Synopsis: The EU naval force (Navfor) receives a distress signal early on Tuesday from the MV Almezaan. Security guards on the ship shot and killed one of the pirates before a Spanish EU warship arrived. The Spaniards intercepted the pirates' boat, destroyed the mother-ship and apprehended the pirates. When they went to the cargo ship to get statements, the master and crew refused to testify. So the pirates were released.
From the article: "The guards who shot the pirate suspect were also likely to avoid any censure, with [Navfor spokesman] Cmdr Harbour saying nothing could be done without statements from those involved."
[Al Arabiya Latest] The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday that monitoring Sudan's election next month would be like monitoring a vote in Hitler's Germany.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo pressed for the arrest warrant issued by the ICC a year ago against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur region. Bashir is contesting the poll.
Speaking a day after Bashir threatened to expel international election monitors for saying the vote may have to be delayed to deal with logistical problems.
President Bashir issued the warning in an address to supporters in the eastern city of Port Sudan on Monday after the electoral commission decided to press ahead and stage the elections next month as planned.
"It's like monitoring a Hitler election. It's a huge challenge," Ocampo told a Brussels seminar.
Ocampo said it was the duty of the Sudanese government in the first place to arrest Bashir.
Ocampo is not involved in election monitoring. The European Union plans to send 130 observers to Sudan in April to assess the election, the country's first multi-party vote in more than two decades.
Accusations of fraud have mounted ahead of the vote. The only long-term international observer mission in Sudan, the Carter Center, has said the election remains "at risk on multiple fronts" and urged Sudan to lift harsh restrictions on rallies and end fighting in Darfur ahead of the ballot.
Bashir expelled major aid agencies from Darfur after the ICC last year issued its arrest warrant on counts that include murder, rape and torture.
Many opposition parties have called for the elections to be postponed, saying Sudan needs time to pass democratic reforms.
The vote is part of a 2005 peace agreement that ended more than two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan.
The Sudanese legislative, regional and presidential elections, scheduled for April 11-13, are a key part of the 2005 peace accord which ended two decades of civil war between the country's largely Muslim north and the Christian south.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A long wait for justice is about to end today as the government announces a formal start to the process of trying the war criminals, just before the nation's 40th Independence Day.
The government timed the landmark announcement with the Black Night of March 25 that evokes the painful memories of thousands of unarmed Bangalees slaughtered by the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last night approved initiation of the trial of war criminals at her official residence Gono Bhaban, which will open a new chapter in the history of Bangladesh.
It was confirmed by Law Minister Shafique Ahmed, who told The Daily Star that on completion of the official process a gazette notification would be issued in the later hours today. "We'll announce it formally tomorrow [today] in the afternoon," said the law minister.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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BANGKOK - SIXTEEN North Korean asylum seekers, including three children, have been arrested in northern Thailand and charged with illegal entry, police said on Tuesday. The group were detained on Monday in Nong Khai province after crossing the Mekong river from neighbouring Laos, local police said.
'They came from a village in North Korea... through China and Laos. It took them 20 days,' a marine police officer in Nong Khai told AFP, saying the group included two girls and a boy, aged between three and eight.
Virtually all North Koreans seeking to leave their country cross into China, but they risk forced repatriation if caught there, so they often travel on to Southeast Asia in the hope of eventual resettlement in South Korea or the West. Usually getting caught in Thailand means a few days in the pokie and then deportation to South Korea, so these folks should be okay.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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Long story with a number of interviews -- in China.
Once again, rice has disappeared from tables in North Korea. A famine looms and -- as happened in the 1990s -- millions could die. Desperation is stamped on the faces of those few who have braved barbed-wire fences, armed guards and patrols to slip into neighbouring China. They seek food over freedom.
The Times met four women in a safe house in China this week who fled recently across the frontier. They described despair in North Korea at the growing prospect of starvation in the Stalinist state. The youngest, only 16, crossed the frozen river last month. The other three, in their 50s, left last year and were tight-lipped about how they got out because they must go back to help the families they left behind.
While snow falls outside, Choi Kum Ok squats on the floor of an anonymous apartment not far from the border. Her eyes fill with tears as she talks of the son she had to leave behind. "I came over to earn money for his medical care. I need to get him food or he will starve."
She covers her face and sobs as she remembers the 1990s, when harvests failed and up to 10 per cent of the population starved. She lost a sibling. "I don't want to talk about it," she says.
