Saturday - August 15, 2009
Caribbean Coup!
Wonder what President Obama will have to say about this one?
Britain has imposed direct rule on the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos after an investigation found evidence of corruption among the territory’s officials. The British government said it had suspended the government and legislature of its former colony and put the London-appointed governor in charge. The British Foreign Office minister, Chris Bryant, said the suspension could last up to two years while Governor Gordon Wetherell “put the islands’ affairs back in good order.” Prime Minister Michael Misick, who was implicated in the investigation, resigned in March. His successor, Galmo Williams, called the move a “coup.”
“Our country is being invaded and recolonized by the United Kingdom, dismantling a duly elected government and legislature and replacing it with a one-man dictatorship,” he said.
Seems rather heavy handed. Throw out the whole government and take over, just like that? Well, they may have had some reason to after all ...
An inquiry into governance – headed by Sir Robin Auld, a former high court judge – was launched after a delegation of visiting British MPs reported a “climate of fear” existed on the islands. The inquiry was told that Misick and his former wife, an actor, LisaRaye McCoy-Misick, spent a fortune on a luxury lifestyle which revolved around champagne, designer clothes and private jets.
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Misick has been accused of building a multimillion-dollar fortune financed from questionable dealings that gave property developers access to crown-owned land.
Chris Bryant, the foreign office minister, said: “After careful consideration I have instructed the governor to bring into force today an Order in Council which will suspend ministerial government and the house of assembly for a period of up to two years, to allow the governor to put the Islands’ affairs back in good order. This is a serious constitutional step which the UK government has not taken lightly.”
The Turks and Caicos is an overseas U.K. territory located in the Atlantic between the Bahamas and Haiti, and its 23,000 residents are British citizens.
It is a popular tourist destination as well as a major offshore tax haven. Last year Britain appointed a panel to look into allegations of corruption against Misick and other officials. Investigators suggested officials had misused public money and profited from the sale of government-owned land.
Public hearings earlier this year revealed details of Misick’s lavish spending after taking office in 2003. His estranged wife, actress LisaRaye McCoy, described the use of private jets to commute from Los Angeles and other luxuries including a leased Rolls-Royce.
The lead investigator, Robin Auld, said he had found ”clear signs of political amorality and immaturity and general administrative incompetence” on the islands.
Misick has denied any wrongdoing and called British panel “modern-day colonialism.”
If that’s all it takes to have Her Majesty’s folks come barging in, then we’d better draw the drapes and bar the doors. We’re next!
Posted by Drew458
on 08/15/2009 at 07:54 PM
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Permalink • Just Monkee-ing around…
I grew up in 1968.
I know this because that year I didn’t get the usual Disney/Superman/Aquaman story vinyl albums for either my birthday or for Christmas.
No, that year, for my 8th birthday, I received the Monkee’s Greatest Hits. My first rock album.
It’s been all downhill from there!
Oh yes, I found part of the rest:
Okay, found parts 3 and 5. Had no luck finding the missing parts. Probably could be found in a barrel full of MonKees!
I just know I’m going to Hades for this one…
Posted by Christopher
on 08/15/2009 at 08:04 PM
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Permalink • Joker Posters In Hot Water
"What’r you gonna do, bust me for littering?”
Clermont police have interviewed one suspect who is admitting to putting up the dozens of posters pasted around the city depicting President Obama as the Joker character from the Batman film The Dark Knight, city officials confirmed.
Assistant City Manager Darren Gray said city officials have an individual “admitting to putting up 500” of the posters.
Clermont Police Capt. Eric Jensen said the male individual has admitted to putting up some signs, but investigators suspect others were involved and their investigation is continuing.
“We have talked to an individual,” Jensen said. “He only admitted to some of it...We’re still tracking down leads and talking to folks. We have not arrested anybody.”
At this point officials are not sure how much damage was caused by the signs or the dollar amount associated with the clean-up.
Dozens of the posters were pasted around the city earlier this week. A pair of the posters were pasted to a Clermont Post Office collection box. They prompted the postmaster to contact the Postal Inspector’s office, which is looking at potential federal crimes for defacing federal property.
