What's going on in the World Today 100710

HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:

USA
U.S.: White House Aware Of Russian Spies Since February July 9, 2010
An unnamed White House official said U.S. President Barack Obama was informed of the Russian spy case on June 11, before any arrests were made, and that some White House officials had been briefed on the case as early as February, AP reported July 9. The official said the idea of a spy swap was already considered June 11, including exactly who the United States would ask Russia to release, along with other options.

U.S.: Alleged Al Qaeda Members Charged For U.S. Plot July 7, 2010
The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against five alleged members of an al Qaeda plot to attack targets in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a July 7 statement from the department’s press office. The indictment, unsealed in the New York Eastern District Court, said a plot against New York’s subway system uncovered in September 2009 involving Colorado resident Najibullah Zazi was directed by al Qaeda’s senior leadership in Pakistan, the statement said. The plot was also related to another plan to use Western al Qaeda operatives to attack the United Kingdom. The five members involved, Adnan El Shukrijumah, also known as “Hamad,” Adis Medunjanin, also known as “Mohammad,” Abid Naseer, Tariq Ur Rehman, and a fifth defendant known by the names “Ahmad,” “Sohaib” and “Zahid,” have been indicted on several counts of terrorism, the statement said. According to the indictment, the plot involving Zazi was orchestrated by then-leaders of al Qaeda’s external operations program dedicated to terror attacks in Western countries.

U.S.: Bin Laden's Aide Pleads Guilty July 7, 2010
A Sudanese man who protected Osama bin Laden and helped him escape American forces in Afghanistan pleaded guilty at a Guantanamo Bay tribunal on July 7, Reuters reported. Ibrahim al Qosi pleaded guilty to charges that he conspired with al Qaeda and provided material support for terrorism, according to Guantanamo court spokesman Joe DellaVedova. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug.

EUROPE
EU: Financial Data Sharing With U.S. Approved July 8, 2010
The European Parliament approved a deal July 8 to share financial data in suspected terrorism cases with the United States, AP reported. The agreement was adopted after U.S. officials addressed privacy concerns by agreeing to provide European authorities with the reasons for their suspicions, grant legal redress in U.S. courts if information is abused, and correct inaccurate data. The agreement, adopted by a 484 to 109 vote with 12 abstentions, will go into effect on Aug. 1.

RUSSIA
U.S.: Death of a Russian Defector
Russia: A Reshuffling in the Interior Ministry | STRATFOR
Georgia: Tbilisi's Dilemma | STRATFOR
Russia: Moscow Open To Normal Relations With Georgia July 8, 2010
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow is open to normal contacts with Georgia in order to encourage interaction between the countries’ populations, despite the current absence of diplomatic relations, Itar-Tass reported July 8. As an example, Lavrov said Russia has opened the Upper Lars border crossing. Lavrov also called on the Georgian government to normalize relations with regional ethnic groups including the Ossetians, Abkhaz, Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

IRAN

Iran: Senior IRCG Commander Sent To Lebanon - IDF July 7, 2010
A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp has been sent to Lebanon to oversee the operations of Hezbollah on behalf of Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported July 7, citing an unnamed Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official. Hossein Mahadavi is a senior officer in the Quds Force, which is responsible for the IRGC’s overseas operations. Mahadavi is believed to maintain an office in Beirut.
Iran: Opposition Leader Criticizes Ahmadinejad July 7, 2010
Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for dismissing U.N. sanctions and said that Ahmadinejad should be truthful about the negative impact the sanctions will have on the Irans economy and people, AFP reported July 7. He also suggested that scaling back the responsibilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would decrease corruption.

U.S.: Irish Firm Charged With Illegal Exports To Iran July 7, 2010
Irish trading company Mac Aviation Group and its officers have been charged by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. with illegally exporting aircraft components to Iran, according to a statement by the U.S. Justice Department released July 7. The company bought the parts from U.S. firms and illegally exported them to Iran. The group had previously been charged with two counts of conspiracy, 19 counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Iranian Transactions Regulations, four counts of false statements and forfeiture allegations in July 2008.

IRAQ

NSTR

ISRAEL
Palestinian Territories: International Flotilla Planned July 8, 2010
A Gaza-bound flotilla, with vessels from Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia and Turkey, is due to set sail in August, The Jakarta Post reported July 8, citing an Indonesian member of the fleet. Medical Emergency Rescue Committee Director Jose Rizal Jurnalis said his committee will purchase a Phinisi passenger vessel that will join the flotilla. Volunteers and others will travel on that ship, he said. Setting sail from Jakarta, the ship will stop in Medan, Indonesia; Thailand; Colombo; Bombay; Muscat, Oman; Yemen; and the Suez Canal before reaching Gaza. Indonesian Institute of Sciences security researcher Rifqi Muna said the flotilla is more of a political mission, rather than a humanitarian one.

Israel: Evidence Of Hezbollah Buildup Declassified July 7, 2010
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Northern Command declassified visual evidence of Hezbollah’s buildup in nearly 200 southern Lebanese villages, The Jerusalem Post reported July 7. An IDF delegation was sent to show the evidence to the United Nations and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. The IDF estimates there are around 20,000 Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. A senior IDF source said there has been no indication that Syria, Lebanon or Hezbollah plan to attack Israel, Voice of Israel reported. The unnamed official added that he had no information suggesting that Syria had acquired an advanced radar system.

Israel: U.S. Iraq Withdrawal May Spark Hostilities - PM July 7, 2010
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said July 7 that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq has the potential to spark renewed hostilities on Israel’s eastern border, and that any potential peace deal with the Palestinians must allow Israel to make security arrangements to defend against an attack from the east, Haaretz reported. Netanyahu, speaking following a meeting in Washington with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said any final status agreement with the Palestinians must take renewed hostilities on Israel’s eastern border into account.

Israel: Gaza Crossings To Be Partially Opened July 8, 2010
Israel is due to partially open two crossings into the Gaza Strip on July 8 to allow the transfer of aid, Qatar News Agency reported, citing a Palestinian crossings official. About 150 trucks with goods for the commercial and agricultural sectors are expected to go through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the strip’s southern region, the official said, while 41 trucks of aggregate for United Nations Relief and Works Agency projects will be delivered by way of the Karni crossing in the north end.

Israel: Inquiry Criticizes Flotilla Raids Planning July 8, 2010
An army inquiry into the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla criticized the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) planning but did not single out any military officials, Ynet reported July 8. The inquirys report said there was a lack of coordination between forces involved in the raid, mishaps in planning and failure to make use of available intelligence. The report said the military planners thought IDF forces would only face low-level violence.

Israel: Libyan Aid Ship Likely Blocked July 10, 2010
Diplomatic efforts have likely prevented a Libyan aid ship from attempting to breach Israels blockade of the Gaza Strip, AFP reported July 10, citing Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has spoken several times with the foreign ministers of Greece and Moldova regarding the matter and the ministry believes that due to these talks the ship will not reach Gaza. Haaretz newspaper reported on its website that Israel’s U.N. ambassador sent a letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki Moon asking the international community to intervene.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan: Senior Police Intelligence Chief Killed July 8, 2010
Mohammad Gul, the police intelligence director for the western Kabul zone, was killed outside his home near Kabul, Afghanistan, AP reported July 8. A bodyguard also died. Gul faced an ambush the night of July 7 as he returned from his office, police said. Gul was over the prevention of terrorist attacks and the apprehension of suspected militants, Kabul’s criminal investigations chief, Abdul Ghfar Sayed Zada, said.

Afghanistan: $3 Billion In Materiel To Be Delivered July 8, 2010
The United States plans to deliver $3 billion in equipment to fight Afghan Taliban-made crude bombs, Ashton Carter, U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said on July 8, AFP reported. The effort will at least double the current capacity to fight improvised explosive devices (IED), Carter said. Tethered surveillance blimps, heavily armored vehicles and detection machinery like robots and mine detectors will arrive in coming months, he said. Some 1,000 counter-IED experts, including lab technicians and law enforcement officials, will arrive with the materiel. The coalition will share the equipment with Afghan forces. The IEDs frequently include ammonium nitrate fertilizer that is produced in Pakistan and brought across the border, according to Carter. The devices are built in both countries, he said.

Afghanistan: U.S. Plan For Village Defense Forces Resisted July 10, 2010
Gen. David H. Petraeus has met resistance from Afghan President Hamid Karzai over an American plan to assist Afghan villagers in fighting the Taliban on their own, The Washington Post reported July 10. Karzai renewed his objections to the plan in a meeting with Petraeus last week, saying he was wary of creating “a force that will be viewed as a private militia.” Recruiting villagers into local defense programs is a key part of the U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan. A plan for local defense forces was expected to be endorsed July 8.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Dispatch: Mexican Cartels' Money Movement | STRATFOR

Mexico: Small Plane Carrying Local Officials Crashes July 7, 2010
A small six-seater airplane carrying a state minister and a mayor from northern Mexico crashed in flames over a dam on July 7, Reuters reported. Coahuila state Minister for Public Works Horacio del Bosque and Piedras Negras Mayor Jose Manuel Maldonado were on board the plane. The cause of the crash is unknown.

