On this day in history: April 13th
1742 Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere.
1861 American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
1902 James C. Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
1941 Pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
1943 James Boarman, Fred Hunter, Harold Brest and Floyd G. Hamilton take part in an Alcatraz escape attempt.
1943 The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth.
1948 The Hadassah medical convoy massacre: In an ambush, 79 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital and a British soldier are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarra near Jerusalem. (Lions of Islam)
1970 An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon.
1997 Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win golf's Masters Tournament.
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - Two armed men on motorbikes gunned down a woman provincial legislator in Afghanistans volatile southern city of Kandahar on Sunday, an official said. Sitara Achikzai was on her way home from work when she was killed in the drive-by shooting outside her house, the head of the council, Ahmad Wali Karzai told AFP.
She has been martyred by two men on motorbikes and the case is under investigation, said Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai.
He blamed the attack on enemies of Afghanistan, a term often used to refer to Islamist Taliban insurgents behind a wave of killings, including assassinations, as part of an insurgency. There was however no immediate claim of responsibility.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
That means, what, they get 78 white mice instead of 72? Allah has SUCH a sense of humor.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/13/2009 15:29 Comments ||
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The coalition forces killed 40 Taliban in separate battles in the troubled country, authorities said on Sunday.
In one incident, the Taliban ambushed a joint Afghan and foreign forces patrol in the Shinkay district of Zabul province, late on Saturday, which sparked an exchange of gunfire, Zabul Police chief Abdul Rehman Sarjang told AFP.
"Twenty-two Taliban were killed. The militants left the bodies behind. Four are Pakistani nationals and the rest are Afghans," he said. Sarjang added that the international forces called for air support after the ambush. There were no casualties to the joint forces, he said.
Separately, troops killed 18 insurgents in the northeastern province of Kunar overnight, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. The Afghan and ISAF forces had been able to identify the group as Taliban and ambushed them, an officer said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
they have really been laying the talibunnies too rest here lately i hope these rates keep up for along time
Posted by: Dave UK ||
04/13/2009 13:41 Comments ||
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#3
In one incident, the Taliban ambushed a joint Afghan and foreign forces patrol ... Twenty-two Taliban were killed. The militants left the bodies behind. Four are Pakistani nationals and the rest are Afghans ... There were no casualties to the joint forces, he said."
Has there ever been a more incompetent fighting force than the Taliban? They can't inflict even one casualty, in an ambush situation they set up to their best advantage. And this is the norm, not a one-off. If we fail in Afghanistan it could only ever be down to politicians' failure.
#5
Bulldog,
They are not very competent at ambushing trained military units but they do very well at gunning down undefended civilians at their homes. So, depending on the desired strategy, they are a very competent foe.
Islamist insurgents fired mortars towards U.S. congressman Donald Payne as he left Somalia after a rare visit by a U.S. official to the anarchic country, police said. Somalia's capital Mogadishu is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. U.S. officials have avoided travel to the battle-scarred city due to constant fighting between factions there. Props to Payne for going there to take a first-hand look.
"One mortar landed at the airport when Payne's plane was due to fly and five others after he left and no one was hurt," Abukar Hassan, a police officer at Mogadishu airport, told Reuters. Residents said three people were wounded when one of the mortars hit a nearby neighbourhood.
Somali officials said Payne had held meetings with the interim government's president and prime minister during his short visit. African Union soldiers on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia provided security for Payne.
Payne, 74, a New Jersey Democrat, is in his 10th term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was first elected in 1988. He is chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
Jendayi Frazer, then top U.S. diplomat for Africa, became the first high-ranking U.S. official to visit Somalia in more than a decade when she landed in Baidoa in April 2007. She avoided Mogadishu because of violence there, preferring to meet officials in the provincial town of Baidoa that was then the seat of the Somali parliament.
Payne criticised Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in late 2006, when Addis Ababa sent thousands of troops to crush an Islamist movement that had taken control of much of the south. That attack ousted Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, then an Islamist leader in Mogadishu and now president of the government.
U.S. foreign policy toward the Horn of Africa nation has been haunted by a disastrous battle in Mogadishu in 1993 that killed 18 U.S. soldiers.
#1
Payne criticised Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in late 2006, when Addis Ababa sent thousands of troops to crush an Islamist movement that had taken control of much of the south.
Looks like the bozo was given a hot warm welcome by his beloved "insurgents" despite siding with them.
#4
At age 74 he's a 'tweener' - a bit young for Korea and old for Vietnam, but somehow it seems he has the right stuff. Certainly one of the few respectable members of the Black Caucus.
#5
REDDIT > despite the Philipps rescue, it seems the PIR-I-I-ITES still hold apporxi 18 foreign vessels, including five taken just this week, + 250 hostages. NO SIGN THEY INTEND TO STOP A'PIRATIN!
