Raiders of the Lost Cattleprod: August 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

No, I haven't been carted off to the looney bin. (yet.)

Internet's been down for the past week.

Not exactly working now.

Dunno when I'll get back to regular updates.

:(

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Romanian mayor in Nazi dress row
A Romanian mayor who appeared at a local fashion show dressed in a Nazi uniform is sharply criticised by Jewish groups.

Bad news for Brown as IMF says Britain's debt crisis is the worst among major economies

Search is on for "pirate attackers" in Baltic Sea
Stockholm - Swedish police Friday treating very seriously reports of a mysterious presumed pirate attack on a Maltese-registered freighter in the Baltic Sea.

UK: Non-Muslims turning to Sharia courts to resolve civil disputes

Ukraine May Get $1.7 Billion From International Lenders for Gas

***

Venezuelans protest dramatic rise in kidnappings

Venezuela begins shutdown of 34 radio stations

Venezuela OKs election law, foes say favors Chavez
Shocker!

Honduras’s Zelaya Not Welcome in Nicaragua, Lawmakers Say
The head of Nicaragua’s largest opposition party said deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya should find another country from which to stage a return to power.
haha! Nobody wants him.

Soldiers Deployed In Mexico After Cartel Attacks Police
About 2,500 soldiers spread out across the western state on Monday, adding to 1,500 police and 1,000 military personnel already deployed in the area.

Archaeologists find 20 ancient human skeletons with their offerings in Mexico

TG Daily - End of the world postponed until Christmas
The long-awaited restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been postponed until the winter of 2009.
Dude! As often as this gets put off, maybe it really would end the world.

Aerial Photos of Italian Farms Reveal Outline of An Ancient City

Texas Scorched by Worst Drought in 50 Years

Texas droughts force serious measures

$60 million in federal grants to ease Valley water shortages - Bakersfield, CA

India - Jharkhand farmers despair at drought

Researchers Project Intense Fire Season in the West

Fires rage across Canary island (check out the link to pics on the sidebar.)
Up to 4,000 people are evacuated from their homes as fires rage out of control on the Spanish island of La Palma.

Meteor Showers / For sky lights, put big city behind you

PA - Flooding forces evacuations near Watsontown

One dead and up to 40 injured after storm rips through Canadian music festival

Nigeria: Nema Allays Fear Over Poisonous Gas From Lake Nyos

Blame Canada: Source of booming sounds revealed?

China arrests 7 in gun plot against HK democrat: report

Report: China stops mining project with NKorea

Big chunk of Australian tin off to China
TIN is one of the least fathomable base metals market at present, due partly to recent Chinese stockpiling of the metal.

China summons Aussie ambassador over Uighur visit
Meanwhile, China is still holding the Rio Tinto exec.

BHP Billiton Says Uranium Sales to China to Start Within a Year

ENRC pulls out of Kazakh-China railway

China dips its toe in the Black Sea

***

Christians arrested, 1 executed in N. Korea

U.S. Ships in Sim North Korea Missile Smackdown

N.Korea 'helping Myanmar build nuclear plant': report

Clinton in NKorea on apparent bid to free journalists
Hey, buddy, how'd that agreement to get them to stop the weapons program go?
Take Bush while you're at it, since he did squat when the inspectors were kicked out.

10,000 defy Malaysia police, protest detention law

***

Shifting Tides Of Influence In Central Asia
Eighteen years after the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia became independent, outsiders continue to jockey for position in the traditional contest for influence in the region.

The great powers -- Russia, the United States, China, and Europe -- follow two main strategies to gain or hold sway in the region: the provision of mutual security, and the use of financial measures and trade incentives in exchange for access to enormous energy reserves.

Officials fall to Kazakh corruption drive
Drive, purge, whatever...

Kazakhstan's uranium boss ill in detention: wife
Kazakhstan's most prominent uranium industry figure, whose arrest has alarmed foreign investors in Central Asia's biggest economy, is in poor health and requires urgent medical attention, his wife said on Friday.

