve a clear victory.
What Time magazine accuses the Taliban of doing to the Afghan girl is very likely true, but their admirable treatment of the British female journalist is also true. This is in no way a contradiction, because the Taliban, unlike al-Qaeda, have grown into a wide ranging umbrella organisation, under which significant cross sections of Afghan society lie. This includes remnants of the Afghan Jihadists from the old days of the Soviet occupation, and followers of Hekmatyar, Younis Khales, Rabani, Haqqani and Sayyaf. The Taliban movement has been accepted by traditionalists, activists and technocrats, attracting both the radical and the tolerant, the extremists and moderates, because in Afghanistan there is no rival to the Taliban, it is the people's only option. Such a multi-faceted organisation can include honourable and moderate members, such as those who captured the heart of the British lady, yet also include the savage barbarians who cut off the nose of poor Aisha. For those Islamic countries that have influence in the Afghan arena, like Saudi Arabia and other moderate Islamic movements, a vital role remains in strengthening the moderate trend within Taliban movement. This is because Taliban has become a difficult factor, but the only factor in the Afghani equation, as evidenced by the recent U.S. efforts to court the organisation.
This article starring:
Yvonne Ridley
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Article is deconstruction at its finest, should get an "A" as a Harvard student paper.
Aisha's story crystallizes what we are up against. Yvonne's story, also, but in a different way. The stories are not comparable.
#2
What Time magazine accuses the Taliban of doing to the Afghan girl is very likely true, but their admirable treatment of the British female journalist is also true.
What the author so easily dismisses is Ridleys so-called admirable treatment occurred during ten days of forced captivity and interrogation. Apparently according to the Multi-Cults random abductions against ones wishes should sometimes be overlooked. You know, perhaps just consider it one of those quaint little cultural practices. And if you promise to convert to their religion your captors may not even kill you. Whats not to admire?
#3
G#@ D@&! F&*#*!s. And people want to make nice with these entities or portray them as misunderstood or that their ideology as any worth what so ever? We should hunt any apologists for these scum to for that are just as much terrorists.
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.
An eighteen-year old girl named Aisha escaped from her marital home, only for her husband to force her back, and for the Taliban to punish her by cutting off her nose and ears. This, in short, was what Time magazine reported in last week's issue, together with a picture of the beautiful girl, with her nose removed, spread across the entire cover. This is considered to be the most interesting cover photo this year, and has received over 500 comments posted by readers on the 'Time' website, whilst the 'Arabiya' satellite channel website has had a similar number of comments in Arabic.
