Hi there, !
Today Wed 04/06/2011 Tue 04/05/2011 Mon 04/04/2011 Sun 04/03/2011 Sat 04/02/2011 Fri 04/01/2011 Thu 03/31/2011 Archives
Rantburg
533516 articles and 1861307 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 75 articles and 216 comments as of 2:11.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Rebels claim Brega
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
6 00:00 trailing wife [8] 
2 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [8] 
3 00:00 Zhang Fei [5] 
2 00:00 Anonymoose [3] 
6 00:00 Charles [4] 
3 00:00 Anguper Hupomosing9418 [4] 
11 00:00 49 Pan [5] 
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [4] 
2 00:00 crosspatch [4] 
0 [3] 
0 [4] 
5 00:00 Deacon Blues [4] 
1 00:00 Anonymoose [10] 
0 [3] 
5 00:00 Procopius2k [3] 
4 00:00 Joger Oppressor of the Lichtensteiners9577 [3] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
6 00:00 Large Huputer7595 [4]
1 00:00 AlanC [8]
0 [3]
3 00:00 GolfBravoUSMC [3]
0 [3]
0 [5]
3 00:00 Pappy [8]
0 [3]
1 00:00 Alaska Paul [6]
0 [3]
0 [3]
0 [3]
0 [8]
0 [5]
0 [10]
0 [10]
0 [3]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [9]
0 [5]
1 00:00 g(r)omgoru [4]
1 00:00 g(r)omgoru [9]
0 [3]
0 [11]
0 [7]
0 [4]
0 [8]
0 [9]
5 00:00 AlanC [12]
Page 2: WoT Background
6 00:00 trailing wife [5]
1 00:00 Alaska Paul [3]
14 00:00 RandomJD [14]
2 00:00 Redneck Jim [8]
6 00:00 CrazyFool [4]
1 00:00 crosspatch [10]
12 00:00 Redneck Jim [6]
6 00:00 Cluns Unavirong6767 [3]
0 [3]
3 00:00 john frum [7]
3 00:00 g(r)omgoru [9]
1 00:00 Anonymoose [8]
0 [7]
14 00:00 trailing wife [5]
2 00:00 JohnQC [3]
0 [9]
Page 4: Opinion
0 [5]
0 [5]
13 00:00 CrazyFool [7]
9 00:00 trailing wife [4]
1 00:00 Free Radical [4]
4 00:00 badanov [5]
15 00:00 JohnQC [3]
5 00:00 JohnQC [4]
3 00:00 g(r)omgoru [8]
2 00:00 Galactic Coordinator Phusong8610 [3]
Page 6: Politix
6 00:00 Dale [4]
0 [4]
0 [4]
0 [4]
12 00:00 Fi [4]
-Short Attention Span Theater-
Lohan, rehab worker heard yelling on 911 call
Darling, it just "Lindsay" now, remember?
[Arab News] A rehab worker told a 911 dispatcher that she ordered Lindsay Lohan to pack her bags and leave the Betty Ford Center after the actress hit her during a December argument, according to a recording of the call released Friday.

The six-minute call started with a chaotic exchange between Lohan and the worker, Dawn Holland, arguing over control of the phone at the facility in Palm Desert. Later, Holland told the dispatcher she wanted to press charges.

"I have a problem because Lindsay Lohan pushed me and hit me with the phone while I was trying to talk to you," Holland said on the recording.

A phone message for Lohan's attorney, Shawn Holley, seeking comment on the recording was not immediately returned Friday. Lohan was nearing the end of a three-month court-ordered rehab stint at the center after authorities said she failed a drug screening. The Dec. 12 call resulted in an investigation by Riverside County sheriff's detectives into Holland's accusations. Prosecutors said Tuesday they found insufficient evidence to file any charges.

At one point during the call, Lohan told the dispatcher she had never seen Holland before.

"She's freaking me out," Lohan said when she was able to get on the phone. Commotion was then heard before Holland returned to the line.

"Lindsay, you need to pack your (expletive)," Holland told the actress. "Cause now I'm getting ready to file charges on you."

Lohan then asked Holland pointedly, "What, you want money?"

