I am now very curious to see what the next Project Veritas video -- and there always is another video, and then several more, until everyone else accepts the reality of it, if not the subjects themselves -- will show.
[Dhaka Tribune] A Jubo League ... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... activist has been rubbed out by miscreants at Raozan upazila in Chittagong.
The dear departed is Md Shahid, 35, son of Ali Ahmed of Charabat Tal area of Raozan upazila.
Officer-in-Charge of Raozan cop shoppe Pradip Kumar Das endorsed the death information to the Dhaka Tribune.
OC Pradip Kumar said miscreants opened fire on Shahid behind a shop of iron grill at Charabat Tal area around 4pm on Wednesday and fled from the scene immediately leaving him dead on the spot.
Bullet marks in his head and chest were spotted and the body was sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for an appointment with Dr. Quincy, the OC added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2015 09:46 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] A Dhaka court Tuesday issued arrest warrant against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others for skipping court hearing in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases. The other accused facing the arrest warrants are: former BNP lawmaker Kazi Saleemul Haq alias Econo Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2015 09:43 ||
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For a map, click here. You can enlarge the map, if you open it separately.
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
President of the Donetsk republic, Aleksandr Zakharchenko let slip to reporters at a news conference on Monday that as many as 3,500 Ukrainians were killed in the Debaltsevo operation.
Donetsk Lt. Colonel Eduard Basurin said last weekend that Donetsk officially will cease the practice of reporting on Ukrainian killed in action, at the request of the Ukrainian general staff in Kiev.
But commanders who were there still speak of a massive bloodletting at the hands of rebels in Debaltsevo.
At the start of the operation in early February, it was reported by rebel media that between 6,000 and 8,000 Ukrainian troops were deployed in the Debaltsevo salient the day it was close February 9th at Logvinova.
A captured Ukrainian commander of the 25th "Kievian Rus" Battalion, identified as Alexei ""Vysota", said in a video that rebel units which moved into blocking positions on Highway M04 were also supported by several other units, which had also taken blocking positions across two other roads leading north out of the salient.
"Vysota" said that 2,500 Ukrainians died in Debaltsevo.
Among equipment lost during the operation, Zakharchenko said that 170 tanks were captured either in operating condition, or could be repaired. The number of captured tanks are roughly equivalent to two tank brigades under Russian establishment, and were probably T-72B1s and T64s.
Another 50 artillery pieces were captured, and Zakharcheko said his military was still hauling intact trucks full of ammunition from Debaltsevo.
Zakharchenko said that with the newly signed agreement between Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, Ukrainian president Piotr Poroshenko had "capitulated", presumably to the Russian backed rebels. Zarcharcheko also hinted that equipment and materiel losses at Debaltsevo and in Ilovaisk last August were so severe, Porosheko was scrambling to find military aid from abroad.
Zakharcheko lead some troops during the later stages of the final assault on Debaltsevo, and was wounded in the foot. He said at the press conference that rebels had 3,000 troops available to assault the city, but only 1,000 were sent in. The troop concentrations included troops from Lugansk, which also included newly deployed Cossack units.
One of the biggest problems in the final operation was how cold it became, with temperature lows of 3.2F at night.
Zakharchenko said that artillery attacks from Ukrainian artillery went from 70 to 80 per day down to 20, including near constant attacks at Gorlovka to the north of Donetsk city.
Zakharchenko told journalists at the press conference he expected Ukrainians to attack no later than early May, and he expected "provocations" to continue until then.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. Click here for a list of stories in the The 2014 War in Ukraina category.
#1
Donetsk Lt. Colonel Eduard Basurin said last weekend that Donetsk officially will cease the practice of reporting on Ukrainian killed in action, at the request of the Ukrainian general staff in Kiev.
[AnNahar] North Korea appears poised to expand its nuclear program over the next five years and in a worst case scenario could possess 100 atomic arms by 2020, U.S. researchers warned Tuesday.
And cutting-edge European companies could be unwittingly contributing to Pyongyang's suspect nuclear program with their equipment diverted to the isolated country via China, they said.
