A new U.S. book claims Ernest Hemingway was a not-very-effective spy for the KGB during the 1940s.
The Nobel prize-winning author is listed in "Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America," Yale University Press, co-written by John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev from notes Vassiliev took in Moscow archives.
A former KGB officer, Vassiliev was provided with access in the 1990s to Stalin-era files, The Guardian reported.
In the book, Hemingway is referred to as a "dilettante spy." His file says he was recruited in 1941 before he went to China, the book claims. He was called "Argo" and allegedly met with Soviet agents in Havana and London in the 40s, The Guardian reported.
The books described Hemingway as enthusiastic, but not very effective, and said Soviet contacts with Hemingway ended by the end of the decade.
"Spies" doesn't say whether the authors believe Hemingway was serious about spying or looking for material for a book.
#2
I have difficulty believing that the writer of For Whom the Bell Tolls would become a spy for the Soviets. It's not quite Homage to Catalonia, but you still get a pretty good idea of the empty-hearted ferocity of the Soviet mercenary corps from that book.
I've occasionally wondered how the KGB and GRU kept their spy-recruiters from padding their rolls with ghost agents, or people who weren't exactly as committed as their 'handlers' pretended to Moscow.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/10/2009 15:40 Comments ||
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#3
When the old man saw the commie recruiter coming he knew that this was money of which he had no fear at all and with which he would do exactly what he wished. He prepared his hand to take the tainted dollars and made his wallet fast while he watched the commie come on.
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/10/2009 15:58 Comments ||
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#2
"Ed Freeman died last August."
Indeed. Unfortunately, this true account of his actions has been appended to a number of e-mail legends, often changing the date to contrast Ed's passing with some media outburst about a relatively trivial or frivolous subject. The most recent version contrasts it with the death of Michael Jackson.
[Maghrebia] Algeria passed a cybercrime bill on Wednesday (July 8th), APS reported. The ICT legislation criminalises computer hacking, stealing personal data and intellectual property and operating terror-related websites.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Actually, most modern states have laws against harassment, stalking, genocide advocacy, etc. I don't see the need for specific reference to the internet.
GHANAIANS sporting Barack Obama hats and T-shirts and holding portraits of the US president danced through the streets of the capital Accra in anticipation of his landmark visit to the country. Mr Obama was due to arrive in Ghana late on Friday on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since being elected president.
Despite tight security in which some 10,000 police were deployed across the seaside capital, residents drummed and gyrated in the streets, with many dancing to a song about Mr Obama, composed by a Ghanaian radio presenter known as Black Rasta. Street vendors did brisk trade in Obama memorabilia from keyrings and coffee mugs to huge colourful umbrellas with Obama and President John Atta-Mills' portraits emblazoned on them.
From as early as 8am, police blocked off some of the major roads including the airport road, from ordinary motorists.
During his 24-hour visit, Mr Obama and his wife Michelle - a descendant of African slaves - were due to tour Cape Coast Castle, one of Africa's biggest former slave trading posts.
Authorities in Cape Coast, a town some 160km west of Accra, even banned all funerals this weekend on account of Mr Obama's visit.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Zimbabwean president accuses the former prime minister Tony Blair of reneging on British pledges to pay compensation for repossessed lands.
Robert Mugabe, responding to a question by Trevor Gifford, Chairman of Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) representing the last remaining white farmers in Zimbabwe, said, "I told Blair to keep his money and we were going to keep our land", a Press TV correspondent quoted him as saying on Thursday.
Zimbabwe launched the land reforms in 2000 to resettle blacks on 4,000 white-owned commercial farms, but the process was marred by politically-charged violence.
Mugabe, who is attending an investment conference in Harare of foreign fund managers, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs, repeated his stance that the former colonial ruler - the UK -- was responsible for paying owners who were stripped of their farms.
"The responsibility to pay compensation is that of the British, we pay compensation for improvements, developments, whatever you can evaluate as improvements, we pay compensation for, that's our obligation and we honor that part," he said.
