Authorities say a Chicago man kidnapped and sexually assaulted two women and two teenage girls over a 12-hour span, playing Russian roulette with the oldest woman and letting his pit bull attack them.
Jimmie Smith is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and four counts each of aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping.
Authorities say the victims are three sisters, ages 21, 22 and 14, and their 14-year-old friend. Smith is the boyfriend of the sisters' mother.
Police say the 34-year-old Smith repeatedly sexually assaulted the four at the sisters' home on Chicago's South Side and a home in the suburb of Harvey.
Smith was being held without bond. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
The bodies of four U.S. citizens were found strangled, beaten and stabbed in a van in this border city, two days after they reportedly left their Southern California homes for a night at the Mexican clubs, U.S. officials said Thursday. The victims, ages 19 to 23 years old, were found tied up on Saturday, but their deaths were not reported earlier because they were under investigation, said Fermin Gomez, an assistant state prosecutor in Baja California.
U.S. consular officials in Tijuana said the victims -- two men and two women from the San Diego and Chula Vista areas -- were U.S. citizens. The state attorney general's office in Baja California said one of the women was Mexican.
Their deaths are the latest in a string of violence in Tijuana that authorities blame on a bloody turf war between drug cartels.
"I just don't think kids should be going to Tijuana right now," Chula Vista police Lt. Scott Arsenault told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "They ran into the wrong people, obviously."
Bernard Gonzales, a spokesman for the Chula Vista Police Department, said a friend told the women's parents they were headed to nightclubs in Tijuana on Thursday night. They were reported missing the next day when they did not answer their cell phones.
#1
One of the men, Garcia, was arrested on suspicion of alien smuggling in January 2008 after he was stopped while driving a vehicle with six illegal immigrants aboard, but he was not charged, said Lauren Mack, spokeswoman in San Diego for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
MINNEAPOLIS - A protester from Texas has been sentenced to two years in prison for possessing Molotov cocktails during the Republican National Convention last September. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis on Thursday also sentenced Bradley Neal Crowder to three years of supervised release.
Now he's jailbait and a convict. For some strange reason not even the Left wants to claim him, as I haven't seen a single article in HuffPo.
The 23-year-old Austin, Texas, man was part of a group from Austin that allegedly planned to disrupt the convention in St. Paul last September. He pleaded guilty in January.
Prosecutors say Crowder and a co-defendant made eight firebombs and planned to use them to retaliate against police for seizing their homemade riot shields. The co-defendant, David Guy McKay, 22, pleaded guilty in March and is due to be sentenced by Davis next Thursday.
He'll get a couple years as well. He can wave the black flag in stir.
#1
According to the affidavit, in May 2008, Crowder allegedly attended a meeting in Minneapolis where numerous individuals from throughout the United States met to discuss preparations for protesting and disrupting the RNC. On Aug. 28, members of the Austin Affinity Group traveled from Austin, Texas, to Minnesota. The group brought a rental trailer with them that contained 35 shields, made from stolen traffic barrels. The shields were constructed with protruding screw heads so that they could be used as offensive weapons. St. Paul Police seized these shields on Aug. 31.
The affidavit states that on Sept. 1 McKay said he had a falling out with others in the group, and that he and some others were going to conduct red actions on Sept. 2.
During a conversation overheard by law enforcement through electronic surveillance on Sept. 2, McKay, the affidavit states, said that the Molotov cocktails that he and Crowder had manufactured would be thrown at vehicles parked in a parking lot near the Dayton Street apartment. The parking lot was used by law enforcement vehicles, and was visibly patrolled by the U.S. Secret Service and the military. During the same conversation, while discussing the use of Molotov cocktails, McKay was heard saying that he could leave the scene with a police officer burning or dying, and that its worth it if an officer gets burned or maimed.
During the execution of a search warrant by the St. Paul Police Department at the Dayton Street residence where McKay was arrested, officers seized a variety of items, including gas masks, slingshots, helmets, knee pads and containers of a gasoline and oil mixture. Under the kitchen sink, officers discovered a two-gallon gasoline container that appeared to be the one purchased by McKay, Crowder and others at the Wal-Mart on Aug. 31. In a common area in the basement of the residence, officers found eight assembled Molotov cocktails.
So long, sweetie. Enjoy your two years in PMITA federal prison.
#4
I heard he also served in Vietnam with Kerry fight the Huns. I bet that the Vet group didn't look very far. I have yet to read a single story of these groups policing themselves. As long as they sing the song they are welcome to the choir. Maybe they should question their group since its since its a draw for the mentally challenged.
#6
Abu, ya bang him on the back of the head with the shovel and leave him for the buzzards.
Here is the AP headline. They really don't want it to be true.
"Advocate ousted for allegedly posing as ex-Marine".
notice the allegedly.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/15/2009 13:45 Comments ||
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#7
Allegedly is in constant use in journalism-land these days, Deacon Blues. It sounds ever so legal and even-handed, you see, although it's generally incorrect when used.
