Hi there, !
Today Tue 01/08/2013 Mon 01/07/2013 Sun 01/06/2013 Sat 01/05/2013 Fri 01/04/2013 Thu 01/03/2013 Wed 01/02/2013 Archives
Rantburg
531187 articles and 1854387 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 66 articles and 191 comments as of 23:59.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Syria jets, troops wage offensive on rebels near capital
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 19:07 tu3031 [336094] 
5 20:53 JosephMendiola [336117] 
5 21:54 Pappy [336139] 
9 19:30 USN,Ret. [336088] 
1 20:41 Redneck Jim [336115] 
7 18:51 Barbara [336080] 
0 [336084] 
4 21:00 JosephMendiola [336105] 
7 21:04 Mullah Richard [336101] 
1 08:41 JohnQC [336089] 
1 20:37 Redneck Jim [336113] 
0 [336079] 
1 09:13 Redneck Jim [336079] 
2 21:21 JosephMendiola [336096] 
0 [336081] 
0 [336081] 
7 13:01 Procopius2k [336084] 
3 17:02 CrazyFool [336085] 
0 [336084] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
3 17:09 Shipman [336094]
9 20:53 Redneck Jim [336122]
2 08:01 JohnQC [336094]
0 [336089]
0 [336091]
8 21:37 Pappy [336118]
0 [336097]
1 16:08 Redneck Jim [336095]
0 [336098]
0 [336084]
0 [336102]
1 19:57 Scooter McGruder [336148]
0 [336096]
0 [336102]
0 [336106]
0 [336096]
0 [336098]
0 [336100]
Page 2: WoT Background
1 21:37 JosephMendiola [336128]
11 21:31 JosephMendiola [336098]
2 02:40 g(r)omgoru [336081]
0 [336094]
0 [336083]
1 10:00 DepotGuy [336085]
4 21:53 JosephMendiola [336118]
0 [336087]
0 [336084]
0 [336084]
0 [336081]
0 [336081]
0 [336081]
0 [336078]
Page 4: Opinion
1 19:36 USN,Ret. [336083]
2 18:25 Perfesser [336082]
2 12:20 swksvolFF [336088]
3 21:28 JosephMendiola [336106]
1 08:58 Glenmore [336088]
0 [336082]
1 14:07 Frank G [336097]
11 21:41 Barbara [336112]
Page 6: Politix
10 17:08 bigjim-CA [336102]
14 20:27 Frank G [336121]
8 15:16 Redneck Jim [336084]
19 23:17 CrazyFool [336120]
4 13:02 swksvolFF [336085]
11 20:30 Redneck Jim [336111]
4 10:40 swksvolFF [336082]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Saudi air force sergeant charged with raping boy in Vegas
By our lights, a vicious rat who should be put down without mercy. By his, no big deal, unless the lad has powerful relatives.
Posted by: Penguin || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336105 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Alotaibi is being detained at the Clark County Detention Center in a facility segregated from the general jail population. There are no immediate plans to deport him, an official said.

But he will be returned to KSA and the entire matter forgotten about I assure you.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/05/2013 3:11 Comments || Top||

#2  From the LVRJ article on this heinous crime:

"Alotaibi told police he was drinking Hennessy all night and was drunk when he met the boy. Police said he first denied allegations but later admitted he "put his penis in his mouth for just a couple of seconds," and his penis "accidentally" went into the boy's rectum.
Posted by: Penguin || 01/05/2013 8:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Alotaibi is being detained at the Clark County Detention Center in a facility segregated from the general jail population..

The National Geographic channel ran a number of Hard Time series episodes on the CCDC. Enjoy the stay. /sarc off
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/05/2013 8:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Islam demands that Women be covered up save for the eyes, so as a consequence any + all eligible males turn to Goats, Camels, Sheep, Gay + Pedophilia, + prob a not-few-holes-in-the-wall or ground, etc. IYKWIMAITYD.