Mugabe also blamed western sanctions on Zimbabwe for the country's economic downturn.
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who was also at the conference, said that all parties in Zimbabwe recognized that land reform was needed but differed on their approach.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Now that the former prime minister is no longer the current prime minister, he naturally finds himself unable to perform the duties he formerly did with such ease. The Zimbabwean president confuses tyranny with legal handover of responsibilities as dictated by democratic election returns.
[Mail and Globe] Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Thursday said some white farmers would be spared under his controversial land reforms, and urged Britain to compensate owners of property seized for redistribution.
"It's not every white farm which will be taken. Not necessarily," Mugabe said in reply to the leader of the predominantly white Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) at a conference to lure investors.
"The responsibility of compensation rests on the shoulders of the British government and its allies," he said.
"We pay compensation for developments and improvements. That's our obligation and we have honoured that. Above all Zimbabwe upholds the sanctity of property rights.
"Sure there must be some compensation. Let's join hands and appeal to the British."
The land reforms, launched in 2000, aimed to resettle black Zimbabweans on 4 000 white-owned commercial farms, but the process was marred by politically charged violence.
The scheme has drastically reduced agricultural production, which once accounted for 40% of the economy, as most of its beneficiaries lacked both farming equipment and expertise.
Mugabe's statements came as the CFU reported fresh invasions of white-owned farms.
He accused the farmers of taking sides with the British, whose relations with Zimbabwe were strained over the land reforms launched ostensibly to redress historical land imbalances.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#9
Whahahhaah RF. If I were a farm owner here in the US, driving those evil, poloooting, carbon creating John Deere monsters around, I'd be a little concerned about now.
#10
Besoker, we, I think, must regard all that as lost. Some Tomahawks from off the coast of Mocambique a few years ago, as I recommended, would have had this sorted. Lack of strategy/ VERY short-term thinking.
[Mail and Globe] Despite a steady drop in newly-registered cases and cholera-related deaths in Zimbabwe, the onset of the summer rainy season in September has aid agencies worried that the disease could spike again, and relief from Africa's worst cholera outbreak in 15 years may be short-lived.
"There are fears of yet another outbreak," said Tsitsi Singizi, information officer of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). Since cholera was first reported in August 2008, close to 100 000 people have been infected and over 4 000 have died.
Aid agencies have been gearing up for the eventuality of a serious comeback by drilling 200 new boreholes in cholera hotspots, distributing hygiene kits, and sensitisation and education efforts to better equip Zimbabweans to cope.
"The water problems which spurred on the outbreak last year [2008] still persist, so as we draw towards the wet season, we are bracing ourselves for another outbreak," Singizi said.
Zimbabwe often records cholera cases during the rainy season, but the economic implosion has meant that the underlying issues responsible for the epidemic -- collapsed sewerage systems, poor access to adequate drinking water and continued failure to collect refuse -- have yet to be addressed.
"We have started procuring oral rehydration and IV [intravenous] fluids, which are the first line in the defence for someone affected by cholera," Singizi noted.
"The government has had to scrounge around in order to give the city of Harare the money in order to deal with problems associated with water and sanitation. Harare was the epicentre of the cholera outbreak," Finance Minister Tendai Biti told Irin.
"We want to ensure that does not happen [again] as we approach the rain season, so it is a race against time." Biti said he had allotted some US$17-million to the Harare municipality to address the water reticulation and sewerage system issues.
The money will be spent on rehabilitating the capital's water treatment and distribution network and sewerage system. "We hope the city of Harare will be able once again to provide clean water to all its residents, and that cholera will be a thing of the past," he commented.
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07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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"The government has had to scrounge around in order to give the city of Harare the money in order to deal with problems
[Bangla Daily Star] A parliamentary body investigating irregularities during the tenure of former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar asked the House yesterday to strip Sircar of his MP status and recover around Tk 2.50 crore he, his deputy and the then chief whip took illegally as medical bills, additional fuel allowances and other facilities.
