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9294. wonkers2 - 12/15/2008 6:03:32 PM Angela Merkel hasn't gotten the word on the causes and remedies for the crisis 9295. robertjayb - 12/18/2008 4:35:22 PM Brit Split...
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown rejected calls for an immediate inquiry into the Iraq war on Thursday and confirmed that Britain will start withdrawing troops from the country by the end of May.
Brown went before parliament to announce the end of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war, bringing an end to one of the most controversial episodes in recent British history.
"The fundamental change of mission will take place at the latest by May 31, 2009. At that point we will start a rapid withdrawal of our troops."
9296. wonkers2 - 12/18/2008 5:00:14 PM HOORAY! 9297. robertjayb - 12/18/2008 7:27:00 PM Oil Slides...
Crude oil for January delivery fell $2.14, or 5.3 percent, to $37.92 a barrel at 10:07 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $37.71, the lowest since July 1, 2004. (Bloomberg)
9298. wonkers2 - 1/3/2009 5:04:28 PM Global Peace Index 9299. robertjayb - 1/6/2009 10:33:30 PM Israeli shelling kills 42 at school...(Reuters)
GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli shelling killed more than 40 Palestinians Tuesday at a U.N. school where civilians had taken shelter, medical officials said, in carnage likely to boost international pressure on Israel to halt a Gaza offensive.
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According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, at least 631 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,700 wounded since Israel began its offensive.
Ten Israelis, including three civilians hit by rocket fire, have been killed in the conflict. At least five rockets landed in Israel Tuesday, including one that hit the town of Gadera, 28 km (17 miles) from Tel Aviv. A three-month-old baby was hurt.
9300. vonKreedon - 1/8/2009 10:49:36 PM Can anyone identify the type of weapon being used in this image:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/05QtcaZe3O5A5
I've seen many instances of this on CNN, but I cannot figure out what it is. I'm hoping it's not cluster munitions. 9301. wabbit - 1/9/2009 1:17:18 AM It sure looks like a cluster bomb. 9302. vonKreedon - 1/9/2009 1:31:28 AM Not so much really. The cluster munition videos that I've seen don't show the white trail that are seen in the picture I linked and the CNN images I've watched. It sort of looks like White Phosphorus, but it seems more directed, the trails all immediately head down to the ground. And I can't figure out the purpose for air bursts of WP that far above the ground.
I've read, though I can't vouch for the veracity, that the Israelis started to produce their own cluster munitions because the ones they got from us had too high a dud ratio and because they weren't sure how long we'd keep supplying them. If so, perhaps their munitions emit a WP like trail? At any rate, I'm really curious and would like to get a positive ID on this munition. It's pretty distinctive. 9303. wabbit - 1/9/2009 2:44:07 AM I misspoke - cluster *munitions*, not cluster bombs, though bombs are shown in the linked video.
That is an interesting photo. Maybe WP is effective for producing smoke cover even from that height. There are a couple photos in these articles, none as striking as the one you found:
Israel fires artillery shells into Gaza
Israel rains fire on Gaza with phosphorus shells
No photos, but some description: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5470047.ece 9304. vonKreedon - 1/9/2009 5:15:19 AM An unconventional use of WP as it does not look to me that it is providing particularly good smoke cover, but it does seem to be starting a lot of little fires and would certainly drive anyone under it indoors in a hurry. Thanks for the research wabbit. 9305. alistairconnor - 1/28/2009 11:14:18 AM I note with approval that Obama's first interview with foreign media was with Al Arabiya (a Dubai-based network, which has come to rival Al Jazeera in its outreach and quality of journalism).
It's mostly platitudes, but it's a start. 9306. arkymalarky - 1/28/2009 4:07:27 PM I thought it was very important in laying the groundwork and setting the tone, not just for US interactions with the Muslim World and with Arabs and the ME, but with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. 9307. arkymalarky - 1/28/2009 4:11:20 PM And he shifted the focus and topics from the platitudes of freedom and democracy to the human condition of many Muslims, especially in Palestine, while asserting the US's strong support of Israel. 9308. wabbit - 2/12/2009 11:08:10 PM From the NYTimes:
…With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.
The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town…
I hope DubaiVol is ok.9309. arkymalarky - 2/13/2009 1:15:27 AM He posted not too long ago, maybe in the Cafe? 9310. alistairconnor - 2/16/2009 4:05:28 PM Those with a dark sense of humour will like this one :
Two submarines collided in the Atlantic, on about 2 February
A British sub, HMS Vanguard, armed with Trident nuclear missiles, and a French equivalent, Le Triomphant, went Bing!
A few dents, no casualties, apparently "nuclear safety" was not compromised.
The more I think about this news item, the more I like it. It demonstrates the efficacy of the two nations' independent nuclear deterrent, as I will demonstrate :
* They didn't know each other's trajectories : the two navies don't trust each other, therefore can't compromise each other. Excellent.
* They didn't pick each other up on sonar or radar. i.e. these tin cans are undetectable, and very difficult to take out by the Chinese, the Russians, or whoever.
Who says Europe's in decline, eh? 9311. alistairconnor - 2/17/2009 5:18:27 PM I spotted this analysis of the emerging shape of O's foreign policy :
A two-pronged Obama foreign policy approach is unfolding. The first prong, relating to the general tenor of foreign relations, involves a modern application of the “speak softly and carry a big stick” approach. The second prong, relating to the distribution of power within the administration, involves a centralization of foreign policy centering on a stronger and expanded National Security Council (NSC) and relies on special envoys for crisis areas, leaving the secretary of state to shape foreign perceptions rather than policy.
Rather unkind for Hillary RC. 9312. Wombat - 2/17/2009 5:59:47 PM Given Hilary's skills--or demonstrated lack thereof--in conducting delicate negotiations on contentious and complex issues, it seems like a pretty good division of labor.
The mystery continues to be why she accepted the post in the first place. Will she quit over a policy difference concerning, say Israel, so that she can try to run against him in 2012? 9313. alistairconnor - 2/17/2009 7:19:08 PM Well, it's a high profile, glamour job, she gets all the warm fuzzies for representing the Not Bush administration (though this will wear off after a year or so...) And she gets to acquire a massive amount of that Foreign Policy Experience that she claimed to already have.
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