h/t Gates of Vienna
The editor of a Saudi Arabian social website has been sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for founding an Internet forum that violates Islamic values and propagates liberal thought, Saudi media reported on Tuesday.
Raif Badawi, who started the 'Free Saudi Liberals' website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia, has been held since June 2012 on charges of cyber crime and disobeying his father - a crime in the conservative kingdom and top U.S. ally.
h/t Gates of Vienna
Currently best known for not very much, the north German state of Brandenburg could soon be catapulted into an economic boom - a drilling firm reckons there are 92 million tonnes of oil there and plans to start drilling in four years. (1)Is there like any place outside Tibet where there is no oil?
(2) Can Soodies learn to eat sand?
#7
If it wasn't for China, the Saudis would be already eating sand, although in the form of wheat grown on desert sand with desalinated water.
At a certain price point, it makes more sense for the Saudis to use their oil to run desal plants. Although unfortunately for them Israel has the best desal technology.
#1
The State Department told CNN in an e-mail that it was only helping the new Libyan government destroy weapons deemed "damaged, aged or too unsafe retain,"
#3
Large number of operators could [could] have been a coincidence. Routine Klingon's MTT rotation, or extracting personnel from a training mission gone badly. State Department AMBO shoot out takes place simultaneously.
Interesting to note; no apparent unity of effort. Most of our guys are here, your guys are there, our EXFIL is inbound...... have a nice day.
could be, could not be. However the lessons in (real, not 'revolutionary') history are that tyrants that live by threat and abuse alienate just about all the key people needed to keep them alive as they find out in the last few minutes of their lives. Lavrentiy Beria to the courtesy phone.
#8
Conjecture aside, mine included; two men, two US Gov't employees know exactly WTF took place. They are the Klingon Chief of Station (COS) in Tripoli and the State Department Regional Security Officer (RSO).
#9
Enough operatives to assemble into a platoon if they had to?
Depends on what kind of operatives. I'd surmise that most of them couldn't handle a firearm if/when their lives depended on it.
Routine Klingon's MTT rotation, or extracting personnel from a training mission gone badly.
I'd thought about that as well. Also likely is the Stansfield Turner Method of extracting intel, which might explain why they held off leaving for so long (and didn't want any non-Klingon assistance.).
#15
The Americans in Benghazi were surrounded regionally by all types of USDOD + INTEL Assets, BOTH IN + OUT OF COUNTRY - IMO the Admin's core argument is that SSSSSSSSSSHHHHH a DEDICATED hostage rescue team was not available or too far away to effectively or timely intervene. ITS STILL A CROCK BECAUSE US-WORLD MILITARY HISTORY IS FULL OF EXAMPLES WHERE NON-DEDICATED, NON-AGENCY/SERVICE ASSETS OR FORCES WERE USED IN EMERGENCY OR CONTINGENCY SUPPORT OF THOSE IN CRISIS.
These Amers died for a POLITICAL AGENDA + PUBLIC RELATIONS, NOT BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T BE RESCUED.
"I would prefer to stay with the current policy that I'm pleased with rather than go through a change if I don't need to go through that change," said acting IRS chief Danny Werfel, during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing. That'd be the Federal insurance - they one we pay for - that he'd rather keep.
"Count the head of the IRS among the growing list of folks that includes Big Labor and the law's chief architect who are deeply skeptical of the president's signature achievement and don't want any part of it," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement. "No American -- even the head of the IRS -- should be subjected to ObamaCare." And yet - implementation marches on.
Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., has been pushing a bill that would force federal workers into the exchanges, and out of their federal health care plans. That'd be a step in the right direction, but good luck getting it through the Senate.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/02/2013
06:55 ||
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#1
Too bad. Sucks to be him, I guess.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/02/2013 7:32
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Yet another non-believer speaks out. Not good for the regime.
#3
Public sector health plans are heavily subsidized by taxpayers, and are thus richer in terms of benefits and cheaper for beneficiaries than private sector plans.
For example federal plans premiums are subsidized 75% while private plans are subsidized by employers at an average of 40%. The subsidy is often higher for state, county, city and school districts.
Since exchange plans will be heavily taxpayer subsidized, it will make sense for many middle class private sector employees to jump off their employer plan and latch on to the exchanges. this can be accomplished by the employer plan being declared "unaffordable," or individuals committing fraud or, more likely quitting their job.
Therein lies the madness and the method of Obamacare.
Posted by: regular joe ||
08/02/2013 9:06
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regular joe -
Or the employer simply stops offering healthcare and pays the penalty, which is cheaper.
[Ynet] Syrian Defense Minister General Fahed Jassem al-Farij, said in an interview for Syrian state TV that "the mask has been removed of the face of the Zionist enemy, and the whole world has seen the proof for Israel's involvement in its gross attacks and support of terror gangs."
It must be a slow news day, if they're singing this old song.
Al-Farij pointed at "the Israeli arms and equipment seized by the Syrian army in the hands of Death Eaters and the microchips planed by agents of the occupation in one of Syria's beaches."
Good lord, that happened simply ages ago. A month, at least.
According to him, Israel's support of the rebels is also apparent in the treatment of maimed rebels in Israeli hospitals.
Or civilians. Without uniforms, it's so hard to tell.
[Ynet] President Barack Obama My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it... spoke separately by phone on Thursday to Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
...a graduate of the prestigious accredited Harvard and MIT universities, with a plethora of degrees ranging from architecture to polysci to an MS in business management acquired in less than four years with time out to fight the Yom Kippur war, but comparing the academic achievements of the three men would be so petty that we won't do it...
the White House said, as the United States seeks to keep up the momentum for peace negotiations.
"President B.O. called Prime Minister Netanyahu today to commend his leadership and courage in resuming final status negotiations with the Paleostinians," the White House said in a statement. "The president underscored that while the parties have much work to do in the days and months ahead, the United States will support them fully in their efforts to achieve peace."
[Ynet] Accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan, MD, PhD
...the bearded, paralyzed friend of ex-Al Qaeda cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki, who became an ex-cleric courtesy of a drone missile, followed fairly quickly by the death of his son and some friends by the same method. There are those who feel this is bad because poor Anwar was born in the U.S. as, after a decent interval, was his son...
released documents to Fox News on Thursday, days before his court-martial is to begin, in which says he wishes to renounce his US citizenship and military oath.
Hasan, an American-born Mohammedan and US Army major, is charged with opening fire on the Army post in Texas in November 2009, killing 13 and wounding 32. He is acting as his own attorney in his court-martial, scheduled to begin at the base on Aug. 6. If convicted he could face execution or life in prison.
#1
Won't do him any good to renounce, rip up his meal card, or kick the door. It won't be accepted. He's much safer to the regime as a deranged, nutcase US Army officer. Remember, we are NOT at war with Islam.
The judge is the administrator to insure compliance with legal proceedings. There are three courts martial forms, the general, the special and the summary. The latter is akin to a magistrates court consisting of one officer and has limited punitive powers. Both the general and special courts martial have the full array of judge, attorneys, and the board and has the same punitive abilities as any civilian criminal court but with additional articles concerning criminal behavior that don't exist in the civilian world.
One of the differences between civilian criminal proceedings and military is the ability of the jury members to ask questions of those on the witness stand. The usual proceeding has the questioner write the inquiry on paper and then have the judge review it for relevance and proper legal form.
#8
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > AL-QAEDA LEADER [Ayman Zawahiri] VOWS TO BREAK OUT MUSLIMS HELD AT GUANTANAMO.
Besides possibly rescuing MAJOR HASAN, undoubtedly a few of the rescued Hard/Burqua Boyz will be charged to stay on in Cuba + set up Jihadi Ops there + as well as "near-abroad"???
[Ynet] IDF soldiers uncovered explosives at the house of a wanted Paleostinian in the vicinity of Ramallah Wednesday night. The device exploded by sappers. The man was taken for questioning.
[Ynet] The IDF and the US army's European Command completed two joint drills in southern Israel and the Mediterranean, held over the last two weeks, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported.
The two drills included a joint training by the two countries' air forces and navies.
Hope they accomplished something useful, or at least had fun together, maintaining tie that will come in handy in 3 1/2 years.
Ev'ryone oppresses someone, sometime... At least if they're a Muslim nation, at any rate.
[Ynet] Iran's supreme leader is urging Iranians to avoid all dealings with members of the banned Baha'i sect in a possible prelude to further crackdowns on the minority.
Iran already bans the Baha'i, which considers a 19th century Persian nobleman as the final prophet. The fatwa, or religious edict, by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is his latest against the group. It supports similar fatwas in the past by other holy mans.
