The celebrity endorsements have begun! Savage Dragon, a superhero and police officer whose adventures are published by Image Comics, is throwing his hat in the ring for Barack Obama. The news is blared across the cover of issue No. 137, with the green-skinned hero dressed up for the occasion in a black jacket, crisp white shirt and striped red tie.
The senator is also dressed nattily, though sartorial sticklers might point out that his tie falls a few inches too short. ("That's just because I'm an idiot," says Erik Larsen, who created the Savage Dragon character.) . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
08/19/2008 11:36 ||
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#1
with the green-skinned hero dressed up for the occasion in a black jacket, crisp white shirt and striped red tie.
The senator is also dressed nattily, though sartorial sticklers might point out that his tie falls a few inches too short.
See? Even comic book artists know how presidential candidates should dress! Perhaps Candidate Obama's team should spend less time reading Atlantic magazine and the New York Times, and more time reading comic books with their nephews.
#3
Savage Dragon or not, here's another Clinton nightmare...
If Hillary tosses in the towel and agrees to back Barack Obama...and he becomes President, what will she want in return? Not the VP! The voters, the party, and Obama probably wouldn't stand for that - and in 8 years, she'll be too old to run for the presidency again.
So, what would she settle for? If Obama is elected, the House & Senate will surely be Democrat controlled, and Obama can pay Hillary off big time by nominating her to the Supreme Court.
Remember, John Paul Stevens is 88 years old and Ginsberg is reported to have cancer. The Republicans will have no way of stopping it. This woman could then do more damage than she ever could do as President.
Researchers from the UNAM considers erroneous reports on global climate change
Global warming should include other kinds of factors, such as volcanoes and human action, but also outside the solar activity, said Victor Velasco, the Institute of Geophysics.
An expert from the National Autonomous University of Mexico predicted that in about ten years the Earth will enter a "little ice age" which will last from 60 to 80 years and may be caused by the decrease in solar activity. Victor Manuel Velasco Herrera, a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of the UNAM, as argued earlier during a conference that teaches at the Centre for Applied Sciences and Technological Development.
In the event, the specialist in remote sensing systems said that the recent rupture of the Argentine Perito Moreno glacier, unusual for having produced a full austral winter, was not due to global warming. The event was due, he said, a natural process caused by temperature and precipitation of the river.
Velasco Herrera described as erroneous predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), pursuant to which the planet is experiencing a gradual increase in temperature, the so-called global warming.
The models and forecasts of the IPCC "is incorrect because only are based on mathematical models and presented results at scenarios that do not include, for example, solar activity," said the specialist also in image processing and signs and prevention of natural disasters. he phenomenon of climate change, he added, should include other kinds of factors, both internal, such as volcanoes and the very human activity, and external, such as solar activity.
"Curiously, the star never has been seen as a cooling agent, but warming, but has two roles", he said.
At present, assured the world is going through a transition phase where solar activity diminishes considerably, "so that in two years or so, there will be a small ice age that lasts from 60 to 80 years," and the immediate consequence of this He added, will be drought. "Current evidence does not support globally synchronous periods of abnormal heat or cold in this timeframe," said his 2001 report.
Velasco Herrera said in his conferecia landslides that glaciers are recurring events that occur even in winter, as was the case of the Perito Moreno. "The process begins when training, located in one arm of Lago Argentino, moving up to the tip of the peninsula of Magellan, covering the drainage channels," he said.
When cut exits, the water level rises of 20 meters and, therefore, exerts more pressure on the ice, "which culminates with the release of huge ice blocks, as occurred last July 9," explained .
The Perito Moreno, approximately 200 square kilometres, is in the Andes, between Argentina and Chile, and is one of the few stable glaciers in the world. The front of the glacier is about 2.8 kilometers long and has a height of about 70 meters above the water level of the lake, although the wall of ice reaches his bed. In the area are signs that the glacier, whose previous rupture occurred in March 2006, was much more extensive centuries ago.
"In this century glaciers are growing", as seen in the Andes, Perito Moreno, Logan, the highest mountain in Canada, and with Franz-Josef Glacier, New Zealand, said Velasco Mr. Herrera.
The prognosis on the emergence of a new Ice Age has little uncertainty as to their dates. The latest, according to Victor Manuel Velasco, could arrive in approximately two years. And at the beginning of July, Velasco Herrera said that satellite data indicate that this period of global cooling could even have already begun, since 2005.
#1
If it is still freakin' cold with record snow fall in 2015, I would agree with him. 10 years of colder and colder weather does not bode well for us. Or the C02 global warming freaks.
#2
I predict that locally (TLH) next years summers will be very close to this year and winter will be very damn close too last year. Look for an expensive hurricane in the area about once every 12 years. It's going to rain a lot or not. 62 inches plues or minus 20. Spring will be pretty, but watch out for that last cold front. Autumn will be perfect, unless dawg days persist.
There, that's TLH weather for the next 50 years. Give or take 2 tropical storm, 1 tropical depression, 10 nasty tornadoes and 1 inch of snow.
#4
I'd like to pass a law requiring all those cassandara'ing global warming to wear thin tshirts in the summer near the arctic circle, after all, isn't it free of ice, bears are shedding skins (maybe not their own, but what the hell...), and seals and pups are dying from the heat? hell, I even heard illegals were showing up due to the similarities climate...right?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/19/2008 22:08 Comments ||
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#5
The models and forecasts of the IPCC "is incorrect because only are based on mathematical models and presented results at scenarios that do not include, for example, solar activity,"
Really? Solar cycles have something to do with our climate? What are the odds of that?
As for WHY it's left out of the IPCC reports is obvious. It can't be pedaled like snake oil to try and get someone bogus elected who's going to "do something" about it. Even the MSM won't by that load of industrial strength fertilizer.
Read this for some honesty regarding "climate change".
#7
ION WIRED > ROCKET SCIENTISTS SAY WE WILL NEVER REACH THE STARS; + TOPIX > THE WORLD IS DYING + THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD IS WEAKENING + US DROUGHTS CAN LAST CENTURIES + UK:SEA LEVELS RISING BEYOND THAMES BARRIER + DOLPHINS UNDER THREAT FROM GLOBAL WARMING WHILE WHALES PROSPER.
HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate zoomed to 11.2 million percent in June, state media reported on Tuesday, amid a ruinous political crisis which is exacerbating the southern African nation's meltdown. "Zimbabwe's annual rate of inflation surged in June to 11.2 million percent," The Herald newspaper said, adding: "It gained 9,035,045.5 percentage points from the May rate of 2,233,713.4 percent."
However everyone agrees that the government estimate is a fraction of the real figure. "The actual figure could be high as 40 million percent in June," said independent economist John Robertson. "The actual figure for July could be as high as 300 million percent, while for August it could be 600 million percent," he added.
Once hailed as a model economy and a regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe's fortunes have nosedived since veteran ruler Robert Mugabe seized white-owned farms and handed them over to landless blacks, often with no farming skills. The currency, once on a par with the British pound, is in freefall; unemployment is pegged at a staggering 80 percent; food and essential goods are in short supply and the vast majority of people go hungry every day.
