A young Russian beautician, Anna Fermanova, has been arrested in Texas as part of the American investigation into suspected foreign spies, it has emerged. The 24 year-old, who lives near Dallas, was apprehended after attempting to take state-of-the-art night-vision scopes and other restricted items to Russia. The items were confiscated when she attempted to board a flight to Moscow earlier this year. She was arrested when returning to America this month.
The case is being compared to that of Anna Chapman, a suspected Russian spy who was arrested in New York and then returned to Russia under a "spy swap exchange" earlier this month. There is no evidence that the two women knew one another.
It has been reported that Miss Fermanova was arrested on July 15th for "knowingly and intentionally" attempting to export "defense articles on the United States Munitions list." The night-vision goggles and scopes cannot be exported without approval from the US State Department, as they are considered to be sophisticated military weapons. Among the items she was caught with were a Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight, which she had bought online. A customs agent claimed that the sight's ID numbers "had been covered with black marker pens".
Miss Fermanova is under house arrest and has had her passport confiscated. She is expected to attend court in New York later this month where she faces up to 10 years in prison.
Scott Palmer, the woman's lawyer, said that the charges were "false allegations" and "too sensitive to be discussed." It was reported that Ms Fermanova's husband intended to resell the night-vision scopes to hunters. Simple, yet heavily armed, Russian elk hunters
Miss Fermanova is thought to split her time between Moscow and Dallas, Texas. She teaches English in the Russian capital. According to her Facebook page, she is a 2005 graduate of the Ogle School of Hair Skin and Nails. She holds a cosmetologist licence in Texas. Photos at the link.
She came to America as a child with her parents from Latvia. There is growing concern in America over the actions of apparently "cold-war style" spies, several of whom were caught last month living apparently ordinary lives in suburban America. Earlier this month, 10 suspected spies including Chapman, pleaded guilty to federal charges and were deported as part of Cold War-style spy exchange. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, signed a decree pardoning four Russians convicted of spying for the US.
#1
Unlike typical spy retirements in obscurity, the Russians should capitalize on this by putting these women into the fashion industry, touting "spy chic" clothing.
Of course, women would *never* be interested in having a fashion look that said excitement, minor intrigue, suspense, keeping secrets, romance, foreign travel, with the only real risk of becoming a celebrity fashion model if they were caught. Oh, heck no.
#2
Hey Karl, do you suppose those russian bride dating sites are actually sponsored by the KGB?
Jim, I think there might be a connection. Its not the KGB, they've changed alphabets or something, you know OVRA, NKVD, KGB...another week another acronym.
#3
...under house arrest and has had her passport confiscated. Yeah, that should work. Our borders are so secure atfer all.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
07/28/2010 11:00 Comments ||
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#4
Travel and living between Moscow & Dallas, very nice clothes? Either her husband is well-to-do or teaching English and practicing Cosmetology pay very well, better than I ever thought.
#6
Not to mention Russia is likely slipping in a few highly competent other-than-Mexican illegals over our southern borders along with the vast army of 'regular' illegals.
#7
The current incarnation of the KGB, et al., is the FSB, Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii, or "Federal Security Service".
Oddly enough, the Military Intelligence Directorate, the GRU, Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye, or "II Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation", has had the same name since 1918.
#8
D *** NG IT, clearly the POST-SOVIET RUSSIANS have learned their BBC + BRIT TABLOIDS lessons well - it is also clear that we in AMERIKA must do our best to defend this outstanding new Russ + International Socialist + Fascists-for-Communism tradition!
A priest in Canada has apologised after giving Holy Communion to a dog.
Reverend Marguerite Rea of St Peter's Anglican Church, in Toronto, received complaints from Christians all over Canada after she fed communion bread to a German Shepherd cross named Trapper.
Area Bishop Patrick Yu said the priest had contravened church policy with her "strange and shocking" actions.
This is a church that's embraced every liberal custom of the last fifty years. What was the shocking action?
Ms Rea said it had been a "simple church act of reaching out" to a new congregation member and his pet.
"If I have hurt, upset or embarrassed anyone, I apologise," she told her congregation on Sunday morning, the Toronto Star reports.
That's not an apology.
The canine controversy began last month when four-year-old Trapper and his owner, Donald Keith, 56, attended the church in Toronto's downtown area for the first time.
"The minister welcomed me and said come up and take communion, and Trapper came up with me and the minister gave him communion as well," Mr Keith told the Toronto Star.
"I thought it was a nice way to welcome me into the church. I thought it was acceptable. There was an old lady in the front just beaming when she saw this."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
But, But, But, ALL dogs go to Heaven.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 0:16 Comments ||
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#2
"I thought it was a nice way to welcome me into the church. I thought it was acceptable. There was an old lady in the front just beaming when she saw this."
I think God might have chuckled a bit. Nicely done Reverend Rea. You and Mr. Keith may have begun a trend.
#3
This just goes to show how low the Anglican Church has sunk : politically correct little priestess denigrates and demeans the Holy Eucharist by feeding it to an animal. Nice heretical spit on Christ's suffering and sacrifice on the cross, Canadian tramp.