#8
Another Military Fake, Now Assisting the FBI in their Inquiry
Damn, hoped it was a Murtha story
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/15/2009 15:12 Comments ||
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#9
The way I see it, "Alledgedly" is a cover-your-ass phrase designed to prevent lawsuits if things are NOT the way the reporter stated.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/15/2009 15:26 Comments ||
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#10
I am having a big o taste of crow:
"CVA members contacted the FBI field office in Denver, which opened an investigation in early May and arrested him Tuesday night in downtown Denver on a traffic warrant originating in El Paso County." I retract my earlier statement and salute the CVA for doing the right thing.
#12
The way I see it, "Alledgedly" is a cover-your-ass phrase designed to prevent lawsuits if things are NOT the way the reporter stated.
Actually, the term allegedly they teach you in j-school it is a simpler means of using attribution, but it is also a legal phrase which provides ( although not much ) cover for the publisher in case officials accuse the wrong person.
On Monday, Newsweek unveils the most dramatic overhaul in its history -- one that parent Washington Post Co. hopes will take it from a money-losing position in the weekly-news category to a money-making one in the thought-leader category.
But only the correct thoughts ...
It was a plan that was hatched by Newsweek CEO Tom Ascheim and sold to Newsweek Editor -- and recent Pulitzer Prize winner -- Jon Meacham.
While some think it is the gamble of a lifetime, and one that could ultimately jeopardize the long-term job security of Ascheim and Meacham if it fails, others feel the prolonged ad slump and the many problems in the category make dramatic change necessary.
"You can't keep doing the same thing, given the economic realities," Meacham told Media Ink.
Jack Hanrahan, who publishes the insiders' newsletter Circ Matters, agrees. "It's a very smart thing for them to try to do," he said.
Part of the strategy is to shed lower-paying readers, who today pay an average of only 47 cents an issue for a subscription, even though it costs Newsweek at least $1 to produce and mail. Time subscribers pay an average of 34 cents an issue, while the more upscale The New Yorker fetches 98 cents and The Economist garners $1.96.
Brilliant. The whole point, of course, was that you sold subscriptions cheaply to hook eyeballs that you then presented to advertisers. The real problem is that advertisers have bailed, as witness the next paragraph:
On the circulation front, Newsweek currently promises advertisers it reaches 2.6 million, but on June 1 that will drop to 1.9 million and by January it will fall again to 1.5 million.
Newsweek hopes to double the price subscribers pay to about 80 cents a copy.
Which will cut the number of eyeballs, which will cut the number of advertisers, which will ... oh, I don't know, bring out The Book of Common Wisdom!
In addition to the lower circ, the mag's content will change, moving away from chasing breaking news stories.
The new Newsweek will have four main sections. Pravda Scope will replace the old Periscope section, and The Take will feature all the magazine's columnists.
Features will be long narratives, which Meacham is calling, Izvestia "The First Draft of History," and photo essays. The Culture will cover TV, movies and books each week, but with fewer reviews.
On the newsstand, consumers will see the cover price go up by $1 to $5.95.
I read elsewhere that the goal of the make-over was to get to customers who "read hard-cover books", the implication that such people would think like the writers at the mag and would buy and read a mag that reinforced their prejudices thoughts. At the same time they'd unload their current slack-jawed, NASCAR-loving, gun-toting readers who only pay 47 cents and who refuse to be enlightened. Real winning strategy, that one ...
#5
Do your dentist a favor, have a subscription to the something people actually delivered to his office. You know, Guns&Ammo or something along those lines.
#6
Newsweek used to be pretty good then they started doing more opinion pieces and less hard news reporting. That's when my old room mate Tom DeFrank beat it out of Newsweek. He couldn't stand the posturing and posing of the op ed writing disguised as news........of course that is what ALL print news is now, opinions disguised as news.
Posted by: James Carville ||
05/15/2009 14:51 Comments ||
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#7
I have a dentist friend who gives me whatever I want from his magazines, he pays for none of them.
Nigeria's military sent helicopter gunships and boats Friday to attack a militant camp deep in the swamps of the southern oil region after the area's fighters hijacked a ship and seized 15 Filipinos.
Military spokesman Col. Rabe Abubakar said troops in southern Delta State were searching for the hostages kidnapped Thursday by followers of a notorious regional militant leader known as Government Tompolo.
Witnesses, private security personnel and ethnic leaders said the military employed over a dozen gunboats and several helicopters in the attack on Tompolo's camp.
Edwin Clark, a leader of the ethnic Ijaw people who live in the area surrounding the militant camp, said townspeople had fled into the bush as the military fired weapons from the air, water and land. "The military has declared total war on our people," he said.
That's pretty much what a military does to rebels, a-yup ...
The region's main militant group said it sank six military gunboats and seized three others. It said many soldiers had died and made its latest declaration of "all-out war" in the region where Nigeria's crude oil is pumped.
There was no official confirmation of any casualty figures.