A protracted power tussle between the iron-fisted Mugabe and the opposition -- which shows few signs of being resolved after the president's widely condemned one-man re-election in June -- has added to the woes and the hunger of the common man.
In the face of such adversity, many have resorted to ingenious ways to ensure their next meal. Mike Bvunzawabaya, a security guard at a large Harare supermarket, is able to buy a loaf of bread at the official price of eight Zimbabwe dollars, which he then resells for 120 dollars. "At least I am not stealing from anyone," he says, justifying the thriving sideline trade of 15 to 20 loaves he resells every day.
In one Zimbabwean village, people have turned to barter, exchanging a bar of soap for maize, and are cutting down on meals. Villagers who once stashed savings from grain sales are now refusing to accept cash as they cannot afford bus fares to travel to shops and fear the money will be worthless before they arrive.
In cities, some doctors ask to be paid in cash rather than charging medical insurance schemes, saying the currency would be further devalued by the time they are reimbursed. Some schools are charging school fees in fuel coupons.
In Harare, a 29-year-old Air Zimbabwe worker did not go to work last week as she could not afford the transport costs to get there. "It costs me more to go to work," she said, adding that the number of travellers using the airline had dropped.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that 83 percent of Zimbabweans are living on less than two US dollars a day and that 45 percent of the total population is malnourished.
Recently, the state-controlled Herald newspaper carried a story about a man who invested his retirement package in a fixed account 10 years ago. When he went to withdraw his savings, he was told the money was worth one cent after the country's central bank knocked ten zeros off the Zimbabwe dollar.
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe's central bank chief urged a six-month price and salary freeze in a bid to rein in runaway inflation, with the country in the midst of an economic meltdown. "Zimbabweans must realise that the country is in a practically binding state of socio-economic emergency," The Herald quoted Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono as saying then. "As such, there is need for a universal moratorium on all incomes and prices for a minimum period of six months," said Gono. Keep up the good work, Gideon...
#1
Where is the breaking point for these people?
The only thing left to do to make it a complete joke is for Bob to announce that they are going to start enriching uranium. "Let them eat yellowcake".
Yemen's Parliament on Monday rejected a bill of controversial amendments to the election law, underscoring escalating tension between the ruling party and the opposition.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling General People's Congress (GPC), which dominates Parliament, pushed through the vote after the socialist opposition failed to name representatives to an election committee for April 2009 polls. The Parliament instead kept the old committee in place, adding three new members, an AFP correspondent reported.
The rejected amendments include banning government officials from using their influence to affect the vote, and confining the registration of electors to their place of birth or residence while ruling out the place of work.
"What the Parliament has done today was constitutional. The procrastination of the opposition and its failure to fulfill its promises is against the constitution," GPC parliamentary bloc chief Sultan al-Burkani said. "The opposition parties want us to subjugate laws and the Parliament to their wishes, and even want to postpone elections for another year. This is unacceptable," he charged.
The amendments were hammered out during months of talks between major political parties. Like in a stormy session on Sunday, the main opposition Yemen Socialist Party (YSP) stayed away, although two other opposition groups, the Islamist Islah Party and Unionist Popular Nasserite Organization, attended the debate.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Venezuela has said it will seize local plants and offices belonging to Mexican cement giant Cemex, as it proceeds with nationalising its cement industry.
Cemex's Swiss and French rivals Lafarge and Holcim have agreed to hand control of their local subsidiaries to Caracas. However, a deal with Mexico's Cemex "hasn't been possible", said Venezuelan Vice-President Ramon Carrizalez.
Venezuela has begun nationalising several industries as part of a drive toward "21st-Century socialism".
Mr Carrizalez said that Venezuela had acquired 89% of Lafarge's Venezuelan operations for $267m and paid $552m for 85% of Holcim's local unit. The two firms have signed agreements setting out the process for transferring shares to the government. Mr Carrizalez said Cemex had asked for $1.3bn for its Venezuelan operations.
A spokeswoman for Lafarge earlier said that the company was working to protect the interests of shareholders and staff based in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Soon to be followed by either a) a massive shortage of cement in Hugoland, or b) a massive drop in quality of cement produced in Hugoland, or c) both
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/19/2008 0:36 Comments ||
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#2
HOT AIR > seems HUGO has announced that RUSSIA may send a NAVAL SQUADRON/TASK GROUP TO VISIT VENEZUELA = CARIBBEAN???
#6
I think Cemex is the only cement company in Mexico. That should give you an idea of how big it is. I'm sure CA Rambler is right on both accounts. Without the management to run the plant it will not produce much.
Russian soldiers took about 20 Georgian troops prisoner at a key Black Sea port in western Georgia on Tuesday, blindfolding them and holding them at gunpoint, and commandeered American Humvees awaiting shipment back to the United States.
The move came as a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles left the strategic Georgian city of Gori in the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from Georgia after a cease-fire intended to end fighting that reignited Cold War tensions. The two countries on Tuesday also exchanged prisoners captured during their brief war.
However, Russian soldiers took Georgian servicemen prisoner in Poti Georgia's key oil port city and commandeered the U.S. Humvees.
Russian forces blocked access to the city's naval and commercial ports on Tuesday morning and towed the missile boat Dioskuria, one of the navy's most sophisticated vessels, out of sight of observers. A loud explosion was heard minutes later.
Several hours later, an Associated Press photographer saw Russian trucks and armored personnel carriers leaving the port with about 20 blindfolded and handcuffed men riding on them. Port spokesman Eduard Mashevoriani said the men were Georgian soldiers.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said officials were looking into the reported theft of the Humvees.
The deputy head of Russia's general staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said Russian forces plan to remain in Poti until a local administration is formed, but did not give further details. He also justified previous seizures of Georgian soldiers as necessary to crack down on soldiers who were "out of any kind of control ... acting without command."
An AP television crew has seen Russian troops in and around Poti all week, with local port officials saying the Russians had destroyed radar, boats and other Coast Guard equipment there.
Russian troops last week drove Georgian forces out of South Ossetia, where Georgia on Aug. 7 launched a heavy artillery barrage in the separatist Georgian province with close ties to Russia. Fighting also has flared in a second Russian-backed separatist region, Abkhazia.
The short war has driven tensions between Russia and the West to some of their highest levels since the breakup of the Soviet Union, but Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has icily defended Russia's actions. "Anyone who tries anything like that will face a crushing response," he said Monday. Later Medvedev handed out military medals to Russian soldiers involved in the fighting.
The cease-fire requires both sides to return to positions held before the fighting began, but Whitman said Tuesday morning in Washington that it didn't appear Russia had made any significant withdrawal of forces. "So far we have not seen any significant movement out of Georgia," he said.
In central Georgia on Tuesday, a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles left Gori, and a Russian officer said they were heading back to South Ossetia and then Russia. Col. Igor Konoshenkov, a Russian military officer at the scene, gave no timetable for when the unit would reach Russia.
