Hi there, !
Today Mon 04/06/2015 Sun 04/05/2015 Sat 04/04/2015 Fri 04/03/2015 Thu 04/02/2015 Wed 04/01/2015 Tue 03/31/2015 Archives
Rantburg
533817 articles and 1862264 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 69 articles and 133 comments as of 3:38.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Yemen Rebels Push Deep into Hadi's Former Refuge Aden
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
13 23:49 JosephMendiola [8] 
6 22:20 Alaska Paul [2] 
9 13:12 JohnQC [2] 
2 09:14 Rambler in Virginia [1] 
2 01:10 JosephMendiola [1] 
0 [1] 
3 06:38 Besoeker [2] 
1 08:12 Mullah Richard [3] 
1 00:30 JosephMendiola [1] 
1 10:34 USN, Ret. [1] 
4 13:06 JohnQC [5] 
0 [1] 
2 10:50 Skidmark [1] 
9 18:49 bigjim-CA [6] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
0 [2]
4 21:01 trailing wife [4]
1 13:48 SteveS [2]
1 21:44 tipover [4]
0 [5]
0 [4]
3 11:51 tu3031 [5]
0 [4]
0 [5]
1 15:30 g(r)omgoru [9]
3 08:19 Rob Crawford [9]
0 [11]
0 [6]
0 [6]
0 [10]
0 [3]
0 [3]
0 [3]
0 [7]
0 [4]
0 [11]
0 [9]
0 [6]
1 09:57 Shipman [4]
0 [1]
3 11:46 Fred [1]
0 [3]
1 09:56 Shipman [2]
Page 2: WoT Background
4 23:21 Procopius2k [3]
1 11:23 Besoeker [1]
1 11:12 Abu Uluque [3]
9 18:08 swksvolFF [10]
1 10:04 Mike Kozlowski [7]
1 10:44 Frank G [1]
1 11:54 tu3031 [1]
0 [5]
3 11:38 Fred [5]
2 22:47 Thing From Snowy Mountain [4]
18 18:36 Vernal Spavins7649 [8]
0 [1]
0 [6]
0 [8]
1 08:02 Bobby [3]
0 [5]
0 [5]
1 11:00 Frank G [4]
1 00:46 JosephMendiola [2]
0 [3]
0 [3]
0 [4]
2 10:34 Pappy [5]
10 18:55 Vernal Spavins7649 [11]
Page 4: Opinion
2 10:16 Airandee [8]
Page 6: Politix
4 12:49 JohnQC [2]
0 [3]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Judge orders IRS to release list of tea party groups targeted for scrutiny
A federal judge ordered the IRS this week to turn over the list of 298 groups it targeted for intrusive scrutiny as the agency defends against a potential class-action lawsuit by tea party groups who claim their constitutional rights were violated.

The IRS had argued it shouldn't have to release the names because doing do would violate privacy laws, but Judge Susan J. Dlott, who sits in the Southern District of Ohio, rejected that claim and ordered the tax agency to turn over any lists or spreadsheets detailing the groups that were targeted and when they filed their applications.

Judge Dlott also ordered the IRS to say whether a partial list of targeted groups reported by USA Today is authentic as a number of tea party groups try to win certification for a class action lawsuit against the IRS.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 02:11 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hear the sound of another harddrive crash.

Snark of the day.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/03/2015 8:37 Comments || Top||

#2  The judge has issued his order. Now let us see him enforce it.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 04/03/2015 9:14 Comments || Top||


Atlanta Heart Transplant Recipient Dies In Crash During Chase
[HuffPoo] ATLANTA -- An Atlanta area teenager who said a heart transplant two years ago gave him a second chance at life died this week when he lost control of the car he was driving while fleeing police, according to police records.
This toad got a new heart that someone didn't get, someone else who as a result died of his/her heart disease. There was quite the medical debate that the time, and the hospital "ethics" committee folded like a cheap lawn chair instead of sticking to the correct, proper, ethical decision, which (originally) that this gang-banger was not to get a new heart because he was unreliable in taking medication and adhering to therapy.

Grrr...
Anthony Tremayne Stokes, 17, died Tuesday when the car he was driving hit a bank sign, a Roswell police officer wrote in an incident report. The officer noticed the black Honda Accord fit the description of a vehicle involved in a home invasion a short time earlier, the report says. The officer tried to pull the car over, but the driver refused to stop, the report said.

The car had also been reported stolen in a carjacking in nearby Dunwoody earlier Tuesday, the report says.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He be like...
Posted by: newc || 04/03/2015 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  He reportedly had not one, but two transplants. The first one went 'tango uniform' due to his not following medical instructions. Difficult to fathom, I know.

