(AKI) - The Venezuelan army will be provided a new rocket launcher entirely 'made in Venezuela' by the end of October, local media Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN) revealed on Thursday. The new weapon, which is called VE-Nilangal, was designed by a team of experts of the Venezuelan military academies and it was awarded the first prize at a recent military inventions competitions organised by the Venezuelan army. Colonel Ender Galvis, who took part in the creation of the new rocket-launcher, explained that the weapon's design and components are "100 percent Venezuelan."
The VE-Niagal weights nine kilograms and shoots at an initial speed of 360 metres per second, with potential to exceed the speed of sound. It can be used by infantry units as an anti-tank device as well as in air defence and against human targets, and it includes an "self-destruction function aimed to limit as much as possible collateral damages," should it miss the target, Galvis added. A further device which was awarded a prize at the competition is a flight-simulator which is expected to allow "Venezuelan air force pilots to be trained in the country, rather than in the US," the Venezuelan high officer said.
Galvins' reference to the US did not seem accidental, as American authorities banned weapons' export to Venezuela last month, accusing president Hugo Chavez of not contributing enough to the 'war on terror'. Moreover, the new flight-simulator will allow training for the M-17 and M-35 helicopters, and M-28 jet-fighters that Venezuela has recently bought from Russia. Chavez, who will soon pay an official visit to Russia, has also revealed that Caracas will receive the first lot of Sukhoi jet-fighters it bought from Moscow within 2006. Furthermore, he is believed to be willing to set up a factory of Kalashnikov rifles and bullets in Venezuela.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2006 00:00 ||
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self-destruction function
Why do I suddenly get the vision of these things randomly exploding their operators when least expected.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/23/2006 8:34 Comments ||
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#4
Dennis Prager did a show a while back on Chavez, in which he speculates that most Americans (particularly the State Dept) underestimate the danger that Chavez poses. To give perspective, look at the seriousness with which we treat Cuba, comparatively much less able to harm the US than Venezuela. I worry that our fixation on the "long game" (e.g. in the Middle East and Central Asia) has blinded us to the threats in this hemisphere of Chavez and his bolivarian revolution.
Chavez has already signalled his intent to foment revolution throughout S and C America, and he has demonstrated his commitment by acquiring military equipment from Russia and Spain.
I realize there is a risk of validating Chavez's claims of a "US Plot" were we to take concrete action, but our absence of ANY response above and beyond polite tut-tutting is going to come back to bite us.
#5
I suppose I must correct myself in the above, as banning weapons sales is a concrete action.
But why we don't take further action related to CITGO, PDVSA, and the batty proposal in Massachusetts to purchase cheap fuel oil from Chavez is beyond me.
At the very least, I maintain that we should establish Rantburg Petroleum Services SA in the form of a Panamanian IBC and bankrupt his revolution by purchasing all of his oil below market and re-selling to the US petroleum reserve for a very small profit.
LEFTIST Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador edged further ahead in Mexico's tight presidential race, and investors' fears that he might cause economic chaos eased when authorities announced a debt deal. A new opinion poll, the third this week, showed Mr Lopez Obrador increasing his lead over conservative rival Felipe Calderon ahead of the July 2 election. While still a close race, the Milenio poll gave anti-poverty crusader Mr Lopez Obrador 35 per cent support, ahead Mr Calderon's 30 per cent. Mr Lopez Obrador's lead had increased from 3 percentage points in a survey two weeks ago. Some polls, including one by US firm Zogby International, say Mr Calderon is more likely to win, but the conservative former energy minister's lead in those surveys has narrowed.
As he senses power, Mr Lopez Obrador has gone out of his way to counter critics' claims that he would overspend and take Mexico back to bad old days of currency devaluation, capital flight and mass bankruptcies of the 1980s and 1990s. "How am I going to fulfil my promise to improve families' incomes by 20 per cent?" he said in a television commercial. "Above all I tell you that I will not get the country into debt or raise taxes. It's not necessary."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2006 00:00 ||
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This is the same guy who said that mass migration to the US was a national embarrassment. Could be interesting there in the next few days....
INTERNATIONAL mediation over the disputed Nagorno Karabakh enclave is "hopeless," oil-rich Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said today, vowing to retake it by "peaceful means or by war" in a speech to the military.