At an emergency meeting in Brussels, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her 25 NATO counterparts demanded that Russia immediately withdraw its troops from Georgia, a U.S. ally that wants to join NATO. NATO allies insisted that Georgia remains on track to join NATO despite Moscow's opposition. The NATO foreign ministers announced Tuesday that the alliance "cannot continue with business as usual" with Russia as long as its troops remain in Georgia.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the emergency meeting of NATO foreign ministers sent a message that Russia could not draw new dividing lines in Europe. "A new line in Europe where Russia somehow asserts that there are those who cannot opt for a trans-Atlantic future is unacceptable," she told a news conference. "It is time for the Russian president to keep his word to withdraw Russian forces," Rice said.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said "the future of our relations will depend on the concrete actions Russia will take to honor the words of President Medvedev to abide by the six-point peace plan, which is not happening at the moment."
France and some other allies had seemed reluctant to back a U.S. hard line against Moscow before the meeting, but Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner expressed exasperation at Russia's failure to pull back its troops in line with the peace deal brokered last week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Kouchner said Sarkozy may call an emergency European Union meeting to review EU relations with Russia if the troops were not pulled back to their pre-conflict positions. Kouchner warned the EU could also withdraw its backing for Russian membership of the World Trade Organization. "It's a possibility, among others," Kouchner said. "We don't want to use this sort of pressure, but we also don't want this document (the peace deal) to remain a dead letter."
Also Tuesday, Russia and Georgia exchanged 20 prisoners of war in an effort to reduce tensions. Two Russian military helicopters landed in the village of Igoeti, the closest that Russian forces have advanced to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Soldiers and men in unmarked clothing got off and two people in stretchers were taken to Georgian officials. Georgian ambulances later brought two other people to the Russian choppers. One was on a gurney.
Georgian Security Council head Alexander Lomaia told reporters in Igoeti that 15 Georgians and five Russians were exchanged. "It went smoothly," he said. The operation also witnessed by Russian Maj. Gen. Vyacheslav Borisov, who commands troops in the area.
Lomaia said the exchange removed any pretext for Russians to keep holding positions in Igoeti, 30 miles west of Tbilisi, or anywhere else on Georgia's only significant east-west highway.
Posted by: ed ||
08/19/2008 12:14 ||
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#1
Those Humvees will probably fetch a pretty penny back in Moscow.
#2
Not necessarily. These hummers are a property of US government and I am sure Russian government will get the bill. It is a theft. It is quite likely that when the bill arrives, someone will get shot for it, eventually. OK, maybe not shot... they seem to be fond of tea spiced with heavy metals lately.
What the heck am I talking about... I want them back... I helped pay for those... what recourse does the US have in reclaiming these or recouping the value...
#4
The Russians are riding high and feel like rubbing American faces in shit. Does Bush have the balls and brains to make sure the Russians regret starting this adventure?
Posted by: ed ||
08/19/2008 14:11 Comments ||
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#5
Can't wait to hear -- again -- how this was all in defense of human rights in Southern Ossetia. Yep. Sure is.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/19/2008 14:22 Comments ||
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#6
Yep, ridding mighty high in the troika. Unstoppable the snow will last forever.
Theres a hidden conflict happening between Russia and Georgia just as dangerous as the South Ossetia flashpoint. Its not getting as much attention because its happening in Abkhazia in the western part of Georgia, far from the capital Tblisi. But it represents as big a challenge to Georgias stability and to the Wests dealings with Moscow.
While the Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia, in the west, has similar issues and tensions like South Ossetia, there was little sign of resistance as Russian military units and Kremlin-backed militants took control of the region almost without a fight.
Russia has even less justification to overstep its territorial bounds, but overstep it did. We watched as thousands of peacekeepers Russian soldiers with blue helmets flood into western Georgia.
They went unhindered and few outsiders were there to witness it.
Our reporting this past weekend that upwards of 100 fresh Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles had entered Georgia well after the cease-fire and withdrawal was agreed to by Moscow went largely unmentioned in the Western media. At any other time, if Moscow pulled a stunt like that outside of its borders, it would have been huge news.
Russias mission was crystal clear to us: support the Russia-leaning separatists in Abkhazia, send a message to Georgia never to act out or get too close to the West and the U.S. and give up on the idea of joining NATO. In the process, Russia should decimate Georgias military infrastructure.
When we first arrived in the Black Sea port of Poti we were met with the flaming wreck of a Georgia Navy ship. In the days to come the Russians would systematically destroy every ship, boat and launch based in Poti. Only a bunch of rubber zodiac style boats survived because the Russians liked them so much they them hauled away.
This was done as the outmatched Georgia forces could only stand aside and watch.
On Tuesday there were reports of further destruction. Alan Middleton CEO of Poti Sea Port confirmed that Russian troops in several armored personal carriers entered the commercial port overnight.
They captured 10-20 what he believes are Georgian soldiers (they were dressed in black T-shirts and camo pants), blindfolded them, and took them away on top of their APCs in the direction of the Russian base in Senaki.
The Russians were described as crack and combat ready. They also took away a container holding property of the U.S. military: five U.S. military regular Humvees and one up-armored Humvee. They had been used in a military exercise recently in Georgi involving U.S. and Georgian troops, and were being shipped back to a European base.
It is unclear whether the captured Georgians had anything to do with the container. Efforts are on-going to obtain their release. The Russians also reportedly blew up a disabled Georgian navy vessel docked at the port.
Operations at the commercial port have been halted and management is trying to start them up Tuesday evening.
These attacks appear to be part of Russias grand plan to systematically disable Georgias infrastructure.
The same holds true for a small military base in Poti. Already in less-than-great-shape, the Russians nevertheless saw fit to knock down two Soviet-era radio towers and while they were ransacking other buildings there.
But the principle target of Russias action in the area has been the sprawling Georgia military base in Senaki, 20 miles west of Poti. This was a symbol of the new Western-oriented Georgia. Built in the past few years to NATO standards it was a showcase for Georgias modern military, well-stocked with U.S. supplied gear.
Now, according to what we have heard and seen, it stands in largely ruins. Much like Georgias hopes for quick entry into NATO
Though no one has gotten into the base since the Russians arrived, we are told anything that the Russians wanted they have taken away and transported back across the border. What they didnt want, they destroyed. And what they couldnt move, they blew up.
We watched as a Georgian lieutenant, left to stand outside the bases gates, mourn his two fellow soldiers that were killed in the Russian onslaught.
When the Russians arent destroying the Georgians military theyre flexing their own military muscle in an attempt to wear down the Georgian psyche. As we spent days roaming around western Georgia we watched as Russian troops conducted nothing short of full-scale maneuvers; setting up armored control points at bridges and rivers, buzzing urban areas with attack helicopters, running foot patrols through the countryside.
Reporting outside of western Georgia was a bit over-stated, claiming that, for example, Russia had taken the city of Poti or had blocked the main east-west highway. While they didnt have to use such aggressive offensive measures, they certainly were in a position to do that if they wanted to.
In the face of all this, the tough, hospitable and pro-American Georgians in the area are taking it with grim, if puzzled, determination.
A few days after the Russians had made one north-south road a regular patrol route someone had scribbled Russia go home on one wall, Russia occupiers on another and Russia plus a Nazi swastika on a third.
