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Tunisia approves new constitution, appoints government
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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-Land of the Free
At least one Maryland Starbucks is protected
I remember seeing a photo of a soldier decked out as an operator would be in Modern Warfare 2 a year or two ago. One of our mods commented: Wouldn't last five minutes.

Ace published a link but bearingarms.com provided the link to the GearWhoresAnonymous Facebook page. Some of the comments are pretty funny.

At least their" booger hook is off the bang switch".
Posted by: badanov || 01/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The shorter, plumper lad appears to have a partially used roll of '90mph tape' hanging from his kit. Is he expecting to attach even more pieces of gear? Glad he remembered his 'mag bag.' No sense littering the premises with candy wrappers and soda cans.

The comments were worthy, quite worthy.

Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 4:47 Comments || Top||

#2  As the InstaProf would point out, the militarization of our constabulary continues. This is 'militarism' rather than 'military' as the imagery and regalia overwhelms the intent or function of the organization. It unfortunately lends more credence to the term 'Police State' that alienates the population from what used to be a 'beat cop'.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/28/2014 8:12 Comments || Top||

#3  These law enforcement kit trends have a way of changing. I'm awaiting the Paki-India border guard look.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 8:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Or with the promotion of LGBT agenda by the various Obama EEO offices when will they go Greek?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/28/2014 9:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Gads! What were they thinking when they designed those? Why did they agree to wear them? The only thing they could have done worse is to make them pink.

OTOH, if I came up against one of those guys wearing a tutu, he'd probably have the upper hand because I'd be laughing so hard and he'd probably be pi$$ed off for having to wear that "uniform".
Posted by: gorb || 01/28/2014 9:46 Comments || Top||

#6  >At least their" booger hook is off the bang switch"

Yes rather worryingly U.K. Airport securitate walk around with their fingers over the trigger of their MP5's.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/28/2014 10:08 Comments || Top||

#7  #3 PIC: substance over style
Link PIC: style over substance

Hey mister! Where's your traffic vest!

(I kinda get the India/Pak deal; the Greek showiform I do not understand)
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/28/2014 10:59 Comments || Top||

#8  Besoeker, those guys look like peacocks.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 01/28/2014 11:28 Comments || Top||

#9  Yes, high stepping peacocks.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 11:37 Comments || Top||

#10  They were taught by "The Minister of Silly Walks."
Posted by: Glising Clineter7187 || 01/28/2014 12:19 Comments || Top||

#11  The cops are missing their reflective belts!
Posted by: 49 Pan || 01/28/2014 14:27 Comments || Top||

#12  First time is a warning Pan. Second time is an Article-15.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 14:46 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Impending Democrat Election Disaster
Closing paragraphs:
[AmThinker] But Obama has set his party up for even more severe voter retaliation in 2014. By limiting the 2013 initial rollout of Obamacare to just 11 million people, he has doomed 270 million Americans to suffer anxiety about the impacts of the wildly unpopular program during an election year.This may explain why the January 22nd Gallup Poll reveals that an all-time high of 65% of Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. system of government and its effectiveness; versus 41% for President Bush in 2006, who the press referred to at the time as a "very unpopular president."

If the Republicans only achieve the average gain of an opposing party in the 6th year of a presidents' term, they will pick up six seats for control the Senate and push their majority in the House of Representatives to 68 seats. But with President Obama's approval rating at the same level as President Bush plus voter's dissatisfaction with government 24% higher, Democrats appear to be facing an epic election disaster.
Be sure to vote this November.
I'll vote against if I have to (yet again), but I sure would like someone to vote for...
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Presumes free/legal elections. Pollyanna.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/28/2014 5:52 Comments || Top||

#2  No worries, it's all been covered.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 6:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Rest assured, the House RINOs will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by passing amnesty, destroying any reason for anyone to be concerned about being an American. Without restrictions on the federal judiciary, they'll all be declared new voters by court room fiat regardless of what the RINOs claim the pass. Whether the conservatives just stay home or wait for the new voters to be stuffing the ballot boxes will simply be a matter of a couple of years to have the ultimate effect.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/28/2014 7:55 Comments || Top||

#4  The real action is in the primaries. Every Ted Cruz we elect is worth 20 John McCains.
Posted by: Iblis || 01/28/2014 10:42 Comments || Top||

#5  The term "Cruz Missiles" was used yesterday by the media to describe his latest rant at the Regime. I love it !
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 10:44 Comments || Top||

#6  If Republicans pass amnesty I'll never vote Republican again. And it won't matter anyway because the Republican Party will be toast. They've already turned California from red to blue. If they pass amnesty the whole country will go blue and there won't be squat that anybody can do about it.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 01/28/2014 11:50 Comments || Top||

#7  Sounds like the runup to the 2012 elections.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/28/2014 15:05 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Faustian bargain?
[DAWN] WHAT do you do when the killers say that they will kill you if you say that they are killers? Should you sell your soul to the devil? Or should you venture out saying what you think is right, knowing that it is open hunting season?