Venezuela: Terror Suspect Extradited To Cuba July 7, 2010
Venezuela extradited Francisco Chaves Abarca to Cuba, where he is accused of having connections with Cubas most wanted man, Luis Posada Carriles, and will stand trial for a series of bombings, AP reported July 7. Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said Venezuelan authorities believe Abarca was conspiring with opposition groups in Venezuela to cause violence before congressional elections in September.

Colombia: Fate Of FARC Leader Unknown July 8, 2010
There is currently no information about the fate of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) head Alfonso Cano, Colombian Armed Forces Commander Gen. Freddy Padilla de Leon said in a July 8 army press release. Padilla de Leon was responding to earlier media reports that Cano had been killed in a Colombian military operation.

Mexico: Elected Officials Receive Death Threats July 8, 2010
At least two winning candidates in Mexico’s July 4 elections have received threats saying they will be killed if they take office, CNN reported July 8, citing a statement from a state leader of Mexico’s ruling National Action Party (PAN). PAN representative Victor Salas said the president-elect of Jose Azueta municipality of Veracruz state, Agusti Martinez Ganboa, and Gabriel Lagunes Lagunes, the president-elect of Soledad de Doblado municipality of Veracruz state, received the death threats.

Ecuador: Government To Nationalize Oil Fields Without Investment July 8, 2010
Ecuadorian Natural Resources Minister Wilson Pastor said that the government will take control of the country’s oil fields if foreign companies decide not to invest further, El Universo reported July 8. Pastor said that nationalized fields would be administered by state-run oil firms Petroamazonas and Petroecuador, adding that his statements were intended to spur investment.

MISC

South Korea: The U.N. Response to the ChonAn Incident | STRATFOR

Agenda: With George Friedman | STRATFOR

Spies and Canadian Passports

Cops do love their toys....

Last week I was running radar when a drunk idiot almost ran me over then took off like a bat out of hell. Thankfully we caught up to him and he is currently looking at felony evading and DWI.

I tried to us my cell phone camcorder to record the suspect at the scene but it didn’t work out that well…so I found this…hopefully it works out better for my next drunk driver. .

Hell, I’ll drink to it!

Minnesota....come out and play

Anyone who knows me knows I am a long time Saints fan...in other words last year was heaven. Now my team is the Defending World Champions (gotta love that sound) and we are set up for a great game...the NFL season opener on Thursday September 9th against Minnesota. Man I can't wait for the season to start!

Looks like little Brett is wanting some payback...remember Brett, we put your ass on the floor of the Superdome once or twice last January...we will do so again!

Brett Favre: I'd Love to Beat the Saints80

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes Brett Favre's not coming back for the 2010 season -- except maybe half of Ryan Longwell -- but the ol' gunslinger is still doing his best to keep people guessing.

Still, barring a major setback this summer, Favre appears on course to recover from offseason ankle surgery and suit up again. And he already sounds like he has his sights set on Minnesota's regular-season opener, Sept. 9 in New Orleans, where the Vikings' 2009 season ended in the NFC championship game.

"I would love to go beat the Saints," Favre told the Sun Herald on Thursday.

Favre, of course, had a chance to knock off the Saints last January and send Minnesota to the Super Bowl. But an ill-timed interception late in the fourth quarter led to a New Orleans overtime victory. The Saints went on to knock off Indianapolis to capture the title.

The loss put a bitter end on a spectacular season for Favre, who statistically, had one of the best years of his long NFL career. He threw for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns during the regular season, then followed that up with five more TD passes in the postseason. In the immediate aftermath of that loss to the Saints, though, Favre announced that he'd need some time to think about his future, while his teammates repeatedly told reporters that they thought his return in 2010 was unlikely.

Either they bought into Favre's now-annual indecision or he's had a change of heart since that night, because he doesn't give the impression that he's about to (again) call it a career.

"I know I can still play at a high level," he told the Sun Herald. "Last year was a great year, but it could have been better [winning the NFC Championship].''

Brett, you're a legend and will walk into the Hall of Fame on the first ballet. I know you can still play and I look forward to the Saints kicking your ass all over the turf.

Bring it on!

STRATFOR: A Closer Look at India's Naxalite Threat

A Closer Look at India's Naxalite Threat July 8, 2010

On July 6, the Indian government issued a warning to railroad operators and users after Maoist rebels — known as Naxalites — declared a “bandh,” a Hindi word meaning threat of attack, in eastern India. When a bandh is declared by the Naxalites, it means they have declared open season on a particular target set, in this case the public transportation system over a two-day period. It is widely understood that trains and buses in eastern India during this time would be subject to Naxalite attack.

Naxalites are an array of armed bands that, when combined, comprise the militant arm of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M). Some of the most violent attacks conducted by the Naxalites have been against freight and police transport trains, killing dozens of people at a time. Civilians have typically not been targeted in such attacks, but they have been collaterally killed and injured in the mayhem. Whether targeted or not, civilians generally believe that Naxalites always follow through on their threats, so strike warnings are enough to dissuade people from going about their daily lives. The Naxalite “bandh” is a tactic that shows just how powerful the rebels have become in the region, and it demonstrates their ability to affect day-to-day activity merely by threatening to stage an attack.

The Naxalite declaration on July 6 was in retaliation for a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) operation that killed senior Naxalite leader, CPI-M Politburo member and spokesman Cherukuri Rajkumar (alias Azad) on July 2 in Andhra Pradesh. The news of Azad’s death was unexpected, since India has had little luck capturing or killing key Naxalite leaders, but his absence is not expected to seriously hamper the movement. The Naxalites are a large, well-organized force that will be able to replace him with little or no visible effect on operational capability. What was not surprising was that Azad’s killing elicited a Naxalite response.

It is unclear exactly what precipitated the Andhra Pradesh operation by the CRPF (India’s federal police force) that killed Azad, though it did come after a busy spring in Naxalite territory. On April 6, Naxalites mounted a textbook armed ambush that killed 76 CRPF members conducting a patrol in Chhattisgarh state, at the time the deadliest attack the Naxalites had carried out in their 43-year history. Then, on May 17, they detonated an explosive device along a road in Chhattisgarh and destroyed a bus, killing nearly 50 civilians and police officers. At the time, Azad issued several statements to the press indicating that the group regretted the death of so many civilians but blamed them for riding on the bus with police officers, something they had been warned against numerous times. Indeed, police in this region are typically not allowed to ride on public transportation due to the threat of Naxalite attacks and the possibility of collateral damage.

On May 28, less than two weeks after the bus attack, an act of sabotage against a railway line in West Bengal state caused a train carrying only civilians to derail. It was subsequently hit by a freight train, resulting in the deaths of nearly 150 people. While Naxalites initially denied that they were involved in the incident, they later admitted that a rogue gang trained by them had sabotaged the railway line without permission from Naxalite central command. (There is also the possibility that the Naxalites were attempting to derail the freight train — a much more common Naxalite target — but mistakenly targeted the wrong track.)

Finally, on June 24, in the wake of these deadly (if not all intentional) attacks, the Naxalites reiterated their intention to drive multinational corporations (MNCs) out of India and that they would use violence to do so. This most recent threat reflects the primary interest of the Naxalites, and it is backed by a proven tactical ability to strike economic targets, which is a top concern for the Indian government. It is this situation that leads STRATFOR to look at one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies to see what makes it tick.

Background on a Rebellion

The Naxalites get their name from their place of origin, the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal, where in May 1967 a local Communist Party leader promised to redistribute land to the peasants. This was not the first time such a proclamation by a Party member had been made in eastern India, but earlier attempts to foment a peasant rebellion in the region had faltered. This one, however, triggered a wave of violence in which workers intimidated or killed landowners, in many cases running them off their land and reclaiming it as their own. The actions were based on sentiment among the peasants (made up largely of tribal members) that they were merely taking back what they had been forced to give up to wealthy prospectors from central India. These newcomers had gained the land from the local tribes, the peasants believed, through schemes in which the land was taken as collateral for the tribes’ outstanding debts.