Holland said no and told Lohan she wanted to be treated with respect. By that point, the two women were yelling at one another and the audio became garbled. The call was lost and a dispatcher had to call the facility back. Holland returned to the line and said Lohan was among three girls caught leaving the property without permission. The two other girls reeked of alcohol, Holland said. Two of the women, including Lohan, were refusing breathalyzer tests, which prompted the argument, Holland told the dispatcher.

The dispatcher asked if Lohan was involved in sneaking out of the facility.

"Oh yes," Holland replied. "She got busted trying to hop back over the fence."

Holland was later fired by the center after giving an on-camera interview to celebrity website TMZ.

Within three weeks of her release from the Betty Ford Center in January, Lohan was accused of taking a $2,500 necklace from a store in the Venice area of Los Angeles. Prosecutors filed a felony grand theft charge against the "Mean Girls" star. She has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on April 22, when some of the evidence against her will be presented to a judge. If the judge rules Lohan should stand trial, the actress could be sent to jail for a probation violation on a 2007 drunken driving case. That case has haunted Lohan for nearly a year, resulting in her being sent to jail twice and rehab twice last year alone.
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I have both her and Charlie Sheen in my Dead Pool for 2011. I'm feeling pretty confident
Posted by: Frank G || 04/03/2011 8:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Sheen, maybe. But I have a feeling that Lohan is destined to fill Elizabeth Taylor's shoes as a perpetual, pathetic basket case, but without the acting talent or romance.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/03/2011 10:00 Comments || Top||

#3  mabey sheen and lohan should consider breeding
Posted by: 746 || 04/03/2011 12:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Three generations of imbeciles are enough.

O. W. Holmes
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 04/03/2011 12:26 Comments || Top||

#5  746 - I think that's been addressed.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/03/2011 16:06 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Nuclear forensics makes up for blindness at Fukushima Daiichi
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 04/03/2011 06:24 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  the Japs dont seem to be any different than their fantastically corrupt counterparts in the rest of East Asia.
Posted by: 746 || 04/03/2011 10:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Why do I, when I see NY Times and computer modeling in the same article, reach immediately for the salt?

I don't know any answers to any of the questions but I certainly don't trust Chu & co. to be disinterested observers either.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/03/2011 11:02 Comments || Top||

#3  The article does a good job of pointing out how hard it is to measure what is going on inside the wrecked reactors. Instruments & communications there have been destroyed & it's too 'hot' to simply go back in and take a look, which was also the case at Three Mile Island. It was only a day of two ago that they found the bodies of the missing Fukushima workers who died just after the earthquake.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 04/03/2011 12:53 Comments || Top||


TV Presenters Brains Melting Down?
A bizarre spate of television presenters dissolving into on-air gibberish has sparked claims that the U.S. military could be to blame.
I have a hard time finding tv prenters NOT speaking gibberish.

In four high-profile cases, the latest involving fast-talking Judge Judy, the presenters have started off speaking properly but have then descended into undecipherable nonsense - looking confused and unstable.
Undecipherable nonsense - I think that's a degree requirement from journalism school.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Muslim Brotherhood call for modesty police in Egypt
Posted by: ryuge || 04/03/2011 11:19 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That didn't take long. How soon for Libya?
Posted by: john frum || 04/03/2011 11:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Let's see if they get away with it. They may be tipping their hand too soon. Or the game is over. We'll soon know.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 04/03/2011 12:01 Comments || Top||

#3  virtue police, or Hisbah, which had existed exist in medieval Islamic societies to oversee public virtue and modesty, mostly in the marketplace and other public gathering spaces.

fify
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 04/03/2011 12:04 Comments || Top||

#4  I doubt that would fly in Egypt. The Egyptians think themselves a cut above that sort of thing, unless it is egregious, then the regular cops take care of it.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/03/2011 14:16 Comments || Top||

#5  They don't need a salaried Muttawa. The youts take care of it handily in gangs on the street. Even being veiled is no protection from being man-handled in Egyot's cities nowadays. Because really, the only way for a female to be sure she is quite modest enough to go out... is to stay home where it's safe.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/03/2011 14:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Modesty is going to include having to be Muslim I bet. Coptic Christians better be arming themselves FAST.
Posted by: Charles || 04/03/2011 17:51 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
French forces take over Abidjan airport
Uh-oh. The French are about to be over-committed. Wonder who will pick up the slack in Libya? Wonder if Samantha Powers will demand that we intervene in the Ivory Coast?
France has sent extra troops to Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, and taken control of its airport. A French military spokesman told the BBC there was a security vacuum as forces formerly loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo changed sides.

