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First major Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza City
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Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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Page 4: Opinion
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3 00:00 Scooter McGruder [1]
5 00:00 crosspatch [2]
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Thor, God of Thunder Thwarts Robber
A muscle-bound building boss who came home from a New Year's Eve fancy dress party kitted out as Thor scared off a burglar by charging at him in his superhero outfit.

Six-foot-tall fitness fanatic Torvald Alexander, 38, was wearing a full God of Thunder outfit - complete with flying red cape and tinfoil silver-winged helmet - when he spotted the raider in his front room rifling through a desk.

Mr Alexander, who runs building firm Alexander & Summers in Edinburgh, Scotland, said the burglar threw himself out of a first-floor window of his £350,000 home in the Inverleith area of the city when he opened the door and confronted him. The man landed on a roof outside the window, which broke his fall, enabling him to escape.

Mr Alexander said: 'As soon as he saw me, his eyes went wide with terror. He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late night break-in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here.

'We were both startled but then the instant reaction was that I ran at him and he just jumped straight out of the window. I think I would be quite scared if someone looking almost like a gladiator ran at them. He might have thought the property was empty.'

He added: 'I had just got back from a fancy dress New Year's party and because I have a Norwegian name I decided to go as Thor. It took ages making the cape, helmet and breast plate, and I must admit it was a bit chilly walking home, but when I saw that guy I just went mad and charged at him, my cape flying behind me.

'I think if I had had Thor's hammer with me I might have scared him to death.'

Norse legend Thor has a magical hammer, called Mjolnir, which after knocking out a foe magically returns to the superhero. It can also throw lightning bolts at enemies.

Mr Alexander said that the burglar had not managed to steal anything, but had left his shoes and the garden fork he used to break in with at the scene. He said: 'He had obviously taken off his shoes to creep about in silence, but when he saw me he just jumped out of the window in his socks. It will make him think again before breaking into other people's homes. Hopefully it's taught him a lesson.'

Mr Alexander said he was going to contact the police and hand over the burglar's shoes in the hope he can be traced.

An £80million blockbuster based on the Norse superhero is due to be released in 2010 after Kenneth Branagh agreed to direct it. James Bond star Daniel Craig was rumoured to be taking the lead role, but no actors have so far been confirmed.
Posted by: Beavis || 01/06/2009 13:44 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maybe he got scared upon seeing a big guy in tights coming for him.......
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/06/2009 14:45 Comments || Top||

#2  the burglar threw himself out of a first-floor window

At least Mr. Alexander won't be charged for actually touching our intrepid villain.

"Mental Anguish"? Maybe.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/06/2009 15:05 Comments || Top||

#3  the burglar threw himself out of a first-floor window

yeah right. Did anyone see Mjööllnir at the scene?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/06/2009 15:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Too bad Thor didn't whack him with his hammer.

Oh wait... those have been outlawed in the UK.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/06/2009 15:31 Comments || Top||

#5  ...thought Friday was for Fria/Freya; I am wrong or is this up to debate (read CF's link)?

Like something out of a Guy Ritchie flick.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/06/2009 15:53 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm beginning to think that England is about to the point where it needs to pass a law making it legal to be a law-abiding homeowner.
Posted by: gorb || 01/06/2009 16:08 Comments || Top||

#7  pworperty iz tweft!
Posted by: Left wing Bright Pebbles || 01/06/2009 17:22 Comments || Top||

#8  So when does Mr. Alexander go on trial?
Posted by: DMFD || 01/06/2009 17:36 Comments || Top||

#9  Click the link for a photo. Hilariously awful costume!
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 01/06/2009 19:24 Comments || Top||

#10  http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/mluphoup/Thor01.jpg
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/06/2009 20:07 Comments || Top||

#11  Oh, for pete's sake! I dressed my younger brothers and sister in better-looking costumes that that! Good god, turn a hapless body-builder loose with a roll of tinfoil, and lord knows what you might come up with.

And, among the cosmopolitan Rantburgundians, need I remind anyone that in the British Isles and Europe, 'first floor' is what Americans could call the 'second floor'. (the initial floor- to us, the first floor - is what them over there call the 'ground floor'. Clear as mud? Good - I live to serve.)
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 01/06/2009 20:38 Comments || Top||

#12  Damn. He looks like the Grand Marshall at some Gay Pride parade.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/06/2009 21:57 Comments || Top||

#13  Damn. He looks like the Grand Marshall at some Gay Pride parade.

The burglar probably had a flashback to the time in prison when he dropped his bar of soap.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/06/2009 22:07 Comments || Top||

#14  ION UK, REDDIT > THERE ARE NOW MANY "FOREIGN AREAS/PLACES" IN BRITAIN - ONE DAY IRELAND MAY BE THE SAME.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/06/2009 22:31 Comments || Top||


The 2008 numbers are in, murders in Chicago exceed US KIAs in Iraq and Afghanistan combined

Afghanistan = 155
Iraq = 226
Total = 381

Chicago murders = 508

Note: Iraq numbers are only KIA and do not include deaths due to accidents or illness. Afghanistan numbers include all deaths regardless of cause.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/06/2009 12:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  US OUT OF CHICAGO!!!
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/06/2009 13:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Quagmire!

