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Yemen court sentences six Somali pirates to death
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Woman Beaten Over Gold Teeth By Very Dumb Crooks
Two people suspected of beating up a woman and demanding her gold teeth remained in Bexar County Jail on Monday.

Rick Diaz, 23, is being held on one count of burglary with the intent to commit a felony by force, one count of evading arrest and another of resisting arrest. A judge set bail at $25,000.

Naomi Sanchez, 20, also remains jailed on one count of burglary with the intent to commit a felony by force. A judge set her bail at $20,000.

An arrest warrant affidavit states that on May 10, Sanchez, Diaz and two others went to an apartment where the woman was staying in the 200 block of Victor Street. The quartet allegedly kicked in the woman's front door, then repeatedly punched and kicked her in the face and body and demanded she gave them her “gold mouth grill,' the affidavit states.

The woman's face and head were bruised and swollen, and she was bleeding from her nose, police said. She was taken to a hospital, but not before she gave police Diaz's name and date of birth.

According to a police department incident report, the woman's gold teeth, valued at $100, were stolen.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/19/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


-Obits-
Last Ziegfield Girl Leaves the Stage
Doris Eaton, who died on May 11 aged 106, was the last of the Ziegfeld Follies girls and subsequently became a star on Broadway in her own right.

During her first year in the chorus line she worked with a rehearsal pianist called George Gershwin, then a complete unknown.

She last performed in public a fortnight ago at the 2010 Easter Bonnet benefit in New York, for which she was joined on stage by male dancers stripped to the waist. After performing a few kicks and apologising that she could no longer do cartwheels, Doris Eaton was awarded the title of "The Ultimate Lady Gaga".
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/19/2010 09:37 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


-Short Attention Span Theater-
London 2012: Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville unveiled
EPIC FAIL!! Teletubby rejects from the Village People
After 18 months, 40 focus groups and a secret operation worthy of MI5, London 2012 on Wednesday finally revealed the mascots that will help define the capital's Olympic experience, and just as importantly help pay for it.
Return of the Golliwoggles...
The one-eyed figures, called Wenlock and Mandeville, were unveiled at an east London school on Wednesday with organisers hoping they will inspire a generation of children and persuade their parents to contribute the £15 million the mascots are slated to raise in merchandising revenue.

Two parts-Pokemon to one-part lava lamp with yellow 'Taxi' lights on their foreheads, the distinctive characters are intended to capture the imagination of children
(and sell them to Cthulhu)
and work as well in the digital world as they will in costume form at trackside in 2012.

Any concern at the appropriateness of the design, which shares a certain abstraction with London's much criticised logo, should be off-set by the smart choice of names, which resonate with Britain's Olympic and Paralympic history.

Much Wenlock in Shropshire is considered by many the birthplace of the modern Olympics. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the IOC, visited the town in 1890 and took inspiration from the annual Games organised by Dr William Penny Brookes, a local doctor, to "promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants".
More likely to frighten away terrorists and protestors, as well as horses and children.
Stoke Mandeville's famous spinal injuries unit meanwhile was where the Paralympic movement began, and the naming of one mascot after the hospital is an explicit attempt to raise the profile of the Paralympic Games.

The mascots will soon be ubiquitous, with merchandise going on sale in July to mark two years to the London 2012 opening ceremony.

They are a central part of London's £70 million merchandising budget, and organisers hope the mascots will contribute up to 20 per cent of that sum through sales of T-shirts, key-rings, tea-towels and the like.
There are that many Cthulhu cultists out there?
The Cyclops design allows the mascots' eyes to work as lenses, and digital cameras in the shape of the characters will be available.
*shiver*
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 05/19/2010 15:50 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  More evidence that the chattering classes have nothing but contempt for us and want to horrify us at every opportunity.
Posted by: gromky || 05/19/2010 16:29 Comments || Top||

#2  The one on the left looks like the ferrets in his trousers have made it half way down each leg.

The one on the right looks like he pissed his britches.
Posted by: No I am the other Beldar || 05/19/2010 17:22 Comments || Top||

#3  The real question is which one wears the burka?
Posted by: No I am the other Beldar || 05/19/2010 17:23 Comments || Top||

#4  A better cyclops

Posted by: No I am the other Beldar || 05/19/2010 17:32 Comments || Top||

#5 

Apparently they were inspired by the Doom ego shooter games...
Posted by: Hupamp Peacock6288 || 05/19/2010 18:50 Comments || Top||

#6  A WHAT, WHOM, WHERE NOW???

