Hi there, !
Today Sun 12/12/2010 Sat 12/11/2010 Fri 12/10/2010 Thu 12/09/2010 Wed 12/08/2010 Tue 12/07/2010 Mon 12/06/2010 Archives
Rantburg
533683 articles and 1861906 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 68 articles and 258 comments as of 22:32.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Pakistan suicide attack kills 17: police
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
9 00:00 CincinnatusChili [6] 
8 00:00 Rambler in Virginia [5] 
0 [2] 
33 00:00 Frank G [3] 
0 [5] 
1 00:00 Besoeker [1] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
4 00:00 Frank G [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
4 00:00 trailing wife [7] 
3 00:00 Mikey Hunt [] 
0 [4] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
3 00:00 Black Charlie Chinemble5313 [1] 
7 00:00 gorb [] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
11 00:00 Procopius2k [8]
9 00:00 newc [1]
10 00:00 Rambler in Virginia [10]
7 00:00 Guillibaldo Unusing2147 [1]
10 00:00 abu do you love [1]
14 00:00 trailing wife []
2 00:00 Bright Pebbles [1]
0 []
0 [5]
2 00:00 Mikey Hunt []
0 [8]
0 [2]
2 00:00 Besoeker []
0 [2]
2 00:00 Frank G [6]
0 [9]
0 []
Page 2: WoT Background
8 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [2]
3 00:00 Chesney Unoluck9100 [1]
0 [1]
4 00:00 g(r)omgoru [1]
16 00:00 HEU [1]
37 00:00 Pappy [2]
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 [1]
1 00:00 g(r)omgoru [2]
1 00:00 gorb []
0 [4]
0 []
0 [6]
0 [4]
0 [4]
0 []
1 00:00 Water Modem []
0 []
Page 4: Opinion
0 [1]
2 00:00 killjoy [1]
11 00:00 trailing wife [4]
4 00:00 M. Murcek [1]
1 00:00 Paul D [5]
4 00:00 JFM [1]
0 [1]
Page 6: Politix
9 00:00 DarthVader [4]
6 00:00 Procopius2k [3]
6 00:00 Frank G [1]
0 [1]
3 00:00 Dale [1]
-Short Attention Span Theater-
Worker Dies inside Refrigerator as Blaze Ravages Yemen Restaurant
[Yemen Post] A worker was found dead inside a refrigerator of a Turkish restaurant in Yemen's capital Sana'a after a fire broke out inside the restaurant, the Civil Defense said on Monday.

Fadhil Al-Samawi, 23, hid inside the refrigerator when the fire started on Sunday to die from smoke inhalation inside it, the Civil Defense said.

The blaze ravaged the restaurant and two nearby stores in the district of Al-Wahda, it said, adding that an initial investigation revealed an electrical fault was to blame.

The investigation is continuing.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...the provincial failed to grasp that too many American movies are for entertainment not fact.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/09/2010 7:15 Comments || Top||

#2  I theory, depending on the type of refrigerator and its airspace, that is not a bad idea, if the alternative is to be burnt up or suffocated. If it's a large, walk in freezer with lots of ice build up, that would be optimal.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/09/2010 10:37 Comments || Top||

#3  I've read that some people survived the Coconut Grove fire by getting into a walk in refrigerator.
It says he died of smoke inhalation. Refrigerators are usually sealed so he either didn't properly shut the door or had already sucked in so much smoke that it wouldn't have made a difference where he went.
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/09/2010 11:25 Comments || Top||

#4  at least he was already on ice for Dr. Quincy
Posted by: Frank G || 12/09/2010 20:37 Comments || Top||


Elephants trample man to death
[Straits Times] A MAN was trampled to death and four others escaped unhurt after a herd of wild elephants attacked them when they were searching for keranji (a wild fruit) in Hutan Bring near Pos Pasik here.

Muhamad Adnan Iberahim, 26, from Kampung Bertam Lama here was believed to have died of injuries to his head and body after being trampled by the elephants in the 4.50pm incident on Monday.

Gua Musang police chief Supt Saiful Bahri Abdullah said the five men had driven to the forest in a four-wheel drive and were searching for the fruit on foot when the elephants attacked.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
47 inches of Global Warming hit Syracuse, NY
Posted by: Frozen Al || 12/09/2010 12:43 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Where the hell's that Gerbil Worming they promised us down here in Virginia, too?

It was down near 10F on my deck this morning; we're rejoicing because it's supposed to reach into the 40's tomorrow. And we're not in the mountains, either - this is flat land, before even the Piedmont.

Y'all Yankees can laugh all you like, but this is the Sunny South - it's not supposed to be this cold this soon (or basically at all) down here.