We watched as one resident gave a passing convoy of Russians a well-animated version of the bird to the troops.
We walked along with the funeral for a 22-year-old reservist killed when the Russians moved in early on. You could hear the wailing of young and old from a few hundred yards away.
We talked with four Georgian Special Force soldiers up in the hillside, looking like nothing much more than hunters with bigger guns, telling us theyre ready to attack when given the orders.
As the regional governor put it to me when I asked him how he felt about the Russians coming to his land: How would you feel? he asked back. How would you feel if the Russians came to the US?
International military observers weve talked to on the ground see the situation panning out this way: The Russians should eventually pull out but on their own timetable. The late surge of Russian troops will further bolster the already 4,000 soldiers estimated to be in the region, so when the withdrawal comes it can look impressive. Russia is also expected to leave some troops behind.
The thinking is that Russia will take advantage of a serious loophole in current cease-fire deal: mainly that Russian peacekeepers can conduct limited security measures outside of the conflict zones.
That is an invitation for on-going Russian troublemaking, if there ever was one.
There is also growing speculation that despite Russias show of troop withdrawal, the Kremlin has larger plans for their Georgian adventure. A full week after the initial cease-fire agreement, Georgia looks like a country fully at war. Media images show police cars being rammed by Russian APCs, a civilian rail bridge knocked out, a natural forest reserve torched suspiciously and lines of refugees were waiting for aid.
The Russians are clearly banking on the world tiring of the conflict, or seeing and hearing less of these images as they get on with their biggest out-of-area military push since the early 1990s.
Regardless of how the Georgian side has handled all the events of recent weeks, the people of Poti and western Georgia are hoping the U.S. and West wont forget them, as they try to gain back control of their lives a bit manhandled by Russia these days.
#1
A few days after the Russians had made one north-south road a regular patrol route someone had scribbled "Russia go home" on one wall, "Russia occupiers" on another and "Russia plus a Nazi swastika" on a third.
We watched as one resident gave a passing convoy of Russians a well-animated version of the "bird" to the troops.
#2
TOPIX > US AND NATO TO REARM, RESUPPLY GEORGIA; +
WIRED.com > RUSSIAN RAPID, RAMSHACKLE/RAGGED MARCH INTO GEORGIA. Russia's mil proficiency in South Ossetia-AABkhazia conflict agz Georgia was "adequate", succeeding mostly via sheer numbers and aggressive stubborn determination. HOWEVER, ARTIC - MANY RUSS AFVS + COMBAT UNITS MOVED IN DISORGANIZED CONFUSED FASHION WID AFVS = TANKS OFTEN BREAKING DOWN IN CAMPAIGN [lack of spare parts/recovery]???
#4
If their goal is annexation or permanent occupation Russia is not likely to succeed.
Only about 10% of the hard left is ready to blame America for Russian atrocities (as opposed to about 75% of the hard left blaming America for Islamic atrocities if they can find a storyline).
In November 2003, Georgia's Rose Revolution toppled President Eduard Shevardnadze, and he retired to his gated residence in Tbilisi to watch his flashy successor take the country on a roller-coaster ride of reform, economic development and increasingly tense relations... Cheeze. Shevardnadze. He's still around. I thought he was dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2008 00:00 ||
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The Communist North Korean government has declared Sweden their enemy and a US war puppet. According to information from the Swedish Armed Forces, this brusque message was first conveyed in a North Korean radio broadcast, then printed as an official document and distributed to the United Nations. Then I guess it's official.
The North Koreans' attack is not directed against the Swedish government as such, but against Sweden's and other neutral countries' military observation missions on the border between North and South Korea. Sweden is active in the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) present in the area. Following the end of the Korean War in 1953, the NNSC's task is to keep the peace with the help of the Swedes and the Swiss in demilitarized zones.
According to the Swedish Armed Forces, this latest North Korean ouburst comes just when the NNSC is observing an autumn maneuver between the US and South Korea. In this case the NNSC is in charge of making sure that the maneuver is for defensive reasons.
According to Bengt Carlsson, one of the Swedes active within the NNSC, the tasks they are carrying out in North Korea are completely within the Armistice Agreement. But according to the North Korean radio broadcast, the Swedish supervision mission is a charade and a remnant of times past when Sweden and Switzerland let themselves be manipulated to aid the US in its preparations for war. And the Swiss! I guess we really are a superpower.
North Korea's position on this issue is not new. According to Paulo Beijer, Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang between 2001-2005, the North Koreans have always been critical of the NNSC's activities. North Korea has long wanted to replace the truce agreement of 1953 with a peace agreement, and has criticized the co-operation between South Korea and the US.
Ukraine is investigating claims that Russia has been distributing passports in the port of Sevastopol, raising fears that the Kremlin could be stoking separatist sentiment in the Crimea as a prelude to possible military intervention.
Classic post-Soviet M.O. ...
The allegation has prompted accusations that Russia is using the same tactics employed in the Georgian breakaway regions of Abhkazia and South Ossetia in order to create a pretext for a war.
Russia handed out passports to the residents of the two provinces, which have long looked to Moscow for support, five years ago. The Kremlin has justified its invasion of Georgia in terms of defending its citizens in Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgian "aggression".
Mykola Stretovych, an MP with Ukraine's ruling orange coalition, claimed that Russia was engaged in a massive operation to hand out passports in Sevastopol, home to 400,000 people, many of whom have historic ties with Russia. Anatoly Gritsenko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's national security committee, launched a probe into the claims which, if true, would represent "a threat to national security", he said.
Tensions between Moscow and Kiev have grown in recent days after Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's pro-western president, imposed restrictions on Russian ships entering the Black Sea Fleet's base in Sevastopol. The decision to place limitations on movement to and from the base, which Russia rents from Ukraine, was taken after ships from the Black Sea Fleet were used in military operations in Georgia.
Ukraine further infuriated the Kremlin last week by offering Europe and the United States access to its missile warning systems.
Mr Yushchenko's alliance with Georgia has caused further resentment among the Crimea's overwhelmingly Russian-speaking population. The territory was historically part of Russia but was awarded to Soviet Ukraine by Nikita Khrushchev in 1954.
The head of Ukraine's security service, however, said that despite nationalist tensions in the territory, a rebellion in the Crimea with or without Russian support was inconceivable. "Prosperity, peace and calm in the Crimea is the very foundation on which the interests of Ukraine and neighbouring Russia coincide," Valentin Nalivaichenko said.
Until it all blows up ...
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, warned Russia that its actions in Georgia would further increase the alienation of Ukraine towards Moscow. Mr Yushchenko has applied for Ukraine's membership of Nato, a move bitterly opposed by the Kremlin. "If the Russians intended this as intimidation, they have done nothing but harden the attitudes of the small states around them," she said. "I think the Russians have made a significant mistake here."
Posted by: ed ||
08/19/2008 14:49 ||
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#1
Same tactic used by Hitler. Had to invade to protect it's citizens in other countries.
Georgia will soon be the newest member of the New Socialist Republic of The New Soviet Union.
#2
Same tactic used by Hitler. Had to invade to protect it's citizens in other countries.