The fighting ended months of relative calm in the southern Niger Delta, where the low-intensity conflict has waxed and waned over three years of rising violence. The militants say they're fighting to force the federal government to send more of the oil revenues it controls to the southern region where the crude is pumped.
The government considers the militants common criminals who use political rhetoric to obscure their real goal, which is the lucrative overseas trade in oil stolen from the region's network of wells and pipelines.
Many Nigerians say elements of the military act in conjunction with the oil thieves, saying it would be impossible for large tankers to pull into Nigerian waters without the knowledge of the security personnel operating in the region.
The militants, also linked to local political leaders who hire them to rig elections, routinely destroy pipelines, attack security forces and kidnap foreign workers, with the targets normally released unharmed after a ransom is paid.
The region remains desperately poor despite five decades of oil flowing from Africa's biggest producer.
PThe leader of the anti-Mugabe camp in the MDC has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the DPRK President of the Presidium of Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic Republic of North Korea Mr Kim Vong Nam to leave Zimbabwe.
But only the foreign press listen to him, sadly.
He indicated to Mr Kim that his visit was not welcome since the DPRK was responsible for training the fifth brigade which massacred the people of Matebeleland and Mr Sikhala indicated that his aunt was a victim in that horrendous and hellish crime against humanity.
Someone remembers history. Kimmie go home ...
Moreover Mr Sikhala spelled out that North Korea represents the most satanic outpost of tyranny and urged Mr Kim to go and organise elections in his country where people are languishing from unmitigated poverty and gross human rights abuses.
Mr Sikhala further stated that Mr Kim comes from the same club as Robert Mugabe and must not have the leisure of visiting countries which respect human rights.
Another wife is about to have a traffic accident, I fear.
Shockingly, Mutambara, Mugabe's blue-eyed boy and his master, Robert Mugabe were the ones who were seen flanking the disgraceful despot from North Korea and it is believed that the controversial Robotics Professor was enthusiastically inquiring about nuclear technology.
Which after all is a natural for a place like Zimbabwe ...
Mutambara's master, Robert Mugabe later thanked North Korea for training facilities which they rendered to Zimbabwe and weaponry and this has infuriated thousands from Matebeleland whose relatives where massacred by the North Korean trained Fifth Brigade.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2009 00:00 ||
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Youngest Kimmie starts to earn his spurs. At a banquet. In Zim-bob-we. Boggle.
Pyongyang, May 12 (KCNA) -- Zimbabwean President Robert G. Mugabe hosted a banquet at the presidential palace Monday in honor of Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, on a visit to his country. Present there on invitation were Kim Yong Nam, Minister of Foreign Trade Ri Ryong Nam, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hyong Jun, DPRK Ambassador to Zimbabwe An Hui Jong and other suite members.
Present there were Robert G. Mugabe, Vice-President of Zimbabwe Joyce Teurai Ropa Mujuru, vice-prime ministers, the minister of Foreign Affairs, the minister of Justice, commanders of the army, the police superintendent general and others and diplomatic envoys of different countries there.
All of whom were just sponging for a good meal ...
Robert G. Mugabe in his speech said that Zimbabwe felt grateful to the government and people of the DPRK for having sent strong support and encouragement to his government and people in their struggle for the country's independence and the building of a new society.
That would be the Fifth Brigade, officered by Norks, that killed between 3,000 and 20,000 Zimbabweans in Matabeleland not so long ago ...
The revolutionary idea of President Kim Il Sung has always given confidence and inspiration to the Zimbabwean people in their struggle and he will always be remembered by all people along with history, he added. Noting that he was pleased with the relations between the two countries favorably developing with each passing day, he expressed the will to make positive efforts to boost them.
"You guys got any extra food?"
Kim Yong Nam in his speech said that the DPRK and Zimbabwe are far away from each other geographically but they forged close ties of friendship long ago and have developed the cooperative relations.
Since the thugs in charge of each have certain common interests in staying alive ...
He recalled that Kim Il Sung sent support and encouragement, both material and moral, to the Zimbabwean people in their struggle for national liberation and the building of a new society, regarding President Robert G. Mugabe as a close friend and comrade-in-arms.
Saying that the DPRK is opposed to all sanctions against Zimbabwe and interference in its internal affairs and supports the government and people of Zimbabwe in their efforts to achieve political stability and economic development of the country, he stressed that the DPRK would make positive efforts to boost the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation in various fields between the two countries in the future, too.
But no food ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2009 00:00 ||
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Bangladesh's high court moved Thursday to plug a gaping hole in the country's laws by introducing a first-ever ban on sexual harassment, an official said. The decision was immediately hailed by activists as a major step forward for the protection of women in the South Asian nation.
A noble sentiment, indeed. No doubt all the harassers will stop immediately for fear of the consequences.
Deputy Attorney-General Rajik Al Jalil told AFP the new guidelines covered verbal abuse and physical attacks, including the sending of suggestive text messages. He said the ban was an interim measure until new legislation could be passed in parliament. Until now sexual harassment has not been considered a criminal act.
