#3
Reading the Wikipedia account, it was hard to keep remembering that the Chinese used to be "good guys". I kept accidentally rooting for the Japanese!
Quick, what are Mongolias three geographic neighbors? Theres Russia to the North, China to the Southand then, of course, there is America?
In an odd geopolitical move, Mongolia has volunteered to join Americas global empire, designating the United States as its third neighborI am not making that upand adopting English as its official second language, even though the nearest English-speaking nation is thousands of miles away. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
10/26/2007 08:20 ||
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#1
i guess that goes along with being a major maritime player with no connection with the ocean
#2
Maybe the Mongols are looking to the past and the future. If Beijing wants to press it's "historical" claim to Taiwan, Ulaanbaatar can press it's claim too. Then we would be neighbors :)
#3
There are Mongolian troops in Iraq, or were at least. They've also sent a couple cadets to West Point under the program in which foreign students do the 4 years and then are commissioned in their home armies. We've been building relations at the military level for some time.
#6
Please welcome our new neighbors, the Mongol Horde
[Given: underedumacated impression...]
From what I've read [National Geographic and Science mag ~:)] and seen on TeeWee, the modern mongols are impressive open folks that have the Right Stuff.
Compared to the Chi-coms they are WAY independent.. self starters rugged individualists [Ayn Rand eat yourn heart out!]
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/26/2007 11:50 Comments ||
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#9
The Mongolian officers in Iraq have a sense of humor. One remarked that they had experience in military operations in Baghdad.
In 1255 Hulagu sent a message to the caliph, Al-Musta'sim
"When I lead my army against Baghdad in anger, whether you hide in heaven or in earth
I will bring you down from the spinning spheres;
I will toss you in the air like a lion.
I will leave no one alive in your realm;
I will burn your city, your land, your self.
If you wish to spare yourself and your venerable family, give heed to my advice with the ear of intelligence. If you do not, you will see what God has willed."
The Mongolian version of "shock and awe" so devastated Baghdad that the city was left unrecognizable. Homes and mosques were razed and between 200,000 and 800,000 people were killed. The war's chroniclers said the Tigris River ran red with blood and then black from ink after the barbarians threw the Caliph of Baghdad's library into the river.
The Mongolian generals struck such terror into the hearts of the Iraqis that the caliph not only agreed to hand over all his riches but 700 princesses as well, in exchange for his life. The Mongols, however, ignored the offer, rolling the ruler of Baghdad into a carpet and trampling him to death with horses.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/26/2007 14:23 Comments ||
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#10
The Assassins "had emerged because of a schism in the Shia Muslim sect and established themselves in northern and eastern Persia by taking and controlling a series of mountain fortifications. Behind their walls they lived a contemplative life, producing beautifully wrought paintings and metalwork, but beyond their retreats they terrorized those civilizations they deemed heretical and so earned the enmity not just of the rest of the Islamic world but eventually of Europe. The local Ismaili leader had done little to enhance their reputation. Rather than confront his enemies in open combat he preferred to sponsor a campaign of political murder, usually executed with a dagger in the back, as the means to his end. "
...
"The Mongols made first for the Elburz Mountains, where the Assassins lay in wait behind what they believed to be their impregnable fortresses. With extraordinary ingenuity the Mongol generals and their Chinese engineers manoeuvred their artillery up the mountain slopes and set them up around the walls of the fortress of Alamut. But before the order was given to commence firing the Assassins' Grand Master, Rukn ad-Din, signalled that he wanted to negotiate. Hulegu countered that he must immediately order the destruction of his own fortifications; when Rukn ad-Din prevaricated, the bombardment commenced. Under the most devastatingly accurate artillery fire, the walls quickly tumbled and Rukn ad-Din surrendered. Hulegu took him prisoner, transported him to every Assassin castle they confronted, and paraded him before each garrison with the demand for an immediate surrender. Some obliged, as at Alamut; while others, like Gerdkuh, had to be taken by force. Today the spherical stone missiles fired by the artillery teams at the walls still litter the perimeter of the ruins. Whether each 'eagle's nest' surrendered or was taken, the Mongols put all the inhabitants to the sword; even the women in their homes and the babies in their cradles.
