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Islamic State claims responsibility for Russian plane crash in Egypt
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
775th Engineer Detachment drilling a bit more than wells in Africa
[World Now] NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A military criminal investigation obtained by the Channel 4 I-Team shows nearly half of a National Guard detachment from Jackson, TN, were investigated for having sex with prostitutes in an area of the world known for human trafficking.

Members of the 775th Engineering Detachment were also investigated for allowing prostitutes into a room where secret documents and weapons were stored.
Commonly referred to as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). Could there possibly be more to this story ?
The criminal investigation was launched in July of 2013, but the public never knew about it.

The 775th Engineering Detachment was sent to help dig water wells in and around Camp Lemmonier in Djibouti, Africa and Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

Daily Caller link to same story.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 01:10 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  At least, unlike the UN peacekeepers, they paid the girls?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/31/2015 3:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Teddy Kennedy couldn't be reach for comment.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/31/2015 9:29 Comments || Top||

#3  The CO couldn't possibly be that dumb.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 10:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Events and the military build-up at Camp Lemmonier have been kept fairly low key. It's the good war remember.

*See Badanov's excellenty 'COIN' article by Bill Buppert in today's Burg.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 10:11 Comments || Top||

#5  The CO couldn't possibly be that dumb.

See - Abu Ghraib
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/31/2015 10:37 Comments || Top||


Congress '€˜Surprised' The IRS Is Using Secret Cellphone Spying Technology
[Daily Caller] The top Committee on the Judiciary senators expressed surprise at recent reports that the IRS is using secret spy technology usually reserved for law enforcement to track cell phones. Now Sens. Chuck Grassley and Patrick Leahy have sent a letter of inquiry to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew asking for an explanation.

The Guardian reported this week that the IRS spent tens of thousands on Sting Rays, devices used by authorities that act like cell phone towers and intercept cell phone signals that would normally go to cellular towers. This allows authorities to track where you are, usually without a warrant and often without a court order. Some Sting Rays can even detect information about your texts, calls and emails.

"We were surprised to learn that IRS investigators may be using these devices," the senators wrote in the letter. "While the devices can be useful tools for identifying the location of a suspect's cell phone or identifying an unknown cell phone, we have previously expressed concerns about the privacy implications of these devices, as well as the inconsistent practices and policies across the federal, state and local agencies that employ them. The devices indiscriminately gather information about the cell phones of innocent people who are simply in the vicinity of the device."
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 00:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Do you ever get the impression that the IRS sez" Screw you" to the American people?
As far as the IRS is concerned the Citizenry are just a bunch of Liars, Thieves, (and the Public are peasants.)

I could be wrong , of course. The IRS might actually be your friends. They might actually respect the American people. What do you think the chances are of that?
Posted by: Sheba Whart4146 || 10/31/2015 6:50 Comments || Top||

#2  See "Frankenstein" and "The Monster."
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 10/31/2015 10:26 Comments || Top||

#3  See definition of rectal-cranial inversion and apply it to congress, and you have your answer.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/31/2015 12:39 Comments || Top||

#4  16th amendment needs to be killed.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 10/31/2015 13:33 Comments || Top||

#5  Gotta get the goods on those Tea Party tax cheats!
Posted by: Glenmore || 10/31/2015 22:07 Comments || Top||


Man Arrested For Setting Fires To Six Black Churches In St. Louis
[Daily Caller] An African-American man in his 30s has been arrested for setting a string of fires at black churches in St. Louis, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting.

The unidentified suspect is accused of setting seven fires at churches between Oct. 8 and Oct. 22. The first six fires occurred at black churches in predominantly black neighborhoods. The last fire was set at Shrine of St. Joseph, a white church in a predominantly black neighborhood.

The arsons causes minimal damage, but federal investigators were brought in.

Speculation swirled that the fires were racially-motivated, especially given the proximity to Ferguson, Mo., the St. Louis suburb that was the site of massive protests last year over the police-involved shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man.

A white priest at St. Louis' Christ Church Cathedral asserted that the arsonist had racist motives.

"Holy God, if we ever needed a wake-up call to believe that racism is alive in St. Louis -- if this is not it, I don't know what it could be," Mike Kinman said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks white supremacist groups, suggested in an article last week that the arsons were carried out by white supremacists.