Currently, no arrests have been made. Posters have so far been found glued to walls, utility posts, signs, bridges and two collection boxes at the Clermont Post Office. Jensen said hanging the posters is a violation of city ordinances and can be construed as criminal mischief. He also said hanging them on private property could lead to vandalism charges. Hanging them on government buildings is a federal crime, he said.
City officials are not sure how much damage has been caused by the posters or how much has been spent removing them. The strong glue being used has made it difficult to remove them.
A local TV station ran a poll about this, and 59% of the locals agreed that use of the posters was a legitimate protest the the health care bill.
Maybe the local cops should think this through a bit first. Apparently these posters have gone up as part of a contest, run by radio personality Alex Jones. However, his web site clearly states:
Obama Joker posters should be posted in public commons where other fliers, public announcements, handbills, etc., are posted. Please do not post on federal or private property as this will be considered vandalism and will be counterproductive and diminish the message of the Obama Joker poster.
and, honestly? It’s stupid that the “contest” posters replace the Socialism text with a URL plug for his web site. Come on. That misses the whole point, and turns this into a sleazey advertising gimmick. Jones’ original point is lost, and this whole thing degrades to illegal advertising. Or is it? If you read Jones essay at that link, he feels that the Socialism tag is wrong, because Obama is not acting as a textbook Socialist. Well, no shit, Sherlock. But Socialism or Fascism come closest to defining what his outlook is, and almost nobody can understand fascism without thinking of Il Duce and trains running on time. Maybe we need a new word here, but Socialist will do for now. It sure as hell ain’t Free Market Democracy. And Jones doesn’t see it that way anyway. He sees Obama as a shill for the bankers - the “bankster elite”. Hey, is that CODE for joooos?
Posted by Drew458
on 08/15/2009 at 04:24 PM
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Permalink • FOR YOU FOLKS IN EUROPE AND THE UK, THIS IS WHY WE KEEP GUNS IN THE USA.
Coz the vermin have them and will never hesitate to use em.
Three cheers for this old fellow except I wish he wouldn’t say how sorry he is that he had to pull the trigger. Why sorry?
He didn’t take a human life after all. He should feel very good. He has also prevented future criminal acts. Good for him!
Shopkeeper, 72, who shot dead two robbers won’t be charged, say policeBy Paul Thompson
Last updated at 11:21 AM on 15th August 2009When four armed men burst into his store and demanded money, Charles Augusto tried to reason with them.
He calmly explained there was no cash on the premises and they should put the gun down.
But when one of the robbers began to pistol whip an employee in frustration, the 72-year-old’s patience snapped.
He pulled out a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun from under the counter and began shooting.
The blasts hit all four men, killing two and leaving two others critically injured.
he quietly spoken store owner is being hailed as a hero in Harlem, New York, for turning the tables on the robbers. Police said he would not face any charges.
Although the shotgun was not registered, under New York law someone is allowed to use deadly force if they feel their life is in imminent danger.
Mr Augusto, who bought the shotgun 30 years ago after another robbery attempt, said he was left with no choice but to open fire.
‘I told this kid, “We don’t have any money”,’ Mr Augusto said.
‘I asked him, “Why don’t you just put your gun down and go home and we’ll forget about this thing? Someone’s gonna get hurt. There’s no money - you’re gonna get in trouble. You’re wasting your time.”
‘I would have been happy if they’d all run out the door. I’m sick to my stomach over it.
‘I’m sad I couldn’t talk them out of it. I’m sad there’s mothers and fathers with no sons today.
‘I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m sitting here minding my own business and they come in with guns. I don’t feel like a hero. I would have felt like a hero if I could have talked that kid into going home.’
He added: ‘I’m sorry they’re dead but they didn’t give me any other choice.’
The failed robbery took place at his restaurant supply company in Harlem. Mr Augusto was inside the store with two employees, a 33-year-old man identified as JB and a 47-year-old woman.
The four robbers - aged from 21 to 29 - burst in and demanded cash. One was armed with a pistol and they carried plastic handcuffs.
Police said Mr Augusto made it clear there was no money on the premises, which led to one of the robbers to start to pistol whip JB.