As this slaughter continued, Rukn ad-Din begged Hulegu to allow him to go to Qaraqorum where he would pay homage to the Great Khan and plead for clemency. Hulegu agreed, but when he got to Qaragorum Mongke Khan refused to see him. It was effectively a sentence of death. On the journey back his Mongol escort turned on the Grand Master and his attendants, who were 'kicked to a pulp' . The Persian historian Juvaini commented that 'tine world has been cleansed'. Five hundred years later Edward Gibbon echoed those sentiments, claiming that the Mongols' campaign 'may be considered as a service to mankind'. It took two years for the Mongols to dislodge over 100 'eagles' nests', but in the process they virtually expunged the Assassins from Persia. "
Storm from the East: From Genghis Khan to Khubilai Khan , 1993, by Robert Marshall
#11
#5 Robert Kaplan's book Imperial Grunts has a chapter on the SF in Mongolia. Check it out
I read that book a couple summers ago. I came away very impressed with the officer in charge of the U.S. mission, and even more impressed the the Mogols. I thought, "damn! Forget sweden; these are the types of allies we need."
#12
LOL@ #7 you twit, thought you could come in under the radar did 'ya?
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/26/2007 17:11 Comments ||
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#13
LOL - Big Bro sees all
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/26/2007 17:50 Comments ||
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#14
Moreso than even the HUNS/HUNNIC Hordes, the Mongols introduced TOTAL MANEUVER WARFARE = HIGH-MOBILITY WARFARE-BLITZKRIEG TO THE FOOT PHALANX-CENTRIC WEST.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided not to take into cognisance the allegations against former premier Khaleda Zia regarding the compensation for Magurchhara gas field blow-out and leasing out Phulbari coal zone to Asia Energy.
The ACC yesterday also tasked one of its assistant directors to conduct primary enquiry into the wealth and properties of Jatiya Party (JP) Secretary General Ruhul Amin Hawlader.
The anti-graft body has taken the decision about allegations against Khaleda as the preliminary enquiry found that the allegations have no merit.
"As enough documents and evidence were not found for preparing a first information report [FIR] against the former prime minister, the enquiry officer in his report suggested not to proceed further in this regard," said ACC Secretary Mukhles Ur Rahman at a press briefing at the ACC headquarters yesterday.
ACC Deputy Assistant Director Farid Uddin Ahmed submitted the report before Eid-ul-Fitr, saying no evidence or information was found to prove the allegations brought against Khaleda.
"The commission does not proceed with allegations lacking merit," the ACC secretary said.
Official enquiry about 11 graft suspects is going on, Mukhles said, adding that unofficial enquiry about the 24 persons on the fourth ACC list of graft suspects is also being conducted.
It was alleged that Khaleda played "dubious" roles in realising the compensation for the Magurchhara blow-out caused by negligence of US company Occidental in 1997 and leasing out Phulbari coal zone to Asia Energy. Her actions in these matters violated the law and the country incurred huge financial losses at the expense of benefiting a few individuals.
According to an investigation report on the Magurchhara blow-out, awarding of the gas blocks to Occidental itself was highly controversial. The blow-out on June 14, 1997 caused a loss of Tk 3,900 crore.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Must be good to be on the ACC. Get your foot in the door early on the best opportunities...
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh yesterday said they did not work against the Liberation War in 1971 and claimed that there is no war criminal in the country. "In fact anti-liberation forces never even existed," Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid told reporters coming out of the talks with the Election Commission (EC) on electoral reforms.
According to newspaper reports, speeches and statements of those accused of war crimes, and the finds of different probes including the People's Enquiry Commission, Mujahid, who was president of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Shangha and chief of the infamous Al Badr Bahini back in 1971, helped the occupying Pakistan army carry out massacre, looting and rape. Only two days before the war ended, he led the killings of renowned academics, litterateurs, doctors, engineers, journalists and other eminent personalities with a view to leave the nation intellectually crippled.
Senior Jamaat leaders Abdus Sobhan, Moulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, Abdul Kader Molla and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman who were in the delegation to the EC yesterday have been charged with war crimes. Jamaat Amir Matiur Rahman Nizami was the president of Islami Chhatra Shangha (Islamic Students' Organisation) in 1971. Al-Badr Bahini was set up under his direct supervision. He became the commander-in-chief of the paramilitary force designed to eliminate the freedom fighters, reads the report of the People's Enquiry Commission, a body formed in 1993 with eminent citizens to investigate into the activities of the war criminals and the collaborators. Since the independence Jamaat had been constitutionally banned in Bangladesh till 1976.