The all-party probe body yesterday submitted its report, the first of its kind in the history of the country's parliament, and recommended taking legal actions against Sircar, the then deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui and the then chief whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain.
The report says the three undermined the dignity of the House, indulged in widespread corruption and misuse of power.
The probe body has charged them with contempt of parliament for not appearing before the parliamentary committee despite being invited and asked the House to initiate contempt proceedings against them.
"It is the inherent power of a parliament to scrap membership of an MP for his/her misconduct no matter whether any specific provision exists or not," the probe report says.
The principal aims of this inherent power are to protect the dignity of the House and ensure people's confidence in it so that democratic system can remain effective, it says.
Formed on March 19, the probe body formed three sub-committees to conduct enquiry into the alleged widespread corruption in Parliament Secretariat during the last seven years from November 2001 to January 25, 2009 when Speaker Abdul Hamid assumed office.
Ruling Awami League lawmaker Fazle Rabbi Mia, chief of the parliamentary probe body, placed the 784-page report in parliament with huge documents on corruption and misuse of power committed by Sircar, Akhtar Hamid and Delwar. The report contains 16 recommendations.
The white paper of the alleged corruption points out anomalies in taking medical bills, using unauthorised public vehicles and taking additional fuel allowances, corruption in procurement, beautification and arboriculture, recruitment, entertainment bills, allocation of residence for officials and receiving money from the Parliament Members' Club.
Rabbi yesterday told The Daily Star that the House would discuss the findings and recommendations in its next session to decide the next course of actions.
The probe committee considers the wrongdoings of the trio as even more serious than the unreasonable expenditures by the MPs of the UK parliament.
"Former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar and former deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui took oath to do right to all manner of people according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. But they breached their oath of offices while discharging duties and committed misconduct, thus tarnishing the dignity of the two high offices," the probe report says.
Opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque was a member of the probe committee, which was formed in the presence of the BNP-led opposition lawmakers in the House. Farroque, however, has not attended any meeting of the committee without citing any reason.
Sircar, Akhtar Hamid and Delwar, who is BNP's incumbent secretary general, have repeatedly refuted the allegations against them and claimed that the probe body was formed illegally to tarnish their political image.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant denied he was now part of the establishment after being awarded a CBE by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.
#1
Cool. I took my kids to see him three years ago. He's still got the chops
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/10/2009 13:00 Comments ||
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#2
He said it was humbling to accept this award alongside selfless troops. Maybe it's a case of the 'stablishment recognising work well done, finally.
I still recall 'The Immigrant Song' and 'Ramble On', 'Hangman' inspiring the troops back in '76/77, in the Honde Valley. (Having said that, I believe, as an aside, the gooks seemed to favour Deep Purple).
And he won't 'give-it-back' either, which is a plus for everyone.
These small things matter as the world goes tribal.
#4
my kids (earliest born '85) were like "who is this guy?" Until the concert started smoking. He did a lot of Led Zep tunes and they went: "ooooooohhhh". The fact we were 12th row tix on SD Bay (By the convention center) made it a great concert...
really just enjoyed teh concert, plus showing my kids that old guys can kick ass. I missed his Allison Krause tour, but got the CD "Raising Sand"..it's good too.
/Robert Plant's unpaid PR Manager
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/10/2009 22:27 Comments ||
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SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Thursday that its mass gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang" will be staged at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang from Aug. 10 to late September.
Not quite the Cirque du Soleil, however ...
"Arirang produced on the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army has demonstrated before the world the invincible might of Songun (military first) Korea in which the army and people are rallied close around leader Kim Jong-il and the tremendous mental power of the Korean people," the North's official news agency KCNA said in a brief dispatch while announcing the performance schedule.
"The group of creators and performers are successfully pushing forward its re-representation at a final phase," said the report.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Yup, nothing plunges the dagger of fear deeper into the heart of the West than gymnastics.