Mr Augusto, who was 20 to 30ft away, whipped out the shotgun and fired three times.
James Morgan, 29, died instantly. A gun was found near his body slumped in the doorway of the store.
His accomplice Raylin Footman, 21, died later in hospital from shotgun wounds to his back.
The two other suspects, Bernard Witherspoon, 21, and Shamel Cloud, 21, were caught after police followed a bloody trail from the store.
Witnesses said JB stood over the dead robber screaming: ‘You’re dead! You’re dead!’
He later told police a gun had been held to his head.
Police sources said Footman, one of the victims, had previously been arrested for robbery and weapons charges. The other three robbers were also known to police.
Harlem residents praised Mr Augusto for his actions.
Gene Hernandez, 47, said: ‘I would kill a dozen of them. You have to protect your family and workers. Case closed.’
Stefany Blyn, who rents a space above the store from Mr Augusto, said: ‘He’s been robbed before, so I’m not totally amazed.’
Police said charges are pending against the two injured suspects.
Posted by peiper
on 08/15/2009 at 03:29 PM
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Permalink • Le PU
Toxicity tests on Brittany’s foul-smelling seaweed
France has ordered toxicity tests to be carried out on the mounds of putrified seaweed on the country’s northern coast that have been blamed for the recent death of a horse, officials said Friday.
Potentially lethal fumes from the rotting weed that has washed up on shores in more than 80 communities across Brittany have worried local residents and threatened the region’s lucrative tourist industry.
The national institute for environmental threats will test levels of hydrogen sulphide above the mounds of seaweed, the environment ministry said. It will also check for any other toxic components.
Green groups accuse President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government of turning a blind eye to an “environmental cancer” caused by the algae and blame intensive farming for producing nitrates that feed the seaweed’s toxicity.
Veterinarian Vincent Petit lost consciousness and his horse collapsed and died when they slipped on a patch of rotting algae near the beach of Saint-Michel-en-Greve on July 28.
The horse died almost instantly and Petit was pulled to safety by a crew of workers who happened to be nearby. Petit has since threatened to sue local authorities for reckless endangerment, spreading alarm in a string of coastal communities in Brittany’s Cote d’Armor region.
Holidaymakers have been told to keep away from beaches in northern France covered in seaweed after doctors gave warning that it could give off lethal fumes when it rots. A stretch of beach had to be closed after a horse rider lost consciousness as a result of the putrefying algae. His horse was killed. Local residents have also been treated in hospital. The incident was in Brittany, where green seaweed is spreading across the region’s beaches as nitrates pollute the water supply as a result of intensive agriculture.
Scientists say that as the seaweed — known locally as sea lettuce — decomposes, it forms an impermeable white crust under which hydrogen sulphide accumulates. When the crust is broken, the gas is released.
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There was further dismal news for French tourist industry leaders when a beach in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean coast was closed last week because of toxic seaweed — this time blamed on global warming.In Marseilles, 13 beaches were shut at the weekend after heavy rainfall washed the contents of the city’s sewer into the sea.
It has washed up in massive quantities in Brittany, where thousands from the UK are currently on their summer break. As the algae rots it releases a noxious gas that can have the same effect as cyanide. Environmentalists have warned that the seaweed could soon spread to the UK coast.
And le aromatics aren’t just limited to the beaches. Fellow blogger and recent globe trotter Rachel Lucas paid a visit to Paris just last week. Along with the glorious architecture, the high tech modern pissoirs, the fashion, the food, and all the wonders of that city, she couldn’t help having an Eric Cartman reaction - “this whole city smells like ass”:
As much as I loved the city, as much as I long to go back there again and spend more time, I have to report that I have never smelled more sewage anywhere else in the world. Just saying. It surprises me that they don’t fix that problem, seeing as how they are so committed to being artistically and aesthetically superior to the rest of us, which they might be able to pull off if the city didn’t smell like a highway rest stop.
I feel bad for poor old smelly fwance.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/15/2009 at 03:26 PM
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Permalink • French pool bans ‘burkini’ swim …..
It’s almost always the ‘converts’ isn’t it? They have this overpowering need to prove something.