Cut and run!!!!!!
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 01/06/2009 14:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah but its not the burbs and only certain areas of Chicago..... (oh sorry that was not PC to say..)
Posted by: 3dc || 01/06/2009 14:08 Comments || Top||

#4  US Murder Victims
by Age, Sex, and Race, 2007


Note: Hispanics are included white statistics.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/06/2009 14:21 Comments || Top||

#5  why are they included under white? on any other form they would have a hispanic demographic
Posted by: rabid whitetail || 01/06/2009 18:14 Comments || Top||

#6  2005 Justice Department stats for murders

White on White = 43.7%
White on Black = 4.5%
Black on Black = 32.3%
Black on White = 17.7%
Balance is other combinations = 1.8%

Note: 13% of the population account for 50% of the murders. Again the Hispanic percentages are included in the white statistics.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/06/2009 19:13 Comments || Top||

#7  of course they have too make it a little more even
Posted by: rabid whitetail || 01/06/2009 21:13 Comments || Top||

#8  It's not in the stats but other studies have indicated that up to 50% of murder victims are themselves felons.
Posted by: mhw || 01/06/2009 21:42 Comments || Top||


Madoff pawns watches, jewelry prior to bolting
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — The sons of Bernard Madoff, who is accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme, alerted prosecutors last week that their father mailed them jewelry, watches, and other items in violation of an asset freeze, his lawyer said.

U.S. prosecutors today asked a federal judge to revoke Madoffs bail because he violated the freeze. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis asked for legal briefs by Jan. 7 from the government and from Madoff, who remains free in his Manhattan apartment on a $10 million bond.

Madoff mailed five packages of items, including “some very valuable jewelry,” after his assets were frozen by a judge in a related civil lawsuit, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt in court today. Defense lawyer Ira Sorkin said the objects, which included pens and $25 cuff links, were heirlooms innocently sent to Madoffs children and brother, Peter.

“We believe the children brought it to the attention of the government,” Sorkin said in an interview after court. Madoff, 70, was accused last month of directing a $50 billion Ponzi scheme out of his New York investment firm after his sons reported him to prosecutors, according to Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for Madoffs sons.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/06/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Could possibly be some additional charges levied due to his using the US Mail system.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/06/2009 8:39 Comments || Top||

#2  He's trying to save his sons who had absolutely positively no idea whatsoever what was going on.
Posted by: DK70 the Scantily Clad7177 || 01/06/2009 16:35 Comments || Top||

#3  "...his sons who had absolutely positively no idea whatsoever what was going on."

I find that very hard to believe. At the least, they are guilty of negligence.
Posted by: eltoroverde || 01/06/2009 21:14 Comments || Top||


-Obits-
The Great Raider, Ranger Robert Prince, 1919-2009
Robert Prince, the Seattle native and Army Ranger who, as a captain in World War II was the assault force commander of the daring mission to liberate Allied prisoners of war that became known as "The Great Raid," passed away New Years Day in Port Townsend, his family confirmed. He was 89.

"He died at home," Prince's son, Jim, a commercial fisherman from Port Townsend, confirmed Monday.

At Robert Prince's request, no services were held. Remembrances are suggested to the Children's Orthopedic Hospital or a charity of ones choice.

"He will be lovingly remembered by his family and friends as a warm, generous, but reserved and humble man," Prince's family said in a funeral notice.

A Garfield High and Stanford graduate, Prince was "a lifelong student of history, an avid follower of politics, and until recently, an enthusiastic Husky football fan," his family wrote.

Prince's humility extended to the mark in history he made as a soldier, from which he often deflected attention. His obituary says simply, "He served in the Southwest Pacific in New Guinea, the Philippine Islands and in Japan. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the rescue of 571 Bataan prisoners of war from the Cabanatuan Prison Camp January 31, 1945."

Prince was only 25 when he was hand-picked by a man he deeply admired, Lt. Col. Henry Mucci, to lead 120 Rangers of the 6th Ranger Battalion, Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrillas to rescue POWs from a Japanese prison camp near the town of Cabanatuan.

The raid was fraught with urgency. It had to be quickly and stealthily carried out behind enemy lines, because the Japanese War Ministry had issued a "kill all policy" to cover up war crimes by executing witnesses, in this case prisoners.

They had to get in and get out, and did. The highly successful Jan. 30, 1945 mission, portrayed in a 2005 film "The Great Raid," was quickly heralded across the U.S. Mucci, Prince, nine other Rangers and their wives were sent on war bonds campaigns, and to meet with President Franklin Roosevelt.

The Rangers' moment in history faded from the public eye, eclipsed with the invasion of Iwo Jima a month later.

Mucci and Prince both received the Army's highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross, which next only to the Medal of Honor is the nation's second highest award for valor. The two also were named to the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

Prince, originally from Seattle's Madrona neighborhood, returned home to Seattle and his wife Barbara, leaving the Army as a major in February 1946.