#6
hey rantyes, such a crying bitches you all sound. you fags are the shit of America did you have your ass kick in your youth that now cluster together in this imbeciles blog
All of you are just conservative crying frustrated bitches
Carried forward from yesterday for commentary and further detail. Who's got the odds on how long until somebody tells us we didn't have to kill the pirates and demands the captain be taken to the International Criminal Court? [Al Arabiya Latest] United States cargo ship captain Richard Phillips has been freed from captivity at the hands of Somali pirates who had held him hostage on a lifeboat after trying to seize his vessel, the U.S. navy said on Sunday. "I can confirm that Captain Phillips has been safely recovered," said spokeswoman Laura Tischler, without providing additional details on the operation. A U.S. Navy spokesman, Lieutenant Commander John Daniels, also confirmed to AFP that Phillips had been freed.
CNN television, citing a senior US official, reported that three of the four pirates holding Phillips were killed, and the fourth pirate was in custody.
Maritime sources in Kenya and Somalia did not confirm the report of Phillips' release, which appeared to end a five-day high seas standoff between the Somali gunmen and U.S. forces.
"The captain is a hero"
Phillips, 53, is the first American taken captive by Somali pirate gangs who have marauded in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean shipping lanes for years. Three U.S. warships were watching the situation.
The U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship was attacked far out in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, but its 20 American crew apparently fought off the pirates and regained control. Relatives said Phillips volunteered to go with the pirates in a Maersk Alabama lifeboat in exchange for the crew. "The captain is a hero," one crew member shouted from the 17,000-ton ship as it docked in Kenya's Mombasa port under darkness on Saturday. "He saved our lives by giving himself up."
Experts had expected a quick end to the standoff, but the pirates were holding out for both a ransom and safe passage home.
The saga has thrown world attention on the long-running piracy phenomenon off Somalia that has hiked shipping insurance costs and disrupted international trade.
America investigates
The standoff has forced U.S. President Barack Obama to focus on a place most Americans would rather forget. A U.S. intervention in Somalia in the early 1990s was a disaster, including the "Black Hawk Down" battle in 1993 that killed 18 U.S. troops and inspired a book and a movie. A White House spokesman said Obama received multiple updates on the piracy situation on Saturday.
John Reinhart, president and chief executive of Maersk Line Ltd, said the FBI was investigating the hijacking in Kenya. "Because of the pirate attack, the FBI has informed us that this ship is a crime scene," he told reporters, adding that the crew will have to stay on board the vessel. It was still not clear how the crew retook control of their vessel, which was carrying thousands of tons of food aid for Somalia, Uganda and Kenya.
A mediator is sent
Somali elders sent a mediator on Saturday in hopes of resolving the standoff between the U.S. Navy and the pirates holding Phillips, a 53-year-old Vermont father of two. "They are just looking to arrange safe passage for the pirates, no ransom," said Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of a regional group that monitors piracy. Remember, Andy's been jugged at least once in the past year for his association with pirates...
The mediator took to sea in a boat but it was unclear how he planned to reach the pirates.
The gang holding Phillips remained defiant. "We will defend ourselves if attacked," one told media by satellite phone. Now he can show us how he defended himself against a ventilated head.
Pirates are keeping about 17 captured vessels on Somalia's eastern coast, six of them taken in the last week alone.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
...I've seen at least a couple stories on FoxNews and CNN that said we intercepted communications between these morons and the local Al-Queda franchise. The pirates never had any intention of 'negotiating' with us - they were trying to drag it out long enough for them to get Phillips ashore and hand him over. I'd like to think that once Bambi heard that, he knew he was gonna be Carter II with a double shot of yellow ribbons if he didn't do something.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/13/2009 5:51 Comments ||
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#2
I suspect the operatonal summary and lessons learned would make very interesting reading. It would appear that the wisdom and advice of National Security Advisor General James Jones and General Petraeus eventually prevailed.
#3
If violence escalates should the Republicans take the same aproach as did the Demo with Iraq and GWOT and politicize Obama's shoot orders and hammer him all the way (like they did with Bush)?
#5
the greatest thing i read, besides him being freed unhurt, was that the three pirates where taken out with heaadshots from the snipers. I bet the rest really shit their pants when they saw they where actually up against ppl that can actually aim a weapon and hit the target
Posted by: Dave UK ||
04/13/2009 13:44 Comments ||
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#10
NOW is the time to gas up every B-52/B-1/B2 that will fly, and send them over Eyl and the other pirate ports with every iron bomb they can carry. I'm sure that will send a very clear message, "Don't mess with the U.S.". The French are doing ok, but the rest of the world needs to get a move on.
As for the ICC, a Tomahawk missile through the right window would do the trick, even without a warhead. ANY government, and the ICC is at least a part of a government, that operates without the consent of the people is a tyranny, no matter how much it's dressed up to look like something else.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/13/2009 15:49 Comments ||
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#11
I for one am glad he finally got some blood on his hands. Welcome to the real world of consequences.
#12
hey rantyes, such a crying bitches you all sound. you fags are the shit of America did you have your ass kick in your youth that now cluster together in this imbeciles blog
All of you are just conservative crying frustrated bitches
Somali pirates threatened revenge on Sunday after two separate hostage-rescue raids by foreign forces killed at least five comrades, raising fears of future bloodshed on the high seas.