All I'm gonna say is that there better a substantial Marketing Research Study behind their choice, or somebody a'goin to "the Tower"!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 18:55 Comments || Top||

#7  Oh great. Someone found the early Dr. Who alien costume locker. Why pass on the Dalaks, a personification of that really British bureaucratic view of England?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/19/2010 19:20 Comments || Top||

#8  Why pass on the Dalaks

Indeed! Much better.

Posted by: DMFD || 05/19/2010 21:59 Comments || Top||

#9  "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die!"

Necronomicon
Posted by: borgboy || 05/19/2010 23:45 Comments || Top||


Some guys antelopes will say anything for a little nookie
A study in the forthcoming July edition of The American Naturalist journal by Jakob Bro-Jørgensen of the United Kingdom's Liverpool University and Wiline Pangle of Michigan State University, finds false lion warnings are used to deter straying mates among topi antelope in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve. The study calls this a first documented case of such sexual deception by false alarms.

"Here, we report that false alarm snorts are used by male topi antelopes (Damaliscus lunatus) to tactically deceive receptive females who intend to leave a male's territory into believing that they are headed toward a predator," says the study. "Consequentially, the departure of the female is delayed, providing the male with additional mating opportunities."...

"Although firm statements about intentions behind behaviors are notoriously difficult to make, our study does identify a parallel between animals and humans in their capability of using false signaling to deceive mates, a finding that hints that their communication may be less fundamentally different than widely assumed," concludes the study.
Posted by: Mike || 05/19/2010 13:46 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
5.1 quake hits Southern California
EL CENTRO, California -- An estimated 5.1-magnitude earthquake near the California-Mexico border has shaken a wide area of Southern California including San Diego.

The U.S. Geological Survey's automated seismic reporting system said the quake struck at 5:38 p.m. PDT Tuesday and was centered 18 miles west-southwest of El Centro in the state's southeastern corner.

The area has been shaking with aftershocks since a 7.2 quake that struck northern Baja California on April 4.

Imperial County Sheriff's Department dispatcher Veronica Marron says the quake was strongly felt but there have been no immediate reports of damage.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/19/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Very minor or weak Skyflashes, Ripples occurring oer GUAM-WESTPAC, hence I'm not sure iff this + other Real-Time Regional Quakies are due to on-going SOLAR FILAMENT [Spaceweather.com]; or else UNDER-THE-SEA-FLOOR TECTONIC INSTABILITY wrought by the GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL.

* SPACEWEATHER > SOLAR WIND not expected to hit Terra Firma = Earth until May 20th.

Again, I believe the Perts should dust off + investigate in-depth any linkage between the UW Oil field + Regional Fields in NORTH-SOUTH AMERICA.

ITS ONE THING TO INDIR WASTE DUE TO ACCIDENT OR EVEN INTENTIONAL TERROR, ITS QUITE ANOTHER TO LET WASTE BECUZ POLITICIANS CAN'T STOP BICKERING + GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 0:40 Comments || Top||

#2  I felt it this afternoon in San Diego. It was one of the strongest quakes that I've been through in a while. Also, lots of little ones.
Something is coming. Get ready.
Posted by: Eohippus Omurt1575 || 05/19/2010 2:12 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Egypt asserts right to block upstream Nile dams
Not WoT but something to be aware of; these are the sorts of problems that can blossom quickly into trouble.
CAIRO - Egypt insisted on Tuesday it can block dams and other projects upstream on the Nile, challenging a new deal among African nations seeking to alter historic water sharing arrangements and secure more water for farms and growth.

Four African countries signed the agreement in Uganda last week in a bid to access a greater share of water from the Nile, despite colonial-era pacts that give Egypt the lion's share of the water and allow it to veto upstream projects such as dams. “Any project that takes away from the river's flow has to be approved by Egypt and Sudan in accordance with international treaties,' Egypt's Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam said.

Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia signed the deal on May 14, creating a permanent commission to manage the Nile's waters that did not include Egypt or Sudan. Kenya, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo are expected to sign within a year. The new commission would ostensibly have the power to veto energy and irrigation projects in signatory states.

Egypt, almost totally dependent on the Nile and already threatened by climate change, is closely watching hydro-electric dams in East Africa it fears may restrict the river's flow.

Egypt has already warned that the new agreement lacked legitimacy and plans to press donors for support. Yet upstream countries say they need more water too. Power shortages have hindered investment in Africa even though alternative sources to hydroelectric power exist.

