An airline stuns passengers by asking for £20,000 to complete the final leg of their journey to the UK. The demand was "unusual to say the least", the UK Civil Aviation Authority tells Channel 4 News. The plane, returning from Amritsar in India to Birmingham and carrying around 180 passengers, had already been delayed by several days.
But when it stopped in Vienna to re-fuel, passengers were stunned when they were told they had to hand over around £20,000 to fund the final leg of the trip. Austrian police were called to the stand-off in Vienna, which ended when passengers were escorted to cash machines to draw out the money. Many had to borrow from each other to reach the sum total.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation had been searching for him since his August 1970 escape from Bayside State Prison in New Jersey, where he was jailed for a 1962 murder.
For two years, Wright disappeared into the Black Liberation Army, a violent group of African American communists.
Then on July 31, 1972, he was among five adults who hijacked a Delta flight flying from Detroit to Miami.
They demanded a one-million-dollar ransom for the passengers and when this was paid, they forced the plane to fly to Boston where it refuelled and took on another pilot hostage, then crossed the Atlantic to Algeria.
The hijackers sought asylum there. Although the plane and money were seized by the Algerians and returned to the United States, the hijackers were only briefly detained.
In May 1976 French police captured four of the gang -- but not Wright.
#1
not a cent of bailout for Portugal. No NATO cooperation. Obama will predict their future better economy as one of his "EU picks". See if that gets their attention?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/17/2011 21:24
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Intensifying the culture-of-corruption stench: the critical role of Andy Stern. He's the profligate, corruption-coddling former head of the powerful Service Employees International Union -- the 2.2 million-member public-employee union powerhouse that he left in April 2010 with a mountain of debt and eroding rank-and-file pensions (and looming FBI investigation).
In a classic access-buying maneuver, Siga placed Stern on its board of directors in June 2010. Four months later, Siga nabbed an estimated $3 billion contract. By January of this year, Siga's stock had skyrocketed. The House GOP has been investigating the deal for months, which comes amid separate allegations of insider trading and political profiteering by investigative journalist Peter Schweizer. Also:
According to the L.A. Times, which exposed the scandal over the weekend, Obama's top biodefense bureaucrat Nicole Lurie railroaded a key dissenter at the Department of Health and Human Services who ridiculed Siga's inflated projected profit margins. Lurie soothingly reassured a whiny Siga executive that the "most senior procurement official" would take over and mollified him in a letter: "I trust this will be satisfactory to you."
#2
The corruption that is and has been going on is astonishing. After seeing the Mother of All Bailouts launching before Zero even got into office, I am no longer astonished by ANY government chicanery.
ISLAMABAD: The government said on Thursday that it has not decided whether to accept a resignation offer from its ambassador to the US over a reported attempt to enlist Washingtons help to rein in the countrys military after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
The government has summoned Ambassador Husain Haqqani to Islamabad to question him about any role he may have played in the growing controversy, which was first disclosed in an Oct. 10 column in the Financial Times, said Farhatullah Babar, a Pakistani presidential spokesman.
Mansoor Ijaz, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, said in the column that a senior Pakistani diplomat asked him on May 9, a week after US commandos killed bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town, to pass a message from President Asif Ali Zardari to the US asking for help. Ijaz did not name the diplomat.
Zardari was reportedly worried that the US raid had so humiliated his government, which did not know about it beforehand, that the military may stage a coup, something that has happened repeatedly in Pakistans history, said Ijaz.
The memo sent to Adm. Mike Mullen, the top US military officer at the time, reportedly offered to curb support to militants from Pakistans military intelligence service, the ISI, in exchange for American assistance, Ijaz said.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has called the Financial Times column a total fabrication.
But Mullens spokesman, Capt. John Kirby, confirmed to Foreign Policys website on Wednesday that Mullen did receive the memo from Ijaz, but he did not find it credible and ignored it.
Haqqani said on Thursday that he did not write or deliver the memo, but offered his resignation to end the controversy.
I do not want this non-issue of an insignificant memo written by a private individual and not considered credible by its lone recipient to undermine democracy, Haqqani told The Associated Press.
Haqqani is expected to travel to Islamabad in the next few days so that the government can determine who should be blamed for the incident, Babar said. He said the government has not received a formal letter of resignation from Haqqani, and talk of what would happen to him was premature.
The controversy is said to have outraged the Pakistani army, considered the most powerful institution in the country. The army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, met with Pakistans president in recent days, but the outcome of those discussions is unclear.
Haqqanis resignation would create more uncertainty in the already troubled relationship between Pakistan and the US. The bin Laden raid in the town of Abbottabad severely strained ties, as have US drone strikes targeting militants in Pakistans rugged tribal area along the Afghan border.
I believe the purpose of this statement is quite different in the context of the mutual defense agreement with Iran. The important sentence in the article is this one:
"The nation's military doctrine says it may use nuclear weapons to counter a nuclear attack on Russia or an ally ..."
I believe Russia might be raising awareness that it has the potential to nuke someone who attacks an ally and might not respond with conventional forces.
What if it's a conventional attack instead of nuclear? Would Russia respond then? After all, they did nothing after Israel destroyed Syria's nuclear facility a few years ago...
#3
I think we are going to be facing a similar issue with the scaling back of our conventional forces. Someone attacks us, what the hell, just nuke 'em. Much cheaper than attempting to go the "proportional response" mode.
When the Taliban didn't give up bin Laden, we should probably have simply dropped three nukes, one on Kabul, one on Kandahar, and one on Jalalabad, and been done with it. Whole war over in about 30 minutes.
Basically what the Russians are saying is "mess with us or an ally and we might just nuke you".
Also, I don't believe Russia had the sort of mutual defense treaty with Syria that they have with Iran. They negotiated that treaty with Iran specifically to deter an attack on Iran's nuclear program:
Spot the irony in Vice President Bidens schedule today, from the White Houses daily guidance:
At 1:00 PM, the Vice President will attend a meeting of the Government Accountability and Transparency Board in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. At 2:30 PM, the Vice President will meet with representatives of the National Sheriffs' Association in the Roosevelt Room. These meetings are closed press.
If the Supreme Court decision goes against the individual mandate, the progressive imagination will be haunted for decades by what historians will consider one of the great legislative and political blunders of all time. A rare perfect storm of political forces brought liberals the most power they have had since 1934 and 1964. If history records that this generations progressive leaders threw that moment of power away by an easily correctable mistake in legislative draftmanship, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will be forever remembered as the greatest legislative bunglers in American history. College students in generations yet unborn will rub their eyes in disbelief when they get to this part of the story.
(Indeed, when we consider what future students will think about an era that includes the Lewinsky affair, the Y2K and bird flu panics, the WMD mistake in Iraq, and then, if the Court rules against it, the healthcare fiasco, it is easy to see why the Baby Boom is looking more and more like a generation of clowns.)
I am less worried about the bitter mockery of future generations, however, than I am about what is in the rest of the bill. Even if the Court upholds it, it is clear that sheer arrogance and legislative incompetence led the architects of this massive reform to endanger their own handiwork by clumsy design.
An inescapable question unavoidably follows. If the authors of this historic reform were that careless and clueless about the central pillar of their plan, what else did they get wrong? What other incompetencies and tomfooleries lie hidden in the depths of this bill? How many perverse and unintended consequences will emerge as the consequences of this law unfold? What clever lobbyists managed to get provisions embedded in the text that will make healthcare more expensive and less effective than it could and should have been?
#1
If the authors of this historic reform were that careless and clueless about the central pillar of their plan, what else did they get wrong? What other incompetencies and tomfooleries lie hidden in the depths of this bill? How many perverse and unintended consequences will emerge as the consequences of this law unfold?
It would be a lot shorter list to ask "What did they get right?"
A Middletown, Ohio woman faces additional charges after she asked a friend to say she'd go and boom a local retailer.
When Molly Martin, 21, of Middletown, was apprehended by the loss prevention officer at Meijer last week, she allegedly sent a text to a friend and asked her to call in a bomb threat as a distraction, according to Middletown police. "Be a good friend and get yourself in trouble to bail me out trouble, please."
"Okay."
Martin was arrested and charged with petty theft and making false alarms, both misdemeanors.
Detective Ken Rogers of the Middletown Division of Police said the officers on the scene quickly determined the bomb threat was on the same level as reports of the Loch Ness Monster, so the store wasn't evacuated. Had one person left the store because of the threat, Martin would have been charged with inducing panic, a felony, Rogers said. "Nice try, lady. There was a 911 call to the effect that your friend's lips had fallen off."
He called the incident "a silly mistake, but a very serious offense." He praised the police officers, and Martin's cooperation for keeping the situation from escalating.
During the alleged incident, Martin was in the store with her 17-month-old daughter. Martin's mother picked up the baby from the store.
Martin allegedly claimed a five-finger discount on $384.73 worth of clothing, children's clothing, socks, belts, handbags and toys, a tablecloth and a kid's watch.
She allegedly put the items in a cart and concealed herself in the bra aisle. That's when she allegedly placed all the items in bags, placed them in the cart and exited the store. She was quickly apprehended by the store's security. "What do you think you're doing with that stuff? Do you have a receipt"
"Uh, I think I lost it."
"We've heard that one a thousand times before, lady. A thousand times in base twenty-four."
She will have her preliminary hearing at 10:30 a.m. Friday in Middletown Municipal Court.
Netanyhu meets Kenyan counterpart Odinga in Jerusalem; two countries sign memorandum of understanding over homeland security. Israel has promised to help Kenya fight against al-Qaida linked members, according to the office of Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who on Monday wrapped up a four-day visit.
"Kenya got the backing of the top leadership of the State of Israel in its war to rid its territory of fundamentalist elements, with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declaring that they will help Kenya in its struggles to secure its borders," Kenya's prime minister's office said.
It said the two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on matters of homeland security.
In his meeting with Odinga, Netanyahu promised to help build "a coalition against fundamentalism" that includes neighboring states such as Ethiopia, South Sudan and Tanzania, according to the Kenyan prime minister's office. Israel and Kenya must stand together against this fight, Netanyahu told Odinga, according to Odinga's office.
Peres also pledged his support, and said his country would help Kenya with internal security and food production.
Odinga asked both Israeli leaders for help with vehicles for border patrols and equipment for sea surveillance. Israel could help Kenyan police detect terrorists so it could destroy their networks, Odinga said, according to his office.
Suspects were responsible for shooting, bombing attacks against security forces, Shin Bet says.
One of the cells was arrested in early September and consisted of a number of members, ranging in ages from 18 to 22.
Boys will be boys.
They were old enough to buy a beer. If their society would let them buy a beer, which they wouldn't do. Which is a big part of the problem.
The cell members opened fire in late August on a Border Police jeep in the village of Shura near Bethlehem.
The cell members would initiate civil disturbances in the area to draw security forces and would then open fire at them with various weapons they had assembled. No one was injured in any of the attacks.
The Shin Bet said that the arrest of the cell members thwarted their plans to attack a Jewish settler who frequently drove villagers from Shura throughout the West Bank.
The second cell operated out of the village of Zuta near Nablus and was behind a kaboom against an IDF patrol near the village.
