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PRC, Islamic Jihad to attend Hamas-sponsored conference in Syria
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Hitman takes out another folk singer (Kubaya apparently no protection)
A MEXICAN singer has been shot dead in the northern state of Sinaloa, the latest in what appears to be a growing list of folk musician slayings by organised crime gangs.

Sinaloa's justice department said Jorge Antonio Sepulveda, 20, was found dead early today on a road near the city of Guasave, 164km northwest of the state capital Culiacan. Sepulveda, who was not well-known nationally, had been shot at least a dozen times with high-calibre guns. A nearby car authorities believed belonged to him was burnt to a shell.

Authorities could not immediately comment on the motive for the killing, which bore the trademarks of the dozens of gangland-style murders that take place in Mexico each week.

President Felipe Calderon launched a nationwide war a year ago on the drug cartels which control most of Mexico's organised crime. Drug-related killings surpassed 2500 last year and this year began with a spate of shootings.

Around half a dozen Mexican musicians have been killed over the past two years as hitmen who once targeted performers of "narcocorridos", or ballads about drug kingpins, broadened their aim to include more mainstream folk singers.

Valentin Elizalde was killed by drug hitmen in 2006. Last month, Sergio Gomez, front man of the popular band K-Paz de la Sierra, was abducted and strangled to death in the western state of Michoacan.

Two others who died last month were Jose Luis Aquino, a trumpet player found beaten to death with a plastic bag over his head, and Zayda Pena, who was shot in a motel room. The killers followed her to the hospital and finished her off with two more bullets as she lay in bed.

Meanwhile, gunmen killed eight people including three senior police officers and a three-year-old boy in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, a week after the government beefed up security there against drug gangs. Police believe the same gunmen were responsible for all eight killings.

Mexico sent hundreds of police and army reinforcements last week to Tijuana, just south of San Diego, following a rash of drug killings. Tijuana is the biggest city in Baja California, which was Mexico's most violent state in 2007 with more than 400 gangland-style murders.
Posted by: phil_b || 01/15/2008 19:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  IOW, the WAR IN NORTHERN MEXICO FOR CONTROL OF MEXI BORDER AREAS [entry points/routes]NEXT TO THE US BORDER FENCE GOES ON.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/15/2008 19:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Goes to show that Mexi Mafias-Cartels de facto indeed fear a drop in $$$ as a consequence of the new border fence.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/15/2008 19:40 Comments || Top||

#3  Where is that musician with the "guitar case" (from Desperado) when you need him?

One of the best acted "anti-heros" ever.
Los Lobos playing the whole time.
Posted by: 3dc || 01/15/2008 19:53 Comments || Top||

#4  The music critics are getting harsh down south.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/15/2008 22:36 Comments || Top||

#5  2 more high-level cops dead yesterday in Tijuana
Posted by: Frank G || 01/15/2008 23:36 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Churches raided in Zimbabwe for opposing disgraced bishop
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, issued an unprecedented condemnation of a former Anglican bishop today after police in Zimbabwe used force to intervene and stop official Anglican church services from going ahead.

Dr Williams said he was "appalled" by reports of Zimbabwe police forcibly stopping Anglican church services where clergy had publicly refused to acknowledge the authority of the deposed Nolbert Kunonga.

At least three priests and several parishioners opposed to Kunonga were dragged out of church and arrested after truncheon-wielding police in roit gear disrupted Anglican services in Harare on Sunday. Their "crime" was to hold services without the authorisation of Zimbabwe's police or government.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 01/15/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Odd that an Anglican would get in trouble for not maintaining a proper seperation from government.
Posted by: Super Hose || 01/15/2008 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Dictator's Manual.

Stwo 3, Establish a Religion under State control, (Or simply take over any existing ones)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/15/2008 2:08 Comments || Top||

#3  when I can't spell, it's time for bed.
"Night Y'All."
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/15/2008 2:11 Comments || Top||

#4  The Gods of the white, colonial imperialists are taboo. I will hold services and bone throwing in two moons at my rondavel for Asase Yaa, Mother of Thursday. Moon after next we will meet for Olokun the water spirit. Be there or suffer the spell.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/15/2008 3:06 Comments || Top||

#5  I thought Zimbabwe was already low, but they keep digging and digging.

This country is like a powder keg waiting to be lit.

I hope someone hurts Mugabe bad before he gets too old and dies of natural causes.
Posted by: Mad Eye Spinerong5947 || 01/15/2008 3:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Rowan understands and condemns this? Must be more story work from Anansi the Spider.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/15/2008 12:30 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Bush lodging oil price complaint with Saudi hosts
Why? $100/bbl for oil is a license to build new nuclear power plants! Even the environuts can't complain much any more!
President George W. Bush complained on Tuesday about soaring oil prices and the threat posed to the U.S. economy during the second day of his visit to Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter.
Although considerable, the US isn't the only economy out there that matters, W.
But he's the U.S. president. The French can take care of themselves, and usually do.
Bush said he would raise his concerns face-to-face with his Saudi host, King Abdullah, when the leaders decamp to the monarch's weekend desert getaway, injecting a message that could put a chill on the night's festivities. "I ... will again talk to His Majesty tonight about the fact that oil prices are very high, which is tough on our economy," Bush told a roundtable meeting with Saudi entrepreneurs.

Bush's overnight stay at Abdullah's Al Janadriyah "horse farm" near Riyadh on Tuesday had been envisioned as a chance to set aside talk of Middle East peace, Iranian challenges and controversial arms deals that dominated the first day of his visit.

But Bush made clear he wanted to talk about a subject that has emerged increasingly as an irritant in otherwise close relations between Washington and the Islamic kingdom, which is the de facto head of OPEC. "I would hope, as OPEC considers different production levels, that they understand that if their -- one of their biggest consumers' economy suffers, it will mean less purchases, less oil and gas sold," Bush said.
Oh, I'm sure they have it all figured out better than even you, W. Who's your audience, anyway?
When Bush was hugging and kissing walked arm-in-arm with Abdullah at his Texas ranch nearly three years ago, oil cost $54 a barrel, a level the Saudi government acknowledged then was "clearly too high."