A former security guard and member of the elite ruling Workers' Party, she cannot understand how the leaders that she still worships could have failed their people so completely.
TOKYO -- There is mounting evidence that Kim Jong Il is losing the propaganda war inside North Korea, with more than half the population now listening to foreign news, grass-roots cynicism undercutting state myths and discontent rising even among elites.
A survey of refugees has found that "everyday forms of resistance" in the North are taking root as large swaths of the population believe that pervasive corruption, rising inequity and chronic food shortages are the fault of the government in Pyongyang -- and not of the United States, South Korea or other foreign forces. The report will be released this week by the East-West Center, a research group established by Congress. At some point people become more angry than afraid ...
The report comes amid unconfirmed accounts from inside North Korea of a rising number of starvation deaths caused by a bad harvest and bungled currency reform that disrupted food markets, caused runaway inflation and triggered widespread citizen unrest.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
At some point people become more angry than afraid ...
That may be true, Doctor Steve, but 60 years of hell...pretty bad, and incredibly tragic. Only a relative few deserve punishment like that.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2010 0:28 Comments ||
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#2
I'm not sure I read that right, how did Steve even remotely suggest they deserved the punishment?
#4
Maybe we should retool for the WW2 "Liberator" pistol, a super cheap two shot (At the same time) .45 pistol, airdropped behind enemy (German that time) Lines with picture diretions of how to get a brand new Schmesser.(Kill a Nazi and take his.)
Spell check is not running this late? sorry
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/25/2010 4:49 Comments ||
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#5
I think the lesson of the old Soviet Bloc was that regimes collapse when they try to liberalize a bit.
Which was perhaps the point of the currency 'reform' to stop the small amount of liberalization that was occuring.
#7
By a relative few I meant the leaders and political commissar types.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2010 11:49 Comments ||
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#8
Every totalitarian police state is brittle. Often incredibly strong, but ultimately brittle. Once the collapse starts, it's gone like [snaps fingers] that. Remember how quickly East Germany went under? Remember Caucesecu?--he went from ruler of all he surveyed to guest of honor at a firing squad in mere days.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/25/2010 13:48 Comments ||
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and receives kidney dialysis once every two weeks, the head of a think tank affiliated with the National Intelligence Service claimed Wednesday. Every two weeks is wimpy dialysis. Though that might be all the Norks can afford.
Nam Sung-wook of the Institute for National Security made the claim in a lecture on the future of inter-Korean relations organized by the Young Korean Academy. "The reason why Kim's fingernails are white seems to be chronic kidney failure," he said.
Medical experts agree with the assessment. If the kidneys fail, the body becomes unable to discharge toxic substances. The condition affects melanin cells in the skin and causes it to turn dark. Experts say the unusually dark color of Kim's hands in recent photographs is probably a symptom. Meanwhile the fingernails, which do not contain melanin cells, are not affected by color changes and end up looking whiter. For several years, experts have been saying symptoms of edema apparent in Kim's body are due to chronic kidney failure.
The North Korean leader is believed to have suffered from diabetes, the main cause of chronic kidney failure, for some time. Kidney functions can usually be maintained through dialysis for five to seven years, but eventually a transplant is needed. Even after a kidney transplant, it is uncertain whether Kim's body will be able to withstand the rigorous treatment with immunosuppressants that follows since he already had a stroke and has high blood pressure and diabetes. Uremia is not the most pleasant way to go.
In a closed-door meeting last month, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said he believes Kim only has about three years to live.
"Kim, who is about 165 cm tall, weighed 86 kg before his stroke around August 15, 2008 and was widely expected to develop problems with his circulation," Nam said. "He went on a three-month diet after recovering in January of 2009 to prevent another stroke and now weighs between 70 kg to 73 kg." Kim was born in 1942 and his age makes complete recovery difficult, Nam added. "Footage of him applauding during a March 7 rally in Hamheung shows him using his right hand to hit an immobile left hand," he recalled.
Speaking about the transfer of power from Kim Jong-il to his third son Jong-un, Nam said, "The power transfer process gathered momentum after Kim's stroke, but it appears that efforts have slowed down a bit since June." Die already ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The article makes you want to feel bad for the poor Sick dictator.
BULLSHIT, he deserves every painful Minute.