Unveiling the first results of what will be a 15-month study, Joel Wit, senior fellow at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said some of their conclusions were very "disturbing."
Although the North Korea's nuclear program remains shrouded in uncertainty, Pyongyang is currently believed to have a stockpile of some 10 to 16 nuclear weapons fashioned from either plutonium or weapons-grade uranium.
Using satellite imagery, North Korean media reports and their deep knowledge of nuclear programs, Wit, and veteran nuclear non-proliferation expert David Albright, have drawn up three possible scenarios based on the progress that Pyongyang from 2009 to 2014.
Those years, which followed the 2008 collapse of international six-party nuclear talks, were "banner years" for Pyongyang's nuclear program and missile systems development, Wit said.
"For these kinds of programs there have been developments that make it at least more possible to predict the future," Wit told news hounds. "We're making our best guess about the future ... we're estimating the future, just like intelligence agencies do."
In the first scenario, Pyongyang would almost double its stockpile to about 20 weapons, including plutonium-based weapons which have been miniaturized sufficiently to be mounted on its Rodong-class medium-range ballistic missile, capable of reaching Japan.
In the second -- and most likely scenario -- North Korea continues its current trajectory and manages to produce 50 weapons by 2020.
It would also make significant advances in miniaturization technology enabling it to mount warheads on a new generation of intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
In what Wit dubbed "the worst case scenario," the North Korean stockpile would grow more rapidly to 100 weapons and make "significant advances" in weapons designs to enable it to potentially deploy battlefield and tactical weapons.
"This is a pretty scary scenario, where we are seeing a dramatic expansion in North Korea's stockpile," Wit said.
North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013. It also regularly launches missile tests, triggering international condemnation.
Despite a network of international sanctions Pyongyang is able to acquire equipment, even from Western countries, which in some cases is bought by private Chinese companies and transported across the Chinese-North Korean border, said Albright.
"Just cracking down on the border could do a lot, and they (China) do very little now," said Albright, who exposed flaws in U.S. claims in 2003 that Iraq had large stocks of nuclear and chemical weapons.
U.S. politicians introduced legislation earlier this month that would widen sanctions by imposing harsher penalties on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang.
#1
Pardon my French but how in the FUCK was this allowed to get this far?
100 Nukes?
Oh goodness, Mary and Margaret, Saints on Motorcycles and how much are they selling those for on the market?
Hmmm, just another classic example of how well negotiations work when every one with two brain cells to rub together know the NORKS were playing our State Department Wonks like bongos.
[AnNahar] South Korea and the United States said Tuesday they would kick off their annual joint military exercises on March 2, setting the stage for a likely surge in tensions with North Korea.
Pyongyang had offered a moratorium on nuclear testing if this year's joint drills were cancelled -- a proposal rejected by Washington as an "implicit threat" to carry out a fourth nuclear test.
The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises are a perennial source of volatile tensions on the divided Korean peninsula.
Seoul and Washington insist they are defensive in nature, but they are regularly condemned by Pyongyang as provocative rehearsals for invasion.
"Key Resolve" lasts just over a week and is a largely computer-simulated exercise, while the eight-week "Foal Eagle" drill involves air, ground and naval field training, with around 200,000 Korean and 3,700 U.S. troops.
Both exercises will begin on March 2, with Key Resolve lasting until March 13 and Foal Eagle winding up on April 24, a South Korean Defence Ministry front man said.
North Korea has regularly resorted to missile tests and high-decibel bellicose rhetoric in expressing its displeasure with the exercises in the past.
In 2013, the drills fueled an unusually sharp and protracted surge in military tensions, with Pyongyang threatening a pre-emptive nuclear strike, and nuclear capable U.S. stealth bombers making dummy runs over the Korean peninsula.
In a speech to the ruling party's Central Military Commission at the weekend, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un directed the army to ensure its combat readiness in order to react to "any form of war ignited by the enemy."
There are close to 30,000 U.S. troops permanently stationed in South Korea and, under current arrangements, the U.S. would take operational command of the allies' combined forces in the event of a conflict with the North.