Considering how many generations have passed in the Muslim KSA, its prolly safe to say its now "genetic/natural"???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/05/2013 21:00 Comments || Top||


Photo shows unruly air passenger tied down
A passenger on an Icelandair flight was tied down by his fellow passengers after going on a rampage Thursday.

According to reports, the passenger began acting up two hours before the flight was set to land. He reportedly had been drinking heavily, and allegedly began ranting, spitting and threatening the crew before he was restrained.

Andy Ellwood, a contributor with Forbes, was aboard the flight and posted a photo to his Tumblr account which quickly went viral.

The passenger was escorted off the flight when it landed at JFK.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336101 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Southwest Air passengers were less kind in a similar situation - sat on the guy and he died.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/05/2013 8:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Any irony points of a raving drunk landing at Kennedy airport?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/05/2013 10:18 Comments || Top||

#3  I do not tolerate that kind of behavior on my plane..................
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/05/2013 14:45 Comments || Top||

#4  And unlike most airlines, the pilot on AP Airlines is very well armed and able to enforce order.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/05/2013 16:16 Comments || Top||

#5  And fond of impomtu aerobatics?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/05/2013 17:45 Comments || Top||

#6  Any irony points of a raving drunk landing at Kennedy airport?

La Guardia has had better success with 'water landings'.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/05/2013 18:06 Comments || Top||

#7  Was a little saddened when I saw the Tumblr photo.

They probably would never let me take my personal (and very special) duct tape stash on-board here.

Even if I bagged it separately.

Wonder what the housing costs are in Reykjavik.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/05/2013 21:04 Comments || Top||


Accused kidnapper, pimp goes free as prosecutors fume
[SEATTLEPI] As police search for his co-defendant, a 28-year-old man charged with kidnapping, robbery and attempted human trafficking was cut loose after his arrest in a move prosecutors in Seattle describe as troubling.

King County prosecutors contend the men planned to take a 22-year-old woman to Las Vegas and force her to work as a prostitute, or kill her if she refused to cooperate. The young woman apparently ended up at a home with one of the men -- both of whom were strangers to her -- after blacking out at a Pioneer Square bar the night before.

The pair's alleged victim suffered a severe head injury after diving from a speeding car to escape them, according to charging documents.

Defendant Randy L. Stevens didn't have to risk anything to get out of jail following his arrest earlier this week. Over strenuous objections from prosecutors, King County Superior Court Judge Theresa Doyle on Wednesday freed Stevens without requiring that he even post bond.
In Chicago, home of Operation Greylord, we'd know exactly what this was all about...
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Was he the son of a prominant doctor?

Just a tad misunderstood but misses his momma?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/05/2013 12:37 Comments || Top||

#2  The way people are chattering online these days the term "Hanging Judge" may take on a whole new meaning.
Posted by: Vortigern Hupoluse1541 || 01/05/2013 15:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Read the article. These two are very likely to look up the victim and attempt to kill her. They have her address. According to the article there was no reason for the Judge to be so lenient. (To be in a work-release program - which hasn't started yet? BS!)
If she does get killed for this the judge really should be charged as an accessory to murder.

While prosecutors asked that Stevens at least be made to put up bond money to ensure his return to court, Doyle ordered him freed without posting bail to participate in work release. Court documents indicate Stevens isn’t expected to show up to work until mid-January, but was released immediately.

It's almost as if the Judge wants the victim to be killed....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/05/2013 17:02 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Pair of Breast Implants Left at Hotel Chain
Hotel staff must find any number of strange things left behind in vacated hotel rooms, but this might be the weirdest yet.

Travelodge says staff found a pair of breast implants left behind at the Newcastle Central location in Britain sometime during 2012. Also on its list of odd items left behind are several animals, expensive jewelry and a tanning booth.

One woman staying near Birmingham airport left behind a Persian Chinchilla kitten named Porsha who was due to participate in a cat show. Travelodge said the owner was "in such a dash to get to the show she forgot the cat box containing Porsha."

"En route to the venue she realized as the car journey was very quiet. Luckily Porsha was having a nap and did not realize that her owner had left her behind."