One of the cell's members served a two-year stint in Israeli jail for membership in Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,. The member, Ahmed Musa, built the bomb used in the attack against the IDF patrol and plotted additional attacks that were thwarted by the Shin Bet.
A select group of Paleostinian beturbanned goons in the Gazoo Strip have undergone extensive military training recently in Iran, turning them into expert operators of sophisticated anti-tank missiles, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The IDF believes that Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the liquidation of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... have obtained several hundred advanced Russian-made antitank missiles -- such as the Kornet and the Fagot -- which have a range of more than 4 kilometers and are capable of penetrating armored personnel carriers and some IDF tanks.
Terrorist groups in the Gazoo Strip had a small number of these missiles ahead of Operation Cast Lead -- Israel's offensive against Hamas in 2009 -- but only used them in a handful of known instances.
"They were not trained well then, and as a result, the missiles were not effective," a senior IDF officer explained this week. "Since then, the groups have significantly increased the stockpile and have also sent specific beturbanned goons to Iran for extensive training where they became anti-tank missile experts."
The level of expertise was demonstrated earlier this year when Hamas fired a Kornet anti-tank missile at a school bus near Nahal Oz, which killed 16-year-old Daniel Viflic.
The missile was fired from a distance of close to 3 kilometers and the operator had to fire in between the Gazoo security fence and electrical cables. "He also had to hit the bus, which was not easily seen on the road," the officer said, explaining the complexities of the attack as a demonstration of the level of expertise in Gazoo.
The anti-tank missiles are obtained by Hamas in several different ways. In some cases, they are purchased directly from Russia by Syria and are then transferred to Hamas or Hezbullies.
In other cases, Hamas operatives buy the weaponry on the black market and then smuggle it into the Gazoo Strip via the tunnels it maintains under the Philadelphi Corridor.
"The Gazoo Strip is completely different today than what it was almost three years ago," a senior defense official said. "The amounts of weaponry are significantly higher as well as the type of weaponry and its sophistication."
In face of the threat, the IDF is moving forward with plans to install the Trophy active protection system on Merkava Mk 4 tanks that are in production ahead of their delivery to the 401st Armored Brigade. Two of the brigade's battalions have already received the system and the remaining battalion will finish receiving it by the beginning of 2012.
The Trophy system creates a hemispheric protected zone around armored vehicles such as the Merkava tank, which operated prominently in Leb and the Gazoo Strip.
Using advanced radar, the system is designed to detect and track a threat and counters it with a launched projectile that intercepts the anti-tank missile.
Newfound Google Maps images have revealed an array of mysterious structures and patterns etched into the surface of China's Gobi Desert. The media from mainstream to fringe has wildly speculated that they might be Chinese weapons-testing sites, satellite calibration targets, street maps of Washington, D.C., and New York City, or even messages to (or from) aliens.
It turns out that they are almost definitely used to calibrate China's spy satellites.
So says Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, which operates many of the cameras used during NASA's Mars missions. Hill works with images of the Martian surface taken by rovers and satellites, as well as data from Earth-orbiting NASA instruments.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that an attack by Syrian army defectors on an intelligence complex resembled civil war and renewed Moscow's call for talks between Assad's regime and its opponents. He said such talks should take place at the Arab League headquarters. The citizenry is trying to throw Pencilneck and his Baathists out. Pencilneck and his Baathists are trying to kill anybody who opposes them. If that's not civil war, what would be? Far better to have Pencilneck and the citizenry talk at Arab League HQ. First item on the agenda: making sure Russia gets paid for all recent purchases...
After a meeting with India's Foreign Minister in Moscow, Lavrov told reporters, "We see television reports that say some new force, the so-called Free Syrian Army I believe, organized an attack on a government building... belonging to the Syrian armed forces. This is already completely similar to real civil war."
Russia has called on Assad to more quickly implement promised reforms but says his opponents share blame for the violence. Russia joined China last month in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned Assad's regime.
Five improvised bombs went off at many different locations in Pattani province on Wednesday night but caused no casualties.
That's a nice change.
The first bomb exploded at about 10 p.m. in a toilet on the second floor of a building behind the Pattani Municipality office, destroying the ventilators and causing damage to the ceiling, walls and toilets. Then, the second went off in a bathroom on the ground floor of the CAT Telecom Plc office on Phiphit road, causing extensive damage.
This prompted a deployment of police and military units to set up check-points at intersections and provide security at important government offices. At about the same time, three other bombs exploded at three post offices in Panare, Yarang, and Yaring districts but inflicted no casualties.
Shortly afterwards, an M79 round landed and exploded in front of the office of Panare district. Nobody was hurt.
H/T Drudge
Vladimir Putin With A Dental Drill Is A Bad Idea...And yet there he is, and yet there that drill is, and yet there that poor bastard's mouth is. Putin has officially become a '70s cinema villain. Mods, I tried uploading this photo; don't know if I was successful or not. Methinks this definitely belongs in the 'Burg's photo collection. AoS at 1220 CT: Here you go! I cropped it some for dramatic effect :-)
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
11/17/2011
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#1
A little skill he picked up while working for the Committee for State Security?
An ex-member of an elite North Korean special warfare unit defected across the West Sea on Oct. 30. He crossed the sea on a raft made of tires, it emerged on Tuesday.
Under questioning by the National Intelligence Service, the military and police, the man, who is in his early 30s, said he had been discharged from the marine sniper brigade five years ago and then worked as a civilian member in a military unit.
He set out in the raft from South Hwanghae Province in the morning of Oct. 29 and rowed while riding the tidal currents southward. He was spotted by a South Korean Navy ship in waters near Yeonpyeong Island around 3:10 a.m. on Oct. 30.
A former North Korean Navy officer who defected earlier said, "Members of the marine sniper brigades undergo more than 20,000 miles (36,000 km) of training at sea on floating tubes. The regular North Korean Navy also get swimming training, but its much more rigorous for marine snipers so they withstand longer hours at sea eating only chocolate bars."
The marine sniper brigades are among the top special warfare units in the North. According to the 2010 Defense White Paper, the North has two marine sniper brigades with about 12,000 members. Each brigade has about 3,000 combat troops and the remaining 6,000 troops are backup troops, the former North Korean Navy officer said.
They are trained to infiltrate South Korea to strike radar facilities and naval bases, destroy ships at anchor, and secure vantage points on the shore using high-speed boats, hovercraft or semi-submersibles.
They would be the first to be dispatched to the five northernmost South Korean islands in the West Sea in case the North launches a surprise attack, the South Korean military speculates.
The government is trying to find out whether this man actually served in the North Korean marine sniper brigade and why he decided to defect. A government official said, "Many defectors tend to overstate their experience, so we need to question him further."
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2011
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Kimmie just calls them snipers. They're not actually long-range marksmen.
#2
20,000 miles???? I'm hoisting the BS flag on this. The earth's circumference is 25,000.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
11/17/2011 11:11
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#3
I don't think they do it all at once, Sam...
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2011 13:23
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#4
I think I saw that guy. Scrawny little Asian dude sitting by overpass wearing scruffy BDUs, chocolate smeared face and a bolt action rifle with a sign saying "WILL DEFECT FOR FOOD"? Yeah, that's him!
Iraq's government said it would move to end a major contract with Exxon Mobil after the US oil giant signed a deal with semi-autonomous Kurdistan to explore fields there, which Baghdad on Wednesday called a violation of the law.
Exxon's agreement in Kurdistan and Baghdad's response have set up a power struggle between the Iraqi central government and multinational oil companies over the potential resources in the northern Kurdish region. Baghdad and Kurdistan's regional government are in a long-running political dispute over oil and land rights, and the central government says all foreign oil deals signed with the Kurdistan region are illegal.
"Exxon has violated the ministry directions and instructions concerning the companies working in Kurdistan," said Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of the oil ministry's contracts and licensing directorate. "It's a violation of the contract and the law. As a consequence the oil ministry will take steps to end the contract. But this operation will need arrangements," he said without giving further details.
It was unclear what steps the oil ministry may be able to immediately take against Exxon as Baghdad seeks to manage the challenge by the US major to its national oil policies.
Exxon has a multi-billion dollar contract with Iraq's oil ministry to develop the 8.7 billion barrel West Qurna Phase One oilfield in the south -- one of dozens of large contracts Iraq hopes will help rebuild its war-battered crude industry.
A spokesman at the US major could not immediately be reached for comment. Exxon has so far not made any statement on the Kurdistan deal.
Challenging Exxon will be a tricky balancing act for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government as it seeks to rebuild the economy and oil production, which is currently around 2.9 million barrels per day. Trying to end the Exxon deal could lead to long legal negotiations that would sour the appetite of other investors. Exxon has gone to international arbitration before, for example, in Venezuela over a nationalization move.
Ameedi said there had been no response from Exxon to the Iraqi government's communications with the company regarding the Kurdistan deal. "Exxon hasn't answered us yet," he said.
He said the Kurdish government had also been talking to US oil company Chevron and Italian operator Eni. "We know that there is communication between them. There are talks," he said.
Iraq has signed multi-billion deals with oil majors to develop oil infrastructure and help it achieve output capacity of as much as 12 million barrels per day. Its current output is 2.9 million bpd.
The central and regional governments remain at odds over the contents of a long-delayed national oil law, which investors see as an essential framework for investments in the country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2011
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[Dawn] In a joint operation, police from Jhelum, Chakwal, Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab along with Elite Force commandoes recovered explosives and other material under the use of hard boyz near the shrine of Pir Chambal. This is where the intel guys were rubbed out by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi a few days back...
The items were traced by the teams led by senior coppers, including the DPO of Chakwal, from a small cave about five kilometres from the shrine.
The recovered goods included around five kilogrammes of high explosive, plastic explosives along with live fuse attached to it and items of personal use in four bags.
Some other items, including a bucket and a wall clock, which probably had been stolen from the shrine, were found placed deep inside a rock opening.
"The situation indicates that the belongings were the personal items of the criminals who had been hiding in the shrine and who are responsible for the killing of four federal intelligence officials and their local guide on Saturday," said a police officer present at the site.
The bodies of the victims were found in the compound of Pir Chambal shrine.
"Since all of them are not hardened hard boyz -- some are even petty criminals -- it seems logical to assume that someone had stolen the wall clock from the shrine."
The police search operation continued in the area to find clues to the terrorists. Apart from the regular police force from the adjoining districts and the Elite Force personnel sent from Rawalpindi, who searched the surrounding areas, the whole shrine was screened by a team of Punjab Forensic Scientific Agency which arrived in the area from Lahore.
After the recovery of high-explosive powder in a special plastic briefcase, the bomb disposal experts were called to the hilltop for its safe carriage which even had wires for detonation.
"They had placed live plastic explosive along with the fuse wires attached at the mouth of the hiding place possibly to act as a mine or a booby trap," another police officer said. "We can only thank the Almighty that the device did not work."
While the police operation launched on Saturday has been limited to a few kilometres around the shrine, the presence of their belongings some five kilometres away from the scene of the crime in the remote and wild area showed the ability of the hard boyz to melt down in the wilderness.
"There are chances that the hard boyz might be hiding in caves just a few hills away," a police constable said.
Mohammad Asghar adds from Rawalpindi:
A joint investigation team, comprising intelligence, counterterrorism wing and police officials, has been constituted to probe into the killing of the intelligence officials. The JIT visited the scene and investigated some local people regarding the incident.