Turkmenistan-Iran gas pipeline to be finished end-2009

Taliban vow to disrupt Afghanistan election

US general may ask for more troops for Afghan war

Pakistan Objects to U.S. Plan for Afghan War

Pakistan judge says won't try Musharraf for treason
Pakistan's top judge turned down a request on Thursday to launch a treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, saying the Supreme Court lacked the authority.

Where the Mullahs Are the Upper Crust
Pakistan’s Taliban seeks class war, but in the heartland, there is a surprisingly comfortable coexistence between the mullahs, the landlords and the political elite.

Man Tied to Group in Pearl Murder Arrested in Pakistan, AP Says

***

Six Christians killed in Pakistan over Koran 'insult' (early report)
An angry mob of Muslims on Saturday killed six Christians and wounded dozens after burning 40 houses and a church over the alleged desecration of the Koran in a remote Pakistani town, officials said.

PAKISTAN Muslims burn 75 Christian homes and 2 churches in Punjab
An alleged accusation of blasphemy sparks violence. The Pakistani president Zardari assures compensation for damages to the victims and sent the Minister for Minorities and Human Rights to express the government’s solidarity with the Christian community attacked.

Muslims burn Christians alive in Pakistani city after rumour about a defaced Koran sparked riots
Hundreds of Muslims torched and looted Christian homes in Gorja. A man, a woman and four children were burned to death in their house, and two other men were shot dead by the rioters.

Eight Christians burnt to death in Pakistan after Koran is ‘defiled’
Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a town in eastern Pakistan yesterday after Muslim radicals burnt to death eight members of a Christian family, raising fears of violence spreading to other areas.

***

Somali insurgents loot U.N. compounds

EU anti-piracy force to move some planes south
Monsoon season is almost over.

Caritas aid worker shot dead in Congo
PARIS, July 21 (Reuters) - A Congolese employee of French charity Caritas France was shot dead in Democratic Republic of Congo after being stopped by two men in army uniforms, the charity's umbrella organisation said on Tuesday.

Uganda: Seven Local Girls Sold Into Slavery Missing

Libya eyes a new arsenal
The Libyan coast guard is now operating Croatian-built patrol boats in the western Mediterranean as Russia and Western governments elbow each other for substantial orders for new equipment to update Col. Moammar Gadhafi's armed forces.

Al Qaeda claims deadly attack in Algeria - web
Al Qaeda's north African wing said on Saturday its fighters were behind an attack in Algeria earlier this week in which several soldiers were killed.

Lawmaker from Zimbabwe PM's party arrested for song
Mockery through music!

***

Nigeria on the brink
Four days of violence in Nigeria have left hundreds dead, destroyed towns and villages across the north, brought the cold-blooded police shooting of an Islamist rabble-rouser and left the outside world horrified.

Bodies litter streets after unrest in Nigeria

Nigeria clashes bode ill for west Africa

Nigeria: Boko Haram Leader, Yusuf, Killed

700 have died in Nigeria unrest
A Nigerian military official said Saturday that about 700 people were killed in the northern city of Maiduguri during recent fighting between police and a radical Islamist sect. The toll was previously thought to be around 300.

Make that 800:
Nigeria Violence Sparks New Concerns
More than 800 people were killed last week during fighting between an Islamic fundamentalist group calling itself Boko Haram, and Nigerian security forces. The clashes spread across several northern states.

A Red Cross worker in the northern city of Maiduguri, where most of the fighting occurred, said that 780 bodies had been collected in the past few days, and that at least 3,600 Maiduguri residents had been displaced. Officials in Bauchi, where the violence began, had earlier confirmed more than 50 deaths.

Rights groups say many civilians were among those killed, though exact figures remain unknown. Police say most of the dead were militants.

Powder keg.

Iraq's farms in shambles

Iraq PM flies to US to meet Obama, seek investment

Death toll reaches 12 in Iraqi refugee camp violence
At least 12 people have died in clashes between Iraqi police and members of an exiled Iranian opposition group at an Iraqi refugee camp, a group spokesman told CNN Friday.