#6
Anglicans are related to the Church of England. Recently, at least in England, they have been showing signs of derangement syndrome; embracing sharia law, etc.
"I tell ya, I was hitting the Holy Communion sauce and had a little too much. I didn't know Trapper was a dog."
#7
Ironically, Catholic Priests have a long tradition of blessing animals, even sprinkling them with holy water.
But giving a Host to an animal is so heretical that even today, there would be the strong suggestion to the owner that the animal would have to be put down. In the good old days, they would consider putting the Priest down as well.
This tradition is so strong, that I question whether this woman did this accidentally. You have to figure that the majority of female Anglican Priests are pretty bent in the first place, and are not entirely convinced of the whole "God" thing.
I would strongly advise her to not visit any of the African Provinces, either, because those African Archbishops are virtually kings, and have no sense of humor about these things.
#10
"received complaints from Christians all over Canada after she fed communion bread to a German Shepherd cross"
But if it had been a German Shepherd purebred....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/28/2010 16:02 Comments ||
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#11
In Catholicism, dogs are like cars, icons and toolsets, etc. They they can be blessed by a priest.
But the Host and Wine are the Body and Blood of the Christ, a physical manifestation of God. True God, true food as stated by Christ himself.
So this "priest" basically demonstrated that to her and her church, God is dog food.
That "priest" should resign, unless the Anglican communion has sunk to the pint where the Host is truly dog food in the eyes of their church. that is unfortunately probable.
Posted by: No I am The Other Beldar ||
07/28/2010 16:35 Comments ||
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#12
The Anglican church has a Bishop who is Agnostic
Richard Holloway says the worldwide Anglican Church has made room for "happy clapping" evangelicals, bells-and-smells Catholics, women priests and, in the United States, openly gay clergy and even practitioners of other faiths. So surely, he argues, it can find room for people like him - Christians who don't believe in God.
Holloway, contrary to popular belief, has not left the Episcopal Church, as Scottish Anglicanism is known. He may have taken early retirement as Bishop of Edinburgh but the writer remains an ordained priest and consecrated bishop, who still preaches from the pulpit, performs baptisms and weddings and even presides at communion.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/28/2010 16:43 Comments ||
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#13
WTF? An agnostic priest? You can't even call them a priest let alone let them near any kind of Sacrament. That's utter, pure, BS. If they are agnostic, they aren't Christian.
#15
This reminds me of the BBC comedy, "Yes, Prime Minister". In the episode entitled The Bishop's Gambit, the PM needs to appoint a new CofE Bishop, and his choices are an atheist and a radical socialist-anarchist.
#16
I remember being continually shocked at what was allowed to appear on the BBC in "Yes, Minister" and then "Yes, Prime Minister". Perhaps senior management didn't watch it, as they didn't notice "Dr. Who" and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" until it was much too late.
#17
She missed her chance - she should have said, "Well, dog is God spelled backwards"....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/28/2010 20:44 Comments ||
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#18
Bit of Catholic canon law: blessings are fine, they call upon God to help these items (be they a dog, a house, or even a person) to help these items serve the greater glory of His Name and the Salvation of the world.
But the communion is off limits except to Catholics in full communion with the Church, its magesterium, the Bishops and the Pope. The fact that Pelosi and other name-only Catholics still take communion is a scandal, and damns her for eternity for abuse of the Holy Sacrament of Communion - abusing God Himself.
And outside the Arab world, Iran announced a new plan to pay for new babies to boost their population.
[Al Arabiya Latest] New changes in the Arab World are to influence its population into decline, as more girls join schools, work, marry later and desire to produce fewer babies.
"Impressive declines in fertility have been recorded in the Arab region as a result of increased school enrolment among girls, stronger participation of women in the labor force, and the new trends towards "wait hood" or delayed marriage and the formation of smaller families," said The U.N. Economic and Social Commission on Western Asia (ESCWA) in a report.
"According to the 2008 revision, the unweighted average total fertility rate for the Arab countries declined from 6.2 live births per woman in the period 1980-1985 to 3.3 in the period 2005-2010 compared to 2.6 at the world level, consequently reshaping the age structure of the population of the Arab region," the ESCWA report added.
However, rates largely vary in individual countries; Egypt is projected to remain by far the most populous Arab country,
Despite a total fertility rate of 3.01, they are starting from the largest base population, so the Egyptian population will remain high for a while.
reaching a total population of 91.8 million in 2015 and 98.6 million in 2020. Conversely, Comoros, Bahrain, Djibouti and Qatar will remain the countries with the smallest population size, with each accounting for less than 0.5 per cent of that of the Arab region.
With such small starting populations, even if they had a fertility rate of 20, their populations would not quickly reach large numbers. *sigh* But journalists are not expected to understand even simple arithmetic any more.
Also, during 2005-2010, each of Lebanon, Tunisia and the UAE have fertility levels already below replacement level, whereas other countries are set to converge below 2.1 live births per woman by mid century, with the exception of Somalia, Palestine and Mauritania, the report said.