The couple settled in Wenatchee where they raised two sons and focused on getting on with their lives. Prince's son, Jim, has said his dad never talked about the war or the mission to him or his brother until once, when their mom urged Prince to tell them.

Prince carved out a business career marketing Washington apples in Seattle and Wenatchee for 40 years. He retired in 1985 as president of Gwin, White and Prince Inc., and held several leadership positions in the fruit Industry.

He and his wife Barbara retired in Kirkland until 2003, when Barbara died, and Prince moved to a condominium in Port Townsend to be near his family.

Prince not only knew war as a veteran but as a parent. A son, Spc. 4 Stephen Robert Prince, was killed in action Aug. 11, 1969 near Quang Ngai, Vietnam while serving with the Army's 11th Light Infantry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. Stephen Prince had graduated from Wenatchee High School and attended the University of Washington before he was drafted.

In addition to his son, Jim, Prince is survived by daughter-in-law Mardee Stadshaug, grandchildren Amy Murray and Andrew Prince, and a brother, John, of Seattle. He was preceded in death by brothers Ken and Dick of Seattle.

After several books and the 2005 film rekindled interest in the famous raid that Prince had planned for Mucci, Prince was known to correspond with admirers who sought him out. In 2005, he was invited to speak in 2005 at a Ranger function at Fort Lewis.

P-I readers in 2005 also responded to an interview Prince gave at the time, including many from the Philippines expressing gratitude as well as relatives of the prisoners the Rangers freed.

"My father was one of the 500 men whose lives were saved and I would very much like to thank him," one woman wrote to the P-I, wanting to connect with Prince.

"As I sat in the theater watching "The Great Raid" it occurred to me that I would not have been born had it not been for those wonderful men who risked their lives to liberate the men of Cabanatuan. My father came back home, married my mother and was twice elected (to local political office in Mississippi,)" she wrote.

"Unforturnately, he was deeply scarred from his experiences at the hands of the Japanese and at the age of 42, he committed suicide. I was 9 at the time and my sister was 5. It was such a tragedy and a waste as he was a good man with so much potential."

Prince understood what she was talking about, which is why he deflected credit for the valor the Rangers showed that day.

His admiration, he always said, was for those he helped to liberate. They included many who had survived the Bataan Death March from the war's beginning through years of captivity.

In an Apr. 16, 1945 interview Prince gave to the P-I while home on leave, he said:

"People everywhere thank me. I think the thanks should go the other way. I'll be grateful the rest of my life that I had a chance to do something in this war that was not destructive. Nothing for me can ever compare with the satisfaction I got from freeing those men."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/06/2009 19:35 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh, yes - I did a review of "The Great Raid" when it came out. Decent movie, some small quibbles, here. I even mentioned Robert Prince by name.

We're losing WWII vets by the thousands per month, now.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 01/06/2009 20:46 Comments || Top||

#2  RIP Major Prince. RLTW!
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/06/2009 20:49 Comments || Top||

#3  RIP, a hero!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/06/2009 20:51 Comments || Top||

#4  I'll make a point to check out the movie.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 01/06/2009 22:27 Comments || Top||

#5  A great [quiet] Soldier and a great story.

Since the MARINES have their great classic "GUNG HO", RICHARD WIDMARK for the Navy's UDTS, perhaps its time someone in Hollywood did one for the ALAMO SCOUTS, OSS in Europe + Pacific, etc. There are many stories, + Heroes, which remain untold or unknown to this day.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/06/2009 22:28 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Vail Chairlift Accident Leaves Man Dangling Pantless
If you think people laugh at your skiing skills then think again. A man was a put into a precarious and undoubtedly embarrassing position while skiing with his child at Vail mountain last Friday.

According to reports, the chairlift's fold-down seat was not in the correct lowered-down position - causing the man to partially fall through the resulting gap as he attempted to board the lift. He was prevented from plummeting to the ground below by his right ski, which became jammed in the ascending lift.
Posted by: Beavis || 01/06/2009 12:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He was very fortunate twice. First, that he didn't go straight down on rocks with his noggin. Second, that they didn't charge him with indecent exposure for mooning half Colorado.
Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2700 || 01/06/2009 12:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Ahhh...the dreaded "double dangle."
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/06/2009 14:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Good thing it didn't happen in a55-pen......
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/06/2009 14:47 Comments || Top||

#4  try straight down onto "snow" not rocks
Posted by: Victor Emmanuel Thronter7126 || 01/06/2009 15:45 Comments || Top||

#5  As KiloBravo my English wife would say, that's a real Ski "Bum".
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/06/2009 15:50 Comments || Top||

#6  At Mammaoth Mountain California, half naked skiing is no big deal.

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/06/2009 16:00 Comments || Top||

#7  I have nightmares about this sort of thing.
In one, I was attending a reception for the governor and arrived in my suit and tie, only to find that I had forgotten my trousers.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/06/2009 23:20 Comments || Top||


Hamas Says Assoud the Jihad Bunny Mortally Wounded in Israeli Airstrike
Who knew Elmer Fudd was Jewish?