If you are an apologist, supporter or sympathiser of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), you're not on their target list and the state tries to appease you. If you are critical of TTP-led terror, you're marked and the state leaves you to fend for yourself. In this situation what side should a rational mind pick?

Remember Swat? Within a year or so we saw a coercive consensus transformed into a conformist consensus under the brutal Fazlullah regime. Wouldn't you fear those who demonstrate their intent and capacity to maul fellow citizens without any qualms? When those under threat don't resist coercion in the interest of self-preservation, a conformist consensus is born. But this doesn't happen until the state acts as a neutral bystander twiddling its thumbs watching one set of citizens force another into submission by threat or use of force.

We have slowly degenerated to a point where the state has lost its monopoly over violence and state officials their autonomy and anonymity. Now we have general and specific terror targets, both within the state and society. The state institutions -- the armed forces, intelligence and law enforcement agencies -- are general targets. And then there are individuals within institutions who are specific targets either due to their sensitive posts or personal convictions.

Any citizen who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time is a legitimate general target for terrorists. Then there are specific group and individual targets: Hazaras, Shias generally, and now journalists are group targets; religious leaders who speak against the terror-driven tyrannical model of faith or anchors critical of hard boyz or perceived as liberal are on individual hit lists. Political parties, of liberal persuasion, and individual leaders, vocal about their opposition to terror, have been marked as group and individual targets respectively.

Aren't TTP sympathisers forcing officials and citizens to follow their lead and strike a Faustian bargain? If the state cannot protect you, why not seek patronage of hard boyz who can hurt you at will? This could work for political parties and citizens who aren't on target lists.

But what about those who are? What can Hazaras do to appease terrorists? What can non-journalist media staff do to save their lives? Caught in the crosshairs by virtue of their work, what should coppers and soldiers do? What should ordinary citizens do who are at the wrong place at the wrong time?

The gamble of pro-talkers is simple: so long as there is a bigger target, the lesser target is safer. The state and society is thus confronted with prisoners' dilemma: you can be anti-TTP and a target, or a sympathiser and relatively safe. We have created this dilemma because we fail to unite on basic principles: there can be no justification ever for one set of citizens to kill fellow citizens in pursuit of any political or ideological objective; and the state can never agree to share monopoly over violence with non-state actors.

So what would Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
or Chaudhry Nisar negotiate with Fazlullah? How to abide by his vision of the Sharia and ways to implement it? Would they take his counsel on how to raise their kids or be 'better' Moslems? Would they endorse the revisionist mission of changing world geography, invading foreign territories and forcing their denizens to embrace the TTP's brand of faith? If support for talks is meant to be more than a personal insurance policy and thus not an end in itself, shouldn't the object of proposed talks and non-negotiable redlines be clearly stated?

If negotiations are meant to mainstream Fata and elicit the support of rustics for Pakistain, its Constitution and policies, let's talk to leaders of all tribes and not those of a terror outfit.

If local support in Fata is key to the terror conundrum, let's propose new self-governance structures for Fata and service delivery guarantees by the state. And if the object is to separate hardened hard boyz from misguided accomplices, why not propose a workable amnesty and rehabilitation scheme to those who wish to stop fighting?

Pakistain has too many soft targets: schools, mosques, bazaars, funerals, politicians, coppers, soldiers, defence installations etc. While there is no excuse for security failures, it is not possible to protect all citizens and state assets by protection alone.

The state must focus on extinguishing the threat. We need politicians to shape the national narrative against terror. And we need the army and police to cleanse themselves of TTP sympathisers, dispel the impression that we have a capacity problem and bolster public faith in the state's will and ability to win his war.

Our anti-terror policy must focus on minimising collateral damage. But let's realise that there will be more bloodshed, both by the TTP and in defending Paks against it. Re-establishing the writ of state over North Wazoo and other no-go areas is only one component of an anti-terror policy. The cancer has spread all over. We need surgery for the most affected parts followed by chemotherapy for the body politic. It will be no ride in the park. But this fight is for the existence of the idea of Pakistain that is worth fighting for.
Posted by: Fred || 01/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Government
What Champ won’t say in his State of the Union speech — but should
[The Exchange] If Champ were being perfectly honest, he’d explain to a nationwide audience that Washington politicians mostly plan to sit on their hands in 2014, with posturing for political advantage in the November elections far more important than helping strengthen the U.S. economy. That's why Champ will reportedly be more aggressive in using executive authority to pursue pet projects, in lieu of authorization from Congress.