There goes my heating bill. I can't even set up the kerosene heater until I move all that fleece out of the living room. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/09/2010 16:14 Comments || Top||

#2  On the (no doubt false) assumption that misery loves company - Florida has the coldest weather in nearly 150 years and England just broke a record going back to 1659.
Posted by: Mercutio || 12/09/2010 16:23 Comments || Top||

#3  NY fossils proves NY used to be tropical and underwater! According to the USGS Fossils of ancient marine animals are found in Cambrian to Devonian rocks in New York. Layman's terms it was home to some really gnarly looking extinct sea creatures. I think from my point of view, humans need to come to grips with we're just tiny fractions of geologic time, so its not anything we control nor should worry about.

How about Virginia?
Posted by: Fire and Ice || 12/09/2010 16:27 Comments || Top||

#4  La Nina is really kicking in this year.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/09/2010 17:54 Comments || Top||

#5  At least in Arizona they know it's the dead of winter because in the early morning, you can drive your car with the a/c on low.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/09/2010 18:00 Comments || Top||

#6  In case iy can be a consolation for you in the plains of la Douce France we have had snow falls in November. First time in several decades snow falls so soon. It held for several days. Yesterday Paris was paralyzed by severe (by French standards) snow storm.

While we are at it the British didn't buy gas last spring when prices where at their lowest because the minister's experts told him that this winter would be mild and dry... Now they are short on heating fuels and pay them at premium prices.
Posted by: JFM || 12/09/2010 18:17 Comments || Top||

#7  sounds like AlGore has franchised his Gore Effect™. He can't be everywhere...
Posted by: Frank G || 12/09/2010 20:38 Comments || Top||

#8  Fire and Ice, New York also used to be under a mile or so of ice - the Great Lakes were created as the glaciers retreated.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 12/09/2010 22:30 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Sudanese models spared whip but fined for indecency
[Mail and Globe] A Sudanese court on Wednesday convicted eight models who took part in a mixed-gender fashion show with "indecency" and ordered them to pay a fine but spared them a flogging sentence.
Moslems don't feel stoopid like we do. It must be the in-breeding...
The ruling was handed down against seven men and a woman by Khartoum criminal court Judge Sadig Abakar Adam, who ordered them to pay a fine of £200.

Under Sudanese law, anyone found guilty of "indecency" or convicted of wearing clothes that are deemed indecent can be fined £200 and sentenced to 40 lashes.

The law forbidding "indecent clothing" was imposed in 1991, two years after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir seized power in a coup backed by Islamists.

It was brought under the spotlight last year when a court ordered a female journalist, Lubna Ahmed Hussein, to be flogged for wearing "indecent trousers". That sentence was commuted to a fine after a public outcry.

"The judge said that what happened is against the law and the traditions of the Sudanese people, so he made the punishment a fine," defence lawyer Adam Bakr Hassab told AFP after the verdict was issued.

"It is not correct. But now it is a reality, it became a decision. There is no way to avoid this punishment. We will pay the fine and do our appeal later," he said, speaking in English.

Those convicted on Wednesday had been among more than two dozen people jugged in Khartoum in June as as they emerged from the capital's first ever mixed-gender fashion show.

"Different things happened that night -- modelling, dancing, singing. Even having men and women at the same place is considered criminal," the lawyer said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Africa Subsaharan
[Wikileaks cable deleteed per Rantburg policy]
Another really interesting cable in the public domain that compromises nobody's safety but tells us details about our world.

In answer to Swamp Blondie (comments now closed): I would LOVE to see cables from my country. I was just complaining today that there are none yet. I think it would be brilliant to see what my Government is really up to.
-----
anon1, some of Rantburg's readers work for the U.S. government in various capacities. If they open a web page that contains a WikiLeaks cable, they are required at minimum to scrub their computer completely. If they do this multiple times their employment could be at risk. Rantburg will not be party to that, given these are the people actually fighting the War on Terror (or whatever we're calling it these days).

tw at 4:31 a.m. ET
Posted by: anon1 || 12/09/2010 00:59 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I personally object to the posting of pilfered documents containing US Government (USG) classification markings on the blog. (C) Confidential, (U) Unclassified, etc. I believe we are operating in a dangerous area when this type activity begins to take place.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/09/2010 3:05 Comments || Top||

#2  it's public domain now - it's out there in the wild easily accessible to everyone.

It's now a news source. The information is really interesting and reveals the names of very corrupt politicians in Zimbabwe. This is a force for good - I am glad this one is out.
Posted by: anon1 || 12/09/2010 4:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Silentbrick gets out the popcorn.