The group quoted a journalist who covers African-American issues who said that the fires were "both alarming and not surprising."
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 00:37 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oops. So much for that narrative.
Posted by: Nguard || 10/31/2015 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  This is becoming a cliche. Has there been a hate crime in the last decade that *wasn't* a false flag op by the alleged hatees?
Posted by: SteveS || 10/31/2015 1:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Fame hate crime or Allan?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/31/2015 3:43 Comments || Top||

#4  "Fame" --->"Fake".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/31/2015 7:57 Comments || Top||

#5  "but Mr. Clayton Bigsby self-identifies as KKK member"

(totally NSFW - racist but funny as hell) - Dave Chappelle at his finest
Posted by: Frank G || 10/31/2015 9:10 Comments || Top||

#6  The old KKK is probably envious of the amount of kills achieved in the black communities in urban America. So, honorary membership?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/31/2015 9:24 Comments || Top||

#7  Any idea on motive? False flag would indicate intelligence, a vibe that I am not feeling.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 9:57 Comments || Top||

#8  We call it "raising awareness" nowadays, Sven.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/31/2015 12:49 Comments || Top||

#9  We call it "raising awareness" nowadays, Sven.

Where is that damn double-think dictionary ...
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 15:29 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
This Week In Guns, October 31st, 2015


By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Just got back from the gun range, firing on the 100 yard band. Didn't do so hot, but then I was in a hurry to get back. Most of my shots were low, about three to four inches down. Last time I shot the 100 yard band, they were at the right elevation. Could have been the heavier, wet air, or it could have been that I failed to form a proper sight picture.

Two weeks ago I went to the only 200 yard gun range in Oklahoma, a public range at Canton Lake. That went terribly. Eighty percent of my shots didn't even hit the target, dropping into a dirt berm.

As I have mentioned before, I prefer Silver Bear 5.545x39 60 grain ammunition, to be consistent in use. The standard round for the 5.45 is the Russian 53 grain 7N6 cartridge, which has a corrosive primer and requires extensive cleaning after firing. I chose the 60 grain because it is the heaviest round the AK-74 will fire without jamming.

Last Thursday we posted a news article by a travelogue writer about the economics of the AK-47. Nearly all the information imparted was what we had heard before, but what stuck out at me was the contention that the AK-47 was an inaccurate rifle to begin with.

As I have said, it's about the bullet drop.

The 53 grain bullet, being lighter, is supposed to drop less than a 60 grain bullet. In fact, the Russians say the 53 grain bullet is consistent enough that a rifleman can hit a man size target from 50 yards all the way out to 400 yards without adjusting his rear sight leaf. The close shot will hit the center mass (between the shoulders) and the farthest shot will hit Russian center mass, which is the belt buckle.

So it follows that a 60 grain bullet zeroed in at 100 yards will drop more, even at an intermediate range such as 200 yards. At Canton I did adjust the rear sight leaf to 200 to no avail. There is really no way to determine just how much the bullet will drop, but it is heavy enough to fall ineffectively. Next month I will test it at the 200 yard band using the 300 yard sighting leaf to see if that helps, or even remedies the problem.

Such it is with the AK-47. We get the 123 grain round, which with the smaller charge will drop much more than any comparable round. The windage may be pristine, but if the drop is so severe that it strikes the ground before reaching its target, you may as well be firing blindfolded.

Bullet drop is why the 5.56x45mm AR-15 cartridge is considered more accurate. It has a heavier charge, so the bullet drop is much less. You can have an easier time zeroing in when your rifle fires high than when it fires low. It's just physics.

Here is a discussion about the 5.56x45mm cartridge and its .223 counterpart.

And a funny Tweet about the 1911.

Loads.

Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:

Prices for pistol ammunition were mostly unchanged while rifle ammunition prices were mixed.

Prices for used pistols were lower across the board while prices for used rifles were mixed.

New Lows:

None

Pistol Ammunition

.45 Caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)

Cheapest, 50 rounds: Quality Made Cartridges, Store Brand, RNL, Reloads, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Quality Made Cartridges, Store Brand, RNL, Reloads, .25 per round (From Last week: Unchanged (9 Weeks))

.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .22 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Ammo Mart, Legendary, FMJ, Brass, Reloads .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))

9mm Parabellum, 115 grain, From Last Week: -.02 each After Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammo Mart, Buffalo Cartridge, FMJ, Factory Seconds, .15 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Blok Tactical, Store Brand, FMJ, Brass, Reloads, .16 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (9 Weeks))

.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2Q, 2015)

Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .28 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: Surplus Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .27 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3Q, 2015))

Rifle Ammunition

.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: +.02 Each After Unchanged (3 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Natchez Shooters Supplies, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

.308 NATO 150 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .38 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, Steel Cased, FMJ, .36 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3Q, 2015))

7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Depot, Wolf WPA, steel case, FMJ, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel case, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (1Q 2015))

.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)