On a grander geopolitical level, the Naxalites can be viewed through the prism of Chinese-Indian rivalry. The Naxalites adopted the ideology of Mao Zedong, the Chinese revolutionary and leader who converted China to communism and who had just begun the Cultural Revolution there in 1966. In the beginning of the Naxalite movement, there was mutual rhetorical support between the Maoist regime in China and the Naxalites in India. While there was little evidence of material support (and there is no indication of such support today), the advent and growth of the Naxalite movement certainly did serve China’s goal of weakening its largest neighbor to the south.

India was able to dampen the Naxalite movement significantly in 1971, but the regional belief that the government in New Delhi had robbed tribal groups of their land in eastern India persisted. The Naxalite movement continued in a somewhat dormant phase throughout the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s. Violence resumed again in the late ’90s and has been escalating in the years since.

The increasing violence corresponds with India’s economic growth, and this is not coincidental. India has experienced a boom in economic growth over the past 20 years that has seen per capita income rise roughly 100 percent. By comparison, it took India 40 years to complete its last doubling of per capita income. Foreign investors have sustained this growth by pumping billions of dollars into India’s economy. However, economic growth in India has not trickled down, a political liability that the Naxalites have leveraged both to revive their movement and challenge India’s more mainstream political parties.

Geography and Development

India as a whole has a disparate geography and some 1.1 billion inhabitants, and the government in New Delhi thus has a tough time extending its writ throughout the land. The Naxalites are not the only militant movement in India; groups in northwest and northeast India also take advantage of the terrain and the distance from New Delhi to challenge the government for control of the territory they inhabit. The Naxalites specifically inhabit an area known as the “Red Corridor,” which stretches from West Bengal state southwest to Karnataka state. The most violent states in this corridor have been Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Orissa. The region is defined by rolling hills covered in dense jungle and has few improved roads, which allows the Naxalites to control access. The dense jungle also protects them from government aircraft.

The region’s geographic isolation has created a tribal mentality, and while the government lumps militant groups in the area under the Naxalite umbrella, the militant community is actually quite diffuse, with small units acting with varying levels of autonomy throughout the region. For example, there is little indication that a unit from Chhattisgarh would also be able to conduct operations in West Bengal. Transportation is expensive and dangerous, so people tend to stay close to home and defend it fiercely. This makes it difficult for outsiders to gain influence in (and access to) the area.

It also means the area is extremely poor. Although the region has an abundance of raw materials in its hills and forests, the state of India has been hard-pressed to get at those resources because it cannot effectively control them. And while Naxalites call for the improvement of the lives of the people they claim to represent, they have resisted any government attempt to develop the area’s economy. Indeed, the low level of trust between the Naxalites and New Delhi creates the conundrum of how the government can possibly provide security without developing sufficient infrastructure and how infrastructure can possibly be developed without sufficient security. An example of this can be seen in the Naxalites’ constant sabotaging of area roads by planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) under road surfaces or simply digging roads up. Roads are necessary for development, but Naxalites view roads as a means for the government to send its forces into their territory.

Eager to stimulate growth in the region, the central government promised foreign investors land without communicating, much less negotiating, with locals inhabiting the land, which naturally led to disputes between the locals, the foreign companies and the government. A famous example of an ongoing dispute involves the South Korean steel conglomerate POSCO, which is in the process of acquiring some 4,000 acres in Orissa state on which to build a $12 billion steel mill. The project has been delayed by protests and violence by locals opposed to the project, and police have been unable to secure the area to permit construction. Only now, some five years after the government promised the land to POSCO, is local compensation being negotiated.

India’s economic success has meant that foreign investors like POSCO are increasing their presence in India, which means that locals like the Naxalites are faced with both a threat and an opportunity. Outside business interests (whether investors from South Korea or wealthy prospectors from central India) in partnership with the government pose the greatest threat to the Naxalite movement. On the other hand, outside investment could bring jobs and development to an area that is desperately poor. But Naxalites are skeptical of letting the government control anything in their region, and successful economic development would have a calming effect on the region’s radicalized militants. Movements like that of the Naxalites have an array of motivations for why they do what they do, but self-preservation is always a very high priority.

The other opportunity is to force the central government or foreign investors to pay the group directly for any land in the region. Naxalites can raise the stakes by organizing more militant force to deny access to certain areas, sabotage transportation and commercial activity and otherwise mobilize the locals. This would essentially be a large-scale protection racket. The model has been implemented and followed successfully by other militant groups, most notably Nigeria’s Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which manages to extract concessions from energy giants operating in Nigeria’s oil-rich but dismally poor Niger Delta, and even from the Nigerian government itself. While Maoist leaders in eastern and central India do make statements about how commercial projects in the area need to provide locals with jobs, it is clear that Naxalites are also trying to enhance their capability to pursue the second option.

The Threat

Naxalites are honing the capability to construct and deploy IEDs, conduct armed raids and maintain an extensive, agile and responsive intelligence network. As seen in the examples above, Naxalite fighters can be opportunistic in their attacks. The April 6 raid on the soldiers in Dantewada and the May 17 bus attack were both actions that took advantage of opportunities to target and kill police forces. The April 6 raid was the culmination of two or three days of stalking the CRPF unit in the forest and waiting for the right time to strike. The May 17 bus attack was organized in a matter of hours, with spotters noticing the police on the bus and alerting other cadres who planted the device further down the road. This flexibility and autonomy among its various component parts, along with the group’s local support and indigenous knowledge of its turf, make the Naxalites a dangerous adversary against the slower moving, more deliberate and more predictable CRPF.

New Delhi insists that, according to the constitution, the Naxalite problem is one of law and order and, thus, a responsibility for the states to address. New Delhi has deployed the CRPF, but it has not gone so far as to deploy the military, something that many Indian politicians have called for as the only solution to the problem. While military advisers have been sent in to train local and federal police forces in the Red Corridor, they have not engaged in any known anti-Naxalite operations. India has unpleasant memories of past deployments of its military forces to address domestic threats. In the 1980s, use of the army to deal with Sikh militancy was criticized as being too heavy-handed. Military action at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, codenamed Operation Blue Star, also fanned the flames of Sikh militancy and sparked a series of serious reprisal attacks that included the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who had ordered the operation.
Also, the Indian military insists it is currently focused on fighting Islamist and separatist forces in Jammu and Kashmir in northwest India, along the disputed border with Pakistan, and is dealing with multiple ethno-separatist movements in the northeast region of India surrounded by China and Bangladesh. While Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has labeled the Naxalite issue the biggest threat to the country’s internal security, incidents like the 2008 Mumbai attacks provide evidence to most Indians that Pakistan and the militants who hide there pose a greater external threat.

In the end, Naxalism is fairly contained. Despite threats and indications from Naxalites that they will attack urban targets throughout India, the group has yet to demonstrate the intent or ability to strike outside of the Red Corridor. But the group’s leaders and bombmakers could develop such a capability, and it will be important to watch for any indication that cadres are developing the tradecraft for urban terrorism. Even if they do not expand their target set and conduct more “terrorist-type” attacks, the Naxalite challenge to the state could materialize in other ways. The Naxalite organization is a sophisticated one that relies not only on militant tactics but also on social unrest and political tactics to increase its power. Naxalites have formed sympathetic student groups in universities, and human-rights groups in New Delhi and other regional capitals are advocating for the local tribal cause in rural eastern India.

Instead of using violence, these groups stage protests to express their grievances against the state. And they underscore the Naxalite ability to use both militant violence and subtle social pressure to achieve their goals. Even if the government did decide to deploy the military to combat the Naxalites in eastern India, it would face a tough fight against a well-entrenched movement — something New Delhi is not likely to undertake lightly or any time soon.

This report is republished with permission of STRATFOR

A new, updated, Dr. Seuss book:

From a friend in New Orleans...

I do not like this Uncle Sam,

I do not like his health care scam.

I do not like these dirty crooks,

or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,

I do not like their secret deals.

I do not like this speaker, Nan ,

I do not like this 'YES WE CAN.'

I do not like this spending spree,

I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.

I do not like your smug replies,

when I complain about your lies.

I do not like this kind of hope.

I do not like it, nope, nope, nope!

HIZONORDAGOV of Jersey, Chris Christie for the second time this weekend

Can we clone him and make him the GOP canidate in 2012...

Christie looks to privatize motor vehicle inspections, other services

New Jersey would close its centralized car inspection lanes and motorists would pay for their own emissions tests under a sweeping set of recommendations set to be released by the Christie administration today.

State parks, psychiatric hospitals and even turnpike toll booths could also be run by private operators, according to the 57-page report on privatization obtained by The Star-Ledger. Preschool classrooms would no longer be built at public expense, state employees would pay for parking and private vendors would dish out food, deliver health care and run education programs behind prison walls.

All told, the report says, New Jersey could save at least $210 million a year by delivering an array of services through private hands.