I seem to recall Badanov telling you not to post anymore of these. This should be fun.
Posted by: Silentbrick - Lost Drill Bit Division - Halliburton || 12/09/2010 4:21 Comments || Top||

#4  i didn't see the comment you are referring to. I can't be everywhere!
Posted by: anon1 || 12/09/2010 4:24 Comments || Top||

#5  anon1: Maybe not, but you might start checking out the reaction to your posts after the close of business the previous day before you start posting again the next.

Better park it and ask why they don't want you posting cables from WK. There is probably a good reason.
Posted by: gorb || 12/09/2010 4:32 Comments || Top||

#6  anon1, this is what the warning looked like yesterday:

#2 Anon1: If you post one more classified cable you will be banned permanently from this forum.

This is your only warning
Posted by: badanov 2010-12-08 21:20
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/09/2010 4:49 Comments || Top||

#7  Personally, I refuse to read any of the 'releases'.

I think Wikileaks is a transnational criminal organization and that JA is a transnational criminal. I refuse to support WL in any manner.

I will avoid all sites and organizations that support WL's brand of transnational espionage.

Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 12/09/2010 5:03 Comments || Top||

#8  Righto TW, no problem I won't put any more up from Wikileaks.

I am sorry to hear that if an employee of the US Government opens a Wikileaks cable they could lose their jobs.

And of course they should not do anything of the sort if their jobs are on the line.

But I do think that is wrong of their employers.

And when they go home at night they should be doubly determined to go to the Wikileaks site and see what it is that the rest of the world is looking at.
Posted by: anon1 || 12/09/2010 5:27 Comments || Top||

#9  And of course they should not do anything of the sort if their jobs are on the line.

Bugger the bloody job! The phueching Chinese, Russians, and terrs are celebrating this Wikileaks fiasco. This should tell you something. This is not a game. Please come to your senses.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/09/2010 6:06 Comments || Top||

#10  Righto TW, no problem I won't put any more up from Wikileaks.

Thank you, anon1.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/09/2010 6:32 Comments || Top||

#11  There's been a lot of to & fro discussion here on the 'Burg about Wikileaks, but some consequences haven't gotten much coverage. Here's a random collection of what I got from hoovering up stuff with Google:

  • Classified information shall not be declassified automatically as a result of any unauthorized disclosure of identical or similar information Executive order signed by Obama 12/2009

  • The Library of Congress (LC) has been blocking access to the WikiLeaks website since December 3. “The Library decided to block Wikileaks because applicable law obligates federal agencies to protect classified information. Unauthorized disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents’ classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.”

  • Starting last week, Department of Energy installations began barring access to WikiLeaks and its myriad of mirror sites. Mark Leininger, Fermilab's computer security manager, wrote in an internal newsletter that WikiLeaks' Web site was being blocked. "There is some risk to you as an individual of being involved in an investigation if you view or possess classified information," he wrote.

  • Concerns about violating federal secrecy laws even extend to PROSPECTIVE government employees. The following email from Columbia U has been circulating on the web: From: "Office of Career Services"

    Date: November 30, 2010 15:26:53 ESTTo:

    Hi students,

    We received a call today from a SIPA alumnus who is working at the State Department. He asked us to pass along the following information to anyone who will be applying for jobs in the federal government, since all would require a background investigation and in some instances a security clearance.

    The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. He recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government.

    Regards,
    Office of Career Services

Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/09/2010 8:31 Comments || Top||

#12  There is no flexibility whatsoever about this in DoD, not even the hint of a sense of humor.
Posted by: rwv || 12/09/2010 10:19 Comments || Top||

#13  Nor should there be.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 12/09/2010 10:52 Comments || Top||

#14  Thanks Fred and mods for insisting WL docs NOT be posted to this excellent site.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/09/2010 10:55 Comments || Top||

#15  I would be remiss to not say this: I budgeting for charitable donations to give at Christmas and of course Rantburg and some veterans's groups like Paralyzed Veteran of America will be at the top of my list.
The infamous however, the voluminous postings of Anon1 and the mockery of American soldiers and their security detracts completely from the overall Rant at Rantburg. It is fine and dandy that Anon1 has opinions, but her vociferous and lenghty diatribes make the site practically intolerable. Mods I do not mean to order you on how you fo your jobs, but a suggestion would be to limit Anon1 in a meaningful way so Rantburg isn't debased. Just a suggestion.
Posted by: Fire and ice || 12/09/2010 11:13 Comments || Top||

#16  That is "I am"
Posted by: Fire and ice || 12/09/2010 11:14 Comments || Top||

#17  That last comment was mine....don't know why it didn't say it was. My bad!
Posted by: Swamp Blondie || 12/09/2010 11:43 Comments || Top||

#18  Millions for Defense, but Not One Cent for Tribute!
Posted by: wr || 12/09/2010 11:58 Comments || Top||

#19  Great post Swamp Blondie. :-) Very funny. I think I wasn't clear in my writing--- I am contributing to Rantburg, Paralyzed Veterans of America and a food bank no matter what! It's just Sooooo much of Rantburg seems given
over to Anon1 long long long big big big opinions. Not banning, but at least limiting the length of her postings would improve the overall experience of being at Rantburg and
perhaps she could find a way to do that herself. After all less is often more in things like writing. And I think Anon1 is a grown adult.
Posted by: Fire and ice || 12/09/2010 12:11 Comments || Top||

#20  Adult is a nebulous concept these days;-).
Posted by: Fire and ice || 12/09/2010 12:14 Comments || Top||

#21  "Adult is a nebulous concept these days;-)."