The CIA Factbook website has a nice country by country comparison chart of fertility rates here. Interestingly, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have significantly different fertility rates, according to the CIA -- one wonders how much those numbers diverge from both what they told the UN and from reality.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Makes me wonder just how many were Taliban(Or their Ilk) How many THEY killed and added to the Bad Asses we killed affects the total?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 0:19 Comments ||
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#2
But, but, but I have my final semester, my BMW, and all my friends at UCLA and I don't WANT to be cousin Bugwat Ali's third wife through an arranged marraige!!!
The rejection of polgamy and the strict tenets of Islam by Arab women was of course not mentioned by ESCWA, but it is a huge factor.
#3
TW - all of the top 10 and most of the top 30 are African. Poverty = high birth rate. If you haven't seen this presentation, check it out. It puts the lie to "the poor are getting poorer".
#4
The rejection of polgamy and the strict tenets of Islam by Arab women was of course not mentioned by ESCWA, but it is a huge factor.
In other words sanity comes to some segments of the islamic population? I'd like to believe this but I'm suspicious by nature. Shuck the whole load of brainwashing aside and I might begin to believe in miraculous conversions.
#5
If you haven't seen this presentation, check it out. It puts the lie to "the poor are getting poorer".
Indeed a fabulous presentation, Spot. The whole poverty question is a fascinating one.
But what intrigues me about this particular UN report is that the caliphatists are forever trumpeting that the inevitability of the conquest of Islam is due as much to outbreeding the rest of the world as it is to conversion by unbelievers. And yet, given the rapidly dropping birth rates, it may turn out to be the Christian Africans who end up having the most babies during this critical period.
#6
Demographic studies have long shown the phenomenon that when a given nation reaches an economic prosperity plateau relative to just that country, suddenly the birthrate drops like a rock to just replacement, not strong growth.
Until this, the most recent example was Mexico, where very abruptly the birthrate dropped from 6 or so to 2.3. Oddly enough, the only Mexicans still having lots of kids were those who had migrated to the US. Go figure.
Importantly, government and culture seems to be almost incapable of raising declined birthrate, but most definitely can lower it even further. That is, programs to improve the *quality* of childen's lives reduce the *quantity* of children.
Likewise, oppressive cultural and religious controls tend to increase the birthrate, out of sheer boredom if nothing else, but when liberalization happens, the birthrate likewise drops. Better quality of life equals less kids.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/28/2010 19:19 Comments ||
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#9
I think if the arab men would find more romance at home instead of the nearest flock of sheep, the birth rate would be higher.
That and the fact they are blowing themselves and their neighbors up in such alarming numbers. AND don't forget these kaboomers are mostly young males so they are depleting their breeding stock by turning their 17-25 year old men into strawberry jam.
#10
I didn't see a decline in this report.
I saw a decline in rate of increase.
Apples and oranges, 3dc. The report is talking about Arab birth rates, which they are calling fertility rate. The birth rate has fallen by almost two thirds since 1980. However, given increased life spans in the region -- despite internecine warfare and taqfiri murders -- the total population continues to grow, albeit more slowly than before.
AND don't forget these kaboomers are mostly young males so they are depleting their breeding stock by turning their 17-25 year old men into strawberry jam.
A history of polygamy (polygyny, for those of us who are pedants) means there is expected to be an excess of young men. One older man can service any number of fertile women wives, so that the excess of youths remove themselves from competition effects the birth rate not one iota, James-Karl. Hopefully, as more women insist on monogamous marriages, there should be fewer young men whose see the only path to mating as through the suicide vest.
#11
As a side note of marriage, if said male had money, he could buy a wife from any poor family. He can buy any number he wants, from my understanding. When they are old or of no use to him, he can then send them back to the family he bought them from, in what ever condition he left them in.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] A senior opposition politician has fled Burundi for fear of arrest and even his life after he complained about the military, his coalition told AFP yesterday.
Mr Leonard Nyangoma, head of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy, was last seen in the capital several days ago, the coalition and a person close to him told AFP. Mr Nyangoma, a former rebel in his late fifties, is also spokesman for the opposition coalition Democratic Alliance for Change of a dozen parties that have boycotted elections since May over allegations of fraud.
"He fled the country three or four days ago because the authorities are looking to arrest him, but also because he feared for his life," coalition leader Alexis Sinduhije said.
The defence minister had laid a charge against Nyangoma following his signing of a coalition statement accusing the army of a "massacre" at Ruziba, south of Bujumbura, about two weeks ago, he said.
"Officially, it is because of the Ruziba case in which Mr Nyangoma signed a statement as the spokesman of the ADC," Mr Sinduhije said. The army had sent combat helicopters and troops to Ruziba to arrest the presumed killers of two members of ruling party.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
A senior opposition politician has fled Burundi for fear of arrest and even his life after he complained about the military
MUSCAT/TOKYO (Reuters) -- A Japanese oil tanker damaged in an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, was being diverted to a port in the UAE on Wednesday.
