Chad has protested to Sudan after it said that Sudanese military aircraft had flown over army positions in the violence-torn east. The central African country also on Monday accused Khartoum of continuing to back anti-government forces in the remote desert region. Ahmad Allam-Mi, the Chadian foreign minister, summoned the Sudanese ambassador to strongly protest at the Sudanese flights to the east of the town of Adre, on the border with Sudan and more than 800 km from the capital N'Djamena. He did not specify what action would be taken if flights continued.
Allam-Mi told Reuters: "The Sudanese air force began yesterday to fly over the positions of the Chadian army. I summoned the Sudanese ambassador in Chad this morning to raise a strong protest and I said that Chad would take all the necessary measures." Chad also accused Khartoum of supporting rebels who are fighting a low intensity war in eastern Chad to oust Idriss Deby, the Chadian president.
Reminds me of a tale: in the early 1970s the Shah of Iran, just after receiving his shiny new F-14s and before all his troubles with the Mad Mullahs began, had noted that the Soviets were routinely sending spy planes into Iranian airspace. He summoned the Soviet ambassador and complained about this.
The Soviet ambassador replied that he didn't know what the Shah was talking about, those certainly weren't Soviet spy planes.
The Shah replied, fine, since the planes weren't theirs, the Soviets certainly wouldn't mind if the Shah used his new F-14s to shoot them down.
The overflights stopped.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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I think Chad has about 40 gunned up VAN's RV8's. I always thought they would be good for ground support. Hope they use um so we can see how they work!!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/16/2007 13:13 Comments ||
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Leaders of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) have said they want to leave southern Sudan - where they have assembled for peacetalks - and return to Uganda.
"We are unwelcome in Sudan so they have to go back to Uganda. We foresee that is the only logical option."
Monday's statement comes after the LRA's ended peace talks with Uganda on Friday. If the LRA returns to Uganda, it would mark the start of a new round of civil war in the African country. "We are unwelcome in Sudan so they have to go back to Uganda," LRA spokesman Obonyo Olweny told Reuters by telephone from Nairobi on Monday. "We foresee that is the only logical option."
What, precisely, is it that makes you think you're welcome in Uganda?
The Ugandan army said they would attack the LRA if they tried to cross back into Uganda. "We shall hit them," Major Felix Kulayigye, a Ugandan army spokesman, said. "Any attempt to come back to northern Uganda would be taken as a resumption of war."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) A government official in Somalia capital Mogadishu has spoken out the reasons behind the closure of three main independent FM stations on Monday saying that the new bill of state emergency had impact on them. Abdirahman Dinari, the spokesperson of the transitional federal government said an official decree from the National Security Agency has ordered the administrators of the privately owned FM Radio stations of Shabelle, Horn Afrik and IQK as well as Al-Jazeera TV office in Mogadishu to cease their activities until further notice. The move to shut down these media stations came after the federal government saw their works as a threat to the national interest because they have aired falsified reports and un-censorship interviews, said Dinari.
He said the government ran out of patience about the reports aired in the closed media stations. It was intolerable what the three free FM radios broadcast each day... it was totally against the government, Dinari told local reporters.
The owners of the closed FM stations condemned the governments action as illegal and in violation of the free press. Ahmed Abdisalan, one of the shareholders of Horn Afrik Media who is Dubai, UEA, described the move as unwanted and contrary to the international press law. The government used the Ethiopian tanks to shut down the free FM stations in the capital and is trying to oppress the freedom of speech. We have not received yet the possible grounds for the closure of my station, Abdisalan said angrily in interview with BBC Somali section on Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Somalia interim president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed has appointed on Monday a new administration for Banadir province, a day after he had spoken about the need for regional authority and build up of security forces in the capital to restore law and order.
The announcement was made in a decree issued from the presidents office in Mogadishu. Mohamod Hassan Ali known as (Adde Gabow) was named as the mayor Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. His assistants were also named. The assistant chairman for the regions peace and politics was given to Ibrhaim Omar Sabriye known as Shawiye. Hassan Mohammed Nor was named as assistant chair for the economy and finances and Abdulkadir Sufi Muridi as the chairman for public works and social issues.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) As we reported earlier today, Somalias fledging interim government closed three radio stations and Al Jazeera TV office in Mogadishu today. The government saw these stations as foes and the letter sent to them did not say much. Owners of the radio stations and Al Jazeera representatives are expected to go to the national security office tomorrow morning for further instructions.
A government insider told SomaliNet that these stations were jeopardizing the governments efforts to secure Mogadishu by fuelling and magnifying the actions of few bandits in the city. The source said BBC Somali Service became another faction in the past several years and was originally on the list to be shutdown. However, the government decided to give the service more time and to watch its actions more closely. BBC Somali service was once banned in north eastern Somalia known as Puntland by then president of Puntland and current Somalia president, Abdulahi Yusuf who is now in Mogadishu. The interim government also shut down Shabelle Radios office in Baidao last year.
The Islamic Courts were not different when they were in power. They closed one station in Jowhar and told Mogadishu reporters not to be neutral on the current conflict. One of the courts leaders told reporters to leave Mogadishu and go to Addis Ababa or Baidao if they wanted to remain neutral.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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told Mogadishu reporters not to be neutral on the current conflict.
That was before US involvement was known. After that, there would have been no problem with the reporters.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2007 12:14 Comments ||
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Since the fall of the Siyad Barreh government in January 1991, the BBC Somali service has been, in effect, the country's "national broadcaster". On the air four times a day on several shortwave frequencies, it can also be heard via FM relays in five Somali towns and cities, including Mogadishu. -- 12/26/2006 BBC MONITORING INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Abdullahi Yusuf can close the local FM relays, but they can't stop the BBC Somlian Service shortwave signals reaching listeners.
One of the biggest mistakes the USA has made with their overseas media is stripping the respected Voice of America World Service, which used to broadcast in a bazillion languages to every corner of the earth.
The current VOA efforts are just pathetic compared to the cold war era. Few households in these critical third world areas have satellite and internet access. But you can bet they all have radios.