And what the heck is this talk of the "tremendous mental powers" of the people? Sounds like they're channeling Uri Gellar.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the Montgomery, Ala.-based watchdog group that tracks extremist hate groups, has compiled a book containing the online user profiles of at least 40 newsaxon.org users who say they are serving in the military, in apparent violation of Pentagon regulations prohibiting racist extremism in the ranks.
On Friday, the SPLC will present its findings to key members of Congress who chair the House and Senate committees overseeing the armed forces and urge them to pressure the Pentagon to crack down.
"In the wake of several high-profile murders by extremists of the radical right, we urge your committees to investigate the threat posed by racial extremists who may be serving in the military to ensure that our armed forces are not inadvertently training future domestic terrorists," Morris Dees, SPLC co-founder and chief trial counsel, wrote to the legislators. "Evidence continues to mount that current Pentagon policies are inadequate to prevent racial extremists from joining and serving in the armed forces."
Added Mark Potok, editor of the Intelligence Report, a magazine produced at the law center: "The Pentagon really has shrugged this off and refused to look at this in any serious way."
On the newsaxon.org website, which Potok termed "a racist version of Facebook run by the National Socialist Movement," many participants list their branch of service, base location and hometown on colorful pages festooned with Nazi art and Confederate battle flags. Some say they have served or will soon be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Several include pictures of themselves in camouflage combat uniforms.
One participant under the username "WhitePride85," who said he is a 24-year-old staff sergeant from Madison, Wis., wrote: "I have been in the Army for over 5 years now ... I am a SSGT ... I have been in Iraq and Kuwait ... I love and will do anything to keep our master race marching. I have been a skinhead forever."
The SPLC, which has previously alerted the military to the presence of racist extremists in its ranks, said none of the profiles its researchers discovered on the white supremacist website revealed the real names of participants, and the organization made no attempt to discover their identities.
"We can't verify these things," Potok said, because his group does not have access to military personnel records. "We feel that clearly military investigators could."
And if they don't it's because of a massive cover-up, which will require another investigation, and Congressional hearings ...
A Stripes reporter searched the user profiles listing their job category as "Military" and found 130 hits out of 7,906 total members.
A Defense Department directive issued in 1996 lays out the guidelines for "dissident" activities by service members, from publishing underground newspapers to organizing demonstrations.
"Military personnel must reject participation in organizations that espouse supremacist causes," the rule states. "Active participation, such as publicly demonstrating or rallying, fund raising, recruiting and training members, organizing or leading such organizations, or otherwise engaging in activities in relation to such organizations ... that are viewed by command to be detrimental to the good order, discipline, or mission accomplishment of the unit, is incompatible with Military Service, and is, therefore, prohibited."
But military officials gave conflicting answers this week when asked how policies governing racist behavior are being enforced.
A spokesman for the Department of the Army said the service takes seriously any allegations of membership in racist, extremist or hate groups. But he said such allegations are dealt with on a case-by-case basis at the unit disciplinary level or in the military justice system, and are not being addressed as an Army-wide problem.
The Army spokesman then referred Stripes to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command for more information. But that office refused to comment on Army policy on hate groups, saying that the issue of extremists infiltrating the ranks was "an Army-wide issue" that should be addressed at the service command level.
"If a sergeant is assigned to Fort Bragg," said Army spokesman Wayne Hall, "the Fort Bragg office of Criminal Investigation Command is going to investigate that individual, not the Department of the Army at this level."
If, for example, a soldier is found to have participated in a neo-Nazi rally, "Then it comes down to the unit commander," Hall said. "It's a violation of good order and discipline."
Hall added that extremist tattoos such as a swastika should disqualify an applicant for enlistment, but he could not say what disciplinary actions might be faced by an active-duty soldier found with such markings.
Potok said the SPLC has often encountered confusion within the U.S. military about how to interpret "active participation."
"That is the phrase that is often misunderstood," he said. "We know for a fact that military officials, in many cases, read 'active participation' as only recruiting people into another group, or only participating in some kind of hate group event off base."