Asked about the growing demand for declaring the anti-liberation forces and war criminals disqualified from contesting the national elections, the Jamaat secretary general yesterday said, "The constitution does not support the demand since Islam is the state religion and 90 percent of the population are Muslims. Besides, there is no war criminal in the country now."
Referring to the charges against them, Mujahid said, "These are all false and ill-motivated." He said after the Liberation War the then government had identified 195 people as war criminals and all of them were members of the Pakistan army. Asked what role his party played during the war, he evaded a direct answer and instead asked the journalists to find it out. "No-one should give a distorted picture of the past," observed Mujahid, also a former minister.
Jamaat, which was in the last government as part of the BNP-led four-party alliance, participated in the electoral reform talks amid different political parties calling for the EC not to allow any religion-based political party to register with it. In response to the call, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda last month said though the war criminals should have been tried immediately after independence, successive governments did not move to bring them to trial.
Earlier on March 27, when some freedom fighters at a tea party demanded that the war criminals be prosecuted, Chief of Army Staff Gen Moeen U Ahmed said he would bring up the issue at meetings with the government high-ups.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Muslim prisoners at Leeds Prison were offered ham sandwiches for their packed lunch during the holy month of Ramadan, it has been revealed.
The Prison Service confirmed that inmates at the category B prison which includes many Bradford men, were given "inappropriate" menu cards during the religious period, but said the mistake was corrected straightaway.
Some of those offered the sandwiches are reportedly considering suing the prison for up to £2million compensation, claiming it was a breach of their human rights. Leeds Prison holds more than 1,200 male prisoners, of which more than 200 are Muslim.
Islam forbids Muslims to eat ham and pork at all times, but the prisoners reportedly said the incident was made worse because it happened during the holy month of Ramadan. The prison denied that any Muslim prisoners had been given ham sandwiches but admitted there was a mix-up with the menus.
"An inappropriate menu card was printed during Ramadan. This mistake was rectified immediately. Appropriate menu options for the Iftaar evening meal were available throughout Ramadan," a Prison Service spokesman said. "Prison Service guidelines state that prisoners must have a diet which meets the requirements of their religion."
Next year, in a separate case, 16 Muslim inmates from Leeds Prison are suing over claims of mistreatment, including being given food that goes against the rules of their religion. Kate Maynard, of law firm Hickman and Rose Solicitors, said: "One of the issues they are worried about is that they were being told food was halal when it wasn't. They are taking this to court to try to change conditions in the prison and make conditions better."
Posted by: ryuge ||
10/26/2007 08:58 ||
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#1
So now these douchebags can't even, like, see the word on a menu?
#2
Oh, dear. They were offered ham sammitches. They actually had to check the Christian baby meat option?
Tusk tusk.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/26/2007 9:50 Comments ||
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#3
This is one of the things that drive me absolutely crazy, the arrogance and self-righteousness of those guys... OFFENDED, what right do they have to be OFFENDED (and worse, to sue and have the MSM and PC Elites cover their OFFENDED sensibilities).
For starters, they were or are inmates, that is, they harmed people, either by stealing from them or abusing their credulity or abusing the good will of the community, or by actually assaulting them... and then, I really don't know of a single Nation on Earth where it is the OBLIGATION of the majority culture to make craven concessions to an aggressive and demanding and unreciprocal minority. Only in the West. Only the West has the OBLIGATION to bend backward, to erase its own identity, to renounce its history and civilization... all this to please people who despise its values, its achievements, its essence, who are ennemies in all but name. Sweet, really sweet.
That this non-event is even given consideration by the authorities and given exposure by the MSM is a dire symptom of a profund malaise and decay, all of it self-inflicted.
#6
You thought joo cooties were bad? Ham cooties are the worst!
Call me mean, but being in prison *is* punishment and part of that is loss of freedom; freedom to decide where go to, what to do, what to wear and what to eat. Maybe the solution is nice, nutritious bowls of Soylent Green for every meal. Or change the name of the Muslim holiday to Hamadan.
Sources in the Sino-NK border city of Dandong in China said that food aid destined for North Korea from the World Food Program (WFP) had failed to clear customs.