Mr Aliyev, whose country fought its neighbour and fellow former Soviet republic Armenia over control of the majority-Armenian enclave in Azerbaijani territory from 1988 to 1994, also said he would use oil revenues to beef up the military.
Oil will bring Azerbaijan $US140 billion over the next two decades, Mr Aliyev said and there was no doubt the country would use the money to strengthen the army "so that it can return our lands at any moment".
The President said international efforts to mediate the conflict were "hopeless" and Azerbaijan was willing only to negotiate the restoration of its full control over Karabakh.
Mr Aliyev was speaking at a graduation ceremony of cadets at Azerbaijan's highest military academy, named in honor of his father Heydar Aliyev whom the younger Aliyev succeeded as president in 2003.
Azerbaijan's first major oil pipeline, which is operated by energy giant BP and is backed by the United States, goes online on July 13 and will give the landlocked Caspian Sea an important export route to Western markets.
In his speech, which was followed by a military parade with the participation of troops, Russian-built helicopters and fighter jets, Mr Aliyev said "we will restore our territorial integrity by peaceful means or by war."
Military spending in this predominantly Shiite Muslim country of eight million has quadrupled to 700 million dollars in 2006 over the past four years he said, adding that yesterday he ordered servicemen's wages to be increased by 100 per cent.
"We are buying modern armaments," he said without elaborating. "Our expenses in the military sphere will grow even more."
Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, sparking a six-year conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that claimed 25,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Despite a 1994 ceasefire, tensions remain high in the mountainous region one of the world's most militarized zones.
#2
A high profile move in Armenia and Kurdistan (say - military liason and basing detachments) may do a world of good in focusing the Turks attention. Follow it up with nominal troop deployments - supply depots, rear garrisons, and the neighbors may reconsider their positions. Of course, NATO member Georgia will be useful in setting this all up.
#3
I've been to Armenia and their hatred for Muslims is unimaginable. Must have something to do with being the one of the world's oldest Christian cultures and being repeatedly overrun by Muslims.
A Nazi propaganda film showing dramatic footage of a Second World War battle against British forces has been found. Kampf um Norwegen - or "the Struggle for Norway" - is a rare 80-minute documentary commissioned by the high command of the German army in 1940. It displays ordinary German soldiers as super-heroes as they conquered the country. It is believed the film was dubbed into English to be screened in the then neutral US and distributed in Portugal, Spain and parts of Africa.
Associate Professor Jostein Saakvitne, at Bergen University College, found the film on sale in an internet auction. Ragnar Løvberg, an archivist at the Norwegian Film Institute, said: "The film contains a range of scenes that have never been made public before. A great deal of it is devoted to the Battle of Narvik against British forces." Prof Saakvitne added: "We don't know where the film came from, but there is every reason to believe it had lain forgotten in a loft or cellar." Narvik was a key port for Swedish ore mines. During the battle, more than 1,000 men and three German destroyers were sunk by the Royal Navy and five were scuttled by their crews.
#3
I wouldn't necessarily want to sit through the bombastic Goebbels-wannabee narration, but the underlying stock footage would be interesting to see.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/23/2006 8:55 Comments ||
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#4
Geographic note: Sweden was Europe's main source for iron ore which (for geographic reasons) was shipped by rail across the Nordic penisula to the Norwegian port of Narvik.
#5
Norway later became a source of heavy water for the Nazis. The facility was sabotaged by commandos and the Nazis never did obtain heavy water for nuclear super weapons that they were developing to use in the war against the Allies.
#12
I can't remember the exact title, but there is a double-movie set taken from the Soviet WWII archives that is truly amazing. It features the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle up to Gulf War I, but also has just astounding footage.
Pictures of hills of dead Russians, killed by SS einsatzgruppe, with fuel oil poured over them and set on fire. With Russian military officers coldly contemplating doing the same to the Germans when they caught them.
A disorganized march of 250,000 men down a road, taken from the top of a nearby hill, a giant mass of soldiers.
Footage of the vast expanse of grey emptiness, with columns of smoke off in the far distance, broken by a katusha and artillery barrage that would continue for days.