In 2006, several members of Congress called for clearer language on such policies but got little reaction from the Pentagon, which has long said it has enough regulations to handle racists and extremists.
But last month, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., attached an amendment to the 2010 defense authorization bill that would expressly ban the "recruitment, enlistment or retention" of anyone tied to an extremist group.
And the way he wrote it would allow the Attorney General to imprison Republicans, which might have been the whole idea ...
"The problem is that in many instances, recruiters and commanding officers are looking the other way," Hastings said in a statement. "The United States Government should not be providing the highest quality of military training in the world to individuals who hope to use that training in a 'race war' or in an effort to overthrow the United States Government."
This week, Stripes e-mailed interview requests to more than a dozen newsaxon.org participants claiming military affiliations. Only one responded.
The user, "clarkpatrick88," said he would not reveal his real identity for fear of reprisals, but he said he was a 19-year old sailor. His profile includes a picture in which he is holding a Confederate insignia while wearing his blue Navy working uniform with a name patch reading "Clark." The number 88 is commonly used among neo-Nazis as shorthand to the greeting, "Heil Hitler."
"As for my political views, I have never once put them before my duty I signed up for," the sailor said in one of his e-mails. "I didn't outwardly show my beliefs or cause trouble."
The sailor said he grew so frustrated at military life and at being closely quartered with service members of other races that he sought psychiatric counseling for suicidal thoughts. He spent three days in the "psych ward," he said, and is now being separated from the service on its recommendation.
Sounds like the military did the right thing ...
In 2006, the SPLC released a report asserting that "thousands" of active-duty troops like clarkpatrick88 could have hate group affiliations. The law center said that some military officers conceded that recruitment and retention pressures forced them to look the other way when presented with overwhelming evidence of hate group membership.
If that doesn't move the needle, the next SPLC press release will claim 'tens of thousands' ...
Later, the FBI said it suspected hundreds of servicemembers had been recruited into extremist groups.
Last November, the SPLC, feeling its warnings to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had been ignored,
... and thus having had its feelings hurt ...
... urged the current secretary, Robert Gates, to revisit the issue. "Since we issued our 2006 report, the problem may have worsened," SPLC President Richard Cohen wrote to Gates.
By this spring, a Department of Homeland Security report said law enforcement groups should beware of extremists coming out of military duty or groups trying to recruit susceptible veterans for their combat skills. The report was criticized by some veterans and conservative groups as inherently anti-military.
#1
The Southern Poverty Law Center was once a semi-reputable org. Now they're victimology whores and lawsuit pimps, IMHO. Not saying some of these people might not need looking at, but if Morris Dees and his assholes are after them, I'd look at the publicity angle before anything else. Left-wing version of Westboro Baptist Church is how I think of them
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/10/2009 19:31 Comments ||
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#2
Only your commander in chief can be a member of a hate group.
#3
Later, the FBI said it suspected hundreds of servicemembers had been recruited into extremist groups.
Not difficult at all to envision when you have a DoJ that believes ALL military personnel are "extremists." A POX on the Bureau and their draft dodging "Special Agents."
#5
Any fool can go online and claim to be active duty military and many fools do.
You see, I know this because I am a colonel in the navy SEALs Gamma force. Why, just last week, my above-classified off-the-record group raided yet another secret PoW camp near Pyongyang in North Viet-Laos because we had solid intel that Osama bin Laden was there to deliver a lecture to the guards on how to better serve the international Bilderberger conspiracy. I'da captured the bastard too but an Obammunist ACORN mole in our group sabotaged my handcuffs.