Posted by: Evil Elvis ||
01/16/2007 12:46 Comments ||
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A pro-fascist BBC news service: You could knock me over with a feather.
(SomaliNet) Somalis interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said on Monday that his government is succeeding the disarmament operations in the capital Mogadishu amid waves of insurgent attacks against the Ethiopian forces backing the transitional federal government.
A news conference held in Baidoa city, 245km or (153 miles) southwest of the capital, premier Ali Gedi commended the security activities done by the government troops along with the Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu for the last few days. My government is doing a lot to handle the security situation in the country and now controls the economic sources of the capital like the airport and the seaport, said Gedi.
He said the former warlords had agreed to hand over their weapons and militias to the government. The warlords have signed an agreement with the government to join the federal government and that their militias should join the national army and the government promised it would give the militias their rights as government soldiers, he added.
Premier Gedi stressed that the security forces continue to disarm the militias and the militiamen in the capital. They are conducting house-to-house search operations in Mogadishu and our forces have seized large number of weapons and that is real progress towards the security, Gedi said.
His comments came hours after the allied forces of Somalia and Ethiopian forces faced an attack from unidentified assailants overnight in northwest of the Somalia capital Mogadishu causing unverified casualties at the scene. This is part of insurgence attacks against the presence of the Ethiopian forces backing up the transitional government. Unknown militiamen launched ambush attack on convoys of the combined forces that passing on the main industry road of Yaqshid district in northwest of the capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Two Moroccan journalists were convicted and fined Monday for insulting Islam after their magazine published jokes about the religion, court officials said. The court gave three-year suspended sentences to Driss Ksikes, editor of Nichane, and to journalist Sanaa al-Aji, court officials said.
Both were barred from any journalistic activity for two months and their weekly, independent Arab-language magazine was suspended for two months. They were each fined about $9,300. The sentence was milder than the three to five years in prison that prosecutors had requested.
Ksikes has repeatedly said the 10-page article was meant as a thoughtful examination of Moroccan popular humor. "I don't regret what I wrote," Ksikes told reporters after the verdict, though he also said that he was sorry to have offended some Moroccans.
Prime Minister Driss Jettou ordered Nichane banned on Dec. 20 in response to complaints about the article that were posted on an Islamist Web site and issued by the Kuwaiti government. Ksikes and al-Aji were then tried for insulting Islam, a crime in Morocco. Morocco's National Press Union condemned the trial.
The trial and a government-supported libel suit against another magazine, Le Journal Hebdomadaire, have led to concerns that the North African kingdom may be backsliding on moves in recent years to relax long-standing restrictions on the media. Aboubakr Jamai, editor of Le Journal Hebdomadaire, called the court ruling "a setback for freedom of expression," adding, "they shouldn't have been prosecuted in the first place."
Paris-based media freedom group Reporters Without Borders has claimed the government was seeking to burnish its Islamic credentials before parliamentary elections this year that the Islamist opposition Justice and Development Party is expected to win.
#1
Aboubakr Jamai, editor of Le Journal Hebdomadaire, called the court ruling "a setback for freedom of expression," adding, "they shouldn't have been prosecuted in the first place."
In fact it is a victory for freedopm of expression. For insulting islma the standard procedure would have been jail sentnces or worse.
#2
And, strangely enough, if you search RB's archives just a little, you'll find similar "candid camera" moments, with the very same tones (kufrs are inferior, they're dirty, they're weak,...) by german and northern european journalos (plus books by secular french "muslims" going undercover in mosques)... all this said in arabic or turkish, by the very same mainstream muslim leaders who preaches multiculturalism and oeucumenism in german or swedish or danish...
Again, and again, one must remember all this is organized and planned. There might be several heads, the milli gorus, the muslim brotherhod, the wahabists & salafists, the deobandis,... but they fully are aware of what they're doing, and why. It's civilizational warfare, a slow-mo conquest, announced in their prophecies and in full accordance to the very core of their belief.
#3
It's civilizational warfare, a slow-mo conquest, announced in their prophecies and in full accordance to the very core of their belief.
Which is why we won't win this war unless we finally get over the fact that the muslim "civilian" population is the enemy. Along with every Western Civ hating leftist that provides aid and comfort to the enemy in their own quest for power.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
01/16/2007 13:53 Comments ||
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PlanetDan wrote: if this is so offensive to mainstream islam, why don't we see people walking out, booing, protesting, etc?
Likely because it's in their (un)holy book(s). If you subscribe to a religion that has the kind of stuff in it that the koran does and you believe in it, why would you deny what your religion's founder said was the proper way for you to act?
A Japanese panel began talks Monday on a draft plan to create a powerful US-style security council, just a week after Tokyo launched its first full-fledged defense ministry since World War II.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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A court on Monday upheld a ban on Muslim teachers wearing head scarves in the schools of a German state under a law that says teachers' attire must be in line with "western Christian" values.
A Berlin-based Islamic association had complained about the law, which authorities in the conservative-run state of Bavaria have used to ban head scarves while allowing Roman Catholic nuns to continue to wear their head-covering habits in schools. The Bavarian Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that the application of the law in the state neither violated religious freedom nor was discriminatory. Conservative politicians welcomed the verdict.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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There's no way this ruling is going to be the last word in the German courts.
#2
Ah, Freistaat Bayern. The Texas of Germany. Beer, pork, dogs, guns, churches, and a funny accent, plus the home of BMW and a southern border much, much nicer than ours. Good on ya, Bavaria!
Posted by: Fritz ||
01/16/2007 8:24 Comments ||
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#4
I thought their women weren't supposed to work. Well, unless they're trying to indoctrinate the youths, I guess...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/16/2007 12:20 Comments ||
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The Islamic association's argument is a phony one: nuns wear "head-covering habits" as part of the religious uniform of their profession; the German state school doesn't have a religious uniform, that I am aware of. More broadly, it is a false analogy as the entire female Muslim population is expected to wear the "uniform"; the argument would only have weight if every western woman were expected to wear the nuns' habit. Ain't gonna happen.