Political groups behind Ukraine's Orange Revolution yesterday said they had clinched an agreement on a coalition government after nearly three months of talks and pledged to iron out the details quickly. An agreement, if signed in the next few days, could consolidate the pro-Western policies championed by President Viktor Yushchenko since weeks of mass upheaval against election fraud in 2004 helped propel him to office. Parties which stood behind Yushchenko, committed to nudging Ukraine towards European Union and Nato membership, have been at odds for nearly a year since he dismissed fiery Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She now stands to get her job back. Last night, three political forces completed work on a text for a coalition agreement, Roman Bezsmertny of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party told parliament referring to Our Ukraine, Tymoshenko's bloc and the smaller Socialist Party.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2006 00:00 ||
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A Frenchman who passed himself off as a relative of Syrian President Bashar Assad to rob wealthy Paris residences of their valuables has been jailed after some dogged police work, Le Figaro newspaper reported Thursday. Identified as Alexandre A., 21, the unemployed man confessed to police after his arrest this month that he was fascinated by the rich, the daily said.
"It's all that money. I can't resist it."
Police said he had also pretended to be a relative of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Lebanese opposition politician General Michel Aoun. He admitted to having targeted 50 upmarket homes in Paris since February. He was caught following the robbery of a lavish address in the chic 16th arrondissement in the west of the city on June 9. Alexandre A. had already cased the place by dressing elegantly and presenting himself as a relative of Assad's who wanted to move to Paris and look at some property. He asked questions about the security system that allowed him to open the safe holding $630,000 in jewellery on a return visit. He locked the real-estate agent and the owner in one of the rooms by brandishing a fake pistol. A search of his home turned up the jewellery and the fake firearm.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2006 00:00 ||
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Two new cadets at the Air Force Academy already know all about Americas ability to make war.
Haider al-Abadi of Iraq and Abdul Qayum of Afghanistan just came from the front lines. Theyre the first students from their nations to be accepted into the academys four-year program for foreign students and have seen firsthand how U.S. forces are battling to bring democracy to their homelands.
My goal here is to learn something to help my people, Qayum said Thursday, his first day at the academy.
For 40 years, the Pentagon has allowed allied nations to send a limited number of students to the academy. The foreign
cadets get the same training and tough freshman-year treatment as their American counterparts, but head home after graduation to serve in their armed forces.
For Abadi, going to school in America was an impossible dream. His family lives in a Sunnidominated neighborhood of southern Baghdad and his father flew in the Iraqi air force in that countrys war with neighboring Iran.
The 19-year-old has heard stories of what American air power did to his nations air force in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
The Gulf War really destroyed our air force, he said. It was no match.
Abadi said hes befriended many American soldiers and Marines since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Husseins regime. But he doesnt hide his belief that America should have taken bigger steps after the invasion to quell the insurgency.
I dont hate America, but I dont agree with some of the tactics that were used, he said.
Qayums family was able to return to their homeland only after the 2001 U.S. invasion that ended the Talibans reign.
We were there for one month when the Taliban took power, he said. We left when we saw they were killing people for no reason.
Qayum and Abadi, who will start basic training next week with 18 other foreign cadets and more than 1,300 American students, know theyre taking a risk by coming to study with the U.S. military.
Insurgents in their countries have often targeted the families of those cooperating with Americans.
I fear it, but I am not afraid of sacrificing for the good of my country, Abadi said.
Academy leaders see a chance to expand relations with enemies turned friends.
The biggest thing is it will build friendships that will last for life, said Maj. Bradley Hince, who was walking the foreign cadets through their first day at the academy. Theyll be the generals in their countries some day.
Posted in full. Link isn't good past today.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/23/2006 15:31 ||
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Welcome, gentlemen! Learn well, and help transform your homelands.
#2
The second-best President the Philippines had last century (Fidel Ramos) was a USMA alumnus. This is a great training ground for leaders. Much better than sending the poor kids to other US universities where they will just learn to be troublesome.
#3
Not to be outdone, please visit scenic Fort Benning Georgia and the United States Army Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). (to the old timers, better known simply as the School of the Americas....oops maybe I shouldn't have said that). We don't have a Broadmore Hotel or Golden Bee pub, but we've got some nice peaches, bbq, grits and plenty of lovely kudzu.