Cheapest, 20 rounds (10 Box Limit): Ammo Men, Federal Champion, RNL .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds (2 Box Limit): Target Sports USA, Federal Automatch, RNL, .08 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each)

Guns for Private Sale
Rifles


.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $523 Last Week Avg: $513 (+) ($616 (29 Weeks), $476 (5 Weeks))
California (244, 249): Palmetto State Armory: $480 ($650 (39 Weeks), $400 (8 Weeks))
Texas (285, 297): Mixed Build: $550 ($700 (34 Weeks), $350 (29 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (163, 170): DPMS Oracle: $500 ($700 (28 Weeks), $300 (16 Weeks))
Virginia (185, 192): DPMS (Bull Barrel): $585 ($750 (34 Weeks), $500 (38 Weeks))
Florida (407, 404): Mixed Build: $500 ($650 (18 Weeks), $380 (30 Weeks))

.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,000 Last Week Avg: $955 (+) ($1,359 (28 Weeks), $820 (4 Weeks))
California (51, 47): Mixed Build: $1,500 ($1,700 (42 Weeks), $850 (12 Weeks))
Texas (46, 50): Palmetto State Armory: $1,300 ($1,500 (48 Weeks), $800 (12 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (33, 37): DPMS: $800 ($1,500 (34 Weeks), $700 (5 Weeks))
Virginia (56, 61): Palmetto State Armory PA-10: $900 ($1,650 (18 Weeks), $900 (48 Weeks))
Florida (70, 68): DPMS Oracle RFLR: $500 ($1,500 (49 Weeks), $500 (4 Weeks))

7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $490 Last Week Avg: $506 (-) ($626 (30 Weeks), $450 (17 Weeks))
California (50, 42): Polish Radom: $600 ($700 (33 Weeks), $320 (44 Weeks))
Texas (73, 76): WASR 10: $500 ($750 (32 Weeks), $350 (3Q, 2014))
Pennsylvania (50, 48): Romak: $300 ($750 (39 Weeks), $375 (24 Weeks))
Virginia (54, 54): CAI C-39: $550 ($625 (35 Weeks), $350 (37 Weeks))
Florida (116, 120): CAI: $500 ($650 (28 Weeks), $300 (48 Weeks))

30-30 Winchester Lever Action Average Price: $341 Last Week Avg: $375 (-) ($489 (36 Weeks), $296 (18 Weeks))
California (6, 9): Winchester Model 94: $450 ($500 (11 Weeks), $180 (18 Weeks))
Texas (17, 15): Marlin 336W: $380 ($550 (37 Weeks), $300 (42 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (19, 17): Marlin 336CS (w scope): $275 ($450 (38 Weeks), $250 (43 Weeks))
Virginia (10, 12): Marlin: $350 ($450 (22 Weeks), $350 (40 Weeks))
Florida (19, 18): Winchester 94: $250 ($500 (34 Weeks), $250 (20 Weeks))

Pistols

.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $385 Last Week Avg: $410 (-) ($450 (34 Weeks), $350 (7 Weeks))
California (158, 160): Rock Island Armory: $375 ($600 (36 Weeks), $300 (14 Weeks))
Texas (248, 242): Tisas Zig: $340 ($600 (47 Weeks), $325 (10 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (146, 149): Para Ordnance: $325 ($550 (26 Weeks), $300 (20 Weeks))
Virginia (118, 124): Desert Eagle 1911C: $450 ($550 (28 Weeks), $250 (45 Weeks))
Florida (330, 334): Girsan MC1911: $435 ($475 (19 Weeks), $250 (34 Weeks))

9mm (Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic) Average Price: $286 Last Week Avg: $296 (-) ($336 (31 Weeks), $268 (9 Weeks))
California (163, 162): Glock 19: $300 ($450 (36 Weeks), $250 (41 Weeks))
Texas (253, 255): Ruger SR9: $280 ($355 (35 Weeks), $200 (8 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (212, 209): Ruger P89DC: $250 ($350 (4Q 2014), $200 (15 Weeks))
Virginia (163, 169): Smith & Wesson 5906: $350 ($400 (29 Weeks), $250 (15 Weeks))
Florida (439, 445): Smith & Wesson SD9VE : $250 ($375 (45 Weeks), $220 (8 Weeks))