"The question has to be, ‘Why do you continue to operate in a manner that’s more
costly and less effective?’ rather than, ‘Why change?’ " said Richard Zimmer, the former Republican congressman who chaired the task force.

The answer is of course doing it in the "more costly and less effective" way justifies someone's BS job...now they may have to actually work for a living.

Keep going Gov, keep it up!

Limbaugh to New York...Drop Dead!

He said he would cut all ties to the place...gee Governor Paterson I guess you won't miss the money the man paid you in taxes...

Limbaugh Gets Mega Millions on Condo Sale - WSJ.com

A year after railing about the high tax burden on wealthy New Yorkers, Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk-show host, is severing one more tie with New York, selling his lushly decorated Fifth Avenue penthouse to an undisclosed buyer.

Mr. Limbaugh's 10-room condominium, which features a 30-foot-wide living room with fireplace and four terraces overlooking Central Park at East 86th Street, went into contract Thursday for a bit under the final $12.95 million asking price, brokers said...One broker familiar with the transaction said the final price was about $11.5 million. Mr. Limbaugh paid just under $5 million for the apartment as well as a maid's room and a storage locker, in 1994.

Last year when New York state adopted a temporary income-tax surcharge to raise more than $3 billion a year, Mr. Limbaugh said on his radio show that he was going to "get out of New York totally" and sell his Manhattan apartment.

One, this is New York...no tax is temporary.

Two, he's not the only one leaving...and as long as the idiots in Albany and NY City keep taxing the productive members of the city/state at an oppressive rate businesses are going to leave. Just like California, last one out turn out the lights.

Fingerprints to go skating...only in California

If you need fingerprints to secure the skating park, close the park...

Fingerprints Now Required At Poway Skate Park
New Security Measure Took Effect Friday Evening
POWAY, Calif. -- A popular skate park in Poway unveiled a new security measure Friday that is being met with some opposition.

At the Poway Skate Park, surveillance cameras capture the every move of every visitor. Additionally, motion detectors are also present and a wrought iron fence surrounds the park. Some visitors said the security measures are a bit much....

...Up until 6 p.m. Friday, skaters could simply walk right through and pretty much do whatever they want.

After 6 p.m., however, a fingerprint scan will be required in order to enter the skate park. Skaters will have to register their fingerprints and have a photo taken in advance.

City officials said the new security measure will allow law enforcement to determine who was at the park if something were to happen there. The city also said the added security measure is an effort to stop an increase in vandalism, drug use and break ins that have plagued the park for the last five years.

PolitiZoid - Money for Nothing

Thank you Tamara at View from the Porch....and you're right, this is great!

George Orwell would have loved this one...

For those of you who didn't read the classic 1984, one of the things the main character Winston had to do was remake old photo's to change history. He would cut out people who had fallen from favor from group photos, etc.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, here we go again. From the July 19th edition of the National Review

At a London museum called Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Experience, the giant photo above the entrance shows a familiar image—Churchill decked out in a military uniform and making his famous V sign. But a closer look reveals that his mouth is twisted in an odd grin. A private Churchillian joke? No, just a clumsy job of airbrushing out Winnie’s everpresent cigar. Churchill thus becomes the latest victim of the U.K.’s army of health zealots, who evidently fear that the original image would create a new generation of hardened smokers. Did Britain’s servicemen sacrifice life and limb so their country could be transformed into a nation of fusspots? If so, America’s servicemen did too, since a statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt at his memorial in Washington has quite clearly had FDR’s trademark cigarette holder censored out. Joseph Stalin, who smoked a pipe and wielded a mean airbrush himself, would no doubt be amused; and decades from now, if we’re still around, we won’t be surprised to see a giant image of our current president glowering over the entrance to Barack Obama’s America in Default xperience and popping a Nicorette.

As an occasional cigar smoker I am offended at this....nothing beats a good Habana Reserve with a glass of Scotch after a long ass week to unwind. But as a free thinking man and an ardent admirer of the greatest Prime Minister Britain ever had this is disgusting. What next, are we going to paint over the pictures of the English troop's weapons, we don't want to think there was any fighting going on and guns are banned “Over There!”. I mean is a little historical revision that bad...

What next, will they air brush out the extermination camps too...oh right, they already are doing things like that...don't want to offend people (I guess Jews ain't in the "don't offend group")

HIZONORDAGOV of Jersey, Chris Christie on how to handle a budget

I’ve posted before on my admiration for Governor Christie and the fact he doesn’t back down from a challenge. He managed to get his budget passed without increasing tax rates or new taxes and he is abusing the state legislature by calling them into special session continually to get property tax reform done. Hey Gov, keep them occupied…like children if they are busy they can’t do that much bad.

But one of the things I liked was in Governor Christie’s property tax reform were two exceptions. One for debt service and the other for things the people vote on. Whooo, what a concept. Let the people who pay the taxes decide how they will be spent. I think we should go with this!

From the interview:

That's exactly what my proposal is. Change the constitution and cap it and only let there be two exceptions for that 2.5 percent cap, debt service because you want municipalities and counties to pay the debt back to the people that lent the money to them.

GIGOT: Right.

CHRISTIE: And secondly, voter override. If the voters want to spend more money on property taxes because they favor a particular project or program that costs more, let them decide. But the professional politician deciding has been a failure for 30 years.

GIGOT: But here's the Democrats say. They say Governor Corzine had a cap, it was at four percent. And the Democrats now are saying we're doing better than that. We have a proposal for 2.9. Two point nine percent, 2.5 percent, what is the difference, Governor? Why won't you play ball with our cap? Why go all the way down to 2.5 percent?

CHRISTIE: The problem with their cap at 2.9 is the same problem with Corzine's at four percent. That's all the exception. They had 10 different exceptions to cap, exceptions for health care costs, fuel costs, pension payments. And in fact the best one of it all, the tenth exception is, any money that is spent for the general health, safety or welfare of the town.

GIGOT: Which is just about anything in government.

CHRISTIE: That's exactly right.

The entire interview is a little over six minutes and well worth it.

Damned, he won't run in 2012...I would love to see B Hussein Obama in a debate with this man!

RealClearPolitics - Video - Olbermann Knocks Angle For Comparing Herself To Lincoln

Some liberals have a well deserved reputation for being arrogant idiots…John Kerry, the haughty French looking Massachusetts liberal who by the way served in Vietnam…ALGORE…Mrs. Bill Clinton….B Hussein Obama. But Keith Overman is in a league all his own.

Keith was trying to insult soon to be Senator Angle and said he didn’t know Abe Lincoln’s election record.…he said Lincoln only lost one. This is too funny, you can’t make this up.

RealClearPolitics - Video - Olbermann Knocks Angle For Comparing Herself To Lincoln

From the American Spectator:

MSNBC: Red-Faced Over Olbermann Lincoln Gaffe?

Obeying President Obama's dictum that it's always educational to check in with what the other side is saying, I checked in with MSNBC's Countdown the other night.


...Olbermann, who delights in calling her Sharron "Obtuse" Angle " -- pounced.

And promptly shot himself in the foot. Both feet, actually.

Instantly picking up on the Lincoln reference, Olbermann could barely contain his glee at the notion of Angle as Lincoln.

"Just for the record do you how many elections Abraham Lincoln lost in his lifetime?" he asked, leering into the camera. With drama benefitting Gloria Swanson as the fading star in Sunset Boulevard, Olbermann holds up a solitary finger. Then goes on to say: "The Illinois state assembly in 1832. He prevailed in four elections for state assembly, one for Congress, two for president…. seven of eight he won."

Ouch. As if this wasn't embarrassing enough -- the blithely unknowing host ends by saying this, an allusion to the famous Lloyd Bentsen "I-knew-Jack-Kennedy and Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" line to Dan Quayle.

Said Keith:

"Sharron Angle, I knew Abraham Lincoln's won-loss record and you're no Abraham Lincoln."

Ouch. Ouch. And ouch again. You have to wonder -- was there a single MSNBC suit sliding under their desk at this point? Did they even know enough basic American history to know they might wish to consider the option? Was there anybody who had the guts to say to this barking fountain of factual error:

"No, Keith, you don't know Abraham Lincoln's won-loss record. Not even close."

For the record -- drum roll please -- Sharron Angle was 100% correct in saying Lincoln lost a "few" elections.

Here's Abraham Lincoln's actual score with elections.
He did indeed win four state assembly elections, and lose in 1832, just as Olbermann says. In fact, Abe ran 8th in a field of 13 candidates back there in 1832.

