[An Nahar] A plague spread by rats has killed 39 people in recent weeks in Madagascar, the health ministry said Thursday.
"There is an epidemic in Madagascar which is currently affecting five districts (out of 112). Eighty-six people have been inflicted by the plague, of which 39 have died," said the ministry in a statement read to Agence La Belle France Presse.
A doctor in the ministry in Antananarivo said 90 percent of the cases were diagnosed as pneumonic plague, a vicious strain, which can kill within three days, leaving little time for antibiotics to work.
The first person died before November but government only officially declared the existence of a plague on November 23.
According to the doctor, who cannot be named because he does not have clearance to speak to the media, the first case was registered in a village in the remote region of Mandritsara.
The plague has been blamed on an infestation of rats in residential areas due to uncontrolled deforestation.
In its statement the government urged anyone suffering fever and headaches to consult a health practitioner, saying drugs to treat the plague were available free of charge.
Affected districts are in the north, northeast, southeast and the center of the island nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Al Gore thinks its all due to Global Warming.
The Palestinians swear it has something to do with the Juice.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/13/2013 7:49 Comments ||
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Got a true story about Lionel Trains, my father got me one for Christmas 1954, when he got home and unpacked it, there was no engine, so in desperation he called the owner of the local Sears Roebuck (Where he bought it), the man agreed to meet him at the store and when he got there he reached into the display and picked up a Mallet,(Very expensive engine) gave it to dad and said "Merry Christmas", with a big grin.
Dad was shocked, the engine was easily worth the entire trainset, dad said every time I crashed the engine ,he'd wince, Me, I knew nothing about it (4 years old) he told me the story years later.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/13/2013 9:00 Comments ||
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Oh jeez, Beso, does this open up the sentimental closet of reminiscences. That picture could be of me right down to the silver-rain (aka tinsel) on the tree.
RJ, that could have been my story too. Sounds like we're the same age give or take a few months.
The last cars I got were the Missle Launcher and the Exploding Boxcar. Anyone else remember them?
Unfortunately the missle, as well as several of the barrels for the barrel car, fell prey to the pooch.
Still got'em all. Going to a grand-kid pretty soon.
#10
I was an HO gauge fan. The best locomotive I saw was a beautiful brass Pacific Fast Mail Southern Pacific 4-8-8-2 cab forward. Saving up my money but never could buy it.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/13/2013 14:56 Comments ||
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#11
It's still on my Christmas list, heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/13/2013 15:11 Comments ||
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#12
Ship, still got a couple of the boxes but the condition isn't great. Still got the manual and the bottle of smoke pellets and the little tamper.
#13
So everybody line up to slap me: Dad bought me a 1950 set for my first Christmas and at the wise old age of 17 I gave it away. he never said anything, but Mom told me that I hurt him more than his heart attacks.
I and Mrs. Ret. got one for number 1 Grandson 5 years ago and every year we add to it.
For this year, I am giving number 1 son my Erector set, rescued from 40+ years of Michigan barn storage and assorted dirt/rodent droppings. Each piece was hand washed by me and the electric motors still work.
#15
Gosh I never realized how many 'burgers are "exactly" my age. USN Ret, Xmas 1950 was my "2nd" Xmas....by one day. I was 1 day old for 1949.
My train loving son wanted HO rather than the Lionel cause he was much more into the scenery and layout. Took too much room to build a mountain for the Lionel.
Beso, I'll have to dig out the bottle; then we'll see. ;^)
[Egypt Independent] Salah Eddin Fawzy, professor of public law at the University of Mansoura and member of the 10-person committee of experts that amends the Constitution, said the inclusion of the word "civilian" in the preamble of the draft constitution allows the government to transcend the religious-military binary when defining itself.
He added that church representatives objected to the term and demanded a more accurate wording, as the expression "civilian rule" may raise a lot of controversy in interpretation.
Fawzy submitted a legal memorandum to the 50-member committee to clarify what was meant by "civilian government and rule" in the draft constitution.
The word government in constitutions has more than one meaning, as it sometimes refers to the council of ministers and its deputies, the ministers and their deputies or sometimes to state institutions running the state collectively, Fawzy explained in the memo.
In other times, it means the executive authority including the president and cabinet, he noted.
"The meaning of [civilian government] as a term means that the government should not be fully dominated by military generals, or [sheikhs]," he said in the memo.
Many figures feared that the world "civilian," which is often used in Arabic as a euphemism for "secular," could threaten the relgious identity of both Coptics and Moslems.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] A parliamentary opposition group has filed a bill to abolish the death penalty in Morocco, where a moratorium has been in place for 20 years, a member said Thursday.