Then too, some women do enjoy being dominated. Others might not enjoy it but have grown up brainwashed to believe that’s a natural state for a female.
There are some photos on line but I couldn’t find the photo of the woman in question here. It was in the hard copy and it looked to be a black thing and nothing as colorful as the stuff found doing a goog search. The French have problems and they’re govt. is trying to address this one. What they need to do is evict by any means necessary, the 5 million they already have. NO, wait on that. They might ALL come here.
French officials have banned a Muslim woman from swimming in a public pool while wearing a swimsuit that covers her entire body.The woman had swum in July in the pool in Emerainville, east of Paris, in the “burkini” - a loose-fitting garment resembling a wetsuit with a hood.
But staff stopped her from swimming in August, citing hygiene concerns.
It comes as the government examines ways to limit burka use after the president said they reduced dignity.
France is home to Western Europe’s largest population of Muslims, with about 5 million living there.
That type of suit does not exist in the Koran
At the pool, staff “reminded [the woman] of the rules that apply in all (public) swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed,” pool management official Daniel Guillaume was quoted by AFP as saying.
The woman was a French convert to Islam, and had bought the swimsuit in Dubai so that she would not have to uncover herself to go swimming.
“Quite simply, this is segregation,” she said, according to Le Parisien newspaper, which identified her only as Carole.
“I will fight to try to change things. And if I see that the battle is lost, I cannot rule out leaving France.”
Emerainville Mayor Alain Kelyor said “all this has nothing to do with Islam”, adding that the swimsuit was “not an Islamic swimsuit” and that “that type of suit does not exist in the Koran”.
‘Prisoners behind netting’In June the French National Assembly appointed 32 MPs to a six-month fact-finding mission to look at ways of restricting burka use.
In a major policy speech that month, President Nicolas Sarkozy said the burka - a garment covering women from head to toe - reduced them to servitude and undermined their dignity.
“We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity,” Mr Sarkozy told a special session of parliament in Versailles.
In 2004, France banned the Islamic headscarves in its state schools.
Posted by peiper
on 08/15/2009 at 02:15 PM
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Permalink • Air security: They’ve got it taped. Too bad I can’t get one of our moonbats in this space.
Put this way it sure does seem barmy to me. Had to laugh the way Littlejohn describes things but I bet the old guy involved must have been frustrated.
Air security: They’ve got it taped
By Richard Littlejohn
Daily MailThe worst part of air travel these days is passing through security, as I’m sure many of you have experienced this summer.
Rules are applied with rigid inflexibility and complete absence of common sense.
Terrified of being accused of racism, screeners go to great lengths to single out middle-aged white people for full searches, while waving through young men who fit the profile of suicide bombers.
I get especially furious when I see little old ladies being forced to walk barefoot and empty the contents of their handbags. No wonder they have to put up signs warning you, in advance, not to abuse the staff.
There is endless ingenuity in defining what constitutes a threat, even though greater potential dangers are overlooked.
Thousands of nail clippers are confiscated every day, while duty-free shops airside continue to sell booze in glass bottles which could easily be smashed and turned into weapons.
Fred Osborn, 68, and no one’s idea of an Islamic terrorist, had his hand luggage searched at Birmingham airport.
The security guard’s eyes lit up when he happened upon a roll of double-sided tape, encased in that infuriating thick plastic packaging which it is almost impossible to open.
He immediately confiscated it. When Fred asked why, he was told that it could be used to tie someone up and hijack the plane.
By the time Fred had finally managed to open the tape, after breaking all his fingernails, the plane would have landed.
And, even if he was successful, try to imagine a 68-year-old man overpowering a stewardess and wrapping her up like a mummy, while all the other crew and passengers simply stood by and watched it happen.
If you think that’s insane, passionate fisherman Mick Bell tells me he was stopped at Heathrow for carrying a lifejacket, which he wears when fishing deep waters.
The guard said the small CO2 cannister used to inflate it could be used to fire a weapon.
No problem, said Mick. There are spare cannisters in the life jackets under every seat on every plane. I can borrow one of those.
