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15 Dead in 'Terrorist Attack' in China's Xinjiang
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Arrests Made After Mob Of Teens Attack and rob Disabled Vet.
[CBS Cleveland] Cleveland authorities have made several arrests following the mob beating of a disabled Army veteran by a group of teenagers.

Last Friday, the victim, Matthew Robinson, was surrounded by between six and eight teenagers while riding the RTA Healthline. Robinson told WOIO that he was attacked by the teens, then robbed of his possessions. During the attack, the teens made several derogatory remarks about Robinson.

“What they were saying was, ‘Knock that boy out!’ ‘White boy.’ ‘Cracker,’” he was quoted as saying about the incident. “They were saying, ‘Knock that white boy out.’”
The usual suspects were arrested, and undoubtedly soon released. Victim video. As
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/15/2014 01:53 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Note that the article takes care to not identify the melanin levels in the perps and uses a file photo of a melanin deficient arrestee. kinda like name that party, but different.
Posted by: abu do you love || 02/15/2014 6:07 Comments || Top||

#2  “What they were saying was, ‘Knock that boy out!Â’ ‘White boy.Â’ ‘Cracker,’” he was quoted as saying about the incident. “They were saying, ‘Knock that white boy out.’”

We can be assured by Holder's DoJ, it wasn't racially motivated. /sarc off
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/15/2014 8:17 Comments || Top||

#3  File with yesterday's Amish horse shooting article.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/15/2014 8:19 Comments || Top||

#4  This week, three suspects – Kenneth Matthews, Ronald Reid Williams and an unnamed 16-year-old girl – were arrested by Cleveland and RTA police. The latter filmed the attack with her cell phone, and was said to still have the video at the time of her apprehension.

Ah. She must be the "mastermind"...
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/15/2014 20:32 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
FDA cracking down on Indian drug manufacturing shortcomings, goes easy on China
NEW DELHI -- India, the second-largest exporter of over-the-counter and prescription drugs to the United States, is coming under increased scrutiny by American regulators for safety lapses, falsified drug test results and selling fake medicines.

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, arrived in India this week to express her growing unease with the safety of Indian medicines because of "recent lapses in quality at a handful of pharmaceutical firms."

India's pharmaceutical industry supplies 40 percent of over-the-counter and generic prescription drugs consumed in the United States, so the increased scrutiny could have profound implications for American consumers.

F.D.A. investigators are blitzing Indian drug plants, financing the inspections with some of the roughly $300 million in annual fees from generic drug makers collected as part of a 2012 law requiring increased scrutiny of overseas plants. The agency inspected 160 Indian drug plants last year, three times as many as in 2009. The increased scrutiny has led to a flood of new penalties, including half of the warning letters the agency issued last year to drug makers.
A very good thing, no doubt. When Mr. Wife was hospitalized for amebic dysentery, his local colleagues brought in his medications and needles from pharmacists they knew to be trustworthy, rather than relying on the hospital dispensary. They also called me every day to lie about his condition until he really was well enough to fly home.
American businesses and F.D.A. officials are just as concerned about the quality of drugs coming out of China, but the F.D.A.'s efforts to increase inspections there have so far been frustrated by the Chinese government.
Lest we forget, China plans to go to war against us... and they expect to win. They also, as I recall, have somewhat of a monopoly on world rare earths production and key computer bits. This is a troublesome thought.
Using its new revenues, the F.D.A. tried to bolster its staff in China in February 2012. But the Chinese government has so far failed to provide the necessary visas despite an announced agreement in December 2013 during a visit by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., said Erica Jefferson, an F.D.A. spokeswoman.
Unexpectedly.
The United States has become so dependent on Chinese imports, however, that the F.D.A. may not be able to do much about the Chinese refusal. The crucial ingredients for nearly all antibiotics, steroids and many other lifesaving drugs are now made exclusively in China.
No wonder we've been suffering drug shortages. Does China make our generic Adderal, or is it India?
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Quitting smoking makes you happier
[An Nahar] Moderate or heavy smokers who quit tobacco get a boost in mental wellbeing that, for people who are anxious or stressed, is equivalent to taking anti-depressants, a study said Thursday.
Then their lips fell off.
British researchers examined 26 published investigations into the mental health of smokers.
Published by whom?
They looked at standardized scorecards for symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress and quality of life, derived from questionnaires completed by volunteers.
Ahah. Questionnaires. Can't go wrong with questionnaires. Of course, you have to correct for deviation. Straight lines come out looking kinda like hockey sticks. Sober scientists come out looking kinda like hockey pucks.
Sceptic...
The smokers were 44 years old on average and smoked between 10 and 40 cigarettes a day. They were questioned before they tried to give up smoking and again after their attempt -- an average of six months later.
That tells me the Smoking Nazis are lying through their pearly white tobacco stain-free teeth. If you smoke half a pack a day maybe you can quit without side effects. If you smoke better than a pack a day you can expect to become convinced the entire world is against you. You will then start to hate it back. "Goddammit" becomes punctuation. I speak from personal experience. The symptoms may decline after eight or nine years. I don't know. I haven't gotten that far yet.
Those who succeeded in quitting reported reduced depression, anxiety and stress and had a more positive outlook on life compared with those who continued smoking.
Then their tongues fell out.
"The effect sizes are equal or larger than those of anti-depressant treatment for mood and anxiety disorders," said the study, published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Lying bustards.
Quitters who had been diagnosed with psychiatric disorders enjoyed a similar improvement.
Next thing you know they'll tell you the same thing about quitting drinking.
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Quitting smoking makes you happier...drinking Irish Coffee daily makes you the happiest non-smoker ever !