Fighting continues between Mr Gbagbo's troops and supporters of his rival, UN-recognised President Alassane Ouattara. The city's pro-Gbagbo TV station called for people to mobilise against the French '"occupation".

Mr Ouattara's forces are reported to be planning a further advance towards the presidential palace and have imposed a curfew on the city.

UN spokesman Hamadoun Toure told the BBC he had heard gunfire near the palace, adding that the situation was very tense.

France has sent an extra 300 soldiers to Ivory Coast, defence ministry spokesman Thierry Burkhard said, taking the total French force to about 1,400.

The airport had been secured by UN troops since Friday, but the French move meant the airport was now able to re-open, Mr Burkhard told the BBC. The aim of the reinforcement was "to take control over the airport which was also done in co-ordination with the UN mission, to allow the re-opening of this airport to civilian airlines and military flights", he said.

Mr Burkhard added that the force's mission remained primarily the protection of French nationals, who were being threatened by looters.

"We are currently experiencing in Abidjan a security vacuum because the Ivorian security forces, which until now followed the orders of Mr Gbagbo, answered in great numbers the rallying call made by President Ouattara," he said.

There were no immediate plans to start evacuating foreigners, he said, though about 1,600 were sheltering in a French army camp. They include about 700 French nationals, some 600 Lebanese citizens and 60 Europeans of assorted nationalities, French media report.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/03/2011 14:16 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wonder if Samantha Powers will demand that we intervene in the Ivory Coast?

since we are not threatened by the IC, nor do we have a strategic national interest, I'd say the odds are 100% on her urging intervention
Posted by: Frank G || 04/03/2011 14:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Nah. She has her eye on moving east to box in Israel to the advantage of the Palestinians. Through the UN of course, to make it 'legal' and 'moral'.
Posted by: lotp || 04/03/2011 15:24 Comments || Top||

#3  since we are not threatened by the IC, nor do we have a strategic national interest, I'd say the odds are 100% on her urging intervention

I'd disagree. Gbagbo is Christian and he's losing. What's not to like (from Powers's standpoint)? We can look forward to an end to the media's coverage of Ivory Coast once Gbagbo's French-backed Muslim opponent wins and starts massacring Christians. The slaughter is already beginning.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 04/03/2011 19:34 Comments || Top||


Nigeria cities cancel polls over problems
[Arab News] The first election in a month of voting across oil-rich Nigeria stumbled to a start Saturday with several states canceling polls because of problems and shortages, leading to a breakout of violence in one city.

Some problems began immediately Saturday.

In the northern state of Gombe, officials indefinitely postponed elections for the Senate after a "mix-up of ballot papers," said election front man Mukhtari Gidado.

The announcement led to a breakout of violence in the southern part of the state capital where police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and tossed in the slammer one suspect.

Polls in Abuja, the seat of Nigeria's government, were canceled due to a shortage of ballot papers -- a worrying sign for the rest of the country.

And in the central Nigerian state of Kwara, a shortage of ballot papers led to an indefinite cancelation.

Saturday's election will decide who should occupy seats in the country's National Assembly, positions worth more than $1 million in salaries and perks. That doesn't include the politicians' true power -- the ability to direct where billions of dollars in oil revenues get spent annually with little or no oversight.

Nigeria, which became a democracy in 1999 after years of coups and military rulers, has a history of flawed elections. In Ibadan, where local politicians hungry for power have encouraged running street battles over recent weeks, young election staffers slept overnight on dirty green foam or wood signboards outside of distribution centers. As they prepared to leave for polling places, some found that the serial numbers of their ballots didn't match up, said election worker Tani Ayodele, 26. Many sat down to thumb through and count the ballots by hand.

Still, she and others remained upbeat.

"It's my country," Ayodele said. "I believe we're doing the right thing for the first time." Security remains a concern across the nation, which shut its land borders Friday. Police stopped all vehicles moving around in cities, though Nigeria's sprawling countryside likely remains lightly guarded. A crowd of youths marched through one poor neighborhood in Ibadan, a city about 90 miles (150 kilometers) inland from Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos.