The bill was filed last week in the lower house by the group of 39 politicians from the USFP leftwing opposition party, one of them told AFP, confirming local press reports.
"We are relying on the support of other groups and MPs," to pass the bill, he said, adding that the group would be open to proposed amendments.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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So how did he manage to rub elbows with a few heads of state? I'm not real clear on that. It looks like all a potential assassin would have to do would be to wave his fingers and the Secret Service would wave him through. I wonder if he'd manage to get close enough to shoot somebody--or explode--just by looking stupid and carrying a bucket? I still maintain he was signing Champ's remarks accurately...
#1
It looks like all a potential assassin would have to do would be to wave his fingers and the Secret Service would wave him through
Three possibles:
1. The Secret Service deferred to S. African security conditions in the spirit of international cooperation, political conditions, political correctness, the First Lady's whims. et cetera.
2. The Secret Service is incompetent.
3. The Secret is apathetic or demoralised.
The conclusion: This is what Mandela's final memorial is going to be remembered for in the US (that, and the 'selfies'.)
#8
I was going to speculate, that it might have be a practice run. But I really don't need the NSA, FBI,EPA,DOJ,ATF,CIA,DOE,FTB,FCC,FAA,DOD,BLM,DOT,FBP,CDC,ICE,TSA,NBC,ABC,CBS,NFL,NBA or the IRS crawling up my butt. Oh wait the IRS has already been there. So we're good, right IRS, we're good? Hey Guys I'm sorry if I missed anybody.
4. The Secret Service cooperated with Hillbill to ruin Michelle's close-up.
So we've got Blondie-gate, obviously staged by Obama's bunch (including himself). Mega-squirrel [screeech!] vs. O-care [stomp!] and the cute baby scandals [puff!]. All the thin-skinned demographics are agog. Roller derby, baby. Race car refueled in record time. That smell isn't burning rubber, it's genius.
Headline: No-nonsense aggrieved black woman deftly takes charge, reins in out-of-control black man (or feckless dad, or ditzy metrosexual -- take your pick), restores order and gravitas! Luckily, that'll only resonate with, like, three-quarters of the country.
But then we have sign-gate, the raspberry from who-knows-where that turns soap opera into circus in a heartbeat. Who might have known about Michelle's big scene ahead of time? Who might've been keen to spoil it? Who has relevant connections out the ass, and could provide political cover? Yehoodi?
[An Nahar] The U.S. military flew Thursday the first batch of troops from Burundi to join an African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... force to restore security in the Central African Republic, the army said.
"The first U.S. aircraft to transport the Burundian contingent to Bangui arrived this morning," said Lieutenant-Colonel Potien Hakizimana, commander of the 850-strong Burundi battalion going to CAR.
The troops are joining the AU and French efforts to restore security in the troubled nation.
"Our mission includes ensuring the disarmament of militia forces, securing the population and property, and help restore authority over the entire country," Hakizimana added.
Burundi army front man Gaspard Baratuza said two U.S. transport airplanes will carry the full contingent to CAR's capital Bangui over the next four days.
Burundi, a small nation in central Africa's Great Lakes region, emerged out of its own bitter 13-year long civil war in 2006.
It has deployed some 5,500 troops to Somalia as part of an AU force fighting Islamist Death Eaters there, while another 450 men are to join AU forces in Mali.
"If we are asked to send additional troops to Central Africa, Burundi is ready to consider the request and respond," Baratuza added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The Congolese government has signed a peace deal with the M23 rebels it had been fighting until they laid down their arms last month, Kenya's presidential front man said on his official Twitter account on Thursday.
"DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... ) govt, M23 sign peace agreement in Nairobi," Manoah Esipisu wrote on his account.
M23 are the latest incarnation of Tutsi-led faceless myrmidons who have battled Congo's government in its mineral-rich eastern regions for more than two decades.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials.
The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near BeijingÂ’s new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident.
“On December 5th, while lawfully operating in international waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” a Navy official said. “This incident underscores the need to ensure the highest standards of professional seamanship, including communications between vessels, to mitigate the risk of an unintended incident or mishap.”
A State Department official said the U.S. government issued protests to China in both Washington and Beijing in both diplomatic and military channels.
The Cowpens was conducting surveillance of the Liaoning at the time. The carrier had recently sailed from the port of Qingdao on the northern Chinese coast into the South China Sea.
So ensued a game of chicken on the high seas...
According to the officials, the run-in began after a Chinese navy vessel sent a hailing warning and ordered the Cowpens to stop. The cruiser continued on its course and refused the order because it was operating in international waters. Then a Chinese tank landing ship sailed in front of the Cowpens and stopped, forcing the Cowpens to abruptly change course in what the officials said was a dangerous maneuver.