Oil is now hovering near $100 a barrel and many Americans are griping about their tax dollars helping to underwrite the defense of wealthy Gulf allies.
Have them pay a portion of the costs.
Bush, whose country is the world's largest energy consumer, may well want to quiz the Saudis on how they can tame oil prices that are an added blow to a U.S. economy that some economists say is tilting toward recession.

In his visit to Abdullah's retreat, Bush will get a taste of how the royals live in the world's richest oil-producing monarchy and maybe even say 'hi' to Michael Jackson. He will trade in his business suit for a dress more casual attire and stay the night at the sprawling tent-like structure with walls made of silk.

Even the Arabian stallions the king raises at his Al Janadriyah "horse farm" near Riyadh lead lives of luxury. They are kept in climate-controlled, air-conditioned stables and are treated to aqua-therapy.

The special hospitality is for a U.S. president who hosted Abdullah as crown prince in Crawford, Texas, in 2002 and 2005.

Bush, spending the rest of Tuesday sightseeing and visiting with U.S. embassy staff, has already given his royal host good reason to be pleased.

Trying to counter Iran's growing military clout in the region, Bush made clear on Monday his commitment to go ahead with a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Just hours after his arrival in Riyadh, the U.S. administration said it notified Congress of its intention to offer the Saudis a package of advanced weaponry as part of a multibillion-dollar deal with Gulf Arab allies.

The deal, covering 900 precision-guided bomb kits worth about $120 million, has raised concerns in Israel and its U.S. supporters about the military balance of power in the region.

The sale is part of Bush's effort to persuade Saudi Arabia to help contain Iran, a strident U.S. foe.

Acknowledging progress in neighboring Iraq, Bush sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Baghdad on a mission to try to build on what his administration sees as progress on political reconciliation, the White House said.

Bush wants Saudi Arabia to cajole other Arab states into bolstering the Israeli-Palestinian peace process that he hopes, in the face of deep skepticism, will yield a final deal before he leaves office in January 2009.

Mindful of Saudi Arabia's strategic importance, Bush has avoided direct criticism of its human rights record during his trip. His last stop will be Egypt on Wednesday before heading home to Washington.
Posted by: gorb || 01/15/2008 04:33 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yeah, Abdullah will surely let us off the hook. That's what you do when you have your arch religious enemy over the barrel after all.
Posted by: Theper McGurque1128 || 01/15/2008 9:18 Comments || Top||

#2  This news was reported on the radio this morning as Bush wasting his time, because - according to two quoted experts, and please be seated - oil prices are driven by market forces.
Posted by: Bobby || 01/15/2008 10:40 Comments || Top||

#3  The radio pundit is half right. Demand is driven by market forces. Supply isn't.
Posted by: ed || 01/15/2008 10:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Are these the same guys they showed on tv this morning with whom president bush was walking hand-in-hand with a ridiculously large sword in his (bush's) other hand? All I saw was video (sound turned down but CBS, so who needed it). I don't care how many layers of loose fitting clothes they put on, it was a line dance of a bunch of rich fat arabs - with no rhythm.

Maybe when the soddy king stops buy to pick up the keys to his new f-16s they can throw him in some Wranglers jeans, some boots and hat, and take him out to Lubbuck for some BBQ, rodeo, and a Tech game. "Sure king, your bomb codes are roped onto that greased pig - I suggest trying to grab the ears..."
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/15/2008 11:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Even the Arabian stallions the king raises at his Al Janadriyah "horse farm" near Riyadh lead lives of luxury. They are kept in climate-controlled, air-conditioned stables and are treated to aqua-therapy.


Compare and contrast to the treatment of Phillipine and Indian guest workers. Or Christians. Ask George if he took his Bible.

Saudis. feh.

/spit
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/15/2008 13:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Darn good question.
Posted by: Kelly || 01/15/2008 14:02 Comments || Top||

#7  "Even the environuts can't complain much any more!"

Stop smoking that stuff. It will stunt your growth.
Posted by: Kelly || 01/15/2008 14:03 Comments || Top||

#8  Stop smoking that stuff. It will stunt your (Mental)growth.

There, fixed it for You.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/15/2008 14:15 Comments || Top||

#9  Hey, even environuts have to pay the bills! :-)
Posted by: gorb || 01/15/2008 14:15 Comments || Top||

#10  CH3CH2OH
Posted by: DMFD || 01/15/2008 19:31 Comments || Top||

#11  W does what he can to keep the oil flowing out of Islamist lands. The Islamists don't intend to give it away, no sir. Short of a real substitute for jihadi oil, the dilemma continues.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 01/15/2008 23:09 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Bye-bye to Waving
CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian man who waved out of a car window at two young women was expected to lose his arm Monday after it was almost severed by another passing vehicle.
The 20-year-old was a passenger in a pick-up truck at Bunbury, in Western Australia state, when he waved at two women in a car wash.
OOPS!
But as he put his arm out the driver made a right hand turn and the man's limb was struck and almost torn off by an oncoming four-wheel-drive.
Poor guy. He just wanted to be friendly. I can imagine what the driver feels like.
"His left arm was partially severed and doctors believe the limb may need to be amputated," police said.

Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/15/2008 14:05 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Drive kind of close together in Western Oz do they?

In the states you can pretty much stretch your hand out and come nowhere near the closest car except in very unusual circumstances.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/15/2008 16:53 Comments || Top||

#2  one can only imagine the results if he decided to moon them instead...... snark
Posted by: Muggsy Glomose2810 || 01/15/2008 16:59 Comments || Top||

#3  See. Mom and dad really weren't lying...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 17:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Listening to (Canadian) radio commentary on this, it seems the 2 girls were involved in washing a car and our hero was, shall we say, distracted by the adhesive qualities of the wet clothing to these two lithesome bodies and, his attempts to display his innate instincts cost him his limb......
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 01/15/2008 17:14 Comments || Top||

#5  My mom always told me, "look right, look left, [and then wave at girls engaged in wet t-shirt contest]".