His folks sure have a mountain of medical bills to recover from. [sarc off]
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 0:47 Comments || Top||

#3  "If I had a son, he would be like......"
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/03/2015 0:52 Comments || Top||

#4  That medication makes hair grow between your toes and yes jowls. One maybe, two hell no.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/03/2015 5:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Somehow I get the feeling we ended up paying for his transplants.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/03/2015 7:46 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm pretty sure we did, CF.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 04/03/2015 8:06 Comments || Top||

#7  Somehow, this will be turned into a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/03/2015 13:00 Comments || Top||

#8  Condolences to the two people who died waiting for heart transplants.
Posted by: Clonter Thruling4064 || 04/03/2015 14:39 Comments || Top||

#9  Condolences to the poor working stiff that had to shovel this turd off the sidewalk and into a meat wagon for final "disposition".
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 04/03/2015 18:49 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
'Naked man at Buckingham Palace' fooled American television network
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] Executives in the newsroom at NBC were left red-faced after scrambling their news teams to report on the story of a naked man abseiling down from Buckingham Palace - without realising it was a clip from their own show, reported NY Daily News.
Did they, though? Boy, howdy, that was really original of them.
The footage was shot as part of The Royals - a show for NBC's cable channel, E!
I mean, that gag's never been done before, has it?
The series stars Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena, presiding over a disfunctional royal household.
It's not like was on Russian TV ten years ago or somethin'...
And as part of the filming, producers staged what was made to look like a man escaping from a Buckingham Palace window. The shaky mobile phone footage was uploaded onto YouTube and quickly went viral. News reporters from NBC News were then asked to call Buckingham Palace press office and ask whether the footage was genuine.
...and I think once in Hong Kong...
The cleverly-edited clip, entitled "Crazy Buckingham Palace naked man video!!!", has been watched over 1.7 million times.
... or that they lifted it from the Benny Hill Show...
"It was a genius press campaign and it tricked even NBC News," said a staff member on The Royals.
... multiple episodes, in fact...
"The Palace said they would not comment, but added, ‘We believe it’s a fake.’ They could have just asked within the building and got the answers they needed."
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
Badghis Fathers Organize Marriage For Six-Year-Old Girl
[Tolo News] A man in northern Badghis province reportedly organized a marriage ceremony between his six-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old boy in exchange 150,000 Afs.

Local officials have expressed outrage at the news. The women's affairs department in Badghis has maintained that the father forced his daughter to marry for his own economic gain.

The provincial police department has said that the fathers of the bride and groom are now in jug and investigations are underway.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "More inexperienced and unprepared than most" > THE HELL YOU SAY!

As compared to whom, a five-year old or 7-10'er???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2015 0:50 Comments || Top||

#2  6? Sounds very Mohammedan to me. Does this 11 year old have to wait 3 years to consummate the deal?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/03/2015 8:11 Comments || Top||

#3  The reception is at the State Department and the after hours party is at the Hotel by the NSA!
Posted by Knuckles Noodleman4287


No cover charge for cross-dressers or pre-ops with a doctor's slip.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 10:38 Comments || Top||

#4  150,000 AFN is about $2600. Life is cheap in Badghis Province.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/03/2015 13:06 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Konstantin Sivkov advocates that Russia nuke Yellowstone and San Andreas Fault
Earlier this week, the Russian president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems outlined two geophysically weak US regions to attack in order to combat NATO's aggression toward Russia. In his article, Konstantin Sivkov justifies the option of "complete destruction of the enemy" because NATO has been mean to Russia "moving to the borders or Russia."

Sivkov, listed as a "Docter of Military Sciences," described scenarios that involved dropping a nuclear weapon near Yellowstone's supervolcano.

Another option would be to drop a nuclear bomb near California's San Andreas Fault. "A detonation of a nuclear weapon there can trigger catastrophic events like a coast-scale tsunami which can completely destroy the infrastructure of the United States," he said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald's translation.

Since last year's illegal annexation of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to international criticism and economic sanctions placed on his country by flexing his nation's military muscle around the world.

The crisis in Ukraine reflects a turning point in NATO's stance on Putin and emphasizes a growing concern stemming from the origins of NATO, which was formed for collective territorial defense.

"He wants to restore the Russian empire ... I don't know where he'll stop," Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) said of Putin earlier this month during a speech at the Center for Strategic International Studies.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/03/2015 10:52 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1 
"...can trigger catastrophic events like a coast-scale tsunami which can completely destroy the infrastructure of the United States,"


Oh, come on. At the utmost it would destroy the infrastructure of California. With or without a tsunami.

Posted by: dlr || 04/03/2015 11:12 Comments || Top||

#2  What is the Russian equivalent for Operation Sodom and Gamorah for the California strike :)
Posted by: Jimk || 04/03/2015 11:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Its so bad the last time it blew most life on earth died and it was ages before it started again... Siberian Traps



Vast volumes of basaltic lava paved over a large expanse of primeval Siberia in a flood basalt event. Today the area covered is about 2 million km2—roughly equal to western Europe in land area—and estimates of the original coverage are as high as 7 million km2. The original volume of lava is estimated to range from 1 million to 4 million km3.