"Exercising our multi-national force is an important component of readiness and is fundamental to sustaining and strengthening the alliance," General Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the allies' Combined Forces Command, said in a statement.
"The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Command has informed the Korean People's Army in North Korea ... about Foal Eagle exercise dates and the non-provocative nature of this training," the statement said.
There was no immediate response from Pyongyang to the formal announcement of the drill dates, but South Korean Defence Ministry front man Kim Min-Seok said nothing would derail the exercises.
"North Korea's position and provocative remarks will have no impact," Kim told a press briefing.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/25/2015 14:15 Comments ||
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#6
I guess I'd be in a 'Fury' about most anything if I had to listen to "Excellent Horse-Like Lady", "I Am A Blossom of the Fatherly General" and "Joyous Beet Tractor" all day long.
(although that last one I believe is a parody item)
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/25/2015 17:38 Comments ||
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#1
It's about control. Remember the big Bay companies already got caught and convicted of rigging salaries to prevent labor competition. The judge rejected the plea agreement 'settlement'. Oh, and this little item.
#2
If your employer can prevent you from working someplace else, and send you back to the third world country you came from on a whim, and you cannot freely negotiate wages with another employer because your current employer owns your "license" to work...
That's H1B. THAT is what is wrong with the program. Either bring them in with the ability to compete directly and freely, or don't bring them in at all. Take the shackles off the H1B.
After all if we really do need this talent, then lets let them compete freely - they employers will just have to soak it up, and US workers will not be impacted nearly as much -- if its a true shortage as claimed then there will be plenty of demand.
#3
They are not completely powerless (or stupid). If an employer fires an H1-B they get 10 days to find a new job, so what happens is they find the new job, then quit. Happens all the time.
#4
The problem with your plan, OldSpook, is that it would be fair. The government and the crony capitalists are not interested in fairness. They want the game to be rigged in their favor and so it is.
#5
It's not really about the pay, it's about the boost to rents and lowering salaries.
This directly benefits the establishment at the cost of the lower+middle classes.
#7
Iblis - 10 days? Are you kidding me? To take any sort of quality position, it takes about 2 weeks just to get thru the interview, and that doesnt count the resume winding its way thru from your buddy to the hiring manager then down to HR for them to set up the requisition.
[DAWN] A three-and-a-half-year-old boy from the Sokari Karim Khan area of Bannu District was sexually abused on Monday.
According to Naseebullah, the father of the victim *A, the boy went missing on Monday morning and returned home in a terrible state a few hours later.
The boy revealed that Sher Qayyum, a resident of the same area, had kidnapped him. Qayyum allegedly took the boy to his house in the same street and sexually assaulted him, Naseebullah quoted the boy a saying.
The boy was later medically examined in which it was confirmed that he has been sexually assaulted. Police have lodged a case against Qayyum and filed an FIR on the complaint of victim's parents.
Rape is notoriously difficult to prosecute in Pakistain. In April 2011, the Supreme Court had upheld the acquittal of five men sentenced to death in Pakistain's most famous rape case, that of Mukhtar Mai.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] In a latest move, the provincial government has imposed a ban on the use of more than one loudspeaker in worship places.
Golly. There's progress.
In this regard, the police have been directed to launch a crackdown on the violators of the ban under the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Sound Regulation Ordinance 2015.
The law empowers the police to arrest and confiscate the sound system.
The police said only one loudspeaker was allowed outside mosques for Azan, Khutba in Arabic on Friday and during Eid prayers besides announcements for deaths or missing people.
"We have served notices on mosques and other worship places to remove the extra speakers immediately," superintendent of police Rawal Division Malik Karamat told Dawn.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... has already expressed displeasure over the police performance in implementing the ban on the use of loudspeakers, printing and distribution of hate, provocative material and wall chalking.
On the other hand, the provincial government has also directed the authorities concerned to check the unauthorised construction of mosques and madressahs.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) has called on Russia and Ukraine to establish a common "humanitarian space," warning against the politicization of humanitarian assistance to the conflict-torn areas in Ukraine's east.
The President of the ICRC, Peter Maurer, made the remarks on Tuesday, during a three-day visit to the Russian capital, Moscow.