According to the officials, the Cowpens was conducting a routine operation done to exercise its freedom of navigation near the Chinese carrier when the incident occurred about a week ago.
The encounter was the type of incident that senior Pentagon officials recently warned could take place as a result of heightened tensions in the region over ChinaÂ’s declaration of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea.
The Liaoning, ChinaÂ’s first carrier that was refitted from an old Soviet carrier, and four warships recently conducted their first training maneuvers in the South China Sea. The carrier recently docked at the Chinese naval port of Hainan on the South China Sea.
Defense officials have said ChinaÂ’s imposition of the ADIZ is aimed primarily at curbing surveillance flights in the zone, which ChinaÂ’s military regards as a threat to its military secrets.
The U.S. military conducts surveillance flights with EP-3 aircraft and long-range RQ-4 Global Hawk drones.
In addition to the Liaoning, Chinese warships in the flotilla include two missile destroyers, the Shenyang and the Shijiazhuang, and two missile frigates, the Yantai and the Weifang.
Rick Fisher, a China military affairs expert, said it is likely that the Chinese deliberately staged the incident as part of a strategy of pressuring the United States.
“They can afford to lose an LST [landing ship] as they have about 27 of them, but they are also usually armed with one or more twin 37 millimeter cannons, which at close range could heavily damage a lightly armored U.S. Navy destroyer,” said Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center.
Most Chinese Navy large combat ships would be out-ranged by the 127-millimeter guns deployed on U.S. cruisers, except ChinaÂ’s Russian-made Sovremenny-class ships and BeijingÂ’s new Type 052D destroyers that are armed with 130-millimeter guns.
The encounter appears to be part of a pattern of Chinese political signaling that it will not accept the presence of American military power in its East Asian theater of influence, Fisher said.
“China has spent the last 20 years building up its Navy and now feels that it can use it to obtain its political objectives,” he said.
Fisher said that since early 2012 China has gone on the offensive in both the South China and East China Seas.
“In this early stage of using its newly acquired naval power, China is posturing and bullying, but China is also looking for a fight, a battle that will cow the Americans, the Japanese, and the Filipinos,” he said.
To maintain stability in the face of Chinese military assertiveness, Fisher said the United States and Japan should seek an armed peace in the region by heavily fortifying the Senkaku Islands and the rest of the island chain they are part of.
“The U.S. and Japan should also step up their rearmament of the Philippines,” Fisher said.
The Cowpens incident is the most recent example of Chinese naval aggressiveness toward U.S. ships.
The U.S. intelligence-gathering ship, USNS Impeccable, came under Chinese naval harassment from a China Maritime Surveillance ship, part of BeijingÂ’s quasi-military maritime patrol craft, in June.
During that incident, the Chinese ship warned the Navy ship it was operating illegally despite sailing in international waters. The Chinese demanded that the ship first obtain permission before sailing in the area that was more than 100 miles from ChinaÂ’s coast.
The U.S. military has been stepping up surveillance of ChinaÂ’s naval forces, including the growing submarine fleet, as part of the U.S. policy of rebalancing forces to the Pacific.
The Impeccable was harassed in March 2009 by five Chinese ships that followed it and sprayed it with water hoses in an effort to thwart its operations.
A second spy ship, the USNS Victorious, also came under Chinese maritime harassment several years ago.
Adm. Samuel Locklear, when asked last summer about increased Chinese naval activities near Guam and Hawaii in retaliation for U.S. ship-based spying on China, said the dispute involves different interpretations of controlled waters.
Locklear said in a meeting with reporters in July, “We believe the U.S. position is that those activities are less constrained than what the Chinese believe.”
China is seeking to control large areas of international waters—claiming they are part of its United Nations-defined economic exclusion zone—that Locklear said cover “most of the major sea lines of communication” near China and are needed to remain free for trade and shipping.
Locklear, who is known for his conciliatory views toward the Chinese military, sought to play down recent disputes. When asked if the Chinese activities were troubling, he said: “I would say it’s not provocative certainly. I’d say that in the Asia-Pacific, in the areas that are closer to the Chinese homeland, that we have been able to conduct operations around each other in a very professional and increasingly professional manner.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/13/2013 08:59 ||
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Ahhhh the fruits of "smart diplomacy" continue to ripen.
#3
It's pretty simple - the ChiComs are playing chicken except they won't blink. They WILL change the facts on the ground (air/water) and we can't do a darn thing about it. They have one area to focus on - we have many. Who do think will win?