World forgotten. But now that this tactic is out in the open, Russians would have a hard time to make it stick. The countries that would have been a target are starting to apply counter measures.
Georgia will soon be the newest member of the New Socialist Republic of The New Soviet Union.
That is not Putin's goal. He wants vassal statelets that he can squeeze, but does not have to provide for them, incorporation would mean dilution of the profit margin. He does not look back to SU, but quite a bit further in the past-- Golden Horde = a modicum of independence of vassals, but with a huge tribute for a guaranteed "protection". And no such sillines like pipelines that are not controlled by him or his cronies.
For many Russians, it is bad enough that Ukraine is pushing to join NATO and to eject the Russian Navy from its Black Sea port. But over the weekend, the confrontation over Ukraine's attempts to shrug off Russian influence reached an even more emotional pitch -- when the Ukrainian president sought to split his nation's church from Moscow's.
It was the latest round in an increasingly fraught tug of war over history, identity and power. The two governments have fought with many different political weapons -- from Ukraine's threat to join Russia's cold war rivals to Russia's ability to shut off the natural gas deliveries on which its neighbor depends. Both quickly made it clear that the struggle over the church -- traditionally an institution closely entwined with state power -- was at least as important.
On Saturday, President Viktor A. Yushchenko of Ukraine chose the 1,020th anniversary of the advent of Christianity in the Slavic kingdom that predated Ukraine and Russia -- a date that each country claims as a founding event of its nationhood -- to issue a plea for Ukraine's Orthodox Christians to gain independence from the Russian Orthodox Church.
With Orthodox Church notables from around the world looking on, Mr. Yushchenko asked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians, to bless the creation of an independent Ukrainian church -- "a blessing," he said on Saturday, "for a dream, for the truth, for a hope, for our state, for Ukraine."
...
Posted by: ed ||
08/19/2008 13:53 ||
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Early "Ukraine" was Kievan Rus.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2008 14:24 Comments ||
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#2
Some interesting pictures and narrative near Kiev.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/19/2008 16:42 Comments ||
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#3
Didn't state religions go out a few hundred years ago?
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 17:10 Comments ||
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#4
Nope, john, it never really went away in Russia. The commies had no problems dragging out "the opiate of the people" when they were getting their butts beat in WW2 in order to rally the people, and they were more than willing to assist the KGB afterwards from time to time.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
08/19/2008 17:22 Comments ||
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#5
All during the cold war we quoted the statistic that there were more regular churchgoers in the Old SU than there were communist party members.
All the while ignoring that the KGB was vetting the ordination of priests for seven decades or so.
Britain's domestic spy agency wants gay recruits to know: It's time to come out of the closet.
After shunning them for decades over worries of blackmail, MI5 is now asking gay and lesbian people to consider a career as a spy, promising the chance to fight terrorists, protect their country and earn a decent salary, plus benefits.
As part of an ongoing recruitment drive, MI5 is already wooing women, minorities and people with language skills. The fact that they're now reaching out to Britain's gay community is long overdue, said Peter Tatchell, a London-based gay rights activist.
"Until a decade ago, gay people were seen as a security threat, and as recently as two decades ago, they were being witch hunted and sacked from the security services," he said Monday.
"It was part of the Cold War mentality that saw security threats, traitors, and spies everywhere," he said. "Gay people were regarded as vulnerable to blackmail, even if they were open and out about their sexuality."
The spy agency is shaking off its clubby image and becoming more representative of the community it serves, said Ben Summerskill, chief executive officer the gay rights group Stonewall, which publishes a job hunting guide that includes the spy agency as a prospective employer.
"My recent experience of them is that they're not John le Carre, Graham Greene it's not that sort of tableau anymore," Summerskill said Monday.
Stonewall also is working with MI5 to create a workplace environment that is supportive of gay people.
Currently, MI5 has about 3,500 staff, twice what it had in 2001. The new drive comes two years after MI5 began publicly targeting women for recruitment, placing posters in gyms and advertisements in sports magazines that featured a black woman.
MI6, which collects Britain's foreign intelligence, also is looking for new hires, and in particular is encouraging applications from women and minorities.
According to MI5's Web site, intelligence officers earn a starting salary of about $45,000 plus benefits. Applicants have to be British citizens, and must pass a lengthy vetting process.
"As an intelligence officer at MI5, you'll be faced with some of the most challenging issues affecting national security today," the site says. "The decisions you make will play a major part in our efforts to counterterrorism, espionage, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and in protecting the U.K.'s critical national infrastructure."
Garry Hindle, the head of security and counterintelligence at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, said MI5's inclusion in the gay and lesbian job guide is about inclusion, but it's also about image.
"They're trying to portray themselves as an open, inclusive organization that's working for the good of the community," Hindle said. But "it does need diverse members of society to be able to access the diverse members of society that they may have interest in."
The agency would say only that "the service seeks to reflect the broad range of U.K. society which it serves."
Available jobs include translators, computer specialists and surveillance officers.
(AKI) - Sixty-six illegal immigrants were rescued off the southern coast of Italy on Monday. Here I am!
I'm all yours!
I've got something in my drawers!
The would-be migrants were spotted 50 nautical miles southeast of the small Italian island of Lampedusa off the Sicilian coast. They called for aid using a satellite phone and were rescued by Italian coast guard authorities.
Twenty-two women and a child were among the immigrants who are believed to have travelled from North Africa.They were all expected to be transferred to the island's temporary reception centre.
More than 15,000 would-be migrants are believed to have landed in southern Italy in 320 landings since the beginning of January 2008.
Italy has the European Union's longest coastline - 4,500 kilometres - making it difficult to police and thus a preferred destination for migrants. It recently approved a controversial new law targeting illegal immigrants with harsher penalties and swifter deportation procedures.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2008 00:00 ||
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targeting illegal immigrants with harsher penalties
Targeting them with .50 cal would be more effective, if a bit inhumane. On the other hand, it might discourage others from attempting the hazardous passage and actually lead to a net saving of lives.
#2
Making it IMPOSSIBLE to get a job or welfare would also make a dent in the numbers. That's how we'll beat them here if we ever get the balls to pass the law. I'm sure that in Italy they have the same mealy-mouthed immigrant advocates that have a million reasons why they NEED millions of illegals.
Aides to Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko have accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of working in Russia's interests in a bid to become president. Presidential spokesman Andriy Kyslynsky said Ms Tymoshenko had been co-operating with Russia by avoiding any criticism of its actions in Georgia. He said she was counting on Moscow's support in next year's Ukrainian presidential election. Ms Tymoshenko, currently on holiday, has not yet commented on the claim.
Rows between President Yushchenko and Ms Tymoshenko scuppered their previous alliance after they came to power in the Orange Revolution in December 2004.
Mr Kyslynsky said a Tymoshenko campaign headquarters had been set up in Moscow, headed by Viktor Medvedchuk. He was the chief of staff of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma - the political enemy of Ms Tymoshenko and Mr Yushchenko in 2004. "Last week, we announced that we had information about Yulia Tymoshenko's systematic work in the interests of Russia. Unfortunately, that information is now confirmed," said Mr Kyslynsky, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
"We will hand over the material we have to the law enforcement bodies, for detailed study," he said. "Society has the right to get an answer to the question: How far can politicians go beyond the point where political campaigning ends and betrayal of national interests begins?"