Muslims may become a majority in Germany by as early as 2046, the Berlin-based BZ quoted on Monday an interior ministry-financed study as saying. Sparked by the steady influx of Muslim migrants into Germany, Muslims could form the largest share of the German population by 2046, said the study conducted by the Islam-Archive Central Institute located in the western town of Soest.
The Islamic think-tank reported over the weekend that there has been a sharp rise in the number of Germans converting to Islam. Around 4,000 Germans converted to Islam between July 2004 and June 2005 four times as many as in the prior year according to the study, details of which are yet to be released.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Thats their plan to breed like rats and take over re faster birthrate!!!!
Bottom line if they do not add to the economy-Deport asap!!!!
#6
Shipman, the only problem would be moving all those burnt cars from the road in France. I wouldn't count the Germans out. The muslims will never be part of the volk and when push comes to shove, the Germans can be much more efficient killers than the lions of Islam.
#7
Gut feel - it's going to turn ugly, fast in Europe when some threshold is passed. The recipients of the ugly will be the Muslims. I can't predict what that threshold might be. The barely restrained fury against all 'others' roils just below the surface all through Europe.
Oh, and I reserve special contempt for the fools who make linear projections like the one made in this article. In this case it looks like wishful thinking, given the source.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/16/2007 22:42 Comments ||
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Well, maybe the next Hitler will choose the right people to go after this time. Wouldn't bother me one bit to see 6 million Muzzies bite it.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/16/2007 22:59 Comments ||
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Yeah, but how about a majority GERMAN ISLAMIC thing? Uh-oh--not a good combo.
Preliminary hearings for four youths accused of belonging to a terrorist group started on Monday with questions about the constitutionality of Canada's anti-terrorism law likely to play a big role. More at link.
Posted by: ed ||
01/16/2007 09:04 ||
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A little-noticed change in federal law packs an important change in who is in charge the next time a state is devastated by a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina.
To the dismay of the nations governors, the White House now will be empowered to go over a governors head and call up National Guard troops to aid a state in time of natural disasters or other public emergencies. Up to now, governors were the sole commanders in chief of citizen soldiers in local Guard units during emergencies within the state.
A conflict over who should control Guard units arose in the days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. President Bush sought to federalize control of Guardsmen in Louisiana in the chaos after the hurricane, but Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) refused to relinquish command.
Over objections from all 50 governors, Congress in October tweaked the 200-year-old Insurrection Act to empower the hand of the president in future stateside emergencies. In a letter to Congress, the governors called the change "a dramatic expansion of federal authority during natural disasters that could cause confusion in the command-and-control of the National Guard and interfere with states' ability to respond to natural disasters within their borders."
The change adds to tensions between governors and the White House after more than four years of heavy federal deployment of state-based Guard forces to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, four out of five guardsmen have been sent overseas in the largest deployment of the National Guard since World War II.
#1
There are indications that Gov. Blanco was kept well informed by the LANG operations center at the Superdome:
Governor Kathleen Blanco, meanwhile, had a direct pipeline to the command center and clearly knew what was going on, which might explain why she maintained her authority over the Guard and resisted calls from the President to federalize it. It also explains her apparent callousness to those stuck in the Dome - she knew the real situation was not as bad as the media was reporting. At the very least, she deserves credit for standing up to the national media and following the advice of the junior officers on the scene.
#5
All made possible by the 'fear mongering' MSM and cheap Donk operatives who used a disaster of Biblical proportions to hammer the sitting President. If you going to stick the office with responsibilities it never had then be prepared for power to shift to that office.
Mmmm, no it didn't, JFM. You, of all the people that post here, ought to know what unrestrained bureaucratic centralization of government does to the classical liberal Enlightenment notion of freedom. The hypocrisy of classical liberals like Jefferson, et. al., in applying their notions of freedom to all does not invalidate those freedoms, contra the leftists of both our countries.
Posted by: E. Brown ||
01/16/2007 10:16 Comments ||
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It was best summed up by the book title, "Freeing the Slaves, Enslaving Free Men."
Posted by: E. Brown ||
01/16/2007 10:18 Comments ||
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In addition, along with the inherent oppression of bureaucratic centralization, the ruling class becomes alienated from the citizenry and ruthlessly arrogant. Look at the hubris and physical and moral cowardice of your French political class (wrongly carried over by some posters here to the French as a whole) for the best example of this. Whatever DeGaulle's other faults, he strode through the French political scene like a giant through pygmies precisely because he wasn't a feckless weasel.
Posted by: E. Brown ||
01/16/2007 10:29 Comments ||
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...What strikes me here is that not a SINGLE member of the MSM ought to be doing anything other than applauding this (and for the record, I'm VERY much against the new rules - anything that takes that kind of power out of the hands of the States and gives it to the President without a Constitutional amendment and all the debate that goes with it is a Very Bad Thing)and saying it's long overdue.
We all saw in here how consistently and often unfairly the MSM blamed the White House for NOT doing more. They'd now better sit down and shut up, because they got exactly what they wanted.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/16/2007 11:29 Comments ||
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If a State wants a military organization with the State as sole controller then the National Guard is NOT the organization to chose. All equipment is owned by the Federal Government. Let the States form and fund their own Militias, which is provided for in the Constitution.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/16/2007 12:12 Comments ||
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I agree completely that States should have their own independent militias.
First of all, they would be under the complete and total control of the States for whatever missions that State needed, to include their organization and equipment.
Second, they might include a "peacetime exclusion" that would prohibit militia members from being active duty or reserve military personnel, so that they could not be recalled from State duty for federal purposes, perhaps in the same disaster.
Third, they would be free from any legal restrictions placed on US military personnel, could be deputized as a State police reserve with the authority of arrest, and could not be prohibited from conducting any law enforcement activity.
That is, if the governor wanted an armed militia on the border with Mexico, the President himself could not direct them to stand down and let illegal aliens through.
#12
Since 1865, the former state militia have been subsumed into the National Guard. However, the federal Militia Act makes it clear that the states CAN have a local militia that has the governor as the head of it, as do some Supreme Court decisions. The major problem for the states on that is that they would have to buy, pay for, and maintain ALL weapons, munitions, equipment, and wages used/consumed/utilized by those militias from state monies in order to retain control. Otherwise, the feds would be able to demand operational control once they decided they needed it, if they were to provide a significant portion of the said funding. That is because of the federal experience with the state militias that became the Confederate Army during the Civil War : those militias were in the main equipped with retired equipment from the national army.