She was right, I still have both arms.
Posted by: twobyfour || 01/15/2008 20:21 Comments || Top||

#6  My mom always said:

Don't stick your arm out too far, it might go home in another car!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/15/2008 21:34 Comments || Top||


Whale protesters taken hostage
AN Australian and a Briton are being held hostage aboard a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean, the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group says. Benjamin Potts, 28, of Sydney, and Giles Lane, 35, from Britain, crew from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Steve Irwin, boarded the Japanese whaling vessel Yashin Maru No 2 about 5pm (AEDT), the group's international director Jonny Vasic said.

The ship was one of a fleet of five the Steve Irwin had tracked since January 1 but located today, Mr Vasic said.

The men boarded the vessel from a Zodiac boat to hand its captain a letter informing him that the vessel's crew was “illegally killing whales” in the Southern Whale Sanctuary.
“When they got on board and delivered the letter they were not allowed to leave,” Mr Vasic said. “The letter basically stated that they (the Japanese crew) were breaking the international conservation law against whaling in the Antarctic sanctuary.”

Mr Vasic said the men were tied to a radar mast for up to three hours in freezing conditions before they were taken to a locked room below deck.
Protesting isn't so fun when you're wet and cold, huh?
“We have a photo that shows that when they were held they were basically strapped by the arms with zip ties and tied with rope around their chests, and then they were held there for several hours in the cold, and then about two and a half to three hours in that, they were taken below,” he said.

Mr Vasic said Sea Shepherd had contacted the British High Commission in Australia and the Australian Federal Police to report the incident. “We're hoping that the Federal Government and the British Government will step up and do the right thing, which is demand the release of their citizens,” Mr Vasic said. “We're trying to contact (the Japanese vessel) by radio. They are moving away from us but we're in pursuit and we are holding off on taking any further action until we know if the governments are doing anything.”

Mr Lane is an engineer aboard the Steve Irwin. Mr Potts is a cook.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is investigating the incident. An AFP spokeswoman said a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society representative made a report to police early this evening, about 6pm (AEDT), saying two of their activists were being held on board a Japanese vessel in the Southern Ocean.

There is no evidence at this stage that the pair had been tied to a radar mast on board that vessel, the AFP spokeswoman said.

The incident occurred just inside the Australian Antarctic Sanctuary near the intersection of the coordinates 60 degrees south and 77 degrees east, a week's sail south-west of the Australian coast, Mr Vasic said.

The encounter came after the Federal Court outlawed whaling in Australian Antarctic waters in a ruling the Government said it would not try to enforce. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society earlier reported that the crew of the Steve Irwin had located five whaling vessels at 11.15am (AEDT) today on the 60-degree south line.
Posted by: tipper || 01/15/2008 07:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hope they are released ok, but damn. That is funny. I can only imagine the hubris collapsing after they boldly boarded a vessel and handed the captain a letter telling him all sorts of bad things then get taken prisoner. Hehe....
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/15/2008 7:42 Comments || Top||

#2  So they invaded a ship, and got caught.

The captain needs to keep them in the hold until he's ready to release them to be tried for piracy.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/15/2008 8:00 Comments || Top||

#3  Why wait? The ship captain should try them for piracy on the spot. I'm sure one of his officers can mount a good defense for them before the hanging.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats || 01/15/2008 8:07 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm sure one of his officers can mount a good defense for them before the hanging.

Or before they walk the plank.
Posted by: JFM || 01/15/2008 8:48 Comments || Top||

#5  I don't understand why the japs think they need to have a whaling fleet anyway. And why they don't stick to their own waters if they want to do something so despicable as whaling.
Posted by: Theper McGurque1128 || 01/15/2008 9:16 Comments || Top||

#6  They are just lucky they did not attract the attention of French pro-nuclear testing activists.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/15/2008 9:34 Comments || Top||

#7  Hilarious. Though no doubt no charges will be madeagainst the two protesters seeing as how they were peaceful and showing the japanese fleet was involved in illegal activites of their own.

A thought is in the back of my mind that these two may be dead to avoid evidence of them being there, dumped overboard. But I don't know if Illegal Whaling is that big of a deal to the Japanese.
Posted by: Charles || 01/15/2008 9:36 Comments || Top||

#8  I agree w/TM1128. The japanese should've stuck to their own waters. Unless there can be a solid logical case made for whaling it should be ended. However, I do see the humor in this situation - damn funny.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/15/2008 9:50 Comments || Top||

#9  Theper McGurque1128 are you truly so clueless. There are other people in the world that aren't sitting in Mom's basement trolling the internet. Japan is a maritime nation (no, I am not going to tell you what that means, you will have to find out for yourself) and needs to use the ocean's resources to feed itself. That includes "Herefords of the Sea".

I hope the self important little numbskulls s#!+ themselves empty when the Captain said, "No way, Jose! You stay here!"
Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839 || 01/15/2008 11:04 Comments || Top||

#10  A thought is in the back of my mind that these two may be dead to avoid evidence of them being there, dumped overboard.

Yipes. That almost seems possible given that they apparenlty have not yet been released yet.

The crime of boarding a boat and peacefully handing the captain a letter is not piracy, no matter how much it suits your purposes. Piracy implies raiding.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 || 01/15/2008 12:08 Comments || Top||

#11  A jury in Japan should decide that. Hope they enjoy the trip.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/15/2008 12:24 Comments || Top||

#12  In lieu of ransom it'd be sweet to make the hostage harpoon a whale.
Posted by: macofromoc || 01/15/2008 12:54 Comments || Top||

#13  The men boarded the vessel (WITHOUT PERMISSION) from a Zodiac boat to hand its captain a letter informing him that the vessel's crew was “illegally killing whales” in the Southern Whale Sanctuary.