[Geo News] Awami National Party (ANP) Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan has demanded of the government to make Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) part of NWFP. Briefing the media here on Thursday, Asfandyar Wali said government's writ has to established in FATA to ensure normalcy in NWFP. He demanded of the Federal Government to stretch NWFP's boundaries to cover the tribal areas and in this connection its representation should be made in the provincial assembly. The ANP Chief said the annulment of 17th amendment cannot guarantee resolution to the country's problems. The issues be resolved through ensuring supremacy of the Parliament instead, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
hmmm. Ive heard pundits say the FATA status is anachronistic, but I wonder if Paki is really capable of integrating them. Also the rest of NWFP isnt exactly a model of good governance, from what I can gather.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
07/10/2009 17:35 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] World leaders have enjoyed a five-course meal on the eve of a G8 summit on tackling world food shortages, a menu released by a summit source showed.
The leaders will be joined by representatives of African countries for Friday's session at the G8 summit focusing on food, security and development issues.
The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said earlier this week, "A hunger emergency looms and the world must act."
However on Thursday night -- the night before the talks -- at a dinner hosted by the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, the leaders dined on a warm tomato salad with cheese followed by hand-made macaroni with ragu sauce, roast lamb with beans and summer truffles with eggplant, green beans and roast potatoes, cheese and a sweet pizza dessert made with almonds.
Meanwhile, on a separate menu prepared by two-star Michelin Chef Nico Romito, the leaders' partners were able to choose between four starters before lamb with warm potato salad for the main course and hot and cold chocolate with fennel for dessert.
Non-governmental organizations have been bitterly denouncing the current three-day G8 summit for the inadequate emphasis on African development.
Oxfam, an NGO lobbying at G8, said that Poverty and inequality are getting worse in the developing countries as a result of the global economic crisis. Poor families are eating less, being evicted from their homes, and having to pull children out of school.
All of this is exacerbated by the effects of high food prices, the failure of rich countries to deliver on their aid promises, and the growing harmful impact of climate change, Oxfam said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
Note well, that Oxfam leaves out removing the corrupt, tyrants, and kleptocrats who own and operate these 'countries' where hunger is real. Until those obstacles are removed, the problem will never go away. Till then take the guilt game elsewhere.
#4
Remember, P2K, that the role of these people is NOT to end hunger, but to make sure plenty of cash is raised to be distributed among those who do "good works". They sure as he$$ don't want to actually END hunger - that would cost them their phony-baloney jobs. May all such scum be the target of all the mosquitos in Louisiana's swamps.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/10/2009 17:40 Comments ||
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#5
We have lots of mosquitos, but not enough for that task, OP. We'll ask Alaska Paul if we can use some of his to help out.
[Bangla Daily Star] G8 leaders have agreed to bear the brunt of steep global cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, calling on a broader bloc of developed countries to reduce pollution by 80 percent by 2050.
The aim, agreed at a G8 summit in the central Italian town of L'Aquila, is to cut overall world emissions by 50 percent in order to limit global warming to no more than two degrees Celsius, a declaration said.
Despite G8 backing for a 50 percent cut in emissions globally, a broader group of major polluters, including many developing countries such as China and India, dropped a pledge earlier to halve their pollution by 2050.
"We recognise the broad scientific view that the increase in global average temperature above pre-industrial levels ought not to exceed two degrees Celsius," the G8 leaders said.
"Because this global challenge can only be met by a global response, we reiterate our willingness to share with all countries the goal of achieving at least a 50 percent reduction of global emission by 2050," they added.
The 50 percent target was first put in writing at the G8 summit in Japan last year, but according to Japanese government spokesman Kazuo Kodama, the big eight leaders have struggled to convince major emerging economies to join in.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Not after they had the 5 course meal. See above news.
#4
Hmmmm. Maybe the riots in Xinxiang were contrived and the real reason Hu stayed home was so he could avoid having to suppress his laughter when these "leaders" asked him about cutting China's emissions.
#7
by 2050? That's ...ummm... forty-one years from now, plenty of time to change the targets or forget about them altogether. I think it's a bloody marvelous idea the G8 leaders spend their time and our money negotiating such candy floss instead of agreeing to things that will actually impact anything in the near future.
