#7
Cyd Charisse? I adored her as a dancer and an actress. Once I would have maimed to have legs and/or to be able to move like her -- I would have been amply satisfied with either, never mind both. The dancer/actresses are all on Broadway nowadays; the studios haven't done musicals in decades, with rare exceptions.
LONDON - Britain will increase its force in Afghanistan by 230, taking the total number of British troops there to 8,030, Defence Secretary Des Browne told parliament on Monday. "As a result of a recent review I have approved the removal of around 400 posts from the Afghan operational establishment. These posts are no longer required to the organisation and the changed nature of the situation," he said.
"At the same time, we have identified a requirement for, in total, 630 new posts creating a net increase in our forces in Afghanistan of some 230 personnel to around 8,030 by spring 2009," Browne said. He said that while it was not a significant increase it did show the force was expanding and would boost the military's commitment to development in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Afghan National Security Forces and the U.S.-led Coalition forces have killed 20 militants after their combined reconnaissance patrol was attacked by the rebels in Deh Chopan District of southern Afghanistan's Zabul province, the Coalition said Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
That is wild country up toward the headwaaters of the Arghandab River. Really a nowheresville.
Three alleged criminals were killed in a gunfight with members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) at Meradia in the city's Khilgaon area early yesterday.
They call it gunfight but the deaders knew it as a crossfire ...
For our new readers, a 'encounter' is when the RAB shoots perps on site. A 'crossfire' is when they bring them in for a relaxing conversation (normally involving pliers) before taking them on a moonlight drive. Then shooting them trying to 'escape'.
The dead were identified as Sohel alias 'Bhombal' Sohel, 35, of East Goran, Monir Hossain alias 'Baka' Babu, 22, of East Rampura, and Sukkur Ali, 30, of South Goran.
None of them belong to JI, so they're toast ...
Rab-3 officials said one of their patrol teams chased the three following their suspicious movements when they were passing through Balurmath near Meradia Bazar by a private car at around 1:45am.
Just about the right hour in a neighborhood you couldn't find with a Garmin ...
Sensing danger, ...
'Hark! My spider-sense it tingling! Cheez, it's the RAB!'
... the criminals fired several rounds of bullet on the law enforcers, ...
... more aimless fire which is all the bad guys can ever do ...
... forcing them to retaliate.
Of course they did.
Rab sources said Sohel, Babu and Sukkur received bullets during the gunfight and died instantly ...
Got 'em on the first try. They're dead, Jim.
... while two other members of the gang managed to flee.
'One minute they was trading shots with us, then 'Woosh!', da was gone!'
Almost as if they were never there in the first place.
Both sides traded at least 40 bullets during the clash, they added.
39 by the RAB -- that works out to 13 for each mook.
Rab members and a patrol team of Khilgaon Police Station sent the bodies ...
'Hey, give me a hand! There's three of them this time!'
... to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy.
Three more for Dr. Quincy, who no doubt will conclude that they're well and truly dead.
They recovered three firearms and 10 cocktails from the scene and seized the private car.
So they were DUI as well? No wonder they got plugged. Can't tolerate drinking and driving and shooting ...
Babu's father Moklesur Rahman alleged that Rab personnel picked up his son and his two friends--Kalu and Belal--from a restaurant at East Rampura on May 14.
Along with the cocktails for later ...
Though my son is found dead, Kalu and Belal still remain missing, Moklesur Rahman said.
Didya check the morgue, Pops?
Family members of two other deceased--Sukkur and Sohel--said Rab members arrested the two on Saturday night.
'Come along Sukkur and Sohel, youse coming wit us. No, no, don't bother to pack anything.'
Family members said Sohel and his friend Babu had been carrying out criminal activities for last several years and they did not maintain any relationship with Sohel. They, however, claimed that Sukkur was not a criminal. He was the driver of Sohel's car.
Just the getaway man, never the stickup artist ...