Posted by: Thinens Splat6414 || 02/15/2014 1:32 Comments || Top||

#2  I haven't smoked in almost exactly 13 years. I miss it many times a day still. Anyone who really smoked and said they didn't like it is lying. It is a fantastic, cheap, convenient and deadly drug. I loved it.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/15/2014 4:25 Comments || Top||

#3  It makes you happier.

Unfortunately, for the first three weeks after you quit, it makes the people around you absolutely miserable. When I quit, my roommate actually threatened to buy a rack and make me smoke them just so I wouldn't be such an a$$hole.
Posted by: no mo uro || 02/15/2014 6:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Reply to Shipman.

Yep. Six years, and I still get that craving. Especially when I'm enjoying a good single malt. Cigars too, I inhaled.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 02/15/2014 8:16 Comments || Top||

#5  If quitting's so wonderful why do so many quitters start again?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 02/15/2014 10:46 Comments || Top||

#6  not a smoker, but if I don't have 5-6 shots of Jack in the AM "to calm the nerves" before I go to work constructing bridges....oh. wait.

nevermind
Posted by: Frank G || 02/15/2014 12:54 Comments || Top||

#7  LOL, IP noted.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/15/2014 13:12 Comments || Top||

#8  ..although many residents and transients of CA and CO may have an opposing thesis..
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 02/15/2014 13:54 Comments || Top||

#9  Frank G, what are those bridges you worked on?

I want to know which bridges to avoid when I go to California.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 02/15/2014 14:25 Comments || Top||

#10  I want to know which bridges to avoid when I go to California.


A few to start with RiVA


Posted by: Hupuger Sproing5553 || 02/15/2014 18:08 Comments || Top||

#11  5-6 shots of Jack in the AM "to calm the nerves"

Perhaps, in the same way that large doses of LSD allow you to perceive the auras of both humans and animals, a sufficient quantity of alcohol makes you exquisitely sensitive to harmonic vibrations and helps avoid those embarrassing civil engineering incidents like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/15/2014 18:40 Comments || Top||

#12 



My personal favorite bridge the famous Alaska "Bridge to Nowhere"

Posted by: Hupuger Sproing5553 || 02/15/2014 18:56 Comments || Top||

#13 
Posted by: Hupuger Sproing5553 || 02/15/2014 19:01 Comments || Top||

#14  I quit 35 years ago cause it got too expensive at $0.75 a pack. Smoked regularly though not a high volume, 1/2 a pack a day,for about 10 years and it took me 5 to 10 years to get over it completely.

I'm sure that I'm alot healthier than I would be if I kept on, but, every year or two I get a craving........a single malt cures that ;^)
Posted by: AlanC || 02/15/2014 19:26 Comments || Top||

#15  5-6 shots of Jack in the AM "to calm the nerves"

Does it work?
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/15/2014 20:30 Comments || Top||

#16  Apparently I was hacked, and comments and nekkid pictures were sent from my ...umm....
Posted by: Frank G || 02/15/2014 20:32 Comments || Top||

#17  F-150s!
Posted by: Frank G || 02/15/2014 20:32 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Java volcano causes tens of thousands to flee
Tens of thousands of Indonesians have fled their homes after a volcano erupted in east Java. Mount Kelud spewed ash and debris over a large area, including the city of Surabaya, about 80 miles away.

Officials sent out an alert on Thursday about an hour before the volcano erupted. They urged people living within 10 kilometers of the volcano to evacuate. Tens of thousands fled to temporary shelters.