The latest raid by U.S. forces on Sunday that saved an American hostage and one by France last week have upped the stakes in shipping lanes off the anarchic Horn of Africa nation where buccaneers have defied foreign naval patrols.
"The French and the Americans will regret starting this killing. We do not kill, but take only ransom. We shall do something to anyone we see as French or American from now," Hussein, a pirate, told Reuters by satellite phone. "We cannot know how or whether our friends on the lifeboat died, but this will not stop us from hijacking," he said.
Sea gangs generally treat their captives well, hoping to fetch top dollar in ransoms. The worst violence has been an occasional beating.
"We shall revenge," said another pirate, Aden, in Eyl village, a pirate lair on Somalia's eastern coast.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
To risk Dire Revenge™ by killing pirates, or to encourage every jackass with an AK and a canoe to become a pirate by paying outlandish ransom demands...
Yeah, that's pretty much a no-brainer.
Posted by: Dar ||
04/13/2009 1:02 Comments ||
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#2
ION WORLD MIL FORUM [GOOGLE Chinglish transl.] > IIUC TIMES OF INDIA:BEIJING ASKS PAKISTAN TO HELP CRACKDOWN ON PAKISTAN-BASED/TRAINED ISLAMIST MILITANTS SUPPORTING XINJIANG [China] SEPARATISM. China's view is that the Xinjiang "Rebels" whom are fomenting escalating pro-Islamist/Muslim etyhnic unrest in Xinjiang = Western China are mostly trained and come via Pakistan.
#4
Excellent... alongside the good precedents set by France and the US this weekend, this pirate rhetoric makes killing them on site all the more likely.
#5
The one surviving pirates was stabbed with an ice pick, beaten up by sailors, tied up for 12 hours, in a stupid rowboat for days in 120 degree oven temperatures, & was captured, only to face life imprisonment in the
#7
MOGADISHU, Somalia A Mogadishu airport staff member says mortar shells were fired toward the airport as a plane carrying a U.S. congressman took off safely from the Somali capital.
An airport staff member reached by telephone at the control tower says the plane carrying New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne took off safely Monday. He says none of the six mortar shells fired landed in the airport. The airport staffer refused to give his full name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Payne met with Somalia's president and prime minister during his one-day visit to Mogadishu on Monday. They discussed piracy, security and cooperation between Somalia and the United States. Payne is chairman of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa.
#10
From MSNBC story: Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press... "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy."
Good to know! That's the way it should always be and should have been from Day 1, Habeb! Darkness should always hate--and fear--the light.
Posted by: Dar ||
04/13/2009 13:53 Comments ||
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#11
Oh, for a couple of battleships with 16-inch guns. Just sit off the coast and lob shells in at random. Almost as good as an ARCLIGHT strike, or a bomb-and-strafe run by 60 Navy F/A-18s. Instead, today's largest warships are equipped with ONE 76-mm pea-shooter.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/13/2009 15:54 Comments ||
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#12
OP, actually, the Bainbridge has a 5 inch gun. (127mm)
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/13/2009 17:12 Comments ||
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#13
OP - "re:magic word" - I will take that drink!
#14
OP,
IIRC, about the last time they tried practicing with those big guns they blew up a turret and killed some of our guys.
Also, when your opponent's heavy artillery is an RPG you can get close enough for the 5" - or even 76 mm - to pound the sh*t out of them. The Germans put a lot of hurt on us with their 88 mm guns a few years ago.
#15
Dire Revenge?
Or Tuff_Love
Didn't the pirates make a deal,
the Captain's life in exchange for the wounded pirate's life?
(They are both still alive by the way aren't they?).
It appears the other three pirates were not included in the life saving deal.
That should be called Tuff_Love,
not Dire Revenge!
May the three pirates burn bright in hell like a bright shining star giving light to the heavens.
(CNN) -- U.S. Navy snipers fatally shot three pirates holding an American cargo-ship captain hostage after seeing that one of the pirates "had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," a military official said Sunday. The captain, who'd been held in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean since Wednesday, was rescued uninjured, Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters.
Capt. Richard Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, was stormed by pirates 300 miles off Somalia on Wednesday morning. He was "resting comfortably" on the USS Boxer after his rescue Sunday night, according to the Navy. Phillips contacted his family and received a routine medical exam after his rescue at 7:19 p.m. (12:19 p.m. ET), the Navy Central Command said. "The captain is in good health. He's showered up and in a clean set of clothes," Gortney said in a telephone news conference from Navy Central Command in Bahrain.
U.S. forces moved to rescue Phillips after seeing him in imminent danger on the lifeboat, Gortney said. A fourth pirate was negotiating Phillips' fate aboard the nearby USS Bainbridge. "While working through the negotiations process tonight, the on-scene commander from the Bainbridge made the decision that the captain's life was in immediate danger, and the three pirates were killed," Gortney said. "The pirate who surrendered earlier today is being treated humanely; his counterparts who continued to fight paid with their lives."