A bucket of live crabs was abandoned in Brighton, a python named Monty was left in Bristol, and Percy the micro pig was also forgotten.

"Our lost and found departments provide plenty of revelations," a Travelodge spokesman told the Daily Mail. "'Our customers' left-behinds demonstrate what a cross section of people stay in our 527 hotels."

"What is becoming evident after speaking to customers is that the pace of life has become so fast and we are so eager to get from A to B that priceless processions are easily being forgotten."

The hotel chain said the most common items left behind are teddy bears, gadget chargers and more than 20,000 books, including more than 7,000 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. More than 76,000 teddy bears were reunited with their owners in 2012.

Travelodge holds items for three months before donating them to Cancer Research charity shops.
Posted by: Au Auric || 01/05/2013 11:45 || Comments || Link || [336117 views] Top|| File under:

#1  more than 7,000 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey.

WTF?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/05/2013 17:47 Comments || Top||

#2  7,000 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey.

That's 35% of all books left behind. Usually found in the trash after the guest read the 1st chapter.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 01/05/2013 18:23 Comments || Top||

#3  one word: "handcuffs"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/05/2013 18:54 Comments || Top||

#4  What happens in Travelodge, stays in Travelodge...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/05/2013 19:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Yokay, I'll say it - EEEEEEWWWWWWWW!

This is one of those thingys where the less we know the better.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/05/2013 20:53 Comments || Top||


Patent troll lawyers now going after users of most modern technologies
When Steven Vicinanza got a letter from an entity called Project Paperless LLC in the mail earlier this year informing him that he needed to pay $1,000 per employee for a license to some "distributed computer architecture" patents, he didn't quite believe it at first. The letter seemed to be saying anyone using a modern office scanner to scan documents to e-mail would have to pay--which is to say, just about any business, period.

If he'd paid up, the IT services provider that Vicinanza founded, BlueWave Computing, would have owed $130,000.

The letters, he soon found out, were indeed real and quite serious--he wasn't the only person getting them.

Vicinanza soon got in touch with the attorney representing Project Paperless: Steven Hill, a partner at Hill, Kertscher & Wharton, an Atlanta law firm.

"[Hill] was very cordial and very nice," he told Ars. "He said, if you hook up a scanner and e-mail a PDF document--we have a patent that covers that as a process."

It didn't seem credible that Hill was demanding money for just using basic office equipment exactly the way it was intended to be used. So Vicinanza clarified:

"So you're claiming anyone on a network with a scanner owes you a license?" asked Vicinanza. "He said, 'Yes, that's correct.' And at that point, I just lost it."
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 01/05/2013 09:55 || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Give them an inch... mpaa, riaa
and this is the result.
Posted by: Water Modem || 01/05/2013 13:19 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm reminded of the old lawyer joke about "What is 200 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? Answer, a good start. May these bastards roast in HELL.
Posted by: Past Master of the Obvious || 01/05/2013 13:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Perps heads on a pike would be a good start with photos in prime hallways in our nation's law schools.
Posted by: Water Modem || 01/05/2013 14:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Wonder if they've been stupid enough to send one of those letters to a large law firm?

Hilarity would ensue. :-D
Posted by: Barbara || 01/05/2013 14:14 Comments || Top||

#5  The US Patent Office enabled a lot of this nonsense when they started granting patents on business methods. Before that, you had to have an actual physical machine. Afterwards, you just needed to append "on the Internet" to your lame-ass business plan.

Patenting a scanner is one thing. Trying to patent the idea of sending the scanned file via email should fail the obviousness test and get you tossed down the stairs.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/05/2013 14:29 Comments || Top||

#6  I'd love to see some of our patent and IP attorneys answer that letter they're sending. :-D

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure they'll never send us one ....
Posted by: Barbara || 01/05/2013 16:34 Comments || Top||

#7  Another lawyer joke:

What is a shame?

A busload of lawyers going over a cliff!

What is a crying shame?