[Ynet] The US Senate voted to confirm Samantha Power as President Barack Obama I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go... 's next ambassador to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... on Thursday.
As voting continued, more than 70 of the 100 senators had voted in favor of Power, a former White House national security staffer and former journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for her book "A Problem from Hell," a study of US failure to prevent genocide.
[Ynet] An army front man in Jordan said border police have incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! smugglers trying to sneak in a large cache of arms from neighboring Syria.
The front man added the group arrested late Thursday included Jordanians and other Arab nationalities.
This Arab Spring thingy is coming in handy for down-arming (yes, I know it's not a real word, but it ought to be) the Muslim Middle East/North Africa as they use up current stocks on one another... or as Israel blows key bits up.
h/t Instapundit
If we learned anything about Barack Obama in his first term it is that when he starts repeating the same idea over and over, what's on his mind is something else.
The first term's over-and-over subject was "the wealthiest 1%." Past some point, people wondered why he kept beating these half-dead horses. After the election, we knew. It was to propagandize the targeted voting base that would provide his 4% popular-vote margin of victoryvery young voters and minorities. They believed. He won.
The second-term over-and-over, elevated in his summer speech tour, is the shafting of the middle class. But the real purpose here isn't the speeches' parboiled proposals. It is what he says the shafting of the middle class is forcing him to do. It is forcing him to "act"to undertake an unprecedented exercise of presidential power in domestic policy-making. ObamaCare was legislated. In the second term, new law will come from him.
Please don't complain later that you didn't see it coming. As always, Mr. Obama states publicly what his intentions are. He is doing that now. Toward the end of his speech last week in Jacksonville, Fla., he said: "So where I can act on my own, I'm going to act on my own. I won't wait for Congress." What kind of majority in each house he needs to repeal the 22nd---just trying to predict the coming mid-terms
#1
What kind of majority in each house he needs to repeal the 22nd---just trying to predict the coming mid-terms. Posted by g(r)om
It won't happen through the Congress g(r)om. If it happens, the entire US Constitution will have been set aside by some national emergency. Champ is tired, lazy, and FLOTUS hates D.C...... they want out of the mess. I don't see it happening with The Hildebeast moving toward the WH.
#2
What kind of majority in each house he needs to repeal the 22nd-
Constitutional amendments and their repeals require the consent of the states. In that part, it still is the United States of America.
The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States).
#4
B - Agree with the video 100% Creation date was listed as 2010...things have only gotten worse. Unfortunately - with the impending immigration - "We the People" are likely to be come "We the Minority".
Things that can't continue..won't and the upcoming civil unrest when the Gov't cheese runs out will be massive...and to the NSA guy monitoring this..hope you have your place in the bunker secured...you'll need it
#5
It's simple, he thinks he's the Parent, ad we're children.
We need to prove to him we're the adults, and he's the child, e needs to be spanked and told "Don't lie". (Or you'll get another, AND MEAN IT)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/02/2013 10:36
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#5 It's simple, he thinks he's the Parent, ad we're children.
We need to prove to him we're the adults, and he's the child, e needs to be spanked and told "Don't lie". (Or you'll get another, AND MEAN IT)
RJ, you are assuming the Cmdr. Zero would have a problem with a spanking....
#7
Champ is tired, lazy and appears an idiot every time he opens his mouth. However, appearances can be deceiving. If, as discussed, his goal is accumulation of power---he's doing very well. After all, does Mugabe care if Zimbabwe went from exporter of food to famine, as long as he remains the head man? Did Stalin, whom the rest of Politburo once considered a country bumpkin, care that ten of millions Russians died because he decimated the officer corp just before the war?
#9
You "Spank" Obama by restricting his priveledges, say by taking away Air Force One,
(Oh sorry, it's in for maintenance, the sequester, you know)
That's what hurts, take his privileges.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/02/2013 18:00
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...A prediction: sometime before next spring you will see serious trial balloons coming out of major MSM outlets suggesting that we should take a look at repeal of the 22nd Amendment.
And if it happens, God help us all.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/02/2013 19:49
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Eyes wide open, NOT Eyes wide shut.
The good news for the Bammer is that in a democracy, it is said the people = voters get the kind of Govt. they deserve [directly or indirectly].
WELL THERE YA GO - NOTHING CAN BE THE BAMMER'S OR WASHINGTON'S FAULT E-V-A-R!
Pre-sabbath shenanigans in Beirut. Really, the lads are having just a little too much fun.
[AnNahar] Two rockets fell in the Baabda area on Thursday evening, one of them near the presidential palace, in the third such incident in less than two months.
"A rocket fell near the (army's) Command and Staff College in al-Rayhaniyeh as another rocket hit the garden of Elham Freiha's house, and both were fired from al-Mwanseh area in Dhour Aramoun," state-run National News Agency reported.
MTV said the rockets were fired from "a barren area in Souk al-Gharb" near Aley.
A security source told MTV the attack caused no casualties among military personnel or civilians.
"One of the rockets fell around 50 meters away from the defense ministry" in Fayyadiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, MTV reported.
Al-Jadeed television said a rocket fell around 100 meters away from the presidential palace as Agence La Belle France Presse said it landed around 100 meters away from the palace's back entrance.
"The house of the army's intelligence director (Brig. Gen. Edmond Fadel) is close to the house of the Freiha family where one of the rockets landed," al-Jadeed said.
MTV said one of the rockets landed near the house of the Saudi ambassador but failed to explode.
Earlier in the day, Leb marked the 68th Army Day, with President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... saying it was time for the Lebanese state and the army to be the sole decision-makers on the use of the nation's capabilities.
"It has become urgent to approve a defense strategy after the resistance's arms went beyond Leb's borders," Suleiman said during a ceremony marking anniversary of the Lebanese army's founding, in an allusion to Hizbullah's military intervention in Syria.
On June 21, two rocket launch pads were found in the Kesrouan area of Ballouneh after a rocket went kaboom! in the Baabda town of Araya. The second rocket failed to launch.
Sources told Naharnet back then that the relevant security and military authorities and the Presidential Guard were scouring the area, without ruling out that the presidential palace could have been the target of the rocket.
In May, two rockets slammed into the Hizbullah stronghold of Beirut's southern suburbs, wounding four people.
Political Correctness runs wild in the Peoples Republic of Seattle
SEATTLE - An internal memo at Seattle City Hall is causing quite a stir. It suggests government workers no longer use the terms "citizen," or "brown bag."
According to the Office for Civil Rights, the terms are potentially offensive and other words should be used.
"Luckily, we've got options," Elliott Bronstein of the Office for Civil Rights wrote in the memo. "For 'citizens,' how about 'residents?'" Bronstein wrote.
The Office of Civil Rights says Seattle serves all residents, whether they're United States citizens or not.
And while city leaders publicize "brown bag" lunch meetings as a way to designate a bring-your-own lunch time event, the term has a sorted history.
"It used to be a way people could judge skin color," Bronstein said in a phone interview. And all this time I thought it was because of the color of the BROWN PAPER BAG. Or perhaps Mr. Bronstein is lying...
Does the public find it offensive? Most people agree it's not.
But the City of Seattle isn't alone. State lawmakers have voted to remove gender specific words in official records.
Freshman are now "first-years," journeymen are "journey-level," and penmanship is simply "handwriting." And state lawmakers are still IDIOTS
To offend or not to offend, turns out to be a very sensitive question.
So what is a person supposed to say instead of brown bag? According to the memo, people should try "lunch-and-learn" or "sack lunch." How about 'Brown bag lunch we have to call something else because Seattle City Officials are MORONS'?
#8
It has a sorted history. There's the actual factual history and the revised politically correct history. You have to sort the fact from the fiction in history.
#9
It would be nice to clean up Black speech, every other word is "Fuck you" this is not the way, it just makes the "City Officials" look stupid.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/02/2013 10:41
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#10
"Luckily, we've got options," Elliott Bronstein of the Office for Civil Rights wrote in the memo. "For 'citizens,' how about 'residents?'" Bronstein wrote.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
08/02/2013 12:57
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#12
Zek
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/02/2013 20:25
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#13
Just more proof that the Gubmint does NOT + will NOT secure US Borders nor stop expanding the Debt.
Lest we fergit, YEAR 2015 is only the beginning for a US suborned under OWG - it will take decades for the Globies + aligned to firmly entrench its protocols, mechanisms, structures + institutions, etc.
SUB-IOW, HOW MUCH THE US MAINSTREAM IS ECON SUFFERING NOW, OR WORSE, WILL LAST FOR MANY MANY YEARS MORE UNTIL SUCH TIME OWG [UN-OWG] CAN NO LONGER BE CHALLENGED OR REMOVED.