That's fixed for ya. Boarding without permission is piracy, and the Japanese are completely in the right here.
Posted by: mojo || 01/15/2008 13:19 Comments || Top||

#14  I have no special love for whalers but good o for the Sons of Nippon.
Posted by: Kelly || 01/15/2008 14:00 Comments || Top||

#15  Sink their boat, feed them to the Orcas.
Less trouble in the future.

As I recall a Zodiac is a rubber boat, let them board, harpoon the Zodiac, "Bye now", sail away.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/15/2008 14:05 Comments || Top||

#16  The Japanese are allotted a certain number of whale kills for scientific research, the whale meat subsequently being sold in the fish markets. It's therefore likely the Japanese were not whaling illegally, and more than the Guantanamo Bay prisoners are being held illegally. Just because some activists say it does not make it so. (And no, I don't think the Japanese research is anything more than an excuse to hunt the animals, but moral and legal are not necessarily linked.)
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/15/2008 14:20 Comments || Top||

#17  Being tried for piracy would serve these self appointed twits right. I hope no one on board the Japanese vessel speaks or reads a word of English and these two are held until the vessel returns to Japan and then they are turned over to the Police and held for trail.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/15/2008 14:35 Comments || Top||

#18  Must suck when the mooks you're trying to educate absolutely refuse to recognize your nobility... and actually mock it instead!
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 14:48 Comments || Top||

#19  Who knows that the "activists" did when they boarded. Perhaps they made some threats - branished some sort of weapon or made some sort of claim.... Maybe they tied themselves to the radar mast in protest?

We are only hearing one side of the story here.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/15/2008 15:03 Comments || Top||

#20  Oooh, plot thickener...

Earlier in the day they had gone aboard the whaler to deliver a letter, saying they had done so because the Japanese had refused to acknowledge radio communications.

"I am not boarding your ship with the intent to commit a crime, to rob you or to inflict injury upon your crew and yourself or damage to your ship," the letter said. They were delivering the message and then "request that you allow me to disembark from your vessel without harm or seizure."

Mr Morimoto confirmed the two men had been taken into custody, and said they were taken to a secure room. "Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue," Mr Morimoto said.

"It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future," he said in a statement. "The two boarded the Yushin Maru No 2 after they made attempts to entangle the screw of the vessel using ropes and throwing bottles of acid on to the decks."

But Watson said as the two boarded Yushin Maru the Japanese attacked them. "First of all they tried to throw Benjamin Potts overboard, but he managed to get his way out of that. Then they assaulted Giles Lane. He seems to be in some pain. They tied him up [in an] incredible number of ropes. "It looks like some kind of bondage movie. It's ridiculous."
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 15:10 Comments || Top||

#21  Heh, after reading the headline I read the name of the Japanese vessal as Kobayashi Maru. And if I were a ship captain, I too would be concerned if a ship named the Steve Irwin was chasing me with the crew holding out their thumbs, signaling to pull over.

No, seriously, as a captain if a ship chased me down, pulled alongside, and people boarded and started acting like idiots I would do the exact same thing. More likely, I would have mustered arms and manned fire hoses to that side and opened up.

I know as a Kansan I have little clout in these matters but it seems to me these people forced a maneuver which is dangerous in calm seas with cooperating vessals using the same language, then trespassed/boarded without permission. Think that move would work in the Gulf of Aden?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/15/2008 15:24 Comments || Top||

#22  Hmmm... IF true, they are lucky they didn't go back over the side with 100lbs of metal attached to their legs. Dumb asses.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/15/2008 15:24 Comments || Top||

#23  I read the headline as "Whales Take Protesters Hostage". Seemed appropriate.
Posted by: Spot || 01/15/2008 15:31 Comments || Top||

#24  We have a photo

Be interesting to see if that photo has any features that prove it was actually taken of the men on the Yashin Maru. These sanctimonious self-important pompous and arrogant annoyances are not above faking such 'evidence' and screaming atrocity whenever they are called to account for their irresponsible and obnoxious actions.
Posted by: lotp || 01/15/2008 15:43 Comments || Top||

#25  It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas

/me suspects somewho is about to discover that maritime law is completely lacking a sense of humor. Enjoy the ride!
Posted by: SteveS || 01/15/2008 15:43 Comments || Top||

#26  Insh'allah, Steve.

I've had too many encounters with 'animal rights' types who would remove my dogs from my care to have any sympathy whatsoever for these jerks.
Posted by: lotp || 01/15/2008 15:44 Comments || Top||

#27  Attempting to foul the props, attacking the crew and following that up with a boarding sure as hell sounds like piracy to me.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/15/2008 15:49 Comments || Top||

#28  But Watson said as the two boarded Yushin Maru the Japanese attacked them.

Uh, yeah!

You just threw bottles of acid at them! You were expecting them to hold a reception?!
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/15/2008 15:52 Comments || Top||

#29  Looks like the show's over, Johnny. Move it along...

Japan agrees to free Sea Shepherd activists

Posted 10 minutes ago

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says the Japanese Government has agreed to free two Sea Shepherd anti-whaling activists who are being held on board a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters. Australian Benjamin Potts and British man Giles Lane were detained after they boarded the whaling ship yesterday. They said they wanted to give the whalers a letter telling them they were whaling illegally in a protected zone.

Mr Smith says the Federal Government asked the Japanese to release the two campaigners from the ship as soon as it heard of the incident. He says that request was agreed to late last night, but the handover has not yet taken place.

"The most important thing here is the safety and welfare of the two men concerned and we do, as the Australian Government, want their immediate release," he said.

Opposition spokesman Greg Hunt says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd should immediately contact his Japanese counterpart to stop the situation getting worse.

The Australian Government says it is too early to say if either party acted illegally.