Officials said two people died when their homes caved in under the weight of gravel and ash. A 70-year-old man was killed when a wall collapsed while he was waiting to be evacuated.
Posted by: ryuge || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


-Land of the Free
This Week in Guns, February 15th, 2014


By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

From the Constitution State, Hartfort Courant columnist Dan Haar is gobsmacked that the rate of "assault rifles" registration is as low as it is. Don't you bitter gun clingers realize how good it is to be a serf?

And speaking of unconstitutional states, an aide for Governor Cuomo, Jerome Hauer, was caught carrying a firearm onto state grounds. Funnily enough, he was caught after it was reported in a newspaper in October that he used his firearm's laser attachment as a pointer. But it's all good. He's an aid to the GOVERNOR which means he gets a pass. That must be what the governor meant when he said New York was no place for conservatives. New York passed its unconstitutional SAFE act to demonstrate that.

Elsewhere in New York a community activist, Dwayne Ferguson, was caught with a firearm on a school grounds, but was apparently not charged. Must not have been a conservative, coz they're not welcomed in New York. Worked so hard to pass the law he violated. Just a hint: Don't support laws you have no intention of obeying.

And lastly, Liberal tears Gun Oil.

Loads.


Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:

Prices for pistol Ammunition were mixed, while prices for rifle ammunition mostly lower.

Prices for used pistols were mixed, while prices for used rifles were mostly higher.

Pistol Ammo

.45 Caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: +.02 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Sleway Armory, Tulammo, steel cased, .32 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammo, Tulammo, steel cased, .32 per round (From last week: No change)

.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (Unchanged 4 of 5 previous weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Selway Armory, BVAC, reloaded, .28 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Georgia Arms, Canned Heat, .28 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each)

9mm Parabellum, 115 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Tulammo, steel case, .18 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Orca Arms, BFA, reloaded, .23 per round (+.01 Each)

.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: +.01 Each (+.02 over two weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Munire USA, CCI Speer, JHP, .45 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 250 Rounds: Browning Ammmo and More, New, .49 per round (-.08 Each (!) (-.15 Each over two weeks(!))

Rifle Ammunition

.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (Two weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Tulammo, steel cased, .29 per round (Unchanged (-.05 Each over previous two weeks))

.308 NATO 145 grain, From Last Week: -.08 Each (!) (-.07 over previous two weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf, steel cased, .50 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf, steel cased, .62 per round (-.03 Each (Unchanged previous 3 weeks))

7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged
Cheapest, 20 rounds: FireArms for Sale, Wolf Polyformance, steel core and case, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 600 rounds: Sportman Outdoor Superstore, Wolf Polyformance, steel core and case, .22 per round (+.01 from Last week)

.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (After +.06 Each the previous week (!))
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Mid South Shooters Supply, CCI Speer, .15 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Tula, .15 per round

Guns for Private Sale
Rifles


.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $815 Last Week Avg: $740 (+)
California: Smith & Wesson M&P15: $699
Texas: Palmetto State Armory M-4: $800
New York: Armalite AR-15: $1,100
Virgina: Palmetto State Armory M-4: $725
Florida: Spikes Tactical: $750

.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,388 Last Week Avg: $1,480 (-)
California: DPMS LAR-308: $1,500 (Prolly Same Gun)
Texas: Sig Sauer Patrol: $1,250
New York: None Available
Virginia: Armalite AR-10: $1,800
Florida: Rock river Arms LAR-308: $1,000 (Same Gun)

7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $790 Last Week Avg: $785 (+)
California: WASR: $650
Texas: WASR: $600
New York: Unspecified Build: $1,000 (Same Gun)
Virginia: Romak AKM (Decked out): $1,000
Florida: IO Sporter: $700

7.62x54mm (Dragunov Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,363 Last Week Avg: $1,235 (+)
California: Romak PSL: $1,689 (Same Gun)
Texas: Romak PSL: $1,000 (!) (Same Gun)
New York: None
Virginia: None
Florida: Romak PSL: $1,400

Pistols

.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $476 Last Week Avg: $590 (-)
California: Auto Ordnance: $550 (Same Gun)
Texas: Springfield 1911: $480
New York: Charles Daly: $450
Virginia: Rock Island Armory: $400
Florida: Auto Ordnance: $500

9mm Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic Average Price: $399 Last Week Avg: $385 (+)
California: Kahr CW-9: $375
Texas: Kawr CW-9: $450
New York: Glock 19: $405
Virginia: Kahr CW-9: $375
Florida: Kahr CW-9: $390