Alas for Keith, who apparently relies on some crackpot if unmentioned website as opposed to checking with, say, the works of Pulitzer Prize winning Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg, Ms. Angle has the goods:

Here's Lincoln's record with voters, per Sandburg:

1832 -- Lost his first race for the state assembly

1834 -- Won a seat in the state assembly

1836 -- Won re-election

1838 -- Won re-election

1840 -- Won re-election

1842 -- Lost a race for Congress to John Hardin (per biographer Sandburg. Lincoln actually came in behind a friend, Edward D. Baker -- losing his own Sangamon County delegates to Baker. Later, he would name one of his sons for Baker). Lincoln structures deal that Hardin, Baker and finally himself would each serve back-to-back single terms in Congress.

1846 -- Wins congressional seat, succeeding his friend Baker, who had succeeded Hardin. As per the Lincoln deal.

1854 -- Elected again to the Illinois legislature, but loses a race for the United States Senate to Lyman Trumbull. Writes to a friend: "I regret my defeat moderately, but I am not nervous about it." Mary Lincoln was so enraged at this loss that she never again spoke to Trumbull's wife Julia -- who had been a bridesmaid at Mary and Abe's wedding.

1856 -- Loses the vice-presidential nomination of the new Republican Party to William L. Dayton, a former U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Dayton received 259 votes to Lincoln's 115, becoming the running mate of John Charles Fremont. Hearing of his defeat, Lincoln laughs and says, "It must be some other Lincoln."

1858 -- Lincoln loses a race for the United States Senate to legendary rival Senator Stephen A. Douglas. In the course of the campaign, the two travel Illinois in what are known to history as the "Lincoln-Douglas" debates. The debates help make Lincoln -- and his pro-union, anti-slavery argument -- famous.

1860 and 1864 -- Elected and re-elected president.

In other words, Keith Olbermann was not only wrong but so wide of the truth and the facts as to give Bill Clinton on Monica a good reputation. Sharron Angle, on the other hand, was right. Making her remark 100 percent factually correct.

Lincoln ran 13 times, according to biographer Sandburg, not eight as Olbermann said with such assured smugness. Lincoln lost not once, as Mr. Drama Queen asserted, but, again according to the Pulitzer winning biographer, five times. Once for the state assembly, once for Congress, once for vice-president and twice for U.S. Senator. The latter Senate race famous to this day.

...Question: Is Keith Olbermann secretly on Sharron Angle and Glenn Beck's payroll? Come on. Really. How much does Roger Ailes pay him to do this stuff?

Ya just can't make it up.

Ben Stein....he does it again

From the American Spectator, our favorite boring teacher!

The Nation's Pulse

Helpless

By Ben Stein

A few weeks ago, I bought a book of front pages of newspapers from World War II. I have been reading it avidly ever since. The news is terrifying and uplifting, of course. But it is the sense of Western resolve against the Axis powers that is so powerful. There is a purpose in the stories of the whole nations of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union joined to fight the Nazi and Japanese war machines. Fighting, producing, rationing, restraining, cheering, mourning, all done with a will to win.

And, you had no doubt whose side the newspapers were on.

Now, it is all different. The major newspapers sometimes seem to try for impartiality between us and the terrorists. The headlines are at least as hard on our armed forces as on the terrorists. As my wife said, "I have no doubt whose side the big papers are on. The enemy's."

But the sadness of reading those old newspaper stories as compared with today's news has more to do with a sense of purpose and determination. From Pearl Harbor on, the U.S. was determined to win. Not to just keep slogging, but to win. From September 1, 1939 on, the British were determined to win, and thus to "...brace ourselves to our duty so that if the British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour." (I get chills just reading it.)

Let's be honest Ben, the morons in the cabinet today can't tie Churchill's shoe!

Now, we are helplessly bogged down in Afghanistan, begrudging the military every fighting man and humiliating the commanding general for his staff's trivial improprieties. Now, we are leaving Iraq, with that situation (let's be honest here), a complete violent mess, helpless to stop it.

At home, we are helpless to stop the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico despite offers to help from abroad. Helpless to lift ourselves out of a long lasting and cruel recession. Helpless to get housing started again. Helpless to put people back to work.

Just helpless. We have slid a long, long way. What's the problem? We still are a great people. We have great men and women fighting for us, great workers in the labor force. The problem is the uncertain sound of the trumpet, and it has been uncertain now for a very long time.

The country deserves better. Can we even remotely say that this is our finest hour? Even remotely? It is sad times.

That requires leadership. And unfortunately Ben this country elected idiots who don’t know the term.

Oakland...you knew it was going to happen

Last week I posted on how it looked like Oakland would have riots no matter what the verdict in the BART cop's case. Well, here is it...

California transit cop verdict sparks looting

LOS ANGELES/OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - A white former transit police officer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a videotaped shooting death of an unarmed black man last year in Oakland, California, sparking a wave of looting and destruction in the city on Thursday.

The verdict prompted a peaceful protest by up to 1,000 people in downtown Oakland, which gave way after nightfall to some people looting stores, smashing car windows, throwing powerful fireworks at police and lighting fires in trash cans.

The police, numbering in the hundreds, made more than 50 arrests, but Oakland police expected that figure could double.

"This city is not the wild, wild West," Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts told a televised news conference. "This city will not tolerate this activity."...
...Looters targeted stores selling jewelry and beauty supplies and grabbed shoes from a Foot Locker store in downtown Oakland, while the phrase "Riot for Oscar" was spray-painted on a bank building, according to a Reuters eyewitness.

"It's definitely chaotic," said Sgt. J.D. Nelson, an Alameda County Sheriff spokesman, adding that Oakland's police were being helped by officers from other municipalities.

Sorry chief but I don't belive that...this is the Wild Wild West. How is stealing stuff from the Foot Locker and other store doing justice to anyone.

...The defendant in the racially charged trial, Johannes Mehserle, 28, testified that he mistakenly drew his gun instead of his electric Taser and shot Oscar Grant, 22, while trying to subdue him during a confrontation on New Year's Day 2009.

But prosecutors, who sought a conviction for second-degree murder, said Mehserle had "lost all control" and shot Grant on purpose because he thought Grant was resisting arrest.

Jurors can render an involuntary manslaughter conviction if they believe the defendant lacked an intent to kill but engaged in conduct so grossly negligent that it amounts to a crime.

It generally carries a sentence of two to four years in prison, but the jury also accepted a sentencing "enhancement" for Mehserle's use of a handgun.

But don't worry....the usual suspect will help calm the situation before another person gets killed or injured....right!

"We are outraged that the jury did not find guilty of murder in a case that is so egregiously excessive and mishandled," said Benjamin Todd Jealous, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

If you haven’t been there California is a beautiful state. But it's also as corrupt as the day is long, as wrongheaded as can be, it's leadership is clueless, abusing productive members of society (e.g. business owners) while coddling punks like the idiots at the NAACP. Now you have an economy in shambles, the state a half trillion dollars in debt, they are starving an agricultural heaven to save a snail and then they wonder why people are leaving the state in droves. As I said to my friend that is no way to live.

Good news on the oil drilling ban

Thank you God!

The Obama administration lost its court bid to maintain a six-month moratorium on offshore deepwater drilling which a federal judge ordered lifted last month.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's emergency request to stay that judge's order pending appeal.

The motion was denied because the government failed to show "a likelihood of irreparable injury if the stay is not granted," the appeals panel judges wrote in a 2-1 ruling.

The government also "made no showing that there is any likelihood that drilling activities will be resumed pending appeal." ....

...President Barack Obama acknowledged the moratorium would cause economic harm, but said it was necessary to give investigators adequate time to understand what caused the accident and create new safety regulations.

Oil companies and Louisiana politicians railed against the moratorium, saying it would cause further economic devastation and that rigs and drilling plans should simply be inspected on a case-by-case basis.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal hailed the court's decision Thursday but expressed concern that the uncertainty has created a "de facto moratorium" which could cost the state 20,000 jobs.

Gentlemen, you are missing a large point. B Hussein Obama doesn't care if John Q Public loses his job. Especially in a Red State. This is payback for not voting for the Obama regime.

Obama voters, how's that hope and change working out for you!
Obama loses drilling moratorium appeal

California does it again

Just when you think California can't get any more crazy, here they go again, to paraphrase the last great governor of the state.

S.F. considers banning sale of pets except fish
...law under consideration by San Francisco's Commission of Animal Control and Welfare. If the commission approves the ordinance at its meeting tonight, San Francisco could soon have what is believed to be the country's first ban on the sale of all pets except fish.

That includes dogs, cats, hamsters, mice, rats, chinchillas, guinea pigs, birds, snakes, lizards and nearly every other critter, or, as the commission calls them, companion animals.

"People buy small animals all the time as an impulse buy, don't know what they're getting into, and the animals end up at the shelter and often are euthanized," said commission Chairwoman Sally Stephens. "That's what we'd like to stop."