Israel moved a step closer to receiving its first stealth fighter jets this week after the Israel Air Force submitted an official Letter of Request (LOR) to the Pentagon to purchase its first squadron of 25 F-35 stealth fighter jets. Also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the F-35 will be one of the most-advanced fighter jets in the world and will enable Israel to phase out some of its older F-15 and F-16 models. The JSF is manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
Defense officials said that while the LOR was submitted this week, negotiations regarding the final price of the plane - estimated at around $100 million - as well as the integration of Israeli systems would continue.
The LOR will be followed by the signing of a contract in the beginning of 2010. The first aircraft are scheduled to arrive in Israel in 2014. The first stage of the deal will be the purchase of 25 aircraft, which will compromise the first Israeli F-35 squadron. In a later stage, the IAF plans to purchase an additional 50 aircraft, some of them with vertical take-off and landing capabilities.
According to senior IDF officers, the Defense Ministry and the Pentagon have reached understandings on most of the major issues that have been at the core of disagreement between the sides. Israeli demands have focused on three issues - the integration of Israeli-made electronic warfare systems into the plane, the integration of Israeli communication systems and the ability to independently maintain the plane in the event of a technical or structural problem. Built in a Georgia to be used by the IDF. Wonder how long it will take Barry to squash this sale?
#2
squash the sale? No, he'll charge the Juice full price, including R&D costs, then give a matching squadron to the Saudis, Syrians, Paleos, et al,...."for balance"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/10/2009 19:24 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Malaysia is to abandon teaching math and science in English, saying that far too many children from poor rural areas were being failed by the program.
The decision to start phasing out English medium teaching from 2012 has been backed by the government and Malaysia's main opposition parties, despite concerns that using the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, will undermine competitiveness.
" I would not say it was a complete failure, but it did not achieve what it was supposed to achieve "
Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin
Malaysia has said recently that it wants to attract more high-value investment in areas like banking and finance, industries that are global and typically demand good English.
Instead of teaching math and science in English, a policy started in 2003, the government will double the time spent on English lessons for primary children and increase that for secondary school children by half.
It said it would hire an additional 14,000 teachers to teach English as a language.
'I would not say it was a complete failure, but it did not achieve what it was supposed to achieve,' Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told a news conference on Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Aigh! Seriously? At first I read that as "Malaysia dropping English classes in favor of more Math & Science courses", which was kind of worrisome. But they were teaching kids math & science in their non-native language? That's just fucking daft. Like the creaky old days where they taught every subject in Latin or Greek. Elitist clap-trap.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/10/2009 9:27 Comments ||
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#2
In Asia, learning English is viewed as key to being modern. They're fanatic about it. They all want to become like Singapore.
#4
A Rantburg article from a few days back states that Al Bore's favorite Malaysian - the allegedly gay Anwar Ibrahim - was behind this push. Tells you a little about Al Bore's judgment, doesn't it, that he supported an obscurantist during the Asian Crisis of the late 90's without knowing anything about his background? Or maybe Al Bore just digs obscurantists - given that he's one himself.
Health experts at the Pentagon want a ban on the sale and use of tobacco in the military, USA Today reports. Because nobody knows what's good for troops like a bureaucrat.
A study commissioned by the Pentagon and Veteran Affairs recommends banning the product in phases over the next several years. Additionally, it suggests that "achieving a tobacco-free military begins by closing the pipeline of new tobacco users entering the military and by promoting cessation programs to ensure abstinence" -- which means requiring all enlisting members to be tobacco-free, Army.com reports. I used to smoke like a leaky furnace when I was a young enlisted man. In Vietnam I found that puffing on gaspers helped while away the hours when under rocket attack. That was prob'ly because I never gave much consideration to which was worse for my health. I'll admit, though, that I kept smoking longer than I kept getting attacked by rockets.
As the head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, Jack Smith told USA Today that he will be urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to adopt the proposals set forth by the study. One wonders, idly, of course, how much artillery Jack's seen in his life.