.40 caliber S&W (Glock and other semiautomatic) Average Price: $455 Last Week Avg: $433 (+)
California: Glock 23: $500
Texas: Glock 23: $400
New York: Glock 22: $450
Virginia: Glock 27: $450
Florida: Glock 22: $475

Used Gun of the Week: (From Colorado)

DPMS AR10 Chambered in .338 Federal

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com.
Posted by: badanov || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Women with BFGs



Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 02/15/2014 3:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Not certain who they'll get to hump the ammo and batteries, but....
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/15/2014 6:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Women with BFGs with a fair amount of plastic. But all good.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/15/2014 9:08 Comments || Top||

#4  John: " fair amount of plastic?"
Women or weapons?
Posted by: USN,ret || 02/15/2014 16:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Yes.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/15/2014 17:13 Comments || Top||

#6  Yeah, put me down for "yes" too.
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/15/2014 20:34 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
BNP, Khaleda embarrassed by poor handling of info
[Dhaka Tribune] Many recent actions and statements of the BNP made the party and Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia
Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ...
embarrassed as either there was a lack of cross-checking or the situations were poorly handled.

A press statement of Khaleda demanding the release of Islami Oikya Jote
... a political party in Bangladesh. In the 2001 elections the party won 2 out of 300 elected members in an alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It has a focus on building an islamic state, and has used the madrassas to gain support...
Chairman Abdul Latif Nezami on February 10 was issued after some 10 hours of his release from a cop shoppe. She read out another statement at a presser on February 5, claiming that 300 party men had either been killed or kidnapped "in one month -- between December 26 and January 27."

On both occasions, the statements were prepared basing on poorly handled information collected by the BNP office.

The party had to issue another blurb -- signed by Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi who had issued the previous one, too -- apologising for the statement without knowing the fact that Nezami had already been released.

Rafiqul Islam Miah, a member of the party's Standing Committee, yesterday said: "I cannot account for the whole scenario, but the death figure given in the chairperson's statement for Lakshmipur was absolutely correct. However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
the timeframe it mentioned was different -- it will be three months instead of one month."

Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman admits that any wrong information embarrasses the party "as the opportunists always look for any loopholes to cash in."

"But mistakes can take place anywhere. It could have been in the printing process or any other steps. If the persons concerned had been careful, such mistakes would not have taken place and I hope these persons will be careful in future while preparing any draft," he told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.

When contacted, Abdul Latif Jony, assistant office secretary of the party, said they had been busy with so many stuffs, including upazila elections and killings and abductions of the party men.

"We issued that blurb in the evening without knowing that Nezami had been released. The moment we received the information [on his release], we issued another blurb, apologising for the previous statement. We are not like the Superman and the mistake was unintentional," he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

"According to media statistics, 276 opposition leaders and activists have been killed, 34 have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings after being detained, and 29,262 have been tossed in the calaboose
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
since the start of the opposition's movement against the farcical election," Khaleda said in her statement.

A number of BNP leaders said after the arrest of Rizvi, the situation had not been favourable for working in the party's central office. As the office had been closed for a long time and the hard discs had been taken away from the office computers by the law enforcers, it was tough to keep all the information in one place.

They also said there was no question about the death figure, but there was an error in the information on the timeframe.

"We have the full list of the deaths, including the names and the death references. If anyone challenges us, we can provide the list," a senior BNP leader said.

A few leaders said they did not want to make the full list public fearing that the victims' families might fall in trouble because of that.
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


'BNP defeated by AL's political strategy'
[Dhaka Tribune] Communications Minister Obaidul Quader has said the BNP has lost to the political strategy of ruling Awami League by boycotting the national election.

"BNP must have realised their mistake and now they have jumped inside the battle in the upcoming upazila parishad elections," he said.

The minister made the statement while inspecting the progress of the four-lane project on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Chandina upazila on Friday, reports UNB.

Talking about the current parliament, Obaidul said: "There is nothing called frustration in politics. BNP will have to learn from their mistakes."

"We have been elected for five years however nothing can be said as of now regarding how long we will stay in power," he added.

Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38...
the communication minister said the government was giving emphasis to complete the work of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway.

He also said the Chinese Company has resumed its work which was stopping for several months due to political unrest in the country.
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Britain
Princes William, Harry sandbag against U.K. floods
[USATODAY] Prince William and Prince Harry helped flood-hit British villagers protect their homes Friday, unloading sandbags alongside soldiers in a River Thames village.

The princes, who have both served in the armed forces, joined a work crew In Datchet, west of London, from about 6 a.m. on what aides said was a private visit.

The princes were not the only royals helping out. Their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, has sent feed and bedding from the royal farms at Windsor to farmers whose land has been inundated.