When the UNO is permanently integrated, NOT confederated.
The peace of Ramadan. [AnNahar] Young men who hail from the Bekaa border town of Arsal on Thursday kidnapped Lebanese citizen Youssef al-Meqdad while he was buying goods in their town, state-run National News Agency reported.
The abduction comes in retaliation for a recent robbery which Arsal residents have blamed on young men from al-Meqdad family, NNA said.
Later on Thursday, LBCI television reported that "two people who hail from Arsal were kidnapped in the town of Maqneh in retaliation for the kidnapping of a man from al-Meqdad family in Arsal."
Tit-for-tat abductions are frequent in the area and last month a Arsal resident was kidnapped on the road of the neighboring town of al-Labweh.
In March, a tit-for-tat wave of abductions erupted between residents of Arsal and the Hermel region, after unknown individuals kidnapped 30-year-old Hussein Kamel Jaafar who hails from the Hermel town of al-Bustan. The incident prompted members of the Jaafar clan to nab several Arsal residents.
In the wake of the kidnappings, the army deployed on the international highway and set up new posts, especially at al-Labweh's entrance which is the only route to and from Arsal.
Things appear to be looking up for Assad the Younger. Could it be that the rebels are correct in their assessment?
[AnNahar] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... made a visit on Thursday to the town of Daraya outside Damascus, a former rebel bastion now mainly under government control, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported.
The broadcaster aired no immediate footage to accompany its report.
It was one of the few occasions that Assad had been reported to have traveled outside the capital since an uprising against his rule erupted in March 2011.
It came as he sent an Army Day message to troops telling them he was "sure of victory" over the rebels.
"If we in Syria were not sure of victory, we would not have had the will to resist nor been able to persevere in the face of more than two years of aggression," he said.
"I have great faith in you and confidence in your ability to... fulfill the national mission that has been assigned to you," Assad told troops in the message.
"You have shown rare courage in the battle against terrorism and you have impressed the whole world with your resistance... in one of the most brutal and ferocious wars of modern history," he said.
His comments came after troops recaptured a key neighborhood of the strategic central city of Homs on Monday in the biggest gain so far of a month-long assault.
The army has also been on the offensive in the eastern suburbs of the capital and west of the main northern city of Aleppo.
The 28-month conflict has killed more than 100,000 people, according to the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... , but U.N. efforts to convene a Russian- and U.S.-backed peace conference have stalled.
[AnNahar] Hizbullah has set up a large banner near the border with Israel with the phrase "we are coming" in Arabic and Hebrew, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.
"The banner was placed at the western side of al-Wazzani river mouth, near the border with Israel," the NNA detailed.
"This took place on the eve of Hizbullah's celebration of al-Quds Day."
In the meantime, Israeli military activity was registered in the South as Merkava tanks were spotted in the region facing al-Wazzani area.
"An Israeli military delegation was roaming the area and some of its members used endoscopes to watch Lebanese territories."
Israeli air force also flew at a medium altitude in the South over the towns of Nabatieh and Iqlim al-Tuffah.
As a response to the Israeli activity, army and United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Interim Force in Leb troops were heavily deployed in the area.
Hizbullah is set to celebrate al-Quds Day on Friday near the technical fence in the southern al-Wazzani, during which the party's leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is expected to give a speech.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PRESIDENT AL-ASSAD TO ARMY: YOU ARE CARRYING ON THE WAR FOR HOMELAND, OUR MATTER NOW IS [Total] VICTORY.
* EARLIER SAME > OBAMA ADMINISTRATION LOSING CREDIBILITY IN CAIRO.
Iff the Bammer Admin reputation is such that both Govt. + Opposition/Rebels don't trust or ignore the Bammer's = USA's advice-n-demands, WHY SHOULD THE HEZZIES BELIEVE IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT FOR ISRAEL + LEBANON, ETAL???
#3
When I was in Israel two years ago, we visited the Golan Heights. As we drove along, the guide pointed out some old minefields - clearly marked in Hebrew, Arabic and English. I suggested that they change the Arabic to say "Come pick the flowers".
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/02/2013 7:36
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Posted by: Barbara ||
08/02/2013 16:14
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#6
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US LEAKS ON ALLEGED SYRIA STRIKES COULD BE [deliberate] ATTEMPT TO HARM ISRAELI INTEREST | JPOST, EXPERT: LEAKED "NYT" STORY AOUT FAILED AIRSTRIKE ON SYRIAN ARMS CACHE NOT FROM [Israel-] FRIENDLY SOURCES.
Welcome to "Globalism", OWG-NWO, + "MuliPolar World" where the US is just one Global Nuclear "Co-Superpower" among Several or Many.
Iff the post-911 US is the "tip of the spear" in setting up OWG-NWO + related, then by definition the US is direwctly or indirectly helping establish the OWG Global Nuclear Caliphate for Islam + Hard Boyz. SUB-IOW, ITS IN THE US "GLOBALIST/OWG" INTEREST TO HELP RADICAL ISLAM GO NUCLEAR???
Oh. My. God. He really is all that, and then some.
[AnNahar] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said Thursday the Egyptian army, which deposed president Mohammed Morsi, had intervened at the request of millions to protect democracy and had restored it.
Kerry made the remarks in a interview in Pakistain where he earlier congratulated the new government on an historic transition of democratic power in a country long dominated by the military.
He was asked by Geo television why the United States had not taken a clear position on military intervention against Morsi's democratically elected government.
"The military was asked to intervene by millions and millions of people, all of whom were afraid of a descendance into chaos, into violence," Kerry told Geo.
"And the military did not take over, to the best of our judgement - so far. To run the country, there's a civilian government. In effect, they were restoring democracy," he added.
The interviewer questioned him over allegations that Egyptian troops have rubbed out people in the streets.
"Oh, no. That's not restoring democracy, and we're very, very concerned... I've been in touch with all of the players there. And we have made it clear that that is absolutely unacceptable, it cannot happen," Kerry said.
He said the United States was working with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and other countries to see if the troubles in Egypt could be resolved peacefully.
"But the story of Egypt is not finished yet, so we have to see how it unfolds in the next days," he said.
#5
...however when a Central American military removes an El Presidente in accordance with their Constitution it's always a coup according to Foggy Bottom.
[AnNahar] Attacks killed eight Iraqi security forces members on Thursday, while four jacket wallahs were rubbed out attempting to target police, officials said.
In the deadliest attack, gunnies killed four soldiers and maimed three as they traveled to join their unit near Tikrit, north of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... Gunmen also killed a prison guard in the northern province of Nineveh, while a bombing killed a police officer.
Four suicide bombers attempted to infiltrate federal police headquarters in djinn-infested Mosul, the capital of Nineveh, but were killed by security forces.
And gunnies killed an anti-al-Qaeda Sahwa militiaman along with his brother in Samarra, while two non-combatants were killed and five maimed in a bombing near Baquba.
Sunni bully boyz see the Sahwa militiaman, who sided with U.S. forces against hard boyz from late 2006 and helped to turn the tide of the war, as traitors, and often target them.
Iraqi police and soldiers are also frequently targeted in attacks by bully boyz opposed to the Iraqi government.
Iraq has been hit by a deadly surge of violence since the beginning of the year, which experts say has been driven by widespread discontent among Iraqi Sunnis that the government has failed to address.
July was the deadliest month for Iraq in five years, according to figures compiled by the U.N. and the Iraqi government.
[AnNahar] Syrian opposition member Burhan Ghalioun said on Thursday it was "disgusting" to hear that Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... expressed confidence after his forces inflicted two major defeats on rebels.
"It is disgusting and repulsive that he speaks of victory after he destroyed his country, killed tens of thousands and forced into exile half the population, after a period of two and a half years," Ghalioun told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Speaking to mark Army Day, Assad said on Thursday he was "sure of victory."
"If we in Syria were not sure of victory, we would not have had the will to resist nor been able to persevere in the face of more than two years of aggression," Assad said.
His remarks are "repugnant to the Syrians as well as the rest of the world," Ghalioun said.
He added that Assad "speaks of strength while his army is collapsing and depending on mercenaries of Hizbullah and Iran to defend the regime."
Assad was said to have made his first known trip outside of the capital in more than a year, to visit a former rebel bastion nearby now largely in the hands of loyalists.
State television reported that Assad visited Daraya, a mostly Sunni town neighboring rebel districts south of Damascus, to inspect military units on Army Day.
His remarks came after Khaldiyeh, in the strategic central city of Homs, was seized by troops on Monday from rebels who had held it for almost two years.
