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Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Bangla:9 'militants' killed in Kalyanpur joint drive, 2 in custody
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
12 22:22 SteveS [2] 
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8 23:39 Rob Crawford [4] 
3 15:39 Sock Puppet of Doom [5] 
3 17:39 JohnQC [2] 
3 09:57 DepotGuy [3] 
12 22:35 brujotejano [5] 
5 16:29 JohnQC [2] 
3 19:04 Shipman [5] 
2 03:50 Skidmark [7] 
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2 16:30 Thing From Snowy Mountain [6] 
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3 16:40 Rex Mundi [1] 
6 19:19 Frank G [5] 
4 20:55 Pappy [5] 
1 15:02 Skidmark [7] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
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3 14:48 g(r)omgoru [3]
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Page 4: Opinion
1 09:59 Shipman [3]
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21 22:30 Rob Crawford [4]
2 16:09 JohnQC [3]
3 15:45 JohnQC [4]
3 14:17 g(r)omgoru [5]
2 08:45 Vast Right Wing Conspiracy [1]
14 14:13 g(r)omgoru [4]
Page 6: Politix
15 22:22 Mullah Richard [5]
2 11:26 NoMoreBS [3]
2 16:34 g(r)omgoru [5]
3 07:10 john frum [2]
19 22:31 Rob Crawford [6]
4 15:48 Sock Puppet of Doom [4]
9 19:00 swksvolFF [4]
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1 14:13 Whiskey Mike [3]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
MSNBC's Joy Reid Shouts Down Guest for Saying that 33,000 of Hillary's E-Mails Are Missing
Excerpt [PJ Media] Reid could not believe her ears.

REID: Nope, hold on. You can't just invent things! You can't just invent things.

KREMER: I'm not inventing anything!

REID: You just invented it an entire thing! The FBI has already come out with a report on Hillary Clinton e-mails and what you just said is invented thing!

KREMER: What?

REID: There’s no 33,000 e-mails that are going to harm our national security. You know that there was an entire year and half investigation!

From there the show devolved into chaos as Reid shouted down Kremer whenever she spoke. "No, ma’am! No, Ma’am! You cannot invent things. You cannot say things -- You’re putting out incredibly inflammatory information."

No matter how "utterly bored" Reid may be with it, FBI’s Director Comey's statements prove Clinton lied to the public about her e-mail procedures. Comey also said they were only able to obtain roughly half of, "the reportedly more than 60,000 total e-mails remaining on Secretary Clinton’s personal system in 2014."
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 07:17 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  talentless partisan racist hack doing what she does
Posted by: Frank G || 08/02/2016 9:02 Comments || Top||

#2  How dare that person not go with the established narrative about Queen McCacklepants!
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/02/2016 9:07 Comments || Top||

#3  When you can't argue facts or want to bury the truth shout it down.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 08/02/2016 15:39 Comments || Top||


FBI employee pleads guilty to passing information to China
[Guardian] An FBI electronics technician has pleaded guilty in New York to acting as an agent of China and passing along sensitive information to a Chinese government official.

Kun Shan Chun, also known as Joey Chun, faces up to 10 years behind bars when sentenced by a federal judge on 2 December, US prosecutors said.

He was arrested in March, having worked for the FBI for nine years and getting top secret security clearance in 1998.

Chun, 46, confessed to collecting sensitive information and allowing it to be passed on to a Chinese official in exchange for financial reward and concealing that relationship from the FBI.
Related: As U.S. pushes police to diversify, FBI struggles to get minorities in the door.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 01:47 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Treason, how severe?
Lose his job, family, clearance, 10 years of jailtime. Is he even a minority? Was he one of the quotas? Was he supported by his family? Should they be deported too? Do we know where he lives so we can become neighborhood pests?
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 3:46 Comments || Top||

#2  collecting sensitive information and allowing it to be passed on to a Chinese official in exchange for financial reward and concealing that relationship from the FBI.