.40 caliber S&W (Glock or other semiautomatic) Average Price: $318 Last Week Avg: $348 (-) ($368 (25 Weeks), $300 (3Q, 2014))
California (90, 99): Smith & Wesson SW40VE: $350 ($425 (10 Weeks)), $250 (42 Weeks))
Texas (101, 100): Sig Sauer P250: $300 ($425 (46 Weeks), $275 (28 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (88, 88): Glock 23: $300 ($350 (17 Weeks), $250 (37 Weeks))
Virginia (77, 83): Sig Sauer P250: $300 ($450 (25 Weeks), $275 (41 Weeks))
Florida (162, 166): Beretta PX4 Storm: $340 ($400 (35 Weeks), $200 (10 Weeks))

Used Gun of the Week: (Pennsylvania)
Bulgarian Makarov PM Chambered in 9mm Makarov

Chris Covert writes for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter
Posted by: badanov || 10/31/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hitting targets with a pistol at 100 yds is some challenging shooting. At 200 yds really challenging. Open sights or optics?
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/31/2015 14:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Open sights, always.
Posted by: badanov || 10/31/2015 14:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Thought you were probably using open sights. Just thought, I'd ask. Quite a few people rig their pistols with lasers, or telescopes these days. I've never cared much for these for pistols.
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/31/2015 14:30 Comments || Top||

#4  If you consistently hit your target using open sights at 50 yards, you are one helluva shot.
Posted by: badanov || 10/31/2015 15:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Confused, I see a rifle. It's not hard to hit targets with open sights on a range at 100 yards. I used to shoot service rifle and did it all the time with my M-1 Garand and my competition AR. 300 is a bit more challenging.

Nowdays, my 7.62x51N carbine has a holographic on it and makes 200 yard hits easy. My wife says the thing is cheating though there's no magnification. I just give her a look and snort.

I really prefer the 7.62x51 to 5.56x45mm. I can shoot at the same speed but am sure that the round will hit harder.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 10/31/2015 20:59 Comments || Top||

#6  Bully for you, and it may well be easier with a rifle round that offers a flatter trajectory and less bullet drop.

But it is a big damn deal for me.
Posted by: badanov || 10/31/2015 23:25 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egypt's parliamentary elections produce 21.7% turnout in first
[AlAhram] The first round run-offs of Egypt's two-stage parliamentary elections produced a 21.7% turnout, the country's High Elections Committee (HEC) said on Friday.

The HEC head Ayman Abbas told a news conference that 5.554678 million out of 25.582518 million voters had cast their ballot in the run-offs, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among those voters were 19,835-foreign based Egyptians in 139 countries.

The turnout in the run-off was less than the 26.69 percent who voted in the first round earlier this month.

"The turnout of these elections was not the lowest in Egypt's parliamentary elections history. This year's turnout in total was 26.69 percent while turnout in the parliamentary elections in 2005 was 23 percent. The turnout in the Shura council (Upper House) elections in 2012 was 12 percent," he said.

"The highest turnout among the 14 governorates in this round was Matrouh (near the Libyan borders) with a turnout of 33.45 percent; while the lowest was Alexandria with a turnout of 14.83 percent."

The total number of appeals given before the committee were 367. Abbas said that they were all rejected except for three that the committee is still studying.

The second and final stage of the elections in the remaining governorates will take place on 21 and 22 November, with run-offs, if necessary, due on 1 and 2 December.

Abbas also said that a total of 273 candidates have secured their seats in the country's upcoming parliament. He broke the number of the candidates saying that 213 independent candidates won in the first round of the elections.

He then said that among the 213 independent candidates there are 108 who are party-affiliated. All 60 seats for the lists in this round went to the "For the Love of Egypt" list that is being coordinated by former intelligence member Sameh Seif El-Yazal.

The Free Egyptians Party, founded by billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris following the popular 2011 revolt, has clinched the biggest quota, announcing it has won 41 seats.

Out of the individual candidates who won in the elections' first stage, five were women and 10 were less than 35 years old, Abbas said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/31/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian Passenger Jet Down in Egypt. All killed
48 hr rule
A Russian airliner crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula early Saturday shortly after takeoff from a popular Red Sea resort town, killing all 224 people aboard, according to Egyptian officials and the Russian embassy in Cairo.

The Metrojet flight, carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members, was en route from Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg when it dropped off radar screens 23 minutes into the flight.

"Unfortunately, all passengers 9268 Kogalymavia Sharm el-Sheikh-Petersburg were killed," The Russian embassy in Cairo said, in Russian, on Twitter. "We express our condolences to the family and friends."

The Russian state-run news agency RIA reported initially that emergency workers heard some voices at the crash site, but the Associated Press quoted Egyptian officials later as saying there were no survivors.
Posted by: Frank G || 10/31/2015 08:59 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ....A horrible tragedy made far worse by the fact that the two leading explanations involve either terrorism or Russian maintenance..