Two of the seats are empty!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/05/2013 16:45 Comments || Top||

#8  During the mid-1980s dairy farmers decided there was too much cheap milk at the supermarket. So the government bought and slaughtered 1.6 million cows. How come the government never does anything like this with lawyers?

P.J. O'Rourke
Posted by: Beavis || 01/05/2013 17:01 Comments || Top||

#9  Q: During the mid-1980s dairy farmers decided there was too much cheap milk at the supermarket. So the government bought and slaughtered 1.6 million cows. How come the government never does anything like this with lawyers?

A: Ever see a cheap lawyer (as in the bill?)
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 01/05/2013 19:30 Comments || Top||


Illinois Police Lift Ban on Denny's
[RADIO.FOX NEWS]
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336084 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hell what's not to like about armed coppers in an all night eatery?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/05/2013 5:56 Comments || Top||

#2  The manager's action is like posting a big sign to the miscreants that the Denny's ATM was open for service. I wouldn't want to be an officer sitting unarmed in a place that the armed criminal element, knowing I was unarmed, could get free shots off. Maybe Corporate is more than a little nervous for good reason.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/05/2013 8:29 Comments || Top||

#3  And Denny's quite unexpectedly added ‘Buy one Bear Claw get one Free’ to their monthly special.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 01/05/2013 9:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Crime stats for 'Waffle House' are quite low. Perhaps there is a reason.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/05/2013 9:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Generally, owners like police on the premises. "When seconds count, the police are minutes away already there."
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/05/2013 9:44 Comments || Top||

#6  Never did hear what the official chain/specific restaurant policy was. If they had a sign which said no weapons, then no weapons.

I've been to that restaurant at that time where everyone is so fubar'd police would be a distraction to business.

If its store policy its store policy, police should not be above the law. If the manager was being an ass, fire the ass.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/05/2013 12:11 Comments || Top||

#7  ...in the text of the posting -

On Thursday a Denny’s official met with the police department and offered an apology for the actions taken by the local restaurant’s management. Denny’s reiterated their corporate policy allows all law enforcement officers to carry their weapons while inside their restaurants.

If you click on the second link on my first comment, you'll see corporate is facing a civil lawsuit for not providing adequate security in another situation. I suspect that a jury in such a case being told that corporate took the position of the manager would find its profits hit with something more than a little speed bump.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/05/2013 13:01 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
7.7 quake off of Alaska coast
Posted by: ryuge || 01/05/2013 05:10 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Way down in southern Alaska, and tsunami warning has been canceled, so our Alaska Paul should be fine. It just loaded up the system for the next one to the north or south.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/05/2013 8:17 Comments || Top||

#2  so our Alaska Paul should be fine.

relatively speaking, of course :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 01/05/2013 13:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Heh, #2 Frank. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 01/05/2013 14:01 Comments || Top||

#4  ***climbing out of the rubble and fallen logs***

I..I...I'm ok..... Must have been another one of Gaia's psychotic episodes....

Hey!!!! The 'Burg's still on. Life is good.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/05/2013 14:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Heh heh, AP.

Thought of you when I first saw the huge headline on (wait for it) the Weather Channel website.

When did earthquakes become weather, fercryin'outloud?
Posted by: Barbara || 01/05/2013 16:37 Comments || Top||

#6  Barbara, when Al Gore determined that they were caused by global warming.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 01/05/2013 17:28 Comments || Top||

#7  AlBore is an IDIOT, Rambler.

But you knew that . . . .
Posted by: Barbara || 01/05/2013 18:51 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Tunisia President ex-Aide Gets Heavier Term on Appeal
[An Nahar] A Tunisian military appeals court on Friday handed down a heavier one-year suspended prison term to a former aide of President Moncef Marzouki for defaming the military, his lawyer said.

Ayoub Messoudi, 33, was earlier given a four-month suspended term on charges of "defaming" the army and "undermining bigwigs in the military," lawyer Leila Haddad told AFP.