"The high court laid down these guidelines to stop sexual harassment in education institutions and the workplace," he said. No punishment had been finalised and each offence would be considered on a case-by-case basis, he added.
Rehana Sultana of the Bangladesh National Wo-men's Lawyers Association, who helped petition for the guidelines, said women in Bangladesh had often felt helpless and ashamed to speak out if they were harassed be-cause there was no law to protect them. "Sexual harassment against women is endemic throughout the country in educational institutions and work places and there's been no law of the land to stop it."
The issue came to light in August 2008 when several universities received a spate of complaints by female students prompting the Ministry of Education to issue a statement promising to introduce new measures.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2009 00:00 ||
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Britains major defence projects are continuing to suffer further delays and increased costs, according to the latest annual report into 20 of the countrys largest military equipment projects. The Public Accounts Committee said that the findings were disappointing, particularly because the problems are being caused by previously identified failures such as poor project management, a lack of realism, not identifying key dependencies and underestimating of costs and timescales.
Todays set of results, for the year 2007-08, is disappointing. In that year alone, the delay to the introduction of these projects increased by 96 months (the worst in-year slippage since 2003), caid Conservative MP Edward Leigh, who chairs the committee.
The forecast cost of all of them increased by another £205 million over the original budget, to a total of almost £28 billion, Leigh also said. What lies behind this are the same old failings: including, at the start of projects, both a lack of realism and unjustified optimism about what can be achieved, at what cost and by when.
Total slippage of the combined projects now stands at over 40 years, representing a 36% increase on approved timescales. The committee chair warned that the consequences of the delays were serious for the UKs service men and women. With regard to the escalating costs, he said the MoD to live within its budget, is having to trade some future defence capabilities. This will limit what our hard-pressed forces are able to do in future operations.
The report comes after the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed on Thursday British soldiers in Afghanistan were suffering from delays in receiving essential equipment, with more than half the demands for urgent operational equipment not being met. The NAO also reported that new Vector armoured vehicles designed to give troops greater protection against Taliban attacks were being withdrawn after performing so badly and that commanders have had to resort to the old Land Rovers they were designed to replace. One of the consequences of not meeting targets was that the additional 34 year delay to the A400M aircraft meant either older Hercules aircraft will have to serve beyond their planned Out of Service Date, or other transport aircraft will have to be bought or leased.
In the latest report, Leigh said that the MoD introduced reforms in 2001 but said these have not yet had an effect.
A group of travellers wrecked a multi-million pound police helicopter which was being used to spy on their site.
The gang used axes to smash the £5million aircraft, after they leapt over a 4ft wall surrounding Surrey Police force's helipad at Fairoaks airport, near Woking in Surrey. After threatening staff working in the operations room, they set about wrecking the helicopter, smashing six of its windows and causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The incident happened at 10pm yesterday after weeks of aerial surveillance on the travellers' site, where detectives believe stolen goods have been hidden.
Officers were getting ready to raid the site after collecting evidence they had filmed from the air. A police source said last night: 'The gipsies were furious because they kept getting buzzed by the helicopter.
'But no one expected this level of violence.
Good thinking, Muldoon ...
'Before a raid is conducted we will observe the criminals from the air. That way we get an idea what we are likely to find, identify suspects and locate entrances and exits. Maybe we got too low.'
The aircraft is the only police helicopter in Surrey and is used mainly for chasing crime suspects in their cars, finding missing people and pre-planned surveillance operations. The helicopter, which has a camera fitted under its nose that beams broadcast-quality footage to the control room, was airborne 214 times during April, an average of seven flights per day.
It is expected to be out of action for another two weeks while repairs are made.
Security at Fairoaks has been stepped up following the attack and neighbouring Metropolitan and Sussex forces are providing air cover for Surrey's one million residents.
A Surrey Police spokesman said the identity of the mob members was 'unknown'.
He added: 'The incident is part of an ongoing investigation and security measures are being reviewed as part of this. We are working with a maintenance contractor to ensure the aircraft is back on line as soon as possible.'
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2009 0:51 Comments ||
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#3
Gypsy Gypsies or "Irish Gypsies"???
(Travellers refer to themselves as "Pavees" .
Derogatory terms are sometimes used to refer to
them by non-Travellers, such as "pikeys" and
"knackers". In Irish, Travellers are called an
Lucht Siúil, literally, "the walking people")
Irish Gypsies are a plague too even in America.
You may remember that incident where an Irish gypsy mother was caught on video surveillance beating her little daughter for not stealing properly...
They specialize as phony home repair contractors...
Posted by: Ming the Merciless ||
05/15/2009 1:02 Comments ||
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#4
I'll add that the real Gypsies are the only group
standing up against the muslim plague in Eurabia
in several riots on the continent..
In Kosovo, they are famous for fighting side to side
with the Serbs in the losing fight against the
invading muslims of Albania...