And good riddance.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/25/2010 0:10 Comments ||
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#2
My father-in-law has to have dialysis.
If its not done right the connections can easily become infected - even septic....
Just saying... wouldn't wish that on anyone. (Ok perhaps on a very few especially disgusting people)
#4
It is a well-known fact that those "failing kidneys" are criminals and wicked traitors to the nation and wretched betes noires who abandoned their Dear Leader in quest of their own comfort. It is needless to say that the more thoroughly the Dear Leader remains cleared of such disloyal internal organs, the more clean he will become and stronger the single-minded unity of his loyal people will get.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/25/2010 13:41 Comments ||
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#5
Mike, are you saying his army-first kidneys are lacking in juche? ;)
[Iran Press TV Latest] The US government's refusal to offer legal grounds for CIA's drones bombing raids in Pakistan may result in CIA officers facing prosecution for war crimes. You'll have to get a special rapper to take us to the International Courts ...
"Prominent voices in the international legal community" were increasingly impatient with Washington's silence on the CIA's bombing raids in Pakistan and elsewhere, Kenneth Anderson, a law professor at American University, told a congressional panel on Tuesday, AFP reported.
Lawyers at the US State Department and other government agencies were concerned the administration has "not settled on what the rationales are" for the drone strikes, he said. "And I believe that at some point that ill serves an administration which is embracing this," said Anderson. The law professor said he believes the drone strikes are legal under international law, based on a country's right to self-defense, and urged the US administration to argue its case publicly.
The drone attacks, which have so far taken the lives of many civilians, have sparked outrage among the Pakistani nation amid Washington's claims that they are aimed at "Taliban militants."
This article starring:
Kenneth Anderson
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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Versus PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > APOCALYPSE NEXT YEAR [2011-2012 Initial redux of US AFPAK milfors entails serious Regional dangers = GEOPOL POWER VACUUM(S) + NEW CONFORNTATIONS ALA CHINA, PAK, + INDJUH].
#4
The Volokh Conspiracy has a report from Mr. Anderson himself... a tad less biased than Iran PressTV.
Posted by: trailing wife on the other computer ||
03/25/2010 17:27 Comments ||
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#5
"Discovery process would get valuable people killed."
That's the whole point, Glenmore.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/25/2010 19:26 Comments ||
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#6
I wonder if Barack and his henchmen realize they could be pissing off the only group of people that could actually reach out and touch them? I do not think these people are thinking their moves all the way through.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
03/25/2010 21:11 Comments ||
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India's Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram says Pakistan's "friends" like the U.S. and the U.K. should put "pressure" on it to shut down terrorist camps operating on its eastern borders. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Close the camps. No one's ever thought of that ...
In an interview to BBC, he regretted that the civilian government in Pakistan did not rein in its intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and saw no difference between the Pakistan-based Islamic terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Al-Qaida.
Chidambaram, on an official visit the U.K., said things would have been better "if there is a truly civilian government" in Pakistan which could rein in the ISI, as also direct the army and the ISI to dismantle their respective terror infrastructures. "The camps must be closed. Training must end", he asserted. Has he seen any movement in that direction in Pakistan? His reply: "Nothing so far".
Chidambaram also said that there was no confusion over the issue of Indian investigators getting direct access to Pakistani-American LeT operative David Coleman Headley alias, Dawood Gilani. "No, I don't think so," he replied when asked about the claim of U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer that "no decision on direct access for India to David Headley has been made."
"...If you reflect more carefully that sentence (of Roemer) no way (it) contradicts what the U.S. Attorney General (Eric Holder) had told me," Chidambaram said, adding New Delhi was going ahead in the matter, and not really taking cognizance of the U.S. ambassador's remarks.
Earlier Wednesday, Home Secretary G K Pilla said that India was not taking cognizance of Roemer's remarks and would be sending its investigators to the U.S. at the earliest to interrogate Dawood Gilani, supposed CIA-agent-turned-Lashker- operative.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United States is hoping Wednesday to show Pakistan the benefits of its cooperation against extremism, but it looks set to disappoint Islamabad on its ambitious goal of a civilian nuclear deal.
President Barack Obama's administration has cautiously welcomed what it sees as a shift in Pakistan and is looking to convince the country's public, where anti-Americanism runs rife, that it is committed to a long-term partnership.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmoud Qureshi and General Ashfaq Kayani, head of the powerful army, will hold a first-of-a-kind "strategic dialogue" with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday.