Asked about on the announcement of an upcoming U.N. mission to investigate three sites in Syria, where the use of chemical weapons has been reported, Ghalioun said "the Syrian regime has accepted this mission following heavy international pressure... but after erasing the traces of the crime."
"I doubt that the regime will cooperate with the mission," Ghalioun added, indicating that the investigation should "focus on 13 sites, not just three."
U.N. front man Martin Nesirky said on Wednesday the mission "will travel to Syria as soon as possible to contemporaneously investigate three of the reported incidents."
The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... says reports on 13 different chemical attacks have been made.
The 28-month conflict has killed more than 100,000 people, according to the United Nations, while U.N. efforts to convene a Russian- and U.S.-backed peace conference have stalled.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/02/2013
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[AnNahar] Algeria's army has reinforced its forces along the eastern border with Tunisia, Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said on Thursday, days after the killing of eight Tunisian soldiers.
The soldiers were found on Monday with their throats cut after being ambushed by jihadist hard boyz in Mount Chaambi, an area near the border with Algeria.
Algeria's army "reinforced its resources and capabilities on the eastern border of the country because of the troubles that Tunisia is going through," Kablia told the national news agency APS.
Tunisian armed forces have intensified their hunt for an gang in the Mount Chaambi area since the spring, after several members of the security forces were killed or maimed by bombs.
Algiers has said it strongly condemns "the base act of terrorism that resulted in several deaths among the Tunisian armed forces."
Islamist bad boy groups in Algeria remain active decades after a bloody civil war in the 1990s that killed some 200,000 people, leading some in Tunisia to suggest connections with the group in Mount Chaambi.
Algeria's foreign ministry said on Thursday it condemned the "false allegations" against Algeria from "certain circles in Tunisia."
In a statement published by APS, ministry front man Amar Belani decried the allegations as a move to "deceive the Tunisian people as they are mobilizing to unite against terrorism."
Interior Minister Kablia said there had been an "exchange of security information between Algeria and its neighbors to fight the various scourges that threaten the security and stability of the region."
Exchanges of visits by bigwigs from Tunisia, Libya and Algeria have led to closer cross-border cooperation.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/02/2013
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Being a colonel is an awful lot like being an Al Qaeda Number Three...
There's always a major or number four who will move up to fill the post despite the recognized danger...
[AnNahar] A Libyan army officer was rubbed out in the eastern town of Derna, while another was seriously maimed in a second attack in Benghazi, a security official said Thursday.
In Misrata, also in the east, unknown attackers shot and killed a soldier, Libyan news agency Lana reported, quoting a local official.
The attacks, which all took place late on Wednesday, are the latest in a wave of violence targeting members of the security forces in Libya's volatile eastern region.
A security official told Agence La Belle France Presse that unknown attackers in the town of Derna had bumped off army Colonel Noueisri al-Adnen dead on Wednesday.
"Unknown assailants shot Colonel Noueisri al-Adnen while he was in his vehicle with his parents. He was struck down in his prime," the official said on condition of anonymity.
In Benghazi, Colonel Mabrouk al-Obeidi was seriously maimed after an bomb was placed in his car, the official added.
Since the fall of dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... in 2011, the east has seen a wave of attacks on judges as well as members of the military and police, who served under the former regime.
On Monday, a boom-mobilemaimed a Libyan naval officer in Benghazi, while on Sunday two kabooms outside the city's courthouse maimed 43 people. More than 1,200 inmates also broke out of the central prison.
Last week, two army officers and a prominent political activist were killed in the eastern city, cradle of the 2011 rebellion that toppled Qadaffy.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/02/2013
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#1
Too bad, so sad. Go to the secondary promotion list.
Excerpt: "Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings.
The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or Congress." /spit.....
#1
The write-in comments are better than the story itself.
A post operation or post deployment polygraph is Klingon common practice. They are a reminder to conduct accurate reporting, be honest with operational funding, and keep your yap shut. Failing a poly is bad ju-ju. Failing or coming up inconclusive, can result in a second or third session. One can get parked, pulled from prime-time, or run out the door. Frequent multiple poly's are NOT common practice. I suspect something very significant is being hidden.
#3
B, what is going on here? The current environment is effectively post scandal. No sentient individual should be surprised at anything and none of this appears to have any meaningful electoral advantage component to it. Why all the pressure?
#5
It there was that much CIA on the ground in Benghazi, obviously something very important was going on. AND if that very important going on was that secretive and that "hot," why was the US Ambassador there? The scenario I come up with tells me a CIA gig doesn't want State around.
The big question still is WHY Stevens was there.
BTW, I was at the US Embassy in Tripoli the other night for a function and met the new ambassador. A very impressive lady. When I was introduced to her, she immediately picked up on my Texas accent and asked me why I didn't have my cowboy boots on...she's from New Mexico. My Libyan lady was very amused by the exchange between us.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
08/02/2013 5:50
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#6
One theory Bill [not my theory, but I'll go with it]....a typical agency squabble gone terribly wrong. The Klingon's wouldn't touch the weapons project due to a AQ and host-nation player turmoil. The Hildebeast insisted the project proceed and it did. With the exception of one Blue Mtn security guy, the Brits smartly unassed early on. Stevens made a last ditch, unsuccessful effort to unfok the mess for his boss. The Klingons were on hand to muscle the extraction. The rest is history. As the 2016 Dem lead, the Hildebeast was the principal.
Keep an eye on anybody who looks at your feet and tries to imitate a Texan.
#9
Recalling that the Ambassador met with a Turkish representative for an hour and a half that evening, and then the attack started one hour after that meeting ended, my assumption is the meeting was connected to the CIA project there.
#10
Is it possible that the Ambassador (and Hilly?) was kept in the dark about the CIA being there in force and what they were there for?
This regime is so paranoid, incompetent and arrogant (no those are not mutually exclusive) it wouldn't surprise me to find that the A$$hole-inC set this all up without looking at the big picture for his own bizarre reasons.
#11
Possible Alan, the State Dept. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) guy or 'Regional Security Officer' (RSO) would be aware of that many operators in-country. If he knew, the AMBO knew. It's a small community, it's his job.
#12
Is it possible that the Ambassador (and Hilly?) was kept in the dark about the CIA being there in force and what they were there for?
No.
The scenario I come up with tells me a CIA gig doesn't want State around.
Given Amb. Steves' background in Benghazi, it's unlikely that there was no cooperation or 'lack of situational knowledge' between State and the Klingons. I'd go so far as to say that, given Mr. Stevens's history, he may have violated a diplomatic rule and played spook-on-the-side, or, his ambassadorship appointment was to be more than that from the start.
One theory Bill [not my theory, but I'll go with it]....a typical agency squabble gone terribly wrong.
Possible. Likely. Recall that at least one of the Klingon contractors was there ostensibly to acquire MANPADS in order to take them out of circulation. Nothing about disposition has ever been mentioned. One group may have had responsibility for that, to the displeasure or cross-objective of the other.
Another likely scenario was that the 'authorized' flow of weapons, or a deal to ship weapons, was ordered stopped by NCA; it did not sit well with the Benghazi militias (and the Turks and the Egyptian MB) and Mr. Stevens was called in to placate.
#13
Your theory Pappy, is clearly supported by the fact that the US is still [reportedly] providing only non-lethal aid to the Syrian rebels. A theory also validated by the long-standing animus btwn the Agency and State.
At this point, the Klingons have no choice other than insulate and support the Beast. Imagine the potential impacts on the Klingon mission and secret budget should an angry Hildebeast become POTUS.
I'm with Uncle Phester. A lot of sudden US Embassy closures throughout the ME. The next few days should be quite interesting.
#14
At this point, the Klingons have no choice other than insulate and support the Beast
I'm not sure if '2016' is the reason (though it is a valid one.) There are a few others within the Beltway who would be disturbed with a Klingon "lack of faith" (to mix sci-fi metaphors here) and who are able to provide immediate and painful impact.
#23
given Mr. Stevens's history, he may have violated a diplomatic rule and played spook-on-the-side
Very plausible Pappy, but isnt the more likely scenario he was sanctioned to facilitate the exchange. Or, given the necessity for deniability, perhaps he was tasked to clean up a mess? After all somebody has the ManPads and prolly someone else has the Colonels gold.
Tajikistan will ratify the agreement on Russian military base in autumn 2013, Tajik president Emomali Rahmon said following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, ITAR-TASS reported.
The agreement on the status of the base was signed by the Russian and Tajik presidents in October 2012. According to this document, the Russian servicemen's staying in Tajikistan is extended for 49 years from the date of commencement of the first contract (May 25, 1993), that is, until 2042. After this period, the agreement may be extended.