The area covered lies between 50° and 75° north latitude and 60° to 120° east longitude.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/03/2015 14:32 Comments || Top||

#4  This massive eruptive event spanned the Permian-Triassic boundary, about 250 million years ago, and is cited as a possible cause of the Permian-Triassic extinction event.[2][6] One of the major questions is whether the Siberian Traps was directly responsible, or if it was itself caused by some other larger event, such as an asteroid impact. A recent hypothesis put forward is that the volcanism was a trigger that led to an explosion of the growth of Methanosarcina, a microbe that then spewed enormous amounts of methane into Earth's atmosphere.[7]

This extinction event, also called the Great Dying, affected all life on Earth, and is estimated to have killed 90% of species living at the time.[8] Life on land took at least 30 million years to fully recover from the environmental disruptions which may have been caused by the eruption of the Siberian Traps.[9] Calculations of sea water temperature from δ18O measurements indicate that at its peak, the earth underwent lethally hot global warming, in which equatorial ocean temperatures exceeded 40 °C (about 105 °F).

Paleontological evidence further indicates that the global distribution of tetrapods vanished, with very rare exceptions in the region of Pangaea that is today Utah, between latitudes bounded by approximately 40°S to 30°N. The tetrapod gap of equatorial Pangea coincides with an end-Permian to Middle Triassic global "coal gap" that indicates the loss of peat swamps. Peat formation, a product of high plant productivity, was only reestablished in the Anisian and then only in high southern latitudes, although gymnosperm forests appeared earlier (in the Early Spathian), but again only in northern and southern higher latitudes.[6] In equatorial Pangea, the establishment of conifer-dominated forests was not until the end of the Spathian, and the first coals at these latitudes did not appear until the Carnian ~15 million years after their end-Permian disappearance. These signals suggest equatorial temperatures exceeded their thermal tolerance for many marine vertebrates at least during two thermal maxima, whereas terrestrial equatorial temperatures were sufficiently severe to suppress plant and animal abundance during most of the Early Triassic.[1]
Posted by: 3dc || 04/03/2015 14:34 Comments || Top||

#5  If Obamopods and Clintonopods were to vanish, it might just be worth it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 14:57 Comments || Top||

#6  He's been watching too many "science" fiction movies.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/03/2015 19:35 Comments || Top||

#7  Oh my.

Yuuup.

Iff "Islands" can disappear, so can "Countries", "Regions" or "Trans-Regions", e.g. LOST-ISLAND = LOST CONTINENT OF ATLANTIS.

GUAM + KEY PACIFIC ISLES = MICHELLE'S BRIGADE HUOG "THE US HAS LAND-SINKING EARTHQUAKE/TECTONIC BOMBS" CHAVEZ + RED BERET + PARROT = USN BB USS OKLAHOMA = "GUAM WILL CAPSIZE" = espec iff OWG Globalism + US-led Anti-US OWG-NWO = US-N-Only-The-US must unilaterally give up or fall back across the world so that its OWG Co-SUperpowers Russia, China, + Iran, Etc, can rise to "US -Style", MilPol/Geopol + Nuclear "Parity" on their respective Continents or World Regions, + to deny the Islands' utility to US Enemies or Protagonists.

OR, as 1990's BILLARISM/CLINTONISM would say = The US [ + Only the US] MUST BE RESTRAINED OR CONTROLLED"!

SAVING AMERIKA + ITS SACRED NATIONAL COMMUNISM OR COMMUNISM-SOCIALISM FROM AMERICANS.

Brought to youse by God, Madonna, Texas-sized Asteroids, + 1960's-1970's Guam Taotamonas, including the Ghosts-Spirits of those whom wouldn't actually pass on until years andor decades later.

Iff OWG GLOBALISM = "[US] RETREAT/FALLBACK IS WORLD PEACE", THEN ALA 21ST CENTURY "A2/AREA-DENIAL" + IN A WORLD AT "PEACE" WHY MUST THE US SINK ANY PACIFIC ISLANDS AT ALL???

* Lastly, OWG GLOBALIST "PARITY" = ODDS ARE ANY GEOPOL ANTI-US ENEMY NATION-STATE, INCLUD CO-SUPERPOWERS, WANNBES + NGOS, WILL LIKELY OR ROUGHLY POSSESS THE SAME LAND-SINKING MILTECHS AS THE US.

It would be the height of folly or stupidity for the US to believe that it is invincible or invulnerable, THAT IT CAN SINK FOREIGN LANDS WIDOUT ITS OWN BEING ATTACKED AND SUNK.

The US-West = Western JudeoChristianity is SSSHHHH....PCCCCCCCC directly or indirectly helping Iran + Islamic World to nuclearize, so why withhold Land or Geology-latering Miltechs from same.

* US-SOVIET COLD WAR = STAR TREK:TOS "A DIRTY LITTLE WAR" EPISODE = CAPT KIRK TO DR. "BONES" MCCOY = "D *** NG IT, BALANCE OF POWER [Terror],
BONES, BALANCE OF POWER[Terror] ... ..."!