Pakistan has come with a detailed wish-list in areas from improving access to water and energy to securing lethal drones.
"We have a relationship that goes back 60 years, but I'm here to build a partnership," Qureshi said Tuesday at the Pakistani embassy. "And when you build a partnership, it has to be built on trust."
Pakistan would like to forge an agreement to cooperate on civilian nuclear energy. A deal could help the developing country curb chronic blackouts -- and tacitly recognize Pakistan as the Islamic world's sole nuclear power.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] An al Qaeda-linked militant group claimed responsibility for election day bombings in Iraq and vowed to continue attacks against U.S. forces, according to an audiotape.
The group, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), had threatened voters before the March 7 parliamentary election. It called the election a farce aimed at cementing Shi'ite Muslims' domination of minority Sunnis.
"We will continue to pursue the occupation, its helpers, and its agents, until we purify the land of their filth," said the audiotape posted late on Tuesday on a website used by jihadists. The site said the voice was that of ISI head Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
The speaker said the rocket, mortar and other attacks that killed 39 people on election day were aimed at keeping Sunnis from voting and not at killing them. Despite the threats 62 percent of Iraq's registered voters turned out to cast ballots.
Overall violence in Iraq has fallen in the last two years, but a series of blasts shattered the peace in the months leading up to the election. The vote was seen as a crucial test as Iraq emerges from years of war and sectarian slaughter.
ISI is believed by intelligence analysts to have been created by al Qaeda in Iraq as a local umbrella group for insurgent organizations.
Iraq's Sunnis feel they have been marginalized by the ascent of the Shi'ite majority after the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
At least 100,000 Iraqis have been killed in the seven years since the invasion.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I've noted that the Iraqi Interior Department and anti-terrorism military forces have long since moved into the mode of "quiet efficiency", in taking down bad guys. No reason to blather when you are winning.
[Al Arabiya Latest] United States President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought on early Wednesday to ease strained ties, but their talks yielded no sign of a breakthrough in the stalled Middle East peace process, as Israeli media reported that approval has been given to build 20 apartments for Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem.
The high-stakes meeting between Obama and the Israeli leader lasted 90 minutes, an administration official said, but Netanyahu stayed on for another two hours at the White House before leaving the West Wing in a limousine.
There was no immediate comment from either side on the tone or the substance of the talks, but Netanyahu's office said later that there was a "good atmosphere" in his meeting with President Obama.
The two leaders "met privately for approximately 1.5 hours, in a good atmosphere," the office said in a statement, adding that advisors to both men were holding follow-up discussions that would continue throughout the day.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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Of course they do. Obama is a wimp, he bows and kisses ass. He is only tough when the teleprompter tell him to be. The guy probably spent his childhood getting beat up by girls.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/25/2010 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
Good atmosphere means passive-aggressive nastiness. No photos, no public statement, no state dinner, just a quietly tense 90-minute conversation, the opportunity for Bibi to huddle with his peeps, then another quick meeting to demonstrate that he stood firm on his nation's principles, much to Obama's disappointment. As has been written elsewhere, this is how a recalcitrant, barely tolerated tyrant ought to be treated, not a long-time loyal ally.
Posted by: trailing wife on the other computer ||
03/25/2010 0:39 Comments ||
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#3
This is it.
Despite bigotted statements from both Bambi and Hillary about their commitment to Israel's security - what they actually do now (twisting Bibi's arm and creating a hostile international atmosphere where Israel is blamed for everything) is a very clear indicator of where the POTUS and the White House are heading. THEY HAVE DE FACTO ABANDONWED ISRAEL TO ITS DESTINY !
In my mind there are two important lessons to be learned from this:
1) The heavy damage has been already done - Any country which has ever been an Ally of the US should know that, as long as Bambi is POTUS, nobody is immune from being thrown to the dogs and being stabbed in the back. (and that includes Iraqis, Aphgans, south Koreans and anybody who thought that they were allys of the US. - This will teach everybody a lesson that the US cannot be trusted in the long term.
2) As Israel cannot tolerate an American Dictat and PAX AMERICANA jeopardizing the future existance of Israel - If I were Bibi I would be giving orders for putting the detonators on the nukes and zapping Iran RIGHT NOW because it is clear now that Bambi will not only not take any action on this but most probably will try to subvert any military action taken by Israel to neutralize Irans nuclear capabilities. He is leaving us no choice. We will not be able to use conventional bombings without full support and cooperation from the US army and USAF. Therefore we will have to use stealth and Nukes.