Customs sources said that not enough trains were available to carry the food to its Stalinist neighbor as trains that had previously crossed the bridge into North Korea had failed to return.
According to Korean-Chinese business people in the city, about 50 Chinese trains were allocated to exclusively transport cargo to and from North Korea.
They are all numbered and usually leave fully loaded and come back mostly empty. In the past, China would sometimes hold off on sending more trains when earlier ones were late in coming back. But operations usually resumed after a few days. This time, they said, it has been more than a few days.
Trains that were late in returning in the past often came back with parts and equipment missing. On other occasions, old and deteriorated trains returned instead of newer ones. Ye Olde Switcheroo.
According to the customs officials in Dandong, more than 1,800 trains failed to return during the past decade and the number of missing trains is sharply increasing these days. That be a lot of trains! Do they mean cars?
WFP is reportedly planning to dispatch about 8,000 tons of wheat, corn and rice from Dandong. Since the Chinese trains can carry only 58 tons, about 140 trains would be needed. Typical US trains maybe 100 cars, 6000 tons (US short tons). Nork trains must be "O" gauge or so, heh.
China is waiting for the trains to return from North Korea, but by delaying additional allocations, Beijing is also sending a message to Pyongyang that it will not tolerate any more disappearances. No trains back to us, no grain for yuu!
During the past several years, impoverished North Koreans have stolen virtually anything they could lay their hands on, especially food and steel.
North Korea has also begun collecting steel scrap across the country in recent years. Scrap trains.
State media in Pyongyang have been reporting irregularities in the scrap collection campaign, such as people stealing power transmission cables.
At least one team of thieves was executed publicly this year for having stolen power cables, according to a publication by Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) in Seoul.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/26/2007 13:04 ||
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#1
Kim's Used Train Sales! We Choo Choo Choose to Sell for Less!
#2
"well, once they hit a major intersection, they could turn left or right, and...we lost em, chief"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/26/2007 18:57 Comments ||
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#3
"State media in Pyongyang have been reporting irregularities in the scrap collection campaign, such as people stealing power transmission cables."
Who needs power cables when there's no power? Actually, I'm amazed that the state media would report such a thing in the workers' paradise.
A far-right Danish political party controversially depicted the prophet Muhammad on election material yesterday. Now a high-profile Danish-Muslim politician has hit back with a poster lampooning the move.
The ad by the Danish People's Party, the country's third largest political force, showed a hand-drawn picture of the Islamic prophet under the slogan "Freedom of expression is Danish, censorship is not". The ad was condemned as a "provocation" by at least one Danish-Muslim group, as Islam forbids representation of its most important prophet.
Now Asmaa Abdol-Hamid, a Danish-Muslim politician who could become the first MP to wear the hijab in the Danish parliament if elected in next month's poll, has hit back with a poster showing a hand-drawn picture of the DPP leader, Pia Kjaersgaard, under the slogan "Freedom of expression is Danish, stupidity is not".
"It is ridiculous [of the DPP] to do that kind of thing," Ms Abdol-Hamid told Guardian Unlimited. "It's not clever, there is no point to it."
"You have to think before using freedom of expression," said the town councillor for Odense, and a member of the leftwing Red-Green Alliance.
Ms Abdol-Hamid believes the current controversy will not reignite the Muhammad cartoon crisis, when 12 caricatures of the Islamic prophet published in the daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005 caused anger across the Muslim world. "People won't react to it because they have decided not to. Nobody wants to talk about [the Muhammad cartoons crisis]. It is no longer an issue," she said.
#1
Abdol-Hamid's response is actually appropriate - who would have figured a Muslim could even pretend to be that rational? Then again, she's a woman in politics, and a lefty at that, so she's probably not a very 'real' Muslim.
"Nein. We prefer the uneducated, highly dependent immigrants, dankeverymuch."
Plans to introduce a European "blue card" to allow young professionals from abroad to live and work in the European Union came under fire from German government ministers Wednesday, although business generally welcomed the idea.
Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan said EU countries would decide individually on their own rules for admitting skilled workers. The German government believed that the education and training of German residents should have priority, she told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper.