Dawood Duck last seen hiding out in Shifa hospital w/ the baby ducks.
Posted by: ed || 01/06/2009 07:50 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There's a Jimmy Carter joke in this somewhere.
Posted by: Darrell || 01/06/2009 11:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Sometimes I wonder if they are just big jokers and we mostly don't get the joke.

I mean to pick a fight with the superpower that will crush you and claim victory just because you lived despite the collapse of everything. To lie bold-faced and without shame about mother of all battles nonsense. And the Jihad bunny in the first place.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/06/2009 12:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Those are not jokers. Those are morons with chronic brain damage.
Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2700 || 01/06/2009 12:50 Comments || Top||


Inmate paid $500,000 for losing penis in jail
Yikes!
A FORMER prison inmate has been awarded $500,000 after his manhood was consumed by flesh-eating bacteria while he was behind bars. Charlie Manning, 61, was serving a 13-month stretch at Stafford Creek prison in Washington state, US, for a boozy fight when he became sick, The Daily Telegraph reports. The prison doctor wrongly diagnosed his symptoms as an allergic reaction to medication.

Turned out he had necrotising fasciitis - and the bacteria destroyed his penis and one testicle.

"It's been a nightmare," Manning said. "I figured I should settle for what I could get because I just want it behind me. It's unreal. It's like something from Mars."

A prison spokesman admitted: "Not all medical judgments - whether performed in a prison or at a doctor's office - are infallible."

The Seattle Times said surgeons made a replacement penis with skin from Manning's thigh.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/06/2009 06:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If I were his cellmate I'd be worried.
Better set the toilet mode to 'hover'.
And quite sticking that thing where it doesn't belong.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 01/06/2009 6:49 Comments || Top||

#2  A prison spokesman admitted: "Not all medical judgments - whether performed in a prison or at a doctor's office - are infallible."

We'll just say that statement comes across as flaccid.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/06/2009 8:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Yet another reason why smart people stay out of prison.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/06/2009 8:12 Comments || Top||

#4  A perfect explanation for how Chris Matthews feels a tingle down his "thigh" whenever he thinks of Obama.
Posted by: ed || 01/06/2009 8:18 Comments || Top||

#5  no the real smart ppl are the biggest crooks they just know how too rip me and you off and get the hell out of dodge, or just ask the gov for a bailout
Posted by: rabid whitetail || 01/06/2009 12:26 Comments || Top||

#6  In Massachusetts he could now sue for a sex change operation.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/06/2009 13:23 Comments || Top||

#7  'Stretch' is probably not the most apropos word for this short article.....
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/06/2009 14:49 Comments || Top||

#8  500.000 dollars and no hookers to spend them on... this sucks
Posted by: European Conservative || 01/06/2009 19:49 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Qadaffy's son pays US diva for New Year's Eve
U.S. diva Mariah Carey reportedly scooped up a whooping $1 million to perform only four songs at a lavish New Year's Eve bash in the Caribbean thrown by the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, press reports said Monday.

As several Middle East countries cancelled New Year celebrations in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza under attack by Israel, Saif Gaddafi, 36, held an intimate bash on the Caribbean island of St. Barts, where Carey was vacationing with husband Nick Cannon, British tabloid The Sun reported.

The songstress was paid to sing a set of four classic tracks at the island's Nikki Beach Club where U.S. producer Timbaland and rapper Jay-Z also performed as part of the event. "They all had a great time," a guest was quoted by the paper as saying.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East several concerts and shows were cancelled as Israel began a deadly assault on Gaza just four days before New Year's Eve. As the death toll of just days of bombings climbed a somber mood dominated the area, events scheduled to take place in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the UAE emirate of Dubai were all cancelled or replaced with low key celebrations.
Posted by: Fred || 01/06/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Obviously the nut doesn't fall far from the sprocket tree.
Posted by: Darrell || 01/06/2009 9:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Isn't Saif Qaddafi the one who aided the Christian aid workers held hostage in a shipping container in Afghanistan? Aiding People of the Book, are we, or a closet Christian? In another fun twist of fate, Catholic, Muslim, & Jewish paths cross again:
According to Edward Kritzler, in Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, many of these British Caribbean islands were settled by Jewish pirates! Sephardim living in Spain were hired on as pilots and cartographers, hiding under the banner of new Catholic converts when Spain banned all Jews. He claims Colombus was a closet Jew, looking for a new homeland following the time of the Inquisition, which drove the Dispora to the Dutch and British for protection. They hired them on to build their empires. Cromwell gave them his blessing, but then he also deported the Irish "pigs" to run the pubs and brothels for the sailors! Jamaica and other islands prospered, as they became merchants, shipping traders, and planted crops. These same islands also have taken in many of the Paleo diaspora, too, where they have lived together fairly peacefully. Interesting book, btw, with unusual history taken from ships' logs at the Jamaican National Library.
Posted by: Danielle || 01/06/2009 10:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Spent the holidays on a cruise in the Carib. You should see the homes in the old Jew quarter of Curacao. Definitely not a ghetto in modern terms.
Posted by: Jack is Back || 01/06/2009 11:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Who knows, if she has fighting skills she might be hired on as one of Poppa's bodyguard hotties.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/06/2009 12:34 Comments || Top||

#5  Jewish Pirates?!