Both sides have traded accusations, with the Japanese whalers branding the men pirates and saying they acted illegally.

Sea Shepherd say the pair were assaulted and then tied to railings and a radar mast. The Japanese have denied any mistreatment and say the men are being treated well.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 16:18 Comments || Top||

#30  The Japanese may have a point. It appears that even Greenpeace thinks they're loons...

"It could take the fleet more than a week to regroup ... they're just running away," Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd's founder, told the Guardian from the group's ship, the Steve Irwin."They seem to be worried that we will attack them, but they are the real eco-terrorists. They terrorise the environment."

The Japanese government routinely describes Sea Shepherd as a terrorist organization and last year accused it of ramming a whaling vessel and attacking the mother ship with acid. Earlier this week, Watson's promised to "hound these poachers for as long as we can, and when we catch up with them we will disable their equipment and do everything physically possible short of inflicting injury on the crew in order to stop their illegal activities."

Greenpeace, too, disapproves of Sea Shepherd's methods and reportedly refused to share information about the whaling fleet's location or activities. A Greenpeace spokesman declined to comment on the detained protesters
.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 16:27 Comments || Top||

#31  They tied him up [in an] incredible number of ropes. "It looks like some kind of bondage movie. It's ridiculous."

This Kinbaku DVD on sale at the finest Roppongi shops.
Posted by: ed || 01/15/2008 16:34 Comments || Top||

#32  This was last year's festivities...

An anti-whaling group's boat and a Japanese whale-spotting vessel collided twice in Antarctic waters today during clashes over a pod of whales, conservationists and Japanese officials said.

The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said a one-metre (three-foot) gash was torn in the hull of its ship, the Robert Hunter, by the Japanese ship Kaiko Maru during the clashes in iceberg-strewn waters far south of New Zealand.

Japanese officials accused the group of attacking the whaling ship like pirates.

The Kaiko Maru issued a distress signal during the clash to seek help from another Japanese whaling ship in the area, said Hideki Moronuki, a senior official at Japan's fisheries agency. No one aboard the Kaiko Maru was injured, and no serious damage to the ship was reported.

Mr Moronuki said two Sea Shepherd vessels attacked the Kaiko Maru this morning."The attack was like that of a pirate, with people on one boat throwing warning flares and a rope in an attempt to entangle our ship's propeller," Mr Moronuki said. The Kaiko Maru was forced to stop, he said.

Five other ships in the Japanese whaling fleet were far away from the Kaiko Maru at the time of the collision, Mr Moronuki said, declining to give their location.

Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said the Robert Hunter was hit twice by the Kaiko Maru after the conservationists tried to stop the Japanese ship from reaching a pod of whales. "Robert Hunter was struck in the stern. We have a three-foot gash in the hull above the waterline," he said by telephone from the Farley Mowat, a second Sea Shepherd ship in the area.

No injuries were reported aboard the Robert Hunter. Captain Watson said the Sea Shepherd ships offered to respond to the Japanese ship's distress call, but it had not answered. The three ships were still near each other, while other Japanese whaling ships were about 20 miles (30km) away, Captain Watson said. "The situation clearly is dangerous," he said.

New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre said it was aware of a distress call from a Japanese vessel, and that authorities were investigating.

The collision was the latest high-stakes clash between Japanese whaling ships and Sea Shepherd activists, whose self-stated aim is to "harass, block, obstruct, and intervene against" Japanese ships hunting whales in Antarctic waters.

Last Friday, two Sea Shepherd members went missing aboard a small inflatable boat for several hours during a confrontation with another Japanese whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, before being found safe. The conservationists had dumped a foul-smelling acid on the whaling ship, prompting Japanese officials to label them "terrorists" after two crew members were slightly injured.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 16:34 Comments || Top||

#33  This get's better and better. It appears they're a bunch of friggin morons. Again, from last year...

John Gravois said he and Karl Neilsen huddled in their damaged inflatable craft for eight hours in freezing fog, snow and sleet after the confrontation on Friday before being hauled to safety aboard the flagship boat Farley Mowat, which belongs to the Sea Shepherd conservation group. "When they found us it was a feeling of the most extreme relief that you can imagine," said Mr Gravois.

The activist, from Los Angeles, said that he and his Australian crewmate had been trying to foul the ship's propeller but had gone too close and collided with its hull. Their small craft began letting in water and they fell behind other small boats in the fleet who were also trying to sabotage the whaling ship's activities. When they tried to use their radio to call for help, they discovered it did not work.


HA-ha

Earlier on Friday, the protesters had splashed six litres of butyric acid on to the ship's flensing deck, where whales are stripped of their blubber. Butyric acid is a corrosive chemical and contact can cause severe irritation and burns of the eyes and skin, leading to permanent damage. Two Japanese crewmen sustained injuries, Kyodo news agency reported.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 16:44 Comments || Top||

#34  Damn! This was TWO years ago. It's a Greenie Cat Fight!

A battle for what is being called "the high moral wave" was last night being fought off the wild coast of Antarctica as the world's two leading international marine protection groups fought each other over which would stop the Japanese whaling fleet.

With an international crew of volunteers, a helicopter and a deep warchest, Greenpeace International has sent two boats, the Arctic Sunrise and the faster Esperanza, to the Southern Ocean to stop the Japanese whaling fleet as it tries to catch 900 minke, blue and other whales for "scientific research".

The animal rights protector Captain Paul Watson, who co-founded Greenpeace in the 1970s and later set up the more radical Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was also in pursuit of the fleet yesterday in his ship, the Farley Mowat. Capt Watson, who accuses Greenpeace of being "the Avon ladies of the environment" and of being more interested in publicity than in enforcing international law, intercepted the Nisshin Maru factory ship on Christmas Day. Each environmental group now accuses the other of endangering lives by trying to ram its vessels.

Sea Shepherd had requested the presence of the Australian navy to monitor events in the Southern Ocean, but Australia's environment minister, Ian Campbell, said that Sea Shepherd's threats to attack the fleet "risk setting back the cause of whale conservation many years".

