$50 light bulbs - MANDATED

I am going shopping



LED bulbs hit 100 watts as federal ban looms




By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer
Mon May 16, 2011



.NEW YORK – Two leading makers of lighting products are showcasing LED bulbs that are bright enough to replace energy-guzzling 100-watt light bulbs set to disappear from stores in January.

Their demonstrations at the LightFair trade show in Philadelphia this week mean that brighter LED bulbs will likely go on sale next year, but after a government ban takes effect.

The new bulbs will also be expensive — about $50 each — so the development may not prevent consumers from hoarding traditional bulbs.

The technology in traditional "incandescent" bulbs is more than a century old. Such bulbs waste most of the electricity that feeds them, turning it into heat. The 100-watt bulb, in particular, produces so much heat that it's used in Hasbro's Easy-Bake Oven.

To encourage energy efficiency, Congress passed a law in 2007 mandating that bulbs producing 100 watts worth of light meet certain efficiency goals, starting in 2012. Conventional light bulbs don't meet those goals, so the law will prohibit making or importing them. The same rule will start apply to remaining bulbs 40 watts and above in 2014. Since January, California has already banned stores from restocking 100-watt incandescent bulbs.

Creating good alternatives to the light bulb has been more difficult than expected, especially for the very bright 100-watt bulbs. Part of the problem is that these new bulbs have to fit into lamps and ceiling fixtures designed for older technology.

Compact fluorescents are the most obvious replacement, but they have drawbacks. They contain a small amount of toxic mercury vapor, which is released if they break or are improperly thrown away. They last longer than traditional bulbs but not as long as LEDs. Brighter models are bulky and may not fit in existing fixtures.

Another new lighting technology, organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, has had problems reaching mass production. OLEDs are glowing sheets or tiles, rather than pinprick light sources, as LEDs are. They're used as vibrant color screens for smartphones, particularly from Samsung Electronics Co.

But making OLEDs that are big, bright, cheap and long-lasting enough for use as light sources has proved difficult, in part because they use chemicals that are sensitive to oxygen and spoil unless sealed very carefully.

Acuity Brands Inc., an Atlanta-based maker of light fixtures, will be showing some OLED panels at the show. They will go on sale next year, but the price will likely make them technology showpieces rather than candidates for everyday lighting.

LEDs are efficient, durable and produced in great quantities, but they're still expensive. An LED bulb can contain a dozen light-emitting diodes, or tiny semiconductor chips, which cost about $1 each.

The big problem with LEDs is that although they don't produce as much heat as incandescent bulbs, the heat they do create shortens the lifespan and reduces the efficiency of the chips. Cramming a dozen chips together in a tight bulb-shaped package that fits in today's lamps and sockets makes the heat problem worse. The brighter the bulb, the bigger the problem is.

The most powerful pear-shaped LED bulbs in stores today — the kind that fits existing lamps — produce light equivalent to a 60-watt bulb, though there are more powerful ones for directional or flood lighting.

Osram Sylvania, a unit of Germany's Siemens AG, said it has overcome the heat problem and will be showing a pear-shaped 100-watt-equivalent LED bulb this week. It doesn't have a firm launch date, but it usually shows products about a year before they hit store shelves.

Lighting Sciences Group Corp., a Satellite Beach, Fla.-based company that specializes in LED lighting, will be showing several 100-watt-equivalent prototypes, including some that solve the problem of cooling the LEDs by using microscopic devices that move air over the chips, like miniature fans.

Before the 100-watters, there will be 75-watters on the shelves this year. Osram Sylvania will be selling them at Lowe's starting in July. Royal Philips Electronics NV, the world's biggest lighting maker, will have them in stores late this year for $40 to $45.

However, 60-watt bulbs are the big prize, since they're the most common. There are 425 million incandescent light bulbs in the 60-watt range in use in the U.S. today, said Zia Eftekhar, the head of Philips' North American lighting division. The energy savings that could be realized by replacing them with 10-watt LED bulbs is staggering.

To stimulate LED development, the federal government has instituted a $10 million "L Prize" for an energy-efficient replacement for the 60-watt bulb. Philips is so far the only entrant in testing, and Eftekhar expects the company to win it soon. But Lighting Sciences Group plans its own entry, which it will demonstrate at the trade show.

Philips has been selling a 60-watt-equivalent bulb at Home Depot since December that's quite similar to the one submitted to the contest. But it's slightly dimmer, consumes 2 watts too much power and costs $40, whereas the L Prize target is $22. Sylvania sells a similar LED bulb at Lowe's, also for $40.

However, LED prices are coming down quickly. The DoE expects a 60-watt equivalent LED bulb to cost $10 by 2015, putting them within striking range of the price of a compact fluorescent bulb.

Bob Karlicek, the director of the Smart Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., thinks that price is achievable.

But, he said, "it's not necessarily clear to people in the lighting industry that LED chips were ever meant to go into a bulb."

What's really needed, he said, is a new approach to lighting — new fixtures and lamps that spread out the LEDs, avoiding the heat problem.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
way to go

Racism and Hatred in Egypt

Have you ever heard that only whites can be racist? 

The argument basically treads the following:  only those who hold power can be racist, therefore, blacks cannot be.  Whites can be, because they have always held power.

One doesn't need to agree, just understand this view, held by many people who would self-identify themselves as left or left of left.   Most large media sources would fall into the left of center category based on the fact a majority of their employees / reporters/ anchors self-identify as left.

Even when blacks protested or rioted, it was regarded as significant because they held no power, and consequently, their choice to risk all, meant that the system was truly broken (whatever the issue they were demonstrating / protesting).

So, in Egypt when Christians are protesting ....





Mob attacks Christian protest in Egypt


5/15/2011

CAIRO (AP) — An angry mob attacked a group of mainly Christian protesters demanding drastic measures to heal religious tension amid a spike in violence, leaving 65 people injured, officials said Sunday.

The Christian protesters have been holding their sit-in outside the state television building in Cairo for nearly a week following deadly Christian-Muslim clashes that left a church burned and 15 people dead.

More than 100 people rushed into the sit-in area, lobbing rocks and fire bombs from an overpass and charging toward the few hundred protesters sleeping in the area. Vehicles were set on fire and fires burned in the middle of the street.

Police and army troops fired in the air to disperse the crowd, and a tree was set on fire under the overpass.

The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the attackers had returned to avenge an earlier scuffle with the protesters who prevented a motorist from going through the area. A fight ensued, and the motorists fired blank rounds. The protesters chased the motorist and beat him badly.

Marc Mino, a protest organizer, told state TV the motorists had provoked the fight after refusing to be searched before entering the protest area, then provoking the protesters.

Medics said 65 were injured in Sunday's melee, two in critical condition. The security official said nearly 50 of the riot instigators were arrested.

A witness, Alfred Raouf, said armored vehicles later blocked traffic and pedestrians from going down from the bridge toward the protest area. The number of protesters at the sit-in shrunk, but those remaining insisted the strike would continue as their area was cordoned off by the security, Raouf said.

Religious clashes and a rising wave of crime have proved to be a major challenge for Egypt's military rulers in the days following the 18-day uprising that led to the Feb. 11 ouster of ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

Following the religious violence, the military vowed to respond firmly to instigators of violence and promised to respond to a number of the Christian demands, including reopening nearly 50 churches. But no trial date has been set for those responsible for the church burning or the violence last week.

Just hours before the Cairo violence, several suspected Islamic extremists bombed the tomb of a Muslim saint in the northern Sinai town of Sheik Zweid, said a security official, also declining to be identified because he wasn't authorized to release the information. The official said the eight or nine attackers fled the area. Muslim radicals have blown up at least five other Muslim shrines, because they believe the veneration of saints as a violation of Islam.