England, which has been lashed by wind and rain since December, had its wettest January since records began in 1766, and the rain has continued this month. Storms this week have brought wind gusts of more than 100 mph (160 kph).
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The princes, who have both served in the armed forces, joined a work crew In Datchet, west of London, from about 6 a.m. on what aides said was a private visit.

Tasks seldom undertaken among American politicians and nobility.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/15/2014 7:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Windsor and Eton-Datchet are next door.

Windsor is where the Queen lives.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/15/2014 7:32 Comments || Top||

#3  >had its wettest January since records began in 1766

Not True. 1929/30 was wetter
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/15/2014 7:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Flooding: a synergy between "green" ideologues and Brussels

See EUReferendum for all the details.

Excerpt: But all this got markedly worse after 2002 when the Baroness Young of Old Scone, a Labour peeress, became the agency's new chief executive. Dredging virtually ceased altogether. Although not immediately apparent, the rivers began dangerously to silt up.

The Baroness, who had previously run the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Natural England, and was still a vice-president of the RSPB (a conflict of interest is ever there was one), talked obsessively about the need to promote the interests of wildlife. She was famously heard to say that she wanted to see "a limpet mine put on every pumping station".

Posted by: AlanC || 02/15/2014 8:23 Comments || Top||

#5  England, which has been lashed by wind and rain since December, had its wettest January since records began

Let me guess: the Met, thanks to their new supercomputer, was predicting prolonged drought.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/15/2014 10:32 Comments || Top||

#6  I have no job... it's underwater :(
Posted by: Devilstoenail || 02/15/2014 15:50 Comments || Top||

#7  Although their father is a prime example of a snotty little upper-class twit, both William and Harry seem like fairly decent young men.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 02/15/2014 16:37 Comments || Top||


CNN Host Piers Morgan Quizzed in British Hacking Inquiry
[An Nahar] British detectives have questioned CNN television host Piers Morgan as part of their investigation into phone hacking, the star and police said on Friday.

Morgan, 48, was interviewed under caution in December by officers probing claims of the illegal interception of voicemails at Mirror Group newspapers.

He was editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper from 1995 to 2004 and before that was editor of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which closed amid the hacking scandal in 2011.

"In early November I was asked to attend an interview by officers from Operation Weeting when I was next in the UK," Morgan said in a statement released to Agence La Belle France Presse.

"This was further to a full witness statement I had already freely provided. I attended that interview as requested on 6 December 2013."

Scotland Yard did not name British-born Morgan but confirmed detectives had questioned a man aged 48 in connection with phone hacking.

"A 48-year-old man who is a journalist was interviewed under caution on December 6 2013 by officers... in connection with suspected conspiracy to intercept telephone voicemails," the force said in a statement.

"He was interviewed by appointment at a south London cop shoppe. He was not placed in durance vile."
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Jews of Venezuela, the new Diaspora
[Jerusalem Post] Chavez made dangerous liaisons, such as with Iran, Islamic terrorists and other anti-Semites. Always lurking in the background was irrational hatred that kept adding more and more victims to the Chavez regime. He concentrated his hatred against the small, industrious and educated Venezuelan Jewish community.
Yes, we're familiar with the pattern and desired end-state.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/15/2014 01:11 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Economy
UUAW Fails to Medal at Volkswagen Plant
The United Auto Workers was dealt a stinging defeat tonight, with a majority of employees at a Volkswagen plant here voting against joining the union after a high-profile opposition campaign led by Republican politicians,
miscellaneous evil-dooers,
and outside political groups.
Whereas, the pro-union good guys only got teeny, tiny little nuggets of support from UAW headquarters in Detroit.
Company and union executives announced the outcome at a news conference at the plant, hours after polls closed. The results, still to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, were close: With 89 percent participation, 712 workers voted no, and 626 voted yes.
For the math-unabled, that's 53% 'nein' and 47% 'ja'. Champ would call that a super-mandate. ABC news headlined it as 87 votes short of a major victory.
The loss came in spite of an unprecedented level of support from the company being organized. Frank Fischer, CEO and chairman of Volkswagen Chattanooga - who had encouraged the idea of starting a German-style "works council" at the plant, like those in place at Volkswagen's other factories - even seemed saddened by the outcome.
"Works Council" - how socialist!
Posted by: Bobby || 02/15/2014 09:15 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Soviet 'Union' built eh ?