The Association of German Machine Tool Manufacturers (VDMA) said its members had 9,000 unfilled positions, while the traditional engineering firm Siemens said it had 3,500 full-time vacancies to fill
The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) welcomed the idea put forward in Brussels on Tuesday by European Commission Vice- President Franco Frattini. "The blue card initiative provides a good impulse in the German debate on simpler immigration rules better suited to the economy," it said. The Association of German Machine Tool Manufacturers (VDMA) said its members had 9,000 unfilled positions, while the traditional engineering firm Siemens said it had 3,500 full-time vacancies to fill.
Economics Minister Michael Glos and Labour Minister Franz Muentefering, who is also Chancellor Angela Merkel's deputy, have rejected the EU plans. Glos has pointed to a decision taken by the cabinet in August to ease restrictions on admitting workers from the new EU members in Eastern Europe. This measure takes effect on November 1.
Muentefering criticized Frattini's plans as long ago as September, saying the matter was "not a European Commission issue but for national parliaments and governments."
The blue card put forward by Frattini and endorsed by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso would allow skilled workers from abroad to work in the EU and to bring their families with them. Where most older EU members have now largely opened their borders to residents from the Eastern European countries that joined the 27- member bloc in 2004, Germany is retaining restrictions until 2009 and may extend them for a further two years.
#2
And so goes the death of independence in Europe.
This is actually very funny.
"...said EU countries would decide individually on their own rules ..."
But once someone is in the EU they are free to go anywhere. So, the EU's policy is that of the lowest level country. No country can raise the bar on their own. Some jerk gets let into the UK, the Germans can't stop him from moving there.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, with Nobel-winning climate crusader Al Gore at his side, was to launch a raft of measures Thursday aimed at sparking a green revolution in France. Chief among the platform of measures, Sarkozy was to announce whether France would introduce a "carbon tax" on fuel and other polluting products, in a speech wrapping up four months of tough negotiations between the government, industry and the green lobby. Former US vice president Gore, guest of honour at the Elysee Palace, is to start the proceedings with a speech on climate change, flanked by his fellow Nobel winner the Kenyan Wangari Maathai, and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso.
Working groups have been holding two days of final round-table talks to agree on a plan to slash France's greenhouse-gas emissions, cut pollution and foster biodiversity, to be endorsed by Sarkozy.
Road transport &0151; responsible for a quarter of French emissions &0151; was a key target, with an agreement to freeze the building of new highways and airports, and steer consumers away from gas-guzzling cars through bonuses and penalties.
Road transport &0151; responsible for a quarter of French emissions &0151; was a key target, with an agreement to freeze the building of new highways and airports, and steer consumers away from gas-guzzling cars through bonuses and penalties. France's tramway and TGV high-speed train networks are to be extended, and trucks shifted off France's major highways and onto two vast new cross-country freight rail links.
Other plans include a nationwide push to improve the energy-efficiency of new and existing buildings, with a target of 20 percent energy savings by 2010. Tougher, unpopular measures to cut transport emissions, from a speed cap on highways to a fuel tax on domestic flights, did not make it onto the list. But the "carbon tax" &0151; a bold but contested measure, renamed "energy climate contribution" and left for Sarkozy to decide &0151; is seen by campaigners as a test of the forum's success.
Environmentalists said the tax, calculated from the greenhouse gases emitted to produce and market goods, would be "painless" for consumers and business, starting at a few cents per litre of fuel. Gradually increasing each year, its proceeds would be used, for instance, to fund the transfer of freight from road to rail.
The round-table on agriculture agreed to halve the frequency of pesticide treatments but set no deadline under pressure from the farm lobby &0151; to the anger of green campaigners
On another explosive issue, genetically-modified (GMO) crops, participants settled on a temporary freeze on the sale of GMO seeds to review the scientific evidence on contamination risks pending a new law in January &0151; a solution judged "insufficient" by the anti-GM camp. The round-table on agriculture agreed to halve the frequency of pesticide treatments but set no deadline under pressure from the farm lobby &0151; to the anger of green campaigners. The government also said it was prepared to ban 47 highly toxic pesticides.
Organic food received a big boost, with plans to lift share of organic crops in Europe's biggest agricultural producer from two to 20 percent by 2020, and make 20 percent of school meals organic.