Meanwhile, doctors said Egypt's ex-first lady Suzanne Mubarak was in stable condition after treatment for a "panic attack" and has effectively been put under arrest in the hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh pending further investigation of corruption allegations, officials said Saturday.


Suzanne Mubarak fainted and suffered chest pains following a three-hour interrogation Friday which ended with a decision to detain her for 15 days as prosecutors looked at the sources of her wealth. She has been accused of taking advantage of his position for personal gain.

Health Minister Ashraf Hatem said the 70-year old Suzanne Mubarak was in stable condition Saturday after a 24-hour monitoring period in the intensive care unit of the hospital in the Red Sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh. She is in the custody of the police, Hatem said, according to Egypt's state news agency MENA.

Later, a second team recommended she remain under observation for an additional 48 hours, according to the hospital's director, Dr. Mohammed Fatahallah. He said the team determined that Mrs. Mubarak still has high blood pressure and suffers from chest pains, and an angioplasty may be necessary. He was speaking to the Associated Press.

The continuing treatment makes it unlikely she will be transferred quickly to a Cairo women's prison facility, where she had been expected to be moved.

Earlier, a hospital official had told the Associated Press that Mrs. Mubarak on Friday "suffered from a sudden panic attack after hearing that she will be sent to prison." The hospital official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to release the information before further tests were conducted.

Suzanne Mubarak's 83-year-old husband also is being treated in the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital, for a heart condition.

The former president had been questioned several times about allegations that he illegally amassed vast wealth, but Mrs. Mubarak was interrogated on Thursday for the first time on corruption charges.

The Mubaraks and other members of the former regime have been the subject of legal efforts to bring them to trial since the ex-president was forced to resign Feb. 11.

The process has been complicated by slow procedures and — in the Mubaraks' case — by health issues. Many in the protest movement have been critical of the current military rulers for being slow in pursuing corrupt officials, although many former regime members have been jailed.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
egypt

French Socialist IMF: Rape and Assault and an attempt to flee

You can't make this stuff up.

Of course there will be people who claim this was all set up by Sarkozy, but sometimes people just stumble into their own mess.


- he has had 3 wives (which in itself means nothing except)
- he admitted to an indiscretion last year (which does not indicate guilt of a crime)
- he has a special relationship with Air France to get on any of their planes at any time in First Class, which he did (odd for a socialist isn't it - to expect such perks from a capitalist enterprise).
- he left without his phone and other personal items





IMF boss Strauss-Kahn pulled off plane, arrested in sodomy probe



By PHILIP MESSING, JAMIE SCHRAM, LARRY CELONA and BILL SANDERSON
May 14, 2011
New York Post




The French political bigshot who heads the International Monetary Fund was arrested for allegedly sodomizing a Manhattan hotel maid today — hauled off an Air France flight just moments before takeoff from Kennedy Airport, police said.

Three Port Authority detectives pulled Dominique Strauss-Kahn from the plane’s first-class cabin just two minutes before it was due to depart for Paris, according to police sources said.

Strauss-Kahn, 62 — who was expected to challenge Nicholas Sarkozy in the 2012 French presidential election — was turned over to NYPD officers and brought to the Special Victims Unit’s uptown squadroom.

The trouble began around noon, when a 32-year-old housekeeper entered Strauss-Kahn’s room at the Sofitel on West 44th Street — apparently unaware he was still inside.

The married Strauss-Kahn was in his bathroom, said sources. He emerged naked, grabbed her and "he jumps her," a source said.

Then, Strauss-Kahn allegedly threw the housekeeper on the room’s bed and forced her to perform oral sex on him, said the sources.

The maid managed to break free and ran to a hotel worker to tell what happened, said a source. Soon afterward, Strauss-Kahn got dressed and headed off to Kennedy Airport for his flight to Paris.

When he was approached on the plane by Port Authority cops, he said, "What is this about?" sources said. He was then taken off without handcuffs.

Two law enforcement sources said Strauss-Kahn was trying to flee the US. Police said he left his cellphone and other personal items in the room.

Strauss-Kahn, who had a meeting planned for today with German chancellor Angela Merkel, has a special arrangement with Air France that allows him to get on any flight and sit in first class, the sources said. He was traveling alone.

The NYPD’s Special Victims Unit is investigating the case, the sources said.

The victim was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where she was being treated for trauma.

Strauss-Kahn, a leader of France’s Socialist Party, is a longtime rival to Sarkozy, who was said in a news report today to have kicked off a smear campaign that focused on his lavish lifestyle. It included Strauss-Kahn’s purchase of suits from the same tailor who clothes President Obama.

But Strauss-Kahn seems able to find trouble on his own. In 2008, he publicly admitted to "an error of judgment" for having an affair with an IMF subordinate.

In France’s 2007 vote, Strauss-Kahn lost the Socialist Party nomination to Segolene Royal, who in turn fell to defeat against Sarkozy, leader of the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement.

But Sarkozy, who still sees Strauss-Kahn as his likeliest electoral rival, is believed to have maneuvered him out of France by backing him to head the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.

Strauss-Kahn is married to New York-born Anne Sinclair, a leading French TV journalist. She is his third wife; he has four children from two prior marriages.

A spokeswoman for the US State Department had no immediate comment. IMF did not immediately return calls.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
elitists

How much do things cost: Taxed on the taxes.

I went to the store today to buy a widget.  The price was $3.28.  I decided that was too much to pay and came home and looked on the internet.  I found the company that makes this widget and after several hours of scouring the reports and white papers on this widget, I learned that the cost to manufacture the item was .0475.

I was livid until I saw the company records.  They made a profit, quite a bit of profit as a matter of fact.  About 3000% profit.  But that is not the entire story.  If 3000% was not bad enough, the cost for packaging, boxing, transporting, and ancillary costs to the process is another $1.17.  Combined the entire cost from start through the sales is $2.7175.   That does not explain the other .56.   

There is a State fee on transportation, a green fee on development, a federal fee for waste, a state fee for waste disposal, a federal processing assessment (F.P.A.), a federal highway transportation fee, a federal and state packaging fee disposal assessment, and a national sales assessmnent fee.  Total, those fees and assessments equal 56 cents.

The item I held cost 4 cents and the fees were over 56 cents.

Then came the tax.  Los Angeles county tax and state tax.

(Even assuming the profit of $1.50 plus the .0475 cost and rounding that up to 5 cents, would give us $1.55 before tax, but no, the fees and assessments are more than the item.)


When it was done, the total charge was $3.84 for the item that cost .0475 to produce.













fees

New York: Population: Dwindling

You CANNOT tax people on taxes on top of taxed products and still believe in any delusional state of mind that they will stay around very long.  When they leave, you must necessrily raise more taxes to compensate for their having left (and reducing your revenue).

The answer - cut and slash.  Don't tax.




1 in 3 Young New Yorkers Want to Leave State

Those under 30 say it's too expensive


By John Johnson, Newser Staff
May 13, 2011 4:24 PM CDT



(Newser) – This can't bode well for New York state: A new poll shows that more than a third of residents under 30 want to move away within five years, notes DNAinfo. The big reasons: Jobs, taxes, and the cost of living. The percentage of wannabe bag-packers drops from 36% to 24% for those living specifically in New York City, notes the Gothamist blog. A hefty 77% of the 941 poll respondents of all ages consider the state expensive for an average family.