That's for sure.
Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 || 12/09/2010 13:05 Comments || Top||

#22  limiting the length of her postings would improve the overall experience of being at Rantburg

You don't have to read every comment. I've been known to pass over some by Mr. Mendiola.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 12/09/2010 13:27 Comments || Top||

#23  Joe M is a special case here.
Posted by: OldSpook || 12/09/2010 15:44 Comments || Top||

#24  I try to read Joe's, OS's, and OP's, and ignore everyone else's.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/09/2010 15:47 Comments || Top||

#25  I'm willing to concede a certain amount of "whose ox is being gored" here. I do think there is a case for espionage or, at the least, receiving stolen goods, and it wouldn't cause me the slightest loss of sleep if Manning were hung and Julie were to be shot while trying to escape. However, if the released documents were Russian or Chinese, I'd read them with glee and feel kindly about Romanov/Chang or whomever stole them and I'd wouldn't care one way or the other about Julie. Not rational, not fair, but that's the way it is.
Posted by: Mercutio || 12/09/2010 15:56 Comments || Top||

#26  Hello all, I understand that you all think that Wikileaks is some kind of enemy saboteur trying to wreck your country in the name of terrorists.

But this isn't true.

And how will you know unless you look at what they do?

I had never even bothered to check out the Wikileaks site before they arrested Assange and the crap hit the fan last week.

Since viewing it I know better what it is now than I did before, and on that I base my views.

Since shutting off access to the website and censoring its documents is the cyber equivalent of book burning, don't you all think you had at least better know what it is you are burning before it is destroyed?

Then you can make up your own minds.

I will point you specifically to that video of Reuters journos being gunned down - not because they were killed.

That happens in war.

But because of the lying that occurred after it that is captured on that video.

That will show you how the messages you receive in the Old Media are spun, and how the truth never makes it out there.

That is why the Government hates wikileaks so much and is trying to cut it down every way it can.

Also on the Wikileaks site is much that has nothing at all to do with the US Government but to do with African nations, South American nations - they are into Government transparency all around the world.

The citizens of these countries have never had a chance to see just how corrupt their governments are or who is doing the thieving.

So I really urge you to at least see for yourselves.

Also I would say that if banning wikileaks cables, why stop there? Why not also ban all news reports that are written sourcing those cables?

It's the same thing.
Posted by: anon1 || 12/09/2010 18:18 Comments || Top||

#27  Banning copies of the documents is NOT the same as banning the articles about them. The documents are marked as U.S. Government property. News articles are clearly marked as something different.

Imagine the task of a security officer who finds a marked Government document on an employee's computer. The officer has no idea how it got where it shouldn't be. Perhaps the reason it is there is because this was the computer used to leak the files in the first place. Maybe not. Either way, an unpleasant investigation and cleanup is required by law.

Do not ever post a restricted or classified U.S. Government marked document to a public forum like this. It is almost certainly illegal for the poster and causes no end of annoyance to innocent people on the site.
Posted by: rammer || 12/09/2010 19:38 Comments || Top||

#28  I think it would be just splendid if Anon started it's own website and posted all of the stuff there instead instead of constantly pissing in the pool over here hoping to slip one by the moderators.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 12/09/2010 19:47 Comments || Top||

#29  Posting classified material to a public forum is a violation of the Wiretap act. The law is written where there is little a defendant can do to mount an affirmative defense of his or her actions.

Telling a federal judge, "Well it was on Wiki-leaks!" will get you nowhere. Telling a judge the material was found on a foreign website will not be heard as a defense as well.

It is not legal for the US government to prevent publication of classified material; it is, however, legal for the government to sanction individuals and institutions for publishing classified material, and sanctions include civil as well as criminal penalties.

This ain't a game.

This isn't a case of "OMFG! Assange is teh roxrz."

Posting classified material not only places the forum in a legal jeopardy, but places the poster in it as well. Be aware of that should have have plans to travel to the US in the near future.