Iff Russia or Other? attack the Yellowstone + San Andreas, etc. it will be because the post-9-11. post-GWOT, "Weak/Declining", "Self-Retreating" Globalist USA LOST THE "GREAT GAME".
Posted by: Goober Floth5538 || 04/03/2015 21:45 Comments || Top||

#8  Sorry, my bad, above post is mine - forgot to change the name.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2015 21:46 Comments || Top||

#9  I couldn't tell...
Posted by: Frank G || 04/03/2015 21:55 Comments || Top||

#10  Lighten up, Goober........
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/03/2015 22:09 Comments || Top||

#11  All kidding aside, we could retaliate by nuking all Russian vodka distilleries from space. It's the only way to be sure.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/03/2015 22:12 Comments || Top||

#12  Funny frank g
Posted by: chris || 04/03/2015 22:25 Comments || Top||

#13  More this AM ...

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [FAS] WHAT COULD HAPPEN IFF AN [Russian]800-KILOTON NUCLEAR WARHEAD DETONATES ABOVE MANHATTAN!?

* TOPIX > [Real Clear Politics] FORGET IRAN. THE REAL NUCLEAR THREAT LIES EAST.

China + India + Pakistan all moving towards deploying NucWeaps at sea.

A MIGHTY HOMER SIMPSONIAN "DOH"! IS AGAIN HEARD OVER THE PACIFIC, FROM A MADONNA FAN IN GUAM.

* Chinese MILITARY FORUM > US, CHINA AHEADING TOWARD FACE-OFF, SAYS MEARSHEIM.

Noted Professor of PoliSci at University of Chicago.

As I've said times before, mighty "Red Line" defender Globalist POTUS Obama hasn't even started wid CHINA yet.

Besides the ISIS threat to Russia, Central Asia, + Talibunnies comes ...

* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [FirstPost] MORE RADICAL OUTFITS AND PROXY WARS INDIA SHOULD BE AWARE OF AFTER IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL.

* TOPIX > IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL: A POWERFUL TEHRAN TURNED INTO AMERICA'S "POLICEMAN IN THE GULF"? IT COULD HAPPEN.

Pffffttt, its occurring now + has been for a while now.

PUTINIST RUSSIA = RISING IRAN = "CO-AMERICA IN THE MIDDLE EAST/GULF"??? Nice to have or know until something goes terribly wrong.

Namely ...

* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > UK "DAILY MAIL" ONLINE: PUTIN THREATENS NUCLEAR WAR: RUSSIA LEADER WILL TAKE ANY NECESSARY STEPS TO DRIVE NATO OUT OF THE BALTICS AND DEFEND CRIMEA.

PUTIN'S BALTIC STATES = CHINA'S "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN/STRING OF PEARLS" IN EAST-ASIA-PACIIFC = IRAN'S MIDDLE EAST + PERSIAN GULF + WEST-CENTRAL ASIA SPHERE(S).

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!

* BIGNEWSNETWORK > NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL UNLIKELY TO FOLLOW IRAN AGREEMENT.

NOKOR-vs-USS-GEORGE-WASHINGTON-CVN - you know, SSSHHHH ...PCCCCCC CHINA.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2015 23:49 Comments || Top||


Ukrainians, rebels build up forces for planned offensives


For a map, click here. You can enlarge the map, if you open it separately.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

The chief negotiator of the Lugansk republic said Thursday that Ukraine has violated the February 12th Minsk Ceasefire agreement by failing to withdraw a set of proposals that the Ukrainians claim will end the war in southeastern Ukraine, according to Russian language news accounts.

According to information supplied by TASS news agency, Vladislav Deinevo expressed his sentiment that a dialogue between the rebel governments would begin in earnest, and Ukrainians would yield "to the logic of the adopted document [ceasefire agreement] and cancel the documents contradicting the set of measures to implement the Minsk agreements."

Only a few days before, Ukrainian president Piotr Poroshenko hinted that a plebiscite was in discussion which would change Ukraine into a federation, permitting the two breakaway oblasts, Donetsk and Lugansk, to function within a Ukrainian federation as autonomous entities.

The Minsk ceasefire agreement said in its text that the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada would pass a set of laws that would offer autonomy to Lugansk and Donetsk in exchange for the rebels and commanders disarming, ending this now nine months-long war.

An actual proposal was passed earlier this month, but it only allowed elections after rebels disarmed and after the Ukrainian security structure was put back in place, a virtual surrender by the rebels to the Ukrainians.

As matters now stand, both sides are expecting more war throughout the spring and the summer, likely to happen as the ground thaws, then dries from spring rains.

Artillery and gun fire exchanges continue between the Ukrainian and the rebels in several key areas. The rebels continue to claim that their forces, despite being hit by Ukrainian artillery and direct artillery fire, have been under strict orders not to respond, while the Ukrainians continue to claim the rebels are initiating battles along the line of contact.

The most intense firefights recently have taken place in Donetsk city where Ukrainians claim rebel forces continue to fire on their forces in Peski, Avdievka and Opytnoye. All three locations are known to be localities where Ukrainian previously had sited their artillery, but since the Ceasefire went into effect, Ukrainians have claimed they withdrew their heavy weapons.