Sources said a few suspects had also been taken into custody by the security agencies though none of them has been formally placed in long-term storage so far.
A senior law enforcement agency official said temporary `pickets` were being established in the hilly area.
According to security sources, eight sections of Elite Force commandoes from Rawalpindi, each comprising five personnel, had been sent to Pir Chambal where they started the search operation and also set up the pickets.
The post-mortem on the bodies of the five victims showed that they were shot in the chest and the bodies bore multiple bullet injuries.
Though there were no torture marks on the bodies, one of the victims had scalds on his foot which looked like burn injuries.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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La Belle France has recalled its ambassador to Syria, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday, after its diplomatic missions there were attacked amid ongoing protests against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators... regime.
"There has been renewed violence in Syria, which has led me to close our consular offices in Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... and in Latakia, as well as our cultural institutes and to recall our ambassador to Gay Paree," Juppe told parliament.
Pro-Assad mobs attacked La Belle France's honorary consulate in the northern city of Latakia and the detached chancery in Aleppo on Saturday, sparking French condemnation and the summoning of Syria's ambassador to Gay Paree.
The Syrian government on Tuesday pledged there would be no repeat of attacks on embassies after a spate of recent assaults against countries deemed to be against Assad's beleaguered regime.
"We're working at the (U.N.) General Assembly with the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... to get a draft resolution adopted," Juppe said.
On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council condemned the recent spate of attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria.
Protesters stormed the Jordanian embassy compound on Monday after King Abdullah II became the first Arab leader to say openly that he thought Assad should step down.
It was the latest such protest by angry Assad loyalists against embassies since the vaporous Arab League voted on Saturday to suspend Syria from the pan-Arab bloc and impose sanctions.
Other missions targeted have included those of Qatar, Soddy Arabia and Turkey, all outspoken critics of the Assad regime's eight-month crackdown on dissent that the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... says has cost more than 3,500 lives.
U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, abruptly withdrawn last month because of security threats, is supposed to return to Syria in "days to weeks," Washington has said.
Turkey and members of the Arab League called Wednesday for "urgent measures" to protect Syrian civilians from violent repression.
In a statement issued after a Turkish-Arab cooperation forum in the Moroccan capital Rabat, they also declared they were "against all foreign intervention in Syria."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army announced on Wednesday the creation of a temporary military council with the aim of ousting the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... and protecting civilians from his forces.
"Based on the requirements of this phase and the demands of the Syrian revolution, the Free Syrian Army is establishing a temporary military council," a statement said.
The council aims to "bring down the current regime, protect Syrian civilians from its oppression, protect private and public property, and prevent chaos and acts of Dire Revenge™ when it falls."
Colonel Riyadh Asaad, who defected from the regular army to form the Syrian Free Army in July, will chair the council.
The council's leadership also includes four colonels and three majors.
The announcement came after Free Syrian Army fighters attacked a military intelligence base outside Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... early on Wednesday in one of the most daring raids in eight months of anti-government unrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
Sounds like the old Soviet military councils of the early part of WWII. Originally, they were used as a liason between the military and political leadership of oblasts and raions to inventory, as it were, resources that can be used in the defense, and to assign individual civilian (communist party leaders and cadre) wartime responsibilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Daisy Fuentes aka Kenzie Pearson in "Shutterspeed (TV 2000)" aka Host in "Style World (TV Series 20002003)" aka Clara in "Curdled" aka Host in "America's Funniest Home Videos from 1998 to 1999" aka first Mind, Body, Spirit Superstar (age 45)
#2
Daisy is not just pretty. She spends a lot of time on charity work, some of which is innovative (e.g., using running to get girls to have self esteem).
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
11/17/2011 6:41
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Carole Landis died at 29. Very active short life.
Drug overdose. Two suicide notes one to her mother and the other to Rex Harrison. Issue was he would not divorce his wife to marry Landis.
#8
BP that was magnificent. From cascade to clawback covers this situation so well. They have eyes yet they do not see. Ears and yet they do not hear. They have a brain yet cannot comprehend what they have seen or heard. That comes from the Bible,Dumas and from my memory recalled. Bold decision. Ann Barnhardt and moral certainty.
#9
Indeed BP, good find. An eye-opener to the extent of the rot in D.C. and in the hedge funds. Leveraging has come to mean using funds that you have never had any intention of ever paying back. In my book that is stealing. These people ought to be in jail.
#10
I reviewed Ms. Barnhardt's website where she has much, much, much more on the MF Global disaster. I don't understand it all but what I do understand makes it clear that Corzine, and the regulatory agencies, are crooked as hell.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2011 17:39
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#11
BP I normally don't react so quick but your post reflected what I have been seeing. Her blog site is very active right now. I will pause and see how things develop. I hope this story has a run.
#14
I'm starting to wonder why anyone trusts ANY major financial institution any more. The level of corruption & willingness of the big players to rob & defraud the less wealthy is truly monstrous.
Perhaps this is a good time to invest in mattresses & basement safes.
#15
My main hope, such as it is, are some attorneys general at the state level. The Nevada AG today secured a conviction of a notary public on one count of notarizing a signature of a person not in the presence of the notary. The AG's office states tens of thousands of fraudulent documents were filed in Clark County Nevada in the last 6 years, so there may be a great many more cases coming up. Today the Nevada AG indicted 2 California 'robo-signer' supervisors on over 600 counts ranging from gross misdemeanors to felonies.
[Bangla Daily Star] Counsels for Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... walked out of the International Crimes Tribunal yesterday as its chairman, Justice Nizamul Huq, sat for hearing Sayedee's petition to review the tribunal's decision of framing charges against him. Walking out of court isn't the best way to plead your case...
After the defence counsels walked out, the court rejected the review petition, considering that it was not moved before it. See what I mean?
The three-member tribunal termed the walkout "unwarranted" and "unbecoming". "Bailiff! Whack his pee-pee!"
[WHACK!]
"Ow-w-w-w-w-w!"
The tribunal on October 3 framed 20 charges against Sayedee including genocide, killing, rape, arson, abduction and torture in 1971. Sayedee filed a petition on October 27 with the tribunal for reviewing the order. The tribunal then fixed yesterday for hearing the review petition.
Defence counsel Tajul Islam told news hounds that they will continue boycotting the tribunal till Justice Nizamul abstains from the trial proceedings or the tribunal disposes of a defence petition seeking explanation as to how he could continue the task as the chairman.
The defence counsels submitted the petition before the tribunal through its Deputy Registrar Mesbahuddin Ahmed in the morning.
The prosecutors told news hounds that they are considering taking legal action against the counsels for Sayedee, as they have committed contempt of court by walking out of the tribunal proceedings.
Prosecutor Zead-Al Malum said there is no provision in the law or the constitution over walking out of the court. The defence counsels walked out of the tribunal in order to obstruct the trial procedure, he said.
The tribunal yesterday also fixed November 20 for hearing the petition for explanation from the tribunal on what reasons Justice Nizamul chaired the tribunal.
It also rejected another petition submitted by the defence yesterday seeking adjournment of all proceedings against Sayedee till disposal of the petition that sought the explanation.
The petition says the tribunal's Chairman Justice Nizamul may be biased in the trial proceedings as he was a member of the secretariat of People's Enquiry Commission that investigated allegations against him [Sayedee] and some others in 1993-1994.
During yesterday's proceedings, Tajul Islam told the court that they felt embarrassed as Justice Nizamul sat for chairing the tribunal, although they have brought many allegations against him.
Justice Nizamul told Tajul that he did not refuse to discharge his duties, as he has not got the copy of the disposal order.
Prosecutor Syed Haider Ali opposed Tajul, saying that placing argument on a matter that has been disposed of is against the law.
Meanwhile, ...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell... from a press briefing at the Supreme Court Bar Association yesterday afternoon, barrister Abdur Razzaq, principal counsel for Sayedee, said that if Justice Nizamul does not quit the tribunal, they might move to the Supreme Judicial Council for his trial.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[Bangla Daily Star] An FBI agent yesterday testified in the Tk-20.41-crore money-laundering case filed against BNP chief Khaleda Zia's Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... son Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... and his business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun.
This is for the first time that a US Federal Bureau of Investigation agent has testified before a court in Bangladesh. The testimony is expected to be a turning point in the case since the agent has effectively said Tarique laundered money through using Mamun's account in a Singapore bank.
Debra Laprevotte, a supervisory special agent of the FBI, narrated before a Dhaka court how she had tracked down the money allegedly laundered by BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman and Mamun to a bank account in Singapore.
She said the documents recovered from the Singapore bank include detailed records of money transfers and payments made from the account. It also had photocopies of Tarique and Mamun's passports, which were submitted when the two applied for credit cards from the bank.
"The first credit card on the account was a Visa credit card in the name of Mr Mamun," she told the court, adding, "...There is another credit card in the name of Tarique Rahman."
Giasuddin Al Mamun, 47, stood in the dock at the back of the courtroom throughout the two-hour-long proceedings yesterday. Tarique Rahman remains a runaway.
After Laprevotte's testimony, the judge of Special Judge's Court-3 asked Mamun whether he would like to cross-examine Laprevotte to which Mamun shook his head to say no. His lawyer had earlier left the court protesting Laprevotte's testimony.
When the proceedings began at 11:20pm, barrister Fakhrul Islam, Mamun's lawyer, opposed Laprevotte's testifying. He submitted a petition seeking adjournment of the hearing on the ground that the witness had not been mentioned in the charge sheet and that additional witnesses could only testify after all witnesses mentioned in the charge sheet had given their depositions.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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#1
How did the FBI get mixed up in this far-flung case??
Posted by: American Delight ||
11/17/2011 6:17
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#2
Probably incidentally to another domestic case at the first, then the eyebrows popped up at the amounts and the fact that it was Khaleda's kid and they put some crack accountants on it to see where it led.
It's also entirely possible the the current government asked for U.S. assistance in tracking it, since the two begums hate each other's guts.
I'd think such things would be in the CIA's bailiwick, but they don't lean toward the money tracking angle like FBI does.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011 11:31
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[Dawn] A kaboom blew up a white colour Suzuki Bolan near Salt n Pepper Village restaurant at Sea View and killed three Islamic fascistiand two police official on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.
Another police official got injured in the blast.
According to the Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan the jacket wallahs, riding a white Suzuki Bolan, blew themselves up on being stopped for the routine search by the police.
The home minister, who reached at the blast site without delay, said the security had been increased in the area specially around the Abdullah Shah Ghazi Shrine amid fear of further terrorist attacks after the blast.
He announced Rs 2 million compensation for the family of deceased police personnel while Rs 500,000 for the maimed.
Manzoor Wasan also announced to give jobs to sons of affected police personnel.
He also appreciated the police personnel for showing courage to stop the suspects.
The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah said the event was a cowardly act of terrorism which had been foiled by the police with great courage.
The Sindh CM was talking to media at the site of incident near Seaview in Defence Housing Authority.
He told a questioner that the police has found a suicidal vest and a Kalashnikov from the site of blast.
He said that the concerned police officials have been directed to present their report about the incident.