The court also banned him from carrying a weapon, holding any title or working in the public sector, Haddad said, denouncing the prosecution as a "political trial of a child of the revolution."

Messoudi was indicted after a complaint from the chief of defense staff, Rachid Ammar, and Defense Minister Abdelkarim Zbidi.

On July 15 last year, Messoudi during a television broadcast accused General Ammar and Zbidi of "state treason" for not having informed the president about the extradition to Libya of former Libyan premier Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi.

The extradition was decided by Islamist premier Hamadi Jebali despite opposition from Marzouki, who feared the Libyan my face abuse after being returned to his country.

At Friday's hearing Anas Mnasser, counsel for the plaintiffs, severely criticized Messoudi, an AFP journalist said.

But another defense lawyer, Anwar Basti, said his client was a victim of a "political Dire Revenge™" at "this unfair trial where the military is both the judge and a party," for having expressed his opinion freely.

Messoudi recently complained that he had been forbidden to go to his family in La Belle France, despite a travel ban being lifted, and had also alleged he was under pressure to retract his comments.
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336113 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  You fight, You lose.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/05/2013 20:37 Comments || Top||


Morocco opposition MP faces corruption charges
[MAGHAREBIA] Moroccan judicial police tossed in the slammer
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
a parliamentarian on corruption charges, Yabilidi reported on Friday (January 4th).

Mohamed Lahssaini, a House of Counsellors representative from opposition party Constitutional Union (UC) and Sidi Yahya El Gharb municipal council chief, was arrested in Kenitra on Wednesday after a local contractor accused him of blackmail.
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
DR Congo's M23 Rebels Arrive for Peace Talks
[An Nahar] The Democratic Republic of the Congo
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo or Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principal industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
's M23 rebels arrived in the Ugandan capital Friday to resume peace talks with the Congolese government, officials said.

"The delegation has now arrived in Kampala," said M23 delegation front man Bertrand Bisimwa. "We are ready and are waiting for the program for the negotiation from the mediator."

A Congolese government delegation had already arrived in Uganda, although there was no clear indication of when talks would resume.

The rebels, army mutineers largely from the ethnic Tutsi community, staged a lightning advance in November through DR Congo's mineral-rich and chronically unstable east, raising fears of a widespread conflict and humanitarian emergency.

Although they were persuaded to withdraw from the key eastern city of Goma after a 12-day occupation, they still control large stretches of territory.

Almost two weeks of talks in December ended without even an agreement on the agenda for the negotiations, with the rebels issuing a raft of demands, including a call for major political reform for the war-weary region.

Uganda is hosting the talks, despite accusations that it -- alongside Rwanda -- have backed the fighters, claims that both countries have strongly denied
No, no! Certainly not!
Ugandan defense ministry front man Paddy Ankunda confirmed the government delegation had arrived, and said it was possible talks could start on Saturday.
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under:


Central Africa Peace Hopes Hit as Rebels Say Unaware of Talks
[An Nahar] Hopes that the conflict in the Central African Republic might be resolved through negotiation took a hit Friday when rebels said they were not informed about peace talks supposed to be taking place next week.

The rebels also repeated that any peace deal must include the departure of President Francois Bozize -- a demand flatly rejected by the office of the president, who came to power in the desperately poor, landlocked nation after a coup.

Regional grouping the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) is hoping to host peace talks involving the rebels and Bozize's government in Gabon from Tuesday.

But Eric Massi, a front man for the rebels, said from Gay Paree that they had not been informed about the initiative.

"I'm not aware of that. This is the first I've heard of it. It's incredible," Massi told AFP.

His comments contradicted claims by CEEAC officials that the rebels had agreed to the talks in Libreville.

A CEEAC source earlier told AFP that a delegation from the Seleka coalition of three rebel groups -- supposedly including Massi -- would arrive in Libreville on Sunday ahead of the planned meeting with representatives of the Central African Republic (CAR) government.

The official said General Guy-Pierre Garcia, the deputy secretary general of the CEEAC, had been in contact with the rebels.