The 201st base is the Russian largest land military base on the foreign territory. Around 6,000 Russian soldiers and officers serve there. It was formed to maintain peace and order in Tajikistan and facilitate border forces and the Tajik Defense Ministry in fulfilling their functions.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2013
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[AnNahar] U.N. peacekeepers on Thursday patrolled a security zone in a eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... city where they have given militia fighters an ultimatum to disarm, a front man said.
The U.N. mission in the country, known as MONUSCO, had given the M23 rebels and other gangs inside the zone in Goma until Thursday to lay down their weapons.
MONUSCO had said it was ready to use "force" to disarm fighters, who are accused of being behind a new surge in violence in the volatile region.
But the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... gave no immediate indication that military action had started or was planned.
"MONUSCO peacekeepers are patrolling across the security zone in support of the Congolese armed forces," said U.N. peacekeeping front man Kieran Dwyer.
"This will be an ongoing operation to protect civilians in a densely populated area," he added.
The security zone takes in Goma and northern suburbs including a neighboring town of Sake.
M23 rebels launched a new offensive against the army near Goma on July 14 but the area has been calm in recent days.
[AnNahar] The results of a first round of voting in Mali's crunch presidential election will be announced on Friday, a day later than expected, the presidency said.
No explanation was given for the delay, announced by the presidency's Twitter account on Thursday, but an official from the ministry of territorial administration said vote-counting had not been completed following Sunday's poll.
"The law allows us until Friday for the publication of interim results and we have not quite finished counting. It is tedious work," the official said.
The crucial election comes after a disastrous March 2012 coup ousting president Amadou Toumani Toure, which left one of the region's most stable democracies crippled by political crisis and led to an Islamist insurgency.
As hardline al-Qaeda allies took control of the country's vast north, and threatened to extend their often violent rule, former colonial power La Belle France launched a military offensive to drive out the Islamist fighters.
The election is seen as key to the country's recovery.
Initial results showed on Tuesday that former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had taken a comfortable lead, and interior minister Moussa Sinko Coulibaly said there would be no need for a second round vote on August 11 if the trend continued.
But the party of Keita's rival Soumaila Cisse said Wednesday the election had been marred by "ballot stuffing", a form of electoral fraud in which people submit multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is allowed.
He called for the interior minister Coulibaly to be sacked.
Although there were 27 presidential hopefuls, analysts have characterized the election as a two-horse race. Keita was seen as the frontrunner ahead of Cisse, a former finance minister and erstwhile chairman of the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
Despite heavy security during voting after the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa -- one of the main gangs in northern Mali -- said it would "strike" polling stations, no serious incidents were reported on election day.
Acting president Dioncounda Traore and United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... have acknowledged that the vote may be "imperfect" in a country with 500,000 citizens displaced by conflict, but have urged Malians to respect the outcome.
Critics argue that Mali, under pressure from the international community, was rushing to the polls and risked a botched election which could do more harm than good.
But initial estimates put the turnout above 50 percent, a huge improvement on the 36 percent who voted in 2007, and Mali was praised by the international community for running a transparent, credible and peaceful election.
A U.N. peacekeeping mission integrating more than 6,000 west African soldiers into its ranks is charged with ensuring security in the post-election period, and will grow to 11,200 troops, plus 1,400 police, by the end of the year.
The deployment allows La Belle France to start withdrawing most of the 4,500 troops it sent to Mali in January to stop the Islamists from advancing towards Bamako and Gay Paree plans to have just 1,000 troops on the ground before the end of the year.
MOSCOW -- American fugitive Edward Snowden was offered a job by Russia's top social networking site on Thursday, hours after the former intelligence contractor received a year-long asylum in Russia.
How appropriate...
"We invite Edward Snowden to Petersburg and will be happy if he decides to join the star team of programmers at VKontakte," Pavel Durov, one of the founders of the St. Petersburg-based VKontakte, Russia's answer to Facebook, said on his profile.
Snowden's temporary asylum papers allow him to work in Russia, according to Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer close to the Russian authorities, who has been assisting the American.
Durov of VKontakte, or "InTouch", which says it has more than 210 million registered profiles and up to 47 million daily users, said he took pride in Russia's decision to harbor Snowden.
"Today Edward Snowden - the man who denounced U.S. security services' crimes against citizens of the whole world - received temporary asylum in Russia," Durov said.
"In such moments one feels pride with our country and regret over the course taken by United States - a country betraying the principles it was once built on," he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2013
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#1
As discussed, this position may require occasional travel back to Moscow to work on sensitive gov't related projects. Your availability for travel is:
10% of the time (__).
25% of the time (__).
50% of the time (__).
75% of the time (__).
I think Vlad just advanced a knight in this game...
The president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to assess all risks related to the withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan and to help their Tajik colleagues, the Defense Minister Sergey Shoyqu said, RIA Novosti reported.
"Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin's order is unambiguous: to take into consideration all risks and help the Tajik armed forces to do their best in order to withstand these risks," Shoyqu told journalists referring to the results of negotiations between the presidents of Russian Federation and Tajikistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2013
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#1
It was the very least we could do; been there, done that. Yes, geeks driving in Russia can be quite hazardous, why do you ask? Oh, oh yes of course.... will there be anything else ?
Rocket attacks struck government-held districts in the central Syrian city of Homs on Thursday, setting off successive explosions in a weapons depot that killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens, an opposition group and residents said. The blasts sent a massive ball of fire into the sky, causing widespread damage and panic among residents, many of whom are supporters of President Bashar Al Assad.
One resident said the explosions were so strong that they cracked the walls of some buildings. Thick smoke and dust could be seen from a distance as explosions shook the ground. A video posted online by activists showed a huge ball of fire over Homs neighbourhoods.
The explosions in Homs reflected the see-saw nature of the conflict. It showed that despite significant advances by Assads military, rebels could still strike back.
An official at the governors office in Homs said about 10 rockets slammed into the neighbourhood of Zahra and the nearby sports stadium, sparking a large fire and causing several casualties. He said the explosions caused massive destruction and wounded at least 130 people. He didnt offer a number for those killed.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the fighting in Syria, said 40 people were killed and 120 were wounded some critically when rockets struck an arms depot, igniting the fire.
A resident of Homs corroborated that account, saying he heard blasts for more than an hour after the first explosion. He said they could be heard from the overwhelmingly pro-regime districts of Wadi Dahab and Al Walid, where the regime is known to keep arms depots.
Rockets were falling on the area ... when the arms depot began to explode but we dont know if the rockets triggered the blasts, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
He said the explosions were so strong that they shook parts of the city. They also shattered all windows in the area and cracked walls, he added.
He said he spoke with Syrian Arab Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent paramedics who told him that at least 22 bodies were taken to hospitals.
The explosions in Homs coincided with a rare trip by President Bashar Assad to a former rebel bastion near the capital, Damascus, to mark Army Day.
Assads visit to Daraya is his first known public trip outside the capital, his seat of power, in more than a year. He visited the battered Baba Amr district in the central city of Homs after troops seized it from rebels in March 2012.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Apparently an Alawite area. Either lucky shooting or GPS guidance.
[IsraelTimes] Jerusalem suspect, member of Naturei Karte, reportedly confesses he offered his services to Tehran, said he'd also 'murder a Zionist'
A gag order was lifted Thursday on an espionage indictment filed against a 46-year-old Jerusalem resident accused of offering to serve as a spy for the Iranian regime.
The suspect, who has not yet been named by authorities, is being held on charges of espionage and abetting an enemy in a time of war.
The suspect reportedly belongs to the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta Haredi sect, which holds a theological view that sees the founding of the State of Israel as a violation of God's plan for history.
According to the indictment, the suspect reportedly flew to Berlin in January 2011 in order to meet with Iranian officials at the country's embassy in the city. He attempted to enter the embassy on January 17, but found it to be closed. Returning the following day, he was shepherded into an inner room at the embassy and there met with three faceless myrmidons.
One of the men introduced himself as Haji Baba, according to the indictment, which is partly based on the suspect's testimony.
The suspect told the Iranian officials that he denies the existence of the State of Israel and offered to spy for Iran. He also explained to the officials that he was not interested in asylum, and was "willing to murder a Zionist."
The Iranian officials gave the suspect a note with an email address where they said he would find a message. They also asked the suspect to maintain telephone contact with them.
Three days after the meeting, the suspect returned to Israel and began to check the email account repeatedly, and even attempted to contact "Haji Baba" by phone.