WASHINGTON -- Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta is stepping down from his Cabinet position.
Mineta, 74, is one of President George W. Bush's longest-serving Cabinet members. He has served in the position since Bush assumed the presidency in 2001.
He also served in President Bill Clinton's cabinet.
The former 10-term California congressman is the only Democrat in Bush's Cabinet and is the longest-serving transportation secretary in U.S. history, according to his official department Web site.
Mineta was plagued with back problems during his tenure as transportation secretary but has since recovered.
He was hospitalized for three months in December 2002 for back surgery and treatment of an infection. During that time he ran the department from a hospital suite reserved for top government officials, and some speculated that he might resign then.
Mineta's resignation is effective July 17, White House press secretary Tony Snow said Friday. Snow did not give a reason for the resignation.
Posted by: DanNY ||
06/23/2006 14:39 Comments ||
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#7
Mineta was plagued with back problems during his tenure as transportation secretary but has since recovered.
Yeah, must've helped when you cut back on all that heavy lifting associated with the job, right Norm?
Twenty years in Congress, Commerce Secretary, Transportation Secretary. A hack's Hack.
#9
Flying was bad before 9-11 but Mineta's idiot DOT response made it simply miserable. It's no wonder airline stocks are in the toilet; no one who can avoid flying ever misses the chance to do so. I've had moments in airport security lines where I wasn't sure who I wanted to kill most; Osama or the minimum-wage fascist security screeners. I know this; it's got to be a damned desperate situation before I fly now. I'd rather spend three days driving anyplace in the continental U.S. than spend four hours crammed into a space smaller than a coffin after running the Mineta security gauntlet. Of course, it figures that the DOT response would have been totally wrong. That's what happens when you let a Democrat run anything.
Posted by: mac ||
06/23/2006 16:09 Comments ||
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#10
That's not how the AP sees it, mac...
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who helped rebuild confidence in U.S. airports and flying after the Sept. 11 attacks...
#11
Do you suppose that some logic might creep into the AIrport security now......I mean can we actually (gasp!!) start profiling and searching likely suspects instead of 10 year old girls in soccer uniforms and little old ladies from Alabama.
#14
Let's find Norm a job that forces him to travel third class by commercial air carrier on a daily basis. This SOB increased our vulnerability tenfold with his horsesh!t profiling laws. Rot in Hell, Norm.
NEW YORK Rep. Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, apologized to wrinkled up old bug-eyed hag Helen Thomas on Wednesday for disparaging comments he made about the veteran White House correspondent.
Last Saturday, Rep. King, while discussing the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi at the state Republican convention, said, "What occurred to me that morning is something that I imagine a lot of you have thought about and he's probably figured it out by now. There probably are not 72 virgins in the hell he's at and if there are, they probably all look like Helen Thomas." Too bad he apologized.
#3
Heck, it's probably his staff busily stuffing all press fax machines with the "apology" that repeats that line. Smart move to make it an "apology" so that he could get them to repeat it again and again. It's a great line for people and I'm sure he wants to get credit for it.
#4
I heard about this incident on the news yesterday evening driving home from the Kenai peninsula. I bust a gut laughing! The apology made it a source of innocent merriment through the idiots at the MSM, who passed it on.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/23/2006 12:01 Comments ||
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#5
When will Helen Thomas apologize for being Helen Thomas?
#8
I cannot imagine waking up each morning and looking at Helen Thomas. It would make one consider doing a Kevorkian...even if you were in excellent health.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/23/2006 08:06 ||
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Oh, great! Another War on Poverty! But this time, Edwards proposes to erradicate it.
War on Poverty. Now that's a quagmire!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/23/2006 14:45 Comments ||
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#2
Uusually, when a Dem mentions "working", automatically substitute "non-working" to get a more accurate reading on what he actually means. This what 44 years of listening to Ted Kennedy had taught me.
#3
Like Mussolini who made the tracks run on time by simply adjusting the schedule to match real performance, the Dems will wipe out a big chunk of poverty by simply readjusting the definition since most poverty in America is statistical and determined by a bureaucrat in Washington. Take for consideration -
The Specter of Poverty in America
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
By Robert Rector
Last month, the Census Bureau released annual poverty figures showing that the percentage of Americans who are poor rose from 12.1 percent in 2002 to 12.5 percent in 2003.