#13
"if the governor wanted an armed militia on the border with Mexico"
Not sure the states have jurisdiction over international border crossings - if the Feds say the border is open and all immigrants are legal, I don't think the states can do anything about it.
#14
I find this to be a very interesting topic. Does the Militia Act of 1903 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_Act_of_1903) allow the feds to federalize all militias? I'm a little confused on the statutory requirements of what state militias can and can't be federalized.
Posted by: OIF3 Guy ||
01/16/2007 17:21 Comments ||
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Please refer to {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Defense_Forces} for a good explanation of the differences in the militias, including the specific State Defense Forces which are excluded from federalization.
Sure looks like it.
Federal investigators are increasingly anxious that Iran is within easy reach of a top priority on its shopping list: parts for the precious fleet of F-14 "Tomcat" fighter jets the United States let Iran buy in the 1970s when it was an ally. In one case, convicted middlemen for Iran bought Tomcat parts from the Defense Department's surplus division. Customs agents confiscated them and returned them to the Pentagon, which sold them again customs evidence tags still attached to another buyer, a suspected broker for Iran.
That incident appalled even an expert on weaknesses in Pentagon surplus security controls. "That would be evidence of a significant breakdown, in my view, in controls and processes," said Greg Kutz, the Government Accountability Office's head of special investigations. "It shouldn't happen the first time, let alone the second time."
A Defense Department official, Fred Baillie, said his agency followed procedures. "The fact that those individuals chose to violate the law and the fact that the customs people caught them really indicates that the process is working," said Baillie, the Defense Logistics Agency's executive director of distribution. "Customs is supposed to check all exports to make sure that all the appropriate certifications and licenses had been granted."
The Pentagon recently retired its Tomcats and is shipping tens of thousands of spare parts to its surplus office the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service where they could be sold in public auctions. Iran is the only other country flying F-14s. More, much more, at the link.
#1
I'd sell them the parts - as long as they all have invisible flaws. Embrittled plastic, fatigued metal, overheated electronics. Stuff that looks ok & works now, but won't survive much stress.
#5
Agreed all around. We sold the soviets purposely flawed chips in the 80s and it resulted in blown up oil pumping stations. I say - take their money, sell 'em junk spares for their junk aircraft and cash the checks immediately...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/16/2007 12:17 Comments ||
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ed- the factory is a former Mcdonnell- Douglas one and the Tomcat was built by the fabled Grumman Iron Works (notice my subtle bias), the your premise is solid.
Better question is: since Iran is the only other country w/Tomcats, then just why in the hell are we even selling any F-14 parts? The end user, no matter how circuitious is going to be the Iranians. These FMS guys are clear front runners in the "Today's Idiots" race.
#7
We have to sell the parts by law : part of Congress's "Peace Dividend". Congress has passed laws mandating the sale of spares unless the US decides to give the equipment and spares to a friendly foreign power.
#8
We do not sell front line equipment. Any F-16s. or F/A 18s on the block are early models and are subordinate to the current inventory. The A-6s in FMS have had the weapons computer and ancillary equipment pulled; they were listed one time as a daytime visual bomber or as a tanker. Any F-14 parts sold should only be for basic airframe or engine, any weapons system, especially related to the Phoenix should not be. That part is well within our scope regarding 'demilitarizing' equipment prior to sale. When the navy retired its A-7s we had to run a D-9 over the wing spar to ensure that they would never fly again. you could then buy the engine, and all the other parts, but unless you were a friendly (Greece at that time) you couldn't have a flyable asset.
Still think its stupid to assist our enemy.
In which the FBI launches a recruiting drive on the slopes in Park City, Utah. Via Radley Balko's The Agitator A few excerpts:
*Many skiers and Park City regulars were perplexed or even a bit unnerved. Some thought the whole effort was nutty. Jokes were flying about agents skiing on the public dime, but nobody seemed to mind. "This is a first for the bureau," FBI recruiter Carol Covert told agents as they lined up at the base of a chair lift with a new, gleaming 40-foot command truck parked nearby. "So remember, ski and recruit!" she declared. "If this goes well, we'll do it at other resorts." The agents dispersed across seven mountain tops, with a top elevation of 10,000 feet. Skiers can be chatty on chair rides, where agents were doing some of the recruiting.
*Anyone who snapped photos of agents kicking up the 8 inches of fresh powder here could turn in the images for trinkets, including FBI calculators, patches and pins.
Nepals Maoists took their seats in a newly created interim parliament on Monday, capping a landmark peace deal that has seen them move from guerrilla fighters to lawmakers in less than a year, said witnesses. Earlier on Monday, the previous House of Representatives passed a new interim constitution and then dissolved itself, paving the way for the new body that includes 83 nominees from the former rebels, making them the second biggest party.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Letting Commies in your government is like letting moslems in. They will subvert it from within. Just as Nicaragua (79), Czechoslavakia (48), ...
President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday rejected US Maj Gen Benjamin Freakleys claim that Jalaluddin Haqqani was operating from inside Pakistan to foment violence in Afghanistan, and said that the baseless allegations could harm Pak-US cooperation in the war on terror. "Yeah. Don't push it, infidels!"
According to Online, Musharraf was addressing a meeting to review the situation on the Pak-Afghan border and the establishment of reconstruction opportunity zones in the tribal areas. He said that Pakistans unprecedented sacrifices in the war on terror could not be ignored. He also declared allegations by several US commanders and others that the Taliban were operating from Pakistan as baseless. He said that a United Nations report on the Talibans command-and-control infrastructure was enough to prove this. He said that the main objective to fence and mine the Pak-Afghan border was to stop the movement of anti-state elements.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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The government is planning to block the financial resources of madrassas, banned religious organisations and non-government organisations, sources told Daily Times on Monday. The sources said that these organisations had gathered foreign funds under the pretext of hides collection. Intelligence agencies investigating the collection of sacrificial animals hides have found strong links between money launderers and proscribed organisations, the sources added.