One of the 31 crew aboard was injured but no oil leaked from the M Star very large crude carrier (VLCC), according to the Japanese transport ministry. It said an explosion occurred onboard at around 00:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Tuesday), but the cause was unclear.
"A crew member saw light on the horizon just before the explosion, so (ship owner Mitsui O.S.K.) believes there is a possibility it was caused by an outside attack," Japan's ministry said in a statement.
Oman's coastguard said there was no evidence of any attack on the tanker and instead cited an earthquake. I didn't know earthquakes occured on water.
"The boat was hit by a tremor ...we have no information of an attack," an Omani coastguard official told Reuters. I put this in Non-WOT because it's unclear if this was an attack.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/28/2010 12:04 ||
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U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is set to announce an order from India of about 500 million pounds ($775 million) for Hawk pilot-trainer aircraft from BAE Systems Plc, two people familiar with the matter said.
The order is for 57 Hawk T Mk2 advanced jet trainers made by London-based BAE Systems, Europes biggest defense company, the people told reporters on condition of anonymity because the deal hasnt yet been made public. Cameron will announce the order today in Bangalore, southern India, they said.
Cameron, whos accompanied on his trip to India by 39 company executives, said last week he wants increasing trade to be the central goal of British foreign policy. Indian imports from the U.K. rose 18.5 percent to $5.9 billion in the 12 months ending March 2009, the last fiscal year for which full figures are available, according to Indias Commerce Department.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/28/2010 16:26 ||
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Venezuela has beefed up its troop presence along the border with Colombia amid heightened tension between the two South American nations.
Caracas has sent about one thousand troops to the border, citing the threat of an armed conflict with Bogota.
"We have a reinforcement of 980 to 1,000 troops for the protection of the border, but there are no unusual operations; we are staying on alert," Reuters quoted Franklin Marquez, a regional commander for the Venezuelan National Guard, as saying on Monday.
On Saturday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said, "The possibility of armed aggression by Colombia is higher than it has been in a century."
Venezuela broke off diplomatic ties with Colombia on July 22 after Bogota accused Caracas of providing bases for Colombian rebels.
Chavez says the allegation is an excuse for Colombia to launch a US-backed invasion of Venezuela and has threatened to cut off oil supplies to the US if that happens.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like provoking a war to me.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 0:21 Comments ||
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#2
Sending troops to the border is a relatively quick, convenient and showy act. Whether they're going to be there for any length of time is another.
(which could also apply to a few other places besides Venezuela...)
Japan needs to prepare for events on the Korean Peninsula, in the Taiwan Strait, and small-scale invasions.
Japan must allow the transfer of nuclear arms through it.
Japan understands the US nuclear shield is necessary to protect Japan. This viewpoint can be understood in a way that does not contradict the goal of a nuclear weapons free world.
Japan should be able to take military action to defend the United States without breaching its war-renouncing constitution.
#1
As before, IMO read = JAPAN NEEDS, WANTS NUKES [agz CHINA].
Also read, SOUTH KOREA etal. NEEDS + WANTS NUKES [agz CHINA + JAPAN]. Ditto VIETNAM [agz EVERYBODY].
Espec iff the US desires to set up BI/MULTI-LATERAL REGIONAL GMD-TMD, + also to modify + transfer COLD WAR REGIONAL SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES to local Allies, Moderates.
Once again, IRONY > it may SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH ....CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
[Correctness] indirectly be in SOUTH KOREA'S + US + even JAPAN'S [Russia?] GEOPOL INTERESTS to allow NORTH KOREA TO INDIGENS DEV NUKES, as vee CHINA???
#5
Barbara - I should point out that I spent a while with an online thesaurus before posting this article. The better to protect Fred.
That said "through it" was originally:
Japan has also had a policy of not making, owning or allowing on its territory any nuclear weapons and has campaigned for their abolition, seeking to prevent more atomic attacks such as those on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
However, the panel recommends that Japan permit the transfer of nuclear arms through its territory -- something Japan has already secretly allowed US forces to do in the past, according to recently released documents.
* YONHAP NEWS > SCHOLARS FOR SOUTH KOREA,JAPAN ASK [Japan PM] KAN TO ADMIT 1910 ANNEXATION TREATY WAS VOID. Japan had historically always claimed or argued that its 1910 annexation of the Korean peninsula by formal Treaty had been wholeheartedly desired + approved by Korea.
* Also from YONHAP > CHINA'S FAILURE TO BLAME NORTH KOREA FOR THE "CHEONAN" LED TO SOUTH KOREA, US JOINT MILITARY DRILLS: STEINBERG.
ARTIC > STEINBERG = argues that, iff it had, CHINA had would NOT now be sufferring any loss of credibility or prestige by the US-ROK holding joint drills in the WEST, EAST SEAS [Yellow Sea] close to Chin coasts.
* WMF > "DEFENSE REPORT" JAPANESE THINK TANK PROPOSES FORMAL AMENDMENT OF NUCLEAR BAN TO ALLOW LEGAL, OPEN OR UN-CONDITIONAL ENTRY OF US NUCLEAR WEAPONS INTO JAPAN.