One youth shouted in the local Yoruba language: "If anyone plays around, I will kill them." Further up the road, a group of soldiers had gathered around a mounted machine gun set up in a traffic roundabout.
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


800 killed in Ivorian fighting
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Heavy weapons fire rang out across Abdijan today while rival forces battled for control of the city, as reports emerged of carnage in western Cote d'Ivoire where the ICRC said 800 were killed in one day.

Fierce battles the day before shook the city, with forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo
... President of Ivory Coast since 2000. Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representative tore up the results on the teevee and Laurent has refused to leave despite the international community's hemming, hawing, and broad hints...
repulsing an assault as the cornered strongman clung to power.

Fighters backing president-in-waiting Alassane Ouattara -- who has been unable to assume office since a disputed November election -- warned that the offensive "has not yet begun."

"We are taking steps to weaken the enemy before mounting an assault," said Captain Leon Kouakou Alla, front man for Ouattara's defence ministry.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily...
Gbagbo's soldiers took to state television in the morning to mobilise his loyal troops, ignoring a deafening chorus by world leaders that he step down immediately.

Weary with failed diplomatic efforts to resolve a post-election crisis, Ouattara's army on Monday launched a lightning offensive across the country before arriving in Abidjan on Thursday.

Fierce fighting accompanied by loud kabooms and bursts of machine gunfire sent residents of the city of five million people into lockdown, and some 1,400 foreigners seeking refuge at a French military camp.

Irregular shooting
On Saturday, a resident of the suburb of Cocody reported "irregular shooting, the deafening sound of heavy weapons and bursts of machine gun fire" around state television RTI, situated in the same area as Gbagbo's private home.

RTI, briefly captured by Ouattara's army, was back on air Saturday.

In a brief, haphazard newcast, a soldier, accompanied by a dozen other members of Gbagbo's Defense and Security Forces (FDS), read a statement.

"FDS positions were attacked by hordes of mercenaries, supported by ONUCI (UN mission) soldiers and Licorne," he said, referring to the French troops stationed in the former French colony.

Ouattara's government reported numerous mass graves had been found, "especially in Toulepleu, Blolequin and Guiglo, whose authors are none other than the loyal forces, mercenaries and militias of Laurent Gbagbo."

The accusation came after the International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) said at least 800 were killed on Tuesday during fighting in Duekoue, a major crossroads in western Cote d'Ivoire.

"At least 800 people were killed in Duekoue on Tuesday," an ICRC spokeswoman in Geneva, Dorothea Krimitsas, told AFP, adding that information on the corpse count had been gathered by Red Thingy workers who visited the area on Thursday and Friday.
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No oil, no Tomahawks.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/03/2011 6:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Various media sources report the French military has taken the airport. Looks like it's all over at the Alamo now Doc! Look for the evacuation of French/EU/Americans to start soon if the violence continues. French troop in Gabon and Senegal will reinforce. Legion likely on alert.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 04/03/2011 9:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Since AH-6J Little Birds conducted kinetic streat clearing in Mogadishu Somalia in 1993, and we abruptly pulled out, it is interesting to observe how the US Government has backed away from overt military involvment or even critical comment on the civil unrest in Africa. Perhaps no level of carnage or human slaughter can justify the involvement of western nations and meddling whites. Tragic it is that our feckless leaders don't feel compelled to extend the same consideration to other hopelessly waring regions and quietly label them "Off Limits" as well.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2011 10:36 Comments || Top||

#4  NO BLOOD FOR CHOCOLATE!
Posted by: Joger Oppressor of the Lichtensteiners9577 || 04/03/2011 17:12 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Prayer missing 'spells' trouble for Saudi man
[Arab News] Some outsiders may not be aware that in smaller towns in Soddy Arabia the religious police still patrol and detain people for not going to mosque.

Outsiders (much less non-Mohammedans) are rarely subjected to this treatment, but when it comes to local villagers the local religious constabulary treats not going to mosque virtually as a misdemeanor, detainable offense.

According to a recent report in Shams Arabic daily, a man faced this situation in Darb, Jazan province, when he was jugged for not attending prayer at a local mosque. His defense? Somebody had cast a spell on him that caused him to forget how to pray. He even produced a sheet of paper with some scribbles on it that he claimed had been left at his doorstep by some unknown practitioner of the black arts.