San Francisco residents who want a pet would have to go to another city, adopt one from a shelter or rescue group, or find one through the classifieds.

The Board of Supervisors would have final say on the matter. But not before pet store owners unleash a cacophony of howling, squeaking and squawking.

"It's terrible. A pet store that can't sell pets? It's ridiculous," said John Chan, manager of Pet Central on Broadway, which has been in business 30 years. "We'd have to close."

'Terrible for our business'

Joe Taylor, bird manager of Animal Connection on Judah Street, called the proposal "ludicrous."....

I gotta say I love companion animal...only from liberal land.

Now ladies and gentle idiots of the board do you really think you are going to solve this problem. If someone wants a pet they will get them. The only result will be the closing of many businesses and the loss of hundreds of jobs in the city which you can ill afford to lose. Then again to ask a group that would even contemplate this kind of ordinance to be rational and think is to ask a bit much.

Last person out of San Franciso turn out the lights....

What's going on in the World Today 100706

USA

NSTR


EUROPE

Germany, Syria: Suspected Al Qaeda Recruiter Arrested

July 7, 2010

German police arrested a 24-year-old Syrian man suspected of recruiting for the militant Islamist network al Qaeda on the Internet, according to federal prosecutors, Reuters reported July 7. The man, named only as Hussam S., is believed to have posted around 100 pieces of propaganda on websites since September 2007 to attract new members for al Qaeda and other Islamist groups, the federal prosecutors’ office in Karlsruhe said in a statement.

EU: Iran Air Aircraft Banned From Europe July 6, 2010
The European Union has banned Iran Air’s Boeing 727s and 747s, as well as the airline’s Airbus 320s, from flying to Europe following a safety audit, UK Press Association reported July 6. An EU spokeswoman said the decision was not tied to current international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

RUSSIA
Russia, Iran: Naval Maneuvers Begin July 7, 2010
Iran claimed that Russia was participating this week in the first-ever joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency, Israel National News reported July 7. A senior Iranian ports authority official was quoted as stating that the drill was aimed at preventing pollution and improving search and rescue operations coordination between the two nations. Called the “Regional Collaboration for a Secure and Clean Caspian,” the two-day drill reportedly combines military objectives with environmental goals and involves an estimated 30 vessels.

Russia, U.S.: Spy Swap Requested July 7, 2010
Russia wants to swap a scientist jailed on charges of spying for Britain for one of the suspected Russian agents detained in the United States last month, according to a lawyer for the scientist, Reuters reported July 7. Russia wants to exchange Igor Sutyagin for those accused of spying in the United States, Anna Stavitskaya, a lawyer acting for Sutyagin, said by telephone. She added that Russia wants the swap to take place July 8. She said she did not know for whom he would be exchanged. Stavitskaya said Sutyagin would be sent initially to Britain.

Russia: New North Caucasus Strategy Announced July 6, 2010
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a new strategy July 6 to counter Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus, Reuters reported. The strategy, in contrast to past positions, focuses on social and economic policies aimed at reducing poverty, ending corruption and developing a productive dialogue with human rights organizations. Putin told members of his ruling party in Kislovodsk, a city just east of the mainly Muslim regions of the North Caucasus, that the government needs to show it can guarantee the safety of its investments from criminals, corrupt officials and protection rackets in the region.

Russia: START Not Intended To Limit U.S. BMD Plans July 6, 2010
Russia did not attempt to limit the development of U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems when writing the new START treaty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said July 6 at parliamentary hearings on the treaty, Interfax news agency reported.

Russia, U.S.: Arms Treaty Ratification Planned July 6, 2010
The Russian and U.S. parliaments are planning to prepare a new strategic arms cuts treaty for ratification by late July, RIA Novosti reported July 6. Konstantin Kosachyov, who heads the international affairs committee in the lower house of the Russian parliament, said Russian and U.S. lawmakers were continuing consultations on the issue. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed that the ratification processes should be simultaneous.

France: Russia To Buy Mistrals July 5, 2010
Russia will buy French Mistral class helicopter carriers with navigational equipment and technical documentation, but equip the ships with its own weaponry and helicopters, according to a defense industry source, RIA Novosti reported July 5. Fire control systems will be included, the source said. Russia plans to use the helicopter carrier in northern latitudes, in ice floe, the source stated, adding that the hull of the ship will need to be reinforced, but it will not seriously change its structure or technical equipment. The Russian military said it plans to use Mistral ships in its Northern and Pacific fleets.

IRAN
Iran: Bushehr Launching By Late September July 7, 2010
Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is due to be launched by late September now that a critical final test has been completed, Reuters reported July 7, citing Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. Salehi said the project has reached “the point of no return” and start-up will take place during the Iranian month that begins on Aug. 23.

Iran: Nuclear Work Will Not Stop - Atomic Chief July 7, 2010
The new sanctions Iran faces may slow down work on its nuclear program, but they will not halt efforts, including work on uranium enrichment, AFP reported July 7, citing Tehran’s atomic energy chief, Ali Akbar Salehi.

Iran: Tehran Reactor Continues Operations July 6, 2010
Iran will do its best to continue operation of the Tehran research reactor to produce medical radioisotopes, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, IRNA reported July 6. He said since the fuel for the research reactor is currently limited, the site is not fully operational. He expressed hope that the fuel for the reactor would be provided soon. According to rules and regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), all member states should be provided with fuel for their peaceful nuclear activities, he stated.

Iran: Sanctions Will Not Hurt July 5, 2010
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said U.N. Security Council sanctions will not hurt Iran and only serve to safeguard Western powers, Press TV reported July 5. Speaking in the city of Bonab in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan, Ahmadinejad said there is no need for Iran to mobilize the nation to counter sanctions, adding that the country is vigilant and the awareness prompted a movement across Iran. Ahmadinejad stated that Iran is resolute to conquer the highest peaks of progress around the globe, and called on the Iranian nation to strengthen its unity to achieve this goal.

Iran: Gas Subsidies To End July 5, 2010
Iran will halt the sale of subsidized petrol beginning in late September as part of plans to phase out subsidies on energy products, according to Mohammad Royanian, head of Iran’s fuel transportation organization, ISNA reported July 5. He did not say what the new, unsubsidized price of petrol would be.

Iran: Passenger Jets Refused Fuel July 5, 2010
Iran said Britain, Germany and the United Arab Emirates are refusing to provide fuel to Iranian passenger planes, ISNA reported July 5. The move, which has not been confirmed, follows unilateral sanctions “imposed by the United States,” the news agency reported. The secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union said Iran Air and Mahan Airlines had refueling problems, adding that refusing to provide fuel to Iranian passenger planes by these countries is violation of international conventions. A lawmaker said Iran would retaliate. Germany’s Transport Ministry would not comment but said refueling Iranian planes was not banned under EU or U.N. sanctions.

Iran: Refueling Denials Denied July 6, 2010
Iran said claims made by some Iranian officials that its passenger planes were being denied refueling by airports in Britain, Germany and the United Arab Emirates were “false,” The News International reported July 6. The refueling of Iran’s planes is continuing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters, adding that previous reports were false.

IRAQ
Iraq: Army Pulls Out Of Qaratapa July 6, 2010
The Iraqi army, U.S. forces and the Kurdish Security Forces’ tripartite committee agreed on July 5 that the army’s Fourth Brigade should pull out from Qaratapa and security should be handed to the police, AKnews reported July 6, citing Sirwan Shukur, Qaratapa administrator. Shukur said there are peshmergas in the area; the move follows a July 5 confrontation between the army and the peshmergas.

ISRAEL

Turkey: Israel Sends UAV Trainers July 6, 2010
Israel allowed its team that was training Turkish military officers on Predator unmanned aircraft to return to Turkey to continue the training program, but Israeli officials are still in discussions with Turkey as to whether another team can come back to train Turkish officers on the Heron unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Today’s Zaman reported July 6. Although military sources said the Israeli Predator training team returned to Turkey, the same sources noted that Israel declined to send the Heron training officers back because of security concerns. Israel requested special security for its officers but Turkey turned down the request.

Turkey, Israel: Drill Withdrawal Announced July 6, 2010
Following the Israeli government’s refusal to officially apologize to Turkey for its aid flotilla raid, Turkey officially announced its withdrawal from a joint military drill set to be conducted with U.S. and Israeli navies in the Mediterranean next month, Anatolia news agency reported July 6. An official Turkish Defense Ministry letter to the Israeli side conveyed Turkey’s withdrawal decision.`

Turkey: Israeli Officials Dismiss Apology July 5, 2010
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said his country has no intention to apologize to Turkey over the Gaza flotilla incident, Xinhua reported July 5. Turkish policy has seen dramatic domestic changes, Lieberman said during a meeting with visiting Latvian officials. He said Israel believes this position is “mistaken.” Ehud Barak, Israel’s Defense Minister, described last week’s meeting between Israeli and Turkish officials as a “mistake.” The meeting was aimed at clarifying Turkey’s stand and presenting claims against Israel, like an international inquiry and compensation, Barak said, adding that he thought it would be wrong to hold such a meeting.