WTF?
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 01/06/2009 14:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Jewish pirates? Oy vey, me hearties, oy vey!
Posted by: Mike || 01/06/2009 16:48 Comments || Top||

#7  what else does she have too perform besides the 4 songs.
Posted by: rabid whitetail || 01/06/2009 17:18 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
2 political activists killed in city, Bogra
Warning: none of this is going to make any sense ...
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Swechchhasebak Dal leader at Bijoynagar in the capital while another gang of miscreants stabbed a Jubo League activist to death in Bogra yesterday.

The deceased, Nazrul Islam, 35, president of Swechchhasebak Dal's ward-56 unit, was also the general secretary of Bijoynagar Bahumukhi Babosayee Samobay Samiti. Police and family members of the deceased suspected the murder had been committed due to feuds over the control of a political office or some business shops.

Nazrul, who died on the spot as the attackers pumped four bullets into several parts of his body, was the owner of Aqib Bumper, a shop of motor parts, located at 11, Bijoynagar. During the gun attack, one of the associates of Nazrul, Mahjuddin, also received bullet injury as the motorbike-riding criminals sprayed bullets indiscriminately at about 4:30pm. Mahiuddin, 25, was undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He received two bullets.

Talking to The Daily Star, Nazrul's brother Iqbal Hossain said: "Nazrul might have been killed by local Jubo League cadres as they had been threatening him to hand over an office at Bijoynagar which is controlled by Swechchwasebak Dal".

"One Mintu also might be the killer of Nazrul as there had been a feud between Nazrul and Mintu over some shops in the market."

Witnesses said a gang of four to five unidentified criminals riding on two motorbikes came to the spot and sped away after opening fires indiscriminately on Nazrul. Another youth Mainuddin, who was talking to Nazrul Islam at the time of attack, received bullets when he tried to run away.

Nazrul's brother Iqbal and cousin Robin Hossain, who were present on the spot, narrated the macabre incident saying the criminals fired six bullets from a very close distance.

Over 100 activists of Awami League and Jubo League came to Nazrul in the afternoon on Sunday and asked him to hand over the key of the office. They also threatened Nazrul with dire consequence if it was otherwise.

Local traders said Nazrul was one of the close accomplices of detained Ramna thana BNP president Chowdhury Alam, who is also the commissioner of Ward-56 of Dhaka City Corporation. The traders said they were informed of the feud between Nazrul and Mintu and due to the feud, Nazrul shifted his residence to Kuril from Bijoynagar.

Rezaul Karim, officer-in-charge (OC) of Shahbagh police station, told The Daily Star, "Nazrul might have been killed following the feud over the control of some shops in the market."

"We have also been investigating whether he was killed over any political clashes", the OC said, adding that none was arrested in this connection.

Our staff correspondent from Bogra reports: miscreants stabbed a member of Jubo League to death at Nataipara in Bogra town yesterday noon. The deceased was identified as Faruk Bari alias Sabuj, a student of Azizul Haque College.

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) district unit leaders claimed that Sabuj was killed by BNP and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists. However, JCD district unit President Khademul Islam denied the allegation.

BCL and Jubo League activists brought out a protest procession in the city in the evening.

Locals said a number of youth called Sabuj up at around 3:00pm while he was playing carom near his home, took him to a nearby place and stabbed him with sharp weapons. Sabuj succumbed to his injury at Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital at 7:00pm.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/06/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Caution:
I heeded Steve's warning, and STILL my head 'sploded!
Posted by: Hyper || 01/06/2009 0:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Holy crap! Joe M - Ima interested in your take on this?


putting out fires, with gasoline
Posted by: Frank G || 01/06/2009 0:36 Comments || Top||

#3  All I can add, from a Google search:

Geographical coordinates in degrees minutes seconds (WGS84)
Latitude : 23 39' 18''
Longitude : 90 48' 30''

Check it's location yourself here
Posted by: Sherry || 01/06/2009 0:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Forget it, Jake. It's Bangladesh...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/06/2009 12:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Looks like the RAB is onto something with their plausible deniability ( wrong time of day, miscreants and their accomplices, no stutter guns, and not even a trip to the hospital for those immortal last woids)
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/06/2009 14:52 Comments || Top||