The three pirates, who were armed with AK-47 rifles, were killed by shooters who were aboard the Bainbridge, Gortney said. The on-scene commander gave the shooters approval to open fire after seeing that "one of the pirates had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," Gortney said. The fourth pirate was aboard the Bainbridge most of the day and told military negotiators that he wasn't going back to the other pirates, according to a defense official with knowledge of the situation.
Maersk Line Limited President and CEO John Reinhart called Phillips "a leader of men ... [and] a brave and courageous man." He said he has spoken with Phillips and said the captain is "feeling quite good."
Phillips and his family, through Reinhart, expressed gratitude to the U.S. Navy. "I actually was more concerned for his family," said Adm. Rick Gurnon, head of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where Phillips had trained. "As a captain in sea, in a lifeboat, he was comfortable -- even if he was sharing it with Somali pirates."
Gurnon stressed that while Phillips was rescued, more than 200 mariners remain captives at sea. "The pirates have a great business model that works for them: See ships, take ransom, make millions," he told reporters.
At the White House, President Obama issued a statement saying he is "very pleased that Capt. Phillips has been rescued and is safely on board the USS Boxer."
"His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew," Obama's statement said. "We remain resolved to halt the rise of piracy in this region. To achieve that goal, we must continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, be prepared to interdict acts of piracy and ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes."
An administration official told CNN that Obama granted a Defense Department request to move ahead with the rescue operation, saying the president permitted the military to use appropriate force with a focus on protecting the captain's life.
Phillips offered himself as a hostage after the pirates stormed the U.S.-flagged Alabama Wednesday morning, according to Maersk. The pirates retreated to the lifeboat with Phillips, leaving the Alabama with its crew. Phillips, of Underhill, Vermont, tried to escape by diving off the 28-foot, covered lifeboat Thursday night, but one of the pirates dove into the Indian Ocean to retrieve him.
Maersk Alabama crew members, who guided the ship to Kenya over the weekend, were "jubilant" when they received word of the rescue, a statement from the company said.
Alison McCall, a spokeswoman for Maersk, owner of the Alabama, read a statement from Phillips' family to reporters. "The Phillips family wants to thank you all for your support and prayers. They have felt the caring and concern extended by the nation," McCall said. "This is truly a very happy Easter for the Phillips family."
On Saturday, the FBI launched a criminal investigation into Wednesday's hijacking of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship by Somali pirates, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The probe will be led by the FBI's New York field office, which is responsible for looking into cases involving U.S. citizens in the African region, the officials said.
Snippets of information started to emerge Saturday about how the Maersk Alabama's crew managed to retake the ship after it was hijacked by pirates Wednesday about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean. Crew members aboard the freed cargo ship described how some of their colleagues attempted to "jump" their pirate captors. A scuffle ensued and one of the sailors stabbed a pirate in the hand in the battle to retake the container ship, one of the sailors told CNN.
Crew members smiled broadly as they stood on the ship's deck under the watchful eyes of security teams. Although the crew was kept away from the media, CNN's Stan Grant got close enough to ask crew members what happened after the pirates climbed aboard the ship. One crew member said he recalled being awakened around 7 a.m. as the hijacking began. "I was scared," Grant quoted the man as saying.
Some of the crew managed to hide in a secure part of the Alabama as the pirates stormed the ship, the sailor said. As the sailors described their clash with the pirates, a crew member pointed to one shipmate and said, "This guy is a hero. He and the chief engineer, they took down the pirate. ... He led him down there to the engine room, and then they jumped him." The shipmate added that he stabbed the pirate's hand and tied him up.
"Capt. Phillips is a hero," another crew member shouted from the deck of the freed ship.
Maersk CEO Reinhart told reporters Saturday that the crew will stay on board in Mombasa while the FBI conducts an investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
A great business model as long as you don't try it on the US (and even France these days).
Good for the president. Let's give credit when it's due.
Now let's follow it up by more active operations against these boats and by wiping out the shore bases.
#2
...And any ship owner caught attempting to bankroll the pirate activities should have their hijacked ships impounded and be forced to pay a hefty fine to those actually trying to stop the pirates, before their ships' are ever released. Preferably those authorising and delivering the payments should be arrested and treated as engaging in piracy themselves.
#5
1) I think the FBI investigation now is a formality. They're there and have to justify themselves. They'll conclude, in time for the 6 o'clock news at mid-week, that everything was done by the book.
2) Exactly the correct target now are the people who have been financing the pirates. These guys have mother ships, laptops, shipping manifests, GPS systems, fast small boats, spies in foreign ports, and so on. Everything a modern pirate needs, they have, and they didn't come up with all this on their own. Forget Q-ships and arming the merchant vessels and so on.
Want to make the FBI useful? Follow the money.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/13/2009 8:55 Comments ||
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#6
NAIROBI, Kenya Bracing themselves on a rolling warship in choppy seas, U.S. Navy snipers fired three flawless shots to kill a trio of Somali pirates and free the American sea captain being held at gunpoint, a Navy commander said Monday.