Hasn't all of that now been legalized ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 7:08 Comments || Top||

#3  John Schindler:

That the FBI allowed Chun to be arrested may be a positive sign, however, since I personally know of previous examples where suspected Chinese moles inside our Intelligence Community were allowed to resign, never to face charges of any kind. In one notorious case a few years back, a Chinese-American mole was uncovered in an FBI field office, indeed caught red-handed. But the employee was allowed to quit and walk away, scot free, since the FBI had no stomach for a messy spy scandal coupled with the inevitable claims of “racial profiling” that follow the arrest of any Asian-American suspected of spying for Beijing.

That Chun now faces a few years of prison may be an indication that, at last, our government is getting tough about the rising problem of Chinese espionage against the United States, which is a good thing. Let’s see how the Department of Justice handles the next accused Chinese mole, who’s sure to come along sooner rather than later.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/02/2016 8:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Little people.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/02/2016 8:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Hasn't all of that now been legalized ? It would seem so--at least if you are a Donk Prez. candidate.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/02/2016 16:29 Comments || Top||


Interpol arrests Nigerian accused in $60 million cybercrime
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Nigerian accused of scamming $60 million from companies around the world through fraudulent emails has been jugged
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
after months of investigation, Interpol and Nigeria's anti-fraud agency said Monday.

One target paid out $15.4 million, according to a statement.

The statement said the ringleader of a global scamming network, identified only as a 40-year-old called Mike, was arrested along with a 38-year-old accomplice in Nigeria's oil capital, Port Harcourt, in June. He is on administrative bail, which implies that officers do not yet have enough evidence to charge him in court.

The man is accused of leading a criminal network that compromised email accounts of small and medium-sized businesses around the world including in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Romania, South Africa and Thailand. The statement didn't name any of the targets.

The network involved about 40 people in Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa who provided malware and carried out the frauds, with money-laundering contacts in China, Europe and the United States providing bank account details.

A supplier's email would be compromised and fake messages sent to a buyer with instructions for payment to a bank account under the network's control, the statement said. Or the email account of a high-level executive would be taken over and a request for a wire transfer sent to an employee responsible for handling such requests.

Such crime "poses a significant and growing threat, with tens of thousands of companies victimized in recent years," Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, said in a statement. "The public, and especially businesses, need to be alert to this type of cyber-enabled fraud."

Nigeria is notorious for internet fraud. The U.S. Embassy says it receives inquiries every day from Americans who have been defrauded.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  419 Eater
Posted by: Frank G || 08/02/2016 10:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Does this mean I won't get anymore of those nifty emails from Nigeria anymore?
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 08/02/2016 15:40 Comments || Top||

#3  No SPOD it means you will get more, and better written.

Dear SPOD, I am the actuary of a roll of Mercury Dimes Dated 1916 Delta and above.
In my country dimes are worth about 10 cents. My understanding is in great Republic certain dimes are worth many women and cattle.

I offer this roll to you at an arm lengths transaction of $1,972.48 to affirm our friendship. If in good time we work well, I have stumbled upon a hoard of 1938 delta halves. Featuring half clothed woman on front and vicious bird on back. I remain your faithful servant.

The Other Mahmoud ( not the weasel)
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2016 19:04 Comments || Top||


Teen attacked in broad daylight, robbed of shoes and pants
[ABC6ONYOURSIDE] COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) -- Columbus Police are looking for a group of teens who attacked another teen from behind and robbed him of his pants and shoes. The whole scene was captured on a security camera at a nearby business.

The 19-year-old victim was walking on East 6th Avenue near Summit Street, in Weinland Park Sunday evening. Video footage shows him talking with the group of teens before walking off, even shaking one's hand, before walking off downt he alley. That's when one of the boys can be seen jogging up behind the victim and pushing him to the ground.

Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  a little Judo or Aikido goes a long ways.......
Posted by: 746 || 08/02/2016 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  As does a sawyer.
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2016 1:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Redistributive justice
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 08/02/2016 16:40 Comments || Top||


Police: 65 homicides in July in Chicago
[CHICAGO.SUNTIMES] reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,...
is poised to see the number of homicides in July dip from June, but the city is still on pace to see more people killed in 2016 than last year.

"We shake our heads and ask ’Why are some of our communities on the South and West Sides being held hostage by gun violence,'" Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Monday.