VERSUS
* WMF > NEW JAPAN AMBASSADOR: JAPAN BACK IN 1972 NEVER ADMITTED THAT TAIWAN WAS "CHINESE TERRITORY", as opposed to Taiwan being Japanese andor Non-Chinese controlled territory, espec as per the 1972 Sino-Japanese/China-Japan Joint Statement on Taiwan.
* WMF > CHINESE MEDIAS AND EXPERTS: IFF NOT BY WAR, THE US WILL FIND A WAY TO ISOLATE OR CONTAIN CHINA.
Recent scandals over illegal gambling among sumo players and ringside VIP tickets for Japan's notorious yakuza gangsters have enveloped Japan's venerated sport of sumo and fascinated the public.
But these are mere sideshows to what is roiling Japan's gangsters, many observers say. After decades of unspoken agreements between police and yakuza that have allowed organized crime to operate with relative impunity in everything from gambling on sport and illegal casinos to human trafficking and prostitution, the national police are cracking down on Japan's top yakuza gang, energized not only by the embarrassment over the sumo debacle but also by the emergence of a dynamic new National Police Agency (NPA) chief last year who wants to curtail the broad influence of yakuza in society.
"We want them to disappear from public society," Takaharu Ando told reporters in Tokyo after a meeting of police chiefs across Japan that he called to discuss strategies. While Mr. Ando may not yet have proved himself to be Japan's own Eliot Ness, there's no doubt about his determination to tackle organized crime.
About half the estimated 80,000-plus yakuza members in Japan belong to the Yamaguchi-gumi confederation of gangs, making it almost certainly the world's largest criminal organization. The leading faction of the Yamaguchi-gumi is the Kodokai, from which the organization's imprisoned godfather and No. 2 hail.
It is this 4,000-strong gang based in Nagoya, the western city that is home to Toyota that has earned the distinction of a special police unit dedicated to its destruction.
#1
"We want them to disappear from public society,"
Not disappear, but disappear from public society. How liberal of them. Image over results. Not likely though. In the aftermath of the Kobe quake of 1995, the government proved to be as efficient as their American counterpart in Katrina or the Spill. The Yakuza were the ones showing up with help and materials to many neighborhoods before the government could get its act together. Guess who made the lasting impression upon those assisted?
#3
Yes, I understand 'face' for them. That's why when even the reality said 'It's time to give up' it took two field tests of a new technologies to finally get them to surrender.
It's not solely 'face'. It's a matter of maintaining social cohesiveness. Anything that puts an ugly stain on Japan society's wall will be dealt with pretty aggressively.
The yakuza have been around for ages. There's no illusion as to what they are and what they provide, but it's figured that they have a (low-key)role in society. Which sounds more libertarian than liberal.
Japanese police are generally low-key. But they don't miss a thing and if you wish to cause trouble, they and the legal system more than ready to deal with you.
#6
I read a fascinating book on the Yakuza a few years ago. Basically Japan has an incredibly high success rate in capturing criminals because when they can't find the perp they show up at the local Yakuza hangout and the youngest member is sent out to serve time for the crime. This assures (a) Cops are happy and have a great record (b) Nearly every Yakuza member serves time even if they are never caught for the crimes they actually commit (c) Upper level Yakuza are protected.
Fascinating system that says a lot of about the Japanese who can still run around trumping their incredibly high rate at capturing criminals.
#1
I'm thinking these riffed workers are pi$$ed about this time at BHO and the clown who runs NASA who wants to use the space program to make nice to the muzzies.
How's this going to be spun concerning the unemployment numbers? Can't be jobs created or saved--well maybe with the accounting geniuses in Washington.
#3
Good thing I check the 'burg now and then. My local fishwrapper (Florida Today) couldn't bother to report on 900 more layoffs in the area. Can't embarrass little Suzie Kosmas in her re-election bid, can we?
#4
ION DRUDGEREPORT > [SUN.UK] CLAIM: ASTEROID COULD BE ON COURSE TO HIT EARTH | ASTEROID COULD RAZE LONDON. Space rock 1999RQ circa 2182.
D *** NG IT, FIRST ROCKS COME FIRST, i.e. KAMALEN + 2029/30-2036 COMET APOPHIS [Also read, MOON = LUNA Impact iff our PRE-OWG OWG Perts mess up on their Apophis Math comet path + space defense calcs].
** FYI "Back to the Future" of 2010 BP DEEPWATER OIL GUAH + YARN 2070's = SPACE ROCK may strike in + around 2010 BP DW Site = Gulf of Mahico.
OIL STILL LEAKING-N-A'PLUMIN IN 2070 > D *** NG IT, WHY SHOULD FUTURE OWG IN MSM-NET, PERT-VERIFIED "GREATER-N-LONGER-THAN-1929", "GLOBAL RECESSION/DEPRESSION" WASTE $$$ ON AN EXPENSIVE OIL NUKE WHEN THERES A PERFECTLY GOOD + FREE INCOMING SPACE ROCK TO IMPACT + SET THE GULF OF MEXI ON-FIRE!