Rebel media, formal and unofficial, have been reporting over the past several days that they have begun using light unarmed drones acquired from Russia -- they say via private donations -- mainly quatrocopters to spy on and log Ukrainian military activity and deployments.

Thursday, the spokesman for the Donetsk republic ministry of defense, Lt. Colonel Eduard Basurin, said in a press conference that the Ukrainians have failed to abide by the agreement which requires heavy weapons to be withdrawn 20 kilometers from the line of contact.

According to information supplied by regnum.ru, heavy weapons have been spotted at various locations at, near or across the ceasefire line.

In his remarks, Basurin said that rebel intelligence believes that the Ukrainians are planning provocations which they say will lead to the introduction of peacekeepers, something the rebels have been studiously trying to avoid.

According to Basurin, Ukrainians violated the ceasefire 190 times since March 26th, 90 of them in the previous 24 hours. It has been the contention of rebel leaders the Ukrainian forces have repeatedly moved heavy weapons into contact with rebel forces, only to rapidly move them back out before their presence can be reported by non government organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the main body monitoring the ceasefires since last August.

Basurin said Ukrainian heavy weapons spotted included:

One BM-21 122mm rocket artillery launcher vehicle belonging to the Ukrainian 28th Mechanized Brigade at Kurakhovo,13 kilometers west of Donetsk and 12 kilometers from the line of contact

Three BM-21 122mm rocket artillery launcher vehicles, also belonging to the Ukrainian 28th Mechanized Brigade, were spotted three kilometers north of Kalinovo and 20 kilometers from the line of contact.

Ten D30 122mm howitzers were spotted in the forest near Novomarkovo, 68 kilometers north of Donetsk and 32 km from the line of contact. Four T-64 tanks and one BM-27 Urugan multiple rocket artillery launcher vehicle were spotted in the same area

Four tanks and four self propelled 2S9 Nona 120mm mortar were spotted near Krasnogorovka, which is 13 kilometers west of Donetsk and 10 kilometers from the line of contact.

Two BM-21 122mm rocket artillery launcher vehicles were spotted near the police checkpoint in Bogatyr village, which is 57 kilometers west of Donetsk.

Ten T-64 tanks, four Acacia 152mm self-propelled howitzers, one MSTA-S 152mm self-propelled howitzer and one BM-21 122mm rocket artillery launcher vehicle were spotted 25 kilometers from the line of contact near the settlements of Grodovka and Mykolaivka, which are 35 kilometers and 26 kilometers northwest of Donetsk, respectively.

Four Acacia 152mm self-propelled howitzers and two 9K37 Buk antiaircraft missile launchers were spotted two kilometers west of Grodovki.

A total of 60 effectives, said by the rebels to be "foreign mercenaries of European appearance" and three BM-27 Urugan multiple rocket artillery launcher vehicles were spotted at the train station at Roya, which is 29 kilometers west of Donetsk.

Rebel attacks near Donetsk

According to Dmitri Tymchuck, rebel forces have been hitting Ukrainian positions in Peski and Advievka using heavy weapons.

Avdievka has been hit using 122mm tube artillery, while rebel BMP-2s have been hitting Ukrainian troops using the BMP-2 main gun, a 30mm autocannon.

Rebels also have been hitting Ukrainian forces at Opytnoye using 120mm mortars.

Rebel say their positions at the airport were hit with mortars and recoilless rifle fire from Avdievka and Opytnoye. Rebels also said that targets at the Donetsk city Volvo center were hit with mortars from Peski.

Artillery strikes in Mariupol

Tymchuk said that rebel mortar teams shelled the town of Pionerskoye using 120mm mortars after shifting fire numerous times. Rebel 120mm mortar and 122mm tube artillery fire were recorded at Ukrainian targets in western sectors of Shirokino, which Ukrainian units of the Azov Battalion have held for about a week.

Subsequent to the artillery preparation, rebel forces probed Ukrainian positions by fire using the small groups Tymchuk reported having been deployed there the day before.

Rebel media reported much the same, except that the Ukrainians launched several artillery missions against their troops in Shirokino.

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
Posted by: badanov || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The East Ukraine separatists had better enjoy Russia's support while they still can ...

* JAPAN TIMES > COMMENTARY: TOO FEW WORKERS IN RUSSIA + TOO MANY POOR PEOPLE.

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Bloomberg] RUSSIA'S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK WORSE THAN THOUGHT, WORLD BANK SAYS.

ADVANTAGE = Soon-to-go-Nukulaar-wid-US-n-Western-Support, Consent HARD BOYZ.

Speaking of the Hard Boyz vs Russia [ + China + India, etc.] ...

* TOPIX > TALIBAN TAKE AFGHAN DISTRICT NEAR TURKMEN BORDER.

* SAME > WHY THE JIHADI THREAT TO RUSSIA IS GETTING WORSE!?

* TOPIX > [EurasiaNet.org] AS RUSSIA WARNS/CAUTIONS OF "AFGHAN SPILLOVER", TAIJIKISTAN COMPLAINS ITS [Russia + CSTO] NOT HELPING.