***

Lebanon arrests 10 for plotting attacks on UN troops

What the Romans Wrought in Lebanon
Baal and Bacchus and Hizb'allah, oh my!

Sadr pushes bilateral ties in Syria
The visit to Damascus by Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr was part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between the two Arab neighbors, officials said.

Assad: Golan will yet return to Arab hands

Saudi Minister Rejects Incremental Steps Toward Mideast Peace

Why Yemen could become Al Qaeda haven

***

Why Israel is Nervous
Tension is escalating between the U.S and Israel. The problem: The administration views the Israeli-Palestinian issue as the root of all problems, while Israel is focused on Iran’s nuclear threat, says Elliott Abrams.

Sheikh Khatib: We'll never give up al-Aqsa
Islamic Movement leader tells Arab children Israeli occupation of Jerusalem must end
Why Israel is Nervous!

Turkish leader presses Israel to return Golan
Why Israel is Nervous!

Saudi Minister Rejects Incremental Steps Toward Mideast Peace
Saudi Arabia praised the Obama administration Friday for its "early and robust focus" on the Middle East while rebuffing its efforts to push Riyadh to take confidence-building steps toward Israel.
Why Israel is Nervous!

Fatah to reject Israel as Jewish state at congress: document
Do I need to say it?

Anti-Settlement Group Takes Palestinian Property Claims to Israel's High Court
Ugh.

Poll: Israel is only country where support for US dropped
Israel is the only country paying attention to what's going on.

Europeans seeking $100m. investment in W. Bank power grid | Middle East | Jerusalem Post

***

For Iran’s Opposition, ‘Death to Russia’ Is the New ‘Death to America’
In Iran, opposition supporters who attended the Friday Prayer service in Tehran last week responded to calls to chant "Death to America!" by chanting "Death to Russia!" instead.
'Cause the government in curling up with the bear.

Iran activists dread midnight knock of police raid

Iran begins mourning cycle that could deepen unrest
Thousands of people clashed with security forces in the streets after a symbolic 40-day period since the death of protesters. Thirty years ago, such protests helped bring down the Shah.

Iran witnesses: Neda memorial

German Firm Withdraws Threat to Fire Employees in Iran
Knauf, a German building materials company that last week told its employees in Iran they would be fired if they participated in political demonstrations, withdrew the threat.

Iran detains US hikers who strayed across border from Iraq
Details are still emerging, but Kurdish officials say the tourists had been warned that the border was poorly marked.

Iran is ready to build an N-bomb - it is just waiting for the Ayatollah's order
Iran has perfected the technology to create and detonate a nuclear warhead and is merely awaiting the word from its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to produce its first bomb, Western intelligence sources have told The Times.

Monday, August 03, 2009

North Korea to host Russian gas pipeline?
South Korean officials are set to visit Russia in August to discuss the potential for laying a gas pipeline through North Korean territory.

Putin marks construction of new pipeline
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended opening ceremonies Friday for construction of the first leg of a new natural gas pipeline in Russia's Far East.

Moscow, Baku relations linked to energy
Moscow, [insert any national capital here] relations linked to energy.

Ex-Soviet states meet for 'Russian NATO' summit

In Russia, witnesses risk their lives
Valery Kazakov was almost to the prosecutor's office when the killers caught him. He was shot as he cut through an alleyway, and when he stumbled bleeding into the street, a man bent down to stab the final breaths out of him.

Riot police use brute force to break up Moscow rally
"What kind of country is this? They're all bandits," cried Yekaterina Veselovskaya, 60, as riot police dragged off a friend. "We're going back to the Stalinist 1930s." In a new tactic, undercover agents and police arrested people for giving interviews to the press.

"Ever since Putin came to power, all his decisions have led to murder," Alexei Korostyshevsky told The Daily Telegraph before being grabbed by two undercover police. At least three similar arrests were made.

Russia to upgrade its naval base in Syria

Iran and Russia: No Love Lost
Yet they're now coming together.