If Richard Reid had known that, he wouldn’t have tried setting fire to his shoes.
Posted by peiper
on 08/15/2009 at 01:53 PM
Filed Under: • Stoopid-People • Terrorists • UK •
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Permalink • Well they’re back again but ooops. They never really left. Travelers in the news and it’s all bad.
Very late starting today. Here we go again. This time with two articles and photos on the same tired but RCOB subject.
Yeah. It’s them again and theeeeeey rrrrr baaaak! Uh huh. Who else?
Reminder to Peiper ... don’t use the ‘G’ word.
So then, what we have here are ants in human form. Neat story isn’t it? One nest knocked down but almost immediately another started.
RAID anyone?
Gypsy convoy invades site… just hours after council evicts travellers following six-year battle costing £400,000
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:50 PM on 14th August 2009A convoy of gypsies pitched up at a controversial traveller’s site - just hours after a group had been evicted following a lengthy legal battle costing £400,000.
South Cambridgeshire District Council officials had just finished bulldozing three illegal pitches when eight more caravans rolled on to an adjoining field.
The demolition action was the result of a six-year legal battle to remove illegally camped travellers at the notorious Smithy Fen site in Cottenham, Cambridgeshire.
At last: Bulldozers tear down the illegal camp at Smithy Fen following a six-year battle, costing £400,000. But just hours later a new group of travellers moved straight inAt last: Bulldozers tear down the illegal camp at Smithy Fen in Cambridgeshire after a six-year battle, costing £400,000…
Hours later, a new group of travellers moved in.
An SCDC spokesman said officers could have done nothing to stop the travellers moving in on Wednesday as they could have been visiting relatives.
She said: ‘Our enforcement officers have been at the site to monitor the situation and will keep it under close observation.
‘As we understand, there are eight caravans on two authorised pitches.
‘We will work with the community and take a balanced approach. It is possible that they are just passing through and will move on.’
She claimed there were only eight caravans in total and they had moved on to two separate pitches - therefore only exceeding capacity by two caravans per pitch.
Campaigners have accused the Government of jeopardising councils by failing to give them the power to deal with people who illegally occupy land.
Aerial view of the Smithy Fen Travellers site in 2005, with red section showing the area that has been cleared and white where the latest convoy has occupiedRobin Page, former presenter of One Man And His Dog and independent councillor for SCDC, said the Government was too ‘politically correct’ to act.
He said: ‘It’s quite simple. The law should be the same as it is in Ireland. Illegal occupation should be a criminal offence, not a civil offence. Then there would be no problem.
‘As soon as anybody goes on to land where they are not entitled to be, police would have the power to arrest them and confiscate their caravans.
‘It is should be a universal law applied to everybody. But New Labour is so politically correct it is spineless.
LOADS OF PHOTOS AND REST OF ARTICLE HERE
Like insects these scum pop up everywhere simply because .... they can. and the taxpayer get to pay for it all. Hey. Great system.
It works for some.
Note to Peiper. Don’t mention the ‘G’ word.
Meet the gipsy family terrorising an entire streetThere are neatly trimmed privet hedges, rose beds and top-of-the-range family cars parked outside all but one of the houses on this broad and leafy avenue in the outskirts of the North London commuter belt.
In the peace and quiet of a summer’s evening, family life in Totteridge — where professional couples pay up to £1million for a substantial home a stone’s throw from good schools, shops, restaurants and trains direct to the city — appears to be a picture of idyllic suburbia.
That is, until the Connors arrive.
You hear them before you see them.
To a cacophony of effing and blinding, a family of nine, packed like sardines into a dusty seven-seater people-carrier, pull up between the piles of rubbish and broken paving slabs on the driveway.
Little hands poke out of the windows with their middle fingers raised defiantly aloft.
John and Serena Connors and their seven children — an Irish traveller family — have been in residence at this five-bedroom £1million home since February, when they were moved by Barnet Council into privately-owned accommodation under the Local Housing Allowance scheme.
The scheme was introduced by the Government a year ago to encourage private landlords to take on council tenants in a bid to alleviate a housing shortage.