* OLD DREAM > [Voice]"IT WILL STRIKE THE EARTH NEAR THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES".
Iff Youse thought the BP Deepwater thingy was over, 2070 > SILLY OWG AMERIKA, YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEGUN YET. WE MISSED CERTAIN 1980's MADONNA + MTV VIDEOS; + AL PACINO AS "THE DEVIL" IN "DEVIL'S ADVOCATE", DIDN'T WE?
Lest we fergit, 2010 Times Square Bomber SHAHZAD FAISAL > [paraph]THE MUSLIM WAR AGZ THE US IS JUST BEGINNING/STARTING.
TESTING THE BAMMER + TESTING "GLOBALISM" [OWG-NWO].
EMPEROR PALPATINE to LUKE > "AH YES, A JEDI LIGHTSABER, AN ANCIENT ELEGANT WEAPON [via Guam]FOR AN ELEGANT AGE".
[Darth "He will join us, or Die" Vader breathing here].
#1
'Tis a DAY OF IRONY + POPCORN today > "GM" includ GEngineering is allegedly poisoning China's grain crops, ala lack of resistance to Agri-diseases, while providing mass jobs to rival India???
[The Nation (Nairobi)] BP's vilified chief executive Tony Hayward resigned Tuesday as the British oil giant revealed the Gulf of Mexico disaster will cost over 32 billion dollars after causing a record quarterly loss.
Hayward, whose PR gaffes handling the oil spill made him a target of US fury, will be succeeded by Bob Dudley, who is currently in charge of BP's Gulf clean-up operations and will become the group's first US chief executive.
BP said it had made a record 16.9-billion-dollar loss in the second quarter and that it will sell 30 billion dollars of assets over the next 18 months as it seeks to streamline operations and return to profitability.
The troubled firm was pushed into the red by the 32.2 billion dollars (24.7 billion euros) set aside to pay for the costs of the spill -- the worst environmental disaster in US history.
"The Gulf of Mexico explosion was a terrible tragedy for which -- as the man in charge of BP when it happened -- I will always feel a deep responsibility, regardless of where blame is ultimately found to lie," Hayward said.
BP and Hayward in particular have been mauled by Washington since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and unleashing millions of gallons of crude into the sea and onto the US Gulf coast.
"BP today announced that, by mutual agreement with the BP board, Tony Hayward is to step down as group chief executive with effect from October 1," it said, adding he will be nominated as a non-executive director of TNK-BP, a Russian joint venture.
BP's share price has plunged about 40 percent since the explosion -- wiping tens of billions of dollars off the group's market value. BP shares rose 0.49 percent in value to 419 pence in Tuesday trade.
"As expected, BP reported the worst figures in UK corporate history," said ETX Capital trader Manoj Ladwa.
"Despite the company going through significant management and structural change, the future still remains uncertain for the oil giant and BP in a years' time could be significantly different from the company today."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
will cost over 32 billion dollars
BULLSHIT.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 0:24 Comments ||
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#2
will cost consumers over 32 billion dollars after causing a record quarterly loss.
#3
Besoeker, that's why I said bullshit, that's more truthfull, and NOT what it said,
Only way you could reach that high is to pay everybody what they ask and pay no attention to If the Bill is true or wildly ficticious.
Like Say, giving a Taxi driver $500,000 because he lost the paying customers that Might have used his Taxi.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 11:57 Comments ||
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#4
I have a question/idea:
Why not build a large inversed funnel and anchor it so all the oil from a blown well like this (was) is channeled into the the spigot and then into a pipe for harvesting? Sure there might be a little water at first but wouldn't the pressure from the oil expel the seawater; much like blowing air into a swimming mask?
I guess if there wasn't constant continuous siphoning of the funnel volume there would be overspill...just playing around, better than just letting it all spill out...maybe some splitters for the line so there are multiple receiving options?
#5
#4 - I believe something like you mentioned was indeed tried very early on, but it was clogged by materials which formed a semi-solid under the temperature & pressure conditions at the leak site, stopping the flow out through the 'siphon' and allowing the leak to continue as if the funnel hadn't been there at all.
#6
Thanks AH9418, fairly difficult environment indeed. Suppose in a shallow/less pressure environment something like that could work, or is it more to do with oil/ocean/etc chemical properties?
#7
The first time I went to BOP school was in 1973. But I still remember the instructor telling the class that allowing an oil well to get out of control is like incest. It is something that should never ever be allowed to happen. And it is absolutely unforgivable if it does. The oil companies priorities have always been to control the well in the first place. Not what do if a blowout occurs.
In basic training I was taught that the M-60 machine gun was the last line of defense. And if that fails and the enemy is still coming , its time to fix bayonets, thrust and parry, and what ever else you can come up with.
If the an oil well gets to the point that the BOP's must be relied on to control the well , and the BOP's fail, you are pretty much at the fix bayonets stage. You are already way beyond the manual, because it's not supposed to ever be allowed get that far in the first place.
About 18.9 million homes in the U.S. stood empty during the second quarter as surging foreclosures helped push ownership to the lowest level in a decade.