"Their leader Michel Djotodia made the decision," he said.

Massi rejected that claim: "I spoke to Michel (Djotodia) this morning by telephone and he did not speak to me about that.

"I can't see what we are going to negotiate in Libreville if it is not Bozize's departure."
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Standard ploy,"We haven't heard of it",
Yeah sure.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/05/2013 9:13 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Thousands stranded by Tasmanian wildfires
Posted by: ryuge || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336084 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Wiesenthal list causes hand-wringing in Germany
The Wiesenthal Center has included a major German publisher on its 2012 list of leading anti-Semites alongside the Muslim Brotherhood and Ahmadinejad. His writings have been ignorant left-wing nonsense highly critical of Israel, but how far is too far?
This hits the writer especially hard because the gentleman in question is, among other things, a Der Spiegel columnist and son of the magazine's founder.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Louis Farrakhan? Shocking (sarc). Farrakhan was (is?) a supporter of Obama. Farrakhan received a lifetime achievement award from Rev. Wright's church Link
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/05/2013 8:41 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
9-year-old girl gangraped in Pakistan
Lahore, Jan 4 (PTI) A nine-year-old girl was in a critical condition in hospital after being raped by three men in Pakistan's Punjab province, police said.

The girl was taken to a hospital in Bahawalpur after being raped on Wednesday. Doctors treating her said she was in a critical condition because of loss of blood and internal injuries.
No doubt she deserved it because she was making herself available by venturing outside her home, or because a relative had had annoyed someone more powerful, or because she was Christian/Ahmadi/Shiite/Hindu, or because it was Wednesday, which always disorders succeptible male minds.
A medico-legal report confirmed the rape. Police registered a case against seven people for kidnap and rape.
Can we just nuke these savages?
Posted by: Beavis || 01/05/2013 11:58 || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under:

#1  More of that Jew killing Muslim dogma set down in the Sharia.

Quarantine or cauterize.
Posted by: AlanC || 01/05/2013 13:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Nine years old? She was practically an old maid by Shariah reckoning
Posted by: Frank G || 01/05/2013 13:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Forget the Terrorists. This is where it starts, send the freagin Predators after these Abominations.
Posted by: Charles || 01/05/2013 14:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Hey, can't let them Hindoos one up them...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/05/2013 19:07 Comments || Top||


Retraction of abduction charge: Chitrali girl allowed to go with father-in-law
[Dawn] A Chitrali girl, who remained at a centre of a controversy between inhabitants of two neighbouring districts of Chitral and Upper Dir, was allowed by a single-member Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
High Court bench on Thursday to go with her father-in-law after she retracted from her earlier statement of charging her husband with kidnapping her.

Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan asked the girl to go with her father-in-law, Nowsherwan, who was present in the courtroom, and warned her maternal uncles against harming her.

The development came during the hearing into an application filed on behalf of the girl, Zeenat, with a request to the court for transferring the case about her kidnapping from Dir Upper district to Chitral for security reasons.

Husband of the girl, Khursheed Khan, from Dir Upper, has been behind the bars after her was tossed in the slammer
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
on the charges of kidnapping the girl for the purpose of marriage and has been undergoing trial for the said offence before a court in Upper Dir.

When the chief justice heard initial arguments of the counsel for the applicant, he observed that being a woman, it was difficult for her to travel to Upper Dir from Chitral and therefore, it would be appropriate to shift the case to Chitral.

When the chief justice started dictating the order sheet, the girl stood in her seat and said she did not want to go with her uncles
and she might be allowed to return back to the residence of her husband.

She said earlier, she had given statement to the court regarding her kidnapping by her husband under duress as demonstrations were frequently held in Chitral and she feared that those demonstrations might result in law and order situation.

Ms Zeenat said she was never kidnapped by Khursheed and in fact she had entered into wedlock with him with her free will.

She added that in her nikkah certificate, she had also accepted five tolas of gold ornaments as dower offered by her husband. She requested the bench to allow her to go with her father-in-law instead of transferring the case to Chitral.