Posted by: Ming the Merciless ||
05/15/2009 1:10 Comments ||
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#5
Travellers are distinct from Roma, but have similar negative aspects of their society.
#6
Like Ming said, I think "travellers" here are irish gypsies, IE ethnic european nomads, as compared to actual gypsies - everybopdy here has watched "Snatch", I guess.
By the way, though nowadays the nuances ar emostly lost, there are the same disctinctions in french between "gitans" (gypsies) and "Romanichels", "Manouches", "Roms", and aprobably a few others I can't recall, which designates nomads from other ethnic backgrounds or gypsies orginating from other european countries (mostly Spain and Romania). Consacred euphemism is "gens du voyage", IE traveller people, though it suits circus people too.
As for Ming's appreciation of gypsies, I agree, though I'll just add that gypsies, even settled ones, are a "problem" population in themselves, often either dependent on welfare and not integrated well into mainstream sociey, or fully immerged into a traditional lifestyle of organized crime (from actual mob bosses, to whole bands specialized in burglary sprees - with houses owners coming back to their homes to find it stripped of everything, to the walls! -, warehouse lootings, or car theft). IIRC, when some MSM breached the "color of crime " taboo, it was reported than about one adult gypsie out of two has a criminal record of some sort.
And even for non career criminals traveling bands, let's just say that the temporary cohabitation with the locals generally isn't great, squatted grounds, pirated electricity and water, petty thefts all around, garbage left all over th eplace, and the cleaning bill to others when they leave.
This is why, even despite the law requiring localities to provide a suitable ground for them at their (with electricity and water, waste disposal), many are just very reticent.
And, then, there are the Roms, IE the gypsies from Romania, who are an actual third world criminal underclass right here in Europe, organized begging, child prostitution, violent assault (IIRc, there was a backlash against "romanians" in Italy in 2008, after a serie of gangrapes by "romanians"),...
The "resisting" noted by Ming is true, though, many gypsies, at least in France, are evangelicals, and are none too keen on muslims (arabs don't like gypsies, as well).
Also, there's the "turf control" issue, and, lastly, while the french people has been disarmed over the years, gypsies DO have a strong tradition of packing heat, even "simple" shotgunes (like corsicans, but down a few notches comapred to the more extreme corsican cases, no full auto assault rifles or dynamite).
In France, there notably were BIG clashes in 2005??? I think; note that like in the vids below, gypsies 'hoods actually are the ones being attacked, there's a big unbalance in number, between gypsies and "visible minorities".
I don't care about these peoples ethnic demographic or who they might join in an alliance of convenience, they were under surveillance by proper authorities for believable reasons (possession of stolen goods.) They attacked an instrument of local state power (the chopper.) Roll them up en mass.
If this were a group of muslims, or jews, or just general ne'er-do-wells, I would say the exact same thing.
#8
free radical: "...after weeks of aerial surveillance on the travellers' site, where detectives believe stolen goods have been hidden."
Discreet surveillance is on thing, but having a helicopter hovering low over your home for even an hour is going to bug the hell out of you. If they did that for "weeks" here in the US, retirement communities would be setting up AA positions.
For some reason, the British authorities at all levels tend to really overdo surveillance, in the most obvious and annoying ways possible. These are people who use cameras to monitor recycling bins, then slap people with enormous fines for putting out their trash too early, or heaven forbid, putting a wrong thing in the wrong bin.
And they're also the only group of native Europeans that are actually reproducing at above replacement level.
I think this says a lot about how far down mainstream society has gone.
Free Radical, there should be One Standard Only, but way back when a large number of people who eventually became Americans were transported from England for violating that Standard.
(And just out of curiosity, does anyone think it's really impeding serious criminals in their criminal activity by intermittently flying a helicopter over their trailer park? Couldn't they simply move the goods when the helicopter isn't there?)
#11
And they're also the only group of native Europeans that are actually reproducing at above replacement level.
Thing, if I read Dalrymple correctly the whole underclass of white britons living through welfare is also reproducing above replacement level, through single moms having multiple children from multiple fathers, and being supported by the Nanny's State.
#12
Gypsies I believe are distinct from Travellers as far as I know since technically they are their own etnicity, the Roma. They are a big problem in Italy as well, where they are referred to as "Zingari", pickpocketing at railway stations, burgalizing homes, etc. Actually I think the Roma/Gypsies are the only people who if born in Italy are not recognized as legal Italian residents.
#14
'Moose, I *do* have helicopters over my apartment on a regular basis- they aren't as loud as the fire engines. They also have a LOT more surveillance gear than the hasbro-my-first-spy-chopper that the Brits are using.
I've decided that the benefits outweigh the costs. YMMV. If I thought otherwise, I could either complain or move. Complaining here is very effective- we are legendary complainers.
That's how the ONE STANDARD has to work. If it is broken or crashed, you fix it or update it. That's what we had to do, and I am unsympathetic to those who think they have 'special dispensation' (for reasons of race, religion, or association) to engage in privileged (and lawless) behavior. Which is what I'm talking about here.