The US will have to deal with the consequences of pushing Israel into the corner. We refuse to roll on our backs and die for Bambi !
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/25/2010 4:01 Comments ||
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#4
Don't write off Israel just because Obama shits on them, they're tough and WILL use Nukes if needed.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/25/2010 4:53 Comments ||
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#6
The US will have to deal with the consequences of pushing Israel into the corner. We refuse to roll on our backs and die for Bambi! Posted by: Elder of Zion
I believe you are correct Rabbi. Soetoro anxiously awaits "the consequences." He desperately needs a huge internatioal crisis to overtake his failing economy and bankrupt presidency and reset the Greek columns for his international ascention. A crisis of the proportion will enable him to seize total control by setting the constitution aside, establish martial law, default on debt payments. As the smoke and horror of conflict subside, he will use his devoted media to become the world's unelected leader, arbiter of peace, and delator of nuclear weapons. His world apology and bowing tours clearly illustrated that America and the presidency are simply vehicles of power for this man, nothing more. His aspirations and goals lie far beyond our shores. Greed, quarreling, hatred, and social justice are his tools. Soetoro is little more than a modern day power hungry despot, cloaking himself as the leader of the Free World.
#10
I'm surprised BO didn't invoke the "racist cop" invective to describe Netanyahu. Maybe Rahm Emanuel advised against this strategy. Of course there is the "retarded" comnment strategy. I think BO is still trying to offset the anti-semetic comment by Netanyahu's brother-in-law.
#11
So far I think Netanyahu is winning the war of words. The Israel people may have their backs up against a wall just as the American people do in the States.
Even with President Zero in charge of the US, it's Russia that's the one who's providing Iran with a nuclear reactor.
At the moment all Iran has to do is detonate a gun bomb they made with the output of their centrifuges so they'll have a deterrent and announce that they're going to be reprocessing the fuel from that plant themselves and then they'll have access to missile-payload-appropriate plutonium.
#16
The Russians did the geopolitical math in the 1950's. The math is still the same same in the 2010's. The numbers haven't moved in favor of Israel. Just the opposite. So by all means, embrace the bear. Maybe the Chinese would be interested? I hear they are also good at math.
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 12:24 Comments ||
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#17
Besoeker - that sounds like the Antichrist to me:
he will use his devoted media to become the world's unelected leader, arbiter of peace, and delator of nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/25/2010 12:37 Comments ||
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#18
Ed,
That's exactly what I was saying in my post.
Push us a little bit further for the MASADA complex to kick in and suddenly you got your math 101 a bit complicated by entry of 300 nuclear warheads into the Equation.
OTOH, if Bambi thinks he can topple Bibi's gov'mint by a carefully concockted crisis he may end up facing a very different Israeli coalition than what he has in mind.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/25/2010 12:48 Comments ||
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#19
EZ,
My contention is Israel won't attack Iran. They don't have the reach except maybe for a one off mosquito bite that will only backfire. Israel is too easy to reach by Iranian agents and surrogates. Israeli policy has been to goad the US to attack Iran in it's place, but the US isn't going to do it. Iran will get nukes and MAD will come to the middle east.
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 13:00 Comments ||
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#20
Ed,
Hmmmm... Interesting view ( BTW I don't know what is MAD, please enlighten me).
Your view is based on the assumption that Israel will have to use conventional Bunker Busters.
Well, how about sending a 100 Jerico missiles with strategic warheads to the fifty most worrysome Iranian targets? I am sure the mushroom forest and residual radioactivity will be sufficient to hold Iranian progress for at least 5-10 years.
As for the Iran proxies such as Hamas, Hizbullah and Syria, they will definitely react to such a strike (and I think the resulting war wont be easy for us- especially with Bambi's knife protruding from our back) but I think that part of the basic assumption is that if we do not do anything now they will attack anyhow within a couple of years but this time with an Iranian Nuclear Umbrella behind them - so it seems we do have a real incentive to strike first.
As for capabilities - we will have to see about that (soon enough I believe)- remember the syrian reactor ?
My take on this is : it may be better to become an International Pariah but live than to make Bambi happy now and get anyhillated 5 years from now (to the loud and mournfull protests of the international community -I'am sure).