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
12/13/2013 9:40 Comments ||
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#5
That is some f'd up parachuting right there. I didn't have too many jumps (about 30) but I've never seen anything like that. Guess because I never jumped with any ME asshats.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
12/13/2013 10:08 Comments ||
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#6
Got it this morning from a friend on an exercise in the ROK. Nearly fell outta my combat swivel chair.
#12
The Captain of the PLAN vessel must have a fetish for suicide missions, as his ship is likely no match for the COWPENS.
Japanese medias repor are fearful that a Nippon war agz China could break out in January 2014 = Early Spring 2014, as neither side has shown willingness to compromise or make concessions - as a reminder, many MSM-Net Perts + Bloggers/Posters believe that such a conflict could easily devolve into de facto Nuclear War, most likely Limited Nuclear War or Limited Tactical Nuclear War.
* E.G. CHINESE MILITARY FORUM BLOGGER [paraph] > opined that the Diaoyutai Islands [Senkakus]represents a vital passage to the Taiwan Straits - iff there is war + US, Japan intervenes, it will be a key or vital strategic location for China to block agz such military intervention, espec as from the powerful Japan-based USN 7th Fleet. IFF CHINA + PLA NAVAL, AIR POWER CAN CONTROL THE AREA, THE DIPLOMATIC OR MILITARY-LED UNIFICATION OF MAINLAND CHINA WID TAIWAN PROVINCE COULD BECOME A MATTER OF ONLY A FEW WEEKS.
IMO the Blogger opinion above once again shows that the Diaoyu/Senkakus dispute is really covertly about TAIWAN = CHINA'S EQUIVALENT OF "PEARL HARBOR/NORFOLK" HQS [overseas USDOD CentComs], i.e. China's "post-US", "Mahanist", "future World #1 Global Superpower-style "strategic access" + China-specific "Manifest Destiny".
ALSO GOOD = CONSISTENT WID OWG ANTI-US GLOBALISM WHERE THE US = GREAT POWERS MUST UNILATERALLY REDUCE OR GIVE UP POWER-N-INFLUENECE TO LESSORS SO THAT THE LATTER CAN RISE IN RIGHTEOUS GLOBALIST PARITY.
* Lest we fergit, E.G. TOPIX + WORLD NEWS [old] > THE RISE OF THE REST.
From NON-WASP-ISH, NON-AMERICAN/AMERIKAN SEXY SLINKY HOLLYWOOD BABES TO "THE GREAT GAME" OF GLOBAL GEOPOLITICS" + OWG GLOBAL FEDERAL UNIONS.
* TOPIX > [Town Hall = Yahoo News] PATRICK BUCHANAN: ARE THE SENKAKUS WORTH A WAR?
Gee whiz, I dunno - IS AMERICA = AMERIKA LOSING GUAM-WESTPAC, HAWAII-EASTPAC + 1/2 OF CONUS-NORAM TO CHINA FOR "LIVING SPACE" WORTH THE OWG + GLOBALISM THAT AMERS DIDN'T VOTE ON NOR BEEN ASKED TO???
WHUT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!?
D *** NG IT - I'M TORN.
* RELATED SAME > ...
> [Heritage Foundation] CHINA'S INCREASINGLY AGGRESSIVE STANCE TOWARDS ITS TERRITORIAL CLAIMS.
> [National Business Review = NBR] WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO CENTRAL ASIA IFF ALL THE AMERICAN TROOPS LEAVE?
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > WHY IS CHINA FEARED? RESURGENCE, PRIDE, AND UNCERTAINTY | HUFFPO.
* WAFF > CHINA'S AIR ZONE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING, of a larger, broader,pre-determined/calculated Regional + Geopol Strategy.
D *** NGED "LONG MARCHES"!
Shaking foot-long tuna sub angrily.
* SAME > [War Scenarios]POSTER SURVEY-OPINION: CHINA VERSUS US - NUKES ONLY.
* SAME > CHINA PROVIDES NUCLEAR PROTECTION TO UKRAINE [ + Kazakhistan].
Ditto to anti-Govt, pro-independence, etc. armed factions andor fifth column elements, etc. in OKINAWA? JAPAN "RED ARMY"? MUSLIM MINDANAO? GUAM? HAWAII? ...@ETAL???
POLITICS IS POLITICS, CORRECT???
versus
* JAPAN HERALD > JAPAN BATTLES RISING TIDE OF CHINESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.
No need to wage NucWar - CONQUER DEMOGRAPHICALY + ECON VIA SEX + "BIRTH TOURISM"///
[Washington Post] North Korea announced Friday that it has executed Jang Song Thaek, the uncle of leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... , calling him a "traitor for all ages" who had opposed Kim's rule and plotted his overthrow.