#15
Thing, that's why those people who eventually became Americans were so 'off-their-face' concerning checks and balances. I just assume that the ONE STANDARD will get bent, broken or abused. I can do something about it in a legal and lawful way.
Forgive me if I seem a bit amped on the lawful process. Where I live, there are people who are CONTINUALLY demanding special treatment and dispensation for their behavior. I have to go to my hyper-local community meeting every month to add my voice to those who don't want them to get away with it.
Nothing says you're under surveillance like a loud helicopter.
Let me throw another idea in the chute. If I were Sgt. Constable. Head. Top. Dog. Captain. (insert correct title here) of the department, I'd eat a biscuit, drink some tea, and find a small thing on the Gypsies to BRING THE GYPSIES IN FOR QUESTIONING if I needed to later... No Helicopter.
Then, meanwhile, I'd have the rest of my department tracking down truly heinous criminals, like I'd dont know, say, Islamic Terrorists or wifebeaters.
say hello to starvation, campesinos!
Venezuelan officials including soldiers on Friday temporarily seized a pasta factory owned by U.S. food giant Cargill Inc in a pricing spat, the latest move by President Hugo Chavez's government against foreign companies.
Since taking office a decade ago, strident U.S. critic Chavez has nationalized large swathes of OPEC member nation Venezuela's economy, including a rice mill owned by Cargill earlier this year and dozens of oil service companies last week.
Bolstered by resilient approval ratings, the former soldier plans to keep moving against the private sector this year as he pushes ahead with his plan to build a socialist state in South America's top oil exporter.
"Yes, because we are determined to recover full petroleum sovereignty and it turns out that in Venezuela almost everything was privatized," Chavez said in Argentina on Friday when asked about plans to take over more firms after seizing oil service companies a week ago.
Chavez, whose government is buying a local unit of Spain's Santander finance group, said he had no plans to buy more banks "for now," using one of his favorite catchphrases that implies he may move against financial institutions in the future.
Friday's move could lead to the permanent takeover of the pasta factory. In March, Chavez ordered the nationalization of Cargill's rice mill a week after a similar temporary seizure.
Deputy food minister Rafael Coronado said the government would run the factory for 90 days after officials found it was not producing enough of a type of pasta sold at cheap, government-established prices.
"There was a marked noncompliance with the law," Coronado said, flanked by soldiers, in a television broadcast from outside the plant in the coastal state of Vargas.
Coronado said the government could decide to take further action against the plant after the 90-day period.
Cargill is one of the world's largest privately owned companies with a dozen plants and about 2,000 employees in Venezuela. It declined to comment on Friday's move. Hope they fubared the operational software
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/15/2009 19:47 ||
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#1
Golden goose mentality by CHavez and his band of looters.
DUBAI (Mona Moussly) Muslims living in Europe feel far more loyalty to their country than they are often perceived to feel but have differing views on what is considered morally acceptable than their non-Muslim counterparts, a survey on coexistence said on Thursday. The Gallup Coexist Index survey said there are several misconceptions and generalizations about Europe's Muslims because researchers often fail to consider cultural and socioeconomic differences in Europe that affect life as an immigrant.
This is a survey of Euro Muslims. It's interesting and challenges some opinions held by many, including me. I'd want to see lots of confirmation but if true, it provides an opening to separate the radical Islamicists from the rest of the Muslim community in Europe.
"European Muslims want to be part of the wider community and contribute even more to society," said Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, but many found that they were not always successful.
The authors, Mogahed and Mohamed Younis, suggested that a combination of more strict views and religious practices by Muslims in certain countries had contributed to the misconception about their degree of integration, even while those Muslims were keen to integrate. "This research shows that many of the assumptions about Muslims and integration are wide off the mark," Mogahed, the executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, said.
Out of the three European countries polled, only 10 percent of British Muslims felt integrated, while 46 percent of French Muslims and 36 percent of German Muslims felt integrated into the wider society.
A seemingly counterintuitive finding was that European Muslims not only accepted but also welcomed the freedoms, democratic institutions, justice and human rights that characterize their societies. Some researchers pointed out in the report that "the greatest differences between Muslims and westerners lie more in eros than demos. In other words, the Muslim-west gap rests on differences in attitudes toward sexual liberalization and gender issues rather than democracy and governance."
The issue is the ones who want to impose their own, superior morals on the rest of society, instead of accepting that others think differently. I don't see where that particular question was asked.
Muslims in Germany and Britain were more likely than the general public to say they had confidence in the judicial system, financial institutions and the honesty of elections. Sixty-one percent of German Muslims expressed confidence in their national government compared to only 36 percent of the non-Muslim German public.
Most Muslims had little tolerance for the moral acceptability of homosexuality, abortion, pornography, sex outside of marriage and suicide. Britain's Muslims showed zero tolerance for homosexual acts, while even in France, with the highest percentage of tolerance, only 35 percent said such acts were "morally acceptable."