He said the initial reports have indicated that the suspects were travelling in a vehicle and when they saw coppers approaching them, they blew themselves up.
However investigations were underway and it was premature to give any final statement about the incident, the Sindh CM added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[An Nahar] Karl Slover, one of the last surviving actors who played Munchkins in the 1939 classic film, "The Wizard of Oz," has died. He was 93.
The 4-foot-5 Slover died of cardiopulmonary arrest Tuesday afternoon in a central Georgia hospital, said Laurens County Deputy Coroner Nathan Stanley. According to friends, as recently as last weekend, Slover appeared at events in the suburban Chicago area.
Slover was best known for playing the lead trumpeter in the Munchkins' band but also had roles as a townsman and soldier in the film, said John Fricke, author of "100 Years of Oz" and five other books on the movie and its star, Judy Garland. Slover was one of the tiniest male Munchkins in the movie.
Long after Slover retired, he continued to appear around the country at festivals and events related to the movie. He was one of seven Munchkins at the 2007 unveiling of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame dedicated to the little people in the movie. Only three remain of the 124 diminutive actors who played the beloved Munchkins.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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#1
I met one such, who wasn't a dwarf, just a very short girl at the time. Sadly, having been a Munchkin defined her entire life. Her home was filled with Wizard of Oz paraphernalia, and though she had great grandchildren, they all to some extent still lived under the shadow of that movie.
[Yemen Post] According to local government officials in Yemen's southern region of Abyan the government troops would have killed 7 al-Qaeda snuffies this Tuesday as assaults between the two parties continue.
Amongst the dead were one Iranian man, a Pak and 2 Somali nationals, confirming fears of an intricate terror network within the country.
Military sources confirmed the government statement which announced that its forces had to shell 2 key government buildings in Zinjibar after the Islamist snuffies managed to seize it.
As Yemen continues to be locked into a political and power stalemate, security in its southern and now northern region has fallen apart, allowing gangs to vent and implement their take-over plans. The nation is now sandwiched in between the threat of al-Qaeda in the south and al-Houthis territorial ambitions in the north.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[An Nahar] The United States said Wednesday that the use of violence by the Syrian opposition plays into the Syrian "regime's hands," adding it did not condone violent acts by either side.
State Department deputy front man Mark Toner was reacting to reports that Syrian army defectors had attacked a Syrian military intelligence base on Wednesday in one of the most daring raids in eight months of unrest.
Toner told news hounds that it was "not surprising" that the opposition is resorting to violence in response to the deadly crackdown by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's Supressor of the Damascenes... regime.
"We don't condone it in any way, shape or form but ... it's the brutal tactics of Assad and his regime in dealing with what began as a non-violent movement (that) is now taking Syria down a very dangerous path," he said.
He squarely put the blame for the violence on the regime in Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... "We don't condone violence, not on the part of the Syrian military, the Syrian regime, nor on the part of the opposition," Toner said without going as far as condemning opposition attacks.
"We think that this kind of violence ... it really plays into Assad's and his regime's hands when this becomes violent," Toner said.
"This was a peaceful movement in its inception and it's only because of the regime's repeated and brutal campaign of violence against innocent protesters that we're seeing the country move down this very dangerous path."
Toner appeared to allude to concerns the country could erupt into civil war with the risk of events spilling over into neighboring countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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#2
So we have career diplomats that don't understand the mindset of the ME?
I would more expect Assad to say this or maybe the mental gymnast himself, Gilani, saying it. BUT to have a US official say something this illogical opens the door to a view of why we are so screwed up in our policies toward the ME.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
11/17/2011 12:37
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#3
And in everything else government "careerism" touches.
Careerism at the management level in government is both a cancer and a plague, infecting all departments with a majority of decision makers who care only about their next step up the ladder and don't know Jaques Merde (to use the language of diplomacy) about the day-to-day duties and accumulated wisdom of their underlings.
And don't you DARE contradict them, or your behavior will be deemed inappropriate and/or insubordinate. Of course, if you are near retirement (like I was), such management obtuseness can turn out to be a feature rather than a bug.
[An Nahar] Thousands of Kuwaitis stormed parliament on Wednesday after police and elite forces beat up protesters marching on the prime minister's home to demand he resign, an opposition MP said.
"Now, we have entered the house of the people," said Mussallam al-Barrak, who led the protest along with several other politicians and youth activists also calling for the dissolution of parliament over alleged corruption.
The demonstrators broke open parliament's gates and entered the main chamber, where they sang the national anthem and then left after a few minutes.
The police had used batons to prevent protesters from marching to the residence of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, after staging a rally outside parliament.
Witnesses said at least five demonstrators were maimed and treated on the site.
Some activists said they will continue to camp outside parliament until the premier is sacked.
Chanting "the people want to remove the prime minister," the protesters started to march to the nearby premier's residence when police blocked their way.
This was the first political violence in the oil-rich Gulf state since December, when elite forces beat up protesters and MPs at a public rally, though activists have been holding protests since March.
Tension has been building in Kuwait over the past three months after it was alleged that about 16 MPs in the 50-member parliament received about $350 million in bribes.
The opposition has been leading a campaign to oust the premier, whom they accuse of failing to run the wealthy nation and fight corruption, which has become wide-spread.
Earlier on Wednesday, about 20 opposition politicians boycotted a parliamentary session, a day after the government and its supporters succeeded in rejecting a bid by the opposition to quiz the premier over allegations of corruption.
After the rejection, three opposition MPs filed a fresh request to question Sheikh Nasser over allegations of graft involving MPs and illegal overseas money transfers.
The premier, 71, has been a target of opposition criticism since he was appointed to the job in February 2006, forcing him to resign six times.
Parliament has also been dissolved three times in the same period.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Kenya and the African Union are to combine their forces in the campaign against Al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban. The organization's current leader is Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad, also known as Ibrahim al-Afghani. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a Kenyan al-Qaeda member, is considered the group's military leader... in a major strategic shift which could change the face of the Somalia war.
The operation will bring together African Union forces operating around Mogadishu, Kenya Defence Forces and Transitional Federal Government forces to fight the thug group throughout Somalia.
An agreement reached by Presidents Kibaki, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni and Somalia's Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed will see Ugandan and Burundi-led AU forces backed by soldiers from Kenya. (Read: Missiles strike rebels as more support Kenya)
Operations against the group will now be coordinated more closely between the two groups as more forces are expected from Djibuti, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
This would more than double the current number of AU troops operating in Somalia from 9,000 to 20,000.
Most of these will be deployed to areas where KDF and Amisom forces have defeated Al-Shabaab.
On the day marking exactly one month since Kenya sent its troops into Somalia to chase the bully boyz accused of abductions in Kenya, Presidents Museveni and Shariff flew to Nairobi for a meeting with President Kibaki.
Al-Shabaab used the occasion to criticise Kenya's military incursion and made an appeal to Kenyans to prevail upon the government to withdraw the forces.
Al-Shabaab front man Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said in interviews that the Kenyan military was not advancing any further.
But the front man for the KDF, Maj Emmanuel Chirchir, dismissed the allegations, saying the operation was about to move to phase two which would also include an exit strategy.
He did not expound on the statement but Kenya's military operation swiftly took towns and centres in the south of the country and they are now camped outside Afmadow, a town 105km inside Somalia and near Kismayu.
The Kenya Air Force and Navy are also operating unchallenged within Somali air space and waters.
A joint communique issued after the State House meeting said: "The meeting discussed the status of the joint Kenya-Somalia security operation in pursuit of Al-Shabaab forces of Evil and noted the gains already made by Amisom, TFG and KDF forces and the need to galvanise international support for this purpose."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[Dawn] Although Election Commission of Pakistain has set up separate polling booths for women to cast their votes in Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... by-election, yet it seems that people in most areas of the constituency will follow their tradition of not allowing womenfolk to take part in the balloting.
"We have established polling booths for women voters and are optimistic that they would come out to exercise their right of vote," Deen Mohammad, the assistant election commissioner of Kohistan, told journalists on Tuesday.
He said that they had also asked the candidates to remove hurdles from their way and facilitate women to cast votes in the by-election to be held on Nov 24.
Kohistan is a conservative and backward district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... . During the previous elections including the general polls held in 2008, people of district didn`t allow women to cast their votes.
Even the candidates for a national and three provincial assembly seats of district always opposed casting of votes by women. "This time too contenders are unwilling to allow women to cast votes in the by-election," sources said.
The by-election will be held in PK-61 constituency for the provincial assembly seat, which fell vacant after the demise of MPA Maulana Obaidullah.
"People of Kohistan are against women taking part in polling and they would not allow their women to come to the polling booths and cast their votes," said Sarfaraz Khan, a resident of the constituency.
He said that only those women, who were relatives and family members of the candidates, would go to the polling booths in urban areas of the constituency.
Eleven contenders, from almost all mainstream parties, are in the run for by-election. A total of 84,675 voters, including 18,801 women, are registered in the constituency.
Deen Mohammad said that the candidates had assured him during a meeting that they would work to bring out the women on the polling day.
"I know that in the past women were not allowed to exercise their right of vote but this time situation will be different completely," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... is seeking to revive the "Democratic Gathering," al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Wednesday. Wally's getting tired of snuggling with Nasrallah and Berri, at least for awhile.
"He is paving way to meet with ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri," Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. sources told the daily.
Jumblat is mending ties with old allies after he met on Tuesday a delegation from al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... movement to restore the Democratic Gathering in Mukhtara, the newspaper said.
In January 2007 Jumblat announced the end of his Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc, after four MPs of the 11-member gathering decided not to back his candidate for the premiership.
He named his new bloc the National Struggle Front including MPs Ghazi Aridi, Wael Abu Faour, Akram Shehayyeb, Alaeddine Terro, Nehme Tohme and Elie Aoun.
The four MPs who are not part of Jumblat's bloc anymore are Marwan Hamadeh, Henry Helou, Antoine Saad and Fouad al-Saad.
The meeting was attended by members of the PSP leadership and al-Mustaqbal officials Ahmed Fatfat, Hadi Hobeish and Ziad al-Qaderi.
The daily reported that the meeting was held away from the media spotlight.
However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... sources told al-Liwaa that the gatherers discussed the latest developments concerning the Syrian turmoil and the possible repercussions of the regime collapse, the funding of the Special Tribunal for Leb probing the liquidation of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, and the new electoral draft law.
They noted that the meeting was successful and was aimed at restoring the relations between the two sides.
PSP sources said that the meeting was to discuss the electoral draft law. Both sides agreed on coordinating their stances regarding all the issues.
Al-Liwaa reported that a delegation from the PSP leadership will meet with Secretary General of Mustaqbal movement Ahmed Hariri on Tuesday, and other party leaders in the next few days after the establishment of the PSP's new leadership council.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[An Nahar] Iran is to send an "analytical" response to a report suggesting it was pursuing nuclear weapons, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday, a day before the U.N. watchdog meets on the issue.
"We have decided to draft and send an analytical letter with logical and rational responses to (ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya) Amano's recent report," the Iranian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
website quoted Salehi as saying.
Salehi said the letter would be distributed to countries and international organizations.
His announcement came before a meeting of the IAEA's 35-member board on Thursday and Friday to consider the November 8 report which strongly suggested Iran was researching nuclear warheads, although it stopped short of saying so explicitly.