“New Yorkers are feeling the financial squeeze on the home front," writes Lee M. Miringoff of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “Right now, many young people do not see their future in New York state. Unchecked, this threatens to drain the state of the next generation."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
taxes

Russia's Sham Democracy

If this was stated by an American, few would listen.  When it is the last Soviet leader, speaking about what he sees in Russia today - I surely hope so.  I wouldn't listen to Gorbachev on issues related to non-Russian issues, but when it comes to Russia and Democracy ... he has a clue.



Mikhail Gorbachev lambasts Vladimir Putin's 'sham' democracy

Former Soviet leader launches harshest criticism yet of Russia's ruling regime ahead of 80th-birthday celebrations




Miriam Elder in Moscow
guardian.co.uk
Monday 21 February 2011


Russia under prime minister Vladimir Putin is a sham democracy, Mikhail Gorbachev has said in his harshest criticism yet of the ruling regime.

"We have everything – a parliament, courts, a president, a prime minister and so on. But it's more of an imitation," the last president of the Soviet Union said.

Gorbachev, who oversaw the , has become increasingly critical of the modern Russian state, accusing its leaders of rolling back the democratic reforms of the 1990s.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of his 80th birthday, Gorbachev criticised Putin for manipulating elections.

In response to the prime minister and former president's comments that he and his protégé, President Dmitry Medvedev, would decide between them who would run for office in March 2012, Gorbachev said: "It's not Putin's business. It must be decided by the nation in elections."

He called Putin's statements a sign of "incredible conceit".

Asked how he thought the regime approached human rights, Gorbachev said: "There's a problem there. It's a sign of the state of our democracy." He was echoing statements made by Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, during a visit to Russia last week.

Gorbachev said United Russia, the ruling party founded with the sole goal of supporting Putin's leadership, was a throwback.

"United Russia reminds me of the worst copy of the Communist party," he said. "We have institutions but they don't work. We have laws but they must be enforced."

Its stranglehold over political life would eventually backfire. "The monopoly ends in rotting and hampers the development of democratic processes."

Gobachev said he did not like how Putin and Medvedev were behaving. "It's a shame that our modern leaders aren't very modern," he said.

Gorbachev now runs a charity foundation that will hold a gala at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 30 March to mark his birthday. He co-owns the country's leading opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta.

Held up in the west as a hero for his softening of the Soviet system and eventual acceptance of its fall, Gorbachev remains widely despised inside Russia, where he is seen as a traitor who allowed the empire to crumble and ushered in a period of great uncertainty. Over the years he has aligned himself with the cause of Russia's sidelined liberals.

On Monday, Gorbachev called the regime's campaign against jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky politically motivated. "Politics shouldn't have been involved in [the case], but they were," he said.

He noted the case of Natalya Vasilieva, a court clerk who worked on the Khodorkovsky trial and broke ranks to publicly announce that the judge had been pressured throughout and had a verdict and sentence pushed on him.

"I fully believe her," Gorbachev said. "People can't stand it anymore – she saw what was happening with her own eyes."


















russia

Scientists warn of $2,000bn solar ‘Katrina’

By Clive Cookson in Washington
February 20 2011 17:50
Financial Times


The sun is waking up from a long quiet spell. Last week it sent out the strongest flare for four years – and scientists are warning that earth should prepare for an intense electromagnetic storm that, in the worst case, could be a “global Katrina” costing the world economy $2,000bn.

Senior officials responsible for policy on solar storms – also known as space weather – in the US, UK and Sweden urged more preparedness at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.

We have to take the issue of space weather seriously,” said Sir John Beddington, UK chief scientist. “The sun is coming out of a quiet period, and our vulnerability has increased since the last solar maximum [around 2000].”

“Predict and prepare should be the watchwords,” agreed Jane Lubchenco, head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “So much more of our technology is vulnerable than it was 10 years ago.”

A solar storm starts with an eruption of super-hot gas travelling out from the sun at speeds of up to 5m miles an hour. Electrically charged particles hit earth’s atmosphere 20 to 30 hours later, causing electromagnetic havoc.

Last week’s solar storm may have been the biggest since 2007, but it was relatively small in historical terms.

It caused some radio communications problems and minor disruption of civil aviation as airlines routed flights away from the polar regions, said Dr Lubchenco.

A more extreme storm can shut down communications satellites for many hours – or even cause permanent damage to their components. On the ground, the intense magnetic fluctuations can induce surges in power lines, leading to grid failures such as the one that blacked out the whole of Quebec in 1989.

The 11-year cycle of solar activity is quite variable and the present one is running late, with the next maximum expected in 2013.

The peak was not expected to be very strong but that should not cause complacency, said Tom Bogdan, director of the US Space Weather Prediction Center.

The most intense solar storm on record, which ruined much of the world’s newly installed telegraph network in 1859, took place during an otherwise weak cycle. An 1859-type storm today could knock out the world’s information, communications and electricity distribution systems, at a cost estimated by the US government at $2,000bn.

In terms of terrestrial vulnerability, the biggest change since the 2000 peak is that the world has become more dependent on global positioning system satellites – and not just for navigation. The world’s mobile phone networks depend on ultra-precise GPS time signals for their co-ordination.



























solar

Navy SEALs Fear for Safety



SECURITY BOOSTED AS FORCES EXPRESS WORRY



By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff
May 13, 2011 3:25 AM CDT



(NEWSER) – New security precautions are being implemented as US Navy SEALs involved in Osama bin Laden's killing are expressing fears for their safety and the safety of their loved ones. The team communicated their worries to Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a meeting last week, he revealed. Al-Qaeda has vowed to avenge the death of their leader, and threats against US forces has increased, reports the BBC. "We are looking at what measures can be taken to pump up the security" for the team, Gates told Marines during an appearance at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

"There has been a consistent and effective effort to protect the identities of those who participated in the raid. I think that has to continue," he added. Security has also been beefed up to protect President Obama's grandmother in Africa, who has also been the target of threats


**********************************************

Not interested in the grandmother.  That would be unmanly for them to go after her, and that alone might prevent that.  As for Kenyan police protecting her... she would be better off giving up now and sparing the policemen their lives.

What is interesting, I think, is the comment section of the paper - nutters tend to read this as if the SEALS have a fear for their lives.  Please.  These men have no fear of anyone at anytime.  The writing was done poorly and worse, the readers were less than able to make any large steps in reading a few paragraphs without falling asleep.

They are afraid for their families.  Al Qaida will spend considerable time combing all research available to find out who is in the SEALS, they will locate their families, and will strike. 

The media in this country are not jumping around - this is even worse than that foolish twit who worked at CIA.  These assassins will slaughter the entire family, as many as they can find - all because one or two people at the White House or an idiot in Congress released the unit and name.  Rather than simply saying - US Special Forces ... they were specific to a unit.  Wrong and now it will impact every future action by this unit - the men will be thinking of their families when they need to be thinking about their job - all thanks to the idiot in the White House or Congress.

Talk about investigations - this one needs a thorough investigation to find the first two people who opened their mouths, and have them fired, whoever they might be.

If any family member is harmed it will be their personal responsibility.
























idiots

Superman hates then loves America

Superman: I Still Love America


After dropping citizenship, hero salutes land of 'second chances'

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff
 May 13, 2011 12:25 PM CDT


(Newser) – Superman made headlines last month with his decision to drop his US citizenship—but he’s still American at heart. That’s made clear in a new issue of Superman, which features the superhero reaffirming his love for the country, Bleeding Cool reports. “That’s the American way. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness—and second chances. None of us are forced to be anything we don’t want to be,” he says, gazing up at Metropolis.