Talking to The Daily Star, Commanding officer of Rab-3, Sultan Mohammad Nurani denied the claim of earlier arrest of the three. He said, There are some witnesses to the gunfight.
'Hassim here, and Mahmoud, and Achmed, they all saw it.'
'But they're RAB as well.'
'Yeah, that's why they saw what happened.'
He said two of the gang managed to flee during the gunfight.
Shadows into the mist ...
Khilgaon police said Sohel, Babu and Sukkur were wanted in twelve systems four cases--killings, arms, explosives and drugs--filed by Rab.
And their mothers didn't love them one bit ...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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There is no mention of the time, no interrogation, the suspects do not lead to an arms cache, no use of a shutter gun. The only thing that would make on believe RAB was involved are dead bodies.
#5
The time was right, 1:45 a.m., and it certainly sounds like a crossfire. Maybe they just have a new writer who hasn't yet learned to convey all the subtle nuances.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/17/2008 14:59 Comments ||
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A bomb blast inside a Shia mosque killed at least four people and wounded two others on Monday, police said. Local police officer Asghar told Daily Times over the telephone that the bomb went off inside Imambargah Hazrat Ali in Mohallah Roshan Chirgah as worshippers were coming out of the mosque after offering evening prayers.
District police chief Abdul Ghaffar Qaiserani told AFP that it was a time-controlled device as police found a number of battery cells from the rubble, which indicated the bomb, planted near the main entrance, was on a timer. Qaiserani declined to say if it was a sectarian attack, but similar bombings and gun attacks have taken place between the supporters of Shia and Sunni extremist groups active in Dera Ismail Khan, which borders the Tribal Areas.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
Didn't need to, everyone got the message ...
The blast shattered the mosques front wall and damaged its dome. A crater was also caused near the front wall, AFP reported. Twisted fans hung from the ceiling inside the mosque and prayer mats were scattered across the bloodstained floor.
The police cordoned off the area as people sifted debris looking for survivors. Witnesses said that nearby markets were shut down immediately after the incident to curb possible protests.
Last month, gunmen opened fire on a car, killing four Shias in Dera Ismail Khan. Hours later, a Sunni Muslim was shot dead elsewhere in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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A suspected suicide bomber escaped unhurt after a shootout with police in the Rahimabad Police Station limits in Mingora City on Monday, police said.
Police officials said that they had put the Rahimabad area on red alert after receiving information that a suspected suicide bomber had entered the area. Police Inspector Mohammad Jan told Daily Times that during a search operation, they came across a man wearing a suicide jacket. Both police and the man opened fire, yet he managed to escape unhurt. The Mingora police foiled another terrorism bid by recovering 120 kg of explosive material from a workshop in the city. Police managed to defuse the explosives.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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An anti-terrorism court on Monday announced death sentence for five people convicted for involvement in a bomb blast in Kad Kucha. Judge Muhammad Ismail Baloch of the Kalat Division court at Khuzdar awarded three counts of death sentence to the five convicts, including four absconders. Muhammad Hussain and four absconders Muhammad Yousuf, Muhammad Rafiq, Ghulan Sarwar, and Rehmatullah were involved in the bombing, which killed three children six months ago. The judge also awarded a five-year rigorous imprisonment to the four absconders for not appearing before the court, and ordered the authorities to confiscate the moveable and immovable properties of the convicts.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Local Taliban on Monday killed a tribal elder in Darra Adam Khel on accusation of spying for the government. According to Dawn News, the tribal elder identified as Malik Ghulam was kidnapped three days ago. The militants threw his body in the Darra Adam Khel bazaar. Relatives of the victim took his body for burial to his native village of Torchapar. The channel quoted locals as saying that several tribal elders of Bosti Khel area were in custody of the local Taliban as well.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Kind of reminds me of the animal kingdom, where the young males challenge the old patriarch again and again until one of them is finally stronger and drives him away from the pride/herd/whatever. Wisdom and guile prevail against reckless youth most of the time but eventually the old guy runs out of luck or health.