France's reliance on nuclear power, which accounts for more than 80 percent of electricity production, was not up for discussion, since the government refuses to review its nuclear energy strategy. Sarkozy vowed following his election in May to put sustainability at the heart of his government and expectations were high from the summit. Greenpeace estimates that France, Europe's third-biggest economy, needs to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by the year 2030.
The Alliance for the Planet, bringing together 80 environmental groups, has said it is globally satisfied with results so far, but warns France, a laggard on many green issues, has to catch up with its neighbours before it can provide global leadership in the field.
#1
Heh..heh...heh. Looks like he saw you comin, Nicky. Did he put his arm around ya and look into your eyes? he learned that move from Clinton.
Come back and see us in a few years. Let us know how it works out...
Environmentalists said the tax, calculated from the greenhouse gases emitted to produce and market goods, would be "painless" for consumers and business, starting at a few cents per litre of fuel. Gradually increasing each year, its proceeds would be used,for instance, ummmmmmmmmmm....to fund the transfer of freight from road to rail. Yeah! That's a good one!
And you can trust them "environmentalists" because they're not like the others...
#2
This is a typical Euro solution to a problem. Create a tax, build up a fund, and have no real plan for what to do with the money. We are talking billions of Euros here. It would be better to hone in on some issues that some real good could be done, like real alternative sources of energy, or higher efficiencies, and get some entrepeneurs going on it for some millions instead of billions.
Sarkozy is jumping on the Al Gore Kool-Aid bandwagon. The issues are driven by feelings and buzzwords, and not on rational thinking.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/26/2007 14:05 Comments ||
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#3
Create a tax, build up a fund, and have no real plan for what to do with the money.
They've already got a pretty damn good one with that VAT at 19%.
#4
France is small enough that High Speed Rail makes sense. Quicker point to point than air when you figure in all of the BS at the airports at either end. With the containerization of freight traffic I wonder just how much is aready moving on rail in France. The RRs in the US have been taking business from the trucking companies as far as long didtance container traffic is concerned for years. But the Carbon Tax will most likely not go for the infrastructure needed to expand rail networks but for social entitlements IMO
In a move that is certain to ratchet up the UPA-Left confrontation, defence minister A K Antony, brushing aside the reservations expressed by the ruling combines most vital prop, on Thursday gave his "in principle" go-ahead to the Indian Air Force to participate in a joint exercise with the United States Air Force.
The proposed exercise, Red Flag, is considered the most powerful, and important, fixture in the calendar of the US Air Force. The invitation extended by it to its Indian counterpart is demonstrative of the closer defence ties between the two countries.
The Left, expectedly, saw red in the Manmohan Singh governments decision. "What the government is doing is wrong," asserted CPI general secretary A B Bardhan, adding, "We cannot be a partner to such plans."
The CPI leaders remarks held out ominous portends for the fate of the Manmohan Singh government. Given the Lefts avowed anti-Americanism, the move is certain to add to the simmering tension between the two "secular" groupings.
The government, however, stood its ground, and has decided to go ahead with the exercise, notwithstanding the Left opposition. Justifying his stand, the defence Minister said, "We have to follow the trend all over the world.
The trend all over the world is modernisation of equipment and also technology and better training. We are comparing what action other countries are undertaking with ours. We also want to follow the best practices. Military interaction with the US will continue."
The move has wider ramifications for the Indo-US defence ties, and signals the Congress-led alliances determination to press ahead with its plans.
Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, interestingly, has been waiting for the defence ministrys clearance for going ahead with the joint air exercises with the US. Speaking to TIMES NOW, the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, Admiral Sureesh Mehta has also confirmed that Indo-US military co-operation will continue unabated.
The CPI general secretary is clearly not amused. "What the government is doing is wrong. American war plans are aggressive and are always against smaller nations. We cannot be a partner in such plans," he said.
Having tasted blood in stand-off with the Manmohan Singh government over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Left parties are now clearly determined to have their way in seeking the scrapping of the proposed joint exercise.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/26/2007 14:58 ||
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#3
Was part of a Navy squadron that got invited down to play; quite an experience for both the aircrews and the wrench-turners. Never knew you quit working at 4 pm.
#4
American war plans are aggressive and are always against smaller nations.
Um... ya. Law of averages, I think all but 2 of the world's armies are smaller than ours. Plus, only suicidal crackpots want to fight us anyway. You lookin' for a round, Bardhan butthole?