The Man of Steel then reflects on “people from all over America—from all over the world —who went to the city to live the lives they wanted, to be the people they wanted to be. That’s the idea that America was founded on, but it’s not just for people born here. It’s for everyone.” Even people from different planets, apparently. Says Allahpundit at Hot Air: “I’m willing to let him stay if he undergoes a background check, pays back taxes, and learns English.”


Now, why might this be ... well, he renounced his citizenship in #900 (we'll call this Monday) and then decides he loves America on Tuesday.  One cannot give up citizenship and then call it fair and square but still love America.  Sorry, it does not work like that, even if you think it does.  Nope.  DC received so much opposition, so many angry people, it was a tidal wave that would capsize the house of DC, and they went to work to fix the boo boo.

They lost their honor in the process, but may have saved the house of DC.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
comics

2012: It's the end of the world, and they seem to know it.

Apocalypse Angst Adds to Terrorist Threat as Rich Russians Acquire Bunkers




By Lyubov Pronina –
May 12, 2011 1:01 PM PT



Terrorism can be good for bunker builders. An apocalypse can be even better for business.

Danila Andreyev started building “panic rooms” three years ago, when fears of terrorist attacks and commercial disputes turning violent created demand in Russia. Now he’s selling “survival bunkers” for as much as $400,000 each to capitalize on angst over theories the world will end next year.

“I myself am not a believer in doomsday scenarios,” Andreyev, 31, whose Spetsgeoproekt company is completing 15 bunkers at hidden locations across Russia, said at his office in central Moscow. “But when you start hearing clients talking about the end of the world, it gets you thinking.”

While Russia has been a target for terrorists, with 37 people dying in a blast at Moscow’s busiest airport in January, more people are looking to protect themselves from what Andreyev calls a “global cataclysm” in 2012 based on predictions such as interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar.

Northwest Shelter Systems, a company based in Sandpoint, Idaho, that specializes in nuclear bomb shelters, has seen the number of inquiries from potential customers rise as much as 60 percent since the March tsunami and earthquake in Japan, Allen Thompson, vice president, said by e-mail.

The Vivos Group, a California-based bunker builder with a website that features a meteor striking Earth, said requests for a shelter in one of its facilities jumped by 10 times since the disaster, which left about 25,000 people dead or missing.

Be Prepared

“Hundreds of applications” come from Russia and other former Soviet states, Vivos founder Robert Vicino said by e- mail. The nearest Vivos shelter is at an unidentified location in central Europe, he said. It costs about $25,000 per person.

“Every person has a different belief or sense of what may be ahead for all of us,” Vicino said. “Vivos is not about 2012, but having a life assurance solution for our families for whenever disaster strikes.”

Vivos is building facilities in the U.S. and elsewhere. It said in January it was considering buying a two-story bunker constructed for the U.K. government in 1990 in rural Scotland.

Spetsgeoproekt, which stands for Special Geological Projects, plans to open a showroom in the affluent Moscow neighborhood of Rublevka this year and is expanding into Russia’s regions, Andreyev said.

The company’s bunkers range from 35 to 90 square meters (377 to 969 square feet). Maintaining the unit, including the air system, runs about $2,500 a year, he said.

Avoiding Floods

Altai, the mountainous southern Siberian region that borders China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, is of particular interest because it’s believed to be “flood proof,” Andreyev said. Spetsgeoproekt started building an 80 square-meter, $350,000 bunker in Altai.

“They all say the same thing: Next year there’ll be a polar shift or something and most of Russia will be flooded except for Altai and a few other regions,” Andreyev said.

Alexei, 35, one of Andreyev’s clients, said distress over the coming apocalypse prompted him in February to order the construction of a $150,000 bunker big enough to shelter eight people outside of Moscow. He declined to give his full name to keep it secret that he ordered a bunker.

Something catastrophic will certainly happen next year, Alexei said in a telephone interview.

“It all points to some shake-up on Dec. 21, 2012,” Alexei said, citing his interpretations of the doomsday predictions of 16th century French apothecary Nostradamus, the blind Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga and the Mayan calendar.

Soviet Designs

Andreyev said his bunkers are based on Soviet military designs from the 1970s and modified with modern technologies. The walls resemble those used in nuclear power stations and the air systems are akin to those used in spaceships and submarines. The doors are similar to those in Swiss bank vaults, he said.

Russia has a history of bunker building, particularly during the Cold War amid fears of a nuclear attack.

Several previously secret facilities in and around Moscow opened to the public since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, including a 7,000 square-meter compound 60 meters below Taganka Square in central Moscow that’s been turned into a Cold War museum. It can be rented for parties and weddings.

It may be a sign of the times that Yevgeny Ubiyko, a former Red Army engineer who served in what was once Czechoslovakia, feels the need to start producing floating bunkers. Ubiyko, 45, built his own 32 square-meter “mobile safe” that he now advertises on his website, offering to replicate it for anyone willing to pay at least $80,000. He has four orders so far.

“With seismic activity increasing and abnormal weather events becoming more frequent, it’s clear the trend is such that soon the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan will seem like a minor event,” Ubiyko said by telephone. “People are starting to think about shelters, like Noah and his ark.”





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
end of the world

Pakistani Intellect

And we are supposed to care what other people think.  Respect what they believe?

Even when they are complete and total idiots? 



ROBBINS: Pakistanis say bin Laden was not behind 9/11


James S. Robbins
Washington Times
Published on May 9, 2011

Most people in Pakistan either think Osama bin Laden had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, or that he did and they were justified. According to a survey of Pakistanis released last Friday by YouGov, 46% believe that "Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda had nothing to do with the [9/11] attacks" and 6% say that "Osama Bin Laden rightly authorized the attacks as part of a justified war against American values and imperialism." Only 16% were willing to say that the attacks "were a criminal, terrorist action organized by Al-Qaeda and authorized by Osama Bin Laden," while 31% chose not to offer an opinion.

Other key results from the survey include:

Two thirds of respondents do not believe the person killed in the Abbottabad raid was Osama bin Laden;

Despite Obama administration claims that bin Laden's burial at sea was in accordance with Islamic practices, 75% disapproved of it and say "he should have been given a Muslim burial on land;"

75% disapprove of U.S. actions in the takedown, while only 11% approve;

77% oppose a U.S. troop presence in Pakistan;

Despite the Obama administration's obsequious outreach to Islam, 74% believe the U.S. government does not respect Islam and considers itself at war with the Muslim world;

86% oppose Pakistan government cooperation with U.S. drone attacks on militant groups.

To their credit, 70% of Pakistanis do not believe that Islamabad should accept U.S. foreign assistance, so at least they are sincere in their dislike of our country. But it says a lot about the Obama administration's failure to deliver the promised new era of relations between Pakistan and the United States.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pakistan

Amid Arab protests, U.S. influence has waned




By Liz Sly
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, February 4, 2011; 4:04 AM

BAGHDAD - In days gone by, it was pretty much guaranteed that any demonstration in the Arab world would feature burning American flags and a blazing effigy or two of the U.S. president.

At the pro-democracy demonstrations on the streets of Cairo and elsewhere, references to the United States have been conspicuously absent, a sign of what some analysts are already calling a "post-American Middle East" of diminished U.S. influence and far greater uncertainty about America's role.


For just as burning flags are not part of the current repertoire, neither are demonstrators carrying around models of the Statue of Liberty, as Chinese activists brought to Tiananmen Square in 1989. Middle East activists say they avoid references to the United States as a political role model for fear of alienating potential supporters, said Toujan Faisal, a veteran democracy campaigner in Jordan who has been advising young protesters in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

"I don't think America appeals to the younger generation," she said. "I'm cautious not to present them with the American example because there's a negative attitude to America, a disappointment."






















foolishness

Iraq - Pay us for the roads you damaged when you drove on them

I believe we should pay them.