It's important to recognize that these figures are a year old. They cover 2003, not the current year. Given current economic conditions, it is extremely likely that poverty fell during 2004, although the official figures won't be available until the fall of next year.
Poverty is a lagging economic indicator. Formal recessions (when the whole economy is shrinking) usually last less than a year. But the poverty rate almost always continues to rise for several years after the recession ends. The last recession officially ended in November 2001, but the poverty rate continued to rise in 2002 and 2003. This is a normal economic pattern that has occurred in most prior recessions.
Compared to prior recessions, the recent recession was mild and had a limited impact on poverty. Overall, the increase in poverty resulting from the recent downturn has been half the increase that occurred in the two last recessions that hit the economy in the early 1980s and early 1990s.
Still, the Census Bureau reports that 35.9 million persons "lived in poverty" in 2003, a number that should cause concern to all. But to really understand poverty in America, it's important to look behind these numbers to the actual living conditions of the individuals the government deems poor.
For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing and reasonable shelter. But only a small number of the million persons classified as "poor" by the Census Bureau fit that description. Real material hardship certainly does occur, but it's limited in scope and severity. Most of America's "poor" live in material conditions that would be judged as comfortable or well-off just a few generations ago.
The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:
Forty-six percent of all poor households own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and porch or patio.
Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other European cities. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.
Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television. Over half own two or more color televisions.
Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
Seventy-three percent own a microwave oven, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher.
Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family isn't hungry, and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family's essential needs. While this individual's life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, activists and politicians.
Even better news is that remaining poverty can readily be reduced, especially among children. Child poverty in the U.S. is caused largely by low levels of parental work and by the absence of fathers from the home. While work and two-parent families are the surest ladders out of poverty, the welfare system continues to reward idleness while failing to provide support to keep families in tact.
To further reduce poverty, welfare should be overhauled: All able-bodied welfare recipients should be required to work or prepare for work in exchange for the aid they receive. Also, new parents in low-income communities who express interest in marriage (and research tells us there are many) should be equipped with the skills they need to create a healthy marriage, rather than be penalized when they do get married.
Robert Rector is a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
#6
"The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and porch or patio."
If that's "poor," I must be destitute. I've got no garage and only on bath. (And NO dishwasher, dammit.)
I've seen lots of so-called "poor" people with better houses, cars, and clothing than I have ever had and buying better (more expensive) food than I do. Funny how a lot of the "poor" can afford liquor, cigarettes, lottery tickets every week, tattoos, sculpted fingernails, fancy and intricate hairdos, and more.
Of course, I can see where they'd have the money for those necessities, since I rarely see them waste it on fresh fruit and vegetables, books, or other such frivolous things. :-(
Pfui.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/23/2006 20:04 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON - The Earth is running a slight fever from greenhouse gases, after enjoying relatively stable temperatures for 2,000 years. The National Academy of Sciences, after reconstructing global average surface temperatures for the past two millennia, said Thursday the data are "additional supporting evidence ... that human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming."
Other new research showed that global warming produced about half of the extra hurricane-fueled warmth in the North Atlantic in 2005, and natural cycles were a minor factor, according to Kevin Trenberth and Dennis Shea of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a research lab sponsored by the National Science Foundation and universities.
For more research, see the "Hottest in 400 Years article" to follow.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/23/2006 08:01 ||
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...after enjoying relatively stable temperatures for 2,000 year...
This is just ignores the Little Ice Age around the start of the Dark Ages and the relapse around 1400 to 1850?
Or are they using two data points like in 'if your head is in the refrig and ass in the stove, you're relatively comfortable'?
#2
This is hilarious. If you read the actual press release, you see that it says almost none of this.
The press release says that the last 25 years of the 20th century were warmer than any comparable period (i.e., any other 25 years) of the last four centuries. Before then they can't say, because there are not enough "proxy" measurements available.
The Yahoo article says:
Their conclusions were meant to address, and they lent credibility to, a well-known graphic among climate researchers a "hockey-stick" chart that climate scientists Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley and Malcolm Hughes created in the late 1990s to show the Northern Hemisphere was the warmest it has been in 2,000 years.