An Interior Ministry official said that intelligence had found out that these organisations were collecting hides to provide legal cover to un-auditable funds being channelled from abroad for alleged terrorist activities. The investigation aims at blocking the illegal funding to banned jihadi organisations and seminaries, he added. According to the report, several madrassas and banned outfits had collected a small number of hides, but had over-projected their collections in the media. The sources said that the report pointed out that various banned militant groups had received foreign funds before Eid and were now using the hides to legalise this money.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has directed the federal and provincial auqaf departments to enforce the ban on collection of funds being defied by registered mosques and seminaries, particularly on Fridays, the sources said. The ban will be enforced during Muharram as per the directives given by President General Pervez Musharraf at a meeting last week, they added.
The sources said that intelligence agencies were also monitoring the bank accounts of mosques, NGOs and seminaries to determine whether they had any links with terrorist networks. An official of the Interior Ministry told Daily Times that the federal and provincial auqaf departments had also been directed to gather the record of registered and unregistered mosques that had encroached on private land. He said that if proven, the encroached portion of the madrassa or mosque would be demolished.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Intelligence reports indicate that foreign elements could seek to exploit Pakistans internal situation by establishing links with banned militant outfits, Daily Times has learnt. According to intelligence reports submitted to the Interior Ministry, these foreign elements could try to link up with sectarian and nationalist outfits to create trouble within Pakistan.
The reports say Pakistan faces internal security threats in the shape of a sectarian crisis as an aftermath of killings of religious leaders by terrorists, assassination attempts on VVIPs and senior politicians, and an anti-government movement turning into violent agitation, the sources said.
In light of these reports, the Interior Ministry has written a letter to the authorities concerned warning that many fault lines in the internal security environment have emerged since the governments decision to support the war on terror, and policy makers must make a realistic analysis of the available information to determine the outlines of present and future internal security threats. The need for analysis of threats was felt particularly in the light of information that had been received through interrogation of apprehended Al Qaeda members and religious extremists, the sources added. They said that the home secretaries and police chiefs of the four provinces and Islamabad have been asked to enhance security measures in their areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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The former United Nations oil-for-food chief was charged Tuesday with bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in the scandal-tainted humanitarian program. The charges against Benon Sevan, 69, of Nicosia, Cyprus, were contained in a rewrite of an indictment stemming from the scandal over the operation set up from 1996 to 2003 to permit the Iraqi government to sell oil primarily to buy food and medicine for suffering Iraqis. Sevan, who had worked for the U.N. for 40 years and knew where all the bodies were buried, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
"Non. Non. Certainly not!"
Federal and state prosecutors also announced the indictment of Ephraim Nadler, 79, of Manhattan, on the same charges. He helped a coconspirator obtain the right to buy Iraqi oil under the program in exchange for commissions from the oil sales and then funneled approximately $160,000 of these oil commissions to Sevan, the indictment said. Nadler is the brother-in-law of former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The name of Nadler's attorney Sandy Berger was not immediately available. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said the United States has lodged warrants for the arrest of both men with Interpol and will seek their arrest and extradition to the United States.
Good luck with that.
FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon took time from his ski trip in Park City and said the indictment brings to 14 the number of individuals charged in the case.
Saudi Arabia endorsed the goals of President Bushs new strategy for Iraq today. But in carefully worded comments, the Saudi foreign minister indicated deep concern about whether the Shiite-led government in Baghdad can halt sectarian violence and protect Sunni interests.
We agree fully with the goals set by the new strategy, which in our view are the goals that if implemented would solve the problems that face Iraq, said Prince Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister.
During a joint news conference here with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the prince said he could not comment on specifics of the plan, which Bush administration officials acknowledge is built around support for the current Iraqi government of Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite political leader.
Saudi Arabia is a predominantly Sunni state. Ms. Rice met late on Monday with King Abdullah and other officials at a hunting lodge in the desert outside the capital, after arriving from Egypt.
Although Prince Sauds endorsement of Mr. Bushs new Iraq plan was lukewarm at best, the prince declined to be drawn into a discussion of potential Saudi actions in the event that Iraq slides into full-blown sectarian civil war.
Why speculate on such dire consequences? Why not speculate on the positive side? he said, urging unity among Iraqs Shiites, Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, the main groups in its population. I cannot for the life of me concede that a country like that would commit suicide, given the goodwill and the desire of all to help in this.
Iranian intelligence is preparing for complete dominance of southern Iraq when the British withdraw by penetrating Basra's security network and political parties, it can be revealed.
Iraqi intelligence sources disclosed to The Daily Telegraph that Iran plans to reap the huge financial rewards presented by the southern oil fields and prevent Western businesses from gaining a foothold inside Basra.
British and American political and military leaders are also concerned over Teheran "giving succour" to terrorists who continue to kill troops every week.
Commanders are anxious that once they pull out of Basra in May the Iranian-backed militias will take over the political and security structures, undoing four years of work that has cost 129 British lives and billions of pounds.
Only the Iraqi army stands in the way of the murderous militias. But while it is regarded as competent, the key moment will come when responsibility for administering Basra is given to the Iraqi government with local politicians taking over. At that point a showdown between the Baghdad-controlled Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Basra militias is expected.
Iran has found it easy to build alliances with fellow Shias who form the majority in southern Iraq. The Iranian-backed insurgents have many recruits among the city's jobless. They are encouraged to attack British patrols and positions to make them look strong as part of the power struggle for Basra, an Iraqi official said. He added that if the British withdrew from the region too early Sunnis would be killed to drive them out and the work of the last four years would have been destroyed. More at the link
#1
If Iran controls Iraq oil fields, Iran controls Iraq.
The time to target Shiite power is: now. Unfortunately, the Wall Street Journal editorialists and other nation-builder morons treat Shiites like we used to view Poles and Hungarians under Communism. When stupidity prospers none dare call it stupidity.