After they pay us for the sanitation plants we built they never had.  After they pay us for the electric plants that did not function, that do now.

After they pay us for the schools we built, the books we brought, the roads we built, the infrastructure we provided via our urban planning engineers.

After they pay for the time and labor on the above - we will still owe them a bit.

Then we can bill for the rebuilt cities - the shia now live in communities with services and hope.  Schools and stores, jobs and opportunity for some.

They can pay us for removing the tyrant and the cost of military equipment.

They can pay us for the loss of American lives and for the cost of maintaining the stability of Iraq for seven years so they can now be at a point to ask us to pay for their roads.

We can bill for man hours, air hours, fuel costs, food costs ...

When we finish, we can spread the debt they owe us over 100 years and they can pay us in oil, and we promise we will not raise this issue again - unless they raise the issue of their roads again.




Baghdad wants U.S. to pay $1 billion for damage to city




BAGHDAD

Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:44am EST




(Reuters) - Iraq's capital wants the United States to apologize and pay $1 billion for the damage done to the city not by bombs but by blast walls and Humvees since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The city's government issued its demands in a statement on Wednesday that said Baghdad's infrastructure and aesthetics have been seriously damaged by the American military.

"The U.S. forces changed this beautiful city to a camp in an ugly and destructive way, which reflected deliberate ignorance and carelessness about the simplest forms of public taste," the statement said.

"Due to the huge damage, leading to a loss the Baghdad municipality cannot afford...we demand the American side apologize to Baghdad's people and pay back these expenses."

The statement made no mention of damage caused by bombing.

Baghdad's neighborhoods have been sealed off by miles of concrete blast walls, transforming the city into a tangled maze that contributes to massive traffic jams. Despite a sharp reduction in overall violence in recent years only 5 percent of the walls have been removed, officials said.

The heavy blast walls have damaged sewer and water systems, pavement and parks, said Hakeem Abdul Zahra, the city spokesman.

U.S. military Humvees, driven on street medians and through gardens, have also caused major damage, he said.

"The city of Baghdad feels these violations, which have taken place for years, have caused economic and moral damage," he said.

U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities in June 2009 before formally ending combat operations last August. Around 50,000 remain in Iraq but they are scheduled to withdraw by year end.

Baghdad is badly in need of a facelift. Electricity and trash collection are sporadic, streets are potholed and sewage treatment plants and pipes have not been renovated for years.

Iraq has seen growing protests in recent weeks over poor government services.

Zahra said the city's statement issued on Wednesday would be the start of its measures to get the United States to pay for damages but he did not say what other steps might be taken.















iraq

European Moral Idiots

The problem is not with Merkel expressing joy ... it is with the moral idiots who complained.  No wonder your continent is slowly sinking into a muck it will be unable to extricate itself from.  The EU birthrate is so low, your cultures will not exist in 80 years - but his will.

And to believe that - oh but we are better and we do not do what he does ... please, get off your horse before you have no horse and no voice.  Moral idiots are worse than ... well, much else.




Merkel slammed for joy over bin Laden killing


4 May 11 09:06 CET



Several German politicians on Wednesday criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel for expressing joy over the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, saying it sent the wrong message.

Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Green party MP, Bundestag vice president and leading member of the Evangelical Church of Germany, told the Berliner Zeitung she was glad bin Laden was no longer leading a terrorist group. “But you can’t be happy about his death,” she said.

On Monday, Merkel told reporters that bin Laden’s death at the hands of US forces was “good news.”

“I’m glad that killing bin Laden was successful,” she said.

The criticism of Merkel's comments is coming not only from political opposition, but from her own party, echoing discomfort expressed by some observers at the emotional, celebratory reaction of many Americans and foreign politicians around the world after bin Laden’s killing.

Siegfried Kauder, a member of Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), slammed her remarks, calling them reminiscent of something a person would say in the “middle ages.”

“I would not have formulated them like this,” he said to the Passauer Neuen Presse, expressing doubts that killing bin Laden was even legal under international law.

Other politicians said they would have preferred to see bin Laden arrested.

Martin Lohmann, in charge of the CDU’s Working Group of Engaged Catholics, said killing anyone, even a terrorist, “can never be cause for joy for a Christian.”

“It would have been better if Osama bin Laden had been arrested and brought to justice,” he added.

Despite the criticism, most German political figures said they were relieved bin Laden would no longer be stirring up trouble.

Meanwhile, German’s BND intelligence chief Ernst Uhrlau said bin Laden’s death didn’t necessarily mean an improvement in the nation's security.

“The security forces must remain very vigilant,” he told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper, though he described the US operation as a success.

Uhrlau emphasized that bin Laden no longer had a day-to-day role in planning terrorist operations, but he acknowledged the man’s power as a “role model” and said terrorists would not easily be able to fill the gap bin Laden’s death leaves.




















moral idiots

The Middle East on Fire

The drum of democracy and freedom, or something more perilous.  I believe that we as Americans must support freedom, even if it is not beneficial to our interests - because freedom, if achieved, would result in a closer relationship of equals.  The desire for freedom is not enough, rather it is the plight of the masses who rise up and seize the chance, place their mark upon history, and end tyranny by the few.  Who wouldn't support it.  If I was the leader of Jordan or Bahrain, or Yemen ... I would be making large transfers of wealth to safe havens, just in case. 


Yet, isn't it amazing how it all happens so .... happenstance like, as if by accident the people rise up, without planning.  I my have a negative view of mankind, and that is we are led - at least that is what some astute students have suggested - so if we, Americans are led, we should be equally fair to others - that the Jordanians, Yemenis .... may also be led, and hopefully not by forces of hate and death.

Except it seems they are being led by someone or something.

Syria hangs in the balance.  It could topple either direction.  For many in the West, this is great news.  They see this as denouement of the past five months of rebellion and revolution in the Middle East.  Except it isn't.

Egypt is not more democratic.  It is less.

The 'rebels' opposing Khadadfi are not 'more democratic' than the dictator.  They are, as he pointed out, aided by al qaida, and with very little disagreement about this from the rebels.  The majority of suicide bombers did not come from Sauid Arabia or Gaza ... but from the general region of the 'rebels'.    So why are they now rising up and what connection to Tunisia and Egypt.  More than likely coincidence.  It spread and al qaida was happy to help. 

Syria is different - who benefits?  Not Israel, not Turkey, not Iraq - for what follows will be far less stable and reserved. 

How about Bahrain?

Abu Dubai?

Saudi Arabia?

Yemen?

Sudan?

Morocco?


Take the above, and in a majority of them, what is the consistent word/label/group/cause/issue?  And that will provide some insight into the larger issue of who is behind the unrest.  Sometimes you start something you can't control and it meanders off course a bit.  You accepted that into the operational plan before you began.  Syria is an ally of several possible countries who are also possible instigators.  So why undermine a state that is already a friend and supports your cause? 

Simple.  Easy Peasy - I want all 100 cookies.  I ask for 80, they offer me 75.  I want 100.  I remember long ago when they were rude to me once when I was no one and they were someone and I harbor that animus, I feed it, even if it predated my grandparents ... so many reasons and any one of them enough.






Protests Pop Up Across Middle East


By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press
Feb 15, 2011


DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Thousands of protesters took over a main square in Bahrain's capital Tuesday — carting in tents and raising banners — in a bold attempt to copy Egypt's uprising and force high-level changes in one of Washington's key allies in the Gulf.