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 8:01 Comments ||
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Posted by: ed ||
08/19/2008 14:03 Comments ||
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#5
He said she was counting on Moscow's support in next year's Ukrainian presidential election. Ms Tymoshenko, currently on holiday, has not yet commented on the claim.
Typical western disinformation. Complete rubbish. I'll prepare the appropriate response as soon as Yulia and I return from Mamaia.
Democrat Barack Obama challenged his Republican opponent John McCain on Tuesday to stop questioning his "character and patriotism." Another thing he declares off-limits, like his membership in a black liberation theology hate-whitey church, his association with terrorists, his lack of a resume and substance, his votes as a Ill. State Senator, his bus-crunching smackdowns of inconvenient associates and family members, his wife's hate-spewing and America-despising comments....
Addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, Obama reaffirmed his early opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq and said the so-called "surge" strategy of sending 30,000 additional troops to Iraq last year had not produced the political reconciliation necessary to achieve lasting peace in the country. McCain supported the Iraq invasion and was an early champion of the surge. What do you believe? Me or your lying eyes, dammit!
"These are the judgments I've made and the policies that we have to debate, because we do have differences in this election," Obama said. "One of the things that we have to change in this country is the idea that people can't disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. I have never suggested that Sen. McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I have not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. Now, it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same. bullshit. BHO never took a gamble, going against the MSM's spin.
"Let me be clear: I will let no one question my love of this country," Obama said to applause. because the truth hurts, personally, and in the polls, beyotch!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/19/2008 19:27 ||
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If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
This is politics.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 20:13 Comments ||
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The message here is we should ALL ... stop questioning Obama's character.
#3
What a jackass. Oh that the McCain campaign would come back with the multi-megaton smackdown of this idiot and his idiotic supporters, humiliating the morons who barf up this "question my patriotism" nonsense. Obama's positions are idiotic AND cowardly, and these facts should be emphasized. There's nothing inherently unpatriotic about being a clueless self-promoting lightweight like Obama, but no one has ever implied so.
#4
I don't think McCain questioned Obama's patriotism. He did question his judgment, however, especially since Obama still refuses to acknowledge the success of the surge.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/19/2008 20:44 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
08/19/2008 22:03 Comments ||
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It is perfectly valid - even necessary - to question Obama's patriotism. Particulary in view of his Terrorist and Marxist friends, his hate-whitey-hate-america Pastor and his never-proud-of-america wife.
I question Obama's patriotism... and find it sadly lacking.
I also question McCain's patriotism... and find it very reassuring!
#10
...a clueless self-promoting lightweight like Obama.
Verlaine, what an excellent run of phrase! I'm afraid, though that Obama has set the bar so high for this category that he will be the archetype of this for a long, long time to come.
Posted by: Large Omusose6011 ||
08/19/2008 22:24 Comments ||
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Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, on a short list of Democrat Barack Obama's possible running mates, may face questions about potential conflicts of interest from his wife's work on seven corporate boards that paid her more than $837,000 last year.
Susan Bayh, a lawyer, is a director at Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., which is part of a medical research partnership awarded a $24.7 million federal grant in May after Evan Bayh and his Indiana colleagues in Congress recommended the group to the National Institutes of Health.
She's on the board of E*Trade Bank, a subsidiary of E*Trade Financial Corp., while her husband sits on the Senate Banking Committee. Susan Bayh is lead director at Emmis Communications Corp., an Indianapolis radio-station operator that published Evan Bayh's 2003 memoir.
``When you're vetting a vice president and his wife is on seven boards, that is a serious question of conflict of interest on a whole variety of issues,'' said James Thurber, director of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies in Washington.
Evan Bayh has gone ``above and beyond what is required under Senate ethics rules'' to prevent possible conflicts, forbidding his staff to communicate with lobbyists for companies where his wife is a director, Bayh's spokesman Eric Kleiman said. ``There is a wall preventing any and all lobbying contact,'' and Susan Bayh isn't a lobbyist, Kleiman said. ``Spouses of public servants deserve the opportunity to pursue success in their chosen fields of endeavor.''
Bayh, 52, the son of former Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, is considered a leading prospect to be Obama's running mate. After two terms as governor of traditionally Republican Indiana, he has been elected twice to the Senate.
Susan Bayh, 48, isn't the first spouse to face political questions about corporate boards. Michelle Obama, who made $101,000 in 2006 as a director of TreeHouse Foods Inc., quit the suburban Chicago company's board last year. TreeHouse's biggest customer is Wal-Mart Inc., a target of criticism from labor unions. New York Senator Hillary Clinton was on Wal-Mart's board when her husband, Bill Clinton, was governor of Arkansas.
While it isn't inherently unethical for Senate spouses to join corporate boards, concerns may arise if companies and lawmakers are in positions to benefit from the connections, said Bill Buzenberg, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity. ``It doesn't pass the ethical smell test,'' Buzenberg said.
WellPoint, which paid Susan Bayh almost $335,000 last year, is the biggest U.S. health-insurance company by membership as Obama's campaign promises to push for universal health-care coverage. WellPoint spent $890,000 lobbying Congress and the Bush administration in the three months ended June 30, according to disclosure forms.
A former lawyer for Eli Lilly & Co., Susan Bayh is a director at four publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies: Curis Inc., Dendreon Corp., Dyax Corp., and MDRNA Inc. Earlier this year, she left the board of closely held Golden State Foods, one of McDonald's Corp.'s biggest suppliers, and became a company adviser.
At Emmis, which owns almost two dozen radio stations, one of the company's biggest investors last month questioned Susan Bayh's effectiveness because of her family's friendship with Emmis founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Smulyan. ``The well-chronicled personal relationship that Ms. Bayh and her husband have with the Emmis CEO might logically raise legitimate questions about the extent of Ms. Bayh's independence,'' Martin Capital senior partner Frank Martin wrote in a letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Martin's filing said his firm owns 9.7 percent of Emmis Class A stock, which has fallen 65 percent in the past year.
Susan Bayh's longest board tenure is at Emmis, where she became a director in 1994, when Evan Bayh was governor. Smulyan said he recruited her because she was well known in the business community and had corporate governance experience. ``I thought Susan would be helpful,'' Smulyan said. ``Independent of being the governor's wife, I think she had pretty good insights.'' Martin is the only shareholder who's complained about Bayh, Smulyan said.
Emmis lost money on Evan Bayh's 2003 autobiography, ``From Father to Son: A Private Life in the Public Eye,'' company spokeswoman Kate Snedeker said. Bayh gave the $4,105 of book royalties to the Evan and Susan Bayh Family Foundation. The book deal creates the appearance of ``a favor being done for the candidate by the company that his wife is on the board of,'' Buzenberg said.
Smulyan said Emmis published the memoir with expectation of making a profit. Kleiman, Bayh's spokesman, said the deal involved ``a standard book contract that was approved by the Senate Ethics Committee.''