There were 65 homicides in Chicago in July, according to Chicago Police. There were 71 homicides in the city in June and 66 in May.

The city has recorded 381 homicides so far in 2016, police said. That’s up about 44 percent from last year, when the city had 264 murders through July 31, 2015.

Police said 2,394 people were shot in the city so far in 2016, including 441 in July. In the same time period last year, 1,564 people had been shot through July 31, 2015.

Johnson invited news hounds to join him in the 4400 block of West Adams next to a vacant lot where officers on Sunday seized an illegal handgun that marked the 5,000th gun police had taken off the streets so far in 2016.

Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  35th trimester abortions
Posted by: Frank G || 08/02/2016 10:50 Comments || Top||

#2  If only Planned Parenthood were adequately funded.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 10:52 Comments || Top||

#3  If only Chicago had strict gun control laws. Oh, wait...
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 08/02/2016 10:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Those numbers are just homicides (are there hetericides?). How many more beatings, muggings, robberies and common thievery episodes do we miss?
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 15:06 Comments || Top||

#5  "We shake our heads and ask ’Why are some of our communities on the South and West Sides being held hostage by gun violence,'" Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Monday.


He makes it sound like there're gangs of M16s, shotguns, revolvers and the like roaming the streets. How do they do that?
Posted by: AlanC || 08/02/2016 15:12 Comments || Top||

#6  "Suspect, Didna DuNuffin, age 19, denied shooting the firearm. He said it went off by itself, reloaded twice, and continued shooting"
Posted by: Frank G || 08/02/2016 19:19 Comments || Top||


Boy 17, arrested in Mexico for mutilation murders
Posted by: SAT2014 || 08/02/2016 13:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is news in South Africa?
Maybe if he ate the parts...
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 15:02 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Did Albert Einstein Steal The Theory Of Relativity From His Wife?
No.
Did Albert Einstein steal the work on relativity from his wife? originally appeared on Quora: the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

It is an extraordinary claim, and as such, requires evidence. Einstein scholars (notably John Stachel and Robert Schulmann) have spent a lot of time and effort clarifying the sources of the allegation which as far as I can see, boils down to two claims:

1. That Abram Fedorovich Joffe, a member of the Soviet academy of Sciences and an assistant to Röntgen from 1902 until 1906, saw the original manuscript of the relativity paper, Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Korper, and that this manuscript was signed "Einstein-Marity." And "Marity" is a Hungarian variant of the Serbian "Marić," Mileva’s maiden name. So, the claim goes, Mileva Marić Einstein’s name was on the original manuscript, but was then left out of the published article, where Albert Einstein’s name appears alone.

2. That on March 27, 1901 Einstein wrote a letter to Marić that included the clause "... bringing our work on relative motion to a successful conclusion." Note the "our," which implies that the work was done in collaboration.
More doctoral-level blah-blah at link.
Posted by: gorb || 08/02/2016 15:06 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nothing extraordinary about this claim - it's made every year and it's complete bull.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 08/02/2016 15:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Her handwriting might have been better than his.

Compared to my wife's, mine is virtually illegible.

Posted by: Mullah Richard || 08/02/2016 15:32 Comments || Top||

#3  If we declare it factual, can we all just move on ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 15:33 Comments || Top||

#4  As curious a conspiracy as Joseph Smith's tablets.
If you can't show me, "what does it matter now"?

If there was further collaboration of peers on the unified theory, she became more interested in raising the children as he began poking his cousin.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 15:49 Comments || Top||

#5  Early Herstory
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/02/2016 16:26 Comments || Top||

#6  The germs of the theories were thought experiments. There might've been some collaboration there - "Yes, Albert, but what if the train was moving at the speed of light?"
Posted by: Bobby || 08/02/2016 17:12 Comments || Top||

#7  Is nothing sacrosanct re the white male accomplishments--c'mon give us this.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/02/2016 17:32 Comments || Top||

#8  MSM 2017 "Was Einstein Islamic?"
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/02/2016 17:58 Comments || Top||