Canada watching Russian Arctic moves closely
I would hope so.

***

Putin dives to new depths
Vladimir Putin has dived to the bottom of the world's deepest lake in Siberia, aboard a mini-submarine.

Putin dons wetsuit, gets cozy with whale: reports

You know what interests me about these PR stunts? The contrast with our own dear leader.

Putin carefully controls his image to come across as an aggressive manly-man.

Obama carefully controls his image to come across as a metrosexual intellectual.

Consider what that says about their target audiences. Oy.

***

A Hot Summer in Europe (short read, very good)

Can President Obama and the European Union contain Moscow’s ambitions and whims? Or will they purchase a fallacious and precarious tranquility by sacrificing Georgia’s independence? At stake is the very sovereignty of Europe: its energy independence. Energy has become decisive because for Putin, gas is now a weapon as powerful as a deterrent arsenal. Consider a popular song performed by a military choir in Moscow. Its chorus depicts the “radiant future” that Gazprom is preparing: “Europe has a problem with us? We will cut off its gas; a big smile will rise in our eyes and happiness will leave us no more.” Similar sentiments are expressed toward the Ukraine and its desire to join NATO, as well as toward American forces all over the world. The Russian public loves the song.

If Tbilisi falls, there will be no way to get around Gazprom and guarantee autonomous access to the gas and petroleum wealth of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. As for the global credibility of President Obama, it will amount to no more than the empty-sleeved gestures of someone whose arms have been amputated.

Russia Says Georgia Fired on South Ossetia, Threatens Force
Russia accused Georgia of firing at South Ossetia and warned that its troops may fight back, as the countries prepare for the first anniversary of the war over the separatist region. Georgia denied the claims.

Russia Accused of Altering Border
Georgia said Russian reconnaissance teams entered the village of Kveshi in a disputed region in an attempt to move the boundary several hundred yards to a strategically better position.

South Ossetia one year on: Georgians wait in fear for Russians to return
A year ago, the Kremlin shocked the world when it sent troops into Georgia. Today, the war clouds over South Ossetia are gathering once more.

INTERVIEW - Saakashvili says Russia still wants him out

Threat of war hangs over Georgian energy routes
BASHKOI, Georgia (Reuters) - More than 800,000 barrels of high-quality Caspian crude oil flow daily to the Mediterranean beneath this Georgian village, 42 km (26 miles) from breakaway South Ossetia.

Georgia’s Leader Escapes Damage in Biden Visit
But is his teleprompter still okay?

***

UN experts ask Azerbaijan to stop free speech curbs

Scuffle in wedding place in Baku, five knifed

Azerbaijan to start gold exports

Turkish oil exploration rankles Greeks
An oil exploration plan by Turkey increased tension created when Turkish jets violated Greek air space, officials told the news agency Kathimerini.

8,000-year-old human skeleton found in a Turkey tomb
An 8,000-year-old human skeleton was found during excavations in one of the oldest residential areas in southern Turkey, a media report said.

Long hot summer...

UN agency: Saudi Arabia to fund world summit on food security in Rome in November

US signs disabled rights treaty
The United States on Thursday signed a U.N. treaty enshrining the rights of the world's 650 million disabled people, saying it symbolized President Barack Obama's commitment to upholding human rights through international agreements.

The signing by U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice marked a dramatic shift from the Bush administration, which refused to take part in negotiations on the treaty, arguing that it would dilute protections for U.S. citizens under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

'$10 trillion' credit crunch cost
The global credit crunch has cost governments more than $10 trillion, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.

The IMF says that rich countries have provided $9.2tn in government support for the financial sector, while emerging economies spent $1.6 tn.

House Approves $636 Billion Defense Spending Bill

U.S. judge rules for Fed in Fox News Network request

A U.S. judge on Thursday denied a bid by Fox News Network LLC seeking details from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve about the central bank's loans to companies affected by the financial crisis.
...
"I rule that one document, which the Board determined is not a record, is indeed, a record. The Board shall identify this document and either produce it or claim an exemption," Hellerstein said in a written order.