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/31/2015 10:32 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't see anyone claiming credit yet. The timing of this event to the Russian expansion against ISIS in Syria could certainly be an element.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 10:43 Comments || Top||

#3  It was not shot down.

Prayers out.
Posted by: newc || 10/31/2015 11:36 Comments || Top||

#4  ISIS claims responsibility
Posted by: Frank G || 10/31/2015 11:46 Comments || Top||

#5  FoxNews sez: apparently, the crew had complained about the engine conditions earlier?

so the opportunistic claims need a load of salt
Posted by: Frank G || 10/31/2015 11:48 Comments || Top||

#6  Frank, I could trip on the sidewalk and ISIS would claim responsibility.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 10/31/2015 11:57 Comments || Top||

#7  right, but we all know it was the Joooos
Posted by: Frank G || 10/31/2015 12:14 Comments || Top||

#8  Ahram Online, Fred's main Egyptian news source, says they found the black boxes and, from the latest Al Ahram update:

Pilot Ayman Al-Mokadem, who is heading a committee to monitor the crash aftermath, put the incident down to a "technical failure," rejecting earlier speculation that it was shot down over the restive peninsula.

Al-Mokadem said that the pilot sensed the failure and reported to the aviation authorities that he wanted to land at the nearest airport, adding that the plane seems to have crashed while attempting to land at Al-Arish Airport in North Sinai.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/31/2015 15:58 Comments || Top||


Expect the Russians to Keep Buzzing American Navy Ships
"But now, Russia's intentions -- which might be power projection or to probe and challenge reaction and response times -- are not clear."
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 10/31/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Howzabout "all of the above"???

Lest we fergit, the OWG Globalists have NOT yet answered the question as per how much is "too much", or how far is "too far", etc. for Globie-desired, Tip-of-The-Spear-in-Setting-Up-US-led- Anti-US-OWG-NWO CO-Superpower Amerika to unilaterally lose or give up to its Co-Superpower siblings Russia, China, + Iran, Other? + assorted Wannabes, Nations andor NGOS e.g. ISIS/ISIL + AL-Qaeda Boyz ... ...

AND WIDOUT THE US BEING EXISTENTIALLY THREATENED BY SAME AS IT UNILATERALLY VOLUNTARILY [Self-]REDUCES ITS "SOLE" SUPERPOWER INFLUENCE + PRESENCE ALL AROUND THE WORLD???

'Tis a Basic or Simple Maha-Rushian Questionne' BUT A BIGGIE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/31/2015 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  It's all fun and games until some idiot "accidentally" hits the "Fire" switch on the missile.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 10/31/2015 13:14 Comments || Top||

#3  That includes special tactics that, particularly when using communications equipment, that make ships more difficult to spot. “These are things we did routinely in the Cold War,” McGrath said.

Kondar

Guess again.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 14:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Make that Kondor.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 14:34 Comments || Top||

#5  Playing this sort of 'tag' frequently has it's uses. We used to do it to Ivan to get him to turn on his fire control radar to record freqs and beats and so on.
I can see flying past a warship with a signal strength meter in order to plot out hard and soft zones in the radar overlaps alongside, in order to determine possible blind areas. You'll know when they've reached that point when the flights stop running parallel and perpendicular to course and start converging from different compass points.
Just sayin...
Posted by: ed in texas || 10/31/2015 18:15 Comments || Top||


A Russian official wants to start training civilians to respond to nuclear attacks ‐ just like during the Cold War
A "Global Warming" I am genuinely concerned about.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 10/31/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  IMO read, WHEN THE HARD BOYZ BEGIN THEIR JIHAD AGZ RUSSIA + EAST ASIA ANDOR ACQUIRE NUKES.

Where OWG Marxist-Globalist Amerika is in no hurry to intervene???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/31/2015 0:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, if USA keeps electing certifiable psychopaths...
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/31/2015 3:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Fallout 4 - 10 November. Get a preload.

(do I need to put a /s on that?)
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/31/2015 9:16 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm with JoeM here. The Russians are worried more about the jihadis than the Yankees.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/31/2015 13:06 Comments || Top||

#5  @Procopius2k

It's on pre-order!
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 10/31/2015 13:21 Comments || Top||


Europe
Swedish politician says country '€˜facing collapse' due to mass influx of refugees
[RT] A leading Swedish politician says the country is facing a refugee catastrophe, which will lead to the "country collapsing." The bold claims were made by Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, who adds the EU needs to do more to take the strain off Stockholm.