#6
Didn't I read a year or so ago, the Indian Air force kinda skunked ours? Something about, we didn't bring our A game, or they cheated.... but, if I'm remembering correctly, we kinda got embarrassed.
India Thursday successfully test fired 'close combat missile R-73' at the air to air range off the coast of Goa, a state in Western India.
The missile is part of the current initial operational clearance phase as part of the India's Light Combat Aircraft programme, news agency United News of India reported. The main objectives of test firing were to validate safe separation of the missile from the parent aircraft, effect of missile plume on engine air-intake, functionality of store management system including safety interlocks, and effect of missile plume on composites structures and handling quality assessment during missile launch, the news agency said.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/26/2007 7:22 Comments ||
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#2
This is the very first step of weapons integration. The multi-mode radar (being developed with Israeli assistance) is yet to be installed. A lot more firings will be performed.
The Russians refused to provide technical data on the R-73 interface and wanted the contract for the integration.
The Indians integrated the Russian missile into their fighter despite this.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/26/2007 12:21 Comments ||
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Nine French citizens have been arrested in Chad after being accused of attempting to take 103 orphaned children from Darfur out of the country to be adopted by French families, French media reported Friday. The nine suspects were taken into custody at the airport of Abeche, in eastern Chad, as they were preparing to leave the country with the children on a Boeing 757 aircraft.
Those arrested all belonged to Children Rescue, a French NGO created by the association L'Arche de Zoe, which is run by the fire- fighters in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil. The secretary general of L'Arche de Zoe, Stephanie Lefebvre, told the daily Le Parisien that the aim of the mission was not to give the children up for adoption. 'We only wanted to save them from death, in giving them a family setting,' she said. Lefebvre also said that Chad authorities 'gave us all the necessary authorization to set up our mission, but especially to take care of the children.'
Officially, the mission of Children Rescue was to create a health centre in Abeche to treat orphans from strife-torn Darfur, the daily Le Figaro said. But a Belgian pilot recruited by Children Rescue told the newspaper that the operation was 'organized in close cooperation with a French group wanting to adopt children from Darfur.'
Another aim, he said, was to attract media attention to the situation in Darfur, where more than 2 million people have been displaced and some 250,000 killed in the long-running conflict between rebel militia and armed forces loyal to the Sudanese government. 'The heads of Children Rescue told me that they had the support of the Elysee Palace,' the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy, the pilot told Le Figaro.
The nine suspects have been jailed in Chad on charges of kidnapping and trafficking in children. A local governor has accused them of 'wanting to take little Muslims away from Islam.'
A local official with the United Nations High Commission told Le Figaro that the case would likely have grave repercussions for NGOs working in the region. 'Religion is a very sensitive question in this very conservative Islamic region, and this affair could be mentioned in the next statement by al-Qaeda,' he said. 'We can now fear that human rights workers could become targets of Islamic terrorists.'
As Japans population continues to age and shrink, more and more people are looking at robots as a way to improve productivity and support the nations changing lifestyles. With human-robot interactions on the rise, and with the recognition that much of human communication is nonverbal, researchers at Japans National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have developed an autonomous humanoid robot they say can recognize and use body language.
According to an October 24 press release, NICT drew from research in neuroscience, cognitive science and psychology to create an android that relies on body language i.e. gestures and touch to facilitate natural and effective communication with humans. When used in conjunction with (or instead of) spoken communication, the robots body language aims to simplify communication with people likely to have trouble interacting with robots, including children, the elderly, the computer-illiterate, and people who speak other languages. NICT researchers hope the technology behind the droids universal communication skills will one day be put to practical use in robots that can work in the home or assist with rescue operations when disaster strikes.
The droids body language skills are due in large part to technology that allows it to observe, recognize and remember human behavior. NICTs robot learns body language by watching much like children, who learn nonverbal communication by watching others and it can mimic the observed behavior with natural human-like motions. The robot also creates 3D maps of each body it observes, and it commits the map to memory. These maps allow the robot to remember how people and their bodies look, even when viewing them from different angles. In addition, the robot is equipped with delicate force control mechanisms that allow for precise motion and safe physical interaction with humans.