The press release says the "hockey stick" chart is "plausible". That's as enthusiastic as it gets. It goes on to say:
The Research Council committee...had less confidence that the warming was unprecedented prior to 1600...even less confidence can be placed in the Mann team's conclusions about the 1990s, and 1998 in particular.
The NAS didn't ignore the medieval warm period; Yahoo did. The press release is not exactly difficult to understand. The "2000 years" thing is just bull.
#3
The "2000 years" thing is just bull.
Especially since Gallileo didn't invent a crude water thermometer until 1593. Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer in 1714.
Posted by: ed ||
06/23/2006 12:35 Comments ||
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#4
I just bought a shiny new thermometer and put it on my desk for the first time today. I can say with all confidence this is the hottest day I've recorded at my desk. Also the coldest. If Bush had only signed Kyoto...
#5
So what's the trend, Sea? How does it further validate swelling concerns about the irrepairable damage the Anti-Gorebots are continuing to do to our fragile ecosystem?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/23/2006 14:42 Comments ||
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#6
Especially since Gallileo didn't invent a crude water thermometer until 1593.
That part's not entirely bull. That's what the whole "proxy measurement" thing's about: we don't have actual temperature measurement back much more than a century, so we have to use "proxy" measurements -- tree rings or summat. The press release does state that it's possible that environmental factors might have changed so that the proxies don't map to temperature the way they do today. Just one of those little caveats Yahoo overlooked.
The cosy relationship between arms suppliers and defence officials takes a hit
India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has raided 19 locations in four cities as part of an inquiry into the theft of naval military secrets.
CBI officials said the navy headquarters in Delhi had been raided, as had the Ministry of Defence.
Premises in Calcutta, Vishakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar had also been targeted, naval officials said.
News of the theft from navy offices emerged last year and inquiries have been continuing since then.
The places searched belong to naval and army officers, defence ministry officials and civilians, a statement issued by the CBI on Friday said.
The searches were carried out to collect evidence based on leads provided by the investigation, the statement added.
It said investigations indicate there is a larger ring of officials in various wings of the armed forces and the defence ministry who were giving out sensitive information in exchange for what it described as "gratifications".
The statement did not explain what exactly those "gratifications" were.
The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says it is not yet clear whether the CBI has found any fresh evidence following a series of arrests made earlier this year.
Our correspondent says the international police force Interpol has issued a notice against the former Naval Commander Ravi Shankaran, for his alleged links to those involved in the war room leak.
Mr Shankaran has also been declared a proclaimed offender and has absconded.
The authorities at airports, railway stations, major ports and bus terminals have been ordered to arrest him.
Posted by: john ||
06/23/2006 19:45 ||
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Global warming has finally been explained: the Earth is getting hotter because the Sun is burning more brightly than at any time during the past 1,000 years, according to new research.
All the 'climite models' of doom seem to leave out the significants played by the sun. No sun, no heat. Too much sun, too much heat. The problem is the sun is a variable star with several cycles [not just the classical 11 year variance].
As to the boogyman of global warming, if there hadn't been a major warming 18,000 years ago, major ice sheet would still be covering North America and Europe. Ergo, no Western Civilization, no English, no democracy, no internet, etc. So why is this all considered de facto bad?
#3
Also in my part of the US (Southwest) there is a drought, blamed on Global warming of course. Nevermind the fact every 30 years or so we do this cycle. Also nevermind the fact that around 1500-1600 there was a 50 year drought that caused the Anazazi culture to collapse before global warming. Nevermind the fact that we are in a semi-arid place and droughts are a fact of life here.
Moonbat alert A RETIRED Portuguese general who once commanded a UN force in East Timor claimed that Australia had provoked the crisis there in order to take control of the fledgling country. "What interests the Australians most is oil and gas," Alfredo Assuncao said in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias. "So what better way to control these enormously rich resources than to be physically present and control the country's political system?" said Mr Assuncao, who was chief of staff of a UN peacekeeping force in East Timor in 2000-01.
More than 2200 troops and police from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal are currently in the former Portuguese colony struggling to restore order after an explosion of violence triggered by East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's decision in March to sack 600 soldiers. Dr Alkatiri is locked in a power struggle with President Xanana Gusmao.
