Category — Uncategorized

The BBC reports on the newest example of corporate welfare: US-Mexico ‘virtual fence’ ready

A high-technology system to control the US-Mexico border with cameras and radar instead of a physical fence has gained government approval, US officials say.

The $20m ‘virtual fence’ already covers 28 miles (48km) of the border between Arizona state and Mexico.

The system has already helped catch smugglers, and would be deployed elsewhere, said US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

But he said plans to complete 770 miles (1,130km) of physical fence remain.

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Update: Suddenly the US thinks Muqtada al Sadr is the greatest, most wonderful individual in Iraq, and he has extended the cease fire for six months. The agitprop people are even using his formal title “Sayyid”, rather than “radical cleric”.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Iraq’s Sadr may not extend truce

BAGHDAD — Aides to Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr cast doubt Wednesday on his commitment to extending a six-month cease-fire that expires this month, saying U.S. and Iraqi forces had not necessarily earned Sadr’s continued cooperation.

The comments raised the specter of a return to sectarian violence and an upsurge in attacks on U.S. forces at an especially delicate time in the war. The United States is in the process of drawing down the additional 28,500 soldiers it deployed last year and has banked on a continuation of Sadr’s cease-fire to help keep the peace as American troops depart.

But Sadr loyalists have said their foes are taking advantage of the cease-fire to try to crush the movement politically and militarily.

Sadr has been tied up with his graduate studies, but they won’t matter if his forces are defeated. His group has been attacked by the Badr forces, the Iraqi government forces, and US forces, but have been restrained in response. If his representatives announce at Friday prayers that the cease fire will not be extended, all hell is very likely to break out. The US is about to find out that Sadr’s truce was a considerable part of the “success” of the surge, and things will get very dicey in Iraq, especially in Baghdad.

The BBC reports that there is no lack of stupidity in the Balkans: US embassy in Belgrade attacked

Several hundred protesters have attacked the US and other embassies in Serbia’s capital in anger at Western support for Kosovo’s independence.

Protesters broke into the US compound in Belgrade and briefly set part of the embassy alight. Firemen later found an unidentified charred body inside.

Other embassies, including the UK’s, were also targeted. The UN Security Council condemned the attacks.

The violence followed a peaceful rally by at least 150,000 people in the city.

Most Serbs regard Kosovo as their religious and cultural heartland.

Well, if Serbs were so fond of Kosovo, why didn’t they live there? If it was so important, why did they leave when they had a chance? They don’t really want it; they just don’t want anyone else to have it. This is a truly nasty minority among Serbs, and the nation won’t regain its equilibrium until the rest of the Serbian people tell them to get over it.

The BBC tells us in: Israeli MP blames quakes on gays

An Israeli MP has blamed parliament’s tolerance of gays for earthquakes that have rocked the Holy Land recently.

Shlomo Benizri, of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas Party, said the tremors had been caused by lawmaking that gave “legitimacy to sodomy”.

Israel decriminalised homosexuality in 1988 and has since passed several laws recognising gay rights.

Two earthquakes shook the region last week and a further four struck in November and December.

Excuse me, but if Israel has earthquakes for not discriminating against gays, why does Iran have earthquakes? One would certainly think that the policy would be consistent around the world, or at least throughout the Middle East.

CNN reports Air Force: 1 pilot dies, another survives after F15Cs collide

(CNN) — An Air Force fighter pilot died Wednesday after two F-15C jets collided during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico, according to Air Force officials.

The planes were from the 33rd Fighter Wing, a combat-flying unit out of Eglin Air Force Base, near Pensacola, Florida.

A spokesman for the wing said the pilot died after having been rescued by a fishing boat and transported to the hospital at the base. The pilot of the other jet was also rescued and was listed in good condition, he said.

The crash happened at about 3 p.m. ET, about 50 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base which is in Panama City, Florida. A statement from the 33rd said the pilots were rescued at about 6 p.m. ET.

These guys fly over my house. The base surrounds all of the local towns. These are my neighbors.

CNN tells us Castro resigns as president, state-run paper reports. Actually, Granma is owned by the government, not just run by it, which is a healthier situation than the US where the media is owned by conglomerates and run by the government.

Fidel Castro has resigned so the Party can elect Raúl Castro, the current defense minister, president of Cuba. This is sort of like the Shrubbery resigning so the Supreme Court or RNC [same difference] can replace him with JEB.

No doubt Calle Ocho will have massive celebrations and fire guns in the air and set off some of their stored explosives, but you still can’t buy good cigars legally.

Fidel outlasted 10 US Presidents [OK, 9 and the Shrubbery] and wasn’t forced out, but retired – another millstone…er, milestone in US foreign policy.