Jang was executed after admitting to his crimes before a military tribunal Thursday, the North said in a statement released by its state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... .
The North said that Jang's death sentence "served as sledge-hammer blow" that reflected the anger of the country's military personnel.
Jang's execution follows an announcement earlier this week that Kim's uncle, once among the leader's inner circle of advisers, had been stripped of all his posts.
His removal marked the most significant shake-up in two years under Kim's leadership, and his execution suggests that the North's young leader is willing to go after his rivals publicly in ways his more secretive father never did. The North has never so explicitly described the crimes or the punishment of a high-level official, many experts said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
From what I understand he was charged with dealing in foreign currency and went against an order from Kim to make "certain industries more financially independent". (Japan News Outlets)
Also, even if it takes murdering a well entrenched relative to open another key post to loyalists consolidates power. Kim is ruthless, dangerous and if we had decent American leadership, capitalizing in any way possible on the probably of near paranoia the NK people most likely have regarding Kim would be a smart move these days.
Why did Kim have Jang killed? It may have been personal. Jang introduced Kim to his eventual wife, Ri Sol Ju. According to a growing number of accounts, Jang also had an affair with her. Furthermore, there are reports that Jang and Ri were somehow involved in a sex tape. In any event, she has not been seen in public since October. Kim Kyong Hui, Kim’s aunt, supposedly approved the execution of her husband. Most of this narrative remains unconfirmed, but this storyline makes understandable Kim’s surprise—and unprecedented—decision to put to death a family member. Moreover, this narrative explains the charge against Jang of “womanizing.”
Whether or not a personal feud has turned deadly, the regime may be unraveling. London’s Telegraph believes that the ailing Kim Kyong Hui may be the next regime figure to be purged. There is one report that five of Jang Song Thaek’s aides were executed with him—two were known to have been put to death in the middle of last month—and one Chinese-language news site maintains that “recently” two vice premiers have fled to China seeking asylum.
In any event, Jang has dozens of allies among top regime officials, and, as Korea-watcher Bruce Bechtol notes, his patronage network started in Pyongyang and reached down to municipalities across the country. Because of Kim Jong UnÂ’s brutality, JangÂ’s allies and friends know that they, along with their families, will be either executed or sent to concentration camps. Their choice now is either to run or fight. More blood will undoubtedly flow.
[An Nahar] In an effort to solve its growing prison shortage, Norway has asked to rent prison space in neighboring Sweden, the Norwegian justice ministry said Thursday.
In a letter sent this week to his Swedish counterpart Beatrice Ask, Norway's Justice Minister Anders Anundsen explained that the situation in his country made it necessary to "look for extraordinary methods."
"I know that Sweden has vacant places and that some correctional facilities are closing down," he wrote.
"Thus, I want to raise the possibility of renting prison places."
About 1,200 people are currently waiting to serve sentences in Norway but are unable to due to lack of prison space, according to the justice ministry.
Swedish Prison and Probation figures show that the country's inmate population dropped by one percent a year between 2004 and 2010, and by six percent in 2011 and 2012, down to about 4,300 inmates today.
Some have attributed Sweden's diminishing prison population to the increased use of non-custodial sentences, including electronic tagging and community service.
Sweden has 82 prison facilities and closed down four of them and one rehabilitation center in the last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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Long-term and group rates available.
Dial 1-800-GITMO
[ONLINE.WSJ] Political leaders in Spain's wealthy Catalonia region have set a date for a referendum on declaring independence, but the Spanish prime minister flatly stated such a vote was unconstitutional and wouldn't be permitted.
The preparation for a secession vote in Catalonia, which has long chafed under what it calls economic and cultural dominance from Madrid, sets Spain's leading industrial region on a collision course with the central government. The stakes for both sides are enormous and the outcome hard to predict.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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Impoverished Catalonia who has been asking Central Governement to pay its bills, cutting funds for medicines and hssopitals all while spending billions on a massive propaganda effort.
[Egypt Independent] A decision by the Indian Supreme Court to reinstate a ban on gay sex represents a "significant step backwards for India" and violates international law, United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... chief Navi Pillay said on Thursday, suggesting the case be reheard. Is there anything that doesn't violate international law?
In a major blow to gay rights in the world's largest democracy, the Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out a 2009 ruling by a lower court that had decriminalized gay sex. It's also against international law to legalize marijuana.
"Criminalizing private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates the rights to privacy and to non-discrimination enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which India has ratified," Pillay said in a statement issued in Geneva.