The bench while allowing her to go with her father-in-law also directed the district police officer of Upper Dir to provide her security whenever she had to go to the court for the trial.

Maternal uncles of the girl expressed reservations about the court's order and told news hounds that they had come to the court for transferring trial to Chitral and instead the girl had gone with the rival group which might result in unrest in the district.

The girl had gone missing in June last year and was recovered after a few days following protest demonstrations staged by residents of Chitral.
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Kohistan video scam claims three lives
[Dawn] A tribal feud, which had started after the Kohistan
...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns....
video scam in June 2012, on January 4 claimed three lives while five women have been injured as rivals attacked the relatives of , the main player in the scam, who allegedly had distributed the video of rival tribes women showing them dancing and clapping with boys.

District Police Officer Kohistan Akbar Ahmed Khan confirmed that the clash has claimed three lives while one inured person has been shifted to the Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu
...a legal term, from the Latin. Roughly translated it means I saw what you did, you bastard...
notice of the alleged killing of the case and women rights activists led by Farzana Bari were sent to Kohistan to verify if the girls appearing in the video were alive or not.

The SC later withdrew the suo moto after the commission confirmed that they had met the girls appearing in the video.

The clash which took place at Palas village of Kohistan had left Afzal Khohistani three brothers Shah Faisal, Sher Wali Rafiuddin while his cousin Bin Yamin has been injured and shifted to the AMC for treatment.

Afzal Kohistani speaking to Dawn.Com alleged that the Azad Khel Tribe had attacked their tribe's houses and besides killing his three brothers and a cousin, had also injured five women including his sisters, sister-in-law and mother.
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336084 views] Top|| File under:


Olde Tyme Religion
Church allows gay bishops who take a vow of celibacy
[MORNING STAR ONLINE.CO.UK] You can be gay and lead the Church of England so long as you don't have sex with men, according to the Church of England's House of Bishops.
If you're celibate you're not gay, are you? You're celibate.
In a historic yet bizarre reversal of its ban on gay clergy, bishops said today they would allow gay clergy - even those in a civil partnership - to become bishops as long as they also took a vow of celibacy.

The church's ruling on same-sex relationships insisted "the clergy cannot claim the liberty to enter into sexually active homophile relationships."

The distinction stems from church teaching that civil partnerships are "friendships" between people of the same sex rather than a romance.

Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him...
straight bishops would remain free to consummate relationships with their partners.
That sounds like enough lack of equivalence to be sure it's modified in a few years, kinda like "don't ask, don't tell." That's probably the next step, in fact.
The decision follows a controversial decision by the General Synod in November upholding the church's ban on women bishops.
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 09:55 || Comments || Link || [336115 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Waste of a Vow, they allready Lied once, another can't be all That bad.

"Thou shalt NOT lie with Men".
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/05/2013 20:41 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Construction is complete on behemoth airship; first flight planned
A massive cargo-carrying airship has taken shape inside one of the 17-story wooden blimp hangars at the former military base in Tustin.

According to aircraft maker Worldwide Aeros Corp., construction is complete on a 36,000-pound blimp-like aircraft designed for the military to carry tons of cargo to remote areas around the world.

The Montebello company hopes to have a first flight in the coming months and to demonstrate cargo-carrying capability shortly thereafter.

"This is truly the beginning of a vertical global transportation solution for perhaps the next 100 years,” Chief Executive Igor Pasternak said in a statement.

Worldwide Aeros, a company of about 100 employees, built the prototype under a contract of about $35 million from the Pentagon and NASA.

The Aeroscraft is a zeppelin with a 230-foot rigid skeleton made of aluminum and carbon fiber. It's a new type of hybrid aircraft that combines airplane and airship technologies and doesn't need a long runway to take off or land because it has piston engines that allow it to move vertically and a new high-tech buoyancy control system.

Ultimately, the company wants to be able to carry up to 66 tons.