The day the pact was signed, Ethiopia inaugurated its Beles Dam, which it says will produce 460 megawatts. After the inauguration, Egyptian media voiced concern the project could reduce the flow of water to Egypt. Some 85 percent of the Nile's waters originate in Ethiopia.

Allam said Egypt had no objections to dams or other energy projects upstream on the world's longest river as long as the country's share of 55.5 billion cubic metres was not reduced. Analysts say global donors and banks may be reluctant to finance projects that would harm Egypt's and Sudan's access to water for fear of getting entangled in a regional spat.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/19/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm interpreting this as EGYPT's polite way of saying they want to MIL MODERNIZE + GO NUKULAAR, as due to ISRAEL NUKES, IRAN'S DESIRE FOR NUKES, NUCLEAR MILITANCY-TERRORISM, + ISLAMIST DESTABILZ OF AFRICA, CENTRAl-SOUTH ASIA.

To wit,

NET > Curr + Improved variants of IRAN's R-27 LIQUID-FUELED LR BMS effectively puts TEL AVIV, MECCA, CAIRO, BONN + BERLIN + ALL OF CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPE, AFPAK, PARTS OF WESTERN CHINA + NORTHERN INDIA, + MOSCOW UNDER THREAT OF CONVENTIONAL, NUCLEAR STRIKE.

Also read, WHERE RADIC ISLAM = MILTERRS are now waging ARMED INSUSRGENCY + VIOL JIHAD.

* ISRAEL FORUM > IRAN AIMS TO SCARE ISRAEL BY [test]FIRING HIZBALLAH-OWNED MISSLES; + IRAN's MISSLE AND NUCLEAR PROGRAMS ARE OUT OF CONTROL [ IRGC MilWeapDev Sections in an internal race to see whom can dev firstest + fastest e.g. COLD WAR SOVIET-COMMIE COMPETING DESIGN BUREAUS]
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  With that big beautiful bullseye target call the Aswan Dam upstream from most of their people and industry.... they really shouldn't threaten other's dams. A dam war could go seaward really fast for Egypt.
Posted by: 3dc || 05/19/2010 1:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Happines is a simple thing.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/19/2010 4:10 Comments || Top||

#4  ahhh Afrika.

predominantly Christian, Black south unites against Muslim Arab north. Sudan needs to be split in 2 as well. GO THE SOUTH. But Egypt smart, they will destabilise by pitting groups against each other.... civil wars to break out soon in the south.
Posted by: anon1 || 05/19/2010 9:53 Comments || Top||

#5  Several astute analysts note that the greatest threat to Islam comes from Christians, but not the Christians most people, including the "Islamic world" think. Namely, exactly the citizens of the four countries noted, as well as a few other sub-Saharan states.

Particularly, if Ethiopia and Nigeria ever get their acts together, they are the natural powers, i addition to Egypt, on the continent.

It is truly a continent of agony, but the past decade shows movement in the right direction, however minute.

Anon1 is correct, though, of what Egypt, and much more likely, KSA, Iran, and so on, will try to keep the pot boiling. Expect Somali-like chaos to spread.

It will be interesting to watch the POTUS use his authority in Kenya and the region. Interesting, but who knows to what effect?
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 05/19/2010 16:08 Comments || Top||


Britain
Calls to ban EDL parade in Newcastle
Far-right group the English Defence League are planning a march through Newcastle, sparking counter protests.

The EDL, which claims to protest against Muslim extremism, will march from the city's Central Station to the Bigg Market, on Saturday, May 29. Members of anti-fascist groups and trade unions are planning counter demonstrations for the same day.

Some councillors have called for the EDL's parade to be banned. But only the Home Secretary can order a ban of a political march if there are concerns over the police's ability to control it.

Northumbria Police has said it will have no problem. A spokeswoman said: “This is a busy bank holiday weekend with many events taking place in Newcastle and across the force area. We have drawn up plans to ensure we will have the appropriate resources at our disposal at all times.

“The force has a long history of dealing with large-scale events from music festivals and party conferences through to high-profile football matches. A wide range of specialist and uniformed officers will be working on the day who are well-versed in this type of policing operation.'

Newcastle City Council's deputy leader Coun David Faulkner said: “Philosophically I'm uncomfortable about banning these marches, even though I find them very unpleasant. My view is that people have a right to protest in a democracy, however unsavoury and repulsive their views may be to others.'