"Yesterday's Supreme Court decision in this case represents a significant step backwards for India and a blow for human rights."
The top court stated that only India's government could change the law, deeming the Delhi High Court had overstepped its powers with the decision four years ago.
Section 377 of India's penal code bans "sex against the order of nature," which is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex. The colonial-era rule dates back to the 19th century.
Pillay, who previously served on the High Court of her native South Africa, said: "The Supreme Court of India has a long and proud history of defending and expanding protection of human rights. This decision is a regrettable departure from that tradition."
She voiced hope that the Court might exercise its review procedure, in effect agreeing to rehear the case before a larger panel of judges.
This would provide an opportunity for judges to reconsider whether the Supreme Court's initial decision took sufficient account of all relevant arguments, she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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The Marathas in India who make good soldiers and carry swords on their combat kit ( the Officers ) don't like homosexuals. Most of the ones who are in society are castrated and live as beggars.
A very great many have their noses slit. That way you can recognize them in the crowd more easily.
Here in the United States we elect them to Congress. But that is because we are an "enlightened" people who think that Anal sex is what Congress is for.
#3
Can anyone point me at the elected legislative body that made thaht law? Bceuase no free man will ever bow in front of a law made by an unelected body?
Dissolve the UN, blow awy the building and sees salt on it so it never grow again!!!!!!!!!
[Pak Daily Times] As many as eight persons, including two women, were killed and 14 others injured when robbers opened fire on a passenger coach in Kalat area of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it....
The coach was on it way to Quetta from Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... when it came under attack in Kalat. The bus turned turtle after robbers burst its tyres by opening fire on them. Those who were killed included Noorullah, Liaquat Ali, Alauddin, Abdul Ghaffar, Windra, Abdullah and Zarabib. Unidentified persons kidnapped a newly elected councillor in Turbat. Khuda Nawab, a National Party councillor from Kech Council, was on his way to Zamran from Turbat when unidentified gunnieskidnapped him in the Bwai area of Kech and took him to some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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Jerusalem Mayor Barkat says city facing "a rare storm, the likes of which we've never seen"; turns to IDF's Gantz, J'lem district police chief for help in freeing trapped drivers as snowfall continues to pound capital.
#1
The Gaza Strip also experienced a deluge of dangerous rainfalls on Thursday, leaving more than 31 people injured in accidents and causing poorly built homes to collapse in icy rain, Reuters reported.
See how the climate changed between Jerusalem and Gazoo? Another nail in the coffin of you deniers!
That's actually well past sarcasm.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/13/2013 7:47 Comments ||
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[Al Ahram] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... should stop funding Paleostinian civil servants in the Gazoo Strip because money is going to officials who do not work, European auditors said on Wednesday.
As the biggest aid donor to the Paleostinian territories, EU taxpayers pay a fifth of the salaries of teachers, doctors and bureaucrats in the small coastal territory, which has been governed by the Islamist group Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, since 2007.
But following an investigation into how EU aid is being spent, the European Court of Auditors has found thon the lam numbers of recipients are providing no public service.
The court did not have overall figures on the size of the problem. But in one spot check, 90 of the 125 employees at the National Audit Institute of Paleostine said they did not work.
In another sample, 40 percent of civil servants were not working, EU auditor Hans Gustaf Wessberg, who led the inspections over the past 16 months, told a news conference.
"Our suggestion is to discontinue the program for employees in Gazoo," said Wessberg, saying the money could go to the West Bank instead. "The payment of civil servants who do not work does not meet one of (the EU's) main objectives to provide public services to the Paleostinian people."
Wessberg denied EU money was going to former prisoners or Death Eaters and blamed the problem on the split in the Paleostinian Authority between Hamas in Gazoo and Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... 's Fatah party in the West Bank.
The auditors looked into around 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion) of spending in the Paleostinian territories between 2008-2012.
Auditors could not establish what had happened to 90 million euros that was meant to pay fuel taxes and keep Gazoo's only power plant running. Fuel shortages mean it has now ceased to serve nearly half the 1.8 million population.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
They work, they work --- these rockets don't fire themselves!
h/t Gates of Vienna
The degree to which students' exam scores differ owes more to their genes than to their teachers, schools or family environments, according to new research from King's College London published today in PLOS ONE. Hardly news to any thinking person---but professional publication in PLOS ONE is a major attack on PC in general and political/educational establishment in specific.