The number of vacant properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, rose from 18.6 million in the year-earlier quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. The ownership rate, meaning households that own their own residence, was 66.9 percent, the lowest since 1999.
Lenders are accelerating foreclosures as borrowers fall behind in mortgage payments after the worst housing crash since the Great Depression. A record 269,962 U.S. homes were seized in the second quarter, according to RealtyTrac Inc. Foreclosures probably will top 1 million this year, the Irvine, California- based data company said in a July 15 report.
"There are a lot of people losing their homes and either moving in with family or renting places to live," said Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. "Foreclosures are still going up."
The share of homes empty and for sale, known as the vacancy rate, was 2.5 percent, matching the year-earlier period and down from 2.6 percent in the first quarter, the Census Bureau said. The homeownership rate fell from 67.1 percent in the first quarter, the third straight decline. The rate reached a record high of 69.2 percent in the second and fourth quarters of 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
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#1
Mortgage and Price too high WILL do that.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 0:23 Comments ||
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#2
The Obama administration has created or saved nearly 19 million rentals.
#6
Lots of people otherwise well-to-do are underwater on their current mortgages, in a situation where they may decide that keeping up with mortgage payments is not worth the expense. Add them to the current number of foreclosures, and home ownership should plunge.
#8
The Community Redevelopment Act, repeal of Glass Stegal, Fannie and Freddie being mandated to make high risk loans, and the policies behind it spearheaded by Frank and Dodd add up to the single greatest theft in the history of mankind. And now these progressive jerks are trying to take credeit for regulating the financail markets their policies have caused, and spin it back to class warfare.....
Not a single public figure behind this is going to jail or even being hurt financially.....
Add this to a federal goverment that has evolved into an increasingly oppressive presence in every aspect of our daily lives, and planning to take more and more of our wealth to give to their clients....
Gee, does this book end well? Or peacefully?
#9
Count me among those underwater, hoping to retire in five years...
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/28/2010 15:57 Comments ||
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#10
NoMoreBS
Nah, that just made a problem worse. The problem was the regulators lowering reserves to zero has the effect of creating vast amounts of credit and THIS volume of credit lowered yields and thus increased risks.
#11
It ALL stems from too much credit.
And the bad debts so contracted must be defaulted on (since there is no way they can be paid back), and someone must eat those bad debts.
Justice Minister Keiko Chiba - who opposes the death penalty - witnessed the executions and announced the formation of a group to review the death penalty.
Opinion polls show broad support for capital punishment in Japan.
The two men executed were Kazuo Shinozawa, 59, convicted of killing six women in a jewellery shop fire, and Hidenori Ogata, 33, who killed a man and a woman in 2003.
Ms Chiba said that as justice minister she believed it was her duty to witness the executions in person.
"It made me again think deeply about the death penalty, and I once again strongly felt that there is a need for a fundamental discussion about the death penalty," she said.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/28/2010 14:42 ||
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#1
A total of 107 inmates remain on death row in Japan. Prisoners are usually executed two or three at a time.
Well, that's efficient.
And no hot shot. The good old rope.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/28/2010 16:25 Comments ||
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#3
Since the death penalty is very popular in Japan, there is no need for a "fundamental discussion."
In the US, federal judges have taken it upon themselves to use their personal opinion to make the death penalty terribly difficult, expensive and time consuming. Except for the very rare instance, this exceeds their authority many fold from its original intent.
If States want to hang, they should be able to hang. Or electrocute, or gas, or use a firing squad, or even that perversity of lethal injection. If there is any difficulty in *assigning* the death penalty at trial, it should be made by State statute.
But once a trial has convicted and sentenced, only with extraordinary circumstances should the case go before a federal judge at all. If things are intolerable, the governor could show clemency. But that is it.
#1
The only way for a laser to penetrate moisture and obscurants is to burn its way through it, or use a bandwidth that passes right through it.
I gather that they are using the former technique by using a 32kW laser. By comparison, at typical "high power" 10W laser can burn through a cinder block at 10 feet.
#2
Not bad for a prototype but a drone is a drone. Effectiveness on real target materials and better range for the laser probably need to be developed.
#3
This is a common phrase in the open borders crowd.
Mexico is North American. Maybe I could run down there and get me a job real quick. Maybe buy some beach front property. Maybe vote in some elections. Heck, I can do anything I want, even have them pay for school and housing and food for me because I'm North American, too!
#4
Notice the restaurant owner says (todos somos de América del Norte), we are all North Americans. This is a common phrase in the open borders crowd.
Except Mexico doesn't play that game. From their Constitution -
Chapter III
Foreigners
Article 33. Foreigners are those who do not possess the qualifications set forth in Article 30. They are entitled to the guarantees granted by Chapter I, Title I, of the present Constitution; but the Federal Executive shall have the exclusive power to compel any foreigner whose remaining he may deem inexpedient to abandon the national territory immediately and without the necessity of previous legal action.
Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country.