The EDL calls itself a “counter-jihad movement' and denies being a racist group. But its marches around the UK have been dogged by counter-protests. Anti-fascists and EDL members were involved in violent clashes during a demo in Bolton in March.

Steve Simmons of the EDL said: “We work closely with the police and do not allow bad behaviour among members.' But Coun Dipu Ahad, Labour member in Elswick, said: “Do we really want this kind of thing in our city? Relationships between communities in Newcastle are very good and harmonious and this can only stir up hatred.

“It's all very well saying a demonstration will be peaceful, but it only takes a few individuals to cause trouble and you have a riot. Newcastle is billed as a City of Peace, so how can this march be allowed to threaten that?

“I've had many emails and phone calls from the Muslim community and they are extremely worried. This march can only serve to break up bonds built up and increase tension.'
Posted by: ryuge || 05/19/2010 09:10 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  i would like to remind the Labour member for Elswick that you cannot have harmony unless you first respect freedom - including for people whose views you disagree with
Posted by: anon1 || 05/19/2010 9:41 Comments || Top||

#2  The EDL, which claims to protest against Muslim extremism

Wow, way to demonstrate bad-faith reporting bias, chuckles. Think any Muslim organization would get a similar attack on their public professions of intent?
Posted by: Mitch H. || 05/19/2010 11:25 Comments || Top||

#3  The EDL needs to protest any and all Union marches.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/19/2010 17:29 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Britain rejects Falkland Islands talks with Argentina
Britain today batted away an Argentinian request to hold talks on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, which has been a British territory since 1833.

The rebuff from the Foreign Office followed an overture from Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was attending an EU-Latin America summit in Madrid.

Despite a changeover in government, Britain is sticking to its position that it is up the islanders to decide on sovereignty.

"We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. The principle of self-determination as set out in the UN charter applies," the Foreign Office minister of state, Jeremy Browne, said in a statement.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/19/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Figuring Arhentino military is even worse off than her Majesty's?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/19/2010 4:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Now go away or I shall tanunt you a second time-a.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 05/19/2010 7:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Kirchner's looking for a distraction
Posted by: Frank G || 05/19/2010 10:41 Comments || Top||

#4  She kind of distracts me from all this diplomatic rubbish .. Galtieri just wasnt cute in my day

:)

Posted by: Oscar || 05/19/2010 11:01 Comments || Top||

#5  If argentina wants the falklands, maybe the solution is to send lots of trabajos.
Posted by: flash91 || 05/19/2010 11:16 Comments || Top||

#6  #1 id dead-on by most MSM-Net Pert accounts.

PERTS > ARGENTINA only has the mil ability or resources to "fight the good fight" agz UK for a 1-3 DAYS OR "X" HOURS before unilaterally surrendering or otherwise stopping their own Offensive.

IOW, 2010 ARGENTINA = DPRK-KIMMIE [China] = IDEALLY, WILL WAIT FOR ISLAMIST-LED 9-11 TERRSTRIKE(S) TO OCCUR IN UK [China] before making a move to mil conquer the FALKLANDS [South Korea]???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 19:29 Comments || Top||


Economy
Congress blocks indiscriminate IMF aid for Europe
Posted by: tipper || 05/19/2010 00:06 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the nugget in the comments?

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201005171856dowjonesdjonline000412&title=senate-approves-forcing-treasury-pledge-to-lawmakers-on-imf-loans

Were the IMF language to be included in the final legislation, it would not apply retroactively, and therefore wouldn’t have any impact on the rescue arrangements already put in place for Greece.
-
Posted by: anonymous_2u2 || 05/19/2010 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  ION REDDIT > [UNEP] UN: OCEAN FISH COULD DISAPPEAR IN 40 YEARS, aka by Year 2050.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 2:20 Comments || Top||

#3  RENSE > [WND.com]RUSSIAN SCIENTIST: NEW MINI ICE AGE IN 2014?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 2:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Better late than never.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/19/2010 4:12 Comments || Top||


Europe
US Pilots' Snapshots Reveal Extent of Germany's Post-War Devastation
Posted by: tipper || 05/19/2010 02:23 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Those were the days when we weren't worried about world opinion or hurting the feelings of our enemy. We were in it to survive and win.
Posted by: JohnQC || 05/19/2010 12:54 Comments || Top||

#2  These bomb runs helped produce Allied VICTORY! We no longer hear the word 'victory' used today.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/19/2010 16:58 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Madcow's Maddow's "Matthews Moment"


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 05/19/2010 13:48 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maddow, Olbermann, and something about vibrations . . . anyone got a spare bottle of brain bleach I can have?
Posted by: Mike || 05/19/2010 13:55 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraq plans to double Baghdad airport capacity
DUBAI - Iraq plans to double capacity at Baghdad International Airport to 15 million passengers per year, the head of the country's civil aviation authority said on Tuesday.