You can't do it and expect to have much in the way of a legal justification for doing it.
Posted by: badanov || 12/09/2010 20:05 Comments || Top||

#30  I'm amazed, anon1, how you can type that voluminous drivel one-handed...bravo!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/09/2010 21:25 Comments || Top||

#31  Now that's just cold, Frank. (But too true. ;-p )
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/09/2010 21:29 Comments || Top||

#32  hoping to slip one by the moderators.

rjschwarz, I don't think anon1 was trying to slip anything by the moderators, only to share what she thought were key revealing documents that she was sure would change our minds, not having picked up hints that this might be an issue to some of our readers. She wasn't openly warned until last night, and she wasn't aware of the warning until this morning. She accepted the ruling, and has not tried to buck it, although continuing to argue in defence of her position.

I find her distressingly obdurate on this issue, although she has been very sensible about some other things, and has provided useful comments about the situations and players in the countries near her Australian home.

badanov, thank you for clarifying the risk to those who wish to travel to the U.S., a real concern. Given anon1's fondness for Americans, she'll probably not want to start her own blog on the WikiLeaks cables, then.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/09/2010 21:47 Comments || Top||

#33  can't slip one by you, Barbara. Heh
Posted by: Frank G || 12/09/2010 22:03 Comments || Top||


Zimbabwean MPs in big pay demand
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Zimbabwe's legislators have threatened to block the passage of the country's 2011 budget if they are not given at least US$200 000 (Sh16m) each for their constituencies.
$200K per year for a Zim legislator? We got lotsa unemployed legislators who can underprice that!
The Members of Parliament (MPs) are also demanding that Finance Minister Tendai Biti sets aside funds to pay them at least $3000 (Sh240,000) in salaries a month.

Currently, the legislators' earn an average of $400 a month and the latest demands come in the wake of threats by the MPs that they would demand compensation if their terms are cut short to pave way for elections expected next year.

President Bob Muggsy Mugabe is insisting on early elections two years after he formed a unity government with his former rivals, which means the legislators cannot serve their five year terms that end in 2012.

The legislators who early this year also demanded luxury vehicles every year for use in their constituencies claim that they are the lowest paid in the region.

"The budget has continued to show its ugly face by putting civil servants and MPs into abject poverty under the pretext that the country is poor," said Mr Paddy Zhanda who chairs the parliamentary portfolio committee on budget and finance.

"This attitude cannot be allowed to continue as it perpetuates corruption and has a negative impact on this country." Last month, Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti proposed a $3,2 billion budget for 2011.

Out of that budget, $1, 4 billion was set aside for civil service remuneration which was almost twice the $773 million allocated in this year's budget.

But for the budget to be adopted it has to be first approved by the MPs before it is taken to the Senate.

Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
the Senate has resumed sitting a month after it was forced to adjourn indefinitely following protests by members of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party over the presence of provincial governors who were unilaterally appointed by President Mugabe.

Mr Tsvangirai has since challenged the appointments in court and South African President Jacob Zuma has also tried to help end the impasse.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Out of that budget, $1, 4 billion was set aside for civil service remuneration which was almost twice the $773 million allocated in this year's budget.

Anyone see a similar pattern here in the States? A tribalist, anti-colonial, entitlement attitude perhaps?
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/09/2010 3:30 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Seven dead in Bangladesh train collision
[Emirates 24/7] Two passenger trains collided at a busy station just outside the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and injuring scores, local officials told AFP.

One train was stopped at the station when the second one ploughed into it from behind, leaving passenger carriages mangled and stacked on top of each other.

Television footage showed workers at the scene trying to rescue people from inside the coaches, as large crowds milled around the scene with some locals trying to drag victims from the wreckage.

Staff at local hospitals confirmed four passengers had died and at least 60 were being treated for injuries.

"The engine car of the moving train rammed into the stationary train, this caused the two back carriages on the stationary train to fly up into the air and crash back down on top of the engine car," Ruhul Amin Molla, head of the fire department in Narshingdi district, told AFP.

"There are still people trapped inside."

Molla said the complex emergency rescue operation was being hampered by the thousands of people who had gathered at the accident site.

Momena Khatun, Narshingdi deputy district chief, told AFP that victims with severe leg and head injuries were being treated at hospitals near the crash scene, 30 kilometres northeast of Dhaka.

"Both trains flew skywards. Firefighters and police are there cutting people out of the wreckage," she said.

"From the information I have now, it appears this was the result of a signal problem," she added. "Most of the injured are very serious and they will need to be sent to Dhaka to get more treatment."

Mohamad Shamin, a doctor at Narshingdi Central Hospital, said that staff there were treating 30 injured people.

"We have sent seven people to Dhaka as their condition is very serious. Many people have lost arms and legs.

"They may survive, but the people who have sustained head wounds, I fear many of them may die, and the traffic is so bad they are not getting to hospital quick enough for us to save them."