One set of rules for me, another set of rules for thee. Oh, and this little bit of xenophobia as well -
Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican companies have the right to acquire ownership of lands, waters, and their appurtenances, or to obtain concessions for the exploitation of mines or of waters. The State may grant the same right to foreigners, provided they agree before the Ministry of Foreign Relations to consider themselves as nationals in respect to such property, and bind themselves not to invoke the protection of their governments in matters relating thereto; under penalty, in case of noncompliance with this agreement, of forfeiture of the property acquired to the Nation. Under no circumstances may foreigners acquire direct ownership of lands or waters within a zone of one hundred kilometers along the frontiers and of fifty kilometers along the shores of the country. - Article 27
We've seen this game before, 'Tails I win, heads you lose.'
#6
Fairfield is a city? It must be one of those technical cities, because from here is just looks like another suburban township. The only real city in Butler County is Hamilton, which as far as I can tell contains only bureaucrats and poor people.
The Butler County sheriff is the one who'd been billing ICE for housing and feeding the illegal immigrants in limbo between county arrest and ICE deportation.
PHOENIX A federal judge dealt a serious blow to Arizona's immigration law on Wednesday when she put most of the crackdown on hold just hours before it was to take effect.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton sets up a lengthy legal battle as Arizona fights to enact the nation's toughtest-in-the-nation law. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said the state likely appeal the ruling and seek to get the judge's order overturned.
But for now, opponents of the law have prevailed: The provisions that angered opponents will not take effect, including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.
The judge also delayed parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places. In addition, the judge blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants.
"Requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully-present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked," U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, a Clinton appointee, said in her decision.
She said the controversial sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues. Other provisions of the law, many of them procedural and slight revisions to existing Arizona immigration statute, will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Sounds to me like she punted...
#2
No kidding. We can't drive without our license, can't apply for jobs without proof of identification and US residence, etc. Why do illegals get special status?
#4
She didn't punt. This was going to SCOTUS no matter what decision she made, same with Ninth Circus. What she did was rule against a law that most American agree with and thus showed them the contempt in which they and the formerly soverign states in which they live are held by the ruling class. This will simply get more of those unworthies to the polls in November. So I call it shooting her side in the foot.
#7
Excellent - this will be a huge issue this fall - keep the anger stoked. Nice job, Holder!
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/28/2010 19:40 Comments ||
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#8
Jimmy,
I have to say that your buddy Bill, when he wasn't bonking the secretary, made some of the worst judicial appointments ever. They have clogged the system with some epically stupid decisions.
Karl,
Since Bill is all involved with Chelsea's wedding and won't see this, I have to agree with you.
This moronic judge essentially is telling Arizona they cannot enforce federal law. I am sure that Roberts and Scalia are licking their judical chops and already have their interns sharpening the knives on this...who ever pleads this case for the Obambi administration is going to die the death of a thousand cuts.
#9
Jim, I heard that and you know that I did not have sex with that woman...no wait, the secretary? Well I thought you said intern, campaign worker, newpaper reporter or tv analyst...let me rephase that statement.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
07/28/2010 19:52 Comments ||
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#1
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) is urging U.S. citizens to pressure the White House and the Homeland Security Department to establish "safe departure" border checkpoints along the U.S. border for illegal immigrants so they can leave without fear of being detained or prosecuted for immigration crimes.
They are safe from being harmed by US citizens when heading north. You'd think they'd be safer heading south.
#3
I favor legal immigration, so am I also "anti-immigrant"? I prefer to think of myself as "anti-illegal". Too fine a distinction for the MSM, I suppose.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/28/2010 5:51 Comments ||
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#5
This is a problem long known in AZ. That is, the illegals here are terrified of being "thrown just across the border" into the ultraviolence of northern Mexico. So much so that the State has long offered to *fly* any illegal who wants to leave, to Mexico City.
The State considers it well worth it to even charter a passenger jet to take a few hundred at the same time. It's cheaper than bus fare to the border.
This serves the dual purpose of safety for them, and to send them 1400 miles from the border, so it is much less likely they will come back.
However, with so many leaving, and being deported, it would be cheaper if a buses were used South of the border, to take them further South.
But the Mexican government does not *want* them to return. It wants them to stay in the US, to work and send money. So it will try to discourage any more bus travel than exists right now. And will also make a big point that they should not cross the border because of the violence.
Ironically, even those who make it to Mexico City are probably boned. Metro DF already has about 22m people, there is little or no work, and the cartel wars keep growing in scope.
I was impressed that it had made it to Torreon. Then just a week or two later, the wars had spread to Durango, halfway between Torreon and Mazatlan.
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.
A young Russian beautician, Anna Fermanova, has been arrested in Texas as part of the American investigation into suspected foreign spies, it has emerged. The 24 year-old, who lives near Dallas, was apprehended after attempting to take state-of-the-art night-vision scopes and other restricted items to Russia. The items were confiscated when she attempted to board a flight to Moscow earlier this year. She was arrested when returning to America this month. 
[The Nation (Nairobi)] BP's vilified chief executive Tony Hayward resigned Tuesday as the British oil giant revealed the Gulf of Mexico disaster will cost over 32 billion dollars after causing a record quarterly loss.