Capt Watson said yesterday: "Stop threatening us, Mr Campbell, and charge us if you believe we are acting unlawfully. Stop posing for the Japanese [who] are in blatant violation of international conservation laws."

Despite a short truce at Christmas in which the captains swapped greetings, Capt Watson and Greenpeace were at daggers drawn again yesterday with Sea Shepherd accusing the larger group of refusing to say where the Japanese fleet was.

"Greenpeace has misled Sea Shepherd and betrayed us. The Japanese fleet does not give a damn about protests. [Greenpeace] just take pictures and hang banners. We are down here to enforce international conservation law and to stop the illegal whaling operations."

Greenpeace retorted: "Greenpeace distance themselves from Sea Shepherd because of their inability to commit to non-violent tactics. But we'll do what we can to put bodies between harpoons and whales and protect the whales non-violently," said its spokesman Danny Kennedy. Capt Watson yesterday warned Greenpeace that Japan had dispatched a warship to the Southern Ocean to protect its whaling fleet and arrest the conservationists for piracy. This could not be confirmed.

Last night, the three conservation ships were reportedly trying to spot the Japanese harpoon vessels. "They are sweeping along the [Antarctic] coast corridor with radar and helicopter reconnaissance flights with the objective of ferreting out the positions of the illegal harpoon vessels," said a spokesman for Greenpeace.

Backstory:
The bad blood between Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd goes back to 1979, when Captain Paul Watson, membership number 008, left the Greenpeace Foundation he helped set up in Canada in 1972. In 1978, he formed the Sea Shepherd society. While Greenpeace adopted an ethic of non-violence, Capt Watson, 55, believes in confrontation and has been accused of piracy and terrorism.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 16:54 Comments || Top||

#35  I call upon Congress to issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal to help stop this brazen piracy. Hey, maybe the Rantburg Navy would like to bid on the job.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/15/2008 18:04 Comments || Top||

#36  Japan sent an entire fleet of ships and didn't include one frigate?
Posted by: john frum || 01/15/2008 18:33 Comments || Top||

#37  Ask Deacon about Butyric acid, it's nasty stuff and smells like vomit.

If you are trying to foul the propeller, you are committing piracy. Hose pipes on the perps first line of defense, then shotguns. These guys are pirates, despite their eco-front. Treat them as such.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/15/2008 18:39 Comments || Top||

#38  SRI LANKA > warned JAPAN about initiating any new GLOBAL ACTIONS [military].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/15/2008 19:46 Comments || Top||

#39  Thanks TW for the clarification.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/15/2008 21:52 Comments || Top||


Europe
Explosion rocks Stockholm apartment
In non-WOT for now, since it might well be due to the Russian/Balkan mafias rather than the Islamists.
An explosion at a building in Sundbyberg in the early hours of Tuesday morning left a hole "as big as a football" in the front door of one apartment.

A man and woman who were inside the first floor apartment at the time of the blast escaped unharmed. With the aid of emergency services they were able to climb down from their balcony to safety.

An explosive device had been attached to the door
According to police inspector Daniel Hedman, an explosive device had been attached to the door of the apartment.

Police said the blast at the apartment block in Sundbyberg, a municipality in north Stockholm County, had left a football-sized hole. There have so far been no arrests. The explosion caused extensive damage to the building, which was guarded by police on Tuesday morning.

A neighbour raised the alarm shortly before 3am. Six police units were called to the scene to question possible witnesses.
Posted by: lotp || 01/15/2008 06:54 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  An explosion at a building ... left a hole "as big as a football" in the front door of one apartment

Posted by: DMFD || 01/15/2008 19:44 Comments || Top||


Financial crisis rocks Swedish military
Sweden's armed forces are mulling extensive cutbacks as a deepening economic crisis looms in 2008. The cost of running the Armed Forces is expected to exceed the military budget by between 1 and 1.5 billion kronor, Svenska Dagbladet reports.

Lietenant General Jan Salestrand confirmed that the military was experiencing considerable financial problems. "I want to underline the fact that we are sticking to our allocation and looking after our finances - but this also means that we have to put measures in place to reduce our ambitions and operations," he told Svenska Dagbladet.

The military is weighing up drastic action in its bid to balance the books, with new directives scheduled to be sent out to its various units next week.

Measures under consideration include: terminating the contracts of soldiers in the Nordic Battlegroup in August; grounding 40 percent of fighter plane pilots; mothballing half of all JAS Gripen planes; reducing the size of military units; introducing shorter training periods for new recruits.

"We underestimated the costs of developing the Armed Forces into a mission-based force," said Jan Salestrand in a statement.
Posted by: lotp || 01/15/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why not just disband the military altogether? That would solve the problem permanently.
Posted by: gromky || 01/15/2008 1:42 Comments || Top||

#2  You still need the Gripens for filming the SAAB ads. Although I suppose you could use computer generated graphics.
Posted by: moody blues || 01/15/2008 8:26 Comments || Top||

#3  The Swedes won't protect their own women from muzzie rape packs so I guess fighting an outside enemy is out of the question.
Posted by: Icerigger || 01/15/2008 8:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Svenska Dagbladet sounds like she is hot.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/15/2008 9:27 Comments || Top||

#5  Svenska Dagbladet sounds like she is hot.

Hubba hubba!

Hey, is the Swedish military funded by the Swedish government or is it a separate corporation like the PLA in China?
Posted by: SteveS || 01/15/2008 11:12 Comments || Top||

#6  Svenska Dagbladet hot?

Swedish DailyPaper. Did read it on occasion and it's not so hot. Except if used as kindling in a stove.
Posted by: twobyfour || 01/15/2008 11:47 Comments || Top||

#7  They'll cut it back in true Euro style - after all, why maintain a working military when the despised US is guaranteeing your protection?
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/15/2008 12:53 Comments || Top||

#8  Swedish DailyPaper.