The local Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice took the man to a "white magician" (an Islamic scholar who specializes in de-spelling spells) and, lo and behold, the man said he could now remember his prayers and, you guessed it, headed to the mosque to thank God for his cure.
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Police have to mess with magic the world over. Joseph Wambaugh wrote of a senior cop who got very tired of this old couple continually having drunken, knock-down drag-out fights because they hated each other.

So he had them put their hands on his badge, and said, "By the power granted to me by the State of California and the City of Los Angeles, I now pronounce you divorced!"

Thinking they were now divorced, both of them suddenly became happy and pleasant, stopped arguing and were downright friendly to each other. Problem solved.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/03/2011 9:57 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Withdraw hartal
[Bangla Daily Star] The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry yesterday urged Islami Oikya Jote
... a political party in Bangladesh. In the 2001 elections the party won 2 out of 300 elected members in an alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It has a focus on building an islamic state, and has used the madrassas to gain support...
to withdraw the hartal
... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ...
called by it tomorrow.

A faction of the IOJ, a component of the four-party alliance led by BNP, called the countrywide dawn-to- dusk hartal in protest against the proposed national women development policy which it says goes against tenets of the Koran.

In a statement yesterday, the FBCCI said the government has already clarified that the policy has nothing against the Koran and Sunnah.

"Calling hartal on the issue is illogical as there's nothing fishy in it, and the government's explanation has been accepted by all," said the country's apex trade body.

Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight...
BNP is yet to announce whether it supports the hartal called by the IOJ faction led Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini.

Addressing a presser yesterday, Senior Joint Secretary General of BNP Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said his party always stood against actions which would hurt religious norms.

He however did not make it clear if the main opposition party would actively support the hartal called by its ally.

The cabinet on March 7 approved the women development policy incorporating provisions of equal rights for women and men in "almost all sectors" including health, education, poverty alleviation and development. It is considered fulfilment of an election pledge of the ruling Awami League.

In a statement at the presser held at the BNP chief's Gulshan office, Fakhrul mentioned that in its election manifesto, the present government pledged that it would not do anything against the Koran and Sunnah but there are allegations of violation of this pledge in the women development policy.

"As a party with firm belief in religious freedom and norms, BNP has always been supporting movements against actions which go against religious norms," he said.

"We think the government should explain clearly whether any provision of the women development policy goes against the religious norms of majority people of the country," the statement said.

The government did not discuss with the opposition parties and Islamic scholars while formulating this policy, he said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Economy
Oil price bubble
Why have petroleum prices soared so high so fast? Presently we are seeing the highest spot price for crude oil ever in the month of March. Is it because there is a decreasing supply of oil coming onto the world market?

...No, it seems the real reason oil prices have risen so much is because we, the American people, gave hundreds of billions of dollars to banks that then turned around and put our billions into investments in oil and other commodities funds rather than making loans to businesses.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/03/2011 16:52 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  actually, because of Libya, the world oil supply is a bit down from a few months ago

however, the reason for the high price the past 30 days or so is generally thought to be because of a risk premium; that is, there is a non zero chance of a major disruption to the Saudi fields and lately that non zero chance is relatively greater than usual
Posted by: lord garth || 04/03/2011 17:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Too many dollars chasing too few barrels of oil, with very few worthwhile investments to be had.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 04/03/2011 18:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Dollars devalued by printing too many.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/03/2011 19:55 Comments || Top||

#4  Dollars devalued by printing too many.

This. Plus, of course, the present stock market bubble, the unstable state of all the developed world's fiat currencies, the forthcoming bond meltdown, the ongoing real estate de-leveraging, speculation on a real recovery in at least the BRIC nations, etc. Some one will always want your oil, not so much your mortgage, munis or overvalued equities.
Posted by: AzCat || 04/03/2011 22:23 Comments || Top||

#5  rather than making loans to businesses

Businesses have not really been beating doors down to ask for loans in the first place.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/03/2011 22:47 Comments || Top||

#6  there is a non zero chance of a major disruption to the Saudi fields and lately that non zero chance is relatively greater than usual

The Shiites, encouraged by Iran?
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/03/2011 23:31 Comments || Top||


Toyota wins first US jury verdict over acceleration
[Arab News] Toyota Motor is not responsible for causing a New York doctor's 2005 Scion to accelerate unexpectedly and smash into a tree, a federal jury ruled.