He was nabbed Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in mid-July, but a gag order was placed on the case.
Yair Nehorai, the suspect's attorney, said his client did not harm national security.
"It's important to remember that no harm was caused to the state or any other party. The [indictment] refers to events that took place over two years ago. We will study the evidence and deal with these serious accusations," Nehorai said.
The state prosecution has said the suspect confessed to the crimes cited in the indictment.
In 2006, members of the fringe Neturei Karta sect visited Iran to take part in a conference hosted by President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad which sought to "re-examine the Holocaust."
The group was widely condemned for the visit, which was designed to lend a sheen of respectability to Holocaust denial efforts by the Iranian regime.
"Frankly, even among the Hasidic world, by and large Neturei Karta are regarded as freaks," London Rabbi Jeremy Rosen told the BBC at the time.
#1
Most of the religious Jews have a problem with the politics in Israel, were we are treated as 2nd class citizens, but to help killers is to desecrate our Holy Torah, when they perfectly know there is nothing more Holy than one innocent life, this is to the level of complete insane, and yes I will called it evil.
Posted by: Ana ||
08/02/2013 10:03
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#2
I remember them guys from that Blimp in the Superbowl flick.
According to the preliminary estimates, Russia can allocate $150-200 million on Tajik army rearmament program until 2025, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said today, RIA Novosti reported.
"You can talk about 200 million and 150 million," Shoigu said.
He was answering the question about the preliminary estimate of the cost of upgrading the Tajik army envisaged by the program. The minister said that some equipment will be repaired, while some - modernized.
Maybe they can send the MiGs to North Korea for repair...
Posted by: Steve White ||
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They said traditional leaders and village heads had lined up people, forcibly marched them to polling stations and given them voting numbers as if to cross-check who they had voted for. When church buses are not available, forced marching will do.
[AnNahar] An African migrant died while seven others were rescued as they tried to make land on Spain's southern shore in an inflatable boat, the Spanish coastguard said Thursday.
A coastguard ship intercepted the boat about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the Spanish port of Tarifa in the early hours of Thursday and rescued its eight passengers, but while they were being transported to land one of the migrants died of unknown causes, a coastguard front man said.
The surviving seven migrants were given blankets and transported by boat to Tarifa in the province of Cadiz which is located across the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco, he added.
Thousands of illegal migrants from Africa regularly attempt to cross from Morocco into Spain on makeshift boats each year. Some travel thousands of kilometers overland, being handed from smuggler to smuggler, ending up at one of many ports in northern Africa for a cramped and treacherous sea crossing to European soil.
The number of migrants who arrived on Spanish shores by boat last year totaled 3,804, a 30 percent drop from 2011, according to interior ministry figures.
In another failed attempt at improving their situation, more drowned near Turkey, according to Ynet:
According to Turkish newspapers Today's Zaman, 24 undocumented Democrats drowned in a shipwreck near the Turkish coast in the Aegean Sea.
The immigrants apparently tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos.
Palestinian officials visited Israels parliament for the first time ever on Wednesday to meet their Israeli counterparts, as the two sides moved toward peace negotiations.
Check the silver and look for backpacks...
The Knesset raised the Palestinian flag during a meeting among MPs, officials and businessmen from both sides, an AFP correspondent said.
The meeting, which was attended by us on behalf of president Mahmud Abbas, was positive, said the head of the Palestinian delegation and member of Abbass Fatah party Mohammed Al Madani.
We talked about how to make the peace process succeed, and about the Arab initiative and the dangers of the process collapsing, he told AFP.
The meeting took place between current and former Israeli MPs, including members of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and secular centrist Yesh Atid, which is in the ruling coalition.
Israeli Labour Party member Hilik Bar said this meeting is to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Abbas, and the negotiators in Washington.
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Egypts military-backed government on Wednesday or-dered the police to clear two Cairo protest camps packed with supporters of ousted President Mohammed Mursi, saying they posed a threat to national security and were terrorising citizens.
The move signalled an imminent crackdown against the heavily barricaded sit-ins -- one outside a mosque in eastern Cairo and another on the other side of the city near the main Cairo University campus -- and raised the prospect of more violence after clashes broke out during previous action against the mainly Islamist protesters.
More than 260 people have been killed since Mursi was ousted by the military on July 3, leaving the country between those calling for his reinstatement and millions who marched against him and his Muslim Brotherhood in a show of support for the new political order.
Police have been instructed to end the protests within the law and the constitution, Information Minister Dorreya Sharaf El Din said in a televised statement, although she did not specify a timeframe.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who is in charge of the police, said the disbanding of the sit-ins will be carried out in gradu-al steps according to orders from prosecutors. I hope they (Mursi supporters) resort to reason and leave without authorities having to move in, he told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
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MOSCOW Brushing aside pleas and warnings from President Obama and other senior Americans,
...why would Vlad listen to them after all...
Russia granted Edward J. Snowden temporary asylum and allowed him to walk free out of a Moscow airport transit zone on Thursday despite the risk of a breach in relations with the United States.
No risk at all. Champ won't do a darned thing. He's already demonstrated that. What, we're going to boycott the winter Olympics? He'll look like Jimmuah, and even Valerie Jarrett knows that isn't a good idea.
Russias decision, which infuriated American officials, ended five weeks of legal limbo for Mr. Snowden, the former intelligence analyst supposedly wanted by the United States for leaking details of the National Security Agencys surveillance programs, and opened a new phase of his legal and political odyssey.
Even as his leaks continued with new disclosures from the computer files he downloaded, Mr. Snowden now has legal permission to live and conceivably even work anywhere here for as long as a year, safely out of the reach of American prosecutors.
Already got a job offer, and not at a sushi bar...
Though some supporters expect him to seek permanent sanctuary elsewhere, possibly in Latin America, Mr. Snowden now has an international platform to continue defending his actions as a whistle-blower exposing wrongdoing by the American government.
The skinny little creep will continue to do what he does best, annoy people...
In a statement issued by WikiLeaks, Mr. Snowden thanked Russia for giving him permission to enter the country in accordance with its laws and international obligations. He accused the Obama administration of disregarding domestic and international law since his disclosures, but added that in the end, the law is winning.
Sure. Now you live in Russia, land of law. Congrats...
White House officials indicated that Mr. Obama was leaning against his plan to meet President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Moscow next month after the summit meeting of the Group of 20 nations in St. Petersburg, though officials stopped short of canceling the meeting outright. While American and Russian officials acknowledge the need to work together on issues of global importance, like the reduction of nuclear weapons and the war in Syria, Mr. Snowdens case now casts a shadow over relations in the way little has since the days of cold war defections.
In other words, Champ already knows that he's going to cave...
We are extremely disappointed that the Russian Federation would take this step, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said in Washington. He pointedly added that the administration was evaluating the utility of having a summit.
Mr. Carney then shook his tiny fists in frustration and retaliated against the press by telling more lies...
Mr. Putin, who spent the day at his official residence on the outskirts of Moscow, has appeared increasingly impervious to entreaties from the United States even those directly from Mr. Obama, who called him last month to discuss Mr. Snowdens case.
Why should he respond, let alone care?
Mr. Putin, who met with the president of Tajikistan, in part to discuss the impact of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan next year,
Champ gives speeches, Vlad makes plans...
made no public comments about Mr. Snowden on Thursday. The Kremlins spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said the decision had been made by immigration officials and not by Mr. Putin himself, though it is widely assumed here that any decision with such potentially severe diplomatic consequences would require approval from the Kremlin.
It has nothing to do with the president or his administration, Mr. Peskov said in a telephone interview.
No, no, certainly not!
The Kremlin seemed to dare the White House to cancel the summit meeting. Mr. Peskov said that Russia continued to prepare to hold the meetings in Moscow and would until notified otherwise. He said that Russia believed in the importance of the relationship for ensuring regional and global security, but he shifted the onus to the Obama administration. You cannot dance tango alone, he said.
But you can sleep alone...
By late Thursday night, Mr. Snowdens whereabouts remained unclear.
Somewhere in Russia.
He left the international transit zone at Sheremetyevo airport unexpectedly at 3:30 p.m. after his lawyer, Anatoly G. Kucherena, spent the day with officials from the Federal Migration Service. Mr. Kucherena delivered him a passport-like document issued Wednesday and valid until July 31, 2014, granting him status as a temporary refugee in Russia.
Mr. Kucherena, in an interview, said he would not disclose Mr. Snowdens whereabouts, though he expected that he could make a public appearance soon. I cannot give out details, he said in an interview.