So don't do it then. But don't impose your ideas on those who want to. But truly integrating means accepting that the mores of the host culture is the law of the land.
On the issue of sexual relations between unmarried men and women, non-Muslim populations believed it was acceptable whereas Muslim populations generally characterized it as immoral, with a mere three percent in Britain believing it was moral.
Although stereotypes of Muslims suggest support for honor killings, poll findings showed that French, German and British Muslims actually held similar opinions to that of the general public. Only three percent of French and German Muslims and two percent of British Muslims said honor killings were morally acceptable compared to one percent of the German and British non-Muslim publics.
For the past two decades the headscarf, or hijab, has been at the center of public debate with some branding it a symbol of oppression or a rejection of modern values. The poll found that the majority of European populations believed that Muslim women should remove the headscarf in order to integrate adequately. When asked what types of associations the European public, including Muslims, made with the headscarf equal percentages in France, about (30), and Germany, (40), said they associate the headscarf with courage. But others associated the hijab with women's oppression, religiosity and fanaticism.
The survey, described as the first of its kind, polled at least 500 Muslims in June and July of last year to generate its findings on European Muslim integration. At least 1,000 members of the general public in each country were also randomly surveyed to create comparisons on specific issues.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2009 01:12 ||
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So by this report the overwhelming majority of EuroMuslims share the socially conservative positions of most religious American blacks, most of America's flyover country, and most of America pre-1960. I'm a bit more libertarian but don't see this as a particularly bad thing (if true).
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers Thursday he is considering making the Air Force's next-generation long-range bomber a pilotless aircraft -- an ambitious undertaking that would put unmanned technologies at the forefront of U.S. offensive military capabilities.
The Air Force had planned to field a manned bomber in 2018, but Gates canceled the nascent program in the fiscal 2010 budget request sent to Capitol Hill last week. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Gates said advances in unmanned technologies since the Air Force launched the bomber program in 2006 were among the reasons he stopped the program, which was not under contract. "Does it need a pilot in it?" he asked.
Gates said he will review requirements for the bomber during the Quadrennial Defense Review of military capabilities and needs, now under way. The Air Force, long steeped in the culture of combat aircraft pilots, had been expected to field a manned bomber, but officials in recent years left open the option of an unmanned version of the aircraft.
In recent weeks, Gates and other top Pentagon officials have emphasized in statements that the future of aviation rests largely in the unmanned aerial vehicle-technology that has been used increasingly in Iraq and Afghanistan, for traditional surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and striking targets. Indeed, the fiscal 2010 budget request includes nearly $1.3 billion to buy 60 Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles, $1.5 billion for five Global Hawks and $225 million to buy 1,232 smaller Raven and Shadow UAVs -- with more investments expected. During Thursday's testimony, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen said the military is at a "real transition time here" regarding the mix of manned and unmanned aircraft. The four-star admiral added he is "inclined to believe" that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in development will be the last manned fighter jet procured by the U.S. military.
Meanwhile, Gates shot down any suggestion that the Air Force needs more than the 187 F-22 Raptor fighter jets planned, saying the F-22 fleet, when combined with F-35s and UAVs, will be more than adequate to meet any threat, including one from China. "If you're only talking about the F-22, there may be merit to some of these arguments," Gates said. "But the fact is the F-22 is not going to be the only aircraft in the tac [tactical] air arsenal."
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., whose state has the F-22 assembly plant, said the military needs more Raptors, which have air-to-ground capabilities, because of the proliferation of surface-to-air missiles. But Gates replied that "the only defense against surface-to-air missiles is not something that has a pilot in it."
#1
I think Gates is correct. His position will cause all sorts of political turmoil though, until contracts for unmanned aircraft get distributed amongst the districts of the various power brokers.
#2
Perhaps it is time to consider an alternate force structure. A robot airforce would suggest just folding the robots into the existing Navy and Army. But is that the best solution to our nation's defense.
Perhaps it an Object Oriented view might be better. A quiet discussion of alternatives could be useful.
Example - Maybe rearrange into something like:
special forces
Attack forces
occupation forces
shock forces
defensive forces
Coin forces
no typical army navy airforce with troops able to transition from one type of command to another.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/15/2009 15:34 Comments ||
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With all the cockpit accoutrements needed only for a human pilot stripped out, a given craft can maybe be lighter or cheaper or both. With the ability of one UAV "pilot" to fly several craft at once, the savings would add up. Of course, any signal can in theory be jammed...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/15/2009 16:03 Comments ||
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#5
any signal can in theory be jammed...
Arificial Intelligence. Programs that not only deliver a payload to a defined target, but can react to threats, divert to alternative targets, even re-evaluate the target. Even cruise missiles can do some of that now.