"In all other respects, I grant the Board's motion and deny Fox's motion, finding that the Board performed an adequate search and that Exemption 4 permits the Board not to disclose the documents that Fox seeks."

Under Exemption 4 of the FOIA, an agency must demonstrate that the information sought is a "trade secret" or "commercial or financial" in character and "obtained from a person" and "privileged and confidential."

G-20 police planning a puzzle for Pittsburgh chief

Arabic teacher at Clemson faces immigration charge
Clemson scholar moved to Alabama

After Bomb Scare, Tempers Flare at La Guardia
Even after terminals had reopened at La Guardia Airport, scores of flights were delayed and tempers were flaring.

Pentagon, Eyeing Iran, Wants to Rush 30,000-Pound Bomb Program

Regulators crack down on 3 Georgia banks
Regulators have served three small Georgia banks, including the Bank of Georgia in Peachtree City, with 'cease and desist' orders.

News From USJFCOM: Situational awareness experiment prepares for real world crises
During the recently completed Interagency Shared Situational Awareness (IA SSA) Limited Objective Experiment (LOE), U.S. Joint Forces Command and its partners addressed standards, policies and procedures involving sharing of information with interagency, multinational and non-government agencies during crisis operations.

Mystery ends: Pilot's remains found in Iraq desert
Capt. Speicher, finally coming home.

1 Month, 24 Bank Failures: Random Event or Wilting Economy?

Biggest revenue drop since 1932

Stocks Rally is "Excessive", Financial System "Very Damaged" Says Roubini
No, really? My take: over 10k by the time we get a "peace in our time" statement.

***

Northwest Arctic, North Slope villages to have cell coverage by September
Like many small Alaska villages, Buckland is still waiting for running water and a sewer system. But long before a single flush toilet is installed, it will have connectivity of a different kind.

Buckland, along with every village in the North Slope Borough, Northwest Arctic Borough and a handful of other communities, is getting cell phone service this September through GCI.

Cell phones before sewers?

Nazi concentration camp survivor, 90, found strangled
A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor was found strangled Thursday in his Upper East Side apartment, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner said Friday.

Cash for Clunkers may take over your computer - Glenn Beck

And now today: Glenn Beck - The Government Removes Disclaimer,But Not The Law

It gives me the heebie-jeebies because I got a warning on another government site. See, I saw this story:
Florida man sees security exercise, calls police
and thought, gosh, there have been a lot of these drills lately. Maybe June or July is Disaster preparedness month or something?

So I went to FEMA's site (http://www.fema.gov/). They didn't have a 'news' section, so I clicked on Training. Once there I got there, I got distracted by this:

FEMA Training Organizations

Center for Domestic Preparedness

The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) is the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s only federally chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training center. The CDP is located in Anniston, Alabama. The Noble Training Facility is also a component of the CDP.

Well, shiny. That's not so terribly far from me. So I clicked on the link, and got a Java pop-up box and this:

WARNING
The use of this U.S. Government system is restricted to authorized users only. Unauthorized access, use, or modification of this computer system or of the data contained herein or in transit to/from this system constitutes a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1030 and state criminal and civil laws. These systems and equipment are subject to monitoring to ensure proper performance of applicable security features or procedures. Such monitoring may result in the acquisition, recording and analysis of all data being communicated, transmitted, processed or stored in this system by a user. If monitoring reveals possible evidence of criminal activity, such evidence may be provided to law enforcement personnel. Anyone who accesses a Federal computer system without authorization or exceeds their access authority, and by any means of such conduct obtains, alters, damages, destroys, or discloses information, or prevents authorized use of information on the computer, shall be subject to fine or imprisonment, or both.

Well, okay. So I backed away slowly.

Instead, here's the wikipedia entry on the CDP.

I wonder how many sites have such warnings?

Meanwhile, the natives are getting restless:

YouTube - Lloyd Doggett's meeting on Obamacare in south Austin, TX, 1 Aug 2009