Since then, there have been several cases highlighted by the Daily Mail where families, living off benefits, have been rehomed in some of the most exclusive and expensive neighbourhoods in Britain — all at the taxpayers’ expense.
The Connors don’t pay any rent, of course. The £2,400 a month it costs to lease the house is covered by their housing benefit.
And while that fact is galling enough for those neighbours who work hard to pay their hefty mortgages in this desirable postcode, they could have lived with it had the Connors themselves been a little easier to live with.
‘They screamed: “You don’t who you’re messing with”’Instead, since the day they arrived, they have terrorised this formerly peaceful neighbourhood and made life so nightmarish for their neighbours most are now too scared to speak out for fear of reprisals from the traveller community.
However, their next-door neighbours the Kaye family, who have arguably borne the brunt of the Connors’ campaign of intimidation and anti-social behaviour, are so sick of them — and so outraged by the situation — that they feel it’s time to take a stand.
‘They’ve screamed at us: “You don’t know who you’re messing with. You upset one traveller family, we’ll all come after you.” But what option do we have?’ says Hannah Kaye, an office administrator and mother of three boys.
‘I have never done anything to provoke these people. I don’t want any trouble. We have lived in this house for 18 years. It’s been a happy home for us. But since they arrived, I have been literally sick with worry.’
This is not snobbery. As Hannah’s solicitor husband Jeremy puts it: ‘We don’t have a problem living next door to anyone. We don’t care who pays their rent or what they do for a living as long as they’re decent neighbours. But these people aren’t even decent human beings.’
This is not just the matter of the piles of rubbish accumulating all over the property, including on the flat roof. It has nothing to do with the beaten-up van that sits on the driveway or even the filthy language that can be heard spilling from the Connors’ permanently open windows at all hours of the day and night.
It’s about a family with a staggering disregard for other people and their property, and even less concern for the burden they place on hard-working, taxpaying families like the Kayes.
Posted by peiper
on 08/15/2009 at 01:02 PM
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Outrageous • Travelers/Gypsies/Squatters • UK •
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Permalink • Friday - August 14, 2009
GAK
Rolling Stone magazine enlists 3 “leading political observers” - David Gergen, Paul Krugman and Michael Moore - to take an unbiased look at how our new Fearless Reader is doing.
To assess Obama’s performance during his first six months in office, we sat down in our New York offices with three of America’s leading political observers. David Gergen, a senior political analyst for CNN and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, served in the White Houses of Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist and professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University, won the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics. Michael Moore is the Academy Award-winning director of Bowling for Columbine and Sicko; his new film, Capitalism: A Love Story, will premiere on October 2nd.
Sure, I’ll buy that. Because the magazine cover art isn’t pushing any sort of message or anything, right?
Read a little excerpt here, or go plunk down your money and buy the issue. Sure to be a collector’s item someday!
if you find your eyes are burning just looking at that, I have another picture below the fold that you might prefer. It’s nearly as puke inducing, but in this ONE case, you may actually prefer it. But be warned, and have emergency eye rinse handy.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/14/2009 at 10:33 PM
Filed Under: • Media-Bias •
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Permalink • Anniversary
V-J Day “Our global victory has come from the courage…of free men and women united in determination to fight. It has come from the massive strength of arms…created by peace-loving peoples who knew that unless they won, decency in the world would end.”
- US President Harry Truman
To save Turtler and a few others some finger work at their keyboards, today is the anniversary of when Japan surrendered. That surrender wasn’t actually negotiated and signed until September 2, which some consider the Official Ending Date. September 2 is also the date, in theory, that the Soviet troops stopped their campaigns against Japan in eastern Asia. The Soviet Union was actively at war with Japan for about 3 weeks I think. But for the most part, V-J day, 64 years ago today, ended the fighting of WWII.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/14/2009 at 10:06 PM
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Permalink • Half a Story Is Better Than None
A Russian-manned cargo ship that vanished last month in the Atlantic was found Friday near Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa, according to French and Russian officials. There was no immediate information about the condition of the crew or whether there was anyone else on board.
The Arctic Sea — carrying a load of timber and 15 Russian sailors — disappeared after passing through the English Channel on July 28. The Maltese-flagged freighter sent radio messages as it sailed along the coasts of France and Portugal, but then all contact was lost.