Mr. Snowden, 30, could still decide to seek permanent asylum in another country. According to Mr. Kucherena, he has not officially applied for permanent political asylum in Russia and could simply remain until he is able to fly elsewhere, though the logistics of that have been complicated by intense pressure from the Obama administration on countries to block his transit.
Suppose he gets onto a Russian Aeroflot plane that's flying, with stops, to Caracas. Anyone think Champ will interfere?
Mr. Snowdens official arrival in Russia was broadly cheered by many here who have defended his decision to leak the secrets of American surveillance.
Most of whom were shocked, shocked that a world power spies...
Ivan Melnikov, a senior Communist Party member of Parliament and a candidate for mayor of Moscow in next months election, called him a hero. Frankly speaking, Mr. Melnikov said, according to the Interfax news agency, he is like a balm to the hearts of all Russian patriots.
The Russian inferiority complex shines through...
Pavel Durov, the founder of the most prominent Russian online social network, VKontakte, even invited Mr. Snowden to join his company and help create new security measures. Snowden might be interested in working to protect the personal data of millions of our users, he wrote.
Lyudmila M. Alekseyeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group and a stalwart of the human rights movement here since the Soviet era, welcomed the governments decision. I am satisfied that this happened, Ms. Alekseyeva, who met Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow in May, told Interfax.
Although Mr. Putin has sought to avoid a personal confrontation with Mr. Obama over Mr. Snowden calling his limbo in the airport an unwanted Christmas present officials across the political spectrum have delighted in criticizing what they perceive as American arrogance and hypocrisy. Robert Shlegel, a member of Parliament in the pro-Kremlin majority party, United Russia, noted that the disclosures exposed surveillance efforts against American allies in Europe as well.
Will Obama cancel meetings with their leaders, too? he said.
Depends on whether he wants to be laughed at behind his back.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
"We are extremely disappointed that the Russian Federation would take this step,"
Translation:
We are absolutely delighted the little bastid is staying in RU and assisting with their SW security challenges. The fok'n LAST thing we needed was Snowden going before a congressional committee or appearing on Sean Hannity. Thanks Vlad, yes, that Pike was definitely a whopper!
HT: Drudge. Well, since Cmdr. Zero has done such an AWESOME job of bringing the world together , the problem must emanate from The International Organization of Tea Parties...
Seen on Facebook, a comment from a man who recently moved back from Egypt: The last time we closed our embassies like that, the Benghazi attack happened.
US embassies that would normally be open this Sunday - including those in Israel, Abu Dhabi, Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... and Cairo - will be closed that day because of unspecified security concerns, the US State Department said on Thursday.
CBS News said US embassies would also be closed in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Yemen, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
CBS News reported that the embassy closings were tied to US intelligence about an al-Qaeda plot against US diplomatic posts in the Middle East and other Mohammedan countries. CBS said the intelligence did not mention a specific location.
It appears State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf found her misplaced list. Go carefully out there, people.
#2
ION DRUDGEREPORT 2013 > IS HONOLULU THE NEXT DETROIT?
I've said or repor that China desires Guam-WESTPAC + Hawaii, as per various MilBlogs + Forums, but instead of Guam-WESTPAC first + Hawaii it appears an opportunity exists for China to also get Hawaii sooner than later due to excessive US Debt levels + related.
#3
Apparently someone in the WH is now reading the Klingon daily briefings.
Note the continued lack of comment [or apparent engagement] on the closings from the notional Secretary. Cynical bastid that I am, I'd wager The Hildebeast is still calling the shots at State.
A US air strike killed five Afghan policemen during a joint operation against insurgents, officials said on Thursday, in an incident likely to further strain ties between the allies.
Afghan and US troops called for aerial support while fighting in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the US-led Nato coalition said, with local officials reporting special forces were reacting to a Taleban attack on a police post.
"We can confirm five Afghan police were accidently killed yesterday (Wednesday)," Lieutenant-Colonel Will Griffin, a spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told AFP. "It was a combined ANSF (Afghan National Security Force) and ISAF operation and it was a combined call for supporting aerial fire which resulted in the deaths of five Afghan policemen.
"Our condolences go out to the families of the policemen who lost their lives."
Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial administration, told AFP that Taleban fighters had attacked a police checkpoint in Bati Kot district late on Wednesday.
"Special forces went to assist the police. They called in air support. An air strike was conducted but hit the police post mistakenly, and as a result the officers are dead and two others are wounded."
Abdulzai said that the rebels also suffered casualties but he gave no further details.
Bati Kot district is on the main road from the capital Kabul to neighbouring Pakistan -- a key transport route as Nato forces withdraw military equipment from Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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Lots of Cops change sides, some get killed, then screaming is heard.
Give a shit.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/02/2013 13:19
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WASHINGTON -- A highly anticipated fall summit between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin could become a casualty of Moscow's defiant decision to grant temporary asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, the White House signaled Thursday after weeks of pressuring and pleading for his return to face prosecution.
Russia's decision "is not a positive development," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Shaddup ya twerp...
"We are extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have Mr. Snowden expelled to the United States to face the charges against him," Carney said.
Obama is scheduled to go to Russia in September for the Group of 20 economic summit in St. Petersburg and also stop in Moscow for one-on-one talks Putin. The White House alternately has demanded that Russia return Snowden while also saying it doesn't want his case to negatively impact relations with Moscow.
In other words, Champ is being his usual lofty, mealy-mouthed self...
Asked whether Obama would still travel to Moscow, Carney said pointedly, "We are evaluating the utility of a summit."
There was a strong reaction from some lawmakers.
"Russia's action today is a disgrace and a deliberate effort to embarrass the United States. It is a slap in the face of all Americans," Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a joint statement. "Now is the time to fundamentally rethink our relationship with Putin's Russia."
Yeah, let's rethink by sending all the RINOs to Russia...
The senators suggested expanding U.S. sanctions against Russians accused of human rights violations, completing U.S. missile defense programs based in Europe, and moving quickly on another round of NATO expansion to include the Republic of Georgia.
A top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, said Obama should recommend moving the G-20 summit. Long before Thursday's decision, Graham suggested the U.S. boycott the Winter Olympics taking place next year in Sochi, Russia.
"Russia has stabbed us in the back, and each day that Mr. Snowden is allowed to roam free is another twist of the knife," Schumer said.
Few people know more about stabbing someone in the back then Chuckie Schumer. Okay, okay, Dick Durbin...
"There is no question that there are a range of issues, setting aside the disposition of Mr. Snowden, on which we are currently in disagreement with Russia," Carney said.
And in each case we're rolling over...
Posted by: Steve White ||
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The last time we saw Putin in the news, he was strangling a monster fish with his bare hands. Somehow, I don't think B-HO's disapproval will bother him in the least.
[AnNahar] Spanish authorities have seized 500 kilos (1,100 pounds) of cocaine from a yacht off the Canary Islands, in an operation that smashed a ring that smuggled drugs from Latin America to the archipelago, the interior ministry said Thursday.
Five people were locked away Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! -- two Spaniards, an Irish national, an American and an Australian woman -- in the probe, the ministry said in a statement.
"The ring shipped large amounts of drugs from South America to Cape Verde, where it was stored. Later, after taking all kinds of security measures, the drugs were sent in smaller amounts to the Canary Islands, its final destination," the statement said.
A Spanish customs ship intercepted the yacht on July 17 in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean near the Spanish archipelago and customs agents and police found 500 packages containing about one kilo each of cocaine onboard.
Police also seized several weapons, including two submachine guns, as well as jewelry and gold worth around 135,000 euros ($180,000), and 40,000 euros in cash in five searches carried out as part of their investigation.
The authorities also confiscated two high-end vehicles, two sailboats and a schooner as well as satellite telecommunications equipment that was used by the ring.
Police have not ruled out more arrests in the ongoing investigation.
Spain is a key entry point for drugs bound for Europe.
Spain seized 20.7 tonnes of cocaine last year, 24.9 percent more than in the previous year, and 325.5 tonnes of hashish, down 8.5 percent from 2011, according to the interior ministry. That represented 41.2 percent of the total amount of cocaine seized in Europe last year and 74 percent of the hashish.
Of course he does. He's The Second Smartest Man In The Room.
[AnNahar] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said Thursday that U.S. drone strikes in Pakistain could end "very soon", in unusually outspoken remarks welcomed in Islamabad but immediately downplayed by American aides.
It is the first time such a senior member of the U.S. administration has indicated there could be a definitive end to the program, which the CIA has in the past called an effective counter-terrorism weapon.
But the strikes are a major thorn in often fractious ties between Islamabad and Washington, and are officially condemned by Pakistain as a violation of illusory sovereignty and international law.