PLOS One is an 'open-access' journal. The editors and editorial board review manuscripts for technical validity but not for message (they make this very clear), unlike traditional biomedical journals. The manuscript reviewers will review the data presented in PLOS One usually as well as any major journal (which is to say, sometime good and sometimes not), but don't comment on the conclusions reached. The PLOS One editors believe that the latter is the job of the reader, and they maintain an active comments section for discussion of manuscripts. It has a reasonable "impact factor" (citation index > 4 per article) for a biomedical journal.
...Researchers compared the GCSE exam scores of over 11,000 identical and non-identical 16 year old twins from the Medical Research Council (MRC) funded Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). Identical twins share 100% of their genes, whereas fraternal (non-identical) twins share on average only half of the genes that vary between people. Therefore, if identical twins' exam scores are more alike than those of non-identical twins, the difference in exam scores between the two sets of twins is due to genetics, rather than environment.
...Overall, science grades (such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics) were found to be more heritable than Humanities grades (such as Media Studies, Art, Music) -- 58% vs 42%, respectively.
Nicholas Shakeshaft, PhD student at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and lead author of the paper says Better learn some profession like plumber or electrician Nick, you just signed away any chance whatsoever of getting an academic tenure.
#3
Muddy the waters, throw as much crap as possible in to make results meaningless.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/13/2013 8:34 Comments ||
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#4
In his upcoming book 'The Low Information Voter', author Nicholas Shakeshaft will take a more in-depth look at the origins of the professional victim, entitlement, and socialism.
#6
Let the "mau-mau"ing begin. First Boris Johnson (mayor of London) discovers the Pareto principle (20% of the people do 80% of the work, etc) and now this.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/13/2013 18:16 Comments ||
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[Al Ahram] Anti-government protesters in Thailand pinned their hopes on winning support from the powerful security forces on Thursday as they push to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and install an unelected administration.
A small group of protesters scaled the walls into the grounds of Yingluck's Government House office on Thursday but soon left without a confrontation with cop shoppeed there.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy premier accused of murder during widespread 2010 protests, has asked police and military chiefs to meet him by Thursday evening and to choose their side in the latest crisis engulfing Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.
The politically powerful army has staged or attempted 18 coups in the past 80 years - including the ousting of Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, in 2006. It has said it does not want to get involved this time but may mediate.
The latest crisis in an eight-year, on-and-off political conflict again centres on Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon popular among the rural poor. The protesters view Yingluck as her brother's puppet.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#2
This makes me wonder what else was being the ill-fated "tourist" visit of Merrill Newman to North Korea, and what may have happened behind the scenes. Among other things, I wonder how much the US paid North Korean for his release.
Washington [Aypee] -- In March 2007, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson flew to Kish Island, an Iranian resort awash with tourists, smugglers and organized crime figures. Days later, after an arranged meeting with an admitted killer, he checked out of his hotel, slipped into a taxi and vanished. For years, the U.S. has publicly described him as a private citizen who traveled to the tiny Persian Gulf island on private business. CNN reported Robert Levinson, 59, was in Kish to investigate a cigarette smuggler for a client of his security firm.
But that was just a piss poor cover story. An Associated Press investigation reveals that Levinson was working for the CIA. In an extraordinary breach of the most basic CIA rules, a team of analysts -- with no authority to run spy operations -- paid Levinson to gather intelligence from some of the world's darkest corners. He vanished while investigating the Iranian government for the U.S. "CIA benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefits program." Vincent Riccardo, CIA. [Peter Faul - The In-Laws]
#2
Lucy is a primary example of a vote-slave on the Plantation. And yes I do mean to use the word slave. She is being forced to vote a certain under pain of not being able to feed, shelter, and care for herself and her children - which is one heck of a motivation to stay.
She mentioned, if she started to work and made $10 she would lose $20 on her benefits. the system is designed to keep her enslaved just as much as a set of shackles would. Why even take advantage of any training available.
And the caseworkers are motivated, not to get people off, but to sign them up for even more programs (i.e. get a thicker, heavier, shackle and chain).
On the other side of the coin there are those who abuse the system. I've seen someone who the state provided daycare for her son (and not cheap daycare either - someplace I can't afford...) so she can work or get training. Instead she spent the time down at the local mall. She did eventually get a job at a dollar-store only to be fired on the first day.
[Pak Daily Times] Long disliked by the US Air Force, the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jet may finally be heading for the chopping block due to budget constraints.
The "Warthog," first designed as a tank buster to target Soviet armored vehicles in the middle of the Cold War in the early 1970s, is shunned by many aviators.
Although the twin-engine aircraft is slow, it is incredibly efficient to provide close air support of ground forces, making it an appreciated asset for the US Army.
But the US Air Force "never had a whole lot of interest in a subsonic close-air support plane," explained Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with consulting firm Teal Group.