After years of sanctions and war, Iraq plans billions of dollars of investment to rebuild and expand infrastructure and facilitate economic growth. The government plans to add three new terminals at the airport, each capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year each, said Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) Director General Adnin Blebil.

“We have to do it, we need more capacity,' Blebil said.

Baghdad international airport currently manages around seven million passengers a year. The three terminals that already exist at Baghdad Airport would also be overhauled, Blebil said. Each existing terminal also has capacity to handle 2.5 million passengers per year.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/19/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Indian] SKY MARSHALS MAY BE GROUNDED SOON,

versus

WAFF/PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTAN HAS NO FUEL FOR INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES [Carriers must carry additional on-board fuel or otherwise provide their own due to fuel shortage].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 0:57 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Global Cooling Alert: Beware the Big Chill, Scientist Warns
Contrary to the commonly held scientific conclusion that the Earth is getting warmer, Dr. Don Easterbrook, emeritus professor of geology at Western Washington University and author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, has unveiled evidence for his prediction that global cooling is coming soon.

"Rather than global warming at a rate of 1 F per decade, records of past natural cycles indicate there may be global cooling for the first few decades of the 21st century to about 2030," said Easterbrook, speaking on a scientific panel discussion with other climatologists. This, he says, will likely be followed by "global warming from about 2030 to 2060," which will then be followed by another cooling spell from 2060 to 2090.

Easterbrook spoke before a group of about 700 scientists and government officials at the fourth International Conference on Climate Change. The conference is presented annually in Chicago by the Heartland Institute, a conservative nonprofit think tank that actively questions the theory of man's role in global warming. Last year the Institute published Climate Change Reconsidered, a comprehensive reply to the United Nations' latest report on climate change.

"Global warming is over -- at least for a few decades," Easterbrook told conference attendees. "However, the bad news is that global cooling is even more harmful to humans than global warming, and a cause for even greater concern."

Easterbrook made several stunning claims about the effects of the coming cold. There will be twice as many people killed by extreme cold than by extreme heat, he predicted, and global food production will suffer because of the shorter, cooler growing seasons and bad weather during harvest seasons.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 05/19/2010 11:25 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Actually, this is no great leap of intellectual prowess. In the Northern Hemisphere, climate is dominated by the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific experiences a 60 year cycle of warming and cooling called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. You get (roughly) 30 years of cooling and 30 years of warming. We have flipped from the warm phase of the PDO to the cool phase.

But what will be different this time is what impact the sunspot cycle will play. This cycle is weak. In fact, today there are exactly zero sunspots when we should be ramping up to solar maximum. In the past when we have had weak solar cycles, we have had cooler than normal temperatures. The Maunder Minimum is the most pronounced example but the Dalton Minimum is another where two cycles were weaker than normal (though not completely missed).

It will be interesting to watch.
Posted by: crosspatch || 05/19/2010 12:29 Comments || Top||

#2  has unveiled evidence for his prediction that global cooling is coming soon.

But global cooling is really caused by global warming according to algore.
Posted by: JohnQC || 05/19/2010 12:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Someone send this to the POTUS quickly.......
Posted by: armyguy || 05/19/2010 13:06 Comments || Top||

#4  We are one (and overdue) major volcanic eruption away from major food production failures.

And, nowhere on Earth is uninhabited because it is too hot, but about a fifth of the world's land area is uninhabited because it is too cold.
Posted by: phil_b || 05/19/2010 17:53 Comments || Top||

#5  Lest we fergit, "LONDON FOG" OER GUAM-WESTPAC, HARBOR, + TROPICAL OCEANIA.

D *** NG IT, Guam doesn't have any "LONDON BRIDGE" to fall down, but there's still on-going scuttlebutt of a propos local MONORAIL???