"Humanitarian assistance has been highly politicized, this is not the first time that we are experiencing this, we have experienced it in the context of the Syrian crisis," said Maurer, adding, "The politicization of humanitarian assistance is complicating humanitarian assistance and we have to make the utmost effort to create a space for mutual and impartial assistance."
Maurer, who is expected to travel to Ukraine on Wednesday, said he hopes he could convince the government in Kiev "to change maybe some of its policy, and modify some of its policy in support of mutual and impartial operations by the ICRC."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
Orville and Wilbur were bike mechanics and they built an airplane; engineers built the Challenger. How did that turn out????
Posted by: USN, Ret ||
02/25/2015 9:29 Comments ||
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#3
"engineers built the Challenger. How did that turn out????"
NASA managers had known that contractor Morton Thiokol’s design of the booster's contained a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings since 1977, but they continually failed to address it properly.
They also disregarded warnings from several senior engineers about the dangers of launching on such a cold day (31°F).
Engineers do a LOT of good design that somehow gets 'managed out' of the final product. For me, the term "Value Engineering" bandied around during the actual construction process gives me heartburn.
#4
USN, you're confusing engineers with their pointyhaired bosses (Dilbert refence).
And a shuttle that goes to low earth orbit hauling multiple people and tons of cargo is a bit more of a challenge than a powered glider that went barely 300 feet with 1 man aboard.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/25/2015 14:19 Comments ||
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#9
Thanks, Frank. That's about what my Mom had to go through until she resigned herself to the fact that most everything would have 'extra wiring' (usually enclosed in a 'Bud Box').
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/25/2015 16:07 Comments ||
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DALLAS – Federal officials have agreed to let Southwest Airlines Co. keep flying planes that missed an inspection of a backup rudder system if the planes are checked in the next five days.
Southwest grounded 128 planes — about one-fifth of its fleet — on Tuesday after discovering the missed inspections.
Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said the airline canceled about 80 flights Tuesday and expected to cancel up to 19 more on Wednesday while some inspections are done. She said the airline expected to finish "a good portion" of the inspections by Wednesday morning.
#1
I try to avoid them at night. Also during the day. And in between.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
02/25/2015 7:41 Comments ||
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#2
As the company gets larger and larger, they are losing their unique charm and character. They're hiring more and more people, who don't give a shit how things used to be done. They just do like they did at their last employer.
#3
I flew Southwest a couple months back. The lead flight attendant clearly had been educated by one of the old PSA gals. She did the entire comedy schtick from beginning to end on the flight safety instructions and she did it flawlessly. A real pleasure.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/25/2015 8:29 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
02/25/2015 10:56 Comments ||
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#7
Sounds like they discovered a problem and they're taking care of it even if it means losing money. I suppose United is OK if you don't mind paying more and you don't care about getting there on time.
#9
I flew BA 'till I landed back at Heathrow followed by Fire Engines in a plane that could only reliably turn left with a slightly pissed up women's Rugby team singing the tunes from the Dam-Busters...
#10
PSA = Pacific Southwest Airlines, at least here in San Diego, where they were HQ'd
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/25/2015 14:17 Comments ||
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#11
Heriberto: my gawd she looks very similar. The schtick was some different but every bit as fun.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/25/2015 16:18 Comments ||
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#12
Yessss, THAt yaw damper on the Boeing 737...Wien Alaska did a full barrel roll and I flew one just after one at Nordair went upside down...Boeing finally fixed it...fifty years later and how many crashes?
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.
[Dhaka Tribune] A Dhaka court Tuesday issued arrest warrant against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others for skipping court hearing in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases. The other accused facing the arrest warrants are: former BNP lawmaker Kazi Saleemul Haq alias Econo Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed.
North Korea
North Korea
[DAWN] A three-and-a-half-year-old boy from the Sokari Karim Khan area of Bannu District was sexually abused on Monday.
[DAWN] In a latest move, the provincial government has imposed a ban on the use of more than one loudspeaker in worship places.
[Iran Press TV] The International Committee of the 