The court verdict in Long Island, New York is the first by a US jury concerning sudden acceleration by Toyota vehicles since the world's largest automaker began in 2009 recalling millions of vehicles over related defects.

Jurors in Central Islip, New York deliberated for less than two hours in the case brought by Amir Sitafalwalla, an emergency room trauma doctor who works in Brooklyn.

The plaintiff had argued that the accident was caused by design defects in his Scion TC's floor mats or its electronic throttle control system. He also said Toyota failed to install a brake override system that could have prevented the crash.

Toyota countered that Sitafalwalla caused the crash by stepping on the accelerator pedal rather than the brake. US Magistrate Judge E. Thomas Boyle refused to admit evidence on the electronic system at the trial, which began on Monday.

"I thought that we put on a pretty good case, and had a fair shot at persuading the jury," Albert Zafonte, one of Sitafalwalla's lawyers, said. "I'm just disappointed they found against us."
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  One of this Spring's green shoots of sanity.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 04/03/2011 7:48 Comments || Top||

#2  "I thought that we put on a pretty good case, and had a fair shot at persuading playing the jury," Albert Zafonte, one of Sitafalwalla's lawyers, said. "I'm just disappointed they found against us in losing my lotto jackpot."

FIFY
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/03/2011 8:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Had the plaintiff been a welfare queen rather than a doctor the verdict almost certainly would have been different.
Posted by: AzCat || 04/03/2011 11:53 Comments || Top||

#4  I always thought these claims were bogus. Might have had something to do with all of the Toyota manufacturing plants being non-union.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/03/2011 14:34 Comments || Top||

#5  When my Mother was 72 she was still driving. One day she started up the Ford and instead of putting it in reverse she selected drive. She drove wildly around the house bouncing off trees and other things. She claimed she was pushing the break pedal as hard as she could but it kept accelerating. Methinks this is what happens with most cars.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/03/2011 15:15 Comments || Top||


Europe
Spanish PM says won't contest 2012 election
[Pak Daily Times] Spain's embattled prime minister announced on Saturday he will not seek re-election at general elections in 2012 as his country grapples with debt, high unemployment and a faltering economy badly hit by the international financial crisis.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a party meeting he would limit his time in office to two terms, opening a process of primaries to elect his successor at the helm of the Socialist Party. "I will not be a candidate in the forthcoming general elections," he said, adding it was the right decision for the country, his party and his family. A tired-looking Zapatero said he had been convinced that two terms as leader of the government was enough seven years ago when he first took office, and he remained convinced of that decision today.

Zapatero, 50, was elected to office in 2004 in the wake of terror attacks on Madrid's trains that left 191 dead and 1,800 injured, and a wave of public disapproval at the previous government's involvement in the Iraq war. At the time, Spain's economy was one of the most dynamic in Europe having recorded continuous growth for around a decade. But the credit crunch and subsequent financial crisis has dogged Zapatero's second term and immersed Spain in debt and a eurozone-high unemployment rate of 20 percent.

The Socialist Party faces regional and municipal elections on May 22 and then must build toward nationwide general elections with a new leader. The most likely candidates are current Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba and Defence Minister Carme Chacon, who would become Spain's first female premier if elected.

The Socialists must choose their new candidate in March 2012 for national elections at an as-yet unspecified date later that year. Rubalcaba, 59, is seen by many as a very experienced politician who has acted as Zapatero's hard man against the violent Basque separatists of ETA.
Posted by: Fred || 04/03/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Think he can talk the Obamanation to go with him?




Nah, me neither.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/03/2011 8:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Catalonia had their elections last year and toss the socialists out on their collective ear.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8168522/Catalonia-rejects-Socialists-in-regional-elections.html
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/03/2011 18:26 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Ramat Hagolan winery awarded "Wine World Cup" at Vinitaly
Ramat Hagolan Winery, founded in 1983, won the "Wine World Cup" and was declared the best wine producer in the world at the Italian "Vinitaly" competition in Verona. The award is made to the producer that achieves the best sum result of high scores for two wines taking medals in different categories. Ramat Hagolan won for its Cahrdonnay from Kerem Adom, and the dessert wine Heitesuwein.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/03/2011 16:05 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Haven't had an Israeli wine since about 1970 - might be time to try again?
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/03/2011 19:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Hmm - wonder if it's available in Virginia? Chardonnay isn't as dry as I like my wine, but I'm willing to make the "sacrifice." :-D Wonder if they make a Pinot Grigio?