The northern European country expects to accommodate around 190,000 by the turn of the year, but this is putting a strain on the country both economically and socially. Wallstrom says that Stockholm needs more help and intends to put pressure on European Union member states to take a greater share of the burden the continent is facing from the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Africa.

"I think most people feel that we cannot maintain a system where perhaps 190,000 people will arrive every year -- in the long run, our system will collapse. And that welcome is not going to receive popular support," said Wallstrom, who is also a member of the Social Democrat party.

However, not everyone in Europe is wanting to follow Sweden's lead, while along with Germany, the Scandinavian nation is one of the most popular destinations for refugees, due to its generous benefits system.

"I have to admit that there have been moments recently of very great disappointment. I have heard statements from member states that have been completely astonishing and very discouraging," the foreign minister added in an interview with Dagens Nyheter, which was cited by The Local.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 00:07 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thats ridiculous - clearly she means BOTH Sweden + EU!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/31/2015 0:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Well what did you expect? Having all that blonde uncovered meat hanging around...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/31/2015 1:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Sweetie, there is are solutions to this. All they will cost you is any possible hope of your ever claiming moral superiority over anyone else with a straight face.

At this point you have no good options left. You really don't even have a least bad option left. Too late for that. After all the wasted time wringing your hands and virtue signaling your fellow stateless tranzis, all your realistic, viable options are bad.

Choose your poison. Idiot.
Posted by: Nguard || 10/31/2015 1:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Where's my femtoviolin?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/31/2015 3:45 Comments || Top||

#5  Bend over and prepare to take some serious Ungawa, Bjorn.
Posted by: Sheba Whart4146 || 10/31/2015 6:58 Comments || Top||

#6  What part of "Don't Feed The Bears" didn't you understand?

(you urban dwellers seriously confused the trained bear in the circus with the feral bears from outside)
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/31/2015 9:19 Comments || Top||

#7  Some are benefiting from this:
German hoteliers get unexpected boost from migrant influx
BERLIN (Reuters) - German hoteliers are mixing humanitarian concerns with business sense to accommodate asylum seekers as the winter approaches - and fill thousands of otherwise unwanted rooms.In eastern Germany, Maritim Hotels has leased an entire hotel in the city of Halle, where occupancy rates are as low as 40 percent, for three years to accommodate 740 refugees.

Local newspapers estimate the yearly lease cost at 4 million euros, but neither the state nor the hotel group would comment on the precise agreement.

Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 10/31/2015 16:02 Comments || Top||

#8  Kill or be killed is coming and that is a fact.
Posted by: whitecollar redneck || 10/31/2015 16:26 Comments || Top||

#9  Diversity ending tolerance past the tipping point. So now the tamed citizens of the west meet primal Islam. I'm guessing culture shock, bloodshed and a lot of nasty surprises for the civilized side.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 10/31/2015 18:34 Comments || Top||


Romanian nightclub blast kills 26
At least 26 people died and 88 were injured in an explosion and fire in a nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, where hundreds of people had gathered late Friday, government officials said. It was one of the capital's worst incidents in decades.

The death toll may still climb at the club, which hosted a rock concert attended by up to 400, Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat said.

One witness said there were fireworks inside the club. A pillar and the club's ceiling caught fire and then there was an explosion and heavy smoke.

TV footage showed police officers and paramedics trying to resuscitate young people lying on the pavement while sirens wailed, with more ambulances deployed to the scene.

"There was a stampede of people running out of the (Colectiv) club," a man who escaped without shoes told Reuters.

Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel Oprea said an investigation into the causes of the incident was already underway.
Posted by: badanov || 10/31/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Navy grapples with Russian threats to undersea cables
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 10/31/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Grapples you say! :)
Here, Parche, Parche, Parche.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/31/2015 0:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Umm..

Motto: Par Excellence
Honors and
awards:
9 Presidential Unit Commendations
10 Navy Unit Commendations
13 Navy Expeditionary Medals


Even Pappy gotta be impressed
Posted by: Shipman || 10/31/2015 0:53 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, this got interesting.

I think our current "does funny things with undersea cables" sub is the USS Jimmy Carter. :)

For some reason the Irony Meter just went off-scale high.
Posted by: Nguard || 10/31/2015 1:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Lay down fake cables running disinformation traffic. :-)
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 14:45 Comments || Top||

#5  So, I wonder what happens when a cable maintenance crew pulls up a cable in US waters that has an atomic powered clamp around listen and record device with a tag on it that says "Property of Russian Navy" and a asset number. The inverse has happened (Russian cable, US device).
Actually, the Russkiya don't need to do that. They just read the emails.
Posted by: ed in texas || 10/31/2015 18:22 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Chrysler product off the cliff [old video]
Besides the ruggedness of the vintage vehicle as compared to what is offered today, the 30's era film crew is an obvious take-away compared to the current Gopro technology.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 10:57 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I like the clamshell doors (aka 'suicide' doors).
Posted by: ed in texas || 10/31/2015 13:36 Comments || Top||


Search For Intelligent Aliens Near Bizarre Dimming Star Has Begun
Ring world!
The search for signs of life in a mysterious star system hypothesized to potentially harbor an "alien megastructure" is now underway.