Dr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and holds a Master of Medical Management degree from Tulane University. He served more than 30 years in the U.S. Navy and retired in 2005. He is a board certified Family Physician with more than fifteen years of executive medicine experience. During his Navy career, he served as Commanding Officer of Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan. He also had operational assignments as Senior Medical Officer of USS Missouri (BB 63) and as Group Surgeon for Second Force Service Support Group, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. Other highlights of his career include participation in humanitarian relief operations in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia, and Haitian and Cuban migrant operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he served as the Joint Task Force Surgeon in 1994. More recently, he supported medical sector reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He is a Certified Physician Executive of the American College of Physician Executives, and a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physician Executives, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Medical Association, the Society of Military Consultants to the Armed Forces and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.
It finds that tobacco use costs the Pentagon nearly $846 million each year. $6 billion is spent by the Department of Veteran Affairs on treating tobacco-related illnesses as well. Oh, noes! Of course, the military health system spends a lot of money delivering babies, too, so it'd be logical for troops to be forbidden to have children. And I just got a new hip that'da cost me a fortune if I'd been a civilian. Military personnel should prob'ly be required to turn in their bones when they retire. Either that or the Pentagon could simply cease treating retirees, since we're not needed anymore.
The Pentagon requested the study in 2007, according to Army.com. It found one in three service members currently use tobacco products, and that the heaviest smokers are in the Army and Marines. The study also found that tobacco use has risen since the start of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, suggesting a direct correlation between combat and tobacco use. It's the rockets. Take my word for it.
Heavy smoking has been part of military culture for years. Duh.
"The image of the battle-weary soldier in fatigues and helmet, fighting for his country, has frequently included his lit cigarette," the study says. A ban would mean fewer such associations, possibly changing the culture altogether, the study suggests. Yeah. Go ahead. Change the culture. It's not like it works or anything...
Although tobacco use in the military is not encouraged, anti-tobacco advocate Kenneth Kizer told USA Today that such products are subsidized for troops. Much of the profits from their sale to troops go to recreation and family support programs. From what I recall, the main price differential had to do with not paying state taxes on the cancer sticks. Such a deal.
If the proposals are adopted, tobacco products will not be sold at military commissaries. In addition, tobacco use would be banned on military property and tobacco use would be treated similarly to alcohol abuse A friend of mine ordered wine with her lunch while in uniform once, at a rest stop in Germany, to be accused by another officer apparently belonging to the Nanny branch of being an alcoholic. Rather than having a glass of wine she was "consuming alcohol." That was in 1983. Things haven't gotten better, I see.
and poor fitness, according to Army.com.
#1
As our family Marine said about smoking: "It's a sh*t ton better than a piece of cr*ppy gum!"
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/10/2009 17:28 Comments ||
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#2
Troops in a war zone (or even a semi-war zone) are by the nature of the situation denied so many ordinary pleasures that it strikes me as unwise to remove the few they have left. Not to mention that uniting cranky, unsatisfied nicotine addicts with sharp and explosive things seems an inherently risky idea.
#3
The drug nicotine increases alertness which can lead to increased survival rate in a number of military situations. Long-term negative health consequences don't matter if you don't live long enough to get to long-term.
#5
As a lung doc you can imagine what I think of tobacco.
But my learned colleague, Dr. Smith, is mistaken in his approach. Coercion to make people stop smoking doesn't work well either short- or long-term. What works is education, and that works when a patient is ready to listen.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/10/2009 20:22 Comments ||
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#6
Aborting the unborn of US service women... GOOD TO GO! Lucky Strikes.... not so much.
#8
A zero sum game. Everybody eventually dies. Taking out tobacco just changes the life path, even extends it, but the final result and cost impact eventually the same.
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.
SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Thursday that its mass gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang" will be staged at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang from Aug. 10 to late September.
[Iran Press TV Latest] World leaders have enjoyed a five-course meal on the eve of a G8 summit on tackling world food shortages, a menu released by a summit source showed. 
Health experts at the Pentagon want a ban on the sale and use of tobacco in the military, USA Today reports.