Posted by: Besoeker || 02/15/2014 10:23 Comments || Top||

#2  The Big Three and Detroit can't be something the UAW can sweep under the carpet no matter how much the Party Media tries. There's a reason your plant was built in Tennessee. You have a job. Thousands of former UAW members do not.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/15/2014 11:00 Comments || Top||

#3  executive order in 5 4 3 ...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/15/2014 11:04 Comments || Top||


#5  ...they don't threaten, they just send the IRS or EPA or Homeland Security to make the call (see Gibson Guitar raid).
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/15/2014 11:41 Comments || Top||

#6  Unions are a 19th century solution to a 19th century problem. They would be gone already but for active government assistance.
Posted by: Iblis || 02/15/2014 11:46 Comments || Top||

#7  UAW. From my brief membership with them a long time ago, it meant U Ain't Workin. Seniority does not always mean competency.
Posted by: OldSpook || 02/15/2014 11:50 Comments || Top||

#8  There were 1550 potential voters. So at 626, that's 40% ja.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 02/15/2014 12:19 Comments || Top||

#9  If they wanted it to be a union shop they should of built it in PA or MI or NY
Posted by: Airandee || 02/15/2014 13:13 Comments || Top||


Europe
Germany, France to Discuss Building Network That Avoids U.S.
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would talk to French President Francois Hollande about building up a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States.
There's a challenge for the NSA...
Merkel, speaking on Saturday ahead of a visit to France, has been pushing for greater data protection in Europe following reports last year about mass surveillance in Germany and elsewhere by the U.S. National Security Agency. Even Merkel's cell phone was reportedly monitored by American spies.
Hows that "Elect Barry Obama and the world will like the US better" working out.
Posted by: Omavising Ebbemp9815 || 02/15/2014 09:16 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Detained Ukrainian demonstrators released
Ukrainian opposition says all demonstrators detained during nearly three months of antigovernment protests have been released under a recent amnesty law. The National Resistance, which unites Ukraine's three leading opposition parties, said that the last of the 234 jailed demonstrators had been released.

Ukraine's parliament passed the amnesty law last month as part of an effort to end the crisis triggered by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to cancel a landmark agreement with the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia.

Prosecutor-General Viktor Pshonka said that in line with the amnesty law, criminal proceedings against all those who had been detained would be dropped if protesters cleared streets and government buildings that they occupy by February 17.
Posted by: ryuge || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Video Casts Doubt over Alleged Attack on Headscarved Woman
[An Nahar] Newly released video footage has thrown doubt on claims by a headscarf-wearing mother that she was attacked by a group of protesters in Istanbul during last year's mass anti-government protests.

Zehra Develioglu alleges that around 100 half-naked men with leather gloves attacked her while she was waiting with her baby for her husband near Kabatas tram station -- a claim widely trumpeted by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi only they haven't dumped him yet...

Develioglu, 25, also claims she was a victim of sexual assault and said some protesters had peed on her on January 1, at the height of the unrest.

But in the footage released by the Dogan news agency on Thursday, there is no sign of an attack while she is seen waiting with her baby and later meeting with her husband.

Dogan also said that police had examined at least 73 security cameras and questioned hundreds of people near the site of the alleged attack but found no evidence of assault on a woman that day.

At the time, Erdogan frequently repeated the claim and said: "They attacked my headscarf wearing sister in Kabatas".

But the lack of evidence, Erdogan's failure to fulfil his promise to find the culprits and the fact that Develioglu is the daughter of a mayor from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) prompted endless speculation.

And Erdogan, whose wife also wears a headscarf, provoked criticism that he was merely trying to discredit the protesters by using religious sensitivities.

He also claimed that protesters -- mostly young and secular -- had entered an Istanbul mosque with their beer bottles and their shoes on.

Opponents accuse Erdogan of authoritarian tendencies and of forcing Islamic conservative reforms on the mainly Mohammedan but staunchly secular nation.

But the headscarf is a particularly sensitive symbol in Turkey as it is viewed as a sign of political Islam in stark contrast to the republic's secular traditions.
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
FCC Backs Off Study of Newsroom Editorial Practices
GOP said study violated freedom of the press

The Federal Communications Commission is quietly changing course on a controversial study after parts of the methodology were roundly criticized by GOP lawmakers and commissioner Ajit Pai for encroaching into editorial decisions and content at TV stations.

The Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs, which aimed to help the commission figure out how to lower entry barriers for minorities in broadcasting, may now be on hold. At the very least, the controversial sections of the study will be revisited under new chairman Tom Wheeler and incorporated into a new draft.

Regardless of the study's intent, it's hard to fathom why the FCC sent its minions into newsrooms of the stations it licenses and ask questions about how stations exercise their First Amendment right.