* OTOH RENSE/WND.com > RUSS SCIENTIST CLAIM ON MINI-COOLING TO BEGIN AS EARLY AS 2014 > INDIR, iff true infers that ABNORMAL OR HAPHAZARD LACK OF SUNSPOTS > MAY RESULT IN SOME KIND OF SUDDEN?SOLAR IIRADIANCE/ILLUMINAT 2010-2012/13 WHICH IN TURN WILL LEAD TO SUDDEN? "GLOBAL COOLING" in 2014???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 18:51 Comments || Top||

#6  "There will be twice as many people killed by extreme cold than by extreme heat, ... and global food production will suffer because of the shorter, cooler growing seasons and bad weather during harvest seasons."

The writer may think these are "stunning claims," but to the average normal person these come under the heading of "DUH!"
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/19/2010 19:39 Comments || Top||

#7  ION NEWS KERALA > US AIR FORCE PLANS TO MAKE [Space Booster] ROCKET THAT CAN FLY BACK TO BASE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/19/2010 22:03 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Thai army breaks through protest barricades
Thai troops and armored vehicles broke through barricades of tires and staves on Wednesday in a fresh offensive to evict thousands of anti-government protesters from their fortified camp in central Bangkok, witnesses said.

With troops firing tear gas ahead of the assault, the armored vehicles moved down a road toward an area where most of the estimated 3,000 demonstrators were rallying. At least two people were shot in a gunfight in the spot where the military was coming in, one in the chest while trying to help a fellow protester. The demonstrators responded by firing at soldiers, a Reuters witness said.

Protesters ignited barricades of tires and bamboo soaked in kerosene as the military vehicles and troops arrived, causing thick black smoke to billow high over skyscrapers in the area, and camouflage thousands of demonstrators who have occupied the heart of Bangkok's commercial district for more than six weeks.

Troops earlier used bullhorns and loudspeakers to urge protesters and civilians to leave, as military helicopters circled overhead.

The military offensive came a day after the collapse of a proposal for talks aimed at ending five days of chaotic street fighting that descended into urban warfare, which killed 39 people and wounded nearly 300. Troops followed that up with tear gas.

Leaders called on protesters not to panic and not to break into nearby buildings. "We must not start the violence. We will stay here together and fight together," a protest leader, Nattawut Saikua, said on a stage at the main encampment.

It was unclear whether the military was launching a long-anticipated operation to evict protesters or trying to first flush out women and children from the sprawling encampment where explosives, guns and grenades are thought to be stashed.

Unrest has been reported in other parts of the capital. Hardcore red-shirted protesters set fire on a government building and blockaded traffic in a northern suburb.

At least two dozen armored personnel carriers have approached the encampment. Some troops in the business district were as close as 200 meters (650 ft) from the protesters' three-meter (10-foot) high barricade, a Reuters photographer said. Pick-up trucks and buses carrying soldiers also arrived in the area.

An advisor to Thailand's prime minister said shortly after the offensive started that the government was ready to talk to the red-shirts if they called off their protest.

"We are still ready to talk. My line is open but the protest has to end first," advisor Korbsak Sabhavasau told Channel 3 television.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/19/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Red Shirt Leaders have surrendered: "please don't kill us"
Posted by: Frank G || 05/19/2010 8:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Michael Yon has been reporting on this on Facebook (and I beleve twitter). Both with the Army and the Red Shirts.

Seems they were torching buildings and such.

Here are some very graphic pics (yee be warned!).
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/19/2010 9:09 Comments || Top||

#3  oh reuters... shouldn't that be tyres and not tires?

how tiresome
Posted by: anon1 || 05/19/2010 9:37 Comments || Top||

#4  A government, which came to power by coup, that is incapable of ending an insurgency in the south has now ignited another one in its midst. May you live in interesting times indeed.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/19/2010 9:52 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
DoD Rains on Virginia's Plans for Offshore Drilling
Drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of Virginia could interfere with naval operations, a Defense Department review has concluded. Norfolk is home to the world's largest naval base.

Dealing a further blow to Gov. Bob McDonnell's plan to drill off the coast to raise revenue for transportation, the review concludes that only 22 percent of the ocean bottom that Virginia has proposed for drilling should be open to unrestricted drilling.

Seventy-two percent should bar all oil and gas activity, according to the report prepared by the deputy undersecretary of defense for readiness; the deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment; and the office of the director, operational test and evaluation. Six percent of the area could have some restrictions.

Virginia was in line to become the first Atlantic state to allow drilling. McDonnell had hoped a lease sale in the 4,500-acre tract at least 50 miles off the coast could take place in 2012. He hoped to plow proceeds from the lease sale into transportation.