WellPoint is among six companies joining Indiana University and Purdue University in the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, which got a five-year NIH grant. When Bayh's office announced the grant on May 29, it said the senator wrote NIH to support the application. Anantha Shekhar, the institute's director, said that while Evan Bayh ``certainly helped us,'' Susan Bayh had nothing to do with the grant. ``Until you brought it up, I wasn't even thinking about Susan Bayh and the WellPoint connection,'' Shekhar said.
#2
90% of the government problems we have here in the US could be solved by not allowing laywers to make the laws. They have too much of a vested interest in writing loopholes in. and once they've done that, they think they can get away with (in some cases litterally) murder.
Some viewers contacted 9NEWS Saturday, questioning the design of the credentials to see Sen. Barack Obama accept the Democratic Party's presidential nominationat INVESCO Field at Mile High.
The viewers say with the stars and blue field in the lower left corner, it looks like an upside down American flag. Published flag etiquette states the stars should always be displayed in the upper left corner. An upside down flag represents an international symbol of extreme distress.
Matt Chandler with the Obama campaign says the flag is not upside down. He says it is a stylized flag designed to blend the stars on Senator Obama's shirt with the flag blowing in the wind.
Natalie Wyeth with the Democratic National Convention Committee sent 9NEWS the following statement Saturday night:"The DNCC community credentials incorporate patriotic design elements. They do not depict an actual American flag. The DNCC has full and complete respect for the flag and all rules of display."
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/19/2008 10:57 Comments ||
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I get it. It only *looks* like an actual American flag. And it is not upside down, you are just looking at it wrong. It's *stylized*, dude!
Assuming for the sake of argument that this is accidental, one has to ask:
a) are they really this tone deaf about symbolism?
b) are there any adults in charge to point out bloopers like this? (Obama's pre-Presidential Seal comes to mind here)
#5
Oh, for goodness sake. Just because the designer made a very stupid mistake -- either because he didn't realize or because she did -- doesn't mean we should worry more or less about Candidate Obama. He has enough real problems with his candidacy: an inexperienced candidate who truly dislikes, despises, and does not understand most of those who cast votes in the election, asystem that has already been gamed to the maximum, and some appallingly stupid ideas about how to deal with domestic and foreign issues.
This kind of thing is like agonizing over whether a gown should have lace on the bodice or embroidery.
#8
Fact is something like this is shown to multiple people so blaming the designer is silly. Those people looked it over and approved, or at least so no issue. Obama might be innocent but he has pretty well documented failings when it comes to picking decent people.
#9
TW, it still tells either about Obama or about his skill in selecting and managing assessors: wasn't the upside down flag used by Jane Fonda and similar traitors?
#10
Picking incapable people is indeed something weighing against the man's ability to be president.
But looking at the thing Woozle Unusosing8053 posted, it demonstrates that Candidate Obama is fundamentally unserious. A real candidate for election to any political office wears a sober suit, white dress shirt, and classic tie to show outwardly that he is ready for the job to which he aspires... although I suppose a tie with a hint of a flag motif would be ok to illustrate trendiness. After all, he wants to stand out from the background, not blend -- camouflage-like -- into it. He will, after all, appear a man on a podium in front of a gigantic television screen showing just his head and shoulders. Surely he would not want to appear as if he'd sliced a hole in a flag and stuck his head through.
Jane Fonda chose her symbols with knowledge and malice aforethought. This is simply ignorance and inability on the part of the team Candidate Obama chose to separate what's in front of them from the plan in their heads. I've no doubt an aide actually spent ages shopping for just the right starred blue shirt, ignoring the fact that the colour looks absolutely dreadful on the candidate.
#14
I think the idea was to convince people that Obama is "All American--through and through--why he's so American that he's part of the flag itself! "
Whatever--you can dress him up, but I can dress up my dog too. Don't mean nuthin'.
#15
You're a dear, Nimble Spemble. If they did it on purpose they are even more stupid than I supposed. Candidate Obama doesn't even have the majority in the polls that Candidate Kerry did in 2004 at this point. If his staff are deliberately doing things that will turn away undecided voters, the international distress symbol is appropriate, indeed.
#16
Also--you can bet Obama saw and okayed the thing--he probably thought it was cool--a pleaser and a needer of affection and approval--not presidential material in any way.
#17
Matt Chandler with the Obama campaign says the flag is not upside down. He says it is a stylized flag designed to blend the stars on Senator Obama's shirt with the flag blowing in the wind.
That might be plausible if it weren't for the fact that on the flip side there is a picture of an American flag upside down, without Obama. See pic at link.
#18
So I decided to take a looksy at what all the fuss is about. Thinking it would be no big deal, I clicked the link and looked at the picture. That's a flag, folks and it's upside down. No doubt about it. Or maybe I'm wrong and it's just stylized to look like an upside down flag, which might be worse.
The campaign would be wise to subtle their nuances.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
08/19/2008 15:09 Comments ||
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If bo sticks his head out of the heavens and hE can no see longer the commandment tablet of hopenchange, then there are still 10 weeks of campaigning season.
It is a distress symbol, after all, and he's in trouble lately with that book by Corsi, his lame performance even with the help of the "cone of silence", disappointing performance in the polls that can't be blamed yet again on racism and a bunch of other missteps.
(And should he turn this mess around, he can always flip it so that The One can gaze down on the rest of us peons....sort of, with some help from Photoshop.)
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
08/19/2008 17:17 Comments ||
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For his part, Republican rival John McCain is seriously considering naming his running mate between the end of the Democratic convention Aug. 28 and the Sept. 1 start of the GOP convention in hopes of stunting any uptick in polls for Obama. McCain has at least three large rallies planned in top battlegrounds Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, before the Republican gathering in St. Paul, Minn.
His top contenders are said to include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Less traditional choices mentioned include former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, an abortion-rights supporter, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential prick in 2000 who now is an independent.
#1
That is just mean AP. No need to call him names because he left your party!
And if it was unintentional, talk about a Freudian slip as that went through the writers and editors without being spotted.
The Australian Minesweeping System (AMAS), developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), has scored another export success with India being the latest to acquire the innovative system that protects ships from underwater mines. The sale to India was the largest single overseas order for this technology since it was first exported in 1992.
Thales Australia has a worldwide license to market the system which is now in service with the navies of Australia, USA, Denmark, Poland, Japan, UAE, Indonesia and Thailand.
The DSTO-designed system is the worlds first operational sweep to emulate the magnetic signals of ships, causing sea mines to detonate prematurely and safely out of range of target vessels. The technology has been further improved in collaboration with Thales Australia.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 12:02 ||
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What is the current status of the Indian carrier contract - the one for which the Russians have been so obdurate?
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 17:39 Comments ||
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meanwhile in Nevada.. photo
An IAF Garud in position for an assault during Radar Busting Mission carried out at an Air field in Nevada Desert on 18 Aug 08. This is part of ongoing exercise Red Flag at Air Force base Nellis, USA.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 17:44 Comments ||
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US Special Forces soldiers sit with Indian soldiers as they prepare to take part in an exercise at The Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) in Vairengte on August 11, 2008.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 17:47 Comments ||
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Thanks for the update. The Russians are in a class all to themselves.