The move by demonstrators capped two days of clashes across the tiny island kingdom that left at least two people dead, parliament in limbo by an opposition boycott and the king making a rare address on national television to offer condolences for the bloodshed.

Security forces — apparently under orders to hold back — watched from the sidelines as protesters chanted slogans mocking the nation's ruling sheiks and called for sweeping political reforms and an end to monarchy's grip on key decisions and government posts.

The unrest in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, adds another layer to Washington's worries in the region. In Yemen, police and government supporters battled nearly 3,000 marchers calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in a fifth straight day of violence.

Yemen is seen as a critical partner in the U.S. fight against a network inspired by al-Qaida. The Pentagon plans to boost its training of Yemen's counterterrorism forces to expand the push against the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula faction, which has been linked to attacks including the attempted airliner bombing in December 2009 and the failed mail bomb plot involving cargo planes last summer.

Saleh has been holding talks with Yemen's powerful tribes, which can either tip the balance against him or give him enough strength to possibly ride out the crisis.

The political mutinies in the Arab world show the wide reach of the calls for change spurred by the toppling of old-guard regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

In Jordan, hundreds of Bedouin tribesmen blocked roads to demand the government return lands they once owned. Saudi activists are seeking to form a political party in a rare challenge to the near-absolute power of the pro-Western monarchy.

Yemen's grinding poverty and tribal complexities also stand in contrast to the relative wealth and Western-style malls and coffee shops in Bahrain's capital of Manama.

But many in Bahrain still boiled down their discontent to a cry for economic justice as well — saying the Sunni rulers control the privileges and opportunities and the Shiite majority struggles with what's left over and are effectively blackballed from important state jobs.

"I demand what every Bahraini should have: a job and a house," said student Iftikhar Ali, 27, who joined the crowds in the seaside Pearl Square. "I believe in change."

[In no way is he asking too much - a house and a job ... and Ali is ... from where?]


Protesters quickly renamed it "Nation's Square" and erected banners such as "Peaceful" that were prominent in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Many waved Bahraini flags and chanted: "No Sunnis, no Shiites. We are all Bahrainis."  [I could chant peace, love, and free love - doesn't mean I believe in any or all of those - I can chant, especially if it gets me what I want.]

Others set up tents and distributed tea and kabobs for those planning to spend the night under one of the city's landmarks: a nearly 300-foot (90-meter) monument cradling a giant white pearl-shaped ball that symbolizes the country's heritage as a pearl diving center.

Someone used stones to spell out the message in Arabic: "The real criminals are the royal family."

There is no direct call to bring down the king, whose family has ruled Bahrain for more than two centuries. But he is suddenly under unprecedented pressure to make serious changes in how the country is run.

The key demands — listed on a poster erected in the square — included the release of all political prisoners, more jobs and housing, an elected Cabinet and the replacement of the longtime prime minister, Sheik Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Even the security forces they have battled represent something more than just state-backed muscle.

Bahrain's leaders have for years granted citizenship to Sunnis from across the region to expand their base of loyalists and try to gain demographic ground against Shiites, about 70 percent of the population of some 500,000. Many of the Sunnis — Jordanians, Syrians and others — receive police jobs or other security-related posts.

In a clear sign of concern over the widening crisis, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa went on nationwide TV to offer condolences for the deaths, pledge an investigation into the killings and promising to push ahead with promised reforms, which include loosening state controls on the media and Internet.

"We extend our condolences to the parents of the dear sons who died yesterday and today. We pray that they are inspired by the Almighty's patience, solace and tranquility," said the king, who had previously called for an emergency Arab summit to discuss the growing unrest.

Bahrain is one of the most politically volatile nations in the Middle East's wealthiest corner despite having one of the few elected parliaments and some of the most robust civil society groups.

The nation's Shiites have long complained of discrimination. A crackdown on perceived dissent last year touched off weeks of riots and clashes in Shiite villages, and an ongoing trial in Bahrain accuses 25 Shiites of plotting against the leadership. The detainees allege they have been tortured behind bars.

Bahrain is also an economic weakling compared with the staggering energy riches of Gulf neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which can afford far more generous social benefits. Bahrain's oil reserves are small and its role as the region's international financial hub have been greatly eclipsed by Dubai.

In Geneva, a statement by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on Bahrain to "curb the excesses" of security forces.

"Too many peaceful protesters have recently been killed across the Middle East and North Africa," Pillay said.

The deaths also brought sharp denunciations from the largest Shiite political bloc, Al Wefaq, which suspended its participation in parliament, and could threaten the nation's gradual pro-democracy reforms that have given Shiites a greater political voice. The group has 18 seats in the 40-member chamber.

The second day of turmoil began after police tried to disperse up to 10,000 mourners gathering at a hospital parking lot to begin a funeral procession for Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima, 21, who died in Monday's marches.

Officials at Bahrain's Salmaniya Medical Complex said a 31-year-old man, Fadhel Salman Matrook, became the second fatality when he died of injuries from birdshot fired during the melee in the hospital's parking lot. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to journalists.

A statement from Bahrain's interior minister, Lt. Gen. Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, expressed "sincere condolences and deep sympathy" to Mushaima's family. He expanded on the king's pledge: stressing that the deaths will be investigated and charges would be filed if authorities determined excessive force was used against the protesters.

But that's unlikely to appease the protesters. In the past week, Bahrain's rulers have tried to defuse calls for reform by promising nearly $2,700 for each family and pledging to loosen state controls on the media.


















iran

Malaysia: Religion of Peace and some questions

I have to wonder if this is a planned effort or whether they wake up and decide to act individually.  Given my diminished respect for independent thought and creativity, I do not suspect individual brilliance.




Imagine the following scenarios before going to the story:
- imagine if in the country of Doop, population 10 million, that 88% are Retro faith, 10% are Modernists and the remaining 2% are a mixture of other beliefs.  Imagine the laws of the country are written around the Retro faith, the government is a majority of Retro.  Imagine if the Modernists were unable to expand - could not build new schools or temples, could not preach their values.  The courts, police, laws, government are dominated by Retro ...   Modernists meet to discuss their future and what they can do to protect their future.   Retro citizens see this as a threat to their way of life and make accusations against the Modernists.  They call for investigations and arrests, they call for public denunciations and reaffirmations about the place of Retro life.  So in this case can Modernists be a threat in any serious way?


- imagine if in the country of Doop, population 10 million, that 88% are Retro faith, 10% are Modernists and the remaining 2% are a mixture of other beliefs.  Imagine the laws of the country are written around the Retro faith, the government is a majority of Retro.  Imagine if the Modernists were unable to expand - could not build new schools or temples, could not preach their values.  The courts, police, laws, government are dominated by Retro ...   Modernists meet to discuss their future and what they can do to protect their future.   Retro citizens see this as a threat to their way of life and make accusations against the Modernists.  They call for investigations and arrests, they call for public denunciations and reaffirmations about the place of Retro life.  So in this case can Modernists be a threat in any serious way?


