August 17, 2012

U.N. monitors quit, saying Syrians choose "path of war"

Source: Reuters

By Dominic Evans and Hadeel Al Shalchi
August 16, 2012

BEIRUT/ALEPPO -Syria's government and rebels have "chosen the path of war", a U.N. peacekeeping chief said as the world body ended its doomed monitoring mission to Damascus and deadlock persists among world powers over how to contain the spreading conflict.

Two weeks after former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan quit as mediator in frustration with the failure of a four-month-old truce, military observers have no peace on the ground to monitor and U.N. officials said on Thursday the last of the few dozen remaining team members would quit Damascus by August 24.

"It is clear that both sides have chosen the path of war, open conflict, and the space for political dialogue and cessation of hostilities and mediation is very, very reduced at this point," said deputy U.N. peacekeeping chief Edmond Mulet.

At a time when fighting is raging around Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, and tit-for-tat sectarian kidnappings have spread the Syrian conflict into fragile neighbouring Lebanon, Western powers and Russia remain resolutely at odds in the Security Council over the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.

Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFBRE86H18C20120816

August 16, 2012

GOP Translator

August 16, 2012

Namibia: Makgone's Hitler Conquers Otjakomaue Derby

BY Carlos Kambaekwa
New Era
15 August 2012

Farm Dankbaar — Johannes Makgone's thoroughbred horse, baptized Hitler, moved like greased lightning, striking everywhere to rewrite the history books by becoming the first horse in the short history of local horse racing to clinch all available silverware on offer at the Otjakomaue Horse Racing Track.

Hitler was in a mean mood during last weekend's horse racing at Farm Dankbaar near Okondjatu in the Otjozondjupa Region in front of a record crowd of avid horse racing enthusiasts last Saturday.

After having to play second fiddle to Swaai Rokie in the 1000 metres sprint - the horse named after the infamous German fascist dictator Hitler, moved into second gear to clinch top honours in the popular senior Nambred 2 000-metres race to walk away with one of two Brahman heifers on offer.

The day produced some surprises with Norii Kaanjuka's newly acquired Candle's Girl blowing her opponents aside with breathtaking speed in the shorter 800-metres sprint for maiden thoroughbred horses. There were also wins for Swaai Rokie of A. Katamelo in the senior Nambred 1000-metres, while Aruthusa claimed double victories in both the D Division thoroughbred horses over the same distance and the 1 800 metres. Joseph Goeiman's Princes showed her competitors a clean pair of hooves in the 1 200-metres maiden thoroughbred horse race.

More: http://allafrica.com/stories/201208150344.html

August 16, 2012

Texas researchers will freeze-dry and rebuild 17th century shipwreck

Associated Press
August 15, 2012

BRYAN, Texas --More than three centuries ago, a French explorer's ship sank in the Gulf of Mexico, taking with it France's hopes of colonizing a vast piece of the New World - modern-day Texas.

Researchers at Texas A&M University will try to reconstruct Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle's vessel with a gigantic freeze-dryer, the first undertaking of its size.

By placing the ship - La Belle - in a constant environment of about 60 degrees below zero, more than 300 years of moisture will be safely removed from hundreds of European oak and pine timbers and planks. Researchers will then rebuild the 54 1/2-foot vessel.

From a historical perspective, it's "an icon of a small event that dramatically changed the course of Texas history," said Jim Bruseth,who led the Texas Historical Commission effort to recover the remains.

More: http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Texas-researchers-restore-French-ship-3791960.php

August 16, 2012

LOL - Strong conservative support for Romney

Source: http://gopbriefingroom.com/index.php

August 16, 2012

Libyan fighters join Syrian revolt against Assad

Source: Reuters



August 16, 2012

BEIRUT - Veteran fighters of last year's civil war in Libya have come to the front-line in Syria, helping to train and organise rebels under conditions far more dire than those in the battle against Muammar Gaddafi, a Libyan-Irish fighter has told Reuters.

Hussam Najjar hails from Dublin, has a Libyan father and Irish mother and goes by the name of Sam. A trained sniper, he was part of the rebel unit that stormed Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli a year ago, led by Mahdi al-Harati, a powerful militia chief from Libya's western mountains.

Harati now leads a unit in Syria, made up mainly of Syrians but also including some foreign fighters, including 20 senior members of his own Libyan rebel unit. He asked Najjar to join him from Dublin a few months ago, Najjar said.

The Libyans aiding the Syrian rebels include specialists in communications, logistics, humanitarian issues and heavy weapons, he said. They operate training bases, teaching fitness and battlefield tactics.

Read more: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20120816-365755.html

August 16, 2012

Competing senses of liberation, dread rule in Kurdish areas of Syria

BY DAVID ENDERS
McClatchy Newspapers
August 15, 2012

AMMOUDA, SYRIA -- The only place in the predominantly Kurdish city of Ammouda that’s still flying the Syrian flag is the police station, but people here say it means little.

“There are only two police officers, and they stay inside and keep the door closed,” said Abdel Ila Awja, a resident.

Gone from this city near the border with Turkey are the statues of Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, and of his father, Hafez, who ruled before him.

Fighters from the United Democratic Party, a Kurdish militia, man a former Syrian military checkpoint at the entrance to the city.

More: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/14/3763883/competing-senses-of-liberation.html

August 15, 2012

I'm so sorry for the good DUers played by a sociopath pretending to be in an abusive relationship

The way they were toying with someone who is in extreme emotional distress and enjoying that people were fooled by their story could only be one thing: sociopath.

To those who bared their soul and those who tried help, please don't be disillusioned. It only means you are good people who were abused by someone who is defective emotionally. Someone who is literally incapable of empathy.

Just know that you are a real person and the one who did that this morning is not.

August 15, 2012

Possible war with Iran could be month-long affair: Israel minister

Source: Reuters

August 15, 2012

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - War with Iran would probably turn into a month-long conflict on various fronts with missile strikes on Israeli cities and some 500 dead, Israel's civil defence minister said in an interview published on Wednesday.

"There is no room for hysteria. Israel's home front is prepared as never before," Matan Vilnai, a former general who is about to leave his cabinet post to become ambassador to China, told the Maariv daily.

The interview coincided with Israeli media reports over the past week suggesting that Israel might attack Iran's nuclear facilities before the U.S. presidential election in November.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday that Washington does not believe Israel has made a decision on whether to strike.

Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFBRE87E0AO20120815

August 15, 2012

Program granting work rights for childhood immigrants begins Wednesday

By the CNN Wire Staff
August 15, 2012

Starting Wednesday, people who arrived in the United States as children and without documentation can apply to work without fear of deportation, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Tuesday.

“This afternoon, USCIS makes available online the forms and instructions for individuals who will request deferred action for childhood arrivals,” USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters in a conference call.

The announcement comes two months after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that people who arrived in the United States as children may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years subject to renewal, and would then be eligible for work authorization.

The program, dubbed Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was created in June under an executive order signed by President Barack Obama.

More: http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/14/program-granting-work-rights-for-childhood-immigrants-begins-wednesday-2/?hpt=hp_t1