We know. It is the basis of the joke. And as for hot, 451 degrees Farenheit, IIRC.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/15/2008 13:59 Comments || Top||

#9  They have money for Hamas, but not for their own security. Swedenistan, here we come.
Posted by: Gromosh Forkbeard2610 || 01/15/2008 17:34 Comments || Top||

#10  Guess the 'Rent-a-Troop' route of Fiji, Ireland, Pakland etc is not in the plan.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/15/2008 17:36 Comments || Top||

#11  Well, it's not as if you can compete with PakiWakiLand on price.
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman || 01/15/2008 23:06 Comments || Top||


French newspaper says Sarkozy might have wed Bruni
A French newspaper reported on Monday that President Nicolas Sarkozy might have married his new girlfriend Carla Bruni last week, but the mother of the former Italian supermodel said she was unaware of any secret nuptials. Regional daily l'Est Republicain quoted a source close to someone who "attended the ceremony" as saying that Sarkozy and Bruni married last Thursday at the Elysee presidential palace. "Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni reportedly got married on Thursday at the Elysee," the paper said on its website.
Or maybe just honeymooned. Who cares?
Posted by: Fred || 01/15/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "The things I do for my country..."
Posted by: Mad Eye Spinerong5947 || 01/15/2008 3:32 Comments || Top||

#2  photo
(perhaps NSFW)

Go Sarko!
Posted by: john frum || 01/15/2008 14:43 Comments || Top||

#3  It's good to be the king!
Or someone like him...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 14:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Rumor is he married Bruni to appease the Sauds prior to his visit to the Kingdom.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/15/2008 16:09 Comments || Top||

#5  The soddys were getting pissy about him coming with a woman he to whom he wasn't married. Sark should acquire a whole harem with whom to travel.
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/15/2008 16:46 Comments || Top||

#6  Hope he really pissed them off and didn't put her in a bag.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 16:56 Comments || Top||

#7  Sarko needs to talk to Kaddafy about renting his fembots.
Posted by: ed || 01/15/2008 16:58 Comments || Top||

#8  His ex wife says he is a "narcisist." That's better than being a dhimmi, like Chirac.
Posted by: Gromosh Forkbeard2610 || 01/15/2008 17:38 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Gov't sues for access to Texas border town as it plans fence
Good that the feds are making plans for a fence, bad that these towns are on the wrong side of the issue. Want free traffic? Put in a door and monitor who goes out and comes in. Hint: The legal ones have passports and shouldn't mind giving up a thumbprint or iris scan to cross the border. The instant I hear "Environmental Impact Study" I generally know who needs to be taken out to the wood shed.
The federal government sued Monday to gain access to land owned by a Texas city whose mayor has been highly critical of a planned U.S.-Mexico border fence. The lawsuit against Eagle Pass, Texas, is the first of scores expected to be filed in the escalating dispute. The Homeland Security Department has said it needs access to land to find the best places to build the fence or to set up other border security.

Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster serves as chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, a group of border mayors, business officials and residents. "We ain't rolling over," Foster said after learning of the lawsuit.

The Homeland Security Department is trying to build 370 miles of border fence by the end of the year. A 2006 law signed by President Bush and supported by both of Texas' U.S. senators mandated a total of 700 miles of fence along the border.

Coalition members allege that the agency has failed to sufficiently consider concerns about effects on the environment, residents' property and the binational way of life along the border and has ignored suggestions for alternatives.

"Interior members of the U.S. think this is something new. The Texas border has been fighting illegal activity on the border for generations," Foster said. "As we speak today we have camera towers on the river, sensors on the river and border patrols patrolling the river."
And how well has it worked so far?
Last month the Homeland Security Department warned landowners in Texas, California and New Mexico that it would sue if it was not given access to their property. Some have granted access, but several have ignored the warning. "We have been and continue to be absolutely clear about our commitment to border security," said Laura Keehner, a Homeland Security spokeswoman.
Posted by: gorb || 01/15/2008 04:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think an "Environmental Impact Study" would be good if you first shut the border there to all traffic to get a good baseline to adjudge any change created by a fence.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/15/2008 7:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Coalition members allege that the agency has failed to sufficiently consider concerns about effects on the environment, residents' property and the binational way of life along the border and has ignored suggestions for alternatives.

-binational way of life? Alternatives?
What a bunch of crap. Build the wall, there is no "binational way of life," there is only one nation, it's called the United States. Deal w/it.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 01/15/2008 9:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Clint Eastwood, "High plains Drifter (I think) "Nothin' beats a good piece of hickory". (After using an axe handle to beat the crap out of eight or so bad guys)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/15/2008 14:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Pale Rider, RJ...
Posted by: Beavis || 01/15/2008 14:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Thanks Beavis. one of the good old ones, sorry about the name.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/15/2008 20:07 Comments || Top||

#6  This is a very good case for eminent domain, I can't think of a better one. Landowners who refuse to let the national government police their portion of the border should be bought out by force of law. Homeland Security should not be suing for access, but for ownership. This would probably cost less than the long & involved legal process that is sure to follow otherwise.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 01/15/2008 23:45 Comments || Top||

#7  "We have been and continue to be absolutely clear about our commitment to border security," said Laura Keehner, a Homeland Security spokeswoman. The USA is still not committed to border security, not by a long shot.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 01/15/2008 23:47 Comments || Top||


Romney Battles McCain for Michigan Lead
Posted by: Fred || 01/15/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Now it that because of the big Kos turn out the vote campaign to mess with the Trunks or is it because of all the black who show up at the polls and only find Hillary on the Donk ballot?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/15/2008 7:21 Comments || Top||

#2  No matter what happens it can only benefit Mitt Romney.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/15/2008 9:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Mich is like New Hampster: its nto a Republican primary, its an open one.

WHy are the Republican party bosses so stupid as to allow these NON-Republicans to set the momentum for the Republican nomination?