Turkey: Military Ties To Continue - Israeli Commander July 6, 2010
Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said on July 6 that he was in contact with his Turkish counterpart in order to maintain relations, Reuters reported. Speaking to Israeli lawmakers privately, Ashkenazi said he thought Turkey was constrained in its political direction because it is a NATO member and it is dependent on Western military hardware. He said military ties will continue, although some exercises have been canceled. He said he expects military cooperation to continue, something that is needed in “turbulent times.”

AFGHANISTAN
U.K.: Troops In Afghanistan To Leave Sangin - BBC July 6, 2010
British Defense Secretary Liam Fox is expected to announce that British troops in Afghanistan will transfer responsibility for the Sangin area of Helmand province to U.S. forces, BBC reported July 6. The transfer could happen by the end of 2010.

Afghanistan: $4.2 Billion Transferred Through Airport July 6, 2010
At least $4.2 billion in cash was flown out of the Kabul airport in the past three and a half years, a higher amount than previously reported on June 28, AFP reported July 6. British daily The Times reported the higher figure, citing a letter from Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal to U.S. lawmaker Nita Lowey, who blocked additional aid to Afghanistan following allegations that suitcases of cash from U.S. aid were transferred out of the country. Zakhilwal stated that records show $4.2 billion was transferred in cash through Kabul International Airport alone. He said the amount could be higher.

Afghanistan: Mobile Telephone Towers Targeted July 6, 2010
Taliban motorcyclists fired rockets at Roshan and Etisalat mobile telephone towers at midnight on July 6, local time, in Afghanistan’s Kokal Dash village, Jowzjan province, setting them on fire, Pajhwok reported, citing the head of Faizabad district. The Taliban had warned Roshan employees to cease operations from 10 p.m. until the morning in Jowzjan, Sar-i-Pul and Balkh provinces, an unnamed worker said, but the employees refused. A Taliban commander had no information on the incidents.

Afghanistan: Rules Of Engagement May Change July 5, 2010
U.S. Senator John McCain said incoming commander Gen. David Petraeus could tweak the way the war is fought on the ground in Afghanistan, following two days of talks and battlefield tours, AFP reported July 5. Petraeus indicated there could be adjustments to the rules of engagement with the war bogged down after nine years, McCain told reporters in a press conference at a Kabul airport. McCain said he believed the counter-insurgency would succeed following the deployment of thousands more troops to the Taliban heartland of Kandahar. McCain said Kandahar is key to a successful strategy, but it is just beginning.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

NSTR


MISC

South Korea, U.S.: Navy Drill Postponed July 6, 2010
South Korea and the United States will hold joint naval drills in the Yellow Sea after the United Nations takes action against North Korea for its sinking of the South Korean warship ChonAn, according to Col. Lee Bung Woo, spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, AP reported July 6.

Obama appoints Berwick to head Medicare and Medicaid

More great news from Dope and Shaft, err Hope and Change

Obama appoints Berwick to head Medicare and Medicaid during congressional recess - Political Intelligence - A national political and campaign blog from The Boston Globe - Boston.com">Obama appoints Berwick to head Medicare and Medicaid during congressional recess

By Globe Staff

WASHINGTON — President Obama will use the congressional recess to bypass the Senate and appoint Harvard Professor Donald Berwick tomorrow to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, a White House official said tonight.

Berwick, a pediatrician and president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a not-for-profit organization in Cambridge, is widely respected by many veteran policy officials, but Republicans, calling him an advocate of “rationing’’ health care, had been expected to grill him on his views during his confirmation hearing. GOP leaders had also intimated they would use the hearings as a forum to reopen the battle on President Obama’s health care law.

Yes, he is in favor of rationing health care. In case you need to be reminded



Now this is "objective journalism"

In vowing to fight his nomination, GOP lawmakers have cited Berwick’s support for controlling costs and his statements praising aspects of the United Kingdom’s national health system. They contend his positions show that he would seek to transform US health care into a tightly controlled system, reducing patient choices and delaying treatments.

No kidding Globe Staff. Everyone wants to control cost. But this over educated moron (I feel I must remind you that just because you have a doctorate degree that makes you educated....may not make you that bright) seems to think the way to do that is to have a huge bureaucracy that is insulated and in no way accountable to the consumers of services. We have examples of that already...Medicare...Medicaid...Social Security.

But I give him this. Doc, how about you live under the British NHS and deal with it first then get back to us....pray you don't get sick.

Hey Obama voters, didn't your man-child say there was going to be no rationing...if you liked your medical coverage you could keep it. Hey, how's that hope and change working out for you.

STRATFOR: Geopolitical Weekly : The Caucasus Cauldron

By George Friedman

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited some interesting spots over the July 4 weekend. Her itinerary included Poland and Ukraine, both intriguing choices in light of the recent Obama-Medvedev talks in Washington. But she also traveled to a region that has not been on the American radar screen much in the last two years — namely, the Caucasus — visiting Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The stop in Poland coincided with the signing of a new agreement on ballistic missile defense and was designed to sustain U.S.-Polish relations in the face of the German-Russian discussions we have discussed. The stop in Ukraine was meant simply to show the flag in a country rapidly moving into the Russian orbit. In both cases, the trip was about the Russians. Regardless of how warm the atmospherics are between the United States and Russia, the fact is that the Russians are continuing to rebuild their regional influence and are taking advantage of European disequilibrium to build new relationships there, too. The United States, still focused on Iraq and Afghanistan, has limited surplus capacity to apply to resisting the Russians. No amount of atmospherics can hide that fact, certainly not from the Poles or the Ukrainians. Therefore, if not a substantial contribution, the secretary of state’s visit was a symbolic one. But when there is little of substance, symbols matter.
That the Poland and Ukraine stops so obviously were about the Russians makes the stops in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia all the more interesting. Clinton’s statements during the Caucasian leg of her visit were positive, as one would expect. She expressed her support for Georgia without committing the United States to any arms shipments for Georgia to resist the Russians, who currently are stationed inside Georgia’s northern secessionist regions. In Azerbaijan and Armenia, she called on both countries to settle the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region within western Azerbaijan proper. Armenia took control of the region by force following the Soviet collapse. For Azerbaijan, the return of Nagorno-Karabakh under a U.N. resolution is fundamental to its national security and political strategy. For Armenia, retreat is not politically possible.



This means Clinton’s call for negotiations and her offer of U.S. help are not particularly significant, especially since the call was for Washington to help under the guise of international, not bilateral, negotiations. This is particularly true after Clinton seemed to indicate that the collapse in Turkish-Armenian talks was Turkey’s responsibility and that it was up to Turkey to make the next move. Given that her visit to the region seems on the surface to have achieved little — and indeed, little seems to have been intended — it is worth taking time to understand why she went there in the first place, and the region’s strategic significance.
The Strategic Significance of the Caucasus

The Caucasus is the point where Russia, Iran and Turkey meet. For most of the 19th century, the three powers dueled for dominance of the region. This dispute froze during the Soviet period but is certainly in motion again. With none of these primary powers directly controlling the region, there are secondary competitions involving Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, both among these secondary powers and between the secondary powers and the major powers. And given that the region involves the Russians, Iranians and Turks, it is inevitable that the global power would have an interest as well — hence, Hillary Clinton’s visit.

Of all the regions of the world, this one is among the most potentially explosive. It is the most likely to draw in major powers and the most likely to involve the United States. It is quiet now — but like the Balkans in 1990, quiet does not necessarily reassure any of the players. Therefore, seven players are involved in a very small space. Think of it as a cauldron framed by Russia, Iran and Turkey, occasionally stirred by Washington, for whom each of the other three major powers poses special challenges of varying degrees.

The Caucasus region dominates a land bridge between the Black and Caspian seas. The bridge connects Turkey and Iran to the south with Russia in the north. The region is divided between two mountain ranges, the Greater Caucasus to the north and the Lesser Caucasus in the south; and two plains divided from one another, one in Western Georgia on the Black Sea and another, larger plain in the east in Azerbaijan along the Kura River. A narrow river valley cuts through Georgia, connecting the two plains.