- imagine if in the country of Doop, population 10 million, that 88% are Retro faith, 10% are Modernists and the remaining 2% are a mixture of other beliefs.  Imagine the laws of the country are written around the Retro faith, the government is a majority of Retro.  However imagine that the Modernists were able to contort the laws to ensure they have equal access to the courts, and that the laws are modified to comport with a newly developed view on freedom and rights.  That the majority will not rule, rather the minority will threaten or complain, until the majority revise the laws and social construction to assimilate the Modernists.  Except the modernists are not assimilating for their values become enshrined in Retro's laws and are protected.  Imagine Modernists pushing for separate laws, separate schools, a separate society within Retro that is not subject to all of the laws and social values imposed on the rest of Retro.  Imagine if the Retro could not build unless they had the agreement of all communities and for each new building built for Retro, 1 was built for Modernists.  Imagine if Modernists lobbied well in the courts and political system and new laws were created protecting the minority in real and imagined cases and each time Modernists complained, investigations and lawsuits followed until Retro citizens stopped trying to maintain their culture.  The minority groups championed this action as one that opens society up for all citizens, yet of all the minority groups, none were as interested in preserving and promoting culture as were the Modernists who seized the opportunity and expanded their reach - promoting their values everywhere.  Unlike the Retro and others who could not for fear of violating the hate laws or ethnocentric attacks ... Modernists continued their expansion into the political, religious - even asking Retro temples to let them use their temples when not used.   





Religious tensions brewing in Malaysia over claims Christians want to supplant Islam




By Sean Yoong, The Associated Press
The Canadian Press
May 8, 2011



KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's government sought to defuse new religious tensions Monday following allegations that church leaders were conspiring to make Christianity the official religion in this Muslim-majority country.

Christian officials insist the accusation is a lie intended to create suspicion between ethnic Malay Muslims and religious minorities, but several Muslim activists have filed police complaints demanding an investigation into what they consider a threat to the position of Islam.

A string of religious disputes in recent years, often involving minority complaints of discrimination, has triggered persistent feelings of insecurity among both Malaysian Muslims and minorities about their religious rights in a country that prides itself on multiethnic peace.

The allegation by two anonymous political bloggers about a plot by Christian leaders received little attention until the country's leading Malay-language newspaper reported it on its front page Saturday under the headline "Malaysia a Christian nation?"

The Utusan Malaysia newspaper is owned by Prime Minister Najib Razak's Malay-dominated ruling party. It said dozens of pastors were believed to have pledged at a recent meeting to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia and have a prime minister elected from the Christian community, which comprises about 10 per cent of Malaysia's 28 million people.

Najib said late Sunday authorities will investigate the claim, but stressed the issue should not be sensationalized.

"Calm down until we get the facts," Najib said. "If there is anyone who tries to jeopardize national peace, we will not allow it to happen because what is important is national harmony."

Christian groups acknowledge there was a meeting last week, but say it was meant to honour some Christian pastors and discuss regular religious issues, not politics.

The accusations are "insidious, provocative and malicious lies" that have "the effect of creating religious disharmony, inciting hatred and heaping odium on Christians," Archbishop Murphy Pakiam, who heads the Catholic Church in peninsular Malaysia, said in a statement.

Opposition politician Lim Guan Eng warned Monday that the government would have to "bear full responsibility for any undesirable consequences on the Christian community in Malaysia" because of Utusan's report.

Tensions surged briefly last January when 11 churches suffered firebomb attacks and vandalism amid anger among some Muslims over a court verdict allowing minorities to use "Allah" as a translation for God. Some Muslims say the use of "Allah" in Christian literature could be used to convert Muslims, who comprise nearly two-thirds of the population.


















islam

Nancy Pelosi: 2006 and 2011. Politics as Usual

Here’s Nancy Pelosi from a press conference on September 7, 2006:


[E]ven if [Osama bin Laden] is caught tomorrow, it is five years too late. He has done more damage the longer he has been out there. But, in fact, the damage that he has done . . . is done. And even to capture him now I don’t think makes us any safer.


And here’s Nancy Pelosi May 2, 2011:

The death of Osama bin Laden marks the most significant development in our fight against al-Qaida. . . . I salute President Obama, his national security team, Director Panetta, our men and women in the intelligence community and military, and other nations who supported this effort for their leadership in achieving this major accomplishment. . . . [T]he death of Osama bin Laden is historic. . . .

















losercrats

Pakistan: Not our friend. HE lived there for a very long time.

Ok, we have a country held together by elmer's glue - and we have a choice to aide them or not.  If we don't, the extremists take over and have a 'modern' (relative to Sudan and Afghanistan) state in which to establish their base.  We can also aide them and keep the frail state from collapsing as quickly.

5-6 years less than a mile from their military academy, near retired generals and ISI ... and no one knew.

What a bloody lie



Bin Laden lived in Pakistan compound 5-6 years: U.S



Reuters
May 3, 2011

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden lived for the past five to six years in the compound deep inside Pakistan where the al Qaeda leader was killed by U.S. forces, President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser said on Tuesday.

Bin Laden, who was living in Afghanistan before a 2001 U.S.-led invasion helped topple its Taliban regime, was holed up in a compound in the military garrison town of Abbottabad in Pakistan before Sunday's operation to kill him.

"Well I think the latest information is that he was in this compound for the past five or six years and he had virtually no interaction with others outside that compound. But yet he seemed to be very active inside the compound," White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan said on the CBS Early Show program.

"And we know that he had released videos and audios. We know that he was in contact with some senior al Qaeda officials," Brennan added.

"So what we're trying to do now is to understand what he has been involved in over the past several years, exploit whatever information we were able to get at the compound and take that information and continue our efforts to destroy al Qaeda," Brennan added.

The fact that the al Qaeda chief had lived in the compound for such a long time has prompted some U.S. lawmakers to demand a review of the billions of dollars in aid the United States provides Pakistan, which is fighting a Taliban insurgency.

Brennan also said the United States was considering whether to release photographs and video taken during the raid but has not yet made a decision.

"We want to make sure that we're able to do it in a thoughtful manner. We also want to anticipate what the reaction might be on the part of al Qaeda or others to the release of certain information so that we can take the appropriate steps beforehand," Brennan told CNN.

"Any other material, whether it be photos or videos or whatever else -- we are looking at it and we'll make the appropriate decisions," Brennan said.

Asked about any computers, documents and other material seized at the compound, Brennan said the material was being reviewed by U.S. authorities.

"What we're most interested in is seeing if we can get any insight into any terrorist plot that might be underway so that we can take the measures to stop any type of attack planning. Secondly, we're trying to look and see whether or not there are leads to other individuals within the organization or insights into their (al Qaeda) capabilities," Brennan said.

He said the United States was eager to learn from the material about the circumstances of bin Laden's residence in Abbottabad.

"I know the Pakistanis are interested in this -- how did bin Laden stay at that compound for the past six years or so and be undetected? What type of support did he have outside of that compound -- in the Abbottabad area or more broadly within Pakistan?" Brennan said.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
pakistan

Ding Dong - the bell tolls for them. Pakistan worries and the US celebrates.

The killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden represents possibly the biggest clandestine operations success for the United States since ... well, given all the conditions, betrayal, lies ... probably, the biggest clandestine success since the landing at Normandy.  The confirmation of his death is an emotional victory for the United States and will have a significant impact upon the geopolitics of the region.  Some will claim his death is irrelevant - I do not believe it is as irrelevant as many others, nor do I believe his death is the end and we simply fold up our tents and come home (as the administration will do, contrary to their public words). 

Yet come home we should, and without delay ... to a point.   Our mission, to find those responsible and bring them to justice no matter who they were, where they were, or how long it took - has largely been answered.  Our mission is done.  We should come home. 

However, we should also leave available, teams (like the ones who went in to the compound in the military city of Abbottabad) ready to insert themselves anywhere and at any time, to remove threats or high value targets.  We should insist the world recognize this will be the manner we will conduct further actions, and that unless we are physically attacked, we have no need to leave 100,000 troops roaming around a wasteland we have no interest in wandering.