Astronomers have begun using the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), a system of radio dishes about 300 miles (483 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, to hunt for signals coming from the vicinity of KIC 8462852, a star that lies 1,500 light-years from Earth.

NASA's Kepler space telescope found that KIC 8462852 dimmed oddly and dramatically several times over the past few years. The dimming events were far too substantial to be caused by a planet crossing the star's face, researchers say, and other possible explanations, such as an enormous dust cloud, don't add up, either.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thought you were talking about the Whitehouse till i clicked
Posted by: Classer || 10/31/2015 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  No.
Stay in your respective light year zones.
They don't want your brand of "friendship" contaminating the rest of the Universe, do they?

By the way, who is "They"?
Posted by: newc || 10/31/2015 1:11 Comments || Top||

#3  RingWorld.
Posted by: Skidmark || 10/31/2015 8:54 Comments || Top||

#4  Google "Kardishev Levels civilization" (sp?)
Consider what happens to primitives when advanced civilizations run over them.

Fortunately these guys are at least 1400 years travel time away. Unless they have discovered FTL.
(gulp!)
Posted by: Nguard || 10/31/2015 11:24 Comments || Top||

#5  Kardashev.

If you have FTL, you don't build Dyson spheres---unless you're incurable homebody.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/31/2015 11:33 Comments || Top||

#6  Or it could be that, once again, reality doesn't correspond to theory.
Posted by: ed in texas || 10/31/2015 13:40 Comments || Top||

#7  I doubt that interstellar civilizations use light (electromagnetism) as a communication medium. We might be like aborigines listening for drum beats.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/31/2015 13:49 Comments || Top||

#8  Could be the reason no one has contacted us is nobody gives a flip about a planet overrun with monkeys.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/31/2015 15:27 Comments || Top||


Government
Sharia update: Judge Awards $240k to Muslim Truckers Who Refused to Deliver Beer
[PJmedia] In a tight spot and need some cash? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is here to help. All you need to do is convert to Islam then refuse to do your job on religious grounds, and significant financial rewards await you.

Last Thursday, the EEOC won $240,000 for two Muslim truck drivers who had been fired for refusing to transport beer. The lucky winners, Somali Muslims Mahad Abass Mohamed and Abdkiarim Hassan Bulshale, had been fired by trucking company Star Transport. Their refusal was based on Islamic law.

One hadith describes Aisha, Muhammad's beloved child bride, recounting:

When the last verses of Surat-al-Baqara [chapter two of the Qur'an] were revealed, the Prophet went out (of his house to the Mosque) and said, "The trade of alcohol has become illegal." (Bukhari 3.34.429)

Due to this passage, Muslims not only cannot drink alcohol, but they cannot traffic in it, including driving it from one place to another. However, this rule is not hard and fast: Muslims who sell alcohol in convenience stores or do the job Mahad Abass Mohamed and Abdkiarim Hassan Bulshale were told to do can justify it by pointing to the Islamic principles of taysir, meaning "facilitation" or making things easier, and darura, the permission to do something that is normally illegal out of some necessity.

Not all Islamic scholars accept the idea that those principles allow Muslims to contravene Islamic law. They point to a hadith that depicts Muhammad saying the following:

It is obligatory upon a Muslim that he should listen (to the ruler appointed over him) and obey him whether he likes it or not, except that he is ordered to do a sinful thing. If he is ordered to do a sinful act, a Muslim should neither listen to him nor should he obey his orders. (Muslim 4553)

That's what leads to lawsuits such as this one. Said the EEOC's General Counsel David Lopez:

EEOC is proud to support the rights of workers to equal treatment in the workplace without having to sacrifice their religious beliefs or practices. This is fundamental to the American principles of religious freedom and tolerance.