Abul Hasan, a nurse at Narshingdi District Hospital told AFP that four people had shuffled off the mortal coil at the hospital, and at least 27 were maimed.

Transport Minister Syed Abul Hosain said that an investigation into the causes of the crash had already been launched.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


3 'robbers' beaten to death
[Bangla Daily Star] Three alleged robbers were killed in a mob beating at Jhenidabagia village in sadar upazila of Rajbari early yesterday.

The dead are Dabir Mandal, 35, of Mulghar village, Faruk, 35, of Alladipur village and Mahinur of Brahmandia village of the upazila.

A gang of nine to 10 robbers swooped on Kuddat Sheikh's house at the village around 3:00am, locals said. As the family members cried out for help, people from neighbourhood rushed to the spot and caught three of the robbers.

The mob beat them to death while the other gang members decamped the scene.

Officer-in-Charge Sarafat Ullah of Rajbari Sadar Police Station confirmed the incident.

Police recovered one knife and a machete from a nearby field after the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Violence in Haiti poll protests
[Al Jazeera] Angry supporters of candidates excluded from presidential runoff torched the ruling party's headquarters.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Prison fire kills scores in Chile
[Al Jazeera] A fire at a prison in southeast of the Chilean capital, Santiago de Chile, has killed at least 83 people. Some reports suggested the fire was deliberately started during a fight between inmates in one of the crowded San Miguel prison's five towers.

"It is a hugely painful tragedy," Sebastian Pinera, the president, said, as he confirmed the death toll.

"The situation in our prison system cannot hold out any longer," he added, citing chronic overcrowding in the country's jails.

Felipe Bulnes, the justice minister, said the prison housed 1,960 inmates, nearly twice the 1,100 capacity.

Police Colonel Jaime Concha said 14 inmates were also injured in the fire, which broke out before dawn on Wednesday. "We don't yet have the identities" of the deceased inmates, he said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Television footage showed flames engulfing the jail and black smoke billowing from the building.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Chavez threatens to seize private banks
[El Universal] Expropriations threats are latent. This time, it was the turn of private banks. "Any bank that slips up, I am going to expropriate it," a defiant President Hugo Chavez boasted on Tuesday evening.

The message was specifically addressed to financial institutions that might block or delay the approval of mortgage loans to people affected by real state irregularities.

"Any bank that slips up, tell me, show me the evidence, and I am going to expropriate it, whether it is Banesco Provincial, Nacional de Crédito, whichever," Chavez told a group of families, who are living in a military shelter, in an event related to the delivery of 212 mortgage loans by the Bicentennial Fund. The ceremony took place in Fuerte Tiuna and was aired by state-run TV channel VTV.

After a beneficiary of a mortgage loan complained about a problem with a bank, Venezuela's President ordered the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin) and the Office of Military Intelligence (DIM) to investigate Banco Nacional de Crédito.

"Please appoint some intelligence officials to investigate all these banks and their owners. In three days I want to have a map of these banks that try to complicate matters," Chavez ordered.

The Venezuelan Head of State also instructed a military official to request homeowners of expropriated houses to occupy them immediately.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  If you have any dealings with Venezuela in any way and haven't seen the handwriting on the wall as of yet, maybe it's too late for you.
Get out now with what you can.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 12/09/2010 12:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Just remember, Oogo - eventually you'll run out of other people's money.

But I'l bet they won't run out of bullets....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/09/2010 16:25 Comments || Top||

#3  You just gotta hope Christie gets elected prez in 2012. Then it's "My fat guy can kick your fat guy's @ss."
Posted by: Mercutio || 12/09/2010 16:30 Comments || Top||

#4  You just gotta hope Christie gets elected prez in 2012.

Governor Christie won't be ready for 2012, Mercutio. I'd hope he wouldn't even think before 2016, or even for 2020, although by then I will be seriously tempted to give him my vote -- he gets good results. He, and the other wonderful new Republican politicians, should have at least a decade of service at the national level under their belts before being given what may well be the most difficult job in the world. If nothing else, they need time to figure out what they think about the issues and get to know the key players. I would prefer they also have enough experience to have figured out how to handle the various types of opponents they will meet, and discover how they will respond to the various types of challenges they are likely to meet.

The White House is not a good place to climb a very, very steep learning curve. Half the problems President Obama is dealing with are because he spent so little time at the national level. The other half are because he has never had real executive experience, either in the public or private sector. The other half, in my opinion, are his goals and principles, and the final half is his temperament.

Yes, I realize what that adds up to, thus demonstrating the extent of the problem the poor man faces each morning when he wakes up.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/09/2010 21:28 Comments || Top||


Venezuela's consumption shrinks for second year in a row
[El Universal] Venezuela's consumption rate was characterized by slowdown in 2010. After showing high levels of growth in previous years, it downsized for second year in a row.