#9  What kind of shirt was he wearing?
Posted by: Hupinemp McCoy2401 || 08/02/2016 18:23 Comments || Top||

#10  He was a Democrat? I had no idea.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/02/2016 18:28 Comments || Top||

#11  I would like to know that if he ever did the laundry, did he ever get it right?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/02/2016 19:47 Comments || Top||

#12  Cleanliness is relative.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/02/2016 22:22 Comments || Top||


200 million Yahoo passwords being sold on the dark web?
If you don't know what Yahoo's two-step security is, now would be a good time to figure it out. Google has it for G-Mail, too.
A notorious cybercriminal is advertising 200 million of alleged Yahoo user credentials on the dark web, and the company has said it is "aware" of the hacker's claims, but has not confirmed nor denied the legitimacy of the data.

On Monday, the hacker known as Peace, who has previously sold dumps of Myspace and LinkedIn, listed supposed credentials of Yahoo users on The Real Deal marketplace. Peace told Motherboard that he has been trading the data privately for some time, but only now decided to sell it openly.

When a hacker advertises a huge horde of login details for sale there are often more questions than answers:

• How many (if any) of the credentials are legitimate? There may be 200 million-or-so being sold, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to break into 200 million accounts.

• What is the origin of the data? Has the data been collected through phishing attacks? Or Has the data been collated from the mega breach of another online service (like LinkedIn or MySpace), and just evidence that yet again folks have made the mistake of reusing passwords?

• Are the credentials for current accounts or for old, stale accounts that may have been closed down or had their passwords changed long ago?

• Is there any evidence of a security breach at Yahoo that could have resulted in login credentials spilling out? (This would be most worrying, but thankfully seems least likely)

Not all of these questions are necessarily easy to answer with absolute certainty.

But what is clear is that your Yahoo account will be a lot safer if you have enabled two-step verification and have learnt to never reuse passwords.

If you're not being sensible about your online security, take appropriate steps now to harden your Yahoo account. Because even if this current scare ends up not impacting your account, there is always the danger that you could become a victim in the future.
Maybe someone at the NSA doing a little work on the side? Maybe some brute-force attacks?
Posted by: gorb || 08/02/2016 14:56 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Clan battle kills 15, injures 36 in Galgadud
At least 15 people have been killed, and 36 others wounded in a renewed clan fighting in Galgadud region, located in central Somalia on Monday, military officials said.

A Somali military commander in the region said the battle broke out after two clan militiamen have engaged in a deadly gunfire at El Dabole area near Elbur town.

The warring clan militiamen have been in deadlock over water resources and ownership of boreholes in the area in the past, according to the military source.

Several attempts to defuse the tension have failed, and elders are still on mission to bring an end to the frequent battle that claiming lives of dozens of people in Galgadud.
Posted by: Steve White || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Saudi Arabia cuts oil price to Asia
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, lowered the pricing terms for Arab Light crude sold to Asia by the most in 10 months, signaling Saudi Arabia has no plans to back down while OPEC rival Iran tries to regain market share amid a global oversupply, Bloomberg reported.

State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said Sunday it will sell cargoes of Arab Light in September at $1.10 a barrel below Asia’s regional benchmark.

That is a pricing cut of $1.30 from August, the biggest drop since November, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company was expected to lower the pricing by $1 a barrel, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of eight refiners and traders.

Earlier, in July, Chief Executive Amin Nasser told Reuters that Saudi Aramco wasn't worried about rival producers, such as Iraq, Iran and Russia, gaining ground in key market Asia, destination for about two-thirds of the kingdom's exports.

"Customers are increasing, no we are not," he said.

To maintain market share, Iran’s oil production has increased since January 16, 2016 when implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and lifting of sanctions began. Some 600,000 barrels per day (b/d) has been added so far and the government plans to raise it up to 800,000 b/d by the summer of 2016, reaching pre-sanction levels (prior to 2014).