Task force to grill two JMB operatives
Regular or extra crispy?
Two operatives of the banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, arrested along with 28 homemade grenades in Chittagong last week, will be sent to Dhaka today for interrogation, police officials said.
They're not going to feel so good ...
The two militants, Masum and Khorshed, were arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion on December 30 at their hideout at Teribazar in the port city.
Trapped like rats at their secret lair ...
They were remanded in the custody of Kotwali police for questioning on a court order.
That is going to be so-o-o-o-o not fun ...
A senior police official said that they were looking for six other JMB militants active in Chittagong following some leads after interrogation of the two.
Which they provided through broken teeth and jaws ...
'The JMB activists are regrouping here and may be plotting to strike again', he said.
He also said that the police had raided Halishahar residential area on Friday night to hunt down an activist of the JMB, but he managed to run away flee. 'A private university in the city and two madrassahs at Hathazari and Patiya are also under surveillance', he said adding that special measures had been taken here to thwart any attempts at subversion.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/06/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  dry rub or wet?
Posted by: 3dc || 01/06/2009 19:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Tomato or vinegar-based BBQ sauce?
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 01/06/2009 20:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Anything from Rudy's will do Sgt. Mom.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/06/2009 20:52 Comments || Top||

#4  a searing followed by a salt/lemon rub, and earplugs
Posted by: Frank G || 01/06/2009 20:52 Comments || Top||


Britain
NHS: Deaths From Hospital Blunders Soar 60 Percent
The number of patients killed by hospital blunders has soared by 60 per cent in just two years, the Daily Mail can reveal. Official records show that 3,645 died as a result of outbreaks of infections, botched operations and other mistakes in 2007/08. That was up from 2,275 two years before.

Critics say quality of NHS care has suffered as doctors and nurses come under pressure to meet Government waiting time targets.

The sharp rise is also down to the fact that more trusts have started to record medical errors - revealing a death toll which in previous years remained hidden under the carpet. But experts say the true toll is certain to be even higher, because many hospitals still do not record all of the 'patient safety incidents' - meaning that lessons which could have been learned are lost.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/06/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Only a tiny number of errors put patients at serious risk and the quality and safety of healthcare is improving all the time.'

"However, we do admit it is cheaper when they die."
Posted by: SteveS || 01/06/2009 1:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Reminds me of a very public blunder at a military hospital (in Tacoma Wa?) a long time ago. The Hospital amputated the wrong leg. Oops!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/06/2009 1:05 Comments || Top||

#3  How much of it is due to imported Paki docs' mail oder degrees jihad incompetence?
Posted by: ed || 01/06/2009 2:47 Comments || Top||

#4  But it's FREE!
Posted by: crosspatch || 01/06/2009 3:15 Comments || Top||

#5  You get what you don't pay for.
Posted by: no mo uro || 01/06/2009 6:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Hey!
We should have a setup like that!

And how many of these deaths can be connected with a foreign doctor that speaks deplorable English?

Just a guess mind you.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 01/06/2009 6:53 Comments || Top||

#7  If you want excitement then MSM should post the number of dead in America's hospitals due to malfeasance and errors, just like they gleefully reported casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan [which BTW the hospital numbers would dwarf by comparison].
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/06/2009 8:03 Comments || Top||

#8  Yeh, how many died because of the lack of concern on the part of the doctors of killing the dog or monkey?
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 01/06/2009 11:05 Comments || Top||

#9  They might be dead, but at least its better than prison; they didn't lose their doinker.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/06/2009 14:54 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
4 criminals arrested in Kolkata
Indian police arrested four Bangladeshi criminals, three of them convicted of murdering former Awami League (AL) lawmaker Ahsanullah Master, in Gariahat of Kolkata Sunday evening. The other criminal has been convicted of murdering a former Titumir College students' council vice-president and sentenced to life-term imprisonment.

Murderers of the AL lawmaker are Nazrul Islam Dipu, Wahidul Islam Tipu and Sahayet Hossain Manju. Dipu has been sentenced to death while the other two were sentenced to life-term imprisonments in the Ahsanullah Master murder case. Ahsanullah was gunned down on May 7, 2004, in Tongi.

Arrestee Zakir Hossain Rupak was sentence to life-term imprisonment for killing former Titumir College students' council vice-president Ankhi, also a Chhatra League leader, a few years ago.

Kolkata Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials held a press conference yesterday at its headquarters at Bhabani Bhaban where CID Special Superintendent Anil Kumer told reporters that the arrestees admitted their involvement in the two murders, a correspondent in Kolkata reports.

Dipu told Kolkata police during interrogation that former MP Ahsanullah Master's killing was led by Gazipur BNP leader Hasan Ali Sarkar, now in a Bangladesh jail.

He said he came to India with a fake Bangladeshi passport and later went to Belgium where he sought asylum. Failing to get asylum there he went to Nepal with a fake Belgium passport. He returned to Kolkata three months ago and during this period his wife had met him.

Rupak said he took refuge in Bangalore and had been to Bangladesh several times afterwards. All four had been staying at a rented flat in Garia area for some time.

Kolkata CID said they arrested the four under Section-14 of the Foreigners' Act. They produced them before a court yesterday and the court ordered to keep Dipu and Rupak under police custody till January 9 and Tipu and Manju till January 17.

Bangladesh CID chief Additional Inspector General Mohammad Javed Patwari told The Daily Star, "We hard about the arrest but we did not get any formal message from the Indian police."