U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 so close to Capt. Richard Phillips' back that the weapon appeared to be touching him. Two other pirates popped their heads up, giving snipers three clear targets, one official said.
Asked how the snipers could have killed each pirate with a single shot in the dark, Gortney described them as "extremely, extremely well-trained." He told NBC's "Today" show that the shooting was ordered by the captain of the Bainbridge.
The SEALS arrived on the scene by parachuting from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said.
He said negotiations with the pirates had been "going up and down." The official, asking not to be publicly identified because he, too, was not authorized to discuss this on the record, said the pirates were "becoming increasingly agitated in the rough waters; they weren't getting what they wanted."
Just as it was getting dark, pirates fired a tracer bullet "toward the Bainbridge," further heightening the sense that the incident was ratcheting up, the official said.
He said when the time snipers fired, Phillips' hands were bound. Phillips was not hurt in several minutes of gunfire Sunday.
A fourth pirate surrendered after boarding the Bainbridge earlier Sunday and could face life in a U.S. prison. He had been seeking medical attention for a wound to his hand, military officials said.
#8
I'm hopping the FBI investigation is nothing more then a "post-mortem" (literally now) and will help come up with ways to keep this from happening again - maybe even to the point of allowing small arms to be carried by merchant ships.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/13/2009 11:23 Comments ||
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#12
And any ship owner caught attempting to bankroll the pirate activities should have their hijacked ships impounded and be forced to pay a hefty fine to those actually trying to stop the pirates, before their ships' are ever released.
Ummm, Bulldog, you just described Piracy?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/13/2009 12:56 Comments ||
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#13
With the exception of the Dept of the Navy's tactical response, this week plus long story is an embarrassment. This should have been reported in total about three hours after the initial islamo ... uh, terrori ....... ah, Somali pirate seizing of this vessel. You telling me there was no standing order including tactical response for this eventuality? US flagged ship seized, SEAL teams to the Stallions, drop in, neutralize pirates, debrief ships crew, call it in to the AP. Heaven help us.
Posted by: Dave UK ||
04/13/2009 13:47 Comments ||
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#15
It's a big ocean out there. The pirates had moved out further from shore.
The Bainbridge was among several U.S. ships, including the cruiser USS Gettysburg, that had been patrolling in the region. But they were about 345 miles and several hours away when the Maersk Alabama was seized, officials said.
Do a little math, 345 miles divided by......equals lots of hours to arrive on scene.
According to the Navy, it would take 61 ships to control the shipping route in the Gulf of Aden, which is just a fraction of the 1.1 million square miles where the pirates have operated. A U.S.-backed international anti-piracy coalition currently has 12 to 16 ships patrolling the region at any one time.
Along the Somali coastline, an area roughly as long as the eastern seaboard of the United States, pirate crews have successfully held commercial ships hostage for days or weeks until they are ransomed. In the past week, pressured by naval actions off Somalia, the pirates have shifted their operations farther out into the Indian Ocean, expanding the crisis.
Oceans of that immense size cannot be patrolled completely, even with high-tech detection equipment doing some of the work.
"Wherever the police are, the robbers will go somewhere else," Chalk said
#17
The NYT says the lifeboat the three pirates were on was being towed about 100 ft behind the Navy snipers. That doesn't take great shooting by a sniper -- that just requires the right moment to nail all three pirates simultaneously. Those pirates were dead men the moment they got towed.
#19
That doesn't take great shooting by a sniper --
You try making a clean shot through the open port of a bobbing life boat when your own boat is moving with the open seas. Then tell me it doesn't take good shooting.
#22
Steve White - Precisely. That includes possible insurance companies in league with the Pirates. Think about it. ....
Its not as nuts as sub-prime bundled shares.
Really.... There are a lot of insurance winners with pirates on the waters. Also, owners who have not paid ships off enough to ditch them on the seacoasts of this world along with the paid up ships... until things like the Baltic index return to normal... having a ship and crew in pirate hands is not necessarily a red mark on your balance sheet.
#25
"The snipers positioned on the fantail of the Bainbridge observed one of the pirates in the pilot house -- and two pirates with their head and shoulders exposed -- and one of the pirates had the AK47 (assault rifle) leveled at the captains back," Gortney said. Source
Somebody explain to me how this could be if the bow of the covered lifeboat is roughly toward the fantail of the ship.
#27
Darell, I think you are implying a conspiracy where none exists. Planning and patience won the day over inshallah attitudes. The pirate in the pilot house is self explanatory. The other two made the mistake of exposing themselves though hatches or windows at the same time.
Posted by: ed ||
04/13/2009 21:28 Comments ||
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#28
Darrell -- it's obvious, you've never been on any kind of boat/ship out on the ocean.... or a big lake.... rocking around in five-foot seas. Five foot seas is very doable --- kinda normal.
That lifeboat was being towed, because the seas were getting worse. On an inland lake, white caps can occur when the winds hit 15 mph.