How does that sound to you ?
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/25/2010 13:32 Comments ||
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#21
Straw man argument ed. Russians learned, the hard way, several things.
(1) "Muslim ally" is an oxymoron.
(2) Russia national interests consist of
(a) Having a bigger share of the oil market.
(b) Having a better military tech.
(c) Forcing USA to accept Russian definition of "zones of influence"
#22
MAD = Mutually Assured Destruction
i.e. the Cold War nuclear stalemate
How many nukes can Israel absorb in return?. Saudi Arabia already has Pakistani built nukes on Chinese CSS-2 missiles. I also believe Iran has already weaponized several uranium bombs. They have had plenty of time to do it. Just their declared centrifuges (never mind most will be undeclared in underground tunnels) have the capacity for one bomb every 8 months or so. Missile delivery may be another matter at this moment but airliners and subs are doable. For Israel, nukes will have to be a last dying "fuck you".
The way the Democrats are rushing toward insane weakness, Israel may end up with a larger nuke arsenal then the USA.
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 14:00 Comments ||
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#23
Let me amend that last post. I do believe Israel will use battlefield nukes if they are about to be overrun in a multi-front war. But the geopolitical map will have to drastically change for that to happen. The surest way to do that is allying with the Russians or Chinese will do that. Right after they have drained Israel of any useful tech and Americans will have washed their hands of any further involvement with Israel.
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 14:14 Comments ||
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#24
Ed,
1) If what you say is right ( I dont believe that the Saudi's have nukes - but who knows ?), then this will be reason enough for Israel to start on a frenzy of manufacturing a bunch of 100 megaton hydrogen bombs just to clinch home the MAD concept.
2) However, MAD works in a world of westernized rational powers - not in a world infested with Turban wearing crazy Mullas who are more influenced by Fatwa's and zealotry ( Remember- This is Jihad- Suicide oriented cultures- not cold calculating rational Ruskies). MAD would not work in such a scenario !
The writing is on the wall - methinks
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/25/2010 14:14 Comments ||
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#25
Straw man argument ed. Russians learned, the hard way, several things.
(1) "Muslim ally" is an oxymoron.
(2) Russia national interests consist of
(a) Having a bigger share of the oil market.
(b) Having a better military tech.
(c) Forcing USA to accept Russian definition of "zones of influence"
1) true
2a) which has nothing to do with Israel or muslims, but Russian production capacity. Unless the Russians are going to goad Israel to go to war with the Arab oil producers to destroy their production facilities.
2b) So after the Israeli whore is used up, will Putin even bother leaving $20 on the dresser, let alone providing billions $ and the tech base and markets Israelis rely on?
2c) So ally with Israel and piss off the Arabs who control the price of oil and have the world's only real production buffer? Hello $20 oil. Smart!
Smarter to cultivate the muslim oil producers to raise oil prices. You say the Russians are already doing this with (Death to Israel!) Iran?
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 14:24 Comments ||
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#26
Ed,
You are naive to assume Israel can get the Russians or Chinese to cooperate on this.
Remember that the Russians and the Chinese have been torpedoing any serious International sanctions on Iran. Besides, A large part of the oil supply to China comes from Iran.
We cannot and will not get together with the Russian's or Chinese on the Iranian issue. We are totally on our own in this thing. That's why I consider a "Never Again" type scenario quite possible.
True - we do not want this to happen, but what can we do ? - I do not see any reasonable way out of this situation except for a devastating all out survival war.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/25/2010 14:25 Comments ||
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#27
Elder says: I do not see any reasonable way out of this situation except for a devastating all out survival war.
That is a problem that these issues cannot be spearated from the fake geopolitical conditions of these moments. Israel should sell all of its territory to a coallition of arab states and withdraw to New Israel which could be effectively established on Gulf of Mexico using same desert territory as currently occupied from landowners in Mexico and US>
the cynical solutions reported throughout this thread reply list, show no awareness of possible alternatives to war and certain destruction.
Oil should not dictate US interests in mid east, oil isnt a fossill fuel and thus not scarce, israel can never overcome its placement amongst those who want her gone. The real coup would be to move the entire state over 20 years, sign the agreements and get peace with progression associated with resettlement. Israelis would under this scenario survive, and become a productive state in a world where dysfunction is replaced with rational action against which critics could be ignored.