Voters, for their part, also have a dwindling appetite for government solutions to economic problems. It’s not even clear there’s much Washington could do if it wanted to. “My fellow Americans,” Champ might say if administered truth serum, “this year, you’re on your own.”
No, he definitely won't tell us "we're on our own."
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  showtime!
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/28/2014 1:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Obama speech summary "thanks democrats and RINOs for listening; tea party go to hell, lie, lie, lie, stutter fib, laugh , lie... Since my policies to create jobs and create equity have been destroyed by George bush I plan to go around congress and take money from my enemies and give it to my friends and supports. Lie, lie, good night."
Posted by: Airandee || 01/28/2014 7:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, as some observant ready mentioned here yesterday; the Dems and Rhino Pubs have reached common ground on one major point. They both fok'n HATE the Tea Party and want it to go away.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 7:14 Comments || Top||

#4  ...something like this would be nice (skip to 2:40): <LINK>



Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/28/2014 8:25 Comments || Top||

#5  Wacko birds, wacko birds I tell ya !
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/28/2014 10:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Where's Joe Wilson when you need him?

Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 01/28/2014 11:36 Comments || Top||

#7  Thanks, #2 Airandee - saves me the time and trouble of watching it.

Not that I would have anyway ....
Posted by: Barbara || 01/28/2014 13:46 Comments || Top||

#8  HT AOSHQ: Greg Gutfeld's SOTU Obama Drinking Game. Caution - severe liver damage may occur

“Every time he says ‘folks,’ drink. Every time he says ‘fair share,’ drink. Every time he says ‘extraordinary,’ drink. Every time he brags about working tirelessly, drink. When he frets about lack of compromise, drink. If he says, ‘Bring me a bill, and I’ll sign it,’ drink. When he brings up the middle class, the people he’s ruining, drink. Every time he says, ‘It’s the right thing to do,’ drink. Every time he cites someone that his policies have helped, drink. If she’s in the audience, drink some more. Every time he says, ‘I never said it would be easy,’ drink. If he says that after mentioning ObamaCare, drink again. If he says ObamaCare’s rough start was worth it, drink. And every time he reminds us that running a country is really hard, say, ‘Yeah, we can tell,’ and drink … Finally, each time you feel like you’re being screwed, drink. And if you still buy anything from this gas bag, then you deserve the world’s worst hangover, and enjoy it, ‘cause you built that.”
Posted by: Frank G || 01/28/2014 14:03 Comments || Top||

#9  that's a good drinking game, but
Stephen Green of Vodka pundit has been making these up for years.
Posted by: bman || 01/28/2014 15:43 Comments || Top||

#10  If I want to see cheerleading I watch football
Posted by: European Conservative || 01/28/2014 21:09 Comments || Top||

#11  "If I want to see cheerleading I watch football"

Yours or ours, EC? ;-p (I didn't think soccer had cheerleaders.)
Posted by: Barbara || 01/28/2014 23:34 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
32[untagged]
9Arab Spring
5Boko Haram
5Govt of Syria
3Govt of Pakistan
3al-Shabaab
2TTP
2Govt of Iran
2Seleka
1Govt of Sudan
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1Narcos
1al-Qaeda
1Taliban
1al-Qaeda in Pakistan

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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.
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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
Tue 2014-01-28
  Tunisia approves new constitution, appoints government
Mon 2014-01-27
  Somali militant commander killed by missile in suspected drone attack
Sun 2014-01-26
  Arc Light Iraqi planes, artillery strike rebel-held Falluja
Sat 2014-01-25
  Drone Strike Kills Three Qaida Suspects in Yemen
Fri 2014-01-24
  Accidental car boom in Peshawar kills six
Thu 2014-01-23
  'Germans among Dead' in Pakistan Air Strikes
Wed 2014-01-22
  Bomb kills at least 22 Shiite pilgrims returning on bus from Iran to Pakistan
Tue 2014-01-21
  Taliban bombing near GHQ kills 13
Mon 2014-01-20
  Explosion kills 20 in Bannu; TTP claims attack
Sun 2014-01-19
  Iranian diplomat shot dead by gunmen in Sana'a
Sat 2014-01-18
  Suicide Bomb Rocks Downtown Kabul
Fri 2014-01-17
  Car Bomb Kills 3, Hurts Dozens in Hermel, 'al-Nusra in Lebanon' Claims Attack
Thu 2014-01-16
  Syria Opposition Says Army Attacked Rebels with Poison Gas
Wed 2014-01-15
  Sharia begins in Libya
Tue 2014-01-14
  Three militants gunned down in Sopore encounter


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