On May 7, 2004, gunmen shot and killed Ahsanullah, also president of Jatiya Sramik League, and Ratan and wounded 17 others at a biennial conference of Awami Swechchhasebak League, the AL volunteers' front, at Noagaon near the legislator's house in Tongi.

Identifying Nurul Islam Sarker as the mastermind for the murder, Matiur Rahman, brother of Ahsanullah, filed a murder case with Tongi Police Station on May 8 against 17 people.

On April 16, 2005, a Dhaka court handed down death sentences to 22 people and life terms to six others for assassinating Ahsanullah.

Tipu, Dipu and Manju hail from Gopalganj and Rupak from Dhaka, our Benapole correspondent reported.
Posted by: Fred || 01/06/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front Economy
Joe K's "Friends in Venezuela" pull plug on free oil
Bush is out, gringo. We don't need you anymore to make him look bad...
Joe Kennedy announced yesterday he’s laying off 20 employees and temporarily halting most of his winter fuel-assistance programs due to Citgo yanking $100 million in support for the nonprofit Citizens Energy.
Joe will, of course, keep his job and his $400,000 salary. Nice work if you can get it.
Citgo, owned by the Venezuelan government led by leftist loudmouth president Hugo Chavez, recently informed Kennedy that it was “temporarily” suspending its oil donations for the low-income program.
"Our friends in Venezuela" will now be known as "that fat rat bastard commie dictator".
Kennedy, who was clearly distraught by the unexpected decision, said Citgo’s move is apparently tied to the recent dramatic fall in crude-oil prices.
Hey, gringo. I got commie revolutions to fund. Things are tough all over.
Hundreds of thousands of needy Americans in 23 states and on Indian reservations will have to go elsewhere to get heating fuel, because Citizens no longer has the resources, Kennedy said. “I’m very hopeful we can turn this around,” said Kennedy, who vowed to try to meet with Chavez in Venezuela to pitch keeping the project.
C'mon, el jefe. I may have to go out and get a real job...
He urged people to directly write to Chavez to appeal to him to restart the 2009 program, which was supposed to officially begin yesterday.
Dear El Jefe,
It's a tough economy so please send us more free oil so senor Jose Kennedy doesn't have to go out and find a real job or, God forbid, run for office.
Muchos gracias,

Citgo, which declined comment yesterday, has been providing oil to Citizens since 2005. The Citgo donations have been controversial because of the perception that Chavez, a notorious anti-American, was using the program for propaganda purposes. Kennedy has countered that the U.S. gets much of its oil from far more controversial nations, such as Saudi Arabia.
Fuck off, peons. I'm a Kennedy, dammit!
At a press conference yesterday at Citizens’ South Boston headquarters, employees who will lose their jobs stood in back of the stunned Kennedy as he announced Citgo’s move.
I'll bet he wasn't nearly as stunned as they were...
Citizens will still run other energy-related programs, and Massachusetts homeless shelters and some needy individuals will get fuel delivered to their homes.
Geez, no more "JOE FOR OIL" commercials? Joe standing on the bow of a tanker cruising into Boston Harbor like he drove it up himself? No more Joe in coveralls lugging the hose up to granny's three decker while granny waves out the window like this is what he does everyday? I'll miss them...
But Kennedy said Citgo’s support amounted to about 90 percent of the funding for Citizens’ fuel-assistance programs nationwide.
So, Joe, I guess you'll be looking at a 90% pay cut then, right? Of course you will...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/06/2009 12:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  But the bushwa oil baron owes me a free lunch?
Posted by: 3dc || 01/06/2009 14:42 Comments || Top||

#2  "Citgo, owned by the Venezuelan government led by leftist loudmouth president Hugo Chavez"

Dang, tu, you found a lot better source than I did. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 01/06/2009 15:14 Comments || Top||


Inauguration Rentals A Bust
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/06/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We have an old saying in Kentucky.

All show and no stay.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 01/06/2009 7:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Trying to chisel an Illinois political activist seems like an unlikely proposition. Maybe they hoped to lure a Hollywood type into a rental. My advice to future innaugural landlords would be to get a substantial deposit from any Clinton supporters.
Posted by: Super Hose || 01/06/2009 7:40 Comments || Top||

#3  All pfffft and no odor.
Posted by: Fred || 01/06/2009 7:46 Comments || Top||

#4  Rantburg should offer to rent these folks virtual inaugural space for $10,000/night.
Posted by: ed || 01/06/2009 7:57 Comments || Top||

#5  The behavior of the crowd at the inauguration of the first Democratic President, Andrew Jackson, might give us a clue about what is in store. They swarmed through the White House and stripped the place.
Posted by: Grunter || 01/06/2009 9:01 Comments || Top||

#6  A pox on the entire sordid event. Snow, freezing rain, and lots of it, two days prior...two days following. Icey roads, gummit closures, I-95 closure, six feet of snow piled in the HOV. Winds, Norwesters, Noreasters, Southeasters, Westeasters.....strong ones. Whole Foods closures. Arugula shortages. Food riots... and on, and on.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/06/2009 9:31 Comments || Top||

#7  Only Al Gore can create that type of climate chaos.
Posted by: bman || 01/06/2009 10:55 Comments || Top||

#8  As we say in Texas:

"All hat no ranch"

while I am encouraged by some of BO's nominees, I am dismayed by the pick of Penetta. He's the moron that won't let TSA profile who they search. Ergo, you have 90 year old grannies being patted down and their wheelchairs being X-Rayed while the 25 year old moslem radical goes straight through.