Now, given the current status and alternatives, whose plan is better?
#28
Given that Ahmadinejad has vowed to get rid of Israel. Israeli's are all too familiar with such rhetoric from the past. They have to take such jingoism seriously and be prepared. The Russians are not trustworthy. The Chinese are not trustworthy. The U.S., under current conditions are flaky. I just don't see Israel allying with Russia or China. That leaves Israel with their backs against the wall. They have been here before. Unless they have some missiles that can deliver nuclear weapons beyond 1600 kilometers, they had better gear up the propaganda war big time. At the same time they had better develop long range bomber or missile capabilities--or buy missiles from someone else who is willing to sell them. I don't think their missile defense shield is invulnerable (or is anyone elses).
#29
How quickly we seem to jump from a tense environment to MAD. Israel did not survive this long by going nuclear every time they had a tough few years. They clearly undrstand that Zero will not support them in any way. They also understand that America is a long term supporter and will support them, eventually. Zero is a sore on the ass of a great nation. The sore will heal and go away. Israel will not trash its history with America, or trade it for one with the bear or dragon, over one ass hole president. They will wait him out, they are mature and undertand us better than we like to admit. I doubt they will go after Iran in a direct action manner, it would be foolish, even if we supported it. They will certainly turn up thier cladestine operations in Iran and around the world. Israel plays the long game and saves direct action for close in defence and uses extensive clandestine ops for every thing else. I would not be suprised to hear of more missing scientists, unexplained warehouse fires, overdoses in hotels, and aircraft accidents in Iran.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/25/2010 15:02 Comments ||
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#30
Ed,
You are naive to assume Israel can get the Russians or Chinese to cooperate on this.
That is my point EofZ. The opposite of Grom's "thinking of Russia as an ally against the Muzzi-Tranzi alliance".
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 15:08 Comments ||
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#31
2a) which has nothing to do with Israel or muslims, but Russian production capacity. Unless the Russians are going to goad Israel to go to war with the Arab oil producers to destroy their production facilities.
Russians are in business with Iran because they hope to desrupt PG oil production. However, Iran is interested in controling PG oil. Israel, on the other hand...
2b) So after the Israeli whore is used up, will Putin even bother leaving $20 on the dresser, let alone providing billions $ and the tech base and markets Israelis rely on?
(i) Tech development is a race which never ends.
(ii) Russia has a better record of supporting allies than some other superpowers I might mention.
2c) So ally with Israel and piss off the Arabs who control the price of oil and have the world's only real production buffer? Hello $20 oil. Smart!
With $20 barrel Arabs don't eat. USA could never grasp this simple fact---that's why you have USA servicemen dying in Iraq to make Iran regional superpower (and you can't blame this on Bambi).
And if it doesn't work out, there is always the Samson option.
#32
Russia has a better record of supporting allies than some other superpowers I might mention.
Two words: Warsaw Pact.
With $20 barrel Arabs don't eat.
Production cost of Persian Gulf oil loaded onto tankers: about $4/barrel. Oil in 2001: $20-25/barrel. With $20 oil Russians don't eat.
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 15:23 Comments ||
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#33
Having trouble connecting atm because of the maintenance...
Let me make a prediction, TfSM. Before this all over, you will start thinking of Russia as an ally against the Muzzi-Tranzi alliance.
I read that book; heck, I even think I got one of those "Buckman 2012 - In Accordance With The Prophecy" bumper stickers lying around here somewhere. BUT, I understand that the author was trying to write a dystopia (and pretty much succeeded).
The last time we allied with Russia it didn't really work out too well for us.
#35
EofZ, better to become an International Pariah but live
Or as we say, 'better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.'
If it wasn't for the 'Holy' part of the Holy Land it would make great sense to just give the place to the Paleos and bring all the Jews to the US and give them Southern California.
#36
Russia has a better record of supporting allies than some other superpowers I might mention.
They might have a record of being constant in their supports of the elites of certain countries. For the people living in those countries, though, things can still be pretty sucky.
Take, for example, one of their allies in this hemisphere: Venezuela. Sure, Russia will help with all the low priced su-30's it can sell. But Venezuela's oil industry is much smaller than it was back in the 90's, an action that has benefitted the Arabs and Russians at the expense, generally, of the average citizen of Venezuela. (It's also one of the major factors in the rise of oil from the $ 20-30/bbl it was earlier this decade to where it is no, but that's a subject for another time).