* CHINA DAILY FORUM > RUSSIA SAYS [Western]ECONOMIC SANCTIONS HAS CRUSHED THEIR [T-50] STEALTH JET PROJECT.

Russia's Navy is also repor DYING = SHRINKING VIA OBSOLESCENCE, POOR MAINTENANCE TO DANGEROUS NUMBERS.

Reminds me again of the Fall of Constantinople = Byzantium/Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans, where Western Bankers demanded Byzantine debts be repaid first before a Relief Force would be sent agz the Ottomans???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2015 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  OOOOOOOPPPSIES, forgot to say that the EX-SOVIET STANS have been complaining about Russia's weird-n-mysterious cutbacks in foreign aid or assistance to their countries.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2015 1:10 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Australian Convicted for Marrying Off 12-Year-Old Daughter to Lebanese
[AnNahar] An Australian man was convicted Wednesday of procuring his 12-year-old daughter for sex by letting her marry a man more than twice her age in an Islamic ceremony.

The father, who cannot be named to protect the girl's identity, was found guilty of procuring a child under the age of 14 for unlawful sexual activity and encouraging the pair to have intercourse despite denying the charges.

Sydney's Downing Center District Court heard that he wanted to save the girl from what he considered the sin of having sex outside marriage so when she reached puberty he decided she should wed.

When a 26-year-old Lebanese man, in Australia on a student visa, showed interest in her the father consented to a marriage, which was carried out by a local sheikh last year at his home around 250 kilometers (150 miles) north of Sydney.

On the night of the wedding -- which was not recognized under Australian law -- the married pair went to a hotel with the father's permission, Judge Deborah Sweeney said as she handed down her judgment.

They had sex there and twice more at the father's home the following weekend.

"He made up a room and bed... for them knowing they would have sexual intercourse," Sweeney said, adding that the girl fell pregnant but miscarried.

During the trial, the court heard the girl was told on the night of her wedding not to use contraceptive pills or condoms as it was against the religious teachings they followed.

The father was released on bail and will be sentenced next month.

His daughter is in the care of authorities while the "husband" was tossed in the clink
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
for seven-and-a-half years last month for sexual abuse of a child. The sheikh who carried out the marriage ceremony has not been charged.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Artic doesn't say exactly iff the father was of ME origins, + does Australia allow local Muslim Citizens or Residents whom are also high-ranking Muslim Sheikhs to perform state = legal marriages as per Sharia - widout need of Aussie Govt. consent???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2015 0:30 Comments || Top||


Europe
Greece prepares to nationalize banks

Greece is drawing up drastic plans to nationalise the country's banking system and introduce a parallel currency to pay bills unless the eurozone takes steps to defuse the simmering crisis and soften its demands.
Nationalize banks? How draconian, how old-school. Why not just 'regulate' them into compliance, then print the new money ?
Sources close to the ruling Syriza party said the government is determined to keep public services running and pay pensions as funds run critically low. It may be forced to take the unprecedented step of missing a payment to the International Monetary Fund next week.

Greece no longer has enough money to pay the IMF 458m on April 9 and also to cover payments for salaries and social security on April 14, unless the eurozone agrees to disburse the next tranche of its interim bail-out deal in time.

"We are a Left-wing government. If we have to choose between a default to the IMF or a default to our own people, it is a no-brainer," said a senior official.
Flush
Posted by: Frank G || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel to send African migrants to 'third country'
[AA.TR] Israel has announced an agreement with two African countries to take in illegal African migrants who would "voluntarily return," local media has reported.

The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz reported on Thursday that Israel's Population, Immigration and Borders Authority, PIBA, had released a statement two days earlier saying African migrants in Israel could "voluntarily return" to Rwanda or Uganda, which had also agreed not to deport the migrants to their home countries.

PIBA's statement said the process prepared by Interior Minister Gilad Erdan was "to expand the voluntary return of infiltrators to a third country".

Israel's Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein approved the deportation of African migrants, mainly Eritrea
...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age...
n and Sudanese, despite the protest of some human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
groups.
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Non-select, due to miserably failed past performance.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 1:02 Comments || Top||

#2  fUSA?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/03/2015 6:26 Comments || Top||

#3  They must queue up g(r)om.

No breaking into the line.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 6:38 Comments || Top||


Israeli officials once again begin talking about "military option."
[Jerusalem Post] The smiles that accompanied the announcement Thursday of parameters for an Iranian nuclear agreement in Lausanne between the world powers and Iran are detached from reality, International Relations Minister Yuval Steinitz said in Jerusalem's initial reaction to the developments.
Iraqi Osirak reactor destroyed in about 4 minutes in 1981, remains destroyed.
The reality, Steinitz said, is that Iran refused to make any concession on the nuclear issue and continues to threaten Israel and all other countries in the Middle East.

Even before the press conference in Lausanne where the announcement was made, the Prime Minister's Office posted the following message on twitter: "Any deal must significantly roll back Iran's nuclear capabilities and stop its terrorism and aggression."