“Cape Verde coast guards said they have located the boat” about 520 miles (840 kilometers) off Cape Verde, said French Defense Ministry spokesman Capt. Jerome Baroe. France was involved in search efforts together with several other countries.
Two military officials in Brussels separately confirmed the ship had been tracked and located off West Africa. The officials asked not to be named while the operation was ongoing.
Russian naval ships were ordered to pursue the ship after the Cape Verde coast guard reported the freighter was outside the country’s territorial waters to the north, Russian Ambassador to Cape Verde Alexander Karpushin told The Associated Press.
The ambassador did not say when the naval ships were expected to arrive in the area. The four ships involved in the search, including a frigate, had entered the Atlantic late Tuesday. Their whereabouts Friday were unknown.
It also was unclear whether the freighter had laid anchor or was continuing to sail south. It had enough food and fuel to last through the end of the month, the ship’s Russian operator said.
The ship’s crew had reported a June 24 attack in Swedish waters by up to a dozen masked men, who they said tied them up, questioned them about drug trafficking, beat them and searched the freighter before leaving 12 hours later in a high-speed inflatable boat.
The alleged attack, unusual in itself, raised further concerns because it was not reported until the freighter had passed through Britain’s busy shipping lanes and was heading out into the wide Atlantic. There have been fears that some of the attackers might still be aboard.
The Arctic Sea, which left from Finland on June 23, had been due to make port Aug. 4 in Algeria with its euro1.3 million ($1.8 million) haul of timber.
It has been suggested the vessel may have come under a second attack. “Radio calls were apparently received from the ship, which had supposedly been under attack twice, the first time off the Swedish coast and then off the Portuguese coast,” said Martin Selmayr, a spokesman for the European Commission. But the ship’s Russian operator, Solchart Arkhangelsk, said it had no information about a second attack. There has been intense speculation over the ship’s fate, with theories ranging from a commercial dispute to a secret cargo. The ship had been due to make port in Algeria on August 4.
On Wednesday, Russia said naval vessels authorized to use force were hunting the Arctic Sea with the aid of “space-based” detection systems. The Maltese Maritime Authority said Wednesday that the ship appeared to have headed into the Atlantic Ocean, but mystery surrounded the ship’s movements and the fate of its crew.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on its Web site that Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Ladny was heading the search operation and had passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to “take all necessary measures to locate, monitor and, if necessary, to free the missing vessel,” a statement issued by the president’s office said.
Nato was monitoring the situation due to the unusual nature and location of the attacks, but was not directly involved in the search.
The sighting off Cape Verde, a key staging post for cocaine trafficking from Latin America, will renew speculation that the vessel could been have been hijacked by drug or arms smugglers.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, was in Cape Verde on Friday on the final leg of an 11-day tour of Africa.
Ok, so now we learn it was heard from off the coast of Portugal, and there may have been more trouble there. Aside from that, we don’t know much of anything, other than that the Russian Navy can get one of it’s ships from the Black Sea all the way across the Mediterranean to the Atlantic in just a couple of days. Speedy!
I think there will be a very interesting story here, although we might only be told “radio breakdown and rudder damage” to explain the whole thing. This smells quite fishy.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/14/2009 at 04:18 PM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •
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Permalink • Does anybody else notice a problem here?
First, go to to Hot Air Pundit. Watch the videos.
Posted by Christopher
on 08/14/2009 at 02:06 PM
Filed Under: • Commies • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Editorials • Government • Corruption and Greed •
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Permalink • Egypt 2 Pirates 0
The crew of two Egyptian fishing vessels overpowered Somali pirates after being held hostage for four months and, with machetes and tools, killed at least two pirates before sailing to freedom, a pirate and businessman said Friday.
The case marked a rare instance of crewmen fighting back against Somali pirates, who usually hold their hostages for months in anticipation of million-dollar ransoms.
One pirate was in custody after local fishermen found him near shore with machete wounds, police said.
A pirate who told The Associated Press he escaped the ordeal said the fight took place near the coastal town of Las Qorey off the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest waterways and where Somali pirates carry out most of their attacks.