#37
I don't think any countries around Iran would miss them if they got blown off the map, except for Syria, Lebanon, and the folks in Gaza and the West Bank, who can't even turn around without their permission.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed three resolutions in condemnation of Israel's "grave human rights violations" in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The United States, however, voted against the resolutions, which condemned Israel over its policies related to Palestinian and Syrian territories, Haaretz reported.
One of the resolutions which harshly denounced "human rights violations" by the Israeli military forces, called for an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories. The resolution also demanded an end to all military operations across Palestinian lands and denounced "targeting of Palestinian civilians and systematic destruction of their cultural heritage."
It also called on Israel to lift its three-year siege on the Gaza Strip.
The United States and the European Union, however; opposed the resolution.
The other resolution which was passed by 45 votes, called for a halt to all settlement building on Palestinian lands.
The third passed to denounce the regime for "systematic violation of the rights of the people of the Golan Heights."
According to the report, the council is expected to pass another resolution on Thursday, calling on the regime to compensate those Palestinians who suffered losses during a three week war on the Gaza Strip. Almost 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the regime's massive offensive against Gaza in December-January 2008.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel may soon replace a diplomat Britain has said it will expel over the use of forged British passports by suspected killers of a Hamas commander in Dubai, Israeli media reported on Wednesday, as Australia said it would not be rushed into action against Israel over the same case.
Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's most widely read news daily, said the diplomat being sent home was actually a Mossad intelligence agent, and that he would fly back to Israel after the Passover holiday early next month.
Israel could replace the agent with another as ties between the two countries have not been seriously harmed, the newspaper said. Army Radio carried a similar report.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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#2
There's actually a substantial community of Irish Jews who settled in Israel after 1948 -- a daughter of the community wrote a paper about it for my writing club. Many rose to high position in their fields -- it's apparently common to be greeted in the emergency room of one of the major Israeli hospitals by the head of the program saying, in his beautiful brogue, "Sure, and what might be the matter with you, then?"
Posted by: trailing wife on the other computer ||
03/25/2010 17:36 Comments ||
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#3
Funny that Israel didn't get all upset about this and expel an British diplomat.
The United States has stepped back from a series of harsh measures against Iran and softened proposed UN sanctions to win the backing of China and Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. "You may cringe when ready, Gridley!"
The newspaper said proposals that would have effectively closed international airspace and waters to Iranian state-owned air cargo and shipping lines had been scrapped. The proposed package of sanctions had also been stripped of plans targeting insurance for certain Iranian companies and the sale of Iranian bonds. "And if that doesn't bring 'em to their knees we'll soften it up some more! There's less where that came from!"
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2010 12:41 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] One of the suspects believed to be involved in the killing of a young woman during Tehran's post-election violence last year has visited Israel.
Makan was also interviewed as a guest on an Israeli TV channel.
Agha Soltan was shot dead far away from the riot scene on June 20. Western media accused Iranian security forces of killing her, but police rejected the allegations and said Neda was shot with a small caliber pistol which is not used by the Iranian police.
They have described the killing as a premeditated act of murder "organized by US and Israeli intelligence services."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Russia and China have quietly made clear to the Iranian government they want Tehran to change its approach to the nuclear issue and accept a U.N. atomic fuel offer, Western diplomats said on Tuesday.
Russia's and China's coordinated diplomatic approaches took place in Tehran around the beginning of March, according to several Western U.N. Security Council diplomats.
They said it was significant that two powers seen as blocking Western efforts to get tough on Tehran appeared to be using their influence behind the scenes to ratchet up the pressure on the Islamic Republic.
"Russia and China had a demarche in Tehran to try and get them to shift their position on the nuclear issue, particularly with regard to the Tehran Research Reactor," one diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"The Russians and Chinese were saying that their position (on a new sanctions resolution) would depend on Iran's response to the demarches."
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03/25/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
One good way to persuade them would be to test one of them Czar Bombs out in the desert but where enough can see that they get the idea.
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.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and receives kidney dialysis once every two weeks, the head of a think tank affiliated with the National Intelligence Service claimed Wednesday. 
[Iran Press TV Latest] The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed three resolutions in condemnation of Israel's "grave human rights violations" in the occupied Palestinian territories. 