Saudi Arabia, which is the largest OPEC oil producer and exporter, produced 10.308 million barrels per day of oil in June compared to 10.242 million barrels per day in May, according to OPEC’s latest estimates.
Posted by: Steve White || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How's the bond market ticks?
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2016 1:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Meanwhile, the Chinese are reexporting that oil to us after refining it.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 08/02/2016 16:30 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
The Six Demands of the BLM Political Platform
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 01:58 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I like it. Lets do it.
I'm all signed up!
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 3:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Forgot what happened after the reconstruction?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/02/2016 3:46 Comments || Top||

#3  “Who would have thought that after the election of the first black president in the history of the United States, that we would need a period of reconstruction to try to put this country back together?”

~ Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 5:40 Comments || Top||

#4  It's hard to imagine a more racist document. They basically want free stuff, freedom from prosecution for any crimes, segregation, release of criminals and terrorist, and of course a socialist government. Funny how this lines up with the Democratic Party, almost as if the DNC controls and drives BLM much like it did the KKK...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 08/02/2016 8:18 Comments || Top||

#5  Well CF, both the BLM, KKK and New Black Panther Party all have the same masters.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/02/2016 8:44 Comments || Top||

#6  They basically want free stuff, freedom from prosecution for any crimes, segregation, release of criminals and terrorist, and of course a socialist government.

Sounds like the basis of a 'prisoner' swap with the government of South Africa in exchange for minority whites.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/02/2016 8:44 Comments || Top||

#7  It's called Liberia. We';ll pay for your shipping transit
Posted by: Frank G || 08/02/2016 9:42 Comments || Top||

#8  Do we have to ship them all the way there? Liberia has enough problems.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 08/02/2016 12:14 Comments || Top||

#9  Earnest?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/02/2016 16:36 Comments || Top||

#10  Sooooo.....they want the power shut off and food to stop coming. Dang-o, better put a wall around that paradise.

I wonder who they would cast as action lead in Escape from Black Lives Matter?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/02/2016 18:10 Comments || Top||

#11  Earnest?

Our drunken voice-to-text troll.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/02/2016 18:58 Comments || Top||

#12  Missed Earnest, oh well back to cleaning my ARs.
Posted by: brujotejano || 08/02/2016 22:35 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
More officials than athletes in Pakistan’s Olympics contingent
[DAWN] Pakistain will send its smallest-ever national Olympics contingent to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, comprising more officials than athletes.

A 24-member contingent will represent the country at Rio 2016 scheduled to be held from August 5 to 21.

"Pakistain contingent will include seven athletes and 17 officials," a Pakistain Olympic Association (POA) official told APP.

It is the first time Pakistain’s national hockey team will not be featuring in the mega event as it failed to qualify.

Most of the other athletes, too, for the quadrennial sports spectacle got entry through wildcard or continental quota system.

Not even a single boxer could qualify for the Olympics although one of Pakistain’s two non-hockey medals came through boxing in 1988 when Hussain Shah won a bronze.

Judoka Shah Hussain, son of Hussain Shah, is the only athlete who sealed a place at coveted multi-sports event under continental quota.

Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds like FSU road trip.
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2016 1:51 Comments || Top||

#2  athletes and their handlers/security guards.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 3:50 Comments || Top||


Girl killed for 'honour' by father in Karachi
[DAWN] KARACHI: An 18-year old girl was killed by her father over ’honour’ in the metropolis’ North 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...
area on Monday, according to police officials.

The daughter, Bakhtawar, was murdered by her father, Akhtar Hussain, using a pair of scissors," said Sir Syed SHO.

The police official added the girl received fatal wounds on her abdomen as a result of the attack.

"The suspect later managed to escape after locking the door of the house. She was discovered later in the evening after her mother and siblings returned home from work," elaborated the police official.

The father killed the daughter as he had suspicions about her ’character’, said the SHO

The killing comes weeks after popular social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was killed in Multan for 'honour', sending shock waves across the country, prompting widespread criticism of so-called honour killings.

Women rights activist and politicians called for renewed efforts to curb the menace that has plagued the country for decades.

On July 21, a committee comprising politicians from both the lower and upper houses of the parliament unanimously approved two bills aimed at tackling honour killings and boosting rape convictions..

Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israeli company shows interest in making Trump's US-Mexico border wall a reality
[Jpost] An Israeli company credited with building the defense barrier that crowns the Gaza Strip has signaled its interest in helping construct a controversial border wall proposed by US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to a report published by Bloomberg News Tuesday.

Sa'ar Koursh, owner of Magal Security Systems Ltd., told Bloomberg in an interview last month that his expertise in constructing security barriers in Israel and across the globe could help bring the candidate's proposal into reality.

"We would join forces with a major US defense company that has experience with such projects worldwide," said Koursh, who spoke to Bloomberg while accompanying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Africa on a diplomatic mission in early July. "We’ve done it in the past and we would definitely want to do it."
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/02/2016 03:15 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I like it. Lets go.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 3:38 Comments || Top||

#2  I was hoping the Israeli TSA contract would gain approval first.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 6:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Then again there's the question on how such massive project would be funded but why quibble about minor details when there's a political campaign to be run.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 08/02/2016 9:57 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Israelis say PokeyMan is a NoGo
The Israeli military is warning its soldiers about a new threat: the widely popular mobile phone game "Pokemon Go."

The army said Monday it has banned its forces from playing the game on Israeli military bases due to security concerns. In a directive to soldiers and officers, the army warned the game activates cell phone cameras and location services, and could leak sensitive information like army base locations and photographs of the bases.

The military is also concerned that soldiers could download a fake application that impersonates "Pokemon Go" but could leak information from soldiers' phones.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Extreme double-lucky Pokemon spotted In Tehran.
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2016 9:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Was it in a well?
Posted by: Pappy || 08/02/2016 11:44 Comments || Top||

#3  You speak of the 12th or Occluded Pokemon? When that one shows up Lassie will alert us.
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2016 14:42 Comments || Top||

#4  And he'll need insulin.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/02/2016 20:55 Comments || Top||


Science
Israel Develops a Highly Protected APC to Replace Thousands of M-113 POS 'Tin Cans'
Israel's Ministry of Defense unveiled today the first prototype of the Eitan, a new 8×8 armored personnel carrier developed by the Ministry's Tank Development Program Directorate (Mantak), as a possible successor for thousands of American-made M-113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) Israel has been operating since the 1970s. The new APC is said to be more protected, efficient and affordable than foreign off-the-shelf alternatives, and would be available at half the cost of the Israeli Namer Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV).
BTW, "namer" is Hebrew for "tiger", I think.
The Israeli prototype is based on a proven automotive system, with an operationally proven powertrain that has been adopted by several armed forces in Europe. According to the head of Mantak, Brig. General Baruch Mazliah, using commercially available automotive components enabled the designers to develop an APC that will cost half as the tracked Namer, and less than similar wheeled APCs available in the world market. The hull was developed in the country, along with the weapon systems, survivability and protection systems used. According to Mazliah, the need for a wheeled armored vehicle such as Eitan evolved from lessons learned in recent combat operations in Gaza. The Eitan complements the Merkava and Namer, as it can transport infantry squads on roads, without relying on tank transporters. Eitan has a maximum road speed of +90 km/h (56 mp/h).

Similar to Merkava and Namer, Eitan does not rely only on ballistic armor for protection but uses a combination of survivability systems for to enhance the survival of the crew, passengers, and the entire vehicle. Designed for a gross vehicle weight of up to 35 tons (77,000 pounds), Eitan provides sufficient base protection for common battlefield threats. Using the Trophy Active Protection Systems (APS), the vehicle can effectively avoid high-level threats without proportionally increasing the weight of its armor. To protect the occupants from blast effects, of mines and IEDs, Eitan has been designed with protected, relatively high floor. The tyres are fitted with runflat inserts meaning they can continue to function even after suffering multiple hits. The passive protection provided by modular armor is applied to the vehicle's front and sides, while equipment modules add to its security. The vehicle will be initially produced at the Israel MOD AFV plant, at an annual production rate of several dozens of vehicles, as is the case with the Namer ICV.

The vehicle is designed as a common, modular platform that can be configured into different variants by replacing hull modules. Variants typically include APC and command vehicles equipped with remotely operated .50 Cal machine gun, and weapon carriers, to be fitted with remotely operated turrets mounting 30/40mm automatic cannon. The turret will also have accommodation for several missile launchers. The prototype shows clean surfaces enabling relatively uninterrupted 360-degree coverage for the weapon station and APS.