"This will land in Africa, Afghanistan," Pasternak told The Times in September, "a Wal-Mart parking lot -- wherever."
Posted by: Beavis || 01/05/2013 10:02 || Comments || Link || [336139 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I don't think I would fly that giant target over Afghanistan.....just sayin'.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/05/2013 14:59 Comments || Top||

#2  and the first new CD/DVD set from Led Zeppelin's 2007 reunion concert is released. Coincidence? I think not
Posted by: Frank G || 01/05/2013 16:30 Comments || Top||

#3  I just like the idea of an airship landing at WalMart. I mean, I'd forego Amazon for a week to see that.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/05/2013 17:51 Comments || Top||

#4  Seems they haven't heard of the Hindenburg, one hole, and she sinks.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/05/2013 20:44 Comments || Top||

#5  Airship designs generally call for several 'bags', or separate air chambers, so that it is still airworthy should there be a "hole".

The Hindenberg burned due to its carrying hydrogen instead of helium.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/05/2013 21:54 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Drug-Fueled Gunman Kills Seven in Philippines
[An Nahar] A gunman with a semi-automatic pistol killed seven people and maimed 11 others during a drug-fueled rampage in a slum near the Philippine capital on Friday, authorities said.

The ordeal, which ended when police shot the assailant dead, again raised concerns about the country's lax gun controls after the week began with two children dying from bullets fired by revelers to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Two girls, aged three and seven, as well as a pregnant woman, were among the seven confirmed fatalities in Friday's rampage, according to police in Kawit town on the outskirts of Manila where the killings occurred.

"It was random. He would fire at anybody who crossed his path," Kawit police investigating officer Arnulfo Lopez told Agence La Belle France Presse, adding the shooting spree lasted for about half an hour.

Residents of the rundown town hid in their homes and gardens as the man, a former low-level local politician named Ronaldo Bae, roamed through narrow streets and a market firing what police said was a .45 semi-automatic pistol.
When I was a young fellow there were two major groups of pistols: revolvers and automatics. I'm kinda hazy on the definition of a "semi-automatic." Is it to pistols what beefalo are to buffalo? Or jackalopes are to antelopes?
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336096 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Note, the press is quiet.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/05/2013 20:45 Comments || Top||

#2  I have to wonder iff this is possibly a copycat crime given the post-Newtown, CT gun control controversy in the USA???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/05/2013 21:21 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
41[untagged]
6Govt of Pakistan
5Govt of Syria
4TTP
3al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Ansar Dine
1Hamas
1Jemaah Islamiyah
1Arab Spring
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Tablighi Jamaat
1Lashkar-e-Islami

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
Sat 2013-01-05
  Syria jets, troops wage offensive on rebels near capital
Fri 2013-01-04
  New U.S. Drone Strike Kills Three Qaida Suspects in Yemen
Thu 2013-01-03
  Iran to Citizens: Flee Isfahan
Wed 2013-01-02
  Fourteen Killed as Nigerian Troops Clash with Islamists
Tue 2013-01-01
  Pakistan: Six charity workers shot dead
Mon 2012-12-31
  Qaeda in Yemen offers bounty for killing US ambassador, troops
Sun 2012-12-30
  Pakistan reports 21 tribal policemen kidnapped, found dead
Sat 2012-12-29
  At Least 15 Killed in Sect Attack in North Nigeria
Fri 2012-12-28
  Militants kill two, kidnap 22 Pakistani soldiers
Thu 2012-12-27
  Somalia sets 100 days for Al Shabab militants to surrender
Wed 2012-12-26
  6 Killed in Attack on Nigerian Church
Tue 2012-12-25
  Drone Strikes Kill Six Qaida Suspects in Yemen
Mon 2012-12-24
  Tunisia arrests 16 al-Qaeda suspects
Sun 2012-12-23
  Egypt vice-president resigns on final day of referendum
Sat 2012-12-22
  Scuds pummel Syrian rebel positions

Better than the average link...



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.
54.221.159.188
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (18)    WoT Background (14)    Opinion (8)    (0)    Politix (7)