The BBC reports on reality: Kosovo MPs proclaim independence

Kosovo’s parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in a historic session.

Celebrations went on into the night after Prime Minister Hashim Thaci promised a democracy that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.

Serbia’s PM denounced the US for helping create a “false state”.

A split later emerged at the Security Council, when Russia said there was no basis for changing a 1999 resolution which handed Kosovo to the UN.

This was going to happen as soon as Slobodan Milošević refused to offer anything to the moderates in Kosovo, and the people turned to the Kosovo Liberation Army. If Milošević had even pretended to compromise and hadn’t sent in the military, the people wouldn’t have to turned to the KLA and demanded independence. A map of ethnic groups makes it obvious that the Serbs didn’t want to live there, no matter what politicians many claim about the “historic heart of Serbia”.

It isn’t unexpected that Vladimir Putin has picked up the Pan-Slavic banner of Tsar Aleksandr I to declare solidarity with the Serbs, as he is always attempting to expand the influence of Russia [to expand his own power].

The ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have no intention of ever living under Serbian rule again. The sooner the Serbs accept that and move on, the better for all concerned, but it isn’t likely to happen.

Reading about the incident at NIU you have to wonder if any of the reporters graduated from high school, much less college, based on their research skills and their inability to prioritize facts.

It has been emphasized that the killers at NIU and VTech both bought “gun related items” from the same Internet site. And this tells us what – that this place must have a pretty good price on Glock ammunition clips. What is the relevance of that information?

Almost as an afterthought they mention that like the VTech killer, the NIU shooter had mental health issues, this after they tell us he doesn’t match “the profile” of a mass murderer. While there is no actual profile of a mass murderer, I would think that it would be hard to classify someone who for no apparent reason murders strangers and commits suicide as sane, so maybe mental health should be included in this mythological profile.

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Bill Dedman, MSNBC Investigative reporter does his job: 10 myths about school shootings

The profile of the gun-toting student in a trench coat is just one of the myths about the rare but murderous attacks in the nation’s schools.

Here are 10 myths about school shootings, compiled by MSNBC.com from a 2002 study by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. The researchers studied case files and other primary sources for 37 attacks by current or former students, and also interviewed 10 of the perpetrators.

Before long the legislators will be out in force with plans to save us all by passing another totally worthless law. The only reason that people know about these attacks is the media coverage, if they don’t occur in the inner cities. As the media beat their drums people think there is some huge problem that must be dealt with immediately, and during an election year there will be a predictable rush to legislate to provide campaign talking points.

Smaller class sizes would probably do more good than metal detectors, but you won’t see that in the legislative agenda.

My solution would be psych screening for politicians.

The Associated Press reports the Pentagon to shoot down broken spy satellite

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March, The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. officials said Thursday that the option preferred by the Bush administration will be to fire missiles from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down the satellite before it enters Earth’s atmosphere.

The cruiser is part of the “doesn’t actually work” missile defense system, so the satellite is probably going to hit North America, if the current tracking is correct, in rather large flaming chunks with a lot of hydrazine available to make things sicken and die which will be good news for the Shrubbery after the media get done reporting. No doubt the possible death and destruction will prove to have prevented another terrorist plot.

In other news, the BBC reports South Korea to send ‘kimchi’ to space. Kimchi consumed in a closed environment like the space station should certainly test the effectiveness of the air filtration system, both pre- and post-consumption. I’m fairly certain this violates laws about space-based weapons.

CNNMoney has an important piece of information on the rebates that Congress passed: Wanna tax rebate? You gotta file first.

If you know someone, especially someone on Social Security, or possibly a student who only has a part-time job, who doesn’t normally file a tax return because they don’t make enough to pay taxes, if they made $3,000 last year they may be eligible for a rebate, but they won’t get it unless they file.

They are apparently handling this through the Internal Revenue Service, and they don’t “know” you exist unless you file the form.

There are usually groups in a community that offer free help with filling out the forms, so you don’t need to go to a tax preparer and spend a chunk of the rebate to file.

Spread the word, you have to file.

The Associated Press reports a beagle has won the Westminster Dog Show. Three-year-old K-Run’s Park Me in First [“Uno”] is the first beagle to be chosen best in show at one of, if not the, most prestigious dog shows.

Him, I could vote for.

February 12^th, 1809 saw the birth of two men whose lives still reverberate today: Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. Born an ocean apart in very different circumstances they would both lead lives that inspire admiration and hatred to this day.

Since there’s no available information as to where “Gunner Dick” is today, and whether or not he’s “hunting”, if you’re an attorney, you might want to wear one of these today. You wouldn’t want to have to apologize to “Deadeye Dick” for getting in his way like Harry Whittington did two years ago today.