Is it because they'd rather lose with a cnadidate they can control (Romney, McCain) than win with a candidate that isnt beholden to them (Thompson)?
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/15/2008 13:27 Comments || Top||

#4  The Donks stripped Michigan of its delegates for going so early, did they not?

If there's nothing at stake for the Dems, what's a bored Democrat to do but try to hose up the Heffalumps?
Posted by: eLarson || 01/15/2008 14:56 Comments || Top||

#5  Is it because they'd rather lose with a cnadidate they can control (Romney, McCain) than win with a candidate that isnt beholden to them (Thompson)?

Maybe. Or maybe they just aren't organized enough to anticipate and deal with people perfectly willing to subvert the primary process.
Posted by: lotp || 01/15/2008 15:46 Comments || Top||

#6  Bout time for a Clinton story. I haven't had a good laugh in awhile. Their buffoonery and shenanigans never fail to amaze me.
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/15/2008 16:40 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pakistan army guards scarce grain (A Window on the Future))
The authorities in Pakistan have deployed paramilitary troops to guard wheat supplies around the country amid fears of a massive shortfall. The government has blamed hoarders and smugglers for the problem. Wheat is a staple food in Pakistan and shortages have led to large scale rioting in the past.

Flour shortfalls initially pushed up market prices. Later flour ran out on the open market when officials fixed prices and warned against violations. Now Pakistan's national disaster management authority has deployed thousands of paramilitary troops at wheat stores. The head of the authority said the aim was to ensure that store owners did not sell more than allowed by the government. The move comes after nearly a month of wheat shortages.

President Pervez Musharraf said there was enough grain to feed everyone and the crisis had been engineered. He and other leaders have pointed the finger at "hoarders" and "profiteers". Officials accuse suppliers of smuggling wheat intended for domestic use to Afghanistan and Central Asia, where prices are higher.

The state-run Utility Stores Corporation has been selling flour at the official rate of 18 rupees ($0.30) per kg. However, the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Karachi says those queuing up outside are often told that the store has run out of stock.

There have been wheat and rice shortages across South Asia in recent weeks and world prices have reached record highs.
Posted by: phil_b || 01/15/2008 02:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Isn't wheat too perishable to hoarde it for too long under the conditions I imagine it being hoarded under?

Perhaps Pakistanis could eat poppies . . . .
Posted by: gorb || 01/15/2008 7:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Or they could eat some nutritious crow. They made a desert and they called it islam (which means peace).
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/15/2008 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  They make a reduction of whirled peas that's simply divine, or so I'm told.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/15/2008 9:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Later flour ran out on the open market when officials fixed prices

Mmmm, price controls. Is there any economic problem they can't exacerbate?
Posted by: SteveS || 01/15/2008 11:17 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm sure their fellow Muslims won't let Pakistanis starve.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/15/2008 15:55 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm sure if they got all the thousands upon thousands of madrassah students and teachers to pray to Allah, wheat would fall from the sky.
Posted by: danking70 || 01/15/2008 17:12 Comments || Top||

#7  We'd liked to help out, but our wheat makes Muslims impotent. Or sterile. I forget...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/15/2008 17:15 Comments || Top||

#8  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Benazir's dad) did promise in 1965 that Pakistanis would eat grass to get the atomic bomb.. they have the bomb and may soon be eating grass...
Posted by: john frum || 01/15/2008 17:44 Comments || Top||

#9  Now Pakistan's national disaster management authority has deployed thousands of paramilitary troops at wheat stores.

"No blood for bread!"
Posted by: Raj || 01/15/2008 18:11 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Latest Suharto update - it's sepsis!
Former Indonesian dictator Suharto has developed a potentially deadly infection of the blood and his heart has become unstable, say members of his medical team.
Our prayers have been answered!
Doctor Joko Raharjo told reporters at the Pertamina Hospital in the Indonesian capital that Suharto had developed sepsis, a serious medical condition which makes the whole body develop a state of inflammation due to infection. Sepsis can lead to blood circulation problems, multiple organ failure and eventually death.

Doctors responded by increasing intensive care and administering intravenous anti-infection drugs, said another doctor, Marjo Subiandono.
Posted by: gromky || 01/15/2008 01:01 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Don't worry, I'm sure he has the finest Muslim medical care available.
Posted by: Titus Hayes || 01/15/2008 9:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Our prayers have been answered!

So, does this mean we'll eventually get to hear about a terr with a sucking head wound? Goody!
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/15/2008 14:02 Comments || Top||

#3  So does this mean that Suharto is Very Extremely Critical^2?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/15/2008 23:26 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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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.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2008-01-15
  PRC, Islamic Jihad to attend Hamas-sponsored conference in Syria
Mon 2008-01-14
  Attack on luxury Afghan hotel kills guard, militant: ISAF
Sun 2008-01-13
  Bissau extradites al Qaeda suspects to Mauritania
Sat 2008-01-12
  Militant threat on Eiffel Tower intercepted
Fri 2008-01-11
  Lahore suicide kaboom kills at least 20, injures 80
Thu 2008-01-10
  40,000 pounds of US bombs hit 38 Qaeda 'safe havens'
Wed 2008-01-09
  Mullah Fazlullah deadullah?
Tue 2008-01-08
  Chadian planes bomb rebels in Sudan
Mon 2008-01-07
  Arab FMs urge immediate Leb presidential election
Sun 2008-01-06
  Morocco jails 50 Islamists for terror plots
Sat 2008-01-05
  Fatah al-Islam sez they're infesting Ein el-Hellhole
Fri 2008-01-04
  Coalition forces kill AQI big turban in Baghdad
Thu 2008-01-03
  Baquba Awakening Council leader killed by cross-dressing suicide squeegeeman
Wed 2008-01-02
  Army intervenes to end fist fights between Hezbollah, Hariri party
Tue 2008-01-01
  Iraq December death toll lowest in 22 months

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