The United States and its allies are keen for the board to issue a resolution condemning Iran or referring it to the U.N. Security Council, according to a European diplomat in Vienna, where the IAEA is headquartered.
But Russia and China are seen as reluctant to go along, with Moscow criticizing the report and likening it to the false intelligence presented by the United States in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Israeli officials have already raised the spectra of military action against Iran's nuclear sites, based on the report.
Tehran has categorically denied it is seeking atomic weapons and dismissed the IAEA report as based on "false" information from Western intelligence services.
Salehi, who said Iran had already responded to the points raised in the report in a 117-page letter, called the IAEA report "unfair" and accused Amano of making a "hasty" move that damaged the watchdog's reputation.
However Salehi also downplayed recent comments by parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, that Iran could review its cooperation with the IAEA over the report.
"The West wants to drive us into a hasty reaction and would not mind being able to say 'Iran has left the NPT (the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty supervised by the IAEA)'," he said.
Salehi said his country remained in "contact with the agency so that the situation does not worsen."
The foreign minister was also quoted as saying that Iran's nuclear activities "are making powerful progress."
Iran is subject to four sets of U.N. sanctions and additional unilateral Western sanctions over its uranium enrichment program, which it refuses to suspend.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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TEHRAN - A massive kaboom that killed 17 troops including an officer regarded as the architect of Iran's missile defenses last week took place during research on weapons that could strike Israel, the armed forces chief of staff said on Wednesday.
Hassan Firouzabadi, quoted by the student news agency ISNA, denied that Israeli or US sabotage was to blame. "This recent incident and blast has no link to Israel or America but the outcome of the research, of which the incident happened as a consequence, could be a strong smack to the mouth of Israel and its occupying regime," he said.
It is true that each failure can be one step closer to success. It depends, though, on whether this is a project undertaken with the aid of North Korean technicians -- whose own country's nuclear bomb effort is a bit of a fizzle - or with Russian technicians, whose national predecessor once bestrode half the world. Also whether an Israeli bug made its way into the design programs as Stuxnet and Duqu are said to have done somehow...
#2
The denial of Israeli sabotage is because an admission would be humiliating. It would be a sign that the most secure part of the Iranian missile effort has been compromised.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
11/17/2011 6:46
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The denial of Israeli sabotage is because an admission would be humiliating.
But would it not be equally humiliating to admit they destroyed it all, plus killed "the architect of Iran's missile defenses" due to sheer, unaided, incompetence?
#4
But would it not be equally humiliating to admit they destroyed it all, plus killed "the architect of Iran's missile defenses" due to sheer, unaided, incompetence?
If you frame it like that, yes. But that's not how the Govt will frame it. It is more like this, "the brave scientists and military were trying to advance the technology but didn't realize that a mistake had been made by a subordinate (probably a secret apostate) and were martyred in the service of the greater good."
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
11/17/2011 8:47
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[Dawn] Afghanistan wants the United States and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... to agree to stop carrying out night raids on Afghan homes as a pre-condition to the Kabul signing a strategic partnership with Washington, President Hamid 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... said on Wednesday.
Night raids, which foreign troops say are one of their most effective weapons in the fight against bad turbans, are a major cause of friction between Karzai and his Western backers.
The Afghan leader has said repeatedly he wants them to be stopped.
"We want a strategic partnership but with specific conditions: our national integrity, no night raids, no house searches," Karzai told a meeting of around 2,000 Afghan political and community leaders in the capital city Kabul.
The strategic partnership agreement, still under discussion between Washington and Kabul, will govern American involvement in Afghanistan after the deadline for the exit of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
Afghanistan is also negotiating similar agreements with Britannia, La Belle France, Australia and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , Karzai said.
A September report by social research groups said the number of night raids, and the confusion caused by darkness, means they often pose a disproportionate risk to civilians.
The rules covering night raids, used to target bully boyz who hide among the Afghan population, and air strikes have been tightened considerably over the past two years but they still cause great resentment among the ordinary Afghans.
Karzai was speaking on the first day of a four-day meeting, known as a loya jirga, or grand assembly.
The jirga is consultative rather than legislative, but it is discussing some of the most sensitive subjects in Afghanistan, the scope of a US military presence after 2014 and the idea of peace talks with the Taliban.
"They (the US) want military installations, we will give them.
It is in our national interest (and) will draw more money and training of our soldiers," Karzai said.
The Taliban, who say they will not engage in peace talks until all foreign troops have left Afghanistan, have dismissed the meeting as a ploy to rubber-stamp what they see as foreign interference.
They have already tried to disrupt the gathering, even though Kabul is under a security lockdown for the meeting.
On Monday, security forces rubbed out a jacket wallah before he could set off his explosives near the site of the jirga.
In June last year, bully boyz disrupted the start of a "peace jirga", firing rockets at the tent where the gathering was held in the west of the Afghan capital.
No one was hurt.
Despite the presence of more than 130,000 foreign soldiers, violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were toppled by US-backed Afghan forces in 2001, according to the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit...
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) says there has recently been a fall in the number of attacks by bad turbans, but that data excludes attacks that kill only civilians and attacks on Afghan cops operating without international troops.
Karzai, who switched between speaking Afghanistan's Pashto and Dari languages when addressing the jirga, likened Afghans to lions on several occasions.
"Americans are more powerful, have more money, a greater population, but we are the lions," he said, bringing applause from the delegates.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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#1
I wouldn't be surprised if Karzai ripped off his mask and was really Mullah Omar.
From the Christian Science Monitor, a good piece on a rebuilding Liberia. One of the better things George Bush did behind the scenes, though of course he won't get the credit he deserves. At the end there's the usual bleating to save foreign aid.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2011
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#3
George W Bush did all he could for Africa.
He took more care of anyone there than any President.
Liberia needs to be always in focus. We have obligations that must be filled and removed from. It is a responsibility for all of us to work ourselves out of a job.
Liberia must be cared for. THIS is not a regular country. Sirleaf has done well I think, but maybe we need to look at this country more.. It is one thing that is true that this is OUR responsibility., Lincoln old school.
#4
One of the more interesting ideas I've read, specific to Liberia, is an odd one.
The US has a lot of essentially unemployable, black ex-cons, who are likely not to re-offend for many reasons, but who have no future in the US.
So why not give them the equivalent of Peace Corps training, with the idea that they could go to Liberia, earn their Liberian citizenship through "good works", and be able to start fresh?
It would be set up under very strict rules, so that if they fouled up, they would be sent back to the US and lose their chance at a new life, and if they re-offended in Liberia, they would be under Liberian jurisdiction.
At the start they would be paid for their work in US dollars at US wages. 1 USD is worth 75 Liberian dollars, so even being paid US minimum wage, they would do very well on the Liberian economy.
Even what we think of as common skills could be very valuable in Liberia, and training for these skills could begin while many were still in prison, with an opportunity that would be a huge motivator to do well before they got out.
Likewise, their probation could be active schooling, with careful evaluation of behavior before they were put on the plane.
The alternative to this, btw, is that they remain public charges in the US, with a high likelihood to re-offend, because they cannot get legitimate work.
For a map, click here. For a map of Zacatecas, click here New infromation released about a third disappeared.
By Chris Covert
A series of armed confrontations between Mexican security forces and armed suspects starting Tuesday afternoon has ended up with 20 armed suspects dead and 20 detained in Zacatecas state in north central Mexico, according to Mexican news accounts.
At the moment it is uncertain if the firefights started as a result of a federal effort to locate two national newspaper employees reported missing Monday afternoon between Zacatecas, the capital of Zacatecas state and Guadalajara, Jalisco to the southwest of the state.
Osvaldo Garc"a Iniguez, a regional circulation manager for El Financieros newspaper and his driver Jose de Jesus Ortiz Parra were reported missing Monday afternoon aboard a Nissan pickup truck. The two men left Zacatecas at around 1618 hrs on Monday along Mexican Federal Highway 44 and have not been heard from since.
Latest reports from the Zacatecas attorney general office (PGJE) said that at least seven municipal police agents in Zacatecas municipality are under investigation fro their role in the disappearance.
El Diario de Coahuila published a report that said a third individual was with the pair when they disappeared, who was identified as Filiberto Munguia AKA El Fili who had apparently been released from prison in Fresnillo. Munguia was arrested November 6th in eúl Gonzalez Ortega municipality, which borders Jalisco state to the south, for possession of munitions. Munguia has been described as a member of the Gulf cartel.
The Gulf cartel has operated in alliance with the Sinaloa cartel in drug manufacturing/shipping operations in northern Jalisco.
Many highways in Zacatecas are used by organized crime for carjacking and to extract tribute from travellers, especially in the northwest quadrant of the state. In that area a few weeks ago two Catholic ministers were robbed and carjacked with an hour of one another.
On Tuesday, Zacatecas government officials reported federal security forces were operating in Fresnillo, about 30 kilometers northwest of the capital and a national road node leading to Durango state, Coahuila state and San Luis Potosi state.
Reports were gunfire was heard in areas around Fresnillo and, fixed and rotary winged aircraft were seen patrolling the area. At least one exchange of gunfire took place near a Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) in Fresnillo where manned and unmanned aircraft had been seen.
Later, clashes between Mexican Army and Naval Infantry troops, and armed suspects took place on the highway between Fresillo and Valparaiso some 40 kilometers southwest of Fresnillo. Reports say the gunfights took place at the border between Fresnillo and Valparaiso, where one criminal-operated vehicle had overturned, and an undisclosed number of other bullet pocked vehicles were presumably abandoned. The road between the two municipalities had been closed due to the combat.
Wednesday afternoon at about 1500 hrs, a gunfight took place near the General Hospital in Fresnillo where as many as 250 military effectives supported by five helicopters, surrounded a number of armed suspects, according to the Mexican daily NTR Zacatecas. This latest gunfight is where 20 armed suspects reportedly died at the hands of Mexican federal security forces, and another 20 were detained.
However, the Zacatecas attorney general's office said no one was reported killed and two individuals were wounded,although that report did not provide much detail.
Zacatecas state was the recent recipient of three newly raised rifle battalions, presumably part of the 18 rifle units funded by the Mexican Chamber of Deputies earlier in the year. One of the bases housing a rifle company is already occupied. To read a Rantburg report on Zacatecas' security crisis click here
#1
Many highways in Zacatecas are used by organized crime for carjacking and to extract tribute from travellers,
Given that such activities were traditionally the province of the Federales, perhaps this is yet another indication of how out of control the whole mess has gotten.
Thanks to badanov for the updates and coverage of events which, for some reason, seem to escape notice by the MSM.
[An Nahar] Protesters pelted the Moroccan embassy in Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... with eggs and stones on Wednesday, Morocco's ambassador said as his country hosted an Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... meeting aimed at ending bloody unrest in Syria, amid another attack on the UAE embassy in Damascus.
Morocco's ambassador, Mohammed Khassasi, told Agence La Belle France Presse that more than 100 demonstrators had attacked the building and stripped it of its flag.
Khassasi said "between 100 and 150 people protested in front of the embassy and attacked the chancellery with stones and eggs and acted irresponsibly by also attacking the Moroccan flag."