But after the Gulf of Mexico spill, the Minerals Management Service postponed public hearings on the Virginia lease sale.
Gotta see how 0 can best take advantage of this crisis.
The General Assembly this year authorized the development of oil and natural gas 50 miles off the coast, but only after "taking into account the impact on affected localities, armed forces and the mid-Atlantic regional spaceport."
Posted by: Bobby || 05/19/2010 18:28 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


New Hampshire Governor Signs Knife Rights Bill into Law
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has signed Rep. Jenn Coffey's Knife Rights Bill into law, removing restrictions on switchblades, dirks, daggers and stilettos in Hew Hampshire and essentially removing all restrictions on knives in New Hampshire state law. New Hampshire now has no state knife laws which stop law abiding citizens from buying, selling, owning, carrying, possessing, transporting, collecting, or lawfully using any type of knife. This is the first complete repeal of a state's knife restrictions ever.

It is worth noting the bipartisan appeal of this legislation; a bill introduced by a minority member of the legislature passed with unanimous consent in both Democratic controlled houses and signed by a Democratic Governor. Proof of what can be accomplished when you have a well-conceived plan and combine a passionate and effective legislator; a professional lobbying effort supported by Knife Rights and organized, hard-working and involved citizen support.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/19/2010 00:10 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pre-empting the ATF? The ATF wants to ban any knife that can be opened with one hand. A lot of utility knives used by construction and farming open with one hand because the other one is busy. Bugwits.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 05/19/2010 10:09 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/19/2010 11:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Hope that's not too big.
Please size images to be no larger than 400 pixels wide; larger images break our formatting.

AoS
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/19/2010 11:59 Comments || Top||

#4  No, they're just about right,,,,

Posted by: Solomon Ebbeath5699 || 05/19/2010 12:48 Comments || Top||

#5  AoS, duly noted.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/19/2010 14:50 Comments || Top||


US judge orders ex-Nazi in Pa. back to Austria
Never forget, never forgive.
PITTSBURGH – A U.S. immigration judge has ordered an 85-year-old retired steelworker deported to Austria, or to any other country that will accept him, for serving as an armed Nazi death camp guard during World War II.

Anton Geiser and his attorney did not immediately return calls and an e-mail for comment on the decision announced Tuesday by the Justice Department. Judge Charles Honeyman issued the 14-page order out of Philadelphia on Monday.

Geiser was born in what is now part of Croatia and came to the United States from Austria in 1956. He has lived in Sharon, about 60 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, since 1960, became a citizen in 1962 and is married with three sons.

"As a Nazi concentration camp guard during World War II, Anton Geiser must be held to account for his role in the persecution of countless men, women and children," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a statement Tuesday. "The long passage of time will not diminish our resolve to deny refuge to such individuals."

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said Geiser is not in custody. He can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington.

Geiser has acknowledged being an armed guard who watched over and escorted prisoners at three Nazi death camps. But he has argued that his service was not voluntary and that he was therefore eligible to emigrate under the Refugee Relief Act of 1953.

Geiser, an ethnic German, was drafted into the German army at 17 and served as an armed SS Death Head guard at Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin for much of 1943. He later was transferred to an SS officer training camp at Arolsen, where he escorted prisoners to and from the Buchenwald camp, where tens of thousands of Jews and others were exterminated. He was at Arolsen until April 1945. Geiser has denied harming any prisoners, though he has acknowledged having orders to shoot prisoners who tried to escape.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/19/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Never forget, never forgive."

Doc, I feel the same way about 9-11. But it is mentally (and theologically) unhealthy in both cases.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/19/2010 8:47 Comments || Top||

#2  But it is mentally (and theologically) unhealthy in both cases.

Glenmore, I see no indication that Mr. Geiser has in anyway repented his actions or sought forgiveness from those he sinned against by his actions. He has not earnt forgiveness, and therefore does not deserve it. There is a big difference between not brooding over the wrong done, and actively granting forgiveness. I will not wast psychic energy on the first but, again, the second must be earnt. To forgive without desert is to make of the sin a mere bagatelle, a temporary inconvenience. Theologically speaking, I mean.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/19/2010 12:13 Comments || Top||

#3  tw: I cringe at the thought of intermingling forgiveness with the law, because it leads to evil outcomes.

When a judge demands that a person who plead "not guilty" yet is convicted of a crime, confess to the crime for a lighter sentence, the only reason is that the judge wants solace in his judgment.