A crew of three ‐ commander, gunner and driver operate the vehicle. Each of the crew members has an individual, role-optimized operation position, seat and access hatch. The vehicle is designed to carry a full squad of nine troops in its fighting compartment. Troops can access and egress via the rear ramp door.

Eitan is different than other 8×8 APCs designed for NATO forces, in its suitability to the unique operational conditions of the Israeli forces. While most 8×8 APCs evolved from lighter platforms, the Israeli APC was designed from scratch for 30-35 tons, which is the upper limit of similar designs. All 8x8s are designed for similar roles ‐ they are designed as modular, role configurable platforms, in a weight range of 18-30 tons, each carrying 8-11 troops.
If you haven't watched Pentagon Wars, you should. It's been available for free for a while now. The M-113 is a total CF.
Posted by: gorb || 08/02/2016 14:42 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  BTW, Pentagon Wars is available for free on YouTube.
Posted by: gorb || 08/02/2016 15:29 Comments || Top||

#2  The M-113 is not armored. I should know.

An AP round from a M2 or a 0.51 soviet heavy machine gun doesn't even slow down to admire its work.

The best thing to say about the 113 is that you can circle the wagons and have a fighting perimeter that will deflect the 7.62 x 59 or the 0.223...not much else.

Oh and they will keep out the sun to prevent sunburn and if you shut the upper hatch it will keep the rain off of you.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 08/02/2016 15:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Sock, As I recall they were also good for mapping the bottoms of water bodies.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2016 15:56 Comments || Top||

#4  "The Pentagon Wars" movie is both hilarious and an inside look at requirements creep, about how an upgraded M-113 became the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Dunno about the book.

Maybe someday, someone will do a re-make starring the F-35.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/02/2016 16:17 Comments || Top||

#5  "namer" is Hebrew for "tiger"

Leopard for purists and tiger is tiger (most people don't bother)
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/02/2016 16:24 Comments || Top||

#6  The M113 was designed to get infantry to the battle quickly and keep them mostly protected against artillery/mortar splinters/shrapnel and light arms.

It did do that quite well.

As for protecting the occupants against hostile incoming fire from heavy machine guns and pretty much anything else... 'twasnt it's job.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/02/2016 16:38 Comments || Top||

#7  I'm here to say that after an exchange of mortar rounds and other niceties with our short friends from north of the DMZ, my entire company of M-113s could possibly whistle like a steam calipee in a high wind. Not to mention bomb fragments from daisy cutters dropped to keep the little bastards off our necks.

We liked the extra .50s that having tracks gave us compared to regular leg infantry and we liked having 4.2 mortars but everything else about a 113 was it came with everything but a bullseye.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 08/02/2016 18:35 Comments || Top||

#8  As for protecting the occupants against hostile incoming fire from heavy machine guns and pretty much anything else... 'twasnt it's job.

They figured nobody would be bringing MGs?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 08/02/2016 23:39 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
The U.S. Blew $1.4 Billion on Abstinence Education in Africa
h/t Gates of Vienna
That is the amount of money the U.S. spent over a 10-year period from 2004 through 2013 promoting abstinence before marriage as a way of preventing HIV in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, according to the most comprehensive independent study conducted to date of the effort, the money was more or less wasted. A rigorous comparison of national data from countries that received abstinence funding under the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with those that got none of the funding showed no difference in the age of first sexual experience or in the number of sexual partners or teenage pregnancies--all aspects of behaviors that have been linked to a higher risk of becoming infected with HIV.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/02/2016 04:50 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Africa appears to have been a relatively low-cost investment in waste. I believe these figures are a year or two old. Source Document found here.

Hat tip to author Christine Gorman.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/02/2016 6:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Africa Wins Again.
Posted by: Hellfish || 08/02/2016 12:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh, that will work about as well as it does in the U.S. and other places. $1.4B down wasted.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/02/2016 17:39 Comments || Top||



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