Morocco immediately condemned the attack.
"I condemn the attacks against the Moroccan embassy in Syria ... and what is happening inside and outside the Arab embassies," Moroccan Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri said in Rabat.
The UAE embassy in Damascus also came under attack on Wednesday, an Emirates foreign ministry official said as the Gulf state took part in the Rabat meeting.
"The UAE condemns the attack against its embassy in Damascus and the Syrian government bares responsibility for the safety and protection of the chancery and the security of its staff," said Jumaa al-Junaibi, quoted by the official WAM news agency.
He reminded Syria's government that international conventions required it to "protect diplomatic missions" on its territory, accusing it of "negligence."
On Monday Syria's foreign minister, Walid Muallem, apologized for protester attacks on foreign embassies after the vaporous Arab League voted to suspend his country from the bloc.
"I, as foreign minister, apologies for this matter," Muallem told a news conference in the Syrian capital, adding that protecting the embassies was part of Syria's responsibilities.
On Saturday, hundreds of angry demonstrators attacked the embassies of La Belle France, Qatar, Soddy Arabia and Turkey.
La Belle France recalled its ambassador to Syria on Wednesday while the U.S. envoy, abruptly withdrawn last month because of security threats, is supposed to return to Syria in "days to weeks," Washington has said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[Bangla Daily Star] BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said the government had hired a foreign witness to falsely implicate the party's Senior Vice-chairman Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... in a money-laundering case.
"But people will not accept it since the witness has already testified that Tarique has nothing to do with the case," he said at a protest rally in front of BNP's central office at Nayapaltan in the capital.
The main opposition then brought out a procession that ended in front of the Jatiya Press Club. The programmes were part of a two-day protest against the recent fuel price hike.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[Dawn] A NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... air strike killed 27 bully boyz in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday after they opened fire on an international military patrol, officials said.
The attack came in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province, close to the border with Pakistain where bully boyz have hideouts and many of the 10-year war's bloodiest battles take place.
"Coalition aircraft killed 27 bully boyz this morning in the Nazyan district of Nangarhar province," said a front man for the NATO-led International Security Force (ISAF) in eastern Afghanistan.
"Insurgents attacked a coalition patrol with small arms and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades). Air weapons teams responded immediately. There were no coalition or Afghan civilian deaths reported." The Taliban were not immediately contactable for comment on the incident.
Last week, up to 70 Taliban fighters were killed after trying to attack an Isaf troop outpost in the eastern province of Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... , Afghan and Isaf officials said.
There are around 140,000 international troops in Afghanistan, most of them from the United States, fighting a Taliban-led insurgency which started after their hardline regime was ousted from power by a US-led invasion in 2001.
All foreign combat forces are due to leave the country by the end of 2014, but a sizeable mission to train and mentor Afghan troops is set to remain beyond that date.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[Dawn] A bigwig of the Board of Revenue conceded before the Public Accounts Committee of the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday that recovery of government dues was no more a priority of the field staff, who collected the money from the people only to embezzle it.
Senior Member of the Board of Revenue Shazor Shamoon also said government land could not be encroached upon without the knowledge of relevant government functionaries.
He made these remarks at a meeting of the PAC presided over by its chairman Jam Tamachi Unnar here on Tuesday.
The meeting was held to settle the revenue department's 27 audit paras of three years -- 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.
However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... taking strong notice of the non-recovery of Rs316 million, the PAC deferred all the 27 audit paras to its next meeting to be held after two months.The PAC chief directed the secretary of the Sindh Assembly to write letters to the chief minister and the revenue minister about incompetence and negligence of revenue officials.
PAC members Ghulam Mujadid Isran, Aamir Moin Pirzada and Muhammad Shoaib observed that apparently the officials concerned had taken PAC notices very lightly and, therefore, they did not bother to come prepared to attend the meeting.
Mr Unnar directed Mr Shamoon to provide a list of all those tapedars and mukhtiarkars who failed to discharge their duty and recover government revenue from people in their respective tehsils and districts.
The PAC chief recalled that in the past revenue officials used to take over jeeps and tractors of landlords if the latter failed to pay government dues.
He was also critical of the performance of revenue executive district officers for failing to decide cases on time.
Mr Unnar said incompetence and poor performance of government functionaries was giving a bad name to the PPP government.
Recalling massive encroachments in Bloody Karachi on government land, the PAC chief said that if officials found themselves helpless to initiate action against influential encroachers, they could at least write a note and file it so that such cases could be reopened afterwards.
At the outset, Mr Shamoon conceded that the recovery of government dues was no more a priority of the field staff.
He said in the past if any tapedar failed to recover government dues, he used to be put behind bars and the recovery was made very next day.
He said he did not believe that tapedars failed to recover government dues. This could be true only in between 10 and 20 per cent of cases but in most cases recovery was made from the people but was embezzled by tapedars, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Turkey has no plans for cooperation with Iran to build nuclear power plants, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters on Wednesday, a day after a senior Iranian official had floated the possibility.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, a foreign affairs adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khameini told Reuters in New York on Tuesday, that Tehran was willing to share its nuclear technology with neighboring countries, suggesting it could help Turkey build an atomic power plant.
"Iran developed a very sophisticated nuclear science and technological capability, which we are quite ready to share with ... neighboring countries and friendly countries in the region," the official, Mohammad Javad Larijani, said. "Turkey is for years trying to have a nuclear power plant but no country in the West is willing to build that for them."
Turkey has ambitious plans to build up a civil nuclear production capability and has been in talks with Russia and Japan about it. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is is among the firms interested in a Turkish deal. Last year Turkey awarded Russia's Atomstroyexport a contract for the country's first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu on the country's Mediterranean coast.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2011
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#1
I wouldn't trust an Iranian civilian nuke plant design to begin with.
[An Nahar] File under "hubris," I think... Microsoft ...producers of Windows, Office, and the late Microsoft Bob, contributed $852,167 to the 2008 Obama campaign... chief Steve Ballmer proclaimed an everlasting "Windows Era" as the software giant's board easily won re-election at an annual meeting of shareholders on Tuesday.
Ballmer along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and six others saw their positions on the Microsoft board secured with more than 92 percent of votes cast by investors.
In response to a question from a stockholder, Ballmer downplayed the notion of a "post PC-era" marked by smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices supplanting desktop or laptop machines powered by Microsoft Windows software.
"We are in the Windows Era," Ballmer said. "We were, we are, and we always will be."
While the types of computing devices people use evolves so does Windows, he said regarding the operating software at the heart of Microsoft's empire.
"One of the remarkable things about Windows over the years is that is has adapted," Ballmer said.
"It will be a tablet machine; a reading machine, and a note-taking machine," he said. "We are going to have to push Windows into more form factors."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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#1
Well, I just did a restart, and he might be right.
#2
Just read this on the first Mac device I've ever owned, an iPad II I just bought last week and which I already love.
Didn't GM used to think like this guy?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
11/17/2011 8:02
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#3
Funny you should say that. I too am thinking of going Mac in the future.
Posted by: Kelly ||
11/17/2011 8:05
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#4
I think he's permanently at the Ballmer Peak. Shall we rename him Baghdad Steve?
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
11/17/2011 9:06
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#5
For all their annoying certitude in their ideas, the CATO institute has done some very interesting research into the concept of "monopolization in markets, government involvement in creating and sustaining it, or ending it."
Microsoft exists in its current form, despite pretensions of being a group activity, because of Bill Gates unique, and rather ruthless, understanding of the business. And while ruthlessness is easy, doing it effectively is not.
Microsoft has some terrible organizational problems. After the success of Win98SE, they had the double disaster of Win2000 and WinME, before hitting again with WinXP. But Vista was mediocre at best, and Win7 appears to be good, though it is showing signs of being bloated and sluggish.
This creates a huge opening for a Linux based system by being faster, smaller, more flexible and user oriented. Microsoft has become far too willing to add "millstones" to its product because other corporations want them, even if those "features" are not consumer friendly.
So market forces could break up Microsoft, or the government. It is not invulnerable.
#9
Computer users can be divided roughly into content consumers and content creators. Most home computers are used for content consuming. Surfing the web, watching videos, listening to music. You might write a bit but that's not the main use of the computer. Tablets and smart phones and the like are already proving you don't need a full computer for this stuff.
If you create music, or software code, or video editing or whatever you'll probably find you still need far more horsepower than a smartphone or tablet can offer.
Microsoft will see their marketshare contract and a lot of their business will be fighting for laptop shares which is a bit more balanced between Apple and Microsoft than the desktop world is. Laptop shares and home servers to link up those tablets and smart phones and both Apple and MIcrosoft need to work on that side of things a bit.
#10
You might want to read Steven Green's review of the iCloud before going to an iPad.
My career has me working with all three OS technologies and each have their place and niche. Ballmer is right... for now. Where windows shines is the network/server infrastructure. There simply isn't anything that is as robust, easy to use and secure (as you can get at least.). Microsoft's cloud and cloud services are lightyears ahead of Apple and actually works. Very well in fact. Seeing SQL tear through some data mining on the Cloud in 30 seconds where it took 1 hour on a single server before is a really amazing thing to see.
Apple has the ease of use casual technology toys market wrapped up. That is a market Microsoft tried to get into and failed. Multiple times. Looks like Amazon might have a winner with their Kindle Fire, but it is still in the "We'll See" stage.
Where Microsoft will lose business is in the laptop market. Tablets and smart phones are the wave of the future and really there isn't a Microsoft product out there that can compete. Tablets and smart phones (they will merge in the future) will get more and more powerful, and with a working Cloud to do a lot of the CPU horsepower number crunching and sending it to the user there will be little need for laptops or desktops at home.
#15
Good points Darth. Microsoft pretty much 'owns' the network/server area nowdays. But lets not forget the integration of technologies. From Cloud, SQL Server to Sharepoint to Office and .NET - it is all easily integrated - which isn't something many others can claim.
Microsoft also has a deep research and development area as well. Also seems pretty darn committed to security.
One weakness I see is that they are trying to be everything to everyone. I don't think anyone has ever managed that trick.
#16
For those who work in big enterprises, as yourself a question: Have you EVER met a CIO or CTO who is a fanboi?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/17/2011 12:02
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#17
ask yourself a question
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/17/2011 12:02
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#18
There is no tablet that can replace my beast of a laptop. And the little app games do not take the place of a dedicated gaming laptop or PC. So my laptop will be around alot longer, especially since I wind up doing so much for work on it as well. I really should charge Halliburton a laptop use fee.
Posted by: Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division ||
11/17/2011 12:27
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#19
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/17/2011 13:24
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#20
I still run Windows, but in a virtual machine running under Linux.
It's mostly for Fireworks, which I like better than Inkscape, and XNews for newgroups.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011 14:35
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RE: "Steve Ballmer - Developers "
Looks embarrassing BUT it's the real core strategy of the company. Make it EASIER than any other platform to write apps that run on the PC, and you'll attract customers who want to use those apps.
#22
If Linux was going to be here, it would have been here by now. It ain't.
Oh, it's here all right. You just don't see it. It's in your smart phones. It's in my Mom's fancy flat-screen TV, it is in the servers running the interwebs. It is the development platform at a whole bunch of companies. It is even in the ceiling watching you...no wait, that's Ceiling Cat.