Not only can an unmanned aircraft be lighter without the human support system, it can be designed to the limits of the materials and not to the limits of the crew. You can make aircraft that will stay glued together as they pull g's to the point of killing the pilot even with the anti-g suits. Take out the pilot and pull g's til the airframes break. Then build stronger airframes.
#6
Most of the newer mods of F-16 and F-15 can easily outfly the pilot, pulling enough Gs to incapacitate or even kill pilots without overstressing the airframe. The flight control software does not permit such movements as a normal flight item, but can be disabled for known combat situations.
#7
As incompetent as the Department of Defense seems to be at cybersecurity, the idea of placing vital segments of our national defense in a position to be operated remotely seems somewhat... short-sighted.
Prove to me that you actually take network security seriously, and maybe then I might believe that you could successfully fight a war with oh, say, China via remote control.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/15/2009 18:00 Comments ||
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Expressing the US' admiration for India's "event free" elections, a top US military official on Thursday said the Obama Administration looked forward to doing "open, candid" business with the new government, even as Washington pursued three important defence agreements with New Delhi.
While the Paks flounder we do business in ways large and small with India.
US Pacific Command chief Admiral Timothy J Keating, who held discussions with top Indian officials here, told reporters that the US had respect and admiration for the democratic process in India, where 800 million people voted in a month-long process of electing a new government. "We have respect and admiration for India conducting a relatively event free elections. The US looks forward to dealing in the same manner in open, candid manner in with we deal, as we did earlier, with the new government," he said.
Asked if he discussed with the Indian officials the three important cooperation deals -- the End User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA), Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) and Communication Interoperability and Security Monitoring Agreement (CISMOA) -- that US was pursuing for some time, Keating said Washington looked forward to successful conclusion of the agreements and that Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, with whom he interacted on them, understood the US' desire to see the deal through so that both sides could get on with more important matters.
While EUMA was to ensure that India put to use US military equipment only for the agreed purpose for which it was sold, LSA was for payment-free supplies and replenishment for each other's military personnel and platforms such as fuel and food and CISMOA was for intelligence sharing in the region.
The three deals are mandatory under American laws and Washington has been pursuing it with India for a few years now after New Delhi started buying military equipment from the US, beginning with the USS Trenton amphibious warship (later rechristened as INS Jalashwa) in 2007.
Whether he held talks on easing of tension between India and Pakistan after the latter's President Asif Ali Zardari said the neighbouring country was not a threat, the US Admiral said decrease in tension between the South Asian neighbours would be "noteworthy and laudable", though he did not discuss it with the Indian officials. However, he said, the discussions did include regional security challenges and it certainly included Pakistan. "We would certainly appreciate a decrease in tension," he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2009 00:00 ||
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ION WORLD MIL FORUM > CHINA ANGRY: VIETNAM DESIRES TO TURN SOUTH CHINA SEA INTO ITS "EAST SEA OF VIETNAM". DESIRED EXPANSION OF EEZ SOVEREIGNTY TO EDGE OF CONTINETAL SHELF BY VIETNAM AND MALAYSIA BEFORE UNCLOS [LAW OF THE SEA]???
First Black Saudi Appointed Imam of Haram Mosque in Mecca Accuses Shi'ites of Apostasy and Discusses Driving Jooooos and Christians Out of Arabian Peninsula; Claims His Appointment 'More Significant' than Obama's Election
I think he may be right about that last. This is like the Pope consecrating a female priest.
The Guardian Council (GC) has extended its vetting of presidential candidates for another five days, its spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaii told the Mehr News Agency on Friday. He said since the five-day time was not enough to investigate the qualifications of 496 presidential candidates and therefore the council decided to extend it.
Kadkhodaii said the GC has informed the Interior Ministry of its decision. He also said according to the law the Guardian Councils declaration of the candidates qualifications will be considered final and there will no room for revision. The results of verifications will become clear on May 30.
Ayatollah Emami Kashani called on presidential candidates to unveil their plans and name their cabinet before the June 12 polls. He also called for huge turnout in elections, saying it will promote the status of the Islamic Revolution.
The cleric also called on the electorate to consider the qualifications that each candidate must have as suggested by the Supreme Leader and also called on presidential aspirants to observe election ethics
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.
MINNEAPOLIS - A protester from Texas has been sentenced to two years in prison for possessing Molotov cocktails during the Republican National Convention last September. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis on Thursday also sentenced Bradley Neal Crowder to three years of supervised release.
Nigeria's military sent helicopter gunships and boats Friday to attack a militant camp deep in the swamps of the southern oil region after the area's fighters hijacked a ship and seized 15 Filipinos. 
Bangladesh's high court moved Thursday to plug a gaping hole in the country's laws by introducing a first-ever ban on sexual harassment, an official said. The decision was immediately hailed by activists as a major step forward for the protection of women in the South Asian nation.
First Black Saudi Appointed Imam of Haram Mosque in Mecca Accuses Shi'ites of Apostasy and Discusses Driving Jooooos and Christians Out of Arabian Peninsula; Claims His Appointment 'More Significant' than Obama's Election