NICTs press release is sketchy on the details about what exactly this robot is capable of doing. Can it learn to dance? Will it slap you on the back with the proper amount of friendly force when you tell a funny joke? Will it gently caress your shoulder when youre feeling blue? Does it avoid eye contact in uncomfortable situations? NICT will hopefully answer these questions and more at the robots official unveiling on October 29. Interesting picture at link.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar opposition leader, has had talks with a government official appointed as a liaison minister. News agencies quoted unnamed sources as saying the detained opposition leader was picked up by a convoy of cars on Thursday afternoon and driven to a government guesthouse for the talks. There was no immediate word on the purpose of the brief release from house detention in which she was allowed to talk to Aung Kyi, a retired general appointed by the military government earlier this month to hold talks with the opposition. Footage of the meeting was broadcast on state television.
After an hour, she was returned to her villa in Yangon where she has been under house arrest for the past 12 years. The move follows a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Yangon and elsewhere in the country that human rights groups say left hundreds dead. In the wake of the crackdown Myanmar's military rulers have been under growing international pressure to open a dialogue with the opposition. Earlier this month the UN special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, urged Myanmar's leaders to appoint an intermediary to begin talks with the opposition.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Anyone with Daddy's credit card number can get a "Che" T-shirt for a few bucks, but an actual relic from the revolutionary figure is likely to cost a bit more at an auction Thursday.
Bidding starts at $100,000 for a 3-inch lock of hair from Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Marxist whose iconic picture has become a popular, even sometimes fashionable commodity among village idiots since he was killed in a Bolivian jungle 40 years ago this month.
Heritage Auction Galleries is putting the hair, allegedly snipped off Guevara before burial, up for sale despite alleged threats made against the company by Guevara admirers since the auction was announced in September. The Dallas-based auction house said it will have extra security on hand for the bidding after monitoring "leftist bloggers" upset that the company is profiting from Guevara's death. More like pissed off that they can't afford to bid...
"(Che) is kind of revered and hated," Heritage spokeswoman Kelley Norwine said. "It's at both ends of the spectrum. This has been one of the most ranging of emotions. ... It's crazy."
More than 30 prospective bidders are registered on the auction house's Web site to monitor the bidding, in addition to the many expected to pack the gallery room.
Norwine also said someone in Venezuela - where President Hugo Chavez venerates Guevara as a model socialist - requested that a catalog of Thursday's items be delivered overnight. Norwine said she couldn't reveal who in Venezuela asked for the catalog but insisted she wasn't "trying to be coy."
The hair was consigned by Gustavo Villoldo, a former CIA operative and Cuban exile who was involved in Guevara's capture, according to unclassified U.S. records and other documents. According to Heritage, Villoldo did not want Guevara's body to be returned to Cuba, where it would receive a hero's funeral, so he supervised the burial in a common grave where a runway was being built. "I wanted proof," Villoldo said of taking the hair, "that I had completed my mission."
Norwine said the hair hasn't been forensically matched to Guevara because of fears of test tampering. But she said the auction house is confident in its authenticity.
The Cuban government announced in 1995 that its anthropologists had uncovered Guevara's remains from Bolivia, and re-interred them in Cuba without doing DNA testing. Villoldo and other exiles and experts say the body is still in Bolivia.
#6
Appropriate. Heritage Auctions are a bunch of liars, and thieves; a real-life pack of ghouls. They also tried to flog Anna Nichole's diaries right after she died.
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.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided not to take into cognisance the allegations against former premier Khaleda Zia regarding the compensation for Magurchhara gas field blow-out and leasing out Phulbari coal zone to Asia Energy.
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh yesterday said they did not work against the Liberation War in 1971 and claimed that there is no war criminal in the country. "In fact anti-liberation forces never even existed," Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid told reporters coming out of the talks with the Election Commission (EC) on electoral reforms. 
Muslim prisoners at Leeds Prison were offered ham sandwiches for their packed lunch during the holy month of Ramadan, it has been revealed.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar opposition leader, has had talks with a government official appointed as a liaison minister. News agencies quoted unnamed sources as saying the detained opposition leader was picked up by a convoy of cars on Thursday afternoon and driven to a government guesthouse for the talks. There was no immediate word on the purpose of the brief release from house detention in which she was allowed to talk to Aung Kyi, a retired general appointed by the military government earlier this month to hold talks with the opposition. Footage of the meeting was broadcast on state television. 