Describing Australia as "the main enemy of the country," Mr Assuncao said the Australians had always wanted to "control everything and everyone" in East Timor and had been frustrated in this only because Mr Gusmao and Dr Alkatiri had previously shown a united front. "But the breakup of this union is opening the way for them to take control of the country," the newspaper quoted him as saying. Australia was trying to get rid of Dr Alkatiri "and anyone else putting East Timor interests above the ambitions of its neighbours," he said.
After the departure of the Portuguese, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia between 1975 and 1999, then came under direct UN administration until independence in 2002. Though the poorest country of Southeast Asia, it has vast reserves of oil and gas beneath the Timor Sea. Last January, East Timor and Australia signed a deal to share development of these fields following years of negotiation.
Also Friday, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs Fernando Neves said: "Australia should not get involved in the domestic affairs of East Timor. Neither Australia, nor Portugal. "Institutional questions in East Timor must be settled by the East Timorese," Mr Neves added.
Canberra and Lisbon have disagreed previously over their presence in East Timor. Earlier this month Portugal initially refused to put members of its National Republican Guard under the command of Australian forces in the country until an agreement was reached. Meanwhile the Portuguese Communist Party in a statement released Friday accused Australia of being an "occupation force" in East Timor.
#1
Jealousy and senility, not to mention impotence, make people say incredibly stupid things. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. Especially since there are still people so manifestly depraved or clueless that they follow socialism, communism, and other grotesquely failed scams.
#3
Isn't it strange that at Portugese General was involved at all in East Timor since Portugal was the colonial power before Indonesia took over the province.
I guess thats why voluntarily upped the percentage of the oil E Timor gets from 50% under the treaty with Indonesia to between 80% and 90% under the new treaty with E. Timor.
And still the Leftists here whine that we are stealing their oil.
East Timor President Xanana Gusmao said on Thursday he would step down if the country's prime minister refused to take responsibility for a weeks-long crisis in which the country has been racked by violence. He spoke in a broadcast to the nation after a second day of tense meetings failed to bring the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, blamed by thousands of protesters for the violence in which at least 20 were killed, widespread looting and arson. "I ask the responsibility of Mari Alkatiri over this major crisis that we are going through to maintain the government and the state's democracy," Gusmao said.
If Alkatiri failed to take responsibility, he said, "tomorrow I will send a letter to the national parliament to inform them that I will resign from the presidency of this republic. I am ashamed of the bad deeds that the government is doing to the people." Alkatiri told Portugal's Lusa news agency in a telephone interview that he would not resign.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2006 00:00 ||
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East Timor President Xanana Gusmao has asked Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri to resign, government sources said yesterday. Officials including Alkatiri met at the presidential office to discuss the demand, but the meeting ended inconclusively in the afternoon and will resume today, the sources said. The request to Alkatiri was contained in a letter sent on Tuesday night, East Timor's ambassador in Indonesia Arlindo Marcal told Reuters. The letter asked the prime minister to resign because the president does not trust the prime minister any more, Marcal said. The deadline was actually at 5pm, but the prime minister wants to consult this with his party first. We don't know the follow up yet, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2006 00:00 ||
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By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to strengthen the rights of the American people against the taking of their private property, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to protect the rights of Americans to their private property, including by limiting the taking of private property by the Federal Government to situations in which the taking is for public use, with just compensation, and for the purpose of benefiting the general public and not merely for the purpose of advancing the economic interest of private parties to be given ownership or use of the property taken.
Sec. 2. Implementation. (a) The Attorney General shall:
(i) issue instructions to the heads of departments and agencies to implement the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; and
(ii) monitor takings by departments and agencies for compliance with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.
(b) Heads of departments and agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law:
(i) comply with instructions issued under subsection (a)(i); and
(ii) provide to the Attorney General such information as the Attorney General determines necessary to carry out subsection (a)(ii).