Now, lets put you on a shooting course... you haven't been on one of those either....
Bow of the boat? Do a little googling. From the pics released by the Bainbridge, that lifeboat was being towed bow first (that's usually how towing on the seas/lakes happen.... its about that thing called steerage.... boats are kinda hard to handle when they are in reverse) The size of that lifeboat? Sailors prolly wanted someone at the wheel, steering that thing. Thus, bow first..
Look a little closer at the pics of that lifeboat. The one place on the lifeboat that there would be port hole, is where the person steering the boat is! Kinda like, so he can see where he's going. Prolly a pretty big port hole, needing that thing known as peripheral vision, so he can see all things, don't you know...
Okay I quit. I'm getting tired. Next time.... try commenting on a topic which you have some knowledge that you willingly want to share at Rantburg U.
And hey, I'm just a lit'le ole lady down deep in the heart of Texas and I call you out.
The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday arrested eight operatives of banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and recovered bomb-making materials in the capital's Khilkhet area.
In a pre-dawn raid barely two days before Pahela Baishakh, the elite anti-crime force also seized CDs, audiotapes, computer accessories and manuals, and books and leaflets on jihad.
Rab claimed three of the arrestees have been trained to be suicide bombers. They are Abu Sayeed alias Parvez and Yusuf Al Asadullah Bin Wahidullah of Bogra and Sumon alias Abdullah of Narayanganj.
Of the others, Abdul Matin alias Zakir of Munshiganj had been coordinating efforts to reorganise JMB that was left in ruins by the execution of its six top brass around two years back.
He is brother of Salahuddin, a JMB Majlish-e-Shura (highest policy-making body) member now on death row.
The rest four are the Islamist outfit's Dhaka north zone commander Mohammad Hasanuzzaman of Satkhira, part-time members Tariqullah alias Rubel of Tangail and Anwar Hossain alias Baten of Sirajganj, and IT expert Zahidur Rahman alias Zahid of Pirojpur.
Those detained are aged between 18 and 32.
Back in 1998, Matin played a vital role when JMB supremo Shaikh Abdur Rahman founded the militant organisation at Mohammadia Arabia Madrasa in the city's Jatrabari area.
He later went to Saudi Arabia for work. He would regularly send money to Jama'atul Mujahideen until his return from the Middle East in 2007, the year Rahman was executed along with five other top militant leaders.
Yesterday's recovery includes 10,000 lithium batteries, 10 detonators, and five packets of high power gel explosives.
Rab Additional Director General Col Rezanur Rahman Khan said, "We don't yet know if the arrestees posed a threat to Pahela Baishakh (Bangla New Year) celebrations. Neither are we ruling out the possibility that they might have been plotting terror attacks."
However, he added, people need not worry as the law enforcers are working round the clock to ensure foolproof security tomorrow.
The arrestees were paraded before the media at a press conference at Rab office in Uttara in the afternoon. Reporters were not allowed to speak to them.
Rab-1 Commanding Officer Bakhtiar Alam said a team made up of members from Rab-1 and the Rab intelligence wing began raiding the house of one Moulana Owaz Uddin at Tekpara village in Khilkhet area at around 3:30am yesterday.
"We found out about the militant network during interrogation of JMB Dhaka divisional commander Mohtasim Billah alias Bashir alias Nasir. After working for about a month and a half on the leads, we finally managed to bust the den and nab the eight early today."
Nasir was arrested in Gazipur on February 20.
Referring to the recovery of lithium batteries, he said they [militants] must have procured those for making time bombs.
The seized JMB leaflet reads, "Here comes the Jihadi Kafila (caravan). It will destroy the enemies of Allah and his Prophet (S). It will bury the tyrants, exploiters and the dishonest leaders to bring about an Islamic state."
The Mujahideen, it continues, are relentless in efforts to "wipe the infidels off the face of the earth"
The leaflet says the "Christian-controlled media gives a distorted view of the Mujahideen's noble campaign to free the country from the unbelievers".
It goes on to describe the country's press as "spokesmen for the non-Islamic forces".
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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A group of Tamil protesters stormed the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo on Sunday, police said, on the fifth day of demonstrations in the Norwegian capital calling for the end of fighting in Sri Lanka.
Even Joerstad, an Oslo police superintendent, told AFP that around 100 Tamil demonstrators tried to storm the Sri Lankan embassy at 1400 (1300 GMT) and that an unknown number managed to break in.
"There were about 100 outside but we don't know how many went inside the embassy," Joerstad said.
"They were inside for about four or five minutes and then they went out," he said, adding that the protesters broke windows and furniture inside the building.
Joerstad said the Tamils left the building at the police's request and that no arrests were made, describing the current situation as "peaceful". He declined to reveal how many police officers were at the scene at the time.
Godfrey Manoharan, a spokesman for the Tamil protesters, said between 400 and 500 people attended the rally, although Oslo police were unable to confirm those figures. Manoharan said the protesters had become "angry and frustrated" after reports emerged on a pro-Tamil website that the Sri Lankan military had fired at a civilian "no-fire zone" early Sunday morning.