There are individuals who believe we are there (Afghanistan) to conquer, and they mock the US, recalling Alexander's inability to take and hold modern day Afghanistan.  The difference - we don't want to have it, which irritates those individuals, and causes them distress that we would give our blood and wealth for something we have no desire to hold and keep.  I would strongly suggest those individuals study American history - not rhetoric, but the history, and not history as propounded by the few, but more factual history.  If you do, you will begin to understand we will outlast anyone who attacks the United States.  It is not a matter of raising Vietnam - for apples and grapefruit have no connection, but for the loose label of being fruit.  Vietnam and Afghanistan both involved US forces. 

We are willing to expend hundreds of billions of dollars and the blood of American servicemen, to hunt down those people who harm us or who pose a grave threat to the United States. 

We have demonstrated that to the world.  Now we can come home.  The taliban are factionalized - they fight and kill one another.  Some factions have joined with Karazai, others remain at war against anyone perceived to be Western or who may be supported by the West.  We have rebuilt more of Afghanistan than has existed since the early 1970s, and actually we have done more than that - we have given them the opportunity to move forward and produce a life for their families that will provide hope.  It is a choice - to move forward or backward, and that is something we cannot dictate.  What we can insist upon is that we will never allow the taliban to provide support or aid to those who plan to harm the United States.  If they do, we will return.

In Iraq - we have rebuilt that country to a level it has never reached before - from sanitation and electrification, education, and infrastructure to maintain the system - it is now their choice.  They will not be a nuclear threat to the United States nor to their neighbors.  They will continue to fight one another, for this will take time, but it is an internal issue and one we must extricate ourselves from, for we have no reason or purpose to be there.  We have removed the tyrant, rebuilt their country, dismembered al qaida in Iraq, and left in place the groups who will resist al qaida and the creation of a possible terrorist haven.  We make it very clear to Iran we will leave, but should they move into Iraq, we will be back to defend Iraq, and defeat Iran. 

We inform Russia we will not allow interference in Afghanistan, via support for the taliban or undermining of the political or economic system in that country.  That relations with the West will depend upon their actions, and will constantly be re-evaluated.

Then we leave.  We leave Iraq and we leave Afghanistan.

There will be those who insist that America is in those countries to conquer or control - to them all I can say is - good-bye and good riddance, find another conspiracy to dwell on.

We make it known we will return if ever an attack occurs against the United States, we make it clear we will outlast anyone and no one will hide from us, anywhere on earth.  All they have is time and with time, their time on earth decreases.

We make changes to our foreign aid - Pakistan has demonstrated that there are countries where the government is more corrupted than Mexico.  The Pakistani West Point was several hundred yards from Bin Laden's balcony.  A city where generals from the Pakistani military and ISI retired after they received their suitcases of cash.  This is a city where people know each other, where people talk, where ... no one knew anything, unlike other cities of equal size where you simply mention 'Hamid, the guy who lives with his mother' and anyone will point you in the correct direction.  Amazing that in this city, no one knew anything.  Yet, ask any of them (I am sure) about world conspiracies and the US interest in Iraq and they would tell you more than the NY Times.  Amazing. 

We know, if you would simply recall from a decade ago, when Clinton was about to send in missiles to Afghanistan, Madeline Albright called the Pakistani government (ISI) and informed them missiles would be flying overhead and to duck.  It is no wonder when the missiles landed no one was home.  And we should have told Pakistan?  Not unless you wanted more egg on your face.  The government of Pakistan is corrupt to the core.  End the billions we provide, cut the funding and provide them a two year window in which they can demonstrate their seriousness - clean up their mess or get nothing from us.

Leave an aircraft carrier and accompanying support craft off the coast of Pakistan at all times.  Each ship can hold several thousand Marines, aircraft, and helicopters.  We can move quickly from the carriers to anywhere we need to be, if the need arises - after we bring home the troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Bin Laden is dead - the snake is not just made up of the head, which we severed, but a body - and many pundits are telling us we need to worry about them.  Yes, but - over the last 10 years we have monitored the 2, 3, 4, levels below bin Laden, we have watched their every move.  We know every goat they stood behind, every crack they crawled out from, every hole they filled with their excrement - we know everything about very nearly every one of them - and we still do.  We knew all this because we were trying to find the head of the snake, and they were not useful.  But we still know where they are.  So let them take over for the dead head, and we will send them on their way to spend eternity with Satan as well.

Where we are not as aware - al qaida in Yemen and North Africa and Oman ... this is where we are lacking in intelligence, but again - Osama was a unique character.  It is immaterial that he was not active - he was their figurehead, he was their ideal, he was their motivational speaker - he was charismatic, wealthy, and historical.  No one else comes close.  No one else has the passion to pull jihadists from around the world and we will soon find, the jihadists leave and go back to their villages.  The Western figures in al qaida will follow bin Laden soon enough.

They are on the run, they are on the defensive, and hopefully we will engage them wherever they are today.  One lesson from this successful clandestine action is that we have subsidiary efforts ongoing, and they will need to be rolled up or we will lose them.  We have the snake and we have 2/3 of the body.  The final 1/3 we must methodically hunt down and kill.










bin laden is dead

Buried at Sea

Buried at Sea?

Ok, maybe, but they had to be very careful with the body.

Every sailor and marine would have had a turn at pissing on him to wash off all the impurities, afterward, they would have wrapped him very carefully in a cloth, and attached pig intestines to hold the cloth tight to the body.

Several men would have held the body as they slowly rotated it on the internal organs and bladder of the pig fanned out on the table, leaving just enough pig intestine to use to carefully wrap the body after applying a heat gun to dry out the skin/intestines.

Then, several marines would have taken a gallon or two of barrels filled with chum, and dump it into the sea out the back of the ship.  After 10-15 minutes, they would place the body in a plastic bag with a cross, and throw the bag into the sea.

Poseidon would do the rest, or the sharks.










osmama

Pakistani Role

The area that the Dead Bin Laden was living in is a reasonably affluent community.  There are many large compounds in the area and from several reports, many military generals retire to this area when they get their suitcases full of cash from the ISI.

The compound was built in 2005 (after the war began) with defensive measures that exceed those of the area.  It is quite likely that this compound was for bin laden since 2005.  That ISI would have known, and military generals living in the area would also have had some knowledge - yet, Pakistan never revealed this to the US.  Custom built for someone like bin Laden and Pakistan didn't feel the need to inform the US, nor did the government of Pakistan deem it important enough to send in an army.

It took the US intelligence community - our CIA and SEALs to go in and remove the blight from the face of mankind and send him to hell where he can be ripped apart by Satan daily.   It is striking that their character is such they tried to hide behind a woman - believing the US would (again) let them escape.  They are to blame for the deaths of any innocents who may have died. 


It was the US who killed bin Laden, and that Pakistan played no role in bringing bin Laden to justice except to hide him from the United States.  We will pretend that Pakistan knew about our actions, that they cooperated, and we will do this in order to not shame Pakistan.

If the truth comes out, Pakistan will be seen as complicit in protecting the enemy of the United States.

And they want our money?

Not one more penny, not now, not ever.


















pakistan

The Most Hunted Man Since Adolph Hitler is Dead

I don’t have a problem now saying we should begin removing troops from that god awful country, and let them dig their own holes. Then, we should start pulling out even further from Iraq, and let them sort out their messes.



What we can leave in place is the reality that we will return if any of those miscreants takes action against the United States, ever again. 


Otherwise, they are simply not worth what we have given, not after today.

We never wanted to conquer that place, we had no interest.  We were after one man and his cabal of miscreants.  We now have the head of the snake and several of his underlings and we are finished with them.

















pakistan