#2
In another article "Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that he sent a message to Saudi King Abdullah proposing that they cooperate in helping stabilize Iraq." You can have Anbar province, we'll take Basra
Under Hizbullah guidance, Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank have recently obtained high-grade explosives that have significantly improved the effectiveness of roadside improvised explosive devices (IED) used against IDF patrols, senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
According to the officials, the Palestinians, adopting Hizbullah tactics, have also improved the way they camouflage and hide the explosive devices on the sides of roads patrolled by IDF jeeps. While some of the explosives used in the bombs were smuggled into the West Bank - from the Sinai Desert - the Palestinians also used homemade explosives that were less effective but still lethal. "With predictions of another wave of violence in the West Bank around the corner, the Palestinian IEDs are a point of concern," said one senior official.
Since the beginning of the year, IDF troops in the West Bank have discovered two suicide belts, as well as three large IEDs, including one weighing 60 kilograms and another weighing 32 kg, both near Jenin. In 2006, troops discovered 109 IEDs in the West Bank in addition to 11 suicide belts. At Sunday's cabinet meeting, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin reported growing Hizbullah efforts to establish infrastructure and gain a foothold in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
This is obviously trickle down tech from Iran. All the more reason for the Joos to smack Iran.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/16/2007 1:21 Comments ||
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#2
At what point can we stop calling these things "improvised"?
The Cabinet Tuesday agreed to renew the emergency decree in the violence-plagued provinces in the South, said government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp. Mr Yongyuth said the decree will be extended for another three months - starting from Jan 20 to April 19 - in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
The emergency powers, which must be renewed every 90 days, give security forces broad immunity from prosecution and, among other measures, allow authorities to detain suspects for up to 30 days without charge, search and arrest without warrants and tap phones.
The government announced in October that it planned to abandon the controversial security powers introduced under the administration of Thaksin Shinawatra in July 2005. However, violence has escalated in the region over recent months, with civilians, government officials and teachers increasingly being targeted in near-daily assassinations.
Hattip Instapundit. Here are some excerpts from the interview -- and the comment thread is quite interesting. Read his other posts, too, then consider hitting his tip-jar so he can continue reporting from "out there".
In the dahiyeh, the suburb, of Haret Hreik south of Beirut, where Hezbollah built its command and control center and the capital of its illegal state-within-a-state, lives Sayyed Mohammad Ali El Husseini, a moderate Shia cleric with a doctorate in religion from Qom in Iran, who steadfastly and publicly opposes Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallahs doctrine of war and jihad. He uses the Koran and the Islamic religion as the basis for an alternative vision of peace, independence, and democracy for the people of Lebanon.
My translator Henry informed me that Lebanese journalists are no longer allowed to publish or interview Sayyed Husseini. Dissent from the likes of this man is intolerable and has to be smashed. Hezbollah issued its threats. After the two-year spree of car-bombs against journalists, threats from Nasrallah pack weight.
Foreign journalists, though, are allowed to meet with Husseini. Foreign journalists cant be managed and bullied the same way local journalists can. Foreigners like me are, so far anyway, outside the bounds of car-bombs and murders.
So, I said. Why are you opposed to Hezbollah?
First of all, he said, I am a peace defender. I have faith in peace. I am against the wars and the violence because of my faith. Any violence, any terrorism.
There are a lot of people in the West who believe Islam is a religion of war, I said. I dont necessarily believe that, but many do.
Yes, I know. I published this, he said as he held up his book, to explain the difference between the religion and those who are pretending to follow the religion. The proof of my words is that Mr. Bush said we must differentiate between the kinds of Muslims. I have faith in peace. That is why I am sitting with you. That I am Muslim and you are Christian doesnt matter because I believe in peace.
Im not religious, but Im Christian in the Middle East either way. Religion acts as a sort of ethnicity there, something youre born with and can never escape. Most Middle Eastern countries note religion on identity cards. None is not an option.
I believe that plenty of the Western people believe that there are two kinds of people, Husseini said. Some who believe in peace and God and some that believe in violence and the devil. While I was in Germany, I met a student. He told me that I am a Muslim, that I am a terrorist. I told him that he is the German, that he burned people. I said Why are you talking to me? I didnt burn anybody. I told him also that I didnt terrorize anybody, and that I was the first person to condemn what Osama bin Laden did to America on 9/11. I told him that we, the Shia people, in Iraq we were the first victims. Saddam killed civilian people, he cut off our heads, he blew up our houses. I told him that Hitler burned the Jews. Nobody in the world has done what he did. Then I told him we are the same. You are German, and you are not Hitler. I am a Muslim, but I am not Osama bin Laden.
So why is Hezbollah popular in Lebanon? I said.
I did not, and do not, mean to imply that Hezbollah represents the majority of the people of Lebanon. They do not. Hezbollah is, however, supported to one extent or another, and for a wide variety of reasons,. by perhaps 70 percent of Lebanons Shia. Hardly any of Lebanons Christians, Sunnis, or Druze support Hezbollah. Even Hezbollahs Christian allies in Michel Aouns Free Patriotic Movement insist Hezbollah needs to disarm and give up the jihad against the Israelis. What this means is that around 80 percent of Lebanon is against them to one extent or another.
The terrorists and bloody movements get support, Husseini said. Because my movement is peaceful and non-violent we dont have anybody supporting us. He goes on to explain that the support comes from governments beyond Lebanon's borders, and that Hizb'allah buys the peoples' support by providing services and jobs, and preventing the elected government from doing the same. He approves of President Bush, and doesn't object to Israel's existence or the invasion of Iraq.
#2
I believe it could, if it tracked them in time and if they were high enough to be tracked. Kinda hard to see something going NAP of the earth and you only have a 4 second window to react, track, lock on and fire. Even the US stuff has a hard time doing that.
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has suffered a potentially fatal blow to his authority after the country's supreme leader gave an apparent green light for MPs to attack his economic policies.
In an unprecedented rebuke, 150 parliamentarians signed a letter blaming Mr Ahmadinejad for raging inflation and high unemployment and criticising his government's failure to deliver the budget on time. They also condemned him for embarking on a tour of Latin America - from which he returns tomorrow - at a time of mounting crisis.
The signatories included a majority of the president's former fundamentalist allies, now apparently seeking to distance themselves as his prestige wanes.