"The government has no place pressuring media organizations into covering certain stories," wrote Pai in a Wall Street Journal op ed earlier this week. As Pai described it, the FCC would be sending in researchers to "grill reporters, editors and station owners about how they decide which stories to run."

GOP leadership on the House commerce committee, which accused the FCC of using to the study as a veiled attempt to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, were expecting answers to their letter on Jan. 10. Sources said that the FCC asked for more time to respond.

An FCC representative said the agency "has no intention of interfering in the coverage and editorial choices that journalists make. We're closely reviewing the proposed research design to determine if an alternative approach is merited."
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Indian MPs pull out microphones, use pepper spray in parliament
[Dhaka Tribune] India's parliament erupted in chaos on Thursday over a bill to create a new state, with angry MPs coming to blows, pulling out a microphone and pepper-spraying the chamber.
The word "thug" originated in India, didn't it?
Holding banners and shouting slogans, politicians disrupted the lower house of parliament as the Congress-led government introduced the contentious bill to carve a new state out of the existing Andhra Pradesh.

Legislators opposed to the new state of Telangana tried to rip out the speaker's microphone while one unleashed a can of capsicum spray, prompting a rush for the exit, TV channels reported.

Several politicians climbed into ambulances suffering breathing problems before reportedly being taken to hospital.

Small fights also flared between MPs opposed to the bill and several trying to stop the chaos and restore order, as the parliament -- known for its disruptions -- was adjourned, the Press Trust of India said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath slammed the unrest as a "big blot on our parliamentary democracy" and called for the strongest possible action against the offending MPs.

"It is the most shameful day in our parliamentary history," Nath told news hounds outside parliament.

Seventeen MPs were suspended from the house over the unrest, which also saw politicians rip up official papers and smash a glass. Others wore black blindfolds as a sign of protest, PTI said.

In the confusion one MP from Andhra Pradesh, who opposes Telangana, was accused of brandishing a knife in the chamber, a claim he denied.

"I pulled the microphone in front of my seat, not a knife. Why apologise? I will not apologise," Venugopal Reddy shouted at an NDTV news hound.

Cabinet last week approved the creation of Telangana from the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, after a decades-long and sometimes violent campaign.

Mainly tribal groups have demanded Telangana be carved out of a northern, impoverished and drought-prone part of Andhra Pradesh, which supporters say has long been neglected by successive state governments.

But wealthier regions of Andhra Pradesh, home to IT giants including Google
...contributed $814,540 to the 2008 Obama campaign...
and Microsoft
...producers of Windows, Office, and the late Microsoft Bob, contributed $852,167 to the 2008 Obama campaign...
in its capital Hyderabad, have strongly opposed the split because they say it would create economic upheaval.

Security at parliament had been high before the bill's introduction after one MP threatened to set himself on fire in protest.

Observers say the Congress government moved on Telangana in hopes of winning much-needed votes in the region at national elections in coming months.

But they have warned the move may backfire amid an intensifying political battle in Andhra Pradesh.

Violent demonstrations have erupted there since Congress announced the move last July, while three federal ministers have resigned in protest.

Outside parliament on Thursday, ugly festivities broke out between supporters of the Telangana state and police, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

Police dragged away protesters and bundled them into buses.

Congress has denied trying to seek any political advantage from splitting Andhra Pradesh, insisting it is trying to fulfil a longstanding pledge.
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


Science & Technology
Tactical pizza on verge of availability for GIs
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Tactical Pizza, it's food and body armour all in one.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/15/2014 4:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Why not put the sauce and toppings in a separate pouch?
Wrap the bread in paper soaked in silver ions then seal and fill with nitrogen.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/15/2014 7:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Front towards enemy.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/15/2014 11:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Why not put the sauce and toppings in a separate pouch?
Wrap the bread in paper soaked in silver ions then seal and fill with nitrogen.


Or bring a baker a 50 lb. bag of flour, canned sauce, steal the cheeeez from the nearest Frankish unit and slaughter steal procure by asymmetrical strategies any necessary meaty parts animal. Voila! Foodz!
Posted by: Shipman || 02/15/2014 13:17 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Mass Valentine Wedding in Malaysia despite Muslim Anger
[An Nahar] Malaysian Islamic authorities took their annual swipe at Valentine's Day Friday, calling it a threat to Moslem values, but 138 couples took part in a mass wedding to mark the date.

In its official Friday sermon text distributed to mosques in the Moslem-majority country, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department blamed Valentine's Day for everything from alcoholism to abortion.

"Social ceremonies such as this are a stepping-stone towards greater social ills such as fraud, mental disorder caused by alcohol, abortion and baby-dumping, and other negative ills that can invite disaster and moral decay among youths," it said.