Luis Vicente León, the director of polling firm Datanalisis reported that domestic consumption has fallen 3.3 percent this year, similar to the drop in 2009, when the economic downturn amounted to 3.2 percent.

This slowdown, which amounts to 7-8 percent in the past two years, has created pessimism in Venezuelan consumers who "consider they have lost their quality of life."

The pollster said that the fall is mainly due to falling purchasing power of salaries, which have averaged a 20-percent decline, in real terms, over the past three years.

All this has been compounded by a contraction of consumer credit, because the use of credit cards fell nearly 8 percent while auto loans slipped 30 percent.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Going green.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/09/2010 7:01 Comments || Top||

#2  ...and soon soylent green.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/09/2010 7:08 Comments || Top||

#3  The socialist model proving once again just how successful it is.
[sarc]
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 12/09/2010 12:04 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia's New Breed of Spies
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/09/2010 09:13 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Japan's Venus mission fails
[Al Jazeera]
Country's probe sent on a two-year mission is unsuccessful in entering Venus' orbit.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Students attack Prince Charles' car after fee hike
In Britain's worst political violence in years, furious student protesters rained sticks and rocks on riot police, vandalized government buildings and attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, after lawmakers approved a controversial hike in university tuition fees.

Demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne's limousine as it drove through London's West End shopping and entertainment hub. Protesters who had been running amok and smashing shop windows kicked and threw paint at the car, which sped off.

Charles' office, Clarence House, confirmed the attack but said "their royal highnesses are unharmed."
The problem with privileged youth thinking the government is the answer to everything.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/09/2010 17:50 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The fee was not hiked, the subsidy was lowered.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/09/2010 18:33 Comments || Top||

#2  "The fee was not hiked, the subsidy was lowered."

BP, kinda like here when the Dems call not appropriating as much money as they want for a project (but as much or more than was appropriated last year) a "spending cut."

Looks like we've got innumerate idiots on both sides of the Pond. (But we knew that.)

Guess the thugs students think your gummint's got a Magic Money Tree™ out back too.... :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/09/2010 19:50 Comments || Top||

#3  No they think they've got an entitlement to dip into other peoples wallets.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/09/2010 20:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Name and Shame the lout
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/09/2010 21:06 Comments || Top||

#5  "they think they've got an entitlement to dip into other peoples wallets"

Same here, BP. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/09/2010 21:19 Comments || Top||

#6  I don't understand. Prince Charles is merely an assistant figurehead, one of many sharing figureheading duties with the queen. Nobody serious pays any attention to his opinions whatsoever, and he has no power outside of his assigned residences... and precious little within them.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/09/2010 21:45 Comments || Top||

#7  not according to him
Posted by: Frank G || 12/09/2010 22:02 Comments || Top||

#8  not according to him

Fortunately for him, thinking at all, let alone clearly, is not a job requirement.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/09/2010 23:20 Comments || Top||

#9  Tuition is going from around $5,000 per year to around $15,000 per year. Not an excuse for vandalism and violence. But if I were a British student I'd be pretty angry.
Posted by: CincinnatusChili || 12/09/2010 23:39 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
No foreign aid required if corruption is stopped: Nawaz Sharif
[Geo News] Chief of PML-N Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
on Wednesday said that the country was passing through a critical juncture and facing many economic problems.

Addressing a public gathering at Karman Wali Havaili near Sammundri on Wednesday, he said that corrupt elements have choked the entire development process. If the corruption is eliminated from government departments, the country would become self-reliant and no foreign aid would be required, he added.

He crtiticized the imposition of RGST saying the proposed tax would overburden the people, who were already facing financial constraints due to the inflationary trend in the country.

He said that PML-N would oppose the new tax in and outside the constitutional institutions and if the imposition of new taxes was imperative, corruption should be eliminated first of all.

He criticized corruption in Hajj affairs and said the responsible officers should be jugged.

He observed that dictators always jeopardized the pace of national progress and prosperity by usurping powers.

He said his party would pull the country out of crises and put it on the way to progress and prosperity.

He said that if his government had not been toppled, Pakistain would have been prosperous by now.

Earlier, Nawaz Sharif was accorded a reception and was brought to Karman Wali Havaili in a big rally from Sammundri Bypass.

A large number of PML-N activists, workers and leaders including Chaudhry Sher Ali and Rao Kashif Raheem were also present on the occasion.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Students clash with police outside Punjab Assembly
[Dawn] Students from various government educational institutions protested outside the Punjab Assembly against the privatisation of their colleges in Lahore on Wednesday.