Mosul, Jun 16, (VOI) - Two Mosul University students were killed on Monday afternoon during an attempt to arrest them by security forces, security sources said.
"A force from the Ninewa operations command tried to arrest two students inside the Mosul university campus," a police source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq on condition of anonymity. "They were killed during the attempt to arrest them and one security forces was wounded," he added.
"The two are wanted men. One of them is a student in the faculty of management and economics, while the other is a student in the faculty of literature," he noted.
For his part, a security source said "security forces told the university guards that they will arrest two wanted students." "One of the two students was killed during clashes on campus, while the other died of wounds he sustained during the clashes," he added. He did not add more details.
Almost reads like a crossfire ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Ahh, I remember it like it was yesterday! Walking around the verdant campus with my books and AK rifle, flirting with the girls, BSing with my friends, and waiting for the coppers to try and get me...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/17/2008 7:14 Comments ||
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#2
Time for CSNY to adapt one of their old songs.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
06/17/2008 7:28 Comments ||
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#3
Or, Eric, Alice Cooper - "School's out for the summer. School's out forever."
Okay. Shall we set the over/under?
Hamas spokesman said Tuesday that his was committed to an Egyptian-mediated truce deal with Israel set to go into effect Thursday. Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas would commit to the "zero hour" declared by Egypt. An official Egyptian statement released earlier Tuesday said the cease-fire would go into effect on Thursday at 6 a.m.
The MENA agency report cited an unnamed high-level Egyptian official as saying that both sides "have agreed on the first phase" of an Egyptian package to end the violence in the Strip. It said the first phase was a "mutual and simultaneous calm" in the Gaza Strip which would start Thursday morning. Egypt hopes that the two sides will exert all efforts to bring the calm to a success," the agency quoted the official as saying. A senior Palestinian Authority official confirmed that the agreement would go into effect on Thursday.
Israeli officials declined to confirm a deal, but voiced "cautious optimism" and said Israel's negotiator in the truce talks was rushing to Cairo. Government spokesman Mark Regev would also not confirm or deny a deal. "What is important is not only words but deeds," Regev said. "If there is a total absence of terror attacks from Gaza into Israel and if there is an end to arms buildup in Gaza Strip and movement on the hostage Gilad Schalit that will indeed be a new reality." Defense officials, however, said they expected negotiations on Schalit to begin on Sunday, a tacit admission that a truce was in the works.
Earlier Tuesday, during a session of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC), IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that Israel was on a "collision course" with Hamas and that he adopted the stance of intelligence officials, who believed that a truce would be short and fragile. Smart man...
"The IDF will respect a cease-fire but is also getting ready for a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip," Ashkenazi added. IDF's Research Division Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz had told the FADC that in his estimation, Hamas intended to continue smuggling weapons into Gaza, irrespective of a truce, and that it would continue working to bolster terror infrastructure and use the cease-fire as a chance to regroup and rearm.
Meanwhile, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the truce would consist of three stages and Palestinian sources told the Arabic daily that the cease-fire would be in place for six months at first and would later include the West Bank as well.
According to the report, the first stage of the cease-fire would be implemented once Israel opens the Karni and Sufa crossings. During the second stage, which would start a week later, Israel would remove certain restrictions on the goods which are allowed into Gaza. The third stage, set to start a week later, would include discussions on a new mechanism of operating the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Place your bets...
#2
Yeah but did Islamic Jihad agree? And besides, they still need to take Dire Revenge(tm) for the murder of Dogmush. After that, they will cease fire.
Unless, of course, the Zionist Entity(tm) strikes back after IJ or some other splinter group fires at Sderot. Then they will be justified in taking revenge for all the oppression and cruelty, ...
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/17/2008 13:29 Comments ||
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Five members of the Army of Islam - the group involved in the capture of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit and the kidnapping of BBC reporter Alan Johnson - were killed Tuesday when an IAF aircraft targeted a car in the southern Gaza Strip, east of Khan Yunis. Hey. What's that noise?