"It's a message to the Sinahlese government that we won't give up," he said. Staff at the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo declined to comment on the incident when contacted by AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Void the passports of anyone taking part in these types of festivities, and see how well they like it. A person without a passport in Europe is in trouble. It's also almost impossible to get aboard an aircraft to ANYWHERE without a valid passport.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/13/2009 16:02 Comments ||
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"My loyalty to country and team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans, always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own. I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men. ... In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish the mission. ... I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight."
#1
Just about everywhere reality is in control, Bersoeker. That's why you hardly ever hear of SEALs from big cities.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/13/2009 16:04 Comments ||
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#2
hey rantyes, such a crying bitches you all sound. you fags are the shit of America did you have your ass kick in your youth that now cluster together in this imbeciles blog
All of you are just conservative crying frustrated bitches
Posted by: big city ||
04/13/2009 20:49 Comments ||
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#3
If you are American, you are a breathing advertisement special needs learning disability tutoring.
#4
Give a Somali pig a visa, a decent meal and computer and this is the incoherent crap he spouts. You can take the dirtbag abd out of the desert but you can't ever wash the pig clean.
Posted by: ed ||
04/13/2009 21:10 Comments ||
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Security forces pounded Taliban hideouts near the border between Hangu district and Kurram Agency on Sunday, official sources and locals said. The sources told Daily Times that dozens of houses and a mosque were also damaged in the attack. No casualties were reported, they said The sources said the security forces closed the Hangu-Parachinar Road during the operation. The operation followed a Taliban attack on the convoy of Kurram Agency Political Agent Arshad Majeed near Tutkas area two days ago in which one security personnel was killed and seven were injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
A security guard was killed and three others injured on Sunday when armed men stormed into three terminals storing NATO supplies in the limits of Yakatoot Police Station, police said. A police official told Daily Times that around 200 suspected Taliban, who attacked the Aasim and Amanullah Terminal on Ring Road, also torched 12 vehicles. He said a guard, Arif, had succumbed to his injuries, while the three were being treated.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
[Al Arabiya Latest] At least nine people were killed and another 23 wounded Saturday when a suicide bomber struck the headquarters of a American-allied Sunni militia south of Baghdad in the latest spate of attacks following Friday's explosion in Mosul, Iraqi army officers said.
About 250 Iraqis stood in line for their salaries at a military headquarters of the local Sahwa "Awakening" movement in the town of Jbala, 35 miles south of Baghdad, when a bomber walked into the group and blew himself up.
Lieutenant Haidar al-Lami, who was there to hand out salaries told AFP the bomber detonated his payload at 11:00 a.m. killing and wounding "Sahwa" members and soldiers alike.
The Sahwas, former Sunni insurgents who allied with U.S. forces beginning in 2006 to drive out al-Qaeda in Iraq, played a crucial role in improving security in the war-battered country.
The attack took place in a religiously mixed part of Babel province once known as the "Triangle of Death" that saw scores of attacks in the years after the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
The five soldiers killed in Mosul recently were all assigned to Fort Carson, here in Colorado Springs. The word I'm getting from other troops (several of them went to high school with my daughter) is that the unit is looking for blood. The people behind this killing won't find their lives easy as the noose tightens.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/13/2009 16:08 Comments ||
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A booby-trapped fishing boat exploded on Monday am local time
near an Israel Navy vessel off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip.
No one was wounded in the blast, which occurred about 300 meters from the Gaza coast, near the border with Israel. The Palestinian vessel was laden with explosives, but was unmanned. The Paleos have a drone ship?
The blast was heard further along the coast in Gaza City. Local Palestinian media, however, did not immediately report on the incident
The Sri Lankan president on Sunday ordered the military not to attack the Tamil Tigers during a two-day holiday in order to allow thousands of civilians to escape a no-fire zone where they are being held by the separatists.
Soldiers have encircled the remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a 17 square km no-fire zone on the northeast coast, and are close to crushing them as a conventional force and ending Asia's longest-running civil wars.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that people should be "given uninhibited freedom of movement from the no-fire zone" in the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period on Monday and Tuesday.
"With this objective in view, his excellency has directed the armed forces of the state to restrict their operations during the New Year to those of a defensive nature," the presidential statement said.
There was no immediate comment from the LTTE, whose agreement to let the people go is essential. The United Nations and witnesses say people are being kept as human shields and forced conscripts or being shot as they try to flee.
In late January, Rajapaksa gave a 48-hour window of safe passage to civilians and urged the Tigers to let them go, but the rebels refused. The LTTE so far has refused any diplomatic entreaties to get them to let people leave whom they insist are staying by choice. Diplomats have been working furiously to negotiate an exit strategy for the people, who number 60,000 according to the government and around 100,000, according to the United Nations.
Surrender: Rajapaksa again urged the LTTE to surrender.