Continued on Page 49
You can see a graph of the Tehran stock index. It is down about 30% since 2005 (with the decrease in the value of the currency, the real loss is more like 40%). Since virtually everyone (Mullah and non Mullah) in the Govt leadership has lots of stock (typically extorted from companies), you can imagine the unhappiness.
If you had gone to all that work to steal equity and then had the govt. mismanage things to drive down the value of your holdings, well, that would tick you off wouldn't it.
In a series of secret meetings in Europe between September 2004 and July 2006, Syrians and Israelis formulated understandings for a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. The main points of the understandings are as follows:
# An agreement of principles will be signed between the two countries, and following the fulfillment of all commitments, a peace agreement will be signed.
# As part of the agreement on principles, Israel will withdraw from the Golan Heights to the lines of 4 June, 1967. The timetable for the withdrawal remained open: Syria demanded the pullout be carried out over a five-year period, while Israel asked for the withdrawal to be spread out over 15 years.
# At the buffer zone, along Lake Kinneret, a park will be set up for joint use by Israelis and Syrians. The park will cover a significant portion of the Golan Heights. Israelis will be free to access the park and their presence will not be dependent on Syrian approval.
# Israel will retain control over the use of the waters of the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret.
# The border area will be demilitarized along a 1:4 ratio (in terms of territory) in Israel's favor.
# According to the terms, Syria will also agree to end its support for Hezbollah and Hamas and will distance itself from Iran.
Think the Chinese will cooperate on UN sanctions? Nah, me neither.
BEIJING, Jan 15, 2007 (AFP) - China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country's biggest oil producer, will invest 3.6 billion dollars to develop a block in Iran's offshore gas field, state media reported Monday. CNPC is still negotiating with Iran over the details of the project expected to lead to a seven-year deal to develop Block 14 of the South Pars gas field, the China Business News said.
It added the company will invest 1.8 billion dollars on exploration of the block, which is reported to have natural gas reserves of 370 billion cubic meters (1.3 trillion cubic feet). Another 1.8 billion dollars will be used to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with an annual output of 4.5 million tonnes.
However, Liu Weijiang, a spokesman for CNPC's international business department in Beijing, declined to comment on the report. "CNPC has many subsidiaries and it's normal if they conduct business," said Liu.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
3.6 Billion to Iran = more money to the joint anti-US Hugo/Makmood fund.
The United States will launch a military strike on Iran before April from the sea and with Patriot missiles, according to an Arab Times report appearing on a major American news website. Yasss... Attacks by Patriot missiles can be devastating.
The report, carrying the by-line of Ahmed Al-Jarallah, editor-in-chief of Arab Times, is attributed to sources which are not identified. A reliable source is quoted as saying that President Bush recently held a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the White House where they discussed in minute detail the plan to attack Iran.
The source said that Cheney highlighted the threat posed by Iran not only to Saudi Arabia, but the whole region. Tehran is not playing politics. Iranian leaders are using their countrys religious influence to support the aggressive regimes ambition to expand, the source quoted Dick Cheney as saying. Those attending the meeting agreed to impose restrictions on the ambitions of the Iranian regime before April without exposing other countries in the region to any danger. The source said, They have chosen April as British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said it will be the last month in office for him.
Claiming that the attack will be launched from the sea and not from any country in the region, the source said, The US will target the oil installations and nuclear facilities of Iran, ensuring there is no environmental catastrophe or after effects. Already the US has started sending its warships to the Gulf and the build-up will continue until Washington has the required number by the end of this month. US forces in the region will be protected against any Iranian missile attack by an advanced Patriot missile system.
The source further said that although Gates and Rice suggested postponing the attack, Bush and Cheney insisted on attacking Tehran without any negotiations, based on the lesson they learnt in Iraq recently. The Bush administration believes attacking Iran will create a new power balance in the region, calm down the situation in Iraq and weaken the Syrian regime, which will eventually fade away.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Pfeh. Wait until the ultimate weapon is used - telemarketers.
Are they really dumb enough to think we are going to attack oil installations?
This has got to be an attempt by OPEC to get their profits up.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/16/2007 1:12 Comments ||
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#3
Not necessarily so, Mike N; The US knows that every drop of oil that could get out of Iran after the first attack will go straight to China or(ie, any adversary of America), so to even the global playing field of hegemony, it will be shut down, albeit briefly until the US feels that the Iranians have 'come around' from their nuclear threats!
#5
Nope, most of that damage was due to the jerry-rigging Saddam's scientists did to the Scuds to extend their range, Gromgoru. The official Israeli after action report showed that the Iraqis had done a whole series of modifications to the Scuds including adding sections and extra fuel tanks to extend their range. Because of that, those Scuds tended to breakup on their descent due to the stresses of flight, spreading pieces over a wide area. That is what made it hard to hit the warhead of the Scuds; at least, at first. But after studying the tapes of previous attacks, the Patriot crews noticed subtle tracking differences for the warheads and were able to target them more cleanly. Still, the shade tree mechanic mods of the Iraqi Scuds made them breakup on descent and spread junk over a large downrange footprint.
#6
I am all for the attack on Iran as i wish regime change but we must not forget the Saudis!!!!
I watched a programme on C4 in UK which shows the growing Saudi influence in British mosques which is teaching hatred/isolation.They are taught from the Grand Mufti downwards to hate Christians and Jews and not respect democracy.This is been openly paid by the Saudi Government.What is Bush doing about this??????
#8
EG9608 - good question. But a better question is what is Blair going to do about it? Especially at home where he has (should have at least) some influence.
The problemn with Blair is he encouraged all this multi culturism so he feels a hypocrite if he asked to deport muslims.From watching the programme it is more widespread than i thourght!!!!.
The source of ideology comes from Saudi.Is Bush and Blair telling the Saudis to reform or else.That country would be alot easier to invade/take than Iran which has little say in Al Qaeda and Pakistan!!!!!
#12
The angle is not very good but the hull looks quite Sherman-like to me. The gun is very long so this is no ordinary Sherman, probably an "anti-tank" Sherman with the 76 high velocity gun instead of the 75 medium velocity one.