I dunno. Fan belt mayb...
According to Palestinian reports, among the dead was the commander of the organization, Muntaz Dughmush. So long, Muntaz...
A security official told the Jerusalem Post that the five were in the midst of planning a massive terror attack to sabotage truce efforts. I wonder if Hamas gave them up? Kind of a good faith gesture...
Six other Palestinians were wounded in two more air strikes in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians said. The IDF said it had targeted Palestinian terrorists. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad vowed to avenge the attacks, but said that last-minute truce efforts must proceed. Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that the Palestinians would not just "sit with their arms folded." Another Hamas spokesman, Ismail Ridwan, accused Israel of trying to derail the cease-fire efforts, but added that his group remained open to a truce. Sorry, Dogmushes. Looks like there's too many chips on the table.
Islamic Jihad also said it was leaving the door open to a halt in fighting. The group added, however, that it would respond to the strike. Seethe, swear Dire Revenge, shoot a lotta rounds in the sky at the funeral...
Witnesses said the first attack targeted a jeep near the town of Al-Qarara, north of the city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing five and injuring others.
The director of the ambulance and emergency department in the Palestinian Health Ministry, Mu'awiyya Hassanein, said the bodies arrived in "charred pieces" at the hospital.
Sounds like that rules out a post funeral cookout. Too much bad imagery...
#3
Sophie Tucker........last of the Red Hot Momas........that's old stuff.
Posted by: James Carville ||
06/17/2008 15:22 Comments ||
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#4
Death pic please.
Ona separate note, as perhaps best illustrated by the recent News story of an elderly woman whom awoke after being declared offic dead and rigor mortis allegedly creeping in, GOES TO SHOW THAT THE "OBSOLETE", UN-MODERN, EVEN "FUNNY", ETC. DEATH/MORTUARY PRACTICES-RITUALS OF OUR ANCESTORS WEREN"T SO AFTER ALL???
(Xinhua) -- An Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement terrorist militant was killed and three terrorists wounded in an Israeli tanks shelling on a group of militants east of Gaza City on Monday, doctors and witnesses said.
The Islamic Jihad said in a leaflet that one of its terrorists militants was killed and three terrorists wounded as they were launching homemade rockets from eastern Gaza City at the southern Israeli town of Sderout.
Islamic Hamas movement's armed wing al-Qassam Brigades also claimed responsibility for launching a long-range Grad rocket from Gaza at the costal Israeli town of Ashkelon in southern Israel. Israeli Radio reported that a Grad rocket hit the boundaries of the town, adding that one Israeli civilian was lightly injured and severe damages were caused where the rocket landed.
The group said the rocket attack was a response to Israel's killing three Palestinian terrorists militants earlier on Monday. On Monday morning, three Islamic Jihad terrorists militants were killed and three wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a group of terrorists militants east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Southern terrorists insurgents shot dead a widow in Narathiwat on Tuesday morning when she was going to rubber plantation. The Muslim victim, 45, was killed at around 6.30am. Police said she had five children to look after. Police said two terrorists insurgents on a motorcycle chased her after she left her house for work before opening fire on her in Bacho district.
A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up outside a police compound in northern Sri Lanka yesterday, killing at least 12 police and wounding 40 other people, officials said.
The powerful blast occurred during the morning rush hour directly in front of a police building in the tightly-guarded town of Vavuniya, 258 kilometres (160 miles) north of the capital Colombo, the defence ministry said. The wounded, some of them schoolchildren, were rushed to the main hospital, doctors said.
"It was a Tiger suicide bomber who rammed his (explosives-packed) motorcycle as policemen were leaving for duty," military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said.
"All those killed in the attack were police personnel," police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said, identifying the victims as nine policemen and three female constables.