"This is a plane for large land combat engagements and for the foreseeable future, you probably won't face too many of those and there's also the budget pressure."
The US Air Force had tried several times since the end of the Cold War to scrap a large part of its A-10 fleet but then gave up in the face of a series of unexpected deployments, such as the Gulf War and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Said it before: Pack them up and send them to Fort Rucker. The Army will fly them, no problem. Great 1-2 punch with the attack helicopters, and the A-10 is the grunts greatest fixed-win friend.
#2
The US Air Force had tried several times since the end of the Cold War to scrap a large part of its A-10 fleet but then gave up in the face of a series of unexpected deployments
Very strange thing about surprise attacks, they generally arrive....unexpected. The Taliban didn't care much for A-10 action, neither the 30mm or the bomb loads. The few Taliban squirters that survived (and there were damn few) generally unassed the AO about as fast as sandals can gallop. No need to keep them on station. The A-10 can RTB (return to base) for gas and a club run. Let a 'Tiger Shark' drone loiter the target area and police up the BDA (bomb damage assessment).
When the A-10 is retired, the US Army Infantryman will have lost a true friend.
#3
...Wishful thinking on the part of our Pak allies, whose friends really hate being on the wrong end of the Warthog. The USAF pretty much had to be beaten into it, but a few days back it was announced that they're upgrading the Hogs for another fifteen years or so of service.
Semper Ugly. :)
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/13/2013 5:17 Comments ||
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#4
I still remember taking the kids to an airshow near Phoenix in 1986 (or so) and seeing an A-10 in a steep dive until I was absolutely sure he could not possibly pull up. Then he did. He must have had his nose pointed at the same spot on the ground for an hour-and-a-half!
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/13/2013 7:54 Comments ||
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#5
I'm probably weird but I always loved the look of the A-10 and the design center.
It seems like a tool that does what it was meant to do, does it very well and gives great value for money.
#9
I saw a couple of the A-10 prototypes on the airfield at Ft. Ord back in '77. I thought they looked great then and still do. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Give them to the Army and Marines. They'll make good use of them.
#15
I was at the Men's Final of the US Open Tennis a few years ago and a bunch of A10's did a flyover. "Wow- Warthogs" I yelled. "What's that?" said my neighbor. So I gave her and some other New York tennis fans a little talk on the A10 " it's really just one huge flying machine gun!!!" and so on. Do you think I made any friends for my trouble? Neither do I.
#16
Closest I ever got to a 'hog in the air was playing golf at the Westover AFB in Springfield MA.
Was on the 3rd tee and a flight of A-10's was practicing low level runs. Came up over the ridge behind us and passed over at about 10 ft off the ground (okay a little higher) and scared the bejesus out of all of us. Damn that would scare the fight out of any guy on the wrong side of a gun sight.
#18
The Warthog is a classic example of form follows function. Ground pounders need close air support. The A-10 does it. The Air Force doesn't think that they are sexy enough. They are to the troops on the ground.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/13/2013 12:20 Comments ||
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#19
Ive seen the A-10 working and seen the results. Back in Feb of 91 in uniform. As a contractor out of Balad and Bagram into the boonies. As a former grunt, I love em - they don't really leave much threat unventilated. I love the sound, because you know it means that someone who wants to kill you is having a hell of a miserable day.
#22
They used to have at least one squadron of these at NG Truax Field in Madison, Wi.
Their training area was up by Necedah, Wisconsin. It actaully had an old set of bleachers to sit on and watch the exercises.
The pilots seemed to know when there were visitors (heck, they could see what we were eating for snacks, they flew so low) and would go 'all out' in their runs and ammo dispensing.
A great (but not so quiet) afternoon with the wife & kids. Miss those days.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/13/2013 16:07 Comments ||
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#23
'actaully' = actually
Ugh...
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/13/2013 16:08 Comments ||
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[Rooters] KAUAI, Hawaii (Reuters) - A senior Hawaii health official who rose to prominence when she released to President Champ Obama a copy of his birth certificate in 2011 was killed on Wednesday in a plane crash off the island of Molokai, officials said on Thursday.
All of the plane's seven other passengers and the pilot survived with various injuries, including one who swam to shore, U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue controller Darin McCracken said. The only fatality was Loretta Fuddy, director of the Hawaii Department of Health.
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.
[An Nahar] A plague spread by rats has killed 39 people in recent weeks in Madagascar, the health ministry said Thursday.
[Al Ahram] The Congolese government has signed a peace deal with the M23 rebels it had been fighting until they laid down their arms last month, Kenya's presidential 
[Washington Post] 
[Al Ahram] The 