Microsoft still owns the desktop, but there is a whole lot of linuxing going on.
#26
The Cloud will obsolete the desktop and the servers.
The thing that most people don't get about the Cloud, is everything only needs to be done once. The age of thousands of developers doing basically the same thing is over. And that is the market Microsoft dominates.
[Dawn] There is nothing like success or even the prospects of it, which are now all too visible via the wide grin that Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... has been sporting of late. He's speaking less of the drone attacks and of engaging the Taliban, his pet plank on which he re-launched his political career after the recovery and killing of the late Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead. in May by the US navy SEALS in Abbotabad; ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its pleasant weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... there's less anti-America rhetoric and general bitterness in his speech, and more optimism writ on his face. Optimism to be the third, emerging and growing political force that will challenge corrupt politicians and bring them to justice.
IK's is no more the face of Pakistain's anger against itself and the world but one that's cautiously embracing hope and confidence, as more and more known political figures join the PTI, even if the new entrants are certified turncoats. He can explain it, for he is bothered to step out of the city life and urban myths and take cognisance of Pakistain's rural political culture where the waderas, the sardars, the Khans and the biradari heads are the real vote-getters. Even the MQM is not his bete noire anymore, and he's willing to go half way to neutralise that party's rancour against him.
Exuding new hope and confidence, a darling of the media that he's always been, IK says he believes that the turncoats who may join his party will be on their way to reforming themselves because he, sitting at the top of party leadership, is not corrupt -- as if corruption only trickles down from the top. A lot is being said about IK being the latest blue-eyed boy of the military establishment but much of it is being dismissed by his supporters as propaganda by his opponents who risk losing their votes to the PTI. Such speculation, however, is only half the truth because nothing moves in our politics without a wink from the right quarters.
If IK's rising public support means that for now the military is at the very best neutral in his regard and would not hamper his campaign, that's a lot of achievement there already. But the assertion on IK's part that the military pressures only corrupt politicians is a bit immature, because that institution alone is the biggest stakeholder in a stable Pakistain. The military inc., to borrow from Ayesha Siddiqa, needs political stability more than any other arm of the state to carry out its entrenched non-military -- read business -- transactions with massive stakes in the economy. That is the real strategic depth that the military establishment has built for itself within our own borders.
Whether the political dispensation that safeguards those interests is truly representative is of little concern to the military establishment. Besides, there's nothing that IK says in terms of his policy on key issues that can upset the generals; much of what he says is actually music to their ears. His embrace of the post-71 myths of the manufactured and establishment-propagated Pakistain Ideology of a welfare Moslem state is complete and abiding. That this ideology is and shall remain elusive because it's too utopian an idea, is beyond his grasp. His hawkish line on India, despite the expressed desire to better relations, with conditions attached, just completes the picture.
While IK in his massive Lahore rally for the first time spoke of the alienation of the Baloch people, it's worth noting that he only mentioned the Baloch after telling the crowd that their province had an immense wealth of natural resources which could help steer Pakistain out of troubled economic waters. A more circumspect politician would have been more discreet by at least distancing the two sentences about the wealth of the Baloch and their political alienation and the need to do something about it.
Instead, what he surmised is as follows: the (minority) Baloch should be brought to the mainstream because of their natural resources which are waiting to be exploited. He had no word of sympathy for the increasing plight and alienation of the other (religious) minorities or women of this country, which together form a majority of the population. Ostensibly because they have no such exploitable resources buried under their feet?
Just like the All India Moslem League in 1947, which had no studied blue print to run a state once it was achieved, IK's revolution for building a new Pakistain has only rhetorical ground to stand on. His battle cry is, 'if you want justice, come to Tehrik-i-Insaf; just like the League's was, 'if you are Moslem, come to Moslem League'. And like the League, IK's sense of rights and justice is not all inclusive. When he speaks of justice, he's talking more about bringing the corrupt (politicians alone) to justice rather than upholding justice for all.
This is not the medicine that people like me need to cure, or even manage, their cynicism.
Not just yet.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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[Dawn] PRESIDENT Bashir al-Assad's international isolation is deepening. The UN has condemned his brutality, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has slapped sanctions, the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... has suspended Syria's membership and the Organisation of Islamic Conference has come out with an unusually strong warning. The Arab League's ire is understandable. On Nov 2, Arab foreign ministers gave Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... 15 days to implement its plan, which asked it to end the crackdown on civilians, withdraw troops from protest hubs, release the detainees, negotiate with the opposition and allow foreign observers in. The AL also threatened to close its embassies in Damascus and to negotiate with all "currents" of the opposition. The AL decision was not unanimous, but the fact that only two members -- Yemen and Leb (besides the regime's representative) -- voted against it shows that an overwhelming majority of Arab opinion considers the Assad government guilty. The AL felt humiliated when pro-regime supporters attacked the Qatar and Saudi embassies, besides those of La Belle France and Turkey. The Arab League is meeting again today to review the situation, because there were some doubts about the utility of the Nov 2 decision. Nevertheless, given the deteriorating situation, Mr Assad's options are getting fewer and fewer.
There are desertions in the army on a larger scale, the casualty toll --3,500 deaths -- is approaching the Libyan figure, and protests have spread to outlying areas. Over the past two days alone, some 70 people have been killed in festivities between protesters and security forces. While a Libya-like foreign intervention is not feasible or desirable, both AL and OIC have given hints about what lies in store for Syria. The AL said it would have to consider seeking international protection for Syrian civilians, and OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu warned that the intransigence of the regime risked an internationalisation of the Syrian crisis. Whether Mr Assad has learnt from Col Qadaffy's ... who is now napping peacefully in the dirt... fate we do not know. But a widening of the internal conflict, especially in a country that borders Israel, will have geopolitical ramifications, unless sense dawns on Mr Assad. As Mr Ihsanoglu said an internationalisation of the crisis would not be "in anybody's interest".
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011
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#1
Daffy had the option of take the money and run. I don't think Assad has that option. The fate of the Alawites is too closely tied to his. Any attempt to run and he'd be dead before he made it to the airport.
I'm rather baffled by the AL position. Assad's only option is to keep killing protestors. The UNSC isn't going to do anything, nor is NATO.
The AL proposal to send in 500 observers is frankly bizzare, unless they are accompanied by a couple of armoured brigades. And where would they come from? Saudi?
#3
I ha&ve mixed feelings about El Assad: He is a pan-Arab nationalist but he is also an Alawite (a branch of chiism that and enmity with Sadam made for ties with Iran) ie people whose "Musliminess" is very thin: they drink alcohol, their women don't wear hijabs ans have a degree of freedom unknown in the Arab world and finally, but perhaps I confound them with the Ahmedists they don't face towards Mecch for praying.
In other words for orthodox Muslims they are marginally better than Kaffirs, perhaps even Kaffirs who "disguised" as Muslims to avoid discriminations and pogroms. I am wary of rebels who are being sponsored by Saudi Arabia and Quatar: anyone sponsored by them can't be good.
#4
Saudi Arabia must be the oddest relationship we have in this world. The bred our radical enemy, but tampered back on it and actually became allies by default due to Iran. Iran's sponsoring of Hezbollah through baby Assad is in close proximity in Saudi Arabia's eye.
Do not forget also, their meddling in Lebanon. Such a tragic thing.
At least 18 people have been killed in yet another US assassination drone campaign in northwest Pakistan, Press TV reports.
Officials and local sources told Press TV that a US drone fired four missiles at a house in Jandola area of South Waziristan Agency on Wednesday, killing 18 people and injuring several others.
The building was completely destroyed in the attack, they added.
After the aerial attack, the drone was flying over the area, causing panic among people.
The United States has deployed its assassination drones to launch airstrikes inside Pakistan's tribal belt.
Relations between Islamabad and Washington have soured over the unauthorized attacks. Pakistan insists that the airstrikes by the remotely controlled, unmanned aircraft violate its sovereignty.
Washington claims its drone strikes target militants, although casualty figures indicate that the aerial bombings have led to the loss of hundreds of Pakistani civilians.
Rights activists have condemned the US assassination drone strikes as extra-judicial assassinations against civilians, deemed anti-American by US authorities.
[An Nahar] Anti-regime protesters, inspired by the suspension of Syria from the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , staged a massive rally in Sanaa on Wednesday to urge the regional grouping to do the same with Yemen.
"Arab League, we demand the freezing of (Yemeni) membership," chanted the protesters who marched from Change Square, the epicenter of anti-government demonstrations, towards al-Hasaba -- both in the north of the capital.
"No immunity for the killer, resist, people, resist," they chanted, in allusion to a Gulf plan to end 10 months of unrest under which veteran President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... would step down in return for immunity from prosecution for himself and his family.
"Silence after today is shameful, after the bombs and the destruction," they shouted.
Security forces fired warning shots in the air when protesters passed by a house owned by Saleh. No casualties were reported.
Saleh, who has been in power in Sanaa since 1978, has come under mounting domestic and international pressure to step down in line with the Gulf-brokered peace blueprint.
Saleh has welcomed but has yet to sign off on the plan.
The Arab League voted on Saturday to suspend Syria from the pan-Arab bloc and impose sanctions after more than 3,500 people were killed since protests erupted in March against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... regime, according to U.N. figures.
Eighteen of the bloc's 22 members voted to suspend Syria, while Leb, Syria and Yemen voted against the move, and Iraq abstained.
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SALAH AL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq: Four cops and two civilians wounded today by a bomb blast directed against police patrol mid of Samarra', police sources said here.
The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the wounded were rushed to nearby hospital.
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[Yemen Post] The UN envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar was received yesterday by President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... to discuss the matter of the signature of the power-transfer as demanded by the 2014 UN Security Council resolution on October 21st.
Under the unanimously approved resolution, Saleh had a month to ink the GCC brokered proposal aimed at easing in a new government and the organization of presidential elections while guaranteeing Saleh, his family and close aides' legal immunity.
Despite claiming that he was favorable to a power-transfer and even welcoming the UNSC resolution, the embattled Yemeni President has been stalling the process as he continues to want to define the terms of "the implementation mechanism".
An official close to the President said under cover of anonymity: "President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... refused to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC) initiative upon request of Benomar during the meeting in the presidential palace, instead, Saleh asked Benomar to arrange direct dialogue between his deputy Abdo-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the opposition leaders to set up a mechanism for implementing the GCC initiative."
The source further added that Benomar categorically refused to engage in further talks as he said that enough time had been wasted already.
Interestingly, as President Saleh is once again putting road blocks before a swift resolution of the current political deadlock, the state-run Saba news agency announced that the president was favorable to more dialogue and that all he demanded was a "practical mechanism and timetable" before the deal could be signed.
Benomar is due to give his report on Yemen in only a few days, November 21st as it would mark the end of the timeframe given by the Security Council to Saleh before taking things further.
In the streets, protesters are becoming restless as many feel that Saleh will have to be forced out rather than eased out, signaling for Yemen a descent into yet more violence and bloodshed.
Saleh actually seemed willing to face the possibility of a civil war as he defiantly warned La Belle France 24 in an interview that it was an "eventuality".
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BAGHDAD: A roadside bomb blew up near a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in northern Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least two people and wounding 18 others, security and hospital sources said.