Sri Lanka's military retaliated with a string of air attacks on rebel targets inside guerrilla held-territory north of Vavuniya, defence sources said. They said jet aircraft bombed a store house of the Tamil Tigers in Mullaitivu district while Mi-24 helicopter gunships attacked Tiger bunkers in the northern peninsula of Jaffna. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the air attacks and there was also no immediate reaction from the guerrillas.
Vavuniya is a de facto frontier town bordering territory further north held by the rebels, who are fighting for a separate Tamil homeland in the majority Sinhalese island.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Iran has withdrawn around $75 billion from European banks to prevent the assets from being blocked under threatened new sanctions over Teheran's disputed nuclear ambitions, Reuters reported Monday, quoting an Iranian weekly.
The report in Shahrvand-e Emrouz stated that "about $75 billion of Iran's foreign assets which were under threat of being blocked were wired back to Iran based on Ahmadinejad's order. "Part of Iran's assets in European banks have been converted to gold and shares and another part has been transferred to Asian banks," Mohsen Talaie, Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of economic affairs, was quoted as saying.
So next we go after the Asian banks ...
The UK's Daily Telegraph reported last week that Iranian assets held in Europe were being funneled back to Teheran using financial intermediaries in Dubai.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I see a whole new front opening up against Iran. It's called Hassle the Assets. Good move.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/17/2008 2:19 Comments ||
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#2
If they put it in one of Kimmie's banks, they better count their fingers afterward.
#6
Banks here are hitting their customers with "Overdraft Fees" when the customers ars NOT "Overdrawn". I can just see those Billions eaten away with such "Fees"
(Whatcha gonna do, complain?)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/17/2008 8:59 Comments ||
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#7
How much of that got side wired into personal government accounts?
If you were the Chinese, would you want to trade fewer or more yuan for these 75-billion?
My guess would be that you would want to trade fewer yuan. The problem is, the yuan is pegged to the dollar. And 75-billion, at a fractional reserve rate of 5 percent, will create 1.5-trillion dollars. Quite a bit of inflationary pressure.
I don't know of any velocity studies for the yuan. If I were a member of the Politbureau I'd want to keep such things close to the vest. But for the curious, here's a quick primer on money:
http://tinyurl.com/5pphbp
How much pressure can China stand? Mebbe we're gonna find out?
I'm coming around to the view that the Chinese are far more pragmatists than capitalists. They have no problem now in generating the money need for projects and programs to keep the peasantry in whatever form happy and them in power. The Central Chinese government doesn't want to rock the economic boat to start stuff they [and a lot of self important but clueless economists in the West] don't fully understand and lead to situations that are destabilizing to their position. So they're more than satisfied to eat/hold all those dollars for now. When they believe that they have to power to drive the world economy rather than us, bets are off. Till then their first and last priority is to keep the existing game going and them firmly in the control seat back home.
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.
LONDON - Britain will increase its force in Afghanistan by 230, taking the total number of British troops there to 8,030, Defence Secretary Des Browne told parliament on Monday. "As a result of a recent review I have approved the removal of around 400 posts from the Afghan operational establishment. These posts are no longer required to the organisation and the changed nature of the situation," he said.
Three alleged criminals were killed in a gunfight with members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) at Meradia in the city's Khilgaon area early yesterday.
Mosul, Jun 16, (VOI) - Two Mosul University students were killed on Monday afternoon during an attempt to arrest them by security forces, security sources said.
Five members of the 
(Xinhua) -- An Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement 
Sri Lanka's military retaliated with a string of air attacks on rebel targets inside guerrilla held-territory north of Vavuniya, defence sources said. They said jet aircraft bombed a store house of the Tamil Tigers in Mullaitivu district while Mi-24 helicopter gunships attacked Tiger bunkers in the northern peninsula of Jaffna. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the air attacks and there was also no immediate reaction from the guerrillas.
Iran has withdrawn around $75 billion from European banks to prevent the assets from being blocked under threatened new sanctions over Teheran's disputed nuclear ambitions, Reuters reported Monday, quoting an Iranian weekly. 