That sounds lofty, American. But before you break out the fife and drum, consider that this case enforces the opposite of "equal treatment in the workplace." It establishes Muslim truckers as having a special right to choose what they transport and what they do not, a privilege that other truckers do not have.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 00:28 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Kill all these son of abitches
Posted by: chris || 10/31/2015 0:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Humm, I will visit Snopes. This sounds a a bit kooky.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/31/2015 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Shipman, the PJ Media story above links to The Washington Examiner, which links to the EEOC press release here.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/31/2015 1:03 Comments || Top||

#4  Islam is a political movement.
I Rebuke this ruling.
Posted by: newc || 10/31/2015 1:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Your job you chose - not our Civil operating system. This is AFU
Posted by: newc || 10/31/2015 1:22 Comments || Top||

#6  EEOC is proud to support the rights of workers to equal treatment in the workplace without having to sacrifice their religious beliefs or practices. This is fundamental to the American principles of religious freedom and tolerance.

But Christian bakers can be fined for not baking cakes for gay weddings.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/31/2015 1:50 Comments || Top||

#7  But Christian bakers can be fined for not baking cakes for gay weddings.

Well, they're self-employed---and we hates self-employed people, ducky.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/31/2015 7:56 Comments || Top||

#8  I wonder what would happen to a Christian driver who refused to haul a load of baby parts from Planned Parenthood.

Actually, I don't wonder. The driver would be fired, the trucking company would be sued out of business, various groups would denounce them all as just part of the Republicans war on women.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 10/31/2015 10:42 Comments || Top||

#9  A federal judge would order Federal Marshall's be dispatched to escort Planned Parenthood truck deliveries.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 10:45 Comments || Top||

#10  ...when the judiciary no longer fears torches and pitchforks...
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 10/31/2015 17:35 Comments || Top||

#11  These Bosses, er, self-employed people
Who hide their hate under a steeple
Must always be outed
Whenever they've flouted
Our pastoral plan for the sheeple!
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 10/31/2015 18:02 Comments || Top||


Amish challenge photo i.d. requirement for gun purchases
[Legal Insurrection] In a suit that brings together the Second Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), an Amish man filed a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania last week because he wants to buy a gun without the required photo ID -- and because getting that photo ID would violate his religious beliefs.

Andrew Hertzler, according to the suit, is from Lancaster County, Pa., and is an "active and practicing" member of the community; his "parents, grandparents, and siblings are all active and practicing Amish"; and he "has a sincerely held religious belief that prevents him from knowingly and willingly having his photograph taken and stored."

"The Amish faith prohibits an individual from having his/her photograph taken," the suit read. "This belief stems from the Biblical passage Exodus 20:4, which mandates that 'You shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,' as well as the Christian belief in humility."

But Hertzler's humility caused a problem when, in June, he tried to buy a gun from a Pennsylvania dealer "using a non-photo, state-issued identification." This wasn't enough, according to the dealer -- Hertzler was told he needed a picture ID.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 00:13 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They stood all the good farms somehow.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/31/2015 0:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Got to keep the local wildlife from consuming the farm's live stock. The Amish, being very practical people, and guns have been acquainted for a long time.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/31/2015 9:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Much could be learned from these people. Possibly the first item to be learned is they're not actually Dutch at all, but are of thrifty, hard working German lineage. BTW, Wednesday is senior's half-price night at the Gasthof in Montgomery, IN.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/31/2015 9:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Fingerprint should suffice. The Amish may be the meek who inherit the earth once the Ponzi scheme GIVERnment collapes.
Posted by: Airandee || 10/31/2015 13:36 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2015-10-31
  Islamic State claims responsibility for Russian plane crash in Egypt
Fri 2015-10-30
  German ISIS Rapper Deso Dogg aka Denis Cuspert Killed in U.S. Air Strike
Thu 2015-10-29
  Nigerian Troops Rescue 338 People Held by Boko Haram
Wed 2015-10-28
  Yemeni Army claims Soddy warship destroyed
Tue 2015-10-27
  Mathew Stewart: Aussie soldier now terrorist leader in Syria
Mon 2015-10-26
  Senior Nusra Front leader killed near Aleppo
Sun 2015-10-25
  Turkish police on alert to capture four ISIL members prepared for attacks in Turkey
Sat 2015-10-24
  US drone strikes kill 16 ‘IS militants’ near Pak-Afghan border
Fri 2015-10-23
  Pakistan’s indigenous armed drone conducts first nighttime strike
Thu 2015-10-22
  U.S., Iraqi commandos free dozens of ISIL hostages
Wed 2015-10-21
  Dissident commanders meet to choose rival Afghan Taliban leader
Tue 2015-10-20
  ISIL child training camp discovered in Istanbul
Mon 2015-10-19
  Yemen govt agrees to talks with Houthis, Saleh
Sun 2015-10-18
  Senior al-Nusra commander killed in Syria airstrike
Sat 2015-10-17
  Saudi forces kill gunman after Shiite site attack


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