The Greater Caucasus Mountains serve as the southern frontier of Russia. To the north of these mountains, running east to west, lies the Russian agricultural heartland, flat and without any natural barriers. Thus, ever since the beginning of the 19th century, Russia has fought for a significant portion of the Caucasus to block any ambitions by the Turkish or Persian empires. The Caucasus mountains are so difficult to traverse by major military forces that as long as Russia maintains a hold somewhere in the Caucasus, its southern frontier is secure. During the latter part of the 19th century and for most of the Soviet period (except a brief time at the beginning of the era), the Soviet position in the Caucasus ran along the frontier with Turkey and Persia (later Iran). Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia were incorporated into the Soviet Union, giving the Soviets a deep penetration of the Caucasus and, along with this, security.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the three Caucasian republics broke free of Moscow, pushing Russia’s frontier north by between about 160 to 320 kilometers (100-200 miles). The Russians still maintained a position in the Caucasus, but their position was not secure. The northern portion of the Caucasus consisted of Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and others, all of which had significant Islamist insurgencies under way. If the Russians abandoned the northeastern Caucasus, their position was breached. But if they stood, they faced an interminable fight.

Georgia borders most of the Russian frontier. In the chaos of the fall of the Soviet Union, various Georgian regions attempted to secede from Georgia with Russian encouragement. From the Georgian point of view, Russia represented a threat. But from the Russian point of view, Georgia represented a double threat. First, the Russians suspected the Georgians of supporting Chechen rebels in the 1990s — a charge the Georgians deny. The more important threat was that the United States selected Georgia as its main ally in the region. The choice made sense if the United States was conducting an encirclement strategy of Russia, which Washington was doing in the 1990s (though it became somewhat distracted from this strategy after 2001). In response to what it saw as U.S. pressure around its periphery, the Russians countered in Georgia in 2008 to demonstrate U.S. impotence in the region.
The Russians also maintained a close relationship with Armenia, where they continue to station more than 3,000 troops. The Armenians are deeply hostile to the Turks over demands that Turkey admit to massacres of large number of Armenians in 1915-16. The Armenians and Turks were recently involved in negotiations over the normalization of relations, but these talks collapsed — in our view, because of Russian interference. The issue was further complicated when a U.S. congressional committee passed a resolution in March condemning Turkey for committing genocide, infuriating the Turks.

One of the countercharges against Armenia is that it has conducted its own massacres of Azerbaijanis. Around the time of the Soviet breakup, it conducted a war against Azerbaijan, replete with the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis in a region known as Nagorno-Karabakh in western Azerbaijan, leaving Azerbaijan with a massive refugee problem. While the U.N. Security Council condemned the invasion, the conflict has been frozen, to use the jargon of diplomats.

The Importance of Azerbaijan

For its part, Azerbaijan cannot afford to fight a war against Russian troops in Armenia while it also shares a northern border with Russia. Azerbaijan also faces a significant Iranian problem. There are more Azerbaijanis living in Iran than in Azerbaijan; Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a prominent Azerbaijani-Iranian. The Soviets occupied all of Azerbaijan during World War II but were forced to retreat under British and American pressure after the war, leaving most of Azerbaijan inside Iran. The remainder became a Soviet republic and then an
independent state.

The Azerbaijanis are deeply concerned about the Iranians. Azerbaijan is profoundly different from Iran. It is Muslim but heavily secular. It maintains close and formal relations with Israel. It has supported the war in Afghanistan and made logistical facilities available to the United States. The Azerbaijanis claim that Iran is sending clerics north to build Shiite schools that threaten the regime. Obviously, Iran also operates an intelligence network there.

Adding to the complexity, Azerbaijan has long been a major producer of oil and has recently become an exporter of natural gas near the capital of Baku, exporting it to Turkey via a pipeline passing through Georgia. From the Turkish point of view, this provides alternative sources of energy to Russia and Iran, something that obviously pleases the United States. It is also an obvious reason why Russia sees Azerbaijan as undermining its position as the region’s dominant energy exporter.

The Russians have an interest, demonstrated in 2008, to move southward into Georgia. Obviously, if they were able to do this — preferably by a change in government and policy in Tbilisi — they would link up with their position in Armenia, becoming a force both on the Turkish border and facing Azerbaijan. The Russians would like to be able to integrate Azerbaijan’s exports into its broader energy policy, which would concentrate power in Russian hands and increase Russian influence on Russia’s periphery. This was made clear by Russia’s recent offer to buy all of Azerbaijan’s natural gas at European-level prices. The Turks would obviously oppose this for the same reason the Russians would want it. Hence, the Turks must support Georgia.
Iran, which should be viewed as an Azerbaijani country as well as a Persian one, has two reasons to want to dominate Azerbaijan. First, it would give Tehran access to Baku oil, and second, it would give Tehran strategic bargaining power with the Russians, something it does not currently have. In addition, talk of present unrest in Iran notwithstanding, Iran’s single most vulnerable point in the long term is the potential for Azerbaijanis living in Iran to want to unite with an independent Azerbaijani state. This is not in the offing, but if any critical vulnerability exists in the Iranian polity, this is it.

Consider this from the American side. When we look at the map, we notice that Azerbaijan borders both Russia and Iran. That strategic position alone makes it a major asset to the United States. Add to it oil in Baku and investment by U.S. companies, and Azerbaijan becomes even more attractive. Add to this that its oil exports support Turkey and weaken Russian influence, and its value goes up again. Finally, add to it that Turkey infuriated Azerbaijan by negotiating with Armenia without tying the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh to any Turkish-Armenian settlement. Altogether, the United States has the opportunity to forge a beneficial relationship with Azerbaijan that would put U.S. hands on one of Turkey’s sources of oil. At a time when the Turks recognize a declining dependence on the United States, anything that could increase that dependence helps Washington. Moreover, Azerbaijan is a platform from which Washington could make the Iranians uncomfortable, or from which to conduct negotiations with Iran.

An American strategy should include Georgia, but Georgia is always going to be weaker than Russia, and unless the United States is prepared to commit major forces there, the Russians can act, overtly and covertly, at their discretion. A Georgian strategy requires a strong rear base, which Azerbaijan provides, not only strategically but also as a source of capital for Georgia. Georgian-Azerbaijani relations are good, and in the long run so is Turkey’s relation with these two countries.

For Azerbaijan, the burning issue is Nagorno-Karabakh. This is not a burning issue for the United States, but the creation of a stable platform in the region is. Armenia, by far the weakest country economically, is allied with the Russians, and it has Russian troops on its territory. Given that the United States has no interest in who governs Nagorno-Karabakh and there is a U.N. resolution on the table favoring Azerbaijan that serves as cover, it is difficult to understand why the United States is effectively neutral. If the United States is committed to Georgia, which is official policy, then it follows that satisfying Azerbaijan and bringing it into a close relationship to the United States would be beneficial to Washington’s ability to manage relations with Russia, Iran and Turkey.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Azerbaijan a month ago and Clinton visited this weekend. As complex as the politics of this region are to outsiders, they are clearly increasing in importance to the United States. We could put it this way: Bosnia and Kosovo were obscure concepts to the world until they blew up. Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia are equally obscure now. They will not remain obscure unless strategic measures are taken. It is not clear to us that Clinton was simply making a courtesy call or had strategy on her mind. But the logic of the American position is that it should think strategically about the Caucasus, and in doing so, logic and regional dynamics point to a strong relationship with Azerbaijan.

This report is republished with permission of STRATFOR

UPDATE:

Russia: New North Caucasus Strategy Announced

July 6, 2010

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a new strategy July 6 to counter Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus, Reuters reported. The strategy, in contrast to past positions, focuses on social and economic policies aimed at reducing poverty, ending corruption and developing a productive dialogue with human rights organizations. Putin told members of his ruling party in Kislovodsk, a city just east of the mainly Muslim regions of the North Caucasus, that the government needs to show it can guarantee the safety of its investments from criminals, corrupt officials and protection rackets in the region.

America Held Slimy Day ?????

From this news on Tuesday:

A third oil-capture vessel was partially hooked-up and siphoning oil at the Deepwater Horizon well as rough weather delayed efforts to finish the job, Reuters reported July 6. The vessel will increase the oil-capture capacity at the leak to 53,000 barrels a day. Government officials and BP are expected to decide whether to move a fourth vessel to the leak in the next seven to ten days.

The man-child B Hussein Obama who said "I won't rest until this is fixed" and "...I need to know who's ass to kick..." is in charge of the clean up. He didn't cause this but he is in charge of making it right. He has a lot of statutory authority to do so. It's taken him over 2 months to get oil capture vessels out there. We still haven't waved the Jones act to get foreign assistance.

The explosion was a tragedy....but the actions since then have been a cluster and I'll leave you to fill in the blank.

Hey Obama voters, how's that hope and change working out for you?