"If you make me feel good, that I am punishing a lawbreaker, you will be rewarded. But if you still maintain your innocence, you will be punished." This is the opposite of justice.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/19/2010 13:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Could the guy be telling the truth?
Refusing conscription or disobeying an order in the German army meant being stood up against a wall and shot.
How many thousands of Germans were forced to commit unspeakable acts simply to stay alive. The instinct of self preservation is the strongest in nature.
I wouldn't be so quick to judge the motivations of others.
Posted by: Dopey Ulamble1018 || 05/19/2010 14:08 Comments || Top||

#5  tw: I cringe at the thought of intermingling forgiveness with the law, because it leads to evil outcomes.

I quite agree. But I didn't think I was addressing that in responding to Glenmore's comment.

Refusing conscription or disobeying an order in the German army meant being stood up against a wall and shot.

Quite true, Dopey Ulamble1018. And quite, quite beside the point. By acting as he did, he kept himself from being shot, yes. But, the cost of that was the death of how many hundreds or thousands of concentration camp inmates, many of whom were neither Jewish by faith nor descent... so cultural antisemitism played no part in Mr. Geiser's decision.

Nor does Mr. Geiser claim that, once he agreed to be drafted into the position, he acted to in any way sabotage the murder factories that were the concentration camps, which he easily could have done. Sabotage possibilities range from smuggling in food, medicines, false papers... to damaging equipment, misplacing files, smuggling out babies... the possibilities were endless for a man with access and imagination. Mr. Geiser had the first, and each day chose again not to exercise the second.

This is the price of proclaiming, "I was just following orders." By choosing to passively acquiesce, one's choice makes one a participant in the result.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/19/2010 16:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Messicans and Arabs can come in by the tens of millions but Geiser must go? I think I'm beginning to see a pattern developing.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/19/2010 16:54 Comments || Top||

#7  Roman Polanski (two time known child rapist) is looking for a housemate.
Speaking of, why has the Burg been silent about bad old Polanski's British second victim coming forward? I submitted an article the other day, which was denied, and I believe would have made for lively discourse. He probably raped well more than two, but only two had the stomach to cop to it.
Posted by: GirlThursday || 05/19/2010 17:11 Comments || Top||

#8  It's ok GirlThursday, Polanski never wore an icky military uniform. He gets a pass.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/19/2010 18:13 Comments || Top||

#9  GirlThursday, we don't post every article submitted, preferring for the most part to cleave closely to War on Terror subjects. Yes, we do include articles of general interest and amusement -- and the one you submitted certainly fit that category -- but there are many more of those submitted than we can use. It's a balance issue, is all.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/19/2010 18:19 Comments || Top||

#10  I don't know TW. This guy was 17 when he was conscripted - a kid. The war was over by the time the guy hit 20. Given the atmosphere at the time and without any other evidence to the contrary I think this is a stupid call. BTW - you didn't exactly agree to be drafted in any position in the German army. Somehow over the past 50 yrs we know that he has not been haunted everyday w/what happened in those camps? This guy was supposed to give some public act of contrition? Also, how the heck do any of you know what happened, what he did or didn't do. How easy it is to sit behind a desk.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 05/19/2010 19:20 Comments || Top||



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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

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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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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2010-05-19
  Yemen court sentences six Somali pirates to death
Tue 2010-05-18
  Detained militant in Iraq details World Cup plot
Mon 2010-05-17
  Somali fighting kills 24, chaos in parliament
Sun 2010-05-16
  Qaeda in Iraq 'names replacements for slain leaders'
Sat 2010-05-15
  Woman in a veil knifed British MP in the gut
Fri 2010-05-14
  Iraqi and Iranian soldiers trade fire on border
Thu 2010-05-13
  5 killed in Jakarta anti-terror raids
Wed 2010-05-12
  French parliament unanimously bans burka
Tue 2010-05-11
  Russers: Captured Somali pirates ''dead''
Mon 2010-05-10
  At least 99 killed in attacks across Iraq
Sun 2010-05-09
  'Pakistan Taliban' behind Times Square bomb plot
Sat 2010-05-08
  Uighur big turban reported titzup in Pak
Fri 2010-05-07
  Mullah Atiqullah captured in Afghanistan
Thu 2010-05-06
  Death sentence for Kasab
Wed 2010-05-05
  Iraqi Troops Arrest Head of Qaeda-Linked Ansar al-Islam


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