The students had earlier blocked Mall Road and were later gathered outside the Punjab Assembly, trying to enter the premises.

When the police stopped the students from entering the assembly building, they started to force their way inside. The police used batons to disperse the students who then started throwing stones at the police.

The students also restored to vandalising the property and chanting slogans in favour of their demands.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Science & Technology
NASA Sold Old PCs Without Wiping Sensitive Data
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dumbasses.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/09/2010 0:34 Comments || Top||

#2  The only thing useful from NASA data would be what not to do.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/09/2010 7:24 Comments || Top||

#3  If a lot of that data turned out to be unmodified climate data, this would be funnier than hell.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/09/2010 10:39 Comments || Top||

#4  I certainly hope none of the data concerning NASA's new "Muslim outrech" mission was released.

NASA Chief: Next Frontier Better Relations With Muslim World
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/09/2010 10:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Eh, sensitive data? The DOJ is totally cool about that.

Better hope there's no unauthorized music downloads. THEN they'll get Homeland Security all up in their bizness.....
Posted by: Swamp Blondie || 12/09/2010 11:50 Comments || Top||

#6  ..and there are still idiots out there that think that NASA & teh government can keep secrets like faking the moon landing and 9/11.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 12/09/2010 12:06 Comments || Top||

#7  The PCs were probably Tempest-approved, too. :-)
Posted by: gorb || 12/09/2010 12:39 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Calls to end child marriages rejected
[Straits Times] MALAYSIA'S law minister on Wednesday shot down calls to ban junior nookie underage marriage, despite an uproar over the recent wedding of a 14-year-old Mohammedan maiden.

Siti Maryam Mahmod wed 23-year-old teacher Abdul Manan Othman last weekend in a mass wedding at a major mosque, after being given permission in an Islamic Sharia court.
"I wanna pack some pork to this maiden of tender years, but she needs a court order!"
"Okay. Next case!"

Malaysian Mohammedans below the age of 16 are allowed to marry as long as they obtain the permission of the religious courts. Sharia law runs in parallel with civil law in the multi-ethnic country.

Nazri Aziz, a minister in the premier's department in charge of legal affairs, said the government has no plan to review laws allowing for underage marriages because the practice is permitted under Islam.

'If the religion allows it, then we can't legislate against it,' he told a presser.
Actually you could if you had a secular state. But your non-Moslem minority's being forced to live in an Islamic state.
'Islam allows it as long as the girl is considered to have reached her pubescent stage, once she has her menstruation,' he added.
"And boobs! She's gotta have boobs! Big 'uns!"
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Have to start them early to outbreed the infidels and overthrow every other civilization through mass overpopulation and conquest.
Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 || 12/09/2010 11:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Actually this hits kind of close to home. It was only in the last 5 years or so that Hawai'i raised the age of consent to 16... over heavy opposition from the local population, I might add. Child marriages seem to be the world norm, with Western mores in the minority.
Posted by: Mercutio || 12/09/2010 12:15 Comments || Top||

#3  That's quite shocking Mercutio. I had no idea that was happening so close to home. At least I don't have to worry about any Hawaiian global conquest.
Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 || 12/09/2010 13:02 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
46[untagged]
4Commies
3Govt of Pakistan
2TTP
2Govt of Iran
2Hamas
2Hezbollah
1Govt of Sudan
1Taliban
1al-Qaeda
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1al-Shabaab
1Jemaah Islamiyah
1al-Qaeda in North Africa

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2010-12-09
  Pakistan suicide attack kills 17: police
Wed 2010-12-08
  Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims suicide kaboom on Balochistan chief minister
Tue 2010-12-07
  50 dead, 120 maimed in Mohmand double kaboom
Mon 2010-12-06
  Pirates hijack Bangladeshi ship in the Arabian sea
Sun 2010-12-05
  150 killed in Nigeria's oil delta
Sat 2010-12-04
  Officers killed in deadly Nairobi attacks
Fri 2010-12-03
  Nigeria charges 65 in oil region kidnappings
Thu 2010-12-02
  Senior Afghan Officials Release Top Taliban Fighters for Bucks
Wed 2010-12-01
  Iraq arrests 50 suspected militants
Tue 2010-11-30
  Chihuahua: 18 Dead in Mass Grave near Puerto Palomas
Mon 2010-11-29
  Persian nuclear scientsts targets of car kabooms
Sun 2010-11-28
  Emad Hatem Abdullah of Little Rock Arrested On Explosives Charges
Sat 2010-11-27
  Somali teenager 'tried to set off carbomb in US'
Fri 2010-11-26
  South Sudan accuses north of raid
Thu 2010-11-25
  Bakri makes bail


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.
18.226.169.94
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (17)    WoT Background (20)    Opinion (7)    (0)    Politix (5)