The tweet was posted above a map with arrows leading from Tehran to Yemen, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq under the headline, "Iran's aggression during the nuclear negotiations."

Government officials made clear that Israel will continue publicly fighting against the deal, emphasizing Iran's aggressive behavior throughout the Middle East even at a time when it does not yet have nuclear capabilities.

"At a time when the representatives of the world powers were shaking hands with the Iranians in Lausanne, Iran continues its campaign of occupation and terror in Yemen and throughout the Middle East," he said.

Steinitz said that since Thursday's declaration was a long way from being a full agreement, "we will continue in our efforts to explain and convince the world in the hopes of preventing a bad deal, or at least introducing changes and improvements."

Even before the parameters were presented, Steinitz joined senior Israeli officials who in recent days began speaking about the possibility of Israeli military action, after months in which the idea had not been spoken about publicly.

Asked on Israel Radio whether Jerusalem would consider a military operation even against US opposition, Steinitz said "if we have no choice, we have no choice."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted in recent days that Israel would not feel bound by any agreement eventually signed, but Steinitz's words were the most explicit in a while that Israel had definitely not taken the military option "off the table."

"I don't want to talk about a military option, other than to say that it exists," he said. "I just want to say one thing, when we had no choice and needed to attack and destroy the reactor in Iraq [in 1981], that was against the US position."

"When talking about our national security," Steinitz continued, "it is our responsibility and duty to to defend the state, and if the world has other ideas or illusions or agreements that do not ensure our security, we will need to weigh very carefully what to do."

Steinitz said that Israel is working on the diplomat and intelligence levels, and that -- if it is necessary -- we leave the military option on the table.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Israel Hayom, Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer -- the head of the IDF Planning Directorate -- said when asked whether he could imagine a situation where Israel would bomb Iran against US wishes, that "since it happened in the past, I have no reason to believe it won't happen again."

"If ultimately an agreement is in fact signed, we will have to ask ourselves, 'Okay, what are we going to do with this?'" he said. "If someone builds a bomb and at the same time declares that Israel has no right to exist, we have to think about how to respond." He said that if Israel feels its existence depends on taking action, it will do so.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The SA Kingdom might even offer their air re-fueling services and EW.....for FREE.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 04/03/2015 8:12 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Confessions Of A US Navy EA-18G Growler Electronic Warfare Officer
Lots of fotos of pretty birds at the link. I do so luv pretty birds.
Awfully big load on a lawn dart...
Electronic warfare is one of the most important yet misunderstood components of modern air combat. Today, US Navy and Marine electronic attack squadrons are the masters of this shadowy domain. One of their most experienced Electronic Warfare Officers is here to tell you about this critical mission, their new EA-18G Growler jet and future of electronic attack.
Posted by: badanov || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Really pretty fotos, especially the Prowler/Hornet flyover of the Deception Pass Bridge...
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/03/2015 10:34 Comments || Top||


US Navy tests flying submarine drone
If that's not a contradiction in terms I don't know what is.
HMS-M2. Simply an updated variant on a much older theme.
Posted by: frozen al || 04/03/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Kids you can build one too!!
Posted by: Chuckles Shatle5927 || 04/03/2015 7:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Made in Japan
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/03/2015 10:50 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Kansas, Carry without permit
[FoxNews] Kansas to allow residents to carry concealed guns without permit
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/03/2015 07:56 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My two cents; Of course, it’s up to individual states to decide but I don’t believe mandatory CCW instruction courses are an unreasonable burden. In fact, I think they can be quite beneficial – more so in acquaintance with the laws than safety. Keep in mind these courses can hardly be considered “firearms training”. However, I don’t believe in mandatory testing as a requirement to acquire a permit.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 04/03/2015 11:02 Comments || Top||

#2  The local news actually ran a good report, suggesting people still take the class to learn the laws and take a couple instructional classes for safety.

Just kidding. They ran a hack on Govorner Brownback and showed a bunch of extras from Dukes of Hazard blasting away with shotguns and long rifles.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/03/2015 20:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Despite the fact it passed the State Congress nearly unanimously and bipartisan.

Also, recently Brownback led the way on abolishing county by county restrictions so there would be one uniform statewide understanding.

Right to Carry
Lower Taxes
Voter ID
Restructering of the Education $ Hemmorage
Right people have the blind hate

Ladies and Gentlemen - I formally rescind and apologize for my doubts of Mr. Brownback when he was considering running for President.

And any Kansans out there - go to the CC class anyways, even if you don't get a liscense. Get some professional instruction. Practice regularly, and not just range time. Practice your draw with your unloaded weapon, or better yet I hear there are replicas with the weight and a laser in the bore for trigger practice, get one of those. Practice carrying around the house before entering public to make sure everything feels right and you don't get zombie foot (dragging your foot with an ankle holster) or flash momma (showing firearm by lifting/moving arms)(probably local color descriptions).
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/03/2015 20:57 Comments || Top||

#4  First, training on trigger discipline and how to eliminate barrel sweep.