”They attacked us with machetes and other tools, seized some of our guns and then fought with us,” the pirate, who gave only his nom de guerre, Miraa, told the AP in a telephone interview. “I could see two dead bodies of my colleagues lying on the ship. I do not know the fate of the nine others.”
Said Jama Hussein, a businessman in Las Qorey, said local fishermen told him the Egyptian ships left Thursday. He said the crew, who number up to 24, apparently took some of the pirates hostage.
Pirate attacks worldwide more than doubled in the first half of 2009 amid a surge of raids on vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia, according to an international maritime watchdog. The attacks come despite international patrols, including U.S., European, Chinese, Russian and Indian ships.
The higher attacks worldwide were due mainly to increased Somali pirate activity off the Gulf of Aden and east coast of Somalia, which combined accounts for 130 of the cases.
Awesome. Outstanding. After months of being held captive, they seized the moment and kicked some ass. And I love that they are now hold the pirates hostage. Though I doubt they’ll be able to get more than a bowlful of stale cous-cous for ransom.
I saw that “piracy has more than doubled” story a few weeks ago but didn’t get around to posting it. Funny how we used to see those stories in the news, at least online, all the time. They haven’t been in the news much at all lately, even though there are now twice as many. You don’t think the media is trying to paint a rosy picture, do you? Make the world seem more peaceful for some reason? Now, why would they want to do that?
Posted by Drew458
on 08/14/2009 at 08:10 AM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •
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Permalink • Did you enjoy your stay with us sir? Anything else we can do to pander and suck up sir?
Crap for mood this morning .... start off the day with puter problems. Took damn near a half hour to get this posted.
Tight sched. this morning, have to be somewhere in another hour and haven’t even had morning coffee yet.
BUT ... when I saw this in the paper I just knew I had to drop everything else, forget the coffee and breakfast, really.
This needs posting!
btw ... I originally saw this in the Telegraph which we get delivered. But do you suppose its in their on line version? Of course it is. Where? Don’t know coz they don’t show it. Anywhere. Sooooo, bingo. The Daily Mail.
Here .... read this and see if you don’t think they’re absolutely OTT freeken bonkers over here.
Did you enjoy your stay Sir? Prisoners handed hotel-style questionnaires asking if cell conditions were up to scratchBy Luke Salkeld
The MailIt was once considered something of a punishment.
But a night in the cells is now followed by a ‘customer satisfaction’ survey, with those detained in custody asked to rate the ‘services’ on offer behind bars.
The hotel-style questionnaire asks their views on the brightness of the cells and the quality of the food on offer.
The survey will be given to 1,000 detainees as part of a pilot scheme by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Detainees will be invited to judge the quality of a variety of aspects of their incarceration, including the food, how ‘safe’ they felt, cleanliness, lighting and air temperature, and the provision of towels.
The questionnaire begins by stating: ‘Devon & Cornwall are committed to providing the best possible service to people who are detained in custody.‘We would be grateful if you could complete the following survey and return it to the custody centre.’
Recipients of the questionnaire are asked a total of 41 questions, the results of which will eventually be entered into a database for analysis by senior officers.
One officer in the force, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It is a bit rich really. These people are in the cell for a reason, it’s not like
they’ve come here on holiday. They are starting to treat the emergency cell buzzer like a room service hotline.’He added: ‘We are getting asked all sorts - to get them celebrity magazines, to put aircon on, to bring them a salad. It’s not funny after a while.’
But Chief Inspector Ivan Trethewey, the force’s head of custody, who is behind the project, told Police Review magazine yesterday: ‘It does not mean we will be providing steak dinners as a result. There could be some valuable learning points, however.‘I wanted a reality check: what I think the service is that we are providing versus what detainees tell us we are giving them.’
The survey is being given to those currently in custody across the force and posted to others detained in June and July.
Go HERE for the rest. Read ALL 41 questions on the survey.
Gotta go for now ....
but Stay Tuned.
Posted by peiper
on 08/14/2009 at 02:24 AM
Filed Under: • Stoopid-People • UK •
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Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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