Dessert wine? Congratulations to Israel, but no go with me. Had dessert wines when I lived in Germany and didn't like any of them - too sweet for my palate.

I hope this award made Joooo-hating heads everywhere spin like tops.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/03/2011 21:02 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Denel SA rolls out new Rooivalk (Red Falcon) combat support helikopter
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/03/2011 06:07 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They have a different definition of "combat support", by which they mean "combat".

Personally, what I think is needed more is a whole range of "workhorse" transport and cargo helicopters.

The "light" version would be able to transport a fire team and their equipment, so two would be able to transport a squad. Like a somewhat larger version of a Huey. It would also need Medevac accessories.

The "medium" version would be almost exclusively cargo, up to I'd guess a 6 ton (12,000 lb.) lift. This is asking a lot, so it might have to be a dual rotor, like a Chinook, which has a 14 ton (28,000 lb.) lift.

The "heavy" cargo version would likely be a quad rotor helicopter, much like two Chinooks in tandem. It would shoot for the 'magical' 70 ton lift that could boost an M1 Abrams. To be able to move a tank company over a mountain range in one day is a game changer.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/03/2011 9:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Good money after bad. This aircraft has been around for 20 years. It has never proven to much more than a problem to SA. It has never had the R&D necessary to get into the hunt. They would have better spent the money on what Boeing is caling the Apache light.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 04/03/2011 10:33 Comments || Top||

#3  The "heavy" cargo version would likely be a quad rotor helicopter, much like two Chinooks in tandem
Several years ago, the Piaseki Helicopter Company (a newly formed one, not the one bought by Boeing/Boeing-Vertrol many years ago) had a flying 4 helo lash up; using a rigid airship as the central point, 4 S-58's (minus tail boom and tail rotor) were bolted up to it. it actually flew but was too complex/cumbersome and eventually crashed, killing the pilot. progect abandoned.
Posted by: USN,Ret || 04/03/2011 11:34 Comments || Top||

#4  49 Pan, part of the idea here is to maintain a domestic helicopter industry (I think). They'll build the Rooivalk even if it's beaten six ways to Sunday by an Apache Light just to keep their arms industry going.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/03/2011 14:09 Comments || Top||

#5  USN, Ret: I can see why it failed.

There is no way a cheap and cheerful version of that could work. It needs an organic design with computer airflow analysis that they couldn't have had back then. They followed it up with a scheme to lash it to an airship that just had FAIL written all over it.

A reasonable alternative might be to use centrifugal fan pods for additional lift and stabilization during VTOL. But no matter how you slice it, a 70 ton lift isn't easy.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/03/2011 14:30 Comments || Top||

#6  "USN, Ret: I can see why it failed."

Good lord, 'moose, is that picture real?

Looks more like a joke, or something from a bad sci-fi movie, or a Rube Goldberg failure.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/03/2011 16:06 Comments || Top||

#7  Barb: Moose's picture may be only a computer concept, but here is a link to a video of the real thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7jENWKgMPY
Posted by: USN,Ret || 04/03/2011 17:40 Comments || Top||

#8  Good grief, Ret - that's even worse. What were they thinking?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/03/2011 19:12 Comments || Top||

#9  The first one, that I pictured, was the PA-39 system.

The video showed the Piasecki PA-97 Helistat heavy vertical airlifter. That basically was the PA-39, attached to an airship.

But even laymen could take one look, like the voices in the video, and tell it was stinker. As far as the PA-39 goes, about anyone should have been able to tell that the same thing would happen, that is, it would vibrate apart; or just as bad, the helicopters would set up a harmonic--to much the same result.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/03/2011 19:28 Comments || Top||

#10  The great failures of aviation = "funnies" deserve our respect, as they physically dev + tested various concepts which at the time appeared inviolate ["cutting edge"]to many Perts + Believers, etal. but ultimat proved to be defective, due mainly to misunderstandings of the intricacies of Aerodynamics, Power-Energy + Material Science.