The bus was attacked as the pilgrims returned from a visit to a Muslim shrine in the city of Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of the Iraqi capital.
Insurgents have frequently targeted Iranian pilgrims, who have flocked to holy sites in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
On Sunday, a roadside bomb blew up near a bus in the northwestern Baghdad district of Kadhimiya, killing one Iranian pilgrim and wounding four others, according to a police source.
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Pak security forces have briefly placed in long-term storage at least 14 US nationals as they took photos of sensitive military facilities in the country's eastern province of Punjab, Press TV reported.
Pak police and military personnel ordered the Americans, traveling in three large embassy SUVs, to pull over on a road in Rawalpindi, which is located 224 kilometers (138 miles) southwest of the Pak capital Islamabad, as they took photographs of sensitive installations in the city.
The US citizens were jugged for about an hour on a military base before the US Embassy in Islamabad explained in a statement that the performers were not aware of restrictions placed on photography in or near the area, and had no intention to photograph sensitive Pak government or military installations.
Pak police destroyed the images before releasing the group.
Tensions between Islamabad and Washington increased following a secret US raid into Pakistain in May that killed al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead. Pak military has since been under pressure to explain why US military helicopters freely carried out the operation on Pak soil.
Pakistain's defense ministry later ordered the United States to leave a remote desert airbase in the southwestern Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Province.
The US had long been carrying out its unauthorized drone attacks in Pakistain from the Shamsi airbase in Balochistan.
#1
Since the Paks obviously don't understand "diplomatic immunity" we should return the favor to their "diplomats" to the UN and US whenever this happens.
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What Press Iran doesn't say is it was a Hip-Hop dance troupe.
The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... on Wednesday gave the Syrian regime three days to halt months of deadly violence against its people or face economic sanctions, Qatar's prime minister said.
The 22-member League is "giving the Syrian government three days to stop the bloody repression" of its civilian population, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told a presser after a meeting of member states in Rabat.
"But if Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... does not agree to cooperate with the League, sanctions will be adopted against Syria," he said, when asked whether the League would slap sanctions on Damascus if it did not abide by the three-day deadline to sign a protocol on sending a team of Arab observers to Syria to monitor the situation on the ground.
He said that Arab patience was running out with the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... after a bloody crackdown against demonstrators that has killed over 3,500 people since March according to the United Nations ...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country... "I don't want to speak about last chances so (the regime) doesn't think it is being given an ultimatum but we are almost at the end of the line," he said.
"The Syrian government must agree to Arab League decisions and stop the bloodbath in Syria," he said. "We do not interfere in Syria's internal affairs ... but the bloodbath must be stopped."
Syria was suspended by the League at the weekend, and refused to turn up at the meeting, which was also attended by Turkey, its northern neighbor.
In a statement after what was labeled the Turkish-Arab cooperation forum, ministers declared they were "against all foreign intervention" but said it was time for urgent measures.
"The forum declares that it is necessary to stop the bloodshed and to spare Syrian citizens from new acts of violence and killing, and demands that urgent measures are taken to ensure the protection of civilians," a statement said.
"Ministers also stressed the importance of Syria's stability and unity and the need to find a resolution to the crisis without any foreign intervention," it added.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said "everything must be done to stop the ongoing bloodshed in Syria."
He said he hoped Arab moves to send observers to Syria would bear fruit within days, but reiterated that no observers would be sent before a clear agreement is signed.
The pan-Arab body had agreed to send 500 members of human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... groups, media representatives and military observers to Syria, which said it would welcome them to see the situation on the ground and help implement the peace deal.
As the ministers met, pro-Assad protesters attacked the Moroccan and UAE embassies in Damascus, officials said.
Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, has become increasingly outspoken in its criticism of Assad's regime since the uprising began.
"The cost for the Syrian administration of not fulfilling the promises it made to the vaporous Arab League is its isolation in the Arab world as well," Ahmet Davutoglu told his Arab counterparts.
"It is not possible for any administration to win the fight against its own people," he added.
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The Syrian army has laid mines at the border with Jordan in order to "restrict access to humanitarian asylum in Jordan for Syrians," according to an "informed source" speaking with Jordanian daily Al Ghad.
The source told Al Ghad that the mines were laid specifically to block access to citizens in the Deraa governate - the site of some of the earliest anti-government protests that took place this year - and the city of Al Ramtha.
"[Syrians] are fleeing the deteriorating security situation in their country," the source said according to Al Ghad.
More than 19,000 Syrian refugees have decamped to neighboring Turkey since violence began eight months ago between forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... and anti-regime activists, according to the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... . An estimated 6,000 evacuees are also residing in Leb, according to Dubai-based Al Arabiya.
[Dawn] Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... on Wednesday assured the National Assembly that they were ready to go to any extent for ensuring supremacy of the Parliament and to protect democracy.
Speaking in the National Assembly in response to various issues raised by Leader of the Opposition Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, he said that the prime ministers would come and go but the parliament should continue to function in the country.
He rejected the impression of the leader of the opposition that parliament had become 'useless' and said the house had the honour to pass 103 amendments in the constitution and all the legislation was enacted after evolving the consensus.
The PM appreciated the opposition parties for passing Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill unanimously and added the whole world appreciated this legislation.
He said it was for first time in the history of Pakistain that the army and ISI were made accountable to the parliament.
He asked the opposition to maintain tolerance as resignations from the parliament was not in the interest of anyone, rather it would give a bad name to the country and democratic system.
Mr Gilani said he has asked all the cabinet members and parliamentary secretaries to remain present in both the houses of the parliament to debate the issues, raised by the members.
The PM further said that he was ready to cooperate and maintain discipline in the house but hoped the same spirit would also come from the opposition members.
The prime minister said the government was ready to debate all the issues including electricity, gas, public sector organizations but asked the opposition to move all the issues in the parliament according to its procedures. Only raising the issues on point of orders, will not resolve these issues, he added.
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[An Nahar] 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... hoped on Wednesday that the "spirit of forgiveness" would prevail, hinting that Lebanese politicians should not allow their rhetoric to go out of hands.
On the occasion of the International Day of Tolerance, Suleiman said in a statement that "honest and logical dialogue should be the only way to find a solution to problems."
Such dialogue keeps the nation away from the repercussions of turmoil abroad and helps consolidate stability and civil peace, the president said.
He hoped that "the spirit of forgiveness would prevail among everyone," urging the Lebanese to prevent the language of dialogue from becoming indecent.
Suleiman's statement came two days after two prominent Lebanese politicians debating the unrest in Syria exchanged blows on live television.
The fight broke out in a debate between al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... movement official former MP Mustafa Alloush and the head of the Lebanese branch of Syria's ruling Baath party Fayez Shukur on a talkshow on MTV station late Monday.
Alloush called Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... a liar, at which point the two politicians traded insults and hurled glasses of water at each other. Shukur then picked up a chair and tried to hit Alloush with it.
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping called Bob Muggsy Mugabe Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case... "an old friend of China" Wednesday, state media said, as the Zim-bob-wean president visited the country to attend his daughter's graduation.
At a meeting between the two in Beijing, Mugabe -- who has been accused of widespread human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... abuses in his country -- also said he appreciated China's support, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Calling Mugabe "an old friend of China", Xi, who is currently Vice President, said Beijing wanted to cooperate further with Zim-bob-we in "trade, agriculture, mining and infrastructure", the report said.
"China... supports Zim-bob-we to explore its own development path in accordance with its national conditions," Xi -- widely expected to take over from current President Hu Jintao ...Hu has been involved in the Communist party bureaucracy for most of his adult life, meaning his viewpoint has a lot more theory than it does practice. He espouses a Harmonious Society approach, suggesting everybody should play nice or they'll be shot... in 2013 -- was quoted as saying.
China has invested billions of dollars in Africa -- including Zim-bob-we -- raising eyebrows in the West, but many African leaders have praised the rising Asian giant for not preaching about human rights and corruption.
Mugabe's visit comes after he travelled to Hong Kong -- to attend his daughter's graduation on Tuesday -- with a group of about 20 people including his wife, Grace.
China is not party to international sanctions on Mugabe, who is the subject of a Western travel ban and asset freeze.
During his meeting with Xi, the Zim-bob-wean President said he wanted to work more closely with China in agriculture, infrastructure and minerals, Xinhua said.
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#1
Zim-bob-we has been exploited by everyone else, I guess it's China's turn.
#2
There needs to be an internationalist movement in both China and Russia to change the national attitude in both nations against *foreign* dictators and tyrants.
In all fairness, the US used to do that itself, encourage such dictators and tyrants, as long as it profited us, but eventually the light dawned that such people were creating more long term problems than they were worth.
Both China and Russia still have the insular idea that "what happens over there is of no consequence here", which was actually worse in the US because we had two ocean barriers to annoying foreigners, but the world is not like that anymore.
#4
I agree anonymouse but I think the Chinese are building on anti-colonial resentment in Africa. They don't care if its a dictatorship or a democracy, they just want access and the anti-colonial card is a powerful card.
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.
Intensifying the culture-of-corruption stench: the critical role of Andy Stern. He's the profligate, corruption-coddling former head of the powerful Service Employees International Union -- the 2.2 million-member public-employee union powerhouse that he left in April 2010 with a mountain of debt and eroding rank-and-file pensions (and looming FBI investigation).
A Middletown, Ohio woman faces additional charges after she asked a friend to 
Iraq's government said it would move to end a major contract with Exxon Mobil after the US oil giant signed a deal with semi-autonomous Kurdistan to explore fields there, which Baghdad on Wednesday called a violation of the law.
[Dawn] In a joint operation, police from Jhelum, Chakwal, Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab along with Elite Force commandoes recovered explosives and other material under the use of 
Punjab
A joint investigation team, comprising intelligence, counterterrorism wing and police officials, has been constituted to probe into the killing of the intelligence officials. The JIT visited the scene and investigated some local people regarding the incident.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Khaleda Zia's
A 
Karl Slover, one of the last surviving actors who played Munchkins in the 1939 classic film, "The Wizard of Oz," has died. He was 93.
[Yemen Post] According to local government officials in Yemen's southern region of Abyan the government troops would have killed 7 al-Qaeda 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[An Nahar] Thousands of Kuwaitis stormed parliament on Wednesday after police and elite forces beat up protesters marching on the prime minister's home to demand he resign, an opposition MP said.
l-Shabaab
[Dawn] Although Election Commission of Pakistain has set up separate polling booths for women to cast their votes in 
Walid 
[An Nahar] Iran is to send an "analytical" response to a report suggesting it was pursuing nuclear weapons, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday, a day before the U.N. watchdog meets on the issue.
[Dawn] Afghanistan wants the United States and 
[An Nahar] Protesters pelted the Moroccan embassy in 
A 
[Dawn] There is nothing like success or even the prospects of it, which are now all too visible via the wide grin that 
[Dawn] PRESIDENT Bashir al-Assad's international isolation is deepening. The UN has condemned his brutality, the 
At least 18 people have been killed in yet another US assassination drone campaign in northwest Pakistan, Press TV reports.
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
Prime Minister 
He hoped that "the spirit of forgiveness would prevail among everyone," urging the Lebanese to prevent the language of dialogue from becoming indecent.