"In the true spirit of the season, it is timely for the LTTE to acknowledge its military defeat and lay down its weapons and surrender. The LTTE must also renounce terrorism and violence permanently," the statement said. The Tigers have vowed not to give up their fight for a separate nation for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority, which has engulfed the Indian Ocean island nation in a civil war that has killed at least 70,000 since 1983.
Britain: Meanwhile, Britain welcomed the government ceasefire in Sri Lanka announced on Sunday, calling on the Tamil Tiger rebels to do likewise while insisting that civilians had to be free to leave the conflict zone. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said international access to provide aid and investigate alleged abuses was "essential".
"I very much welcome the announcement by President Rajapakse of a pause in the fighting between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE," Miliband said in a statement. "The UK's concern for the civilians caught in the fighting is acute. It is vital that they are now able to move freely out of the conflict area. "I therefore believe it is essential that the LTTE now agree to their own pause in fighting and allow civilians to leave. The pause must be long enough for all those who want to leave the conflict zone to do so safely. "Temporary relief for civilians must be the first step towards a resolution of the conflict," Miliband added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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Gunmen ambushed Lebanese troops in the east of the country on Monday, spraying their military vehicle with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, a senior military official said. Four soldiers were killed and an officer was wounded in the attack.
The ambush on a major road near the town of Rayak comes after a recent push by Lebanese troops to crack down on the drug trade in the Bekaa Valley and carried the hallmarks of a revenge attack by clansmen. Of course, Hizbullah owns the Leb drug trade.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards announced Saturday that they unveiled a Dutch plot aimed at overthrowing the Iranian government by supporting the opposition through the media and the Internet. "One of the countries which has given financial support to the opposition over the past few years is Holland," a statement issued by a center run by the Guards stated, according to the Khorasan newspaper. Aye, those Dutchmen. They're a devious lot. Can't trust 'em. Keep adding on to those dykes, don't they? Eventually they'll be the size of Canada, won't they? And then we'll all be wearing those wooden shoes if we know what's good for us, won't we?
It said the parliament in the Netherlands had in 2005 adopted a 15 million euro ($19 million) budget proposed by a Dutch MP of Iranian origin which was used to fund Persian Internet sites hostile to the Islamic regime and to help rights groups. "The Dutch project aimed to encourage sexual and moral deviation in society," the Revolutionary Guards center said, and to support the idea that the "threats (against Iran) are increasing (and) . . . the idea that the current Iranian government is incapacitated." "Sexual and moral deviation" would be hookers, of course. The plan is for Iranian hookers to sit in windows and holler out "'Allo, sailor! Loekin' foer a goed time?" with a ten-guilder (negotiable) bride price and not so much as a 20-minute marriage contract. US and Britain involved
The plot was led "in coordination with Britain" and involved "secret planning by the United States," said the Guards, an elite ideological corps set up to defend the Islamic republic. You knew that was coming, didn't you? Even as we speak blog, the Brits are assembling an elite corps of tarts in Manchester to descend upon the unsuspecting Medes and the Persians, perfumed and peroxided, low of cleavage, short on skirt length, hollering "Coo! Aint'chew 'andsome!"
The Guards revealed it dismantled several networks last month accused of setting up anti-Islamic, counter-revolutionary and "obscene" websites, and arrested a number of suspects including people residing abroad. Tehran repeatedly accused Washington and London of backing violent and non-violent actions against the state and has launched in the past a number of crackdowns on bloggers and Internet users deemed to be hostile to the authorities and their Islamic values.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"...arrested a number of suspects including people residing abroad."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - Two armed men on motorbikes gunned down a woman provincial legislator in Afghanistans volatile southern city of Kandahar on Sunday, an official said. Sitara Achikzai was on her way home from work when she was killed in the drive-by shooting outside her house, the head of the council, Ahmad Wali Karzai told AFP.
The coalition forces killed 40 Taliban in separate battles in the troubled country, authorities said on Sunday.
[Al Arabiya Latest] United States cargo ship captain Richard Phillips has been freed from captivity at the hands of Somali pirates who had held him hostage on a lifeboat after trying to seize his vessel, the U.S. navy said on Sunday. "I can confirm that Captain Phillips has been safely recovered," said spokeswoman Laura Tischler, without providing additional details on the operation. A U.S. Navy spokesman, Lieutenant Commander John Daniels, also confirmed to AFP that Phillips had been freed.
Somali pirates threatened revenge on Sunday after two separate hostage-rescue raids by foreign forces killed at least five comrades, raising fears of future bloodshed on the high seas.
(CNN) -- U.S. Navy snipers fatally shot three pirates holding an American cargo-ship captain hostage after seeing that one of the pirates "had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," a military official said Sunday. The captain, who'd been held in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean since Wednesday, was rescued uninjured, Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters.
The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday arrested eight operatives of banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and recovered bomb-making materials in the capital's Khilkhet area.
[Al Arabiya Latest] At least nine people were killed and another 23 wounded Saturday when a suicide bomber struck the headquarters of a American-allied Sunni militia south of Baghdad in the latest spate of attacks following Friday's explosion in Mosul, Iraqi army officers said.