As for the ROOVIAK gunship, the on-going BATTLE FOR LIBYUH = BATTLE FOR EGYPT + EAST AFRICA = BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE SUEZ CANAL + TRADE FLOWS.

The Jihad will duly come to SOUTH AFRICA soon enuff.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2011 20:10 Comments || Top||

#11  Steve, your right about keeping the money at home.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 04/03/2011 22:45 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Malaysian clerics to rule on the 'poco-poco' dance
Malaysia's top Islamic clerical body will decide the future of a popular dance later this month after a state banned it over claims it contained "Christian rituals".

Harussani Zakaria, mufti of Perak has said the "poco-poco" dance violated Islamic law because it was a "cult dance," whose "moves reflect the making of a cross and so is unacceptable in Islam."

The head of the Islamic Development Department, which sets Islamic policies in Malaysia, said a National Fatwa Council will be convened on April 20 to rule on the issue. "I hope other state muftis will be patient and wait for the meeting," Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz said. "If any of the states have concluded its findings on the matter, I invite them to share it with us."
Posted by: ryuge || 04/03/2011 12:35 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "next up: the Hokey Pokey"
Posted by: Frank G || 04/03/2011 12:57 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm still betting on Lambada: The Forbidden Dance
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/03/2011 14:11 Comments || Top||


Science
Genetically modified cows produce 'human' milk
The scientists have successfully introduced human genes into 300 dairy cows to produce milk with the same properties as human breast milk.

Human milk contains high quantities of key nutrients that can help to boost the immune system of babies and reduce the risk of infections.

The scientists behind the research believe milk from herds of genetically modified cows could provide an alternative to human breast milk and formula milk for babies, which is often criticised as being an inferior substitute. They hope genetically modified dairy products from herds of similar cows could be sold in supermarkets. The research has the backing of a major biotechnology company.

The work is likely to inflame opposition to GM foods. Critics of the technology and animal welfare groups reacted angrily to the research, questioning the safety of milk from genetically modified animals and its effect on the cattle's health.
Posted by: tipper || 04/03/2011 01:45 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The work is likely to inflame opposition to GM foods.

"Dogs bark but the caravan just keeps going".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/03/2011 6:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Are the cows going to have to cover themselves while they are being milked now?
Posted by: gorb || 04/03/2011 15:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Yokay, I'll say it, EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!

You know that after the Kiddies will come OTC = market products for Adults, correct?

PRE-SOLYENT?

D *** NG IT, DATS TOO MUCH GOOD INTENTIONS!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/03/2011 21:00 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
62[untagged]
1al-Qaeda in Iraq
1al-Shabaab
1Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Syria
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1Lashkar-e-Islami
1Narcos
1Pirates
1Taliban
1TTP

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
Sun 2011-04-03
  Rebels claim Brega
Sat 2011-04-02
  Deputy emir of Caucasus Emirate killed in Russian raid
Fri 2011-04-01
  Two UN staff beheaded and eight others murdered in protest against U.S. pastor who burnt Koran
Thu 2011-03-31
  Obama 'orders covert help for Libya rebels'
Wed 2011-03-30
  Libyan Foreign Minister quits, arrives in UK
Tue 2011-03-29
  Yemeni regime loses grip on four provinces
Mon 2011-03-28
  Rebels push towards Sirte
Sun 2011-03-27
  Libyan rebels say forces reach oil town of Brega
Sat 2011-03-26
  Libyan Rebels Reclaim Ajdabiya
Fri 2011-03-25
  Libya: French aircraft destroyed a dozen armored vehicles in 3 days
Thu 2011-03-24
  15 dead in new clashes in Deraa
Wed 2011-03-23
  Qaddafi attacks rebel towns
Tue 2011-03-22
  Western War Planes Hit Qadaffy Command Post
Mon 2011-03-21
  Gaddafi compound attacked again amid reports son killed
Sun 2011-03-20
  Crisis in Libya: U.S. bombs Qaddafi's airfields


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.
3.140.242.165
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (28)    WoT Background (16)    Opinion (10)    (0)    Politix (5)