#15
Yep M10 with the 3 inch gun. Notice the open top.
Posted by: ed ||
01/16/2007 11:57 Comments ||
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#16
You can't see if that's an open top or somebody popping up out of a hatch which is out of sight on the photo. But yes, that looks more like an M-10 than an "Easy Eight" Sherman. I'm not as familiar with the other Sherman heavy-gun mods (Israeli, most of 'em), but that turret looks like the one they used for the M-10.
I've never really figured out why an open turret was a good idea for a tank destroyer - as I understand it, the crews usually kitbashed some armor to keep out the random shrapnel anyways. The German equivalent were cheap-and-dirty guncarriers which were actually cheaper than the tanks they were displacing (or more wishfully, the towed anti-tank guns they were *supposed* to be replacing), and didn't splurge on things like rotating turrets which made the M-10 and its better-designed brethren almost as expensive as a real tank.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/16/2007 14:47 Comments ||
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#17
Notice also there's no hull mounted machine gun as would be found on the M4 Sherman
#18
Politics determined the open top on tank destroyers, Mitch. If they had an open top, they were a tank destroyer; enclosed top, a tank. Back in the 1930s, the Army was allowed to fund research on a variety of different armor but the money was small for each category. So, to get the most money and research, the Army came up with graven-in-stone definitions of vehicles that were carried through the entirety of WWII. FDR and his Sec of Defense played along with the sham, which is why it continued.
Notice that after Truman took over and got elected on his own, the Army switched over to light, medium, and heavy tanks, and slowly phased out references to tank destroyers. After the experiences in Korea, the Army under Ike and JFK once again did a switch and came up with the Main Battle Tank {MBT} concept.
#19
Back in the 1930s, the Army was allowed to fund research on a variety of different armor but the money was small for each category.
Interesting, especially after our discussion the other day of why the F-117 was an F- and not an A- or B-something. Maybe the Army should have designated their tank destroyer as a Cookstove,Armoured,Self-propelled and gone about their business.
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.
Chad has protested to Sudan after it said that Sudanese military aircraft had flown over army positions in the violence-torn east. The central African country also on Monday accused Khartoum of continuing to back anti-government forces in the remote desert region. Ahmad Allam-Mi, the Chadian foreign minister, summoned the Sudanese ambassador to strongly protest at the Sudanese flights to the east of the town of Adre, on the border with Sudan and more than 800 km from the capital N'Djamena. He did not specify what action would be taken if flights continued.
Allam-Mi told Reuters: "The Sudanese air force began yesterday to fly over the positions of the Chadian army. I summoned the Sudanese ambassador in Chad this morning to raise a strong protest and I said that Chad would take all the necessary measures." Chad also accused Khartoum of supporting rebels who are fighting a low intensity war in eastern Chad to oust Idriss Deby, the Chadian president.
Leaders of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) have said they want to leave southern Sudan - where they have assembled for peacetalks - and return to Uganda. 
(SomaliNet) A government official in Somalia capital Mogadishu has spoken out the reasons behind the closure of three main independent FM stations on Monday saying that the new bill of state emergency had impact on them. Abdirahman Dinari, the spokesperson of the transitional federal government said an official decree from the National Security Agency has ordered the administrators of the privately owned FM Radio stations of Shabelle, Horn Afrik and IQK as well as Al-Jazeera TV office in Mogadishu to cease their activities until further notice. The move to shut down these media stations came after the federal government saw their works as a threat to the national interest because they have aired falsified reports and un-censorship interviews, said Dinari. 
(SomaliNet) As we reported earlier today, Somalias fledging interim government closed three radio stations and Al Jazeera TV office in Mogadishu today. The government saw these stations as foes and the letter sent to them did not say much. Owners of the radio stations and Al Jazeera representatives are expected to go to the national security office tomorrow morning for further instructions. 
A Japanese panel began talks Monday on a draft plan to create a powerful US-style security council, just a week after Tokyo launched its first full-fledged defense ministry since World War II.
A court on Monday upheld a ban on Muslim teachers wearing head scarves in the schools of a German state under a law that says teachers' attire must be in line with "western Christian" values. 
Muslims may become a majority in Germany by as early as 2046, the Berlin-based BZ quoted on Monday an interior ministry-financed study as saying. Sparked by the steady influx of Muslim migrants into Germany, Muslims could form the largest share of the German population by 2046, said the study conducted by the Islam-Archive Central Institute located in the western town of Soest. 
Nepals Maoists took their seats in a newly created interim parliament on Monday, capping a landmark peace deal that has seen them move from guerrilla fighters to lawmakers in less than a year, said witnesses. Earlier on Monday, the previous House of Representatives passed a new interim constitution and then dissolved itself, paving the way for the new body that includes 83 nominees from the former rebels, making them the second biggest party.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday rejected US Maj Gen Benjamin Freakleys claim that 
The government is planning to block the financial resources of madrassas, banned religious organisations and non-government organisations, sources told Daily Times on Monday. The sources said that these organisations had gathered foreign funds under the pretext of hides collection. Intelligence agencies investigating the collection of sacrificial animals hides have found strong links between money launderers and proscribed organisations, the sources added.
Intelligence reports indicate that foreign elements could seek to exploit Pakistans internal situation by establishing links with banned militant outfits, Daily Times has learnt. According to intelligence reports submitted to the Interior Ministry, these foreign elements could try to link up with sectarian and nationalist outfits to create trouble within Pakistan. 
The former United Nations oil-for-food chief was charged Tuesday with bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in the scandal-tainted humanitarian program. The charges against Benon Sevan, 69, of Nicosia, Cyprus, were contained in a rewrite of an indictment stemming from the scandal over the operation set up from 1996 to 2003 to permit the Iraqi government to sell oil primarily to buy food and medicine for suffering Iraqis. Sevan, who had worked for the U.N. for 40 years 
Under Hizbullah guidance, Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank have recently obtained high-grade explosives that have significantly improved the effectiveness of roadside improvised explosive devices (IED) used against IDF patrols, senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. 
The United States will launch a military strike on Iran before April from the sea and with Patriot missiles, according to an Arab Times report appearing on a major American news website.