Kerry waded into the row at the tail end of a visit to Islamabad, in which he announced that Washington was reviving strategic dialogue with Pakistain for the first time after a series of crises in 2011.
Asked in an interview by state-run PTV whether the strikes could end, Kerry said: "I think the program will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it."
Pressed on whether a timeline was envisaged, Kerry replied: "Well, I do. And I think the (U.S.) president has a very real timeline and we hope it's going to be very, very soon."
Pakistain's top diplomat Sartaj Aziz on Thursday demanded a halt to drone strikes that have already decreased.
But U.S. officials immediately sought to downplay Kerry's remarks.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the number of drone strikes had declined owing to the drawdown of American troops from Afghanistan and because of progress in curtailing the al-Qaeda threat.
"Today the secretary referenced the changes that we expect to take place in that program over the course of time, but there is no exact timeline to provide," she said in a statement.
Pakistain's new government led by Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... is likely to seize upon Kerry's remarks as a coup.
A front man for the foreign ministry late Thursday welcomed Kerry's remarks, saying it was Islamabad's long-standing position that they should stop.
Kerry's television remarks strayed from what he told a presser with Aziz, when he tackled complaints about drones by pointing the finger at al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... , believed to be based in Pakistain.
"An al-Qaeda leader like Al-Zawahiri is violating the illusory sovereignty of this country. And when they attack people in mosques and blow up people in villages and market places they are violating the illusory sovereignty of the country," he said.
On Afghanistan, he said he was confident that Washington and Kabul would reach a long-term security agreement that would allow American troops to remain in the country beyond 2014.
"We're making progress, we're working on it. I am personally confident that we will have an agreement," Kerry said.
Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... suspended talks on the deal in June, furious that a Taliban liaison office in Qatar appeared to have been opened as an embassy for a government in waiting.
"Let me be clear: the U.S. is drawing down not withdrawing," Kerry said.
There are concerns that a complete departure of foreign troops in late 2014 could leave Afghan government troops too weak to contain a Taliban insurgency and possibly see the country slide back into civil war.
Kerry's visit announced the resumption of so-called strategic dialogue between Pakistain and the United States, and he invited the newly elected Sharif to hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... in the autumn.
It will be the highest level talks between the two sides since January 2011, after which U.S. troops found and killed al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who is no longer with us, and won't be again... in Pakistain in May 2011.
In November 2011, U.S. air strikes mistakenly killed 24 Pak soldiers along the Afghan border, leading Islamabad to shut down NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... ground supply lines for seven months.
Kerry said it was time to put the relationship on a stronger footing.
Sharif has made economic growth and resolving the energy crisis the top priority of his new administration, but Kerry also stressed that prosperity depends on doing more to eliminate hard boy havens.
"Pakistain cannot realize its full economic potential until it overcomes bully boys," Kerry told the news conference.
"The choice for Paks is clear: will the forces of violent extremism be allowed to grow more dominant, eventually overpowering the moderate majority?"
Kerry paid tribute to Sharif's election, which marked the first time that an elected civilian Pak government had completed a full term in office and handed over to another at the ballot box.
Sharif described Kerry as a "wonderful friend".
Kerry also met the outgoing President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... .
The Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah pardoned on Tuesday all those who have been sentenced to jail for insulting him.
On the occasion of the last 10 days of (the Muslim fasting month of) Ramadan, I am pleased to issue an Emiri pardon for those who have been handed jail terms on charges of insulting the Emir, he announced in a televised speech.
Several opposition members have been jailed and dozens more are on trial on charges of undermining Shaikh Sabahs authority and insulting him. Currently, there are at least three youth opposition activists serving various jail terms on charges of insulting the Emir.
A number of other activists and former opposition lawmakers are on trial for similar charges following a government clampdown on dissent that began in October. They include two women, one sentenced to 11 years and the other for 20 months for insulting the Emir. It was unclear whether the pardon applied to all or only to those in jail.
Criticising the Emir is a felony that can carry a jail sentence of up to five years.
The Emirs action came a few days after parliamentary election that was boycotted by the main opposition groups in protest against an amendment to the electoral law even though the constitutional court upheld the change in June.
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North Korea is strengthening asymmetric systems such as special operations, cyber warfare and nuclear arms because its conventional forces have declined in capability, the officer nominated as the next commander of the U.S. Force Korea told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti was speaking at his confirmation hearing for the job.
He added the North also has hundreds of medium and short-range ballistic missiles and keeps increasing their range, destructive power and accuracy. He claimed they pose a threat to the western part of the U.S. mainland as well as Okinawa, Guam and Alaska.
The North's successful launch of a space rocket in December 2012 showed that its missile capability has been improved and that it is aimed at the U.S., he speculated.
Asked about Seoul's request of another delay in the handover of full operational control of the South Korean troops, he said, "I do agree with the [scheduled] timetable. It is a bilateral agreement, Strategic Alliance 2015, to turn over operational control by December of 2015."
Once appointed, he pledged to do his best to meet the schedule. But in a written statement to the committee, he hinted at the possibility of readjusting the schedule, saying the handover transfer should cause no unnecessary crisis in South Korea's security given realistic threats from the North.
Scaparrotti added he will talk with the South Korean government about detailed plans, terms and conditions for a successful handover once he takes charge of the USFK.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Lets not fergit the Backpack Nukes + alleged Nuke tennis-balls.
* FYI WND > EXPERT: CUBA COULD HIT US WID DEATHBLOW.
* ION TOPIX > [Forbes] FOR STABILITY IN EAST ASIA, US SHOULD ABROGATE COLD WAR-ERA "MUTUAL DEFENSE" TREATIES, in favor of "Collective Self-defense" vee consent of sovereign nations.
ARTIC = OF THREE POSSIBLE FLASHPOINTS - ECS + SCS + NOKOR - THE SOUTH CHINA SEA [SCS] IS LIKELY TO EXPLODE/IGNITE FIRST BEFORE THE OTHERS.
* TOPIX > COMMANDERS: BUDGET CUTS COULD ERODE NUCLEAR ARSENALS.
* STARS-N-STRIPES > BULK OF NEW [deeper Sequstration-led] BUDGET CUTS WILL HURT PENTAGON [hard].
* FREEREPUBLIC > HAGEL: BUDGET CUTS COULD FORCE US NAVY TO SIDELINE THREE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS.
* WAFF > [StrategyPage] THE [new-n-improved, armed] CHINESE WHITE FLEET [revamped Coast Guard] GOES OFF TO WAR.
Coming to GUAM-CNMI-WESTPAC near you, once of course Debt-Sequester ridden Amerika PCorrectly-Deniably surrenders in the name of "Globalism" + the OWG "MultiPolar World" of multiple "Co-Superpowers".
In parallel wid the USA, all other OWG "Co-Superpowers" are Par, + all ranked at World#1 + desire to be World #1 - WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG???
ARE YOU GLAD OUT OUR FED/GOVT-CRITTERS NEVER ASKED US VOTERS TO VOTE ON IFF THEY WANTED "GLOBALISM" + OWG-NWO, + RELATED!
* ASAHI SHIMBUN AJW > US GENERAL [USAF] SAYS AGGRESSIVE CHINESE TERRITORIAL CLAIMS BRING RISK.
* WORLD NEWS > TIES WID JAPAN FACE "GRIM TEST" [tests?]: CHINA NAVAL RESEARCHER WRITES.
PLA NavResInst Researcher Xing Guangmei.
A polite, oh-so-Chinese + Asian way of saying "test(s)" by the CRUCIBLE OF WAR = TRIAL BY COMBAT.
Its for Japan + ROK + PHIL + Vietnam, ASEAN to surrender + concede, NOT for "post-US" wannabe, We-see-ourselves/China-as-equal-to-the-US China to stop its escalations = NOT not open fire on Japan + PHIL, etal.
AND IN THIS CORNER WE HAVE POTUS BARACK
"RED-LINES ARE ACTUALLY GREEN, YA KNOW" OBAMA...
* WORLD NEWS > [New Straits Businesss Times] AL-QAEDA TRAINEES IN NEW ZEALAND, as per Kiwi = New Zealand PM Keys.
And so it begins ... ...
Lest we fergit, its NOT just China + PLA that ASEAN + Pacific Islands have to worry about wid any US-specific geopol retreat or fallback from East Asia.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
A US air strike killed five Afghan policemen during a joint operation against insurgents, officials said on Thursday, in an incident likely to further strain ties between the allies.
Nawaz Sharif
Zawahiri
President Asif Ali 
The Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah pardoned on Tuesday all those who have been sentenced to jail for insulting him.