MOSCOW (AFP) The Indian army has placed a two billion dollar (1.36 billion euro) order for cruise missiles from the Russo-Indian company BrahMos, the Interfax news agency said Tuesday.
"The order by the Indian armed forces comes to two billion dollars," the firm's chief executive Sivanthanu Pillai was quoted as saying by the Russian Interfax news agency.
BrahMos Aerospace is a joint Russian-Indian venture established in 1998 to design, develop, produce and market a cruise missile.
The BrahMos missile has a range of 280 kilometres (175 miles).
Russia is India's main arms supplier. New Delhi was one of the key allies of the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 11:59 ||
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Hope they are all land attack models.
Posted by: ed ||
08/19/2008 23:51 Comments ||
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In granting Israel the powerful FBX-T radar system to enhance its early warning resources against incoming missiles, Washington laid down a strict hands-off proviso. The system will be installed at a US base in the southern Israeli Negev. It will be off-limits to Israelis and managed exclusively by American personnel.
This discovery, revealed here for the first time by DEBKAfiles military sources, has aroused astonished rancor in senior Israel army circles. They questioned the judgment of prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak, foreign minister Tzipi Livni, Shaul Mofaz, who leads the Israeli side of the twice-annual strategic dialogue with the US, and chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi in accepting this proviso.
Even Poland, one officer commented, looked after its sovereignty and only signed its defense pact with the United States for the installation of missile interceptors on its Baltic coast after the Americans agreed to instruct Polish crews in their future operation.
Yet none of the Israeli officials involved in the radar transaction saw fit to carry this point. The FBX-T was requested to allow Israels Arrow missile defense system to engage a Shehab-3 missile about halfway through its 11-minute flight from Iran, several times sooner than the Arrows Green Pines radar is capable of doing.
The FBX-T can track objects in space such as a missile tipped with a chemical, germ or nuclear warhead.
When they swung the deal in Washington last month, Barak and Ashkenazi said the Israeli Defense Forces would acquire a major resource and Israel a valuable shield against enemy missiles.
But they erred badly in failing to demand its integration in Israels national interceptor system for four reasons:
1. Israel will have no denied direct access to the data gathered by the system and can only hope the American operators will pass on the information as and when Israel needs it for self-defense rather than when it suits US interests.
2. The FBX-T will not only be able to track Iranian and Syrian missiles and aircraft but also keep watch on Israeli operations, giving the Washington a handle for stalling them. DEBKAfiles military sources point out that the Americans are suddenly in a hurry to have the system deployed in the Negev as soon as September. They will then be in position to forestall a possible Israeli pre-emptive attack on Irans nuclear installations should one be decided in Jerusalem.
3. US experts say the FBX-T radar will lengthen the Israeli Arrow anti-missile systems range for detecting incoming Iranian missiles several times over. This is technically accurate, but in practice this enhanced capability is entirely contingent on a Pentagon order to the American crews in the Negev to activate a link between them.
4. Barak and Ashkenazi said on their return from Washington that they had procured US consent to links between Israels early warning and missile interceptor systems, the X-band radar (which can pick up a missile 2,000 km from target) and also the American JTAGS satellites (which detects a missile launch).
This is not the case.
Any links between the IDFs radar and interceptors and the JATG satellites must be channeled through the X-band radar base in the Negev and are not direct. The data passed to Israel will be subject to pre-selection by American decision-makers.
Several billion dollars of US and Israeli funds have been sunk into developing the Arrow, which Israeli officials until recently claimed was a match for Irans Shehab-3 ballistic missiles. It turns out now that the Arrow and its Green Pine radar pick up incoming missiles only when they are 800 km short of their target. Israel applied for the FBX-T radar to extend that range to 2,000 km from its territory. But as long as the system is operated exclusively by American personnel, its usefulness for shielding Israel against enemy missiles will circumscribed.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/19/2008 12:12 ||
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I don't know about this being a case where we would restrict information. I suspect this has more to do with the Israeli tendency to transfer tech to some of our future enemies.
NOTE: I also doubt that any missile defense system would be operated such that an OK is required from some yoyo 6,000 miles away.
Iran's attempt to launch a dummy satellite into orbit earlier this week was a "dramatic failure" that fell far short of the country's assertions of success, Reuters quoted a US official as saying on Tuesday. "The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position. It could be characterized as a dramatic failure."
On Sunday, Iran said it had put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time, using a technology that could also be used for launching weapons. Iranian television showed the rocket on its launch pad, but did not show the actual lift-off. "The failed launch shows that the purported Iranian space program is in its nascent stages at best - they have a long way to go," the US official said.
On Monday, Israeli analysts said the Iranian self-professed progress was no reason for immediate panic but was still a matter of concern - for Europe more than for Israel. The main achievement of the Iranians was the development of a multi-stage missile, which uses several stages of burning fuel to increase its range.
Israel, analysts said, has already been under threat of Iranian long-range ballistic missiles since the development of the Shihab 3 missile.
Therefore, the Iranian report did not signify an increase in the threat to Israel, the analysts asserted, stressing that European countries were now directly threatened by the Iranian missiles' reach.
#1
Iran's flight test of a space launch vehicle failed Aug. 17, according to radar tracking by a U.S. Navy destroyer and infrared data from U.S. Air Force Defense Support Program (DSP) missile warning spacecraft.
Key data on the failure were provided by the USS Russell, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer patrolling the Persian Gulf.
Other U.S. intelligence assets gave the Russell and missile warning satellite system advanced notice of the test, enabling extra preparation for tracking its outcome.
The Russell also was one of three destroyers involved in the final radar tracking of the derelict National Reconnaissance Office USA 193 intelligence satellite that was destroyed by a Standard Missile-3 fired by another destroyer in the Persian Gulf group.
Although Iranian television views of the night launch of the Safir show a successful liftoff and initial climbout, radar data from the Russell and DSP infrared data show the vehicle went out of control at high altitude, never completing its ascent profile.
More than one DSP is used to monitor that region of the Middle East and it is likely data from the Iranian launch obtained from at least two DSPs are being analyzed. U.S. signal intelligence and imaging spacecraft also monitored preparations for the launch.
Even in failure, the test is still important because it indicates Iran is continuing to develop a space launch booster with propulsion and guidance technologies equally applicable to an intercontinental ballistic missile.
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.
The celebrity endorsements have begun! Savage Dragon, a superhero and police officer whose adventures are published by Image Comics, is throwing his hat in the ring for Barack Obama. The news is blared across the cover of issue No. 137, with the green-skinned hero dressed up for the occasion in a black jacket, crisp white shirt and striped red tie.
Researchers from the UNAM considers erroneous reports on global climate change 
The Communist North Korean government has declared Sweden their enemy and a US war puppet. According to information from the Swedish Armed Forces, this brusque message was first conveyed in a North Korean radio broadcast, then printed as an official document and distributed to the United Nations.
Britain's domestic spy agency wants gay recruits to know: It's time to come out of the closet.