Sec. 3. Specific Exclusions. Nothing in this order shall be construed to prohibit a taking of private property by the Federal Government, that otherwise complies with applicable law, for the purpose of:
(a) public ownership or exclusive use of the property by the public, such as for a public medical facility, roadway, park, forest, governmental office building, or military reservation;
(b) projects designated for public, common carrier, public transportation, or public utility use, including those for which a fee is assessed, that serve the general public and are subject to regulation by a governmental entity;
c) conveying the property to a nongovernmental entity, such as a telecommunications or transportation common carrier, that makes the property available for use by the general public as of right;
(d) preventing or mitigating a harmful use of land that constitutes a threat to public health, safety, or the environment;
(e) acquiring abandoned property;
(f) quieting title to real property;
(g) acquiring ownership or use by a public utility;
(h) facilitating the disposal or exchange of Federal property; or
(i) meeting military, law enforcement, public safety, public transportation, or public health emergencies.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order shall be implemented in a manner consistent with Executive Order 12630 of March 15, 1988.
(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 23, 2006.
About time. WTG W!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2006 19:46 ||
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#1
It doesn't yet, but the movement is clear, and it'll become untenable to use Fed money to do a KELO. Pressure your states!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2006 20:29 Comments ||
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#2
Number of banks, investor groups willing to gamble the Kelo today will turn out to be a 'return to owner' tomarrow?
WASHINGTON - The Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, probably even longer. The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia."
This is datelined yesterday, so the increase from "Hottest in 400 Years" to "Hottest in 2,000 Years" was overnight!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/23/2006 08:04 ||
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#1
I think it was about 96 yesterday and it was only 88 today. They are clearly lying.
Actually, I have to wonder how warm it was, globally speaking, when a shallow inland sea covered the Chicago area. I have to think a good deal warmer than it has been in the last 2 MILLION years.
There's only so much carbon in the world. That is dug up and burnt can only make it as warm as it was during the Carboniferous Age.
#2
Sure. Bush wasn't president during the Carboniferous Age.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/23/2006 19:47 Comments ||
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#3
It's supposed to be hotter (over a 100) tomorrow at my place - I guess Al Gore is right. But, Monday, a cooling trend is due, so I guess Al Gore is full of sh*t. Wow, taking short snapshots sure confuses people, doesn't it... Aren't we used to talking about "ages" and "eons" for real change...amazing that when it becomes convenient, we focus on 10 or 20 (or 13) yr spans.... Grant Whores In Academia unite!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2006 20:33 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
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.
(AKI) - The Venezuelan army will be provided a new rocket launcher entirely 'made in Venezuela' by the end of October, local media Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN) revealed on Thursday. The new weapon, which is called VE-Nilangal, was designed by a team of experts of the Venezuelan military academies and it was awarded the first prize at a recent military inventions competitions organised by the Venezuelan army. Colonel Ender Galvis, who took part in the creation of the new rocket-launcher, explained that the weapon's design and components are "100 percent Venezuelan."
LEFTIST 
A Nazi propaganda film showing dramatic footage of a Second World War battle against British forces has been found. Kampf um Norwegen - or "the Struggle for Norway" - is a rare 80-minute documentary commissioned by the high command of the German army in 1940. It displays ordinary German soldiers as super-heroes as they conquered the country. It is believed the film was dubbed into English to be screened in the then neutral US and distributed in Portugal, Spain and parts of Africa. 
Political groups behind Ukraine's 
A Frenchman who passed himself off as a relative of Syrian President Bashar Assad to rob wealthy Paris residences of their valuables has been jailed after some dogged police work, Le Figaro newspaper reported Thursday. Identified as Alexandre A., 21, the unemployed man confessed to police after his arrest this month that he was fascinated by the rich, the daily said. 
greenhouse gases, after enjoying relatively stable temperatures for 2,000 years. The National Academy of Sciences, after reconstructing global average surface temperatures for the past two millennia, said Thursday the data are "additional supporting evidence ... that human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming." 
A RETIRED Portuguese general who once commanded a UN force in East Timor claimed that Australia had provoked the crisis there in order to take control of the fledgling country. "What interests the Australians most is oil and gas," Alfredo Assuncao said in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias. "So what better way to control these enormously rich resources than to be physically present and control the country's political system?" said Mr Assuncao, who was chief of staff of a UN peacekeeping force in East Timor in 2000-01.
East Timor President 
East Timor President 