It is a miracle we have not had a catastrophe because of this airhead.

Bush appointed a fine and very able man to head the CIA and now we have a politician of the worst order running an organization that has been out of control since Clinton filled it with hacks and politicians. They might as well turn off the lights and lock the doors over at Langley, the CIA is now officially worthless. It is not the elephant's burial ground for tired old political hacks.
Posted by: James Carville || 01/06/2009 10:58 Comments || Top||

#9  These folks forgot a cardinal difference between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans are generous with their own money. Democrats are generous with other people's money. When is comes to opening their own wallets, the Dems are a stingy lot.

Heh. I've been scratching my head, trying to figger out who was coming to DC that had USD20,000 to 'rent' someone's crappy condo for a long weekend.

The numbers never made sense. O's election army was a bunch of college kids and Acorn activists.

In the meantime, we are facing an ever-widening security zone and the question of exactly *where* one finds parking for 10,000 charter buses. And how do you get all their passengers back in the buses at the end of the day?

Ye gods.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/06/2009 11:59 Comments || Top||

#10  Carbon credits! Getcha carbon credits heah!
C'mon buddy, dontcha wanna save the planet? What kinda Obama suppporter are ya?
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/06/2009 12:33 Comments || Top||

#11  Story problem: Bob the entrepreneur has rented a Washington duplex for $995. He plans to sublet it as a crash pad to hippies, ACORNistas and miscellaneous lefties for $5 per head. How many 'renters' does Bob need to break even?

Extra credit: Assume that the smell of patchouli and bong water will never come out of the carpet and Bob's deposit is history. How many extra 'renters' are needed now to break even?

And yeah, what Besoeker said in #6.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/06/2009 14:13 Comments || Top||

#12  Looking at the entire Hops and Chains crowd now flowing into DC and if you were to compare it to a NASCAR entry, they would all need that big ol' yellow paint stripe on their back bumper.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/06/2009 14:58 Comments || Top||

#13  "The behavior of the crowd at the inauguration of the first Democratic President, Andrew Jackson, might give us a clue about what is in store. They swarmed through the White House and stripped the place."

IIRC, Grunter, they got that crowd out of the White House by moving the likker punch bowls to the lawn.

Just sump'in for Bambi's underlings to keep in mind.... :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 01/06/2009 15:23 Comments || Top||

#14 
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/06/2009 15:40 Comments || Top||

#15  Seafarious, are you assuming The One's supporters and minnions know how to read and know what egress means?
Posted by: WolfDog || 01/06/2009 16:54 Comments || Top||

#16  Egress? They're gonna have birds?
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/06/2009 16:55 Comments || Top||

#17  I would love too own stock in whoever makes Olde English on the 20 th
Posted by: rabid whitetail || 01/06/2009 17:17 Comments || Top||

#18  Seafarious, are you assuming The One's supporters and minnions know how to read and know what egress means?

I'm just a polite local welcoming visitors to my fair city and giving them some assistance in navigating around an often-confusing streetscape. And yes, the egresses are really something to see. Don't forget your camera!
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/06/2009 20:41 Comments || Top||

#19  Ima thinking "Senator" Burris's office should hold a 1000 or 20000? for free? Heeeeellllloooo Harry!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/06/2009 20:50 Comments || Top||



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On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

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

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2009-01-06
  First major Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza City
Mon 2009-01-05
  Battles begin in N Gaza; many hamas operatives captured
Sun 2009-01-04
  IDF moves to bisect Gaza
Sat 2009-01-03
  Sri Lankan troops capture Kilinochchi
Fri 2009-01-02
  Girls to marry militants, orders Taliban
Thu 2009-01-01
  Senior Hamas leader killed in IAF air strike in Gaza Strip
Wed 2008-12-31
  Iranian 'students' attack Jordan, UK embassies, Saudi air office; threaten Egypt; burn Benneton store ...
Tue 2008-12-30
  Death toll in Gaza rises to 350; over 1,600 injured
Mon 2008-12-29
  Somali president resigns
Sun 2008-12-28
  230 killed as Israel rains fire on Hamas in the Gaza Strip
Sat 2008-12-27
  Israel Launches Unprecedented Series of Strikes on Gaza
Fri 2008-12-26
  Spokesman: Somali President not resigning
Thu 2008-12-25
  Pak in war frenzy; intensifies troop movement
Wed 2008-12-24
  Æthiops to withdraw all 3000 troops from Somalia by end of year
Tue 2008-12-23
  Pak air force on alert for Indian strike


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