Then, I would recommend getting training on how to fight using your pistol, because given the things being said today by liberals and leftists, you're sure to need that kind of training before too long.
Posted by: badanov || 04/03/2015 21:13 Comments || Top||

#5  that's one reason to adopt a short-barrel (18") home defense 12 GA. with pistol grip. My Winchester Defender is my friend
Posted by: Frank G || 04/03/2015 21:15 Comments || Top||

#6  There is something about the KA-CHUNK sound of racking a shotgun round in that gets one's attention when facing the business end of the shotgun barrel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/03/2015 22:20 Comments || Top||


A Guy Walked Into a Muslim Bakery and Ordered a Gay Wedding Cake
[PJ Media] Is anyone surprised by this? Steven Crowder went into a bunch of Muslim bakeries in Dearborn, Michigan, and tried to order a "gay" wedding cake. Many of the bakers politely declined and sent him to other bakeries, including one man who tried to send him up the street to Kroger.

Oddly enough, we haven't seen any mainstream media reporters ambushing unsuspecting Muslim bakers and demanding in McCarthyesque fashion, "Are you now, or have you ever been a homosexual hater?"

Could it be because, as Crowder notes in the video, "You're still killed in virtually every Muslim country for being gay."
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 02:34 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, that places Muslim above Gay on the Progressive Socialist Victim Hierarchy List (VHL) of empowerment. All animals are equal, some are just more equal than others.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/03/2015 8:39 Comments || Top||

#2  I offered this example to a progressive friend yesterday to help explain the problem. He didn't appreciate it:

Suppose a gay man owned a printing business. Signs, posters, banners, that sort of thing. Quiet guy, upstanding member of the community.

Now suppose two members of the Westboro Baptist Church came to the shop and put money on the counter to order a hundred signs. The signs, of various colors, are to say, "God Hates Fags."

Now then: would the printer be required to accept the order?
Posted by: Steve White || 04/03/2015 9:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Steve, of course not. Gays are part of the protected class
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 04/03/2015 9:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Make that two Iranians come in and requests a hundred signs for a mosque celebrating the hanging of two homosexuals in Iran and it'll be closer.

I believe the Indiana law only prevents the government from compelling people to participate in religious activities they find objectionable for firmly held religious beliefs unless there is a compelling reason.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/03/2015 9:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Rambler, it isn't the gays that are protected.

It is the Christian, white, middle class that is being targeted. Everyone else is exempt.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/03/2015 10:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Again, once we reach the top, don't anybody look back! This is your last warning.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2015 10:42 Comments || Top||

#7  And, of course, Christian Man Gets Denied Service By THIRTEEN Gay Bakeries After Requesting Pro-Traditional Marriage Cake
Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp52169 || 04/03/2015 12:50 Comments || Top||

#8  Of all the religions in the world, the Left has decided to support the most hateful, violent and anti-human. That can't be coincidence. They aren't just wrong. They are as wrong as it is possible to be.
Posted by: Iblis || 04/03/2015 12:59 Comments || Top||

#9  It's easier and a whole lot safer to oppose Christianity rather than Islam.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/03/2015 13:12 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
28[untagged]
9Govt of Pakistan
6Islamic State
3Commies
3al-Shabaab
3Govt of Iraq
2Houthis
2Boko Haram
2Govt of Iran
1al-Nusra
1Gemaa Al-Islamiya
1Taliban
1al-Muhajiroun (East Africa AQ)
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Govt of Syria
1al-Qaeda
1al-Qaeda in Pakistan
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Al-Muhajiroun
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2015-04-03
  Yemen Rebels Push Deep into Hadi's Former Refuge Aden
Thu 2015-04-02
  Shabaab militants claim responsibility for Garissa University attack
Wed 2015-04-01
  Libya's Tripoli govt sacks Hassi
Tue 2015-03-31
  A deputy, a relative, an ideologue: key Houthi leaders reportedly killed
Mon 2015-03-30
  One Dead, Two Injured in Shooting at Gate of NSA HQ
Sun 2015-03-29
  Joe Biden demanded Porosheno sack Kolomoisky
Sat 2015-03-28
  Nigeria Recaptures Gwoza from Boko Haram
Fri 2015-03-27
  Egyptian navy has fired shots at Iranian warships
Thu 2015-03-26
  Yemen's Houthis take over state institutions in Aden
Wed 2015-03-25
  Unknown plane fires 3 rockets at Hadi's palace in Aden
Tue 2015-03-24
  White House: Israel's '50-year occupation' must end now
Mon 2015-03-23
  Yemeni president declares Aden provisional capital
Sun 2015-03-22
  US evacuates troops from south Yemen base
Sat 2015-03-21
  Westgate mastermind confirmed dead in Somalia airstrike
Fri 2015-03-20
  46 killed, 100 injured in suicide attacks on 2 Yemen mosques


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.
18.118.1.232
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (28)    WoT Background (24)    Opinion (1)    (0)    Politix (2)