Known by its Malay-language acronym JAKIM, the department is an official watchdog of Moslem values. It regularly denounces Valentine's Day as encouraging vice and promiscuity.

More than 60 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Moslem ethnic Malays.

However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
members of the large Chinese minority celebrated the day with a mass wedding of 138 couples.

The lovers tied the knot at the Thean Hou temple in the capital Kuala Lumpur, releasing scores of red, heart-shaped balloons after the ceremony.

Another 70 couples were to wed in the afternoon in individual ceremonies, an official at the Confucian temple said.

"We're doing it specially for this year as only once in 19 years does Valentine's Day coincide with Chap Goh Mei," the official said.

Chap Goh Mei is the term used in Malaysia for the annual Chinese Lantern Festival.

The temple has staged mass weddings before on dates deemed auspicious.

More than 500 couples wed at the temple on September 9, 2009.

The number 9 in Chinese is a homophone for a word meaning "forever". The date was seen to signify long-lasting unions.

Moslem conservatives in multi-faith Malaysia have become increasingly outspoken in recent years against perceived threats to Islamic values, challenging the country's moderate Moslem image.

In 2011, authorities jugged
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
nearly 100 Moslems in a crackdown on Valentine's Day.

They were detained for "khalwat", or "close proximity", the crime of being alone with a member of the opposite sex other than one's spouse or close relative.

It can bring up to two years in jail upon conviction in Islamic sharia courts that handle religious and moral offences by Moslems.

Concerts by a number of major Western musical artists have also been scrapped over the years after Moslems complained they could encourage immoral behavior.

Moslem authorities in the central state of Selangor this week launched a campaign to distribute thousands of leaflets to youths warning against celebrating Valentine's Day, reports said.
Posted by: Fred || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/15/2014 20:38 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Wisconsin man "banned from Internet" after Craigslist prank
..to my astonishment, Mrs. Phester did not find the prank funny either..
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 02/15/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  While women are famous for their underdeveloped humor gland (no offense to Mrs. Ph*), this guy could use a little jail time.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/15/2014 10:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Give him 18mo in prison... And inform the other inmates of what he did...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/15/2014 11:03 Comments || Top||

#3  ..agreed Gents. One would think the "perp" would have worked through this kind of thing sometime before prom.

Re: Mrs. Phester - I'm certain that it's better to get "the eye" than "the thumb."!
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 02/15/2014 12:39 Comments || Top||

#4  How about universal background checks for all computer purchases? After all...

There is no reason for there not to be background checks for gun computer buyers! Only those who can pass them have any right to be near a gun the internet.

Having a background check on gun computer buyers, will make it harder for someone with a criminal or mental recorded to get a gun computer, people would feel safer when they leave their home go online, and stop many gun internet related crimes.

The nation is screaming with pleas to increase gun computer control - here is a safe and smart way to do just that without violating the second first amendment.

What if the person they denied happens to be a person that was planning to murder a child defame an innocent man, maybe even a child neighbor of yours. Wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry and deal with an unnecessary background check?
Posted by: DepotGuy || 02/15/2014 12:47 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm putting my money on....she'll be very angry and depressed when the men finally stop coming. Just say'n.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/15/2014 13:09 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2014-02-15
  15 Dead in 'Terrorist Attack' in China's Xinjiang
Fri 2014-02-14
  Suicide Bomber Targets Police Bus in Karachi, 13 Killed
Thu 2014-02-13
  Thai terrorists kill woman, set her on fire
Wed 2014-02-12
  12 killed as three grenades rock Peshawar cinema
Tue 2014-02-11
  British Man Jailed for Threat to Kill Prince Harry
Mon 2014-02-10
  19 killed in violence in Iraq
Sun 2014-02-09
  As many as 500 feared dead in drug massacre in Coahuila
Sat 2014-02-08
  Evacuation operation in Homs begins
Fri 2014-02-07
  Syria Rebels Seize Most of Aleppo Jail as Bombing Toll Hits 257 Dead in 6 Days
Thu 2014-02-06
  Baghdad Bombs, One near Foreign Ministry, Kill 33
Wed 2014-02-05
  Suicide blast near Imambargah kills nine, injures 50 in Peshawar
Tue 2014-02-04
  Kenya Charges 129 as Shebab Members after Mosque Raid
Mon 2014-02-03
  Al Qaeda fighters in Syria kill rival rebel leader
Sun 2014-02-02
  46 Civilians Killed in Aleppo Barrel Bomb Raids
Sat 2014-02-01
  15 Yemen soldiers killed in suspected Al Qaeda attack


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